I Can't Believe They're Gluten-Free Carrot Pineapple Coconut Muffins

It all started with a juicer. I bought a masticating juicer a couple years ago, and though it is quite efficient and I love the juice, I felt bad about all the pulp waste. Raised with a "waste not, want not" attitude, I set about finding ways to use the pulp. It can be frozen and added to veggie burgers, meatloaf, baked mac & cheese, and yes, baked goods. 

Issue #2. Half my friends don't eat wheat. I like to feed my friends. So I buy and try several types of GF flours, and in general, settle on Bob's mix that doesn't contain chick pea flour (I don't like the aftertaste). In this recipe, it replaces wheat flour 1:1, so if you prefer wheat flour, go ahead and use it. In general, this type of bread is very forgiving. For example, I was out of granulated sugar, so I used 1C of confectioners sugar and 1C of light brown sugar, and they turned out great! 

You can bake this as a 10" bundt cake or as about 17 muffins. 

Line muffin tins with liners, or grease & flour a 10" bundt pan. Since the batter needs to rest about 30 minutes, you can preheat the oven to 350' once the batter is mixed to save energy.

Recipe
4C fruit/veggie (in this case it's grated carrots & small-dice pineapple, but you can use grated apple, or zucchini, or whatever)
2 eggs (I always use XL)

1/2C coconut oil (or you can use grapeseed or canola)
1C packed light brown sugar
1t vanilla extract

2C Bob's GF flour mix
1C confectioners sugar
1/2C shredded coconut
2t sifted baking soda
1/2t kosher salt
2t ground cinnamon
1/2t ground cardamom
1/2t ground cloves 

Lightly beat the eggs & combine well with the 4C fruit. Melt the coconut oil & stir in the brown sugar & vanilla extract. Stir the sugar/oil into the carrot mixture.  Combine all dry ingredients. Fold the wet into the dry & let it rest at room temp for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven and prep your pans. 

Muffin on left had a better rise & texture because it was baked after the batter rested for 30 minutes. 

For muffins, I use a 2" wide retractable scoop for even measuring & fast scooping, but you can use a large spoon to fill the tins. 

Bake muffins for about 20-25 minutes. If your oven has a hot corner like mine does, turn the pan carefully after about 15 minutes. The muffins are done when you can gently push on the top with a finger and the dough springs back. Darker tins will bake faster, so keep an eye out. 

A bundt cake may take 45-55 minutes. You can also use the "finger" test, as this cake is quite oily, so using a skewer may not give you an accurate reading. The cake should be pulling away from the sides of the pan, and spring back when you gently push on the doughiest part with your finger. 

Allow the cake or muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. If you cut a warm cake the structure will turn to glue. Better to wait. It will also be much easier to cut. 

GF baked goods especially tend to get moister as time goes by, so better to eat them within a day or two. Store cooled cakes in airtight containers or bags. 

на здоровья! 

Cool, Creamy, Tart: Perfect Lemon Bars

I recently had occasion to bake on the hottest day in San Francisco's recorded history. Though I believe I was hallucinating from the heat, I somehow managed to pull it off - as a Deadhead and former professional pastry chef, I was up to the task. Normally, I cut these into 2-3" squares, but these were for my punky sister's birthday party, so I cut them into bite-sized cubes, which served cold, were just right for a sweltering summer soiree. 

These can be made ahead and kept frozen for up to a month. You can also juice the lemons ahead of time, and keep it frozen in 1C portions. Then, when the mood strikes, you're one step closer to enjoying these bad boys (next time you're presented with a ton of lemons, think LEMON BARS!)

For a quick video on the technique, see Ina Garten's version. But I prefer my recipe, as it has less sugar and flour in the filling, and less butter in the crust, but you'll never miss it. Use meyer lemons for a more dynamic citrus flavor, but any lemon (or mix of citrus juice) will do.

This 9x13" batch makes 12-20 squares (depending on how big you want to cut them), or can be cut into minis as shown above. 

For the Short Dough Crust
6oz unsalted butter, softened but cold (1 1/2 sticks)
3oz sugar (3/4C)
1 egg
1/2t vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt
9oz unbleached all-purpose flour (a bit more than 2C)
3/4t baking powder

Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg til combined. Add the vanilla. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then stir into the wet ingredients until just combined.

Dump the dough into a 9x13 baking dish, and with floured hands, press the dough evenly to a 1/8" thickness, making sure to go up the sides a bit. Chill the dish for 30 minutes, or covered, overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 350'. Bake the shell for about 15-20 minutes, just until set and starting to get golden. Remove the shell, and set on a cooling rack. 

The Filling
2C sugar
5 extra large eggs
2T lemon zest
1C lemon juice
3T unbleached all-purpose flour 

Whisk together the eggs and sugar, add the zest and juice, then the flour. Pour the filling into the warm shell, and return to the oven. Bake for another 25-30 minutes until set (if you give the pan a little shake, it doesn't jiggle). 

Cool the bars completely in the pan. I usually freeze them to make cutting easier, but you can also keep them in the fridge overnight. Either way, wrap them well. 

I use a bench scraper or thin but sturdy metal spatula to loosen the edges. To cut even bars, use a ruler or measuring tape to mark 3-4 bars on the short side, and 4-5 bars on the long side (yielding 12-20 bars). 

Dust the bars with powdered sugar just before serving. Store extras in the freezer for up to one month. 

На здоровья! 

Crackly-Crusted No-Knead Bread

7-Day Rest

The hardest part about making this bread is waiting 2 hours for it to cool before cutting into it. More on that later. Let's start with the basics. This is one of the easier breads to make. Just stir together flour, salt, yeast & warm water. Let it rise at room temp for 2 hours, then leave it in the fridge for a week. Take it out, shape into a ball, let it sit for about an hour, then bake. It costs about 75 cents to make, and tastes like a $5 loaf from a nice bakery, only better, because it's fresh & you made it!

Rather than reinvent the wheel, here's the King Arthur Flour recipe. The blog is full of tips and variations. My blog chronicles my various attempts - all good - the longer rests yielding tastier loaves. The link is for the larger recipe. For 1 loaf, see below. The ingredients and general preparation are very simple. Best results come from the nuances you'll pick up each time you make it. The recipe that follows is 1/2 the KAF recipe. 

Recipe
453g (just shy of 16oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/4t yeast (one package of instant or active dry yeast)
2t kosher salt
1.5C warm water

Stir together in a large bowl or food-safe plastic bucket. Cover, and let rise for 2 hours at room temp, then put it in the fridge for a week. If you're in a rush, see the links for variations on time (I tried 6 hours, 3, 5, and 7 days - 7 being the tastiest). But IMO, if you're going to bake your own bread, take the time to do it right. 

When you're ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge and dump it our on a floured work surface. Shape it into a ball - doesn't have to be perfect - dust with more flour, and let it rest for about an hour. 

After 30 minutes, heat your oven to 450' F. If you're using a pizza stone or dutch oven, heat them in the oven for the full 30 minutes. If you're using a sheet pan, grease it or line it with parchment, and place the dough on it to rise. 

If you're NOT using a dutch oven: Place a shallow metal pan (brownie pan or broiling pan) on the bottom rack of the oven (under your pizza stone). Have 1C hot water ready. 

Just before baking, slash 2-3 cuts into the dough with a sharp knife or razor. This will help it expand and rise as it bakes, and will give you a beautiful crust. 

If using a dutch oven, carefully drop the dough into your heated dutch oven and bake it covered for 20 minutes, then remove the lid for the last 10. 

If using a pizza stone, slide the dough onto your pizza stone. Pour the hot water into the pan below, and close the oven quickly. 

If using a baking sheet, place the sheet on the top rack, and pour the hot water into the pan below, and close the oven quickly. 

Bake for 25-35 minutes at 450' until the crust is deep golden brown and a thermometer reads 205'. 

Cool on a rack for at least 2 hours. If you cut into a loaf before it cools, the texture will turn heavy and gummy. If you have to, leave the house so you aren't tempted. 

Store the loaf in a paper bag inside a plastic bag at room temperature. Make amazing toast, BLT's, grilled cheese, and more! 

Weighing Flour for Accuracy

After 2-hour Proof at Room Temp

Dumped out on a Floured Board

Shaped into a Ball & Dusted with Four

Slice in "Vents" Just Before Baking

Heat Your Oven for At Least 30 minutes

You'll Pour 1C of Hot Water into that Pan

to Help the Bread Rise in the Oven

Use a Thermometer to Make Sure it's Done

205' F

These Thermometers are Super Cheap & 

You Can Find Them at Most Grocery or Drugstores

(this was my 3-day rest. not as tasty as the 5 or 7-day)

The 5-Day Rest. Getting better...

Now, Who Can Argue with That?

Gluten-free blog TK...на Здоровья!

Snickerdoodles

Back! By popular demand...Snickerdoodles!

A sugar cookie with a crisp edge and chewy center, rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. My secret? Add a bit of cardamom to the mix. 

Recipe
1C unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8oz)
1C granulated sugar
2/3C brown sugar
2 eggs
1t vanilla
3C flour
1/2t salt
1t baking soda
1/2t cream of tartar 

extra sugar, cinnamon & cardamom for rolling 

Make the Dough
Using a hand or stand mixer, cream butter and white sugar. Add brown sugar. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl, and mix until combined. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Use a sieve to make sure the baking soda and cream of tartar are lump-free. Stir in dry mixture to wet mixture until just combined. Scrape together into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.  

Shape the Cookies & Bake
Preheat the oven to 300'. 
Combine about 1C sugar, 1t cinnamon, and 1/4t ground cardamom in a medium-sized bowl. 
Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, scoop out balls of dough about the size of a golf ball cut in half. Do one sheet at a time, keeping the rest of the dough in the fridge between batches. Place a sheet of baking parchment on the baking sheet. Roll each ball in the sugar mixture and space the balls evenly on the baking sheet. Most sheet pans will hold 12 cookies. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges are just starting to become golden. Slide the parchment onto a cooling rack. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for about a week (yeah, right!). Sift out any bits of dough from the leftover cinnamon sugar, and store sugar for later use. 

Makes 36 cookies. 

Scooped dough ready to roll around in cinnamon sugar. 

Gently flatten the cookies before baking. 

Budapest Coffee Cake

I've been making this cake for over 20 years. It's a crowd-pleaser, it's easy to make, and it keeps well (not that it will last beyond a day). The sour cream (undetectable by sour cream haters) keeps the cake incredibly moist. The modest amount of sugar in the recipe garners many compliments that the cake is not too sweet. 

Batter
11T Butter (5.34oz), softened 
1.5C Sugar
3 Eggs
1t Vanilla Extract
3C Unbleached AP Flour
1/2t Salt
1.5t Baking Powder
1.5t Baking Soda
2C Sour Cream (1 Pint Tub)

Filling
1/4C Brown Sugar
1t Cinnamon
1t Cocoa Powder

Grease and flour a 10" bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350'.

Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition, and scraping down the bowl as needed. Add vanilla. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add dry in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream in 2 parts. 

The finished batter will be thick. 

Combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl. Spread 1/3 of the batter in the bottom of the bundt pan. Sprinkle with the filling. Add another layer of batter, and another layer of the filling. Top with the final 1/3 of the batter. Spread smooth. Bake for 50-60 minutes til the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a skewer inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. 

Ready for the oven. The cake will rise past the top.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before inverting.

Cool completely before cutting. 

Tip: Store extra filling for next time.

Mad props to my baking femtor, Jule Vranian for the recipe!

Adam & Eve on a Raft...Psych!

Light & crisp cornmeal pastry. Vanilla bean custard. And the star? A warm, tender, perfectly ripe apricot. I ate my first apricots of the season today, and my thoughts went straight to this utterly addictive treat. Make your dough and pastry cream the day before to save time in the morning. Then just roll your dough, top with pastry cream and apricots, and bake! 

The Dough

1 1/2 cups flour

6T corn meal

1/2t salt

2t sugar, + extra for baking

5T sour cream

7T water

10 1/2T butter, chilled (1 stick + 2 1/2T)

eggwash (1 egg, lightly beaten with a bit of water)

Mix the dry ingredients (1st 4) together in a bowl. Combine the water & sour cream in a bowl, and set aside. Cut the chilled butter into small cubes, and cut into the dry mixture using a pastry cutter, a fork, or quick pulses in a Cuisinart. Slowly mix in the wet ingredients until a dough is formed. You may not need to use all of it. Doughs will form differently depending on the amount of humidity in the air. Wrap the dough in plastic, and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight. 

The Pastry Cream

3 yolks

1/3 cup sugar

2T corn starch

1 cup + milk

vanilla bean

Split a vanilla bean, scrap out the seeds. Put the seeds in the sugar, and the pod in your milk. Heat a little more than 1 cup of milk until just scalded. Whisk together the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Stabilize your bowl of yolks with a towel or rubber mat. Whisk in the hot milk VERY quickly (or you'll get scrambled eggs). Remove the vanilla pod, and pour the mixture back into the pot from the milk. Stir over medium heat until thick. It will thicken very quickly because of the cornstarch, so whisk constantly, and don't walk away. As soon as it starts to thicken (you can see the lines the whisk leaves), turn off the heat and pour the custard into a clean bowl. It will continue to thicken as you  pour it out, so work quickly, using a spatula to get it all out. Let it cool at room temperature for about an hour, then cover with plastic and chill until set. 

Ready to Roll?

Preheat your oven to 400'. Wash & dry 4 perfectly ripe apricots, and slice them in half lengthwise. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Keep the reserved dough covered and chilled as you roll. Roll each piece of dough into an oval, about 1/8" thick. Spread some pastry cream onto each oval, keeping the edge clear about 1/2" for crimping. Create a border for each tart by folding in the dough onto itself, all the way around. Using a thin spatula, place each tart onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Brush the crimped edge of each tart with the eggwash. Place 2 half apricots onto each tart (so it looks like 2 fried eggs). Sprinkle some of the extra sugar around the edge of the tart (over the eggwash). 

Bake at 400' until the pastry is golden on the edges and the bottom. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before serving. 

Bring these to an outdoor concert, a picnic or brunch, and your friends will forever sing your praises. Hurry up, before apricot season is gone! 

Black & Blue Gluten-Free Berry Muffins

I've made these muffins for years, usually with all-purpose flour, and a mix of fresh blueberries and raspberries.

Last night I was making them for work, so I used the organic berries I had (black & blue), and substituted the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free blend, so my GF friend could have one too.

The texture was nice & light, but I think the garbanzo bean flour has a sour aftertaste that I'm not fond of. I've used it in my Blackberry Tart recipe with great results, but for muffins, which require a lot of flour, I may opt for a different GF blend next time.

Still, these are very simple and quick to make, and can use a variety of berries and flours.

This recipe makes 18 muffins, using about 1/3 Cup of batter per muffin. Line muffin tins with paper baking cups. If the cups are really compressed, gently stretch them so they hold more batter.

Preheat oven to 350'.

The Dry:

3 Cups All-Purpose OR Gluten-Free Flour
2/3 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest (from 2 lemons)

The Wet:

1 Cup Lowfat Milk
2/3 Cup Oil (I like grape seed. Do NOT use olive oil.)
2 Eggs

The Berries:

2 Cups of Fresh or Frozen Berries (I usually like rasp & blue)

Whisk the wet well, and gently fold into the dry. Fold in the berries, trying not to let them bleed into the batter. Scoop into tins and bake about 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Allow to cool, and dust with powdered sugar right before serving. Enjoy!