Gluten-free and Dairy-free Chocolate Almond Cake

Sometimes you just want to have a good chocolate cake. Here is my recipe for a wonderful gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate almond cake.

Gather the following dry ingredients:

1/2 cup corn flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup rice flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

5 teaspoons cocoa powder

1 big pinch of salt

Mix the dry ingredients together uniformly.

Now add the following wet ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

3 large eggs

4 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons almond extract

Mix all of the wet and dry ingredients together.

Have a greased cake pan ready (lightly greased with olive oil). Now, to provide the cake with some lift, add 4 teaspoons of white vinegar and give it a quick whisk. The vinegar will react with the baking soda and will make tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. Be sure to mix in the vinegar and quickly transfer the mixture to the cake pan.

Bake the cake in a preheated 350°F oven for approximately 40 minutes.

Once out of the oven, let the cake cool slightly and flip it over on to a plate.

Once flipped, I like to add a topping of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips mixed with a dollop of almond butter. (No precise measurements are necessary.) Once the cake is frosted, slivered almonds on the top add a nice crunch.

Doesn't it look good?

Gluten-free Mustazzoli

For those of you who have read my previous entry on mustazzoli, you will know that this honey bread/cookie is popular amongst Southern Italians. (To read my previous recipe on traditional mustazzoli click here.) These cookies are naturally dairy-free. However, for some time now, I have been thinking about developing a gluten-free recipe. I have tested out this particular recipe and it works great!

This recipe uses buckwheat products to add a characteristic flavour. You will need to begin with 1 cup of buckwheat honey. This type of honey is quite commonly found in most large supermarkets and specialty food stores.

As you can see, the honey has a deep amber colour.

To the honey, add two large eggs.

Whisk to combine the two liquid ingredients together.

Now add 4 tablespoons of blanched almond flour.

Once added, you may give the mixture a quick stir.

You will now require one cup of buckwheat flour. 

Spoon and whisk the flour, into the liquid mixture, 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Once all of the buckwheat flour has been incorporated, the mixture will look like the picture below.

So far so good. Now, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and whisk it into the mixture.

For the next part of the recipe, you will require roasted white rice flour. This type of rice flour has a texture more similar to wheat flour compared to regular white rice flour. In the Greater Toronto Area, roasted white rice flour can be found very easily at supermarkets catering to the South Indian and the Sri Lankan market.

Slowly, adding 1-2 tablespoons at a time, stir in enough roasted white rice flour to form a stiff dough. You will know that the dough is stiff enough when you can stick a whisk or spoon in it and it will be able to stand vertically.

Transfer large dollops of the dough onto a greased cookie sheet (greased with olive oil). With oiled hands, form the dough into small logs.

Bake the logs in a preheated 350°F oven for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Let the logs are cool to the point where you can handle them.  While still warm, cut the logs into thin slices.

Once cooled, these gluten-free mustazzoli will be ready to enjoy.

Dairy-free "Cheese"

Being on a restricted diet can leave one feeling that they cannot enjoy some everyday foods, particularly if the restriction includes dairy and dairy products. I have been in this scenario before and have found that some alternatives are available, especially when it comes to cheese. One of my go-to alternative recipes is actually inspired by an ingredient loved by vegans; nutritional yeast.  Nutritional yeast is a great source for vitamin B12 and is used as a food ingredient when one is trying to acquire a cheese-like flavour, whilst avoiding dairy. (For those of you who would like to read my previous post on nutritional yeast, click here.)


This particular recipe is for a dairy-free "cheese" sauce. For this recipe, you will require following ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon double-concentrated tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 tablespoons agar (ground)

Agar is an ingredient that is commonly used in India, Iran and surrounding areas to make desserts like puddings, drinks and ice creams. You may know the ingredient from biology class, as it is used as the gelling agent in Petri dishes. It is also commonly known by other names including agar agar, China grass, faluda (falooda) and falooda sev, among others. Agar is basically a vegetable-based starch used to gel foods, a process that is similar to using gelatin or pectin.

In the Greater Toronto Area, you may be able to find agar at specialty food shops, bulk food stores or health food stores. However, I find that buying agar from these type of places can burn a hole in your pocket. For that reason, I prefer to visit the local East Indian grocery store to purchase it. I find that buying ingredients, such as this one, at Indian grocery stores can be done at a fraction of the price. For example, this packet below cost me approximately $2.00 CAD.

As you can see, the Indian version comes in a packed, nest-like form. The word "falooda" is often used to describe foods that have been shredded. Also, the word "sev" is used to describe vermicelli.

As the agar will need to be dissolved in this recipe, I find it easier to work with when it is broken down into smaller pieces. I simply place the agar nest into my Magic Bullet blender and pulverize it to the consistency below.

In a saucepan, slowly heat the water with the measured amount of ground agar. You don't need to boil the liquid. You simply want the agar to soften. This process should take approximately 5 minutes.

Once softened, place all of your ingredients into a blender.

Simply blend the mixture until reaches a smooth, liquid consistency. That's it! Your "cheese" sauce is ready.

You can use this cheese sauce anywhere you would use melted cheese. For example, try using it with:
- nacho chips
- tortillas or flat breads
- pasta, as I did below, for a yummy mac and "cheese"

Of course, instead of plain, every day mac and cheese, I topped mine with caramelized onions cooked with Herbs de Provence. Mmm.

Marroni

Every Christmas, I do a load of baking. One of my specialties is a cookie I like to call marroni (chestnut cookies). This is the third recipe in my series of gluten-free and dairy-free nut cookies. (To view my previous recipe for amaretti, click here and to view my recipe for pecan pie cookies, click here.)

Chestnut flour can now be readily found in specialty supermarkets and in bulk food stores. It imparts a wonderful flavour, reminding me of winter time.

For this recipe you will need 1 cup of chestnut flour, 1 cup blanched ground almonds and 1 cup of white sugar.

 

Mix the dry ingredients together.

For the wet ingredients, you will need to start with the whites of four eggs (8 tablespoons of egg whites). I said "start", because the chestnut flour can be a little temperamental, depending on its moisture content.

 
Whip the whites to stiff peaks.

At this point, blend in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Add the vanilla egg whites to the dry ingredients.

Fold in the egg whites to form a dough. If a dough cannot be formed, because the ingredients are too dry, feel free to add more whipped egg whites. (I have, on some occasions, used up to six egg whites or 12 tablespoons of egg whites.)

Drop teaspoon sized balls onto a greased, aluminum foil-lined baking tray. Be sure to leave approximately 1 inch of space between each cookie.

I liked to top each cookie with a slivered almond.

Bake the cookies in a 350°F oven for approximately 15 minutes. Be sure to let them cool prior to removing them from the baking sheet.

These cookies have a dense, chewy texture. They can be easily made ahead of time and frozen. Marroni are always a hit during the holidays!

Pecan Pie Cookies

Using the basic recipe for amaretti can be a great jumping off point for making other nut cookies. The basic premise is always there: whipped egg whites + sugar + ground nuts = great cookies. (To view my recipe for amaretti click here.)

The second recipe in this series is for pecan pie cookies.

I picked up a package of pecan meal the last time I was in Florida. The Sheffield Pecan Company carries some fantastic pecan products. I would highly recommend them.

You will need 2 cups of pecan meal and 1 cup of golden-brown sugar. I decided to use this type of sugar, because it adds a little bit more flavour than regular white sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses, giving it an enriched taste. (By the way, the darker the brown sugar, the more molasses it contains.)

Mix the dry ingredients together.

You will also require the whites of four eggs (8 tablespoons of egg whites).

Whip the whites to stiff peaks.

Add the egg whites to the dry ingredients.

Fold in the egg whites to form a dough.

Drop teaspoon sized balls onto a greased, aluminum foil-lined baking tray. Be sure to leave approximately 1 inch of space between each cookie.

These cookies don't really need any type of topping. However, I had some candied orange peels in the fridge, so I decided to use them.

Bake the cookies in a 350°F oven for approximately 15 minutes. Be sure to let them cool prior to removing them from the baking sheet.

These light cookies taste like little bites of pecan pie! Also, they are completely gluten and dairy-free.