what I baked today

Hot Cocoa Chocolate Bundt Cake

January 24, 2019 — Leave a comment

My bundt cake streak continues with this Hot Cocoa Bundt Cake that I tastespotted over on the Cookies and Cups blog. I took the best elements of this cake (the hot cocoa) and married them with my tried and true gluten free chocolate cake recipe. This is my first time baking my chocolate cake in a bundt pan and it turned out amazing. Get into the recipe and be sure to have a slice of this decadent cake for breakfast with a mug of hot cocoa or coffee.

Hot Cocoa Chocolate Bundt Cake 

Ingredients

dry

1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour blend
3⁄4 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup + 2 tablespoon dark cocoa powder

wet

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1⁄4 cup vegan margarine
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
1⁄2 cup rice milk
1⁄2 cup brewed hot chocolate (may use water or non-dairy milk)
2 large eggs

glaze

  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips 
  • 2 tablespoons dry hot chocolate mix
  • 1/4 cup rice milk
  • 1 tablespoon vegan margarine

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and sugar in bowl and set aside
  2. In a Kitchenaid stand mixer, cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy; about 2 -3 minutes.
  3. Add the oil and continue mixing until the mixture looks like wet sand.
  4. Combine the rice milk, coffee (or other liquid), and vanilla and add all at once. Beat until just combined.
  5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions.
  6. Spray Bundt pan generously with non-stick spray.
  7. Slowly pour mixture into Bundt pan
  8. Bake 60- 70 minutes
  9. Allow cake to cool completely before glazing

glaze preparation 

  1. In small saucepan over low heat melt chocolate, dry hot chocolate mix, rice milk and vegan margarine together until melted, stirring frequently
  2. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes
  3. Pour over cooled cake

Source: Cookies & Cups 

Glazed Banana Bundt Cake

January 16, 2019 — Leave a comment

I’m elated to be back in the swing of sharing recipe development and food photography for all of my loyal readers here in 2019. My return to basics begins with this luscious Glazed Banana Bundt Cake which I tastespotted on the interwebs a few days after the new year. Naturally, I had every ingredient in my pantry right along with frozen overripe bananas. This cake got rave reviews at a recent potlock and makes the perfect early morning or late afternoon treat with tea or coffee

Glazed Banana Bundt Cake

Ingredients

dry

3 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons salt

wet

1 + 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1+ 3/4 cup mashed banana (use overripe bananas)
2 eggs separated

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a small bowl whisk together dry ingredients, set aside
  3. In a Kitchenaid stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
  4. Add in separated egg yolks and vanilla
  5. Slowly beat in flour blend and applesauce until completely blended
  6. Beat in mashed banana, use a silicon spatula of white sides of bowl ‘
  7. In a separate bowl, beat separated egg whites until stiff peaks form
  8. Fold egg whites into mixture as the last step (batter will be thick)
  9. Spray bundt pan generously with non-stick spray
  10. Slowly pour mixture into bundt pan
  11. Bake 45-55 minutes

Source: Life Made Simple Bakes

Twelve Days of Gluten Free Cookies | Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (Day 10)

December 22, 2017 — Leave a comment

Twelve Days of Gluten Free Cookies (Day 10)

I love a cookie with a crispy edge and a chewy center loaded with premium chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and crunchy macadamia nuts. My Cranberry White Chocolate Macademia Nut Cookies cookies scream “tis the season” and are perfect for dunking in milk or on the side with a mug of hot cocoa.

Cranberry White Chocolate Macademia Nut Cookies

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups gluten free all-purpose flour blend
3⁄4 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 1⁄2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup unrefined sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups white chocolate chips
3⁄4 cups macadamia nuts, crushed

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F and spray 2 cookie sheets with baking spray. In a medium bowl whisk flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Using a stand mixer cream butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla.
3. Beat in egg. Slowly beat in flour mixture. Fold in white chocolate chips and nuts.
4. Separate dough into 3 inch balls (2 inches apart) on cookie sheet.
5. Bake until lightly brown 13-15 minutes or until edges are golden.
6. Let sit on sheet for at least 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to completely cool.

Twelve Days of Gluten Free Cookies | Salted Cinnamon Sugar Caramel Apple Blondies (Day 3)

December 15, 2017 — 1 Comment

Twelve Days of Gluten Free Cookies

Day 3

I originally shared these beauties back in October 2015. I love blondies as they are the perfect marriage of cookie and brownie. These A+mazing Salted Cinnamon Sugar Caramel Apple Blondies are rich, decadent, and simple to throw together any time of the year.  Continue reading

Twelve Days of Gluten Free Cookies | Dark Chocolate Chunk Eggnog Cookies (Day 1)

December 13, 2017 — 1 Comment

The 2018 Twelve Days of Gluten Free Cookies Campaign

Can you you believe it’s that time of the year again! Only twelve days until Christmas 2017. I swear the times seems to fly by, especially when you are having lots of fun or in my case putting in lots of long hours working, writing, blogging and being chronically ill 🙂

I promise to share all that’s been happening over the last few months with you very soon. Im the meantime, let’s kick off our 2018 Twelve Days of Gluten Free Cookies Campaign

Let’s Review

Every day for the next twelve days we will feature a gluten free cookie recipe. Many of them will be originals but a few will be pinterest favorites and a few tried and true classics featured here on the blog or in my personal recipe collection. As far as I’m concerned, cookies make life sweeter and better. I’ve blogged about my love of eating cookies (notably chocolate chip) and it’s my hope that you like, love, share, and most importantly bake the cookies that made this year’s countdown.

Dark Chocolate Chunk Eggnog Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons earth balance
1/4 cup Silk “Nog”
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Enjoylife Mega Chocolate Chunks

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
    Using an electric mixer, beat the earth balance and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  3. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggnog, egg yolk, vanilla extract and nutmeg; continue beating on medium speed until completely combined, about 2 minutes.
  4. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined.
  5. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chunks.
  6. Using a small or medium cookie scoop (1 or 2 tablespoons), drop dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart.
  7. Bake from 20 to 25 minutes (longer for larger cookies), or until the edges are set and the centers spring back when touched lightly.
  8. Remove from oven and, using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Photo credit: Brown Eyed Baker

Strawberry Quinoa Salad featuring F. Oliver’s Farmstand Strawberry Balsamic | VEGAN

March 18, 2017 — 2 Comments

I fell in love with quinoa back in 2013 and haven’t stopped loving it since. Quinoa is quite the super grain as it is naturally gluten free, protein packed, and an excellent source of fiber. It can be used as a replacement for rice, oats, and eaten on its own. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that quinoa would be on the menu when I sat down with the F. Oliver team to brainstorm recipes for my March gluten free wellness demo at Hart’s Local Grocers. This recipe for Strawberry Quinoa Salad is the perfect introduction to spring and features F. Oliver’s amazing strawberry infused balsamic vinegar.

The blog has quite a few quinoa salad recipes (see here and here) and this one is elevated by the addition of roasted strawberries and my tantalizing Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette . This salad is not only gluten free but vegan. The feta cheese is optional and a delicious addition should you want to contrast the natural sweetness of the strawberry balsamic with a tantalizing bite. Otherwise, this quinoa salad is perfect on its own.

Strawberry Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Warm F. Oliver’s Fresh Bright Basil Olive Oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic & onions, and until slightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. Add dry quinoa, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. Add veggie stock, F. Oliver’s Farmstand Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar and cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, add in spinach, and allow quinoa to cool completely.
  4. After quinoa has cooled completely; toss in strawberries, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, and feta (optional) as well as additional salt, pepper to taste.
  5. Right before serving drizzle with fresh Strawberry Poppyseed Vinegrette 

Buttermilk Yogurt French Toast

January 31, 2017 — Leave a comment

As a celiac, living without takes on a whole new meaning. In the beginning re-learning how to live, eat, and exist in  a world filled with wheat, rye, and more wheat is the most difficult and frustrating part of the journey. Foods and traditions that are near and dear to you are snatched away in an instant and it can take yeaars to find suitable and safe alternatives

The most common food that we learn to live without is bread. It’s the single most common food and the base of many American dishes. Toast, sandwiches, subs, bread crumbs, and French toast require bread that not only tastes great but isn’t dry, crumbly, and tasteless.

I’m thrilled to share this A+mazing French toast recipe that I created this past weekend using fresh gluten free and vegan bread courtesy of The Baker’s Daughter Bakery. Their flax based bread is hearty and I cut it thick to make French toast; an item I haven’t eaten in many years. It turned out so good that I couldnt’ not share. What makes this recipe even better is that any gluten free bread will do. My favorite gluten free bread (outside of TBD) at the moment is Canyon Bakehouse Seven Grain.

What’s your favorite gluten free bread?

Buttermilk Yogurt French Toast

Ingredients

  • 2 large slices gluten free bread
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • ¼ cup coconut flakes (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons granulated
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar

Preparation

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, buttermilk, yogurt, salt, sugars, and cinnamon. Fold is coconut flakes
  2. Dip bread in egg mixture, turning to coat both sides evenly. Sprinkle each side with extra cinnamon and extra sugar
  3. Cook bread slices on lightly greased cast iron skillet on medium heat until browned on both sides.
  4. Using a spatula, transfer serving plates. Serve warm with maple syrup and butter.