Going Crackers

Ever since I went gluten free, I have had to deal with carrying my own snacks around. Most of it being nuts and dried fruit. After a while I started missing the salty crispy goodness of a plain cracker. Gone are the days of slathering soft cheese on crackers with thinly sliced salumi, jamon and chorizo. Yes, there are potato chips for snacking but it lacks the structure of a cracker. Light, creamy, salty and ever so delicately crispy.  I have tried making one a month ago and it was a  disaster.  Felt like I was eating cardboard, dense and tasteless. After that attempt, I was disheartened to try again.  However, my food cravings got the best of my this weekend. After finishing a batch of trail mix I made, I got the courage to try out another recipe. This time, these were the results:

Wholemeal Crackers

1 1/4 cups all purpose gluten free flour

1/2 cup sweet white sorghum flour

1/4 cup teff flour (or more sorghum flour

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

\ 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 teapsoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup (4 fl. oz.) milk, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with greaseproof paper, and set it aside.

In a large bowl, place the all purpose flour, sorghum flour, teff flour, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder, baking soda,salt, paprika, garlic and onion powders, and ground pepper, and whisk to combine well. Add the butter and milk, and mix to combine until the dough begins to come together. Knead the dough until it is smooth. Divide the dough into two parts, and press each into a small ball.*

Place the first ball of dough between two sheets of greaseproof paper, and roll into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. The dough should roll out quickly and easily. With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, slice the dough into 1-inch square crackers. Place the squares them on the prepared baking sheet, less than 1-inch apart (they will not spread during baking). Gather and reroll scraps. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Sprinkle the tops of the rounds liberally with kosher salt.

Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake, rotating once during baking, for about 9-11 minutes, or until the crackers are golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in a tightly sealed glass container at room temperature. For best results, serve within 2 days.

The results? I was so delighted on the outcome. They weren't as buttery as Ritz, but more like a Wheat Thins cracker with a nutty crunch to it due to the higher sorghum flour content and the addition of Teff Flour. This really satisfied by cracker craving. My score: 9/10

Cupcakes! Choconana PeanutButter

Armed with the success of my first ever cupcake attempt with the Red Velvet, I decided to jump right in and make another simple cupcake combining flavors I love - chocolate, banana and peanut butter. Originally I wanted to top it with a crispy bacon piece, but that would be going overboard. So now, there was a decision to be made, how to combine the flavors? What would be in the cake and what would be the icing? Banana peanut butter cake with chocolate icing? Banana cake filled with chocolate ganache with peanut butter icing? Banana cake with chocolate peanut butter icing? Finally, i made a choice, chocolate banana cake with peanut butter icing was it. And here it is.

Choconana Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting

makes 18  3oz cupcakes

For the cupcake

1 cup  sugar

1/2 cup rice flour

1/8 cup sorghum flour 

1/8 cup potato starch

1/8 tapioca starch 

1/8 cup almond flour

½ teaspoon Xanthan gum

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, regular or Dutch-processed 

(I used Dutch processed)

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 medium sized banana)

1/2 cup warm water

1/4 cup buttermilk (1/4 cup milk plus 1/8 teaspoon vinegar)

1/4 cup canola, corn, or vegetable oil

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line  muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, mashed banana, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. (The batter is quite thin.) Pour or scoop the batter into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full (around 1/4 cup), and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  

Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before icing

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2  tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons cream or milk

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, cream cheese,  vanilla, and salt in the bowl. Using a paddle attachment or handheld mixer, mix the ingredients on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

I used Skippy's Natural Peanut butter as shown in the picture above as we should stay clear from hydrogenated fat in our diet. For the vanilla extract, I used The Vanilla Company Bourbon extract. No imitation vanilla flavoring please. I assure you, you will definitely notice the difference in taste of your sweet baked goodies. Kinda pricey, but I say worth the splurge if you want that subtle sweet aroma of vanilla that is essential in any cupcake, cake or cookie.

As i mentioned previously, I do not have a sweet tooth, so I am a minimalist when it comes to the amount of frosting in my cake. If you want more icing, go ahead and double the recipe.  Forgive my messy swirls, as I am a cupcake frosting newbie.

 

The Result? I mildly banana tasting cupcake. I think I should up the amount of banana as it tasted more chocolate than banana. The icing however was perfection. A slight tang from the small amount of cream cheese with the sweet saltiness of the peanut butter. My score: 8/10. The icing is good enough to eat with a spoon!

Red Velvet, just had to give in

There are times that you want something so bad it follows you everywhere. Like a creepy stalker, you just can't shake the feeling it you may bump into it at anytime. Cupcakes seem to have that effect on me.  It has been on the rage for a good couple of years with cupcake shops popping up everywhere. Some say  this trend is slowing down. But honestly, will people get tired of eating them? They are miniaturized versions of luscious cakes that somehow make us feel less guilty for having them all day long (not just as dessert)
For me, the red velvet cupcake is my weakness. And to some extent, I judge a cupcake bakery on how good their red cupcake is.  People seem to be drawn to its deep red hue contrasted by a plush topping of cream cheese frosting. How would you describe the taste of a red velvet? It's quite hard actually, but the slight hint of chocolate against the slight tang of the cream cheese seem to perfectly play against each other. However, some say the cake version has coconut and pecans in it, but I am not a fan of coconut nor do I like nuts in my baked goods. And of course, nothing beats the good ol' familiar silver package of cream cheese. You know what I'm taking about here. Sure there are other brands there, but nothing can compare with THAT cream cheese. It is smooth, creamy and provides the right kind of bite that plays well with the cake. So for me, if you want a real good red velvet experience, you have to get the right cream cheese.
There were several cupcake recipes I came across, I just picked one and converted it to a gluten free one by swapping the flour to a mix of gluten free flours, 5 to be exact. I know, the pitfall of GF recipes is that there is no cup-for-cup substitution. And here in the Philippines, we really do not have ready-made GF flour blends available, unless you go to health food store. The flours I used here are the ones I can find in most groceries as convenience always matters when you want to make your own stuff from scratch. 
So here is my recipe for those irresistible red velvet cupcakes. I reduced the red food coloring as I wanted to stay clear of any artificial color and upped ever so slightly the cocoa powder from the original recipe.

Red Velvet Cupcakes 

(adapted from Paula Deen's recipe)

For the cupcakes:

1 cup  white rice flour

½ cup sorghum flour

3/8 cup almond meal

¼ cup tapioca flour

¼ cup potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons red food coloring

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the real thing please!)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 pound or 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the real thing please!)
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Top your cupcakes with the icing using a knife, spatula or any pastry tip of your choice.
 I am a frosting minimalist so if you want more, just double up the recipe.

The result?The color isn't your typical bright hue of red, its more a reddish brown which i really don't mind at all.  The cupcake itself is really moist with a subtle taste of chocolate.  The icing had the right balance of sweetness from the sugar and the tangy flavor of the cream chesse. Another 10/10 for me on this one!

Dinner Rolls, looking for that buttery bite

Sunday afternoon was particularly rainy and for some reason, I wanted more bread. After my success with making Garlic Focaccia last week, I wanted a more neutral flavored bread that I can slather on my Strawberry Jam or globs of Nutella in the morning. From what I've been reading, sandwich bread seems complicated and not always successful. The problem lies in getting the right consistency in the middle of the loaf, not gummy but with a light crumb. Add with the fact that I don't have a bread loaf, I wanted to make use of the baking pan I have on-hand. What I used is a spring form pan, from my previous desire to bake a cheesecake (but it has never been used for cheesecake). It's the same pan I used to make my Garlic Focaccia last week, so I decided to use it again for this recipe

My understanding of dinner rolls are those tiny bread balls they usually serve at hotels while you're waiting for the wedding buffet to start. You spread butter on them and hope they keep your tummy sane while waiting for the eating to start. I told myself, maybe I can try making them. Small bread bites I can have for breakfast or snacking. Finally, I can start finishing my bottle of Nutella that has been sitting neglected since I started giving up gluten the past 6 weeks.

I increased the ratio of almond flour in the recipe to give it a certain richness and a boost of protein. It also lent itself well, bringing out the butteryness of the bread.

Pull Apart Dinner Rolls

makes 9 rolls

1 cup Rice Flour*

3/4 cup Almond Flour

1/2 cup Sweet Sorghum Flour*

1/4 cup Tapioca Starch*

1/4 cup Potato Starch*

1 1/2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup warm milk (preferably whole milk)

2 tablespoons melted butter plus 2 teaspoons more for brushing

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Grease a springform pan with melted butter or oil.

Mix and blend all the flours, xanthan gum, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl.

Combine the water, milk, beaten egg and vinegar.

Slowly incorporate the wet mixture into the dry mixture until thoroughly blended.

Using a 1/3 cup measurement, scoop dough into 9 rounded mounds in pan.

I start from the center and place the other 8 around it.

Do the best you can to smooth out the balls with wet fingertips. This lends to a nicer appearance of the rolls.

Cover with a towel or clingfilm and leave to rise for 45 minutes. in a warm, draft free area of your kitchen.

While your rolls rise, you may turn on your oven to 375F.

Bake for 23-25 mins. Tops should be golden brown.

Take out from the oven and brush with more melted butter.

*Alternative - you can use any 2 cups of gluten free flour blends you are comfortable with. It is the almond flour here that is important to make the bread taste rich at the end.

The result? Buttery, light bread rolls perfect for butter or jam. You can also serve this along some creamy soup. A nice grating of cheese on top in the last 3 minutes of baking would make this bread stand out even more. I was craving for a burger and used these rolls as mini burger buns, which worked out pretty well too. My score: 9/10

Craving for the crumb: making Focaccia

A little over a month of being gluten free, I had the strongest craving for bread. Thankfully, Ritual carries gluten free baguettes from Kitchen Revolution; but not wanting to be limited to just one type of bread, I decided to try my hand at making my own. I've been baking mostly sweet muffins and cookies the past month, so I needed to switch things up and make something savory instead.
I came across this blog trying to look for bread recipes. It has so many! I narrowed down my bread choice to focaccia since I love its earthiness from the herbs, plus I didn't have a loaf pan to make sandwich bread or those fancy French bread pans to make baguettes. I adopted the recipe making use of gluten free flours that I can easily (and cheaply!) find here in the Philippines.
First thing about making gluten free bread you should know is that you should not expect a "dough" like consistency after mixing all the ingredients. From what I've been reading, most gluten free bread starts more like a very thick muffin batter rather than a cohesive dough ball. And since there is no kneading required to develop the gluten, it cuts the preparation time by 5-10mins. Another bonus is that, you can use your God-given tools -your hands, in mixing the dough. No need to bring (or buy) a stand up mixer.

Garlic Focaccia - Italian Flatbread Recipe

makes one loaf.

1 1/2 cup sorghum flour

1 cup potato starch (not potato flour!) or tapioca starch

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1/ 1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped (or t tsp. dried)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cup warm water (at 110º F)

A pinch of raw sugar

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

1/2 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice

1 egg, beaten

cornmeal for dusting

Fresh garlic sliced for topping

Whisk together the flours, starch, xanthan gum, sea salt, garlic, and herbs in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, proof the yeast in warm water and pinch of sugar.

When the yeast is poofy, pour the mixture into the dry ingredients. (If the yeast mixture doesn't bubble, throw it away and start over.)

Add the olive oil, sugar/honey, vinegar, and egg .

Stir to combine. The dough should be sticky- it doesn't really feel like typical wheat bread dough- more like a thick muffin batter.

Scoop the dough into a 9-inch cake pan dusted with cornmeal.

Using wet hands pat and shape the dough into a rounded loaf. You can make those dimples that regular focaccia bread has if you like.

Top with sliced fresh garlic; sprinkle with extra herbs, and a little coarse sea salt.

Place in a warm, draft free environment (I placed mine in my microwave)

Allow it to rest and rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F

Bake until golden and firm- from 25 to 35 minutes. It should sound hollow when you thump it.

Remove from the pan as soon as you can handle it, and cool on a wire rack.

This bread is best eaten the day it's made. To preserve the freshness, wait until the bread is completely cool and slice into wedges. Wrap these tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.  Thaw by placing them in the fridge or in the counter. Toast/ grill as usual and serve up with a douse of olive oil and you choice of sandwich fillings.

The result? A triumph for me and gluten free baking. My first homemade bread! I nice garlicky loaf good for making a nice grilled cheese sandwich. Or you can serve on the side with your tomato soup. This can also be a quick breakfast with scrambled eggs on the side.  Although I will use a bigger pan next time or split it to 3-4 smaller panini loaves as I found the bread a little too thick for my preference. Still scores me an 8/10.

A taste of Boracay.. Kalamansi Muffins and yes, they are gluten free!

Boracay... the summer place to be in the Philippines. Nothing compares to its white sand beaches (although Palawan is closing in on that in recent surveys). Filipinos make sure to come to Boracay at least once in their lifetime. Summer may be the top season to go, but I have fond memories of spending Halloween there in full costume as well as greeting the New Year's by the beach with a mojito on-hand. 
Besides its beaches, Boracay has plenty food offerings as well. Dos Mestizos for Spanish fare, Aria for its chewy-crisp pizzas are a few eateries that is a must while your there. Another is Real Coffee's Kalamansi Muffins. Kalamansi is a native lime found in the Philippines which is indispensable in Filipino cooking. We use it in our marinades, sprinkling over our pancit and forms part of the sawsawan (soy sauce, kalamansi, vinegar dip). Real Coffee really uplifted this humble citrus as part of a sweet treat as long as I can remember. Sweet and tart and oh so yummy.  I tried to make my own version of this island treat gluten free so I can have a taste of summer all year long. 

Kalamansi Muffins

makes 10-12 muffins

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature

1 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup white rice flour*

1/4 cup sorghum flour*

1/4 cup potato starch (not flour!)*

1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour (also can be found under cassava flour)*

1/4 cup blanched almold flour*

3/4 teaspoon Xanthan Gum*

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt (please stay away from iodized salt, sea salt is preferred)

1/4 cup milk - not skim

1/4 cup freshly squeezed kalamansi juice - do not use the bottled concentrate ones!

Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tin with liners or grease them generously

Mix all the dry ingredients, set aside

Pour the milk and kalamansi juice in a measuring jug, set aside

Cream the butter and sugar for 3 mins. If butter is at room temperature, this can easily be done by hand using a whisk. It should lighten in color.

Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk/kalamansi mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. 

Blend well

Scoop into the prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 18-23 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes clean.

*Note:  If you want to just make it the conventional way, use 2 1/2 cups of AP Flour and omit the Xanthan gum.

The result? Sweet tangy goodness you can enjoy! It took me a while to get the proportions of different type of GF flours right. Yes, the recipe calls for 5 types of them, but trust me, you will not be disappointed with the result. You will not know difference of this gluten free version and the one made with regular flour.  My score: 9.5/10!

My Chocolate fix

After a nice meal, we usually crave for something sweet - dessert. Eating out, there is always the temptation of cakes, cookies and muffins just ready for the taking. But being gluten free means that you if you wanted cake, cookies or any baked goods, you have to make them yourself. Yes, it seems daunting..the thought of not being able to satisfy your sweet craving other than ice cream and chocolate. But sometimes, you just need to have cake.

Being a novice baker, the complicated cakes and icing will be set for a later time as I get comfortable in the baking realm. So in small baking steps I try baking cookies. Finding a nice easy recipe to start with was hard. I did not want to deal with creaming butter and sugar as I am too lazy to take out my hand-held mixer for that. Only if I had a nice deep purple Artisan KitchenAid in my kitchen counter for that.

Enough of the dreaming, now let's go on and make those cookies! I came across this recipe. I am not a fan of putting nuts in my cookies, so I made tweaks of my own. I love the fact that this 
chocolate cookies have no added fat and no gluten. Impossible! But it's true: these flourless chocolate cookies get their texture from egg whites, and their flavor from cocoa powder (which represents the only fat in the recipe). Plus they're easy to make: Just stir together a few simple ingredients, scoop onto a pan, and bake for 8 minutes. You won't believe the delicious result. 

Chocolate Chewies

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional but good

1 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process

3 large egg whites

2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Or line with parchment, and grease the parchment.

Stir together all of the ingredients till smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and stir again till smooth.

Drop the soft, batter-like dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1 1/2" circles; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes; they should spread, become somewhat shiny, and develop faintly crackly tops.

Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan.
Be patient, let them cool completely otherwise you will break up the cookies.

The result? . These came out ultra-chewy, rich and definitely very chocolatey. For the nut lovers out there, you may want to add walnuts for a nice contrasting crunch and if you think you still need more chocolate, go ahead and add a handful or two of chocolate chips in the batter. Chocolate overload indeed. My personal score: 10/10. This one is a keeper!