Category: Food

Food. Eaten. Made. Discussed. All gluten-free.

September 29, 2013

Mini Gluten-Free Boston Cream Pies

I really think that my coworkers are trying to stump me when it comes to making them birthday treats. Pulling whatever kind of flavor they can out of their heads to see if I really can do it. I mean, we had gluten-free peanut butter & jelly cupcakes and gluten-free double chocolate peanut butter cupcakes this summer.

This time the request was for Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes – something that was actually a bit more traditional and a little less out there.

I decided that I was bored with the core & fill kind of cupcake, so I went a different route with these – I used a mini whoopie pie pan to make the cake pieces and then piped in some filling and poured on a thick glaze. And ended up with two-bite treats that were all gone before lunch.

The only caveat is that these do not transport well. If you try to take them on your 2-train 2-hour commute, they might just get a little banged up before you get them in to the office. (It won’t effect the flavor, but it might bruise your ego a wee bit). If these need to make a trip, I would bring all the components and assemble on-site. It takes about 10 minutes to combine all the parts into lovely little gluten-free boston cream (whoopie) pies.

Mini Gluten-Free Boston Cream Pies

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 45 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 24

These are fun, but don’t travel well, so assemble shortly before serving.

Ingredients

For the Cakes
175g (1¼ cups) gluten-free cake flour (143g high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour + 4 tablespoons (32g) cornstarch)*
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
109 grams (½ cup) packed light brown sugar
28 grams (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
24 grams (2 tablespoons) vegetable shortening, melted and cooled
1 extra-large egg at room temperature, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or replace with equal volume pure vanilla extract)
½ cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
For the pastry cream
30 grams (1/4 cup) cornstarch
150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar, divided
2 cups milk (I don’t drink milk, so I almost always use almond milk) , divided
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons butter
pinch of salt
Chocolate Glaze
130 grams (4.5 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
60 grams (4 tablespoons) butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and grease a mini whoopie pie pan.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine well.
Whisk in the brown sugar, making sure you remove any lumps.
Next, mix in the butter, shortening, egg and vanilla and make sure everything is well combined.
Now, add the milk and vinegar, and mix again to combine well. You will have a batter that is somewhere between cake batter and cookie dough in consistency.
Using a small scoop or you can pipe about as much as a large marble to each well of your whoopie pie pan.
Bake on a center rack for 8-10 minutes, or until the cakes bounce back when pressed gently in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Make the pastry cream

Prepare an ice bath.
In a small mixing bowl, combine ¼ cup sugar, egg yolks and the creamer (or ½ cup milk).
In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, bring the remaining 1½ cups milk to a boil, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add the hot milk to the egg mixture about a third at a time to temper the eggs. If you do this too fast you will end up with scrambled egg yolks and not a smooth cream.
Return the pot to the stove and add the egg mixture. Over medium heat, keep whisking until the cream thickens and when you scrape the bottom of a pot, the cream does not close the gap immediately. Stir in the vanilla, salt and butter.
Put the pot over your ice bath and stir every 5-10 mintues for about half an hour, or until the cream has cooled.

Make the glaze

When you are ready to assemble the mini boston cream pies, melt together the chocolate, butter and corn syrup over low heat. If the mixture is not pourable, add an extra tablespoon of butter.

Assemble the cakes

Pipe the pastry cream onto half of the cake pieces. Take one of the other cake pieces and top each one. Pour or spread chocolate glaze on each mini Boston cream pie.

Notes

*I use Cup4Cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose flour, and if you don’t have cornstarch, you can use it for the full amount called for here, the cakes will just be a little denser. This recipe will work with almost any GF AP Blend but it will not work with bean-flour based blends or baking mixes that contain baking powder or baking soda.

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September 26, 2013

Chai Spice Chia Pudding

If there is one thing that I am terrible about it is breakfast. I am that person who keeps a box of Fruity Pebbles or Cinnamon Chex on her desk so that she can eat when she gets to the office because food any earlier than that is just not doable. Unless you call a double dirty soy chai with mocha breakfast. Because that is what I grab when I want something earlier in the day. Espresso + tea + spices = heaven.

This week’s goal is to eat a good, filling breakfast. One packed full of nutrition and vitamins (I am trying to take my doctor’s advice here…) and a little less in the empty calorie department.

In my breakfast experiments, I think it is best to take baby steps. I already like chai in the morning. And goodness, we know how I love desserts. So, I am meeting myself halfway. Breakfast that sounds like dessert, has the flavors from my favorite Starbuck’s addiction and is full protien, omega-3s and whatever else those little bad boys are full of.

Chai Spice Chia Pudding

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours 5 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons chia seeds

Instructions

Whisk together all the ingredients and put in a container with a tight fitting lid and put in the fridge
Shake vigorously every 10-15 minutes for the first half hour. Then let sit for about 2 hours, just until it sets up and has a pudding-like consistency. If you would prefer a smooth pudding, pop it in the blender and blend until smooth.

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September 23, 2013

Gluten-free mujaddara and a gluten-dairy-meat free challenge

You might have seen a few tweets about me radically changing my diet. I decided to participate in Yum Universe’s 30 day plant-based diet challenge.

I know when it happened, and I know how it happened. But it doesn’t mean that I am ok with letting things stay on their current path.

Five years ago, I was in a car accident and they thought I wouldn’t be able to walk. To prove them wrong I worked my way to running four miles a day and lost 125 pounds. Four years ago, I injured my knee while running a 5k. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with CRPS and was down to 3, 45 minute workouts a week. Two years ago, I decided to have a spinal cord stimulator implanted and gave up running, jumping and anything impactful. A year ago, I gave up on my body ever looking the way it did and I worked my way through enough cupcake therapy to satisfy me for 30 years.

In the past year and a half, I have been self-medicating with butter and sugar. Sure, I had good reason. My body doesn’t work right anymore. I couldn’t push it like I used to. At some point, I made the decision to stop caring about what I ate.

A month ago, I started seeing a new primary care doctor and for the first time in 2 years I was forced to know how much I weighed. I went and bought jeans last week in a size I hadn’t needed in three years. It was painfully obvious to me that I needed to start paying attention again.

(Don’t worry, this is not the end of cupcakes and cakes with real butter and eggs, this is a pause to reset my system and help break some bad habits).

So, when Yum Universe (a blog I discovered when we were both featured on Refinery29 a couple weeks ago) announced their #YU30 Fall Plant-Based Diet Challenge, I decided to jump in. So, for the next 30 days, I am eating gluten, dairy and meat free. I am hoping this helps address some of the vitamin deficiencies that popped up in my last round of blood work. I am hoping that a diet with significantly less inflammatory foods helps reduce some of the CRPS pain. But most of all, I am hoping it helps break me of my junk food habit. I want cupcakes to be a treat again, not a three day a week habit. It is time for fruity pebbles to not be my breakfast of choice.

So, let’s kick this off with one of my all time favorite naturally gluten-free, vegan dishes.

An easy to make weeknight dinner that makes great leftovers for work lunches, Mujaddara is the best kind of comfort food. The spices and flavors warm you up from the inside. Rice and lentils are inexpensive pantry staples. It does’t take a whole lot of babysitting the stove and there is no gluten anywhere to be found.

Mujaddara is an Arab dish, and it refers to rice and lentils cooked together and topped with sautéed or fried onions. The spices vary depending on who is cooking for you, but typical spices include cumin and coriander and you will often find it topped with yogurt.

Gluten-free Mujaddara

Recipe Type: Entree

Cuisine: Arabic

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 4

This recipe is adapted from the first copy of Jamie Magazine that I ever bought, and might very well be a big part of why I love Jamie Oliver and just about every recipe he (and his staff) create. It is simple, inexpensive and delicious (and fairly healthy!).

Ingredients

120 grams (1 cup) green lentils
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
120 grams (1 cup) basmati rice
1 1/2 cups water
Sea Salt
Oil, for frying (vegetable, canola, safflower – whatever you have on hand is fine)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced

Instructions

Rinse the lentils in cold water and place in a medium sauce pan and cover with water and add a generous pinch of salt (like you would add for pasta). Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce it to a simmer for about 20 minutes. You want the lentils to be cooked, but still have a little bite.
While the lentils cook, rinse and drain the rice.
Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or other similar pan and add the spices. Cook them for about 30 seconds or so – you want them to become fragrant. Add the rice and stir to make sure it is coated in the spice mixture. Pour the water over the rice and stir. Turn the heat to low and cook, covered for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes – don’t take off the cover until after the 5 minutes are over. Fluff with a fork.
While your rice and lentils are cooking, you are going to start frying your onions. In a small frying pan, add enough oil to fill the pan about 1/2. Get the oil good and hot (stick a bamboo skewer in it and if bubbles form rapidly around the base, you know your oil is hot enough), and fry the onions. You may need to do it in 2-3 batches, but each one only cooks for about 2 minutes. Set them on a plate covered in a paper towel to drain when they are done.
When all of your components are cooked, add the lentils and half the fried onions to the rice. Add salt to taste.
Serve with yogurt or cashew cream and top with the remaining fried onions.

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September 22, 2013

Sweet Cravings | Kyra’s Gluten-Free Cannolizelli

I remember the first time I met Kyra, it was at the 2012 Gluten & Allergen Free Expo in Chicago. I was there promoting my first ebook and she was there with samples of her famous truffle brownies. It was friendship at first bite. Over the past couple of years I have had the opportunity to see her take on countless bakers on her 4 appearances on Cupcake Wars and knock out nearly all the competition (She has 2 wins and 2 runner-up finishes under her belt and was the first gluten-free winner on the show).

Her cupcakes aren’t just good for gluten-free, they are damn good. Needless to say, I was crazy excited when I found out she was writing a cookbook. And maybe even a little giddy when she showed off the cover art when I got to see her in February. The book, Sweet Cravings, did not disappoint. Kyra is a trained pastry chef, so she approaches recipes a little differently than us mere mortals. She worked out protein and starch content ratios to make sure that each recipe mimics (or bests) its gluten-filled counterpart.

As you page through the book you will feel urged to drop everything and get to your kitchen and bake. Lush photos (let’s call it what it is, food porn) make you feel like Kyra can help you do just about anything. The book has a very in depth introduction that talks you through the different ingredients she uses and what properties make each ingredient unique. Measurements are included in both volume and metric units, so no matter how you prefer to bake, you will be able to make everything in the book. Unleash your dreams of being a food tv rockstar and start baking some gluten-free cupcakes!

The Rating

Author: Kyra Bussanich
Title: Sweet Cravings
Format: hard cover, full color center photo section
Stars: 5/5*
Buy it or Forget it: Buy it and live out your dreams of Cupcake Wars Domination
Must try recipes: Cannolizelli, Persian Love Cakes with Cardamom Buttercream, Pumpkin Spice Bread

*Read more about my cookbook review criteria.Kyra and I are good friends, and if her cookbook were not super awesome, I wouldn’t review it. I received a copy of the book in PDF form from Kyra and Ten Speed Press provided a physical review copy as well as a copy to give away.

The Giveaway

There are multiple ways to enter, the only one you have to do is leave a comment here, the rest are optional but they will increase your odds of winning. The giveaway will end on September 25 at 11:59pm CST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Gluten-Free Cannolizelli

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Kyra Bussanich

Serves: 20

Recipe reprinted with permission from Ten Speed Press/Kyra Bussanich. “When I was a child, our Christmas Day tradition was making cannoli. My dad grew up in the Bronx and was enamored with Ferraro’s Cannoli, a landmark in Little Italy. He had figured out a really great approximation of their recipe, so every year we would carefully stir together the ricotta, confectioners’ sugar, spices, and rum, spoon the cannoli filling into the crispy flour tortilla shells, and dust the whole thing with confectioners’ sugar. Then we would pile the cannoli on paper plates and deliver them to our friends and neighbors. Nowadays, I make cannoli in a gluten-free shell. Here’s how.”

Ingredients

Shells
3 egg whites
1/2 cup / 113 g sugar
1/3 cup / 71 g butter, melted
1 teaspoon / 5 g vanilla extract
3/4 cup / 122 g sweet white rice flour
1/4 cup / 31 g tapioca starch
1 teaspoon / 5 g baking powder
Filling
1 (15-ounce) container / 425 g whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup / 71 g confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for dusting
1/4 cup / 59 g heavy cream
1 teaspoon / 2.6 g cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon / .9 g freshly grated orange zest
11/2 teaspoons / .8 g rum
1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 g vanilla extract
1/4 cup / 43 g semisweet mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup / 31 g toasted pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Instructions

Make the shells

To make the shells, using a stand mixer with a whip attachment, whip the egg whites and sugar until very thick and pale and fluffy. Then whip in the butter and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the flour, starch, and baking powder. Sprinkle into the egg white mixture and blend well.
Drop by small spoonfuls onto a heated, greased Pizelle iron. Close the lid and cook 30 to 45 seconds, until no more steam is escaping and the shell is golden brown. Open the lid and immediately shape the shells around a cannoli tube form or a sanitized broom handle. Be careful because the cannoli will be super hot coming off the iron. I use a fork and then drape the shell around the cannoli form. Let the shells cool on the form before sliding them off. It’s helpful to have 4 or 5 cannoli forms so you can continue to bake while the previous batch is cooling.

Make the filling

To make the filling, mix together the ricotta, confectioners’ sugar, cream, cinnamon, orange zest, rum, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pistachio nuts.

Assembly

Right before serving, fill a pastry bag with the filling (or use a zip-top bag with a corner snipped off) and gently squeeze the filling into each end of the shells. If you fill them too early, the shells will soften and may break. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.
You can make most of this ahead of time and assemble at the last minute: freeze the baked shells in an airtight container and refrigerate the filling until just before you’re planning to serve. If you want to assemble them ahead of time, melt together 1/2 cup of semisweet or dark chocolate and 11/2 teaspoons of butter and use a small pastry brush to gently paint the inside of the shells with the mixture. This acts as a barrier to the moisture, and also adds more chocolate flavor!

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September 13, 2013

kohlrabi salad

I grew up watching a steady diet of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Wars movie marathons. I have seen every Star Trek movie ever made but somehow managed to never watch A Christmas Story. Doctor Who is on any time I can’t find something new and interesting to watch on TV. And although I might be the only nerd who doesn’t think that Firefly was the greatest TV show ever, I am still a pretty huge sci-fi nerd.

Something about all that traveling to new worlds. Meeting new people. Eating new food.

The first time I saw kohlrabi, I was sure I was seeing a vegetable right out of a sci-fi movie. There was this weird spindly vegetable at the farmers market. I had been exploring sweet corn, berries and local chicken when I first noticed it. I saw this globe with green tentacles cut short and people passing right over it reaching for cucumbers that were perfect for dill pickles. I lived on a college campus with research farms – who knew what kind of genetic splicing might have found its way to the locals. Or what sort of alien life they had found…

Image via Gerwin Sturm on Flickr. (Licensed via Creative Commons)

It was cheap, so I bought some. The next week, it was cheap again, so I bought some more. That weird alien vegetable started to be a staple in my kitchen. It was always abundant and affordable at the local farmer’s market, and since the kohlrabi had a flavor similar to jicama or a seedless cucumber, it was easy enough to eat.

Kohlrabi, a member of the same family as cabbage, brussles sprouts and kale, is a vegetable that has become one of my favorites, although I seriously believe that at least part of the reason I love it is its alien appearance. The name is German from words meaning cabbage and radish. A perennial vegetable, it is common at farmers markets because it is easy to grow, but I have had a harder time finding it in traditional grocery stores.

(This is here as proof that I eat vegetables. It might take them looking alien to entice me at first, but I come around eventually…)

Gluten-Free Kohlrabi Salad

Recipe Type: Side

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

This recipe is adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi and is a way to eat the vegetable I had never tried. It is a great way to try Kohlrabi if you have never eaten it before.

Ingredients

3 medium kohlrabies (1 2/3 pounds or 750 grams in total)
80 grams (1/3 cup) Greek yogurt
70 grams (5 tbsp) sour cream
3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons finely shredded fresh mint
1 teaspoon dried mint
about 12 sprigs baby watercresss
salt and white pepper

Instructions

Peel the kohlrabies, cut into 2/3-inch dice and put in a large mixing bowl.
In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, sour cream, mascarpone, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil.
Add a healthy pinch of salt and a generous grind of pepper and whisk until smooth.
Pour the dressing over the kohlrabi followed by the fresh and dried mint and half the watercress. Taste and add salt & pepper if needed.
Gently stir and place in a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining watercress.
Top with the remaining watercress

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September 12, 2013

Gluten-free Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Just for one moment imagine you have met someone incredibly interesting. And that someone happens to be handsome. Fairly funny. A giant nerd who loves sic-fi and web related nerdery. He wears google glass and loves open-source software. Now imagine he can recite Shakespeare and quoted the first sentence of Pride & Prejudice when you were discussing your favorite books.

Don’t forget to imagine him as charming. The sort of charming that disarms you. Makes you want to hang on his every word. He tells you stories about a past filled with the types of risks you wish you took.

Oh, and then he kisses you. A real foot-popping kiss. An earnest, sweet kiss. The kind you both want to call all your girlfriends to discuss but want to keep it to yourself just a little bit longer.

Yes, imagine all that (although, if you would rather a surfer dude with a love of detective novels, feel free to replace my dream dude for yours in this little fantasy).

But as a cupcake. (Yes, I totally went there. And, no, I am not ashamed).

It is no secret that I have a life-long love affair with baked goods, so it should come as no surprise that I might have fallen in love with these particular cakes. Because unlike the boy, there is something real to the relationship. There is more than boyish charm and nerdy good looks. There is cake.

More precisely, there is moist chocolate cake, velvety chocolate buttercream, surprise peanut butter centers. This is a serious cupcake. Appropriate for any situation in which a cupcake needs to love you back. Like the time when the aforementioned boy decides you are not the girl of his dream, you know it’s ok because you have this cupcake.

A magic gluten-free cupcake that loves you.

Gluten-free Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 1 hour 25 mins

Serves: 30

This is a recipe for winning at life or at least for winning at dessert (or a bake sale or office party).

Ingredients

For the cupcakes
63 grams (1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons) cocoa
1 cup boiling water
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
235 grams (2¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons) GF AP flour*
1 teasponn xanthan gum**
300 grams (1½ cups) granulated sugar
15 grams (1 tablespoon) baking powder
5 grams (3/4 teaspoon) salt
227 grams (2 sticks) butter, softened.
Filling
170 grams (1 1/2 cups) confectioners’ sugar
135 grams (1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter
26 grams (2 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting
8 large egg whites (30g each–total 225g, or 1 cup)
400 grams (2 cups) granulated sugar
560 grams (5 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened but cool, cut into cubes
30 ml (2 tablespoons) pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
400 grams (about 2 cups of discs) high quality chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Bake the cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the cupcake tins with papers & grease the tops.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the boiling water and cocoa til smooth. Let sit for a couple minutes to come to room temperature.
In a second bowl, lightly beat together the eggs, ¼ of the cocoa mixture and the vanilla.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir on low to combine.
Add butter and the remaining cocoa mixture and mix on low speed until all ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium for a minute and a half to develop structure.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the cocoa & egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for about 30 seconds after each addition.
Use a scoop and fill the tins ½-2/3 full. You should end up with exactly 30 cupcakes.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. If you are baking with multiple pans in the oven at once, rotate them halfway into baking.
The cake should spring back when lightly pressed, or a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, and then move to a cooling rack until completely cool.

Make the filling

While the cupcakes are baking, make the filling.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat together the sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla at medium speed. The dough should end up slightly crumbly.
Roll the dough into 30 balls, about 1 teaspoon each. Set aside.

For the frosting

While the cakes cool, make the frosting.
Combine the egg whites and sugar in a small pot until they reach 140 degrees fahrenheit.
Transfer to a clean stand mixer bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat until light and fluffy (soft peaks).
Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter one chunk at a time until it is all combined.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave on half power, heating it first for 30 seconds, and then in 15 second intervals after that, always stirring after each burst of heat. Once melted, let the chocolate cool so that it is still melted but just warm, not hot – you don’t want it hot so that it melts the butter, and then add it to your frosting, beating and scraping down the sides so you have a velvety and evenly mixed buttercream.

Assemble the cakes

Remove the centers from the cupcakes using a cupcake corer, melon baller or pairing knife.
Place one peanut butter ball in each cake. Top with the tops of the centers so there is cake on top of the peanut butter. You just want the top 1/4 inch or so of the removed center.
Pipe a generous swirl of buttercream on each cupcake.

Notes

*I test all recipes using Cup4Cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose flour and it is by far my favorite. If you cannot find it where you live, Jules Nearly Normal flour is a close second. [br]**Omit if your blend contains xanthan gum, guar gum or expandex.

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September 8, 2013

This is my story

September is Chronic Pain Awareness Month and September 8-15, 2013 is Invisible Illness Awareness Week. Today I am asking all my friends to stand with me and wear leggings (or other non-pants) to show support in a slightly “invisible” way.

For millions of people an invisible illness is part of their daily lives. Nearly 1 in 2 Americans suffer from a chronic illness. 96% of those people have a condition that is invisible. From Celiac to Depression. From Chron’s to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. I have friends who suffer from Lyme disease and Hashimoto’s. Friends who have crippling adrenal fatigue and life threatening food allergies. And yet, when you see photos of us all together, you would not be able to guess that any of us were sick, in pain or in an epic battle for our bodies. That is how we all want it. We want to be just like everyone else.

I have written a few times about what it means to live with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, fighting for hope, why I write about it, and the things that the disease and the treatments have taken from me.

And although FrannyCakes is a place for revenge cookies (which are totally a thing) and cupcake therapy. It is also a place that I hope I can show you that being sick and being young isn’t the end of a full life. Just like being gluten-free isn’t a sentence to a life of bad dessert, pizza and pasta.

Every bit I share of my story, I share so maybe someone thinks before they sit in the handicapped seat on the train or park in the handicap spot. I share so that maybe someone won’t give me a sideways look when I go through the security line at the airport in a wheel chair because I can’t stand in the line. I share so the next time a server gets a request for extra care with a meal they know just how serious it is. I share because I have eaten one too many beany brownies. I share because even the most well-meaning friend doesn’t understand the toll this condition takes on my body. I share because I don’t understand it either.

Because this is my story. The friends and the family. The triumphs, the trials and the food.

A girl living life. A girl who just happens to have a body with robotic parts and an aversion to wheat and shellfish. A girl on an adventure.

Please help me spread the word that an invisible illness is both very real and very much just a detail in a list of the things that make me me.

And thank you so very much for coming on this ride with me.

August 26, 2013

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

My birthday is a once a year occasion. Which is sad because the more birthdays I have, the more excuses I would have to bake a cake. The good news here is that I have friends. And all of those friends have birthdays. And the best part is that friends with birthdays challenge me to make cupcakes, cakes and other desserts that I wouldn’t normally make.

Like these cupcakes. Peanut butter & jelly cupcakes. I had used the combination in some gluten-free blondies last fall, and thought that was enough exploration of the classic combination. A peanut butter & jelly chocolate at the French Laundry made me certain that I could never live up to something that elevated a childhood classic.

But when my friend/coworker/fellow WordPress geek/the person responsible for my further downfall into nerdiness, Andi, asked for peanut butter and strawberry jelly cupcakes for her work birthday treat, I couldn’t refuse. In fact, I spent a couple of weeks thinking about how I would make it happen. Peanut butter filled vanilla cakes with strawberry frosting? Strawberry cakes with peanut butter frosting? The ways this could have gone… But, I remembered. Joy the Baker had a recipe for Peanut Butter Birthday Cake in her cookbook. And that Joy, she has never steered me wrong.

So, I made a gluten-free buttermilk peanut butter cake. I frosted them with a classic American buttercream augmented with some peanut butter. But the crowning jewel? More of Mammacake’s home made strawberry preserves. (I might have used a whole jar…)

These cupcakes also happened to be the first chance I had to use my new piping skills from the Wilton BlogHer workshop. I felt pretty accomplished piping buttercream flowers onto the tops of all of those cupcakes.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 24

The cake is adapted to be gluten-free (and cupcakes) from the Joy the Baker Cookbook by Joy Wilson. The frosting is how my mom taught me to make it when I was a kid. The preserves were stolen when Mammacakes wasn’t looking.

Ingredients

for the cake
315 grams (2 1/4 cups) gluten-free all-purpose flour*
1 gram (1 teaspoon) xanthan gum**
10 grams (2 teaspoons) baking powder
5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda
3 grams (½ teaspoon) salt
205 grams (3/4 cup) smooth peanut butter
85 grams (6 tablespoons or 3/4 stick) butter, softened
100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
110 grams (½ cup firmly packed) brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (265 ml) buttermilk
for the frosting
170 grams (1½ sticks) butter, softened
65-130 grams (1/4-½ cup) smooth peanut butter
675-900 grams (6-8 cups) confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (118 mls) milk
pinch of salt
filling
1/2 pint jar of your favorite jam or preserves

Instructions

Make the cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 C). Position one rack in the center and one in the top third of the oven. Line a cupcake tin with papers and grease the tops (just in case)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum (if using), baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, butter, sugar and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. You want the mixture to be light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute on medium and scraping down the sides of the bowl before each addition.
Add half the flour mixture and mix on low speed and slowly add the buttermilk.
Scrape down the sides and add the rest of the flour mixture until the batter just starts to come together. Remove the bowl from the mixer and finish stirring with a spatula.
Use a spring loaded ice cream scoop or spoon to fill the cupcake papers 1/2-2/3 full.
Place one cupcake tin on each rack and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pans and bake for another 8-12 minutes. You want a toothpick to come out clean and the top of the cakes to bounce back if pressed.
Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Make the frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter, 65 grams (1/4 cup) of the peanut butter, 450 grams (4 cups) of the sugar, the milk and the vanilla.
Beat on medium for 3-5 minutes.
Gradually add the remaining sugar 1 cup (115 grams) at a time, beating for 2 minutes after each addition.
When the frosting is firm enough to pipe, stop adding sugar and add the salt. If the frosting is too firm or not peanut butter-y enough you can add more peanut butter. I used 1/4 cup and nearly the full amount of powdered sugar. Your results will depend on the humidity, the type of peanut butter and how soft your butter was.

Assembly

Remove the centers of the cupcakes with a cupcake corer or a paring knife, being sure to leave a little cake at the bottom of your well.
Pipe in the jam or preserves until the well is almost full. Replace the tops of your holes (you will toss some cake, just save the part that is the very top of the removed cake) to keep the jam from making the frosting mushy.
Pipe your frosting on your cupcakes. I made rosettes because I don’t think these need that much frosting, but you will have enough frosting to do a normal swirl if you would like.
Sprinkle with decorative sugar, if you feel like it. I used pink to represent the strawberry jam inside.

Notes

*I prefer Cup4Cup gluten-free all purpose flour and use it in all of my tests. You would also have good results with Jules Nearly Normal Flour and Better Batter.[br]**If your gluten-free all-purpose blend includes xanthan gum or an equivalent (the ones listed above all do), you can omit this.

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August 22, 2013

Gluten-Free Strawberry Macarons

Ah, the macaron. It might just be the perfect cookie. Crunchy. Chewy. Dreamy. With just a little bit of cream filling. Seriously, who needs a boyfriend when a cookie like this exists? They totally love you back. I swear.

Wait, I can’t be in love with a cookie? If you say so. But, before we go any further, I need to make sure that you are clear on the difference between a macaron and a macaroon. Macaroons are those chewy coconut cookies with a cherry on top. Macarons are the french delight that is two merengue and almond shells with a lovely filling in the middle.

I even made a little diagram of what makes a macaron (ok, I might be a little obsessed. I am totally fine with that.)

I decided to make macarons again when I discovered that MammaCakes had made some home made strawberry jam. Strawberries and almonds make a great combo (last summer I made this Strawberry Frangipane Tart with this same flavor profile).

I even made french buttercream for the center of the gluten-free strawberry macarons as a way to use up all the yolks left behind from the merengue. Planning ahead, it gets you every where. And by everywhere I mean that it gets you to velvety smooth buttercream.

Now, let’s talk about how you go about adding flavor and color to a macaron.

Use gel food coloring. You don’t want to change the texture of the merengue by introducing liquid. A gel will not alter the consistency as much. And remember, a little goes a long way.
It is easiest to flavor the filling. The brain is a magic place, colors that match the flavor of the filling send a signal to your brain that the shell is flavored too. Even if it isn’t. Also, flavor elements can change the texture of the shell, so stick to changing the type of nut or the flavor of extract you use rather than try to add a puree to the merengue.
Make a bulls eye. Creating a ring of buttercream around a jam will keep it from leaking out the sides.

Gluten-Free Strawberry Macarons

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Serves: 18

This recipe is adapted from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. It is best to use home made or small batch preserves when making these – they have a more intense fruit flavor than commercially produced jelly.

Ingredients

For the shells
212 grams (1¾ cups + 2½ tablespoons) almond meal
212 grams (1¾ cups + 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons) confectioners’ sugar
82 (1/4 cup plus 1½ tablespoons) egg whites
90 grams egg whites (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons – this is about 7-8 whites) egg whites (yes, you need both quantities, divided)
1 vanilla bean, slit open
236 grams granulated sugar (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons), plus a pinch (about 5 grams)
158 grams (2/3 cup) water
Pink gel food coloring
3-4 tablespoons of strawberry jam or preserves
1 recipe Strawberry French Buttercream (recipe below)

Instructions

Make the shells

Cut 2 sheets of parchment paper to fit your cookie sheets. Trace 2¼ inch circles with a fine point marker like a Sharpie approximately 1 inch apart in alternating rows of 3 & 4. Turn the parchment paper over and lay it on your sheet pans/ cookie sheets.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (convection) or 400°F (standard).
Place the almond flour in a food processor and pulse to grind it as fine as possible. This is really not an optional step unless your almond meal is ultra fine. Most isn’t, and skipping this step can leave you with lumpy macarons. (Although the flavor won’t be bad)
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar into a large bowl and whisk together. If you have more than a couple of tablespoons of almonds remaining in the sifter, re-grind the flour in the food processor. Create a mound in the bowl with the almond flour mixture, then make a 4-inch well in the center, leaving a layer of the flour at the bottom. Pour in the 82 grams | ¼ cup plus 1½ tablespoons egg whites and combine with a spatula, stirring until evenly distributed and paste-like. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the bowl and mix until they are fairly well distributed. Set aside.
Place the remaining 90 grams (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) of the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan, combine the 236 grams (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) granulated sugar and the water and heat over medium-high heat until the syrup reaches 203°F/110°C, stirring only until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is clear.
While the syrup continues to cook, add the pinch of sugar to the egg whites, turn the mixer to medium speed (a 5 or 6 on my mixer), and whip to soft peaks. If the whites reach soft peaks before the syrup reaches 248°F/12o°C, reduce the speed to the lowest setting, just to keep them moving.
When the syrup reaches 248°F/120°C, remove the pan from the heat. Turn the mixer to medium-low speed, and slowly add the syrup, pouring it between the side of the bowl and the whisk. Do not panic when the meringue deflates.
Increase the speed to medium and whip for 5 minutes, or until the whites hold stiff, glossy peaks. Although the bowl might still be warm to the touch, the meringue should have cooled; if not, continue to whip until it is cool.
In the bowl with the almond mixture, fold in one-third of the meringue, then continue adding merengue to the almonds little at a time (you might not use them all – I used about 90% each time I have made these. You can pipe the left over plain merengue out when you are done and make little pavlova shells) until when you fold a portion of the batter over on itself, the “ribbon” slowly moves. The mixture shouldn’t be so stiff that it holds its shape without moving at all, but it shouldn’t be so loose that it dissolves into itself and does not maintain the ribbon; it is better for the mixture to be slightly stiff than too loose. So go slowly! Take your time! You want to make sure that your mixture does not have any ribbons of plain merengue, where there are no almonds or your shells could crack.
Fold in a small amount of gel food coloring while you are adding your merengue. If you want a more intense color once your mixture is uniform, you can add a smidge more, but you don’t want to over mix and deflate your batter.
Transfer your mixture to a pastry bag fit with a ½-inch plain tip. Hold the bag upright about a half inch above the center of one of the traced circles and pipe out enough of the mixture to fill in the circle. Lift away the pastry bag and repeat, filling the remaining circles on the first pan.
Next (and this is important!) Lift up the sheet pan and firmly (but not too hard) tap the bottom of the pan to the spread the batter evenly and smooth any peaks left by the pastry bag (there will be some, and if that doesn’t make them go away, wet your fingertip and tap them down).
If you are using a convection oven, which I recommend, bake the shells for 8 to 10 minutes. You want to cook them until the tops are shiny and crisp. If you are using a standard oven, place the sheet pan in the oven and then immediately lower the oven temperature to 325°F, and bake for 9 to 12 minutes, again, until the tops are shiny and crisp.
Set the pan on a cooling rack, and if using a standard oven, preheat it to 350°F again.
Pipe the remaining meringue mixture into the circles on the second sheet pan and bake as directed above. Let cool completely.
While you are waiting for your cookies to cool, make

Assemble the macarons

Pipe a circle of buttercream on half of the macaroni shells, leaving the center empty, I used a wide plain circle tip but held the bag close to the shell to keep the circle wide & flat. Pipe or dollop jam in the middle, and gently place a second shell on top.

Notes

These will get even better if you have made them ahead of time and pop them (well-wrapped) in the freezer for a day or two and then let them come to room temperature before serving.

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Strawberry French Buttercream

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

This is a great way to use up the yolks left over from the macaron-making process. It is also the richest kind of buttercream, which secretly I think makes it the best. Also, make sure to use high quality jam or preserves – home made or small batch are best.

Ingredients

38 grams (3 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon) granulated sugar
38 grams (3 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon) granulated sugar (You do need both quantities, and yes, they are both the same)
63 grams (1/4 cup + 1/2 teaspoon) egg yolks
75 grams (1/4 cup + 2 1/4 teaspoons) whole milk
250 grams (8.8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons strawberry preserves or jam

Instructions

Whisk 38 grams of sugar and the egg yolks together in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the remaining 38 grams of sugar and the milk.
Stir to dissolve the sugar.
When the milk is just below a simmer, slowly pour it into the egg yolks while whisking. Pour the combined mixture back into the pan and place over medium heat.
Whisk continuously and bring to a gentle simmer and simmer for one minute. Lower the heat if necessary – you don’t want the mixture to curdle. It should be very thick.
Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk on medium for 8 minutes, or until mixture is cool.
Add the butter a little at a time, waiting between each new addition.
When you have all the butter added, mix in the salt and the jam.

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Category: Food

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A giveaway you say?

It must be a Throwback Thursday!

Chai Spice Chia Pudding

Gluten-free mujaddara and a gluten-dairy-meat free challenge

(Don’t worry, this is not the end of cupcakes and cakes with real butter and eggs, this is a pause to reset my system and help break some bad habits).

So, let’s kick this off with one of my all time favorite naturally gluten-free, vegan dishes.

Sweet Cravings | Kyra’s Gluten-Free Cannolizelli

The Rating

The Giveaway

kohlrabi salad

Gluten-free Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

This is my story

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

Gluten-Free Strawberry Macarons

Now, let’s talk about how you go about adding flavor and color to a macaron.