Gluten- Free Hummingbird Bundt Cake

A Hummingbird Cake is usually a three layer cake with frosting between each layer, the top and sides. I will admit to being motivated in large part by laziness when I adapted the recipe to make it a Bundt cake. However, in the process I also made it a little less decadent. I replaced half of the oil with applesauce and since applesauce is sweet, I cut the sugar in half as well. It is just topped with frosting, so I only used a third as much frosting as I would if I were making a cake. If you wanted to reduce the sugar even more, you could dust the top with powdered sugar in place of the frosting and chopped pecans.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2  teaspoon vanilla
1 - 8oz. can crushed pineapple, do not drain
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
2 cups bananas, chopped

Directions:

Combine rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Add eggs, oil, and applesauce. Stir by hand until the dry ingredients are moist.

Stir in vanilla, pineapple (with juice), 1 cup of pecans, and bananas.

Spoon batter into a greased and floured Bundt cake pan (use rice flour to dust pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 – 50 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely. Spoon cream cheese frosting (recipe below) over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Cream Cheese Frosting


4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine cream cheese and butter; beating until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Today I’m at The 21rst Century Housewife Sharing How I Adapt Recipe to Make Them Gluten-Free

Today I am sharing my tips for adapting recipes to make them gluten-free at The 21rst Century Housewife.
When I learn of someone who has just been diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease or a gluten intolerance, I encourage them by reminding them that if you think outside the box (or other packaged items) you will find an incredible variety of naturally gluten-free foods. I describe our diet as joyfully gluten-free, because I don’t focus on what we can’t have. Instead, I delight in growing and preparing fruits and vegetables for my family. Cooking real food from scratch is the easiest, healthiest, and most frugal way to prepare gluten-free dishes.
When someone is newly diagnosed I also recommend that they not jump immediately to packaged gluten-free substitutes, because they will most likely be disappointed. I encourage them to take a month off and then try baking gluten-free breads, cookies, and cakes from scratch. It is a bit more time consuming, but the reward is a more flavorful (and frugal) product.  Visit The 21rst Century Housewife, if you are interested in learning how I adapt recipes to make them gluten-free.

Sweet Potato Pie with Easy Ginger Cookie Crust

Sometimes I want to make a pie, but I don’t feel like making a pie crust. Just thinking about rolling out dough exhausts me. That is when I either tell my daughter that if she will make pie dough I will make her a pie or make a cheater pie crust with gluten-free cookies. Though I have been know to skip the crust all together and just cook the filling in a pie dish.


Pie Shell ingredients:

2 cups finely ground gluten-free ginger cookies (~8 oz. of cookies)
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Grind cookies. I do it with an antique potato masher, but a food processor will yield a finer crumb. Stir butter into cookie crumbs.

Press cookie crumbs into a pie shell. Bake at 350^o for 5 minutes.


Sweet Potato Filling Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups or 1 - 15 oz. can of pureed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup evaporated milk

Directions:

In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine sweet potato, sugar and spices.

In a small bowl, beat eggs. Add to the sweet potato mixture.

Slowly add  evaporated milk to sweet potato mixture.

Pour mixture into a pie shell. Bake at 425^o for 15 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350^o and bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

Is there something that you don’t enjoy making? Have you found a way to cheat?

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Guest Post at The Thrifty Mama and Substitute for Chocolate Chips

Today I am sharing some tips for using up milk that is about to expire at The Thrifty Mama. The Chocolate Pudding recipe that I shared calls for 1 cup of chocolate chips, However that is a modification I made to my Grandma’s original recipe. If you avoid chocolate chips because they contain soy lecithin, you can substitute 1/2 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter for 1 cup of chocolate chips.

My kids prefer the recipe with chocolate chips and say it tastes like brownie batter. I prefer the original recipe. No matter which recipe I use, we both like our pudding served in chocolate cups and topped with Vanilla Whip Cream, though you may prefer Crystal’s Homemade Cool Whip.

Slightly Healthier Gluten-Free Garlic and Herb Pizza Crust

Tonight when I made Chicken Alfredo Pizza with Broccoli, I used a slightly healthier version of my Garlic and Herb Pizza Crust. I replaced some of the white rice flour with brown rice flour and reduced the oil to 1 tablespoon. I also made it from memory and did something wrong, but it is a mistake that I think I will repeat: I let the dough rise as a ball in a warm location and then rolled it out. I liked the consistency of the crust better, so I have modified the direction to include my mistake.

It is not a lot healthier, especially since I topped it with Alfredo sauce AND mozzarella cheese, but it slightly healthier.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon basil
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup warm water (120 – 130 degrees)
1 tablespoon oil

Directions:


1. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (including spices) until completely mixed. Add the egg, water, and oil. Stir until it is completely mixed. Form the dough into a ball.

2. Cover dough loosely with a towel or plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. After about 20 minutes has elapsed, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

3. Coat a pizza pan with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal or rice flour. Roll your dough out 1/4 inch thick on the sheet. If the rolling pin sticks, sprinkle the top of the crust with cornmeal or rice flour.

4. Bake the crust for 9 -11 minutes at 450 degrees. Remove the pizza crust from oven; top with your favorite pizza toppings and place back in the oven for another 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

For more delicious, gluten-free recipes visit Slightly Indulgent Tuesday and Gluten-Free Wednesday.

Organic Brown Rice Flour Sale

I use organic brown rice flour all the time! Our favorite bread recipe is Whole Grain Gluten Free Bread from Wheatless Foodie. So I was excite to discover that Bob's Red Mill Organic Brown Rice Flour is on sale at Amazon.com. Four 24 oz. packages for 10.44; that is 2.61 a package, half off what I pay in the grocery store.

You can save an additional 15% by subscribing to have the flour delivered to you at regular intervals from 1 - 6 months. I use a little over one package a month, so I have a 4 pack delivered every 3 months. I always check the price before it is sent, if it goes up too much I cancel the service until the price comes back down.

This post is linked to Real Food Deals.

Today I am sharing a recipe at The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Today I am sharing my Brown Rice Syrup Toffee at The Gluten-Free Homemaker. It is my favorite toffee because it has a nice buttery toffee flavor without being overly sweet.

I have found that as I have gotten older I have a lower tolerance for sugary items. I have done some experimenting with reducing the amount of sugar I use in recipes. In my Pumpkin Bread and Pear Bread recipes I used just enough to lend a sweetness. It is amazing how much of the sugar you can cut and still have a sweet baked good! I start by cutting the called sugar in half ( which I have discovered is often enough!) and gradually increase it as necessary to produce the desired sweetness. 

One way that I have been able to cut more sugar from a recipe is to replace all or part of the oil with applesauce, which is naturally sweet. This has the added benefit of reducing the fat content as well.

I have found that I can cut out sugar by using brown rice syrup, which has the added benefit of being less sweet than sugar. I first discovered it when looking for a replacement for corn syrup in Chewy Granola Bars. I fell in love with the mild flavor that does not distract from the other flavors in the way that honey can. My kids still have a sweet tooth, so sometimes when I bake with brown rice syrup, I increase the amount I use to give it a sweeter flavor. But I have noticed that even when I increase the brown rice syrup in recipes like German Chocolate Cake, I do not get what I call “the sugar dumps”, which is the incredible need to take a nap after consuming sugar. Brown rice syrup, happily, does not have the same negative impact on me that sugar does.

Linda graciously hosts Gluten-Free Wednesdays each week. Bringing gluten-free bloggers together to share recipes and learn from each other.  Linda’s Gluten-Free Challenges for this month is Gluten-Free Cookies. I am already playing with ingredients in my mind, perhaps my cookies will even be sweetened with brown rice syrup…