Cinnamon cheescake with Dutch stewed pears & a speculoos base

Autumn & winter aren't my favorite seasons. I don't like the cold. I don't like the darkness & the gloomy atmosphere that comes with it. But I do love the food. It's comforting & traditional. The smells & tastes bring me back to my youth, when life was simple. And the food is just as simple. 

This cheesecake combines the best of autumn & winter: cinnamon, speculoos cookies (or as we call it speculaas) and typically Dutch stewed pears. Whenever I make them, i think of my grandma, who made them for us when we came for dinner and they always tasted so delicious. She was so good at them. They make me smile & this cheesecake will warm your heart & tickle your tastebuds as well. 

I did not invent this recipe, it's someone else's clever & delicious invention. I altered a bit of the recipe to my grandma's way of making the stewed pears (with port wine, you cannot do without!!) and a gluten free base with my "kruidnootjes" dough as base. Here's my gluten free version:

It might not look all that pretty, but it makes up for it in taste

Ingredients:

Stewed pears

• 4-5 Gieser Wildeman pears
• 350 ml (12 fl oz) water
• 2 tablespoons of granulated vanilla sugar
• 1 cinnamonstick
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 star anise
• 1.5 glass of port wine

For the gluten free speculoos base

• 25 grams (1 oz) of soft butter
• 125 gram (4,5 oz) of dark caster sugar 
• 8 grams (0.25 oz) of vanilla sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• 50 grams (1.75 oz) of gluten free buckwheat flour
• 200 grams (7 oz) of gluten free cookie flour (I used Shar's C mix)
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder
• 2 tablespoons of gluten free mixed spice/speculoos spices (a mixture of ground cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, kardemom & orange peels) 

For the Cheesecake

• 400 grams (14 oz) of cream cheese (I used Dutch Mon Chou cream cheese)
• 250 grams (9 oz) of cottage cheese 
• 125 grams (4,5 oz) of granulated sugar
• 8 grams (0.25 oz) of vanilla sugar 
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 
• 1 tablespoon of mixed spice/speculoos spices 
• 1 vanilla bean

How to make the stewed pears:

It's best to make them the night before so they are cold when used in the cake. 

• Scrape the vanilla from the bean'pod and put in a separate bowl. 
• Put the water, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean and star anise in a small saucepan. Stir so that the juice absorbs the sugar. 
• Peel the pears, slice them in quarters and remove the core. Add them to the pan. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil. 
• Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and cook the pears for about 1 hour. Then add the port wine & cook for another 30 minutes. 
• Turn off the heat and let the pears cool in the pan with the lid on, outside of the refrigerator.

How to make the cake:

You start with the dough for the speculoos base:

• Beat the butter with the sugar until creamy. 
• Beat in the egg.
• Then add the mixed spice/speculoos spice, cinnamon, xanthan gum, salt, cream of tartar and all of the gluten-free flour and kneed the dough (using a mixer) into a firm ball. 
• Put this, covered with foil, in the refrigerator for an hour.
• Line a spring baking tin with baking parchment and butter the sides. 
• Roll out the dough on a clean surface and line the baking tin with it. Put it in the fridge.
• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees centigrade / 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Now make the cheesecake filling as follows:

• Mix the cream cheese, cottage cheese, sugar, cinnamon, mixed spices and vanilla until you have a smooth mixture. 
• Fold in the eggs one at a time. 
• Remove the tin from the fridge and pour the mixture onto the crust. 
• Put the pears on top. 
• Bake the cake about 1 hour in the preheated oven. 
• The cake should have a beautiful golden color and there should be no more moisture to be seen. 
• Allow the cake to cool for at least three hours on a wire rack before you serve it. 

Enjoy!

Ps. next time I'm making this cheesecake, I'll chop up some 1 extra stewed pear and mix it through the cheesecake mixture. That would make it even more fabulous!!

Mozzarella, Basil & Parmesan Bread

I could write a whole story about why home made gluten-free bread is so much better than store bought, or about what it's like to have to bake all your own bread if you are looking for variety in your gluten-free diet, but with this bread, it's not necessary. You cannot buy this kind of bread and come on... look at it:

And it's not that much work to make either... so what are you waiting for?

This recipe makes two fluffy, yummy ciabatta shaped breads. It's delicious as it is, but it is lovely with a cup of your favorite soup. 

Ingredients:

• 400 grams (14 oz) of gluten-free (bread) flour 
• 15 grams (0.5 oz) of yeast
• 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 250 ml (9 fl oz) of warm water
• 60 ml (2.25 oz) of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of greek yoghurt
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of chopped mozzarella
• 50 grams (1.75 oz) of grated parmesan cheese
• a handful of fresh basil leaves (chopped)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees centigrade or 425 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Line an oven tray with baking parchment.
3. Mix the flour (in a big bowl) with the yeast, xanthan gum and salt.
4. Whisk the water, oil, eggs, honey and vinegar together in another bowl. 
5. Beat this (together with the greek yoghurt into  the dry ingredients with an electric mixer at a low speed until you have a thick, shiny dough. 
6. Beat it for another 5 minutes on medium high speed, mixing air into the dough and scraping the ides of the bowl occasionally. Add the mozzarella, parmesan cheese and basil in the last two minutes. If it's very sticky, add a bit of extra flour.
7. Divide the dough in two batches and form both into ciabatta shaped loafs on a clean, gluten-free flour dusted surface.
8. Carve the top of the loaves to make them pretty and put them on the baking tray. 
9. Lower the heat to about 200 degrees centigrade (400 degrees fahrenheit) and put them in the oven for about 40-45 minutes. I do not let this dough proof, it works just as well when you put it straight into the oven. They will come out golden, fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Enjoy!

Gluten-free 'leftovers' fiber-cake

My cupboard with baking products was overflowing with leftovers again. That's what happens when you experiment a lot, because somehow you never need the full amount of the stuff you buy for your recipe. So I put it all on my counter and realized they had one thing in common: they're all products full of fibers. Fibers are essential for your (intestines) health. You need them, but celiacs don't always get enough of them. Because gluten-free products lack natural fibers. Natural fibers that are in wheat, barley, rye and spelt. You can compensate part of it by eating lots of veggies but with kids, that's always tricky. Mine do ok with their veggie intake, but a bit more fibers (and vitamins & minerals) can't hurt. So I often bake bread and add nutritious stuff like dried fruits, tomatoes, herbs, nuts, oatmeal and such. But you can also bake cakes full of fibers. That's what I did today:

Ingredients:

• 125 grams (4,5 oz) of soft butter
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of cane sugar
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of molasses (I used Dutch apple syrup)
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of gingerbread spices 
• 110 grams (about 4 oz) of almond flour
• 110 grams (about 4 oz) of gluten-free cake flour (I used Schar's C-mix)
• 10 grams (0.5 oz) of cream of tartar
• 50 grams (1.75 oz) of grated coconut and some extra to sprinkle on top
• 25 grams (1 oz) of gluten-free oatmeal and some extra to sprinkle on top
• 125 grams (4.5 oz) of raisins (I soaked them in rooibos tea for half an hour before adding them to the cake mix)
• 1 apple (chopped in tiny pieces)

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees centigrade (a little over 325 degrees fahrenheit).
• Cream the cane sugar and soft butter together until it is a fluffy mixture. Add the molasses and mix it in. 
• Then add the eggs and mix that in. Beat the mixture until it is airy and well combined. 
• Now add the spices, almond flour, cake flour and cream of tartar. Beat it well until it is all combined. 
• Add the coconut & oatmeal and mix it in. 
• Finally add the raisins (drain them well!!!!) & the chopped apple. Fold this in instead of beating it, so your batter will stay light & airy. 
• Butter a cake tin and tip the cake batter in. Sprinkle the top with some coconut & oatmeal & put the cake tin in the middle of the oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes. If the top gets dark too fast, lower the temperatures.
• When the cake is all golden and baked fully (stick a skewer in to check if the batter doesn't stick to it. If it doesn't, then the cake is done), take it out of the oven, out of the tin and let it cool on a wire rack. 

Enjoy!

Coconut & Pumpkin Cake with lots of dark chocolate on top!

Damn that last bit of the big ole pumpkin that was still taking up refridgerator space. It had to go, so I just had to make sonmething with the last itty bit of it (you don't throw away perfectly good & nutricious food even if you don't know what to make with it, now do you?). And since I couldn't bear to eat pumkin soup again and my kids would kill me if we ate pumpkin risotto for the millionth time, it had to be a cake of some kind. This recipe is my own invention, no 'inspirational stealing' from anywhere so it's a Wendy-original... and it turned out soooo good!

Yes, it tastes as good as it looks

Ingredients:

• 550 grams  (1 lb 4 oz) of cooked and mashed pumpkin (cooled)
• 220 grams (8 oz) of basic gluten free cake flour (iIused Schar's cake & cookie flour - Mix C)
• 200 grams (7 oz) of sugar
• 125 grams (4.5 oz) of soft butter
• 4 eggs
• 125 grams (4.5 oz) of grated coconut and some extra for decoration
• 10 grams (0.25 oz) of cream of tartar
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of dark chocolate

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade or 350 degrees fahrenheit
• Cream the butter and the sugar in a big bowl until it's light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs and then add the flour, cream of tartar, gluten free flour & the coconut. When that's all combined add the pumpkin. Fold it in carfully so your batter won't lose the air you've beaten into it.
• Butter a cake tray and pour in the batter.
• Place it in the middle of the oven & let it bake for about 40-45 minutes, until your house smells heavenly and the cake is risen and golden.
• Take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes before you gently take it out of the tray. Place it on a wire rack and let it cool completely.
• Melt the chocolate (chunks) in a bowl that you place on a pan with softly boiling water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl. When it's completely melted pour it over your cake & sprinkle it with coconut. Leave it till it's completely cooled & serve with tea!

Enjoy!

My other gluten free pumpkin recipes:

• Pumpkin & buttermilk bread
• Pumpkin & walnut cupcakes
• Pumpkin pie with cream cheese frosting

Pumpkin Pie with Cream Cheese Frosting

I've had many conversations about my sons gluten free diet the last few days. My son was invited to a birthday party of a classmate and so I had to discuss his diet with her mom in order to make sure he was catered for. His classmate had told her mother already that Thijmen has a diet, so her mom was sort of prepared. Until she heard what it all meant. A bit overwhelmed she said: "Oh my, that must be so difficult to live with...." and I answered her: "No, it's ok... when you are used to it..." and in my mind I was already concocting a new recipe. I also told her: "I'll e-mail you where you can get what you need so you won't have too much work and he'll eat safely & has fun." 

I'm always e-mailing people, calling restaurants, bowling alleys, theme parks or zoo's to check if my kid can eat there gluten free. And I stress how important it is to be strict in this diet, because it will make him very sick otherwise. It's part of being the mom of kids on a gluten free diet. But when people ask me if it is hard and difficult, I will always tell them it's not that bad. When you are used to it. And that is the truth, although it might looks like i'm contradicting myself. This diet is strict and there are so many freaking things you need to remember of which cross contamination is the hardest one. It's so hard for others to understand that one measly crum of bread, pasta, cookie, cake or candy can make you sick. But once you've learned all the tricks, know which products are safe (but keep checking ingredient declarations at all times), have turned your life style around it (washing your hands a gazillion times per day for instance), once the diet is in your system, it's really is no that bad. It's still a serious business, but it is not the end of the world. You just get used to all the organizing, baking, cooking and explaining. 

Now if only all the above was the same for doctors. I also talked to two friends this week who have loved ones with tummy issues and it amazed me how easy doctors say: Go eat gluten free for a while to see if it helps you. I keep educating people around me about getting a bloodtest first that will show signs of gluten intolerance if you are a celiac. If you start the diet first and then take the test, these levels drop fast and there is nothing left to see. So when you would quit the diet, because the test shows nothing, you could only make yourself sicker. Or ... what if they tell you that if it works, you need to go back to 6 weeks of gluten hell again, just so they can make a diagnosis they could've made way sooner if they did not advise, but had acted first? And besides, do they actually tell you that there is more to this diet than just eating gluten free? That is also means that you have to be fully gluten free and that you can't cheat and that you need to keep all gluten products away from the gluten free stuff for fear of contamination? 

That is why I keep repeating myself and maybe I'm the gluten free pest in your Twitter & Facebook timelines, telling people to take this all seriously, but I do that because it just needs to be said, for my kids sake, for other celiacs' sake and for all those people out there who do not know where their tummy troubles come from. And I'll always add after all the seriousness: "Once you get the hang of it, it's not that bad. And I'm here to help." 

I'll step off my soapbox now and share this recipe with you that shows that eating gluten free ain't so bad. ;-)

I decorated it with chocolate pumpkins for that Halloween vibe

Ingredients:

For the shortbread base

• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of soft butter
• 50 grams (1.75 oz) of finely granulated sugar
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of rice flour
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of corn flour
• 1 tablespoon of xanthan gum

For the pumpkin filling

• 750 grams (1lb 10oz ) of pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 140g (5 oz) of caster sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp fresh nutmeg, grated
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 25 grams (1 oz) of butter, melted
• 175 ml (6 fl oz) of milk

For the cream cheese frosting

• 200 grams of softened cream cheese
• 115 grams (4 oz) of butter
• 250 grams (9 oz) of icing sugar 
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade (400 degrees fahrenheit).
2. Put the butter and sugar for the shortbread in a bowl and whisk till it is all fluffy.
3. Pour in the flour and xanthan gum and mix well. The dough will be light and crumbly. 
4. Butter & line a spring tin with baking parchment and toss in the crumbly dough. Press it and make sure it is evenly spread out in the tray. 
5. Bake in a warm oven for about 10-15 minutes until golden. Take it out of the oven and let it cool a bit.
6. Place the pumpkin in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 mins or until tender. Drain pumpkin; let cool
7. Push the cooled pumpkin through a sieve into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt, nutmeg and the cinnamon. Mix in the beaten eggs, melted butter and milk, then add to the pumpkin purée and stir to combine. Pour into the tart shell and cook for 10 mins, then reduce the temperature to 180C (350 degrees fahrenheit). Continue to bake for 35-40 mins until the filling has just set.
8. Leave to cool.
9. Make the cream cheese frosting as follows. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.
10. Serve chilled.

Mini Custard Pies with an almond, coconut & oatmeal base & a fresh strawberry

I was making rumpledoodles (see recipe on my blog here) a few weeks back and as I was making the dough for these cookies full of fibers and lots of flavour I realized it would make a great base for pies too. I figured I had to alter the recipe somewhat to make for a pie crust, so that needed some thinking. I let that idea slip from the back of my mind for a while, until last week when it hit me. It would make a wonderful combination with custard. Home made, gluten free custard. And that's when the baking itch always hits me. When the idea has come to me, I just have to bake. 

The little black specks in the custard are the vanille seeds as I used a proper vanilla pod in the custard.

So I made these cute little pies as a Sunday treat & the amount of dough also allowed me to make a stack of cookies too. This recipe will make about 12 mini custard pies and about 10 oatmeal, coconut, almond cookies. When I wanted to photograph the cookies, I found out i only had three left. So that goes to show how lovely those were. 

They're gone before you know it!

And the mini custard pies? They didn't last very long either! 

Ingredients:
Pie base & cookies

• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of rolled oat
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of gluten free almond flour
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of grated coconut
• 50 grams (1.75 oz) of raisins, 50 grams (1.75 oz) of dates, 50 grams (1.75 oz) of dried apricots
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons molasses (maple syrup works really well too!)
• 150 grams (5.5 oz) of soft unsalted butter (if you are lactose intolerant as well, you can substitute it for soy butter or something similar)
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 1 egg
• a tiny bit of basic gluten free flour to dust the work top with and to help roll out the dough.

Custard

• 250 ml (9 fl oz) of milk
• 1 vanilla pod
• 16 grams (0.5 oz) of vanilla sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 20 grams (0.75 oz) of corn starch
• 50 grams (1.75 oz) of granulated sugar

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade or 350 degrees fahrenheit.
• Line a muffin or cupcake tray with paper cupcake cups.

First you make the custard as follows:

1. Mix all the sugar with the cornstarch & whisk it with a bit of cold mix till all the cornstarch and sugar are combined and you have no lumps.
2. Scrape the vanilla pod seeds from the vanilla pod and put them in a pan with the pod. Pour in the remainder of the milk & heat the milk in the pan on the stove. 
3. Beat the egg yolks with the cornstarch & sugar mixture till it is is frothy.
4. Pour a bit of the hot milk on the frothy egg, cornstarch, sugar mixture while whisking and then pour this back into the pan with the milk. 
5. Bring this to a boil and keep whisking, as soon as the custard starts bubbling, turn down the heat, leave it to boil for about a minute & don't stop stirring.
6. Then pour the custard on a cold plate or in a cold bowl, remove the vanilla pod and cover it with cling film. Leave it to cool for half an hour and then let it cool further in the fridge.

Then you make the pie crust & cookie dough:

1. Put the rolled oats, the apricots, dates & raisins in a blender and blitz till everything is in small chunks and the oats look like flour.
2. Put it in a bowl and add all the other ingredients. 
3. Mix it all well until you have a firm but slightly sticky dough. 
4. Dust a spotlessly clean worktop with a bit of basic gluten free flour (I always use a bit of baking parchment to place on the work top and dust that with the flour to make sure no stray gluten can bite my gluten free dough in the butt, just to be sure) & put the dough on there. Dust it with gluten free flour again & roll out the dough till desired thickness & punch out circles for the cookies & the pie crust. Place the circles (roll them out a bit if necessary) in the lined muffin or cupcake tray and form the pie crusts. Put the cookies on baking parchment & on a tray. 
5. Bake them both in the oven for about 20-25 minutes till golden.
6. Take them out of the oven & let them cool on a wire rack before you fill a piping bag with the cooled down custard and pipe the custard onto the pie crust. Decorate with a fresh strawberry. 

Enjoy!!

Pumpkin & Buttermilk Bread

What do you do when someone gives you a 5 kilogram, huge delicious pumpkin? You make pumpkin lasagna, you make pumpkin soup & then? I expect I'll make some pumpkin pie or cookies or cupcakes sometime next week, but that still leaves some pumpkin left. 

So I'm killing two birds with one stone; finishing the left over pumpkin & slipping my kids some much needed extra fibers & vitamins by making a pumpkin bread. Gluten free flours & products lack natural fibers & vitamins that wheat & other grains contain, so adding some nutritious pumpkin to their bread is a win. 
I serve my kids an abundance of vegetables to make up for the loss vitamins & especially fibers they miss out on because they eat gluten free. And hiding those veggies in their bread is one way to do that. 

Fluffy, airy Pumpkin Bread

Here's the recipe for Pumpkin & Buttermilk bread. It makes a rather big bread, but there is nothing like too much bread, now is there? Especially when you have kids that grow like beanstalks... ;-)

Ingredients:

• 350 grams (12 oz) of cooked pumpkin
• 200 ml (7 fl oz) of cooking juices left from draining the cooked pumpkin
• 400 ml (14 fl oz) of buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 700 grams (1 lb 9 oz) of gluten free flour 
• 2 teaspoons of fiber husk
• 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon of iodized salt
• 20 grams (0.75 oz) of dried yeast
• 2 tablespoons of molasses
• 16 grams (0.5 oz) of cane-sugar

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 bread proof. 
2. Mash up the cooked pumpkin in a big bowl. Add 200 ml of the cooking juices left from cooking the pumpkin. Add the buttermilk and the olive oil & the gluten free flour. I only had plain all purpose gluten free flour in my store cupboard, but I think it would taste fab too if you substituted a bit of the gluten free flour with gluten free cornflour. 
3. Now add the fiber husk, xanthan gum & iodized salt. Make sure you mix it in a bit with the flour, so that when you add the yeast, it won't come in direct contact with the salt. It will dimished the power of the yeast & you won't get a nice & fluffy bread. At last, add the molasses & can sugar. The molasses will enhance the sweet taste of the pumpkin, the cane-sugar will help the bread proof. 
4. Mix it all together with an electric mixer until you get a sticky mass of dough. The dough needs to be sticky, because gluten free dough requires more fluids to make a good soft bread. Without it, your bread would  break more easily when cutting & it would crumble more. 
5. I put some baking parchment in the bread pan & scooped in the sticky dough. I evened it out and carved a diamond pattern in the top with a knife & sprinkled some oat flakes on it. If you have the time to roast some pumpkin seeds, you could scatter those on top, but i was too lazy. 
6. Put it in the preheated oven and let it proof for about 50 minutes. 
7. After 50 minutes, take it out of the oven, preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade (400 degrees fahrenheit) and when the oven is at the right temperature, bake the bread for 40 minutes in the middle of the oven until golden. 
8. Take the bread out of the oven and let it cool on a wire rack. 

Fully baked & the proofed dough

Enjoy!