gluten-free tropical banana bread & cup4cup flour

Gluten-free. 
Words that frightened me when I thought about baking.

My fears for baking gluten-free are over now thanks to CUP4CUP's Gluten Free Flour. I stumbled upon it during my daily food blog stalkings on Joy the Baker . This miracle mixture was developed by Lena Kwak, Thomas Keller's Research & Development Chef at The French Laundry. Need I say more??? 

I was oh-so impressed by all the rave reviews this flour received that I rushed out and bought a bag. Or maybe two. And since this GF flour is a special ingredient in my pantry, I will be treating it like baking gold and experimenting with my favorite recipes with caution. 

I have a couple of go-to banana bread recipes, but my ingredients in my pantry were limited so I borrowed ingredients and made substitutions from a couple of recipes from Smitten Kitchen and Musings from a Housewife and concocted my version, a tropical banana bread.

Tropical Banana Bread

makes 1 loaf 

3 ripe bananas 

1/4 cup pineapple - fresh and finely chopped ***Not needed really, but I think it added flavor and moistness.***

1/3 cup coconut oil ***Don't have coconut oil??? Melt some butter.***

3/4 cup coconut palm sugar ***No coconut palm sugar either? Brown sugar would taste awesome!!!*** 

1 large egg, beaten slightly

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup dried unsweetened coconut plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling on top

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 1/2 cup CUP 4 CUP Gluten Free Flour

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a loaf pan and dust with flour. Set aside.

With a potato masher or fork, mash up bananas and pineapple. With a spatula, mix in coconut oil to combine. Add coconut palm sugar, egg and vanilla extract then dried coconut. Mix until smooth.  Sprinkle the baking soda and kosher salt over the mixture and mix in. Add your GF flour last and fold in. Pour into your prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with the reserved 1 tablespoon of dried coconut.

Bake your loaf on the middle rack of your oven for 50-55 minutes or until a tester/skewer comes out clean. 

Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes and gently remove it from the pan and cool completely.

agua de piña & how to cut up a pineapple

Agua de Piña (pineapple water) is what you want to drink if you want to escape to a sunny beach holiday in a glass. And if you live in NYC, this is about as sunny yellow it's going to be in the next few days.....

If you've ever bought this delicious beverage when you're out and about, it can be an outrageous $4.50 or 5 bucks (or more) for a measly 16 ounce plastic cup. Sheesh!!! And in a restaurant? Fuggedaboutit.....You'll probably drop the same $5 on a glass even smaller.

Most aguas frescas have a substantial amount of sugar in them. And they're watered down considerably. My recipe has two ingredients, pineapple and a little bit of water. But before we dive into a glass of sunshine, let's work on cutting up the pineapple.

Picking a ripe pineapple isn't hard at all. Your nose knows! If it smells like a sweet and juicy pineapple, it probably is. Another way is to tug at the pineapple's fronds and if it pulls out easily, it's ripe. Or so "they" say. But if you've bought a pineapple and are not completely sure if it's ripe enough to eat, leave it on your counter top for 1 -2 days. When it's permeating the entire room it's time to cut it up. 

On a clean cutting board, lay your pineapple on it's side. Grab a knife. A serrated knife is best and yes, mine is massive.

Cut off the top fronds and base of pineapple.

Turn your cut pineapple upright so that it's sitting flat on your board. Using your serrated knife, begin to cut off the outer piney skin. Try not to cut off to much of the fruit.

Sometimes your cuts aren't completely clear of "eyes". Just gently slice them off. 

No need to core the pineapple since everything is going into a blender. But if you're planning on eating some of it, you'll need to cut out the core. The core is only good for juicing or gnawing on.

Time to make Agua de Piña!!!

Agua de Piña

makes about 8 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 ripe pineapple - plus core, cut up into chunks

1 - 2 cups water

juice of a lime (optional)

sugar (optional)

***I didn't need to add any sugar to my Agua de Piña, but if you're pineapple isn't that sweet, add a little sugar to taste.***

In a blender or a food processor, blitz about 1/3 of the pineapple and 1/2 cup of water until the fruit is completely pulverized. Place a fine sieve or strainer over a large bowl or pitcher. Gently pour your pulverized fruit into the sieve or strainer. At this time you may need to move around the pulp with a spoon or spatula in the strainer to extract the juice. Once strained, throw away the pulp. Repeat the blending and straining process until you have used up all of your fruit. 

Chill and serve over ice. You can easily turn this into agua de piña colada by substituting the water for coconut water. And add a shot of rum.....you pickin' up what I'm throwin' down???

Agua de piña.....a sunny beach holiday in a glass.....