Maple Berry Gluten Free Crisp
This allergy free old-fashioned favorite is the perfect red white and blue dessert for your Memorial Day BBQ, or your 4th of July picnic! It’s seasonal and colorful, and good for you too. Not only is it free of all top 8 allergens, making it safe for most everyone, it’s also gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free. But as my friend Rach once said after baking one of my crisps, “Who needs gluten?” You won’t miss out on anything with this healthful indulgence. It’s perfect for breakfast, snack, teatime, or dessert. Dig in!
Allergy Free Maple Berry Crisp
Make 8 Servings
6 cups fresh berries (I use half blueberries, half strawberries)
½ cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons cornstarch or tapioca starch
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ¼ cups Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend, or my Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
pinch of salt
¾ cup maple sugar
1 cup gluten-free old-fashioned oats
½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons dairy-free, soy-free vegetable shortening
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 11×7-inch baking dish.
Combine berries, cutting strawberries in half if large.
Drizzle berries with maple syrup, toss gently, and then sprinkle with cornstarch and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine. Transfer to baking dish.
Combine flour mix, xanthan gum, salt and maple sugar. Whisk together. Toss in oats.
Melt the shortening (about 30 seconds in the microwave does it) and drizzle into the flour mixture, stirring gently to combine until the consistency of a course granola. Use your fingers to clump it together. Spread the crumble topping evenly over the fruit.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes until topping is golden and fruit is bubbling up around the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest at least 30 minutes before serving. Store any leftovers (as if!) covered at room temperature.
Allergy-Free Maple Berry Crisp © 2011 by Cybele Pascal
(Please note that all my recipes are completely free of all top allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and gluten), so as many people as possible can enjoy them. Additionally, all the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I’ll help you find it.)
SAFETY NOTE: Because each person’s food sensitivity and reaction is unique, ranging from mild intolerance to life-threatening and severe food allergies, it is up to the consumer to monitor ingredients and manufacturing conditions. If manufacturing conditions, potential cross contact between foods, and ingredient derivatives pose a risk for you, please re-read all food labels and call the manufacturer to confirm potential allergen concerns before consumption. Ingredients and manufacturing practices can change overnight and without warning.
Allergy Free Strawberry Cupcakes for Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day falls on May 13th this year, which also happens to be my mother’s birthday. So I thought it only fitting to post this recipe for my mother, Susanna, for Mother’s Day, and her birthday (goes along with this two week virtual birthday party I’m throwing here on my site).
Here is a picture of my mother, me, my brothers Dylan and Jude, and my cousin Ila (mother of the little blond girl you see eating cupcakes in the sidebar to your right). I’m the one in the strawberry hat, obviously.
Strawberries hold a very dear place in our family. My grandmother Catherene had a strawberry patch. Really, more of a strawberry field. We all lived together; grandparents and sometimes cousin, and I have very fond memories of picking strawberries with my family, to concoct into an endless array of delicious creations. The strawberry patch was a magical place, where I’d sit for hours, picking, and of course eating one berry for every one that made it whole into the basket. Our strawberry patch was like something out of a Beatrix Potter book, complete with bunnies hiding under the large awning of the rhubarb plants that surrounded the field. We made strawberry rhubarb pie, strawberry ice cream (see birthday recipes), strawberry compote, strawberry jam, strawberries with mint, Marsala, lime, and honey, strawberry shortcake, strawberry pancakes, and I remember many an afternoon, sitting with my mother on the screen porch, paring strawberries to eat sprinkled with just a little sugar. We ate strawberries in a myriad of ways — but I don’t think we ever made strawberry cake or cupcakes. I can’t imagine why not. Strawberry cupcakes are to-die-for. The fresh strawberry puree in the frosting takes buttercream to a whole new level. This frosting, strait from the berry patch is bursting with sweet berry flavor. So mom, these Allergy-Free Strawberry Cupcakes are for you. I’ve found a new way to feature our favorite family fruit. And I’ve made them safe for as many people as possible. Because I think just about everybody loves a strawberry.
With strawberry season in full swing, local farmer’s markets are overflowing with these sweet little beauties. Take advantage of their cheaper price tag, and bake strawberries into all your favorite treats. Brimming with vitamin C and fiber, strawberries make these lovely cupcakes almost a health food! So pretty in pink, these gems are great for Mother’s Day, birthdays, class parties, or an afternoon tea. And don’t forget your Memorial Day barbecue, they are perfect for that too. Don’t they look like they must be bad for you? Nope, 100% natural, gluten-free, vegan, and free of all top food allergens. Now, that’s a berry special treat.
Allergy-Free Strawberry Cupcakes
(Gluten-free, Vegan, Nut-free)
Makes 12 cupcakes
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup rice milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend, or my Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 3 Tablespoons rice milk
1 recipe Allergy-Free Strawberry Frosting (recipe follows)
12 small strawberries
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners.
2. Puree strawberries in blender, until reduced to ½ cup liquid. Add a few more strawberries if necessary.
3. Combine ½ cup strawberry puree with ¼ cup rice milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
4. Measure out flour mix by spooning flour into a dry measuring cup, then leveling it off with a straightedge, or 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). Combine flour mix with xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well. Set aside.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable shortening and granulated sugar. Mix on medium speed 2 minutes.
6. Add egg replacer to bowl of stand mixer. Mix on medium speed 1 minute more.
7. Using a sifter, sift in the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with strawberry mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing until combined, about 30 seconds. Once batter is smooth, spoon about ¼ cup batter into each liner, filling the liners about three-quarters full. Do not overfill the liners, or they will rise too high.
8. Bake in the center of the oven 20 minutes until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, and cupcakes are a lovely berry color. The cupcakes won’t be pink, they bake up more berry blue. (The frosting is pink!)
9. Remove from oven and transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack to let cool completely before frosting. Either pipe frosting or use a frosting spatula to spread it. Top each cupcake with a strawberry.
Allergy-Free Strawberry Frosting
Makes enough for 12 Cupcakes
½ cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening
pinch of salt
3 ½ cups confectioners sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Puree strawberries in blender. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream shortening and pinch of salt on medium speed, about 2 minutes.
3. Add confectioners sugar in three batches, beating after each addition. Add 3 Tablespoons of the strawberry puree, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Allergy-Free Strawberry Cupcakes © 2011 by Cybele Pascal
(Please note that all my recipes are completely free of all top allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and gluten), so as many people as possible can enjoy them. Additionally, all the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I’ll help you find it.)
SAFETY NOTE: Because each person’s food sensitivity and reaction is unique, ranging from mild intolerance to life-threatening and severe food allergies, it is up to the consumer to monitor ingredients and manufacturing conditions. If manufacturing conditions, potential cross contact between foods, and ingredient derivatives pose a risk for you, please re-read all food labels and call the manufacturer to confirm potential allergen concerns before consumption. Ingredients and manufacturing practices can change overnight and without warning.
Guar Gum versus Xanthan Gum… what's the difference?
Dear Readers:
I am asked a lot if it’s okay to substitute guar gum for xanthan gum in my recipes. The answer is “yes”. They are pretty much interchangeable, one for one. Many brands of xanthan gum are a derivative of corn (except for Authentic Foods xanthan gum), so those with corn allergies will want to use guar gum in my recipes when I call for xanthan gum. But please note, there are subtle differences. To illustrate this subtlety, I have turned once again to my trusty Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. I made one batch with xanthan gum (as the recipe instructs) and one batch with guar gum. All other ingredients were EXACTLY the same. See the photos below. The top photo are the cookies made with xanthan gum, the bottom, with guar gum. Both were delicious, but there was a slight difference in texture.
The cookies made with xanthan gum (top) are slightly chewier, with more cracks in the surface. The cookies made with guar gum (bottom) are more domed, with fewer splits in the surface and a very slightly denser consistency. One is not better than the other. I found the cookies made with guar gum crumbled a bit more, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles! The one notable difference I should add is that the cookies made with guar gum caused some gastric distress (that’s right, that’s code for “GAS”). I looked into this and sure enough, gas is a side effect of guar gum, but one is assured that after several days of ingesting it, this will settle down.
So what are these vegetable gums, and why use them in the first place? Both xanthan gum and guar gum are used in gluten-free baking to help mimic the structure traditionally provided by gluten (protein) in wheat flour. They add viscosity, and really help keep the baked goods together (binding), as well as preventing them from drying out too quickly. In the old days, I tried baking gluten-free without xanthan gum, out of some sort of misguided rebellion (I didn’t need that 1/4 teaspoon of powder!) I have since come to my senses. After all, it really is magic powder. And a little bit goes a long way… so though it might seem rather spendy, a bag of xantham gum or guar gum should last you many months. Keep it tightly sealed in the fridge.
But back to what they are…. two apt discriptions http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-xanthan-gum.htm http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-guar-gum.htm
In sum: you can use either xanthan gum or guar gum in my recipes. Guar gum is less expensive, but it might give you gas until you get used to it. Up to you.
Happy baking!
Cybele