Allergy Free Banana Chocolate Swirl Bread
Allergy-Free Banana Chocolate Swirl Bread
(Vegan and Refined Sugar-free)
Not your momma’s fruitcake, this quick bread is chock-full of natural kid-pleasers like chocolate, bananas, and honey. It’s also gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free. We eat it for breakfast toasted with Earth Balance buttery spread, with tea, and of course, for dessert.
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate or ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy and soy-free)
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup honey (or agave nectar)
3 ripe medium-sized bananas (1 ¼ cups mashed)
2 Tablespoons flax seed meal mixed with 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water (“flax eggs”)
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups my Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix or Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Chop chocolate into pieces the size of an almond or smaller, and set aside in a microwave safe bowl.
3. Use an electric mixer to combine canola oil and honey on medium speed. Mash the bananas, add to bowl, and blend thoroughly. Add “flax eggs”, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour mix (to measure flour, use a large spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with the back of a knife or straightedge), xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet, and mix until combined.
5. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, at 30-second increments, stirring between each with a wooden spoon. Do not overheat the chocolate as it burns very easily. Once melted, scoop out 1½ cups of batter and mix thoroughly into the melted chocolate.
6. Oil a 9×5-inch loaf pan and dust with a little flour. Spoon the batters into the loaf pan in two layers, alternating spoonfuls of banana and chocolate to simulate a checkerboard. To create swirls, run a knife or skewer through the batters in a swirling motion. Bake 60 to 70 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. To test for doneness, insert a skewer into the center of the bread. It should come out clean (perhaps with a little melted chocolate). Let cool in pan on a rack for 30 minutes. Then invert onto rack, flip and let cool completely before slicing.
Allergy-Free Banana Chocolate Swirl Bread © 2014 by Cybele Pascal
Allergy Free Cornbread
As promised, here is my new and improved Allergy-Free Cornbread recipe. Serve on its own, or use it for my Allergy-Free Cornbread and Wild Mushroom Stuffing recipe. This Gluten-Free, Top 8 Allergen-Free, and Vegan recipe is a revision of my Cornbread Sticks recipe from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook. I’ve altered it to be made with more readily available ingredients: Canola Oil in place of Spectrum Organic Palm Shortening, and King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour can be used instead of my Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix or Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend. For this recipe, you can use either an 8-inch cast iron skillet (see below), or 2 cornstick pans, or an 8 x 8-inch square pan.
Allergy-Free Cornbread
1 cup rice milk
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup King Arthur GF Multi-Purpose Flour, or my Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix or Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend (this will make for BEST texture but any are fine!)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 2 tablespoons rice milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Preheat pan.
2. Combine rice milk with lemon juice. Set aside.
3. Whisk together cornmeal, flour mix, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Add the rice milk to the mixture and stir to combine. Add the egg replacer and the canola oil, and stir a few times until smooth. Remove the heated pan(s) from the oven, and grease liberally with baking spray or oil. Fill pan with batter, smooth surface, and bake about 25 minutes, until golden.
Allergy-Free Cornbread Copyright © 2013 by Cybele Pascal. Cornsticks photo credit: Chugrad McAndrews.
Allergy Free Halloween Cupcakes
Still looking for a safe treat for your Halloween party? These Top 8 Allergen-Free Gluten-Free Cupcakes are easy to whip up, and so very festive. Top them with your favorite Halloween party favor (such as a plastic spider or bat ring), and you’ve got a perfect Halloween party treat.
Halloween Velvet BooCakes
Free of the top 8 Allergens, Gluten-Free, and Vegan, but full of flavor and fun.
1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons my Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix or Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ + 1/8th teaspoon xanthan gum
¾ teaspoon double-acting baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ cup rice milk
¾ teaspoon cider vinegar
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons dairy-free, soy-free
vegetable shortening
¾ cup granulated sugar
2¼ teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 3 tablespoons
rice milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon natural red food coloring
1 recipe Velvet Frosting (recipe follows)
– Natural orange food coloring
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12 liners.
2. Measure out flour mix by spooning flour into a dry measuring cup and leveling it off with the back of a knife. (Do not scoop the flour directly with the measuring cup or you’ll wind up with too much flour for the recipe). Whisk together the flour mix, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Combine the rice milk and cider vinegar. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the shortening, sugar, egg replacer and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the natural red food coloring and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Sift in the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the rice milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
5. Divide batter equally among muffin liners, smoothing down the surface with a frosting spatula or butter knife.
6. Bake cupcakes in the center of preheated oven for 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking time.
7. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack about 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
8. Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost with Velvet Frosting. Top each with a Halloween party favor. Once frosting has set, store covered at room temperature. Extras can be frozen for eating later.
Velvet Frosting
ENOUGH TO FROST 12 CUPCAKES
½ cup dairy-free, soy-free vegetable shortening (like Spectrum)
– Pinch of salt
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1½ tablespoons rice milk
1½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the shortening and salt on medium speed for 1 minute.
2. Add the confectioners’ sugar in three batches, beating after each addition.
3. Add the rice milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth, creamy and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
4. Add a few drops of natural orange food coloring to the frosting until desired shade has been reached. Frost cupcakes and decorate with Halloween party favor.