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.

it's a girl & momofuku milk bar's birthday cake

I've made life-sized flag banners for a showroom installation but when I came across this mini version by Joy the Baker for a cake, I felt inspired all over again. 

Rachel's favorite color is purple. So it was her favorite shade all day long.

It's a girl!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Rachel & Keino!!!

mounds of almond joy

So this post is not about a type of dough or batter, but just homemade joy!!! ALMOND JOY!!!!! (with sprinkles of Maldon Salt)

I've had this recipe saved on my desktop for months, plus my husband also likes to forward me recipes in hopes I might make them and in honor of Valentine's Day these were just begging to be made. I'll be totally honest and say that these aren't the easiest candies to make, but the ingredients are simple and maybe things you might have in your pantry already (well, at least I do!).

Enough chat and back to making joy!

Almond  Joy

this recipe is adapted from a great food blog I follow joy THE BAKER.

makes 26 -30 candies

7 ounces (1/2 can) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

50 - 60 raw almonds

about 20 ounces (1 1/2 bags) semi-sweet chocolate chips ***I used 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 bag of bittersweet chocolate chips*** 

Maldon Salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread raw almonds out onto a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Stir in both of the coconuts. The mixture will be thick. Place the mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes. It's easier to work with when it's a little cold.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove coconut mixture from freezer. With clean hands, shape one tablespoon of coconut into a little log about 2 inches long and 3/4 inch thick. ***I roll it between my hands and the log shape happens naturally*** Place the log onto the lined baking sheet and continue to roll out the rest of the coconut mixture. ***Washing your hands between shaping 6 - 8 pieces helps them not get too sticky*** Press an almond on top of each coconut log. ***We LOVE almonds so I placed two almonds on top of mine*** The almonds might not completely stick, but that's OK...Place baking sheet into the fridge to chill while you melt the chocolate.

***I skipped this step and melted my chocolate in the microwave. If the chocolate gets thick while you're working with it, nuke for 15 seconds*** Place a medium pot with 2 inches of water over a medium flame. Bring the water to a simmer. Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and place bowl over the simmering water. Stir the chocolate as it melts. Turn off the flame once chocolate has melted but keep the bowl over the hot water.

Remove the coconut candies from the fridge. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip fork into melted chocolate. Place one coconut almond log onto chocolatey fork. Using a spoon, pour melted chocolate over log. Tap or shake the fork several times on the edge of the bowl to release some of the excess chocolate. Scrape the bottom of fork along the side/edge of bowl and place candy onto parchment lined sheet. ***I used a skewer to help me get the candy off of fork*** Repeat until all the candy is coated. ***I sprinkled Maldon Salt on top of mine at this stage because I felt it needed just a little bump of salt*** If chocolate gets too thick, just turn on the flame and heat slightly.

Let dipped candies harden in the fridge for 45 minutes. Store in air tight container @ room temp.

En"joy"!!!