Tag: gluten free

September 7, 2011

GF Ratio Rally: Raspberries & Cream doughnuts

I might have a thing for doughnuts. I made 3 kinds of baked doughnuts earlier this summer with grown up flavors like honey lavender and ginger brown butter. (I might have also shown you that I have a ridiculous sweet tooth with those powdered sugar doughnuts).

When we were kids, doughnuts were a special tradition. On the morning of my first day of first grade, the ceiling collapsed in the kitchen. The fan was still spinning while it was sitting on the kitchen table. My dad, the breakfast superhero, couldn’t cook. So, he did what any dad would do. He went out to get doughnuts and started a tradition that lasted until I went away to college.

My favorites? Chocolate snowballs (powdered sugar-covered, chocolate whipped cream filled), Boston Creme and strawberry. Oh and pumpkin or apple spice doughnuts.

For this month’s Gluten Free Ratio Rally (in which we all create a recipe based on a ratio – you can learn more at Shauna’s introductory post), Meg thought we should all make doughnuts or fritters. The timing was perfect. School has just started; the air was cool this morning. And I had a whole bottle of canola oil.

My first two attempts at doughnuts were miserable failures. I tried one where you create a yeast sponge that you let sit overnight (hockey pucks) and another with the ratio that everyone else seemed to find workable (sand).

I sat down and did some math from recipes of chefs I admire (Jamie Oliver, Baked, Alton Brown, etc.). My ratio is radically different from the other ones that you will see. I used no eggs. I used a lower flour to liquid ratio. But I ended up with doughnuts that are like eating clouds. They were good plain (I had to taste to make sure), they were excellent with just the glaze (again, I had to taste them to verify) and they were pretty close to perfection once I filled them with cream and dipped them in the glaze again.

My ratio was 3:2:1:1. Flour:Liquid:Sugar:Fat. Pretty simple. You can scale this recipe down if it is just for 2 or scale it up to feed a small army.

If you are going to buy a flour blend, I made some of these with the Cup4Cup flour from Williams-Sonoma (that bag cost $20! You better believe I will be baking with it). You will have equally fantastic results with Jules’ Nearly Normal Flour. Want to blend your own? There is a break down in the recipe notes on how to do this.

Yeast doughnuts are not for the time-pressed, and I made these a little more complicated than just your basic doughnut. There is time involved (lots of waiting). You don’t have to fill yours, or cook raspberries to make a juice. (I also used the pulp to flavor my yogurt and cooked the leftover juice into a syrup for adding to bubbly water).

Think of the doughnut as a blank canvas with infinite possibilities. And then think of just how worth it a warm straight-from-the-fryer doughnut is. (KrispyKreme did not end up all over the country for nothing! Warm doughnuts are a superb treat).

Before the recipe magic, here are links to all the other participants in this month’s event, hosted by Meg at Gluten-Free Boulangerie

Charissa from Zest Bakery made Picarones (Sweet potato/pumpkin fritters)
Jenn from Jenn Cuisine made Mini raspberry doughnut cakes
Lisa from Gluten Free Canteen made Apple Butter Maple Syrup Donuts, GF
gretchen from kumquat made peach cider doughnuts
Brooke from B & the boy! made Apricot Fritters
Meg from Gluten-Free Boulangerie made Old-fashioned raised doughnuts & cake doughnuts
Rachel from The Crispy Cook made Chocolate Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze
Caneel from Mama Me Gluten Free Thai Fried Bananas
Jean Layton made Cinnamon Apple Fritters OK
Silvana from Silvana’s Kitchen Vanilla-Glazed Chocolate Chip Doughnuts
Claire from Gluten Freedom made Chocolate Coconut or Cinnamon-Glazed Vanilla Cake Donuts
Jeanette from Jeanette’s Healthy Living made Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Shauna from Gluten-Free Girl & the Chef made Gluten-free yeast doughnuts
Caliegh from Gluten Free(k) made Beetroot Fritters
TR from Nobody Likes Crumbly Cookies made Sweet Pepper Fritters
Pete from No Gluten, No Problem made doughnut holes
Britt from GF in the City made fritters
Tara from A Baking Life made Gluten Free Brioche Doughnuts
Irvin from Eat the Love made Vanilla Doughnuts

Gluten Free Raspberries & Cream doughnuts

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 2 hours 30 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 2 hours 40 mins

Serves: 6

I really love doughnuts and this recipe has you making every last bit from scratch. But don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone that you decided to fill them with store bought jam and didn’t make a glaze but topped them with powdered sugar instead. No matter what, as long as the dough is right, you can’t go wrong.

Ingredients

160 ml milk (I used SoDelicious), warmed
35 grams sugar
250 grams (2 cups +1 tablespoon) 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
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup raspberry juice**
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup [url href=”http://frannycakes.com/recipes/master-recipes-pastry-cream/”]pastry cream[/url]
1 cup heavy cream or coconut milk cream

Instructions

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.
Roll out the dough to ½” thickness and cut it into small circles (I used a small cup and they were about 2.5” in diameter.) Place them onto a greased baking sheet. Keep re-rolling the dough until you use it all up. (I got 15 mini-doughnuts from this recipe).
Let them rise for another 45 minutes.
While the doughnuts are raising, melt the 1 ½ tablespoons butter and combine it with ½ cup raspberry juice and ½ cup powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth. If it is too runny, add more powdered sugar, too stiff add more liquid
With about 10 minutes of rising time left, heat 1 quart of oil in a big, deep pot (I used my 5 quart dutch oven). You want it to be about 370 degrees.
Fry the doughnuts for about a minute on each side. You want them to turn a nice golden color.
Set on a cooling rack.
Once all the doughnuts are fried and are cool enough to touch, dip them into the glaze. This first dip doesn’t have to be perfect – it just helps the flavor seep into the doughnut.
Take your bowl and whisk out of the freezer. Beat the heavy cream or non-dairy cream until you have stiff peaks. Add the pastry cream and beat about a minute more, until you have a uniform cream.
Fit a pastry bag with a narrow plain tip and fill it with the filling (the fancy name for this is diplomat cream).
Poke holes in the sides of all of your doughnuts with a skewer and then insert the pastry tip in the hole. Squeeze about 1 ½ tablespoons of filling in each doughnut.
Dip them one more time in the glaze and top with sprinkles (optional).

Notes

*If you are not using a pre-blended flour, you can either use [url href=”http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-holiday-baking-2010/”]Shauna’s All-Purpose Blend[/url] 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.
**I made mine by cooking a half pint of raspberries in 2 cups of water with a half cup of sugar for about 30 minutes – you can use store bought or just use milk and vanilla extract

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2.1.7

September 6, 2011

Master Recipes: Pastry Cream

You are probably not going to be all that excited about today’s recipe. But you should be.

Pastry Cream is one of those things that you should know how to make. It can fill your cream puffs, it can be served as a vanilla pudding or make it the filling for a fruit tart.

It is also frequently made with all-purpose flour. This recipe isn’t.

I also like making it with So Delicious (a coconut milk). I don’t drink milk, so that is usually all I have in my fridge. So, this can be made dairy free. The only thing that it can’t be (as far as I know) is vegan.

Master Recipes: Pastry Cream

Author: Adapted from Baking at Home from the Culinary Institute of America

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 30 mins

This recipe is adapted from Baking at Home from the Culinary Institute of America. I almost always make this with coconut milk from SoDelicious (and no, they don’t pay me to tell you that). But, you can make it the traditional way with real milk. It makes about 2 cups which is enough for a 9 inch tart.

Ingredients

30 grams (1/4 cup) cornstarch
150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar, divided
½ cup So Delicious Creamer with 1½ cups unsweetend coconut milk or 2 cups milk, divided
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons butter
pinch of salt

Instructions

Prepare an ice bath.
In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/4 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
Put the pot over your ice bath and stir every 5-10 mintues for about half an hour, or until the cream has cooled.

3.2.2124

September 5, 2011

Lemon Thyme Shortbread & C4C flour review

There was a bit of hubub on twitter over this flour. Mostly it was about the price – not sure why. 3lbs of the King Arthur Gluten Free Flour is $16 and 3lbs of Jules Nearly Normal flour comes out to about $12 (she sells 5lb bags). It is a little more expensive, but not horribly so. It is a product sold at Williams Sonoma, they sell premium cookware and foods. Pasta sauce from there is expensive too ($12 a jar!). It is a premium store that sells premium products. Call me snooty, but I love shopping there. And I am ok with paying a price for luxury/ premium goods.

And yes, the flour is fairly pricey. But, is it good? Yes. Very.

Blondie and I got up early last Sunday and went to a gluten-free baking technique class. Ours was taught by a delightful pastry chef who gave some good tips for baking – and taught Blondie quite a bit about gluten-free ingredients and baking. I even learned a trick about baking cookies.

The whole point of this class was to sample their new brownie & cookie mixes (which don’t taste like they came from a box at all – but I still think they are cheating). And to demo their new flour. (Williams-Sonoma, please have more Gluten-Free technique classes!)

Cup4Cup is a gluten-free flour blend developed by Chef Thomas Keller of French Laundry and Bouchon Bakery fame. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the flour. I baked some shortbread cookies to test it out. I have had some disappointments in the past when it comes to gluten-free flour blends. And there are very few that I recommend without hesitation. This one is now on that list.

The batter seemed a little gummier than I am used to, but the cookies are a little chewy (but not gummy) and did not turn to dust when I touched them (this has happened). There were no strange flavors (which some brands AP blends have) and the texture of the baked good was spot on. Sometimes when you bake gluten free cookies, you need to substitute shortening for some of the butter so that they do not spread into one giant cookie. This flour held its shape in baking, a major plus.

I also used this while testing my fried doughnut recipe that will be live on Wednesday for the Gluten Free Ratio Rally. It actually seems to be working (the dough is raising now, but the texture seemed spot on. The dough had stretch and absorbed the right amount of moisture). I will have to try a loaf of bread with this next…

I also love that I can pick up a bag of this stuff when I am wandering around Williams-Sonoma ogling the kitchen goods that I am going to register for when I get married. I also am really impressed that a fancy-schmancy player has entered the game.

This blend will not work for those of you who also have problems with dairy or gums, as this blend has both. My only aversion to dairy is that I don’t like the way that milk tastes.

I am going to make sure that Blondie has a bag of this in his pantry for when I come to town. (Especially now that he finally has measuring cups and spoons – I can deal with not having a scale for our weekends together)

I would definitely put this as one of my preferred store-bought blends. I think it might have worked its way up to second favorite blend.

There are some limitations to using a prepared flour blend. You can’t change the ratio of grains to starches depending on what you are baking. (So no whole grain breads). You also can’t change the amount of the binding agent (xantham gum, guar gum, flax, expandex, etc.) But, you can make your grandma’s famous chocolate cake without doing math.

This blend beats out my other favorite blend in one aspect, I can just go into a store and pick it up. (Maybe not in Champaign, but in Chicago). No expensive shipping because flour weighs alot!

If you are baking a recipe from a gluten free site (such as this), just total all the flours and use this in it’s place. It works as a weight substitution and as a volume substitution.

So, thank you Williams-Sonoma and Chef Thomas Keller for this flour.

Gluten Lemon-Thyme Shortbread

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Recipe Type: Cookie

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 30

These are a light, summery cookie. They are not too sweet, but they are tangy with an herb kick. They would go great with some vanilla ice cream for a summer dessert.

Ingredients

230 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
100 grams (½ cup) sugar
340 grams (2 ½ cups) gluten-free all purpose flour blend
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup lemon juice (the juice from 1 large lemon)
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

Cream together the butter and sugar until it is just blended.
Add the flour in 2 batches, scraping down the sides of your mixer after each addition.
Add the lemon juice and mix to combine.
Stir in the lemon zest and thyme.
Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes.About halfway through this time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Roll the dough out and cut into the desired shape (I did 3 inch circles).
Arrange about a half inch apart on a greased cookie sheets and bake for 13-17 minutes.

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1.2.4

September 4, 2011

Raspberry Truffles

I really want to tell you an amazing story about something going on in my life. But really, this week was fairly uneventful. I only saw Blondie for a couple of hours on Thursday night (he brought me some Pei Wei!). Except for the part where I was in Chicago to be hooked up for a neurostimulator trial. Basically. I now have some electrical leads in my spine and get to keep them for a week to see if the big surgery where they implant the whole contaption will work.

But, that is not a fun and exciting story. It only explains why I am only comfortable lying down or standing up. For some reason, I can’t get comfortable while sitting. (It might have something to do with the multiple stitches in my back holding things in place). So, I am baking. I made lemon-thyme shortbread, these truffles and the yeast starter for raspberries & cream doughnuts.

Tomorrow, I will be baking a brown sugar spice cake to do my time arts class homework.

That’s a lot of desserts. Too bad Blondie went to South Bend for a Notre Dame football game and skipped out on coming to Champaign to take care of his invalid girlfriend. No baked goods for him until next weekend.

Maybe Emily will have a cookout tomorrow, and there will be people around to eat all these goodies. Or else I am going to have to hunt down my art class instructor and bribe him with baked goods to give me an A.

Raspberry Truffles

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Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 90 mins

Total time: 1 hour 40 mins

Serves: 40

Truffles are deceptively easy, decadent and elegant. This recipe makes about 25 truffles and can be scaled up or down. There really is only about 10 minutes of prep, but there is an hour or two of waiting time.

Ingredients

225 grams (8 ounces) dark chocolate, the better the chocolate the better these will taste
1 cup heavy cream (or So Delicious cream will work for vegan truffles)
2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur
1/2 cup cocoa

Instructions

Finely chop the chocolate and put into a mixing bowl.
Heat the heavy cream in a small sauce pot on medium until it is about to boil.
Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.
Stir the chocolate and cream until you have one smooth mixture.
Add the liquer.
Put in the fridge to set up for a couple of hours.
Scoop ganache with a cookie scoop (or a spoon if you don’t have a scoop) and roll into balls.
Roll in cocoa and allow to set up before serving.

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1.2.4

August 30, 2011

No, we didn’t win that ring.

It was kind of a busy weekend.

Blondie and I saw friends, had dinner with my family (because my cousin got engaged!), went to a baking demo, went out for lunch, managed to get in a few photos for my class and I made caramels.

Blondie and I were going to do a scavenger hunt/race for an engagement ring on Sunday. But we skipped it. To go to a gluten free baking demo at Williams Sonoma. But I will tell you more about that tomorrow, once I bake something with their new gluten free flour.

Blondie graciously jammed on his guitar so I could do some homework. (Rapid fire shots combined into one swell image).

The real story is this caramel recipe. And a cookbook that I think you need.

You see, I was that strange kid that absolutely adored bulls eyes and cow tail candies. The chewy caramel filled with the creamy crumbly white sugar stuff.

This was my second time making the recipe, and it is divine. (It sure made my dad happy too, he is the one who got me hooked on this type of candy as a kid).

Let me start with the book.

It is Sugar Baby by Gesine Bullock-Prado. Now, before you get all conspiracy theorist on me, yes, she is Sandra’s sister. I refuse to hold this against her (mostly because Sandra was super gracious to the neighborhood kids when she filmed While You Were Sleeping).

Almost the entire cookbook is gluten free. Simply because when you are cooking with sugar and making candies, you don’t need flour. (There are a half dozen recipes at the back of the book, but you could substitute your favorite cake, crepe or pâte à choux recipe for hers and just follow the technique and recipes for frosting and and other bits).

There are recipes for several different fudges, marshmallows, rock candy, milk candy and to top it off, cotton candy.

Another bonus? The ingredients are listed in both US measurements and by weight. (I made the caramels using both sets of measurements). For those of you afraid of relinquishing your measuring cups, the conversions are there. For those of you not in the states or who have started to use scales for baking, the weights are right there for you.

The instructions are clearly written in a friendly voice. She sounds like a friend teaching you how to do these things in the kitchen might sound. There are sweet stories in the recipe head notes and all the recipes look fabulous. (I would like an excuse to make fairy floss, so someone needs to have a party for me to bring it to).

I am sure this book is not dentist approved, but the recipes are fun and approachable. Plus, the author lists variations for each recipe.

Now, a few tips:

Use a metal bowl for your stand mixer, if you have one of those beautiful Kitchen Aids with a glass bowl, whipping the fondant takes twice as long.
The sharper your knife the better. I used a very sharp, serated knife.
Cold caramel-fondant rolls smush less. Although, I think the smushed ones taste just fine.
If it is super humid, you might need an extra tablespoon of cornstarch in your vanilla bean cream. It’s quite alright. It will still taste divine.
Don’t use vanilla extract in the fondant. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, scrape the seeds from a vanilla bean or use ground Tahitian vanilla beans (I used vanilla bean paste the first time and ground vanilla beans the second time).
Consult the photo tutorial from the author. It helped me visualize many of the steps.

Finally, a recipe.

Salted Caramels with Vanilla Bean Cream

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Recipe Type: Candy

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 75 mins

Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 40

This recipe is adapted from Sugar Baby by Gesine Bullock-Prado. This is a brilliant interpretation of one of my childhood favorites, and this recipe happens to be gluten free (unlike the industrial variety). These take a bit of time to prepare, and are a good Saturday afternoon project.

Ingredients

Caramel

1½ cups heavy cream
400 grams (2 cups) sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
stick (55 grams) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt

Vanilla Bean Cream

2 cups sugar
cup water
2 tablespoons corn syrup
pinch salt
stick (55 grams) unsalted butter
teaspoon vanilla bean paste or ground vanilla beans
1-2 tablespoons cornstarch, plus additional to dust counter

Instructions

Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and grease well. Really, grease it. You do not want to end up with a sticky mess.
Prepare your mise en place. (That means get your ingredients out and measured when you start). Cut both measures of butter into small pieces.
Make the caramel. In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom over medium heat, combine the cream, sugar and corn syrup. Clip a candy thermometer on your pot and stir the mixture gently. When it starts to boil, put your spoon down and step back from the stove. Wait while your sugar bubbles along. (If your pot is too small, it will boil over and make a huge mess. You are better off using a pot that is a little too big – as long as enough of your candy thermometer is submerged to effectively measure the temperature.) When it hits 257 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the pot from the heat, stir in the butter, vanilla extract and salt. Pour it into your prepared pan and spread evenly. Set aside.
Make the vanilla bean cream. In the bowl of a stand mixer (preferably a metal bowl), place the chopped butter. In a clean pot, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Put the pot over medium heat, attach a candy thermometer and stir until the mixture becomes clear. Boil the mixture until it reaches 245 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour in the bowl of the stand mixer. Slowly bring the mixer to medium and mix until translucent. Add the salt and vanilla bean paste (or ground vanilla bean). Continue beating until the mixture is white, shiny and mostly opaque. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Raise the speed to high and beat like crazy. I beat it for about 10 minutes the first time I made these, and 20 minutes the second time. It was super humid, so I also added a little extra cornstarch to help the mixture dry out. Once the mixture looks like it is starting to dry, stop the mixer. It should hold its shape pretty well. Turn it out onto a cornstarch dusted surface and knead. You should have a soft, pliable dough.
Assemble the rolls. Press the cream onto the caramel, leaving a half inch at each of the long ends. Remove the caramel from the pan and cut in half lengthwise (I used a pizza cutter for this). Roll the caramel and fondant into logs. Slice with a serrated knife. If your rolls smush or the fondant squeezes out, refrigerate the candies for about 10 mins. Then continue slicing.

Notes

Try using instant espresso powder in the fondant to create caramel frappucino candies.

You can make fat rolls (like the ones pictured), by leaving a half inch of fondant from the short sides, cutting the caramel in half lengthwise, and then in half crosswise to make 4 shorter, wider rolls.

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1.2.4

August 15, 2011

Sweet goodbye cake

Last week was a little hectic.

My boss came back to work after a few months out.

Someone who I trained when I was a student (and was the current office joker) had their last day.

My cousin (the one who dubbed me franny cakes) got engaged.

I got a haircut.

I made this cake.

Someone who works in the office said that where he comes from this cake would be called a gypsy arm. That was almost the title of this cake.

But it was a good-bye cake for a coworker. One who loves Little Debbie snacks and asked for something chocolate.

I first had this cake in junior high when my mom made it as a Bûche de Noël for my seventh grade French class with Mlle. Boyde.

You will never have a cake as airy as this. If you frost it with ganache and make meringue or marzipan mushrooms, you have a great Christmas treat. Or eat it naked with this shortening-butter-heavy cream-powdered sugar filling and satisfy your craving for ho-hos while realizing that this is way better.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake

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Recipe Type: Dessert

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 16 mins

Total time: 36 mins

Serves: 12

The cake is adapted from my mom who got it from Rose Levy Berenbaum’s Cake Bible. The greasing mixture is based on Alton Brown’s Kitchen Lube.

Ingredients

Pan Lube
2 teapoons shortening
1 teaspoon cocoa
cake
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (50 grams + 25 grams) sugar
6 large eggs separated and at room temperature
4 (110 grams) ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
unsweetened cocoa
filling
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons shortening
2 teapoons vanilla bean paste
4 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make the greasing mixture by mixing shortening and cocoa. Grease a jelly roll pan with the mixture, line it with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper.
Beat 1/4 cup (50 grams)sugar and the egg yolks until light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. Pour in the melted (and slightly cooled) chocolate. Beat until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
In a seperate bowl that is very clean (dampen a paper towel with vinegar or lemon juice and wipe out the bowl and then dry with a clean paper towel to be certain that your bowl is free of grease). With the whisk attachment of your mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy, then add the lemon juice. Beat until you have soft peaks when you raise the beater. Slowly add the remaining sugar while beating and keep beating until you have stiff peaks.
Fold 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate mixture with a large whisk or spatula. This will lighten the chocolate so that the air stays in in the egg whites. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for about 16 minutes. The cake will no longer be shiny and will spring back when lightly pressed with a finger.
Dust the warm cake with the cocoa and turn out onto a clean dish towel. Remove the parchment paper and dust this side of the cake generously with cocoa as well. Roll it up in the towel and let cool.
While the cake cools, beat together the butter and shortening. Add the cream and vanilla bean paste and mix well. Add in the sugar 1/4 cup at a time to keep sugar from flying around your kitchen. Once all the sugar is added, beat until the filling is light and airy.
Remove the towel from the cooled cake. Spread the filling in a thin layer of the filling on the cake and gently re-roll.
Top with powdered sugar or ganache. Let the cake chill for a while before slicing.

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1.2.4

August 3, 2011

GF Ratio Rally: Confetti Cake

I can’t believe that it has been a month since I posted about making gluten-free pasta from scratch. Or, that just 2 months ago, I was making cream puffs and apricot dumplings.

This month’s challenge: white or yellow cake. It is the host’s daughter’s birthday, and we are all bringing cake to the party.

When I was a younger, my mom brought me up with a general disdain for baking from boxes. And I loved funfetti cupcakes when they were brought in as treats to school. Especially when they were baked in sugar cones.

As a kid, I had a cake that was decorated like a hamburger and one that was ballet shoes. I had the kind of cakes that you normally don’t get when your mom bakes your cake. Really cool cakes that taste good. But I remember being envious of those kids and their funfetti cupcakes.

I was envious of the sprinkles inside the cupcakes. Not the actual taste.

When I heard it was Kate’s daughter’s first birthday this month, I couldn’t wait to put sprinkles inside my cake. Because, really, they are better when they are inside.

I used a modified version of Ruhlman’s ratio. I couldn’t remember baking a cake without liquid. And his ratio somehow forgot that. I found an article on fine cooking about cake ratios. It was a bit less straightforward than a 1:1:1:1 ratio, but that’s ok. I did all the math for you. You can thank me later. When you squeal with delight because there are sprinkles inside your cake (or cupcakes), and you didn’t use a box mix.

My ratio ended up being 2:2:1:1:.75… flour:sugar:eggs:butter:liquid

Now, let me explain the wonky ratio. Yes, I said wonky.

Complex ratio math:

flour = sugar
eggs ≥ fat
eggs + liquid = sugar
add chemical leveners, flavorings and gums as needed.

Oi, that’s complex. What does it mean? It means that it is a good thing I paid attention in math. If you have 300 grams of flour, you have 300 grams of sugar plus some eggs and liquid that weigh as much as the sugar. Got it? Me either. I kind of winged it. Meh, it happens.

This month’s rally was hosted by Kate at Gluten-Free Gobsmacked. See all the other fabulous cakes:

Britt @ GF in the City made Boston Cream Pie
brooke @ B & the boy! made White Cake with Apricots & Blueberries
Caleigh @ Gluten Freek[k] made White Chocolate Cupcakes
Caneel @ Mama Me Gluten Free made Fresh-Squeezed Lemon Cake
Caroline @ The G-Spot made Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Charissa @ Zest Bakery made White Russian Cake
Claire @ Gluten Freedom made Banana Rum Cupcakes with Rum Glaze (alcohol-free!)
Dr. Jean Layton @ GFDoctorRecipes made Mocha Buttercream Yellow Birthday Cake-Gluten-Free
Erin @ The Sensitive Epicure made Chocolate Hostess CupCakes Dupes
gretchen @ kumquat made coconut boston cream pie cupcakes
Karen @ Cooking Gluten-Free! made Traditional Birthday Cake
Kate Chan @ Gluten Free Gobsmacked made GF Basic White Birthday Cake
Kate @ KateAliceCookbook made Lemon tea cake
Lisa @ Gluten Free Canteen made Frangelico Cupcakes with Nutella
Marla @ Family Fresh Cooking made Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Shauna @ Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
The Healthy Apple made Gluten-Free Chocolate Pistachio Pound Cake
TR Crumbley@ No One Likes Crumbley Cookies made Gluten Free Tiramisu Cake
Winnie @ Healthy Green Kitchen made Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
Rachel @ The Crispy Cook made Czech Cherry Bublanina

Gluten Free Confetti Cake

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 10

Even better than my classic yellow birthday cake is a cake with sprinkles baked inside. This cake is easily made vegan with a couple of simple swaps.

Ingredients

100 grams (1/2 cup) sweet white rice flour
50 grams (scant 1/2 cup)tapioca starch
50 grams (1/3 cup) brown rice flour
50 grams (1/3 cup) sorghum flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
4 teaspoons baking powder
300 grams (1 1/2 cups)sugar
150 grams (6 T) butter, softened, or earth balance
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 (150 grams) egg whites, or 4 flax eggs
1 cup cold milk (I don’t drink milk, so I only use So Delicious when I bake)
1/4 cup non-pareils
225 grams (2 sticks) butter, very, very soft (again, sub Earth Balance for vegan)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup powdered, dry milk, or powdered dry soymilk (Whole Foods carries this)
food coloring

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees & prepare pans by greasing them and lining with parchment paper.
Sift together dry ingredients.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Add egg whites and beat for a minute or two on medium.
Add the flours and mix a bit more, scraping down the sides. The batter should look a little thick.
Add in the milk and mix until combined.
Add in the nonpareils and give it a quick mix. Over stirring here will cause the color to spread throughout the batter and not be in concentrated little flecks.
Pour into the prepared pans and bake for 35-45 minutes.
Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting: whip together the powdered sugar, soft butter and powdered milk. Add food coloring as necessary and add additional powdered sugar to get the desired consistency.
When the cake is cool, spread a filling (I used lemon curd) on one of the layers and stack the cakes. Frost and top with more sprinkles!

Notes

Vegan swaps: use 4 flax eggs (1 tablespoon ground flax dissolved in 3 tablespoons water). Use Earth Balance Buttery Spread in place of butter and powdered, dried soymilk in place f the powdered dry milk.

To use a gluten free flour blend (or if you can bake with gluten flour), you need 1 1/2 cups of flour. (For a non-gf cake or if you use Jules Nearly Normal Flour, you can omit the xantham gum).

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July 29, 2011

Come meet me!

No, I am not bringing goodies to the market (maybe next year…). I am going to Dallas, baby!

Blondie and I are heading out there October 1st for the Gluten & Allergy Free Expo. I am really quite excited to go!

I went to my first one in 2010 in Chicago, after a friend of mine had told me she had found this amazing cupcake joint in Chicago because of the previous year’s GFAF Expo.

This year it was huge compared to last year. There was so much more food to sample and more things to learn. Heck, I even got to meet the Pamela.

So, what exactly is it? There are a bazillion brands of foods and items you never knew you were missing, and there will be over 70 booths from manufacturers, restaurants, support groups and authors. The fair is completely gluten free. And many products are free of other allergens. My dad found breakfast cereal, chocolate chips, a peanut butter replacement, better pasta and even frozen pretzles to eat (his food allergy list is a mile long, so just one of these things would have made the trip worth it for him). My mom and I found a new hard cider to enjoy. Oh yeah, and gummy bears and sour worms.

The vendor fair includes all that plus a kids arts & crafts area and a stage with presentations. I will be there. Talking about how to approach allergy friendly baking with reckless abandon. No? How about just making it less scary.

[box type=”info”]October 1 & 2, 2011
10am-4pm
$20 at the door ($5 for children under 12)[/box]

There are also cooking classes taught by top gluten free bloggers and other food industry pros. Think Amy from Simply Sugar & Gluten Free, Brittany from Real Sustenance (I might have a blog crush on her – go make some of her food!), Silvana Nardone who wrote cooking for Isaiah, and Cybele Pascal. (I can’t wait to meet all of them myself)

Now, go buy your ticket or your cooking class, and I will see you in Dallas!

July 27, 2011

Strawberries and chocolate, part 3

Blondie and I went to Williams Sonoma on Sunday to take my mom for coffee on her break and to look around for a wedding gift. And I might need some help on figuring out what exactly we should buy. I hate buying strictly from a registry. In fact, for close friends I skip the registry and just buy a nice gift. I like to think that I am good at gift-giving.

Anyways, we were wandering through the store and we walked by the pizza stones. I stopped, picked up a small one and told Blondie that I thought that I needed to get one.

He asked me what the point was.

I guess this shouldn’t suprise me. This is the same boy who said that all you really need is a 1/4 cup measuring cup. (I think this is because he has melted or snapped the handles off of the 99¢ set that he got when he moved into his first apartment).

I explained the science behind it to him, and a woman who was working right there said I sounded just like my mother.

Apparently, I am that age. You know, the age where you turn into your mother. You realize you say the same kind of things and you share hobbies and that for the first time in your life you aren’t fighting the inevitable.

I think it also was the first time in forever that I walked out of that store without a new pan or spice blend for my kitchen in ages. Or a gift. We ended up not buying the gift just yet.

Oh well.

I decided that I wanted vanilla cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting last night. And then I remembered that this month’s Ratio Rally is white or yellow cake. And if I baked those, I would have to wait a whole week to share them. And I couldn’t leave you hanging that long.

So last night, I invented these cupcakes. The method is similar to the way I made my gluten free chai cupcakes and results in the perfect cake texture.

I swear I have more imagination than this. But I really love strawberries and chocolate. Together.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Ganache

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 90 mins

Total time: 1 hour 45 mins

Serves: 24

These are very possible the best strawberry cupcakes ever.

Ingredients

110 grams (1 cup) tapioca starch
140 grams (1 cup) sweet white sorghum flour
80 grams (1/2 cup) brown rice flour
20 grams (3 tablespoons) flax meal
pinch of salt
350 grams (1 3/4 cups) sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, very soft, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 eggs
1 cup (240 ml) milk (I used coconut milk)
1/4 cup strawberry jam
2 tablespoons strawberry liqueur
pink food coloring (optional)
1/2 cup milk
75 grams (3/4 cup) cocoa
85 grams (3/4 cup) powdered sugar
1 stick soft butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon strawberry jam
2 tablespoons strawberry liqueur
200 grams (1 3/4 cup) powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
Combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the strawberry liqueur and jam to a small bowl with the milk and whisk together.
With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. At this point you can add some pink food coloring if you want. Otherwise the cake will be just slightly pink.
Using an ice cream scoop for even cupcakes, divide batter among liners, filling about two-thirds full.
Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter.
While cupcakes are cooling, make the ganache. Sift together the cocoa and the 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer, fit with the whisk attachment. Bring milk to a simmer and add it to the bowl of the mixer. Beat together until smooth. Scrape down the sides and beat until incorporated. Let cool to room temperature. Cube the butter & whisk it in. Add the strawberry liqueur and jam, mix until combined. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it has reached the desired consistency.

Notes

If you prefer more of a frosting, double everything in the ganache except for the 2nd powdered sugar. You will need to triple or quadruple it.This way you can top your cupcakes with a fluffy dome of frosting.

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July 20, 2011

Powdered Sugar Doughnuts

I might have made a third type of doughnuts. How could I not? The mini doughnut pan that I got for my birthday is just so adorable. Blondie picked it out hoping he was going to get some doughnuts…too bad these will probably all be gone by noon.

I am going to have the basic recipe memorized by the time I finish that Next Food Network Star application (shouldn’t be too hard to make it…these doughnuts could take on Bobby Flay in a throwdown any day.)

These are not as inventive as the honey lavender doughnuts or the ginger brown butter ones, but they are darn tasty. And they melt in your mouth. Just like a doughnut should.

You know those little doughnuts that come all stacked up in a plastic bag at a gas station? These are better than that. But just as addictive. And they are gluten and dairy free.

Powdered Sugar Doughnuts

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Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Serves: 12

Using coconut oil and coconut milk yogurt, you get a lightly sweet doughnut that melts in your mouth. There are instructions in the note to make these vegan with a flax egg.

Ingredients

50 grams (6 tablespoons) sorghum flour
35 grams (3 tablespoons)sweet white rice flour
20 grams (1/6 cup) tapioca starch
15 grams (3 tablespoons) flax
100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1 egg, lightly beaten or egg replacer for 1 egg (info in notes)
1/4 cup dairy free plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar
Coconut oil for brushing the doughnuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the doughnut pan or mini muffin tin.
For the batter: Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine wet ingredients and beat together lightly (mixer on medium for about 30 seconds). Add in dry ingredients and mix to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
If using a mini doughnut pan, scoop the batter into a pastry bag or a gallon size ziplock bag and snip off the tip/corner. This will save you from a giant mess.
Fill the wells slightly less than half full, or your doughnuts won’t have holes. Bake for 8-12 minutes for minis or 12-15 for full size doughnuts. They are done when a toothpick comes out almost clean. Let sit in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the doughnuts.
Once you remove the doughnuts, wipe out the wells with a paper towel, and re-grease them. This recipe makes 36 mini doughnuts or 10 full size.
Brush the doughnuts with the extra coconut oil while they are still warm and then drop into a bowl of powdered sugar and toss to coat.
For a thicker coating of sugar, brush a second time with oil and drop into the sugar one more time.

Notes

If you want to make these vegan, skip the egg and use a flax egg: 1 tablespoon ground flax and 3 tablespoons warm water stirred together until it is thick and gelatinous.

I used So Delicious Plain Yogurt, but you could use regular plain yogurt (not greek), if that is what you have.

You can swap the flours for 1 cup all puropse blend and 1/2 teaspoon xantham gum (or 1 cup Jules’ Nearly Normal Flour)

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