Gluten Free Chocolate Coconut Cake with Garbanzo Beans

Yes, this luscious, perfectly textured chocolate cake is a gluten free, dairy free, high protein, healthy treat. The secret ingredient and star of this recipe is a 19 ounce can of humble garbanzo beans. Chickpeas work great in gluten free desserts as a stand in for all purpose flour. I previously posted recipes for Gluten Free Banana Oat Bread and Gluten Free Garbanzo Bean Pear Bars with Dried Cranberries, both made with garbanzo beans. Beans are an excellent alternative to sometimes hard to find gluten free flour mixes. Not only are they inexpensive, but they are a healthy high protein substitute for flour and produce a great crumb texture in your baked goods. I recently made this cake for a friend who took it to the office. None of the taste testers could tell that they were eating garbanzo bean cake. No lingering bean taste at all, just moist, delicious, chocolaty goodness! A tasty finishing touch for this cake is dairy free, gluten free ganache. I used coconut milk instead of heavy cream, but you could also substitute soy milk.

Ingredients
1 19 ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained 
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup coconut water
1/2 teaspoon gluten free coconut flavoring
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 unsweetened coconut, shredded
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder


Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat an 8 inch cake pan with cooking spray. 
Using a food processor or blender grind garbanzo beans with coconut water and coconut oil until smooth and creamy. This may take a while and you'll have to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times. It's important that the bean mixture is as smooth as possible. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add beaten eggs, coconut flavoring, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to the bean mixture. Stir until well combined.
In a small bowl mix together shredded coconut, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to the bean and egg mixture and gently stir to combine.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes and turn out onto wire rack.
Frost cooled cake with gluten free, dairy free coconut chocolate ganache. 


Gluten Free, Dairy Free Ganache with Coconut Milk
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 cups chocolate chips
2 tablespoons corn syrup


In a small sauce pan bring coconut milk and syrup to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Let stand for a few minutes and then mix until smooth. Let ganache cool slightly before using. Pour over cooled cake and use a spatula or knife to spread evenly. Let the ganache set before serving the cake.

Gluten Free Polenta Cakes with Dried Cranberries

You can see that this is not really a cake recipe, but a recipe for delicious, light and puffy cookies, very much reminiscent of tea cakes. On my gluten free quest I came across a recipe from Elizabeth Minett's blog Haute Appetit. I slightly modified her cookies and added brown sugar, cranberries, rum, and candied orange peel  to the batter. I also kept the cookies light and airy by sifting the dry ingredients, beating the butter only lightly, and gently mixing the dry and wet ingredients until the dough is just barely holding together. Remember not to overwork the dough when forming small walnut size balls, and keep baking time to 8-10 minutes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons  pure rum (do not use flavored rum as it may contain gluten)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup candied orange peel, chopped
1  1/2 cup brown rice flour, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup polenta
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until combined, but not fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and rum and mix until smooth. 
In a separate bowl stir together sifted rice flour, cornstarch, polenta, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture on low speed until just combined. Stir in cranberries and candied orange peel by hand.
Form walnut size balls and place on prepared sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes and let cool on wire racks.
Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Originally a "three ingredient cookie" that's quite popular on numerous baking blogs and food websites. The flourless peanut butter cookie is at home on the food network, allrecipes, epicurious, and food.com, just to name a few. Woman's Day magazine features the humble cookie covered in rich chocolate ganache and dipped in chopped peanuts. An all American classic that's not only easy to make, but only requires peanut butter, eggs, and sugar. Well, a pinch of baking soda too, to give your cookies some lift during baking and lighten the texture. There's really no need to improve the delicious simplicity of these chewy cookies, but if you feel like mixing things up a bit, try adding chopped peanuts, chocolate chips or cocoa powder.
I modified the original recipe and used 1/4 cup cocoa powder, brown sugar, and increased the peanut butter by 1/4 of a cup.

Makes 24 cookies


Ingredients
1 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together peanut butter and brown and granulated sugar, and egg until well combined. Stir in cocoa powder and baking soda. Form 24 balls and place on prepared cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes or until cookies are puffed, but still soft to touch in center.
Cool on sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack. Cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container for several days.

Gluten Free Chocolate Coconut Bites

The response to some of my previously posted gluten free cookie recipes has been absolutely overwhelming. It's eye-opening how many of you are searching for wheat-free, sugar-free, fat-free, vegan, or just generally healthier versions of old favorites. The number of commercially available gluten free flour varieties and cake mixes has dramatically grown over the last few years. You'll probably find a section dedicated to gluten free products in the aisles of your local supermarkets. Specialty markets like Whole Foods, Fresh and Easy, Trader Joe's, Sprouts (most of them in Southern California) and health food stores are usually very well assorted and carry not only gluten free ingredients, but also prepared foods. You'll find hamburger buns, waffles, cakes, a variety of different breads, and other baked goods in the frozen section; cookies, crackers, pasta, soup, and plenty more in the gluten free aisle. Some tastier than others, but all pretty expensive. A box of Betty Crocker gluten free cake mix is priced anywhere from $5.00 - $7.00. Online sources such as vitacost.cost.com, udisglutenfree.com, bobsredmill.com, and amazon.com tend to be much more competitive and most offer coupons and free shipping.

You may be better off experimenting with ingredients you already have in your pantry or searching for dessert recipes that are naturally wheat free. Cocoa powder, almond meal, polenta, shredded coconut, and beans all make great substitutions for flour. Yes, you heard right, beans! Garbanzo beans work really well, but as I found out this weekend, so do kidney beans. Puree a can of drained beans in the food processor and you'll end up with a smooth paste, which not only replaces flour, but also any added fat in your cake batter. The use of beaten egg whites results in a fluffy, light, almost sponge cake like texture.
I wanted to make lemon cake, but then the dark red color of the beans threw me off and I had to change plans. Can't make a red lemon cake, I thought and turned the recipe into chocolate coconut bites. Gluten free baking is very much about trial and error. Some recipes will turn out fantastic, while others will barely be edible. Even though it can be frustrating at times, don't give up and keep experimenting.

Ingredients
1 14 ounce can kidney beans, drained
1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda
3 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1/4 cup coconut, shredded, sweetened
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 egg whites. at room temperature 


Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 12 inch baking pan. 
Using a food processor or immersion blender puree beans until very smooth. Keep scraping down the sides of your mixing bowl. Make sure the texture of the bean paste is fine and that there are no lumps. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
With  mixer beat 1/2 cup of sugar and egg yolks for about 3-4 minutes or until light and creamy.
Add bean mixture, baking powder, cocoa powder, coconut, and almond meal to egg mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined.
Beat egg whites with remaining  1/2 cup sugar until stiff. By hand gently fold beaten egg whites into batter. Do not overmix, as you want the tiny air bubbles in the egg whites to expand during baking and create a light texture and delicate crumb.
Spread into prepared pan and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and turn out onto wire rack. When cooled completely, cut into small squares and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips

During my search for a dense and chewy flourless peanut butter cookie I came across a recipe from LeeLovesToCook on BetterRecipes.com. I'd tried several different versions before, but after baking a batch of this one, I have to say that it is the best I've found so far. Bake them for about 7-8 minutes if you like soft and chewy cookies, or leave them in the oven for a few minutes longer to satisfy the crunchy cookie aficionado.Not only are the cookies great tasting, but best of all, they're also gluten free. Make sure to use gluten free oats if you're making the cookies for someone with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Even though pure oats are generally considered gluten free, they can be contaminated in the field or in facilities that also process wheat, barley, and rye. Bob's Red Mill makes different varieties of gluten free oat products (rolled, quick-rolled, steel cut, and oat flour), which are available in most supermarkets and health food stores. Trader Joe's  and Fresh and Easy carry their own brands of gluten free oats and are always a great source for your baking needs.
                         

                     

I tweaked the recipe just a bit and substituted  Splenda for the granulated sugar and used chunky peanut butter instead of creamy.

Makes 48 cookies


Ingredients 
1 12 ounce jar chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup Splenda or granulated sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, glutenfree
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped
1 cup chocolate chips
4 1/2 cups gluten free oats (Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats)


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Combine peanut butter, butter, sugar, and Splenda in large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract, honey, and baking soda.With mixer on low speed blend in oats, peanuts, and chocolate chips.
Shape into walnut size balls and place on prepared sheets. Fatten slightly with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 7-10 minutes depending on desired crispness. Let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute and transfer to a wire rack.
Store cookies in air tight container. If you like your cookies to stay moist and soft, add half an apple to the cookie tin. Remove apple the next day.

Gluten Free Baked Rice Pudding with Apples

Ever since I was a little kid, rice pudding has been one of my favorite desserts. There is definitively a comforting quality about rich and smooth cinnamon scented pudding. Rice grains cooked to perfection in milk or cream, slightly sweetened with honey, and served with dark chocolate shavings on top. I preferred mine warm and used to watch with fascination how the chocolate was slowly melting and oozing into the rice. In the limited culinary world of a six year old, there was only one thing that could top that experience, which was baked rice pudding with layers of apples in between and served with warm vanilla sauce. Over the years I came to realize that this was one of my mom's go-to recipes. It could easily be prepared ahead of time, fruits could be swapped depending on what she had available in her garden, and despite its simple ingredients it made quite an elegant presentation. Separating the eggs and folding in the beaten egg whites makes for an airy souffle like texture.

Those of you with any background in Austrian cooking might recognize this excellent dessert as the humble "Reisauflauf". Culinary Austria has a rich and diverse history when it comes to desserts or "Mehlspeisen" (which literally means food made from flour) as we call it. There's a myriad of recipes out there, from delicious fruit dumplings, souffles, sweet noodle dishes, to baked puddings to name just a few. Vienna, the cultural melting pot during the Austro-Hungarian Empire became the birthplace of dishes that had their origins in Germany, Bohemia, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and other areas of the Balkans. As cooks from every corner of the country moved to the capital city, new and unusual ingredients and cooking methods made their way into the kitchens of Austrian households. Many of the elaborate hot desserts originated as main dishes and were considered poor man's food. Heavier and much simpler versions, lacking the sophistication of beaten egg whites, vanilla extract, and confectioners' sugar were served. Potatoes, cornmeal, and stale bread often took the place of white flour. Typically, a pot of vegetable soup and a baked sweet dish were prepared on meatless Fridays, but depending on the economic status of the household, maybe several times a week. As costly and refined ingredients, which were previously considered a luxury, became more widely available to the general public, the recipes evolved.

Today, you'll enjoy the delicious "Mehlspeisen" for dessert or with afternoon coffee in the charming coffeehouses of Vienna. My all time favorite is "Cafe Central", which first opened its doors in 1876. It's been called "the home away from home" for the Viennese intellectual establishment during the late 19th century. The regulars included Adolf Loos, Sigmund Freud, Arthur Schnitzler, Vladimir Lenin, and Leon Trotsky. Still today a popular spot to enjoy "Kaffee mit Schlag" (coffee with whipped cream) and a slice of flaky home-made Apfelstrudel while listening to live piano music, the cafe caters to a variety of guests. You'll find elderly Viennese couples quietly reading the daily newspapers, groups of chatty young students working on their laptops, business people and bankers from the near-by offices, and your share of tourists from all over the world.

As you walk through the streets of the city you'll find coffeehouses on every block. Not all are grand and legendary, but they do offer the same relaxed atmosphere, inviting hospitality, great tasting coffee, and spectacular sweets.

I hope you didn't think I forgot about the rice pudding recipe. Going through my image files was a bit of a sentimental journey for me and I got completely sidetracked. I took those pictures on my last trip to Austria when I was visiting my mom and my sister. Hopefully, you enjoyed the sights of the city and the quick glance into the culinary history of the country.

Anyway, here is the recipe:


Ingredients
1/2  cup and 2 tablespoons short grain rice
pinch of salt
1  3/4 cups whole milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 cinnamon stick
1/8 teaspoon lemon peel, finely grated
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup raisins
2 egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar


3 medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice


Preparation

Bring rice and salt to a boil with 3 cups of water. Let cook for a bout 2 - 3 minutes and drain.

Return to pot and add cold milk, butter, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon stick. Set aside and let cool.

In a bowl combine apples with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and lemon juice.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

With a mixer at medium speed beat egg yolks, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon rind until light and creamy. Using clean beaters and a different bowl, beat egg whites with 1/4 cup granulated sugar until stiff.

In a large bowl combine cooked rice, egg yolk mixture, and raisins. Gently fold in egg whites.

Spoon 2/3 of the rice mixture into prepared dish and top with apple slices. Cover with remaining rice mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until rice pudding is golden brown and puffy.

Let cool slightly and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve with vanilla sauce.

Gluten Free Garbanzo Bean Pear Bars with Dried Cranberries

This is really a continuation of the gluten free banana bread post. Same basic recipe, but different delicious flavor combinations. These gluten free pear bars are made with garbanzo beans instead of wheat flour. Garbanzo beans or chick peas produce an excellent crumb and a lovely moist texture. I used pureed pears in the batter, but applesauce, crushed pineapple, or pumpkin work equally well. Just as with the banana bread, there is no noticeable garbanzo bean flavor in this healthy treat. I added 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, but you could leave it out and prepare a fat free version. The recipe is just enough to make 9 large bars, since not everyone in your family might be on a gluten free diet. Be prepared though, to double it next time, because these bars are just as mouthwatering as their high calorie cousins.

Ingredients
1 cup canned or cooked garbanzo beans
2 pears, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon coconut oil (liquid form)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup quick cooking gluten free oats
1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 cup almonds, chopped 


Cinnamon and ginger complement the flavor of pears really well, but you can experiment with other spices, such as nutmeg, cloves, or cardamom. Their earthy flavors are quite strong though, so a pinch goes a long way.

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat an 8x8 inch pan with cooking spray.
Using a food processor or blender puree the beans, one pear, and coconut oil until smooth and creamy. This may take a while and you'll have to scrape down the sides of your bowl several times. It's important for the mixture to be as smooth as possible. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add eggs and brown sugar and stir until well combined.
In a small bowl mix together cinnamon, ginger, cornstarch, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cranberries, and almonds. Add dry ingredients to bean mixture and gently stir to combine. Fold in remaining chopped pear.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack. When completely cool, cut into squares.

Gluten Free Banana Oat Bread

Delicious gluten free orange scented banana bread made with garbanzo beans? You heard right! I've been experimenting with the humble chickpea as a wheat substitute and have to admit that this is my favorite flour replacement so far. Besides banana bread, I made pear bars and an excellent chocolate cake. They all had great crumb texture and came out deliciously moist. Best of all, none of my "test subjects" could tell that I had used garbanzo beans in the batter. You'll see, that there is absolutely no noticeable chickpea taste. If anything, the beans will add a sweet nutty flavor to your baked goods. I used 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in my versions, but you could very well make them fat free. They're also great for vegans, since they don't contain animal products. Depending on your taste you could add nuts, raisins, cranberries or chocolate chunks to the banana bread. The one I made is simple and plain, because I really wanted to get the full taste and make sure there was no lingering garbanzo bean flavor.

Ingredients
2  1/4 cups canned or cooked garbanzo beans
2 tablespoons coconut oil (liquid form)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon orange rind, finely grated
1 cup mashed bananas
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup quick cooking gluten free oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda



Preparation 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.
Using a food processor or blender grind garbanzo beans with orange juice and oil until smooth and creamy.
This may take a while and you'll have to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times. It's essential that the bean mixture is as smooth as possible. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add mashed bananas, beaten eggs, vanilla extract, orange rind, and brown sugar to bean mixture. Stir until well combined.
In a small bowl mix together cinnamon, cornstarch, oats, baking powder, and baking soda.
Add dry ingredients to bean mixture and gently stir to combine.
Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack.

Gluten Free Almond Cookies

Not only are these deliciously crunchy almond cookies gluten free, but they're "almost" fat free too. Best of all, you need less than five different ingredients to bake these little treats. Don't be alarmed by the fact that they're quite hard and crisp. Their firm texture makes them great  "dunking" cookies and they are best enjoyed dipped in a cup of hot coffee or better yet, a glass of dessert wine.

Ingredients
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg white, at room temperature,  lightly beaten
1 cup almonds, blanched and finely ground + additional whole almonds to decorate
pinch of salt
couple of drops of pure almond extract
confectioners' sugar fur dusting


Preparation
Preheat oven to 250 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Combine ground almonds, confectioners' sugar and salt in a bowl.
Mix lightly beaten egg white with almond extract and add to the almond/sugar mixture.
Combine into a smooth dough and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Shape chilled dough into walnut size balls and place on prepared cookie sheet, spaced apart about 2 inches. Top each cookie with a whole almond and flatten slightly with your fingers.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet half way through . Let cookies cool on wire rack and dust with confectioners' sugar. Store cookies in an air tight container.

Gluten Free Coconut Rice Pudding with Chocolate Chunks and Caramelized Bananas

This easy rice pudding recipe is the first in a series of gluten free desserts. I compiled recipes that are "naturally" gluten free, which means they don't require flour or other wheat, rye, and barley products in the first place. Eventually, I started experimenting with traditional recipes, worked with substitutions and tweaked them until they came out just right. Gluten free baking is definitely a work in progress and there's much trial and error. The most important thing is not to get discouraged, when your baked goods don't come out as expected. Don't be afraid of the occasional mishap and keep experimenting.

The GF section of my blog will have recipes for cookies, cakes, hot desserts, ice cream, and puddings, all of them so delicious that you'd never guess they're gluten free. So, if you are gluten intolerant or have been put on a gluten free diet for other reasons, rest assured that you can still enjoy a variety of delicious and flavorful desserts.

Ingredients for Rice Pudding

1/2 cup short grain rice

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 cup coconut milk

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup flaked coconut 

3 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped

Caramelized Bananas

2 bananas, cut into diagonal slices about 2 inch thick

1/2 cup of sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon water

1 teaspoon pure rum (do not use flavored rum as the flavoring may contain gluten) 

Preparation

Bring rice and salt to a boil with 3 cups of water. Let cook for a bout 2 - 3 minutes and drain.

Return to pot and add cold milk, coconut milk, butter, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon stick. Whisk together egg yolk, granulated sugar and coconut. Add to rice mixture, stirring briskly. Do not allow the pudding to boil. Cover pot and remove from heat. Stir chocolate chunks into cooled mixture. The pudding can be refrigerated at this point for later use. 

Melt butter in small skillet over low heat. Add sugar, water, and rum and continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly, until a light colored caramel has formed. Add sliced bananas and gently coat with caramel. Cook for about 2 minutes until heated through and slightly softened.

Serve pudding in small bowls or glasses, top with caramelized bananas and sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes. Makes 4 - 6 servings.