Gluten Free Shortcakes

This time of year, I can't get enough strawberry shortcake.  I made some a few weeks back with homemade GF Pound Cake, which was amazing.  The pound cake got better with time, and will definitely make it again, but not for strawberry shortcake, because now I have this amazing recipe.  I have always loved a biscuit type of shortcake as opposed to a cake style.  This fits the bill, perfectly.  With a little less sweetener, these are going to be perfect for morning biscuits!

GF Shortcakes
Preheat oven to 425.
In a medium bowl, mix together:
2/3 cup rice flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup tapioca flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix all dry ingredients well with a whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup coconut oil + up to 2/3 cup sugar. ( next time I make this recipe, I'm using honey, and will prob only use about 1/4 cup)
Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Alternate adding the dry mixture & the milk into the sugar mixture, until all combined.  The dough will look kind of fluffy.  Success!  Make shortcakes!
Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
I flattened mine out a little bit with the bottom of a glass dipped in water.  I wanted flat cakes.  They bake just fine if you don't flatten them out too, just like a drop biscuit.

For the berries, I cut up strawberries and tossed them with a little maple syrup and a bit of homemade vanilla extract.  I added blueberries and blackberries whole, and let mingle in the fridge while we cooked out on the grill.  Add a little homemade fresh whipped cream, and you have the quintessential summertime dessert.  Enjoy!

GF Pound Cake

Rich, dense, buttery, moist and gluten free pound cake.  Real pound cake, made with real ingredients and homemade vanilla.  This cake is so delicious in it's purity of just being pound cake, but I have to say that this cake is so delicious, it's amazing.  I baked the leftover batte rinto a mason jar, and put it in the fridge after a day of being in the pantry.  The flavors had developed so well it was like a whole new cake.  YUM!  I will be experimenting with this recipe a lot.  Possibilities are endless.  Citrus zest, chocolate, caramel, coconut, blueberries and lemon, even savory herbs such as rosemary and fennel would lend well to this amazing and REAL pound cake.  Just because its gluten free (GF!), doesn't mean it's health food.  It's real pound cake with butter and sugar.  It's the quality of the ingredients that count.  I used my best friend's farm-fresh, free range Michigan eggs.  It make a difference in taste, and using real local ingredients just makes sense.

So, go get the best butter and eggs you can find, and a quart of fresh berries from the farmers market.  You can thank me for it later!  Enjoy!


Gluten Free (GF) Pound Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup melted butter

4 eggs

4 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla

3 cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend:

            Gluten-Free Flour Blend: To make flour blend, combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch,                 1/3 cup tapioca flour and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Use appropriate amount for recipe; store                         remainder in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using.

2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder

1 cup milk

 

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch angel food cake (tube) pan; sprinkle with gluten-free flour blend. Set aside. (I used a multi mini-loaf pan, like a muffin tin but with 8 little loaf shapes, you could use a muffin tin with good results.)  Im sure this cake could be baked into any available oven proof container.  even a clean tin can!  And, when in doubt, use parchment paper!

Combine sugar and melted butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until well mixed.

Stir together gluten-free flour blend and baking powder in small bowl. Gradually add flour blend mixture alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating at low speed until well mixed.

Pour into prepared pans or paper lined muffin tins,  bake at 350 for :  10 minutes for mini muffin size, 10-15 minutes for muffin size, 10-15 for mini loaf size, 50-60 min for full bundt or cake pan size.  I also had success baking this into mason jars.  PERFECT for strawberry shortcake, just slice the pound cake into rounds!

GF Flourless Carrot Cake

I love everything about this cake.  Not only is it flourless, but it uses less than one cup of sugar for the entire recipe.  This cake smelled like carrot cake long before it was even in the oven, and the taste is exactly what you would expect carrot cake to taste like; light, spiced, and sweet.  The texture is also pleasing; it's cake, made from ground almonds, and the outer crust has a delicate and nutty crunch.  I was amazed.  You can make this cake with ground walnuts or pecans, too.  Yum.

  

Flourless Carrot Cake

Heat oven to 350.

Blend together well in food processor:
1 1/2 cups ground UNsalted almonds
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
fresh lemon zest from one lemon
Set aside. 

Grate 2 cups fresh carrot and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine 4 large eggs + 1/3 cup brown sugar.  Beat with electric mixer for a good, long, time - until the mixture is thick.  Really, really thick.  Thick enough so that it forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifeted from the bowl.

Alternately add the carrot and the almond mixture until all is combined.

Pour into prepared Pans:
- To bake as cupcakes:
Spray the muffin pan with oil and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  I made ini cupcakes.  They were super yummy.

- To bake as a cake or a loaf:
Spray the baking dish well with oil and line with parchment and spray with oil again.  Use a spring-form pan if you have one.  (I made this as a cake and didn't line the pan with parchment; the cake ended up sticking to the bottom!)  Bake for 45 minutes and check.  The cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cups agave
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons cream 
Cream together until smooth and well combined.
Set in fridge to thicken, then stir again before frosting cupcakes. 

Chocolate Squash Cake

This is an awesome cake that utilizes all of that yellow squash that the garden usually pumps out!  Any summer squash will do, and you won't even know it's in there.  This is not a healthy cake, just cake with a healthy ingredient.

Chocolate Squash Cake
Melt 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate with 1/4 cup vegetable oil.  Cool completely.
Cream 1/2 cup butter until light. 
Add:
2 cups sugar
3 beaten eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla
Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend well.
Mix together the dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with 1/3 cup milk, sour cream or yogurt.
Mix in 3 c. shredded summer squash, squeezed.

Bake in oiled cake pan (9x13) for 40 minutes.  Can be baked as cupcakes too, check at 10 min, may need to bake for 15-18 minutes. 

Chocolate Vinegar Cake (v)

I have no idea where I originally got this recipe, but I have held onto it it very tightly throughout the years.  I even copied it down in my address book for fear of losing it, because sometimes recipes come and go!  This cake is awesome.  If I have ever made you a chocolate birthday cake, this is probably what I made.  Not only is this cake vegan and cheap, but you can mix it right in the pan you are going to bake it in.  No mixing bowl required!

Chocolate Vinegar Cake
Preheat the oven to 375.
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. vinegar

Don't oil the baking pan.  Mix all the dry ingredients directly in the baking dish.
In a seperate bowl, combine the syrup, oil, water and vanilla.  Mix well and add to the dry ingredients.  Stir until all drys are mixed in.  Quickly stir in the vinegar.
You can put the cake in the oven as is and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Or, you can add frozen cherries or raspberries on top of the cake batter after you have stirred in the vinegar.  The fruit will sink to the bottom and does magical things.
I once made this recipe using frozen raspberries and loved it so much that the next time I made it I used a raspberry infused vinegar in addition to the frozen berries!  Wow.  You can probably add fresh fruit too, I haven't tried that yet.
You can also use coffee or milk instead of the water.
You can also add mini chocolate chips to the batter.
Walnuts and pecans are also a good addition.
Yum.