The first time I brought my husband Patrick over to my grandmother's house, she tried to poison him. Well... not poison per sae... but unintentionally glutened.
We were having a family dinner and she wanted to prepare for him the dessert she is well known for: her apple cheddar casserole. Generally served crustless, the dessert was always baked in a rectangular casserole dish.
Next weekend I am doing our first grain-free wedding order! You might remember a while back when we did the tasting. Since then we've been researching and testing out various grain-free recipes. That got us interested in learning more about a paleo diet. If you don't know what paleo means, it's also referred to as the caveman diet and consists of eating whole foods (similar to that of our hunter/gatherer ancestors), and eliminating harmful ones.
Earlier this year, I had what the bakers like to call, "The great angel food cake disaster of 2012." Now we serve angel food cake regularly at the bakery, but I have to confess that I don't generally make it. But on this particular day, our kitchen manager Cynthia tasked me with making the angel food cake. Cautiously, I followed the recipe, sneaking in questions while I went. Once the egg whites were whipped to what I felt were medium peaks, I started to fold in the dry ingredients. I thought I was doing an okay job, but over my shoulder I heard "GAH! Stop! You are overfolding!"
Contrary to the name, this cherry pecan pot bread does not contain marijuana! It get's its name from the terra cotta pot in which it is baked. The pot helps give this gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free loaf a roundish form and contributes to a thick, crunchy exterior. The chopped pecans and cherries add a bit of texture and sweetness that are intensified when toasted and slathered with salted maple butter!
The weather in the Bay Area has been just plain wacky.
At the bakery one of the things we are known for are our gluten-free vegan brownies. But contrary to what seems to be the consensus, these brownies are not in the dense chewy category. Rather our brownies are light, moist, and deeply chocolate. Some might argue they are actually little chocolate cakes, and I'm okay with that. Whatever you call them, they are delicious. But to suit the folks on the other side of the fence, we set out to create a rich, chewy, dense type of brownie. In fact we wanted a seductive brownie. One that had a deliberate fudginess to it.
It's another episode of the gluten-free ratio rally and this month's theme is gluten-free popovers!
Have you had a popover before? Most of the texture for these popovers came from the eggs. The insides are light and fluffy and full of air pockets. The outsides are golden brown and slightly crispy. And best of all? You can totally make rocking popovers and make them gluten-free.
