Welcome to my brand new food blog, My Coffee Cravings! My name is Rachel, and I’m a 24 year-old graduate student living and working in Washington, DC. I wasn’t always a coffee lover, and resisted becoming “one of them” for a very long time. This resistance lasted right up until I was 22, when I started my first full-time job working for the State Department. Those early morning hours became increasingly difficult to manage without some kind of caffeine boost, and the free coffee my office provided became more and more enticing. As you can probably guess, I succumbed to the coffee that I had resisted for so long.

While my coffee consumption is not nearly as large as it might seem (I drink one, or maybe two cups in a day), it was the inspiration for the title of this blog. I find comfort in drinking coffee, and in my book, there is no better feeling than sitting down to enjoy a steaming hot, giant mug of the stuff. As you might guess, the recipes you’ll find here will contain so much more than coffee (although many of them pair well with it)! My only hope is that you get that comforting feeling from my creations, and take the time to enjoy each and every meal you prepare.

In keeping with the name of my blog, I figured I had to get you started with a coffee-related recipe. So without further ado, a banana crumb coffee cake!

Banana Crumb Coffee Cake – serves 12

Topping

  • 1 cup raw walnuts
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Pulse walnuts in food processor until just broken apart (or chop by hand into small pieces).
  3. Stir in coconut oil, agave, and vanilla extract by hand. Set aside.

Cake

  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 medium bananas
  • 1/4 cup raw honey
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp walnut oil (coconut oil could also work here)
  1. Combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside.
  2. In your food processor, pulse bananas for about 30 seconds until broken apart.
  3. Add honey, eggs, vanilla extract, and walnut oil to food processor and mix until completely combined.
  4. Add wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and stir.
  5. Place cake mixture in an 8×8 greased pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes.**
  6. After 15-20 minutes, remove cake from oven and sprinkle topping over cake.
  7. Sprinkle cinnamon over cake (optional).
  8. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  9. Enjoy!!

**Keep in mind that I have a gas oven that tends to take longer to bake things than most ovens. Be sure to keep an eye on your baked goods, and always choose the lower end of the recommended baking time, extending time in the oven as necessary!