Grain-Free Maple Bacon Coffee Cake

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Grain-Free Maple Bacon Coffee Cake is a delicious gluten-free, dairy-free dessert that features a woody, smokey flavor. Pair it with a cup of coffee or tea. Or top it with a frozen vanilla treat tfor gradual melty goodness. For extra measure, we throw in bacon fat and vanilla because obviously. {Paleo-Friendly)

Spiriteds, we’ve been making this Grain-Free Maple Bacon Coffee Cake for years now. And all I can say is we love it, as in, like-like it. Maple + bacon = perfect for cool weather mornings, brunch time and lunch time, and all the times in between.

Grain-Free Maple Bacon Coffee Cake is also a little bit ridiculous. But only in the best way, what with crispy-crunchy bacon and a dollop of the pan fat for good measure. We really do want to have our cake and eat it, too. And we can with this handy, dandy grain-free dish.

Because grain-free baking is tricky sometimes, I’ve added notes below that may be helpful as you navigate your batch of maple-y goodness. And I’ve included tips and tricks for the recipe that may streamline your process, too. It’s tricky to find paleo bacon that doesn’t cost eleventy billion dollars. So, depending on your dietary needs, an alternative may be to select a bacon that is gluten-free, dairy-free, and low on added ingredients. I shared below, but I’ll share it here, too, local farmers who sell their wares in local grocery stores may just be the way to go. So shop around to see if someone local has a variety that will meet your needs.

Okay, so you do have a skillet, a 9×9 baking dish, and a love for maple and bacon? Because if you do, then you’re ready!

Grain-Free Maple Bacon Coffee Cake is

• Gluten-free and dairy-free
• Paleo-friendly
• Smokey and woody in flavor
• Perfect for breakfast or brunch

Side note: Use paleo-friendly bacon and all 100% pure maple syrup for the liquid sweetener portion of the recipe. You can also use 100% pure honey, if you’d like. But please keep it mind it may be very thick. So have a sturdy fork on hand for stirring the ingredients together.

Grain-Free Maple Bacon Coffee Cake ingredients

• Bacon. You can look for paleo-specific bacon, gluten-free bacon, or one that has few added ingredients. I often find local farmers whose products are in local grocery stores are excellent sources for this.
• Flour: Almond flour, coconut flour, and tapioca flour.
• Baking soda. This will react with the apple cider vinegar, allowing the cake to rise.
• Spices: Cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.
• Coconut oil. When melted it’s an excellent wet ingredient. As it cools, it solidifies and helps hold everything together.
• Liquid sweetener. We use 100% pure maple syrup and then add a small amount of agave nectar to soften the maple undertones. You can instead use all maple syrup for your 6 tablespoons.
• Vanilla. This ingredient brightens the maple flavor.
• Apple cider vinegar. It will react with the baking soda to help the cake rise.
• Almond milk. Or other dairy-free milk choice. The key here is to choose a dairy-free milk option that isn’t super-thick.
• Egg. One small-to-medium egg will do just fine.
• Bacon fat. This enhances the smoky, woody flavor and adds extra moisture to prevent the cake from baking dry.

How to make Grain-Free Maple Bacon Coffee Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 baking dish and line with parchment paper, if desired. Set aside.
2. Fry bacon in a shallow frying pan to a crispy consistency. Place fried bacon on a plate between two paper towels or napkins to absorb any excess grease. Break into crumbled pieces
3. While the bacon is frying, to a large bowl add the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Using a whisk or a fork, stir until combined. Then pour in the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk and egg and pour into the batter, stirring until evenly mixed. Next stir in the bacon fat from the pan.
5. Add approximately half of the crumbled bacon pieces to the batter. Use a large fork for this if the batter clumps in the whisk or the bacon pieces don’t distribute evenly.
6. Then transfer the mixture to the greased 9×9 baking dish and sprinkle the remaining bacon pieces on top as the “streusel.” If desired, sprinkle with chopped pecans or coarse sugar granules.
7. Bake covered with foil for 15 minutes, rotating one time halfway through. Remove the foil and bake another 13-15 minutes. The coffee cake is done once a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. The coffee cake will be soft when it first comes out of the oven. Let the cake cool about 10 minutes before serving to allow the coconut oil to set. For best results consume within 24 hours.

Recipe tips and tricks

• Grease the sides of the dish well. As the cake bakes, the sides will brown. To keep them from burning and sticking to the sides of the dish, it’s important to grease the dish with coconut oil.
• Line the baking dish with parchment paper to easily remove the cake from the pan. Leave enough excess paper on the ends to get a good “grip” on the paper when you lift the cake. And place the parchment paper opposite of the baking dishes handles (See photos in this blog post). Even with the parchment paper, it’s still important to let the cake cool and for the coconut oil to solidify enough the cake doesn’t collapse when lifted.
• For fatty pieces of bacon, press them into the pan and let the bacon grease flow over them. This makes them crispier and easier to crumble. If there are fatty, stringy pieces that refuse to firm up, then leave them out and enjoy them separately.
• Add chopped nuts, granulated sweetener, or other toppings. I included pecans this time and a sprinkling of coarse raw granulated sugar.
• Rotate at least once during the bake time. Twice, if you remember. One time while the cake is covered with foil and again when the foil is removed.

Baking tips

Learning how to grain-free bake is like learning another language. And whether it’s grain-free savory baking or grain-free sweet baking doesn’t matter. It’s a whole new language either way. But it can be learned. And here’s what I know, several years in to this process.

Use a mixture of different grain-free flours. Some, like almond flour, are moist. This prevents baked goods from turning dry. And they add bulk without an overpowering flavor. Others, like coconut flour, are dry. So they keep baked goods from being too soft. Coconut flour DOES have a noticeable flavor, but in small quantities it’s pretty difficult to discern. Because gluten is often the binding agent in cooking and baking, we need to add our own binding agent(s) when we grain-free bake. Egg is a good binding agent. But so, too, is tapioca flour. As it heats, it changes consistency and becomes the literal and figurative glue that holds everything together. No, tapioca flour isn’t an actual glue like school glue. But it does do a fabulous job of holding everything together. And combined with the egg, it’s less likely your grain-free cake will crumble at first bite. 

The balance of dry and wet ingredients is also important because the variances across grain-free baking ingredients is pronounced. More so, I think, than in traditional baking. There just isn’t the same leeway. So using a neutral-flavored dairy alternative like almond milk is excellent. It isn’t too thick, the flavor is neutral, it’s grain-free, and it stirs well.

More grain-free baked goods and desserts

If grain-free baking is your jam, your necessity, or both, then your tastebuds will enjoy these sweet treats!

• Grain-Free Cinnamon Scones
• Paleo Zucchini Muffins
• Cinnamon Swirl Muffins
• Paleo Zucchini Bread

Spiriteds, stay well and stay wild. Jump into the fun whenever you can, and always remember I’m glad you’re here! ❤️

Grain-Free Maple Bacon Coffee Cake

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Grain-Free Maple Bacon Coffee Cake is a delicious gluten-free, dairy-free dessert that features a woody, smokey flavor. Pair it with a cup of coffee or tea. Or top it with a frozen vanilla treat tfor gradual melty goodness. For extra measure, we throw in bacon fat and vanilla because obviously. {Paleo-Friendly)

• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 12 square slices 1x
• Category: Baked Goods
• Method: Baking
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Dry ingredients:

• 1 pound bacon, crispy-fried and crumbled, divided
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Wet ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 egg
• 2–4 tablespoons bacon fat, still in liquid form

Optional toppings:

• Chopped nuts
• Coconut sugar

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 baking dish and line with parchment paper, if desired. Set aside.
2. Fry bacon in a shallow frying pan to a crispy consistency. Place fried bacon on a plate between two paper towels or napkins to absorb any excess grease. Break into crumbled pieces
3. While the bacon is frying, to a large bowl add the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Using a whisk or a fork, stir until combined. Then pour in the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk and egg and pour into the batter, stirring until evenly mixed. Next stir in the bacon fat from the pan.
5. Add approximately half of the crumbled bacon pieces to the batter. Use a large fork for this if the batter clumps in the whisk or the bacon pieces don’t distribute evenly.
6. Then transfer the mixture to the greased 9×9 baking dish and sprinkle the remaining bacon pieces on top as the “streusel.” If desired, sprinkle with chopped pecans or coarse sugar granules.
7. Bake covered with foil for 15 minutes, rotating one time halfway through. Remove the foil and bake another 13-15 minutes. The coffee cake is done once a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. The coffee cake will be soft when it first comes out of the oven. Let the cake cool about 10 minutes before serving to allow the coconut oil to set. For best results consume within 24 hours.

Notes

• Grease the sides of the dish well. As the cake bakes, the sides will brown. To keep them from burning and sticking to the sides of the dish, it’s important to grease the dish with coconut oil.
• Line the baking dish with parchment paper to easily remove the cake from the pan. Leave enough excess paper on the ends to get a good “grip” on the paper when you lift the cake. And place the parchment paper opposite of the baking dishes handles (See photos in this blog post). Even with the parchment paper, it’s still important to let the cake cool and for the coconut oil to solidify enough the cake doesn’t collapse when lifted.
• For fatty pieces of bacon, press them into the pan and let the bacon grease flow over them. This makes them crispier and easier to crumble. If there are fatty, stringy pieces that refuse to firm up, then leave them out and enjoy them separately.
• Add chopped nuts, granulated sweetener, or other toppings. I included pecans this time and a sprinkling of coarse raw granulated sugar.
• Rotate at least once during the bake time. Twice, if you remember. One time while the cake is covered with foil and again when the foil is removed.

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