Banana Bread

Ian absolutely loves banana bread and this recipe is adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I've of course changes the flour to a gluten free flour blend, but also cut the leavening ingredients because the original recipe causes the bread to souffle. Also, since Noah is allergic to nuts, I've also excluded them. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients

2 cups gluten free flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

1 to 1/2 cups mashed banana (5 medium)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter or margarine

Streusel Topping (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of two loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, banana, sugar, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Spoon batter into prepared pans. If desired, sprinkle Streusel Topping over batter.

3. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

4. Makes 1 loaf (16 slices)

5. Streusel Topping: In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 3 tablespoons gluten free flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Rustic Plum Tart

Ian saw this on Everyday Baking and asked if I could bake this for his birthday instead of a cake. We tried it and everyone loved it, just not Ian. So it was back to a chocolate cake for his birthday.

This recipe is so easy that I baked four of them one night: three to give away to friends and one to eat! The original recipe can be found here. This one is modified for gluten free baking -- note that gluten free flour is affected by humidity so you may need to add more or less water depending on what they weather is like.

For the Crust
1 cup gluten free flour
1/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup cold water, to be added by the tablespoon

For the Filling
1 1/2 pounds red plums, quartered, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon gluten free flour
1 large egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water (egg wash)

decorating sugar

In a food processor, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and xanthan gum. Pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse until it resembles coarse meal. Add two tablespoons of water (add more water one tablespoon at a time) and check to see if dough holds together when pinched. Gluten free flour is very susceptible to humidity on a warm day I've added up to six tablespoons of water. Do not over work the dough, though.

Turn out mixture onto some plastic wrap on a work surface. Fold plastic wrap over the mixture and press so that it forms a disc. Again do not over work. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes and up to an hour. Again, gluten free dough becomes unmanageable when they are in the refrigerator too long -- it breaks and doesn't roll out propery when it is too cold.

While the crust is in the fridge, prepare plums and place in a bowl adding sugar and gluten free flour. Toss well. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. I have one reserved exclusively for pies that looks quite worn and used, but serves its purpose to catch spillage from pies or tarts. Flour a large (about 16 inches long) piece of parchment paper. Place dough on paper. Using your knuckles, press edges of dough so it doesn't crack during rolling. Lightly flour top of dough to prevent sticking; roll out to a 14-inch round. Transfer dough (still on parchment) to prepared baking sheet.

Pour filling into the middle of the dough. Fold edges

Lemon Squares

This recipe is from the Living Without magazine, modified slightly as their recipe never seems to set correctly when I make it. So, after some tinkering and constructive criticism (from my friend Ryan who said that the crust is the best he's tasted but the filling wasn't quite done enough), here's the new recipe.

2 cups gluten free flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 small lemons, zested (reserving zest for the filling)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup gluten free flour
2 tsp. xanthan gum
confectioners sugar for garnish

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. For the crust, in a small bowl whisk together gluten free flour and confectioner's sugar. Add melted butter and stir with a fork until combined. Press the mixture into a 13 X 9 baking dish -- lined with parchment paper -- making sure to push the crust about halfway up all sides. Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes.

While the crust is baking, zest two small lemons, and add the zest into a medium bowl where four eggs have been lightly beaten. Squeeze lemons and add 1/4 cup juice to bowl. Add sugar, 1/4 cup gluten free flour, and xanthan gum. Beat well with a whisk. Remove crust from oven and decrease temperature to 325 degrees. Pour filling into hot crust and bake in oven for about 22 to 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle confectioners sugar. Cool completely and cut into squares.

Black and White Cupcakes

This recipe is from my new favorite show, Everyday Baking. The kids and I love to watch the show together and they get to pick what I bake next for them, Ian usually ending up as the decision maker. We've tried a few recipes out and now have some new favorites.

I usually had trouble with making cupcakes using gluten free flour. They somehow souffléd in the oven and capsized when cooled leaving a crater in the middle. For this recipe, I sifted the gluten free flour before measuring, and modified the amount of flour used by subtracting two tablespoons off of the required amount. I also added xanthan gum. The result: perfectly formed gluten free cupcakes. Another secret is to dip your fingers in water to smooth the tops of the cupcakes before baking. This original recipe is called Cupcakes Three Ways on the Everyday Baking Web site.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour, plus two tablespoons gluten free flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
vanilla, raspberry, or chocolate buttercream

For Chocolate Cupcakes
Reduce flour to 1 cup plus two tablespoons gluten free flour and add 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Sift gluten free flour and measure correct amount into a medium bowl. Add the baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt and whisk, blending well. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla, and mix until combined. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by milk; end with remaining flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated (do not over mix).

Prepare vanilla and chocolate batters and fill muffin cups with batter using an ice cream scoop with vanilla on one side, and chocolate on the other. Using your fingers, dip into a bowl of water and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost with your choice of buttercream. Makes about 24 cupcakes.


Buttercream Three Ways

Vanilla Buttercream
With an electric mixer, beat 8 tablespoons (1 stick) room-temperature unsalted butter until light and fluffy. On medium speed, beat in 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down bowl as necessary. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Increase speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Rasberry Buttercream
Make Vanilla Buttercream, then beat in 3 to 4 teaspoons seedless raspberry jam.

Chocolate Buttercream
Place 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and cool to room temperature. Make Vanilla Buttercream, then beat in melted chocolate.

Molasses Double Ginger Cookies

This recipe is from my mom's cousin who lives in Upper Marlboro, MD. We call her Tita Emy and she is one of the best cooks and bakers I know. She is very nurturing and she and her wonderful family (her husband, Tito Art, and son, AJ) welcomed our family from the very first time we visited. This is her recipe for ginger cookies and they are really delicious. I still need to try a gluten-free version, though. Maybe tonight.

2 cups gluten-free flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick room temperature unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger (crystallized)
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Beat butter and brown sugar until light in color. Beat in oil, molasses and egg. Scrape sides of bowl and add flour mixture until well blended. Add candied ginger. Chill until firm (about one hour).

Set oven temperature to 375 degrees. Roll batter into one-inch balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar, place the balls two inches apart onto lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten. Bake until center surface of cookies is barely dry (about nine to 10 minutes. Do not over bake -- it will lose it's chewy texture). Remove from the oven and cool on cookie sheets for five minutes before transferring onto wire racks.