Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

I've been juicing a lot lately with my new Breville Juicer and I've always had such a bad conscience to trow away all the fruit and vegetable pulp, so I thought there must be a way for me to at least use some of it.

So I thought of making a carrot cake, as you'll need shredded carrot for it anyway, might just as well use the pulp right.... So if you are juicing carrots and you want to use your leftovers this is for you.

You will need the following:

200 g butter softened/cubed
100 g finely shredded carrots (or more if you like)
100 g ground almonds
200 g superfine sugar (I like C&H Sugar Products)
100 g sweet rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
5 eggs
1 lemon (finely grated zest)

Grab a large mixing bowl and start out by beating your softened butter until it makes little peaks, then add the sugar and keep beating, mix in a little bit of lemon juice and the lemon zest, then while beating on medium speed add one egg at a time. Once you added all your eggs and everything is nicely combined you will slowly add the shredded carrot and the almond meal.

Make sure to scrape down the edges of your bowl so you get all the buttery taste into your batter.

Then slowly and gently fold in the rice flour (I prefer Koda Farms Mochiko Sweet Rice Four), which has been combined with the baking powder.
 
I do this by hand, as over mixing will make the cake rubbery. Then transfer the batter into a 8" / 20cm spring form pan and bake at 375F/200C for about 60 - 70 Min or until wooden pick comes out clean.

If in doubt it's better to bake gluten-free recipe's a bit longer especially the ones without any gum (guar gum / xanthan gum) in them.

Once your cake is done, let it cool and you can either frost it or do a glaze like I did.

For the white sugar glaze you'll need:

200 g powdered sugar sifted
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix the above ingredients to a very thick syrup (think thick honey), set a little aside and color with a few drops of food coloring or with some cocoa powder (you might have to add a little liquid) so you can draw circles on top of the cake to create the "Spiderweb".

To create a smooth surface for your glaze, take about a spoon of apricot jam or any jelly you like, heat in the microwave and brush on the cake with a pastry brush.

Add the with glaze and smooth with a large knife or spatula and tilting the cake. Before it sets, pipe circles in the reserved colored icing on the cake and with a wooden pick pull lines across the cake, just like you would cut your slices. If you like you can add little Marzipan Carrots too.

Let the frosting 'dry' and enjoy!

Grandma's "Black" Cake ~ Added Fiber Version

My childhood memory is filled with times when I helped my Grandma bake this cake. I LOVED IT! It is to this day my absolute favorite Chocolate Cake! If I could I would eat it everyday! It has cocoa, it has coffee, it has chocolate chips, how could you not like it!

Grandma's "Black" Cake

So to make it a bit more healthy I replaced some of the flour with wheat germ. You CANNOT taste the difference. It's still chocolaty, tasty deliciousness!

Here is what you need:

2 eggs separated

100 g butter, soft in pieces

200 g flour

50 g wheat germ

2 tsp baking powder

300 g powdered sugar

5 tbsp cocoa (dark)

2 tbsp ground coffee

125 ml Latte (half strong coffee, half milk)

2 tbsp Rum (if you like)

Start by separating the eggs, reserve the yolks and whip the egg whites until firm and stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Combine the flour, the baking powder and the wheat germ in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl start beating the butter with the egg yolk and the sugar until creamy and soft, then alternating add the latte and the flour mixture in small batches while continuing to mix. Do this until all the flour and latte is used up. Once that is done add the rum, the cocoa powder and the ground coffee, keep stirring until everything is combined well.

Once you have done this you can add in some chocolate chips or slivered almonds for added texture. Then using a spatula fold in the whipped egg whites.

Fill in a prepared loaf pan and bake in a preheated 180 C/ 350F oven for about 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Let Cool and ENJOY!!! 

Sweet Bread with Almond Filling

Recipe coming soon...... but be sure this will taste great with a nice hot cup of coffee from


https://www.1850coffee.com/

And here comes the recipe:

You will need the following for the dough:

300 g flour sifted
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar

60 g butter, soft in small cubes

1 packet of dried yeast (I prefer Red Star)
100 ml milk, lukewarm

1 egg, beaten (keep a little aside to brush the bread before baking)

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the salt and the sugar and combine well, add the soft butter. Dissolve the yeast in a little bit of milk and let proof for a few minutes. Add the mixture, the rest of the milk and the egg to the flour and stir the ingredients from the middle. Once it all starts coming together and knead the dough until it is very smooth and elastic.

Cover, set it at a warm spot and let rise until it is doubled in volume. Then roll it out into a rectangle to approximate 3 mm thickness.

Filling:

150 g almonds, ground
3 tbsp sugar
1 apple, grated
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
4 - 6 tbsp heavy cream or milk (half and half works too)

**Apricot Preserve

Combine the almond meal and the sugar in a bowl, add the finely grated apple, the lemon zest and lemon juice and combine well. Add the cream and stir until everything is well combined.

Spread the almond mixture evenly over the rolled out dough, leaving only a small edge. Then roll the dough from both sides toward the middle and place in a prepared 13 to 15 inch cake form. Brush with the reserved egg and sprinkle with some slivered almonds.

Let rise again, then bake in a pre-heated 425 F/ 220 C oven for about 35-40 minutes.

ENJOY!

** if you like the tart/sweet flavor of apricot preserve, spread the apricot preserve on the rolled out dough before you spread the filling.

Also if you like you can glaze the baked, still hot bread with a sugar glaze. You'll need 100 g powdered sugar, 1/2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp water. Mix and brush the baked bread with it.

Easy and delicious Coconut Macroons

Another gluten-free and very easy to make cookie, that everyone loves, well everyone that loves coconut at least. It's easy to make and naturally gluten-free because you don't need any flour at all.

Here is what you need:

3 egg whites
3 sprinkles of salt
150 g / 5 oz fine sugar
250 g / 7.5 oz shredded coconut
1 Lemon, zest only

Chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Start by whipping the egg whites and the salt until stiff, add half the sugar and keep whipping, then fold in the remaining sugar.


Prepare two baking sheets and line them with parchment paper. Then start folding in the shredded coconut and the lemon zest until everything is well combined.

Take two tablespoons and make little mounds of the batter and drop them on the prepared baking sheets. Let them dry on the baking sheets for a few hours or best over night, before baking them at medium heat for about 12 minutes. Remove from the baking sheets immediately.

Let them cool and drizzle or dip in chocolate if you like. And now Happy Baking!

For all of you that weigh in ounces......... 1 oz  equals 33.3 g

Gluten Free Caramel-Raspberry Yogurt Cake

I got my adjustable pastry ring this evening and I just HAD to make a cake to try how it works. So I came up with a new recipe. I didn't want anything to heavy or too fattening and decided that I would use the plain yogurt I had in the fridge to make a low fat filling. To make the sponge cake base and layers I used Bob's Mill White Rice Flour or you could also use Ener-G Sweet Rice Flour.

Here is what you need for the sponge:

2 eggs
100 g sugar, superfine
100 g butter, melted
100 g rice flour
4 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp of rum/amaretto

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan or in the microwave and set aside. In a bowl whisk the eggs, amaretto and the sugar until light and fluffy, continuing to whisk add the melted butter, the cocoa powder and then while mixing add the flour little by little. Fill in the prepared pastry ring (I opened it up to about 5,5 inches) and bake in the preheated 400F / 200C oven for about 20 to 25 minutes (it's good when a wooden skewer comes out clean). Remove from the oven and let cool, then slice into 3 layers.

While your sponge cake cools, prepare the filling:

16 oz Plain Yoghurt
8 oz Caramel Sauce
1 Envelope Knox Gelatine
Raspberries

In a bowl whisk the yogurt with the caramel sauce (or you could just buy caramel yogurt), dissolve the gelatin in a little bit of hot water and then combine well with the yogurt.

In the meantime your sponge should be cooled down and you can start to assemble the cake. Take a baking sheet then prepare a cake round ( I just cut out a circle that slightly bigger than the cake and covered it in aluminum foil). Set down the first layer and position the pastry ring around it so there is a little room between the ring and the cake. Pour some of the yogurt mixture over it and layer some raspberries, cover with the middle layer, repeat. Put on the top layer, cover with the remaining yogurt mixture, decorate with some nice raspberries and chill overnight.

Remove the pastry ring carefully and serve.......... voila, Gluten Free Caramel-Raspberry Yogurt Cake!

PS: I'd think you can make this cake with any kind of flavored yogurt and fruit of the season, like blueberries, blackberries, or coffee and chocolate. Just really depends on your taste!