Friday, January 27, 2012

Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake

Ok so I know that I promised bacon cheddar cornbread muffins but in my attempt to get home and out of the cold quickly, I forgot to pick up cheddar cheese... and bacon.  As I am missing two of the main tasty-making ingredients and I have no desire to go back out, I figured I would whip up another recipe with things I have around the house. 

I look in the fridge, eggs, bok choy, feta cheese, lemons, blueberries...  thinking, thinking... I've got it! Pound Cake!  A summer treat on a wet, cold winter's night never hurt anyone, right?

Lately I have been experimenting with another flour mixture for lighter pastries, something that would serve to replace your traditional cake flour.  The difficult part of getting this mix right has been getting it fine enough without creating paste.  Rice flour lends a nice light texture but is too fine to be used on it's own and many of the others are too course and create a grainy texture.  Through trial and error I think I have come up with a pretty great alternative. 

Gluten Free Cake Flour (yield 1 cup, multiply as needed)
1/2 cup Fine White Rice Flour
1/4 cup Sorghum Flour
1/4 cup Potato Starch
1 tsp Xanthan Gum






For the pound cake, you won't need to use this flour exclusively but adding it into the mix lends a lovely fine texture.  Using a combination of cake flour and the Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour that you already have in your pantry is just about perfect.

Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
·  1/2 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
·  1 cup gluten free cake flour
·  1 1/2 cups white sugar
·  1/2 cup butter
·  1/2 cup sour cream
·  3 eggs
·  1 pinch baking soda
·  juice and zest of 1 large lemon
·  1 cup blueberries

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and a 8x4 inch loaf pan
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, lemon juice, zest and eggs, mix to combine
  3. Add flours and pinch of soda, mix well.  Fold in blueberries and pour into prepared pan


  1. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean


The result is a beautiful, tart loaf with a moist and creamy texture.

Enjoy!

Very soon I promise to pick up some bacon and cheese for the corn muffins! And be prepared, after that is my new addiction, fresh gluten free pasta.

Gluten free confession: Ok. Today was rough and like every good junkie, I like to justify why I DESERVE something that I know isn’t good for me.  At lunch I met my wonderful friend Heather at Hero Burger because I have recently discovered that they offer GF buns! Very Exciting!  While scanning the menu board, the world froze for a moment as my eyes met “Onion Rings”... my decision was made.  For some dumb reason I still had a GF bun though and I thought that it would make a difference.  Anyway, I am not feeling so hot tonight but I can’t say it wasn’t worth it.  My friend insisted that I confess my sins to my readers.  Everyone slips up, everyone cheats on their diets,  the trick is to get right back on track and not fall back into the cycle of feeling terrible. 

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Gluten Free Apple Pecan Date Breakfast Scones

Hey Everyone!
So sorry for such a long delay between posts! I was away in the sunny Bahamas over the holidays and my blogging sort of fell between the cracks.  Sorry for the lack of photos in this post (for now) I was so busy baking I forgot to take more.  I'll put together another batch so you can see the process soon.


Breakfast has always been a struggle for me.  Making healthy choices and even remembering to eat in the morning has not always come easily. Also being someone who doesn’t like to eat for at least an hour after waking up, I often eat once I get to work.  Having made the switch to gluten free has amplified these challenges as quick gluten free “on the run” options are limited.  I have had some luck with GF cereal from THIS company but I often want something a little more hearty that I can eat while on the move. 
A lot of my recipes on Gluten Free Kitchen Adventures are recipes that I have found somewhat recently or are ones that I have been using for years that I have recently altered to fit a gluten free lifestyle.  This recipe however, is one that I created from scratch one night when I was feeling extra creative.  These “scones” have a texture that is a bit of a mix between a traditional scone and a muffin, moist and dense. 
I have yet to play around with a different flavour, mostly because this one is so delicious and satisfying, so why mess with a good thing.

Ingredients:
¼ cup butter at room temperature
¼ cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ cup milk or substitute
½ cup date paste (directions below)
½ cup grated apple
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 cup Gluten Free Flour Mix <<LINK>>
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
1.       To make date paste, coarsely chop ½ cup of pitted dates and place in a small pot with ¼ cup of water.  Over medium heat, cook the dates until they are quite soft and the water has mostly boiled off .  Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.  Using a fork or a masher (I use a pastry cutter) mash the dates into a smooth paste.
2.       In a large bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and date paste.  When evenly mixed, add egg and stir until incorporated. 
3.       In a separate bowl, mix flour mix, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until well combined. 
4.       Alternate adding flour mix and milk in 2 additions to butter mixture.  Add pecans and grated apples stirring gently just to incorporate. 
5.       Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick mat.
6.       Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, drop dough onto the baking sheet.  They don't expand too much so you only need to leave about an inch between them.
7.       Bake for 18 minutes until golden brown on the bottom

This recipe makes about 10 scones.

To freeze scones, line a baking sheet with parchment  then scoop dough as above and place in the freezer for about 2 hours or until solid.  Once frozen, then transfer to a freezer bag and return to the freezer. 
I find these stay nice and fresh for about 3 days after baking so I like to bake off about 3 on Sunday night and another 3 on Wednesday night to get me through the week with fresh breakfast. 




Be sure to vote for the recipe you would like to see next at the top right of the page!