Gluten Free Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Cake

Well, it looks like all of August has passed me by and we’re nearly through September.  I have to share with you a little change in my life. For those of you that don’t know, I was a Lieutenant in my fire department.  Early this Summer I began preparing for a promotion to Battalion Chief, which is kind of like a shift supervisor. This preparation pretty much wiped out a relaxing Summer. However, I got the promotion about a month ago. It has been a very exciting change but it has kept me busier than I imagined it would. I haven’t been cooking up too many new dishes to share on my blog. Although, I did have the opportunity to surprise my wife with a tasty cake for her birthday last month. My wife will sometimes buy Glutino chocolate sandwich cookies and break them up in Dairy Queen soft serve vanilla ice cream for dessert. This gave me the bright idea to make a cookies and cream ice cream birthday cake. Without further adieu, here it is:
Gluten Free Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Cake:
Cake:
1-2/3 cup GF flour mix
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Filling:
1 quart Dairy Queen vanilla soft serve ice cream
7-10 Glutino or Kinnikinnick chocolate sandwich cookies
Frosting:
2-Pillsbury vanilla tubsIn the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl or cup, combine the wet ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until thoroughly combined.Divide the batter between 2 buttered and gf floured 9 inch round pans. (on a side note, if you are looking for an easy tasty chocolate cake to snack on, use this same recipe but put it in an 8” square pan and bake at 35o degrees F for 35-45 minutes) For the ice cream cake, bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cakes, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer for at least 4 hours. It’s best to work on this cake a day ahead of time.At this point you need to work quickly to keep the ice cream from melting too much. I started out by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Next, remove one layer of cake from the freezer and discard the plastic wrap. Place the whole quart of vanilla ice cream in the bowl of your stand mixer, add about 7-10 cookies and crush them to bits with the paddle attachment. Working quickly, spread the ice cream onto the bottom layer of cake and then add the top layer on. Try to smooth the sides of the ice cream and fill in any gaps. It should look like a giant ice cream sandwich. Get the cake back in the freezer for about 2 hours. When you are ready to frost the cake, remove it from the freezer and work, wait for it………quickly!!!, to get a thin base layer of frosting on. The frosting doesn’t want to stick to the ice cream very well, just do the best you can. It doesn’t matter if the whole cake is covered at this point. Stick the cake back in the freezer for about an hour. Take the cake out and finish frosting. Now that you have a base layer of semi-frozen frosting on, the second layer of frosting should go on easily.Sprinkle some crushed cookies on top along with a few whole ones for decoration. Get the cake back in the freezer until you are ready to serve it. I didn’t want to mess with trying to take the cake off the baking sheet, so I just left it on. My wife was too excited to care anyway. There you go, one gluten free cookies and cream ice cream cake. Of course yours doesn’t have to be cookies and cream, this would work great with Butterfinger, peanut butter cups, etc. Enjoy!!!

Gluten Free Brown Butter Brownies

I’m no stranger to a batch of brownies. Quite often a cheap box of brownie mix and some vanilla ice cream make their way into the grocery cart when firefighters go shopping for their daily supplies. Even at home I have made some decent gluten free brownies from scratch. Not to mention, there are a couple good GF brownie mixes available as well. I have to tell you, the recipe I’m about to give you puts all other brownies to shame, even the non gluten free ones. As an added bonus, these brownies are super simple to make. Up until a couple of years ago, I had no idea what browned butter was. Now that I have tried it, I’ve used brown butter in several recipes. For those of you who don’t know what is so special about brown butter, allow me to fill you in. When you take butter and heat it in a saucepan over medium heat, it begins to melt and foam up. After 4-5 minutes, the butter begins to darken in color and “brown.” When the butter browns, it takes on a very nutty, earthy flavor that tastes great when used with chocolate.
Gluten Free Brown Butter Brownies
^{from Bon Appetit, modified to be gluten free}
10 Tbs unsalted butter (1-1/4 sticks)
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs GF flour mix
1/2-1 cup walnut piecesStart by pre heating your oven to 325 degrees F. Next, line an 8inch by 8inch pan with tin foil. Lightly coat the foil with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together, set aside.Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.I wanted to show the transformation of the butter here. After the butter melts it is still golden yellow and it begins to foam up.After, 4-5 minutes you will see the butter getting darker and “browning.” Make sure you stir the butter occasionally so it doesn’t burn. Once the butter reaches a deep brown color, remove from the heat.Next, add the sugar, cocoa powder, salt mix. Add in the vanilla and 2 tsps of water as well. Stir the mixture well. The mix will be a little grainy at this point. Let it cool down for about 5 minutes before adding the eggs, one at a time.After the eggs are mixed in, the batter will become smooth and shiny. Add in the gf flour and beat vigorously for about 60-70 strokes.Stir in the walnuts.Pour the batter into your prepared pan and throw it in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs on it. Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack. After they are cooled, you should be able to lift the brownies out of the pan by carefully lifting the tin foil on the sides of the pan.Now you have a whole pile of ooey gooey delicious gluten free brownies. Like I said before, these are the best brownies I’ve ever had.They even go great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!!!

Spiced Chocolate Torte Part 3…Finally

We have finally arrived at act 3, the chocolate ribbons.
Chocolate Ribbons
7 ounces white chocolate
7 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup of light corn syrup, divided I set up two double boilers. Melt the chocolate until smooth, then stir in 1/4 cup of corn syrup into each bowl of chocolate.Pour the chocolates onto a parchment lined baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes, until firm.Next , knead the white chocolate several times on a clean work surface. Shape the chocolate into a ball, wrap in plastic, and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Repeat with the semisweet chocolate.Cut the ball of chocolate into 4 pieces. Flatten each piece until you are able to run it through a pasta roller set to the widest opening. Run the chocolate through the pasta roller 3 times at the widest setting, folding the chocolate in thirds before each pass. Turn the roller to the next narrower setting and run chocolate through once. If you don’t have a pasta roller, you’ll have to roll it by hand. You want the chocolate to be about 1/16th of an inch thick.Next, you’ll need to cut out four 8x1 inch strips of white chocolate and four 8x1/2 inch strips of semisweet. I cut out one 8x1 inch strip of parchment paper and one 8x1/2 strip of paper to use as templates. I put the chocolate on the cutting board and used my paper templates to help me cut uniform strips. Also, I found that a pizza cutter worked great for cutting the chocolate into strips.Now, just lay the semisweet strips on top of the white ones. Run the 4 strips from the base of the cake to the center as pictured above.We’re almost there. Using the same method from above, cut thirteen 6-1/2x1 inch strips of white chocolate and thirteen 6-1/2x1/2 inch strips of semisweet. Run four strips of ribbon from the top center of the cake over the sides about half way down. Cut the bottom of the strips at a 45 degree angle to look more like ribbons. These strips should run between the strips that run from the center to the base. The two of the shorter strips are pictured above to the left and right of the full length strip. The next 9 strips of chocolate will be used to make the bow on top. Fold 8 of the chocolate ribbon over into a bow piece. Use a knife to cut the ends of the bow into a “V” shape (as seen on the piece of cake pictured below. Arrange the eight bow pieces on top of the cake. Take the final ribbon and roll it in a loop to place in the center of the bow.Whew!!!! All that is left to do is impress your friends and family. Enjoy!!!

Spiced Chocolate Torte Part 2

Let's move on to Part 2 of the Bon Appetit cake. This cake has a rich, rum buttercream frosting and a thick chocolate glaze covering the whole thing. Here we go.

Rum Buttercream Frosting
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
4 egg yolks
1-1/2 cups butter (3 sticks) cut into small pieces, room temp
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 dark rum

Chocolate Glaze
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks) cut into 12 pieces
2 Tbs honey
3/4 tsp instant espresso powderFor the buttercream frosting, stir sugar and corn syrup together in a sauce pan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg yolks until pale and thick. Gradually beat in the hot sugar syrup. Continue beating until the mixture is cool, about 5 minutes.
Beat in the butter 1 piece at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next.
Blend in the melted chocolate, then the rum.
Reserve 1/2 cup of buttercream. Place 1 layer of cake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread 1/2 of the remaining buttercream on top of the first layer. Place the second cake on top of the first and cover with the remaining buttercream. Next, place the third layer of cake on top.
Use the reserved buttercream to fill in any gaps where the cake layers meet. Try to make the sides as smooth as possible. Finally, freeze the cake until the buttercream is firm, about 2 hours.
For the glaze, stir all the ingredients together in a double boiler until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir glaze for about 5 minutes, until it is thickened.
Remove cake from the freezer. Pour about 3/4 of the glaze over the top of the cake. Tilt the cake back and forth so the glaze runs down the sides. Smooth the sides with a spatula. Use the remaining glaze to coat the cake where necessary.
Chill the cake until the glaze is set, about 20-30 minutes
You're almost done. stay tuned for Part 3

Spiced Chocolate Torte Part 1

I was certainly hoping to have this recipe posted before Christmas. Unfortunately, my computer crash prevented that. On the bright side, we got a shiny new computer for Christmas. Although it’s not quite as exciting when you have to pay for it yourself. Let’s talk about this cake. This cake just jumped of the cover of December’s issue of Bon Appetit. The letter from the editor inside the magazine gave me all the reasons I needed try this cake. The cake first appeared on Bon Appetit’s cover in 1984. Since then “it remains our most requested recipe.” I knew I wanted had to try this cake, until………. I read the recipe. After I read the recipe, a few thoughts went through my head. Most of them were cynical and skeptical in nature. To help you understand, let me highlight some of the ingredients going into this cake; 7.5 sticks of butter, 12 eggs, over 2.5 pounds of chocolate, and 1 cup of corn syrup plus nearly 3 cups of sugar. It’s OK, take a moment to catch your breath. So, my first thought was: If you want to pinpoint when the obesity epidemic in this country started, I believe it very well could have been December 1984, when this recipe was first published. My second thought after reading the recipe was: “it remains our most requested recipe.” Really?? My final thought: it must be incredible, let’s do this!

The cake is quite an undertaking so I ‘m breaking it up into three separate posts. Part 1 will be the cake recipe. Part 2 will be the butter cream frosting and the chocolate glaze. Finally, part 3 will be the ribbon decorations.

Spiced Chocolate Torte Wrapped in Chocolate Ribbons:
Modified to be Gluten Free
Cake:
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks)room temp
2 cups of granulated sugar
8 eggs, separated, room temp
10 ounces, bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), melted, room temp
1-1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1-1/3 cups gf flour mix plus extra for pans
1/8 tsp xanthan gum
1/8 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and gf flour 3- 9inch round pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a piece of parchment paper. Butter and flour the paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the gf flour, xanthan gum, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.Using a double boiler, melt chocolate. Take melted chocolate off the heat and allow to cool to near room temperature. To save a little money, I used a mix of semi sweet chocolate chips along with chopped semi sweet chocolate from a bar.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the 8 egg yolks 1 at a time.
Next, blend in the melted chocolate. Slowly mix in the chopped pecans and vanilla extract. Gently mix in the flour in 4 batches. The batter will be thick and dense. In a separate bowl, use a hand mixer to whip the 8 egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until medium peaks form. Gently fold in 1/4 of the egg whites into the batter. Then fold in the remaining egg whites.Divide the batter equally between the 3 prepared cake pans. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a cooling rack. It may help to run a knife around the side of each cake before inverting onto a rack.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Gluten Free Brownies

I have a terrible sweet tooth. Anything with butter, sugar, and chocolate is always welcome in my home. Since brownies have an abundance of all three of my favorite ingredients, they are welcome house guests. Now you may be thinking, "hey Brian there are all these gluten free brownies mixes available, why would you make them from scratch?" Good question. A- They are super easy to make. And B- These brownies taste better than any store bought mix I have ever tried. You just have to make them to see for yourself.
Gluten Free Brownies:
from Joy of Baking modified to be GF
5 ounces (140g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate- chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick or 113 grams)- cut into pieces
2 Tbs (15g) cocoa powder
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup (95g) gluten free flour mix
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp xanthan gum
It's best to get your ingredients all together before you start. Whisk the salt and xanthan gum into your gf flour mix and you can add the cocoa powder to the granulated sugar.Place a stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water (double boiler.) Melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth.
Take the bowl off the heat and stir in the sugar and cocoa powder. Next, whisk in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Finally, stir in the gf flour mix that has the salt and xanthan gum in it.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the brownies mix into a lightly greased 8inch X 8inch pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!!!
For more gluten free recipes visit Linda over at The Gluten Free Homemaker

Gluten Free Chocolate Pudding

When was the last time you made chocolate pudding that didn't involve a box of brown powder? I have tried a few scratch pudding recipes over the years and they all seem overly complicated. So, I often default to the boxed mixes also. There's no shame in it. Convenience is often king. I have to tell you though. I found a simple homemade recipe for you to try out. The pudding is smooth and creamy, with just the right amount of chocolate.
Chocolate Pudding:
from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 6
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk (I used 1% milk)
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a double boiler (a stainless steel bowl set over simmering water)mix together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Next, whisk in the milk.
Stir frequently for 10-15 minutes. The milk mixture will thicken up and begin to coat the back of a spoon. Add the chocolate.
Continue stirring for 3-4 minutes until the chocolate is completely melted and mixed into the milk. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Pour the pudding into small ramekins or serving dishes. To prevent a skin from forming on top, cover with plastic wrap by pressing the wrap down on top of the pudding. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Top with a little whipped cream and enjoy your victory over powdered pudding mix.