Gluten Free Muffins

So this past week I have made a couple of recipes. I tried out some cranberry walnut muffins and some corn bread muffins. The conclusion I have come to is that you either have to freeze or eat the muffins right away. Due to the amount of flour in them, they go dry really quickly.

I've decided not to post the recipes for them because I feel that they are not worth sharing. This week I ordered four new gluten free baking books and I can't wait to try some recipes from them, especially that Valentine's Day is approaching. I will need to find a great recipe to make my loved one.

I'm sure to find a good one in one of the two Babycakes books I ordered, I'm super excited for these ones.

And an Artisanal Cupcake book from Kelli & Peter Bronski

I can't wait to blog more about my gluten free adventures.

Gluten Free Oatmeal and Quinoa Cookies

The cookies!

My first attempt at baking with gluten free flours was a success! I made these delicious cookies that I took to work and everyone loved (they didn't know they weren't from regular baking practices until after they ate them). I made a box of cookies for my partner and his parents (who are going gluten free as well) and a bag for my freezer, so I can have a cookie whenever I want.

I put a lot of extra things into these cookies. Instead of just using raisins, I used goji berries and chai seeds as well.

Try the recipe out and let me know how it goes. I got the recipe from Wheat Free Mom and made a few adjustments. I also made the cookies quite large so they could be soft in the middle and chewy around the edges.

Recipe:

3 cups of oats (make sure they are wheat free)
1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda (make sure it's aluminum free)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup softened unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup goji berries
1/4 cup chia seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Measure the oats, quinoa flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy about two minutes, add both sugars and beat for about two minutes more.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the oat mixture to the butter mixture and blend until a soft dough forms. Stir in the raisins, etc.


Use a large ice cream scoop to get equal sized cookies. Place cookie dough balls on cookie sheet. Press down with wet hands. Bake 10 minutes.


Cool for a couple of minutes on the pan then transfer to a cooling rack.


Enjoy!

Going Gluten Free

It's been quite a while since I've blogged. I'm currently working on my Sweet Table project as well as moderating a blog that my students are working on which is taking up most of my "computer" time. During the Christmas season the tweeted that I was going gluten free. I got a lot of response from my followers (thank you!) and I've decided to test a new gluten free recipe each week and blog about it. I just got pack from Whole Foods, Bulk Barn and Planet Organic (of course not one place could have everything in stock you'd like) and spent just over $120 retrofitting my pantry.

So here we go. Tonight I'm going to try some cookies!

Sweet Table

Hello All!

I'm so excited to share with you my new business that I have started with my friend Izabela. She is a designer and together we are designing sweet tables for any occasions. Our website will be up soon. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and of course the website.

Thanks for your support!

Sweet Table

I'm so excited to share this with you guys. This is my first sweet table and man was it time consuming! I made everything on this table. From the butter tarts, to the sugar cookies and made my first cake which I blogged about here. I made this sweet table for my Dad's 60th birthday surprise party. I based the party on a 1950's diner theme using teal, tiffany blue, light blue and cream as the colour template.

I created sugar cookies in a six and a zero (60), butter tars (for you who don't know what they are it's a Canadian thing!), chocolate covered chips (which made some people go crazy), chocolate milkshake cupcakes, coconut and cherry marshmallows (these were purchased) and a teal ombre cake.

I made the tissue garland out of a lot of tissue paper, it's super easy to make. I also made the cupcake crowns and cupcake toppers with my cricut. All of the signage, invites and photographs were taken my Marc at mkphotographics. He did such a wonderful job!

We held the party at a country club just north of Toronto and about fifty people showed up. It was a total surprise for my Dad which made all the hard work worth it.

Hope you like the pictures and all of the hard work on my first sweet table. I can't wait for the next one I create.

Chocolate milkshake cupcakes

Sweet Table

Marshmallows

Ombre cake

Buttertarts  

Enjoy!

Mini Pies on a Stick

About a month ago I got Jessie Olsen's "Cakespy Presents: Sweet Treats for a Sugar-filled Life" book and it's amazing. Over the years I've made things from her blog but hadn't tried the mini pie recipe. I made these for my Dad's birthday with cherry pie filling (his favourite). One thing you have to make sure is that you push the stick really well into the crust or they will fall off once baked. A nice light dessert, especially if you don't want a whole slice of pie.

Cut dough circles with a biscuit cutter 

three cherries fit perfectly no the dough

Can't help but squish all of the filling out 

Enjoy!

Teal Ombre Birthday Cake

I recently hosted a big surprise party for my Dad's 60th birthday. One of the many desserts I made was a teal ombre cake. I had seen some many pictures of pink ombre cakes on the net and really wanted to make one my self, as I am obsessed with ombre right now. The theme for the party was 1950's. The main colours we used were teal, tiffany blue, light blue and cream.

It's super easy to make an ombre cake. All you have to do is choose your favourite white or vanilla cake base (recipe or boxed mix) and tint the batter to your liking. The hardest part is making sure that the layers have a different amount of dye. Also the colour lightens when baked so you need to make sure there is a gradual difference, which can be quite hard.

To make a four layer cake you need a double batch of batter and two 8" round cake pans. Make sure to grease the pans and put a layer of parchment paper on the bottom for easy release. Each batch makes two layers. Let them cool then stack them with vanilla buttercream between the layers. I did a crumb coat on the outside and a final dot (not really sure what it is called) technique on the final outer layer. I also made some star decorations with my cricut cake machine and put them on floral wire.

Crumb coat

Dots

Dots, smeared 

It turned out to be a great cake, especially it being the first cake I have made. I'm a cupcake girl!

This is the only picture of inside the cake that was taken. The knife we had just shredded the cake but you still get what it looks like.

Enjoy!