Tag Archives: almond flour

chocolate shorties

so, back to baking and it looks like almond flour will be my new best friend. though, i do doubt that i’ll ever be able to give up butter. i saw a nice looking gluten free shortbread on the king arthur flour website and decided to see what variations i could make. i figured i’d start with an chocolate almond shortbread cookie and have my cookies and cut my carbs, as well. it’s a really simple dough and comes together quickly. i think the raw dough will freeze well and come in handy for last minute entertaining. i plan to just freeze the dough balls in doubled freezer bags.

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cherries & cream coffee cake

i was racking my brain and then the interwebs for some new toppings for a buttermilk coffeecake base. in the past, i have always topped coffee cake very simply with some streusel crumb, but i came across a blueberry coffee cake with a cream cheese center. still wanting a sort of simple cake and one that wasn’t too wet or too sweet, i started to fiddle with combining the two recipes. cherries are my all-time favorite fruit and i figured cherry preserves would be less wet and sweet than a pie style cornstarch thickened filling. i still wanted my streusel topping, but with some extra punch, so i added almond flour to the mix. My dear friend Brenda calls this the SuperNova Cake.

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tipsy cranberry almond shorties -the recipe

Thanks everyone for your votes and support in the Fonseca BIN 27 Cookie Rumble 2013! The cookies finished in a respectable 4th place out of approximately 150 entries in the popular vote. Not bad for gluten free cookie in a mainstream cookie contest. My friend Grant finished in second place with his lovely Point Reyes Port Cakes and I suggest you check out his recipe.

Now, we wait to see what happens in the judges vote. As promised, I’ve posted the “Tipsy Cranberry Almond Shorties” recipe,

below.

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I am so grateful for and really sincerely appreciate every like and vote that was cast for my cookie, in this contest. Continue reading →

chocolate financiers

i had to scramble to put together something sweet for cocktails later. chocolate financiers seemed like a perfect dessert with raspberries, whipped cream and a nice chilled cava. the best thing is that financiers are mostly gluten free, anyway. they require only about a tablespoon of flour for structure, i used Cup4Cup but sweet rice flour or most any rice flour based blend will work and the batter is very forgiving, so long as you chill it thoroughly before baking. the french call this “le choc thermique”.

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in gluten free baking, it allows the flours to fully absorb the liquid and gives a nicer less grainy texture. i’m afraid that, i’m going to eat all the financiers before my guests arrive.

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gâteau à l’orange

a friend suggested that i check out Claudia Roden’s orange almond cake. a genius call by my friend. a really simple cake mostly comprised of pureed orange and ground almonds. what could be more simple?

Orange and Almond Cake

Adapted from Claudia Roden’s “A Book of Middle Eastern Food” Knopf 1968

Ingredients

2 large organic oranges

6 eggs

250g (1.75 cups) ground almonds

250g (1.25 cups) superfine sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder (look for a gluten free brand)

Method

1.         Wash the oranges and simmer them, unpeeled, in enough water to cover for 2 hours. Cool, cut them open and remove the seeds. Puree the oranges in a food processor or Vitamix.

2.         Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3.         Beat the eggs in a stand mixer or large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, including the orange puree, and mix thoroughly. Pour into a buttered springform pan.

4.         Lower oven to 375 degrees. Bake for one hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before turning out onto serving plate. Can be garnished with glazed orange slices.