GFCF Apple Streusel Bread

Gluten and Casein Free Apple Streusel Bread

Chop up 2 apples, set aside

Combine in a small bowl:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon. 

Mix with chopped apples and set aside.

Beat in a medium bowl:
2/3 cup sugar (use more if you want a sweeter bread)
½ cup coconut oil (or use butter or margarine)

Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time.

Stir in 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

Stir in:
1 ½ cups gluten free flour mix
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if using a flour mix that contains it)
2 teaspoons baking powder

Dough will be stiff

Beat in ½ cup vanilla almond milk (or any milk or milk substitute) until smooth.

Pour half of the batter in a well-greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Add half of the apple mixture.

Top with the rest of the batter and then the rest of the apple mixture on top.  Pat top apples down into batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

GFCF Apple Pie Bars

These are so good.  They are a little labor intensive but they are so worth it.  They are kind of like an apple pie in a pan - so much easier to take to a pot luck than a pie and you can cut yourself a smaller piece if you like. 

Gluten and Casein Free Apple Pie Bars

In a small bowl:
Beat 1 egg yolk (save the white – it will be used later)
Add ½ cup vanilla almond milk and mix well.

In a medium bowl:
Combine:
2 ¾ cup gluten free flour mix
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if using a flour mix that already contains it)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Cut in 1 cup of your preferred butter substitute – I used earth balance spread.

When mixture looks like coarse crumbs, stir in egg/milk mixture and mix until it forms a ball.  
Divide dough in half.  

For filling:
Chop up 6 cups of apples. 
In a small bowl:
Combine 1 cup sugar (you know I prefer raw organic but any sugar will work) with  6 teaspoons minute tapioca, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon and ½ teaspoon nutmeg. 
Pour over apples and mix.

easpoon nutmeg. 
Pour over apples and mix.up so the filling sticks up sugar (you know I prefer raw organic but any sugar will
Roll one half out between two layers of plastic wrap (wet the counter before putting down the first piece of plastic wrap so it sticks to the counter and doesn’t move while you are rolling.  Roll out to fit in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. 

Pull top layer of plastic wrap off dough and invert into pan.  Cut and trim so dough perfectly covers the bottom and doesn’t go up the sides.

Pour apple filling over bottom layer of dough.

Roll out the rest of the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to fit on the top of the apples – it will be slightly larger than the first sheet was.  Pull top layer of plastic wrap off and invert over the top.  Trim to fit perfectly on top.

In another small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons sugar with ½ teaspoon cinnamon. 

Beat reserved egg white with a fork until foamy.  Brush over the top crust (you probably won’t use all of the egg white – just make sure you have covered the entire top crust).th a fork until foamy.  Brush over the top crust (you probably wo'im to fit perf  Sprinkle sugar/cinnamon mixture over top crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour (check after 45 minutes) or until nicely browned and you see juices bubbling. 

Note – this dough can be hard to handle – rolling it between plastic wrap makes the dough easier to handle and easier to move to the baking dish.   Using dairy substitutes may give you differenn egg/milk mixture and mix until it forms a ball.  If

GFCF Fresh Raspberry Pie

Kathi’s Fresh Raspberry Pie

4 cups fresh raspberries

1 cup raw sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons minute tapioca

4 tablespoons water

2 - 9” pie crusts of your choice (I use the perfect pie crust mix from the gluten free pantry)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Line pie plate with one pie crust
3. Mix all ingredients together and spoon into bottom pie crust
4. Place other pie crust on top, flute and seal edges.
5. Make slits in the top so that steam can escape.
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 45 minutes

8 servings

Cherrybrook Kitchens

Dan's birthday was this week. Since I have yet to find a plain cake recipe that I really like (I do have some good killer cake recipes on this blog, but not plain ones that my child will eat), I decided to try a mix from Cherrybrook Kitchen.

This is the mix that I used. It only makes one layer or a dozen cupcakes, so if you plan on making a layer cake you will need to buy two.

It was very easy to mix up and it didn't even need eggs so for those of you who are also egg free, here is a mix for you as well.

Here are the cupcakes as they came out of the oven. They were very dark and rich looking. I think Dan and I could have enjoyed them without frosting, but Andy insisted that we frost them - I guess you can't stick a birthday candle in one without frosting (who knew? good thing I have a 9 year old around to tell me these things!).

And here is one unfrosted closer up.

Making frosting is not difficult, but since I had a coupon I decided to try their frosting as well. The frosting was a bit too sweet for me and kind of gummy. It was fine, though, I did eat it - I didn't scrape it off, but I think next time I'll just make my own. Andy, like most kids, loved the frosting and ate the leftovers out of the canister.

I let Andy frost the cupcakes himself. Here is a pic of the finished cupcakes.

And one of the cupcakes up front.

They were very good tasting and nice and moist. I will buy the cake mix again in the future. It was a success.

Be sure and save the bottom flaps off the mixes. You can save them and redeem them for free stuff (I like Free!).

GFCF Lemon Bars

Since I had lots of lemon curd left over from the lemon bites I made recently, I made these bars over the weekend.

They did not last long! They were so yummy.

You could probably add flaked coconut to the topping if you wanted - I don't personally like coconut so I don't add it to any of my recipes, but I could see it going well in this one - if you liked that sort of thing!

GFCF Lemon Bars

1 cup gfcf margarine (I used earth balance buttery spread)

2 cups gf flour blend (I used authentic foods blend which has xanthan gum in it – so if you use a blend without xanthan gum, you may need to add it)

1 cup raw sugar

2 cups lemon curd (recipe follows)

½ cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
In a large mixing bowl cream margarine.
Add flour and sugar. Mix until coarse crumbs form.
Pat 2/3 of mixture in the bottom of an ungreased 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
Cool slightly
Spread lemon curd over baked layer.
Add chopped nuts to remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle over the top of the lemon curd.
Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool thoroughly, cut into squares and enjoy!

Lemon Curd

I like this method of making lemon curd because you don’t have to strain it and it always turns out nice and smooth.

6 tablespoons butter substitute (I use ghee)

1 cup sugar (I use organic raw sugar so mine isn’t as refined looking)

2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy
Gradually add eggs and egg yolks (1 at a time)
Beat in lemon juice – mixture will appear curdled.
Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens and reaches a temperature of 170 degrees – do not let it boil.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and press plastic wrap on top so it doesn’t form a skin – cool in fridge.

Store for up to 2 weeks in fridge or 2 months in freezer

GFCF Lemon Bites

I have been craving a shortbread type cookie so I got in the kitchen and tinkered today and came up with this delectable bite size cookie!



GFCF Lemon Bites

¾ cup gfcf margarine (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup sugar (I used raw organic sugar)
1 large egg1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups gfcf flour blend (I used Authentic Foods multi blend flour which has xanthan gum in it – if you use another flour blend, you may need to add xanthan gum)
Lemon curd – maybe ½ cup – recipe follows

Beat margarine and sugars until fluffy.
Beat in egg, lemon juice and vanilla.
Beat in flour and baking powder
Chill 1 hour
Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on greased baking sheet – using your finger, make an indent in the middle.
Fill indent with lemon curd
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
If desired, drizzle icing over cookies

Makes 4 to 5 dozen

Lemon Curd

I like this method of making lemon curd because you don’t have to strain it and it always turns out nice and smooth.

6 tablespoons butter substitute (I use ghee)1 cup sugar (I use organic raw sugar so mine isn’t as refined looking)2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy
Gradually add eggs and egg yolks (1 at a time)
Beat in lemon juice – mixture will appear curdled.
Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens and reaches a temperature of 170 degrees – do not let it boil.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and press plastic wrap on top so it doesn’t form a skin – cool in fridge.

Store for up to 2 weeks in fridge or 2 months in freezer

Shabtai Gourmet Cookies and Cakes

I received a large package yesterday from Shabtai Gourmet Cookies and Cakes.

Yum.

All of their products are made in a dedicated facility and are free of gluten, lactose, soy, casein and dairy. They are also are certified Kosher for Passover and Kosher Parve . They do not have a storefront, you can order from their website - http://www.shabtai-gourmet.com/ or by calling 516-652-5671. They do offer free shipping on all orders in the continental United States.

We haven't had time yet to sample all of the goodies, but what we have sampled are very yummy. If you are looking for a gluten free product to replace things like hostess cupcake type products - these fit the bill.


The inside of a Ring Ting showing the cream filling.


The Ring Ting's as packaged on the tray. These were my husband's favorite! They are moist chocolate with a cream filling and then a coating.


Raspberry Roll. Very moist and delcious with a coconut topping. Roll cakes like this are very difficult to make with wheat flour - how he manages to produce these without a crumbly texture, I do not know.

My son holding a Rainbow Cookie Square before it disappeared into his mouth. These were very colorful and delicious - like a layer cake with a chocolate coating. These do contain red 40 - which I prefer my child not consume, but for an occasional treat, these are super yummy.

The Rainbow Cookie Squares as they come packaged on the tray.

The entire shipment. As you can see, everything is packaged very well with very little breakage - only the chocolate chip cookies appear to have some broken ones.

Watch for more reviews as we try the rest of the goodies.

If you do not have access locally to a gluten free bakery and do not have the desire to bake yourself, I recommend trying Shabtai. The taste and quality are exceptional.

GFCF Pear Streusel Coffee Cake

Pear Streusel Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
2 medium pears, peeled and cored, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice or fruit fresh powder
Streusel
1 cup gluten free flour blend
1/2 cup rapadura ¼ gfcf margarine
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
Cake
2 cups gluten free flour blend
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup rapadura
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk substitute (I used soy milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
½ cup margarine, melted
1. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350° (325° if using a glass pan like I did)
2. Toss chopped pears with lemon juice or fruit fresh powder in a bowl; set aside.
3. In another bowl, combine streusel ingredients, except nuts, cutting in margarine with a pastry cutter or two knives until crumbly. Stir in nuts.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, xanthan gum, rapadura, baking powder and salt; stir to blend.
5. Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl until blended; stir in milk substitute, vanilla, and margarine. Add to flour mixture and fold with a wooden spoon or spatula just until dry ingredients are moistened.
6. Spoon half of the batter into prepared loaf pan; spread out to cover the bottom. Sprinkle batter with half of the pears and half of the streusel. Spoon remaining batter evenly over streusel, spreading carefully to cover. Sprinkle with half of the remaining streusel, the remaining chopped pears and then the remaining streusel.
7. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife carefully around sides; invert the cake onto plate. Turn the cake, streusel side up, onto a rack and let cool on a rack completely. Or just keep in the pan like I did.

Yum Yum GFCF Pie

It is so yummy. It is half blueberry and half currants. We got blueberries this week from our CSA and Dan immediately wanted pie - but there wasn't enough so I picked a few currants and added them.

I used a pie crust mix from the gluten free pantry this time.

I used 4 cups of berries.
Mix together 1 cup sugar (use less if using all blueberries), 1/4 instant tapioca and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix with berries and put in unbaked pie shell. Cover with another pie crust. Bake for 40 minutes at 425 degrees.

GFCF Rhubarb Cake

Andy asked me yesterday if I could make a rhubarb cake. What a wonderful idea. Rhubarb is in season right now. I've never made a rhubarb cake before so I started tinkering and it came out so delicious!




GFCF Rhubarb Cake

Ingredients:
½ cup Margarine (I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
1 ½ cups Organic Raw Sugar (you could use brown sugar)
1 Egg, Beaten1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt1 cup milk substitute (I used Dari Free)
2 cups GF Flour Blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill GF Mix)
½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum1 teaspoon Baking Soda
3 cups Rhubarb
½ cup Organic Raw Sugar
½ teaspoon Cinnamon

Procedure:
Slice the rhubarb into 1/4" slices. Cream the margarine and 1 ½ cups sugar; add the egg, vanilla and salt; mix well. Add the milk substitute, flour, xanthan gum and soda; mix well. Stir in the rhubarb. Pour the batter into a well-greased "9x13" cake pan. Mix together ½ cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; distribute this mixture evenly over the unbaked cake batter. Bake for about 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

GFCF Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup CF margarine (I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
2 cups turbinado sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 16 oz. jar all natural peanut butter (the kind that the oil separates out)
2 cups GF flour blend
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream margarine and sugar
Add eggs, vanilla and peanut butter.
Add dry ingredients.
Shape by tablespoonful into balls. Flatten slightly.
Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown on ungreased baking sheets.

Makes 5 dozen

Another attempt at cupcakes for Andy's birthday party

Thanks everyone for your comments and e-mails. Part of what I was trying to do was fine a great yellow or white cake. Andy doesn't really care for chocolate and I know I could make some kick ass carrot ones but Andy doesn't like them either and it is his birthday. But he will tolerate chocolate so I think the next attempt is going to be chocolate. Chocolate always seems to turn out better.

As I was searching for recipes I found that several of them used mayonnaise instead of margarine or shortening and I thought I would try that - they were certainly moister, but the texture is still not what I would like and the taste is just okay. My family did eat them all up just like the first batch so none of this is going to waste - just not good enough to fool those on regular diets - especially children.


Here is this batch coming out of the oven - they have a nice golden color.

And here they are frosted.

This is the recipe I came up with:

GFCF Yellow Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups raw sugar
2/3 cup mayonaise (I used Spectrum canola mayo)
1 cup milk sub (I used Silk Soy Milk, vanilla flavor)
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside.
3. Mix the eggs, sugar and mayo until fluffy. Add the flour mixture, milk and vanilla and mix well. Batter will be runny. Pour into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Let cool completely before frosting.

GFCF Apple Bars

It's apple season - and my apple tree is loaded. I made these yesterday and they are already gone. Yum, yum.

Apple Bars

½ cup melted cf margarine
1 cup sugar (I used raw sugar)
1 egg
1 cup gf flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill GF Mix)
1 tsp. Xanthan Gum
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup apples – peeled, cored and finely chopped. You want to use firm cooking apples.
1 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a square 8 inch by 8 inch pan.

In a large bowl, mix melted margarine with the sugar and egg. Mix in flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, and cinnamon. Then stir in apples and nuts. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I frosted mine with an icing made from powdered sugar mixed with a little vanilla and fake milk (I used Dari Free).

GFCF Apple Pie with Crumb Topping

My husband says this pie is his new favorite - it sure didn't last long.

GFCF Apple Pie with crumb topping

Single Pie Crust (I made one using a mix from Miss Robens)
6 cups chopped and peeled tart apples
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
2 tablespoons Tofutti fake sour cream
4 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup sugar
¼ cup minute tapioca
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping:
½ cup gf flour mixture (I used Bob’s Red Mill GF Mix)
½ cup sugar (I used natural brown)

¼ cup cold margarine

Line a 9 inch pie pan with crust.

In a bowl, combine apples, margarine, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon into pie shell.

For topping, combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the apples are tender.

GFCF Currant Pie

It was the hottest day of the year in Minnesota yesterday - so what do I do? I bake a pie! I have an abundance of currants and needed to do something with them. This pie was wonderful. I may have to make another one.

Here is it ready to go into the oven:


And here it is baked:


And here is the recipe:

Currant Pie

2 uncooked pie crusts (I made mine using a mix from Miss Robens)
4 cups fresh currants
¼ cup tapioca
½ cup raw honey*
2 tablespoons margarine melted (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Roll out ½ of the pastry and line a pie plate (I only cook in glass pie plates – using aluminum is not good for your health)

In a medium bowl mix currants, tapioca, honey, margarine, cinnamon and nutmeg

Pour mixture into pie crust

Roll out remaining dough and place over the filling – or cut into strips and place on pie lattice style. Trim, seal and crimp edges – if you put a solid top crust on, be sure and cut steam vents in it.

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 45 to 60 minutes more. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack before serving.

*Adjust the amount of honey to your preferred level of sweetness

GFCF Strawberry Cheesecake

I was making a cheesecake for work today and decided to experiment and see if I could make a gfcf one for home as well. I made it exactly like the one I made for work except I used the Toffutti fake cream cheese in place of the cream cheese and made it strawberries instead of blueberry. The gfcf one was a little thinner when I poured it in the pan, but they cooked up the same and it tasted great.

For the crust, I took some gfcf crackers, gorilla munch cereal and enjoy life cereal (a granola type) and put them in the food processor and ground them up fine and then mixed with some melted gfcf margarine. I pressed them in the bottom of a springform pan and baked for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Beat 2 packages (8 oz) Toffutti Better than Cream Cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Pour on top of crust. Crush some fresh strawberries (about a half cup crushed) and put on top and then swirl into the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until set in the center. Turn oven off and allow to cool. Chill before eating.

Miss Roben's new pie crust rocks!

Regular readers will recall that I made a pie for Thanksgiving and used a pie crust mix from Miss Roben's which I reported was not that great. Miss Roben's read the post and sent me a free pie crust mix which they had recently reformulated.

As you can see from the pictures on the post I just made I made a pie today. The crust was wonderful! It was a lot more work than I want to do with a pie crust - using egg and refrigerating for an hour before rolling out - but so worth the effort. I think this crust could almost pass for a normal crust.

So, if you haven't tried Miss Roben's pie crust recently - you really must try it again.

GFCF Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie

Rhubarb “Sour Cream” Pie

Ingredients:

¼ cup Minute Tapioca

1 1/4 Cups Sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 Cup Tofutti Brand Better than Sour Cream

1 Egg (beaten)

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Lemon Extract (I didn’t have extract so I used lemon juice)

3 Cups Rhubarb (cut in 1/2" cubes) I used frozen which I thoroughly drained after it thawed – and used thawed.

CRUMB TOPPING

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt1/4 cup butter (softened)

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix everything but the rhubarb together, and then add the rhubarb at the end. Add filling to a 9" pie crust.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes. Remove the pie, and sprinkle the crumb topping on top. Bake at 350 for another 15 minutes or until the topping is brown.

For the topping, simply mix the ingredients together until crumbly.

Yum, Yum! It was delicious!

GFCF Banana Cream Pie

I made this for dessert on Thanksgiving. I used a mix from Miss Roben's for the pie crust and it was not that great - kind of like cardboard. Pie Crust mixes I have used in the past that were great were the graham cracker mix from Miss Roben's and the pie crust mix from the Gluten Free Pantry. The filling is also good just as a pudding. Added Note: Miss Roben's has reformulated their pie crust mix - so don't rule it out yet. They are sending me some to try out. Miss Roben's has great customer service - they want happy customers and it shows.

Banana Cream Pie
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups milk substitute (I used Dari Free)
4 egg yolks
3 tablespoons GFCF Margarine (I use Crystal Farms Dairy Free)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 bananas, sliced
1 9-inch baked pie shell
In a medium saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in the milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Beat egg yolks slightly. Stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks – mix well. Return egg yolk mixture to saucepan and mix well. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in margarine and vanilla. Arrange banana slices in bottom of pie shell. Pour hot filling into pie shell. To prevent a “film” from forming on the top as it cools, put a piece of plastic wrap directly on the filling. Cool to room temperature and then put in fridge to chill thoroughly. Serve with Soy Whip topping.

Soy Whip by Soyatoo

Now this was a real find at the store today - fake whipped cream that tastes good! I have tried Hip Whip and a few others in the past - but they were pretty gross. This stuff tastes pretty close to the real deal (especially if you have been gfcf for awhile). The bottom picture is an "ice cream sundae" made with Soy Dream Vanilla, home made raspberry sauce (from raspberries I grew) and Soy Whip on top. Andy ate it all gone and declared me the *best mom in the whole world* for finding this stuff!