Archive for the ‘Desserts’ Category

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A pecan pie of sorts

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

This decadent dessert weighs in at fewer than 20 carbs per serving.  And while 20 carbs may seem like a lot, when you consider that an apple is 21, it’s not too shabby.

Pecan pie is made from corn syrup.  And sugar.  And brown sugar.  There’s a lot of sweet going on in that thing.  And it’s no wonder, your average slice of your average pecan pie is going to cost you 65 carbs.  Cutting the number of calories per serving that dramatically probably means one of two things: 1) Artificial sweeteners; 2) Ew.  In fact, it means neither.  But I’m not miracle worker.  This isn’t really pecan pie.

Pecan Creme Brulee

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

One of my father’s favorite desserts is pecan pie, and who can resist eating that around Thanksgiving.  My main goal then was not to make him pecan pie.  I knew that couldn’t be done well.  Instead, I set out to make something reminiscent of pecan pie, something decadent, and something without anywhere near that amount of sugar.  And the roommate seal of approval says this recipe is ready for the Thanksgiving table.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Pecan Creme Brulee:

For the custard:

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together egg yolks and sugar.  Add in the cream and vanilla.  Whisk until smooth.  Now strain through fine mesh strainer.  Pour into 4 ramekins.  Now bake in water bath at 300 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.  When just set on the edges, remove from oven and let chill in the refrigerator for at least a few hours (I usually go overnight).

For the pecan topping:

  • 1/3 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

In a large skillet, toast the pecans over medium-low heat.  When aromatic, add in the butter and sugar.  Stir until coated.  Pour into a bowl and refrigerate.

To assemble:

Take the custard and top with about 1/2 teaspoon of dark brown sugar.  Set your kitchen torch to low, and torch them babies (keep moving… it’s easy to burn).  Then top with the sugared pecans.  Serves 4.

In the absence of a kitchen torch, you can totally use your broiler.  Just be careful not to burn the tops.

Posted in Desserts, Gluten Free, Recipes | 1 Comment »

Gluten Free Holidays

Monday, November 14th, 2011

Thanksgiving is coming, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out what all the hubbub is about.  Being gluten free at Thanksgiving isn’t so hard.  First, gluten free cornbread might be better than glutenful.  So cornbread stuffing can only be improved, really.  Second, I’ve got a ton of goodies in store for you.

Today, let’s talk pie.  Pumpkin pie.  Remember my old recipe?  It’s been revamped, and you won’t miss the gluten a bit.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Pumpkin Cheesecake:

Crust:

  • 2 1/2 c. Bob’s All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
  • 1 T. xanthan gum
  • 1/2 c. brown sugar
  • 1 T. molasses
  • 2 t. ground ginger
  • 1 t. cinnamon
  • 1/2 c. salted butter (cut into 1 cm cubes, very cold)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 c. cold water (more, if necessary)

Mix first six ingredients together. I like to use a pastry cutter to really work in the molasses. Then, cut the butter into the flour mixture until shaggy. (I never understood that term until I started working on this recipe. Trust me when I say that you will too.)  Now pour the dough out onto the counter and create a sort of volcano.  Drop the egg and the vinegar into the middle and mix it all up.  Add cold water as necessary, but be stingy.  It may seem dry at first, but keep working it.  Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours.  (Let’s be honest: I usually can only tolerate an hour, and it doesn’t turn out so bad.)

Filling:

  • 1 pkg. cream cheese
  • 2/3 c. brown sugar
  • 1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 can pureed pumpkin
  • 1 t. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 t. ground ginger
  • dash of ground cloves

With electric mixer, mix thoroughly cream cheese and brown sugar. Stir in condensed milk, eggs, and pureed pumpkin. Finally, mix in cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

Putting it together:

Adding flour if necessary, push a tablespoon of dough into each muffin cup and up the sides. It’s important to make sure there are no holes in the mini pie crust. Spoon filling into crusts until full. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes. You want the filling to be nice and puffy and the crust to be golden brown.

Posted in Comfort Food, Desserts, Gluten Free, Recipes | No Comments »

You won’t believe…

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

… it’s not gluten!

It’s really not, though.  I promise.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Curious, aren’t you?

These babies are chewy.  They’re chocolatey.  They’re peanut buttery.  They’re good is what they are.

Lots of people had this idea where you make gluten free peanut butter cookies.  I’ve done it before.  And plenty of others have adapted that recipe to use nutella.  I was sad to not be more original, but it’s the sad state of things.  Unfortunately, people seem to be putting too much sugar into them.  And that makes me sad.  How would you taste the peanut butter?  Better yet, the nutella?

Peanutella Cookies:

  • 1/2 c. peanut butter
  • 1/2 c. nutella
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix the ingredients together.  Chill in fridge for an hour or so.  Place by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for approximately 10 minutes.

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Gluten Free, Recipes | 1 Comment »

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

It’s kind of a big deal.  See?

Pumpkin Spice Latte
Google knows when something is a big deal.  Trust me.  People are posting recipes so you can make your own, others are yammering on about how exciting the first pumpkin spice latte of the year is.  People love them.

And I’m not judging.  The pumpkin spice latte was the first time I ever had coffee and didn’t think “That’d be good… if you could just get rid of the coffee flavor.”  I just wasn’t raised on coffee.  My parents don’t drink it.  And my caffeine of choice through college was always diet coke (interestingly, this is what I would get when I had the pleasure of taking a sip of my dad’s drink as a child).  I’ve had roommates who drink coffee like it’s their job.  And when you’re a student, I guess it kind of is.  And I’ve just never really gotten into it.  I would always prefer a soda or a cup of tea.  Always.  … except the pumpkin spice latte.  It has this rich, earthy flavor… mixed with fall spices and the richness of cream.  It’s a match made in heaven really.

Did you see my birthday ice cream from a couple days ago?  Pumpkin ice cream is really a pretty good idea.  … but I really had to wonder if we could make a sort of pumpkin spice latte ice cream.  We can.  I did.  You should too.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

For the recipe, I basically merged two of David Lebovitz’s recipes together. This recipe for coffee ice cream.  And this recipe for pumpkin ice cream.  I made a few minor adjustments, and voila!  Here’s how it goes:

Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream

  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans (I went with decaf because I like to eat ice cream in the evening)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coffee
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the milk, coffee beans, sugar, salt, spices, and 1/2 cup heavy cream together in a medium saucepan.  Cook over low heat until steamy (not boiling).  Cover, remove from heat, and let steep for approximately 1 hour.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl.  Prepare ice bath: a big bowl with a bunch of ice in it, and a littler, metal bowl sitting inside of that.  Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream in the smaller bowl; then put a mesh strainer on top.

Now reheat the milk mixture.  Once hot and steamy, pour some of the milk mixture into the eggs and mix together.  Now pour the egg/milk mixture into the milk mixture.  Cook on medium until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Pour through mesh strainer into ice bath.  Mix in brown sugar and coffee grounds.  Now chill this mixture thoroughly (preferably overnight).

Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla.  Strain again to get out any chunks.  Then freeze according to ice cream maker’s directions.

Posted in Comfort Food, Desserts, Gluten Free, Ice Cream, Recipes | No Comments »

25 year olds have more fun

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

I woke up today.  It’s my first day of being fully 25.  Yesterday was in between.  It was an amazing, but confusing day.  … and I’m starting to think that I like this 25 year old business.  Here are a couple reasons why:

I’m having the most amazing hair day today.  That’s not braggy, is it?  I’m as shocked as anyone else, but I just woke up… and there it was.  Exactly how I wanted it to be.  And I didn’t do anything to it.  If this is any indicator of how this next year is going to go, I’m pretty ok with that.

Pumpkin ice cream.  I was going to make cupcakes for my birthday, but then my mom made me some this weekend.  So then I thought I’d make chocolate ice cream, and on Sunday, decided we’d go pumpkin instead.  I have no regrets.  You won’t either.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

So I like this David Lebovitz guy.  He really seems to know his stuff when it comes to ice cream.  … but sometimes his directions stress me out.  There’s not enough before-hand prep, and I’m afraid I’ll burn milk if I leave it on the stove when I’m separating eggs.  I’ve switched a few of the directions around, and I edited the spices a bit (because honestly, I don’t fresh grind much of anything).  Generally speaking, though, this ice cream is my adaptation of his adaptation, which gets confusing after awhile.  Here’s what I was working with.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon (gluten free) vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree (100% pure)

Make an ice bath: a big bowl with a bunch of ice in it, and a littler, metal bowl sitting inside of that.  Then put a mesh strainer on top.  Keep this handy.  You’ll use it later.

Separate your eggs and whisk up the yolks.  Keep ‘em close.  Mix the milk, cream, sugar, spices, and salt over medium heat.  Stir constantly, and heat until just starting to bubble.  Now pour some of the milk mixture into the egg yolks slowly, while whisking the eggs yolks.  Do this nice and slow so you don’t cook the eggs.  That’s gross.  Now pour the egg/milk mixture into the rest of the milk mixture.  Cook over low (let’s be honest, I got impatient and turned the heat up) until thickened.  If you’re questioning whether it’s thick yet, it’s not.  You’ll know.

Now strain the thick custard mixture into that littler metal bowl that’s sitting in the ice bath.  Stir until cool, then refrigerate until chilled (preferably overnight).  Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla, then strain again.  Now freeze according to ice maker directions.

This ice cream tastes like fall.  You won’t regret it.

Posted in Desserts, Gluten Free, Ice Cream, Recipes | 3 Comments »

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