You’re special! Just because you’re eating gluten-free (GF), there’s no reason to miss out when special occasions arise. Bake these Bing cherry chocolate cupcakes, top with luscious frosting, chill, wrap individually, and freeze. Save frozen cupcakes for when you want a treat or to join the party. The best part is they contain sorghum and cherries which add extra fiber and nutrients!

Very Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes
2 cups sugar
2 cups sorghum flour blend (see below)
3/4 cup natural dark cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons GF baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup dried Bing cherries or dried tart cherries
2 eggs + 1 egg white
1 cup milk (or GF soy, rice, nut milk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
2 teaspoons GF vanilla extract (homemade Vanilla Extract recipe below)
1 cup boiling water

1. In large mixing bowl, whisk (or mix on low speed with electric mixer) dry
ingredients — sugar, sorghum flour blend, natural cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum.
2. Put cherries in a small bowl; cover with water to rehydrate while completing steps 3 through 5.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, gently whisk together eggs and egg white.
4. Add milk, oil, and vanilla to egg mixture.
5. Beat on medium speed with electric mixer for two minutes.
6. Drain water off dried cherries, pat dry with paper towel. Dice into small pieces; place in a dry bowl. Dust with a teaspoon of gluten-free flour until lightly coated. Shake off excess. Set aside.
7. Add 1/3 cup of boiling water into batter, blend well. Repeat until all water is added into batter.
8. Fold in dried cherries.
9. Place cupcake liners into the cupcake tins. Fill tins half full with batter.
10. Bake 21 to 23 minutes for cupcakes (makes about 27 cupcakes).
11. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely before frosting. Wrap individually and freeze cupcakes.
* If using powdered vanilla, add to dry ingredients.

‘In the Pink’ Cherry Frosting

No artificial colors or flavoring. Two recipes in one! If you’d rather have vanilla icing, go with the Basic Frosting. Make it cherry pink with theadditional steps and ingredients.

Start with Basic Frosting:
2 tablespoons butter, gluten-free (GF) margarine, or Crisco, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 to 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons of milk (cow, nut, rice, soy)
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
Beat together until smooth. Adjust the amount of powdered sugar and milk until desired spreading consistency is reached. Chill.

Add to make Cherry Frosting:
2 tablespoons Old Orchard Cherry Apple 100% juice — concentrate
2 to 3 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
5 Bing cherries, pitted

Puree in a blender until smooth. Start with 2 tablespoons of water. If more liquid is needed to blend ingredients together, slowly add as much of third tablespoon of water as needed.

Sorghum Flour Blend
Reprinted with permission from Carol Fenster, PhD, www.savorypalate.com

1-1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1-1/2 cup corn or potato starch

Whisk together and store in an air-tight container = 4 cups.

Make Your Own Vanilla Extract

What’s vanilla? Basically, vanilla beans and alcohol!

Glass jar or bottle with lid
3 to 4 vanilla beans
Vodka (possible brands: Chopin,
Tito’s, Teton Glacier, & Blue Ice)

1. Wash and rinse jar or bottle.
2. Split vanilla beans with sharp knife.
3. Place beans in jar or bottle.
4. Fill with vodka. Seal.
5. Store in cool, dark place for 4 to 6 months; shake occasionally.

Gluten-Free Baking Tips:

• Start with ingredients at room temperature.
  • Place chilled eggs in a bowl with tepid water for 5 minutes to remove the chill.
  • Flour should be at room temperature before using.
• Place ingredients to be measured on the left of the mixing bowl. Once you have used the ingredient, place it on the right-hand side of the bowl. This is an easy way to keep track of what has been used in the recipe.
• Gradually pour liquid into dry ingredients a little bit at a time. Don’t allow batter to become soupy; it should be thick but fluid.
• No cooling rack? Turn over another cupcake tin and set warm tin on top. This allows air to reach the bottom of baked goods.

This is one of my favorite gluten-free, vegan creations. As you know, it is hard to make a cake without wheat flour, dairy butter and eggs. In this case, carrots and marmalade come to the rescue! I proudly serve this at any dinner party, and get rave reviews from everyone; even folks with no dietary restrictions. Enjoy!

2/3 cup soy milk (You may use other types of milk instead.)
3 Tablespoons Ener-G (brand) Egg Replacer
(If you would rather use eggs, the soy milk and Ener-G egg replacer can be omitted and replaced with two to three whole eggs. For another vegan option, instead of using soy milk and Ener-G Egg Replacer, use ¼ cup ground flax meal and add directly with the oil and sugar. Mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. )
2 cups of your favorite gluten free flour mix
(A blend of garbanzo, potato starch and tapioca starch in roughly a 5:3:2 ratio works great. Or, use a blend that you already like. If you decide to use a flour/baking mix that is pre-prepared with baking soda, baking powder and salt, take care not to add these again into the recipe. )
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon salt
3/4 cup canola oil (You can use a little less if you like a drier cake.)
¾ cup sugar (I use organic evaporated cane juice.)
2/3 cup brown sugar (Also here, I use the organic evaporated cane juice version.)
½ cup orange marmalade (A smoother, less chunky brand works better.)
1/3 cup orange juice
3 cups grated carrots (Lightly packed.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans with shortening and a dusting of flour mix. I use organic palm oil shortening to grease the pans and then shake in sifted flour blend, dumping excess flour once the pans are covered lightly.

If you are using the Ener-G egg replacer and soy milk blend suggested above, prepare that now so it will have time to “bloom” into a sticky egg-like substance. For this, I heat 2/3 cup soymilk in the microwave for about 22 seconds, then stir in the egg replacer. Use a fork to whisk it so that no clumps are remaining. Set aside to bloom!

Sift together the dry ingredients, including the cinnamon and xanthan gum.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine canola oil, white and brown sugars, marmalade, orange juice, and Egg Replacer and soy milk blend (or eggs, or flax meal if you so chose). Mix for about 30 seconds.

Now, at a low mixer speed, add dry ingredients gradually in thirds. Mix only until blended and smooth; then briefly blend in carrots.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. A toothpick or metal skewer inserted in the middle of the cakes should come out clean to indicate doneness.
When baking is complete, cool cakes for at least 10 minutes in pans on a cooling rack then remove from pans to finish cooling.

Now, use your favorite icing to finish. I make a vegan version of “cream cheese” icing. (Recipe below.) It’s delicious and looks great! If you want to garnish the cake further, consider grating lemon and/or orange peel on the icing.

(Other options for those who are not allergic would include toasted, chopped walnuts in the cake recipe and/or as a garnish on the icing.)

Lucy’s Gluten-Free Vegan “Cream Cheese” Icing
This easy to make icing spreads beautifully and tastes great. The most important tricks for success are careful sifting of the powdered sugar, and adequate blending of ingredients with a heavy duty mixer and whisk attachment.

2 cups Organic Palm Oil Shortening
One 7 oz. container of Vegan Cream Cheese
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 ½ teaspoon Orange Extract
3/16 teaspoon Salt
About 7 cups Gluten Free Powdered Sugar (Sifted thoroughly!) (This is about one 2 lb bag!)
(You may want to add more or less powdered sugar, depending on the taste and texture you prefer for your frosting. You can also adjust the flavorings and salt to suit your tastes.)

Combine the shortening, vegan cream cheese, salt, vanilla and orange flavoring together the mixer and whisk on high speed for about one minute until smooth. Then gradually add the sifted powdered sugar on slow speed until blended, running mixer at about 20 to 30 second intervals. Lastly, whisk the finished mix on high speed for added fluff.

This makes a large amount of icing so you are sure to have a beautiful cake, no matter how thick you like the icing. You may decide to reduce the recipe in the future if too much is left over.

Add a thick layer of frosting to the top of your base cake layer, stack your second layer on top and finish. If you are new to icing cakes, I highly recommend that you invest in two baker’s icing spatulas. One should be about 11 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide. The other, 8 inches long and narrower. They are inexpensive and will make the job much easier and the result more appealing! You’ll know which one to use for which parts of the job once you’ve tried them a few times!

Best wishes for your special occasion!
Lucy

Learn more about Lucy’s cookies at www.drlucy.com

Beware: This cake is often called flourless. However, it is most often made with bread crumbs rather than flour making it flourless but not gluten-free. Substituting bread crumbs with delicious Blue Diamond Hazelnut Nut Thins makes this dish safe for a gluten-free diet.

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs separated
• 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted with skins removed, and chopped fine in a nut grinder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 30 Blue Diamond Hazelnut Nut Thin Crackers
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 cup sugar
• Whipping cream
• ½ cup chopped hazelnuts for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place crackers and nuts in food processor and grind until fine.
3. Grease only the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan. Cut a circle of parchment, and place it in the pan, and grease the parchment as well. Parchment circles can be purchased, as well.
4. Beat the eggs yolks on medium-high speed for 10-12 minutes until eggs are lemon-colored and thick. Continue beating and add sugar gradually over the next 10-13 minutes, until mixture is thick.
5. Mix in nut and cracker crumbs and the vanilla.
6. Using a clean bowl and beaters beat the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar, slowly at first, and then increase speed until stiff peaks form. Be patient.
7. Incorporate meringue slowly. Fold ¼ of the egg whites into the yolk and nut mixture. Then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and place it on a baking sheet in the pre-heated oven.
8. Bake approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Remove when the torte is golden and springs back when touched in the center. After removing the torte from the oven, the center will deflate slightly. Let the torte cool completely in the pan. Use a flat knife or spatula to gently separate the sides of the torte from the pan before releasing the spring form. Remove the parchment.
9. Spread whipped cream sweetened with superfine sugar over the top of the torte. Top with Hazelnuts. Store in refrigerator until serving.

Ingredients:
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cane sugar
1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter an 8-inch baking pan. Place the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove the blade and carefully stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the center. Cool before cutting into squares.

Makes 16

Nutrition:
Per serving (1 brownie/about 2oz/60g-wt.): 160 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 50mg cholesterol, 35mg sodium, 17g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 12g sugar), 4g protein

• 2/3 cup Sorghum Flour
• 1/2 cup Rice Flour
• 2 tablespoons Tapioca Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
• 2/3 cup Powdered Palm Sugar
• 1/2 cup Vegetable Shortening

Frangipane (Filling) Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Coconut Oil
• 2/3 cup Granulated Palm Sugar
• 3/4 cup Almond Meal
• 2 teaspoons Rice Flour
• 1 teaspoon Arrowroot
• 1 Egg
• 1 Egg White
• 2 teaspoons Almond Extract
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Caramelized Apples Ingredients:

• 3 Apples (Granny Smith or Fuji)
• 1 cup Granulated Palm Sugar
• 2 tablespoons Coconut Milk
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Begin with the crust! In a food processor buzz together all the dry ingredients for the crust.
3. Add the vegetable shortening in spoonfuls and pulse the mixture until it resembles sand.
4. Dump the mixture into a 10 inch tart pan and press it into place using your fingers and/or a fork. Make sure to push the crust up the sides!
5. Bake this for 15-20 minutes, or until light brown and toasted.
6. Allow the crust to cool while you make the frangipane!
7. In a food processor, buzz together the coconut oil and palm sugar.
8. Add the almond meal, rice flour and arrowroot and pulse until well blended.
9. Add the egg and egg white and blend until smooth, about one minute.
10. Add the almond and vanilla extracts and pulse until combined.
11. Set this aside and get started on the caramelized apples.
12. In a saute pan over medium-low heat, stir the sugar and coconut milk. Let it bubble and thicken slightly, about 5 minutes.
13. Add the apples, lemon juice and cinnamon and cook until syrupy over medium heat. The apples should be soft but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Set this aside.
14. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
15. Get started with the assembly line! Spread the frangipane into the cooled tart shell. Arrange the apples however you like (fancy or floozy, it all tastes the same). Slide the completed tart into the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the frangipane rises slightly and is golden all over.

• 1/2 cup Coconut Oil
• 2 ounces 70% Dark Chocolate
• 1/2 cup Granulated Palm Sugar
• 1/4 cup Agave
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 4 tablespoons Rice Flour
• 2 tablespoons Tapioca Flour
• 1 tablespoon Instant Espresso Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Chopped Pecans

Get Busy

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease an 8×8 baking pan.
3. Over low heat, melt the coconut oil and chocolate in a small saucepan (keep stirring to prevent the chocolate from burning).
4. In a bowl, whisk the palm sugar, agave, eggs, vanilla and salt together.
5. Once the chocolate and oil mixture is melted, drizzle it slowly into the bowl with the palm sugar and egg mixture while you whisk with your free hand. Drizzle slowly to prevent the eggs from scrambling!
6. Whisk in the rice flour, tapioca flour, espresso powder and cinnamon.
7. Pour into your greased pan.
8. Sprinkle the pecans over the top of the batter.
9. Bake the brownies for 32-37 minutes.

Yield: 16 Brownies (depending on how you slice it)
Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 32-37 minutes

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, No Processed Sugar

See this an other great gluten-free recipes at Renegade Kitchen

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

1 can (14 ounces) Thai Kitchen® Coconut Milk
3 tablespoons palm sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt (optional)
3 large bananas, peeled

1. Mix coconut milk, sugar, vanilla and salt in medium saucepan. Bring to simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

2. Cut bananas in half lengthwise, then into 2-inch pieces. Stir bananas into coconut milk mixture. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve warm bananas with coconut milk.

Makes 4 servings.

Test Kitchen Tip: Palm sugar, commonly used in Thai cooking, can be found in most Asian groceries. If unavailable, substitute granulated sugar.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: 339 Calories, Fat 19g, Protein 2g, Carbohydrates 40g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 30mg, Fiber 3g

Ingredients:
1 pkg. GF Chocolate Creme Cookies
1 pkg. (8 ounce) Cream Cheese at Room Temperature
Chocolate Ambrosia Bark (~ 6 bars) & White Chocolate Ambrosia Bark (~ 2 bars) can purchase at HEB ( I prefer to use Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips to melt and dip in and decorate with real white chocolate)

Directions:
Process Cookies in food processor first then add soften cream cheese to the mixture and process again.
Form mixture into balls; freeze about 15 minutes to make them firm for dipping.
Melt chocolate bark.
Insert toothpicks into ball and dip into chocolate; place on wax paper. Can speed up drying by putting them in the fridge.
Once the chocolate has hardened, remove toothpicks and drizzle with melted white chocolate bark.
Keep refrigerated until 15 min. before serving.
Yields 3 ½ dozen

¼ cup of softened butter

¼ cup of oil

¾ cup of dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of xanthan gum

¾ cup of potato starch

½ cup of corn starch

1 cup of almond meal flour

¼ teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of salt

1 ¼ cup of chocolate chips

Cream together butter, oil, and brown sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and milk. Mix well. Add dry ingredients except for the chips. Mix well removing all lumps. Fold in chocolate chips.

Make into 2 inch balls and place on baking sheet. Press down a bit on the top to flatten. Bake 8-10 minutes in 350° F oven.