Perfect Pumpkin Applesauce Bundt Cake

More fall food, you say?  Why yes!  Readers, as you know, in the fall I'm all about the awesome autumn ingredients!

I'm going to get a little reminiscent here; this cake means a lot to me.  When I was first leaping off the gluten train, I felt lost and overwhelmed.  First I had to mourn the loss of conventional baked goods, then I had to figure out how to make GF baked goods.  This led to much kitchen trauma.  Gluten-free living wasn't as well publicized 5 years ago (forget about those poor people who had to go GF 20+ years ago!  They had to search high and low for info.)  Even in the last 2 years, I have seen leaps and bounds in availability in products and awareness in lifestyle.

So after much confusion regarding mixing flours and figuring out substitutions, I started baked away and failing.  Not just failing- failing wildly!  Unbaked cakes.  Burned on the outside cakes, undone in the middle.  Brick heavy baked goods.  Tasteless.  Odorless.  Odor-full.

Frustrated, I reached out on message boards to experienced GF bakers for help and consolation.  One genius baker suggested a fix to my unbaked cake debacle:  She used bundt pans for cakes because there was no center, so everything baked fully and well.  Looking back, I'm sure there was a scientific fix to this disaster, but I thought that was a brilliant idea!  I bought a bundt pan and tried again.  Success!  Happiness flooded my tired, frustrated GF body, and I nearly cried.  It was the moment I realized I could do this.  I could bake GF, and it would be okay.  Everything would be okay.

This Pumpkin-Applesauce Bundt Cake is the very first cake recipe I made-up (based on a basic regular cake recipe) and it not only baked beautifully, it tasted fantastic.  In fact, it's my highest rated public posted recipe on Food.com.  It was the first time I felt truly proud of making something from scratch.  This cake defines the beginning of my GF journey.

As an added bonus, I recently had the opportunity of sharing this cake recipe on the brilliant site Eating Rules which marked another one of my firsts:  a guest post.

So get ready to bake up and enjoy this moist, delicious superstar.  Feel free to add some festive chocolate glazing for a fantastic Halloween treat!

NOTE: Do NOT try and make this cake in any regular pan. Because of its moisture level, it will only cook normally in a bundt pan.

Pumpkin Applesauce Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar (I've been using Coconut Sugar these days, but any will do)

2 cups cooked/canned pure pumpkin

1 cup unsweetened natural applesauce

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 eggs

2 cups any all purpose gluten-free flour mix (I like to use a sorghum mix, yay whole grains!)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder (corn-free, Hain Pure Foods is great)

2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy.

Blend in sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, and oil by hand or with a mixer on low just until combined.  Do NOT overmix!

Add all dry ingredients, one at a time, blending together.

Pour batter into a greased, large bundt pan and bake for 1 hour.

Check with a toothpick/knife to make sure it's cooked through, cool, and enjoy!

Don't forget to freeze left-overs, wrapping in parchment paper before storing.

I hope this cake brings you as much joy as it brought me :)

Grown Folks Bakesale & Lemon Meringue Cookies

I've just returned from traveling some more and with mixer in hand(s) I was ready to start preparing my treat for today's Food Blogger Bakesale, raising money for the amazing organization Share Our Strength that dedicates itself to ending childhood hunger.  SOS does amazing work, and I encourage you to either add them to your yearly donation list or volunteer to help in any way you can.

One of their fundraisers, the Great American Bakesale, translated last year to a local Food Blogger Bakesale in Los Angeles with others all over the country.  Hopefully lots of hungry people will join us today, May 14th at 11:30a-2p at BLD restaurant (7450 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036.)

Last year I made some almost allergy-free apple muffins.  They were delicious, but not a big seller compared to the delicious dripping goodies.  It's hard to compete at a bakesale with a healthy product that scares some non-allergics.  I thought I would try to appeal a little more to the masses this year by going in a completely different direction: Lemon Meringue Cookies.

Meringues happen to be one of my specialties (probably because they're not so hard) and I think they're a nice fat free palate cleansing opportunity next to the brownies.  Fingers crossed people like them!  Will you like them enough to make them at home?  I would.  The bright lemon flavor really meshes well with the sugary goodness of a meringue and adds a subtle back bite.  And really, what's a better marriage than lemon & meringue?

I started with my basic recipe and went from there.  Remember meringues are easy, but they are for the patient!  Read my previous post before embarking so you can see why drying is an important step.

Lemon Meringue Cookies

Makes loads of cookies, half if desired

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites

1 tbs of fresh squeezed lemon juice

splash of vanilla (or 1 tsp if you're measuring)

a dash of salt (or about 1/4 tsp if you're measuring)

1 1/3 cups evaporated cane sugar (fairtrade if you can)

the zest of 1 medium sized lemon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, beat the first 4 ingredients together using an electric mixer on low-medium speed, until you reach a foamy, barely soft peak form.

Pour sugar in slowly while beating the mixture until the sugar is incorporated.

Beat carefully on medium-high until you get stiff peaks (if you remove the beater from the mixture you'll notice a peak that can stand on it's own).  Go slower than faster.  If you over-beat, the meringue will not come together.

Fold in lemon zest.
Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Either put meringue in pastry bag and pipe a million cookies OR use a tsp dropping cookies.  Note: the smaller your cookies the less time they take to dry, and this becomes easier & faster for you.
Place cookies in oven on low and middle racks and immediately switch oven temperature to 200 F for 1 hour.
To make sure your oven is at an average temperature (and not a higher heat oven) watch your cookies (10, 15, 25 minute marks) and the second you see any golden goodness appearing or if you touch them and the cookies feel like they're firming, turn the oven back up to a high temperature for a moment, close the oven door, then SHUT OFF the oven.
If you've piped small cookies, dry for 1 hour with the oven door shut and test.
If it's ready take them out, if not, turn oven on to 250 for about 5 minutes (watching the cookies) and then shut oven off and dry for another hour.
Repeat drying as many hours as needed.

Meringues really are a delicious treat and they keep well so use leftover to decorate desserts or pack in bagged lunches.

There Is No Good Way to Photograph an Orange Popsicle

Feel free to try and prove me wrong people.  I dare you!  Because with the shape of my popsicle molds and the light orangey color to the popsicle I've created, there is no way to politely (um, how do I put this?) photograph it in which it does not look like an appendage of sorts.

But with this randomly hot weather in California right now (November 90's, what?) it's the perfect time for DIY popsicles.  When you go to buy unprocessed, un-corn syruped, natural popsicles at the store, you're likely to pay anywhere between $3.50-$6.00 for a box of 4.  That's a little expensive for something you can make 6 of at home with a minimal investment in both time and effort.

I know that the below is technically a recipe, but it's so easy I doubt that you'll think of it as one!  With a few accessible ingredients like canned pumpkin and yogurt or milk all thrown in a blender, it's a fun and done way to stay cool and have a sweet treat.  As always, you can adapt the recipe to suit your needs- Dairy Free? Use a substituted milk like rice, hemp or coconut.  Lactose Free?  Lactose free yogurt or milk are both readily available and work well.  Be aware if you use milk or a milk substitute that the popsicles will be icier in consistency.  If you use yogurt though, it tastes a little Pinkberry-esque and isn't too sweet (which I loved!)

Pumpkin Pie Popsicles

See, I told you!  And this was the best one...

Ingredients:

1 cup canned/fresh cooked pumpkin

6 oz vanilla yogurt (I love Brown Cow,only yogurt that doesn't make me sick!) or milk or milk substitute

1/2 cup agave

nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger combo or pumpkin pie spice to taste (start at a tsp and add more if desired)

splash of vanilla extract (optional)

Directions:

In a blender, combine all ingredients until well blended.

Pour into 6 popsicle molds and freeze for at least 5 hours (overnight freezing preferred.)

Go do something else.  You're done!  That was fast huh?

Who Am I?

No, this is not in reference to the movie Zoolander.  This is a real question reader.  Who am I?

I am a lot of things.  People who know me, know this.  So how do I make myself into a singular pie? That was our thought-provoking challenge this month for You Want Pies With That?, brought to us by the extremely talented Branny of Branny Boils Over.  Technically we're to: "Choose a pie that best represents your personality and use your blog write-up to justify your choice."


This left me thinking, hmmmm, tricky... but in the best of ways.  I mean there's so much to say about myself; it's not going to be easy to let the pie do the talking. And then I re-evaluated.  The pie doesn't have to be a piece for company, it just has to be a piece of me.  The result:  I've made a pie I've always wanted to make, simple and quiet looking with a deliciously bold undertone: Chocolate Ginger Ganache Pie.


Why is this pie like me?
1) I look sweet and quiet from a distance, until you realize I'm subtly spicy and sassy.
2) It's gluten and soy free, just like me (that part was easy!)
3) Two of my favorite things are chocolate and ginger.  Both are in the filling, yay.
4) It's hard to take in all at once.  I admit that sometimes I can be a bit overwhelming, just like the rich   and bold flavors in this pie.  Small doses/slices may be better until a taste is acquired ;)


I wish I were smooth and rich like this pie, but sadly I cannot claim to be either.  The pie is also super easy which is definitely not how I'd want to describe myself! (insert uncomfortable silence here, reader)

Chocolate Ginger 

Ganache Pie

(no gluten, eggs or soy here)
(those little bubbles are the pieces of ginger, yum)
 

Ingredients:

Favorite single crust pie crust, add some dried ginger and bake. (I halved the recipe here)

2 inches of fresh ginger root, peeled

24 oz chocolate (I use allergy-free Enjoy Life chips)

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

Cool baked pie crust, dust with sugar and set aside.

Place chocolate in a heat-safe mixing bowl (like a glass pyrex bowl).

In a saucepan, soak peeled ginger in cream for at least 30 minutes.

Bring the cream to a boil, careful not to scald the cream.  

Remove from heat and remove ginger root quickly.

Pour the cream slowly over chocolate while mixing until chocolate has completely melted.
Grate some of the ginger root into the ganache, as much or as little as you'd like.

Pour ganache in cooled pie shell and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Now the metaphors get a little complicated when you start to slice the pie and give it away to co-workers and friends.  Remind you of life a little?  But I think I'm going a little too far with that ;) Let's just say I'm proud that this pie represents me, and I'm ready to eat my personality.  (insert second uncomfortable silence here, reader)

When you're done feeling awkward about my last sentence, check out what the other amazing bakers did here.

Peaches & Cream Summer Dream

Another month has flown by which means Hello Pie!  This month's You Want Pies With That challenge comes from the dangerously talented Erin of Milk & Honey: "'Summer Fruit Pies'- For July, how about we highlight summer fruits...berries, cherries, peaches, etc. All the goodies that are season now that we can enjoy before they're gone again." 

Um, yes please.  I love, love, l-o-v-e summer fruits, so this inspirational theme was a no-brainer for me.  I decided to go with the amazing, the loyal, the lovely peach.  One big reason is because they're insanely good right now; I picked up a few at the farmer's market and was hooked on this season's crop.  The pie below is fairly easy, it just requires a step-by-step process.  As long as you have good kitchen supplies, the different elements should come together seamlessly and hopefully with delightful results.

Peaches & Cream Summer Dream Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2-2 c of GF cookie crumbs, (shortbreads put in a processor or blender until fine work nicely)

1/4-1/2 c butter or non-dairy spread, melted

cane sugar to taste

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 c powdered sugar

1/2 c sour cream

splash vanilla (optional)

2 lbs fresh peaches, pitted and peeled

2 tbs tapioca flour/starch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix cookie crumbs, butter and sugar to taste together to form your crust; if the crumbs look too dry add more butter.

Press mixture firmly into pie plate or tart pan.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and set.

Cool.

Cream the powdered sugar, sour cream, and cream cheese until smooth.

Splash with a little vanilla extract for an extra hit of flavor, and/or set aside.

Puree peaches.

Pour puree into a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently to make sure the puree doesn't burn.

Add the tapioca flour/starch to puree and stir in until the puree thickens up a bit.

Set aside to cool.

Once crust is room temperature, pour cream layer into shell.

Layer peach puree layer on top.

Refrigerate for 4 hours-overnight.

Slice and decorate with other fruit purees, whipped cream, or fresh herbs.

Serve this twist on a summery creamsicle to guests with a smile on your face.

Among other things, this pie is surprisingly refreshing.  You wouldn't necessarily think that's the case considering the layer of cream cheesy goodness tucked under that fantastic fruit puree, but it really does heighten and brighten the senses, just like summer does :)

I can't wait to see what the other pie mavens came up with!  Can you?  You don't have to if you visit YWPWT and check them out :)

Keep Your Eyes on the Pies

"Anyone can cook!"  Perhaps my favorite line in a Pixar pic, said exuberantly by Chef Gusteau in the brilliant movie, Ratatouille.  Those of you who think "cartoons" are for "children" might want to take a minute and stop strangling your inner child and examine that Ratatouille is a movie that shares the shear joy of cooking with everyone- big, small or rat.  I've cheesily repeated that line to myself while meditating over quite a few experiments in the kitchen.  In fact, I have a stuffed Little Chef in my kitchen to remind me to keep on keeping on, even when allergen free goods seem impossible to compose.

Now I'm no rat, but when I started baking Gluten Free, a lot of weird things started happening.  Huge failings.  Hard as rock rolls.  Cookies and cakes that never cooked all the way through.  I-guess-you-could-call-them-muffins muffins.  I had given up on conventional, traditional baked goods for a time.  I experimented with other baked goods and alternative ways of creating traditional goods.  For example, I abandoned the usual pie crusts, and tried using fudge, cookie dough, GF crumbs, hash browns and mashed cauliflower (for the savory.) 

I secretly missed double crusted pies.  I mean, making pie was one of my favorite things to do pre-GF.  My favorite was fresh apple pie in the fall, and without that regular crust, it just didn't taste the same.  Well one day not too long ago, Shauna of the Gluten Free Girl tweeted about the amazing Jeanne at Four Chickens.  I saw that Jeanne had made a pie crust, and not only did it look beautiful, it looked too easy to make.  It seemed so simple to me that I figured, how can this possibly work?  Well, it worked!  And it worked like a charm.  Jeanne actually has many recipes for all the bready, baked goods I haven't been able to crack yet with no recipe, including choux pastry and pizza crust.  Her blog is amazing and I urge you to go check it out! 

It's time to recognize that many talented bloggers have joined the ranks of Little Chef who inspires me to strive for greatness each time I set foot in my kitchen.  If they can make magic in their GF kitchens, I can certainly make magic in mine.  Remember, anyone can cook.  And anyone means you too.

What's better than making inspiring food?  How about making it for someone who inspires you?  Like on Mother's Day.  This would be the perfect, bright addition to any Mother's Day feast.

Double-Berry, Double-Crust Pie

No nuts, soy, gluten, eggs, or dairy-

can you believe it?

Crust Ingredients:
Pie Crust as prepared using Four Chickens blog (note: I used my own allergen free flour mix instead)

Filling Ingredients:
2 pints of blackberries, washed and drained well
1 pint of strawberries, washed, drained well and quartered
1/2 cup of fair trade sugar
2 tbs tapioca starch

Directions:
Click on the link above and follow Jeanne's directions. 
When it's time to make the filling, combine all filling ingredients and set aside while making crust.

Complete pie crust according to directions.  *Make sure when rolling it out use lots of tapioca starch so the dough does not stick to the rolling board, rolling pin, or you!
Before pouring the filling in the bottom crust, drain the extra liquid from the filling thats formed so your pie is not soupy.
Bake for about 35 minutes and let cool.
Refridgerate for a 30 minutes to set the fruit juices in the pie.
Remove and set to room temperature to serve.
Cut and serve, maybe even a la mode :)

Some notes about the above recipe:

• It doesn't contain eggs unless you make an egg wash, and you can use a non-dairy shortening to make it egg and dairy free!
• The pie crust had to be rolled very thin in order to cover my Emile Henry 9" pie plate.  There was no leftover crust; it had to be used to cover everything.
• The crust will be very sticky while you're rolling it out.  I put the note above about using tapioca starch in order to reduce this.  I covered my hands with the starch and the ball of crust that I was rolling out.  I also rolled it out in between two pieces of parchment paper; this helped a lot.
• The flour I used to make the crust was a combination of white rice, tapioca and arrowroot.  This mix held up and I'm guessing any all purpose GF flour would too.
• I sprinkled some extra sugar on top of the crust before I put the pie in the oven.  The crust isn't really sweet or flavorful by itself, so make sure your filling is robust!
• If you cut into a berry pie and see a soupy mess, cheat!  Take a ladle and try to dry it up a bit.  But I highly recommend drinking the soupy mess.  It's usually delicious.

Meringue Madness

Meringue cookies are just about one of the easiest naturally GF snacks/desserts that one can whip up.  All you need is an electric mixer of sorts (unless you want to beat egg whites by hand vigorously until said hand falls off) and a lot of patience.

The first time I made meringue, it wasn't exactly amazing.  I didn't really understand why, but it was kind of squishy inside.  It wasn't until I read more about the wonderful world of stiff-whipped egg whites that I learned about a little thing called "drying time" that is absolutely necessary to achieve desired meringue texture.  This is also where that patience comes in.

In order to whip up perfect meringue cookies, in my humble opinion, I recommend at least 8 hours of drying time.  Yeah, I know 8 hours sounds like a long time, but think of the last time you made an icebox pie or a gelatin or anything frozen that required 4, 6, or sometimes a day's worth of time to hang out and achieve greatness.  So indulge me the 8 hours.  I promise you, you'll find it's worth it.

The other little note about cooking large quantaties of meringue cookies is that you have to watch them.  Normally, recipes call for low temperatures for small amounts of time, but with this method I find that the meringues are too under-cooked to ever firm up no matter how long you dry them for.  I raised my temperature slightly and increased my time, but I watched them like the tricky bastards they are.  The second those puppies got a hint of gold on them and were mostly firm to the touch (like a soft baked cookie) I shut that oven off and let the drying begin folks.

The funny thing about the below recipe is you'll notice I used banana extract.  It's because originally I wanted chocolate-chip banana meringue cookies.  The cookies never had a hint of banana flavor to them, but I never removed the ingredient for fear it was some magical X factor.

Alright, your turn now:

Chocolate-Chip Meringues

aka I Can't Believe It Smells Like Tollhouse Cookies

Ingredients:

(makes around 50 cookies)

4 egg whites from X-Large, organic eggs

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 tsp GF vanilla extract

2 tsp banana extract

1 1/2 cups evaporated cane sugar (fairtrade if you can)

6 oz of mini chocolate chips (my favorite is Enjoy Life!!!)

Directions:

Preheat oven on a high temperature, i.e. 400 or 450 F.

In a large bowl, beat the first 5 ingredients together using an electric mixer on low-medium speed, until you reach a soft peak form.

Pour sugar in slowly while beating the mixture until the sugar is incorporated.

Beat carefully until you get stiff peaks (if you remove the beater from the mixture you'll notice a peak that can stand on it's own).  Go slower than faster.  If you over-beat, the meringue will not come together.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Using a tbs, drop meringues on two large cookie sheets lined with parchment paper (use the parchment, trust me)
Place the cookies in the oven reducing the heat to somewhere between 275-350 F, depending on how hot your oven gets.  Remember we want to cook them slowly but not at a glacial pace.
Watch your cookies (10, 15, 25 minute marks) and the second you see any golden goodness appearing or if you touch them and the cookies feel like they're firming, turn the oven back up to a high temperature for a moment, close the oven door, then SHUT OFF the oven.
IMPORTANT: If you leave the oven at a high temperature for 8 hours, you will not only burn the meringues, but you will likely burn down your house too.
Let the cookies dry for 8 hours.  If after 8 hours for some reason you touch the cookies and they're supersoft, rebake at low heat for 15-30 minutes more and dry for a couple of hours.  Repeat until they're complete.  The amount of time it takes depends entirely on your oven.  Once you make the cookies once, you'll know how to run the show next time.

Even though I try not to eat too much sugar, I do love these little yummies.  They're great for portable snacks or to share with friends.  Just don't forget to store them in a tight, closed container.  Go ahead; dry something else besides your clothes for once.

YWPWT: Masquerade Pie

Boo!

Did I scare you? Did I?

I didn't?!

Oh, come on...

So here's the theme for this month's You Want Pies With That challenge, brought to us by the deliciously creative minds of Mary at alpineberry and Jeanette of Jeanette's Mommy Musings.

You can conceal your pie's secret identity (with a robe of dark chocolate, maybe?) or disguise your pie as one thing when it's really something else (like a mock apple pie deceptively made with Ritz crackers instead of apples). You can use a mysterious, unusual or surprising ingredient in your pie or if you're more inclined to step out from behind the mask, you can reveal a secret recipe or technique.

I was really not sure what to do for this pie. My pie has a secret identity? What is it? And why isn't telling me what it's supposed to be dammit!! My head was twirling with all the possibilities the pie could be, and not be. I ended up with a pie actually wearing a costume, thus wearing a mask. It's also hiding a secret filling/crust combo and using an unusual/surprising ingredient. So I guess being confused made me take all the guidelines and suggestions for this pie and put them to use. I think that my result is hauntingly delicious and frighteningly adorable. I hope you like it too.

Ghostly Good Pie

Isn't it Boo-Tiful?

1) Crust

Ingredients:

GF Brownie Mix or GF Brownie Recipe

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a deep dish pie plate.

Prepare mix or recipe as directed and spread into pie plate, shaping into a crust.

Bake for 15-25 minutes.

Set aside and cool.

2) Filling

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh or frozen (defrosted) strawberries, hulled and cut in half length-wise.

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs cornstarch

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat.

Bring to a boil while shmushing the strawberries down. (yes, shmushing is a technical term)

Simmer and stir for 2-5 more minutes until nice and gelled together.

Pour over crust and set aside to cool.

3) Ghost Face Mask

Ingredients:

Fondant, pre-bought or homemade (tons of recipes online)

Directions:

Roll out white fondant and cut into a circular shape to cover your pie.

Cut out a cute ghost face.

Carefully lay the fondant on top of the cooled filling.

Make a cute pinched skirt for the ghost face to make it look like its floating through the air.

Admire how adorable your pie is!

So from looking at my ghost face pie, can you tell it's hiding a chocolate brownie crust? Can you tell that my ghost is hiding a secret evil interior (aka red strawberry filling)? Can you tell that I used fondant which defies all logic when pie-making since fondant is typically a cake and candy accoutrement? Can you tell that my pie is in fact a pie and not a ghost?

Most of all though, can you tell that my pie is allergy friendly? Nope, you can't! Because it tastes like awesome pie, gluten and soy be damned!!

Please check out what the other A-MAZ-ING bloggers did here.

**Note, apparently this is a pie far cuter than it is tasty. The filling/crust combo is great, but I think there's a reason we don't eat fondant with pie hehe. Just being honest if you're trying this at home!

Happy Halloween!! Who wants brownies?!

Hello all,

In the great spirit of Halloween, I thought I'd make a super easy treat to bring in for my office mates. I really like Halloween, whatever it may be that you associate it. If your thing is scary movies, you have your fill playing 24 hours a day. If you like dressing like a monster, or slutty fill-in-the-blank, or any excuse to wear face paint, you have your perfect day. If you are a secret hoarder of mini candy bars, get ready to unabashedly indulge your sugar rush.

I like all of the above. Well, that's almost true. I actually get way too scared when watching horror flicks and abhor face paint, but I do love zombie flicks, Rocky Horror, and chocolate :)

Back to the recipe then. You can decide how far you want to take this. It can either be a semi-homemade treat that takes no longer than 45 mins to an hour to complete prep to cool, or a fully from scratch ordeal. Whatever you choose, it's a sure crowd-pleaser. Are you ready witches and warlocks?

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

GF Brownie Mix or GF Brownie Recipe

8 oz light cream cheese

3/4 cup organic pumpkin

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg or egg sub

splash of vanilla

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease an 8x8 square pan.

Prepare GF Brownie Mix or GF Brownie Recipe following directions, and pour into pan.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, egg and vanilla with a mixer until well blended.

Pour cheesecake mixture over brownie batter.

Cook for 30-50 minutes (depending on your oven.)

Cool and try not to eat them all at once okay?

Love the orange and black goodies and so will your allergic/non-allergic counterparts. Have a Happy Halloween and stay safe folks!

YWPWT: Holy Cannoli!!

Helloooooooo USA!! It's good to be back in the good ol' country of pie plates and readily available baking ingredients. And what better way to celebrate my homecoming than with September's entry for You Want Pies With That! This month's theme comes from my dear friend and genius cook at Piccante Dolce. Vacation Pie. This one's super easy and fun, just bake a pie that is "inspired by a vacation you have taken or hope to take."

Uh, did someone say vacation? Because the last vacation I took was in Florence, Italy. Yep, you heard me. And you can read all about the best meal I've ever had in my life here. I had the most amazing time in Florence. I saw The David and illegally took a non-flash photo of it (what? everyone else was too) I strolled the bridges in the glow of dusk, I nearly killed myself on a 26 mile bike ride that was supposed to be a "leisurely" tour of the Chianti region, and I accidentally bought a leather jacket. I also got asked out by several Italian men from age 16 to age 60 and got proposed to twice. Don't you just love it ;)

So Italy in general is known for amazing food, classically beautiful marriages of flavors, and nothing but the most outrageous desserts. I swear I ate gelati every single day I was there. Okay, maybe twice a day. Hey, I was on vacation. I struggled for a bit when I had to come up with just one Italian dessert to inspire my pie, but then I took a breather. I cleared my head. "What is the first dessert that comes to your mind?" Cannoli. Cannoli. Without a doubt. Now granted because of my wonderful allergic self I didn't eat any cannolis while I was in Italy; however, I did look at them and they were beautiful. The best cannoli I've ever had in the US is located at Mike's Pastries in Boston, which I highly recommend to any person with a stomach.

I baked a cannoli inspired pie using a simple sugar cookie crust dusted with cinnamon to mimic the shell of the yummy tubular treat and filled it with a unique ricotta mixture, all topped off with some delicious allergen free chocolate chips from the company Enjoy Life (one of my favorite allergy free companies; so darn good!) I think this will have to be a repeat in my kitchen sometime soon.

Cannoli Pie

Ingredients:
GF cookie dough, either homemade or store bought (flavor of your choosing)
15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
1 envelope of unflavored gelatin
1 cup of powdered sugar, divided
1 cup of boiling water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup of allergy-free (or regular) chocolate chips
cinnamon

Directions:

Crust:
Prepare cookie dough according to directions or recipe and spread in a pie plate.
Bake as directed.
Dust with cinnamon and set aside to cool.

Filling:
Combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar and one envelope of gelatin, mixing well.
Add 1 cup of boiling water and mix until the sugar and gelatin dissolve; set aside.
In another bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, the remaining powdered sugar, and the vanilla.
Slowly pour the gelatin mixture over the cheese mixture and combine.
Pour the filling into the cookie dough crust and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the pie making it just like a chocolate chip cannoli!


Let's be frank. This recipe is really, really easy and really, really good. I used the gelatin to help the ricotta stand up. With the help of the gelatin, it's able to be sliced as a pie without having to add eggs (and calories) and without baking the filling. It's a nice icebox pie for the hot end of summer days and it makes me want to go right back on vacation.

Yum, a cannoli and a pie. Now if they could only move Italy a little closer to California...
Check out the other amazing bloggers on the YWPWT blogroll here.

You Scream, I Scream

Yes folks, that's right.  We all scream for Ice Cream, which means there's a lot of screaming going on.  This month's You Want Pies With That challenge is for a pie that exemplifies summer to each and every one of the talented bakers involved.  The suggestion comes from two of our very talented multi-winners, Mary and Rebecca.

Now, my last month's entry for YWPWT droned on and on about how my childhood was summer and how my memories were summery, and how my pie was basically in honor of summer.  Ouch. Looks like I should've saved it for a summery category!  But never fear, because I dug deep for my inspiration and I likey what I found.

It's hot out.  Naturally, you want something cold.  Iced tea?  No, something with more character. Lemonade?  Something sweeter maybe.  Wait, do you hear those bells?  Is that the Ice Cream Van?  Maybe you'd like some to go with your scorching sun...

And I always did and still do.  I love a good ice cream, and to me that really tops a summer day off with a sweet, lovely, and tantalizing sensation.  When the ice cream van stopped by and all the kids would run away from jumping through the sprinklers or dock their bikes on their driveways, I would run along too.  My favorite was the Chipwich.

A Chipwich is an ice cream sandwich that is composed of vanilla ice cream rolled in chocolate chips in between two chocolate chip cookies.  And it's awesome.  It's so good you want to name your first child Chipwich, or Chip for short.  So a second to my summery thoughts last month, I shall propose that summer equals my favorite ice cream sandwich.

But making the sandwich into a pie with just vanilla ice cream was too easy for me.  I had to spruce it up a bit for my more adult palate.  So, between two crusts resembling giant chocolate chip cookies, I layered Hagen Das Belgian Chocolate Ice Cream first, then placed fresh sliced strawberries on top, finished off with Hagen Das Vanilla Ice Cream.  Sort of Neopolitan, if you will.

Neopolitan Chipwich Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients:

1 pint chocolate ice cream, softened

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

3 packages GF shortbreads or cookie of choice

soy-free chocolate chips to sprinkle

Directions:

Crush 3 packages of GF shortbreads to make about 2 cups of crumbs.

Pour 1 cup of crumbs into the base of a tart pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips to resemble a giant cookie.

Pour softened chocolate ice cream on top, carefully layering it over the crumbs, and freeze until par-frozen (30 mins-2 hours depending on freezer)

Press sliced strawberries into par-frozen ice cream and re-free until frozen.

Pour softened vanilla ice cream on top, and free until par-frozen.

Pour 1 cup of crumbs onto the vanilla and sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Freeze until ready to serve.

Note:  The engineering of this pie is kind of tricky.  Here's what I would do to avoid the problems I had.  I would use strawberry ice cream instead of fresh frozen strawberries, because the real strawberries are very difficult to cut through.  I would also wait 20 minutes with the pie out of the freezer before attempting to saw through it.  I was trying to get a picture so I rushed, and it was nearly impossible.

So that's all folks.  Almost didn't make it as I had to detour to the hospital tonight, but all is mostly well so don't worry too much about me :) Can't wait to see what the other fabulous creatives on the blogroll came up with.  You should check it out too!

YWPWT: Childhood Memories Pie

It's raining in the UK.  It's been raining all weekend.  I can't help to transport myself back to how summer was for me when I was growing up in sunny, hot South Florida.  This is convenient because this month's You Want Pies With That Challenge brought to us by the amazing Ellen at Kittymama is to "bake a pie or tart inspired by a favorite childhood memory."  

Most of my childhood memories involve me eating fruit- a lot of fruit.  This was mostly two-fold considering I lived in the land of produce/easily importable produce and the fact that my mother often liked to give us fruit as desserts or snacks.  Often before or after meals we would have a slice of melon, some grapes, or her favorite and mine: those tiny mandarin oranges that came in a can.  I loved those little cans of mandarin oranges, and if it were purely based on  a sole memory, yes I would have made a mandarin orange tart.  However, I am not allowed to eat any type of orange right now, so I am going to the next best flavors to marry my memories.  

To me, summer was my childhood.  I grew up in a tropical summer climate all year round. Every time I eat a mango, guava, pineapple, passion fruit etc... I am instantly transported to feeling like I'm home, like everything is right in the universe.  It brings me back to family summer trips to Marco Island or Naples, or just going to Miami Beach for the day.  Going shopping in Coconut Grove or Las Olas with my mom and getting lunch, usually a salad with fresh fruit in it. Every time I taste a smoothie or margarita, I can smell the sunscreen and feel my toes crunching into the baking sand.  I miss Florida very much sometimes; it was a fantastic place to grow up.

So in honor of all these memories, I've made Mango & Lime Tropical Tartlets. These little darlings are made up of my typical tart shortbread crust, a mango puree, a lime custard, topped with fresh mango. They're also small, like me as a child and now, the same height as a child. With each bite, I can smell the sunscreen now.  Can you?

Mango & Lime Tropical Tartlets

Ingredients:

Crust:

3 1/2 cups GF shortbread crumbs

200 grams butter, melted

Mango Puree:

2 mangoes, pureed

1 tbs agave

Lime Custard:

2 cups milk (I use fat-free, lactose free)

2 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup GF flour mix

1 dash salt

2 tsps vanilla extract w/seeds

1/2 grated lime rind

1 tbs butter

the juice of 2 limes or key limes, squeezed (use 1 if you want the fragrance but not the flavor)

Optional Topping:

Chopped mango, nectarine, pineapple, lime

Whipped Cream

Mango Puree

Directions:

Although it's a bit of a process, it's not hard.  Just step by step folks...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine crust ingredients and pat into a 12 muffin tin lined with parchment paper cups.

Bake crusts for about 6-12 minutes depending on your oven yield.

When light brown, remove and cool, placing tin on wire rack.

Make custard in the following steps:

Mix sugar, flour, and salt together.

Combine beaten eggs into sugar mixture slowly until well combined.

Scald milk on stove top; do not burn, do not boil!

Add sugar mixture to milk slowly, whisking constantly until thick (it takes a few minutes)

Remove from heat.

Add vanilla, lime rind, lime juice and butter and whisk together until combined.  Set aside.

Coat the bottom of each tartlet with mango puree.

Top that with a huge dollop of the lime custard.

Refrigerate until slightly set.

Assemble as artistically as you would like and voila!  You're done.  Time to eat those suckers.

What I liked most about these (besides the obvious fragrance/flavor) is that they weren't too sweet.  They were still very rich (the custard is thick and you will have about a cup leftover), but they didn't leave me feeling like my teeth were rotting.  See that's what's so great about fruit.  It's light, fresh and leaves you feeling fantastic.  Now if it weren't for all that butter in the crust... ;)

Pumpkin Muffins Trial 2: Success!!

I tried these a couple of weeks after the disaster that was the first PM trial.  The texture is still a little spongy but I have a feeling that's because there's no actual sugar or oil in these bad boys. I know that a muffin without many traditional muffin ingredients can seem boring or gross, but I'm used to the whole eating without traditional ingredients thing at this point.  And really, it's not that bad.  I kind of even like them!

Very important: these muffins should never be served cold.  You can store them in the fridge or freezer and they keep well, but without heating them up in the microwave or oven it's not a good idea.   They're hard as rocks when they settle. Again, these aren't sounding like the most appetizing of treats but they're a good substitute when trying to eliminate certain ingredients. Here's what I tried this time around:

Nearly Free From Everything (including awesome texture)

Pumpkin Muffins, Trial #2

Adapted from 1Steve at Recipezaar:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup GF rice flour blend

1/3 cup + 2 tbs agave

2 tsp baking powder

3 tsp spice blend

1 egg

1/2 cup milk (I use lactose free skim milk)

3/4 cup pumpkin

1/4 cup apple puree

Directions:

Preheat oven to 35o degrees F.

Place parchment paper liners in a 12 muffin pan.  Do not grease; it's parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift all dry ingredients together.

Add all wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix well, careful to not over-mix.

Drop sticky batter into 12 liners and bake, watching carefully until muffins brown (about 6-12 minutes in the crazy oven I'm using.)

Remove and cool.

Since this trial, I've also tried replacing the pumpkin with 1 1/2 cups mushed banana.  Those were quite yummy as well with nice, big chunks of squished banana.  Even the saddest of muffins can sometimes make an allergic girl quite happy.  Plus they're honestly easy, quick, and cheap to produce.  Who doesn't like that?

Tradition Tastes Good

I'm certainly over the weather here in the UK; it's put me under the weather again I'm afraid. And even though I'm sickly, traveling for work, and haven't slept in a day, I refuse to let that stop me from posting a quick bit about this month's You Want Pies With That challenge. Chosen by the ever fantastic Natalie of Oven Love, all of the talented bloggers had to put forth a pie that was either a family favorite or inspired by a family favorite.  What a great theme right?

I chose to close my eyes and go with one of my first taste memories: butterscotch.  Often associated with grandparents for one reason or another, butterscotch is a rich and deliciously decadent flavor derived from butter and brown sugar (among other things.)  Since butterscotch pudding, cakes or otherwise has always been a family favorite, I decided to go with that.

To compliment the smooth and sweet flavor of the brown goo, I chose to bake a fake amaretti, gluten free cookie crust.  I found a wonderful brand that makes a fake nutty cookie (no nuts used in the factory) and is free of almost every other major allergen you can think of.

Since this challenge recognizes that some family favorites need to remain in the family, I am choosing not to post my filling recipe.  It'll just have to be my little secret!

Go check out YWPWT to see all the other amazing creations~

I Love Lucille Ball Tart

Hello one and all, and welcome to the pie party.  This month's You Want Pies With That challenge was to bake a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Pie as dictated by the ever amazing Natashya & Jacque.  The rules consist of "making a special pie based on someone famous.  Or you can pretend you're making it for them."  And it can be anyone famous, past or present. Anyone.  

A-N-Y-O-N-E.  The guidelines were so freeing, I found them daunting. Sometimes I just need rules y'all.  Though I must say, in everyday life, not a big fan of rules in general.  I'm a big fan of rule breakers.  Of singular sensations. Of women who break the mold.  Like comedians who weren't afraid to make a statement or be themselves.  Like- oh my goodness I'm going to make a pie for Lucille Ball!  Except I can't find an American pie plate in the UK. I'm going to make a tart for Lucille Ball!

See how my thought process works?

Thus a post is born in honor of one of the most famous women in American popular culture.  A woman who impacted thousands of people from all walks of life across generations and locations. Whenever I watch I Love Lucy or the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, I laugh uncontrollably.  Could I possibly make a tart that could give that much joy to others?  Oh Lucy, I sure hope I did you proud!

First, let's start with an ingredient that also is a singular and distinctly recognizable American fruit: the cranberry.  Tart with tons of personality, these little suckers always evoke an emotional reaction.  And they're little "balls." Like her last name.  Get it?  Okay, I know...

It's All-American, spicy, flavorful and robust; all things that remind me of the comic genius herself.  Plus the red coloring is an homage to her red hair.  Yeah, it's true, her hair was more orange, but I have peach jam as an ingredient for that.  But hey, the first show was in black and white, so if you don't say anything about it not being the right red, I won't either.  Either way, it's a stunning hue for the table.

I Love Lucille Ball Tart

Ingredients:

1 baked GF shortbread tart crust as seen here

2 cups whole cranberries, fresh or thawed frozen

1/4 cup pressed fruit juice of choice (I used a mix of raspberry, apple, grape)

8 tbs of no sugar added peach jam (the better part of a 10 oz jar)

2 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp spice mix

How pretty is that?!  Makes me all proud *sniff *tear

All those little Lucille Balls...

Directions:

Set aside prepared tart crust to cool.

In a medium saucepan, heat the juice and cranberries together until a gentle rolling boil.

Keeping mixing the juice and berries so that the berries don't settle and burn.

When the berries start to break down and look more like a gelatinous goo, add the jam, sugar and spice.

Simmer or low boil while continuously mixing for several minutes until properly incorporated.

Remove cranberry filling from heat and pour unto cooling tart crust.

Spread evenly and bake at 250-300 degrees F for 5-10 minutes.

Watch carefully to make sure the crust isn't burning!  If it starts to burn, shut the oven off and let the tart sit in there.

**A technical note about the tart.  It's a tart tart.  If you do not like a little sour with your sweet, you might want to add 1-2 more tbs of sugar or serve with vanilla bean ice cream.  Also, if you're weird with textures, be aware that I love whole cranberries: skins, seeds, and pulp!  If you only like jellied cranberries, this might not be your bag kid.

Pre-Pear Yourselves For This!!!!

The puns are back folks!!  In full force I might add.  Now, I'm going to tell you why this entry almost didn't happen.

I moved into my flat on Tuesday night, and I've been working 10-12 hour days since.  Today is Friday.  I think it goes without saying that when you only have a couple hours a night before you crash, you're just not as motivated to cook. But dear reader, I could not bare to miss this month's You Want Pies With That Challenge: Herbs & Spices.  Chosen by the brilliant Elizabeth of Cake Or Death, I've got to tell you, I've been looking forward to making this pie for a month. I couldn't wait to get into the kitchen when, uh-oh, I realized the "furnished" kitchen only came with 3 small saucepans.  Well, I've been accruing minimal tools and ingredients over short grocery trips the past few night just to make this damn pie.  And even though it's a quarter to midnight and I've just finished this madness I am soooo proud of myself because it's a pie I really believe in and tastes really, really great.  I mean this is the kind of tart you want to love and not let go.  You want to treat her like a lady.  Okay, I've probably had too much wine which combined with the exhaustion has made me go a little nutsy.  I digress...

So what did I think of that inspired me for Herbs & Spices?  Since I'm in the UK, and it's cold, I wanted something spicy yet soothing.  Something that made me feel warm and safe.  Something that radiated energy.  Something that danced on my tongue and included alcohol.  I give you-

Spiced-Wine Poached Pear Tart

  

1) GF Shortbread Crust

Ingredients:

2 packages Sainsbury's Free-From Shortcake Fingers (essentially GF shortbreads.  Enough to make 1 1/2 cups crumbs)

1/4-1/2 cup butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Use a blender, food processor or the old take-a-glass and smash it method to turn the shortbread cookies into small crumbs.

Melt butter in microwave.

Combine crumbs and melted butter; mix well.

Pat into a tart pan or a white flan plate if you're shopping in the UK and can't find a tart pan ;)

Heat in the oven about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove and cool.

2) Spiced-Wine Poached Pears

Ingredients:

5 firm, stout pears of your choice, pealed and cored, leaving the stem on top

1 bottle of full bodied red wine (I used a nice Shiraz)

2 tbs cardamom pods/seeds

1 tbs black peppercorns

2 tbs agave

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs spice mix (I used my own secret mix combining cinnamon, caraway seeds, coriander, nutmeg, ginger, cloves)

1 cup 100% fresh pressed fruit juice of your choice (I used an apple, grape, raspberry mix)

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients from the wine down.  

Bring to a boil for a few minutes.

Add pears to boiling wine, poaching for 5 minutes on one side, 5 minutes on the other side (yes, the wine is still boiling while you're poaching.)

Remove from heat and baste every 5 or 10 minutes for 1 hour while pears cool.

3) Vanilla Bean Custard

I'm not even going to lie, I used a store bought custard but cooked it myself.  And it's got the bean which I tre love.

4) Assemble

Spread a thin layer of cooked custard over the tart crust (just shy of 2 cups cooked) until covering.

Slice all poached pears but one in half lengthwise being careful to match the symmetry of each pear.  This will make sure that the pears are the same height when resting on the tart.

Slice all halves thinly lengthwise to create ripple effect (I was going to fan the slices.  It didn't work.)

Place rippled half on pie and place last poached pear remaining in the middle.

Yes, you will have a half a poached pear left over.  I ate mine.  It was delicious!

Anyways, we're posting our pies on Pi 3/14.  Aren't we cute?!  Check out the other amazing bakers who no doubt put me to shame.  Now let me show you my favorite part of all of this slaving-

Leftover spiced wine.  Hell yeah :)

Oooo, Is That Cake?

Since you've seen my remark about not having a kitchen, let me put up this fab-u-lous bundt cake I made when I first started experimented with GF baking.  You see, I wanted to make a lower-fat, moist GF cake that cooked all the way through, but I kept getting baked sides and an unbaked center.  Oh, GF baking, why do you taunt me so?  

I asked for help.  And my generously genius friends at Recipezaar on the GF community board gave me suggestions.  One of them brilliant:  if your center won't cook, why not use a bundt pan and eliminate the center.  And did it work?!  Not only did it come out cooked, but I got some rave reviews on the 'zaar that totally pumped up my confidence.  You can see the recipe in all it's glory here, but I'm also re-posting it, just for you!  Sadly, there are no pictures :(

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Applesauce Bundt Cake*

*Note: this was made during days when I wasn't following a low-oxalate diet.  Beware; there's a decent amount of sugar and flour involved

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin

1 cup applesauce (unsweetened)

1/2 cup canola oil

4 eggs

2 cups gluten-free rice flour mix (I use this one)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy.

Blend in sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, and oil by hand or with a mixer on low just until combined.  Do NOT overmix!

Add all dry ingredients, one at a time, blending together.

Pour batter into a greased, large bundt pan and bake for 1 hour.

Check with a toothpick/knife to make sure it's cooked through, cool, and enjoy!

Don't forget to freeze left-overs, wrapping in wax paper, then foil.