gluten free baking

Christmas Stollen, 2.0….Even Better!

Gluten-Free Holiday Stollen Yield: two 10″ loaves

The classic Christmas stollen bread is made with yeast. Shush, don’t tell your gluten eating friends that this quicker, easier gluten-free version, made with baking powder as the rising agent, is even tastier in my humble opinion. Filled with dried fruit and toasted almonds and covered with a layer of melted butter and powdered sugar, this is more like pastry and is delicious with a cup of coffee or tea. Great choice for when company is coming as it isn’t that much work or time needed to create this masterpiece. Everyone will think you slaved all day to bake it. No need to tell them how easy it is! Its origins are Germanic but it isn’t heavy or dry; flaky and tender, pastry perfection. If you are searching for the perfect gluten free holiday treat; look no further. I cannot say enough good things about this treat. It is loved by all, and that second loaf makes a wonderful gift. I am looking forward to enjoying stollen this afternoon; in the oven baking right now!

I first made it 3 years ago, lost the recipe; had to get it again from the King Arthur Flour’s web site customer service center as they had removed it from their recipe rotation. They said it needed some tweaking. I disagree, it is just delectable although shaping it can be rather messy. It is far easier made without yeast which adds steps and can be finicky. I frankly don’t miss the yeast like I once thought I would. This dough is very tender and flavorful, I have been known to eat leftover tidbits raw it is that tasty. My family adores this pastry treat and will do nefarious things to get more stollen at Christmastime.

Notes: You could use orange rind instead of lemon rind and the dried fruit selection is entirely up to your tastes or your pantry. If you dislike the raisins substitute more dried fruit. One more good thing; it doesn’t require aging like a fruit cake. As soon as it cools you can cut a fat piece and enjoy a slice of heaven on earth!

Adding the butter
Butter is now integrated into dough using pastry cutter

Dough

2 1/4 cups King Arthur basic blend Gluten-Free Flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt*

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold butter

3/4 cup ricotta cheese, part-skim milk type, let warm a bit to get it close to room temp. Can use whole milk ricotta if that is what you have.

2 large eggs, room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grated rind of 1 small lemon; or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil, or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup of your favorite dried fruits, chopped to 1/2″ pieces Yes, dried, not fresh. (I do apricots, cherries, currents, raisins or peaches/pears)

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted and cooled

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*Reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon if you use salted butter.

dried fruit and citrus zest

Topping

the dried fruit is mixed in!

Adding the toasted almonds
Adding the wet mixture into the dry dough
formed stollen ready to bake
baked and powdered
More powdered sugar sprinkled on using a sieve

4 tablespoons butter, melted

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with

parchment.

2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum in a mixing bowl.

3. Cut the cold butter into small chunks, then blend it into the flour mixture to form uneven crumbs.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the cheese, eggs, vanilla, and flavors.

5. Toss the fruit and almonds with the flour mixture until evenly distributed. Then combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until most of the flour is

moistened.

6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead it two or three times, until it holds together. Divide it in half.

7. Pat each piece of dough into an 8″ x 7″ oval about 1/2″ thick.

8. Fold each piece of dough roughly in half, leaving the edge of the top half about 1/2″ short of the edge of the bottom half. Should you fold the long way, or the short way? The long way will give you a longer, narrower stollen, with shorter slices; folding the short way will give you a wider, fatter stollen, with longer slices.  I do the long way, your choice.

9. Use the edge of your hand to press the dough to seal about 1″ in back of the open edge; this will make the traditional stollen shape. It’s also the familiar Parker House roll shape, if you’ve ever made them. The dough will probably crack; that’s OK, just smooth it out as best you can.

10. Carefully place the shaped stollen on the prepared baking sheet.

11. Bake the stollen until they’re very lightly browned around the edges and on top, about 40 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean.

12. Remove the stollen from the oven, and transfer them to a rack. Brush them each with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle heavily with confectioners’ sugar.

13. Allow the stollen to cool, then brush with butter again, and sprinkle with sugar again. Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve; serve within a week. If desired, sprinkle with additional sugar just before serving.

14. Yield: two 1-pound stollen loaves. I like to freeze one for another occasion if I am not gifting it right away. Enjoy!

Fig and Ricotta Cake, GF and Fabulous!

Figs, figs, figs! Enough to enjoy, not enough for making big batches of fig jam. I did make some sweet pickled figs in October and last week we enjoyed a lovely fig and sweet cheese galette. This time I went back to the best bake I ever have made with figs; the fig and ricotta cake. It is just so delish, I now call it THE Fig Cake. When I told my sister Karen I was making a fig cake she knew exactly which one; she and her hubby who is of Italian heritage loved it when I made it in September 2020 while visiting them and our mom for her big 100th birthday celebration. I made it about 3 weeks ago but last night I felt another ricotta cake was just the right way to use some of my last ripe figs from this season.

This recipe is a big favorite of Ina Garten; you can find it on her barefoot contessa website. I reworked it a tiny bit to make it gluten free. It has a lovely crumb and a delicate flavor that is delightful. I think this cake is definitely one I would like to try and make with other fresh fruit, cherries? Apricots? Plums? All seem like great possibilities.

You can use small figs like I did or get larger yellow ones. Which tastes better is definitely a personal decision! Dried ones will not work. I think orange zest might be a delicious substitution for lemon zest. I think you can use any cup for cup gf flour as long as it is meant for direct substitution in recipes.

Don’t forget to let the eggs and all dairy items come to close to room temp; cold from the fridge is not good for gf baking. DO not underbake the cake; the center needs to look firm not squishy. Better to bake 5 more minutes than have a soggy center.

I think this cake tastes great warm but once it is cool it is still delish; you can warm slices briefly in the microwave before serving; I did this once and loved it.

brown turkey figs just picked

Fig and Ricotta Cake

Mixing up a storm of yumminess!
ready for figs!

Ingredients:

10 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 extra large eggs; I just picked the three largest in my dozen large eggs

1 cup whole milk ricotta; also at room temp.

2 Tbsp. sour cream; room temp.

1 Tsp. vanilla extract

½-1 Tsp. fresh grated lemon zest

1 ¼ cups Bob’s Red Mill One for One Gluten Free flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 Tsp. kosher salt

8 large or 12 medium figs, stems removed! Quarter if large, halve if smaller

1 Tbsp. coarse sugar or finishing sugar

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a 8 inch removable bottom round cake pan. Tap out excess flour.

Beat butter and sugar in stand mixer at medium speed for 3 minutes, scrape down as needed. Until it is fluffy. Then add eggs one at a time, beating well between eggs.  Add ricotta, sour cream, vanilla, zest and mix until smooth. Mix dry ingredients in small bowl and add in thirds, mixing well between additions. Pour into prepared cake pan. Place figs, cut side up in pan; I started with a ring around the outside and worked my way inside pressing them in a bit. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 40-48 minutes until a cake tester in center comes out clean. I did 46 minutes. The top should be browned but not really dark.  Cool on a rack for 15-20 minutes before removing side panel. Serve warm with whipped cream, crème fraiche or ice cream. I actually like it best plain so I can focus on the amazing flavors and texture. Enjoy!

This is a re-blogging of the recipe first published by my blog in Sept, 2020. Minor text changes and some new photos. Recipe unchanged.

Peach Custard Pie with Cinnamon Crumble Crust

Hey, it is STILL peach season!! But not for long and those last peaches tend to be less than the best…so get baking now! This recipe is a translation of a pie made with all purpose flour that I saw somewhere, an adaptation of a Good Housekeeping recipe to make it gluten free and with cinnamon crumbs. I used my favorite gf crust and the crumbs I use: with the addition of cinnamon in the crumbs. I don’t know why I never added cinnamon before; it was inspired I guess by this recipe. We enjoyed it yesterday afternoon, still warm from the oven. I actually like it even better today after 24 hours. It is so very peaches and cream! Just a lovely classic combination. Years ago I made a peach cheese tart which was delish but has less peaches and that is made with cream cheese. This creamy filling is a simple mixture of plain Greek yogurt, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla which is healthish by the nature of the yogurt. I froze the egg whites for angel food cake this fall. The construction is very easy; no fancy decorating. Just a treat to eat, no need for ice cream; the cream is in there!

Notes: I used a lot of crumbs; you can cut back to half that recipe of crumbs if you like. I suppose you could use canned peaches but I wouldn’t unless it was the dead of winter…. I doesn’t look like much when you put it in the oven to do the first bake but man, it sure does get pretty with the crumbs on top. Nectarines would be n ice; no peeling required. Enjoy!

Peach pie, no crumbs, before first baking
Hot out of oven, just starting to put crumbs on.
All crumbed up and ready to bake.
Wow; that’s a lot of crumbs; we love it that way but you could use far less if you wanted; even just a cup of crumbs…

Angie’s Peach Custard Pie

CRUST:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbps granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbps cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 large egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Spray 9 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add egg and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape 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 prepare the filling.

Filling:

3 1/2 cups sliced fresh peaches, peeled and cut in half inch slices

Mix in a medium bowl the following ingredients:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt, I prefer whole milk, and let it warm up a bit first

2/3 -3/4 cup sugar, sweeter if you like it that way or if peaches are not fully ripe

3 egg yolks, room temp.

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup brown rice mixture flour

Crumb topping

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

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

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Directions: Turn oven on to 425 degrees. Put the oven rack on the bottom shelf position. Once the crust is chilled some but not hard, Roll it out and fit into the pie shell. Trim off excess crust. I like to chill those crumbs of crust and roll out to make a jam filled hand pie. Anyway, put the sliced peaches in the pie shell in a fairly even layer, as the filling and crumbs will hide it there is no need for a pretty design. Then pour the filling over it and bake for 30 minutes. I turned down my oven to 375 after 20 minutes. I am considering lowering the temp to start at to 400 degrees; my crust edges got too browned for my liking. While it bakes those 30 minutes make the crumbs. Carefully remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the top of the pie with crumb mix;  I used all of it but you could use a bit less if you don’t want a thick crumb layer. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes until crumbs are browned. Let stand at least 1 to 11/2 hours before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Thickly crumbed, still warm and lush with fresh peach flavor and that creamy filling all around and in every bite!

Peach Crumb Pie

It is near the peak of peach season so get some peaches and whip up a delicious gluten free peach pie.   This is an easy pie to create.  Slice and dump together the filling, crumb topping made in unwashed mixer bowl you used for bottom crust. You can store any leftover crumb mixture in a sealed container in the fridge; it keeps a few weeks.  I let my mix spin a few more moments in the stand mixer for extra big crumbs for this pie; love that look. If you prefer a solid crust just double the crust part and top your pie with it.  Be sure to cut some slits for steam escape! And if you don’t have time, buy a ready-made crust but homemade is always best.

Please make every effort to use local fruit; can get peaches at orchards like Bechdolt’s near Springtown, at most farm stands and at farmer’s markets; one on Saturdays in Easton or Sunday’s in Hellertown.  This pie really showcases great tasting peaches. If you use lousy peaches your pie will taste crummy. But, here’s the thing: store peaches can be poor in flavor and texture due to improper chilling so I strongly suggest you buy only locally grown, sweet, ripe peaches to make your pie.  I love when they have a pink blush; it makes the pie so pretty and perhaps even tastier!

peaches      raspberry-jam-014

To peel easily; heat 3 inches of plain water, drop the peaches gently in 4-5 at a time and cook them 2-3 minutes.  Use the lesser time for more ripe peaches. Allow to cool somewhat before peeling.  I like to do that over a bowl to catch the juices as I slice each peach.

Bake and enjoy late summer in a pie in just a few minutes of work.  Don’t eat it hot; it should be cooled to just warm if you like it so or room temperature or even a bit chilled.  You could certainly serve this with vanilla ice cream.  And this pie works perfectly with fresh nectarines, bonus: no peeling required!

 

Angie’s GF Peach Crumb Pie

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbps granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbps cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 large egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Spray 9 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add egg and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape 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 prepare the filling.

Filling:

6 cups sliced fresh peaches, peeled and cut in thick slices, place in medium bowl

Mix with:

½ cup sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

3-4 Tbsp. quick tapioca

Stir in 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice and ¼ tsp. almond extract

Let stand while you prepare the crust.

Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between 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 fruit mixture.

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. If you let them go extra long you get big fat crumbs if you want that look and I did!

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

Sprinkle the top of the pie with crumb mix; use as much as you like.  I like about a heaping cup of the mixture.  Up to your personal taste… It sinks partially into the fruit mixture and adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 45-50 minutes until bubbly and the crumb crust is light brown.  Cool at least 1 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature.  I think it is best served the same day you make it, or no more then 12 hours after baking for optimal flavor.  The crumbs will get soggy if too much time passes. Mine was still very good the next day; just not as great as when really fresh.

mom's new watch 013

Note: if you find your bottom crust is not browning enough bake it empty at 375 degrees for ten minutes before filling it with the fruit.  I have a bottom heat pizza style oven which gives me perfect pie crust so I don’t ever have pale pie crust.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (Same as King Arthur GF All purpose blend)
2 c brown rice flour (finely ground)

2/3 c potato starch – Not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

Note: This post was originally blogged by me the late summer of 2015. Minor changes made.

Real Deal Strawberry Shortcake

strawberry shortcake

Strawberry shortcake is a classic and no one turns down a slice of it at at a family gathering. I am not sure where I got the gf shortcake recipe; maybe my old Bette Hagman Gourmet Cookbook. I used to make shortcake a lot when I could still use all purpose flour but my gf biscuit version is pretty tasty. But there is one thing, you gotta make it with the best freaking strawberries you can find.  None of those ultra firm ones with whitish cores that are shipped in from far away.  You need juicy ripe scented red berries that are served over a gluten free short bread.  Yes, my local season is done but it can be done with other than local produce – the riper the better and it will taste great!

My mom always made a gorgeous version of strawberry shortcake. When I was a kid she would serve it as an entire meal.  I have done that and it is kinda cool.  Pre gluten free I generally made a huge oval biscuit with a smaller topping biscuit that I split off and buttered the split area before topping with berries and the smaller biscuit and topped with more ripe berries and a pillow of softly whipped heavy cream.  Oh berry perfection!  Now I bake it in two separate pans but the construction of the final product is the same otherwise. The pictures on construction are a couple of years old but the process is the same and the results are consistently heavenly….

shortcake 2
shortcake bisquit
shortcake 5
shortcake 3
shortcake ready
strawberry shortcake

Mom’s Strawberry Shortcake, GF2.3

Biscuit dough

1 cup white rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. xanthan gum

6 tbsp cold butter

1 medium egg

2/3 cup buttermilk

2-3 tsp. sugar (optional)

2 tsp. soft butter

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Other ingredients:

2 quarts ripe strawberries

½ cup sugar

2-3 tbsp. Karo light syrup

1 cup heavy whipping cream

½ tsp. real vanilla

2 tbs. powdered sugar (if you like your cream sweet)

Directions
Heat oven t0 400 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in the cold butter until it is small pebbles.  Add the egg and most of the buttermilk.  Mix with a spoon; add rest of buttermilk if you need it.  It should be a bit sticky, don’t over mix; just until dry is blended in.  Spray the inside of an eight inch cake pan and a 6 inch cake pan with cooking spray.  If you don’t have a small pan just use two 8 inch ones.  Pat ¾ of the dough into the 8 inch; make it about ¾ to 1 inch thick and try to smooth the top and side edges a bit.  Put the rest of the dough in the smaller pan and do the same smoothing.  Make that one ½ to ¾ inch thick.  Optional: take 2-3 tsp. of granulated sugar and sprinkle it over top of them. I think it gives a great finish to the shortcake. Bake them about 20 to 25 min; the smaller one should be done in 20 minutes; a golden light brown. Set on a cooling rack for a few minutes.

While it bakes, get the berries ready.  Hull 2 quarts of fresh ripe berries.  Place them in a glass mixing bowl; chop through them a few strokes with a sharp knife.  Add ½ cup sugar and about 2-3 tbsp. Karo light corn syrup to the berries.  Stir well and refrigerate until the shortcake is baked.  You could do this berry preparation up to two hours in advance.  No more or they will start to disintegrate.

Place the fairly hot bigger layer on a large platter, one big enough to hold the shortbread and still have room for a generous overflow of strawberries. Butter lightly if you wish.  Top with several big spoonfuls of berries.  Don’t worry if there is juice in the berry bowl; there should be; melted down sugar and Karo syrup with berry juice will give you a delish berry liquid.  Top with the second smaller biscuit and then more berries.   Cut into chunks.  Top with freshly whipped cream; beat a cup of heavy whipping cream until it is softly whipped.  Add ½ tsp. vanilla and ¼ cup sugar if you wish it sweet.  Be sure to pour the berry juice over your shortcake; it soaks in and adds to the strawberry experience.

My dad liked to pour unbeaten cream over his shortcake. My mom usually set out the whipped cream, a jug of cream and some whole milk so you could chose how to finish off your personal shortcake.  I might add that I grew up on a farm so this was raw milk from grass pastured cows; fantastic cream equaling a freaking perfect shortcake topper.  We also grew our own berries; no chemical sprayed on them ever.’

Notes: Karo is sugar syrup; I know, I know its not very healthy but it is only a bit and it improves the berries to have some. Just do it. And while I am being bossy: please use real whipped cream. So easy to make and if you are going to the trouble of a scratch shortcake you need the real deal topping. It is hugely worth it.  I actually stored some whipped cream in the fridge overnight and it was still decent the next day although the texture is a bit softer than it originally was. Strawberry shortcake is a decadent treat but honestly no more so than a sundae you get at an ice cream place. SO go ahead and indulge. Enjoy!

shortcake, one serving

If there is any left over it makes a great breakfast the next morning!

Originally published in June 2014.

strawberry shortcake