Department of Baking

[deptofbaking]

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cake

I again reprised this gluten-free gingerbread cake, which I first made two years ago, for my friend’s Maritimes-themed party this weekend. I had a few requests for the recipe, so here it is!

Adapted from Signal Hill Gingerbread in the Laura Secord cookbook

2 cups of gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour blend)

1 tsp of xanathan gum

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup vegetable shortening

¾ cup molasses

1 egg

1 cup water, boiled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square cake pan. 

Mix dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Beat egg with an electric mixer. Add shortening and molasses and mix until combined and smooth. 

Add wet mixture to dry mixture, and beat with a mixer (or wooden spoon) until blended.

Add 1 cup boiling water. Beat until well mixed. 

Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes (insert a toothpick to test that it’s done.  

Serve warm or cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar, or serve with whipped cream or ice cream. 

[deptofbaking]

I made a few updates to the 2017 version of this cake & am happy with the result! 

- Since it usually goes over well at the party, I doubled the recipe (so I used a larger pan & baked it ~50-55 min - not too much longer but I have a better oven than I used to, so keep an eye on it & use a toothpick)

- Used a GF flour blend that already contained xanathan gum (specifically, Irrestibles [Metro store brand])

- Increased ginger & cinnamon, adding 1.5x the original amounts

- Used ~3/4 cup cooking molasses (I happened to have that instead of “fancy” molasses), ~1/2 cup blackstrap molasses (ran out of cooking molasses!), & ~1/4 cup maple syrup (because I was worried it would be a little too strongly molasses-y

- Increased water, using an extra 1/2 cup in the doubled recipe - this made it extra moist

[deptofbaking]

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cake

I again reprised this gluten-free gingerbread cake, which I first made two years ago, for my friend’s Maritimes-themed party this weekend. I had a few requests for the recipe, so here it is!

Adapted from Signal Hill Gingerbread in the Laura Secord cookbook

2 cups of gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour blend)

1 tsp of xanathan gum

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup vegetable shortening

¾ cup molasses

1 egg

1 cup water, boiled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square cake pan. 

Mix dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Beat egg with an electric mixer. Add shortening and molasses and mix until combined and smooth. 

Add wet mixture to dry mixture, and beat with a mixer (or wooden spoon) until blended.

Add 1 cup boiling water. Beat until well mixed. 

Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes (insert a toothpick to test that it’s done.  

Serve warm or cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar, or serve with whipped cream or ice cream. 

[deptofbaking]

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing (vegan)

“This tastes just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!” is a pretty great reaction to a cake(’s icing), especially considering I made it up!

For my friend Andrew’s birthday party, I wanted to make a vegan cake. While carrot is his favourite, I’m already making a carrot cake for a friend’s baby shower this weekend, so I wanted to mix it up. Plus, I’ve been on a big chocolate & peanut butter kick lately.

I used the vegan chocolate cake recipe from Isa Does It!, and since I couldn’t find a good vegan peanut butter icing recipe, I made one up. And it was a hiiiiiiiit. More than one friend said they’d love to eat it from a jar with a spoon (#productidea?).

At the risk of giving away my secrets, here’s what went into the icing:

- 1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter (a ‘peanuts only’ kind)

- 1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- pinch of fleur de sel

- 3 1/2 cups icing sugar

- 2 tsp coconut milk

I mixed the peanut butter & margarine until creamy, then the rest of the icing, adding a bit of the coconut milk until it had the right texture. Chill before using - though note that it’s not a really firm-setting icing (it was a relatively humid August night, though).

Enjoy!

[deptofbaking]

Mini Eggs Brownies

I went to cheer on my Pace & Mind running team in the Around The Bay 30K race last weekend, and me being me, that entailed bringing along some treats for the post-race party. My teammate suggested brownies, which seemed a little too simple for the occasion... so I was inspired to buy a big ol’ bag of Mini Eggs from the Bulk Barn to dress them up a bit.

I used my friend Melissa’s delicious One-Pot Brownies recipe, with some minor adaptations (most notably leaving out the chocolate chips and nuts, since I was adding the Mini Eggs) .

1 ¼ cups unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

A heaping ½ teaspoon of flaky salt (note - the recipe doesn’t mention the addition of salt so I added it with the sugar)

4 large eggs, cold

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (pure is always better if you have it!)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups of Mini Eggs, divided (3/4 cup partially crushed using a rolling pin, 3/4 cup whole)

I made the brownies according to the recipe. Once the batter was in the pan, I added the crushed portion of the Mini Eggs, swirling them around a bit so they were partially mixed in. Once I had the batter levelled in the pan, I scattered the remaining whole Mini Eggs on top. Once baked (for about 45-50 min; I’d err on the lower side since mine were a little more well done than I’d like at 50 min), the Mini Eggs came out nice and crackled. 

The only thing stopping me from making more is going to get another bag of Mini Eggs... I find Mini Eggs, and these brownies, too irresistible! 

Enjoy! :)

[deptofbaking]

S’mores Cookies

I had a ton of marshmallows, and I’d recently purchased graham crackers and graham cracker crumbs, so clearly I had to make s’mores cookies. Since I haven’t yet gotten butane for my new kitchen torch, I baked the cookies (for about 10 min), then popped a half marshmallow on each cookie, and popped them under the broiler for about a minute. Make sure to keep an eye (nose) on them so they don’t burn!

I adapted this Food Network recipe as follows:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned (then chilled & re-warmed to room temp) 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Pinch salt 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cups coarsely-smashed graham cracker pieces (from about 1 sleeve), plus 36 small graham cracker squares 1 1/2 cup graham crumbs 1 cup chocolate chips 2 dozen large marshmallows, cut in half with scissors.

These were a big hit. Enjoy!

[deptofbaking]

I’ve fallen very behind! Here’s most of what I’ve been up to over the last few months, baking-wise:

- Nutella browned butter cookies with toffee bits (why oh why didn’t I write this down? They were fabulous. Approximately 1/2 cup butter, browned, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup (ish?) of Nutella, 1/2 cup (ish) of toffee bits).- Cinnamon raisin swirl bread (Martha Stewart; recipe halved) 

- Sticky toffee pudding (Recipe was a bit of a mashup, based on The Star, Martha Stewart, and Smitten Kitchen. Note: 2 tsp of bourbon in the sauce was not enough. Use more!)

- Coconut macaroons with white and semisweet chocolate (adapted from Martha Stewart)

- Mini pear breakfast crisp (totally made up on the spot based on having made a billion apple crisps)

- Heart-shaped pizza

- Super cinnamon heart cookies (I totally forget where I got the recipe from initially, but I adapted it substantially)

- Hazelnut sticky buns (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

- Pineapple upside down cake (vegan) (Isa Does It! cookbook)

- Browned butter blondies with mini Reese’s Pieces (adapted from a cookbook recipe)

- Cinnamon raison swirl bread (Martha Stewart; recipe halved)

Not shown: beer brownies, chocolate chip cookies with bourbon, and possibly some other stuff!

It’s been a delicious few months!

[deptofbaking]

Whole Wheat Apple Pear Pecan Muffins

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

I woke up this morning with the intention of making maple-cinnamon apple-pear baked oatmeal... only to discover, after chopping apples and pears, that I was nearly out of oatmeal. So, I made these muffins, with the following changes to the above recipe:

2 pears, 2 small apples

1 cup pastry flour instead of all-purpose

1/2 cup pecans, toasted (half in batter, half on top)

3 tbsp wheat germ

1/4 maragarine + 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce, instead of the 1/2 cup butter

2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg

They were delightful - definitely going into my roster of muffin recipes.

[deptofbaking]

Earl Grey & White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from The Kitchn and Serious Eats

Brainstorming earlier this week about baked goods for a going away party and afternoon hangout with friends, the idea of Earl Grey tea cookies popped into my head. Turns out, there are a whole bunch of recipes for "London Fog" cookies/cake/scones, which are made with Earl Grey tea and vanilla (usually vanilla beans).

I wanted something slightly different... I had white chocolate on my mind, so I went for a combo of Earl Grey and mini white chocolate chips.

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 

1/2 cup sugar 

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tablespoon Earl Grey tea leaves (2 tea bags)

1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 egg

1/2 cup mini white chocolate chips

I blended all the dry ingredients in the food processor, then separately creamed the butter and sugar. I added the egg and vanilla, then mixed in the dry ingredients with the wet. Then, I added the chocolate chips, rolled the dough out into a log, wrapped it in parchment paper, and left it to chill. I sliced the cookies, and baked them at 350 for about 10-12 minutes.

They were very nice, and I think would also be great with some lavender added. A pleasant little cookie for a Sunday afternoon!

[deptofbaking]

Nutella-Ferrero Rocher Brownies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

My friends Alison and Mike, whom I know through my running group, are moving away to Europe, so our team threw a surprise going-away party last week.

Alison is a baker herself, and even had her own baking business; it's always a little intimidating to bake for someone who has done it professionally. However, she's loved the cookies I've brought to running thus far, and I wanted to send Alison and Mike off with something special!

I couldn't find a Nutella brownies recipe that seemed like what I was looking for, so I adapted the fudge-y brownies from Smitten Kitchen, adding a 1/2 cup of Nutella. To dial them up a notch, I also chopped up half a package (about 8) of Ferrero Rocher chocolates, for an extra hazelnut crunch on top.

Alison and Mike loved them, and she flattered me by saying they were better than her own brownies - incredibly high praise! <blush> 

I'll definitely make these again when I need an extra-special brownie!

[deptofbaking]

Maple-Apple Pie with Pecan Crumble Topping

My goodness - this might be the best pie I've ever made. It was a big hit for dessert on Christmas Day, and again enjoyed as "breakfast of champions" the following morning.

It was based on this Brown-Eyed Baker recipe, though for the filling, I used my mom's apple pie filling preserves, with some maple added. The part-butter, part-shortening crust really came out delightfully flaky, and it may be my go-to going forward!

[deptofbaking]

Gingersnaps

Like so many of the things I bake, I forgot to take a decent photo of these gingersnaps, based on Martha Stewart's recipe.

I sliced up the roll of cookie dough very thinly, so they came out very thin and crispy - a perfect ginger 'snap!'

[deptofbaking]

Cranberry Squares

As with every year, I made these favourite cranberry squares (although not vegan this time). I later got to enjoy some additional ones that my mom made for Christmas. YUM!

[deptofbaking]

Sponge Toffee

Recipe directions can be a bit misleading. This sponge toffee recipe indicated that "the caramel [would] sputter and increase in volume," but with such a large pot, I though I'd have room to spare... instead, the caramel expanded about 5x in volume. The result: comical, and a good reminder that baking really is a science... even when it looks like a science experiment gone wrong! I was able to spare most of it and put it in a pan, and people really enjoyed it.

[deptofbaking]

Gluten-Free Signal Hill Gingerbread

I repeated the gingerbread cake I made for my friend's party last year. Not only did I forget the Xanathan gum (oops), but I forget to take any photos. I was a bit focused on the beer my friend & I had made for the party, shown here, the "Booster Pump Porter."

[deptofbaking]

Marshmallow Cookie Cups

In late November, I'd gotten home from a friend's party one Saturday night, and though I was going to be waking up early for a weekly long run with my running group, I decided to make some cookies.

I had a lot of marshmallows, but no graham cracker crumbs to make something "s'mores"-like, so I decided to use my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe (one I got from a classmate in 1994[!!]) as a base. I pressed the dough in mini muffin tins, with about 4-5 chocolate chips in each. When they were almost done, I popped half a large marshmallow on each, and put them under the broiler to brown.

I brought them to my running group on Sunday morning, and they were a big hit!

Ingredients (more or less):

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup flour

1/2 baking soda

chocolate chips - about 1/4 cup? (4-5 in each)

12 large marshmallows, cut in half

[deptofbaking]

Spicy Chocolate "Wacky" Cake

I'd long made a recipe called "wacky cake" from a cookbook my mom had - it uses vinegar and baking soda instead of eggs, and could use oil instead of butter. It was vegan before I knew what the word vegan meant!

I made this cake a couple of months ago for a potluck with my friends. I think it could've been spicier! The whipped "cream" is actually whipped coconut milk, and it was delicious.

Related: I don't have any photos but later made these spicy chocolate cookies.

[deptofbaking]

Apple Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I only vaguely remember making this apple pumpkin bundt cake, even though it was only two months ago. I'm sure it was an excuse to use up whatever can of pumpkin puree I had left (I think I went through three large cans this fall!).

Aren't bundt cakes the funniest old-fashioned cakes? But they're kind of charming in their own way.