From Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

This Almond Cake is naturally gluten-free, no leavening, no extracts, easily dairy-free for Passover, but wonderful any time.

Ingredients:

(No xanthan gum needed)

• 1 stick (4 oz., 125 g) very soft butter – Earth Balance or coconut oil can be a butter substitute
• 1 cup (8 oz., 250 g) ordinary sugar, divided in half
• 4 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites.
• Pinch of salt
• 2+1/2 cups (8 oz., 230 g) of almond meal/flour slightly rounded

If you don’t use almond extract, you really do need to add the zest of 1-2 lemons or 1-2 oranges if you eat the cake plain. You can also add 1-2 Tbsp. poppy seeds and make a melted lemon juice/sugar glaze to drizzle on top of baked cake.

Note: A Bundt Cake is only about 1+1/2 inches deep at deepest point.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ 170 degrees C. Grease and gluten-free flour a 10” (25cm) Bundt pan. Beat the egg whites until stiff in an 8 cup (2 liter) spotlessly clean (meaning no grease at all) mixing bowl.  Add the ½ cup of sugar and beat until the egg white mixture is meringue-like, stiff, glossy, shiny.
2. If you have a second 8 cup bowl, then you can make the rest of cake in a second bowl. Otherwise, scoop out meringue mix onto dinner plate, large cereal bowl and use the empty bowl for cake – no need to wash.
3. Beat very soft butter (Earth Balance, coconut oil), the second ½ cup sugar, egg yolks and almond flour together until thick and creamy. Beat in lemon or orange zest.
4. Scoop about ¼ of the meringue mix into egg yolk mix and beat to blend.
5. Add rest of the meringue mix and carefully fold and gently stir into egg yolk mix. Make sure to get down to the very bottom of the mixing bowl (the mix will be quite stiff and it is hard work). Scrape any zest off the beaters as it tends to stick there.
6. Scoop mix into Bundt pan and cook for about 45 minutes until well-risen, golden brown and set but still soft in the middle. There might be a dip in center of Bundt pan.
7. Remove from oven, let cool in pan for about 5 minutes and then turn out onto cooling rack to finish cooling. The texture should be similar to rolls of almond paste when cut, but cooked throughout. It is quite a tender cake so be careful turning it out.  If it breaks just serve it as slices. Serve on its own, or with raspberry sauce, fresh berries or mango.

Raspberry Sauce – makes about 2 cups

• 1 x 12 oz. (375 g) bag of frozen raspberries
• ½ cup (4 oz., 125 g) ordinary sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml, 4 fl oz) water
• ½ cup (120 ml, 4 fl oz) seedless raspberry jam or jelly for extra oomph of flavor
• Raspberry liqueur, Amaretto, brandy or rum for adults.

Directions:

1. Melt sugar and water together, add raspberries, and simmer for just a few minutes. Stir in raspberry jam until it melts. Depending on ripeness of raspberries and your personal taste you might want to add more sugar.

This is not a baked custard cheesecake. It is a gelatin-set cheesecake that I first made in England and continue to make. Apart from the crust, there is no baking, no worrying if you’ve overcooked the custard, no cracking of cheesecake, no overnight cooling, etc. It’s very popular with my students and clients, and you can vary it with different chocolates and liqueurs. It is stiff when you remove it from the fridge, but softens to more of a mousse consistency when it’s been out of the fridge for half an hour.  My husband likes it firm, I prefer softer. This is a very mild flavor, since Irish Cream is very mild. Use a 7” springform or double the recipe for a 9-10” springform pan.

Almond Shortbread Crust Ingredients:

• ¾ cup (3 oz., 80 g) almond flour
• 3 Tbsp. (45 ml) powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp. (1½ oz., 42 g) butter

Filling Ingredients:

• ½ lb. (1 brick, 8 oz., 225 g) cream cheese at room temperature. I use store brand lite cream cheese, but it does make a softer set.
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml)  powdered sugar
• 1 4 oz. (112g) bar good quality white chocolate, broken into small pieces. (At the time of writing, Lindt are saying their white chocolate is gluten-free. Guitard is the only other white chocolate I know, but its flavor doesn’t compare to Lindt.)
• 1¼ cup (10 fl. oz., 300 ml) whipping or heavy cream, divided
• ½ tsp. gelatin from Knox gelatin packet, sprinkled on 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) water in small cup
• 3 Tbsp. (45 ml) Irish Cream liqueur (At the time of writing, Carolan’s says it’s gluten-free.)

Topping Ingredients:

• ½ cup (4 fl. oz., 120 ml) whipped cream
• 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) Irish Cream liqueur

Directions:

1. For the crust, mix almond flour and powdered sugar. Rub in butter until mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. I do this in food processor, but stop while mix is crumbs and before it mixes to a paste.
2. Sprinkle evenly into base of 7” springform pan and press down.  Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 12 minutes. Base should be a light golden brown and about ¼” thick when cooked. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
3. Pour ¼ cup (60 ml, 2 fl. oz.) cream into a 4 cup microwave bowl and heat for about 44 seconds.  Add chopped chocolate, let stand for 2 minutes, then stir until chocolate mix is smooth. If necessary, heat for about 10 more seconds if there are lumps left. You have to treat white chocolate very carefully, as it has a tendency to harden (seize) if overheated.
4. In a separate 4 cup bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar and 3 Tbsp. Irish cream liqueur until smooth and creamy.
5. Slowly beat chocolate mix into cream cheese mixture and beat for about 1 minute to increase fluffiness. I added a few drops of green coloring to mix.
6. Microwave the gelatin-water mix for about 10 seconds until it becomes yellowy clear liquid. Then beat into chocolate cream cheese mix.
7. Pour ½ cup (4 fl. oz., 120 ml) cream into bowl that was used for melted chocolate and beat cream until stiff.
8. Gently beat cream into cheese and chocolate mix.
9. Pour into chilled crust. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until firm.
10. Once chilled, run a thin plastic spatula around edge between cheesecake and pan, release spring form side and remove. Gently run a thin knife between base and bottom of pan and slide cheesecake onto serving plate. If you have a springform pan with a glass base, there is no need to move the cheesecake.
11. To finish, whip ½ cup (4 fl. oz., 120 ml) whipped cream with 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp. Irish cream liqueur and pipe rosettes around top edge of cheesecake.

By Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

The cake part is a recipe I have made for many years as my raspberry almond tart, and is one of my son’s favorites, so it was almost the first recipe I adapted to be gluten-free. I can still eat butter, but my son and cousin and many of you are dairy-free. I have been using more and more coconut oil as a butter substitute and prefer it. Plus, even if you can eat butter, coconut oil is a cholesterol-free alternative. The only annoying thing about coconut oil is it comes in a jar and is rock hard unless you have a very warm house. I got fed up trying to dig out hard coconut oil, so now I slowly melt the coconut oil and transfer it into a large square tub with lid, lined with foil.  Once it hardens I flipped it out and roughly cut it up into smaller pieces. Then, I weigh it when I use it, but store it in the square tub. I also just melt the coconut oil for this recipe.  It is very difficult to get coconut oil evenly soft for beating with sugar and I find it works by melting it. This cake is very dense and moist like a pound cake. The topping is also a good dairy-free caramel sauce for ice cream or other cakes. It does taste a bit coconut-y and slightly oilier than butter, but still yummy.

Cake Ingredients:

(No xanthan gum needed)

• 3 oz. (84 g) coconut oil melted or 3/4 stick very soft butter if you can eat dairy
• 3/4 cup (6 oz., 168 g) ordinary sugar
• 3 large eggs
• Pinch of salt
• 1+1/2 cup (6 oz., 168 g) of almond meal/flour slightly rounded (Blue Diamond now makes a certified gluten-free almond flour. Bob’s Red Mill and Honeyville are more expensive options.)
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) gluten-free baking powder
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) gluten-free vanilla extract
• Zest of an orange (optional)

Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (3+1/2 oz., 95 g) light (soft) brown sugar (not packed)
• 3 oz. (84 g) coconut oil or 3/4 stick butter
• ¼ cup (2 oz., 60 ml) Asian-style coconut milk or heavy cream if you can eat dairy
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (170 degrees C)
2. Place all cake ingredients in a 4 cup (1 liter) mixing bowl and beat until well blended and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes
3. Spread mix in greased and gluten-free floured 8×8 or 1 x 9″.
4. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes until well risen, golden brown and set, but still soft in the middle. The texture should be similar to rolls of almond paste when cut, but cooked throughout.
5. Remove from oven.
6. In a small saucepan, melt sugar, coconut oil, coconut milk and almonds together. The mix looks curdled, but as it melts and you stir, it comes together, looks creamy and melted oil or butter blends in and doesn’t float around on top or sides. Boil for a few minutes and it will start forming large bubbles like toffee cooking. I find now when it has cooked for a few minutes with lots of large bubbles, you then just pour it over the cake and leave it to set. Originally, I would broil it for a few minutes, but it burns rapidly and gets like crispier toffee. Just this topping alone is also a good dairy-free, caramel sauce for ice cream or other cakes. It firms up when cold in the pan but is chewy, not hard toffee.

See me make this recipe on New Hampshire’s ABC WMUR Cooks Corner on Wednesday, December 7 during the noon news. I will also post on Gluten Free Cooking with Oonagh on Facebook. I found that when I tried to make this the traditional way, the egg butter mix curdled too much. In England, we used to make this for weddings in a 16” square, deep cake pan using a complete bottle of sherry or brandy until the cake was sitting in a puddle of alcohol laced syrup.

Cake Ingredients:

• 1½ sticks (6 oz., 170 g.) butter very soft (Earth Balance is a good substitute)
• ¾ cup (6 oz., 170 g.) sugar
• 3 extra large eggs or 4 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) gluten-free vanilla extract
• Zest of one large orange
• ⅓ cup (1¼ oz., 35 g.)  almond flour
• 1 cup (4½ oz.) King Arthur gluten-free flour (not containing xanthan gum)
• 4 tsp. (20 ml.) gluten-free baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) milk

Syrup Ingredients:

• 2 cup (16 fl. oz., 480 ml.) orange juice
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ½ cup (4 fl. oz., 120 ml.) orange liqueur. Grand Marnier is wonderful, but also far more expensive than Triple Sec or Gran Gala. Choose whichever you can tolerate. Use brandy or rum as an alternative. Rum and brandy should both be naturally gluten-free, but flavorings may add gluten.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 10” (25 cm) Bundt pan with food spray. A spring form pan can also be used, but the cake would then have to be placed in a different container for the syrup to soak in.
2. Place softened butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, almond flour, baking powder, milk and salt in mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixer until soft, fluffy and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stir in orange zest, which tends to stick to beaters, so you then have to the scrape zest off. Don’t skimp on this beating. Mix will get whiter and might look slightly curdled, but that won’t affect taste or texture.
3. Spoon batter into prepared Bundt pan (it will only about half fill pan), smooth top and bake in preheated oven for approximately 30-40 minutes until cake is well-risen, deep golden brown and deeper brown around the edges. It might have a crack in the middle, but this will be hidden when you invert the cake.  Note: A dark pan will darken cake sooner.
4. Remove cake from oven and leave to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then use a thin spatula or thin plastic knife to release all edges of cake, including center hole.
5. Turn cake out of pan onto plate. There is no need to let cake cool further.
6. Make syrup by dissolving sugar slowly in orange juice, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 1 minute. Remove from heat, cool for a few minutes and add alcohol.
7. Pour half of prepared syrup into Bundt pan and return cake to Bundt pan (no need to wash pan first). Pour remaining syrup over cake and leave in pan for about 10 minutes until cake has absorbed all syrup. It will look as if it is swimming in liquid at first.
8. Carefully turn out onto serving plate (otherwise it might break) and leave to finish cooling. Don’t leave it in the pan to cool, as it becomes difficult to turn out. This cake does not need cream, but my mother (and me) always served it with whipped cream and sliced almonds sprinkled on top.

Note: I whip 1 cup of whipping cream with 1 Tbsp. orange liqueur and 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar, then I cut cake into slices and spread or pipe cream on top of each slice. Finish with chocolate curls, grated chocolate or chocolate shards. You can also leave cake whole and increase the quantity of cream and smother cake in cream with lots of chocolate curls and sliced almonds.

To make cupcakes: ⅓ of recipe makes about 4 muffins/cupcakes. Cook for about 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

• ⅔ cup sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup coconut oil
• 2 cups Pamela’s All-Purpose Flour Artisan Blend
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• 2 tsp. allspice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Whip sugars, molasses and egg until smooth. Add in the oil and combine. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet, making sure to scrape down the sides.
3. Roll into 2” balls and roll in additional sugar. Place 2” apart on a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden and still soft to the touch. Remove carefully and immediately from the baking pan and let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy with a nice cold glass of milk.

Pie Crust Ingredients:

• 3 cups Pamela’s All-Purpose Flour Artisan Blend
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 8 Tbsp. shortening, chilled and cubed
• 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
• ⅓ cup ice water, plus up to 1 Tbsp. if necessary
• Cream for brushing pie dough before baking, option

Filling Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin or 2 cups fresh pumkin, cooked, drained and pureed
• 1 (14 oz.) can evaporated milk
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. powdered ginger
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg or allspice
• Dash cloves

Directions:

1. Make the dough first, before the pie filling. Let it set up and get cold before filling; it will be much easier to handle and fill.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. With paddle attachment, pastry blender or using fingers, cut butter and shortening into dry mixture until pea-sized crumbs are formed. Slowly add ice water just until dough comes together (not sticky). Add 1 tsp. additional water at a time if dough is too dry.
3. Divide dough in half and roll between sheets of parchment or plastic wrap, to about 1/8″ thick. Peel off top layer and invert into lightly greased pie plate. Peel off second sheet and fix crust edge. Cover and chill dough before filling.
4. Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third of oven.
5. Beat eggs and add sugars, mixing well. Mix in the pumpkin. Add condensed milk, mix well, and finally add the salt and spices. Mix well again and pour into the pie shell.
6. Bake 15 minutes at 425°F, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake about 45 minutes or longer until center is set or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

Chef’s Note: If not using pie crust right away, pie crust may be frozen for later use; wrap in plastic and freeze. You can fill a frozen pie crust and put into the bottom third of a preheated oven, without thawing, and bake as normal.

Ingredients:

• 2 bags Pamela’s Chocolate Cake Mix
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 3 cups water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix liquid ingredients well, then add Chocolate Cake Mix and stir to incorporate. Do not over mix. Pour batter into 5 or 6 lightly greased baking pans (bake in shifts if you don’t have 5 or 6 pans).
3. Bake for 18 to 24 minutes, until the sides pull away from pan slightly, cake springs back when gently touched in the middle and toothpick comes out almost clean.
4. When cool, frost between layers with Pamela’s Vanilla or Dark Chocolate Frosting. Cover with berries and whipped cream, or use nothing at all!

Chef’s Note: Trim each layer, except the top layer, and you will have a Torte that stands tall and straight.