Glutenfree briochecupcakes with forest fruit topping

As promised after my rather big rant in my previous blog from 2 weeks ago here's a lovely new recipe. In this recipe I get to combine 3 of my food favorites: cupcakes, brioche bread and forest fruits. How's that for indulgence?

The basic, non glutenfree recipe, is from my cupcake inspiration: Cupcake Heaven magazine. I turned it into a glutenfree recipe & combined my brioche bread recipe with theirs. The difference with my brioche recipe is that I've used a bigger amount of butter, because I wanted an (even more) luxurious taste for these cupcakes and I've used less flour.They would make a great addition to a glutenfree high tea or just enjoy them with a great cup of tea.

This recipe makes 12 yummy brioche cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 200 grams (7 oz) of soft unsalted butter
• 20 grams (0.75 oz) of vanilla sugar
• 1 tablespoon of regular granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 375 grams (9.75 oz) of glutenfree breadflour
• 20 grams of yeast
• 1 teaspoon of iodized salt
• 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon of fiber husk
• 200 ml (7 fl oz) of lukewarm milk (use proper milk, not non-fat, it will make your brioche so much more tasteful)
• 1 egg (beaten)

For the topping

• 250 grams (9 oz) of forest fruits
• Powered sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 50 degrees centigrade (122 degrees fahrenheit), put a bowl of water in the oven. The water will help the proofing of the bread.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt in a bowl.
3. Add the xanthan gum and fiber husk and mix.
4. Add butter, 3 eggs and lukewarm milk and the yeast. Mix it all with an electric mixer till you get a firm yet sticky dough. 
5. Line cupcake trays with paper cups and scoop in the dough. 
6. Put it in the preheated oven for an hour to let it proof. 
7. After an hour, take the trays out of the oven and preheat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade (375 degrees fahrenheit). Brush the top of every cupcake with some of the beaten egg and when the oven is on the right temperature put it back into the oven for another 20-30 minutes until the cupcakes are baked and golden. Leave them on a rack to cool for a few minutes.
8. Make a puree of the forest fruits (I pureed them separately) and sweeten with powdered sugar. Spoon some puree over every cupcake.

Enjoy!

Glutenfree Brioche that makes marvellous glutenfree French Toast

I don't know how some people can live carbfree. People ask me how horrible it actually is to be glutenfree, I would love to ask that same question to people who do without carbs. To me it must be pure torture as I love bread and I couldn't live without it. One of my favorite breads is Brioche. The softness of the bread, the buttery taste, I adore it. With preserve, lemon curd or Gouda cheese it is better than any pastry to me.
It took me a while to find the right recipe for glutenfree Brioche, but I've found it. Now we can have a wonderful breakfast with the family enjoying this little piece of heaven just as it is, or... slice it up and make the most delicious glutenfree French Toast. Ever. No lie!

Ingredients

• 500 grams (1 lb 2 oz) of plain glutenfree flour
• Half a teaspoon of iodized salt
• 20 grams (0.75 oz) of vanilla sugar
• 2 dl (7 fl oz) of lukewarm milk
• 125 grams (4.5 oz) of soft butter. Do not settle for anything less than butter!!
• 3 eggs
• 30 grams (1.125 oz) of yeast
• 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon of fiberhusk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 50 degrees Centigrade (122 degrees Fahrenheit) and put a bowl of water in the oven. This will help the dough to proof. 
2. Mix the flour with the salt and vanilla sugar. 
3. Add fiberhusk and xanthan gum, followed by the lukewarm milk, eggs and softened butter. 
4. Mix everything with an electric mixer into a firm dough. Be aware, glutenfree dough needs to be a bit moist, otherwise it won't proof as well and you will get a compact bread. 
5. Now add the yeast and mix again.
6. Butter a breadpan and transfer the dough into the pan. Even it out and put it in the preheated oven for an hour to let the dough proof. 
7. After that hour take bread out of the oven, turn up the heat to 160 degrees Centigrade (325 degrees Fahrenheit)  and when the oven is on temperature, put it back into the oven for about 25 minutes till it is golden. 
8. Take it out of the oven, beat an eggyolk and immediately spread that over top of the bread with a kitchenbrush. 
9. Take it out of the breadpan and let it cool.

Now...
How to make delicious French Toast with this Brioche:

• Make a batter of 500 milliliters (18 fl oz) of milk, 5 eggs (yes, 5 eggs as you need a whole lot of batter because once you start you won't stop eating ;-)), 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon to taste. 
• Slice up the Brioche, and put the slices through the batter untill they are covered in batter but not soaked.
• Put some butter in a frying pan and fry each slice on a low heat until golden on both sides. Serve with preserve or dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh forestfruits.