whipped chocolate frosting for layer cake

 chocolate frosting — fluffy whipped frosting

A)

1 can coconut cream

100 g cacao butter or cocoa butter

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

B)

1/4 tbsp soy milk powder

1/4 cup dutch cocoa powder (or cacao powder)

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

C) 

3/4 cup powdered sugar (or powdered erythritol if you prefer)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

notes:

1) equipment needed: 1) hand blender 2) mixer with whisk attachment (I use a stand mixer for this)

directions:

1. warm the cocoa butter until it melts and combine with the other ingredients from A), using a hand blender
2. add B), and blend with your hand blender until smooth 
3. chill over night
4. put the chilled concoction into the bowl of your mixer and  whisk on hight until fluffy
5. add in your powdered sugar and slowly mix in, then beat on high until fluffy
6. add in your cream of tartar and beat on high until all combined
7. it should be very light and fluffy at this point. 

fluffy white chocolate frosting for layer cake

 white chocolate frosting — fluffy whipped frosting

A)

1 can coconut cream

100 g cacao butter or cocoa butter

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

B)

7 tbsp soy milk powder

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

C) 

1/2 cup - 3/4 cup powdered sugar to taste (or powdered erythritol if you prefer)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

notes:

1) equipment needed: 1) hand blender 2) mixer with whisk attachment (I use a stand mixer for this)

directions:

1. warm the cocoa butter until it melts and combine with the other ingredients from A), using a hand blender
2. add B), and blend with your hand blender until smooth 
3. chill over night
4. put the chilled concoction into the bowl of your mixer and  whisk on hight until fluffy
5. add in your powdered sugar and slowly mix in, then beat on high until fluffy
6. add in your cream of tartar and beat on high until all combined
7. it should be very light and fluffy at this point. 

vanilla cake -- gluten free and vegan

 vanilla cake

A)

1 cup  warm water

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 drops orange oil (optional) (or a touch of orange extract)

1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar

4 tbsp coconut oil

1  tbsp maple syrup

B) 

4 tbsp coconut sugar

4 tbsp cane sugar  (you can sub in maple sugar for 2 tbsp if you prefer)

C)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/8  tsp himalayan salt

D)

3 tbsp tapioca starch

1 tbsp potato starch

2 tbsp chickpea flour

1/ cup + 2 tbsp  brown rice flour 

1/4 cup oat flour

E)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

note: 

1. all measurements are standard american/canadian measurements of cups, tbsp, tsp 
2. makes about 13 x 4 tbsp cup cakes, or 2 x 6” layer pans
3. after mixing, let sit for 20 minutes before stirring in E), and baking.

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 325 convection bake, or 350 regular bake
2. in a bowl, combine all the ingredients from A) and set aside
3. in a large bowl, combine B), C), D) and stir until completely combined, no lumps, very homogeneous
4. add the ingredients from A) to the dry ingredients, and mix well with a whisk. It will be quite loose, but will thicken as it hydrates
5. set aside for 20 minutes
6. prepare your muffin cups or cake pans (for cake pans, I cut a circle of parchment for the bottom, and use coconut oil liberally to grease the pan
7. after 20 minutes, stir in the leavening agents E)
8. scoop evenly into 2x 6” prepared cake pans OR 4 tbsp per lined muffin cup
9. bake at 325 convection or 350 non convection for 60 minutes  for the layer cakes, or 45 minutes for the cup cakes, until they spring back when poked and feel firm
10. cool before removing from the pans

chocolate cake -- gluten free and vegan

 chocolate cake

A)

1 cup  warm water or coffee

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar

4 tbsp coconut oil

1  tbsp maple syrup (or molasses) 

B) 

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup cane sugar 

C)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/8  tsp himalayan salt

D)

1/4 cup dutch cocoa (or raw cacao if you prefer)

3 tbsp tapioca starch

1 tbsp potato starch

2 tbsp chickpea flour

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown rice flour

1/4 cup oat flour

E)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

note: 

1. all measurements are standard american/canadian measurements of cups, tbsp, tsp 
2. makes about 13 x 4 tbsp cup cakes, or 2 x 6” layer pans
3. after mixing, let sit for 20 minutes before stirring in E), and baking.
4. for the layers, I will slice off the ‘domed’ top, and slice the layers in half so I do a 4 layer cake, but 2 layer is also nice!

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 325 convection bake, or 350 regular bake
2. in a bowl, combine all the ingredients from A) and set aside
3. in a large bowl, combine B), C), D) and stir until completely combined, no lumps, very homogeneous
4. add the ingredients from A) to the dry ingredients, and mix well with a whisk. It will be quite loose, but will thicken as it hydrates
5. set aside for 20 minutes
6. prepare your muffin cups or cake pans (for cake pans, I cut a circle of parchment for the bottom, and use coconut oil liberally to grease the pan
7. after 20 minutes, stir in the leavening agents E)
8. scoop evenly into 2x 6” prepared cake pans OR 4 tbsp per lined muffin cup
9. bake at 325 convection or 350 non convection for 60 minutes  for the layer cakes, or 45 minutes for the cup cakes, until they spring back when poked and feel firm
10. cool before removing from the pans

toast loaf -- whole grain, gluten free, plant-based

So many gluten free loaf offerings on the 'net are largely starches, and not whole grain flours. This one does use some tapioca (which converts to a good prebiotic when cooled), as well as a tiny bit of potato starch, but it is mostly a variety of whole grain. It comes together quickly, rises nicely, and bakes off well. No sourdough starter involved, no dutch oven necessary. Simple, straight forward, and wholesome. 

 equipment

loaf pan

large square of parchment

mixing bowls

kitchen scale

measuring spoons

mixing spoons

oven

small damp kitchen towel or damp dish cloth

whisk (optional -- you can also use a spoon)

ingredients:

a)

500 ml warm water

1 tbsp coconut sugar ( cane sugar if you prefer)

1 tbsp dry active yeast (you can use instant yeast if you prefer)

b)

10 g himalayan salt (or sea salt if you prefer)

10 g avocado oil (or your choice)

22 g powdered psyllium husk

c)

150 g oat flour

120 g brown rice flour

90 g sorghum flour

30 g potato starch

60 g tapioca starch

directions:

1) in a small bowl or large measuring cup, combine the ingredients in a), and set aside to proof

2) in a large bowl, combine the ingredients in b) and c)

3) using a whisk (or a spoon), mix the dry ingredients really well until perfectly combined

4) add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix with a spoon. As the psyllium starts to gel, and the flours start to hydrate, the dough will form and thicken

5) place the dough ball onto a large square of parchment

6) place the parchment into the loaf pan, and smooth the dough down with wet hands

7) cover the dough with the sides of the parchment and a damp kitchen towel or damp dishcloth

8) place the loaf pan in a cozy environment to rise for 90-120+ minutes

9) once the dough has more or less doubled in size, it is ready to bake

10) remove the damp towel

11) place the pan into your cold oven, and turn on to 375 F convection bake, and set the timer to 90 minutes.

(i like to let the dough heat up with the oven heating up)

12) when the bake is done, remove the pan from the oven to a cooling rack, and tip the loaf out of the pan (or lift out using the wings of the parchment paper). Remove the parchment paper. the bread should have that slightly hollow sound when you tap the bottom.

13) cool the bread fully before cutting

14) store in an airtight wrapper when fully cool.

15) if you don't eat bread quickly, you are welcome to cut into slices and freeze. You can toast it up from frozen.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Muffins in a hurry

 I don't often use pre-packaged gluten-free flour, but I sometimes have a little bit of fun with this one:

https://www.cuisinelangelique.com/en/products/flour-all-purpose-gluten-free

I like the texture of the baked good it generates, and when I am in a big hurry, it can be nice to just scoop a couple cups of this. Otherwise, to make 2 cups, I will probably do 2/3 cups sorghum flour, 1/3 cup millet or brown rice flour, 1/3 cup chickpea flour (or extra 1/3 cup oat flour if you want to avoid chickpea here), 1/3 cup oat flour, and 1/6 cups potato starch and 1/6 cup tapioca starch.  A good rule of thumb for swapping out flours when following recipes is to try to swap out flours of similar texture. For example, if a recipe calls for oat flour, you can swap in sorghum instead. If a recipe calls for rice, you can swap in millet, or even buckwheat. 

Anyway, I went with this golden bag of flour, bolstering it with a little almond flour and a little chickpea flour, and the result was great. Delicate crumb, nice loft, gently sweet, very satisfying little muffins. 

equipment needed:

measuring cups

measuring spoons

2 mixing bowls

whisk

mixing spoon

baking trays and silicone muffin cups

or 

muffin trays and silicone or paper muffin cups

4 tbsp muffin scoop (or soup spoon)

silicone scraper

oven 

oven mitts

cooling racks

ingredients:

a)

2 cups water

1/4 cup avocado oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

b)

1 cup coconut sugar

c)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp tonka bean powder

1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder

1/2 tsp himalayan salt

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1 tsp cream of tartar 

1 tsp baking soda

d)

1/3 cup almond flour

1/3 cup chickpea flour

2 cups cuisine l'angélique gluten free flour blend

1 cup large flake rolled oats

e)

1 1/2 cups fair trade chocolate chunks

f) 

coconut sugar to sprinkle on top

chocolate chunks to put on top

directions:

1. preheat oven to 375, prepare trays (grease your muffin trays if you are not using silicone muffin cups)

2. in one mixing bowl, combine all ingredients from part a)

3. in the second mixing bowl, combine all the ingredient from parts b), c), d), and use a whisk to ensure everything is homogeneously distributed

4. add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix with the whisk

5. when fully mixed, and thickened up a little, add e) and mix with a spoon

6. scoop 1/4 cup into each muffin cups (should make 24) -- and put 12 on each tray with space between them.

7. sprinkle a little coconut sugar on top of each one, then top that with a couple of chocolate chunks

8. bake at 375 for 30 minutes, or until they feel firm but not hard, swapping the position of the trays halfway through the bake

9. remove from oven to cooling racks, and allow to cool

10. when largely cool, remove from the muffin trays or silicone cups, and allow to fully cool