This is a variation on my favorite muffin/coffee cake recipe. The main changes are the addition of cocoa powder and increasing the sugar. It is wheat free but does contain dairy and eggs. I am eating seconds of it still warm as I write this post.
I haven’t been posting much lately, but this is just too good not to share.
Put two tablespoons of butter into your baking pan (I used an 8 inch pyrex pie plate) and put it in the oven to melt while assembling the dry ingredients in a medium bowl:
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon powdered cocoa (I used extra dark)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon flax seed meal
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sweetened coconut flakes
Mix these together. If your cocoa powder is lumpy, sift it with the buckwheat flour and soda before you add it.
In a separate bowl, beat together:
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
the two tablespoons melted butter
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix thoroughly. (Note: if you are substituting wheat flour, try to combine the ingredients with just a few strokes.)
Pour the batter into the pan which is coated with melted butter, then sprinkle additional coconut on top.
Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes.
Notes:
Someone recently asked me how I can eat buckwheat while avoiding wheat in my diet. The answer is that buckwheat flour is ground from the seeds of a flowering plant which is not one of the usual grains which are members of the grass family. You may also know it as kasha.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckwheat
You can usually get buckwheat flour at health food stores or in the speciality section of larger grocery stores, but it is most economical is to look for local sources in the fall. Buckwheat is a major crop in Pennsylvania and dark buckwheat honey is also a popular local item. Last year I got a 5 lb. bag from Zanella Milling Co., West Sunbury PA 16016 (Butler County PA) for $5.49 at the Foodland store in West Kittanning PA. That is about half what you might expect to pay as a specialty item from a national mill.
Be sure to look for pure buckwheat flour, not the mixes for pancakes which may contain wheat flour and/or leavening agents.
