Gluten-Free Chocolate Ganache Cake

Yesterday was Sunshine’s 14th Birthday!  As usual, she asked for the infamous Chocolate Ganache Cake.  This is truly an excellent cake – way back when, when I used to have a cake business – this was my most popular seller, either whole or by the slice at Farmer’s Markets or Festivals.

Here is the recipe for the cake:

2 5/8 Cups Sans Gluten, SVP! Flour Blend         1 1/8 tsp. Salt

2 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda                                                        1 1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum

1 Cup Cocoa                                                                            2 1/4 Cups Sugar

3/4 Cups Shortening                                                           1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

3 Eggs                                                                                            2  1/4 Cups Buttermilk

 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° and lightly spray one 10-inch round springform baking pan.

2. In large mixer bowl, sift together Flour Blend, Salt, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Cocoa and Sugar.

3. Add Shortening, Vanilla, Eggs, and Buttermilk.

4. Beat at low speed for one minute.  Scrape sides and then beat on medium for one minute longer.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan.  To get the cake to turn out really perfectly for slicing and icing, after pouring the batter into the springform pan, wrap a damp towel around the sides of the pan.  This will keep the sides of the cake from baking faster than the center so you don’t end up with a high mound in the middle.   Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched in center, or cake tester comes out clean.

6.  Cool for 10 minutes, then remove sides of springform pan and cool completely.

Now for the tricky part, getting that Ganache icing poured over the top and sides of each piece of cake.

1.  Using a serrated knife, cut the cake into 12 even pieces.  Spread a piece of wax paper on the counter and flatten 12 paper muffin liners.

2.  In a double boiler, melt 10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate with 1 1/4 Cups whipping cream.  Add 2 Tbsp. rum.

3.  Hold each slice of cake over the double boiler on a cake server, using a ladle, spoon hot ganache icing over the cake and let it drip down the sides.  Keep spooning until the top and sides are completely covered.  Carefully place the slice of cake on the wax paper to cool and repeat with the remaining slices of cake.

4.  Once the chocolate has cooled and set, pick up each slice of cake (I use an off-set spatula to do this) and place it on the muffin paper, so that the paper comes up the sides just slightly.  Place the pieces of cake on a cake plate or stand. 

5.  Decorate as desired.

Quinoa Risotto with Grilled Zucchini

While touring Bob’s Red Mill last week, the tour guide mentioned making a Risotto with Quinoa for dinner the previous night.  Sooooo, I bought some Quinoa and did some searching for recipes on-line.  Turns out there are quite a lot of recipes for Quinoa Risotto.  Here is what I came up with (and it satisfied every member of the family).

1/2 large onion – minced

4 cloves garlic – minced

2 Tbsp. Butter

2 Cups Quinoa – rinsed well

4 Cups broth (I used low sodium Chicken)

1 tsp. Sea Salt

Crushed Red Pepper to taste

Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

1 Cup frozen Peas

Flaked Parmesan Cheese

1.  In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in the butter.

2.  Add the quinoa and saute for 3 or 4 minutes.

3.  Add 1/3 the broth, bring to a boil and then simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed.  Do this twice more.  (Takes about 15 minutes).

4.  Add the salt, crushed red pepper and black pepper.

5.  About 5 minutes before serving, add the peas.

6.  Place a serving on a plate and sprinkle with flaked Parmesan Cheese.

Gluten-Free Johnnycake Cobblers

For the 4th of July, I decided to try a recipe from Baking with Julia, a wonderful book for the photos alone!  I made Johnnycake Cobbler using nectarines and blueberries.  I followed the recipe as written except for substituting Sans Gluten S’il Vous Plait! All Purpose Flour  for the flour in the recipe.  Plus, I added 1 tsp. of Xanthan Gum.

I was anxious to bake after being on vacation for two weeks and started the fruit too soon.  It should have been piping hot when I put the biscuit top on and baked the cobblers.  Because it was just room temperature, the biscuit wasn’t cooked all the way through, even though the top was crusty and browned.

But, never mind.  It was a very festive, patriotic looking dessert and no one complained!

Clafoutis

Yep!  It was good!  I used the recipe Marlene wrote down when she was with us last summer.  I haven’t translated it from the French equivelants yet.  I just used my scale with has grams/oz. on it and guessed at the oven temperature.  So here it is:

750 grams of seasonal fruit

100 grams Sans Gluten, SVP All-Purpose flour

1/2 yeast sachet

125 grams sugar, plus more for sprinkling

2 pinches salt

1 tsp. xanthan gum

4 eggs

25 grams butter, melted

250 ml milk

vanilla extract

1.  Spray a baking dish 8 x 10 or large pie plate and place fruit in bottom of dish.  Sprinkle with sugar.

2.  In mixer bowl, beat eggs.  Add sugar and salt and mix for 5 minutes.

3.  Add flour and yeast.  Mix.  Then add melted butter, milk and vanilla

4.  Pour over fruit and bake at 475 for 45 minutes.

Bonjour!

Gluten-Free a la Francais

We are just returned from a fantastic trip to France and Italy.  I took 477 photos in 14 days! 

Previously I posted about the gluten-free foods I would be taking with us, so that Sunshine and I would be able to eat.  But, I was also on the look-out for what I could buy in Europe as I have read that they are rather more aware of gluten-intolerance than in the U.S.  We found an organic store (really similar to a vitamin/health food store here) that had quite a large selection of gluten-free products.  I bought a couple of loaves of bread made by Gluta Bye that was especially good.  The ingredients weren’t any different than what we use, but the bread was superior to anything I have purchased here.

Also, Schar – the brand shown above, had some excellent peach filled cupcakes (they really reminded me of a fancy, fruit filled twinkie).  The crackers in the photo were the perfect compliment to Nutella, certainly as good as French Bread.  I saw regular versions of the crackers in the grocery stores and they looked just the same as the gluten-free version.  I will be checking to see if I can get Schar locally or on-line.

As for the items I took with us – We didn’t use the pasta or the flour, but everything else was consumed.

As soon as the photos are organized, I’ll post a picture of the most decadent, gluten-free desert we enjoyed!

For now, after two weeks of no baking, I’m in the mood to bake a clafoutis!

Gluten-Free Graduation Cake

Sunshine graduates from 8th Grade tonight!  Ten years at the same school (she started there for pre-k) passes sooooo quickly.  There will be speeches, flowers, probably some tears, and . . . cake.  Now I couldn’t let her attend her own graduation ceremony and not be able to eat cake could I?

 

This is the Lemon Ring Cake from The Gluten-Free Gourmet Makes Dessert.  I’ve made it several times before and it is a delicious cake.  I made it just the way the cookbook says, so I won’t write out the recipe here.  Just a note, I used Sans Gluten, S’il Vous Plait!  All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Mix.

Happy Graduation Sunshine, I love you!

Quinoa Cookies

Mmmmm.  Fresh, homemade, Gluten-Free Cookies!  Can you smell them?

I certainly didn’t have time to make cookies.

No one needed cookies.

No one even asked for cookies.

But, I made cookies.

Now you can make some, too!

Cream together:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

Add:

2 Eggs

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. corn syrup

Add:

1 tsp. baking soda

2 1/4 cups quinoa flakes

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup mini m & m’s

Bake on ungreased sheets at 350 for 12 minutes.

Sans Gluten, S’il Vous Plait!

We leave for France two weeks from yesterday.  I can’t wait -  we’re visiting our exchange student from last Summer, she lives in the Alps!

But, I need to take some Gluten-Free staples for Sunshine and me.  I’ve assembled a few things already:  homemade granola; Thai Kitchen Noodle Soups; Annie’s Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese; Mary’s Gone Crackers (we’re going to a major cheese eating region); Sans Gluten Chocolate Wafer cookies; Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta; some Zone Bars; and some of our Flour Blend and Fish & Chips Mix (since we are staying in a private home, we will have an opportunity to cook).  I feel like there should be more, but I don’t know what.  Part of this trip is about finding what gluten-free options there are in Europe (we are also visiting Switzerland and Italy) and I know that we will find some foods, but I like to be prepared.

Any ideas?

Gluten-Free Rhubarb Crisp

 

On Saturday, when I checked the garden and discovered that the Rhubarb was ready,  I was finally able to satisfy my Rhubarb Crisp craving.   Here is the recipe:

5 + cups Fresh Rhubard, thinly sliced

1 Cup sugar

Place the rhubarb slices in a 9 x 12 pan and sprinkle the sugar over the top.

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup Gluten-Free Oats

1 Cup Sans Gluten, SVP! All Purpose Flour

1 tsp. Cinnamon

Mix together in a large bowl and, using a pastry blender, cut in:

8 Tbsp. Butter

Sprinkle evenly over rhubarb/sugar mixture and sprinkle with:

1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

2 Tbsp. Water

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serve warm with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!  Yummmmm.  This is a very sugary recipe, but I was definately in the mood for sugar and it really hit the spot.

Everybody Like Parfait!

Gluten-Free Parfait

El Guapo’s mom and her husband came to visit yesterday from Texas.  As usual, I planned desert first, and once it was prepared, started thinking about what I would fix for dinner.  Desert is just so much more interesting!  I didn’t want to go to the store (I’ve been like that lately), so I had to come up with something I could make with the ingredients on hand.  I finally decided to make parfaits, layering fresh strawberries, tapioca and chocolate mousse.  Turned out great!  They looked beautiful and tasted very fresh and delicious.

Dinner was nice, also.  I roasted a chicken with olive oil and fresh herbs, adding red potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower.

Nice meal for a nice day.