Cinnamon Roll Cake

My home was in serious need of [gluten free] baked goods yesterday, so I gave in to the craving and made this Cinnamon Roll Cake (found via Pinterest).  Mix one part “having never tried this recipe before” to one part “deciding to make it sans gluten” + a smidge of other modifications = this week's baking adventure.

Cinnamon Roll Cake [Gluten Free]

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups flour (I used Pamela's baking+pancake mix here)

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 cup sugar (I reduced it to 1/2 cup)

• 4 tsp. baking powder

• 1 1/2 cups milk (Silk Almond milk used)

• 2 eggs

• 2 tsp. vanilla

• 1/2 cup butter (melted)

• 1 cup butter (softened)

• 1 cup brown sugar (I did less than a cup and it was perfect)

• 2 TB flour

• 1 TB cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs and vanilla together. 

2. Stir in melted butter, slowly.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.

3. Mix topping ingredients (1 cup butter softened, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon).  Drop over cake mixture evenly.

4. Swirl your topping and cake mixture with a knife going up and down the length of the pan.

5. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

6. Top with the glaze which is made by mixing 2 cups powdered sugar, 5 TB milk and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Drizzle over the cake while it's still warm.

My favourite thing about this recipe is that it takes less time to make/bake than regular cinnamon rolls do.  If you are short on time but still want that delicious flavour and texture, try this cake instead.

As you can see, I lessened the amounts of sugar, and the cake turned out jus' fiiiine (pssst, in fact, my family couldn't stay away from the kitchen and my full 9x13 baking dish contains mysteriously less cake than it did when it came out of the oven yesterday!).  I'm definitely having a serving with breakfast tomorrow, before it's entirely demolished...

Are you frantically searching for ingredients yet?  Let me know your results with a comment below!

Both images were taken with my iPhone and from my Instagram

P.S.  Scrolling through a page of entries from last year, I noticed that I had a similar craving at exactly this time last year.   “Coincidence?  I think not!”

Cinnamon Roll Craving

Do you ever find yourself craving cinnamon rolls?  Me too.  So, I baked a batch of these
(recipe courtesy of GingerLemon Girl's GF blog).

Serious YUM factor.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Bun Muffins:

* Yes, these are labeled GF, but you could easily substitute a wheat flour instead.
Yields: 12 muffins (mine made 15 -- score!)

Dry Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup tapioca flour
• 2/3 cup brown rice flour
• 2/3 cup sorghum flour
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
•  1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
•  scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar (there's plenty of sugar in the swirl, so you'll want to cut back here)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
•  3/4 cup rice, soy, or coconut milk
•  1/4 cup heart healthy oil, coconut oil, butter, or vegan margarine (I used coconut oil)

• Cinnamon Swirl:
• 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons melted margarine, real butter, or buttery spread

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

2. In a large bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, applesauce, milk, coconut oil, and sugar.
4. Add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and fold just until combined.
5. In another bowl whip egg whites until stiff. SLOWLY fold the whipped egg whites into the muffin batter.  (If you still see streaks or clumps of egg white that is OKAY, it does NOT have to be completely incorporated!) 6. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon swirl ingredients. 
7. Spoon muffin batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tins.  To be sure your muffins have cinnamon swirls throughout, fill the muffin tin half-full, spoon on some of the cinnamon swirl and use a small knife to swirl, fill the tin with more batter, and then spoon a bit more cinnamon swirl over the top. 
8. Bake for 18-25 minutes.  They are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 
9. Cool muffins on a wire rack.


Served perfectly on their own, with butter, coconut oil, or peanut butter (for a protein boost).  I recommend a natural PB (the unsweetened, salted kind)!

“I like cinnamon rolls, but I don't always have time to make a pan. That's why I wish they would sell cinnamon roll incense. After all, I'd rather light a stick and have my roommate wake up with false hopes.” 

– Mitch Hedberg

Lady Fingers, part two

Source: La Tartine Gourmande

Researcher that I am, I had to get to the bottom of this (see my last post).  According to La Tartine Gourmande, homemade lady fingers are, "softer in texture, and a little wider. Like little sponge cakes.
Initially, the shape of this biscuit was round. What gave the biscuit its name? La cuillère, the spoon, used to place amounts of dough on the baking sheet. Starting around the 19th century, the shape changed to become long rather than round. A spoon would no longer be used but a decoration bag instead, which explains the new shape of the biscuit. Who created them? Antonin Carême. What are they? What we can describe as small finger-shaped sponge cakes."

Well, that sort of answers my question.  Despite the French roots on my mother's side (Merci, Maman), something inside of me still wants to call these PUDGY fingers!

Lady Fingers

Last week was the first time experimenting with making a Gluten-Free Tiramisu, for my birthday.

Lady Fingers.

They are supposed to be delicate.  Slender.  Easily broken into bits, if you're not careful.

This is what the store-bought kind always look like, in my experience.

Source: Flickr (user dulique)

And this is essentially what mine turned out like (just a little better for the wear, but still as flattened-out)...

Source: Flickr (user nefariouskitty)

Although they did taste just fine, and the texture was soft enough, if that's how they're going to be, we might as well rename them PUFFY fingers.  How depressing!

Here is where YOU come in.  Have you baked lady fingers before?  Regular wheat flour, or gluten-free?  The best solution is probably just to keep trying, but I'm wondering if anyone can offer any good advice to help me achieve satisfactory results.

Should I bake them in thin molds instead of on a baking sheet (so that the batter won't spread)?

Heeeeelp!

They say it's your birthday...

That is, according to that famous Beatles song.  Today happens to be mine, and yes, and I still have five minutes to go until it's officially past (or, at least I did when I started writing this!).  The nice thing, though, is that my birthday always carries on throughout the rest of the week, due to belated well-wishings and tardy presents.  We call these "extended birthdays" in my house, and I happen to enjoy receiving unexpected greetings and such just when I thought everyone was done giving them.

Today's special dinner menu included Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Linguine, sautéed greens, a lettuce and herb salad, and a superb bottle of Rabbit Ridge Allure de Robles.  Oh, and let's not leave out one of my favourite desserts: Tiramisu!

More on that tomorrow, since there is something else that I've been bursting (pun fully intended) to share with you all:

Introducing "Wicked Good Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cups" from Bakerella!

One of my brothers eagerly showed the recipe to me after seeing these the other day (ha, I know it's just because he was hoping I would make some...).  Clever idea, no (though, I must admit I'm a tad worried about the finished products tasting like Latex... Gag!)?  I love that Bakerella involves her children in the process.  Gosh, it really saddens me that my niece and nephews aren't nearer, or they'd definitely be in on the party!

'Don't have your own munchkins yet?  Then take this opportunity to bless one of your friends who is a busy mama by offering to borrow hers for the afternoon.  Balloons + chocolate + ice cream & sprinkles + playing in the kitchen with little people sounds like a good deal of fun and laughs to me!

Oh, and speaking of sweet Bakerella (A.K.A. Angie Dudley); please be praying for her, as she is desperately in need of a kidney transplant.

What are your thoughts on these unique pudding cups?  Will you be making some, or does the very idea turn you off?  Can you think of a better shape/tool to make the chocolate bowls with than a balloon?

Well, I'm off to sweet dreams (which will—funnily enough—probably be chocolate or sugar-related)... Goodnight!

Stylish Kitchen Gadgetry

I love to cook.
I love to bake.
This necessitates kitchen tools.

Hence, if you find me grinning wildly while doing a little happy dance (probably just inside), it could just be that I've found some handy new gadgetry to fill my kitchen drawers.

Take Fred Flare Kitchen & Dining, for example.

Or Urban Outfitters Kitchen Department.  It melted my wanderlusting heart to see M-CUPS' Matryoshka Measuring Cups in their store last year!  (They've since found a happy new home in my cupboards).

Now, neither of these stores are the first resources I'd typically start with for regular cookware, but when it comes to the extra tools one might need or want, they always stock creative, unique wear.

Here are some fresh gizmos from a recent In Style magazine of mine.  (Click the photos to enlarge.)

What out-of-the-ordinary tools could you not possibly do without?  A Chef’n Strawberry Huller?  What about an old-fashioned Mezzaluna (which is Italian for "half-moon")?

Share your favourites below!

St. Patrick's Day plans

ST. PATRICK'S DAY is coming!

Seven days from now.

(You're probably thinking, Sarah!  This is a bit premature; we have 'til next week...)

But, I tend to plan in advance (what else can I say, then that I'm like my mother -- and that is something, because she is amazing!).

Oh, and I found some glorious food photos.

Along those lines, what are your plans for next Thursday?  Do they include traditional dinner fare of Potatoes, Corned Beef, & Guinness (deemed, "hearty comfort food" by Jane Seymour, in the cooking video I was just watching on Martha Stewart)?  Downing green-coloured conconctions whilst proudly sporting orange &/or green (don't wish to run the risk of being pinched!)?

 
In America, many of us serve classic Irish-American food such as the above, or you might find us mixing up a Black & Tan, mashing some Colcannon, baking a Shepherd's Pie, or munching on a slice of Irish Soda Bread.  However, whilst studying this holiday back in high school, I was surprised to learn that the Irish across the pond don't actually celebrate in the same fashion as we do (that's right, no corned beef and potatoes!).  Why didn't anyone tell me this before?!

Here are some lovely party/meal planning links (just in case you're catching the planning-ahead bug):

♣ Epicurious' St. Patrick's Day Feasting Ideas

♣ Martha Stewart's St. Patrick's Day Guide (Martha is a fave of mine)

♣ The Kitchn's St. Patrick's Day Cocktails & Spirits Roundup (which all sound downright drinkable to me)

♣ YumSugar's St. Patrick's Day Party Menu

♣ Gluten Free St. Patrick's Day Goodness from Elana's Pantry

♣ YumSugar's Rustic, Slow Cooker Irish Lamb Stew (seriously yum!)

♣ For dessert, a slice of Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Guinness Cake (for further instructions and photos from a fan of Nigella's cake, go to the Kitchn)

♣ Or, you might wish to nibble on sweets earlier in the day with these Peppermint Patties tantalising you from Elana's Pantry...

Now that your stomach is full from all those delicious images and ideas, tell me what St. Patty's Day looks like in your home.  I'd love to hear!

The Case of the Mysteriously Vanishing Cookies

Tonight's entry may have been heavily influenced by the Miss Marple mystery I watched earlier; or perhaps, it could really be legitimate.  Either way, I bring you a most curious dilemma.  You see, I've made these treats twice in the last two weeks (in a double batch, even!), and every time, they end up disappearing.  Poof!

The only solution is to make them for yourselves and find out what happens.  Oh, and report back to me, if you please, as confirmation that I'm not imagining things.  (That would be a most welcomed relief...)

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies


Yields: 16 cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg, beaten 
• 1 cup peanut butter (either crunchy or creamy will do)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

MY ADD-INS: 

• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together, and drop in one-inch spoonfulls onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350° for 12 minutes.  Cool on cookie sheets for 3-5 minutes, and then serve. 

 

 
Peanut butter + chocolate?  A heavenly combination, indeed.

What's for breakfast?

I am writing to my fellow biscuit lover.  You simply must try this recipe!  It couldn't be any easier to make, and these are guaranteed to be a hit.

Bisquick®-type Drop Biscuits

(from the back of my Pamela's baking mix bag - see?  The Italians would call that, "Molto semplici!", which means very simple.)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix
• 1/4 cup shortening (I used butter)
• 1/3 cup plus 1 T. milk

(As you can see, I did not take photos of the baking process; as at the time, I was in a hurry to have these ready in time for dinner.  Also, due to the fact that the recipe states not to let the dough sit.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a large mixing bowl pour in Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix and cut in shortening (or butter) with fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour milk into flour mixture while stirring with a fork. Do not let dough sit. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet*.  Bake 12 minutes, or until brown on top.

* If you want something other than drop biscuits, you can easily pour these into muffin tins instead (which is what I did).

Makes 5-6 biscuits (I usually double the recipe).

Oops, looks like Pamela forgot a step (pay attention, this is important):

Hide biscuits unless you want to be left with only a pile of crumbs.  I kid you not.

Oh, and regarding serving:

Since these are practically made of butter (and they taste oh-so-very good), I just like to top them with a nice drizzle of honey (or eat them plain, depending on the time of day/meal); but if you're like one of my brothers, more butter is definitely better (and never enough).

Well, there you have it, biscuit-fanciers.

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Source: TasteSpotting

This afternoon, I was perusing TasteSpotting's blog, when I noticed that—in honour of their site's 4th anniversary—they were giving away the attractively designed and nicely-photographed book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  My mum has had this book on her cookbook shelf for at least a month now, but despite her hinting comments and entreaties, I have yet to try any of its contents (except for flipping through and admiring the photos).  How terrible is that?  'Sounds like I need to get on this immediately!

Have any of you tried the recipes in it?  If so, what do you think?  The concept of easy-bake artisan breads sounds simple enough that the thought of sinking my teeth into a piping hot slice of fresh brioche just can't be helped.

Reward for just clicking on that link?  You'll find a recipe for a lovely Rosemary Flax Baguette (yum, and I'm not even hungry right now...).  Now then, you have until tomorrow at the stroke of midnight to enter the contest, so do before it's over.

Oh, and if you have any useful bread-making techniques to share (or some age-old recipe that your great-great-great French grandmother proudly whispered in sworn secrecy to you on her deathbed, that you'd consider exchanging for a tasty meal), please leave me some comment love!

Sweet treat

Goodness, far too much of this month has been spent battling illness!  It's time to be done with all of that, really now...
My remark to my mum the other day was that I should start investing in whole sale tea companies and buying the boxes in bulk (due to the vast amount I go through each Autumn-Winter; but honestly, it's the entire year).  Tea is marvelous stuff... How can you not fancy a proper cuppa'?

In case you'd like something tasty to accompany your afternoon tea, here is a simple go-to dessert/sugary treat of mine from childhood.  It is incredibly easy to put together, and only requires a cool place to set up!

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten-Free too!)

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 T. cocoa
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (or chunky)
• 3-3 1/2 cups dry oats (Bob's Red Mill has certified GF oats, if you like)
• 2 tsp. vanilla

My Add-ins:

• Sometimes, I like to add in 1-2 T. raw coconut oil to the chocolate-y mix, for an extra coconut flavour
• 1/8 or 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• Shredded coconut (unsweetened, as the cookies are already quite sweet on their own), for topping the cookies on the cookie sheet, before leaving them to set up

Directions:

1. Add the first four ingredients into a 4-quart sauce pan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and hold for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the next 3 ingredients and drop by tablespoons onto wax paper (placed on a cookie sheet or similarly transportable hard surface).
5. Let cookies cool until set (if you pop the cookie sheets in the refrigerator, they'll harden faster; give them an hour or two until being ready to serve).

Now then, I'm off to go brew a fresh pot of tea.

Holiday and any day baking

I baked loads (and had simply the best time doing so!) over the November-December holidays, and wanted to share some of my favourite goodies in the next slew of blog entries.

(Confession: the following is actually a scone recipe, but I decided to bake them in MUFFIN molds for the purpose of yielding more to share.)

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Scones

Note 1: Though this recipe is GF, you could easily make it with regular wheat flour if you prefer (by substituting the gluten-free flours for wheat flour).

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 T. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Note 2: If you feel comfortable enough, feel free to use whichever flours you like... I used a mix of Pamela's baking flour, and what other flours I had on hand in the cupboards.

WET Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree (I used fresh purée that we had bagged and frozen from our autumn pumpkin stash)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup plus 2 T. milk

Add-ins:

• 1/4 cup canola oil (I typically use olive oil instead)
• 2 T. unsalted butter, diced
• 1/4 cup pecan pieces (completely optional -- if you're a nuts-don't-belong-in-my-baked-goods person like me, then definitely leave them out)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (do, do!)

My Add-ins:

• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. pumpkin spice mix (can be found in any regular grocery store spice isle)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Mix all the wet ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Pour oil into the flour mixture, then butter. Combine with your fingers until nice and crumbly. Make a well in the middle.
5. Pour the liquid mixture into the well and work in by mixing with a spoon until just combined. Add pecan pieces and chocolate chips and mix in.
6. Using 1/4 cup measuring cup (or large cookie scoop), drop batter onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before eating (if you can wait that long).

Note 3:  I used a spoon to drop the scone batter onto the waiting cookie sheet.  It yields between 10-12 scones, depending on how much batter is used for each scone.

Mmmm, still hot out of the oven; these really are a perfect morning or afternoon treat.

"You never know a good thing 'til it's gone..."

Dear readers:

I have loads of yummy recipes (and how-to photos) to share with you all from Thanksgiving week 'til now, but this week has been pretty depressing because my oven has been broken.  Yes, broken!  (Sympathy, anyone?  It figures that yours truly happened to be the last one to use le four {as the French say} before it died, though I wasn't the reason that it did...) Poof, there went the beginnings of my splendid Christmas baking plans.

Thankfully, my tremendous fix-it dad was able to take care of the problem last night, and the oven is now in working order again!  Coincidentally, a large (and rather heavy) Amazon.com package just arrived full of GF baking ingredients.

I'm off to restock the cupboards, and commence a bake-athon!

But you ain't never had my cornbread; a little bit of heaven, and a little bit of uh uh...

'Been wanting badly to update this the past week, but it wasn't deliberate negligence; owe said silence to illness, tiredness, and busy-ness. Oh bother, that's a lot of "ness", and lest it come across as completely gloomy, I also celebrated my 23rd (at first, typo'ed that as "32" - haha, not quite ready to be there but sometimes I do feel like it ;)) birthday this past weekend; so, it was also full of unexpected pleasantries (more to come on that in an upcoming entry)!

After getting off work today, I came back to the house and balanced the chequebook, organised, and made yummy cornbread (recipe below) to accompany the hearty chili and fixings my sister cooked.  I've been cleaning like crazy ever since; this could be due to the fact that my mummy dearest is flying in this Saturday, or it may very well be that something is wrong with me.  (I have a singular tendency to take to all sorts of deep-cleaning and organising whenever all is not right with the world.  Apparently something is out of place...)

Now I'm winding down with a large mug full of Celestial Seasoning's Nutcracker Sweet tea.  No, it isn't Christmas, and the afternoon temps are currently in the EIGHTIES, but trust me when I say this is a seriously extraordinary cup of tea.  Do go and purchase a box (or five, or a year's supply) as soon as you can!

Here is the recipe mentioned above; I shall call it 'Classic Cornbread', since it's not only incredibly easy to make, but consistently scrumptious.

Classic Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Cornmeal
• 1 cup Flour (for all you GF'ers, substitute with your usual baking flour(s); I generally use an all-purpose GF flour like Bob's Red Mill's, and it works fabulously!)
• 1/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum (or unflavoured gelatin)
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 4 tsp. Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 1 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Oil

*Note on the flour: If you're baking gluten-free, then just be aware (as you may already be) that the flour(s) you use can affect the over all taste of your cornbread.

directions:

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together.

NOTE: Instead of grabbing a spoon, I highly recommend using your own two hands.  (Yes, this means manual labour and getting all powdery, but it's actually quite therapeutic and entirely fixes the problem of bits of baking powder remaining unmixed.  Trust me, and just do it this way... Biting into a chunk of bitter BP in your otherwise delicious piece of cornbread just ruins it!)

2. Now, beat the wet ingredients together and mix them in with the dry ingredients.  Some people swear by a certain number of batter beatings (those two words combined together brings on the chuckles), but personally, I don't put much stock into that.  Once smooth, stir the mixture just until it feels right and most or all of the large lumps have disappeared.  You might want to enlist a handy spatula at this point (because I am a firm believer in not wasting any batter).

3. Pour the batter into a greased 9x9" square pan (or, if you're a sucker for cornbread, leftovers and/or are feeding a crowd like me, make a 9x13!).  Bake for 18-20 minutes (I usually check at around 15-16, as I prefer mine on the softer, gooier side).

My favourite way to serve this "cohhhn-bread" is with butter (or Earth Balance's Soy-Free buttery spread ;)) and honey, but it is also just plain delish by its crumbly, sweet-and-salty self.  'Hits the spot every single time!