Cream Cheese Almond Pound Cake

Cream Cheese Almond Pound Cake {Gluten-free}

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (3 sticks) salted butter
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (I usually use the lighter cream cheese: Neufchâtel)
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 6 eggs
• 2⅔ cups Gluten Free Mama's Almond Flour Blend
• ⅓ cup corn starch
• 1½ tsp. xanthan gum

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a bundt pan or 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light (medium speed -about 5 minutes).
3. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat another 30 seconds to mix well.
4. Place a sifter/sieve/strainer over a bowl. Measure the flour, cornstarch, and xanthan gum, and dump into the sifter. Sift together the dry ingredients. You can repeat to sift another time or I just used a whisk and really whisked them together well.
5. Break the 6 eggs into another bowl and set aside.
6. With your mixer on low, alternately add the flour mixture and the eggs to your butter/sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
7. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s).
8. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan, then gently loosen the sides with a table knife or plastic spatula before turning over onto serving plate

Garlicky Guacamole

Ingredients

• 3 small/medium avocados
• 1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice, strained
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¾ tsp. kosher salt
• ⅛ tsp. black pepper

Instructions

1. In a small/medium bowl, use a fork to mash avocados.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients until well mixed. Add additional seasonings if needed to your preferred taste.
3. For best results, serve the same day as you make it.

Gluten-Free Blueberry-Peach Crisp

Gluten-Free Blueberry-Peach Crisp

Summer is all about fresh fruit - our produce box recently included a ton of peaches and blueberries and so it seemed like a good time to create a dessert.  I grew up on my mother's fruit crisps, and really wanted to make some, but I didn't wish to include a lot of extra sugar or use wheat flour.

I planned to make it entirely grain free but I found I couldn't bring myself to not include a bit of rolled oats, for nostalgia's sake - it is perfectly fine to leave them out.  They're there for texture - a chewy oatmeal cookie feel that brings back all sorts of comfort food memories for me.

I sliced the peaches, after washing them, without trying to peel them, and this worked out just fine!  I'm all about not creating extra work for myself when it doesn't matter.

The resulting crisp let both the blueberry and peach flavors shine, and as you can see, the blueberries gave the peaches a rosy color.  Since nuts and almond flour make up the majority of the topping, there is even a nice protein serving hiding in this dessert.

Gluten-Free Blueberry Peach Crisp
serves 4-6

1 tsp coconut oil, to grease pie plate
1 pint of blueberries
2-3 cups sliced peaches (about 8 small peaches)
1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats, uncooked
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey


Wash fruit.  Slice peaches into 1/8s. Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a glass pie plate or square glass casserole with 1 tsp. coconut oil. Combine fruit in pie plate, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, chopped nuts, oats and salt.  Add coconut oil and maple syrup.
 Mix with a fork to blend - don't over work it, just make sure almond flour is moistened.

Ready for the oven.

Use a pair of spoons to drop tablespoon sized portions of the crisp mixture on top of fruit. (Use one spoon to scoop up a portion, and  the other to help scrape it off that spoon so it drops onto the fruit.)

Bake for 45 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and topping is browned.  I suggest checking it at about 30 minutes - if it is browning too quickly, you may want to cover it lightly with foil to finish baking.

Let cool until warm and serve as desired, or chill and serve cold.

Orange Creme Cupcakes

Orange Creme Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sorghum flour (or brown rice flour if you must)

3/4 cup potato starch (not potato flour!)

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons fresh orange zest

2 tablespoons light olive oil or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon raw organic agave or honey

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice at room temperature

 (fresh juice gives the batter a fresh, bright taste)

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water

2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients- flours through xanthan gum. 

Add in the orange zest, oil, agave, orange juice, Egg Replacer and vanilla.

Beat on medium speed for two minutes minutes until the batter is smooth and fluffy. 

Make a 'figure eight' motion if the batter climbs the beaters.

Let the batter sit a minute before spooning it into cupcake liners.

Spoon the batter evenly into twelve lined cupcake cups.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and firm 

(they should be slightly tender but too soft). Try not to open the door to peek until

 the very end of baking time- you don't want to jar the cupcakes and make them deflate. 

These cupcakes rose quite high, then slowly settled down to a slightly rounded shape 

at about20 to 25 minutes.

Remove and cool on a wire rack.

When the cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with my vegan Orange Creme Frosting 

(recipe follows).

Vegan Orange Creme Frosting Recipe

Use your favorite vegan buttery spread instead of the soy-free Spectrum Organic Shortening, 

if you prefer.

Ingredients:

2 cups organic powdered sugar

1/4 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening (or organic semi-solid coconut oil)

1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice- as needed (start with less)

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the shortening and vanilla. 

Begin beating.Add in the orange juice a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Don't add too muchjuice too soon. Go slowly.

Beat on medium high until the frosting is smooth and creamy. If it is too thin, add more sugar;

 too stiff, add a spoonful of orange juice. You want a medium bodied icing.

Spoon the frosting into a zip-closing plastic sandwich baggie, press out the air and seal tight.

Cut a very small hole in one of the bottom corners-- not too big. To frost, place the cut tip 

over the cupcake, near an outer edge, and squeeze the bag of frosting, gripping it tightly and

moving in a circular motion, spiraling in toward the center, until the swirl of icing covers the 

cupcake.

Top with a few pieces of orange zest. Or try a sprinkle of flaked coconut, finely chopped 

pecans or walnuts.Place in a freezable container to chill or freeze. Once frozen, you can wrap 

each cupcake individually for single treats, if you like. Remove wrapping before thawing.

 To keep the icing intact.

Cook time: 1 hour

Yield: Serves 12