Yes I'm still alive, and here's a recipe! (Gluten-free lemon layer cake)

Oh my, how the weeks fly by when you are busy. Sometimes it's a blessing, other times... not so much. I haven't had a day with nothing to do in quite awhile. But on a happier note, good things are going around and it's nice to be employed and living in a beautiful place. And since I moved last weekend, I now have a new kitchen to play with - if I ever have the time! For now, here's a recipe from a month or so ago...

~* Gluten-Free Lemon Layer Cake *~

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

 This recipe has a lot of steps, but it’s completely worth it. It works best if you make the cake and lemon curd the night before so everything has time to cool. Freezing the cakes overnight will help keep them from crumbling or falling apart during assembly (as some gf cakes tend to do). You don’t have to use greek yogurt here, but it adds tangy moisture to the cake. The lemon curd is absolutely fantastic- use it in any recipe for lemon tarts or with fresh scones! (put in link)

For the filling:

• Zest from two lemons


• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 6 lemons)


• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin


• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar


• 1/8 teaspoon salt


• 4 large eggs


• 6 large egg yolks (reserve whites for the cake)


• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and frozen

For the cake:

• 1 cup sorghum flour, plus more for dusting cake pans


• 3/4 cup brown rice flour


• 1/4 cup millet flour


• 1 cup 2% Greek yogurt, at room temperature


• 6 large egg whites, at room temperature


• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar


• 5 teaspoons baking powder


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 12 tablespoons Earth Balance (or butter substitute) cut into tablespoons, softened

For the icing ("seven-minute" recipe):

• 2 large egg whites


• 1 cup granulated sugar


• 1/4 cup water


• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)


• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Tip: when working with lemons, always use non-reactive cookware and utensils!

 For the filling: Soften gelatin by measuring 1 tbsp lemon juice into small bowl and sprinkling gelatin over top. Heat remaining lemon juice, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high hear, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolved and mixture is hot but not boiling.

Separate 6 large eggs, saving whites for the cake. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and egg yolks together, temper the mixture by slowly pouring hot lemon-sugar mixture into eggs, and then return the mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with heat-proof spatula until mixture reaches 170 degrees. It should be thick enough to leave a trail on the spoon and across the bottom of the saucepan. Watch out for sputters once the curd gets hot!

Quickly remove pan from heat and stir in frozen butter until melted; continue to stir until smooth. Pour filling though a fine-mesh strainer into a non-reactive bowl – definitely don’t skip this step! A smooth curd is especially important when you’re using it as cake filling. Cover surface directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate till its firm enough to spread; at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour two nine-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper (trust me, with a sticky gf cake you do not want to skip this step!)

Whisk together Greek yogurt, egg whites, and vanilla. In the bowl of a standing mixture, mix flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt at low speed with the paddle attachment. With the mixer running at low speed, add butter one chunk at a time, and continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs with no large butter pieces (like a scone or biscuit dough). Add all but ½ cup yogurt mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed till batter is pale and fluffy, about 1 ½ minutes. With mixer running at low speed, add remaining 1/2 cup milk mixture; increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium speed and beat 20 seconds
longer. Divide batter evenly between cake pans, even out tops.

Bake on center rake, rotating cakes halfway through, until toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes. Loosen cakes from sides of pans with small knife, cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert onto greased wire rack; peel off parchment. Invert cakes again; cool completely on rack. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze overnight if desired. (Freezing often improves gf texture)


Now, the fun part! To assemble: Mix chilled curd with spoon until spread-able. With a serrated knife, cut each cake into 2 even layers, taking care not to break layers. Brush off crumbs. Place bottom cake on cake plate/cardboard, and spread 1 cup lemon filling evenly on cake, leaving a ½ inch border around the edge. Gently add second layer, spread 1 cup filling on top. Repeat with third layer. Place fourth layer on top, smooth out any filling that has leaked out from the layers. Refrigerate while making icing.

For the icing: Combine all ingredients in bowl of standing mixer or large heatproof bowl and set over medium saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water). Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture registers 160 degrees, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and transfer mixture to standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until mixture has cooled to room temperature and stiff peaks form, 5 minutes longer. Using a spatula, spread frosting on cake, starting with the top layer, working icing down the sides.

Cake can be refrigerated up to one day before serving, and be aware that once the marshmallow-y icing sets, you won’t be able to smooth out any nicks.

A perfect Spring-y birthday cake!

Product Review: Low-Sugar Gluten-Free Protein Bars

I have not had candy since January 2nd. I have not had a single baked good, pastry, or packet of sugar pass my lips in over 3 weeks. This is huge, people. (Though = my jest that if I never craved sugar I would weight 100 pounds has not quite come true, dang.)

But one can not completely go without, and thankfully my morning protein-bar has a sweet appeal. Recently I changed out my go-to bar (Promax, just not the controversial ones) for a couple low sugar varieties. I think the nutritionals may win you over.

[FYI: I have not been furnished with samples from the companies, though they are welcome to send me some if so inclined, and this is not a compensated review.]

1. Promax Lower Sugar Energy Bar, Chocolate Fudge Variety (with Stevia)



Nutrition: Frankly, these blow their sugary counterparts out the water nutrition-wise. (For a complete ingredient list, click here.)They have 70+ less calories than regular, less fat, and an almost silly amount of fiber - especially considering the regular bar has only around 1g of fiber. And there is also no artificial sweetener, only Stevia. There is 2g less protein in the LS variety, but really 2g of protein is nothing to squabble about.

Taste/Texture: Great of all counts, and less sweet than say, the cookies and cream bar, which I actually enjoyed - it felt healthier, if that makes sense. Promax bars have a much better protein blend than some other brands, who have a gritty or overly-chewy bite. This you can actually eat without choking - a plus in the morning. And anytime I can feel like I'm eating chocolate without actually eating a dove bar is a good one.

Cost: From the Promax website they are 16.99/box of 12, from Amazon you can find them from 13.99/box of 12 and up (some other varieties are more expensive for some reason). I buy from Amazon for the convenience. Overall about $1.25/bar, not including shipping (try to buy a couple things at once from Amazon and get free shipping).

The Sticky: Beware, I have seen these sold at my local San Francisco Walgreens for 2.99 a bar, which is kind of  a rip-off. Also, other LS varieties contain that old annoyance barley malt, which is sad because I really wanted to try the peanut butter cookie flavor. Oh well...

2. Quest Protein Bars (with Erythtitol)

Why We Still Need to Read Labels, An Update!

So After contacting Promax last night, and leaving a message on Twitter about this issue, they wrote me back with this:

" While barley/barley malt  contain  gluten, barley malt extract does not.  Gluten is found in the protein portion of a wheat product.  Barley malt extract contains no protein.  Further more, we have tested this bar several times for gluten and it falls well below not only the FDA proposed limit of 20ppm but also the GFCO’s (Gluten Free Certifying Organization) standard of 10 ppm.  Part of the agreement with the GFCO is that  the bars and the manufacturing facility be audited for the presence of gluten regularly.  We have always tested well below the standards above. "

Ok...But then I read articles like this one, which state:

" Why the confusion over barley malt extract?
It is very tricky to test for barley contamination in food. One of the assays (sandwich omega-gliadin ELISA) severely underestimates gluten contamination from barley; the other (sandwich R5 ELISA) overestimates gluten contamination from barley by a factor of 2. And when it comes to testing for gluten in a hydrolyzed product (a product that has been partially broken down), such as barley malt extract, the test that usually overestimates barley contamination may now underestimate it. It really is a confusing situation! Fortunately, there is an assay available for testing hydrolyzed ingredients. It is called the competitive R5 ELISA.

How much gluten does barley malt extract contain?
When 3 barley malt extracts were tested for gluten using the competitive R5 ELISA, they contained approximately 320, 960, and 1300 parts per million (ppm) gluten. Taking into account the fact that the R5 ELISA may overestimate barley contamination by a factor of 2, the extracts more likely contained approximately 160, 480, and 650 ppm gluten.

Obviously, when barley malt extract is an ingredient in a food product, such as breakfast cereals, waffles, and pancakes, the ppm gluten content of the final food product will be far less than the ppm gluten content of the extract. In one study that assessed the gluten content from barley in two breakfast cereals containing barley malt extract, one product contained 795 ppm gluten; the other 171 ppm gluten. "

And then I see advice from medical sources, like this:

 "In the FDA’s proposed rule for labeling of food as gluten free, malt ingredients are included among those ingredients that can not be included in labeled gluten-free foods. It doesn’t matter if the final food product contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten."

So I suppose I can see why this Promax's party line on the issue, however all research I've done says that barley malt/barley malt extract still has gluten, although it may not be in high amounts. Even the FDA is having a problem with this!

And I've found that the smallest amount of things - like oat bran, for instance - can make me sick. For people with Celiacs, the only way to live is by eliminating all possible sources of gluten, even those which are declared "safe" despite their name; we know that sometimes what our bodies tell us is ahead of the current information. I've also read that less than 1/8 tsp of an ingredient can kick off your symptoms, and I have no idea how that corresponds with the 20ppm standard. And since other companies have chosen to remove barley malt extract because of the Celiac issue, it seems like there is in fact a problem for some consumers.

So again, I shall be returning them.

I don't blame the Promax company, and I don't think they're trying to "fool" people into eating traces of wheat. However I do think it's difficult that there are all these extracts and flavorings out there that are mysterious in origin or content, and it's nearly impossible to cut them out of your diet. So I guess that means you have to be proactive when you can!

Every Celiac for Herself? Why we still need to read labels.

Don’t get fooled by the familiar packaging!

Sometimes it’s very easy to not read the whole label. Sometimes it’s long, you’re in a rush, and you’re so grateful to find something with “certified GF” image on it that you skim over the ingredients.

Here’s the sticky: we still have to read labels. Even though the FDA is trying to help us out, they aren’t really our friend. Their requirements don’t require an absence of gluten, only for products to be below a certain level of gluten-contamination. This means that if you see a GF label on a product that you know has a gluten ingredient listed, you shouldn’t trust it. Trust yourself and your own knowledge, because you’re the one putting your health (and your digestive system) at risk.

Why am I writing this now, you may wonder? I’ve been eating Promax protein bars for breakfast every morning at work, and I dig them; they have 20g protein and actually keep my full till lunch. I buy them in boxes from Amazon, so they’re cheaper, and today a couple boxes arrived at my house, one of them the nutty butter crisp variety. Upon examination, I looked past the GF label and saw that barley malt was listed in the ingredients list.

For a moment, I thought I might be mistaken, perhaps barley was not always gluten? Alas, I was right, though with barley I seemed to have stumbled into a bit of a controversy. There have been other products with this ingredient labeled GF, and consumers made a (deserved) fuss. Vans (the waffle folks), for one, decided to remove the ingredient completely. Removing barley malt was the step Chex took before labeling their cereals GF.

Apparently barley malt can sneak under the FDA radar, though any web search or Celiac site will set you straight that people with gluten intolerance should not eat any barley or malt-type flavorings. This only adds to my upset – one would think that a health and fitness company would be a little more vigilant in their ingredient use.

I will still be eating these bars, but only the varieties I know are safe. And I hope that in the future, the FDA will get its act together and make sure that foods labeled GF are actually gluten-free.

So the moral is: Sometimes we don’t get labels, so we have to trust. But when there is one, always read it!

UPDATE: Read more here!

Holiday Photo Overload!

Gluten-Free Rum Balls

Gluten-Free Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

The Before

Gluten-Free Lemon Meringue Pie

    Gluten-Free Checkerboard Cookies

Recipes coming soon!

An Especially Tasty Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Casserole

I spotted this recipe on Oh She Glows, one of my favorite food blogs, last holiday season, and little did I know what an impact it would have on this year’s Thanksgiving! Seriously, it turns regular yams/sweet potatoes into magic.

It’s sweet, but not too sweet to be a side-dish, and the topping is crispy and delicious. It’s also pretty darn easy to make. Perfect for breakfast the next morning too!

While you can make this while your turkey is cooking, I baked it the night before and reheated it at 350 while the turkey was resting; it took around 30m - just keep an eye on it. You don’t have to add the pecans, but I firmly suggest you do; they lend a very tasty pecan-pie flavor.

~* Gluten and Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Casserole *~

(Vegan Too!)

adapted from Oh She Glows

Oven Temp: 350, Pan Size: 2 quart casserole dish

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cooked
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp fine grain salt
• 3/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon

Topping:

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sorghum flour
• 3/4 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and boil sweet potatoes/yams until tender. Drain and mash the sweet potatoes with Earth Balance until smooth – leave a few chunks to keep it “rustic.”

Whisk together the maple syrup, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon; add to sweet potatoes. Transfer mixture into a lightly-greased (with canola oil) casserole dish.

Using a fork (or your fingers), mix together the topping ingredients until well combined; it helps to have softened butter. Add pecans last. Sprinkle topping over sweet potatoes and bake for 50 minutes, checking to make sure topping does not burn.

This dish is ridiculously versatile; it works for breakfast, brunch, potlucks, dessert. Dessert especially if you are someone who likes their desserts without overwhelming sweetness. Something about the twice-cooking/baking of the sweet potatoes really improves the sweet potato texture too.

And if, when shopping, you get confused about the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, usually what is labeled as a yam is actually a sweet potato. The USDA now requires the “yam” label to always be accompanied by “sweet potato.” It’s very unlikely to find a real yam here in the U.S. Bottom line is to look for the ones which dark orange flesh and reddish-brown skin.

Product Review: That's It Bars

That's It Bars are pretty new to the market, but they are also pretty awesome in their simplicity. They only have two ingredients: apple and whatever other fruit is on the package (apricot, pear, and cherry). They all have around 100 calories and 3g of fiber. They're also gluten-free, vegan, and kosher.

What I like about these especially is that they're like those fruit leather strips I love, but not so compacted, so they make for an actually-filling snack. They;re also pretty big for 100 calories. They remind me a bit of lara bars, which I love but are sometimes too high in cals for the amount you get, but without the nuts.

Just a little photoshop fun :)

My favorite so far is the apricot; oddly my least favorite is the cherry, which is interesting because dried cherries and I have a relationship. Perhaps it's because they aren't suing sour dried cherries, which are by far much tastier (lara uses them in their cherry pie bars). I've never had dried pears before, but the flavor is growing on me.

I've been taking these to work with me and eating them during my evening commute; they do a nice job of tiding me over till dinner. I also found that they make a good pre-workout snack that give you energy without side-aches; I think it's probably due to the sugar/carbs from the fruit.

Someone kept sneaking into my photos...

So give these guys a try. [psst: if you want to order them try amazon because it’s almost always cheaper than grocery stores, and click the box below :^) ]