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Rhubarb Custard Crumb Pie

This is my favorite rhubarb pie and my go to recipe for a great spring dessert.

This is an easy pie even though it has several steps.  It is different from the usual rhubarb pie because the texture is a bit closer to a crumb cake, no wet, slimy texture and no ultra sour flavor.  I think this version tastes even better than it did when I made it with wheat-based flour.  This GF crust will work for any pie and the GF crumb topping is perfect for any crumb pie topper.  What I am giving you is my mixture of three recipes with some small modifications over time to create one of my favorite GF pie recipes.  I know it has several steps, but each one is easy, and you can use these crust and crumb recipes for other pies.

I like it because it has a great texture, and the flavor is complex but subtly rhubarby.  It isn’t really soft or all that custardy but more cake-like in texture. It is a game changer of a rhubarb pie. I promise you that!

Angie’s GF Rhubarb Custard Pie

Crust:

1 c plus 1 tbsp brown rice flour mix (recipe for blend at bottom of pie recipe)

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 lg egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

——————

Spray a 9-inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour. I must confess I forget this step a lot of the time and it doesn’t seem to matter much….

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add egg and juice. Do not leave out the juice; it is critical to the crust texture and structure!  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape the sticky mess into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you chop the rhubarb into ½ inch chunks.

rhubarb

And make the crumbs while the crust ball chills:

Crumb topping

Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

Make the fruit Filling:

5 cups cut up fresh rhubarb – place in medium bowl

Mix with dry mix made of

2/3 – 1 c sugar (depends on how sweet you like your pie) I go with 2/3 cup

¼ c brown rice flour mix (see below recipe)

½ tsp nutmeg

Sprinkle cinnamon

Rolling out the bottom crust: My sister bought me one of those pie crust plastic bag thingies; has a zipper around the edge.  By OXO: I love it; it works better than wax paper which can get soft and tear as you roll out the crust.  King Arthur Flour sells an inexpensive one on line. I highly recommend you get the OXO version for making scratch pie crust.  Or maybe improvise with a sheet of heavy duty plastic! Strong enough to work with the rolling pin and better than wax paper.pie crust bag

Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered.  Remove other slice of wax paper.  Crimp edges all around.  Fill with dry rhubarb mix.  Pour the following wet mix evenly over this mixture: Wet mix: 3 eggs (171 grams) beaten lightly with 1/3 c milk (not skim), and ¼ tsp almond extract.

Sprinkle the top of the pie with the crumb mix; use as much as you like.  I like about 2/3-3/4 of the mixture.  Up to your personal taste… It sinks into the rhubarb and wet mixture to create an almost cake like texture and the crumb crust adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.

Bake on the bottom shelf in a preheated 375-degree oven for 55-60 minutes until bubbly and the crust is light brown.  Cool at least 2 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur’s Basic GF Blend) [Not Measure for Measure or baking mix]
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

This post was originally published in the late spring of 2013.  I revised it somewhat since then.  I have made this pie many times in past years to rave reviews.  One of my friends had it for dessert at my house and said it was the best pie she had ever eaten, gluten free or not!  Spring is rhubarb season.  Go forth and make pie!

Butternut Squash, Pancetta and Kale Pasta Toss

This colorful pasta dish is pretty healthy and very tasty. It’s a version of a dish I make with Swiss chard. None of that around so I used fresh kale from my garden and some beet greens for that earthy note that is critical to the flavor. Not a difficult dish either. Have enjoyed the original many times in the past 8-10 years.

It showcases roasted cubes of butternut squash and tender kale as well as beet greens. My amounts are somewhat approximate. It will keep a couple days in the fridge. I used gf fettuccine noodles. Don’t overcook them! You could buy pre-peeled and cubed squash to save time. I used some I grew last fall and honestly it didn’t take long to peel and cube it. I suggest you roast the cubes from a whole squash and use as much as you think works for you.  I have made this recipe with thick cut bacon, if that is what you have; go for it.  I got a package of chopped pancetta at Aldi’s pretty cheaply and the flavor is awesome.

Butternut, Pancetta and Kale Pasta

Ingredients:

1 small- medium butternut squash; peeled, seeded and cubed; at least a pound

3-4 tbsp. EVOL

1 cup or so of diced red onion; one decent sized one

4 oz pancetta, diced

1 lg garlic clove minced

1 bunch tender young kale, rinsed off

A big handful of beet greens, preferably young tender ones

9-12 oz dried gf fettucine noodles.

Good quality Parmesan cheese to grate into the mixture and some on each plated entree

Directions:

Roast the squash; heat the oven to 400 degrees, spray a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray; spread the cubed squash, drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp of EVOL and ½ tsp. kosher or sea salt, bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 60 minutes; if they are chubby they might take all 60 minutes. Mine this time were fairly skinny so 30 minutes was perfect. Do turn cubes every 15 minutes with a metal spatula to help them cook evenly, a bit of crunch is nice! Start the rest of the recipe as they approach doneness, let them stay warm in the oven with heat off or bake the squash a day before if that works for you. Have done it all three ways. Crunchier if made right before serving.

Heat a large pot of salted water for the pasta while you make the kale.  Chop it into 1.5- 2 inch lengths; set the chopped leaves aside separately from the lower stem bits. Heat the EVOL in a large frying pan or smallish wok. Add the pancetta first, cook 2-3 minutes, add the red onion pieces, cook 3-5 minutes until softening. Add the garlic and cook a minute. Add the kale in 2-3 handfuls letting it cook down for a minute before stirring and adding the next third. Add the beet greens with the last third of kale. Cook 2-3 minutes until the beet greens are soft.  Meanwhile you have cooked the pasta to al dente. Add it to the pan with the pancetta and veggies, stir, add the roasted squash cubes. Stir gently. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top; none of that pre-grated crappy cheese please! Enjoy!

swiss chard pasta plated

Not sure where I found this recipe, but it is a keeper; we often enjoy it in the fall as chard and squash are typically fall harvest vegetables.

You could leave out the beet greens if you can’t find them.

Daffodil Cake – Delish Spring Dessert

My resolution this year was to eat less sugar and that kinda means less cake and I am doing pretty well at it so far but sometimes it is about using the ingredients you have on hand.  I have some egg whites in the freezer and have to use them up. Defrost and I have everything else in the fridge or pantry: go daffodil cake. Looks like an angel food cake on the surface but it is an old-fashioned confection known as a daffodil cake.  The insides have some white and some yellow cake. I found the recipe in my 1970s Betty Crocker, a great standard cookbook I would never want to be without.  Was making it for many years before my diagnosis with celiac so once I got comfy baking gf I figured I could make it gf and it is perhaps even better than it was with gluten-based flour.

I make them on occasion for my mom who is a big fan of said cake.

She is still not sure I am making it gf but it is totally gf and totally delicious.  daffodil cake, french apple tart 014

So, all you gluten free disbelievers, this cake will change your mind. It is tender, moist and delicately flavored, not to mention very pretty and perfect in spring for Easter.  It is after all; a daffodil cake and spring is the only time in the year they bloom. Make some now folks! It makes a wonderful birthday or party cake; you could put a thin vanilla powdered sugar glaze on top to make it fancy for such an occasion.

Notes: I save egg whites; in a Tupperware container in the freezer, until I have a cup of them.  Then I am ready to put this beauty together. Or just use enough eggs to make a cup of whites. If you don’t have guar gum you can use xanthan gum.

A few words on separating eggs: this can be tricky, and I have learned from bad experiences not to separate directly into the measuring cup full of whites; do it into a small bowl and dump. You can NOT get ANY egg yolk in the whites, or they won’t beat properly.  Best to set any egg that breaks or becomes contaminated with even a speck of yolk aside and make an omelet for supper! I crack each egg on the edge of my counter, split its shell in half and dump it over one cupped hand. The white flows through into the bowl underneath and I drop the yolk into the mixing bowl. Be gentle so the yolk does not break.  Don’t use old, tired eggs or the yolks are more likely to break; fresh is best but they need to come to room temperature before cracking, so the whites beat to a high volume.  FYI: When baking gf all ingredients should be room temperature unless the recipe tells you otherwise.

Put the yolks in the medium mixing bowl and add those six whites in with the other cup of whites: 1 ½ cup total egg whites.  I know, a crazy lot of eggs in this but remember, no fat what-so-ever! Angel food cake is a good choice for your diabetic friends, or so they say. I just think those folks love a good angel food cake. This cake is even better, a masterpiece of delicate melt in your mouth cakey delight.

Angie’s GF Daffodil Cake

1 cup egg whites (room temp)

6 whole large eggs (room temp) separated

1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

1 cup brown rice flour blend (recipe below)

½ tsp guar gum

1 ½ tsp. cream of tarter

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

½ tsp. almond extract

1 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Put baking rack on second slot from the bottom.  You need a ten-inch tube pan with removable bottom, do not spray.

Mix and sift the powdered sugar, flour, guar gum in a bowl at least once.

Pour the egg whites (should add up to 1 ½ cups) into a stand mixer bowl, add cream of tarter and salt.  Start at medium speed.  Beat until foamy, increase speed until high, wait for soft peaks and add cup of granulated sugar a tbsp or two at a time as it beats.  No bowl scraping or stopping.  Beat at highest speed until you have stiff peaks.  Beat briefly after adding the two flavoring extracts. Set aside.

In small bowl beat the 6 egg yolks about 4 minutes until thick and lemon-yellow colored.

Fold the flour mixture into the egg whites, I do about a quarter cup at a time sprinkled all over the top and I fold it with a spatula or spoonula.  Be gentle and smooth; don’t worry if it isn’t perfectly smoothly mixed.  Put about half of the mixture into a separate large mixing bowl.  Add the beaten egg yolks; gently fold until it is pretty well blended.

Put big glops of the plain mixture into the baking tube pan; I like 3 big ones.  Put three big glops of the yellow blended mix between them. Top with more glops of the mixes, using it all up.  Gently stir through the pan with your spoonula to swirl it a bit and smooth the top with the spoonula.

Put into preheated oven, bake 35 minutes, until when you press gently on the top it springs back.

  • Remove from oven, turn it over and hang on an empty wine bottle neck or a big funnel. Let cool totally in this upside-down state before cutting it out of the pan. I use a sharp serrated bread knife, cut around the outside edge and the center tube. Lift it out and then slice under the cake all around.  Place a cake plate over the top and gently flip it. daffodil cake, french apple tart 014

I store it in a plastic cake saver or just in the microwave away from breezes and hungry folks.  You could wrap it in plastic wrap too. It is best eaten within 3 days.  It generally doesn’t last that long around here.

Brown Rice Flour Mix base mix 

(This mix is the same as King Arthur’s basic gf blend)
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

This recipe is my variation on the angel food cake you will find in Annalise Roberts’ Gluten-Free Baking Classics cookbook.   This post was first published in April 2016.

Cowboy Cookie: Crunchy Addiction!

My freezer is empty of cookies.  This is Not good.  Cookie baking has not been high on my to-do list, but I have someone I want to make a great cookie for, and this one qualifies. I saw this recipe 10 years ago on the net. A year later I finally threw a batch together.  These cookies are created just like that; dump and blend; there is a bit of stickiness in the shaping of them but no matter, just wash those sticky fingers and hands before you put on the oven gloves…

Notes: I like to use all dark brown sugar, I added walnuts, used less vanilla and I prefer Better Batter flour mix. I’ve made them using Cup 4 cup blend, another good option for flour blend. Once I used a half cup KA brown rice flour mix for the last ½ cup of flour.   Its best to beat the eggs; added them roughly one at a time. I got the chunky coconut chips at Frey’s Better Foods here in Hellertown.

coconut chips

Cowboy cookies have been around a long time.  Popular with cowboys I assume! They are sturdy and yummy.  The flavor is a mixture of semi-sweet chocolate chips, cinnamon, brown sugar and oats with a healthy dose of butter.  Totally. nummy. good.

cowboy cookie

I never heard of them before my first batch although apparently, they have been around for decades. I read that Laura Bush baked a version of them in her smack down with another First Lady wanna be. They are hearty and really big so I am guessing they might well be from Texas!

cowboy cookies

My first batch made 24 cookies, the recipe said 20….  One other time 30 cookies. So, mine were a tad smaller than suggested but still really large.  I ended up baking mine for 14 minutes, so I suggest you do likewise.  If you bake them one sheet at a time they should be done in 12 minutes, but I would rather bake 2 sheets simultaneously.  Some of the sets of six cookies were done on the parchment paper and one sheet was just on a cooking sprayed nonstick cookie sheet.  Both ways worked fine.  They spread some but not a lot so leave some space between them.

I plan to freeze most of them, so they last a bit.  I am guessing success will be my ability to pull one of these big boys out of the freezer and snack down after work next week!

Cowboy Cookies, GF and you’d never know it!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour (Better Batter works great)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it) *BB does!

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp kosher salt

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups old fashioned gf rolled oats

1 1/2 cups coconut chips

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 eggs at room temperature, beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and whisk to combine well.

Place about 1 teaspoon of the dry ingredients in a separate, small bowl and add the chocolate chips to the bowl. Toss to coat the chips, and set the bowl aside.

To the large bowl, add the granulated sugar and the brown sugar and whisk to combine, working out any lumps in the brown sugar. Add the oats and coconut chips and mix to combine. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, eggs and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add the chips and reserved dry ingredients, and mix until the chips are evenly distributed throughout. If necessary to bring the dough together, knead it with your hands. Divide the dough into 20 pieces, each about 2 ounces. Roll each into a ball and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball into disk about 1/4-inch thick with your palm or a big spatula.

Place the baking sheets in the center of the preheated oven, two at a time, and bake until lightly golden brown all over (about 14 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes or until firm before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy these fat and tasty big cookies; no one will ever guess they are gluten free!

Postscript: these freaking cookies are addictive! They are subtly flavored by the combination of the above-named ingredients.  My guy and my grandson Aiden love them too.   Trust me, they are the bomb!

Note to self; follow recipe exactly and they are even better….  I make sure to beat the eggs first before pouring them on top of the softened butter and the vanilla.  I also remembered to add the chips last and watch them closely in the oven.  They are so yummy I tend to put most of them in the freezer to keep myself from eating more cookies.  FYI: Perfect warm out of the oven.

2024 – My Philosophy of Gluten Free Living

As spring of 2024 begins, I feel compelled to reiterate my reasons for blogging and my philosophy as far as food goes.   Some reasons for that compelled feeling?  I haven’t visited this topic in about 8 years, so I think it is time for an update. Plus, maybe because in some small way I influence those who read my posts.  If you read, you deserve to know why I write.

I was diagnosed just over 11 years ago; January 2013.  It was like a death blow at the time…or so I thought.  It took a couple of weeks to even process this idea of walking away from all-purpose flour, from the usual baked treats: whole wheat breads and cereals, rye bread, bagels, rolls, scones, cookies, pies, cakes and pastries. Gosh that was hard to wrap my brain around.  I won’t lie…it was deeply upsetting and rather depressing.  But after a while I dusted off my butt and got to work making my kitchen over into a gluten free kitchen and in fact, my whole life into a gluten-free zone.  Took about two-three months to fully accomplish, I kept finding yet another gluten filled item in my cupboard or freezer. And I switched over to gf pet food.

Let me clear this up; I am not offended by all you wheat eaters out there.  I eat how I do because I must.  I had to change my lifestyle to survive.  It is not some sort of weight loss plan but a way to avoid an early death.  People who mock folks who must eat gluten free deserve to become allergic to whatever they love to eat; so they can experience what we celiacs go through every single day of our lives.  There are some rude types out there but also a lot of caring folks who go out of their way to make safe food for we who can’t eat gluten anymore.

Being gluten free gets easier as time goes on, just like learning any new skill.  You navigate the waters of buying safe choices, of figuring out how to make gf gravy, how to flour meat/fish and how to make that birthday cake or holiday cookie that your family craves.  And to make it all safe for you.  That is my mission; encouraging you, cheering struggling celiacs on and sharing my recipes, found all over the web, in my gf cookbooks or old/new recipes I have translated into a safe, gluten free version. I have even conquered gf kiffles and love making them for friends and family. christmas baking 2015 030

My focus is on eating seasonally, partaking as liberally as possible of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Fruits especially taste the best when eaten in season.  My baking highlights in season fruit and I eat that in season fruit out of hand as well as added to salads.  I eat meats, fish and poultry as well as some vegetarian fare.  I mostly avoid processed foods although I do sometimes eat bacon. I don’t buy a lot of gluten free bread products.  Yet, I crave bread so I occasionally bake in my quest for the best ever gf bread.  So far some success, my french bread with golden raisins and fennel and my gf sourdough bread comes to mind.

I also try more and more to limit my sugar intake: it is a new year’s resolution of mine. In 2015 I discovered coconut palm sugar, pricey but I love how it doesn’t seem to spike my sugar so I use it in muffins that I enjoy as an occasional snack.  apple muffins 002My desserts tend to be fruit based and I often scale back the sugar a bit.  Confession: I still adore the occasional cake but in the interest of healthy eating I am trying to cut back or at least make a lower sugar version; see my sour cream cinnamon cake post recently.  Granulated sugar is being seen more and more as a major villain in our dietary choices. Being pre-diabetic I have long tried to use a bit less of it and choose things like tarts or fruit pie as opposed to a slice of cake with lots of sugary icing.  Humbly I suggest you might try to do as well. alsatian apple tart 002

You can cook gluten free easily enough if you cook meals that are naturally gluten free; rice, potatoes, rice noodles are good examples of starches you can incorporate with your protein item and lots of vegetables.  Be careful of rice mixes that have seasoning packets; often bearers of gluten in them…read the labels carefully.  Sometimes a bit of flour is called for; scalloped potatoes for example. I have subbed in white rice flour or brown rice flour for the white flour.

I hear of many folks successfully using those cup-for-cup mixes that are sold in most stores in old gluten flour recipes.  I do use them especially when I am reformulating an old gluten flour recipe. Still, I tend to use recipes formulated for gf flour as there is a lot of chemistry in baking and gf flour is so pricy.  I hate failing in baking and having to pitch a leaden loaf; not going there if I can help it! I just made a lot of crumbs out of a lousy loaf of sourdough that refused to rise. Two containers of it in my fridge.  My favorite of those gf flour mixes is Better Batter, I do use it on occasion and very successfully so far.

My favorite flour mix is the one Annalise Roberts uses in her recipes; a mixture of brown rice flour, potato starch and tapioca flour; my pie crust is phenomenal tasting using her mix and her recipe.  strawberry rhubarb pie 011I use that flour in my muffins, my chocolate cake, my angel food cake, and a number of yummy cookies I enjoy. You see it often in my blogged recipes.  It is pretty much identical to the all-purpose gf flour mix that King Arthur sells, not their baking mix though; that has added leavening agents. cranberry tartlets 003

Tough items for me are making edible bread, rolls, biscuits and pastries.  It is possible to bake quite decent cakes and cupcakes.  And there are some tasty gf cake mixes in a box out there.  If you love to bake bread, I have written posts about yummy breads I have made from scratch; French bread, yeast zucchini bread and chickpea soup, salad, bread 014the America’s Test Kitchen sandwich bread come to mind.  I have made some decent cinnamon buns. Victory!

In summary, I started writing my blog to cope with the horrors of going gluten-free but I continue because I have found great personal success in cooking and baking safely for myself and my family/friends. I take great joy in serving tasty foods particularly desserts that people clamor for seconds of.  thanksgiving meal 013I want to share that success and help others to be confident enough to bake gf foods for yourself and your family. You can do it, yes you can. I am here to help you; all questions answered gladly, advice given freely, and support is there for you whether your gluten free journey is brand new or has been there for years in your daily life.

Peace and happy eating my friends!