Gluten free Banana Chocolate Torte

what you need for the cake base:

2/3 cup of gluten free cake flour  ( or this gluteb free blend http://www.food.com/recipe/i-cant-believe-its-not-gluten-gluten-free-cake-flour-mix-189120 )

1/4 ground hazelnut (optional)

3 eggs separated

1 teasp. gluten free real vanilla extract

1 teasp. rum ( 1/2 or rum extract)

1 1/2 pure cocoa powder

1/2 teasp. gluten free baking powder

pinch salt, pinch cinnamon

1/2 sugar

 

 

set the oven to a 425 fahrenheit or 220 celcius.

line a springfrom with parchment paper.

in a bowl, beat egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, salt, cinnamon, rum and vanilla extract + 1 tablesp. cold water with a hand mixer, until you have a creamy pale mixture. add the coco powder. beat the egg whites with the rest of the sugar. add the baking powder and flour to the egg yolk mixture, mix well. add half of the beaten egg whites to the mixture, mix well but slowly. add the hazelnut. now with a spatula fold in bit by bit the egg white into the cake batter. pour batter into the springform and bake for about 10-12 min ( depends on your oven)

let it cool of in the pan for 5 min. with a knife go around the cake to loosen it. turn the cake on a cooling rack. with a cold rag, wipe over the parchment paper so you can easily and carefully take it off. let it cool off completely.

what you need for your cream:

3  ripe bananas

1 package gluten free hot cooking pudding

milk

1/4 cinnamon

1 cup curd ( or mascarpone)

1/2 sour cream

4 tableps. sugar ( more or less depends how ripe you bananas are and how sweet you like your cream to be…stevia is an option as well agave nectar

1/2 teasp gelatin soaked in 1 teasp.  cold water

your favorite ganache recipe

 

cook the pudding as intructed but with half of the milk. when the pudding is done ( still hot) add your curd, sour cream, sugar and mix well. now for a few  sec. ( 10 sec) heat the gelatin in the microwave till it is melted. add 2 tablesp. of the pudding-curd mixture to the melted gelatin and stir. add it back to the mixture. add the cinnamon and blend all well together.

add a cake ring around the cake base. slice the bananas in half and spread them out onto to the cake base. now cover with the pudding-curd mixture and smooth it out. let it sit in the fridge for about 3 hours. loosen the cake with a small knife and drizzle with your ganache.

enjoy, good luck

Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes with Rum Frosting

 

what you need:

3/4 cup or 100gr. whole grain flour ( i used spelt flour)

3/4 cup or 100gr. sugar

7 tablesp. melted butter, cooled

1/2 baking powder

1/4 baking soda

2 eggs

1/2 vanilla extract

1 teasp. ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/2 teasp.  fresh ground nutmeg

1/2 teasp. ground ginger

1 cup fresh pumpkin puree ( it makes a huge difference to the flavor and thanks to skinny-bites.com there is a easy way on how to do it :  http://www.skinny-bits.com/2011/09/how-to-make-pumpkin-puree.html  )

 

for the filling you need:

1 cup fresh pumpkin puree

1 box of hot cooking vanilla pudding

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablesp. sugar

1/2 cinnamon

1/4 nutmeg

1/4 rum extract

 

for the frosting:

2 tablesp. heavy cream

1/2 teasp. vanilla extract

1 teasp. rum extract

pinch salt

2 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 powdered sugar

 

heat up your oven to 350 fahrenheit or 180 celcius. mix with an hand blender, eggs, butter, sugar, spices and the vanilla extract to a creamy mixture. now add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to the mixture, to make it a fluffy batter.

bake for 20-25 min, depending on your oven. let them cool completely.

while the cupcakes cool, make your pudding as instructed on the package, just with a little less milk (1/4 cup). when done cooking the pudding add the pumpkin and the spices and sugar. cover the pudding  ( so it wont get any skin) and let it cool off.

when cooled completely, beat the heavy cream till you have a stiff whipping cream. fold the whipping cream into the pudding. fill your cooled cupcakes with the pudding cream. i used an pastry bag like in this how to video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zi9aU63h7w

now the frosting. beat the butter with an electric mixer on high speed. reduce the speed and add the powdered sugar, beat until smooth. add the cream, vanilla, rum and salt to the frosting and beat on high speed, until light and fluffy

good luck

 

ps: i used this recipe from adventures cooking to make my brittle  http://adventurescooking.blogspot.ca/2010/03/autumn-brittle.html

Apple vanilla-yogurt Streusel Cake

 

 

 

you need:

1 cup butter or 2 sticks

3 cups flour

3/4 cup hazelnut brittle chips

2 cups sugar + 1 cup extra

1 tablesp. vanilla extract

1/4 teasp. salt

5 eggs

1/4 teasp. cinnamon

2 tabelsp. ground hazelnut

2 pounds apples 

2 tablesp. lemon juice

1 package of hot cooking vanilla pudding

1 cup greek yogurt

 

 

add in an bowl butter, flour, brittle chips, the 2 cups sugar,salt,  vanilla extract and mix it with an dough hook. take the half of the dough, and add it to an butterd and floured spring from pan. press the dough into the pan, to make it an even bottom. sprinkle the hazelnut over the bottom.

peel the apples and divide them into eights. mix the apples in a bowl with lemon juice, cinnamon.  add the apples over the bottom evenly. mix the yogurt, pudding mix, sugar and eggs to an creamy mixture. pour over the apples. take the other half of the dough and sprinkle the streusel over the cake.

 

bake  for 350 fahrenheit or 180 celcius for about 50 min.

 

let the cake cool in the pan. when cool, loosen the cake with a knife and garnish with powderd sugar.

 

enjoy good luck!

 

 

 

♥ Macaroons ♥ (Easy Basic Recipe)

♥ Macaroons ♥

Easy Basic Recipe

What you need:

3/4 cup or 12 tablesp. of   ground almonds  ( or ground unsweetend coconut, ground haselnut etc)

2 egg whites ( large size, temp. and age dosn’t matter)

a pinch of cream of tarter

1 cup powderd sugar

1/4 sugar ( i used vanilla flavored sugar)

1/2 teasp. of any flavoring or extract you like: almond, vanilla, coconut….

and any fluffy crusting buttercream, i have used chocolate since i made vanilla macaroons.

(for the color of the macaroons in the pic, i used 11 red +3 yellow of food coloring)

 

 

set the oven to 325 fahrenheit or 165 celcius.

 

combine the ground almond ( or else) and the powdersugar in a bowl  and set a side. in a clean, grease-free bowl of a stand mixer, whip the egg whites on low speed using the wire whip attachment until frothy. increase the speed to medium-high and add the pinch of cream of tarter and slowly add the sugar. continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

add the stiff egg white to the bowl with the dry ingredients and fold it in with a whisk, it takes about 30 folds to all is combine ( DO NOT OVER FOLD).

scape the batter into a pastry bag fitted with the tip and pipe mounds, about 1 1/4 inches across, at least 2 inches apart on the pans. rap the pans firmly (and flatly) on the counter to release any air bubbles. bake for 10-12 min, or until the cookies are dry on the top. they should be smooth and gently domed and the insides will still be soft and a little moist.

let them cool completely on a cookie rack. fill a pastry bag fitted with the buttercream of your choice and pipe a quarter sized mound of buttercream into half of the shells, then sandwich them with their naked halves.

 

Good luck

 

tipp: macaroons will taste better even the next day… store them refrigerated for up to a week. If at all possible, set them out at room temperature for a few hours before consuming.

 

Apricot Tart-Tatin

 

 

what you need:

100gr. or 7 tablesp. of soft butter

1 egg ( medium)

pinch of salt

200 gr.  or 1 1/4 cup of flour ( i used whole grain spelt flour) and some extra to roll out

60 gr. or 1/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean scraped out

 

topping:

2 pounds or 1 kg. of fresh and ripe apricots

4 tablesp. or about 57 gr. soft butter

1/2 cup or 100gr. sugar

 

cream the butter. add sugar, vanilla bean, egg, and salt. mix till creamy and fluffy. add the flour and let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 min.

cover the tart mould with butter and sprinkle with the half of the sugar, heat the oven to 220 celcius or 425 fahrenheit. cut the apricots in half and  layer them closely in the mould, and sprinkle the apricots with the rest of the sugar. cover with aluminium foil, and bake for 15 min.

take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out to the size of the mould ( to cover it up). take a fork and poke some holes in the dough. after done baking the apricots for 15 min, take it out and press the dough slighty on the baked apricots and edges. set the oven back to 200 celcius or 400 fahrenheit and bake the tart for 20-25 min. keep an eye on it. golden brown is what we looking for. take the tarte out and let it rest for 3-5 min. carefully overturn it on to a platter…

 

good luck

 

chocolate mousse cake

 

 

 

what you need:

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups or  180 gr.  flour ( sifted)

1 1/2 cups or 180 gr. sugar

1 pinch of salt

3 tablesp. of coco powder

1/4 teasp. nutmeg

1/2 cinnamon

1/2 teasp. baking powder

1/2 vanilla extract

6 tablesp. warm water mixed with 1/2 teasp. instant coffee

grease and flour to dust the pan

 

prep. your pan and heat the oven to 350 fahrenheit or 180 celcius.

separate the eggs. mix the egg yolks with the warm water, sugar, salt, coco powder and all the spices, and beat till it’s creamy. mix the  flour and the baking powder into the mixture. beat the egg whites till they are very stiff and you could flip them over without falling out.

now carfully fold in the egg whites ( in 3 portions) in to the batter. soon as you done, bake it in your pan, for about 30 min. keep checking ( leave the door closed!!!)

let it cool in the pan for about 10 min, take it out of the pan and let it cool completly.

 

 

for the mousse i then used the recipe from martha stewart  http://www.marthastewart.com/315307/individual-chocolate-mousse

i just added choc. splinters, 1/4 teasp. cinnamon to the recipe.

i took a cake ring and put it around my cooled cake, spread the mousse on and let it cool in the fridge for several hours. with a very thin knife i went along the ring to loosen the cake from the ring.

(decoration was made out of molding choc.)

 

good luck

 

creamy cheescake

for the crust you will need:

1 egg

1 stick or 100gr. of butter

1/2 cup or 114gr of sugar

1 teas. vanilla flavor or 1 pack of 

vanilla sugar (8gr.)

a pinch of salt

1 cup or 142gr. all-purpose flour

mix all these ingredients together ( by hand), until you have an dough, feeling a bit like clay. spread the the dough out (by hand ) in an buttered and floured springform (regular size)….put aside till the filling is ready.

for the filling you will need:

2 eggs

1 pinch of salt

2 tablesspoons of vanilla sugar or 1 1/2 of vanilla extract

3 tablespoon of flour

1 tablespoon of melted butter or oil

mix all those ingredients together and then add:

 5 oz. or 150gr.  of plain yoghurt

7 oz or 200gr. of Crème fraîche ( if you can’t find it, use sour cream)

18 oz or 500gr.  curd (cheese)

mix all well together and fill into the prepared crust.

bake for 40 min either on 400 fahrenheit or 200 celsius, let cool off completly!!  serve or with any fresh fruit sauce of your choice

Good luck