I recently fell asleep at the movies. I think I've entered a new stage of life. The I’m-perfectly-rested-but-now-I’m-old-so-if-I get-too-comfortable-I’m-going-to-pass-out stage. Strange. I didn’t feel the transition.
It's a real bummer, too. A movie ticket costs 14 bucks plus tax here in NYC, and I have to spend the better part of the morning begging Gus to go with me. I even have to promise to eat pizza at the place I don’t like in order to get him to agree to accompany me.
The movie was great. Her. Have you seen it? So fresh and funny and I was really enjoying it. But the theater was really warm. And strangely cozy. And I was wearing wool socks. And the armrest in this theater went all the way up so Gus and I could sit really close together, almost like sitting on the couch at home.
I don’t have any reason to be tired. I just started my new life working from home so my mornings aren’t harried and stressful. I start every day with a cup of coffee and thirty minutes of pleasure reading before I really get cracking. And that is after I’ve had a perfectly decent night's sleep. Usually between 7 and 9 full hours.
But somehow it happened. My eyes got delightfully heavy and my mind wandered off. I woke up to find my hands clenched tightly around my box of half-eaten Raisinettes, which had melted into a soft clump at the bottom, and the main characters sitting quietly, pondering the epic events that had just transpired. The epic events that I had just missed.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to be drinking a lot more coffee. Apparently one cup in the morning isn’t doing it any more. And well, if I’m going to be drinking coffee throughout the day, I’d better bake up something that goes with it. What’s coffee without a snack? Streusel cake is a lovely addition to caffeine. Those crunchy sugary nut pieces on top of the cake get delightfully toasty and taste especially good with a swig of something warm. And the cake itself is supermoist and almost soufflé-like, which means it’s easy to eat multiple slices. I had cranberries on hand, leftover from Cranberry Challenge 2013, but wild blueberries (available frozen this time of year) work well too. Oh, and it’s gluten-free! It's the perfect cake to take the edge off of all those extra cups. Now if only my operating system could bake.
Gluten Free Cranberry Streusel Cake
For the streusel:
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch salt
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
For the cake:
21/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plain yogurt
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups cranberries
1. Preheat over to 350°. Butter a 9-inch springform pan with a removable bottom.
2. Make the streusel: In small bowl, combine brown sugar, almond flour, cornstarch, and salt. Beat in butter. Add nuts and stir to combine.
3. Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, oat four, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Add yogurt and egg yolks and beat to combine. Stir in cranberries.
4. In a clean large bowl, beat egg whites on medium until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into almond flour mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle streusel over the top of the cake, using your hands to squeeze the streusel into clumps as you go. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 50 to 60 minutes. Cover with foil if the topping starts to get too dark before the center is set. (Every oven is different and I found the baking time on this puppy to vary widely when baked in different homes. To be safe, use the baking time as a guideline but keep an eye on it and use the toothpick test to determine if the cake is baked through.)