Archives for December 2009

Double-Chocolate Clementine Cake (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free)

December 29, 2009 · Filed Under Friday Foodie Fix, Slightly Indulgent, Tempt My Tummy, Uncategorized, What can I eat ..., flourless, recipe ·64 Comments

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, What can I eat that’s gluten free?, Friday Foodie Fix–Almonds, Friday Foodie Fix–Celebration Foods, and Friday Foodie Fix–Clementines.

First, a Key West mention. The photo above is the view from our favorite seats here in Key West: Kelly’s Caribbean Bar, Grill, & Brewery. Housed in the original home of Pan American Airlines, it’s the ultimate spot for Happy Hour. I sooo love Banyan trees!

Now … let’s talk cake. For years, I’ve wanted to try Nigella Lawson’s Clementine Cake. For one thing, it’s a flourless cake. You all know how I seriously love flourless cakes and pies. It’s also a recipe made with ground raw almonds (or purchased, high-quality almond flour), and I’ve really enjoyed using almond flour of late (like in My First Raw Pie). But, most importantly, this particular recipe has always intrigued me. You boil and simmer the Clementines, whole, for two hours and then you add the Clementines—again, whole (less any seeds, of course)—to the cake batter. Fascinating, huh? Each holiday season, I’ve always purchased the Clementines, but each year I run out of time with my baking schedule or the Clementines simply get eaten … and, in the end, the cake does not get made. This year I decided would be the year that I actually followed through and made this cake. I did not want to make Nigella’s original recipe, the basic Clementine cake, though. I love almond flour for baking and I enjoy orange-infused baked goods, but adding chocolate to the mix, specifically, to the cake itself, was definitely one of my requirements. Topping with a glaze—a chocolate glaze—would be another requirement. Hence, the name: Double-Chocolate Clementine Cake.

The timing was especially right this year to not only make the cake, but also to share it with others. Actually, that was my third requirement … as I didn’t want to get stuck home alone with such an irresistible cake. (Mr. GFE rarely indulges in sweets.) We had a cousins’ party to attend one evening and I knew I’d be attending my friend’s open house the following day. I was also sure my co-workers would enjoy this double chocolate-orange treat. Yes, this one cake would provide enough servings for all three events as one can be very happy with a small piece. It’s a lovely chocolate-orange cake. The cake itself is wonderfully dense and not too sweet. The glaze provides just enough of a cocoa-sugary taste and that somewhat silky, somewhat crumbly texture.

This cake would be a great addition to a tea party spread, too. Got Clementines? Got almonds (or high-quality almond flour)? Then give it a go. You won’t be disappointed.

Double-Chocolate Clementine Cake

(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)

Cake

5 clementines
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/3 cups Honeyville blanched almond flour (or finely ground raw almonds, NOT Red Mill almond flour)
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (regular is fine)

Glaze

2 tablespoons water
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch salt

Scrub Clementines and rinse well. Place Clementines in a pot with enough cold water to cover them. Bring water to a boil, and cook at a simmer for 2 hours. Drain. When cool enough, pull apart, and remove any seeds. (My Clementines had no seeds whatsoever.) Add to food processor or blender and finely chop fruit, peel, and all. (I used my blender for this step and it worked fine.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Grease and line an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.

Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, almond flour, and baking powder. Mix well, adding the chopped clementines.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes to prevent the top from burning. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan.

Once cake has cooled, remove from pan. Prepare glaze as shown below and pour/spoon over cake.

Glaze Directions:

In small saucepan, combine water and powdered sugar until smooth. Sift cocoa over sugar mixture; blend well. Stir in olive oil and salt. Warm glaze over low heat, stirring constantly, until just warm to the touch. Drizzle glaze over top of cake. Allow to set 10 minutes before serving.

Shirley’s Notes: This is definitely a cake that improves after a day or two when the flavors all meld together, but it’s delightfully moist and flavorful from day one. If the glaze should harden before you finish preparing it and adding to cake, add a little more water and warm to spreading consistency. The glaze recipe is from another wonderful gluten-free, dairy-free cake here at gfe: Mediterranean Chocolate Cake.

UPDATE: Here’s Diane’s (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang) input from her impressive experience making the cake using her Vitamix … ”OK you’re in for a treat. I used my Vitamix Pro 500 to make the Clementine ingredient a 5-min task instead of 2 hours. It has a setting for soup that blends and cooks the ingredients into a creamy smooth clementine mix. I added 1/4 cup of orange juice just to make sure there was enough liquid to get it going. I thought it looked so amazing I tasted it. It was very, very tart and bitter but when baked in the cake, amazing. I even made the glaze in the Vitamix and poured the warm chocolate over the cake. My springform pan was a little smaller than called for so I had extra and I made cupcakes. I’m just so impressed with the amazing texture of this recipe.”

Adapted from Nigella Lawson

Enjoy all … we are! There’s a Life is Good store here in Key West. I am weak for those shirts. All the messages are great. Of course, there are Life Is Crap shirts across the way on Duval—nope, won’t be buying those.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

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Tags: almond flour, chocolate, dairy free, easy, GFE, gluten free, healthy, moist, orange, recipe

Holiday Prelude to Key West

December 27, 2009 · Filed Under gluten free, holiday, slow cooker ·21 Comments

This past Tuesday I was privileged to attend a friend’s Christmas open house. Oh, it wasn’t any typical open house. This one was held in her wonderful greenhouse—a haven for her and her husband’s orchid collection, as well, as many other fabulous horticultural examples. It seemed like a great escape from the 20 inches of snow on the ground and, also, somewhat of a prelude to our Key West vacation. Warm. Lush. Green. Tropical. Colorful. Festive and whimsical holiday decorations (like a Christmas tree decorated with butterflies and orchids). Warm, friendly faces. It was a perfect prelude, in fact. Oh, and the food. There was a terrific tomato-based cabbage and beef soup that my friend had cooked in her slow cooker. I could safely enjoy this soup and it was just right for the cold winter day. There was also a double-chocolate peppermint bark that was both delicious and gluten free. (Lucky for you, my friend, Cathy of Noble Pig, has a recipe for Double-Chocolate Peppermint Bark at her blog. Ensure ingredients that you use are gluten free and you’re good to go!) My contribution to the open house was Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Clementine Cake. It came out very well. I’ll be back with that recipe (and photos) soon, and hopefully, lots of photos from here in Key West. Keep your fingers crossed … a bottle of water came open in my tote bag and doused its entire contents—that included my camera (now drying … I’m hoping for a full recovery).

Hope you enjoy the photos! More importantly, I sincerely hope everyone is enjoying lovely holidays with family and friends. Thanks so much for all the warm holiday wishes you’ve sent my way, too—they are working!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

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Tags: chocolate, gluten free

Quick and Easy Pan-Baked Potatoes

December 22, 2009 · Filed Under Friday Foodie Fix, Slightly Indulgent, Tempt My Tummy, What can I eat ..., breakfast, dessert, easy, flourless, gluten free, holiday, microwave, potato, recipe, side dish, vegan, vegetarian ·28 Comments

This post is linked to these terrific, weekly blog carnivals: Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays , Linda’s What can I eat that’s gluten free?, Diane’s Friday Foodie Fix—Potatoes, and Lana and Lisa’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.

My Favorite Santa … art by Son at age 10

If you celebrate Christmas, the big days are almost here. I say days, because for most families, it’s more than just the actual day when we’re celebrating and sharing meals with family and friends. Those days are Christmas Eve and Christmas day in our family.

So, you have selected your main dish for your dinner or special meal—perhaps the slow-cooked POM’d Pork from the Holiday Food Fest—and now you want a lovely side dish to accompany it. Why not make your side dish both attractive and delicious, but as fuss free as a slow cooker meal? Here’s a simple side dish that fits the bill. This recipe comes straight out of the manual/cookbook that came with my Kenmore (Sears) microwave, which proves once again that you can still rely on your old “mainstream” cookbooks to cook gluten free. Recipes that are gluten free naturally or easily made gluten free—gfe—abound. One just has to recognize them as gluten-free, even though they don’t have a gluten-free label. That’s another advantage of focusing primarily on real foods and understanding ingredients.

The original pan-baked potatoes recipe contains dairy, but I’ve made it dairy free when needed just by using almond flour in place of the Parmesan cheese and olive oil in place of the butter. That modification works very nicely. The almond flour and olive oil combination don’t brown quite as well as the Parmesan/butter combo, but a quick minute under the oven broiler can solve that problem if you’re going for that visual appeal. Seasoned gluten-free bread crumbs or a similar topping, like gluten-free cornflake crumbs, will also work in lieu of cheese.

This recipe is one I often make to accompany a “gift meal,” too. The potatoes go great with a meat/fish entrée or can be an easy vegetarian/vegan meal when paired with a salad. This recipe is always very well received. Folks have even referred to these potatoes as twice-baked potatoes before. While I don’t think they taste like twice-baked potatoes, they are a much easier, healthier alternative and do taste delicious. Sometimes I just make these potatoes for us as part of a weeknight meal because they are so quick, easy, and tasty. They can also work well as a breakfast potato dish to accompany egg dishes and such.

Pan-Baked Potatoes
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)

2 tbsp butter (or margarine, oil)

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (or almond flour, bread crumbs, cornflake crumbs)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp white pepper

4 medium potatoes (or larger potatoes cooked longer or cut to those sized pieces)

paprika, to taste

Melt butter in microwave-safe bowl (about 30 – 45 seconds on High). Set aside.

Stir together Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl (one that is big enough so you can place your potatoes face down in it).

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Dip cut side of potato in butter, then in cheese mixture.

Place potatoes, cut-side up, in shallow microwave-safe baking dish or plate. Sprinkle with paprika, as desired. Pour any remaining butter over the potatoes.

Cook on High 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Shirley’s Notes: Potato halves make the loveliest presentation, but if making this recipe for your family, you can cut larger potatoes into smaller pieces for faster cooking and additional “crispy” edges. I like to poke my potatoes with a fork after I’ve cut them to ensure faster baking. You can easily adjust the recipe for more or less servings.

Adapted from Kenmore Microwave Cooking

Enjoy! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays once again to all!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!