Orange Poppy-seed Cake

May 31, 2019June 2, 2019 MiKoBerryLeave a comment

My local gluten-free bakery makes this delicious orange poppy-seed cupcake. It is my favorite treat that I can eat every once in a full moon (they still use regular sugar, so I have to limit it). So, my friend and I decided to do this as one of our cupcake tests for the cupcake wars. Well… that is what was supposed to happen. However, illness still seems to plague the land and I ended up just making it as stated in the recipe, a bundt cake.

One thing to note about this recipe, it calls for cake flour. I’ve never found Gluten-Free cake flour in the stores. So I’ve always made my own. I simply take out one tablespoon of flour for every 1/2 cup I use and replace it with cornstarch. However, for this recipe I took out 2 tablespoons of flour and didn’t replace it. The dough was looking really dense and I felt adding more would make it inedible.

The cake ended up needing to cook for an hour. 15 minutes more than the original recipe (from Real House Moms) called for. Gluten-Free baking, what do you do? I also thought it was going to come out super dense. When I spooned it into the bundt pan it was, I felt it looked closer to cookie dough than cake dough. However, it came out super moist and delicious. I also found it is a recipe that is still delicious at room temperature, no warming it up via oven or microwave. If you like ice cream, I highly recommend this cake with vanilla ice cream. Such a great treat!

I have come to realize I’m horrible at taking pictures. I think it is sometimes when I am baking I just want the finished product because I’m hungry… then I realize I am blogging about this and I didn’t take pictures! So sorry. All I have is the finished cake.

Orange Poppy-Seed Cake

Ingredents

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 3/4 cups Stevia
3 large eggs at room temperature
4 tablespoons orange zest
2 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/4 cups natural sour cream
2 1/4 cups Gluten-Free cake flour
2 teaspoons Gluten-Free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 teaspoons poppy-seeds

Instructions

Prepare bundt pan by greasing and flouring it.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds and salt, set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using either a hand mixer or stand mixer; cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes)
Add in the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to mix in fully before adding the next egg.
Stir in the orange zest, orange juice and sour cream.
Reduce the speed to low and stir in the flour mixture until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Spoon in the batter into the prepared pan. (It will look very dense). Spread out batter out evenly using a spatula or knife
Bake for 50 – 60 minutes. Until cake is light golden brown and cake tester comes out clean in several areas.
Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes
Remove cake from pan and transfer to wire rack. Let cool for another 15.
Enjoy!

Cornbread

May 23, 2019May 24, 2019 MiKoBerryLeave a comment

Well spring weather is supposed to be here. But instead we are still having winter… in May. Our mountains got a new coat of snow and my plants are still in my house because the poor dears would freeze at night. This insurge of winter has also meant illness. So my friend and I haven’t been able to get together recently to do our cupcake wars. That doesn’t mean I have stopped baking, so here is a comfort food that I adore, cornbread.

Now one of my issues with food is everything is enriched. I cannot process some of the vitamins they put into these enriched foods. I realized the last time I went to by yellow corn meal, the bags now say enriched. Grrr… so now what, I’m way to lazy to make it myself. Luckily, I found some of the whole food stores in my area still sell yellow corn meal in bulk that hasn’t been enriched. So I was ready… wrong.
I hadn’t realized that cornbread actually wasn’t all corn meal but had flour in it as well. I have made this recipe at least a dozen times, I was shocked I didn’t remember that. I also have never made it with Gluten Free flour, only 100% whole wheat, so this was going to be a new experience. However, I was out of Gluten Free flour, so back to the store I went.

Once I actually had all the ingredients in hand I started to make my dinner (yes, my entire dinner was cornbread, don’t judge). This recipe doesn’t take long and you can basically use any pan you want. I’ve made it in an 8X8, 9 inch round, 9X9, and a bread loaf pan (pictured). The baking time honestly does not change that much. Just make sure the toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

In the pan, I used a bread loaf pan this time

In the end, I really enjoyed it. And plan on making it again soon. Just a word to the wise, it does have a weird taste cold. I think it is just too dense. So if you don’t plan on eating it all at once, simply pop it in the microwave for 45 seconds and heat it up a little. Then it goes back to being delicious and tasting like I just baked it.

Finished product, minus a piece… I was hungry

This recipe is adapted from the Betty Crocker’s Cooking Basics cookbook.

Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1 1/4 un-enriched yellow cornmeal
1 cup Gluten-Free flour
3/4 cup Stevia
1 tablespoon Gluten-Free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Grease the bottom of the pan you decide to use. (As I mentioned before I’ve used an 8×8, 9×9, 8 inch round, 9 inch round, and loaf pan. It really is up to you)
Beat the milk margarine and egg in a large bowl with a whisk until well mixed.
Stir in the cornmeal, flour, Stevia, baking powder, and salt just until moistened. The batter will be lumpy.
Pour batter into prepared pan
Bake between 30 – 35 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.
Serve warm (even leftovers heat up).

Cakes - GF · Gluten Free

Chocolate Cravings

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 MiKoBerryLeave a comment

I’m not a huge chocolate fan. I’ve just never really cared for the stuff. However, there have been a few recipes that I have really enjoyed the chocolate in them. This chocolate cake is one of them. Everyone to whom I have made it for has always had more than once piece. Up until this past week I had not had it in 2 years, since I was forced to change my diet. I knew it was going to be an adventure and it was. Although, I’ve had this cake explode in the over before and that didn’t happen, so it was one of my less adventurous times.

Another thing, I forgot to take pictures! I was so in the zone of making it, I only took a picture of the finished product. But it’s pretty straight forward. Follow the instructions and you’ll be fine.
One other thing… for this cake you need a LARGE bundt pan. I tried making it once with a smaller one and it well… ended up all over my oven. Also ensure that you spread it out evenly throughout the pan and there are not any air pockets. I’ve not done this twice (you think I’d learn) and had explosions in my oven.

What I learned from making it with Gluten Free flour and sugar free chocolate is that it takes 30+ extra minutes to cook. At the hour and 20 minutes the recipe calls for it was still raw. At an hour and 35 minutes it was gooey, but still raw. At an hour and 50 minutes it was brownie texture, which is when I took it out. Although, I wish I had left it in longer. The friend I shared it with loved it at the brownie texture, so it is up to your preference. So next time I make it, I will cook it for at least 2 hours.

But if you are a lover of chocolate and cake, this is one of the best recipes I have ever had. It is adapted from one of my favorite baking blogs Lemon Sugar. Lemon Sugar: Chocolate Syrup Bundt Cake.

Chocolate Syrup Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

Cake
- 8 oz dark chocolate or sugar free chocolate chips
- 2 cups sugar free chocolate syrup
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 2 1/4 cups Stevia
- 4 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cups Gluten Free all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pan Prep
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

Instructions:

Pan Prep:
- Mix together butter and cocoa powder
- With a pastry brush, spread mixture around the Bundt pan until it is completely covered. Set aside.
Cake Prep:Preheat over to 325°.
- Melt chocolate in a double broiler (if you do not have a double broiler it can be done in the microwave, checking it every 30 seconds).
- Once chocolate is melted, remove from heat and whisk in chocolate syrup. Set aside.
- Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer (or hand mixer) until creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually add the Stevia, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
- In a medium bowl. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
- Stir in vanilla and melted chocolate just until blended. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan.
- Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 50 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and let cool until completely cool.

Cakes - GF · Cupcake Wars · Cupcakes - GF · Gluten Free

Strawberry Wine Cupcakes

May 9, 2019May 9, 2019 MiKoBerryLeave a comment

After a week off, we are back to doing cupcake wars and deciding which cupcake recipes will be the 4 we will do on our “competition day”. This week was strawberry wine.

With spring coming up we were trying to find something with fruit. We have realized this one does not tie into our theme of Harry Potter. So this one or our next fruit one will be the first cupcake we do in 45 minutes, not one of the themed ones.
We started off doing great. Amber (my best friend) got started on the cupcake batter and I worked on the strawberry compote. We got the cupcakes in the oven after 20 minutes.

Then the frosting. We were doing the same Swiss buttercream recipe we used on the Bacon Maple Cupcakes but all we had was problems. First, we ended up scrambling the eggs. Second, we used the wrong sugar. Third, it turned blue/purple? That one we have no idea what in the world happened. And finally, some ended up on the floor. It did not taste good. But it ate up the rest of our time. Well, that and the last step…
While Amber was wrestling with the frosting… I took the cooled cupcakes, cored the center and filled them with strawberry compote.

In the end… we decided to only frost a few to taste all together and for a picture. The rest I just filled with compote and ate throughout the week. The cake is absolutely delicious! It is moist, spongy, and so good. The frosting we know is good, we just had an off week.
A few days later I was asked to make a strawberry creme cake. I used this same recipe using a 6 inch by 2 inch round cake pan. For the frosting, I simply used whipped cream beat into extremely stiff peaks. It was just as good as the cupcakes. So I highly recommend.

Below is the recipe for the Gluten Free/Low Sugar Cupcakes/Cake. It was adapted from Beyond Frosting: Strawberry Rose Cupcakes

Tune in next week for Chocolate Bundt Cake

Strawberry Wine Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcake:
- 1 1/4 cup Stevia
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup natural sour cream
- 1 ¼ cup Gluten-Free all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons Gluten-Free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sparkling Strawberry Moscato
- 3 tablespoons Soy milk
For the strawberry compote
- 10 ounces strawberries, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Stevia
- 1/2 tablespoon Gluten Free all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

For the filling: (can be completed while cupcakes are cooking)
- In a medium-sized sauce pan, combine the strawberries with the sugar and flour, stir well. Add lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture starts to breakdown, boil and bubble, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the strawberry sauce starts to thicken. (Keep watch, this can burn quite quickly)
- Remove from heat and allow the sauce to cool completely, refrigerating to help speed up the process. Sauce will thicken more as it cools.
For the cupcake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. (Makes about 10 cupcakes)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the Stevia, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated and the batter is lighter in color, 2 minutes.
- Next mix in the sour cream and beat until well combined.
- Add half the flour followed by the baking powder and salt. While still beating on low speed pour in the Strawberry Moscato and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate.
- Add the remaining flour until just incorporated
- Finally add milk one tablespoon at a time, beating until combined before adding the next one. Scrape down sides and ensure batter is well mixed.
- Take the batter and fill each liner 2/3 full.
- Bake for 18 – 20 minutes. Test the doneness of the cupcakes. These cakes tend to need more oven time than you would think.
- Cool Completely
- Take a cooled cupcake and core the center of the cupcake using a knife or a cupcake corer. Fill the center of the cupcake with the cooled compote. Repeat until all cupcakes are done.
- Frost if desired.

Gluten Free · Treats - GF

My favorite… Rice Crispy Treats

May 2, 2019May 4, 2019 MiKoBerryLeave a comment

However it didn’t go so well…

My bestie and I couldn’t get together for a week, so I went rogue and tried to make something I used to love… Rice Crispy Treats. What is funny about this is I hate marshmallows, which is one of the main ingredients of rice crispy treats. However, when they are mixed with the snap, crackle, and pop I love them.

Now I can’t have normal rice crispy treats for 2 reasons. The normal rice crispy treat cereal has a vitamin I’m allergic to (or my body can’t process, however you want to put it) and marshmallows are all sugar (something I have been told to avoid as much as possible). Even the Gluten-Free ones they sell in the store have way to much sugar for me to handle. So, alas, I haven’t had my favorite treat in 2 1/2 years. I decided that had to change.

First step, find sugar free marshmallow recipe. Second step, find gluten-free rice crispy cereal and ensure the vitamin has not been added. I was able to do both, now to get started.

Now I did the marshmallow recipe pretty close to how it was written. Which I got from Wholesome Yum: Sugar-Free Marshmallow Recipe without Corn Syrup. I’ve made homemade marshmallows before to use in rice crispy treats. I was fairly confident in my marshmallow making abilities. Which they didn’t fail me.

I used my electric mixer. Because as much as I love holding a hand mixer for 15 minutes over a bowl while it becomes light and fluffy, I had other things I could be doing. Now it is no joke that the volume will double, as the recipe says. There were a few times I worried my bowl wasn’t going to be large enough and it would spill over. Luckily, it didn’t and it tasted like marshmallows.

Isn’t my 30 year old mixer just so cool
But it’s mixing nicely!

Now I’ve done this before… made homemade marshmallow fluff and putting it into the rice cereal almost immediately after. I’ve never had to let the marshmallows set and then melt again. So I let it harden in the fridge just enough to have the consistency I wanted and mixed it with my box of organic brown rice cereal. Then I let it set overnight (mainly because it was 10pm at night and I fell asleep).

I don’t endorse any brands.
This is just the one I used. I don’t like how they lightly sweetened it. I know others who do. It’s a personal preference.

What did work… well they looked like rice crispy treats. The marshmallow fluff tasted fine before I mixed it with the rice cereal.
What didn’t work… the taste after I mixed it all together. I am sure it was the cereal and will try this again with a different brand. I had a coworker try it and she agreed, that cereal was the issue. I know different areas have different options. I will most likely go to Whole Foods and see what they have. I just went to my local grocery store who sells health foods, probably wasn’t the best idea.

But if you want a good marshmallow fluff recipe and have a favorite rice cereal you like to eat. I say give this a try.

Next week… Strawberry Wine cupcakes.

Rice Cripsy Treats

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Gelatin (2 pouches)
1 cup water (warm, divided)
1 1/2 cup powdered erythritol
1/2 tsp Vanilla liquid Stevia
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 box gluten free rice cereal

Instructions

Pour 1/2 cup warm water into the bowl of your electric mixer (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Sprinkle gelatin over the water and whisk immediately. Set aside.
Meanwhile, add remaining 1/2 cup water, powdered erythritol, stevia, and sea salt to a large saucepan. Heat over low to medium heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture is hot, but not boiling, and sweetener dissolves. You will know when this happens because the color will go from a white to translucent. If the sides start to bubble, take it off the heat immediately.
Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract. Pour the hot liquid into the bowl with gelatin, while whisking constantly.
Using your electric mixer (or hand mixer) on high power, beat the mixture for 12 – 15 minutes, until the volume doubles and the mixture looks very fluffy, like stiff egg white peaks.
2 options:
- Put the marshmallow mixture into the fridge and let set until it is marshmallow fluff consistency. About 45 minutes.
- Or immediately move onto making the treats, while the mixture is still a little warm.
Take parchment paper and line 8×8 pan or a 9×13 jelly roll pan
Pour the rice cereal into a large bowl.
Take the entire marshmallow mixture and mix into the rice cereal.
Flatten out the rice mixture into the pan chosen until they resemble treats
Let set for at least 3 – 4 hours or over night.