Tag Archives: sweets

Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Bread

Sweet potato bread, gluten freeThis isn’t your fluffy, white, B- student bread. Oh no. This is his cousin… twice removed. If this bread had a name, his name would be Barry and he would give you a beat down on the playground– behind the slide where no one can rescue you. Barry is dense. He’s a little chewy. Some may call him hefty. He’s got meat on his ribs, but underneath his tough exterior, he’s more akin to a fruitcake, not the rack of ribs he pretends to be.

gluten-free sweet potato breadIf you’re looking for a prissy, pretty bread, this isn’t your jam. But if you need a little more heft to your breakfast bread (or lunch, or dinner, I don’t judge), Barry, I mean this sweet potato bread is it.

Ingredients

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potato until tender. Keep oven on!
  2. Remove the skin and puree in a blender or food processor with 1/4 cup of the milk.
  3.  Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and beat again.
  4. Mix together dry ingredients (minus the pecans and chocolate chips) in a separate bowl.
  5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet about 1/4 of a cup at a time. After each scoop of dry, add a bit of the remaining 1/2 cup of milk.
  6. Fold in the pecans and the chocolate chips.
  7. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. And add dough.
  8. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.
  9. Check to see if dough is cooked by pricking with a toothpick or a fork. The toothpick or fork should come out clean. Make sure press the toothpick all the way to the bottom. This bread can look done on top and be completely raw on the bottom.

Make friends with Barry. He’s dense, but filling.

love,
melanie

 

 

Gluten-free, No Bake, Chocolate Cake Bites

cake bite

My oven has been broken for over a month. I live in a gorgeous building, but when something breaks, there is no hurry to fix it.

Which means my cake cravings are out of control. You know what I mean. You always want something more when it is practically impossible to acquire. So, I searched around the Internet, did what a good librarian does, and found THE BEST, gluten-free, no bake chocolate cake. EVER. I mean it.

You can find the original recipe at 101 Cookbooks. I’ve adapted it just a tad to make cake bites since the cake is so rich.

Supplies

  • cupcake pan
  • cupcake liners
  • plastic wrap
  • whisk
  • double boiler or the bowl- over-pan method described below
  • medium pan

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces of 70% dark chocolate, well chopped
  • 8 ounces of heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 2 teaspoons finely ground espresso
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine grain salt
  • cinnamon, to serve
  • whipped creme, to serve

Step 1. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. You may want to try spraying the liners with a little nonstick spray. I didn’t try it, but I wish I did since the bites were a bit ugly.

 

improvised double boiler

improvised double boiler

Step 2: Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over gentle heat. If you don’t have double boiler, don’t worry. I don’t have one either. Just put a larger bowl on top of a smaller saucepan and fill with about an inch of water and heat the water to simmering.

Step 3: As the chocolate is melting, in a separate pan, heat the cream over gentle heat. Stir in the allspice and the espresso.

Step 4: When the cream is hot to the touch, remove from heat and stir in the salt.

Step 5: After the chocolate has melted, pour it into the cream slowly and whisk slowly. At this point, you are probably going to think, this isn’t working! But I promise, if you are patient and keep whisking, it will come together.

Step 6: Pour mixture into the cupcake pan.

Step 7:  Cover with plastic wrap.

Step 8: Refrigerate until solid. I let mine refrigerate overnight.

Step 9:  Let the cake bites come up to room temperature.

cake bites

Step 10: Peel off the wrapper and finish them off with a little whipped creme and a dusting of cinnamon.

Hope your day is scrumptious!

love,
melanie