Tag Archives: dessert

Vanilla-Coconut Ice Cream

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This recipe came about due to a lack of dairy products in our fridge, and a late night craving for ice cream!

One of the advantages of having a stocked pantry is that there are plenty of canned goods and dry goods on hand — coconut milk being one those things that is usually stocked in both canned and powder form!

This is a pretty plain-jane recipe for a basic dairy-free ice cream — made into a custard and cooled before freezing.   For this recipe, it might be possible to freeze this and stir every 30 minutes or so during the freezing process, BUT it will not have that fabulous, creamy texture that comes from the contant stirring and introduction of air while this stuff is freezing.  It is not, however, a requirement to shell out hundreds of dollars for an ice cream maker — I have an inexpensive ice cream machine made by Cuisinart – it makes about 1 L at a time in a pre-chilled container, and does the stirring for me.

 

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Vanilla-Coconut Ice Cream

Yield: approx. 1 Liter

Ingredients

  • 2 14 oz. tins coconut milk
  • pinch salt
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean, split
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Combine coconut milk, salt and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until very smooth and pale yellow in colour. Add egg yolk mixture to the saucepan and whisk to combine.e
  2. Place the saucepan over medium heat and continue to whisk while it heats.
  3. Stir constantly until the custard begins to thicken. It should reach no more than 180 degrees F and coat the back of a spoon.
  4. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Strain into a bowl to ensure the custard is smooth. Put the vanilla back in the custard while it cools (place plastic wrap over the custard while it cools to prevent a skin forming).
  5. The custard can be put in the fridge to cool overnight.
  6. Freeze in an ice cream maker as per the manufacturers directions. Once frozen, remove from the ice cream maker and place in an airtight container to store in the freezer.
  7. Before serving, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly.
http://realfoodmadeeasy.ca/2012/01/vanilla-coconut-ice-cream/

I like my gingerbread … dark and moist!

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I've had a request from a client for gingerbread — old fashioned style gingerbread you bake in a square pan, and sometimes top with cream cheese frosting, sometimes with lemon glaze … total comfort food.  In my books, gingerbread should be super moist, studded with raisins, hit the right balance between sweet and bitter (from the molasses), and stand up to a rich frosting if that's your thing.

This particular request though had to hit a number of addiitonal critieria, including being gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free and rice + potato free.  I've also been concurrently looking at options for reducing the amount of xantham gum used in various baked goods — it has a particular residual smell (very faint), which I think is the main reason my better half says he does not like gluten-free baked goods as much as their wheaty counterparts. 

In meeting this specific need, I've opted to go with a mix of teff + amaranth + tapioca starch + cornstarch, but if I weren't working with these restrictions, I might substitute the cornstarch for potato starch, or the amaranth for brown rice flour.  Everything is written in weights here, so if you feel like substituting, just stick to the same weight, and try and pick a flour or starch with similar properties.

I also decided to try out a Tapioca gel as an egg replacer (see Cake and Commerce's blondie recipe) at the same time as I was developing this recipe.  I have a couple of old handwritten standbys for gingerbread  I typically turn to using eggs and dairy, so it was a matter of several adjustments to convert to vegan AND gluten-free. 

I've been using flax gel for a while now, and was curious to see what the difference was with the tapioca gel.  Well!  we got moist, dark gingerbread that looks like it will be just as good the 2nd day around! and not a grain of xantham gum in sight!

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a square baking pan (8" x 8") with parchment paper)

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well:

  • 90 grams teff flour
  • 70 grams amaranth flour
  • 85 grams tapioca starch
  • 85 grams cornstarch
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix wet ingredients together in a larger bowl:

  • 1/2 c cooking molasses
  • 1/2 c brown sugar
  • 1/2 c grapeseed oil
  • 1/2 c tapioca gel (to make, cook 2 tsp tapioca per 1 cup water)
  • 1/2 applesauce

Add wet ingredients to dry, mix well with a spatula to combine.  Fold in:

  • 1/2 cup raisins

Pour gingerbread batter into the baking pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Let cool in pan at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan.

Gluten-free never looked so chocolatey!

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A quick drive-by recipe here for gluten-free cupckakes that needed a little more modification than usual — no dairy, no eggs, no soy.   Take a careful look at the ingredients on your chocolate, and chances are it has soy lecithin in it.  Many chocolate manufacturers use soy lecithin as an emulsifier, making for a frustrating search for those who need to avoid soy and are looking for chocolate (and a world without chocolate is indeed a world that is little less joyous!).

If you are looking for soy-free chocolate, you can find Enjoy Life chocolate in a number of health food stores now, or if you really want a treat, the Tanzanian dark chocolate from Cacao-Barry is deep and complex and luxurious!  Make sure to check the ingredients list though, as not all the Cacao-Barry products are soy-free.

 

Before we dive in, a couple of observations:

  • when you are not using butter, using oils can often result in a  muffin-like texture.  For best results, a denser oil such as coconut oil will give you results that are closer to that of butter.  For this recipe, there is so much chocolate in the recipe using coconut oil is overkill.
  • there are a number of options for egg-replacements, including flax seed, flax gel, chia gel, applesauce, pumpkin or squash puree, extra baking  powder, or even blended silken tofu.  In this recipe, we were looking to add some binder, but also some texture to break up the denseness of the chocolate, so there is a combination of applesauce and flax seed.
  • For best results in gluten-free recipes, a blend of flours helps provide the best texture.   Teff flour is a beautifully fine, high-protein flour that provides loft — the tapioca starch adds tenderness, and the potato starch helps add a nice moist crumb.

Gluten-free Vegan Cupcakes with Whipped Ganache

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, whisk together and let stand 10 minutes until gooey.

  • 1 T ground flaxseed
  • 3 T water

In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients together:

  • 90 grams teff flour
  • 45 grams tapioca starch
  • 45 grams potato starch
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp xantham gum
  • 1/2 tsp salt

In a heatproof glass bowl, melt

  • 265 grams dark chocolate

when melted, stir in:

  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 3/4 cup rice milk (or other non-dairy milk)
  • 3/8 cup grapeseed oil
  • flaxseed mixture

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.  Portion evenly into muffin tins or cupcake liners.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting with whipped ganache

Whipped Ganache

Take 1 tin coconut milk and heat just to the boiling point.  Pour the hot coconut milk over 454 grams dark chocolate and let stand, covered for 10 minutes.  Whisk the mixture together until it becomes dark and glossy.  Let cool to just above room temperature, and whip with a set of hand beaters until it is the consistency of icing, and holds a peak.  This will make enough ganache to frost at least 18 cupcakes.  If you have some leftover, make sure to warm it slightly first.