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Wednesday, October 19, 2016

GLUTEN FREE DAIRY FREE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES with ORANGE CREAM FILLING



Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     Whoopie Pies are two cake like cookies with a creamy filling sandwiched between them.  I first came across them in the Amish area of Lancaster County Pennsylvania.  These cookies come in all flavors and sizes.  Most commonly found are chocolate ones with a vanilla cream or marshmallow filling and oatmeal with marshmallow filling, but nowadays you can find them in a large variety of flavors.  Most are large, about 4” across, but many are small, about 2” across.  This time I made small pumpkin flavored ones to be in keeping with this autumn season.  
     I converted a wheat recipe into gluten free one by changing the flours, adding some xanthan gum and adjusting the leavening.  I find that orange pairs well with pumpkin so I used orange cream filling, but you can use vanilla or marshmallow if you like.
     I made these by mixing them by hand, not with the stand mixer and they came out just as fluffy.
     The pumpkin cake is moist and delicately spiced.  The orange filling gives it brightness and adds just the perfect level of sweetness.  Scrumptious!


GLUTEN FREE DAIRY FREE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES
WITH ORANGE CREAM FILLING
Makes about 4 dozen 2” cookie sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
COOKIE CAKE
DRY
1 ½ cups
Sorghum Flour
1 cup
Tapioca Starch
¼ cup
Chickpea Flour
¼ cup
Coconut Flour
¾ tsp
Xanthan Gum
1 tsp
Cinnamon
½ tsp
Ginger - dry ground
¼ tsp
Cloves
½ tsp
Sea Salt
1 ½ tsp
Baking Soda
1 ½ tsp
Baking Powder
1 ½ cups
Brown Sugar


WET
2 cups
Canned Pumpkin
2 large
Eggs
1 cup
Oil - light tasting such as sunflower or canola
1 tsp
Vanilla Extract

INGREDIENTS
FILLING
1 cup
Shortening - non-hydrogenated such as Spectrum brand.
14 oz
Confectioner’s or Powdered Sugar
2 tsp
Vanilla Extract
2 tsp
Orange Extract
2 Tbs. (add extra milk as needed, a tsp at a time, if needed, to achieve a light and fluffy consistency)
Milk - for Dairy Free use non-dairy milk of choice


DIRECTIONS
CAKE
1)    Preheat the oven to 375℉.  Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or silpat pads. 
2)    In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients and mix together well.
Dry ingredients well mixed.
3)    In a medium bowl add all the wet ingredients and mix.
Wet ingredients.
4)    Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
5)    Using a scoop that measures 1½” across, scoop out the batter 2” apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Raw batter scooped out onto a lined baking sheet.

6)    Bake for 10-14 minutes (cooking time will vary according to your oven, my oven is very accurate and it took 12 minutes).  Cookies are done when the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Baked cookies.
7)    Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before moving them to a rack to cool completely.
8)    Repeat steps 5-7 until all the batter is used up.

FILLING
1)     Add the entire ingredient to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix with a hand mixer or the whisk attachment of the stand mixer until well combined and light and fluffy.

ASSEMBLING THE COOKIES
1)    Turn half of the cookies over so that the flat side faces up. Spread some filling on the flat side of the cookies.
Putting filling on the flat sides of half of the cookies.
2)    Place an unfrosted cookie on top of each frosted cookie.  The flat sides of both cookies should be facing each other.
What the inside of the whoopie pie looks like.

3)    Keep tightly covered until serving to prevent them from drying out.  For later use, individually wrap each Whoopie Pie in plastic wrap to keep them moist and fresh.  Individually wrapped WhoopIe Pies can be frozen and then thawed for about 30 minutes at room temperature when ready to use.

Friday, October 14, 2016

GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN SPICE TRIFLE


Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     This is delicious, but I have been hesitant to post the recipe because the photos did not come out well.  My camera accidentally got wet on the kitchen counter and I have been taking photos with my phone.  The phone photos are too small to really see until I upload them to the computer and by then it’s too late to retake them.  I am posting this anyway, but please forgive the food shots. 
     This trifle is made of zucchini bread and pumpkin pudding layered in a glass to look pretty and tempting and topped off with a dollop of whipped cream.  OMG the pudding and cake make a divine mouthful of delectable creaminess.  
     The zucchini cake I used was a repurposing of a vegan version of the recipe.  Let me just say that the vegan version still needs some work.  The vegan cake tasted delicious, but the texture was a bit too wet and dense.  I thought that it would be perfect in a trifle and decided to make a pumpkin pudding to go with the left over vegan zucchini cake.  I think that any spice cake would work with the pumpkin pudding: zucchini, carrot, gingerbread, spice,  pumpkin spice or even sweet potato cake.
   

GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN SPICE TRIFLE
Makes enough for 6 half cup sized trifles.

INGREDIENTS
PUDDING
2 cups
Milk
6 Tbs.
Brown Sugar
2 large
Eggs
¼ cup
Corn Starch
1 cup
Canned Pumpkin
¼ tsp.
Sea Salt
½ tsp.
Cinnamon
¼ tsp.
Ginger
tsp.
Cloves

DIRECTIONS
PUDDING
1)    In a saucepan, add the milk and ¼ cup of sugar and bring to a boil.
2)    While the milk is coming to a boil:  In a bowl add the rest of the sugar, the corn starch, sea salt and spices and mix well.  Add the eggs and stir together.
3)    Add ½ cup of the boiling milk to the egg and cornstarch mixture and stir. Add another ½ cup and stir.
4)    Add the egg mixture to the boiling milk and whisk together, stirring constantly until the mixture returns to a boil and thickens.  This should take about 4 minutes.
5)    Remove from the heat and allow to cool. 
Pudding in the pot, all cooked and cooled.

VEGAN ZUCCHINI BREAD
Makes one 6” tube cake or one 8x4” loaf
(This recipe is perfect for trifle, but is not perfected as a plain sliced cake yet.  I am including it since it was the cake that I used to make the trifle that had such a wonderful taste and texture. Feel free to use any spice cake of your choice or see links to some of my recipes in post above.)

INGREDIENTS
DRY
¾ cup
Sorghum Flour
¼ cup
Chickpea Flour
¼ cup
Tapioca Flour
¼ cup
Coconut Flour
¾ tsp.
Cinnamon
½ tsp.
Xanthan Gum
½ tsp.
Sea Salt
¼ tsp.
Baking Powder
1 cup
Sugar

WET
¼ cup
Oil - light like sunflower or canola
¼ cup
Applesauce
1 ½ tsp.
Vanilla
2 egg substitutes
I used: ½ cup water + 2 tsp. oil + tsp. xantan gum + ¼ tsp. baking soda + 2 Tbs. corn starch
1 cup
Zucchini - grated

OPTIONAL
¼ cup
Walnuts or Pecans - chopped
½ tsp.
Tapioca Starch


DIRECTIONS
CAKE
(see my Zucchini Bread recipe for step by step photos)
1)    Preheat the oven to 350℉.  Prepare a 6” tube pan by lining it with foil and oiling it. If using a loaf pan line it with parchment paper.
2)    Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together until well mixed.
3)    In a small bowl add the egg substitute ingredients and mix together until frothy.
4)    Add the oil, applesauce, vanilla and egg substitute to the dry ingredients and mix together.
5)    Add the zucchini and mix in.
6)    (optional) In a small bowl add the chopped nuts and ½ tsp. tapioca starch and mix together.  Add to the batter and stir in.


DIRECTIONS
ASSEMBLING THE TRIFLE
1)    Place some pudding on the bottom of a small parfait or glass cup.
Pudding on the bottom of a clear glass cup.
2)    Crumble some cake over the pudding.
Vegan zucchini bread crumbled on top of the pudding.
3)    Top with enough pudding to cover the top and fill cup to desired level.
Cake covered with pumpkin pudding.
4)    Place a dollop of whipped cream on top.
Trifle topped with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkled with cinnamon.
5)    Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
6)    Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

7)    Enjoy!