Narnia Dawn Treader Cake

Happy 8th Birthday to my Derek.
This cake was a challenge for me for sure!
I think my Derek took huge advantage of his mom's abilities this year.

Homemade Apple Pie

I love fall and harvest time. It is a family tradition to trek to the North Georgia Mountains and take in the beauty of Amicalola Falls and the changing leaves. The trip is not complete without a stop in Ellijay at one of the many apple orchards. This year we made that stop at Hillcrest Orchards. We had a fabulous family day and brought back a huge bag of apples. I love the smell of fresh baked apple pie in the fall. It reminds me of my grandmother!

Today I made up 5 apple pies. We are eating one and freezing the rest. I must say it is YUMMY even gluten free. You really can't tell the difference in the crust!

RECIPE

CRUST

• 1 cup all purpose flour (substitute a gluten free flour* + 1 1/4 tsp xantham gum for GF)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
• 1/3 cup shortening (I use spectrum organic or coconut oil)
• 4-6 Tbsp cold water

Mix together dry ingredients, cut in shortening, add cold water a little bit at a time. Chill briefly before rolling out. Divide dough in half for top and bottom crust (give the bottom a little more than half). Roll out bottom crust and lay in pie plate, trim off excess. Roll out top crust and set aside.

FILLING

• tart apples
• lemon juice
• 2/3 cup organic cane sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp flour (substite gluten free flour to make it GF)
  
• 2 Tbsp butter
  

Peel and dice about 3-4 cups of tart apples, squeeze a dab of fresh lemon juice on the apples. In a separate bowl mix remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over apples and cover them. Dump apples in pie plate, slice up 2 Tbsp of butter over the top, wet the rim of the bottom crust, lay on the top crust. Take a fork and impress the top crust around the edges. Trim off the excess with a knife. Cut 5 slits in the top of pie. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until crust is brown.

*I use Bob's Red Mill All puropse g-free flour. Sometimes I combine 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice flour and 1/4 cup White Rice flour with 1/2 cup all purpose flour for an even better blend.

G-Free Wraps

These little things can be a little tricky but they are very yummy. It may take some practice but don't give up. They are well worth it.

1 cup gfree flour
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1/4 tsp salt
(other herbs as desired)
2 Tbsp olive oil
3-5 Tbsp cold water

Mix dry ingredients. Add in olive oil and mix slightly. Add in water a little at a time until a nice dough forms. You don't want it too dry or it will crumble. You don't want it too sticky or you won't be able to roll it out. Pinch off small balls about the size of a golf ball and roll out on wax paper with corn or tapioca starch. You want it thin. Cook over med high heat with olive oil for about 1 minute on the first side and 30 secs on the second side or until golden brown. When you see several large bubbles form it is time to flip.

This recipe makes about 5 wraps. They can be stored in freezer size bag in the refrigerator. These wraps are great for sandwiches, tacos, fajitas, etc! My favorite is a chicken rancher!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup organic brown sugar
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
2 sticks of softened butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup gfree flour
1 1/2 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups morsels
1 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugars and butter in a bowl and mix together until creamy and well blended. Whisk together eggs and vanilla and add to mixture beating together well. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients and stir well. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add in morsels and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

I like to use 1 1/4 cup Bob's All-Purpose G free flour, 1/2 cup brown rice flour, and 1/2 cup white rice flour. I also chop up one 70% dark chocolate bar for my morsels.

I prefer to bake the cookies mini size like chips ahoy or even famous amos size. It will make 6-8 dozen mini cookies depending on size. You need only bake them for 6 minutes. I put 1-2 in snack size baggies and freeze them. This is a great treat to add to my kids school lunches and they are thawed by lunch time!

Gluten & Dairy Free Waffles

1 cup gfree flour
1/4 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp Rumford baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg or Ener-G replacer
3/4 cup warm water
2 Tbsp of oil (I use coconut)
2 Tbsp of Agave or Honey.

Mix dry ingredients and add wet ingredients one at a time. Whisk until blended. Pour onto hot griddle (I have found it doesn't pour like traditional batter so you have to spread it out. The yield is 4 square waffles. I double and triple the recipe to make a lot at time and freeze them. They are great to pop in the toaster and much cheaper than supermarket gfree waffles.

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12-16 muffins

2 cup all purpose gluten free flour*
2/3 cup organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon Rumford baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups unsweetened fresh blueberries
½ cup milk or milk substitute (I used vanilla flavored coconut milk)
½ cup oil (I use ¼ cup melted butter and ¼ cup coconut oil)
2 large eggs or enerG egg replacer
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Streusel topping (1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/3 cup organic brown sugar, 2tbsp melted butter mixed together)

*I prefer Tom Sawyer Gluten Free Flour or Gluten Free Pantry All Purpose Flour for cakes and muffins. If using a different flour you will need to add 1 tsp xantham gum.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray or use cupcake holders.
Mix streusel topping and set aside.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add blueberries; stir to coat evenly.
Combine milk and oil in small bowl; Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add liquids to blueberry mixture and stir until just blended. The mixture will be light and fluffy.
Spoon in to the top of muffin pan. (gfree batters do not rise very much)
Sprinkle top with streusel topping.
Bake 18 – 25 minutes until lightly golden. Remove muffins from pan and serve immediately or cool on a rack.

Prep Time: 25 minutes. Baking time: 20 minutes. Total time: 45 minutes.

Star Wars Lego Cake

Derek's 7th Birthday Cake.

Chocolate Paisley

My sweet daughter who could have any cake she wanted asked me to do something simple because she didn't want to tire me. How sweet is that. The top tier was gluten free vanilla cake with lemon filling and the bottom tier was traditional chocolate for the rest of the guests. The 2 tiers were separated by cardboard to avoid cross contamination.