Happy Recipe Box

Honey Sweetened Almond Flour Gingerbread

by

glass pan of gingerbread
Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you click on these links or use them to make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. These links help me offer this site. I recommend only products I have used and liked.

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Gingerbread smells like Christmas. It is wonderful any time of year, though. While on the GAPS diet, it can be a little more challenging to make gingerbread, but here is a GAPS dessert with a bit of nostalgic taste. Even if you aren’t on GAPS, if you are gluten free, grain free, or cutting back on sugar, Honey Sweetened Almond Flour Gingerbread is a good option.

This recipe is a bit different not only in using honey as the only sweetener, but also in soaking the almond flour in a bit of kefir or yogurt first. I have made this recipe without doing that, and it was just fine. However, I like to try to keep our baked treats as easy as possible on our digestive systems. The simple step of soaking first does require planning, but very little effort otherwise.

Additionally, my son was extremely allergic to almond all his life until about 6 months into GAPS, when his allergist did routine tests and found we could add almonds and other foods into his diet. He ate a whole bunch of almonds on the drive home after the food challenge! However, we have found he doesn’t always feel the best after almond flour goodies, and it seems better when they are soaked in kefir first. Eggs are also a post-GAPS food for him, so this gingerbread is primarily made out of foods he could not eat until recently!

I like this gingerbread warm from the oven. It does not really need anything else. However, it can also be lovely to add something special, like a lemon sauce, lemon curd, ice cream, or whipped cream. I haven’t tried it with chocolate. When I was in Germany at Christmas time, the gingerbread had chocolate on the outside. It was good, but I still don’t really gravitate toward that combination. If you do, though, why not?

Health disclaimer The Site offers health and nutritional information and is designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Click here for more information.

How to Make It

A day or two before you plan to bake, stir the almond flour and kefir together. Cover and leave on the counter to ferment a bit. It may look rather dry or crusty white when you are ready to mix everything else in. In fact, it always does look that way, so don’t worry about it.

Here is my mixture after 2 days, looking crumbly.

Mix everything else in at once. If you aren’t doing GAPS, it is great to do half honey and half molasses.

I measure my honey lazily. Press a 1/4 C measure mostly into the flour, then fill the indentation. Each indentation has about 3 tablespoons, so I need 2 indentations to make 1/3 cup of honey. No spatula needed.

Spread into a greased pan and bake about 25 minutes. I used my 6×10″ pan, but an 8″ square pan would probably do nicely.

Honey Sweetened Almond Flour Gingerbread

Rachel S
Gingerbread can be gluten free, grain free, and refined sugar free! Have your cake and eat it, too, with all the warm and cozy spices that make gingerbread such a holiday favorite. Now also a GAPS dessert!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 2 days 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 2 C almond flour (not almond meal) (not almond meal)
  • 1/2 C kefir or plain yogurt
  • 1/3 C honey (can do half honey and half molasses)
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs

Instructions
 

  • A day or two before you plan to bake the gingerbread, measure out the almond flour and kefir or yogurt into a bowl. Mix together and cover, leaving at room temperature to ferment. ((This is not a necessary step, but it will make your gingerbread a bit easier to digest.)
  • When you are ready to bake, turn your oven to 350°F. Measure and stir in the rest of the ingredients until the batter is smooth.
  • Pour into a greased pan and bake 25 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden and a toothpick poked into the cake emerges clean or with just a crumb or two on it.
  • Cool a bit before cutting and serving.
Keyword gluten free, low sugar dessert, GAPS dessert

Make Honey Sweetened Almond Flour Gingerbread Your Way

  • The honey in this recipe is essential for GAPSters, as molasses and other sugars are not part of GAPS. However, if you are not following GAPS, and you do fine with molasses, I would suggest using half honey and half molasses. I much prefer it that way. Using molasses alone isn’t quite sweet enough and the molasses flavor might be a bit much. Honey alone is missing a part of the gingerbread flavor, but it is still delicious and much better than missing out entirely on gingerbread while on GAPS!
  • Of course you can increase or decrease the spices to your taste.
  • The one time I tried this without presoaking the almond flour, it turned out just fine. I like to soak it first to make it easier on our tummies, even while we aren’t doing GAPS. It is a very simple step that takes me very little time or effort, but does require advance planning.
  • I have tried this with yogurt in place of kefir, and that was fine. I have not tried nondairy kefir or yogurt. I think they would work, though. Please let me know how it goes if you try that!
  • While gingerbread tastes lovely all by itself, it is also great with a little lemon sauce or lemon curd, whipped cream, or how about both?!

What do you like atop your gingerbread– something lemony, something creamy, or chocolate?