Showing posts with label gluten free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten free. Show all posts

Monday, June 15, 2015

Gluten Free Chocolate Chocolate Cookies


Shhhh, don't tell anyone. They will never ever know these chocolate, chocolate chip cookies are gluten free and celiac friendly.

Ok then tell your friends that are gluten intolerant, in fact share this gluten free recipe all around because it's a keeper, the cookies are soft and filled with chocolate chips and chunks and they stay soft for a couple of days.


Eating gluten free is a necessary way of life for many people and luckily these days there are quite a few options available in the supermarket to help out.

If you do a lot of gluten free baking you will probably already know that there are some things you need to put into your flour to give it a bit of help. I find it can be expensive to have a pantry full of stuff like guar gum and tapioca starch for the occasional cookie or biscuit I make.

So I buy a gluten free flour that already has those things added. The one I use at the moment is Orgran as I have found it to be a good all purpose flour but if you make your own or have another brand you like just substitute that in my recipe.


If you are living a gluten free life I hope you enjoy these cookies, they can be frozen and kept for a few months after baking.

For more gluten free options check out my recipe for macarons (CLICK HERE) which are also gluten free and super delicious.

Happy Baking



Gluten Free Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe Makes around 16 cookies
Do not be tempted to over bake the cookies they will continue to bake and harden as they cool.

260g (9 1/4 oz) Orgran All Purpose Flour
30g (1 oz) cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder (make sure it's gluten free)
115g (4oz) unsalted butter
60g (2oz) cream cheese
115g (4oz) brown sugar
60g (20oz) white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (I used dark bittersweet)
Optional 1/4 cup extra chocolate chunks to press into top

Preheat oven to 160C (320 F ) and line 2 trays with baking paper.

Sift together flour, cocoa and baking powder and set aside until required.

Place butter, cream cheese, brown sugar and white sugar in a large bowl and mix at low speed until combined. Increase speed to high and mix for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is well creamed and lightened in color.

Reduce mixer speed to low, add vanilla and egg and mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined then add the chocolate chips mixing until the chips are distributed evenly.

Place approx 2 Tbsp mounds of cookie dough onto the prepared baking trays leaving. Flatten the cookie dough slightly. If you would like to add extra chocolate chunks to the cookie press a few into the top of each cookie at this stage.

Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes, the cookies should still be soft to touch, but don't worry they should be fine.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on tray.

Keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Cookies can be frozen wrapped separately in plastic wrap and placed in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.


Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the children's cookbook Sweets on a Stick: More Than 150 Kid-Friendly Recipes for Cakes, Candies, Cookies, and Pies on the Go! Published in the US the book is still available at Amazon and some online bookstores.

Affiliate links may earn me money and contribute to supporting this blog.

Original ideas, photography and recipes by Linda Vandermeer please do not reuse without permission.




Sunday, December 16, 2012

Cranberry Christmas cake - Gluten free cooking


I have to be honest generally when I see a cake that is gluten free I mostly shudder. I'm not talking about macarons, or meringues or many of those treats that are meant to be made without the inclusion of flour.


I mean the modified versions of traditional cakes.

Sometimes they are done really well and sometimes..........well it's best not to talk about it.


This cranberry cake is from the first list in that it is meant to be made without the inclusion of flour like a traditional dense and moist flourless nut cake.

But with the exciting addition of cranberries and cinnamon.


The idea for this cake came to be after I was given a kilo of dried frozen cranberries and wondered what in heavens I would do with so many.


I was just about to start work on my lollipop and candy inspired Christmas Cake for this year and with the addition of a little red food color to match the bright exterior this new cake creation was perfect.


 (DIY tutorial on how to make this 3D cake here:  Lollipop and Candy Christmas Cake )

Shop the photo vendors
White plates and bowl from Ikea
Gold fork Christina Re (I picked mine up at DJ's)
Vintage pink tea cup set, cake server and tea strainer
Pink Tea Towel (vintage) Ulster and Weaver 

Sweets on a Stick

and if anyone is looking for last minute Christmas presents in Brisbane, the Bleeding Heart Cafe has copies of my book available right now for purchase. You can email inquiries to: info@bleedingheart.com.au

Flourless Cranberry cake
To make your cake red simply add 1/2tsp red gel food color to the mixture when adding vanilla, if required add more color until the desired shade is achieved.

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
3 cups water
1 stick cinnamon

175g (6 1/8 oz) almond meal (ground almonds)
50g (1 3/4 oz)hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
200g (7oz) sugar
1 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
5 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract


Place cranberries, cinnamon stick and water into a pan, bring to a low simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour, remove from heat and allow to cool. Discard cinnamon stick, drain mixture through a sieve and reserve cranberry compote (you can reserve liquid to drink or as a drinks mixer if you like).


Preheat oven to 170C ( F) and grease and line a 20cm round baking tin. (I used a springform).

In a large mixing bowl combine almond meal, hazelnut meal, sugar and baking powder.

In a food processor, pulse the cranberries for about 30 seconds.

Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla processing after the addition of each egg. The mixture will be quite frothy and light.

Add the nut mixture and process until well combined. Use a spatula to scrape around the bottom of the bowl to ensure all mixture is combined.

Pour cake batter into prepared tin and bake for 1 hour.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes in tin and then turn out to cool on a wire rack.



Recipe, photo's and post by Linda Vandermeer author of Sweets on a Stick: More than 150 Kid Friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go. You can pick it up at all good online book shops including these shops:



Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

Sweets on a Stick: More Than 150 Kid-Friendly Recipes for Cakes, Candies, Cookies, and Pies on the Go!


Sunday, July 29, 2012

Chocolate Hazelnut Cakes with Chocolate French Butter Cream and it's Gluten Free



Many years ago back when I worked in an office I used to pop into a little boutique store that made a delicious hazelnut chocolate cake on the premises. I used to walk half way across the city some lunchtimes in the hope that it would be on the menu.

Oh how exciting it would be if I opened the door and the delicious smell of just baked chocolate cake greeted me.

Funnily enough my work moved offices to just around the corner of the store at about the same time the store changed owners and sadly the hazelnut chocolate cake was removed from the menu.


That was a long time ago now and I have tried a few chocolate hazelnut cake recipes over the years and found them sadly lacking, mostly over moist and bordering on gluggy.

So I decided to come up with my own recipe. It's definitely not the same cake but it is delicious with a chewy just moist enough texture and lovely robust hazelnut flavor. Also it is gluten free which I know is a big plus for many of you.

and y'all know I just love to make my cakes mini at any opportunity. I received this fabulous Baker's Secret Loose Base Dessert Pan from Kitchenware Direct which I have been coveting for a while and with the ingenious pop out bottoms it was perfect for making these mini cakes. Plus dishwasher safe. I can't ever love that enough.

I paired the cakes with a french chocolate butter cream because, well, it is pretty delicious plus I always despair of the amount of egg yolks I waste and this was a perfect opportunity to use up a couple.



Then I played around with a few decorative toppings......... macarons,


raspberries......



then macarons plus raspberries.


They were all equally delicious :)

I had the gold mini macaron shells left over from a party we had on the weekend and I filled them with a little of the excess butter cream. If you don't  happen to have a batch of mini macarons just lying about you can use something else - I thought a lindt ball or ferrero rocher might look good. Otherwise if your looking for a recipe for macarons CLICK HERE.


If your don't feel like whipping up a batch of butter cream the cakes are actually quite nice on their own, served with a little cream or with a warm chocolate ganache.


The ones in the pictures are about 4cm high and they look lovely, but I recommend for sensible eating you should probably make them about half the size. If the smaller sized cakes are not quite enough you can always have another serve.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cakes (Gluten Free)
makes 12 cakes 2cm (0.8") high or 6 cakes 4cm (1.6") high (the ones in the pictures are 4cm high). I used large eggs.

4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
1 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (unsweetened) sifted

Preheat oven to 140 C (280 F).

Lightly spray loose base dessert pan with cooking spray or oil.

In a large clean bowl whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Scrape down the sides as required and continue adding sugar approximately 1/4 cup at a time until the sugar is all added and dissolved. The mixture will appear stiff, white and smooth.


Add the hazelnut meal and the cocoa and fold in until just combined.


Divide the mixture between the 12 cups in the tray filling them just under 1/2 full and smooth the tops as much as possible with the back of a spoon.

Ooops that's a bit messy - this is what the mixture will look like before baking. 
Fill the individual cups a bit less than shown to make 12 cakes from the mixture.

Bake for 35 minutes, the tops of the cakes should be hard when gently tapped.

*If you choose to make 6 high cakes instead divide the mixture between 6 of the cups and bake for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven and using a thin blade knife gently run the knife around each cake to release from the side of the loose base dessert pan. The cake is a bit sticky so do not worry if they do not release cleanly. Be very careful with the knife so you do not scratch the baking pan.

Carefully pop each of the cakes out of the tray by putting your fingers underneath the tray and pushing the loose bottom up.


The tray will still be hot at this stage so be very careful and use a tea towel or other protection to hold it.

Pop the cake onto a plate and using the thin blade knife slide the cake off the loose base, it should release easily.


Allow to cool to room temperature and decorate with swirls or dots of chocolate french butter cream (recipe below) and decoration of choice.

Undecorated cakes can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days in an airtight container. Cakes decorated with butter cream can be stored in the fridge for 3 days in an airtight container, remove from fridge at least 10 minutes before serving. Cakes decorated with fruit are best served immediately.

Chocolate French Butter Cream makes enough to generously top 12 cakes. Recipe can be halved.


Heating the sugar syrup to 118C (245 F) apparently heats the eggs sufficiently to kill any potential salmonella bacteria. The butter cream recipe will still work if you just warm the water and sugar to make a syrup but you can not be assured that the eggs will have been sufficiently heated to reduce the possible health risk.

4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
250 grams (8 7/8 oz) unsalted butter cut into small cubes
150 grams (5 1/4 oz)dark chocolate melted and cooled slightly

Place water and sugar in a saucepan and heat until the syrup reaches 118C (245 F), brush down the sides of the pan as necessary with a brush to stop crystallization.

Just before the syrup reaches the required temperature Place the egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer and using whisk attachment beat until slightly bubbly and frothy.

 
If you have a shield for your mixer ensure it is in place. Continue to whip the egg yolks at high speed while you carefully pour in the hot sugar syrup in a slow stream.

Keep whipping the egg yolk and sugar syrup until the mixture becomes very light and fluffy has increased in volume and cooled down. The outside of the bowl should feel comfortable to touch, around room temperature. (If the mixture is too hot you will melt the butter at the next step).


With the mixer still on high speed add the butter a few cubes at a time until it has all been incorporated. 

Add the cooled chocolate and mix until well combined.

Items decorated with french butter cream should be kept refrigerated and removed from fridge 10 - 15 minutes prior to serving. consume within 3 days.


disclosure I received the Baker's Secret pan from Kitchenware direct. No financial compensation was provided and the words and ideas used in this post are my own.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The future looks sweet Valentine Fortune Cookies with heart sprinkles


So Valentines fortune cookies that are filled with sugar sprinkle hearts that fall out when you break them along with sweet loving predictions and sayings - kinda neat huh.

Also a gluten free option which I know for a lot of you is even neater.


I'm doing this post a few weeks after I originally meant to, as the first idea I came up with was fortune cookies for New Year filled with sugar sprinkle confetti, but I was having a bit of a lazy time after Christmas and it just did not seem like a big priority.

But now that I have made them I'm thinking I really should have made the effort back then.

Because.......Um - super easy. Like really, really super dooper easy peasy recipe here.

and the kids can not get enough of them, 'cause you know sprinkles inside, plus the fun fortunes.

If your good on a computer you can make up a bunch of neat sweet fortunes and print them out, or if you search around there are some free printables. I just wrote mine out by hand the old fashioned way.


The fun thing about this is that you can write up little love notes that hold special meaning for you and your loved ones. Yup you have to be pretty special to be getting one of those love you more than cookies ones from me:)

Now I have never made fortune cookies before so I needed to have a search around for a recipe, this one over at AlphaMom looked simple and I though I could easily adapt it to be gluten free without much tweaking.


Apart from adding color and changing the liquid ingredients a bit I substituted Gluten Free All Purpose flour (plain flour) for the regular flour in the recipe.

I made up 2 batches, one with each type of flour and here was my verdict......


Regular flour - did not stick to paper when baking as much, made a neater finished cookie, easier to fold and shape.

Gluten Free flour - made a crisper thinner cookie more like the ones from the Chinese takeaway which I liked, however they did stick to the paper so needed a spray of oil on the paper each time. The oil results in the edges not being quite as neat and the finished cookie is therefore not as neat. Was a little more difficult to fold.

I actually liked the texture of Gluten Free ones better, but if you only have regular flour that is fine, and plus that was just what I preferred you may like the regular flour version better:)


Valentine Fortune Cookie Recipe (makes approx 15)
I just used a hand whisk to whip these up as there is not a lot of mixing to get the egg whites to the soft peak stage. The recipe can easily be doubled.

1 egg white
pink food color (I used Wilton paste)
1/4 cup All Purpose Plain Flour (or all purpose plain gluten free flour)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp raspberry essence
3 teaspoons (1 US Tablespoon) of water
Canola or Rice Bran Oil spray 
Heart Sprinkles (If you need them  to be gluten free check the ingredients)
Valentine Fortunes

Preheat oven to 200C  (400 F)

Place the egg white and food color into a bowl and whisk until just past foamy and soft peaks are starting to form.

Add the remaining ingredients and whisk in until combined well.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. If you are using the gluten free version spray a little oil on the parchment paper.


Spoon a couple of teaspoons of mixture onto the tray and using the back of your spoon spread it out in an even circle until it is about 10cm (3") in diameter. It is best to only make 2 cookies at a time until you have got the hang of folding.

Place in oven and bake between 4 to 6 minutes until the edges just start to turn golden.

Eeek - sorry about that writing the kids destroyed the tip of the pen....

Using a spatula quickly release the cookie from the baking paper and flip over so the top is laying on the workbench. Place a fortune in the center of the cookie, add 1/4 tsp of sprinkles and quickly fold in half.


Then pop them into muffin baking trays to hold their shape until they are cooled.

That's it, the only thing left to do now is spread the sprinkly love.


I did find with my gluten free ones some of the sprinkles fell out if I was not careful to hold them upright, but that might have been due to my poor folding technique which I never really quite got the hang of.

Just an update on the book blog tour - it's still on and here is the listing of blogs who are holding a book giveaway or featuring a recipe or review of Sweets on a Stick:


1/9/12 – Moogie and Pap blog,Review
1/10/12  Still Blonde after all these YEARS Review/Giveaway
1/11/12  Random Cravings Blog Review with recipe/Q&A
1/11/12  Katy and Kid Review/Giveaway
1/12/12 Giveaway Blogs, Review/Giveaway
1/13/12 Consumer Queen, Giveaway
1/14/12 Confessions of an Over-worked Mom Review/Giveaway
1/15/12  Mommy Pants blog Review/Giveaway
1/17/12  Mom Vs. the Boys Blog Review/Giveaway
1/19/12  Mommy’s Free Time blog Review

If you miss on those giveaways out you could always pick up a copy yourself here at Amazon



Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

Sweets on a Stick: More Than 150 Kid-Friendly Recipes for Cakes, Candies, Cookies, and Pies on the Go!
The end


Sunday, September 5, 2010

Marshmallowy Chocolate Goodness - Chocolate Marshmallow Recipe


Never been a huge fan of packet marshmallows, I can take them or leave them.

They are completely worthwhile in regards to making marshmallow fondant to cover cakes with and now that I think about it quite a few other recipes, but I guess they are more an ingredient to me than a treat.

That changed a year or so ago thanks to the wonderful blogsphere. I was reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry and they had a post on a shop called Sweetness the Patisserie and pictures of the most gorgeous marshmallows

(these are not the gorgeous Sweetness marshmallows these are my delicious but not so gorgeous version)


Something came over me, I had to have those marshmallows so I phoned up and had a bunch shipped to me.......chocolate, rose, lavender, raspberry. The customer service was wonderful and soon clouds of deliciousness came to me via Australia post. For a while my artisan marshmallow craving was satisfied.

Until recently when I have been seeing lots of gorgeous pics of guimauve (which is pretty much French for marshmallow as far as I can work out) and I was reminded of these wonderful Sweetness Patisserie marshmallows and a recipe I had copied out at the time from Chocolate & Zucchini.


I have adapted the recipe a bit, it calls for half rose and half chocolate and instead I made all chocolate.


They didn't look as lovely as I had hoped but they sure did taste good. Perhaps with a bit of practice I can improve the look. Also I'm thinking that the lighter colour marshmallows might look a little prettier.


Oh and here are a couple I wrapped in edible rice paper, and popped a food colour heart onto, less sticky but not quite as yummy I think.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Once upon a time....... Strawberry white chocolate pot recipe and Forest tea party


Once upon a time there were 4 gorgeous little girls, they were the prettiest and best dressed girls in the land and one day they happened upon a magical tea party in the forest.



There were cupcakes, strawberry mousse cups, rose and violet macarons, pink cake pops, sweets, lollipop cookies and finger sandwiches and a magical far away tree....


This isn't a fairy tale it's real life (well ok maybe the bit about the magical far away tree's not real) but it wasn't an accident these girls happened upon this tea party.


Strawberry Chocolate Pot recipe at bottom after jump

Elizabeth from LaToriana had a wonderful idea for a photo shoot set in the forest and was kind enough to invite my daughters and I along.

Daneve from Ah Tissue helped set the scene with hanging pom poms and Naomi V Photography took the amazing photo's.



and of course I made the food and styled the little tea table.

It was such fun, and so lovely to meet Elizabeth Murphy of LaToriana in person as I have been a fan and customer of her store for a number of years.


You can see from the photo's just how divine the clothes are I fell in love with the new Little Miss J range, LaToriana sources some of the best brands from Australian and New Zealand. See more pics at her Forest Tea Party La Toriana style blog post.