Gluten Free Pizza (take 2)

Gluten Free pizza base, homemade tomato sauce, bacon
Italian sausages, spinach, goat's feta cheese

Last night we had pizza and I thought I wanted to try a new recipe. I looked on one very good Gluten Free website: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.co.nz.

The recipe is pretty straight forward however there is a little trick to place the dough into the dish.

2 cups tapioca flour/starch
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup GF millet flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons organic light brown sugar  honey
1 1/4 cup warm water (between 110 - 115ºF)
1 teaspoon organic light brown sugar honey
1 packet (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup beaten organic free-range egg whites (or egg replacer for two eggs)
1/4 teaspoon light tasting rice vinegar

Instructions:

Grease two 12-inch pizza pans and dust lightly with gluten-free flour. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours and dry ingredients.

Proof the yeast in 1 cup warm water with a pinch of sugar.

Add the proofed yeast to the dry ingredients. Add the oil, eggs and vinegar.

Beat the dough until smooth and sticky. The pizza dough should be creamy smooth and not too thick- it's not sturdy like typical bread dough. It almost borders on batter.

Using a silicone spatula divide the dough in half. Scoop each half onto the center of a prepared pizza pan.

Tip for spreading the dough: Using clean, wet hands press down lightly and flatten the dough to create a thin, even pizza shell, with slightly raised edges. You'll have to rinse your hands more than once to do this. Take your time to smooth out the dough with wet palms.

I would recommend to this operation next to the sink, you literally have to rinse your hands every second time you touch the dough but it is well worth it.

Set the pizza shells in a warm cozy spot to rest and rise a bit- about 15 minutes.

Blind bake at 200 Degree C for about 15 minutes.

Leave to cool and take it out of the pan. Spread the sauce and add the topping. Place back in the oven to back for another 20 minutes. Your dough will be very crispy just like the non gluten free pizza.

I didn't do the above the first night and my dough was crispy on the outside but kind of soggy on the inside where most of the topping was. Tonight I followedf my own instructions and it worked perfectly. It is a bit of work but well worth it. I would have posted a picture but... well I ate it all, it was THAT GOOD!

Happy Baking everyoone :)

Italian sausage pizza on the go!!!

Ok so not the prettiest food you've ever eaten but
very practical to take anywhere.

Last night we had pizzas and they were so good that my Husband mentioned that it was so good, he didn't mind having more tonight.
Here is the one I made for the boys:

For the pizza:
It was a simple pizza with bacon, Italian sausages, cheese, homemade tomatoe sauce and the Italian Sausages or as we cal them at home: the "Magic Sausages" because we always make them last for more than one meal.

To make this pizza, I used my usual recipe: http://thebakingfrog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/pizza-bread.html

For the tomato sauce, in a saucepan mix 2 cans of tomatoes in juice, add a good Tablespoon or 2 of honey, a teaspoon of salt and some dried oregano and leave it to reduce on low to medium heat, stirring regularly so the sauce doesn't catch at the bottom of the pan. Once thick and reduced, leave it aside to cool.

Blind bake the dough at 200 Degree C for about 15 minutes or until the dough feels dry, don't let the dough turn bgolden because it will cook again later with the topping and might get overcooked.

Once ready, take it out of the oven and spread the tomato sauce, add your topping and return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is nicely melted.

For the rolls:
Roll the dough into a rectangle about 15 cms long and the width of the sausage you are using, even a llittle wider.

Spread the prepared tomato sauce. Slice some cheese and place on top of the sauce. Place the sausage over the cheese and roll the dough as you would roll a spring roll. Roll the dough around the sausage, tuck the sides in and keep rolling until the end of the dough.

Bake at 200 Degree C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I have found this might be a good snack to take to work or on a picnic. It is easy to transport, will not spill and easy to eat anywhere even if you don't have any cuttlery.

Happy Baking everyone :)

Burger anyone? That is if you want Burger cookies

I have prepared those as yet another "Thank You" present. I wanted something original and not so classic as it is for a man. I had some Chocolate Shortbread dough ( you can find the recipe here: http://thebakingfrog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/say-thank-you-with-shortbread-cookies.html) left and I thought I should just try to make something out of it but I didn't want to make the same or similar cookies I usually make... And then it came to me, I will use the Chocolate Shortbread Cookies to make "meat patties" in a cookie burger.

I made Vanilla Wafers (recipe below), baked the Chocolate Shortbreads in a mini muffin pan, dipped them in milk chocolate, dyed some shredded coconut with green food colouring, made some Red Royal Icing and Bob's your uncle.

For the Vanilla Wafers: I have found the recipe on this site: http://bakingbites.com/2008/07/mini-vanilla-wafer-cookies/

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup of butter at room temp

- 1/2 cup of white sugar

- 1/4 cup of brown sugar

- 1 large egg

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1 1/3 cup of flour

- 1/2 tsp of salt

- 1/2 tsp of baking powder

Preheat the oven to 325 Degree F (or 160 Degree C) and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugars until light. Beat in the egg and vanilla exctract.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder over the butter mixture and stir to combine. Scrap dough into a pastry bag fitted with a plain pipping tip. My dough was too stiff so I used a teaspoon and roled the cookies into balls then flattened them a little.

Bake for about 15 minutes until cookies are a light golden brown.

Cool on a baking rack.

Assembly of the burgers:

1- Dip the shortbread in melted milk chocolate. Place them on a piece of parchment paper and leave in the fridge to set.

2- Pair up the vanilla wafers that will make your burgers. Choose the top and bottom.

3- Spread the bottom with a little melted chocolate.

4- Place the "patties" on the bottom of the burger.

5- Sprinkle the "green coconut" over the patties.

6- Spread the Red Royal Icing on the inside of the top of the burger and add a bit more "lettuce" to the outside.

7- Place the top of the burger over the patties.

8- Enjoy!!!!

Happy Baking everyone :)

Say "Thank You" with shortbread cookies, raspberry jam and chocolate fondant...

First the story behind those cookies.
On Sunday I lost my phone with some pictures and movies of my Son I hadn't had time to back up yet. I was devastated. So Sunday was mainly about contacting phone companies, and other agencies to have the number blocked, the GPS tracked and all that. On Monday, it appeared I had no choice but looking for another phone and kiss goodbye to those precious recorded moments with my Son. So I picked up my Husband from work, and off we went to the mall to acquire yet another device. With not much enthusiasm I got a new one and we made our way home for dinner.
We must have been home for a half hour when my Husband's phone rang and the "Miracle" happened. Some very nice people had found it on Sunday but it was out of battery so they recharged it all day on Monday and called to track down the owner. I was overjoyed!
We arranged to pick it up today at their place. I just could not show up with nothing. So I made those delicious chocolate shortbreads with a little dollop of raspberry jam covered with chocolate fondant. Something was still missing... The most important: "THANK YOU". 


So here is the recipe (inspired by Edmonds cookbook shortbread recipe):

Ingredients:
- 300g of butter at room temp.
- 1 cup of icing sugar
- 1 cup of cornflour
- 2 cup of plain flour
- 3/4 cup of cocoa powder
- Raspberry jam
- Chocolate fondant

Beat the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.

In another bowl, sift the flour, cornflour and cocoa powder together.

Add the above mix to the butter mixture. Knead until the dough comes together. I generally let my dough rest in the fridge for a little bit (no more than 30 minutes) just becasue I find that the dough is easier to manage. But that's only me.

Preheat your oven to 150Degree C.

On a lightly floured board, roll the dough out to about 1 cm thick. Cut with cookie cutter and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes. Be careful the shortbread are still very fragile. I would recommend not to touch them, instead handle them very delicately with a spatula or leave them alone for about 3 to 5 minutes once out of the oven until they "harden"a little. Place them onto a cooling rack until completely cool.

Prepare your fondant cut out. I made mine small squares. Cover the cookie side of the fondant with raspberry jam and stick it onto the cookie.

The more  I look at those, the more I like them even though this is not my best pipping work but mainly because my Son helped me make them from preparation to pipping. Thank you Honey Puff! 5KRQTXSQS2X4

Happy Baking everyone :)

Sliders and Chips for dinner

The sliders I made for my husband and mini sliders and chips for my son

My Husband has been wanting to eat sliders ever since we saw "Harrold and Kumar go to White Castle", which was roughly 6 years ago. We had rented the movie with no expectations and it became one of our favourites. My poor Hubby has been sick for the last week and yesterday he told me:"I'm feel like eating a burger, actually I really want a burger with chips and a chocolate milk shake". And I knew he meant business and if I didn't do anything about we would end up having take away food with its excessive salt, fat and cost.
I jumped off the sofa and declared: "There is no chance we will ever go to White Castle, so let's bring White Castle to us. I will make you the sliders you have been wanting for so long." Of course, this was a challenge. You generally cannot rival with the idea someone has made of something they have been craving for 6 years. But I was up to it.
I found a recipe of brioche buns on the following link and though that was the closest I would get to the ever- so wanted sliders. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/dining/011brex.html?_r=1.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened.

Note: There is a waiting time of about 4 hours as they are 2 rises for those buns, however even with the cooler temperatures outside mine only took 30 to 45 minutes each because I had the oven on as well.

1. In a glass measuring cup, combine 1 cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat 1 egg.

2. In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto clean, unfloured counter and knead, scooping dough up, slapping it on counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 8 equal parts. I cut the dough into 4 and rolled into logs. I then cut the logs with the dough scraper in 12 balls. I still had some dough left to make the mini sliders. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange 2 to 3 inches apart on baking sheet (in a brownie dish if you want them small enough for sliders otherwise just on a baking sheet for normal burger buns). . Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let buns rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours.

5. Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor, I skipped this step since I baked them in my little convection oven and they turned out great. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (about 200 Degree C) with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

This recipe made 12 sliders and about twice that in mini sliders

Mini sliders and chips for my little one

Apologies about the Bold below, my computer refused to format it.... Arggggg!

While the dough was rising for the second time, I prepared the meat. It was a very simple patty. I had some rump steak that I threw in the food processor with an onion cut in quarters, 3 cloves of garlic and a Tbsp of Barbeque sauce. I processed the lot and made them into patties. Generally I would leave them in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set but this time there was just no time. They tasted great still even withouth the rest time.

I pan fried them and slapped a slice of cheese over, back in the oven for 5 minutes just to melt the cheese a little and keep it in place on top of the patty.

I served it with homemade chips, and chocolate milkshake for the boys (made with my homemade chocolate bar) and a coconut, chai and vanilla milkshake for me.

I hope you enjoy those as much as my boys did.

Happy Baking everyone :)

 

Easy slow cooked pork chop chilli

On Monday I thought it would be a good idea to have pork for dinner. We bought those huge pork chops at our local butcher on the week end and one was enough for us 3.
But 3 pm came and I still had no idea what to do with that humengous defrosted pork chop starring at me from the bottom shelf of the fridge. Then, an epiphany! "Tonight we shall have chilli", I declared.
WARNING: this recipe takes a couple of hours.
So on with it.
Ingredients:
1/2 a brown onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 Tbsp of oil (I used canola)
1 tin of tomatoes in their juice
2 cups of chicken broth
1 tsp of paprika
1/4 tsp of ginger
1/4 tsp of coriander
About 250g of pork
2 tins of beans (I used red kidney)
1Tbsp of brown sugar
Heat the oil in a oven proof dish (that has a lid or can be covered with aluminum paper) and fry the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and spices and cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, cook until bubbling and then add the broth.
Preheat your oven to 150° C.
Add the pork. (I actually put the whole chop in and because it cooked at low temperature for 2 hours, the meat fell off the bone.)
Place in the oven and leave it alone.
An hour to 45 minutes before serving, add your beans and about 1 Tbsp of brown sugar ( this helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes), stir and place it back in the oven for another hour approximately. Check on it regularly to make sure this is not catching at the bottom of the pan.
Serve with avocado, sour cream if you have some (I actually used cream cheese for the boys) and crusty bread.
Tip: I made up this recipe with what we had in the fridge and pantry. Those are pretty much essentials we always have around. I try my best to not go grocery shopping too often to save us some money. The only items I would tend to get regularly (not on grocery shopping day) are fresh fruits and veggies, bread and milk.
I trend to make up recipes with what I have rather than the other way around.
Happy cooking everyone:) and don't forget to join The Baking Frog on Facebook. Just click on the Like button at the top of the right column.

Facebook, here I come

Hi Baking Frog followers,
I now have a Facebook page where you can find links to the recipes, pictures and more as I go along. I am still in the process of updating it after a couple of frustrating hours on my laptop trying to link everything. I'm definitely better in the kitchen than behind the computer. I will be happy to count you as friends and maybe share some ideas and recipes.

Happy Baking everyone :) Hope to catch up with you soon on Facebook.


WE ARE LIVE ON FACEBOOK. You can like the page from here or go to Facebook, type The Baking Frog in the search  box and there you go!!! Hope to see you soon. Happy Baking everyone :)

Chocolate tart with Raspberry jelly... No baking

Hmmmm, yummy!

I needed my little chocolate fix tonight. With time running out and my kitchen being monopolised by a roast dinner and 2 types of breads, I couldn't take too many risks. I still had a little bit of the chocolate truffles I made earlier in the week (and ate all by myself) so I decided to make a Raspberry jelly on top of a base made out of the truffles leftover. So really I had a divine dessert, my chocolate fix in just enough time to pour some boiling water over the jelly and leave it to cool.

You can find the truffle recipe here: http://thebakingfrog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/plate-of-little-treats-for-dessert-raw.html.

Just push it into a cake dish. Leave it in the fridge while you make the jelly. Once the jelly is cold enough, pour it over the base and leave in the fridge to set.

Happy baking everyone!!!

Gluten Free sandwich bread in the food processor

Despite all those cracks, it taste just right...

I thought it was not fair that the boys had bread with their dinner and I didn't. After all, it is Mother's Day. I only really had 45 minutes to come up with something and my computer's battery was running low, so I couldn't spend too much time looking for a recipe. I felt brave today, maybe it was the perfect day to remind me what I could do. I thought: "I gave birth, I can do anything". In those moments, more time than not I need to remind myself that this is not a good idea to try just about anything especially in the kitchen and when my well being is at stake but this time, against all odds, it worked. I have made a sandwich bread, that has the texture of one and that tastes like one. Only mistake, I made it in the wrong dish, hence having a flat sandwich bread. Don't be fooled by the cover, the inside is a real love story.

Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cup of warm water
- 1 1/2 tsp of active dried yeast
- 1 tsp of honey
- 3/4 cup of brown rice flour
- 1 cup of sorghum flour
- 1/2 cup of potato starch
- 1/4 cup of millet flour
- 1/8 tsp of salt
- 2 eggs (I use size 7)
- 1 tsp of rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp of coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp of honey


1- Spray a dish with oil.
2- Mix the warm water with the honey. Add the yeast, put it aside to froth.
3- In a large bowl, mix all the flours and salt.
4- In the bowl of your food processor (with your dough attachment), crack the eggs, add the vinegar, coconut oil and honey. Start wizzing away. Add the yeast mixture.
5- Stop the food processor and pour all the flour mixture. Wizz again until everything is well combined.
6- Dump the dough into the prepared tin, cover with a plastic film sprayed with oil as well and leave in a warm place to double in size.
7- Pre heat the oven to 200Degree C and bake the bread for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Happy Baking everyone :)

Pizza bread

Plain pizza bread

Pizza bread with Cream Cheese

A couple of days ago, as we were driving to get some shopping done, my Husband and I were talking about what we were going to have for dinner, when a little chirpy voice came from the back of the car saying "Pizza". Needless to say, I was very surprised so I asked my son again, "What would you like for dinner? " and again I was told with a very wide smile "Pizza".  That was it, my son had requested food, so that's what he was going to have for his dinner. I therefore made the pizza and ended up with enough dough to make another, except, I ran out of the toppings. I thought of something else to do with it and since I had a block of cream cheese in the fridge, I decided to go with a Cream Cheese filled Pizza Bread.

Tonight, for Mother's Day we had Roast Beef with roast vegetables and my Husband wanted some more that pizza bread without the filling. The poor filled pizza bread did not live that long anyway... So I made the pizza dough again and shaped it into a ball, baked it and here was the bread. It is nice and crunch on the outside and very soft on the inside. Best of all, it is so easy to make, you'll be able to eat it every day.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup of warm water

1 1/2 tsp of active dried yeast

1 tsp of sugar

3 cups of plain flour

3 Tbsp of olive oil

Pinch of salt

1- Mix the water and sugar in a jug or a bowl. Add the yeast, stir a bit to mix and set it aside to bubble away.

2- In another bowl, put the plain flour and salt and stir and make a well. Don't put your flour container away, you will need it again to flour the work space when you knead the dough. I always put it away and when it's too late (i.e. hands full of sticky dough I realise what I've done)

3- Once the yeast has worked its magic, pour it in the middle of your well. Add the olive oil and mix with your hands. Once the dough comes into a ball, flip it onto a floured work space and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. 

4- Place the dough in a bowl sprayed with oil, cover with a plastic film also sprayed with oil and leave to rise in a warm place. 

5- Once the dough has double in size (about 30 minutes for me since the oven was on), punch it, take it out of the bowl onto a floured work space and knead some more, until the dough stop sticking to the bench. 

6- Shape it into whatever you want to make (roll it if you are feeling like a pizza) and bake until the outside in golden brown and when tapping on it, it sounds shallow.

Note: my husband is having a piece now that he has toasted and spread with Peanut Butter and well, let's just say that I think this bread will appear again and again in this house especially throughout winter. I can actually hear the crunch of him biting in it...

Happy Baking everyone :)

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mummies in the world.

To all of you who spend your lives wondering if your little ones are going to be okay even when they are 30 years old and have been living away from home for almost as long as they have been home.

To all the wonderful women who always have a sweet word when the world around them is crumbling down.

To all of you who are "ok" when in fact you are exhausted, stressed and worried and manage to push on.

To the beautiful smiles and comforting arms you offer your child when they discover that the world out there is not a fairytale.

To your courage, generosity, dedication, time, energy, determination, and above all unconditional love...

Happy Mother's Day to all of you. I hope your day was filled with hugs, kisses, tenderness and love.


The Baking Frog

Plate of little treats for dessert: Raw truffles (with chocolate), flourless oat cookies and mini GF donghnuts...

The content of this plate no longer exists. Nom, Nom, Nom!
Starting from the left of the plate, clockwise: flourless oats cookies,
mini GF doughnuts and raw truffles

Since I have been on my GF and DF diet I have found that I am becoming more of a sweet tooth; or maybe it's just age. Anyway, I find myself much more often craving for sweets, from the innocent dried fruit to the naughty chocolate bar in the pantry. So I try to make and find recipes that are made with natural ingredients and somehow healthy. Tonight I made 3 treats in mini sizes so we could all have a little bit of everything. Despite my love for chocolate, I must admit the mini doughnuts keep teasing me and I have found it hard to resist them (I had much more than what's on the plate).

For the Flourless oats cookies: (I have used the recipe from the fabulous chocolatecoveredkatie: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/02/20/flourless-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/).

3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 T brown sugar (I used cane sugar)
1 T plus 2 tsp white sugar or evaporated cane juice (I used agave nectar)
2 T raisins
1 T oil or pre-melted margarine
1-2 T milk of choice (start with 1)

Blend first 5 ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Mix Process with other ingredients, form into cookie shapes, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cook 6 minutes at 375 F.

Those cookies are crunchy and sweet and just taste so nice.

For the mini GF doughnuts: (original recipe from http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/08/27/monkey-bread-recipe/) This is actually a monkey bread recipe and if you follow the link you can watch the recipe step by step.

Total Prep Time: 1 hour | Total Rise Time: 2 hours | Bake Time: 35 minutes

Dough:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used coconut oil), divided, 2 tablespoons softened and 2 tablespoons melted
1 cup milk, warm (about 110 degrees F)
1/3 cup water, warm (about 110 degrees F)
¼ cup granulated sugar Cane sugar
1 package instant yeast
3¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface (To make it Gluten Free I used Orgran Gluten Free All- Purpose flour http://www.orgran.com/products/160/)
2 teaspoons salt

Brown Sugar Coating:
1 cup light brown sugar (cane sugar)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted 5 Tablespoons of vanilla infused grapeseed oil- Equagold, http://equagold.co.nz/EquagoldProducts/tabid/6228/CategoryID/0/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/84/Language/en-US/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName%2cProductName.

Glaze*:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk

*I have not made the glaze because I am thinking of trying of few different topping over the next couple of days... or maybe a chocolate fondue.

1. Butter flat dish with 2 tablespoons softened butter (or coconut oil if using). Set aside.

2. In a large measuring cup, mix together milk, water, melted butter, sugar and yeast. Mix flour and salt in standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn machine to low and slowly add milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until dough is shiny and smooth, 6 to 7 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and knead briefly to form smooth, round ball. Coat large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and coat surface of dough with cooking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a draft-free area until dough doubles in size, 50 to 60 minutes.

3. For the sugar coating: While the dough is rising, mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Place melted butter (or oil) in second bowl. Set aside.

4. To form the bread: Gently remove the dough from the bowl, and pat into a rough 8-inch square. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut dough into 64 pieces.

5. Roll each dough piece into a ball. Working one at a time, dip the balls into the melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into the bowl. Roll in the brown sugar mixture, then layer balls in the Bundt pan, staggering seams where dough balls meet as you build layers (or if like me you do not want the layers, place them in a single layer on the flat dish).

6. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and place in draft-free area until dough balls are puffy and have risen 1 to 2 inches from top of pan, 50 to 70 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap the pan and bake until the top is deep brown and caramel begins to bubble around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a platter and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

8. For the glaze: While the bread cools, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and milk in a small bowl until the lumps are gone. Using a whisk, drizzle the glaze over the monkey bread, letting it run over top and down the sides of the bread. Serve warm.

For the raw truffles: http://www.sweetlyraw.com/2012/04/raw-vegan-chocolate-mint-cake.htm.3 cups almonds
2 cups pitted dates
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup cacao powder
2/3 cup pecans pine nuts
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1-2 teaspoons water, as needed

Grind almonds in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl.
Puree the dates and raisins in the food processor until smooth (or as smooth as you can get it).
Add the ground almonds, cacao powder, pecans, vanilla, and salt to the date puree and process to bring all ingredients together into a dough.
Press a bit of the dough in your hand. If it's still crumbly, add 1 teaspoon water (it will probably need it). Process again. Add a bit more water if needed.
Press the dough into a container and leave in the fridge to set for at least 30 min.

This recipe is actually a cake. I will try to make the cake myself because it looks delish! However, in treat sizes, everytime you need a chocolate hit, you just need to walk to the fridge and not feel so guilty. Of course there is quite a bit of fat in this BUT those are good fats and the sweetness comes from the dried fruits, no added sugar.

Happy Baking everyone :)

Flaky pastry

Pretty please with my layers!!!

Right, the cold weather is creeping on us, my husband and I are tired because our son has had a few issues with getting through a whole night without waking up and this morning I was on the phone with my husband who told me that he must have been tired because he was craving a pie and a chocolate milk shake. I thought, well we are having beef for dinner, there is obviously way too much for one dinner, let's make him a pie. So I actually made 3 smaller ones so he can have one tomorrow for lunch and the rest can go in the freezer in case of an emergency.
My craving luckily was for cookies which I happen to have at home... Well, I "borrowed" some of my son's. They are those cute little Gluten and Dairy Free bears with choc chip. They are DELICIOUS so I am also in the process of trying to make them myself... Watch that space.

Anyway, we were talking pies and to make a pie you have to start with the pastry.

I made my own flaky pastry from my trusted Edmonds' cookbook. I was really tempted to taste it, it smelled so nice while it was baking... Let's see if you can resist.

Ingredients:
2 cups of high grade flour (I only had self raising and it worked)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
200g of butter
6 Tablespoons of cold water, approximately

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut one- quarter of the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add sufficient water to mix into a stiff dough.

On a lightly floured board roll out dough to a rectangle0.5- 1 cm thick. With the short end of the rectangle facing you , dot two0 third of the pastry with a third of the remaining butter to within 1 cm of the dough edge. Fold the unbuttered pastry into the middle of the pastry. Fold the buttered section over the folded edge. Seal the edges with a rolling pin and mark the dough with the rolling pin to form corrugations.

Give the pastry a quarter turn. Roll into a rectangle.

Repeat twice until all the butter is used.

Chill the pastry for 5 minutes between rollings if possible.

Use as required for savoury pies and vol au vents.

Makes 500g pastry.

I will post the recipe for the pie itself tomorrow after I get the verdict from the expert.

Happy Baking everyone :)

Gluten Free fruit loaf for tea, or breakie or any time of the day

Loaded with tea soaked dried fruit and apples, yum!

Before I became Gluten and Dairy free I used to eat fruit loaves quite often. The combination of spices and sweetness from the dried fruit had its appeal, especially when the weather is getting a bit cooler. I used to eat it toasted with cottage cheese and honey (my husband thinks I'm weird and I have more weird taste when not pregnant).

Since the temperature has taken a bit of a nose dive in the last week, my cravings for the spices and sweet dried fruit has knocked on the door once more. I had made that delicious Gluten and Dairy free brioche not so long ago and that's was the texture I was after. With a few additions I was confident I could make this wonderful brioche into a fabulous autumn fruit loaf. So here is my made up version.

Before you even look at the recipe, the first step is to soak your 1/2 cup of dried fruit overnight in a cup of hot tea (I used Roibos, also called Red Tea with a Tbsp of Monin Chai Tea syrup and 2 tsp of vanilla. Keep the remaining liquid for the brioche).
Prepare the stewed apples by cutting 2 apples in small pieces, placing in a pan over medium heat with some cinnamon to taste, brown sugar and a little water.

Ingredients:

75g rice flour
75g tapioca flour
350g of cornstarch
4cc of dried yeast
2cc of salt
4cc of xanthan gum (or guar gum)
225g of soy milk
190g of liquid honey 
115g of grape seed oil (I used simple canola oil and it worked fine although the grapeseed oil would bring a nice dimension to the brioche)
4 eggs + 1 egg for the glaze (I actually brushed milk on top and sprinkled some palm sugar)
2tsp vanilla extract
caster sugar
1 Tbsp of mixed spices (I personally found this was not enough so if you like the spices to be dominant please feel free to add some more)
Soaked dried fruits
Stewed apples


Mix in a large bowl, salt, flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum (or guar gum), cinnamon
In another bowl, combine milk, 4 eggs, honey, oil and vanilla extract.
Stir in flour and mix previous with the hook of your robot hand for 5 minutes to incorporate all the flour. Once all is well incorporated, add the Soaked fruit and juice and stewed apples. Mix for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Leave the dough covered with a damp cloth for 1:30 (to make sure the dough is going to rise in a warm place I preheat the oven at 50 Degree C while I make the brioche and then turn it off when I put the bowl in).
Grease a mold and incorporate all the dough
Smooth the top of the dough with your fingers moistened
Let stand again 40 minutes.  
Beat remaining egg and use it to brown the top of the bun
Sprinkle lightly with sugar on top of the bun
Bake at 180 ° C (gas mark 6) for 35 minutes. You will need to keep an eye on this one because of the all the extra moisture in it so it might be more than 35 minutes. Check for doneness with the tip of a knife.

Happy Baking everyone :)