Gluten-Free Pita Bread that took me by surprise

This recipe is one that found me, instead of me finding the recipe. This recipe just presented itself when I was making... pizza. Yes, pizza dough is very different from pita dough, in the non-Gluten-Free world. But in my world, which happens to be gluten-free because that is what keeps my son(s) heathy, this is the closest I've ever come to a gluten-free pita bread that actually puffs up and tastes like pita bread. 

I was making my favorite pizza dough, I'll post the recipe here again but you can find it on my blog index as well, rolled it out and punched out small circles out of the dough to  make mini-pizza's to go into our pizza oven. I always pre-bake them before we actually put toppings on them, so that it won't take too long to bake them in the pizza oven, and that's when my mini-pizza's turned into little pita bread. In the oven the dough puffed up and when I took one out and sliced it open, I found out I could stuff it, just like regular pita bread. My youngest, who isn't a fan of pizza, loved it immediately and so while we ate pizza's he at pita bread filled with peanut butter & chocolate sprinkles (my favorite too when I was pregnant with him, so maybe it's true that your kids learn to love certain foods while living in your tummy). I jumped for you, because the ready made gluten-free pita breads I had bought before just didn't cut it. Not by a long shot. But these? These are heavenly and found me by surprise. 

You can stuff them with anything you like, but Gijs recommends peanut butter & chocolate sprinkles. And so do I. ;-)

So, here's the recipe to the pizza dough (which isn't mine but comes from a fantastic cookbook called "recipes for gluten-free kids") and from now on, for lovely pita bread as well. It makes about 12-15 pita's depending on the diameter of the circle you us to punch out the discs of dough. I think the trick is in the amount of yeast you use, but don't pin me down on it. I'm no expert, I'm just a glutenfreemomma trying to make life better for her two boys and hoping to help others in the process. :-)  

Ingredients:

• 410 grams (3 cups) of glutenfree all purpose flour
• 14 grams of yeast (2 packets of 0.25 oz each)
• 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum
• 310 ml (1.25 cup) of warm water
• 60 ml (0.25 cup) of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 230 degrees centigrade (450 degrees Fahrenheit). Line baking sheets or pizza pans with baking paper/parchment paper. 
2. Mix flour blend, yeast, xanthan gum and salt in a large bowl. Whisk 1 cup of warm water, oil, egg whites, honey and vinegar in a bowl. Beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a mixer at low speed until combined. Add additional water by tablespoonfuls until batter is smooth and thick. Beat 5 more minutes on medium-high, scraping the bowl occasionally. If your dough becomes too sticky, add a little bit more rice flour or gluten free all purpose flour till it looks and feels more like regular dough. it will always be a bit more sticky, but you don't want it all sticking to your hands or your kitchen counter.
3. Dust your kitchen counter with gluten free flour and roll the dough out till it's about half a centimeter (a quarter of an inch) thick. Punch out the discs of dough.Put them on the baking sheets. 
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes till the crust is lightly browned and your pita's have puffed up. Be careful when slicing them, the air that comes from inside can cause serious burns, so let them cool for just a few minutes and be careful! 

Enjoy!!

Gluten Free Banana Bread with Honey & Cinnamon

I bake 2 to 3 gluten free breads per week (when my boys hit puberty it will most likely be 7 times a week because they'll eat like maniacs by then) and I couldn't do that without my loyal and beloved Breville bread maker. It saves me time,  even if the baking process takes longer than it would in the regular oven. While the bread maker does it's magic, I can do other stuff and I don't have to check if my bread is doing well. Because I know the Breville doesn't fail on me. I usually make basic bread with Le Pooles Rimboe Mix (it's a Dutch brand, my kids love it!!!) but I like to experiment too. One of those experiments is this bread, because I had some left over ripe bananas that I didn't want to throw out. This recipe is based on a bread maker to save you time.

This bread looks simple, but smells delicious!

Ingredients:

• 400 ml (14 fl oz) of warm buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of honey
• 250 grams (9 oz) of ripe bananas (mashed)
• 500 grams (1 lb 2 oz) of plain gluten free flour (I used Le Poole's)
• 2 teaspoons of fiber husk
• 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 0.5  teaspoon of iodized salt
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 14 grams (0.5 oz) of yeast
• Some cinnamon sugar for decoration

Instructions:

1. Put all the ingredients in your bread maker in the order you see them above.
2. Turn on your bread maker and put it on a program me that either makes gluten free bread or French bread. I always use the French bread program me because with my machine it gives the best result. The bread needs time to mix and most of all to proof and this program does that. 
3. Turn the machine on and let it do it's thing. I always stick around when it is mixing, so I can help the machine along with a spoon if it can't mix the dough well. Gluten free dough is sticky and sometimes that prevents the machine of combining the ingredients. I use a spoon to get the flour from the sides and to mix along with the machine. When it's done mixing, sprinkle on some cinnamon sugar for decoration. Then let the machine do it's work. 
4. When the machine is done and your bread is golden and smells heavenly, take it out of the machine & let it cool on a wire rack underneath a clean dish cloth till it's fully cooled. Then slice it and store it in the fridge, but not before you have s slice with a bit of salted butter & some chocolate sprinkles. 

Enjoy!

Shortbread, Chocolate Ganache and Caramel Pie

Disclaimer: This recipe will add about 5 pounds just by looking at it. You are warned. 

This recipe was born while I was drooling over the many foodblog posts on my Tumblr. I follow tons of foodblogs and I never ever look at them when I'm hungry. Because it is a constant feed of the most amazing food. Well, maybe foodporn is even a better word. As I was scrolling through my dashboard one day and drooling at the most amazing cakes & pies, the idea for this cake popped up in my head. I needed a good excuse to make it, because this pie is way too rich to make for no reason at all. And this weekend I had a good excuse. My birthday. And to the kitchen I went and this is what I created. 

Don't look too long, you may gain another pound! 

Ingredients:

Shortbread

• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of soft butter
• 50 grams (1.75 oz) of finely granulated sugar
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of gluten free rice flour
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of gluten free corn flour

Chocolate ganache

• 325 ml (11 fl oz) double cream
• 2 tablespoons finely granulated sugar
• a tiny pinch of salt
• 125 (4.5 oz) grams of soft butter
• 450 grams (1 lb) of dark chocolate
• 100 ml (3.5 fl oz) of milk

Caramel

• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of soft butter
• 50 grams (1.75 oz) of light caster sugar
• 400 ml (14 fl oz) of condensed milk

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade (400 degrees fahrenheit).
2. Line a cake tin with baking parchment & grease it.
3. To make the shortbread: Put the butter and sugar in bowl and beat till it is light and airy. Whisk in the flours and pour it in the cake tin. Press it down with your fingers till you get a firm base. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes till it is lightly golden. take it out of the oven and let it cool. 
4. Now make the ganache. Bring the double cream, sugar and salt to a boil in a pan with a think base. As soon as it boils, take the pan off the fire and add chocolate & butter. Stir it until everything is combined. Let is cool for a few minutes, then add the cold milk bit by bit. Stir it in slowly until the mixture is smooth & shiny. Pour it onto the shortbread and put it in the fridge for 2 hours to let is set. 
5. When the ganache is firm and is winking at you from the fridge saying: eat me, eat me, eat me! ... start on the caramel: 
6. Get another pan with a thick base and put in the butter, sugar and condensed milk, and put is on a low fire to melt the butter and sugar into the condensed milk. The most important thing is to keep stirring while it all melts and combines. As soon as it's bubbling, keep on stirring and let it bubble away for 5 minutes while stirring... (no, don't even dare to walk away from the pan!!!). Take the pan off the heat, keep on stirring until the thick caramel has stopped bubbling. let it cool for about 5 to 10 minutes and then pour it on the ganache. This will start to melt again so be quick and put it into the fridge for at least another two hours. I let it set for an entire night. 
7. Before serving it I dusted the caramel top with powdered sugar and stuck on some store bought Chocolate Owls using a bit of sugar glaze. 

Enjoy and be sure to warn your guests not to eat much before they eat this pie!

Lemon and Raspberry Cupcakes with Lemon Curd buttercream

I can make up a whole blog about why I made these cupcakes, but in fact it's very simple: because they are just the yummiest things you've ever eaten. I love to prove to people that gluten free doesn't automatically mean that the food is tasteless and this recipe does just that. So, without further ado, here's the recipe. It makes 12 small cupcakes. 

They are as delicious as they look!

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes

• 115 grams (4 oz) of soft butter
• 115 grams (4 oz) of finely granulated sugar
• 2  large eggs
• 115 grams (4 oz) of gluten free rice flour
• the grated zest of one lemon
• 3 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum (so your cupcakes won't fall to pieces)
• 1 tablespoon of lemon curd
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of raspberries 

For the buttercream & decoration

• 250 grams (9 oz) of soft butter
• 75 grams (2.75 oz) of lemon curd
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of icing sugar
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of raspberries 

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade (400 degrees fahrenheit)
2. Line a cupcake tray with paper cups.
3. Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a big bowl till it's light, airy & fluffy. 
4. Slowly beat in the eggs. 
5. Sift the rice flour, cream of tartar & xanthan gum above the bowl and fold it in. 
6. Fold in the lemon zest, lemon curd and raspberries and scoop the dough into the cups in the cupcake tin. 
7. Put the cupcake tin(s) in the oven and bake them for about 20-25 minutes until the cupcakes are golden and firm. 
8. Take them out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes until you transfer them to a wire rack to let them fully cool. 
9. Take a new bowl and make the buttercream by combining the butter, icing sugar and lemon curd. Put it in a piping bag and pipe it onto the cooled cupcakes. Decorate with the raspberries & wow your guests. Don't forget to have one yourself! 

Swimming Diploma Cake tutorial

I've always loved baking, but I've never been much into cake decorating. Why? Because there was no need to do that. I bought pretty cakes at the bakery. But when my oldest son turned out to be a celiac, it proved difficult to get a safe cake. My sons first birthday cake was hideously expensive & unfortunately not tasty. It was some sort of chocolate & bavarois thing because the 'cake architect' didn't dare use gluten free flour and this was what he could make guaranteed gluten free. 

That was the moment I realized I had to learn how to decorate a cake so my kid had a decent birthday cake. My first one wasn't pretty at all, but I learned along the way and now I love making my kids special cakes that no other kid has. They are far from perfect, but I still get better with every cake and I learn new techniques every day.

Last week my son got his second swimming diploma, something that in our tiny country with lots of water is a necessity, so that deserved a cake. A pretty, special, gluten free cake. This is what I made:

And because I know it's not easy making a decorated gluten free cake from scratch I thought I'd share the 'secret' of how I made this cake. So, here's the tutorial. 

Ingredients cake:

• 375 grams (13 oz) of butter
• 375 grams (13 oz) of light caster sugar
• 6 eggs
• 375 grams (13 oz) of rice flour
• 3 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum

Ingredients filling:

• 400 grams (14 oz) of cream cheese (I used MonChou cream cheese)
• 250 grams (9 oz) of powdered sugar
• 4-6 tablespoons of milk 
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla aroma
• 4-5 sliced caramelized pears (I bought them in a jar, caramelized and all)

For decoration:

• 375 grams (13 oz) of white fondant
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of pink fondant
• a bit of yellow (blonde) & orange fondant
• a black food coloring pen
• 140 grams (5 oz) of blue frosting (you can color a bit of the frosting that is used for the filling & to cover the outside of the cake). I bought a blue frosting for cupcakes that is gluten free)

Instructions:

• Grease and line two round baking tins with a 20 cm/ 8 inches diameter.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade, 400 degrees fahrenheit.
• Mix all ingredients in a big bowl till you have a smooth batter. 
• Spoon the dough into the baking tins and bake the cakes in 35-40 minutes until the cake is firm and the cake bounces back when you softly press the top. 
• Let the cake cool completely. 
• Mix the cream cheese frosting till smooth and spread some on both halves. Put the sliced pear on the frosting on the bottom cake.

• Put the other half on top with the frosting downwards. 

• Now carve a circle on in the top cake and spoon out some cake as to create the pool. 
• Spread cream cheese frosting on top and on the sides. The left over frosting can be coloured blue to make the water later on. 

• Put the cake in the fridge to let that set while you roll out the fondant. 
• Roll out the fondant on some baking parchment dusted with powdered sugar. Make sure it doesn't get too thin and make it twice as large as the cake so you can smooth it out over the cake easily. 
• Cut the excess fondant away. Create 'tiles' using a knife. Softly press it into the cake at the same intervals. Do not cut, just carve a tiny line into the cake. Do this all around the cake. 

• Pipe the blue frosting on the top of the cake, making waves. I just went from side to side layering the frosting on top. 
• Now place your figurine on top. I made it the day before and made it look (a bit) like my son. This seems difficult, but all you need is patience and remember it is just like making a dough figure. I made everything separately, the legs, the body, the arms & the head. I used a knife to slowly carve the yellow fondant to make it look like hair.  I coloured the eyes using a black food coloring pen that looks just like a marker. I then assembled the body and carved out the swimming trunks out of a piece of rolled out orange fondant and formed it around the figure till it fit. I drew on the knot on the trunks. 
• Once you place it on top make some splashes with some frosting near the arms and legs by piping on a bit of extra blue frosting. 
• Take a piece of white fondant and form it into a starting block. Put a skewer in the bottom of the starting blok and punch that into the cake. Now it won't fall off. 

• Roll out some orange fondant and cut out a number for the starting block & letters to form your words on your cake using number & letter cutters (I use Wilton ones). You can stick those on using a bit of glaze you make from powdered sugar and a few drops of water. To give it a bit of extra shine i used some blue Wilton Sparkle Gel to draw some extra waves in the cake.I also used some extra sparkle gel to form the B for his second diploma. And there, your cake is done! 

A unique and safe cake for my celiac son!