Spring Awakening April 10th at the GFM!

 Hello All, long-time-no-blog! 

Yes, I’ve been remiss in gluten-free goodie posting, but I’m back in action!

To start the Spring off right, please stop by the Greenpoint Food Market at the Church of the Messiah 129 Russell Street (btwn Nassua and Driggs) on April 10th to get your fill of the local food talent and my gluten-free cupcakes that you all know and love.  

In honor of Spring I will be making ginger-lime cupcakes with coconut frosting, peanutbutter n’ jelly sammich cookies, and alfajores

Spring has Sprung!

Walnut Ginger Bread

Walnut Ginger Bread (adapted from cooks.com)

For Dough:

¼ cup              brown sugar

¼ cup              white sugar

1 cup               dark molasses

1/2 cup            applesauce

1 cup               Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Biscuit and Baking Mix

1 cup               Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Millet Flour

½ cup              Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flaxseed Meal

2 tsp.               Xanthan gum

¼ tsp.              salt

1 tsp.                ginger

1 tsp.                cinnamon

1 tsp.                cloves

2 tsp.                baking soda in 1 cup boiling water

2 eggs              well beaten

For Walnut Topping:

½ cup               white sugar

1 cup               water

1 cup               chopped walnuts

2 tbs.               unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a stand-up mixer or bowl, cream sugars and applesauce.  Add molasses, then eggs, mix thoroughly.  In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients, blend until evenly distributed, and then slowly add to wet mixture.

In small sauce pan, add water, sugar, and butter and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Turn down heat to low, add walnuts and stir until coated.  Cook until lightly browned, remove from heat.  Allow to cool.

Butter the bottom & sides of a 8 x 4 in. loaf pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Fill pan with dough, and top with cooled candied walnuts.  Bake for 40-50 minutes until center is firm.

Peppermint-Chocolate Candy Cane Sandwich Cookies

Peppermint-Chocolate Candy Cane Sandwich Cookies (adapted from Giada)

First follow this easy sugar cookie recipe, now my absolute go-to:

Chewy Sugar Cookies (adapted from Linda McClure)

2 ¾ cups         Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour

1 tsp                baking soda

½ tsp              baking powder

1 ½ tsp           Xanthan gum

1 cup               butter softened

1 ½ cups         white sugar

1                      egg

1 tsp                gluten-free vanilla extract

3 tbs                buttermilk (can substitute with 1 tbs white vinegar in 1 cup of soymilk, then use desired amount)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and Xanthan gum. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Add enough of the buttermilk to moisten the dough and make it soft, not wet.

Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and place on an un-greased cookie sheet or Silpat.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.  After cookies are cooled they can be stored in an airtight container for at least a week.

Peppermint Chocolate Sandwich Prep

2 cups             semisweet chocolate chips, divided

¼ cup              heavy cream

1 tsp                pure peppermint extract

1 tsp                canola oil

8                      candy canes crushed

Combine 1 cup of chocolate chips and the cream in a small bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the peppermint extract and refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes. Place 1 tsp of the chocolate mixture in the center of the flat side of the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top and gently squeeze to distribute the filling evenly.

Combine the remaining chocolate chips and canola oil in a small bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Brush  the top of each cookie in the melted chocolate and return to the baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with crushed candy canes. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight plastic container for up to 1 week.

Mini Eggnog Cupcakes with Bourbon Caramel Cream  Cheese Frosting

(Adapted from cupcakeblog)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temp

3 eggs, room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup eggnog

1/4 cup bourbon

2 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour

1 teaspoon each baking powder and soda

2 teaspoons Xanthan gum

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

For Cupcakes:

1. Cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

2. Beat in eggs until blended.

3. Mix together eggnog, bourbon, and vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, Xanthan gum, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.

5. Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients into egg mixture mixing until combined.

6. Scoop into lined mini cupcake pan and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

7. Remove from pan, let cool completely.

Eggnog Pastry Cream:

2 tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour
1/2 cup eggnog
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon dark rum
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract

1. Place flour in a heavy sauce pan, gradually whisk in eggnog until blended and smooth.
2. Add egg yolks, one at a time, whisking until just combined after each addition.
3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, removing from the heat occasionally to avoid lumps, until thickened. If necessary strain through a metal sieve to remove lumps.
4. Remove from heat, stir in butter, rum and vanilla.
5. Transfer pastry cream to a bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap, chill for at least 30 minutes.

Bourbon Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
pinch salt
3 tablespoons bourbon
2 1/4 packages neufchatel cheese, room temp
3/4 cup butter, room temp
6 cups confectioner’s sugar

1. Heat brown sugar, cream, butter, salt over medium high heat whisking until sugar is dissolved. Cook for another minute.

2. Pour in bourbon and stir to combine. Take off heat and let cool.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until soft.

4. Add the confectioner’s sugar and beat to combine.

5. Add bourbon caramel and beat to combine.

6. Chill for at least 30 minutes

Assembly:

1. Scoop out top-center of cupcakes with small spoon (1/4 teaspoon works perfectly)

2. Fill pastry bag with chilled eggnog cream and pipe into center, be careful not to over-fill

3. Fill separate (or cleaned out) pastry bag with frosting and top mini cupcakes, be careful not to over frost as cupcakes will become top-heavy.

Greenpoint Food Market: Holiday Foodtacular!

you can’t eat bread!? will be at the Greenpoint Food Market this

Saturday, December 19th from 12-5pm

Church of Messiah 129 Russell StreetBrooklyn, NY 11222

Featured gluten-free goodies:

Peppermint Chocolate Sandwich cookies

Mini Walnut Gingerbread Loaves

Mini Eggnog Cupcakes with Bourbon Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

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A quick message from Joann Kim (the superpower behind the GFM) about all of the awesome vendors:

Hello GFM Fans!!

Greenpoint Food Market will show some love to our supporters by giving away gifts from our neighborhood staples like Cafe Grumpy, t.b.d., Word Bookstore, Cafecito Bogota, Kill Devil Hill, Five Leaves and more! We are beyond grateful for this support and opportunity from our local businesses!!

Without further ado, allow us to present a full list of vendors. See you then!

You Can’t Eat Bread? : Gluten free baked goods

Sandwich Friend : Sandwiches of unique varieties

Linzertort Bakery : Vegan rugelach cookies

Woodside Bakehouse : Vegan granola bars

Pumpkin & Honeybunny : Handcrafted food-inspired cards and stationary

I Heart Keenwah : Quinoa based granola mix

A Park : Baked goods

Sourpuss Pickles : Pickles and chutney

Kor d’Oeuvres : Spreads and dips

La Bella Torte: Italian pastries

Abby’s Bakery : Mix of cookies and brownies

By the Hearth : Allergy free baked goods

Sugarbuilt : Intricately decorated cookies

Bean & Apple : Toffee, fudge, caramel, baked goods

DP Chutney Collective : Chutney, gastriques, peanuts

Kombucha Brooklyn : Kombucha

Brooklyn Brine : Pickles

The Soup Spoon : Soup

Cobra Pate : Vegan pate

La Tia Faby : Empanadas, baked goods

Sarah : Chutney, preserves

Dixie Spanish : Boiled Peanuts

Slantshack Jerky : Jerky

Seed for Change : Tempeh

Mombucha : Kombucha

Belly Goodness : Granola, brecht, pies

Mama O’s Kimchee : Kimchee

Ricochilito: Pickled chipotle peppers

Storytime & Snacks hosted by WORD and Greenpoint Food Market

I will be baking gluten-free bread along with other Greenpoint Food Market vendors for Storytime & Snacks at the Word bookstore in Greenpoint this Sunday November 15th at 2pm!

dutchess of whimsy

The whole family and book lovers young and old are invited to join us for a reading of THE DUCHESS OF WHIMSY with Brooklyn author/illustrator duo of Randall and Peter de Sève. The story revolves around a wild duchess and an Earl with a crush who is dutifully ignored til a chef is ill and they engage in a tumultuous adventure with food, especially grilled cheese! (via Greenpoint Food Market)

Word is located at 126 Franklin Street @ Milton Street.  Word is featured in this week’s first annual NYC Independent Bookstore Week

Come support your local independent bookstore, food vendors, and farms!

 

pumpkin season

October is the official start of my baking season (yes I realize it’s November, but I’ve been too busy baking to blog!).  The kitchen is no longer excessively warm, every fall recipe just begs for cinnamon and nutmeg; and apples, pears, and pumpkins are in abundance at the farmers’ market.  In response to the awesome feedback to my bourbon cream cheese, and coffee liqeur icing on their respective peach and chocolate cupcakes, I decided to explore my options with rum and pumpkin.

I adapted the following recipe from Love and Olive Oil

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Buttercream Rum Icing

Cupcakes:
14 oz. packed pumpkin (canned or cooked yourself)
1/3 cup applesauce
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ginger
1 teaspoon Xanthan gum
1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla soy milk

Preheat Oven to 350

In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, applesauce, sugar, soymilk, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, and spices. Once combined, fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill liners 2/3 full. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, cream butter. Add 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and mix until smooth. Add rum (to taste) and cinnamon, and slowly mix. Continue adding sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between additions. Continue to beat until light and fluffy. If frosting is too thick, add a bit of soymilk to thin it out. If too thin, add more sugar and continue to beat until it is the right consistency.

 

Made to Order

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Finally getting my feet wet with the whole made-to-order market last week. I had the pleasure of baking a birthday cake for one of my customers from the first Greenpoint Food Market.  I whipped up my pineapple-zucchini cake at her (husband’s) request with a ginger-walnut cream cheese frosting.  The recipe is posted below, but take note of a few key add-ons:

1) After baking the cake I allowed the layers to cool then removed them from their respective pans, placed them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and put them back in the oven at 350 for another 7 minutes.  This is an incredibly moist cake, the extra 7 minutes will give it more stability to stand up to the frosting.

2) Between the two layers I spread a liberal amount of frosting and then a layer of crushed walnuts.  Again this was for both taste and to help hold the layers together.  I also covered the sides of the cake with crushed walnuts, for decorative and stability purposes.

3) Being that it is Autumn, in lieu of fresh flowers I decorated the cake with thin slices of natural ginger and dried cranberries.

All-in-all it was a success!

Zucchini Pineapple Cake with Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting*

*Recipe is for 1 13”x9” sheet cake, double it for 8” layer cake.

Cake

  • 1 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour
  • 1-¼ cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Flaked Coconut
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
  • 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
  • Freshly Grated Nutmeg, To Taste
  • 1 Pinch Ginger
  • 3 Tablespoons Apple Sauce
  • 2 whole Large Eggs
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
  • 2 Cups Grated (unpeeled) Zucchini (pat dry between paper towels)
  • 1 (20 Oz.) Can Crushed Pineapple In Juice, Drained (reserve for frosting)

Frosting

  • 4 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
  • 8 Ounces Low-fat Cream Cheese, Softened (can Use Full-fat Cream Cheese)
  • 3 Cups Powdered Sugar, Approx.
  • ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
  • 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 tsp Powdered Ginger
  • Splash of Pineapple Juice
  • ¾ cup Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum and spices in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine apple sauce, eggs, and vanilla; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated zucchini, and pineapple into flour mixture.  Add in a little splash of the pineapple juice for good measure. Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs and cake is pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. To prepare frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar, xanthan gum, ginger and vanilla just until smooth. Add a splash of pineapple juice and stir in chopped walnuts. Spread frosting over top of cake. You can garnish with chopped walnuts, cranberries, or ginger etc.


mini fetish

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People prefer the mini version of anything.  Mini Coopers, mini people (TLC will not stop showing World’s Smallest Children), mini quiche etc.  So for yesterday’s Greenpoint Food Market I decided to capitalize on the mini fetish.  Maybe it’s that one thinks they’re consuming less calories, or maybe it’s just that satisfaction of disregarding utensils (you know forks just get in the way) and popping that bite size dessert in your mouth.  Regardless, I’m definitely devoting more baking time to mini goodies.

For this go-around I made black and white cookies, mini chocolate cupcakes with mocha liqueur frosting, and mini lemon raspberry muffins.  Learning my lesson from the first GFM I made sample-size versions of everything (including mini black ‘n whites) so I wasn’t  constantly cutting up the larger versions.  All-in-all though the market was much smaller than the launch a few weeks ago, I met some amazing people and got the word out about my gluten-free goodies..

Thank you to all the lovely friends and patrons that came out to support this DIY venture!

GFM Redux!

My first round at the Greenpoint Food Market was such a success! 

You Can’t Eat Bread!? featured: peach cupcakes with bourbon creamcheese icing (definitely the best-seller), zucchnini & pineapple cake with walnut cream icing, fig & plum cake,and salted white chocolate oatmeal cookies.    IMG_1126

Word got out quickly that gluten-free goodies were at the market and I soon had Brooklynites coming in requesting my baked goods! I was so flattered and excited to be able to make fellow gluten-free market patrons happy.  I was equally happy to have such a good response from patrons without a gluten intolerance.

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Much to my delight, my friends, ever the supportive group, stopped by to sample my wares and peruse the other amazing vendors at the GFM.

So…here goes round 2!  This Saturday I will again be serving up gluten-free goodies at the GFM from 12-6pm at the Church of Messiah located at 129 Russell St. between Nassau & Driggs.

Teaser: I’m on a chocolate kick right now…so you can at least expect to see chocolate cupcakes with a mocha liqueur icing and….Black & White cookies!!!