Cheesecake Brownies (gluten free)

May 30, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Cheesecake Brownies

I was going to swirl brownies but it ended up being simple layers, still delicious. Fudgy brownie layer with cheesecake on top. What could be better? This makes 9 decadent little squares. They may look small but they are rich and satisfying. We served them to my mother-in-law for her birthday and she was very pleased.

Ingredients

Brownie Batter

  • 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons light tasting olive oil
  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • 2 eggs
  • 9 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup coconut flour

Cheesecake Batter

  • 8 oz, cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • One large egg, beaten
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350.
  2. Prepare an 8 by 8 baking pan with cooking spray or butter.
  3. Cut the butter into tablespoon cubes in a medium plastic or glass mixing bowl, and melt in the microwave on 50% power for about 1 ½ to 2 minutes.
  4. Stir in the olive oil.
  5. Whisk the maple syrup into the butter.
  6. Add the eggs and beat.
  7. Gently stir the cocoa powder into until dissolved.
  8. Add the vanilla.
  9. Sift and stir in the coconut flour until just mixed.
  10. Pour into the prepared pan.
  11. In another glass or plastic mixing bowl, cut the cream cheese into tablespoon chunks.
  12. Pour the maple syrup over the cream cheese.
  13. Soften in the microwave on 50% power for 1 ½ to 2 minutes.
  14. Use a large whisk or spoon to beat the cream cheese and maple syrup smooth.
  15. Add the vanilla and egg.
  16. Pour over the brownie batter.
  17. Bake for 35 minutes.
  18. Allow to cool at least 1 hour.
  19. These are good warm, but even better fully chilled.

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The Sunday Recipe: Chocolate Coconut Cake

May 16, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Chocolate Coconut Cake

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour (105 grams)
  • 6 tablespoons or 30 grams cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 large eggs (I used 1 jumbo and 1 small from our hens)
  • ½ cup coconut milk (I used full fat but the fat had congealed and I didn’t blend it so it would be the equivalent of light, I imagine)
  • ¼ cup coconut oil, in it’s liquid state
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup boiling coffee (Hot water works fine too.)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep a 9 by 9 baking pan. (I prefer a glass dish.)
  2. When working with coconut, it seems to be particularly important to make sure everything is warmed up to room temp. This is easy enough to do with the aid of a little tap water and the microwave. Put the eggs in hot tap water for just 10 minutes. Warm the coconut oil on 30% power for 2 minutes. If you keep your maple syrup in the fridge, as we do, you can also warm that on 30% power for 2 minutes.
  3. Sift together the coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Whisk the eggs in a bowl.
  5. Beat in the coconut milk.
  6. Mix in the maple syrup.
  7. Mix in the coconut oil.
  8. Add the vanilla extract.
  9. Mix in the dry ingredients. (This will get very thick, very quickly.)
  10. Stir in the hot coffee or water.
  11. Pour into the prepared baking pan.
  12. Bake for 30 minutes or until a sharp knife or tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  13. Cool and enjoy. (Some whipped coconut cream is perfect with this.)

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The Sunday Recipe: Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream

May 9, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Last summer I made coconut milk ice cream but the recipe called for using raw eggs. Well, my daughter and I both got very sick with what seemed like Salmonella poisoning. I decided to try again but follow the directions for a cooked custard vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

  • 2 cans coconut milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, stir the coconut milk gently but continuously until all solids have dissolved and the mixture is steaming, but not boiling.
  2. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. Separate the eggs and refrigerate the egg whites for another recipe.
  4. Whisk or stir the egg yolks and maple syrup together.
  5. Drizzle the warm coconut milk into the egg yolk and maple mixture while stirring vigorously to temper the eggs.
  6. Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring continuously, until steaming.
  7. Continue to heat for another five minutes, stirring to prevent scorching on the bottom. (If you start to seeing boiling, remove from heat immediately.)
  8. (If you have a candy thermometer, you can check to make sure the mixture reaches 160, but if you keep stirring for five minutes after it starts to steam, you’re pretty safe.)
  9. Remove from heat and mix in the vanilla and salt.
  10. Cool then refrigerate for about 8 hours.
  11. Freeze according to ice cream freezer directions or place into a shallow dish and into the freezer for several hours, stirring once an hour until it firms up.
  12. I found two containers from take out food worked pretty well for this and were easy to scoop out of when the ice cream was frozen.

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The Sunday Recipe: Peach Cobbler with Coconut Flour

May 2, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Peach Cobbler with Coconut Flour

This is a nice simple cobbler based on an apple dutch baby. I found the coconut flour created more of a cobbler that stayed on top, and we’ve been eating it that way ever since. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, just use a spoon. I used one jar of Dole peach slices in juice, drained, for the peaches, but frozen or fresh should work just as well. I have just laid them out in the pan, but this time I tried dicing them for ease of serving. I don’t think it made a big difference, to be honest.

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups of peaches, diced
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 cup coconut flour

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Spray or grease a deep-dish pie plate or a 9 by 9 deep casserole.
  3. Melt the butter in the dish in the microwave then tilt the dish around to cover the bottom of the dish and up the sides with butter.
  4. Dump the peaches into the prepared dish.
  5. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. (You can use honey or even sugar if you prefer.)
  6. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.
  7. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs.
  8. Add in the milk.
  9. Sieve the coconut flour with the salt, to remove any lumps.
  10. Stir the flour and salt into the milk and eggs, working quickly as it will thicken very fast.
  11. Drop by spoon or cookie scoop onto the peaches.
  12. Flatten a little.
  13. Bake for 30 minutes.
  14. Allow to cool before serving with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

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The Sunday Recipe: Chocolate Raspberry Coconut Milk Custard

April 25, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Chocolate Raspberry Coconut Milk Custard

This is one I make often, mostly for myself but my family doesn’t seem to mind. It’s gluten and dairy free, plus refined sugar free.

This time I don’t think I put enough water in around the ramekins, but no matter how poofed it gets, once it’s chilled, it is still delightful creamy goodness.

I use full fat coconut milk in this but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work with light. Just don’t try it with the cartons of coconut milk, I don’t think that would be the same.

I don’t mind the seeds in the raspberries but if they bother you, try frozen cherries.

This recipe is also easy to cut in half and I often do that to make it easier because then I can just use a square tin and four ramekins. I even bake it in the toaster oven on the front porch in the hot weather.

If you give it a try, let me know how you like it.

Ingredients

  • 1 can (approximately 13.5 ounces) canned coconut milk
  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca flour/starch
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces frozen raspberries (about 3 tablespoons per ramekin)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Place the 8 ramekins into a roasting pan or baking dishes.
  3. Put a layer of raspberries in the bottom of the dishes.
  4. Heat 4 cups of water for a water bath. You may need more if the pan is big.
  5. Place the rest of the ingredients in a blender or bowl and mix thoroughly. (I used an immersion blender.)
  6. Pour batter slowly over fruit.
  7. Pour hot water into pan around ramekins. (Be careful, the pan can now become quite hot.)
  8. Bake for 40 minutes.
  9. Remove from oven and remove ramekins from pan to a towel using tongs.
  10. Allow to cool then refrigerate for several hours.
  11. Enjoy!

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The Sunday Recipe: Simple Fruitcake

December 13, 2020 at 6:30 am (Recipes)
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I wanted to try making this recipe with gluten free flour and maple syrup this year. When it came time, I thought I either had apples or applesauce in the freezer. Turns out I had only a couple apples, so I pulled out some peaches and made peach applesauce. It turned out just fine.

Simple Fruitcake

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups applesauce
  • 3/4 cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup butter (light tasting olive oil or coconut oil should work fine for vegan)
  • 2 ¼ cup flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Blend)
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces dark raisins
  • 8 ounces broken pecans
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Pick over pecans to remove any shell pieces in grooves and break up into 6 or 8 pieces each.
  2. Boil together applesauce and maple syrup for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Stir in the butter, pecans, and vanilla then set aside to cool.
  4. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
  5. Prepare a 12 cup Bundt pan, or two loaf pans, or a mini Bundt pan tin.
  6. In a large bowl, blend together flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
  7. Add raisins to flour mixture.
  8. Stir the liquid ingredients in thoroughly.
  9. Pour into prepared tins and bake, about 40 minutes for the smaller ones or up to 2 hours for the large cake, or until a thin knife inserted in center comes out mostly clean.
  10. This cake is best aged a bit, at least a few days.
  11. For the adults – I decided to try soaking and aging a half of the mini fruitcakes with blackberry brandy this year. The directions I found say to simply poke holes all over with a toothpick then brush with the alcohol and wrap. Reapply alcohol each week. We’ll see what happens.

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The Sunday Recipe: Cinnamon Roll Cake

November 15, 2020 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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Cinnamon Roll Cake

I had a terrible craving for cinnamon rolls but trying to stay gluten free, and not wanting to spend the time, I looked for a cinnamon roll cake I could make gluten free. I found this fabulous Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake from The Recipe Critic https://therecipecritic.com/cinnabon-cinnamon-roll-cake/ and proceeded to make the changes.

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups white rice flour
  • 3 Tablespoons tapioca flour
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 6 Tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 Tablespoons butter melted
  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 6 Tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

  1. Spray or grease a 9 by 9 pan.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Combine the first 8 ingredients, through the vanilla, and blend or whisk to a nice batter.
  4. Stir in the melted butter.
  5. Pour into your prepared pan.
  6. Mis the last three ingredients together and spoon onto the cake batter in dollops.
  7. Use a knife to swirl the cinnamon/butter/syrup combo into the cake.
  8. Bake for 30 minutes.
  9. Top with cream cheese frosting or eat as is.

I topped this immediately with a little leftover cream cheese frosting from making the macarons a couple days before. The cream cheese frosting melted onto it perfectly. Cream cheese frosting is just equal parts butter and cream cheese with a little milk or cream, vanilla, and some powdered sugar to stiffen it up. Martha Stewart’s recipe is my go to recipe. https://www.marthastewart.com/964331/cream-cheese-frosting

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The Sunday Recipe: Green Tomato Mincemeat

October 11, 2020 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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My husband grew a bumper crop of Roma tomatoes this year. I’ve made several batches of marinara sauce, chili sauce, and one HUGE batch of salsa. Some of the tomatoes didn’t quite have time to ripen though so I’ve used an old favorite recipe to preserve them — Green Tomato Mincemeat. I’ve adapted this recipe for a more paleo version from the Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook of 1937. It’s simple but amazingly delicious.

In the past I’ve used either olive oil or butter, and either vinegar or lemon juice. This time I replaced the sugar with maple syrup, which allows me to use ¾ of the sugar content and still retain the tangy sweetness.

I prefer Granny Smith apples, but I’m sure any good cooking apple would work. I made a double batch the first time with vinegar, instead of lemon juice, and it tasted great. Today I made a triple batch and used lemon juice.

Green Tomato Mincemeat

Ingredients

  • 2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples
  • 2 cups chopped green tomatoes
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup dark raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon mace (nutmeg is an acceptable substitute)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • ½ tablespoon tapioca flour or cornstarch (optional)
  • ¼ cup butter

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a large pot, except butter and tapioca (or corn) starch.
  2. Bring to a boil gradually over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
  3. Simmer about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
  4. Stir together tapioca flour or cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water and stir into the sauce.
  5. Simmer another 15 minutes.
  6. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
  7. Cool and use, or pour into freezer containers to store in the freezer.

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The Sunday Recipe: Decadent Chocolate Snack Cake

August 23, 2020 at 5:00 am (Recipes)
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Decadent Chocolate Snack Cake

Okay, honestly, if you do gluten free, you need to try this. I’ve made it several times since I figured it out and it is just incredible. Even if you don’t do gluten free, you’re going to love this. It is a one bowl wonder.

The zucchini is just enough to add an added element of flavor but you don’t necessarily taste it at zucchini. Some people call for shredding your zucchini and squeezing it to remove liquid but I wanted the moisture from the zucchini in this, so I recommend shredding it JUST before you add it in. Use a large whole grater and shred big.

This recipe is also reduced sugar and gluten free, but it may actually be my favorite chocolate cake of all time. It’s good warm or cold from the fridge.

I adapted this from a chocolate zucchini bread recipe I found several years ago that I wasn’t really happy with. The original recipe was dry, not very chocolaty, and just not very enjoyable. I added a third egg, increased the maple syrup and cocoa powder, eliminated squeezing the zucchini moisture out, and increased the chocolate chips, then reduced the oven temperature, and changed the type of pan it is baked in.

If you’d like the link to the original bread recipe, let me know and I’ll be happy to share it.

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder (Dutch processed, if you have it.)
  • 1/8 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 cup of almond butter (no salt or sugar added, preferably)
  • 1 cup of shredded zucchini (150 grams)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • ¼ cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray or grease a pan. (8 X 8 or 9 X 9, even a toaster oven cake tin works.)
  2. Beat the eggs with a whisk or blender.
  3. Mix in the maple syrup until well combined.
  4. Add the vanilla. (You might get away with less than a tablespoon but indulge, vanilla makes chocolate SO much better.)
  5. Blend in the cocoa powder and salt until well combined. (Go slow at first until the powder is wet down.)
  6. Drop the almond butter by spoonfuls into the batter, spaced out, then blend in. (This can clog your whisk if it is too cold, until it gets mixed in well so make sure it is room temp.)
  7. Now, shred your zucchini then stir it in immediately.
  8. Last step – Measure the baking soda and put in then pour the vinegar over it and stir in.
  9. Pour into your prepared pan.
  10. If using, sprinkle the mini chocolate chips evenly over the cake.
  11. Bake for 40 minutes or until a knife comes out of the center clean.
  12. Enjoy!

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The Sunday Recipe: Blueberry Lemon Loaf

August 9, 2020 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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I had an incredible yen for something blueberry and lemon last weekend, it is blueberry season after all. I went through multiple recipes online looking for something that would work with my baking requirements and found this one https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2019/06/blueberry-lemon-ricotta-tea-cake.html from Karen’s Kitchen Stories. I proceeded to deconstruct it and figure out how to make one that would work for me.

I cut the recipe in half to start with. I wanted to be able to make it in a loaf pan instead of my big spring form cake pan. (I also only had a couple cups of blueberries and one lemon.) I figured out how much of my different flours I would use in place of wheat flour, and switched out the sugar for maple syrup. It looked like there was enough eggs and baking powder that I wouldn’t need to add more. I also traded the vanilla for lemon extract.

I got all the dry ingredients put together on Saturday night, set out the butter and maple syrup, then got up early Sunday morning to bake a loaf before the heat set in for the day. It turned out fabulous!

I’m sure it would work fine if you substituted a gluten free flour blend of your choice for the blend of flours I use, but this one is my favorite.

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups blueberries
  • 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 6 Tablespoons maple syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
  • Zest from 1 lemon
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/3 cup (or 42 grams) tapioca flour
  • 1/3 cup (or 42 grams) coconut flour
  • ½ cup + 1 ½ Tablespoons almond flour (or 70 grams)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 340 degrees.
  2. Spray or grease a loaf pan.
  3. Take a square of parchment paper. (Picture below.)
    1. Fold back and crease two opposing sides so that it is as long as the loaf pan.
    2. Place it into the loaf pan and crease so that it goes down one long side, across the bottom, and up the other side. It should extend up well beyond the sides of the pan.
    3. Fold the wings down and crease.
    4. You now have a parchment cradle for lifting the bread out after it is baked.
  4. Clean the outside of the lemon and dry then peel just the zest off (the very outer yellow part) and chop up fine.
  5. In a small bowl, mix the blueberries and cornstarch. Set aside.
  6. Cream the butter and maple syrup.
  7. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
  8. Mix in the ricotta cheese.
  9. Add the lemon extract and lemon zest.
  10. Combine the flours, baking powder, and salt.
  11. Mix the flour combo into the wet ingredients, stirring until combined.
  12. Gently stir in the blueberries.
  13. Pour into the greased and lined loaf pan.
  14. Bake for 80 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.
  15. Cool in the pan for about ten minutes.
  16. Lift the loaf out using the paper cradle and cool on a rack until desired temp for eating. (It’s good warm or cold.)
  17. Enjoy!
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