Irish Soda Bread-Gluten Free, Dairy Free

I mostly followed this recipe from Gluten Free Goddess (who has a beautiful website and delicious recipes!): Gluten Free Goddess-Spotted Dog Recipe


My bread-we'd already made a huge dent before I remembered to take a picture!  It was delicious, not too sweet and it had a very similar texture to non-GF soda breads I've had in the past.

I made a few changes as follows:

2 1/4 cup King Arthur Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

2 tablespoons King Arthur Cake Enhancer

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3 eggs

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup vanilla flavored coconut beverage

1 teaspoon champagne vinegar (was out of lemon!)

3/4 cup currants

Whisk all dry ingredients together.  Whisk together liquid ingredients.  Add wet to dry and mix well.  Add currants last.

I used cooking spray and a pie dish.  I was out of parchment paper, but would recommend it.  I did get the bread out without breaking but the paper would have made it easier.  I did smooth the dough with wet hands to "dome" it.  

Bake at 375 degrees for 28-30 minutes (I find the King Arthur flour bakes quicker than most other gluten free flours).  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sunday Morning Donuts-GF,DF.

I used this recipe:

Fluffy Cake Doughnuts

This is my alteration.

2 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour
2 tablespoons King Arthur Caken Enhancer
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs
3/4 cup So Delicious Coconut milk
1 tablespoon Spectrum Shortening (melted)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Grease donut pan and preheat oven to 325 degrees.

I used the 6-Donut Nordic Ware Pan.

Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix together wet ingredients and then add to dry.

Spoon into donut pan.

Bake about 16 minutes, until firm but spring back to touch.

While still hot toss in cinnamon sugar.

They ended up springy and not dry, not crumbly.  They are a bit denser than I like, but the family ate them up quickly.

Next time I might try more liquids and see if it gets lighter.

Coconut Cream Puffs-Gluten & Dairy Free

I used this recipe and modified it: http://www.joyofbaking.com/CreamPuffs.html

My modification:

1 c King Arthur All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
1 c water
4 eggs

1. Boil water and margarine until melted.
2. Whisk flour sugar, salt & xanthan gum together, add to water mixture and stir until a soft ball forms.
3. Put into mixing bowl, mix at low speed until the steam escapes and batter is no longer hot.  If it is hot the eggs will start to cook.
4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until well incorporated.  Mix until batter is a thick paste consistency.

Using a pastry bag leads to more uniform shape-or if using a spoon shape them carefully, make them into small mounds on the baking sheet.  Use silpat or parchment paper because they will stick to regular cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 20-30 minutes.  They should "puff" and feel light and hollow.  The center should be dry and the outside should be golden brown.  I found that with King Arthur gluten free flour I generally have to reduce the bake times slightly from a standard recipe.

Some people recommend piercing them in the last few minutes of baking.  I did not find this necessary.

Picture of them baking, I was afraid that they may not "puff" but they did beautifully.  I should have shaped them a bit better-but they still taste great :)

For the cream I used whipped coconut cream.  These of course would also be good with a vanilla custard or pudding.

Whipped Coconut Cream-works nicely as a topping on cakes and pies as well.

1 can full fat coconut milk-refrigerated for several days (I always keep on in my refrigerator so it is ready)

Begin whipping in your stand mixer or hand mixer and add 1 tsp vanilla flavoring and several tablespoons sugar for taste.

Whip 2-3 minutes until it begins to aerate and forms soft peaks.

Keeps well in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.

Chocolate-Bourbon Cake

This is a cake that my husband loves-but it is so much work (and it smells so good) that I wanted in on the fun so had to figure out a gluten and dairy free method.

Inspired by: simplyrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

5 oz Earth Balance Coconut Spread

2 cups King Arthur's Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour

5 ounces Enjoy Life Mega Chunks

1/4 cup instant espresso (can use instant coffee)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup bourbon whiskey Jack Daniel's is Gluten-Free

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), for sprinkling

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 325°F. Pam Spray  a large bundt pan (10 cup capacity).  

2 Melt chocolate in a microwave oven or in a double boiler over simmering water. Let cool.

3 Put instant espresso and cocoa powder in a 2-cup (or larger) glass measuring cup. Add enough boiling water to come up to the 1 cup measuring line. Mix until powders dissolve. Stir in whiskey and salt; let cool.

4 Beat coconut spread until fluffy (2-3 minutes on high). Add sugar and beat until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, baking soda, xanthan gum and melted chocolate, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.

5 With the mixer on the lowest speed, beat in a third of the whiskey espresso cocoa mixture. When liquid is absorbed, beat in 1 cup flour. Repeat additions, ending with whiskey mixture. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes.

6 Transfer cake to a rack. Unmold after 20 minutes. Let cool. Sprinkle powdered sugar through a mesh sieve over the cake before serving.

The cake came out really nicely!  It is moist with a nice texture.  It cooked much quicker than the regular-flour cake did-

I actually baked 2 cakes (so I could taste it before taking it to a party).  The lighter color pan (Nordic Ware) cooked in 45 minutes.  The darker pan took 55.  As you can see, it is important to let the cake cool before taking it out of the pan, the darker pan cooled 10 minutes, the lighter pan cooled 15.  I would recommend letting it cool slightly longer to ensure it gets out safely!

Gluten-Free Cookie Crust

I used a box of Dr. Lucy's Cinnamon Thin cookies and a few tablespoons of Coconut oil to make a cookie pie crust.  Great flavor!

Pumpkin Cupcakes: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

After making my pumpkin pie I had about a cup of pumpkin puree left-and I had a birthday party to go to so I decided to try a pumpkin cupcake.

I used this recipe and made some modifications:    Joy of Baking Pumpkin Cupcakes

1/2 cup Spectrum Vegetable Shortening

1 cup white sugar

Cream together

Add 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla and mix well.

Add 1 cup pumpkin and mix well.

Mix in a separate bowl:

1 1/2 c Bisquick Gluten-Free 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix together. Using cupcake pan either greased or with cupcake liner. Fill cup to top (these raise nicely compared to the GF cake mixes I've used, when you fill to the top you get a nice dome).  

I made a standard shortening/powdered sugar/vanilla frosting, adding a bit of So Delicious Coconut milk to make it a bit lighter.  I added some cinnamon for flavor.

Very moist, flavorful and really nice texture!  Light, not dense at all.  We are able to tolerate baked egg in our house-but I think if you wanted to leave out the egg add another 1/4 - 1/2 cup pumpkin would make these great without egg.

Creamy Beef Pasta

Creamy Beef Pasta

I was boiling the pasta and browning the beef and realized I didn't have any spaghetti sauce.  So we went with this instead!

Brown 1 lb ground beef
Add crushed garlic, dried parsley, dried basil, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste

Pour in coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups), then add 1 Tbsp of cornstarch whisked in cold water.  Whisk as you add it to avoid lumps.  Will thicken in about 1 minute.

Boil Pasta (I like Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta in elbow shape), drain and add to the mix.

To be honest the kids weren't fond of it, but my husband and I loved it!  Next time I'll leave a bit of the beef and noodles with less seasoning for them...but it is definitely a keeper.

Favorite Products List! (Frequently Updated)

I'm going to start a list and add to it with time, I remember the hardest thing about food allergy shopping is spending lots of money on mediocre food.

I am a "scratch" baker and prefer to always make my own but the gluten free really has limited my ability.  I'm starting with favorite products and hope to branch out as I become more confident with gluten free ingredients.  For now it is keeping my baking alive to be able to use some of these premade flours/mixes to experiment with and having the frozen food for convenience is so helpful.

These products are all Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Peanut-Free, Tree Nut-Free (except coconut).  Most are also Egg-Free, however we tolerate baked egg fine so there are eggs in some of the baked goods.

King Arthur Gluten Free All Purpose Flour:  This is amazing flour with a great texture.  I have now baked sugar cookies, cakes, pie crusts with direct substitution into regular recipes.  I am still adding xantham gum.

So Delicious Coconut Milk Products:  We have switched nearly 100% to coconut based "milk" products.  The texture is amazing without the graininess of soy products and the ice "cream" is creamy!

Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread: best in my opinion for baking and topping everything.  Nice flavor, melts well, works well in recipes.

Ancient Harvest Pasta: great texture, al dente!  Doesn't get slimy and has a nice neutral pasta flavor.

Sunbutter-a life saver!  I don't even MISS peanut butter.  Sunbutter tastes so nice and the texture is perfect for recipes.

Enjoy Life: love the chocolate chips-I use them for baking, trail mix, snacking.

Van's Foods: Frozen waffles!

French Meadow: mini frozen cakes, muffins, tortillas-and my local Safeway is now carrying them!

Ian's: Corn Dogs!  Chicken Nuggets!  Fish Sticks!  Alphabet fries!!  Classic kid food available allergy free.

Udi's : Gluten Free Bread/pastries that tastes good.  I'm particularly fond of the cinnamon raisin bread toasted.

Dr. Lucy's Cookies: nice crunchy crispy cookies.

Gluten Free Bisquik: lovely for quick baking, pie crust, muffins, pancakes.  Light, neutral flavor (doesn't taste like beans like some flour mixes!)

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mixes: Yellow cake, chocolate cake, BROWNIES!  The chocolate cake and brownies are particular favorites.  They have a nice texture and hold up to decorating.  These do call for eggs-and I haven't tried them egg-free.

"Creamy" Chicken Enchiladas: gluten-free, dairy-free

This is one of my son's favorite dishes, it is pretty basic but I'm including the research I've done about the allergy aspects of the ingredients.  I started making this back when I only worried about dairy-free and now have made it several times since we've gone gluten-free.  It is quick and easy once you have the ingredients on hand!

I start with about 1 1/2 - 2 # chicken-I like to use chicken thighs and breasts and boil it about 20' in salted water.  If you want to make it even quicker you can purchase a whole roasted chicken at the store.

Just be sure your "helper" doesn't eat all the chicken!

Shred the chicken with a fork and toss it in the bowl to mix with:

1 large onion, diced

1 can sliced black olives

1 28 oz can La Victoria RED Enchilada sauce or Las Palmas RED Enchilada Sauce (the green is unfortunately not gluten free).   I usually use two-a hot and mild, mild in the chicken mix and hot for the topping.
La Victoria
Las Palmas

Several large tablespoons of Tofutti Sour Supreme (contains Soy & see attached about their response about gluten)
Is Tofutti Gluten-Free?

Wrap in gluten free tortillas (or alternately you can layer like lasagna), pour another can of sauce over top and bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pumpkin Pie and Whipped Cream? Sure thing!

My favorite pumpkin pie is a modification of this recipe:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1937,159168-252205,00.html


The lemon extract really makes it! I just use So Delicious Coconut milk beverage in place of the milk and it is delicious.

Whipped Cream-I've seen many variations of this on vegan websites. Often they add other ingredients but I think the simpler the better.

Take a can of full fat coconut milk, refrigerate it upside down for several days. (I try to remember to always have one in the refrigerator so it is always handy). Flip it over, take off the top and pour off the liquid into a bowl (don't discard yet!). Put into your refrigerated mixer bowl (works best if everything is quite cold), and begin to whip it! It takes a little longer than whipping cream, I'd estimate about 5 minutes. You may add a little of the liquid in if it seems too thick, just be careful to not make it too liquidy. You can add a bit of sugar and vanilla if you like before it is done whipping. The nice thing about it is it doesn't separate so you can make it a little in advance. It holds up nicely in the refrigerator.

I've also read that the coconut milk works in the fresh whipped cream dispensers-I plan to purchase one of these before the holidays as a little gift to myself.

Whipped cream dispenser

Now with the gluten issue I need to just find a fabulous pie crust recipe and we'll be golden for the fall!