Archive for the ‘baked goods’ Category

Flourless chocolate torte (sugar free)

Monday, September 7th, 2009

choctorteYay chocolate! For better or worse, this was the month of the chocolate cake, and this chocolate torte was quite stunning and super easy. The recipe is adapted from Carol Fenster to be chocolat-ier and sugar free. Agave nectar and flourless tortes are often mutually exclusive, but this was a winner! Next time I may try with a different nut.


I stumbled by Amy’s blog and Slightly slightly_indulgent3Indulgent Mondays event and this seemed like a good fit, and a good excuse for me to post another recipe! It’s indulgent because, hey, it’s a chocolate cake. But with the sources of fat from olive oil, pecans and eggs, it’s much kinder on your body say, the standard cake with butter and loads of sugar. It’s dairy free and low glycemic. And, like all of my recipes, the ingredients are wholesome, healthy gluten free foods, just with a rockin’ taste. And now no sugar. Life is good.

Also, of course, check out the other fun recipes entered, too!

2 cups of pecans
5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup olive oil
1 TBSP mesquite + the rest of a 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 tsp stevia powder
pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla extract


Grease a 9 inch springform, line with parchment and dust the sides with cocoa powder. Grind pecans into pecan meal in a food processor, add in cocoa, agave, stevia, salt, vanilla, oiland yolks and grind a minute more. Whip whites to stiff peaks, and gently fold the pecan mixture into the whites

Pour batter into the pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until the top starts to brown. Allow to cool a good 10 minutes before unmolding from the springform. You can frost or not, depending on your mood. I made a simple macadamia cream/cocoa ganache and sprinkled raw cacao on top.

Dobos Torta Cake–Daring bakers

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

erikscakeI was delighted when I discovered the August Daring Baker challenge!

The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Perfect timing for me, because my husband’s birthday is in August, and the boy was deserving of a big gorgeous cake, don’t ya think? So the elements of the dobos were a sponge cake, frosting, and the caramel topping.
sponge
Of course, some things never change, and a gluten free cake was a must. I used the Better Batter sponge cake recipe, which worked beautifully. It was a little dense, but largely bakers’ error–I didn’t sift the flour into the mix, and as soon as I did it, it was obvious how important it was. But the cake was excellent and kept well.

For the frosting, I made a luscious, chocolate hazelnut vegan sugar free frosting based in (don’t tell!) navy beans. I do have rough ideas, but often am not good enough about writing down what I do when I’m adding in things madly and my hands (and mouth, to be honest) are covered in chocolate. I’ve made it 3 times, and it’s always worked well enough to spread and be super yummy, but if it’s thick enough, it can be whipped and pipes beautifully. I need to figure out the proportions, but the main ingredients are cocoa, navy beans, hazelnut butter, agave and some mesquite and cinnamon. Good stuff! and if you want more details (from the notes I have) drop me a line, but I’m not sure it’s accurate

You may notice the lack of caramel topping. Actually, it’s hiding. I burnt myself on the first one, and the second one didn’t seem to really harden well. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I did sprinkle the crumbs on top, and DH felt that it was his obligation to eat the remaining sugary pieces…so it was all good.
cakeslice
All in all, what a fun cake! I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. It kept beautifully for a few days and I got such a kick out of making a normal looking traditional birthday cake. To see the artistic and creative stylings of other DB’ers, please check out the blogroll.

Orange Milan Cookies

Monday, July 27th, 2009

orangemilanoLet’s just start by saying that I grew up a few blocks away from a Pepperidge Farm outlet store. You know, the places where cookies go when they’re put out to pasture…maybe a few days before the expiration date, maybe cookies that didn’t make the cut, you get the general idea. As I grew up in a–let’s say–thrifty family (and I definitely have the thrifty gene myself!!!) I came to intimately know and love their cookies. I don’t think I could say what my favorite was–the Geneva? Brussels? Bordeaux? Seriously, why choose.

milanocookieBut needless to daydb I was overly jazzed when I discovered that Orange Milan Cookies were this month’s DB challenge.
The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

plate of milanosSince I couldn’t eat them anyway, I opted to just make them GF. I used Better Batter flour and subbed 1:1. It worked perfectly. The milan cookies were very delicate at first so I added a tablespoon more flour, which in retrospect was silly. Despite my better judgment, I did also use 1.5 Tablespoons of lemon extract, and honestly, I still think that was too much. I’d have to eliminate it all together to make the holy grail of cookies, Mint Milan cookies.

These were a lot of fun and I’d definitely make them again. To see all the other versions of Milan cookies (and the faux mallomars, too) please see the other Daring Bakers pages!

Chickpea Crackers

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

chickcrackesr

These crackers are a staple that I make just about weekly. They’re easy, versatile, yummy, healthy, and lend carb-y goodness that seriously needed on my grain free diet. I do constantly tweak them just a bit and play with different flavors, and you can add whatever spices suite your fancy. So give them a whirl! You’ll enjoy them.

Preheat oven to 325.

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed well and put in a strainer to drain
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons ground flax seed
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning dried herbs (blend de jour of oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, etc.)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Italian seasoning dried herbs
coarse sea salt

Shake as much water you can from the garbanzos and let them blot with a towel. Pulse in a food processor. Add rest of ingredients through black pepper and blend well. Add oil, and the dough should come together into a ball. If not, add a little more until it does.

rawcrackers

Cover with saran wrap for ease and roll out thinly on to 2 silpat mats or parchment paper (not as thin as you possibly can, but close). Use a pizza cutter to cut the crackers into sizes of your choice, and sprinkle with seasoning and salt. For prettier crackers, prick with a fork. Bake in preheated oven until slightly browning (around 30-40 min), watch them after 20 min or so.

You do have to turn the sheets periodically, and rotate the crackers when you’re able for the best results. The outside crackers brown much quicker–those usually just go directly to my mouth.

Yum-e-baby shower

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Sea, of Book of Yum, and her DH expecting a beautiful baby boy. Since it’s quite a trek to CA, a virtual baby shower seems a wee bit more practical. And oh, the dishes everyone is bringing!

gfgobsmackedkoreanpancakesKate of GF Gobsmacked has had a lot of practice welcoming a new one as of late! If you need a smile, check out her blog for pictures of her little sweetheart. She is bringing along her Korean Mung Bean Pancakes. They’re even kid approved, although Sea will have to wait a while until her sweetie is big enough!

appetizersall3Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs is bringing along a variety of appetizers: almond feta cheese and Raw carrot and sunflower seed pate. Not only do they look amazing, but they’re even vegan, and the cheese is soy free, too.

Jenn, of Gluten Free Food Storage is bringing along Lentil Tacos! I don’t have a picture for this one, but it looks like a simple and tasty recipe, perfect for when you’ve got a new baby.

quinoacakeWendy of Celiacs in the House is making sure we get our fill of protein with quinoa cakes. She knows Sea well enough to know that she’ll surely whip up one of her fabulous sauces to go along with it.

garlic-asparagus-quinoaEmily was eager to recreate a quinoa recipe she had in San Diego, and she brings us her Garlic Asparagus Quinoa, which is perfect for Springtime.

choc-orangeCould I really be the only one who brings along dessert? Well, Chocolate Strawberry (or chocolate orange) mini cakes all around!

divHeather of Celiac Family is bringing Raspberry Divinity Tarts that look totally delish. AND her rubber ducky meringues cookies are just beyond cute in my book. Heather, you get points for being super artistic and creative!!!

pumpkin

Angela of Angela’s kitchen sent in a great post for Hanana Banana Bread or mini muffins and even a pumpkin version of the same.  The banana bread was from her baby was little, and she’s got such cute flower shaped versions on her blog header!

Here’s to Sea and new beginnings! Much love as you start out on this exciting new chapter of life.

If by chance I have missed your submission, please send me an email and let me know.

Chocolate Strawberry Cakes for Sea

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

choc-orange

One of the funny things about hosting a blog event is that you actually have to make sure you get around to posting on time.  So here I am, squeaking in under the wire for my post for Sea’s Yum-e-baby shower.  If you haven’t yet, please do get your post up and send me a picture and link by June 8th!

Sea has been such a big inspiration and driving force behind the gluten free blogging community, and no doubt her newest edition will lead to new yummy baby foods along the next few years.  All the best to Sea, her sweetie, her family, and of course, her cats, who are no doubt looking forward to their new sibling.

Way before the days of gluten free-ness, I was a fan of Nigella Lawson’s decadent desserts.  One of my favorites was her chocolate orange pantry cake because it was so quick and easy.   When I first went gluten (and dairy and egg) free, I tried adapting the recipe.  It was very yummy, but strawchocolatealways sank.   So I pretty much forgot all about the recipe for years, until it popped back into my head a month or so ago. Very few of the original ingredients remain, but the taste is along the same lines. Very chocolate, very dense, very fruity, very moist.

Well, I’ve been playing away to make it gluten/dairy/soy/sugar and grain free, and it’s finally (finally!) met the approval of my very discerning taste testers.  (Houdini, who is pictured behind the cakes was a supervisor, but NOT a taste tester) Also, as an added bonus, I’ve been making it the day before, covering with foil and frosting it the day of, and it works quite well. I will eventually try it without the egg, too, but I’m  sure  it’s  do-able.  If anyone tries it, drop me a line!

2 eggs, well beaten

1/3 cup agave
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp stevia
1 1/2 cup all fruit jam or marmalade (orange, strawberry and raspberry work beautifully)
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a separate bowl, briefly mix:
2/3 cup garbanzo bean flour (besan)
3 Tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder

4 oz melted unsweetened baking chocolate

Frosting:
3.5 oz baker’s (unsweetened) chocolate, melted
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 tsp stevia
1/4 cup agave nectar
splash vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325, line springform pans with little parchment circles and grease the sides.  You can use one 8 inch pan and 2-4 inch or 6-4 inch.

Beat eggs well, add in other wet ingredients, then add in dry. Melt chocolate (microwave works perfectly–1.5 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds) and add into the mix.

Pour batter into greased springform pans. I use 1-8 inch and 2-4 inch springforms for this recipe. Bake until cakes come away from the sides and the top looks dark, about 35 minutes for the mini cakes and 50 for the bigger one.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes, then frost tops.

For frosting, melt chocolate, add stevia and gradually add in agave and coconut milk until the consistency is perfect. Use right away and it hardens as it cools.

Apple Strudel

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

appstrudI love the fact that every month, I have to stretch a little bit outside my comfort zone, get a little daring and bake up a storm!

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Well, given my gluten free-ness, that particular strudel was off the table for experimentation.  So as I hunted around, I found that Carol Fenster’s 1000 GF recipes had a recipe for GF strudel.  And just a plug, if you’re GF, buy it.  It’s the Joy of Cooking of glutenfreeland.  You can get a recipe for pretty much anything, whiccut-appleh is a fabulous jumping off point for subsequent recipe tweaking.

As I was reading the directions, she says how a strudel is pretty much apple filling in pie crust.  I’ve had GF pie crust kicking around in the fridge forever, and so I opted to make the filling and sandwich it in the pie crust.

Yum!  My guinea pigs were quite jazzed.  I rolled the bottom a little thickly, but otherwise, it worked well.  If I’d taken more time, it would have been prettier, but there are some days I go for pretty and tasty.  Some days, pretty tasty will have to do.db

I did (and do) intend to make a Cheryl friendly apple concoction sometime in the near future because the smell of this was quite heavenly!  We shall see how that goes, and I’ll post on it if it turns out well.

Please do check out the beautiful offerings around the Daring Baker empire...and stay tuned for next month’s fun!

Harvest apple crisp

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to share one my Apple Crisp recipe. It’s always been one of my favorite things to make because they’re so quick, easy and yummy. Crisps are a holiday tradition in my family. It’s very easy to make them gluten free, but I also wanted to make one that was sugar free, because I (and many people I work with!!) feel better when avoiding sugar. It took a few tries to come up with a recipe I’m delighted with.

When I can find them, I love the extra dimension quince adds to the flavor. This peculiar looking fruit is a real treat. The smell is heavenly. I often leave one for a day or two in my car! They are a pain to cut and peel, but the flavor is lovely when cooked slowly. They take a longer time to cook than apples, but if they’re shredded, they cook down easily. If you have a Latino market nearby, these babies are known as “membrillo”

4 apples, pears or a combination, peeled and thinly sliced
1 quince, finely shredded (or 5 apples)
½ cup cranberries
½ cup dried cherries, raisins or cranberries)
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1.5 tablespoons of cornstarch or arrowroot starch

1 ¼ cups almond meal or almond flour, OR 1 ¼ C sorghum flour (increase oil to ½ cup)
¼ cup quinoa flakes or oats
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cloves (or replace the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves with1 tsp apple pie spice)
½ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
finely grated zest of an orange (optional)
¼ cup agave nectar
1/3 cup oil

Peel and slice apples thinly, and mix with cranberries, dried fruit, and agave. Mix spices and flour in a separate bowl, then combine with the apples. Pour into a greased 8X8 pan.

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly, then add in wet ingredients until the texture is crumbly. Scatter the topping over the fruit mixture. Put in the oven at 325 and bake for 30 minutes. Cover with foil and bake until the juices get all bubbly (generally, 40 minutes total).

Serve and enjoy!

As an added bonus, both the apple mixture and the topping can be made a day or two ahead and stored in sealed containers in the refrigerator.

If you are on a no amylose diet, use cornstarch, almond meal or flour, and quinoa flakes.

This seasonal treat is my submission to Weekend Herb Blogging, as originated by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen, though Haalo of Cook (almost) Everything at least once is our new WHB master. Siri of Siri’s Corner is this week’s fabulous host. Check out her site for a great range of global recipes!

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

Pear Skillet Bread

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Sometimes I get something in my head and I’m not letting it go until I get what I want! This recipe is a perfect example. I love my Nana Skillet Bread, but bananas don’t agree with me…and I can’t have grains. But I believed I could make it work with pears and was absolutely determined! Darn thing wasn’t going to get the best of me. Most of the “failed” batches were delicious, but they were a pile of crumbs, so I was always “forced” to eat them. Quite a hardship! I generally make things in season, and started working on this at the beginning of pear season, and didn’t figure out how to make it work until a week ago. I have a stash of frozen pears, and methinks this is where they’re headed.

It’s not quite a bread, and not quite a cake. It’s perfect for breakfast, brunch or a snack, and it’s quite healthy, too! If you don’t have a skillet, you can do it in an 9 inch round, but the crust won’t brown as nicely. Lining the skillet with parchment is essential if you’re using a skillet, or it will totally get stuck. Salba or chia is a must, and flax won’t work. You’ll get a pile of crumbs. Tasty crumbs. Trust me. For more info on Salba, I have a two articles here. If you don’t have mesquite, add more almond flour instead, and add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and more spices.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
¼ cup mesquite flour
1Tablespoons +1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch of salt

Wet:
1 1/4 cups very ripe pears
1 tablespoon ground chia (Salba) seeds
2/3 cup agave (a little less)
3T oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon maple extract
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Line the bottom of a 10 inch cast iron skillet with parchment paper, then grease the paper and sides of the pan. Preheat oven to 350 and put skillet in the hot oven 10 minutes before adding the batter.

Thoroughly mix dry ingredients together. Dump wet ingredients in a blender. Let it roll until well blended. In my vitamix, that takes less than a minute. I would assume an ordinary blender would take a few minutes. Add wet to dry mix until well everything is combined, then stir in the nuts.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until top turns a beautiful golden brown. Almond flour browns a lot so don’t be surprised if it’s darker than you expect. Cool on a drying rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Top with sauteed apples if desired.

Yum.

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

Pumpkin Carving Party

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

We host one big party the Saturday before Halloween. The deal is that DH is fine if it’s GF–as long as no one can tell. Or, in other words, as long as the food is delish! I spend countless hours planning and fussing away in the kitchen, and somehow it all works out in the end. Most importantly, everyone has a great time. Pictures from past year’s parties are here, and here are the 2008 pumpkins.

The menu:
Hot mulled cider At the last minute I decided to make the cider (I was tired!) but I’m glad I did! One of our guests was saying that it isn’t really fall until they have our cider.

Turkey chili: featuring fabulous peppers and tomatoes from my garden

Pumpkin Cornbread: Karina’s recipe, made to be sugar free and spicier, just with pumpkin instead of sweet potato to match the season.

Pumpkin seed pave: I’ve been meaning to try a recipe from Apple Pie, Patis, Pâté for a while, and I’m glad I did! Somehow with all of the food, it flew under the radar. On the other hand, that meant MORE FOR ME! I thought it was absolutely awesome. I added some cocoa powder on the top, but aside from that I followed the recipe.

Chocolate raspberry tart:
Vegan, grain free, sugar free, absolutely heavenly. I used frozen raspberries from my own canes. This was my absolute favorite. I haven’t shared the recipe because I think it’s only possible with a Vitamix, and I know that those are hard to come by! Of course, nothing says “classy dessert” quite like a green bat plate


Apple crisp:

Grain free and recipe coming soon!

Pumpkin seed brittle What can I say, this was a hit. I brought some of the leftovers into my office, and someone there asked if there was any sugar in it. He assumed, given than 99% of the time I’m sugar free, that somehow I figured out how to make brittle without sugar. No such luck! BTW, this is awesome with pistachios, cashews or peanuts, too.


Ginger Lemon Girl’s recipe was a ginormous hit. Make them. Period.

Angel food cake: this was my only disappointment. I used the recipe from Carol Fenster’s new book. The recipe calls for 1 cup of eggs, or 14. The problem is, 1 cup is 7 eggs. Either way, it wasn’t very good.

Rugalach: Not all of them were pretty, but taste trumps looks. They were DH’s fave. I made them using my old recipe, but using Better Batter. I filled some with Nutella and hazelnuts and made others more traditionally. They smelled heavenly!

Chocolate Hazelnut balls:
These are one of my long standing traditions. They’re vegan, luscious, and keep well. Every time I make them differently, and quite honestly, I forgot to write down the recipe (again!)

Everyone had a great time, and the food was wonderful, if I do say so myself. And since everything was GF I didn’t have to fuss about crumbs!