Almond molten cake

On a recent trip to France I acquired a new recipe for little almond molten cakes, they are truly delicious (sceal of approval by my "almost" 4 years old friend who has a sweet tooth).
Here is this super easy recipe, impress your guests with it:

Almond molten lava cakes
For 4 people
Ingredients
100 gr  Almond meal
100 gr  Powdered sugar
70 gr   Unsalted butter, melted
6 TBSP Heavy whipping cream
1          Egg
1          Yolk
A few drops of bitter almond extract

Method
Mix dry ingredients, add eggs, then butter, cream and extract
Pour in buttered individual molds (ramequins 3 cm / 1 1/4" high - 8 cm / 3 1/4" accross)
Place in refrigerator for at least 30 min, they can be prepared a day ahead.
These will be cooked at the last minute, so 20 min before serving place in pre-heated oven 180 C/356 F and bake for 10 to 15 min (each oven is different so you should check after 8 minutes), it is baked when the sides have a firm cake look but the center is still a little runny.
To unmold place a plate on top of your ramequin and invert, leave the ramequin for a couple of minutes to give a chance to the cake to fall on the plate.
Serve warm

Coconut cake/cookies

My friend's 2 year old daughter has a higher sensitivity to gluten and dairy but also has a sweet tooth, knowing that I have modified a recipe I had to accommodate her restrictions and it was a hit. Now every time she visits she asks: "il y a du gâteau?" (is there cake?).

Gâteau noix de coco - Coconut cake
A 9" / 23 cm square silicon mould
Ingredients
3 eggs separated
9 Tbsp Sugar
4 Tbsp coconut flour
Vanilla bean paste (a little goes a long way)

Method
Whisk egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until mix becomes whiter
Add 2 Tbsp coconut flour
Whip egg whites into stiff peaks
Add half of egg whites to egg and sugar mix
Add remaining coconut flour
Add remaining egg whites

Butter mould (even though it is silicon, because this recipe has quite a bit of sugar it is better to butter the mould, alternately you can line the mould with parchment paper)
Pour and level batter
Bake in preheated oven at 355 F for 15 to 20mn
When baked remove from mould immediately and let cool.
I usually cut this big square into small 2" squares and serve this as cookies to my little friend or to bigger friends with a bowl of fresh fruits.
Because there is no gluten this cake will not rise and will be fairly dense but nonetheless tasty.

Gluten free, dairy free, egg free bread

When looking for gluten free breads it seems there is always eggs and milk added, to me these ingredients mean making a cake not a bread, so I decided to try creating a new GF bread without eggs or dairy and the final product turned out really nice and tasty, like real gluten bread. The bread got eaten before I had time to take a picture!

Gluten free, dairy free, egg free bread

Ingredients

15 gr        Flax seed grounded to a fine flour (it is better than buying it already grounded)
30 gr        Brown rice flour
150 gr      White rice flour
20 gr        Millet flour
20 gr        Sorghum flour
20 gr        Quinoa flour
40 gr        Buckwheat flour (Sarasin)
35 gr        Potato starch
20 gr        Coconut flour
53 gr        Tapioca flour 

½ tsp /2gr Xanthan gum 

1.5 tsp     Salt

460 ml    Tepid water

3 tsp         Active dry yeast
1 tsp        Maple syrup (to activate yeast)

Method
Place all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl except yeast.

Mix water, yeast and maple syrup and let it rest for 5mn (it will start bubbling)

Pour liquid over dry ingredients and mix with paddle attachment for 5mn on speed 1, scraping the sides of the bowl at least once. You will obtain a batter like dough.

Pour in a silicone mould.
Let rise covered with a cotton/linen cloth for approx. 1h until it reaches the top of the mould
Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 for 45mn at least (check for hollow sound and lighter weight)

This bread is quite moist thus won't keep very long, it will freeze well already sliced for ease of use and toaster readiness.

Tip all flours can be substituted for other GF ones, however it is important to keep the Tapioca and Xanthan gum, they compensate for the lack of gluten.

Raspberried out!

With this hot weather we have been experiencing for the past 2 months the raspberry bushes are full of fruits, so I made my liquor again (pictured) and tried a new by product of the wonderful raspberries:







Raspberry vinegar
Ingredients
600 gr fruits
600 ml white wine vinegar
600 ml cider vinegar
6 Tbsp sugar
A couple of big clean jars

Method
Crush the berries in a food mill or with a fork, pour the vinegars and sugar over, mix all and fill the jars.
Let the jars rest in a dark place shaking them occasionally for minimum a week or until you decide the taste is good enough.
Filter the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and fill a few bottles.
Enjoy with a nice summer salad or all year round to remind you of the summer flavours.

Lucky shot of a tree frog

What's for dinner?...

For the past couple of month with the good weather I have spent so much time outside that my inspiration for cooking has taken a back seat, yesterday we finally had substantial rain fall (which is great for my garden and for my creativity in the kitchen) so we spent a few hours at the Seattle center for the Bastille day celebration and when we returned home I wanted to have a nice but easy dinner and after looking in the fridge inspiration finally struck me and I created this very nice and super quick meal.

Roasted chicken with mango sauce
For 2
Ingredients
2 skinless chicken breasts
1 ripe mango
1/2 lemon (zest and juice)
2 Tbsp honey
1 rosemary twig
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 390 F / 200 C
Place the chicken breast in an oven proof dish.
Peel the mango, reserve a few strips for serving and using a knife scrape all the "flesh" and juice surrounding the pit, cover the chicken with it.
Zest and juice the lemon over the chicken & mango.
Pour 1/2 Tbsp honey over each chicken breast and the remaining 1 Tbsp in the dish, add a little water (approx. 1/2 to 1 cup - 125 to 250 ml), sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, keep in mind that pepper gets stronger as it cooks/bakes. Cut rosemary twig in half and place each piece on the chicken.
Place dish in pre-heated oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes untill juices run transparent.
You want the top of the chicken to be a little browned and the mango/honey/lemon to be slightly caramelised. By that time the water should have partially evaporated and form a sauce.

Tip
I served this with quinoa, it is a very versatile gluten free grain that I have been using recently. A nice alternative to rice, cooks in 15mns.

GF Orange Cranberry Pecan Muffins

I recently came across an excellent Gluten Free recipe book "125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes" by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt, I highly recommend it to people affected by gluten intolerance, and even for non celiac the recipes in this book "work" and taste great. Here is my adaptation of one of their recipes

Orange Cranberry Pecan Muffins

Ingredients
1.5 / 375 ml cup Rice flour
1/3 cup / 75 ml Cornstarch
1/3 cup / 75 ml Tapioca starch (you can grind your own from tapioca pearls in a coffee grinder)
1.5 tsp / 7 ml Xanthan gum (essential in gluten free baking to "glue" the GF flours together)
1 Tbsp / 15 ml Baking powder (GF)
3/4 tsp / 4 ml Salt
1 cup / 250 ml Dried cranberries

1/2 cup / 125 ml Pecan (grossly chopped)

1 cup / 225 ml Orange juice
2/3 cup / 150 ml Orange marmalade
1 tsp / 5 ml Cider vinegar
1/2 stick / 50 gr Butter
2 Eggs

Method
In a bowl mix together all the dry elements (rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, dried cranberries, pecan).
In another bowl mix well the wet ingredients (orange juice, marmalade, vinegar, melted butter eggs)
Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and gently combine with a fork (do not overwork).
Using a cookie spoon fill each muffin mold and let them stand for 30 mn.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 360 F / 180 C for 20 to 30 mn depending on your oven and the size of the muffin molds you are using (I use mini silicon molds which makes it easy to unmold when baked).
Let the muffins cool on a rack before enjoying them for breakfast or with a cup of tea or coffee.

Cardamom yogurt cream

A few years ago while still living in Ireland I tasted a very unusual and flavourful refreshing dessert cream infused with cardamom, I was given the recipe and never made it and forgot about it. Then last week while flicking through my recipes I found it again and decided to make it. Enjoy this very easy recipe with a fresh fruit salad of orange and kiwis. Prepare the cream one day ahead as it needs to chill.

Cardamom infused yogurt cream

1 jello mold is best

Ingredients

225 ml / 8 oz Milk

200 ml / 7 oz Cream

200 gr / 7 oz Sugar for more flavour you can substitute with honey

8 cardamom seeds hulled and grounded with a pestle and mortar (it is very advisable to use whole rather than already ground cardamom as the flavour will be more intense)

3 rounded tsp powdered gelatin (I yet have to try this recipe with agar agar)

4 Tbsp cold water

425 ml / 15 oz Plain yogurt

Method

Pour milk, cream and sugar in a stainless saucepan with the ground cardamom on low heat, stir until the sugar is melted and the liquid is warm to touch.

Turn off the heat and set aside to infuse.

Pour the gelatin in a small bowl containing 4 tbsp of cold water and let it "sponge".

Then pour over the gelatin and stir some of the infused mixture then gradually add the rest of it.

Beat the yogurt lightly until smooth then add it to the cardamom/gelatin mixture.

Pour all in a Jello mold, cover and place in the refrigerator for several hours until set (preferably overnight).

Scallops risotto - Risotto aux noix de St Jacques

I used to never make risotto but somehow I have developed a taste for it which means I made it again a couple of nights ago, this time I had scallops and thought why not making them in a risotto (I still need to give you the last recipe I prepared scallops with).
It takes about 20 to 25 mn for the risotto to cook.

Scallops risotto / Risotto aux noix de Saint Jacques

For 2 people

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Shallot thinly sliced
3/4 cup / 150 gr of Arborio risotto rice
1 small bottle / 187 ml of dry white wine
1 1/2 cup / 350 ml Chicken stock
1/2 lemon zest and juice to taste
3 or 4 cloves of garlic (depending on how much you like it) thinly chopped
1 tomato chopped up
2 scallops (or more depending on their size, here in the US I found some fairly big ones so 2 were enough) chopped in smaller pieces
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan finely grated

Method
Before you start warm up your chicken stock.
In a saucepan pour 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté the shallot, when it is translucent (not brown) pour the rice and toss until it has absorbed the oil, then pour the wine over and stir over medium heat until most of it is absorbed.
Then add 1/2 cup of warm chicken stock and stir continuously until mostly absorbed, then continue with the rest of the stock adding 1/2 cup at a time until absorbed.
Halfway through add the lemon zest and juice.
When pouring the last 1/2 cup of stock take a separate pan and in 1/2 Tbsp olive oil sauté half of the garlic and tomato (do not brown the garlic) then when the tomato is cooked through add the rest of the garlic and the scallops pieces, salt and pepper and sauté till cooked through.
While the scallops are cooking the liquid in the rice should be all absorbed, add the Parmesan and stir.
At this point add the cooked scallops to the risotto, stir and check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Serve at once this rich and creamy mixture.

The GF Pizza Crust challenge

Last August we stayed at the "B&M Zoo" family cabin on Flathead lake in Montana and they challenged me to create a gluten free pizza crust as a major part of the family is gluten intolerant and it is always a challenge for them to find tasty GF pizza. Fast forward to last week and I received a mail enquiring of my progress, so I finally got to work and came up with the below recipe, my home committee of gluten lovers approved thumbs up of this new gluten free pizza crust, so I guess it's time to share it.

Gluten free pizza crust

Ingredients

1 cup / 180 gr Rice flour

1 cup / 145 gr Sorghum flour

1/2 / 80 gr cup Tapioca flour (if not available you can make it by grinding the tapioca pearls in a clean coffee grinder or use corn starch)

1/4 cup / 40 gr potato starch

2 tsp Xanthan gum (very important element in all gluten free baking, it is the "binding" agent that acts similarly to gluten)

1 tsp salt

1 egg

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup tepid water (can be increased by 1/4 cup depending on the dryness of your various flours, also rice flour absorbs liquid a lot)

2 tsp active dry yeast

1/2 tsp sugar

Method

Turn on your oven to 150 F.

Before you start measuring all the dry ingredients, mix the yeast with the tepid water and sugar and and set aside (it will start bubbling up a bit).

Then measure your dry ingredients in the mixing bowl of a stand up mixer (rice, sorghum, tapioca, potato, xanthan gum, salt). Pour the water/yeast mixture, the egg and mix with the paddle of the mixer for 4 or 5 mn till all well incorporated, then add the olive oil.

The dough will be a bit sticky but it shouldn't be too wet so after the first cup of water/yeast mixture you can add up to 1/4 cup of water but do it progressively.

Once all incorporated cut a third of the dough and roll it out on a Silpat or if you don't have one on a sheet of parchment paper cut to the size of a jelly roll pan, to the thickness you desire (I rolled mine very thinly and it was perfect), spray or baste a little olive oil on top so it won't dry out, turn of the oven and place the jelly roll pan and let the dough rise in the pre-heated oven for 30 mn.

Roll the rest of the dough on another pan and let it rise in the turned off oven as well. (If you have removable bottom tart pans these will also work just fine).

Then turn on the oven to 375 F and pre-bake the dough for 15mn, take it out and increase the oven temperature to 425 F and place the toppings of your choice on your pizza crust (I kept mine simple with tomato sauce, anchovies, black olives and mozzarella cheese) and put it back in the oven to finish the baking process for a further 15/20 mn.

The result will be a thin crispy crust gluten free pizza.

Creamless "creamy" leek soup

Back in September we went to a BBQ at Steve and Becky's farm and toured their beautiful vegetable garden, I was amazed at the amount of leeks they had, they looked really healthy (compared with mine who suffered the Beaver spell) and I exclaimed "leek soup, you have to make leek soup with these beauties".

Fast forward and every time I see Steve he reminds me I have to send him my leek soup recipe. So finally it is here, the weather we are experiencing at the moment is very conducive (5 days of non stop rain) to having soup and curling up by the fire.

Creamless "creamy" leek soup

For 4 servings

Ingredients

2 TBSP olive oil

2 lbs leek (approx.)

4 cloves of garlic

1 shallot

1/2 cup dry white wine (I always keep a stock of these small wine bottles for cooking)

3 to 4 cups chicken broth (or water and 1 bouillon cube)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Remove the root and trim the top off the leeks (if you buy them usually they are already trimmed, in this case just cut half an inch off to remove the dried out part), wash the leeks then slice/chop them.

In a cast iron (or other) pot pour 1 or 2 spoon full of olive oil and turn on the heat to medium, pour the cut out leeks over and sweat them for 20 mn or so until tender. Half way through add the garlic and shallot peeled and thinly sliced.

When the bottom of the pot starts browning add the white wine to deglaze and stir. Then pour the chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste and let the soup simmer for 30mn or so.

Taste to see if cooked through.

At this point you can either serve as is or, as I did, use the immersion blender and blend the soup.

You obtain a very thick and creamy soup without the guilt factor of the cream.

Serve with a sprinkle of freshly cut parsley.

Bon appétit!

Melting Honey and Almond cakes

Bees are amazing little creatures, they work incessantly to collect pollen from all the flowers that will ultimately become delicious honey. I grew up watching my Dad take care of his honey bees, I forgot about them a little as life went on until my last visit to France this past Spring when it was time to collect the honey made by those wonderful workers. Out of 10 hives we collected about 80 kilos of the golden liquid, this was a lot of honey. If you are ever so lucky to have that much honey here is a very nice gluten free cake that you could try, but you don't really need that much honey.

Melting Honey and Almond cakes
For about 40 mini muffin tins or 1 circular 24 cm / 9" diameter spring form
Ingredients
125 gr / short of 9 TBSP Unsalted Butter
70 gr / 1/2 cup & 1 Tbsp confectioners sugar
30 gr / 3 full Tbsp corn flour
30 gr / 3 normal Tbsp rice flour
105 gr / 2x1/3 cup raw almonds finely grounded
100 gr / 2 heap Tbsp lavender honey (if no lavender honey is available any other one will do too)
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder

Method
Mix egg yolks and softened butter.
Add honey, flours, almond powder and confectioners sugar, mix all well.
Whip the egg whites till stiff and delicately incorporate them to the mixture.
Pour in the moulds, you could also use 1 big circular pie dish, it is best to use silicon moulds, if not line your tin with parchment paper.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 C / 340 F for 25 to 30mn (depending on the size of the mould you are using, smaller = less time)
When baked let the cakes cool down for 5 or 10 mn before removing from the silicon molds, with the spring form it will be easier and you won't need the rest time.

This is delicious served with a hot fruit salad of honey glazed pineapple and pink grapefruit (add the grapefruit to the pan at the last minute so it doesn't over cook but just warms up and flambé with brandy before serving).

Lemon Risotto

There is no 2 ways about it, I love all things citrus, and when I tried a lemon risotto on a recent outing I had to reproduce it. Here is my recipe that I served with a grilled veal chop.


Lemon risotto
For 2 people as a main course
Ingredients
2 cups chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 shallot
3/4 cup risotto rice (I used Il riso BERETTA that I found at http://www.bigjohnspfiseattle.com/, great resource for an expat like me!)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan + 1 TBSP for serving
1 pinch of lemon zest (you can add more depending on how "lemony" you want your risotto to be)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh Lemon thyme to add that extra zing

Method
Warm up the broth and half of the lemon juice (it has to be hot when poured on the rice).
Sauté the shallot in a drop of olive oil (don't brown them), then add the rice and toss it so it gets covered in olive oil, at this point add the wine and half of the lemon juice, stir continuously until most of the liquid is gone.
Add half a cup of chicken/lemon broth and stir continuously until almost all absorbed, continue this process with the rest of the broth half a cup at a time (very important).
The total cooking time is about 20mn of continuous stirring on medium heat.
Half way through add the lemon thyme to taste.
When the rice is cooked and all the liquid used remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan, butter, salt, pepper and lemon zest to taste.
You should have a creamy risotto.
Serve with a topping of Parmesan and a sprig of fresh lemon thyme.

Chocolate or Lemon?

Time goes by very fast and Autumn is now definitely here, good bye warm sunny days, hello wet grey days. I see one definite advantage of this seasonal change, we can now indulge with less guilt in delicious comfort food again. And the first thing that came to my mind for a dessert was "chocolate" but at the same time I wanted the tanguiness of lemon to remind us of the summer warmth, so not wanting to decided on either flavour I made the two flavours and ended up with 24 mini tartlets. Since I wanted to reduce the guilt factor I made them gluten free. Here is my recipe, it is only in metric I still need to convert it to cups and spoons, to be followed...
Mini Orange flavoured Chocolate pies and Mini Lemon pies
For 24 mini tarlets
Pie crust
Ingredients
30 gr Amaranth flour
80 gr White rice flour
65 gr Millet flour
75 gr Almond flour
40 gr Confectioners sugar
1 egg
125 gr cold unsalted butter
1.5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Van Houten) (this is for half of the dough)

Method
Mix all dry ingredients then add egg and butter, either by hand or better in a stand up mixer, it is best to work fast and not overwork the dough as the butter will start softening fast.
Once all ingredients are mixed split the dough in 2 and wrap one half in clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to cool down, with the second half quickly mix the cocoa powder (I did it with a spatula) and wrap in a clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
When it is cold enough place your dough ready to roll out between 2 sheets of cling film (this is the only way you will be able to roll it out effectively), roll it out thin then peel off the top sheet of cling film and using a 3 inch (7.7 cm) round cookie cutter start cutting the dough.
Delicately peel off each circle of dough and place them in each of the mini tartlet pans, pressing them down and removing excess dough with a knife.
When all the pans are full place them on a baking tray in the pre-heated oven at 350 F/176 C for 10 to 20 mn (depending on your oven), once cooked delicately remove them from the pans and place them on a wire rack to cool down.

Fillings

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Orange flavoured Chocolate cream / Ganache au chocolat à l'orange

Ingredients

100 gr chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate)

100 gr heavy whipping cream

15 gr honey

Zest of 1 orange

A few drops of natural orange extract

100 gr heavy whipping cream whipped with

A dash of cointreau

1 tsp of confectioners sugar

.

Method

Bring the cream and honey to a boil then set asside to cool down

Melt the chocolate in a Bain-Marie (hot water bath), adding the orange zest and extract

When the cream has cooled down start incorporating it to the chocolate, it is important that the cream is not hot, otherwise the chocolate will curdle

Once all incorporated you should obtain a smooth glossy chocolate cream.

By now the cream should be cool and you can incorporate the whipped cream, it will make for a lighter filling.

.

.

Lemon curd

Ingredients

2 lemons juice and zest

2 eggs

74 gr sugar

28 gr butter

.

Method

Mix Lemon zest, sugar, lemon juice and eggs and place container over a hot bath (Bain Marie), cook while whisking frequently for about 15 mn untill the cream sets, remove from the bain Marie and when it has cooled down a bit add the butter and whisk until all melted.

Set aside in the fridge.

.

.

Assembling the tarlets

One hour before serving fill the tarlets with their respective fillings and place in the refrigerator to cool down.

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Bon appétit

Chicken liver pâté

Morsels of pâté on a plate with home made petit pain (small bread rolls). I say morsels as the entire terrine was devoured in a very short time! My grand mother used to make this recipe, then my mother and it is always a great success.


Pâté de foie de volaille/Chicken liver pâté
Ingredients
200 gr chicken liver grossly grounded (I find it fresh at Don & Joe's meat in Pike Place Market Seattle)
600 gr coarse ground pork (also at Don and Joe's)
10 gr salt
2 gr pepper
1 egg
60 ml cognac
125 ml dry white wine
1 medium size onion thinly chopped
2 tsp fresh Thyme
Note: proportions are 1/4 liver for 3/4 coarsely ground meat, you can change and use pork or lamb liver if you prefer

Method
Mix all above ingredients with a fork, pour in an oven proof terrine and level, place a laurel leaf on top, cover the terrine with a lid or tin foil if no lid is available.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/355 F
Place the terrine in a water bath and bake, time will depend on the weight of mix, rule is 1 hour per pound.
Once cooked let the terrine cool down and serve chilled with freshly baked bread (here petit pain, recipe will follow) and cornichon (small pickled gherkins).
Enjoy!

Perfect summer dessert

Time goes by very quickly and I find it hard to make 2 posts a week as I would like to. So before this week is totally over, here is a new recipe. This is a very easy dessert and totally in season and there is no baking involved. It's a recipe I got from my Mom on this last trip to France, the great thing about it is it's an ice cream so you can make it in advance and it won't spoil, you can have it in your freezer for this unexpected last minute dinner. With this dessert I can guarantee that your guests will be impressed, so simple yet so delicious.

Strawberry Vacherin / Vacherin à la fraise

For 8 people

Ingredients

3 egg yolks

4 Tbsp sugar (not too full)

350 gr Crème Fraîche (sour cream)

1 small bowl of fresh organic strawberries crushed

3 egg whites whipped

3 Tbsp icing sugar

5 or 6 small meringues (when in a rush I use Trader Joes's meringues)

Method

Hand mix Egg Yolks, 4 Tbsp sugar and crème fraîche, then add the crushed strawberries.

Whip the egg whites till they are firm then add the 3 Tbsp of icing sugar.

Fold in the egg whites to the mix of egg yolks/sugar/cream/strawberries.

Pour in a Charlotte mold (or Jel-Ring mold) a layer of the mix, then roughly break some meringue on top, then pour another layer or cream mix, then meringue, then cream mix, ... to the top of your mold, tap the mold a little to release some of the trapped air, close and place in freezer.

This can be enjoyed on it's own or with a fresh strawberry coulis.

Secret Ingredient: Lemon - Part 3

To finish this meal with a lemon twist I made a Gluten Free Rhubarb & Strawberry Crumble with a dash of Meyer lemon.




Rhubarb & Strawberry Crumble
For 6 large individual portions
Ingredients
80 gr Amaranth flour
80 gr Quinoa flour
100 gr Ground Almonds (not quite as a powder to give a bit of crunch)
200 gr Organic Cane Sugar
90 gr unsalted butter
6 large fresh rhubarb stalks
9 strawberries
Heavy whipping cream


Method
Peel the Rhubarb stalks and dice
Clean and dice the strawberries
Place rhubarb and strawberries in individual ramekins

Prepare the crumble:
Mix all the flours, almonds, sugar and butter in a bowl using a fork or in a mixing bowl using the large paddle, add the juice of 1 Meyer lemon.

Place even amounts of the crumble on top of each ramekins.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 210 C/400 F for about 25 mn
Half way through the baking time pour a couple of TBSP of heavy whipping cream on top of the crumble and finish baking.

Serve with a swig of heavy whipping cream and enjoy warm.

Gluten free almond and orange cake

In a previous post I talked about this gluten free orange cake that I usually make and I thought I should also post it, contrary to the other recipe this one has butter in it and the egg whites are not separated and beaten (although you can do that for a lighter cake). This post is for Clare, it should make a nice and different graduation cake.

Almond and Orange cake

10"/25 cm long baking tin, round baking tin or you could also use a round spring form, I prefer the long or round tin as it makes it easier to cut slices

Ingredients

For the cake

200 gr almond powder (almond meal) - I usually powder the almonds myself as it is fresher this way

50 gr corn flour (not corn starch)

1 tsp baking powder

125 gr sugar

3 eggs

Juice and zest of 2 oranges (approx. 200 ml)

For the glazing

Juice and zest of 2 oranges (approx. 200 ml)

A dash of cointreau

125 gr confectioner's sugar (although I don't like using it in the US since there is corn starch in it, in this case I replace it with very fine sugar)

Method

Mix all ingredients for the cake (almond, corn flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs and orange juice and zest), use a hand held mixer with the whisk on and whisk until you obtain a nice fluffy dough.

For even better result you can separate the eggs and beat the whites separately then gently fold them into your mix.

Pour into a lined 10"/25cm long baking tin and bake in pre-heated oven at 310 F/155 C for 40 to 45 mn.

While the cake is baking simmer in a pan the glazing ingredients (orange juice, cointreau to taste and sugar)

When the cake is baked place upside down in a serving dish and immediately (while still very hot) pour over simmering glaze, let cool and serve at room temperature.

This is a delicious dessert cake.

It is best to make it 1 day ahead.

Gluten and dairy free orange cake

Last part of the meal was dessert and there again I didn't want to use wheat flour or butter, I had a tried and tested recipe but wanted a change, so here goes this new recipe.

Gluten & Dairy free Orange cake

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 oranges
150 gr brown sugar
170 gr almond powder (I use full raw almonds that I grind)
6 egg yolks
6 egg whites
A dash of cointreau or any other liqueur you prefer

Method
Juice and zest the oranges, mix with sugar, almond powder, egg yolks and liqueur.
Beat the egg whites and delicately incorporate them to the batter.
Pour into oiled form (I use a 24 cm/9"diameter spring form cake pan with a layer of parchment paper on the bottom).
Bake into preheated oven at 110 C/230 F for 40 to 50mn depending on your oven.

Totally gluten free & vegetarian pasta dish

As a main course for this gluten free dinner I wanted to make Cannelloni with Spinach and Ricotta, but I couldn't use the normal wheat cannelloni, so after some thinking and browsing I thought about making rice pasta, I came across this recipe and method, I slightly changed the recipe to avoid gluten. Then for the stuffing of the Rice Cannelloni I substituted the ricotta with goat cheese which gave a very nice taste.

Rice pasta

I obtained 6 "rice pancakes" 24 cm/9" in diameter

Ingredients

150 gr white rice flour

1.5 TBSP potato starch

2 TBSP corn flour

100 ml cold water

1 TBSP oil

1/2 tsp salt

Method

Ladle a thin layer of batter in an oiled baking tray and place it in a steamer for 5 or 6 mn, when cooked take the tray out and let it cool, use a spatula to remove, continue until all the batter is used up.

Rice cannelloni with spinach and goat cheese

For 6 people

Inspired by Mary Berry's recipe in Complete cookbook

Tomato sauce

Ingredients

1 large onion peeled and chopped

3 garlic cloves peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

2 carrots chopped

1 x 28 oz tin peeled tomatoes

1 small tin of tomato purée

2 chicken stock cubes if you do not have any fresh chicken stock

Thin with water (about 300 ml)

Salt and pepper

Method

In some olive oil lightly brown the onion, garlic, carrot, celery then add the tomatoes and tomato purée, stir in the stock, water, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let it simmer for 30 mn or so.

When cooked purée the sauce with an immersion blender.

While the tomato sauce is cooking prepare the Spinach and Goat Cheese filling

Ingredients

1 medium onion or shallot chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped

700 gr / (1.5 pound) cooked spinach

225 gr / 0.5 pound fresh goat cheese

A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (to taste)

Method

In some olive oil lightly brown the onion and garlic, add the spinach on high heat for a couple of minutes, remove from the heat and let it cool a little, then add the Goat Cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble the Rice cannelloni with the spinach and goat cheese filling in a Pyrex dish, see picture, then pour tomato sauce (if I don't use all the tomato sauce I freeze the left over) and top with some grated Parmesan cheese and bake for 30mn at 200 C/392 F.

Let it rest for 5mn before serving.

Totally gluten free Bread

The last meal we hosted presented a new challenge of being totally gluten free, dairy and meat free. So I started with bread, did a bit of research and found that if one makes totally gluten free bread it is important to use Xanthan gum as a substitute for gluten. I went to our local coop and stocked up on all the various flours I could find then went home to start my new baking project. The end result is a very dense and strong tasting bread, I wouldn't eat it every day but once in a while it is an interesting change. I guess for a milder taste you would need to reduce the buckwheat quantity and substitue with chestnut flour or hazelnut or almond.

Totally gluten free Bread

For a 10"/25cm long loaf pan

Ingredients

150 gr Buckwheat flour

150 gr Rice flour

50 gr Millet flour

50 gr Amaranth flour

100 gr Quinoa flour

1.5 tsp Xanthan gum

2.5 Tbsp grape seed oil (resistant to heat, not too strong in flavour)

2 tsp salt

400 ml tepid water

3 tsp active dry yeast

2 tsp brown sugar

Method

Dilute brown sugar and yeast in water and set aside while you measure the flours.

Place all the flours in a mixing bowl add the salt and oil.

Pour water/yeast/sugar mixture on the flours and mix/knead for 5/10mn you will obtain a very sticky dough, more like a paste.

Cover with a towel and let it rest/rise at room temperature for 1 hour, mix again and let it rest again for 1 hour, mix then place in baking tin, cover and let it rest for another hour.

Because of the lack of gluten this dough doesn't really rise, the yeast makes it a little more airy but definitely not like a gluten bread.

Bake in preheated oven at 360 F / 182 C for 40 to 50 mn (depending on your oven).

It will be a very heavy loaf, it doesn't really sound hollow like the wheat flour bread so it is more difficult to tell when it is baked, if you are not sure and extra 5mn in the oven won't harm it.

It is best fresh and for those of us who eat dairy it is delicious with butter, also the following morning for breakfast with some honey on it.

Happy baking