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!
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!
Something sweet for Valentine’s Day. I have a bag of pecan halves. Perfect. I wanted an impressive whole tart not some small individual tarts like I’ve made in the past, so I used my long rectangular tart, this is the correct amount of filling. A rectangular one is attractive and fun to cut in narrow slices across the width. And a tart is not quite as thick as a pie; I prefer the crust to filling proportions. You can also use a 9-inch round tart pan.
Notes: You have to use dark corn syrup. Yes, I know corn syrup is an unhealthy item but sometimes you just have to go wicked! It’s worth it, I promise. Cross my heart. Oh and NO margarine. Butter! Or Earth Balance if you don’t eat real butter. And the filling only uses 2 eggs so that’s helpful these days.
This tart was awesome as is but are also great with some freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream which is quite popular at my house.
Ready for the oven….
Angie’s GF Pecan Tart
Crust:
1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of 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 large egg
2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice
Crust directions: Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembles 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 get the rest ready.
Filling:
2 large eggs
1/3 c sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 and a half tbsp. melted butter
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup pecan halves
Sprinkle cinnamon
Filling: Beat eggs, sugar, salt, butter and corn syrup in a bowl until well mixed, can use a hand held mixer. Stir in pecans and a good sprinkle of cinnamon.
Assembly: Roll out pie crust between the two long sheets of wax paper; try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and lay in long rectangluar tart shell or a round one if that’s what you got. Crimp edges all around. Fill your shell with pecan mix. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven on a low shelf for 25 or so minutes until set and crust edges lightly browned. Cool at least 1/2 hour before serving warm or at room temperature or even slightly chilled.
I always loved rice pudding as a child, creamy custard studded with raisins and topped with a good sprinkle of cinnamon. But the rice itself was kinda drab, not much flavor and it was not well blended with the rest of the pudding. A few years ago, I found a recipe that caused a rice pudding revolution in my kitchen: it used sweet rice which is a white short grain oriental rice. You could substitute Arborio rice if you like, what I have used in my most recent batch. I buy sweet rice in oriental grocery stores but I think Wegmans may carry it too. Each grain absorbs the milk as it cooks and releases a lot of creaminess as well as providing a soft squishier rice that gives the pudding a more blended feel than my mom’s usage of long grain rice that stayed firm and separate from its pudding surrounding.
This recipe is naturally gluten free. No one eating it will think, “Oh, darn, another of those weird GF recipes!” They will just think, “I wonder if she will think I am piggy to want seconds of this?
In a pinch you could skip the second part where you briefly bake the pudding but I rarely do, I think it helps form the best texture. Do sprinkle the top with cinnamon unless it is something you despise. I recommend whole milk as it makes pudding taste so good but if you prefer two percent that will work. I do not recommend skim milk for pudding. Ick on the texture and flavor of such a mutant pudding! And this recipe is great with chopped dried apricots, dried cherries, golden raisins, or even currents or in it instead of raisins. My original recipe had lemon peel and apricots in it. Recently I put a few long orange peelings in it and a cinnamon stick while it cooked on the stove top which gave it a delicate orange flavor which played well with the raisins. So, you can alter it to suit your mood and your ingredients. I sometimes just use 3 whole eggs rather than end up with two extra egg whites. Especially with the price of eggs these days. For 3 eggs you get a whole pan of lovely pudding so it is worth it!
I made it this week in the “classic” form; with raisins and sprinkled with cinnamon. I so enjoy a cup of creamy rice pudding.
These cold days make pudding such a treat. What could be more comforting after a cold walk with the dog than a bowl of wickedly creamy homemade rice pudding.
Creamy Rice Pudding
Ingredients
¾ cup sweet or Arborio rice
1 quart whole milk
1/3 cup raisins
1/3-1/2 cup granulated sugar, depending on your sweetness needs! I go with 1/2 cup
2 egg yolks
2 whole large eggs (or just 3 whole eggs, no extra yolks)
1 tsp pure vanilla
A good sprinkle of cinnamon
Directions:
Rinse the rice in a strainer briefly, (I forgot to do this last week!) place in a heavy bottomed 1 ½ quart saucepan, pour in the milk (4 cups) and stir frequently as it heats on medium to a bubbly simmer. Add the raisins and turn down the heat to low, cover and cook 25 minutes. Be sure to stir it every 5-7 minutes to separate the rice and keep it from scorching on the bottom. Add the sugar, stir well. Mix up the egg yolk and whole eggs in a bowl with a whisk and add in some of the hot mixture; maybe 1/3 to ½ cup. Dump it all back in the pot and stir well. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla.
Heat your oven to 300 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a low ceramic or glass baking dish. I like an oval myself, that shape is what my mom usually used! Pour in the pudding, removing any lemon or orange peel and the cinnamon stick if you used such and sprinkle it well with cinnamon to dust the surface. Bake for 20 minutes. Often,I put it in a hot water bath created with a 9×13 cake pan and some hot tap water. Did this last week. This method produces a lovely delicate custard, worth the extra fuss.
It is tasty warm and wonderful the next day. Some people guild the lily with toppings of whipped cream, grated lemon or orange peel or even whipped mascarpone cheese. Up to you how you dress it up! I occasionally serve a homemade cookie on the side for added crunch value. Enjoy!
Originally published in 2015; minor text changes made.
In the winter we are all craving fresh fruit and this cake has that, sort of because we are using frozen berries. But no one eating it will know they were frozen. It’s also easy to make. It doesn’t have a ton of sugar, good.
I used a bag of mixed frozen berries; cherries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries: so much more available and they taste great, I cut up the bigger ones which is important for an even texture. I also added more berries than the original recipe.
This recipe is from King Arthur’s website. I made a few changes; feel free to look at the original recipe. This cake is made with mostly all almond flour. If you want to skip the gf flour, just use all almond flour. I just like how swapping in some flour improves the texture for me. I put it in a larger pan, and it definitely needed that space. Great for a small gathering or to take to someone’s house. They will never know it’s gluten free. Enjoy!
Winter Berry Cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup gf flour; I used King Arthurs Basic GF Blend
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbsp soft butter: I cut mine into 6 chunks, put it in a glass measuring cup and nuked it for 30 seconds. I then stirred it to make it all soft and well blended
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
zest of a small lemon
4 eggs separated
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 1/4 cup frozen berries; chop in half the bigger ones
Directions:
Spray the inside of a 9-inch deep tart pan or a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray; taller sided is much better. I used a deep tart pan with a removeable bottom. If no removable bottom I suggest a circle of parchment paper in there before spraying it. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Put the 1/2 cup sugar and the soft butter in a mixer. Blend well. Blend in 4 egg yolks. Add zest, vanilla and almond extract. Blend well. Beat the egg whites in a stand mixer, add the 2 Tbsp. sugar as it gets near to soft peaks. Stop when it forms a peak that doesn’t fall over or go flat. Blend the flour mix into the sugar/butter mixture just until blended. Then carefully fold in the egg whites, starting with about a half cup, stir, another half cup, stir and then the rest of the batter. Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the berries over top evenly. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. test with a cake tester at 40 minutes. If the tester is clean; it’s done, if covered with batter; bake more. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes on a cooling rack and then remove from pan. I pushed mine up out of the walls and put it right back on the cooling rack for an hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like. Store any leftovers at room temperature, well wrapped.
My World Without Wheat 