I am often accused of growing tomato TREES rather than tomato bushes. My record, to date, is 15′ tall tomato bushes. (Yes, that is a 5′ tall ladder that is dwarfed by my tomato plants.) But sadly, every year, there comes a day when I am in my garden at night with a flashlight, picking green tomatoes as fast as I can because the weather forecast has called for a hard freeze that evening.
By the time I am finished, I have typically filled two 3-gallon buckets with green tomatoes. In the past, I have made pickled green tomatoes or given green tomatoes to friends who love fried green tomatoes. I have also tried including them in cooking and baking. Green Tomato and Dried Apple Pie was one delicious result (actually 2, both the original and the gluten-free versions) of experimenting with green tomatoes. But I have also been intrigued with the use of olive oil in baked goods, because olive oil has a very pronounced taste. My previous attempts with olive oil cake recipes that I found in various sources had always produced “unfortunate” tasting cakes. I decided olive oil needed to be used with cakes that have a “tangy” taste. Of course, green tomatoes are tangy. Orange juice, orange zest, and candied orange peel enhanced the flavor just enough to make an outstanding coffeecake. Of course, once I made the original version, Green Tomato Mini Coffeecakes with Olive Oil and Orange Zest, I had to make the gluten-free version. And I am currently working on the vegan version while I still have fresh green tomatoes.
Oh, and did I mention the cake is also made with almond flour?
THE INSIDE SCOOP
This is an easy to make coffeecake. Just a few “insider” bits of information:
When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of sugar is 192 grams. By volume, this measure will typically be less than 1 cup. When baking, it is always best to use a food scale to measure dry ingredients so one achieves consistent results every time a recipe is repeated.
This recipe was made using My Gluten Free Flour Mix. Due to the varying characteristics of gluten free flours, other gluten free flour mixes are not guaranteed to work.
Since gluten free flours do not contain gluten, refrigeration time is essential to allow flours to absorb moisture and eliminate the gritty “gluten free” texture and taste. Although the “grittiness” can be mostly eliminated after 15 minutes of refrigeration, I find longer refrigeration times continue to improve the texture, taste and rise of gluten-free baked goods.
DON’T LET YOUR CAKE BE A CLING-ON.
This is a very moist coffeecake. Place 11 standard size cupcake papers in a muffin/cupcake tin. Spray the muffin papers to prevent the coffeecakes from sticking to the papers.
The chopped, green tomatoes should be patted dry before adding to the flour mix. Too much tomato water can cause the coffeecake to fail to rise properly.
Whisk together the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, almond flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, chopped candied orange peel, and orange zest in a medium bowl. This ensures that ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the flour. No one wants a coffeecake that has a huge rise on one side and is flat on the other side!
The chopped, patted dry, green tomatoes, candied orange peel, and orange zest are stirred into the flour mix. This reduces the likelihood that the green tomatoes and orange peel and zest will sink to the bottom of the coffeecake. The reason one should make a well in the flour mix is to ensures that the moisture is distributed evenly throughout the flour and that the flour on the bottom of the bowl becomes wet.
I’M EGGCITED ABOUT EGGS!
The eggs needs to be room temperature: Warm eggs hold more air than cold eggs, which means a lighter cake. Cold eggs, on the other hand, can result in a lumpy batter and heavy texture. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature before cracking, place eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 10 minutes.
Crack the eggs into a small bowl before adding to the batter. That way, it is easy to remove any bits of eggshell or bloody eggs. Whisk the eggs, olive oil, orange juice, 1/2 & 1/2, and honey together by hand or with a mixer until completely combined. Immediately pour the the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients so that the honey does not separate and sink to the bottom of the bowl. Use a spatula to gently combine the dry and wet ingredients.
MAINTAINING AN EVEN KEEL
I use a food scale to measure 2 ounces of batter into each cupcake cup. This increases the likelihood that ALL of the cupcakes will bake in the same time frame. If larger or smaller cupcakes are desired, adjust the baking time as needed.
LIGHTLY sprinkle sliced almonds and coarse sugar on top. Avoid clumping as that will cause a “dent” in the coffeecake as the heavy ingredients sink.
GET ‘ER DONE!
Coffeecakes are done when they are firm to the touch and a metal cake tester, when inserted into the middle of a coffeecake, slides out easily and is fairly dry. Metal cake testers, such as a metal kabob skewer, are more accurate than toothpicks. And yes, they do rise beautifully!
Why do recipes always say to remove the cake or quick bread from the baking pan after 10 minutes and place directly onto the cooling rack? This is to prevent the baked goods from sticking to the pan and the bottom of the baked goods from becoming damp from condensation as they cool. (Oh, and yeast breads typically need to be remove from the baking pan or baking sheet immediately after coming out of the oven for the same reason. No one wants wet bread!)
Don’t these look yummy? Even though it is hard to wait, let the coffeecakes sit for at least 2 hours before serving. The flavors will blend and improve greatly over time.
An incredibly moist gluten free coffeecake, made with green tomatoes, almonds, candied orange peel and orange zest, and olive oil. Although easy to make, the taste of this gluten free coffeecake is amazing! Core and chop green tomatoes into ¼” pieces. Place chopped tomatoes in a lint-free cloth and squeeze to remove excess moisture. Place 72 grams/ ½ cup of the prepared green tomatoes in a small bowl; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together My Gluten-Free Flour Mix, xanthan gum, almond flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, candied orange peel and orange zest. Stir in the chopped green tomatoes. Make a well in the center of the flour mix; set aside. In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer or a hand whisk to whisk the eggs until frothy. Add the extra virgin olive oil, orange juice, ½ & ½, and honey; whisk until completely combined. Immediately pour the liquid mixture into the well in the flour mixture. Gently fold together the wet and dry ingredients until no dry flour remains. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. When Ready to Bake: For the topping, in a small bowl, measure out the almonds; set aside. In another small bowl, measure out the sugar; set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 11 cupcake cups with cupcake papers. Spray the cupcake papers with a nonstick cooking spray or olive oil spray; set aside. Evenly spoon 2 ounces of batter into the 11 prepared cupcake cups. Sprinkle a few sliced almonds onto each muffin, then top with a light sprinkle of coarse sugar. Bake in the preheated 350-degree oven for 18-22 minutes, until a metal cake tester inserted in the middle of a coffeecake comes out clean. When done, remove the coffeecakes from the oven and place the tins onto a cooling rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, carefully remove the mini coffeecakes from the tin and place directly onto the cooling rack. Cool completely. Let coffeecakes sit for at least 4 hours before serving, to allow the flavors to blend. ENJOY!Gluten Free Green Tomato Mini Coffeecakes with Olive Oil and Orange
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Loading...Ingredients
Instructions
70 g./ 7 T. White Rice Flour
35 g./ 3 1/2 T. Brown Rice Flour
24 g./ 2 T. Potato Starch
15 g./ 2 T. Millet
11 g./ 1 1/2 T. Tapioca Flour
This equals 155 g. per 1 cup.
To make a large batch at once, I multiplied the above amounts by 8:
560 g./ 56 T. White Rice Flour
280 g./ 28 T. Brown Rice Flour
192 g./ 16 T. Potato Starch
120 g./ 16 T. Millet Flour
88 g./ 12 T. Tapioca
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