Tag Archives: dessert

Gluten-free Cornish Hevva Cake

Posted on by Laurie

HevvaCake4

I recently came across a recipe for Cornish Hevva cake on FrugalFeeding.com and thought that it looked delicious and also that it sounded like it had an interesting history behind it. I loved the image of the fisherman’s housewives starting to bake as soon as the lookout called that their husbands were returning home. So I made a mental note to give “the cake” a try sometime.

I made a gluten-free version which produces a sweet, crumbly biscuit. It reminded me of a very thin version of Scottish shortbread with dried fruit. It went very nicely with a glass of milk  – for my first piece, which I ate before it had any time to cool – and also with a cup of tea later on.

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Ingredients

1 1/3 c. (scant) gluten-free all-purpose flour

1/4 c. granulated white sugar + extra for sprinkling

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground ginger

pinch salt

7 T. + 1 t. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

8.5 oz dried blueberries

3 T. whole milk, approximately

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a large baking sheet.

2. Whisk together flour, 1/4 c. of the sugar, cinnamon, ginger and salt.

3. Using your hands, work butter into dry ingredients.

4. Mix in blueberries using a large spoon. Then slowly stir in milk until mixture forms a crumbly, stiff dough. (It holds together like a dough when pinched.)

5. Scrape sides of bowl and transfer the dough to the center of the greased baking sheet. Lightly pat into a disk, then roll out to just under 1/2-inch thick.

6. Using a paring knife, score the top of the dough to resemble a fishing net. Sprinkle with a little more sugar.

7. Bake cake for 25 t0 30 minutes or until there are no raw spots. (Because this is gluten-free, it doesn’t really get golden brown.)

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Notes

I made a few minor changes to Nick’s recipe on Frugal Feeding

• I substituted dried blueberries for currants, because I was out of currants.

• I substituted gluten-free flour (Glutino brand gluten-free all-purpose flour) for the plain flour, because I wanted a gluten-free version.

• Nick’s directions call for rolling the dough out on a floured surface, then transferring the dough to a greased baking sheet. I just rolled it out directly on the greased baking sheet. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to mix in any more flour since I had used a substitution and wasn’t sure how that would affect the recipe.

• I sprinkled the sugar on before baking because I thought that would work fine.

• I forgot to cut the pieces on the diagonal for serving. Old habits. I’ve made a mental note to correct that next time – but the biscuits were still delicious!

• I think that American cooks can probably go ahead and use the whole 8 T. of butter that come in a stick. I weighed ingredients to convert from metric measurements and the butter measure came to 7 T. plus 1 t. For my first time making the recipe I wanted to stick to the original measures. If using 8 whole tablespoons of butter, one could probably also use a full 1 1/3 cup of flour. I’ll try that next time.

Thanks for introducing me to Hevva Cake, Nick!

Persian Lime Pie

Posted on by Laurie

LimePersianPie

It seems as though every lime pie is named “Key Lime Pie”, and yet fresh Key limes can be much more difficult to find than fresh Persian limes. Since the smaller, yellowish Key limes are considerably tarter than the larger, dark green Persian limes, the two varieties are not perfectly interchangeable. So, I decided to create a pie recipe based on Persian limes. This delicious, citrusy, cheesecake-like pie is wonderful for entertaining because it can be made up to a week ahead of time. Enjoy!

Persian Lime Pie

serves 12

 

Crust

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/3 c. granulated white sugar

1/4 t. salt

10 T. unsalted butter, melted

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Whisk together crumbs, sugar and salt. Stir in melted butter. Press crumb mixture into a 9” pie plate.
  3. Place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake crust for 8 minutes. (Make filling while crust is baking.) Remove crust from oven.

 

Filling

8 oz. low-fat cream cheese

2 14-oz. cans sweetened condensed milk

3/4 c. fresh squeezed Persian lime juice

1 1/2 t. lime extract (optional, recipe at bottom of page)

  1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until perfectly smooth. Scrape down bowl. Beat in sweetened condensed milk until perfectly smooth. Scrape down bowl. On low speed, beat in lime juice until perfectly incorporated. Again, scrape down bowl.
  2. Taste filling. If desired, beat in lime extract.
  3. Gently pour filling into pie crust and then bake (on baking sheet) for 15 minutes. (Filling should be firm/set, but not browned.)
  4. Remove pie from oven. Cool at room temperature for about 40 minutes.  Chill for two hours before serving. (Cover pie with plastic wrap if not serving within a few hours.)

 

Topping*

3/4 c. heavy cream

2 1/4 T. granulated sugar

1 t. lime, lemon or orange extract

 

  1. Combine ingredients in a deep bowl. Whip on high speed until cream holds peaks.
  2. Scoop into a pastry bag fitted with a large tip to garnish pie slices, or dollop cream onto slices, right before serving.

* Canned whipped cream can be substituted.

 

Garnishes

fresh grated Persian lime zest

12 thin slices of Persian limes

fresh blueberries, blackberries or raspberries (optional)

edible flowers (optional)

 

Sprinkle slices of pie with fresh grated lime zest. Place a twisted slice of lime on each piece of pie. Decorate pie servings with berries and or flowers, if desired. Serve immediately.

 

Lime Extract

make several days ahead of time

1/4 c. vodka

2 t. fresh grated Persian lime zest (green rind only, no white pith)

1 t. granulated white sugar

  1. Combine ingredients in a small glass jar. Seal. Shake well to dissolve sugar.
  2. Store extract in cool dark place. (I use the freezer.) Shake extract well after one day.
  3. The following day, shake extract again. Then strain out lime zest, pressing zest through a sieve. Pour extract back into glass jar and cap tightly.

Sweet Cherry Muffins

Posted on by Laurie

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Sweet Cherry Muffins

2 c. all purpose flour

1 c. granulated white sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 c. melted butter

1 c. buttermilk

2 lg. eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

2 c. dark sweet cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped (frozen ok)

cinnamon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare 10 1/2-cup ceramic ramekins with butter and flour or with baking spray;  or line 12 standard muffin cups with muffin papers, with butter and flour, or with baking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Set aside.

3. Stir together butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir mixture into dry ingredients until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Fold in cherries.

4. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, shape tops of muffins into a slight mound. Sprinkle tops of muffins with cinnamon sugar.

5. If using ramekins, place ramekins on 2 baking sheets. Bake for about 15 – 20 min for 12 muffins or about 22 – 27 minutes for 10 muffins. Muffins should be firm to the touch when done.

Banana Mocha Coconut Muffins

Posted on by Laurie

The other morning, I had a guest on an almost vegan diet; so I made these delicious muffins which one would never know were free of dairy products and eggs. I hope that you enjoy the recipe!

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Banana Mocha Coconut Muffins

3/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. granulated white sugar

2 T. instant coffee or 2 t. espresso powder

1 T. baking powder

1 c. mashed ripe bananas

1 c. coconut milk

1/2 c. canola oil

1 T. coconut rum

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, preferably miniature ( use vegan chocolate if needed)

1 recipe Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze (below)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread coconut on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 3 to 4 minutes or until just starting to turn golden at the edges. Remove coconut from baking sheet and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, prepare 12 standard muffin cups or 10 four-ounce ramekins with baking spray.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, 2 T. of the instant coffee or 2 t. of the espresso powder, and baking powder. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together bananas, coconut milk, canola oil, and rum. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Divide batter into ramekins or muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, shape each cup of batter into a slight mound. Bake 15 to 20 minutes for 12 muffins or 20 to 25 minutes for 10 muffins. Muffins are firm to the touch when done.

6. Meanwhile, prepare Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze. Glaze muffins immediately upon removing from oven and  then sprinkle them with toasted coconut.

Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze

1 c. confectioner’s sugar

2 T. coconut milk

1/2 t. minced orange or lemon zest

1/2 t. instant coffee or 1/4 t. instant espresso powder

1/2 t. coconut rum, light rum, or orange or lemon extract

1. In a small bowl, slowly stir coconut milk into confectioner’s sugar. Stir in coffee, then zest, then rum or extract. Stir until smooth, then warm glaze to dissolve coffee.

Searching for the Perfect Gluten-free White Butter Cake + Notes on Preparing Cake Pans

Posted on by Laurie

Part I.

As an innkeeper, I am aware of just how many people have food sensitivities or allergies and also of how difficult it can be for them to find foods that they can eat when they travel. This is especially the case when it comes to special events, such as  wedding receptions, where the food choices are limited.

I am working on perfecting my gluten-free white butter cake recipe which could be used for wedding cakes or baby showers. My goal, of course, is for my gluten-free cakes to be 100% as delicious as my regular wheat flour cakes. I would say that I am about 90% there with this particular cake. The flavor and crumb (cake texture) are good, but it does not quite have that melt-in-your mouth quality of my other cakes. I think that I just need to increase the butter a little on my next attempt. The two key issues to solve with gluten-free baking are (1) using the right wheat flour substitute for your recipe and (2) figuring out the right flour-fat ratio. In many recipes such as cookie recipes, a one-to-one substitution of rice flour for all-purpose flour works fine. Substitutions for specialty flours, such as cake flour, are a different story.

Normally I use cake flour for baking white butter cakes. Cake flour has a low protein content – 7.5% as compared to 10% for all-purpose flour- and weighs 3.5 oz. per sifted cup. While rice flour has an even lower protein content – 5% – it is not milled nearly as finely as cake flour. To lighten the texture of cakes made with rice flour, the flour needs to be blended with starches which are very fine in consistency. These starches also act as thickeners helping to compensate for the reduced protein content. The gluten-free cake flour blend that I made for this recipe is significantly lower in protein than cake flour – 2.5%, and is heavier weighing 4.5 oz. per double-sifted cup; but it works pretty well.

Laurie’s Gluten-free Cake Flour Blend:

Whisk together, and then sift together twice, the following ingredients.

1 c. white rice flour

1/2 c. tapioca starch

1/2 c. potato starch

1 T. Cake Enhancer (from King Arthur flour)

I used 9 oz. (by weight) of gluten-free cake flour blend as a substitute for 7 oz. cake flour in my regular white butter cake recipe. As I mentioned above, the flavor and crumb were good, but the cake didn’t have the melt in your mouth quality that really makes for a wonderful butter cake. Next time, I think that I shall increase the butter slightly. The other option would be to decrease the flour, but since the dry-wet ratio of the batter seemed right, I am going to try the increased butter option first – my theory being that the recipe needs increased fat to compensate for the increased weight of the flour.

If you have been experimenting with your own gluten-free cake recipes, I’d love to hear from you!

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Part II.

Proper preparation makes removing any cake from the pan easier.

(1) Place your baking pans on parchment paper and trace the outside with a pencil. Cutting just inside the pencil lines, cut paper to fit inside pans.

(2) Cut strips of parchment paper long enough to wrap around the sides of your pans, making the strips just taller than your cake pans.

(3) Butter the inside of the cake pans and one side of each of the pieces of parchment paper. Place paper, buttered side up/out in pans.

(4) Sprinkle with sifted flour or gluten-free flour. Tap pans to distribute the flour. Shake out any extra flour. (If you prefer to use baking spray, skip buttering the paper. But don’t use baking spray for gluten-free baking.) Fill with batter and bake.

(5)  After baking, allow cakes to cool then remove parchment paper from sides of pans, invert cakes, remove paper from bottoms of cakes, then re-invert.

Your cakes should turn out the pans perfectly each time.

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2LC: Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup

Posted on by Laurie

The ingredient for this month’s Two Little Chefettes‘ Cooking Challenge is cinnamon. For the challenge, I made Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup because it can be used to add rich cinnamon and caramel flavor to so many dishes. Pour over French toast, pancakes or waffles. Use to glaze coffee cakes, muffins, scones or brownies. Add to coffee, cocoa or tea. Drizzle over apple pie with ice cream. Use in place of simple syrup in cocktails and mocktails.  There are so many ways to enjoy Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup!

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. granulated white sugar

2 c. water

12 inches of cinnamon bark (e.g. 3  four-inch long cinnamon sticks)

Place ingredients in a 2 qt. non-stick saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the syrup comes to a simmer and sugars are completely dissolved. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 more minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to cool. Transfer to a glass jar, cover, and refrigerate overnight.  Remove the cinnamon sticks. (If there is any chance that there are splinters of the cinnamon bark in your syrup, strain the syrup  into a clean glass container.) Cover and store in the refrigerator.

FrenchToastWithSyrupNote on color: the syrup looks quite dark – like dark maple syrup – when it is in a container, but looks considerably bit lighter when it is poured.

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Related Articles:

whisksandchopsticks: Apple Crisp

feedtheburn: Cinnamon Buns

Two Little Chefettes Monthly Cooking Challenge: Chocolate Chips

Posted on by Laurie

I was thrilled when I read that the theme for this month’s cooking challenge by Two Little Chefettes is Chocolate Chips. I have so many recipes that I love that call for chocolate chips. I considered entering one of my recent chocolate chip recipe posts (Bill’s Blondies, Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, or Forgot Me Not Cookies); but since I have been writing about the heat lately (It’s Scorching Hot …, 96 and Going to Havana), I decided instead to use my recipe for Blondies Caliente. Yum!  Enjoy! Thanks Bebe and Ridha for putting together the monthly challenge! By the way, at the bottom of this post is my recipe for Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting which goes so well with these blondies.* So you get a 2-for-1 on this challenge!

Blondies Caliente

Makes about 16 blondies

Blondies with a kick. When used in baked goods Chipotle adds heat a little stronger than that of ginger, but with its own distinct flavor. These blondies are delightfully aromatic when warm.

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground chipotle pepper

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted

1 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 lg. egg

1/2 t. orange extract

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. semisweet or dark chocolate chips

1/2 c. chopped honey-roasted peanuts

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8” square baking pan.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
  3. Place the butter in a medium size bowl. Stir in the sugar. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Beat in the egg, orange and vanilla extracts until the mixture is light and fluffy. (This takes several minutes. Do not underbeat.) On lowest mixer speed, beat in dry ingredients and then chocolate chips and peanuts.
  4. Spread the batter evenly in the baking pan. Bake for about 24 to 26 minutes or until blondies start to pull back from the edge of the pan and the center feels almost firm to the touch. Do not overbake. Cool and then cut into squares.  If desired, chill before serving.

Variations: Substitute chopped Mexican chocolate for chocolate chips. Substitute peanut butter chips for honey-roasted peanuts.

Serving Suggestion: Frost with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting before serving. (Recipe below photo.)

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes enough to frost one 8″ or 9” square pan of baked goods.

This speckled pale brown frosting goes well with chocolate, orange, and nut flavorings.

6 oz. cream cheese softened

1/2 c. + 1 T. confectioner’s sugar

1 T. + 1 t. milk

1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. vanilla extract

  1. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in remaining ingredients until perfectly smooth again.
  2. Frosting can be spread on cooled brownies, blondies or cookies right away. If using frosting for piping decorations, chill for at least 4 hours first.

Be sure to refrigerate confections frosted with cream cheese frosting.

*Both of these are recipes that I developed for my cookbook Confectionately Yours: A Collection of Cookies, Candies & Yummy Confections.