Gluten Free or Vegan desserts?

Today is Ryan's dad's birthday party. I volunteered to make dessert. The fun part of that is that his dad is gluten intolerant and his niece has decided she is vegan. I can find desserts that are one or the other, but not both. Probably because if you leave out flour- there is no gluten to be the binding agent so you need eggs, and vice versa - no eggs, you need flour for gluten to be the binder. I did find some possibilities, but I settled on doing separate desserts! I found a bunch of gluten free stuff I wanted to try anyway.

Flour-less Chocolate Cake

I've made this before- but with fresh mint leaves in it- It was delicious, so I figured this one would be good too.

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c butter
3/4 c sugar
4 eggs
1/2 c cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9in springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper cut into a circle to fit the bottom of the pan (grease it too). Spinkle the inside of the pan with sugar to help prevent cake from sticking.

Melt the butter and chocolate chips together in the microwave- about 1 min. Stir until smooth and cool slightly so you don't cook the eggs. add sugar, cocoa powder and eggs and beat well. (Original recipe said to beat the eggs first in a separate bowl until thickened and quadrupled in volume- but I didn't do that- Then add half the eggs to chocolate mixture and stir gently until blended then add the rest of the eggs.) Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35 min or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool on rack for 5 mins. Then remove the sides of the spring form pan and allow to cool completely. Remove from bottom of pan and parchment paper. When cooled sprinkle with a mix of powdered sugar and cocoa powder.

**VARIATION**  For mint cake - stir in 2 TBSP freshly chopped mint with the sugar.


Orange and Almond Cake

I found a recipe for an orange and almond cake, and made my own variation based on reviews and how the batter tasted:

2 large oranges
6 eggs
2 cups almond flour
2 and 1/2 cups sugar (more or less to taste - depending on orange size)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Wash the oranges (scrub peels well to remove wax). Place them unpeeled in a pan with enough water to cover them and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and allow them to simmer for 2 hours. Cool, (I left mine in the fridge overnight) then cut them open and remove the seeds. Puree the oranges, including the peel, in a food processor.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch spring form pan and dust with sugar to prevent sticking.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, including the orange puree, and mix thoroughly. (This is where taste comes in- my original recipe said to add 1 and 1/4 c sugar- but the cake batter was SOOOO bitter! I added double that- maybe a little more) Pour into pan and bake for one hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took 75 mins. Cool in the pan on rack for 5 to 10 min before removing sides of pan and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Mix the zest of 1 orange with enough fresh orange juice and powdered sugar to make a glaze.

Coconut Lime Sorbet

This is gluten free and vegan. I got the wrong ingredients - so I had to make my own recipe (again!) FYI coconut cream is not the same as cream of coconut. Coconut cream is next to coconut milk in the asian food aisle. Cream of coconut is in the drink aisle and it's for mixed drinks. My recipe needed cream of coconut, but I got coconut cream. But it turned out really well anyway!

3 cans (approx 12- 14oz) Coconut Cream
1 cup sugar
4 fresh limes, juiced

Mix the coconut cream with sugar and lime juice. I can't remember how many I used for sure- taste it. I didn't use very much because Ryan likes coconut and I didn't want the lime to overpower it. That was a complaint the original recipe had. Chill for several hours until ready to freeze - I made mine in a 1 quart ice cream maker.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

I got the basic recipe from allrecipes. But someone said you should use balsamic vinegar instead (and red pepper - but I skipped that).

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray one 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth.
Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack for 5 min. Then remove from pan and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Vegan frosting: I used about 1 Tbsp coconut oil, mixed with about 1/3 cup cocoa and enough powdered sugar and soy milk to make frosting. Spread evenly over cake.

I made the gluten free salted caramel chocolate tart too - but it didn't turn out as well as when I made it with regular graham crackers. Gluten free ones didn't make as nice of crust. It's from Spicy Perspective. I like her recipes. And the caramel is DELICIOUS!

Brownie Bites

Once again, our ward boundaries were rearranged last month. We had a ward meet and greet on February 10th where they served desserts. Someone brought these great little dessert bites- I had no idea what they were. I emailed everyone on the Relief Society list asking if anyone knew who made and if I could have the recipe. I tried to take a quick picture at the party with my phone so I could send that in the email too. It's the only pic I have - sorry- it's really bad.

The "recipe" was made by Kathy Bitner, a very sweet lady in our ward who had been my visiting teacher in the old ward. She gave us homemade apricot syrup for Christmas. Here is her emailed reply:

Hi Genevieve,

You're going to laugh when you see how easy those brownie bites were!  

I made brownies from a box and and frosted them . . . however, too many disappeared before the Meet and Greet that I didn't have enough to bring. So I grabbed walnuts and a homemade toffee bar, dumped everything in a bowl, stirred, and made little scoops. I put a swirl of frosting on it and sparkle sugar (because what doesn't look better with sparkle sugar?).

And there you have it . . . the Bitner Best.

Glad you are still in "my" ward. 

Kathy

Now I wonder if she has a recipe for the toffee bar....

Thai Pizza and Buffalo Blue Cheese Chicken Pizza reviews

I found a recipe for a Thai pizza with sweet chili sauce instead of peanut sauce. When we made our last Thai pizza, Myles said he would like one more like the Thai pizza at Papa Murphy's, which has a chili sauce instead. So when I saw this one on the Deals to Meals blog, it caught my eye and we decided to make both of pizza recipes shown.

I'm re-posting the recipes here with a review of what we thought of them.

Sweet Thai Chicken Pizza

1 recipe homemade pizza crust (whole grain or regular crust)
2-3 chicken breasts, grilled and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained (or use fresh pineapple)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2-2/3 cup sweet red pepper jelly (you can buy this at Costco/Walmart or make your own)
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Season the chicken breasts and grill until cooked through. Dice the chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside. Roll the pizza crust out into a circular shape until thin. Spread a thin layer of the sweet red pepper jelly onto the crust. Add the toppings and sprinkle with a thick layer of shredded cheese. Bake in a 485 degree oven on parchment lined baking stone or pan for 18-25 minutes, or until the pizza is bubbly and golden brown. Garnish with extra fresh cilantro as desired.

Thai Pizza with Sweet Pepper Jelly

Our review:
- We used our regular cracker crust recipe which is par-baked before adding toppings. We made a 16 inch pizza and the amount of toppings was WAY to much. We cooked 2 large chicken breasts and had enough chicken for 4 pizzas (2 of this flavor, and 2 of the other) The amount of other toppings was good for 2 pizzas plus a little leftover on the pineapple and onion. The only topping we used the listed amount was the cilantro - we like cilantro. I didn't measure the cheese- so who could say on that. We used a sweet red pepper jelly I found at Smiths:

Too Sweet- but it's what I found

I don't know what other red pepper jelly tastes like, but we though this was a little too sweet. Overall the pizza was good, but next time we will try to find a red pepper sauce that isn't as sweet- maybe a Thai chili dipping sauce from the Asian food aisle instead of the jelly from the jam aisle.

Don't forget extra cilantro on top!

**UPDATE 3/24/17**  We tried this pizza again- but tried to make it more like Papa Murphy's Thai Chicken pizza - it was much better!  We found 2 different sauces; both are very good:

Myles liked this one better. We found it with the other wing sauce flavors on the condiment aisle.

Ryan and I liked this one. We found this it with the Asian foods. I mixed some fresh grated ginger in the second sauce -probably 1/4 tsp, maybe a little more.

For toppings for 2 pizzas we used:
4- 5 Green onions, chopped
1/4 Red onion, diced
1/2 Red pepper, diced
2 tiny zucchini squash, thinly sliced - 1 would have been enough
Diced cooked chicken
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

After baking it, we added fresh cilantro, bean sprouts and grated carrots on top.



Buffalo Blue Cheese Chicken Pizza

1 recipe homemade pizza crust (whole grain or regular crust)
2-3 chicken breasts, grilled and seasoned with salt and pepper
2-3 stalks green onions, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced very thin
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2-1 cup ranch dressing
2 Tbls.-1/4 cup buffalo sauce (Frank's Red Hot Sauce is my favorite)
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Season the chicken breasts and grill until cooked through. Dice the chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside. Roll the pizza crust out into a circular shape until thin. Spread a thin layer of the ranch dressing onto the crust. Slice the tomatoes and green onions and add to the top of the pizza. Add the chicken pieces to the pizza as well. Sprinkle the pizza with a thick layer of shredded cheese. Add the crumbled blue cheese on top of the pizza and bake in a 485 degree oven on parchment lined baking stone or pan for 18-25 minutes, or until the pizza is bubbly and golden brown. Garnish with extra green onions as desired.

Buffalo Pizza with tomato

Our Review:

This pizza doesn't specify what to do with the buffalo sauce.... We aren't into super spicy here, so we used a mild wing sauce and just drizzled it over the top of the pizza before we cooked it. We all decided it would have been better mixed with the ranch before spreading it on the pizzas. The other topping amounts were fine- except the chicken as noted above. We did one as written and one we used celery instead of tomatoes.  Cooked tomatoes are okay,but the celery one was better. I like blue cheese, so I though the amount on them was fine, but everyone else said it was too much! I don't think we will do this pizza again, We will stick with the recipes Ryan has made before.

Buffalo Pizza with celery - It's better this way!

Hawaiian Barbecue Pork Sandwiches

I have recently found several recipes that I thought would be fun to try. I though it might be fun to do family dinner night on the weekend instead of going out to eat. So this is the first recipe we decided to try. I found the original on Deals to Meals. She adapted a recipe from The Sandwich King. Here's my own version. The kids loved it. The girls had to eat their "salsa" separately, but they ate it. I didn't get a pic until everyone's sandwich was at least half gone!

Roast Pork:
¼ cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 boneless pork roast or shoulder (about 5 lbs.)

Sweet Chili Sauce:
1 bottle (12.7 oz) natural rice vinegar (about 2 cups)
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Crushed red pepper (mine was skimpy - we are afraid of hot stuff around here)
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, smashed

Sandwich Build:
Mini Hoagie buns
Pork with Sweet Chile Sauce
Grilled Pineapple Relish (recipe below)
BBQ Sauce
Additional Jalapeno slices if desired

Grilled Pineapple Relish:
1 fresh pineapple, skinned, cored and cut into 1 inch slices
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. Grated fresh ginger
2 limes, juiced
½ jalapeno, seeded and diced
½ red onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste (optional - I don't think I used any)

For the pork, place the pork fat side down in a crock pot. Mix all of the pork seasonings together and rub into the meat as best you can. Put the lid on and let the pork cook on low heat for 5-8 hours, depending how large the roast is.

While the pork cooks, make the sweet chili sauce and the pineapple salsa.

Sweet Chile Sauce: Bring the vinegar, sugar, crushed red pepper, salt and garlic to a boil and cook until the sugar and salt dissolve. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, and then set aside until the pork is ready.
Once the roast is tender and cooked, remove from the pan, and shred the pork into pieces. Drain the juices from the crock pot and discard. Add the shredded pork back to the crock pot.Remove the smashed garlic cloves from the chili sauce. Pour it over the shredded pork and toss to coat.

For the salsa: Preheat a grill pan or grill over high heat. Rub the grill with a bit of oil and grill each side of the pineapple slices until dark grill marks appear, 3 to 5 minutes a side. I just put mine under the broiler - It took 5-7 min on each side.  Roughly chop the pineapple and add it to a bowl with the cilantro, ginger, lime juice, jalapeno and onions. Season with salt and pepper.

For the sandwich build: Place ample quantities of pork on the bottom bun and top with Grilled Pineapple Relish. Drizzle with your favorite BBQ sauce. Myles, Ryan and Pierce added jalapeno slices.

Thai Pizza and Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Steven and Kellie came into town this past week. We hosted a pizza party Friday night. I asked everyone what kind they wanted. In addition to the usual pepperoni, we had requests for the Buffalo Chicken we have made before and Kellie asked for a Thai one. She sent me a link to a recipe that we used because we had never made one before. It turned out well. But Buffalo Chicken was still the favorite. Myles wants us to make a sweet and sour Thai pizza next time. Here's our version:

Cracker Pizza Crust (Ryan says he pre-bakes them about 7 min- longer than the original 5 min and then bakes it an additional 10 after the toppings are on it.)

Buffalo pizza in the back, Thai pizza in the front

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Ranch dressing
Wing Sauce (we use extra mild at our house)
Celery - cut into small pieces
Onion- Thinly sliced
Blue Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese

Mix half dressing and half wing sauce and spread on crust. Dice chicken and add a small amount of just wing sauce to coat the chick then spread on pizza. Top with celery, onion, blue cheese and mozzarella. This is the same as the BBQ chicken pizza - but different sauce. That one is posted on the cracker pizza crust recipe page.

Thai Pizza

Peanut Sauce (We had a 12 oz bottle - we used about 1/3 of it for 1 pizza)
Peanut butter -about 1/8 cup or a big spoonful. (We used creamy but chunky would be good)
Green onions - sliced (recipe said to use an entire bunch - we only did 1/2 of that)
Cooked chicken cut into chunks (around 8 oz)
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
shredded carrots
bean sprouts
cilantro
chopped peanuts - optional - add them before or after cooking

Mix the Peanut sauce and peanut butter together. The second time we made it (on Sunday) I added a little water to make it easier to spread. Spread onto crust. If you didn't use chunky peanut butter, sprinkle with chopped peanuts if desired. Top with green onion (the second time we used a little regular onion too), chicken (We used a rotisserie chicken the first time and added some left over turkey when we made it again on Sunday), Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake until cheese is golden and bubbly. Top with carrots, bean sprouts and cilantro before serving.

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

I wanted to try something different that the usual casserole we make with bread every year. I wanted to do one with potatoes. I had some leftover baked potatoes from Grandma Francom's Christmas party the Monday before. I found this one on the Kitchn and Ryan modified it some. It was delicious! We doubled the recipe and it made a full 9x13 pan and a 7x9 pan we gave to my mom for their Christmas breakfast with Andrew and Bristol who surprised them by coming in a visit on Christmas eve.

4 slices thick bacon cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, cleaned out and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons salt, divided
8 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon fresh-cracked black pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 large baked potatoes diced into cubes (skins and all)

Lightly grease a 13x9" baking dish with baking spray.

Cook the bacon until it is crisp. Add the onion, yellow bell pepper, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1 teaspoon of salt, and cook over medium heat until all the vegetables are soft — about 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly and whisk in the milk. Whisk in the remaining teaspoon of salt, and the black pepper. Stir in the cheese, potatoes, and the bacon and vegetables. Pour the whole mixture into the prepared baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When you are ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until the eggs are firm and the top is slightly golden. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.

Christmas Recipes: Gingerbread Cake with Orange Frosting, Candied Cranberries and Caramel Sauce

I made this cake for Christmas Eve dinner with everyone. I was surprised how much they liked it. Ryan had 3 slices! It is very rich and I was good with 1 piece. I found the recipe on The Butter Half, who got it from somewhere else. So here it is with my changes:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 1/2 cups full flavor molasses - NOT blackstrap

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice

orange zest from 1 orange

4 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cloves

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch springform pans.

Put the butter and molasses in a pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, making sure to stir it constantly. Once it is boiling, remove from heat and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Mix in the heavy cream, lemon juice, and orange zest. Add the soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Then mix in flour. The batter is very thick. Pour equal amounts into pans and spread evenly. Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 mins and then remove from pan to a cooling rack. My cakes were a little too crumbly. I think next time I might add an egg or two to help it hold together.

While the cake bakes make the caramel sauce. The original recipe of this one is from Sally's Baking Addiction:

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (the bigger crystal kind)

Heat the cup of sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden or heat-resistant spoon. After about 5 minutes, the sugar will begin to melt and turn a golden amber color. Once it is melted, add in the butter and stir until it melts and is well-mixed. Next, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil for about 1 minute. Be careful not to burn it! Remove from heat, add in the salt, and allow the caramel to cool.

When cake has cooled frost bottom layer with Orange Butter cream. Put second cake on top on frost top and sides.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3-4 cups powdered sugar (maybe more)

2 teaspoons vanilla ( I may have used half orange extract instead)

Juice from one orange

Beat the butter for about 2-3 minutes until fluffy and lightened in color. Slowly add in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add in the vanilla, heavy cream, orange juice. Mix on high for about 30 more seconds to make it light and fluffy.

Top with chopped candied ginger and Vanilla Orange Candied Cranberries from A Spicy Perspective:

3 ¾ cups sugar, divided

1 ¾ cups water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons orange extract

12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries (about 3 cups)

Combine 2 ½ cups of sugar, water, vanilla, and orange extract in a sauce pan. Heat over medium until the sugar has completely dissolved, but not boiling.

Pour in the cranberries and stir. Cover the cranberries with tin foil down inside the pan to keep them mostly submerged. Then cover the pan and place it in a cool place over night. I used the basement pantry.

Place the remaining 1 ¼ cup of sugar in a rimmed dish. Strain the cranberries and place them in the sugar. Shake until they are completely coated. Carefully transfer them to a baking sheet to dry, about an hour.

Once the sugar coating is hard, place them in an air-tight container and keep in a cool spot for up to a week.