Category: Recipes

March 26, 2013

Cook the Books: Frontera by Rick Bayless and Grapefruit guacamole

Let’s talk vegetables. If you have followed this blog for a while, then you know that I gravitate more towards buttercreams and brownies.

Because, frankly, those are the things I desperately missed when I went gluten-free.

But there is this whole other world of food — one filled with a rainbow of colors and textures. And it has its own type of creamy rich stuff you can put on everything.

March 3, 2013

Culinary Bucket List: Vanilla Bean Macarons

There are some things I have always wanted to try but have been slightly (or not so slightly) intimidated by. Now that FrannyCakes has matured a little bit, I want to start tackling these items one by one.

I have been waiting for this moment for a while. The moment where I sucked it up and attempted a macaron. No, not a macaroon. A macaron. One o. The snooty french sandwich cookie that dreams are made of.

If you have never had one, you need to get your hands on one ASAP. Hopefully you live near a bakery or patisserie that makes these and does it safely/ without cross contamination.

Because they are heaven in cookie form. Nutty, chewy clouds. With a pop of flavor in the middle. Seriously. I am in love.

With a cookie.

And I am OK with that.

Now, once you have fallen under the magic spell of macaron love, you, intrepid baker, will want to make some yourself. I am going to beg you to do one thing. Do not google macaron recipes. So very many are filled with “essential tips” that are totally not essential. Or they will convince you that there are some sort of pastry gods who dole out rare moments of success.

The internet is afraid of macarons. And it is mostly uncalled for. Sure, if you mess up, it will most likely make ugly cookies. But I am pretty dang sure that sugar, almonds and egg whites will taste good no matter what deformed shape they have taken.

But I know a few things that might help you stay on the good side of those pastry gods.

Prepare a mise-en-place. This is a very, very basic step. And one I skip way more often than I should admit to. When making something like macarons, timing and precision is key, so having your ingredients measured out and ready to go when you need them increases your chances of success. Plus, it is just a good habit to get in to. (It helps keep things neat and easy to clean!)
Weigh your ingredients. I can’t believe I still need to tell you all that this is better. But it is. Weights are more precise and more consistent than the volume measurements that American bakers are more familiar with. In this recipe I even weigh the eggs because a slight variation can have unintended consequences.
Use an oven thermometer. Most ovens aren’t really the temperature that they say they are. You will be amazed at how dramatically your baking improves from simply getting your oven set properly.
Be patient and precise. Reread the recipe until you are comfortable with the progression of steps. Pour slowly, stir carefully. There is no rushing in macronage! Also, separating your eggs carefully so you don’t break the yolks is quite important!
Use a stable merengue as a base. Sure these are a French cookie, but that doesn’t mean that you need to make a French merengue. Swiss merengue (cooking egg whites & sugar into a syrup and then beating) and Italian merengue (beating a sugar syrup into egg whites) produce a more stable merengue than just egg whites and sugar beat in a mixer (French Merengue). Do a little extra work and be handsomely rewarded.
Start with a basic flavor/color and then move on. Additional flavor components and colorings add more variables to the mix. Wait to add them until you are comfortable with your technique.

Gluten-Free Vanilla Bean Macarons

Recipe Type: Cookie

Cuisine: French

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 35 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 18

Oh, magical, temperamental cookie. Read the advice above, and remember that according to Chef Keller, these improve if you freeze them for a day! (Even though they are kind of awesome right out of the oven…)

Ingredients

212 grams (1 3/4 cups + 2 1/2 tablespoons) almond meal
212 grams (1 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons) confectioners’ sugar
82 (1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons) egg whites
90 grams egg whites (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) 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
Your favorite buttercream flavored with vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste.

Instructions

Cut 2 sheets of parchment paper to fit your cookie sheets. Trace 2 1/4 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 | 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 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.
Transfer your mixture to a pastry bag fit with a 1/2-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.
Pipe a buttercream (or ganache) filling onto one half of the shells and pair them with a matching half. Be gentle when sandwiching them together, you could accidentally smush them.

Notes

Please don’t try to convert this recipe to volume. Just get a scale and weigh. You will be happy that you did. You will need a candy thermometer. Again, this isn’t really optional if you want success. Finally, don’t skip the tracing out of circles step. It makes it so much easier to get consistently sized cookies. Which makes matching them up easy peasy.

3.2.1337

February 17, 2013

Lunch at the French Laundry + Gluten-Free Brioche Rolls

This is a tale of the day I took a bite of butter like it was cheese. I blame Kyra.

I spent some time in San Francisco recently for the Gluten & Allergen Free Expo, and while I was there, I had only one day to do something touristy.

And since I was going to be seeing some of the foodie-est people I know, I knew we had do do something incredible. No one-starred restaurant would do. Not when we could get reservations at one of the best restaurants in the world. And one we knew could handle the way we order food.

Going out to the French Laundry has been something of a dream of mine. It is on my list with Aviary here in Chicago. And about a year ago, I had the opportunity to do a little bit of correspondance with Lena, the chef behind the French Laundry’s incredible gluten-free flour blend, Cup4Cup (and no, I don’t get a discount because I love it so much, although that might be kind of nice…). And it was decided. The French Laundry was on my list.

So, I stalked OpenTable. Reservations open up exactly three months in advance, and I had one day and only one day durring my trip that I could make this work.

I made the drive from San Francisco to Yountville with Brandy Wendler, the gluten-free beauty who is currently Mrs. Northwest 2013, Kyra Bussanich, 2-time cupcake wars winner & owner of one of the best bakeries in the country, Charissa who owns the award winning Zest Bakery in San Carlos with her husband, Patrick and Andrew from Taste Guru. We met up with Alison from A Girl Defloured outside the restaurant.

You can’t get a bunch of food bloggers (or girls for that matter) together without a need to document every moment.

So document, we did. From the first glass of wine until our phone batteries died, we were happily snapping away.

With our party shoes on (well, mine were on once I got them back from Kyra), we descended on one of the culinary industry’s most famed locales. And, with a whole host of food allergies and intolerances, we challenged the kitchen to feed us.

Feed us they did.

I might have even eaten a piece of beet and not wanted to spit it out for the first time in my life. So, Chef Keller, your team must be magic, because that has never happened before.

And it wasn’t just some special sauce on the beets.

You could see the skill in the artfully presented dishes. Flavors danced. Each course was perfectly portioned, just a few bites each. Enough to fully experience the dish but not so much that you would be weary.

My favorite had to be the cauliflower. It was crunchy. Robust. Not at all what I expected. The courses were all like that. Surprises of flavor.

At some point, they must have figured out who Kyra was. Or they thought if they fed us more we might stop giggling.

They were wrong about that. But the surprise courses might have been some of the best. Mango sorbet and champagne granité. A root beer float that was unexpected. Spicy. Bright.

They couldn’t make us the desserts on the menus for us gluten free, so they asked us if we preferred chocolate or fruit.

Really? You have a doubt in your mind what 5 out of the 6 of us chose?

My phone was all out of juice by then, so you will have to take my word for it being divine. And then they served us chocolates. I might have had a peanut butter & jelly one.

At this point, Brandy & I had to run because we were talking to bloggers that evening back in San Francisco, and we were 5 hours into lunch. Our greedy friends didn’t save us any of the doughnuts that they made for us. Something about fried doughs not keeping well.

I tossed my wallet to Kyra and after some disproving glances from the hostess who looked like she thought we were running out on the bill, our experience of one incredible display of food artistry came to an end.

Except it didn’t.

That meal has been following me all week. Those vegetables have consumed my thoughts.

And the brioche.

Oh. the brioche.

They were clouds of yeasty goodness that punctuated an incredible meal. And frankly, I needed more.

Gluten-Free Brioche

Recipe Type: Bread

Prep time: 3 hours

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 3 hours 15 mins

Serves: 12

This recipe is adapted from the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook via penandfork.com

Ingredients

7 grams (2 teaspoons) instant (bread machine) yeast
20 grams (1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons) granulated sugar
230 grams (3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons + 1 3/4 teaspoons) warm water, at 75°F/23.8°C
535 grams (3 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon) Cup4Cup gluten-free all purpose flour (see notes)
20 grams (2 tablespoons + 3/4 teaspoon) kosher salt
158 grams (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) eggs – this is about 3 eggs
22 grams (1 1/2 tablespoons) egg yolks (about 1 yolk)
80 grams (1/4 cup) honey
100 grams (3.5 ounces – 7 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg for the egg wash
1 teaspoon (6 grams) Maldon salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Combine the yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Stir in the warm water, and set in a warm place for 10 minutes. The mixture will be foaming and bubbly.
Once the yeast has proofed, combine the Cup4Cup and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks, honey, butter, and proofed yeast mixture.
Add the egg mixture to the flour in a steady stream with the mixer running on low. Increase the speed to medium and mix the dough for 10 minutes. It will be very silky, almost like a cake batter.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise in a warm place for an hour, the dough should about double in size.
Using a rubber spatula, deflate the dough, turning it over a few times in the bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, recover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Make an egg wash by beating an egg lightly.
Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray. Divide the dough evenly among the wells of the pans. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with the maldon (or sea) salt. Set the pan somewhere warm for 40 minutes. You want the dough to raise and spread – but it will not double, so don’t let it sit for longer waiting for that.
When you have about 10 minutes left of raising time, heat up your oven to 350°F. Bake your rolls for 15-17 minutes. You want the tops to be golden and a toothpick to come out clean when it is inserted into the middle.
Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve with the best butter you can get your hands on.

Notes

This recipe is designed to work with Cup4Cup gluten-free all purpose flour, but should work well with flours such as Jules Nearly Normal or Better Batter.

3.2.1337

January 30, 2013

Wednesday Wisdom: Fast Family Dinner – Orange Chicken

Wednesday Wisdom is a series of posts with helpful ideas for getting started with being gluten-free, easy meal ideas and lifestyle thoughts from myself and my gluten-free friends. This week’s post is from Jen Cafferty from the Gluten & Allergen Free Expo.

When it comes to quick and easy dinners, one of my favorite things to make is stir-fry. Asian stir-fry is already really easy to make and I have even simplified this chicken recipe more by using chicken nuggets. I know that may sound gross, but the reality is that you are ultimately just frying some chicken with your vegetables and adding sauce, so why not start out with pre-fried chicken – the nuggets!

My favorite gluten-free asian sauces are by San-J. They make a lot of wonderful sauces but my ultimate favorite is the Orange Sauce. My husband finds it to be a little too sweet so we add a few splashes of sriracha chili sauce and it takes the sweetness away but still retains it’s orange flavor.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family does! Jen

Gluten Free Orange Chicken Stir Fry

Author: Jen Cafferty

Ingredients

1 pound package chicken nuggets (we use Allergen Free Foods or Bell & Evans)
1Tablespoons oil
1 cup San-J orange sauce
a few splashes sriracha chile sauce (I like the bottle with the rooster on it)
3 cups shredded cabbage (you can use a bag that was chopped for cole slaw)
4 green onions, sliced (use the whites and greens)
1 cup broccoli florets, cut into small pieces (you might want to heat them in the microwave for a minute to soften them)
1 red pepper, sliced
any other veggies you love
cooked white or brown rice

Instructions

Bake the chicken nuggets as suggested on the package. Once cooked, remove them from the oven and cut them into 1″ pieces.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil.
Add the vegetables to the skillet and saute for about 5 minutes until they are heated through and reduced slightly. Once the veggies are cooked, add the to the pan.
Pour the orange sauce over the mixture and add a splash or two of the chili sauce. Stir to combine.
Serve over white or brown rice or gluten-free noodles.

3.2.1337

January 20, 2013

How to win at client meetings

I am a web designer in real life.

And that means I have to talk to clients. Often.

So I go to a lot of meetings. And meetings are hard. You have to be sharp, look like the smartest person in the room and you have to keep smiling even if a client hates your design.

You need a secret weapon. And I happen to have a couple of those.

First, you need fabulous shoes. It is best if you have a drawer full of options in the office, this way, you can put on your take-no-prisoner shoes for one meeting and your this-girl-has-style shoes for the next.

Next, you need something to smile about when discussions get intense. Or for when you realize that the venti dirty hippie (soy chai with 3 shots) that you had on your way to the office has ceased fueling your brain. I like fun socks when I am wearing boots. And every time I think about my silly socks, I smile.

A fancy notebook and pen can make you look serious. And important. Despite your silly socks. Spiral notebooks are for teenagers and legal pads are for old people. Never underestimate the power of a good notebook. Ever.

Also, don’t be afraid to doodle. Science proves it helps you concentrate. My notebooks prove old doodles can be entertaining.

And if all else fails, feed them. Good food makes people happy. And the person who brought the treats is instantly the most popular person in the room. You will get bonus points if you made it. And double bonus points if it is something exciting. Like gluten-free cranberry gingerbread tea cakes. *

*n.b. if the client knows you write a food blog and you don’t ever bring a treat to a meeting, they will be very, very sad.

There is something about gingerbread that warms the soul.

Maybe it is only me. You see, I grew up with a photo of gingerbread men on my wall. My grandma always had gingersnaps in her cookie jar. It oozes warmth and comfort. A sense of delicious decadence.

Together, ginger and molasses make magic happen. And when they go on a double date with cranberry and orange.

Bam.

Now, put those bad boys into a muffin tin (I used one with squares rather than circles). Glaze them. Call them tea cakes. Pretend that makes them breakfast food. Bring them to a 9am meeting with clients. Be the most popular person in the room. (And don’t tell them that they are gluten-free until after they have devoured half of them).

Gluten- Free Cranberry Gingerbread Tea Cakes with Orange Glaze

Recipe Type: Snack

Cuisine: American

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 18

These are adapted from Joy the Baker’s Orange Gingerbread

Ingredients

For the cakes
305 grams (2 1/4 cups) gluten-free all-purpose flour*
3 grams (1 teaspoon) xantham gum**
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoorn ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
8 grams (1 3/4 teaspoons) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
205 ml (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
175 ml (3/4 cup) molasses
60 ml (1/4 cup) honey
175 ml (3/4 cup) warm water
100 grams (2 cups) cranberries
For the glaze
250 ml (1 cup) orange juice
450 grams (2 cups) confectioner’s sugar, sifted to remove lumps
1 teaspoon orange extract (optional)

Instructions

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease & line a square-welled pan with parchment paper, and grease the parchment paper as well. (Or use a muffin tin and line with cupcake papers)
In a medium bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour, xantham gum (if using), spices, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs and whisk until they are thick and pale.
Stir in the molasses and the honey.
Now, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Once everything is mixed well, add the warm water and gently stir until it is entirely combined and the mixture has turned into a smooth batter.
Divide the batter among the wells of your pan or cupcake tin, and they should be about 2/3 full.
Add 3-4 cranberries to each tea cake.
Bake cake for 25-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
While your tea cakes bake, whisk together your juice, confectioners sugar and extract to form a smooth glaze. Feel free to add sugar to make a thicker (or sweeter) glaze. There is no exact science with this part.
When the cakes are done, cool on a wire rack and drizzle with the glaze. The recipe makes a generous amount, so don’t be shy with it.

3.2.1337

Because donuts are so last year. And muffins are for boring people. (Well, just for today. Tomorrow cool people will be making muffins again).

January 6, 2013

Hello 2013. I’m glad you made it. I have big plans for you. Now let’s have soup.

It’s a new year. A clean slate.

So, eyes front soldier.

I can tell you what there will not be. In my life or on this site. There will be no checking over my shoulder to see what I should have done. No looking in the mirror and wondering why. No questioning my choices. No, as MammaCakes woud say, should-a, would-a, could-a ‘s. It’s all about the path ahead. It is time to look forward. To think about where I am going.

December 14, 2012

Gluten free maple cinnamon rolls

Sometimes, it is all about the food.

And the smiles that warm cinnamon rolls can put on the face of a child. (Ok and the fact that the child in question started calling me the goddess of pastry doesn’y hurt either.)

Every morning, I walk through Union Station and I am haunted by the magical scent of warm cinnamon and butter rolled up in a yeasty dough. It is enough to drive a girl bonkers. Particularly when it is the scent of Cinnabon.

Seriously.

I have been craving cinnamon rolls for a year. So I finally did something about it.

I captured that magical scent and flavor combination in my very own kitchen.

These are easy to make, but they do take a little but of waiting. But they are totally worth it.

Gluten free maple cinnamon rolls

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 1 hour 15 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 1 hour 40 mins

Ingredients

Dough
160 ml milk (dairy or non-dairy), warmed
35 grams sugar (2T)
280 grams (2 cups) all-purpose gluten free flour*
7 grams (1 t) active dry yeast
40 grams (2.5 T) butter or EarthBalance
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract if you don’t have the paste)
Pinch salt
Filling
210 grams (1 cup) Brown Sugar
30 grams (2 tablespoons) Butter, melted
1/4 cup (25 mL) Maple Syrup
1 tbsp Maple Flakes or maple sugar (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
Topping
1/2 cup or so cream cheese frosting or
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 T milk and
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Dough

Measure out your ingredients and prepare a mise en place.
In a small bowl combine warm milk, a teaspoon of your sugar, a tablespoon of your flour and your yeast. Let sit for about 15 minutes – the mixture should have produced a decent amount of foam.
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the remaining flour, sugar, butter, vanilla and salt.
Add in the yeast mixer and mix to combine. Once combined, turn the mixer speed to low-medium (mine was on 3) and let the dough “knead” for about 10 minutes.
Watch the dough, if it is impossibly sticky add a little more flour a teaspoon at a time. (It was a bit humid in my apartment and I ended up adding 2 teaspoons of flour).
After 10 minutes, place the dough in a greased bowl in a warm spot (my microwave is the warmest spot in my kitchen). Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. If you have a spare bowl for your mixer, pop it and the whisk attachment (or any bowl and the beaters for your hand mixer) into the freezer. You need it good and cold to whip the cream.
Let the dough raise for 45 mins-1 hour. It should have just about doubled in size.

Filling

Near the end of the rising time, mix together all the ingredients for the filling in a small mixing bowl.

Assemble

Roll out the dough to 1/4” thickness and in a rectangle about 6×10″.
Spread the filling on the dough in a thin layer.
Roll the dough up along the long edge (you want a 10″ long tube).
Place it on a cookie sheet, cover with a towel and set in a warm spot while your oven preheats to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
When the oven is warm, slice the roll into 6 even pieces.
Arrange the rolls in a greased 8 or 9″ baking dish (shape is not important).
Bake for 35 minutes, or until they are a light golden brown and bubbling.
When the rolls are still warm, but before they are completely cool, slather them with leftover cream cheese frosting if you have it around. If not, mix together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and drizzle over the cinnamon rolls

Notes

*If you are not using a pre-blended flour, you can either use Shauna’s All-Purpose Blend and add 2 teaspoons xantham gum. Whisk well before using.
Or you can make your own with 90 grams (3/4 cup) tapioca starch, 100 grams (1/2 cup) sweet white rice flour, 60 grams (1/2 cup) sorghum flour. Add 2 teaspoons xantham gum and whisk together well to ensure that the gum is spread throughout the flour.

3.1.09

December 5, 2012

Ratio Rally: Focaccia

This post is part of the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, a group of gluten-free bloggers inspired and empowered by Ruhlman‘s Ratio and started by Shauna at Gluten-Free Girl. We get together each month and post many different takes on the same theme. This month that theme is Gluten-Free Tarts and the rally is being hosted by Heather from Discovering the Extraordinary.

Yeast breads make me nervous. Very, very nervous.

Most likely because I never made yeasted bread before going gluten-free. I don’t have a lot of experience knowing how the dough or batter should behave.

Cakes, I got. Muffins & pancakes? We are good to go. Gluten-free cookies? Just call me an expert. Bread? Well, I am still learning. But I would qualify today’s recipe as a success.

The ratio: 5:4

Gluten free flours:liquids. Add a splash of oil for flavor. Call it winning.

I am serious. This is the easiest yeast bread I have made, and one that has a great flavor. There is an egg in there as part of the liquid, but it also helps beef up the structure and add a wee bit of lift.

Yes, this dough is wet. And a little sticky. You just have to trust me. It works. And it is darn good.

The flavors

Brown butter in place of the traditional olive oil. Sage on top. A sprinkling of sea salt. The yeasty flavor that you only get from home made or artisan loaves.

This is some seriously delicious bread.

It would make good sandwich bread when sliced in half. (Do I see paninis in my future? I sure hope so…)

Want a different flavor? Use good olive oil in place of the browned butter. Swap out the toppings. Mix something into the dough.

This months participants

Heather | Discovering the Extraordinary made Rosemary and Garlic Focaccia Bread
Carol / Goodness Gluten Free made Gluten Free Garlic and Parmesean Focaccia
Morri | Meals with Morri made Sweet Cinnamon Raisin Focaccia Bread
~Aunt Mae (aka ~Mrs. R) made Focaccia Bread
Silvana / Silvana’s Kitchen made Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Focaccia
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies made Gluten Free Cheesy Herb Focaccia
Shauna| Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef made Gluten-Free Cherry and Almond Focaccia

Ratio Rally: Focaccia

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (355 ml) warm water
13 grams (1 1/2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
3 grams (1/2 teaspoon) sugar
45 grams (3 tablespoons) butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon table salt
500 grams (3 1/2 cups) GF All Purpose Flour (I use Cup4Cup)
2 teaspoons xantham gum (omit if your flour blend contains this or a similar ingredient such as guar gum or Expandex)
generous sprinkling of chopped fresh or dried sage
1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees. Turn it off once it is warm.
Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and grease well with olive oil or butter.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar.
Melt butter over medium-low heat and continue to cook until it turns brown and starts to smell slightly nutty. Be careful not to burn the butter. Let cool slightly.
Add the egg and browned butter to the bowl of the stand mixer, and mix until just combined.
Stir in the flour, salt and xantham gum (if using). Mix on a low speed for 3 minutes. You will have a slightly shaggy and tacky dough.
Spread the dough into the baking dish with a spatula, trying to make it even.
Cover the pan with a towel and place in the oven for 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sprinkle the dough with the sage and sea salt.
Put the pan in the oven, then drop the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped.

3.1.09

November 18, 2012

Friendsgiving & an epic punch

My friends have this tradition, that I had no idea was a thing that lots of people do until this year, called Friendsgiving.

It is a pretty simple concept: you gather up your friends, have people to sign up to bring things, eat food, play games and celebrate. You celebrate being thankful with the people who, while they aren’t family, are some of your favorite people on the planet.

There is something about turkey, stuffing, and pie that brings people together. And get together we did. My group of friends sounds like it could be the punch line to a joke: What do you get when you gather a handful of technology consultants, a lawyer, a designer, a medical technician, a lobbyist, a medical researcher, a couple of teachers, a Groupon employee…

You get 23 people. A mix of people from two groups of friends that merged together when a couple of straight guys traded numbers in the bathroom at Wrigley Field. And have been friends ever since. (And next fall the two halves will be united by a marriage. Let’s call it fate).

You get an epic feast.

You get beer pong and dance offs.

You get laughs.

You see how damned lucky you are. Just how much you have to be thankful for.

Why?

Because one of them insists that the next time I need to use an epi-pen, it is going to be his job. Because one of them shares your shoe size and love of footwear. Because one of them gets endlessly harassed about that one party 5 years ago… Because one of them loves to bake almost as much as me.

Because who else is going to listen to your stories of gentleman callers? Or tease you about being a robot? Or remind you just how crazy it is to change from a pair of 5″ stilettos to a pair of 3.5″ pumps because your feet hurt and you need sensible shoes?

Just them. My pretty awesome friends.

It was an amazing evening. I had a blast.

But in the preparations, there was just one problem. All these people know I write a food blog. And they are expecting something amazing.

So, I had to open with a bang. Show off during dinner and still have a stand-out dessert.

I made Hot Ginger Apple Rum Punch, Parsnip, Apple & Sage stuffing, Mushroom Stuffing and Cranberry Upside down cake. in 3.5 hours. Because I am a show-off. And I wanted to make sure that there was enough food there that I wasn’t stuck with turkey and plain mashed potatoes.

I will get the rest of those items posted here sometime soon, but the first recipe I want to share with you is the one for the punch (it was the most requested recipe at the party). It was my opening bang, A gallon was gone in half an hour, and it might just be my new signature drink.

Hot Ginger Apple Rum Punch

Recipe Type: Drinks

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

10 ounces (300 grams) of ginger (a piece about the size of a woman’s palm), washed
10 1/2 cups (2L) water
Juice from 6 large lemons
6 1/2 cups (1.5L) Fresh apple cider (cloudy apple juice, NOT spiced cider)
2 cups (480 mL) dark rum*
~1/4 cup (35 mL) honey,

Instructions

Slice the ginger with the skin on and add to a large pot with the water.
Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Strain the water through a sieve and return to the pot. Discard the ginger.
Add the lemon juice, apple cider and honey. (I dont measure it, just hold it above the pot, squeeze and circle around the pot 4 times).
Simmer for another 15-20 minutes. You want to get your punch good and hot. Taste it. It should only be slightly sweet. If it is too tart, go ahead and add a smidge more honey.
Remove from the heat and either add the rum (and apple spirits, if using). Place in a punch bowl (or cool looking jug for transport to a party). Serve as promptly as possible, to keep the alcohol from evaporating and the punch from getting cold.
You could also divide up the spirits into 12 glasses and top with even amounts of the apple, lemon, ginger mixture if you want to do individual servings.

Notes

*You can also replace half of the rum with an apple spirit such as Apple Jack or Calvados – I used Apple Jack when I served this to my friends.

3.1.09

November 7, 2012

Ratio Rally: Gluten-Free Mini Vanilla Chai Bundt Cakes

This post is brought to you by the number 1.

Since Big Bird isn’t at risk of getting fired, I thought a Sesame Street reference would be OK.

And the ratio is full of them, so there is that.

The ratio

1:1:1:1 ish. Butter:Flour:Sugar:Eggs

And heck, throw in some liquid (up to 1 part) for good measure.

I mean, that is where pound cake got its name. A pound of butter, a pound of eggs, a pound of sugar and a pound of flour. Equal parts. Awesomely delicious.

Now, put that in a bundt and you have a winner.

I don’t want to get too crazy into the science here, but you can vary any of these ingredients by up to 20% and your ratio should still work. I added liquid, cut back a little on the sugar and added a little extra flour so that there was an even cup measurement for those of you who still bake by volume (someday you will see the light, I just know it). I also cut back on the butter and eggs, to make room for the liquid. (How the flavors got into the cake).

Kiss my bundt.

Ok, I just had to.

Mostly because Bundts are awesome. They are usually a dense cake, like a pound cake, baked in a pretty pan and topped with a glaze. Easy peasy.

How about a scene from a romantic comedy about bundts?

(I had to, mostly because I love that movie, even if it wasn’t filmed in Chicago)

Ok, enough sillyness.

Chai is one of my favorite things. I drink double dirty soy chai lattes. My first recipe on this blog was for Gluten Free Chai Latte Cupcakes. In my first Ratio Rally, I shared a recipe for chai gluten-free cream puffs.

And it is back again. Chai spiced vanilla bean bundt cakes. In minature.

Bundts are elegant and un-fussy, and can be whipped up in a jiffy. They are even a breeze to decorate. Excellent for a last minute birthday treat.

This month’s rally is over at GFTravelette – make sure you go check it out!

Gluten-Free Mini Vanilla Chai Bundt Cakes

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 18`

A fun take on a bundt! With milk steeped with spices, the cake combines some of my favorite flavors

Ingredients

1/2 cup (120 mls) milk
5 green cardamom pods
2 star anise
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
4 cloves
210 grams (1 1/2 cups) gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum (omit if using a blend that includes this)
1 g baking soda (1/4 teaspoon)
2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
175 grams (3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) sugar
125 grams (1 stick + 1 tablespoon) butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
2 eggs
1 vanilla bean
3 tablespoons milk
1/2-1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a small sauce pan over low heat, simmer the milk, cardamom pods, star anise, cloves and fresh ginger for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes while you prepare your miss en place.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease your mini bunt pan.
Whisk together the flour, xantham gum (if using), baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using a stand mixer on medium-high and beating for about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla bean paste.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides after each addition.
Strain the steeped milk, and add 1/3 to the batter.
When it is fully incorporated, add half the flour, and scrape down the sides of the mixer. Repeat until you are out of milk and flour (it should go milk – flour- milk -flour – milk). Mixing on no higher than medium, and scraping down the sides after each addition.
Use a #40 scoop (or fill the wells of the pan no more than half way), and divide the batter into the pan.
Bake for 20 minutes, until the cakes are golden brown and a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Bake the remaining batter.
While the cakes are baking, split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the 3 tablespoons of milk in a liquid measuring cup or a bowl with a spout. You want this to sit for 20-30 mins.
When the cakes are done and cooling, whisk the powdered sugar and salt into the vanilla milk. You want a glaze that is thick and opaque, but not so thick it won’t pour. If it is too thin, it will run off the cakes. My advice? Have a test cake and when you think you are close drizzle a little and see how it works. If the glaze gets too thick, add a half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Serve in cupcake papers for a pretty, special treat.