Another choice for breakfast

For someone like me who is addicted to recipes, the world of food blogging is a dangerous place. Every search brings up a new site (or a bookmarked favourite) and a new recipe, usually accompanied by drool-inducing photos. I print off the recipe and add it to my alreading bulging file, wondering when I'll ever get the time to try out all these dishes.

The other fun part about food blogging is discovering kindred spirits, people with a similar philosophy and outlook on food. It's also interesting to see inspiration strike different writers at the same time. I recently featured an energising breakfast loaf, studded with craisins and dried apricots. At the same time, Cindy from Where's the Beef wrote about a chai coconut breakfast cake. It looked delicious, so I had to give it a go. A quick search of the pantry revealed all the chai tea bags were gone, so it was off to T2 to buy some of their divine looseleaf tea. I also only had shredded coconut and a tub of apple and pear puree, so I adjusted the recipe accordingly. The breakfast cake is lovely and dense, with a whiff of gingerbread and the sweet spiciness of chai. I found it too sweet for breakfast but it makes a perfect mid-morning snack.

Coconut chai breakfast cake

Thanks to Cindy from Where's the Beef for this recipe

2 chai tea bags (or use 2-3 teaspoons looseleaf chai)
1/3 cup rolled oats, blended lightly in a food processor
1 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup apple puree
1 tablespoon vinegar
almond essence (Cindy advises to skip this. I added a few drops but couldn't really taste it)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dessicated (or shredded) coconut, with 2 tablespoons reserved

Brew the chai teabags in 1 cup of hot water, and let the water cool. (If you use looseleaf tea, you'll need to strain once the water cools).

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a small to medium cake tin (or line with non-stick baking paper).

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the blended oats, flours, bicarb soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and sugar. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the reserved coconut. Mix well and pour into the cake tin. Sprinkle with the remaining coconut and bake until a skewer comes out clean. The original recipe specifies baking for 25 minutes. Cindy's took 30-35 minutes and mine took about 45 minutes, so it depends on your oven!