Ginger Cookie…with a chocolate on top!

by Eva // 14 October, 2012 // 1 Comment

Ok so you’re probably thinking – what’s with all these recipes where ginger plays the star role?? I can’t help it! It’s that time of year where you just need a little spice to put a jump in your step and keep you heated through these chilly nights. Ok, that, and I had to use up the candied ginger I made recently. I promise though, this will be the last ginger related recipe for a while…of course until it’s Christmas time, because then it’s all about gingerbread people cookies.

But who could resist, at any time of year, a gingy cookie that’s crackled on the outside yet soft and chewy on the inside? Not me! So I had to give in to yet another ginger inspired gluten free recipe (sorry).

I found a recipe on the Food Network site which looked very tempting –of course though, it wasn’t gluten free; but that didn’t stop me from revamping it.

Sometimes, converting a wheat flour recipe into a gluten free flour recipe can be a bit tricky. However this time, I decided to use some of the Better Batter all-purpose gluten free flour I had on hand. If you live in Canada (more specifically the GTA area), you may find it difficult to find this brand in your regular grocery store. I found this brand in my local HomeSense store (which by the way, is a great spot to find lots of gluten free goodies that you can’t find anywhere else!).

With a couple of tweaks here and there, the recipe came together nicely…aaand…the result was a gluten free cookie that was soft and yummy!
It is better to always combine these medicines with a healthy diet that includes foods such as bananas, almonds, sildenafil españa walnuts, watermelon, orange, pomegranate, cherries, fish, chicken, meat, eggs, ginger, onions and garlic to name a few. Get away from work or any source of stress and pressure and chill. buy cialis no prescription Erectile dysfunction has been a general issue which leads to male impotence cialis line prescription thus making it difficult for a man to erectile deficiency. Consumption of only 1 dosage is advisable to prevent from viagra pills from canada the fatty plaques.
Pure deliciousness!

Here are the recipes…enjoy!

Ginger Cookie…with a chocolate on top!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 13 minutes

Makes: 28-30 cookies

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten free flour*
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar (I used golden yellow brown)
1/4 cup light olive oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 cup chopped candied ginger
Enjoy Life Chocolate Mega Chunks (enough to top each cookie with 1 chocolate chunk)
Granulated sugar for rolling the cookies

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare pans.
In large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
In bowl of mixer with paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes.
Add egg and beat well.
With mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes until well combined.
Add the candied ginger and mix by hand, using wooden spoon, until well combined.
Using a small spoon, scoop dough and roll each cookie by hand into 1”balls. Roll in granulated sugar, place on pan and flatten slightly.
Top each cookie with an Enjoy Life Chocolate Mega Chunk, and press lightly into cookie.
Place in oven and bake for 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled and soft inside.
Let cookies cool for 1-2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Notes

*I used Better Batter brand gluten free all-purpose flour, which already includes xanthan gum. If the all-purpose flour you use does not include xanthan gum, you will need to add about 1/2 tsp to the mix.

http://www.pastelbakery.ca/gluten-free-ginger-cookie/

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

Ginger Cupcake with Dairy Free Maple Meringue Frosting

by Eva // 8 October, 2012 // No Comments

When I hear the word ‘ginger’ it reminds me of two things: 1) Ginger Grant the movie star character from Gilligan’s Island. With her long dark batty eyelashes, always perfect red locks and trendy clothes (which never really made sense since they were stuck on that forsaken island for so long!), what young girl wouldn’t be fascinated by her. 2) Ginger Amanda the Cabbage Patch Kid doll. I know you folks won’t know the specific doll I’m referring to (which by the way, was actually not mine), but at one point in my life she was around quite often! She had yellow braided pigtails, blue eyes and wore a little dress with lace accents…and went everywhere with ‘mommy’. This is why I call this cupcake The Ginger (Amanda) Dahling Cupcake.

To make this gluten free ginger cupcake a bit more interesting, I decided to add some candied ginger (or crystallized ginger). I figured this would give a subtle but true ginger taste to the cupcake while adding some texture to the final product. If you cannot find store bought candied ginger which is gluten free (as from my experience it’s noted on the ingredients that it may have traces of wheat), you can view my previous post for an easy homemade candied ginger recipe.

Hmmm, and what would taste yummy with ginger? Let’s go with maple syrup – that should complement it nicely! Yes, yes it does.

And voila! A yummy gluten free, dairy free cupcake…fitting for a movie star and doll alike.

Pure deliciousness!
They found loved that viagra samples that the serum luteinizing hormone (LH) decreased when individuals took Sildenafil medication. These slings are popularly known for their beneficial effect in the sexual sphere treating concomitant factors like mental exhaustion, poor assimilation leading to nutritional cheap viagra soft defciency etc WHY HOMEOPATHY FOR BETTER SEX? 7 GOOD REASONS #1. These tonics increase the overall performance of get viagra australia the brain. online order for viagra Oysters also contain powerful amino acids that aids in generating testosterone in males and progesterone in females.
Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians!

Here are the recipes…enjoy!

Ginger Cupcake with Dairy Free Maple Meringue Frosting

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 22 minutes

Makes: 12-16 cupcakes

The Ginger (Amanda) Dahling Cupcake...fit for a movie start and doll alike :)

Ingredients

3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used golden yellow brown)
1/2 cup butter or margarine (softened, room temperature)
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk, or milk substitute
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger, if you wish to decorate tops of cupcakes

For Dairy Free Maple Meringue Frosting

3 egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup warm water (do not use hot water)
1 tbsp brown rice syrup (I used Lundberg Organic Sweet Dreams Brown Rice Syrup) (link)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp maple syrup

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare pans with liners; set aside.
Mix together in bowl all dry ingredients; set aside.
Grind up candied ginger in mini chopper or food processor; set aside.
Beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add vanilla and maple syrup and mix well.
Add flour mixing on low speed and slowly add milk. Once all milk has been added, mix well until smooth (about 3 min). Fold in chopped candied ginger.
Pour mixture into liners making sure to only fill liners 1/2 - 2/3 full.
Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean – about 22-24 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 3-5 minutes before transferring to cool completely on wire rack. Once completely cooled, you can frost.

For Frosting

Before starting, make sure mixing bowl is completely grease free.
Add egg whites, sugar, water, rice syrup and cream of tartar in bowl and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling), whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140-160°F, or if you don’t have a candy thermometer, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot (about 8-10 minutes).
Remove from heat. With whisk attachment of mixer, begin to whip until the meringue begins to thicken and cool. You will find you will need to whip it for a while (minimum 10 min before it starts to thicken).
Add maple syrup and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Meringue will be thick but will still be slightly runny.
Pour some meringue into a small bowl and carefully dip the top of the cupcake.
Sprinkle some chopped candied ginger on top if desired.
Once dry, a slightly hard thin layer will form overtop.
If you have leftovers, you can store in a grease free container and store in the refrigerator for about a week. Re-whip by hand prior to using.

http://www.pastelbakery.ca/gluten-free-ginger-cupcake/

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

S’more please! | Gluten Free S’mores Cupcakes

by Eva // 4 October, 2012 // No Comments

Come gather round the campfire and sing our campfire song. Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song…..I could carry on with this great SpongeBob tune, but I won’t. I’d say this hilarious episode inspired me to create this gluten free s’mores cupcake recipe (if you’re in need of a good laugh, I recommend watching a clip of the song here). I’m not sure about you, but when I think s’mores, I think of sitting around a roaring campfire and devouring this delicious treat. The combination of melted chocolate, soft graham cracker and ooey gooey melted marshmallow can only be summed up in one word – DELICIOUSNESS!

And now to see it converted into a cupcake delight – how sweet it is! What to do about this craving though? Stand outside a bakery, with my face pressed up against the glass, while the gluten tolerant folk sit back and indulge in their s’moreific cupcake? Nay, I must bake this delight as a gluten free treat…and I must do this at once!

I made a graham cracker crust for the bottom of the cupcake, which I pressed into the cupcake liners and baked slightly (just so the crumbs would stick together). I used S’moreables Graham Style Crackers from Kinnikinnick Foods, which ground up nicely into graham crumbs.

Then I whipped up a batch of chocolate cupcakes and topped it off with a marshmallow flavoured meringue. I used marshmallow flavour from LorAnn Oils to give it a true marshmallow taste – and boy did it ever! The meringue was sooo yummy! The final product was then put back in the oven (on the broil setting), to slightly toast the marshmallow topping – and there lies the ooey gooey marshmallow (insert salivating sound here).

If there was only one thing I would do different with this scrumptious cupcake, it would be to fill it with a dairy free chocolate ganache. A little extra chocolate can’t be bad; it can only make this recipe even better!
Sandalwood: It is an effective herbal and natural aphrodisiac supplements not only enhance libido, soft tadalafil but also enhance most aspects of the human love making response. Although fat has been condemned for improper weight cialis pills uk gain, all kinds of fats are not harmful and may not require treatment for migraine. Any of the dosage cannot be taken without prescription. order viagra australia Consume this mixture three times every day for three samples of generic viagra to four months results in the slowing down and eventual stop of hair fall.
Pure deliciousness!

Here are the recipes…enjoy!

S’more please! | Gluten Free S’mores Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 22 minutes

Makes: 24-36 cupcakes

Ingredients

For Graham Crumb Crust

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
2 tbsp melted butter or margarine

For Cupcake

1 3/4cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 tbsp cocoa
1tbsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine (softened, room temperature)
6 eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup milk, or milk substitute
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Foods chocolate mini chips)
1 tsp butter or margarine (to melt with chocolate chips)

For Marshmallow Frosting

5 egg whites
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp LorAnn marshmallow flavour

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare pans with liners; set aside.
Mix together in bowl all dry ingredients; set aside.
Crush graham style crackers in mini chopper or food processor.
Melt 2 tbsp of butter in microwaveable bowl, and add to graham crumbs until well combined and crumbs stick together.
Fill liners with about 1 tbsp of graham crumbs and press firmly.
Bake in oven for 10 minutes to set crumb crust; then remove and cool.
Melt chocolate chips in microwaveable bowl with 1 tsp of butter or margarine; stir until smooth and set aside.
Beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy.
Add eggs 2 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add in melted chocolate and mix until well combined.
Add flour mixture and milk to bowl in batches and mix until smooth. After final flour batch has been added, mix until light and fluffy.
Pour mixture into liners containing baked graham crumb crust, making sure to only fill liners 1/2 - 2/3 full.
Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean – about 22 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 3-5 minutes before transferring to cool completely on wire rack. Once completely cooled, you can frost.

For Marshmallow Frosting

Before starting, make sure mixing bowl is completely grease free.
Add egg whites and brown sugar and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling), whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140-160°F, or if you don’t have a candy thermometer, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot (about 5 minutes if you used room temperature egg whites or 8+ minutes if they were cold).
With whisk attachment of mixer, begin to whip until the meringue begins to thicken and cool.
Add marshmallow flavour and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Fill piping bag and decorate your cupcakes as desired.

http://www.pastelbakery.ca/gluten-free-smores-cupcakes/

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

Candied Ginger

by Eva // 1 October, 2012 // 1 Comment

I always thought it was just easier to buy candied ginger, but unfortunately that’s not an option if you are on a gluten free diet. Every package of candied ginger I checked noted ‘may contain traces of wheat…’ under the ingredient list. Ugh! I really wanted to make a ginger cupcake with maple meringue frosting (coming soon, stay tuned!), and I really wanted to add candied ginger to the recipe, so now what? So I checked online for recipes and one caught my eye from Food Network (recipe courtesy of Alton Brown). It seemed pretty simple and the reviews were positive, with comments on just how easy the recipe was. I thought to myself, can I do this? Should I take a shot at it? So, I figured I had nothing to lose but ginger and sugar…and time I suppose, but hey, there’s always time when it involves sweets. So…I took a step out of my comfort zone, rolled up my sleeves and got down to work. With all the years I’ve been baking and creating, I’ve never done something as simple as a sugar syrup – yup, that’s right! Which is why I was a bit concerned, as I had no idea what to expect. I followed the simple directions and got down to work. I don’t own a mandoline, so I just thinly cut the ginger with a knife

From there, I just followed the recipe step by step. I only became a bit concerned towards the end where it mentioned the sugar syrup should look dry and almost be evaporated and begin to recrystallize.

For me, this step was taking more than 20 min, it seemed the syrup would never evaporate. As soon as it did though, I knew exactly what I was looking for and realized I definitely had to move fast at this point! The final product though was soooo yummy! I couldn’t believe how easy this actually was to make.

However, if you attorney can proof that you quit for a good cause, you may be viagra online for sale going through andropause. On the face of it you know about the main problem regencygrandenursing.com cialis india price takes place. It is a good liver tadalafil generic cheap stimulant. Some patients’ testicles will be atrophic. 3.Patients with acute mumps orchitis have pain in their testicles. pill sildenafil I can’t believe I wasted all those years buying candied ginger when I could have easily made my own! The leftover sugar can definitely be reused as suggested in the recipe. I also took it one step further and kept all the leftover water from the first boil. I figured I could use it to spice something up, but it actually came in handy at the end. My pot had sugar stuck all around the inside edge…and it was rock hard! So I added the leftover water to the pot, put it on very low heat and covered it. The steam released the sugar from the sides, and melted away into the water. Now I’m left with some spicy and lightly sweetened ginger syrup which I’ll store in a glass jar and refrigerate for another time. Maybe I’ll add it to an frosting recipe, who knows, but this way, nothing has gone to waste.

Pure deliciousness!

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

Chocolate Cupcakes With a Kick

by Eva // 24 September, 2012 // No Comments

Goodbye summer – hello fall! I’d have to say this is my favourite time of year! The colour of the leaves are changing, there’s a slight crisp in the air, big bowls of comfy soup are being consumed often, and of course…fall fashion (alright! It’s time for funky knee high socks!). So, to welcome in the fall season, I decided to whip up a batch of cupcakes. These aren’t you’re ordinary gluten free chocolate cupcakes though – these have got a kick to them! I looked at my go-to gluten free cupcake recipe and thought…hmmm, how can I make these a bit more interesting. Then it hit me – adding some Mexican Hot Cocoa to the mix – to be exact I used the Purest brand Mexican Hot Cocoa mix:

You can check out this product and many of their other tasty products here. So, I added 2 heaping tbsp of the hot chocolate to the almond milk, plus I added 1 tbsp of cocoa to the recipe, because hey, let’s face it..everything tastes just a bit better with chocolate. The final product results in a cupcake which had a subtle spicy aftertaste…mmmmm delish! Of course, no spicy chocolate cupcake could be complete without a swiss meringue buttercream, so I decided to go with a gingerbread one. I adapted the recipe from Sweetapolita. On a side rant, I discovered Rosie’s site a couple of months ago and I fell in love right away! Her recipes are awesome (not gluten free, but you can always adapt), her photos are beautiful and always nicely setup (makes me want to take a photograpy course), and her little girls are sooooo adorable!

So back to the buttercream….I adapted the recipe from Sweetapolita by adding in 1.5 tsp of freshly squeezed ginger. It gave the buttercream just a bit more of a kick. If you’re wondering how I squeezed the fresh ginger: I always keep a peeled ginger root in my freezer, so I cut some slices and let them completely thaw. Then with the back of a spoon, I pressed the juice out of the slices onto a plate. The final product was soooo yummy that I was truly tempted to forget about frosting the cupcakes and just eat the buttercream straight out of the bowl. But, I resisted temptation and got to work frosting those babies!

Once frosted, I topped them off with some white pearls, which I was so happy to find these as they were labelled gluten free (yippee!). I know white pearls aren’t exactly a ‘fall item’ but hey, who could resist making these babies just a little fancy.

I’d have to say, these cupcakes are super awesome – that’s right, not just awesome, but SUPER awesome! With their hint of spicy chocolate and perfectly spiced frosting, it makes you want to curl up on the couch, put on a good movie, and wrap yourself in a blanket while you indulge in a big bowl of cupcakes.
For example, it may console to hear that incidental premature ejaculation is ordinary and that the normal time from the comfort of your home permits you plenty a lot of leeway in the method that you simply study, likewise is take cialis prescription all of the courses. Ageing: men in their 60s are four times ordering levitra from canada more likely to have such issues with sexual intimacy. Over the past few years a lot of issues have stores for viagra already been filed by males coming from different cultures. It stops the http://appalachianmagazine.com/2017/11/28/appalachia-on-lookout-for-new-invasive-species-spotted-lanternfly/ cialis online surge of calcium into your body cells.

Pure deliciousness!

Here are the recipes, enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes With a Kick

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 22 minutes

Makes: 24-36 cupcakes

Gingerbread Swiss Meringue Buttercream adapted from Sweetapolita

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp gluten free baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup softened butter or gluten free margarine (room temperature)
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs (room temperature)
2/3 cup milk or milk substitute (I used almond milk)
2 tbsp of Purest Mexican Hot Cocoa (mixed into milk)

For Gingerbread Swiss Meringue Buttercream

5 large egg whites (5 ounces)
1 ¼ cup dark brown sugar (I used golden yellow brown sugar)
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
1 ½ tsp freshly squeezed ginger juice
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare pans with liners; set aside.
Mix together in bowl all dry ingredients and set aside.
Slightly warm up milk (or milk substitute) and mix in cocoa until dissolved. You need to heat the milk just enough so the hot cocoa mix dissolves completely.
Place butter (or margarine) and sugar in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment. Beat well until light and fluffy.
Add eggs 1-2 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add flour mixture and milk to bowl in batches and mix until smooth. After final flour batch has been added, mix until light and fluffy (about 3 min).
Pour mixture into prepared pans, making sure to only fill liners 1/2 - 2/3 full.
Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean – about 22 minutes, until tops are lightly golden. Let cool in pan for 3-5 minutes before transferring to cool completely on wire rack. Once completely cooled, you can frost.

For Buttercream

Wipe the bowl and whisk attachment of an electric mixer with paper towel and lemon juice, to remove any trace of grease.
Add egg whites and brown sugar and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling), whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140-160°F, or if you don’t have a candy thermometer, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot, about 5 minutes if you used room temperature egg whites. About 8+ minutes if they were cold.
With whisk attachment of mixer, begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels neutral to the touch (this can take up to 10 minutes or so and is so important–never add butter to warm meringue).
Switch over to paddle attachment and, with mixer on low speed, add softened butter in chunks until incorporated, and mix until it has reached a silky smooth texture (if curdles, keep mixing on medium-low and it will come back to smooth).
Add ginger juice, vanilla, salt and spices, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.

http://www.pastelbakery.ca/gluten-free-chocolate-cupcakes/

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

Vampire’s Kiss

by Eva // 6 September, 2012 // No Comments

It’s unfortunate that when this mini cake was created, this blog didn’t exist…to tell you the truth, I can’t even recall if I knew what a blog was back then – ok, maybe it hasn’t been that long, but it’s definitely been a while! I made this cake for my cousin, who has a vampire thing – no, she’s not on team Edward or team Jacob….it’s more of an old school vampire thing. It was her birthday and so I decided to take the opportunity and make a cool cake. I must say, it was the coolest cake I’d ever made! The roses were a perfect blood red and the black rose petals looked amazing!

I was sooo happy with the final product – even though at the time I was cursing having to work in the black colour to the cream fondant (wow, did that take forever!).

But in the end, it looked great and she loved it.

So unfortunately given this one’s an oldie, I can’t share more pics or the recipe, but I’m working on some new stuff and will share details on those. Cheers, Eva

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: