Rhubarb Upside Down Brown Sugar Cake—Tuesdays With Dorie—Baking Chez Moi (Gluten Free, too!)

Look at this cake—it’s gluten free.  For Tuesdays With Dorie this week we chose the Rhubarb Upside Down Brown Sugar Cake.  I didn’t think it would be very fun to make a cake that I couldn’t taste.  So I decided to halve the recipe and make two cakes in six inch pans.  One is gluten free and made with organic sugars and the other is done as the recipe is written by Dorie.  Win—win. 

Even to make mine gluten free, I didn’t change the recipe except I used a gluten free pastry flour blend instead of all purpose flour.  And I used organic cane sugars and two whole eggs instead of 1  1/2 for the half recipe.  My gluten free cake is just a little dry, but maybe it just needed taken out of the oven a couple minutes before the other.  I baked both six inch cakes for 21 minutes when a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean.  I was happy with how I did do the butter and sugar and caramelizing of the rhubarb in the little baking pans on the stove rather than in a saucepan and pouring it into the baking pans.  I measured everything in two separate batches and had both going at the same time.  I don’t get to do that kind of thing as much as I used to and it was fun and I’m glad it worked out to be able to do it on Sunday.  I used some smaller cut rhubarb I got last year and put in the freezer.  Perfect.  I just thawed it first, then had it sit in the sugar syrup.

The big test—would the cakes come out of the pans without any trouble or sticking?  I was happy to see that they did!  Just as Dorie said, turned upside down and letting them sit for a minute to let gravity (and a little steam) take its course, out they came!

I really didn’t think the boys would eat the cake, which is mostly why I decided to do two smaller ones, which included a gluten free one for myself.  Within a very short time, so short that I didn’t get any more pictures of the gluten cake, this is what I saw and was left with photographing on the plate--

And even before I knew it, Scott came and scooped up that last piece as well.  Actually, I think it’s safe to say he ate at least half the cake.  I know, it was only a six inch cake, but still.  I guess he really liked it, especially with a little whipped cream on top. 

Because I thought my gluten free cake was just a little dry, I doused it with a spoonful of the leftover rhubarb sugar water (from my organic cane sugar).  This would definitely be good with a little whipped cream on the side, but I only had the Reddi-Whip kind, which I don’t eat. 

Scott will most likely be happy to polish off my gluten free cake as soon as I give the okay.  I don’t want to say I ate a whole cake by myself, you know. ; )

If you have learned anything from me and my blog over the last seven plus years, it should be that you should have all of Dorie Greenspan’s cookbooks if you are looking for some delicious recipes and food.  Definitely including Baking Chez Moi.  I am loving baking through this one with the rest of the Tuesdays With Dorie group, a little gluten can’t stop me.  Check out the others’ Rhubarb Upside Down Brown Sugar Cake.  

On a different note, today is World MS Day (Multiple Sclerosis).  Check out the link.  Become aware, millions worldwide suffer with this MonSter, including me.  sigh  Someday, someday we have hope for a cure.  Until then, wear orange, color your world orange, (today especially) in honor of someone you might know who has MS.  (I didn’t put my gluten free version of this cake on an orange plate by accident.)

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day—My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies!

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!  Probably my favorite treat, although now I usually make healthier versions, like these Real Deal Chocolate Chip Cookies, by Danielle at Against All Grain.

or these Grain Free Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

There is just nothing quite as satisfying as a chocolate chip cookie.  Want something a little different?  Add other fun things to the mix, like these--

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Overload Chocolate Chip Cookies

Almond Joy Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I mean really, could there be anything better? 

I almost always have chocolate chip cookie dough balls in the freezer ready to bake.  You just never know when you’ll need a few to give to someone for a thank you gift or birthday or when you’ll need to pop a few in the oven for chocolate-hungry family.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

This link is an older post for these cookies that I make ALL the time.  Not the greatest photos on the post, but the recipe you NEED.  I could make these cookies in my sleep, they are often highly requested by family and friends.  Heck, if I could have a blog and just keep posting these cookies over and over, I would, but that would get a little old.  Anyway, today is the day—make chocolate chip cookies!

S’mores Rice Krispies Treats

I posted about making these on Facebook about two weeks ago and mentioned that I’d post them soon.  I have felt bad that I’ve not done it yet until now.  But I keep thinking about them.  This is the kind of things I’m sad to not get to eat sometimes.  I like Rice Kripsies Treats of all kinds.  And S’mores are fabulous in all their ooey-gooey glory.  Oh, I’m sure it’s been done before and maybe even with Golden Grahams cereal, but one day I was looking for a treat to make for the family and just happened to have Golden Grahams (something we don’t very often have around here).

I did measure the ingredients just so if these turned out great I would be able to share the recipe with you, but I really just started dumping things together.  I simply just melted marshmallows and butter, added the cereal, stirred it together, then put a layered milk chocolate in the center before finishing with another layer of marshmallowy cereal and more drizzled chocolate on top.  Anyone can make these!

S’mores Rice Krispies Treats, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

16 ounces marshmallows

3 oz. butter

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

3 cups Golden Grahams cereal

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup marshmallows

2 ounces (1/3 cup) milk chocolate chips—melted

½ teaspoon shortening or oil added to melted chocolate

Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with nonstick foil, spray lightly with cooking spray.  Set aside.  In a large microwave safe bowl (or in a large saucepan on the stove), melt the marshmallows and butter (1 minute in the microwave, then stir with a wooden spoon and melt for another 30 seconds or so (depending on wattage of microwave)—it doesn’t take long!  Once the marshmallows are melted and the butter incorporated, add the Rice Krispies and Golden Grahams and fold together until everything is covered evenly with the marshmallow mixture.  Immediately spread half the mixture into the prepared pan and tamp it down evenly.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the first layer, then add the extra cup of marshmallows.  You could put the pan under the broiler for a few minutes to get toasty marshmallows, but I chose not to.  The heat from the warm marshmallow treats begins to melt the chocolate and extra marshmallows.  Add the rest of the cereal mixture to the top and spread evenly.  Use a potato masher lightly sprayed with cooking spray to press it all down evenly.  Melt the extra chocolate chips in a small glass bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each time.  Add the shortening (or oil) to the melted chocolate and stir together until it’s glossy.  Put the melted chocolate in a plastic sandwich zip top baggie, cut a small corner from the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the treats.  Let sit until cooled, about an hour.  Remove treats from the pan by using the foil edges, peel of the foil and set the treats on a cutting board.  Cut into desired sized pieces.

   Man, I wanted a bite of these!  I think Parker ate 3/4 of the pan of treats.

Nutella Buttons—Tuesdays With Dorie—Baking Chez Moi

I have something sad to tell you.  I messed up.  While these mini cupcakes, made light and fluffy with whipped egg whites, look great, it wasn’t until they were baking that I realized I FORGOT THE BUTTER!  Even worse, while mixing the dry ingredients with the egg yolks, I thought it so strange that the dough was not coming together.  Dorie mentioned in the recipe that at this point the dough would look like a paste.  Here was mine--

My already melted butter sad in the microwave, waiting to be put in the mix.  I never once thought about it.  I was perturbed that this wasn’t right.  So my brain decided—add another egg yolk.  Okay, so I added a fifth egg yolk, it was a little better, but I decided to just mix in some of the whipped egg whites and carry on.  It looked like this after a little of the egg whites were added--

Okay, I decided to just carry on with that and folded in the rest of the egg whites.  And I made the little “buttons” as instructed, including the little dollop of Nutella in the middle of each.  The boys were going to like these!

I was excited to see that they baked up nicely and had hope everything would be okay even though I used an extra egg yolk.  While they were almost done baking, it hit me—THE BUTTER!!!  Sigh.  I was worried, but decided they looked good, so I kept my hope.

I was even happy that the cake pulled away from the wrapper pretty well.  But all WAS lost—they tasted horrible and were super dry.

I’m not one to just throw things out, I try to repurpose or make things into something else that would work, but these were just not good.  They ended up in file 13 after I took a little taste.  I wouldn’t even let my boys have to eat them.

What can I say?  You win some, you lose some.  This was just yesterday, so I didn’t have time to make them again, but I plan to sometime.  PLEASE, check out others in the group for Tuesdays With Dorie—Baking Chez Moi, much more successful, and I’m sure tasty, Nutella Buttons.

Coconut Flour Brownies and The Benefits of Coconut Flour and Other Recipes

Do these brownies look gluten free to you, even grain free?  Not only are these refined sugar free (made with raw honey) they are also made with coconut flour.  You know that coconuts are not nuts, right?  With my diet changes of late (gluten free, mostly refined sugar free, mostly processed foods free), I have been using coconut flour (and coconut palm sugar and coconut oil) more and more.  I have really liked the results for all the different baked goods I’ve had when using coconut flour.  I love even more that it’s good for you.  Coconut flour is low in carbohydrates and high in fiber.  Check out more info about coconut flour at Nuts.com.  I always have some in stock now and love using it as a gluten free and grain free flour substitute.  Like these brownies.  I adapted a recipe from Empowered Sustenance for these brownies.  Great blog and source of healthy baked goods and other foods!

At first I thought I didn’t like the brownies, they are super dense, but I also thought they were not sweet enough.  I put them in the refrigerator to chill and tried one the next day and the flavor was much better!  I added pecans and Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips to them.  These brownie would be great with a healthy ice cream made with coconut milk and a little drizzle of melted chocolate on top!  But they are also great as a quick bite for a treat as-is now and then.  I keep them in the fridge.  I’ve always liked chilled brownies.

Coconut Flour Brownies, by Katrina, Baking and Boys! adapted from Empowered Sustenance

10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup (40 grams) cocoa powder

3 large (free range) eggs

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (210 grams) raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon (50 grams) coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/3 cup chopped pecans (could use walnuts)

1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with nonstick foil.  Grease lightly with coconut oil.  In a medium sized glass bowl (microwave safe), melt the butter.  Whisk in the cocoa powder.  Whisk in the eggs until fully incorporated.  Next whisk in the honey and vanilla extract.  Switch to a spoon and stir in the coconut flour and salt.  Then stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.  Spread the batter evenly in the baking pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.  Remove from pan using foil edges.  Cut into pieces.  (You may chill the brownies, too.)  Keep in an airtight container (I prefer in the refrigerator).

I have plenty of other recipes that use coconut flour as well.  Check them out here:

Almond Joy Coconut Brownies

Healthy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles or these Healthy Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Truffles

Grain Free Gingerbread Blondies with Chocolate Chips

Grian Free Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Grain Free Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache

These were all fantastic and I’ve either made them numerous times already or will be making them again for sure!  Stock up on coconut flour and don’t run out, it’s great!