It’s about time this post got, well, posted. The youngest son had his 2nd birthday (more than a month ago). I had the idea to make a cake for him with chocolate 7-minute icing, since I’ve never tried that before and he loves chocolate and the marshmallowy texture of 7-minute icing. I decided on a white cake out of the Joy of Cooking cookbook, with raspberry jam in between the layers and chocolate 7-minute icing. If you don’t care for or can’t have chocolate, then I’m sure it would be just as delicious with plain 7-minute icing. I thought I would do something I had never done with the other kids for their birthdays. I would make him a mini cake, made out of three mini layers cut out of one big layer of cake. It turned out very well, and since the cake recipe I chose makes three layers, he was able to eat off his little cake and the rest of us had the bigger 2-layer cake.

Well, if you’ve never made chocolate 7-minute icing, as I hadn’t before I made this cake, you may not know how tempermental it is to overmixing. After I had started over on the third batch of icing, having botched two batches, I looked up the icing on the Internet and only one of the five recipes I read warned that you should fold the melted chocolate into the icing instead of whipping it in or what will happen is what happened to me: it loses it’s form and puffiness and goes all liquidy and soupy. It tastes good, but isn’t much good for sticking to a cake. So, be sure to fold the melted chocolate into the finished icing instead of beating in. Oh, and melting the chocolate into the sugar syrup and beating it in doesn’t work either. If you try that, then the icing just plain won’t set up to begin with. I’m not sure why it doesn’t work, probably something to do with the specific gravity or density of the fat in chocolate that disturbs the air bubbles in the meringue.

This cake was not as flashy as his brother and sister’s cakes were. I’m sure in time he will come to request his cake, but it was nice to try something I thought he would like. Success! The cake was a hit. The pic down at the bottom is the cake after he had finished with it, mostly to show something of what it looked like on the inside with the raspberry jam. Perhaps it’s not as neat as other pictures could be. I guess it shows how much he enjoyed it. In that light, enjoy!

White Cake with Chocolate 7-Minute Icing

390g (3 1/2 cups) gluten-free flour blend (I used white sorghum flour, tapioca flour, and coconut flour)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

225g (1 cup) butter or trans-fat free shortening

450g (2 cups) caster sugar, sifted (I didn’t sift my sugar and the cake was fine)

250 ml (1 cup) milk or coconut milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

7 0r 8 egg whites (you can save the yolks for another recipe)

raspberry jam (for between layers, use however much you want)

Preheat oven to 190C (375F). Grease three 23 cm (9-inch) round cake tins. Combine gluten-free flour blend, baking powder, and salt together. Sift, if desired. Cream butter in a separate bowl, or in the bowl of a stand-mixer. Add sugar a small amount at a time and cream (or beat) until very light. Alternate adding the flour blend mixture with the milk in three parts, beginning and ending with the flour blend (flour blend, milk, flour blend, milk, flour blend.) Mix until smooth. Beat in vanilla and almond extract, if using. Whip egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold the whites into the batter. Pour batter equally into prepared cake tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. I like to start peeking at the cake when there is about 15 minutes left, just to be sure, then every five minutes after until it is done, giving it extra time if needed. Let cake layers cool before assembling.

Casein-Free Option: Use trans-fat free shortening instead of butter and coconut milk instead of milk.

Boiled Chocolate Icing (Chocolate 7-Minute Icing)

450g (2 cups) caster sugar

250 ml (1 cup) water

2 egg whites

1/8th teaspoon (one pinch) salt

1/8th teaspoon (one pinch) cream of tartar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

60g (2 oz) unsweetened chocolate

Melt unsweetened chocolate in a small bowl, cool. Combine sugar and water in a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, stirring the whole while. Continue to cook the icing until it forms a soft cohesive pea-sized ball when dropped in cold water. Beat egg whites with salt until very frothy. Pour the syrup into the beaten egg whites, continuing to beat until icing forms stiff billowy peaks. Beat in cream of tartar and vanilla extract. Gently fold in melted cooled chocolate.

Assembly: For one small cake and one large one, use two layers to make standard layer cake. Put one layer down, spread raspberry jam on it, put second layer on top, then spread icing over the whole cake. Cut the remaining layer into three rounds roughly the same size. There will be scraps left over. Put one layer down, spread raspberry jam on it, place second layer on top, spread raspberry jam on it, place third layer on top. Spread icing over the whole cake, top with birthday candles.

For one large three-layer cake, place one layer down, spread raspberry jam on it, put second layer on top of the first, spread raspberry jam on it, put third layer on top of second, then spread icing over the whole cake. Enjoy!

This recipe I came up with on the fly, out of the blue, in order to have something quick and easy for dessert. I looked around at other recipes but I can’t find anything really that it is like. As you may have noticed I really love baking cakes and that’s what I mostly do when I want to bake. The problem with cakes is how long most of them can take to make. These brownies were easy to make and quite good. They have more of a cakey texture and the peanut butter is a wonderful combination. The honey adds extra sweetness and a moist texture. I usually prefer fudgy brownies but these turned out well.

The grocery store has been out of arrowroot starch for a few weeks now. Either they won’t restock it or they have moved its location and I can’t find it. I didn’t want to go back to using cornflour (corn starch) or potato starch, so I decided to see if coconut flour could replace it. It seems to work just fine. Because it absorbs so much moisture it acts in many ways similar to a starch. If you can’t get or would rather not use coconut flour, then arrowroot starch, cornflour (cornstarch), or potato starch would work instead. In case you were wondering, it did not impart the taste of coconut. If you used something in place of the coconut flour, then the flours are easy to find.

Peanut Butter Honey Brownies

80 ml (1/3 cup) oil

225g (1 cup) caster sugar

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

60g (1/2 cup) cocoa

110g (1 cup) gluten-free flour blend (I used white rice flour, tapioca flour, and coconut flour)

80 ml (1/3 cup) water

3 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons honey, golden syrup, maple syrup, or agave syrup

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease a 23 cm (9 inch) square tin. In a bowl, mix together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add salt, cocoa, gluten-free flour blend, and water. Mix until smooth. Pour half the batter into prepared tin. Put dollops of peanut butter on the batter. Drizzle the honey or preferred syrup over the batter. Pour the other half of the batter over the top and spread gently to cover the peanut butter layer. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool on a cooling rack. Makes 9-16 brownies, depending on how small you cut them. Enjoy!

Another winner from Cookie Madness. I had some bananas I wanted to use so I decided this would be an interesting recipe to try. They are very fruity and have a soft texture that is not crumbly from all the fruit in them. I used dried reconstituted cherries to use up some dried cherries I had instead of maraschino cherries.

The taste is slightly reminiscent of banana tea bread. Thanks Anna for sharing this recipe. Easy to adapt to vegan, just replace the egg with applesauce, apple butter, prune puree, or flax seeds and water. I usually use the flax seeds if I want to use an egg substitute, since that’s what I have around. Use whatever you prefer. If you use applesauce, apple butter, or prune puree it will add to the fruitiness. For the cream cheese icing, you could use a vegan cream cheese spread.

I left the nuts out of the bars and they still tasted good. The icing was fine without the milk added to it. The dried cherries were good and definitely had cherry flavour, but probably wouldn’t have the sweetness like the maraschinos, which would definitely be more like a banana split. Still, these bars were good. They have solid banana flavour. Put some ice cream on top and there you have it: banana split . Enjoy!

Banana Split Bars

220g (2 cups) gluten-free flour blend (I used white sorghum flour, white rice flour, and tapioca flour)

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 overripe bananas, mashed

225g (1 cup) caster sugar

2 eggs or 13g (2 tablespoons) ground flax seed and 90 ml (6 tablespoons) water

120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

50g (1/4 cup, 2 oz) dried cherries, reconstituted in equivalent volume of liquid

Icing:

55g (4 tablespoons) butter or trans-fat free shortening

85g (3 oz) cream cheese or vegan cream cheese spread

110g (1 cup) icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Line a 23 x 33 cm (9×13 in) tin with parchment paper. Blend flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and cinnamon together. In a separate bowl, add bananas, sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Mix in reserved dry ingredients. Add pineapple and cherries and stir it all together. Pour batter into the tin and spread evenly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Let cool. Prepare icing by beating butter and cream cheese or shortening and vegan cream cheese spread together. Add icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Spread the completed icing on the cooled bars and garnish with extra cherries.

Casein-Free Option:

The bars are casein-free. For the icing, you could leave it off; the bars have plenty of flavour and texture without. In that case you could still garnish them with extra cherries. Or you can substitute trans-fat free shortening for the butter and a vegan cream cheese spread for the cream cheese.

This cake has been a three day effort in honour of my daughter’s 5th birthday. She described to me in quite good detail exactly what she wanted. The title above is what she’s been calling it. I went to my list of recipes and found one I thought would fit the bill. It comes from Joy of Baking. Stephanie says she adapted it from Alice Medrich’s book, Chocolat, and Judy Gethers’ and Mary Bergin’s book, Spago Desserts. I made it in three layers, which is three of Stephanie’s recipe. I chose to change some of the order of directions, for what was easier for me to help the cake come together. Thanks Stephanie for sharing these recipes.

Between each layer of cake, which is a chocolate genoise or sponge cake, is ganache, again using Stephanie’s recipe. Over the ganache I put drained frozen strawberries and raspberries and maraschino cherries. On top of the berries went chocolate mousse, using Stephanie’s adapted recipe (included with first above cake link). On the top layer is ganache, then a layer of strawberry icing based on Stephanie’s chocolate icing, which she says she adapted from Bonnie Stern’s book Desserts and Lisa Yockelson’s book Chocolate. I left out the chocolate and substituted the reserved juice from the strawberries to make the icing pink. On the very top is fresh raspberries and more maraschino cherries.

This cake is truly a piece de resistance. Not only is it one of the most involved cakes I have ever made, but my husband, sister, and mother all said they couldn’t tell it was gluten-free, which is the first time I have heard that with anything gluten-free I have baked. I don’t believe they were just being nice in the past, it’s just that this cake was so good. It needs some special attention but was otherwise easy to adapt, mostly because there isn’t much gluten in the original recipe to replace. All the heat, whipping, and aerating help to give it a good crumb and a nice light texture. The taste was rich but not too heavy and the combination of the chocolate with the cherries, strawberries, and raspberries was just heavenly. It kept surprisingly well and the ganache kept the cake from getting soggy.

On the first day I made the chocolate mousse and ganache and put them in the fridge. On the second day I made the three cakes and put them in the fridge as well. On the third day I made the icing and assembled the cake step by step: cake, ganache, berries and cherries, mousse, cake, ganache, cherries and berries, mousse, cake, ganache, icing, cherries and raspberries, and of course candles. In the end what emerged was beyond what I could have pictured before it was complete.

Cherry Berry Chocolate Strawberry Cake

Chocolate Genoise

45g (3 tablespoons) hot melted butter or ghee/clarified butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

50g (1/2 cup) gluten-free flour blend (I used quinoa flour, sweet rice flour, and arrowroot starch)

40g (1/3 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder

4 large eggs

150g (2/3 cup) caster sugar

Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Grease a 23 cm (9 inch) round cake tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. (If you are making three layers, you will need three tins, one for each cake. I chose not to line my tins and I highly recommend it, after the fact. It would make getting the layers out easier. Even heavily greased, the ability to just loosen the edges and flip is not there without the paper. While it is fun to get your hands in the cake, I certainly enjoyed it, it takes more time and nerves to get it out that way. Perhaps I’ll learn someday )

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk constantly so the eggs don’t curdle and scramble, until they are just lukewarm to the touch, about 5 minutes. (I used the bowl from my stand mixer to save washing a second bowl. If you’d rather not, then pour the mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer after the eggs are heated.) Beat on high speed until the mixture has cooled, tripled in volume, and looks like softly whipped cream. This will take about 5 minutes and the batter is beaten sufficiently when it falls back into the bowl in a ribbon-like patter. (Mine took about 12 minutes. I had to beat it on a slightly lower speed to avoid flinging eggs all over the kitchen.)

Sift about one-third of the flour mixture over the eggs and fold it in gently. Do not overmix or you will deflate the batter. Fold in half the remaining flour, then fold in the rest. Combine the warm butter and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Stephanie suggest folding some of the batter into the butter to lighten it and then folding the butter mixture into the rest of the batter. I tried it both ways and found that the cakes baked up evenly whether I lightened the butter or not. (Just don’t forget to fold in the butter until you’ve poured the batter into the tin. I did that and my cake fell in the centre. I used that layer as the bottom.) When completely combined, pour the batter into the prepared tin, gently smoothing the top.

Bake until the cake shrinks back slightly from the edges of the tin and the top springs back when lightly pressed, about 20-25 minutes. (Mine took 25 minutes. I made and baked the cakes one at a time.) Cool on a rack. When the cake has cooled completely, run a knife or spatula around the edges to release it. The genoise will keep well-wrapped two days in the fridge or three months frozen. (My cake lasted four days in the fridge kept in a cake dome).

Chocolate Mousse

175g (6 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, cut into pieces (I used Green and Black’s Dark 70%)

350 ml (1 1/2 cups) cream or one coconut cream recipe (see below)

3 large egg yolks (I used one whole egg. I hate finding ways to use egg parts.)

75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar

60 ml (1/4 cup) water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional)

In a medium heat-proof bowl, set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Take the saucepan off the heat and set aside, but leave the bowl of chocolate over the warm water to keep it slightly warm.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form or prepare coconut cream. Place in the fridge, covered, until needed.

Place the egg yolks in a large heatproof bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Boil until the sugar is dissolved, a minute or two, to produce a sugar syrup. Then, whisking constantly, pour the boiling syrup over the egg yolks. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture is thick and light in colour and hot to the touch, about 10 minutes. (Again, I used the bowl from my stand mixer.)

Remove the bowl from the heat and quickly scrape the egg mixture into the clean bowl of your stand mixer. On medium speed, or with a hand mixer, beat until the volume has doubled and the bottom of the bowl is completely cool to the touch. Turn speed to low and beat in the warm melted chocolate mixture until well combined. Fold in half the reserved whipped cream or coconut cream, then the second half, then the vanilla extract, if using. Use immediately or put in the fridge, covered, until needed. If it is a bit runny, the chilling will firm it up.

Coconut Cream

1 400 ml (14 oz) tin coconut milk, chilled overnight

30g (2 tablespoons) caster sugar (original used 15g (2 tablespoons) icing sugar)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chill a mixing bowl and beaters. Open the chilled coconut milk and spoon the cream from the top, avoiding the thin liquid underneath. If you don’t, then your cream will not set properly. Beat the coconut cream in the chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Beat in the icing sugar and vanilla extract.

Ganache

225g (8 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, cut into pieces (I used Scharffen Berger Dark 70%)

175 ml (3/4 cup) cream or non-dairy milk

30g (2 tablespoons) butter or ghee/clarified butter (may omit)

1 tablespoon cognac or brandy (optional, I used vanilla extract instead)

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream or non-dairy milk and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and pour the boiling mixture over the chocolate and allow to stand for five minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth and add liqueur or extract of your choice.

Strawberry Icing

75 ml (1/3 cup) strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, or other reddish juice

115g (1/2 cup) butter, softened and cut into pieces, or trans-fat free shortening or margarine

300g (2 1/2 cups) icing sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place butter, or shortening, or margarine and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until well combined and creamy. Slowly add the juice, salt, and vanilla extract. When the icing starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth. If necessary, add more juice or sugar to reach a smooth spreading consistency. (I originally followed Stephanie’s instructions of placing the juice, sugar, vanilla, and salt in the bowl, then adding the butter. My icing ended up full of lumps that I could not beat out, so I changed the order of combining the ingredients and it came together nicely.)

Filling and Garnish:

285g (10 oz) frozen strawberries, thawed and drained

285g (10 oz) frozen raspberries, thawed and drained

about 30 maraschino cherries (455g, 16 oz), drained

fresh raspberries

Assembly:

Place one layer on a plate. Spread a thin layer of softened ganache over the top of the cake. Place the cake in the fridge until the ganache is set, about 5 minutes. Spread half the strawberries and half the raspberries on top of the ganache. Place 10 of the cherries on top of the berries. Spread half the chocolate mousse over the fruit.

Top with the second layer. Spread a thin layer of ganache over the top of the second cake. Again, place the cake in the fridge to allow the ganache to set. Spread the rest of the strawberries and raspberries on top of the ganache. Place 10 more cherries on top of the berries. Spread the rest of the mousse over the fruit.

Top with the third layer. Spread a thin layer of ganache over the top of the third cake. Place the cake in the fridge until the ganache is set. Spread a generous layer of strawberry icing on top of the ganache. Decorate with the raspberries and the rest of the cherries. Enjoy!

Casein-Free Option:

Use coconut cream instead of the whipped cream for the chocolate mousse. You could use your favourite ready made dairy free pudding as well. For the ganache, use your favourite dairy-free milk (such as hemp milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk) or goat’s milk. Substitute trans-fat free shortening or ghee for the butter, or leave it out altogether. For the strawberry icing, use trans-fat free shortening or margarine for the butter.

This recipe is from Cookie Madness. I wanted something easy to make, quick to come together, but tasty, to bring to a potluck. I literally was taking them out of the oven and putting them on the plate as we were going out the door. The recipe is easily doubled. I liked Anna’s idea of using crystallised ginger but wanted to see what they were like plain as well, so I made some of both, half and half. I definitely preferred the ones with ginger on top and though the whole batch was not all eaten when we left, the side with crystallised ginger had only one left and the other side had six or so.

I used the smaller amount of oil, and Anna is correct, they are still good. They are chewy with plenty of flavour. I used the darkest molasses I could find and quinoa flour. Surprisingly, molasses and quinoa flour have similar tastes and went well together, each balancing the other. I think next time I would add freshly grated ginger in addition to the crystallised ginger on top. Cardamom could be interesting or mace.  Thanks again Anna for sharing another great recipe.

Vegan Molasses Cookies

145g (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) gluten-free flour blend (xanthan gum is not necessary, but won’t hurt if your blend has it. I used quinoa flour, sweet rice flour, and arrowroot starch)

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon salt

100g (1/2 cup) packed brown sugar

90 ml (6 tablespoons) oil (I used 60 ml, 4 tablespoons)

30 ml (2 tablespoons) molasses

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

30 ml (2 tablespoons) unsweetened applesauce, drain on a paper towel then measure (I did not drain my applesauce and it was fine)

sparkly sugar or crystallised ginger for flair

Preheat oven to 165C(325F). In a mixing bowl, combine flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. In a second bowl, combine brown sugar, oil, molasses, vanilla extract, and applesauce.

Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture and stir until well mixed. Chill the dough in the fridge or freezer until stiff. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop up dough and form into nice mounds. Space the mounds evenly on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle tops with sparkly sugar or crystallised ginger. Bake for 13-16 minutes. (Mine took 13 minutes). Let cool for 2 minutes on sheet then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. (I got 26 from a double batch). Enjoy!

I have been recovering this week from a clogged milk duct. (Too much information perhaps, but bear with me, it gets better, I promise.) This cake from Gluten-Free Mommy, seemed just the thing to brighten my mood. Natalie says her sister, Caroline, brought her this cake to cheer her up when she was 9 months pregnant, make her feel lighter than air, and it did! Well, this cake worked its miracle on me as well and I felt as if I were floating on a cloud.

This cake, which is much like a souffle, is dark and rich but light and fluffy at the same time. I couldn’t eat much of it at once and that is a compliment. My mother-in-law would love it. Using good quality chocolate just helps accentuate it. The filling helps cut the richness of the cake and adds to the lightness of the texture. I could see adding other liqueurs or flavourings to it for different tastes: Bailey’s, Rum, Kahlua, Kirsch, chocolate liqueur, esspresso, coffee, chocolate extract.

I opted not to put my layers in the freezer because I had no room. I had already taken the time to beat the egg whites in two batches and bake the cake layers two at a time (I only had three tins). I was not about to put one layer at a time in the freezer and wait for them to chill one after the other. Not to mention assemble the cake, then wait two hours to eat it. Perhaps it wouldn’t have taken that long but I did not want to find out. Having enough space when you make this cake definitely helps.

Warning: if you do decide to go this route and not freeze your layers, as I did, be prepared to work s…l…o…w…l…y and expect one or more layers to break. My first layer reached the plate safely, the second broke in half, the third in thirds, and the fourth was in more pieces than I could count. The good news: this cake repairs easily! Due to the soft texture you can press the broken bits together and the filling cements them. Storing it in the fridge firms it up.

This cake is not the easiest to make, especially with three kids running through the kitchen. They were all curious about each step and when the cake came together there was no keeping them away. All four of us put pink m&ms (pink for breast cancer awareness) on the cake in the shape of an M. M for you know what: Mommy, Mum, Mummy, Mom, Mama, Ma, Mother. Too perfect! Thanks Natalie and Caroline for helping brighten my day.

Natalie and Caroline’s Lighter Than Air Chocolate Cake

For Cake Layers:

340g (12 oz) fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, at room temperature (I used Green and Black’s Dark 70%)

90 ml (6 tablespoons) water

12 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

300g (1 1/3 cups) caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

15g (2 tablespoons) unsweetened cocoa powder

For Filling:

475 ml (2 cups) cream

45g (6 tablespoons) icing sugar

60 ml (4 tablespoons) Grand Marnier (I used 30g (4 tablespoons) of cocoa and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, as Natalie and Caroline did)

Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Grease four 23 cm (9 inch) round cake tins and line bottoms with circles of parchment paper.

Melt chocolate with water in a small heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring. Cool to lukewarm.

Beat egg yolks, 150g (2/3 cup) of the caster sugar, and salt in a large bowl until thick and pale, about 5 minutes with a stand mixer. Fold in melted chocolate until blended.

Beat egg whites with clean beaters until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually add remaining 150g (2/3 cup) of caster sugar and beat until whites just hold stiff peaks. (I beat half the egg whites in my stand mixer with half of the rest of the caster sugar (75g, 1/3 cup), then the other half with the last of the sugar (75g, 1/3 cup)). Tip: Chilling the bowl and beaters before beating the egg whites (and cream for the filling) will help them hold stiffer peaks longer.

Spread batter evenly among four baking tins and bake until puffed and top is dry to the touch, about 15 minutes. Transfer tins to cooling racks.

Sift cocoa powder over tops of cakes and place a piece of greaseproof paper (waxed paper) over the top of the tins. Place layers in freezer for about an hour until they are firm enough to be carefully lifted without breaking.

Make filling: Beat cream with icing sugar and Grand Marnier, or other flavouring, with clean beaters until it just holds stiff peaks. (You don’t have to use whipped cream. You could use something different, like coconut cream, custard, applesauce, jam, etc. Something creamy though, really accentuates the light texture of this cake.)

Fill Cake: Bring first layer out of the freezer and arrange on platter, cocoa side down. Spread one-quarter of filling evenly over the cake. Repeat this process until all layers and filling are used.

Keep the cake in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.

Caroline and Natalie suggest dark chocolate grated into curls or writing out something special in chocolate chips.

Casein-Free Option:

The cake itself is casein-free.  You could freeze all four layers, bring out one layer at a time to serve, dusted with cocoa or icing sugar, with berries on the side and forgo the filling altogether.  For the filling, substitute coconut cream, applesauce, your favourite dairy-free pudding, some fresh berries, sliced bananas, or a small amount of melted chocolate for the whipped cream.

This recipe was inspired by Mary Frances’ Gluten Free Cooking School. The ingredients seemed similar to other recipes I have tried and not been satisfied with, but the proportions were slightly different. It was worth a go.

This is good sandwich bread. Whichever recipe Mary Frances played around with for so long, it is a good foundation. My husband, Brian, makes cheese as a hobby. His latest creation was a cream cheese. This was his first attempt and I could see eating all varieties of sandwiches with it. The bread is good on its own, but in a sandwich it brings everything together yet doesn’t dominate.

I used quinoa flour and the taste was not as strong as I thought it would be, much less than the gold cake to my surprise. My guess is again that balancing it with other ingredients helps significantly. Or perhaps I’m just warming up to quinoa after eating it in so many different things.

We do not own a bread machine any longer, so I used Mary Frances’ recommendations for baking in an oven. I let the bread rise in the oven for 15 minutes (preheated to the lowest setting then turned off) until it had climbed up the sides of the tin, then turned up the temperature. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn the oven on, so the bread was left there to spill over the sides. I baked it anyhow, after I realised what had happened, and amazingly, the bread stood up to it.

Sandwich Bread

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

15g (1 tablespoon) honey (for the flavour. You could use something different if you prefer)

350 ml (1 1/2 cups) water (40C (105F) warm to the touch but not too hot)

280g (2 1/2 cups) gluten-free flour blend (I used quinoa flour, sweet rice flour, and arrowroot starch)

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs (or 90 ml (6 tablespoons) of water and 13g (2 tablespoons) ground flax seed)

25 ml (1 1/2 tablespoons) oil

1 teaspoon vinegar

Place the yeast in a small bowl. Add the water and gently stir. Add the honey or your preferred sweetener/food for the yeast. If you use local honey, as I did, then there will be some lumps. I like to get my hands in it and mash them out, but you don’t have to. Let this mixture sit.

Combine the flour blend, xanthan gum, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

In a third bowl, whisk the eggs or water and flax seed, oil, and vinegar together until everything is well combined.

By this point the yeast mixture should be well doubled in size and full of bubbles. I was surprised by how long the yeast gets to sit, but gluten-free bread needs all the lift it can get. Pour the two liquid mixtures into the flour mixture. Stir until well combined then pour into a greased 23cm by 13cm (9 by 5 inch) loaf tin. Let the bread rise until it reaches the top of the tin or has doubled in size. (Mine took 15 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 190C (375F). Bake the bread until it has pulled away from the sides of the tin. (Mine took 40 minutes.)

Cool on a rack. If you can’t resist letting it cool, as I often can’t, then slice immediately and eat. Enjoy!

This recipe is from Orangette. Molly says it was inspired by Columbia City Bakery, Seattle WA and adapted from Kathleen Stewart of the Downtown Bakery and Creamery, Healdsburg CA. The second recipe is from Gluten-Free Zing. They say it is adapted from a recipe by Bev Lieven of Milwaukee Coeliac-Sprue Crew. I first found a recipe for doughnut muffins at Home-Ec 101. I will try that recipe but these two sounded more appealing to me.

Molly’s recipe makes more batter and thus more muffins, but GF-Zing’s recipe comes together more quickly. GF-Zing’s recipe could be adapted to be vegan more easily. Leave out the egg, use all caster sugar or maple syrup instead of honey, use shortening or oil instead of butter, and use dairy-free milk. In the pictures, the ones with the white topping are Molly’s and the ones with the brown topping are GF-Zing’s.

Which muffins are better? It’s a tie! Molly’s have a more cakeish texture, which I like, but GF-Zing’s have more flavour. If I added some vanilla extract to Molly’s, then hers would win. In the end, they both are a nice alternative to doughnuts with plenty of doughnut flavour and texture and none of the frying.  Thanks Molly, GF-Zing, and Bev for sharing these good recipes.

Nutmeg Doughnut Muffins

330g (3 cups) gluten-free flour blend (I used teff flour, sweet rice flour, and arrowroot starch)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

scant 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

190 ml (3/4 cup plus one tablespoon) whole milk

30 ml (2 tablespoons) buttermilk

170g (6 oz, 3/4 cup) butter, at room temperature

200g (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) caster sugar

2 large eggs

Topping:

55-85g (4-6 tablespoons) butter

170-220g (1 1/2-2 cups) icing sugar

Preheat oven to 175C (350F) and set a rack to the middle position.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and nutmeg and whisk to mix them thoroughly. Set aside.

Combine the milk and the buttermilk in a measuring cup. Set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for a few seconds until the butter is soft and creamy. Add the sugar in a steady stream. Continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until the mixture increases in volume and lightens to pale yellow. It should look light, fluffy, and wonderfully creamy, like icing. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until they are just combined.

By hand, fold in 1/4 of the dry mix into the butter mixture. Add 1/3 of the milk mixture. Continue to add the dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with dry. Mix until the dough is smooth and well combined but do not overmix.

Divide the mixture between the cups of a muffin tin lined with paper liners. (If you grease the tin instead the muffins will be darker and crispy on the edges.) Molly got 12 muffins, I got 12 muffins. Bake until the muffins are firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean, about 25 to 32 minutes. Mine took 25 minutes.

When the muffins are cool enough to handle, prepare the topping. Melt the butter and pour the icing sugar into a deep bowl. Using a pastry brush and working one muffin at a time, lightly brush the muffin with butter and then roll it in the icing sugar. Shake off any excess and place the muffins on a rack or serving platter. Enjoy!

Cinnamon-Nutmeg Doughnut Muffins

40g (1/3 cup) caster sugar

170g (1 1/2 cups) gluten-free flour blend

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 xanthan gum (optional)

1 egg (may omit)

60 ml (1/4 cup) honey or maple syrup

120 ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk or dairy-free milk

75g (1/3 cup) melted butter or trans-fat free margarine or 80 ml (1/3 cup) oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar

1 teaspoon or more cinnamon

Preheat oven to 190C (375F). Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix to moisten. If you are making these vegan, then omit the egg, use maple syrup instead of the honey, trans-fat free shortening or oil instead of butter, and dairy-free milk.

Lightly fill muffin tins lined with paper liners. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes. GF-Zing says they got 11 muffins. I got 9. (Bev’s original recipe had 150g (2/3 cup) caster sugar, 120 ml (1/2 cup) milk instead of buttermilk, no honey, and 225g (1 cup) of caster sugar in the topping). I found GF-Zing’s amount of topping to be just enough. Any more and it would be sugar crumbling everywhere.

Casein-Free Option:

Substitute your favourite dairy-free milk (such as almond milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or soy milk) or goat’s milk for the milk and buttermilk. Use trans-fat free shortening, oil, or ghee instead of the melted butter. You can leave out the melted butter topping for the muffins or use ghee instead. The icing sugar will still stick if you don’t use ghee, just not so much, so putting on the topping just after they come out of the oven will help.

This recipe is from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. Peabody says she adapted it from several sources: Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme by Dorie Greenspan, Baking at Home With the Culinary Institute of America, and The French Pastry Chef. It has been on my list for quite some time and I am glad I finally got around to making it. It has a large number of steps but I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it all came together, so don’t be scared away by the directions. (No, run, run! Be afraid, be very afraid!).

The pastry cream and chocolate glaze recipes made enough for two batches of the choux pastry but I found myself out of eggs after the first batch. I thought this would be perfect to try out an egg-free version. However, though many sell vegan eclairs, there are not many recipes available at all. The one I found, from :-0 at Yahoo Answers, which came from Mame at Vegweb, used Ener-G egg replacer, of which I have none of in the house, so I went looking for egg replacer alternatives. After finding out that there are many egg replacers available but none that suit choux pastry, I finally decided on the one that I thought most likely to work, from The Cooking Inn.

The vegan eclairs turned out better than I expected. I used oil and mine exuded a bit of oil, I believe because there were no eggs to emulsify. Adding less oil might help. I waited nervously as they baked, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw them puffing up. They are a tad more dense than the non-vegan version but good. My egg replacer worked just fine. As with the non-vegan eclairs, it is important to watch these when baking. They can burn easily, more easily than the non-vegan version. They take longer to puff up but they make it in the end. The pictures above and below the vegan pate a choux recipe are of the vegan eclairs.

From reading Kelly’s post over at Celiac Chicks, it is easy to make dairy-free eclairs. Her recipe is adapted from The Gluten-Free Gourmet by Bette Hagman. You could use shortening instead of oil as well. The pastry cream recipe below can easily be adapted, just use a non-dairy milk, oil or shortening instead of butter, and leave out the egg. Since it is a pudding and uses cornflour (corn starch) or arrowroot starch, it will still thicken. For the diplomat cream you could use whipped coconut cream. The coconut cream recipe I included is from Charlene in Bakespace’s Global Cookbook. For the chocolate glaze, non-dairy milk and oil or shortening again.  Thanks Peabody, Kelly, and Charlene for sharing these great recipes.

If you prefer a plain eclair and/or plain pastry cream, just omit the cocoa from the pate a choux and the chocolate from the pastry cream. You could add vanilla to the pastry cream at the end instead or in addition. You don’t need to make the pastry cream into diplomat cream. The chocolate sauce is probably not entirely necessary in the chocolate glaze and it would be rather thin to stand up as a glaze on its own. Of course you could always fill these with your favourite creamy pudding or even plain whipped cream or coconut cream. They are pillows of puffy, creamy heaven.

Double Chocolate Eclairs

Pate a Choux

207 ml (7 ounces) water

1/2 teaspoon salt

78g (5 1/2 tablespoons) butter or shortening or 125 ml (1/2 cup) oil

140g (1 1/4 cups) gluten-free flour blend (xanthan gum is not necessary)

5 extra large eggs

7g (1 tablespoon) cocoa powder (I used 15g (2 tablespoons))

Boil water, salt, cocoa, and butter in a saucepan. Add flour and stir, stirring constantly until the mixture gets hot and uniform in consistency. Transfer mixture to an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes until mixture is cool.

Mix on low and add the eggs, one at a time. After the addition of each egg, wait until the mixture absorbs it and becomes completely smooth again. Using a pastry bag, dispense the choux paste onto a parchment-lined or nonstick baking tray. Alternatively, you may use two spoons to form eclair shapes or simply drop spoonfuls to form puffs.

Bake at 220C (425F) until they have puffed and gotten some colour, then reduce the heat to 170C (350F) until they dry out inside. Do not underbake or they will fall flat. Cut one open to check the inside for wetness, before removing from the oven, if you are not sure if they are done. It takes longer than you would think. Mine took 15 minutes to puff up and 20 minutes to dry out. Watch them carefully. I got 12 eclairs. Peabody says the recipe makes 25 to 30 small puffs or 8 to 10 large eclairs.

Vegan Pate a Choux

110g (1 cup) gluten-free flour blend (xanthan gum is not necessary but won’t hurt if your blend has it)

5g (2 teaspoons) caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or baking powder

7g (1 tablespoon) cocoa powder (I used 15g (2 tablespoons))

30g (2 tablespoons) shortening or 30 ml (2 tablespoons) of oil

250 ml (1 cup) non-dairy milk (I used water)

equivalent of 4 eggs, 2 tablespoons Ener-G egg replacer whipped until stiff with 80 ml (1/3 cup) water

(I used:

15 ml (1 tablespoon) oil

15 ml (1 tablespoon) vinegar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cornflour (corn starch) or arrowroot starch

enough carbonated water (plain soda water) to equal 60 ml (1/4 cup)

Combine, oil, vinegar, baking powder, cornflour (corn starch) or arrowroot starch and water in a medium bowl to allow mixture room to expand. Whisk together. )

Prepare Ener-G egg replacer, if using. Stir together flour, vegan sugar, salt, cream of tartar, and cocoa. In a saucepan, bring the non-dairy milk or water and shortening or oil to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat for a moment and prepare alternative egg replacer, if using. Add the flour mixture all at once, return to heat, and reduce the heat to low. Stir constantly until the dough forms a ball that pulls away from the sides and the spoon and is smooth. Working quickly, remove from heat and add the egg replacer in thirds, beating well after each addition until the dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from the sides.

Using a pastry bag, dispense the choux paste onto a parchment-lined or nonstick baking tray. Alternatively, you may use two spoons to form eclair shapes or simply drop spoonfuls to form puffs. Mame says she made 20 small puffs. I got 10 eclairs from my batch.

Bake at 205C (400F) for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 170C (350F) for another 10 minutes. Turn oven off and allow to cool, with door slightly ajar, for another 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on racks before serving or filling.

Chocolate Pastry Cream

475 ml (2 cups) whole milk or non-dairy milk

2 large egg yolks (may omit)

85g (6 tablespoons) caster sugar

25g (3 tablespoons) cornflour (corn starch) or arrowroot starch

200g (7 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

35g (2 1/2 tablespoons) butter or shortening or 40 ml (2 1/2 tablespoons) oil

Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Set aside a smaller bowl that can hold the finished pastry cream and be placed in the ice bath. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Meanwhile, if you are using eggs, whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornflour (corn starch) or arrowroot starch together in a medium saucepan. Continue whisking as you slowly add a quarter of the hot milk into the yolks. Still whisking, pour the rest of the liquid in a steady stream into the tempered yolks. If you are not using eggs, then whisk the sugar and cornflour (corn starch) or arrowroot starch together in a medium saucepan. Slowly add the hot milk, continuing to whisk to prevent lumps, until all the milk is added.

Strain the mixture into the saucepan, place over medium heat, and whisking vigourously and without stop, bring the mixture to a boil. Keep the mixture at the boil, mixing energetically, for 1-2 minutes. Still over heat, stir in the chocolate, then remove from heat and scrape the pastry cream into the small bowl. (I skipped the straining step, as my pastry cream was not lumpy.)

Set the bowl into the ice-water bath and, stirring frequently so that the mixture remains smooth, cool the pastry cream to 60C (140F), as measured on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the pastry cream from the ice-water bath and stir in the butter, shortening, or oil in three or four additions. Return the pastry cream to the ice-water bath and keep it there, stirring off and on until it is completely cool.

Diplomat Cream

7g (2 1/4 teaspoons) powdered unflavoured gelatine or agar-agar

60 ml (1/4 cup) water

1/2 of the pastry cream

250 ml (1 cup) cream or 1 coconut cream recipe

Sprinkle the gelatine, if using, over the water in a small bowl and stir to break up any clumps. Let the gelatine soften in the water for 2 minutes. Heat the softened gelatine over simmering water or in a microwave for about 20 seconds on low power until the granules melt and the mixture is clear. For agar-agar, bring the water to a boil, sprinkle the agar-agar over the top and stir until dissolved. Stir the gelatine or agar-agar into the pastry cream by hand until blended.

Whip the cream until it holds a medium peak or prepare the coconut cream. By hand, fold the whipped cream or coconut cream into the pastry cream in 2 or 3 additions, folding just until evenly blended.

Coconut Cream

1 400 ml (14 oz) tin coconut milk, chilled overnight

30g (2 tablespoons) caster sugar (original used 15g (2 tablespoons) icing sugar)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chill a mixing bowl and beaters. Open the chilled coconut milk and spoon the cream from the top, avoiding the thin liquid underneath. If you don’t, then your cream will not set properly. Beat the coconut cream in the chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Beat in the icing sugar and vanilla extract.

Chocolate Sauce

125g (4 1/2 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

250 ml (1 cup) water

120 ml (1/2 cup) cream, coconut milk, or other non-dairy milk

75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of the spoon. Be patient–this can take 10 to 15 minutes and shouldn’t be rushed. This is the part of the process that seemed to take the longest for me.

Chocolate Glaze

120 ml (1/2 cup) cream, coconut milk, or other non-dairy milk

100g (3 1/2 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

20g (4 teaspoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, or shortening, or 20 ml (4 teaspoons) oil

105 ml (7 tablespoons) chocolate sauce

In a small saucepan, bring the cream or milk to a boil over medium heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the chocolate, bit by bit, stirring the mixture gently. Measure the temperature of the mixture with an instant-read thermometer: it should be 60C (140F). If it is too cool, warm it and remove from heat as soon as it reaches the proper temperature. If the mixture is too hot, let it cool to 60C (140F).

Stirring gently, blend in the butter, piece by piece, or the shortening or oil. Take the temperature of the glaze. It should be between 35C (95F) and 60C (140F) for prime pourability. If the glaze is too cold, it can be warmed in a hot water bath or microwave at low setting.

To Assemble:

Slice the eclairs horizontally in half. Set the bottoms aside and put the tops on a rack over a sheet of parchment. Spread the glaze over the tops. Allow the tops to set.

Pipe or spoon the chocolate diplomat cream into the eclair bottoms. You can do this as you wait for the tops to set. Place the tops over the filled bottoms, jiggling the tops to settle them, and serve the eclairs as soon as possible. Enjoy! If they don’t all get eaten in one sitting, as mine didn’t, they do fine stored overnight, the filling just shrinks a bit.

Casein-Free Option:

The vegan pate a choux is casein-free. To make the first pate a choux recipe casein-free, substitute trans-fat free shortening or oil for the butter. For the chocolate pastry cream, use your favourite dairy-free milk (such as hemp milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk) or goat’s milk instead of the whole milk and substitute trans-fat free shortening, oil, or ghee for the butter. You could leave the butter out of the pastry cream as well. It would not be quite as rich, but plenty rich enough. If you wish to make the pastry cream into diplomat cream, use coconut cream instead of the whipped cream. For the chocolate sauce, use your favourite dairy-free milk or goat’s milk, or you could leave out the milk and it will still be tasty. For the chocolate glaze, substitute trans-fat free shortening, oil, or ghee for the butter and dairy-free milk or goat’s milk for the cream.

This is another recipe from Cookie Madness. Anna made hers with blackberries, but I used frozen peaches and dried cranberries. I used butter in my pie crust, but if you replaced the butter in the crust and filling, then you could make this casein free and vegan. Pies, especially the crust, tend to work well with butter replacements such as shortening anyhow.

The pie crust recipe is from one of my grandmothers (minus the gluten-free variation of course). I don’t know where she found it, but the original had shortening. This pie is different but delicious. It reminds me more of breakfast than dessert. It would be good with different fruits as well.  Thanks Anna for sharing a very interesting recipe.

Pie Crust

85g (3/4 cup) gluten-free flour blend (I used cornflour (corn starch), teff flour, and sweet rice flour)

55g (1/4 cup) butter or shortening

60 ml (1/4 cup) cold or ice water

Cut the butter into the flour until the bits are the size of small peas. Add water until the mixture comes together to form a ball. Roll out on a floured surface. Makes one 23 cm (9 inch) pie crust.

Cranberry-Peach Oatmeal Pie

1 23 cm (9 inch) pie crust

283g (10 oz) peaches, thinly sliced

120g (1 cup) dried cranberries

135g (2/3 cup) light brown sugar, divided use

45g (3 tablespoons) butter or shortening, softened

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

125 ml (1/2 cup) light corn syrup (I used Lyle’s golden syrup)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs (I used 13g (2 tablespoons) ground flax seed and 90 ml (6 tablespoons) water

65g (2/3 cup) gluten-free oats

40g (1/3 cup) chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 175C (350F).

Toss peaches with half the brown sugar. Pour the dried cranberries into the pie crust and spread evenly. Top with the sweetened peaches and spread evenly.

In a bowl beat together the butter and the other half of the brown sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and syrup. Add the ground flax and water, or eggs one by one, and the oatmeal. Pour over fruit. Sprinkle with pecans.

Place pie on a baking tray and bake for 50 minutes. Serve warm or let cool. Enjoy!

Casein-Free Option:

Use trans-fat free shortening in the pie crust instead of butter. You could use lard as well, if you are not vegan. For the pie filling, substitute trans-fat shortening, ghee, applesauce, or prune puree for the butter.