Cherry Sunrise Pie…an Easter Tradition

In a few days it will Easter, the day of baked ham, chocolate candy and dyed or decorated eggs…. For any holiday meal, I want dessert to be special yet not too heavy: an attractive fruit-based pie, but easy to construct and yummy: a tall bill to fill but this cherry sunrise pie checks off all those requirements.  The last time my sisters came for Easter Karen asked me to make it for the big meal and she melted my heart when she said it felt like Easter when we ate that pie! They chow down as they are cherry lovers plus my sisters especially like how light it tastes and how it doesn’t land like a heavy chunker in your tummy.  I share it so you can make it anytime you want an easy company dessert.   You should make it the night before, so it is chilled enough to eat by 1 pm.cherry sunrise pie

It has to have a gluten free crust for me and I have one we bought at Wegmans or if you are making it for the wheat eating public there are redi-made crusts out there that will make this so simple yet so delightful. I usually make gf scratch graham crackers ahead of time, so they set a couple of days before I crush most of them into crumbs for the crust; homemade is pretty easy and cheap and they taste phenomenal compared to store bought gf graham cracker crumbs. Just saying! I love eating the leftover crackers as cookies; so yummy.

Cherry Sunrise Pie

One pie crust: you can make it from an 8 oz box of gluten free graham crackers crushed and mixed with 1/3 cup melted butter and pressed gently into a 9-inch pie pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 9 or 10 minutes.  Let cool completely before filling. Or buy one; they sell them at holiday times in the gluten free area in my local supermarket and at the local natural food store. Will save time to buy one…

Ingredients for filling

18 or 19 oz can crushed pineapple in own juice

1 21 oz can of cherry pie filling

1 8 oz pkg light cream cheese, room temp.

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup powdered sugar

Directions

Drain the pineapple for 20 min; save the juice!  I used my microwave to gently warm the cream cheese; it has a softening setting for cream cheese which works perfectly. I unwrapped it and placed the cold slab on a small plate and warmed it on a very low heat until supple and smooth.  Dump in a mixing bowl, add 2 tbsp pineapple juice, the vanilla, 1/3 cup crushed pineapple, ½ cup cherry pie filling.  If you are smart you will mostly use the goopy stuff and not too many cherries.  Save them for on top! Next, stir this all together really well.

Then whip the chilled heavy cream in a separate bowl with an electric

mixer until soft peaks form, add powdered sugar and mix well with the mixer; be careful not to over beat it.  If it gets clumpy you went too far.  Fold this into the cream cheese mix until it isn’t streaky with white areas.

Gently spoon the filling into the pie shell, spread it out to fill the entire bottom.  I used a spoonula (blend of spoon and spatula) and smooth the top with a flat cake spatula.  I like to leave a sort of tiny ridge on the outer edge to keep the pineapple from spilling out onto the crust.  Then carefully pour the rest of the cherry pie filling in the center spreading it to cover ¾ of the top from the center out.  Finally, use a spoon to put pineapple around the outer rim of the cherry filling.  Chill at least 2 hours, preferably 4.  Cut and slice. No adornments are needed. It has a light fluffy consistency, and it isn’t that sweet.  Great to top off a big meal; not too filling and the fresh fruity taste is a spring treat.  Try it soon and you will be giving the recipe out afterwards! photo 1

I have no pictures of creating this pie; maybe this Easter I will take the time to snap a few and add them to this post at a later date.

This is about the seventh time I have blogged this recipe; first was in 2014. Been making it for like 20 years!

Chicken with Zucchini and Red Onions

This is a new combination of loved ingredients. I love the versatility of boneless chicken thighs. I like red onion for its mild but tasty results when lightly cooked. Zucchini is another versatile ingredient. I added lemon zest and juice, lots of crushed garlic and served it with capellini pasta. It is light but flavorful. Great for a midweek supper. I add a vegetable side or more likely a green salad to complete the meal.

NOTES: don’t make it too soupy: add enough broth to steam the veggies a bit. You could use pasta water for this purpose. Use 4 garlic cloves if you enjoy garlic a lot. If the oil is mostly gone after frying the chicken; add an equal amount more of oil and butter; maybe 2 tsp. more for sautéing the veggies. You can use more zucchini and onions if you want. Chose whatever pasta you enjoy although I like a long skinny pasta for this dish.

Chicken with Zucchini and Red Onions

Ingredients:

3 boneless chicken thighs

1/3 cup white rice flour mixed with 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

2 Tbsp butter and a Tbsp of mild olive oil

one medium zucchini

a medium red onion or half a big one

3 or 4 garlic cloves

1/2 cup chicken broth

the zest of one lemon and after zesting, juice it

freshly cooked pasta

Veggies cooking

Directions:

I always pound out chicken before sautéing it; tenderizes it and makes it thin so it fries faster. I use 2 pieces of wax paper and a pounding hammer. Do this first; make sure it is no thicker than half an inch. After that do some more prep. I cut the zucchini in half the long way and then across into 1/3-inch-thick half-moons. Peel and slice the onion in half and then cut into thin slices top to bottom and then cut across in half. Try to not get them too thin. Zest the lemon and then juice it. I have an old-fashioned glass lemon/orange juicer.

Heat the butter and oil in a large nonstick frying pan. I have a new ceramic one that is 16 inches in diameter. I still could only fit 2 of them at a time as they get kinda big when you pound them out. Dredge the chicken in flour; add salt too before dredging. Lay two thighs in the hot oil/butter and cook about 3 inches on a side. When you take out the first one add the third thigh. I put the fried chicken into a low oval ceramic baking dish and put it in a 300-degree oven to cook slowly, make sure it reaches 165 degrees. By the time you add the third thigh you can probably turn your oven off. It will still cook on residual heat for a few minutes as you cook the veggies. Add the zucchini to the pan and cook a minute or 2. Add the sliced onion and cook another minute. Add most of the broth. Add the garlic and cook one more minute. The zucchini should be tender but not soggy. Add the zest and the lemon juice. Add the rest of the broth as needed. Add the chicken back to the pan and let cook one more minute. Adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Serve on pasta of choice. Enjoy!

Coconut Mounds Impossible Pie

Coconut Mounds Impossible Pie

This is my favorite coconut creation. I’ve made 3 different versions and this is my favorite. If I figure out another one to add I will let you know. It’s super easy and requires no fancy equipment or weird ingredients. No crust to fuss with. Probably any brand of gf flour will work. Otherwise it is all naturally gf ingredients. It doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to throw together and into the oven it goes for 43-45 minutes. I suggest that you allow it to set up for at least 4 hours. After two-three hours you could put it in the fridge to get it cold. If you prefer no chocolate just leave it out. I wonder what it would taste like with dark chocolate bits. Next time!

Ingredients:

2/3-3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. of GF flour blend (I used KA basic gf blend)

1/2 c melted butter or 1/3 c liquid coconut oil

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened version

1/4 c mini chocolate chips

a tsp of soft butter for coating the pie pan or soft coconut oil

Directions: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch glass pie pan. Melt the butter in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup. Put sugar and eggs into a mixing bowl, I used my stand mixer. I beat it for 3-4 minutes until it was thick and lemon yellow. Stop mixer, add in milk. flour, oil or melted butter, vanilla, and vinegar. Beat briefly to blend well. Fold in coconut. Pour half of this batter into the buttered pie pan, sprinkle with half the chocolate chips. Gently pour in rest of batter. Sprinkle with rest of chips. Put in oven on middle shelf. Bake 43 to 45 minutes until the middle is set and it is golden in color. Let cool fully 3-4 hours. Can eat either at room temperature or slightly chilled. Because of the custard, please store leftovers (if any!) in your fridge. Enjoy!

GF Chocolate Bundt Cake -Perfection!

I tried this cake out for my guy’s birthday a week ago. I made a few changes, like reducing the sugar and it is just perfect. But, I couldn’t find it again on Pinterest, so I am writing it down before I forget. Great texture and flavor. The mini chocolate chips added great flavor. This recipe is a keeper!

Notes: I only made it with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF flour; try other measure for measure blends at your own risk and let me know how they turn out! I think it would be fine with just one teaspoon of vanilla, but I put in both.

I know, not a good picture. I kept forgetting to take them as I made it and even forgot to take a decent picture of one slice. Next time I make it!

GF Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup King Arthur Measure for Measure GF flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup mild oil like canola

2/3 cup cocoa, unsweetened and not Dutch

1 cup very hot water

3 eggs

3/4 cup sour cream, room temp

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions: Spray an 8 cup bundt mold with baking spray or with a film of solid shortening. Set aside. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and sugar together in a bowl.

In another bowl mix the cocoa, hot water and oil and add the dry ingredients to it, mix. Then add the eggs, vanilla and sour cream and blend fully. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour into the cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5-6 minutes before de-panning onto a cooling rack. Cool completelybefore frosting.

Ganache: 1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup whipping cream. Heat cream until nearly hot not boiling (low heat setting), add chocolate chips. Stir until chips are melting, turn off heat and stir until all melted. Let cool for 10-15 minutes until it just flows before drizzling glaze over the cake with a spoon.

Carrot Cup Cakes

This is an incredibly moist and decadent cupcake, yet it is gluten free. It gets it richness from olive oil, carrots and plump raisins soaked in a little booze. There is no flour substitution; made entirely with ground almond flour so it is naturally gluten free. It makes 12-18 cupcakes depending on how full you fill each liner and is fairly low in sugar for a cake, and I made a cream cheese icing with less sugar and less cream cheese plus it was a lower fat cream cheese; I just iced the top, you need less icing and save a few calories. This version comes from a cake by Nigella Lawson with a few changes and additions by me. So, all I am thinking right now is why didn’t I make this, years and years ago!

You really need a food scale to weigh and measure properly. Much more exact. For the olive oil I eyeballed the amount in a 1 cup glass measuring cup. Please do not increase the carrots or raisins as that will make the batter too moist and too heavy; the center may not bake fully. They do not rise much due to the relatively heavy batter.

Notes: I didn’t have much rum on hand the first try, so I used some bootleg limoncello I made about 5 years ago to soak my golden raisins in. It really brought the citrus out in this cake. It was equally delicious made with rum the second try. My first version used orange zest; as I was out of lemons, but I had some this time. The three tablespoons of walnuts as no pine nuts around; I toasted them, and they had a smaller flavor impact than pine nuts but better for my budget. Do toast them as it really amps up the nutty flavor.

I wasn’t much thinking about blogging; I was teaching a friend how to make this recipe and so I took only one picture.

Venetian Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp pine nuts or chopped walnuts

8 oz coarsely shredded carrots (peel first if not organic)

3 oz golden raisins

2 ¼ oz limoncello or rum (I measured the raisins in a glass measuring cup and added limoncello to a touch above halfway up the raisins) About 2 Tbsp. rum

5 oz sugar

4.5 fluid ounces mild olive oil plus a tad more for greasing the pan

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

9 oz almond flour (not almond meal)

A scant ½ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. cinnamon

The zest of half a good sized lemon or orange plus the juice of said lemon

Frosting

6 oz room temp light cream cheese

2 Tbsp. butter at room temp

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Prep: Toast the pine nuts (or chopped walnuts) in a dry frying pan stirring or tossing constantly; they will burn if you don’t toss and stir and when they are about done pour them in a small bowl; don’t leave them in the (heat off) frying pan; they will burn on the residual warmth of the pan. Let cool. Put the raisins and limoncello in a small saucepan and heat up; then turn down the heat and simmer for 3 minutes or microwave 30 -60 seconds. Let cool before using.  Next, peel and grate carrots. I did it by hand with my versatile box grater on coarse side, but you can use a food processor, or a shedder attached to your stand mixer.   I grated them onto wax paper and then weighed it; so much more accurate than saying 3 carrots and hoping it is the right amount. Put liners in your muffin tins; if you want tall cupcakes make 12. For short ones do 18 cupcakes. I tried some silicon cupcake liners and loved them. Heat your oven to 350 degrees and make sure your shelf is in the middle.

Cake Directions: Put the almond flour, the two spices in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Put the sugar and olive oil in a large mixing bowl and whisk until it is well blended, light and creamy looking. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well before the next one. Add the vanilla extract, mix briefly. They add the almond flour mix and then carrots and the raisins and liquid clinging to them plus lemon juice. Last, add the pine nuts and lemon or orange zest. Blend briefly. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 22-24 minutes; mine took the full 24 minutes. They should look slightly risen and a cake testor will come out clean. Let cool 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes and set them on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

Make the icing; blend the cream cheese (I often soften mine 30 seconds on low in the microwave) and softened butter until fluffy; add the sugar in half cups or less as you blend. Add the vanilla and beat the frosting until it is fluffy. Frost the top of your beautiful cupcakes. Enjoy!