After a week of staying home and practicing social distancing, I realized that every day had consisted of consuming endless amounts of snacks and a futile attempt to compensate by walking a whopping 500 steps. At some point it occurred to me that I should make the most out of this unfortunate situation and find ways to efficiently utilize the extra time I have now.
One of the ways I decided to use my time was to bake. Most of the latter part of spring break was spent scrolling through countless recipes on Instagram. To make up for my previous snack habits, I found myself archiving only healthy recipes. I wanted to bake a dessert that did not contain unnecessary amounts of sugar but would still satisfy my sweet cravings.
After carefully deliberating what recipe to try first, I chose to bake certified holistic health coach and Instagram influencer Emily Ryu’s cinnamon toast cereal bread — the sweetest alternative to cinnamon rolls. Ryu’s cinnamon toast cereal bread consists of an almond flour-based batter with layers of a simple syrup, made and sweetened with just honey and cinnamon. This heavenly combination makes for a dessert option perfect for those who are looking to lessen their sugar intake.
Fortunately, I had all of the necessary ingredients at home. However, for those who don’t and would prefer to avoid grocery shops during this pandemic, I would recommend online grocery delivery services. Regardless of the method you choose to get your ingredients, remember to be cautious, try to abide by the recommended social distance guidelines and take the time to thoroughly wipe your groceries.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 28-30 minutes
Yields: One loaf
Ingredients:
Batter:
2 large eggs
2 ¼ cups blanched almond flour
⅓ cup avocado oil
¼ cup raw honey
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon pink salt
Honey and Cinnamon Drizzle:
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ cup raw honey
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray non-stick cooking spray evenly in a 5” x 9” loaf pan. Note — if you do not have non-stick cooking spray, you can substitute it for avocado oil or any cooking oil you have at home. Evenly spread the oil with a paper towel. If you do not own a loaf pan, you can substitute it for a 8-inch square cake pan, a 9-inch round cake pan or a 1 ½ quart casserole dish. Using any of these substitutions may alter your baking time only by a small amount — in this case, make sure to check the bread every five minutes, starting from the 20 minute mark.
2. In a big bowl, mix all of the batter ingredients together until everything is well-combined. These ingredients alone will eventually become your almond flour-based bread batter.
3. In a smaller bowl, thoroughly whisk the raw honey and cinnamon together to make the drizzle.
4. In your pan or dish, evenly spread half of the batter. Then drizzle half of the honey-cinnamon mixture on top and lightly spread until the batter underneath is completely covered.
5. Evenly spread the remaining half of the batter on top and cover with the remaining half of the honey-cinnamon mixture.
6. Place the bread-to-be into the oven for 30 minutes. Keep careful watch, though — depending on the strength of your oven, 28 minutes might be enough time.
If done correctly, the consistency of the batter should be thick and moist — furthermore, the honey and cinnamon concoction should be thin and resemble a thicker, syrup-like texture. If baked correctly, the bread should be light and airy and the honey and cinnamon mixture should have melted into the bread so there is a subtle sweet flavor in every bite.
If you can’t find some of these ingredients or if you need to make some dietary adjustments, there are some substitutes that can be made to this flexible recipe. The eggs can be switched out for flax eggs and raw honey for maple syrup, regular honey or agave. To make this recipe completely sugarless, you can also substitute the honey with stevia syrup.
Also, Ryu does not recommend using all-purpose flour because it will give your bread a drier consistency — however, you can make your own almond flour by pulsing or blending blanched almonds until you get a fine, grainy-like consistency. To do so, soak your almonds for 60 seconds in hot water before promptly removing. Then pulse the almonds until they resemble almond flour.
In the midst of practicing social distancing and completing online classes, I would highly recommend baking this dessert to not only take a break, but to help satisfy your taste buds. This dessert is healthy, easy and delectable — not to mention it will fill your house with a harmonious aroma of cinnamon and comfort.
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