Perfect Party Cake - Coconut & Kahlua Carob

A March Daring Baker's Challenge: Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake

The hostess for this month's challenge is the lovely Morven from Food Art and Random Thoughts, she chose the Perfect Party Cake from Dorie Greenspan's book From My Home To Yours. The original recipe for the Perfect Party Cake was given to Dorie by her good friend Nick Malgieri. This is a versatile cake that has a tight crumb and a light fluffy frosting. Dorie's version of this cake is lemon, but it can easily be made in any other flavor that you like.

A week into the challenge, Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl and I decided to bake together with Esther of The Lilac Kitchen hanging out with us on email. Esther is the proud new Mama of a healthy baby boy and she wasn't up to hours on her feet in the kitchen baking. When I was choosing from the gluten free flours, I wanted the cake to be white so I selected coconut flour as the base and I chose white chocolate for the buttercream. My goal was to create a white cake that was flavorful for my son, who is a huge fan of all things flavored vanilla and white chocolate.

The cake went together easily and rose beautifully while it baked. The frosting whipped up to a frothy foam. I made two smaller cakes and filled one with mixed berry preserves. The recipe made a large quantity of frosting that I swirled around the cake in fluffy peaks.

How did the cakes taste? Overall my family thought the cake was very sweet. Their favorite bites were of the cake without the frosting. They thought that the frosting tasted good, but was way too sweet. My children weren't crazy about the fluffiness of the frosting, they prefer a stiffer frosting.

Since I felt the same way, I decided to bake this cake again and use a different sweetener and make the cake without any dairy as well. Since I had recently gotten an order from Barry Farms that contained some sweet potato flour and sorghum syrup, I decided to use these ingredients as part of my recipe.

I made the second version of the cake for Easter Supper and my family thought it tasted like a mild brownie or chocolate muffin. They enjoyed the texture and flavor of the frosting, it was firmer and lightly sweet. We had agreed that I would only frost the top of the cake, so that there was only a touch of frosting. They liked the flavor of the cake and frosting. My daughter wants me to make this frosting again, since it isn't too sweet.

Recipe

1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
2 tsp chia seed meal
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup almond milk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cup cane sugar
4 Tb vegetable shortening
4 Tb coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract


Buttercream Frosting

1 cup cane sugar
4 large egg whites
8 Tb vegetable shortening
8 Tb coconut oil
8 Tb ghee
1 oz white chocolate, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a low sided pan with parchment paper and set out 4 - 5 inch cake rings. Line the cake ring sides with parchment paper for 2 smaller cakes. Or line two 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper for 1 larger cake.

2. In a large bowl, dump in the flours, baking powder, sea salt and chia seed. Stir the mixture, until the baking powder is well incorporated.

3. In a medium bowl, pour in the almond milk and egg whites, then whisk them together.

4. In a mixing bowl, plop in the vegetable shortening, coconut oil and sugar. Then beat for 3 minutes on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.

5. Pour in the vanilla extract and one third of the flour mixture, continue beating.

6. Beat in half of the almond milk mixture. Next, beat in half of the remaining flour mixture and until it is incorporated.

7. Add the rest of the almond milk mixture until blended and then pour in the rest of the flour mixture. Then beat for 2 minutes on medium speed to make sure the cake batter is well aerated.

8. Divide the batter between the cake rings or the 9 inch cake pans and smooth the tops.

9. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

10. Place the cookie sheet or cake pans on a cake rack and cool for 5 minutes. Slip the cake rings off the cakes and peel off the liner. Place right side up on a cake rack until they are room temperature. (Dorie notes that the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months.)

Buttercream

1. Place the sugar and egg whites into a heat proof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Begin to whisk constantly, making sure to keep the mixture over the heat for 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved and it will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.

2. Using the mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it has cooled, approximately 5 minutes.

3. Add the vegetable shortening, coconut oil, ghee and then beat until smooth.

4. Once the oils are beaten in, beat the buttercream on medium high speed until it is thick and smooth, approximately 6 - 10 minutes.

Dorie's Note: During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate - just keep beating and it will come together again.

5. Then add the vanilla and white chocolate and continue to beat on medium high speed until the frosting is shiny and smooth. Press a piece of plastic on the surface of the buttercream and set aside until you are ready to use it.

Assembling the Cake:

1. Place the first layer of the cake on a cake plate or a cake round. Spread the top of the layer with the Buttercream. If you would like to use a layer of preserves, spread the preserves on first and then gently spread the Buttercream on top.

2. Place the second layer on top of the Buttercream covered first layer.

3. Use the remaining Buttercream to cover the top and sides of the cake. Top with coconut or tiny curls of white chocolate.

Storing the Cake:

1. The cake is best the day it is made, but will store in the refrigerator. Cover it very well and bring to room temperature before serving.

2. This cake can be frozen for up to 2 months covered very well. Defrost the cake in the refrigerator.


Sorghum Cake with Kahlua Sorghum Syrup Buttercream


Cake

1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup sweet potato flour*
1/4 cup carob
1/4 cup + 2 Tb arrowroot starch
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 Tb flax seed meal
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sorghum syrup**
2 Tb vegetable shortening, melted
2 Tb cocoa butter, melted
1/2 tsp Kahlua
1/2 cup + 2 Tb almond milk

Buttercream

2 Tb sorghum syrup
2 Tb agave syrup
1 egg white
2 Tb vegetable shortening, melted
2 Tb cocoa butter, melted
2 Tb coconut oil, melted
1/2 oz Enjoy Life! chocolate chips, melted
1/2 tsp Kahlua

Recipe Variation Notes: Cake - I used a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 loaf pan. Buttercream - Step 1: The egg white, sorghum and agave syrup when cooked over the water bath will look like maple syrup and will not thicken. Once it has cooked for 3 minutes, transfer to the mixing bowl and continue with the recipe. Step 4: Beat the frosting for 10 minutes. Then continue with the recipe.

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* Sweet Potato Flour - I purchased the sweet potato flour from Barry Farms.

** Sorghum Syrup - I purchased the sorghum syrup from Barry Farms.

Coconut Carob Truffles - Gluten & Dairy Free

One of the tastiest rewards my children and I share is going to the chocolate counter at Whole Foods, once we finished our shopping. First, we find the warm spot under the ceiling vent and then we start perusing the chocolate case, while our bodies thaw out. We start by looking at the specialty chocolates, such as the dark chocolate brownie cones. Next our eyes are drawn by the colorful assorted chocolates with flavors ranging from banana to green tea. Each of us takes our time, reading descriptions and trying to imagine the flavors inside each luscious chocolate coating. Last I check on the ingredients looking for those that are gluten free.

Once we have our selections, we hurry over to the check out lanes. The kids have the candy duty, they make sure our chocolates get on the conveyor belt. Once it's rung up, they make sure to grab onto our box, so we don't have to hunt through all the bags once they are in the back end of the van. When we're all seated, my kids will open the box and pass it around. For a few moments there is nothing, but delightful silence as each of us contemplates the flavors in our candy. After we finish eating, each of us discusses their chocolate, what we liked or disliked about it. Since our candy is sadly all gone, I start up the engine and we head for home. (Note: In this picture from left to right are truffles rolled in macadamia nuts and round Sprinkelz.

My husband and I enjoy a wide variety of flavors in my chocolates, although I have a soft spot for anything with marzipan in it and my family prefers peanut butter. While I was reading the website Go Dairy Free, I happened upon a wonderful review and critique of Lagusta's Luscious truffles. As I was contemplating these wonderful truffles I realized I needed to make truffles, right now and I didn't really want to wait. I may have forgotten to mention that dark chocolate truffles are one of my favorite candies.

Then I remembered that the The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard, she is the pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago, had a recipe for Bittersweet Truffles. Unfortunately the ingredients weren't dairy free, like Lagusta's Luscious, and I was woefully out of bittersweet chocolate. This meant a little number crunching, a melding of ingredients and some pointers for technique, which turned out a recipe that was inspired by both Lagusta & Sherry. (Note: In the picture from left to right are truffles rolled in carob powder and Chocolate Sprinkelz.)

Dark and intense, these carob and cocoa flavored truffles will satisfy all of your chocolate cravings.

Recipe

1 cup carob powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup coconut milk
3 Tb agave syrup
5 Tb + 1 tsp coconut oil/coconut butter
5 tsp vanilla flavoring or flavoring of your choice
Coatings: cocoa powder, carob powder, Sprinkelz**, chopped nuts, or your choice of coating

1. Dump into the large bowl of a food processor or a large mixing bowl the carob powder, cocoa powder, coconut oil, coconut butter and vanilla flavoring.

2. Pour the coconut milk and agave syrup into a medium sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir the liquid regularly.

3. Pour the liquid into the food processor bowl or mixing bowl. Processes until blended or stir until everything is blended together and creamy.

4. Scrape out the truffle mixture into a medium sized bowl and allow to cool. Then place into the refrigerator to chill down prior to making the truffles.

5. Pour out into small bowls the various coatings for the truffles.

6. Using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out a small amount of truffle filling. Squeeze into a rounded shape and then roll in the palms of your hand to make balls. Then roll into the coating and press the nuts or Sprinkelz into the truffle. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet or into a storage container. Make the truffles in small batches as the coconut oil melts at 76 degrees. After you make a few, place the truffle filling in the refrigerator to chill it back down.

7. Store the truffles in the refrigerator so they stay firm.

What did my family think of the truffles? Well my children enjoyed making them with me, but they didn't care for the flavor. It was too intense for both of them. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the truffles. I liked the truffles with nuts. My husband liked the nuts and cocoa powder.

(Note: In this picture from left to right are truffles rolled in chopped pecans and cocoa powder.)



* Where did I find gluten free Sprinkelz? I bought mine from Whole Foods and Amazon.com sells them in a 24 pack. You could also try your local health food store.

Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Muffins - Gluten Free

Summer is one of the most wonderful seasons of the year. The vegetable market abounds with brightly colored foods that are all wonderfully gluten free. We have been living off the fruits and vegetables from our local vegetable stand again this summer.

The produce has been delicious and abundant. They have everything from kohlrabi to blueberries. Oh my...the blueberries...they are my weakness. My daughter and I pick some up with a plan to make muffins. After we wash them, my daughter asks if we should taste them to make sure they will be good enough for muffins. Oh dear...it was our undoing...we devoured that pint of blueberries. We couldn't stop, each berry seemed bigger than the last and the quest for the largest, sweetest berry keep us searching, tasting until the carton was bare.

Saddened when she realized that we wouldn't be having blueberry muffins, my daughter asked me, "What are we going to make, Mom?" "Not to worry, we have some ripe bananas that we make into muffins," I told her. We started to work on our recipe, which was inspired by the Banana Coconut Muffin recipe from Epicurious.com.

The muffins turned out moist and flavorful. Each bite tasting of banana with a hint of coconut and the rich sweetness of macadamia nuts.

Recipe

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup agave syrup
1 large egg
1 tsp kudzu/kuzu powder*
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/4 cup flaked coconut, for tops

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin with with 8 paper liners or place 8 silicone muffin cups on a cookie sheet.

2. In a large bowl, dump in all the flours, baking powder and salt. Stir to blend the mixture together.

3. Crack the egg and place it into a small bowl. Pour in the kudzu/kuzu powder and stir together. Allow the kudzu/kuzu powder to dissolve into the egg. Break apart any bits that won't dissolve with the back of a spoon.

4. In a medium sized bowl, pour the coconut oil, agave syrup, egg & kudzu/kuzu mixture, and mashed bananas. Stir the mixture together.

5. Pour the banana mixture into the large mixing bowl of dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Take care not to over stir the mixture.

6. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with flaked coconut.

7. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool and serve.

* You may substitute 1/2 tsp guar or xanthan gum for the kudzu/kuzu powder.

What did my family think of Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Muffins? The recipe received three thumbs up from my crew. I warmed up the muffins and served them for breakfast the next morning.

We went and picked up more blueberries from the vegetable stand...

3 more pints to be exact...

Simply...luscious...mmm...

Still nary a baked good in sight...

Coconut Bread - Gluten Free

What's not to like about the coconut palm? It provides nuts, milk, fruit, sap, oil, fiber, wood, dye and medicine. A thousand and one uses can be found for the humble coconut palm, but the best thing is that it's gluten free.

I'm always game to try new foods, especially gluten free foods. So when I noticed that Bob's Red Mill carried coconut flour, I had to give it a try. I began pondering what kind of foods could I make with it...a quick bread, pie crust, or cookies. The ideas kept flying around my brain, although one of them stood out - the idea for a coconut quick bread that used the flour, milk, oil and meat of the coconut.

A coconut quick bread would be a healthy way to start the day as coconut meat contains a variety of B vitamins, minerals, fiber and some protein. Coconut oil is considered to be a healthy oil that doesn't effect cholesterol levels. Coconut milk has a wide variety of nutritional properties including calcium, iron, protein and fiber.

As I was working on my recipe, I wondered about how others had used coconut in bread recipes. There are a wide variety of modern recipes that blend coconut with flavors like orange or banana and pumpkin to exotic curry. Traditional recipes for coconut breads range from the Samoan Pagi Popo where the bread dough is cooked in a syrup of coconut milk and sugar to one full of fruit and a pound of coconut from Barbados. One of the best recipes I found was by Australian chef Bill Granger of bills food. His recipe for coconut bread can be found at the BBC or at Wednesday's Chef. With a variety of recipes in hand from Barbados to Bill, I began to work on my gluten free version of coconut bread.

Gluten free bread recipes need to have a replacement for gluten. Something that will bind all the ingredients together and not alter the flavor of the food. To go along with the tropical feel of the bread recipe, I chose to use quick cooking granulated tapioca as the binder. What is granulated tapioca? About the size of kosher salt grains, it can be used to make puddings or thicken soup. It has a soft gelling characteristic when blended with room temperature liquids.

So you can get an idea of what is a firm gel looks like and behaves, this is a picture of a natural hair gel. It's primary ingredients are water and aloe vera gel. It easily stands up on the end of my daughter's finger and holds it's shape.

Now that I had the binder chosen, I finished working on my recipe. Then it was time to start baking.


Recipe

Bread

2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 1/4 cup + 2 Tb coconut milk
1/2 cup + 2 Tb agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup coconut flour**
1/4 cup + 1 Tb sweet rice flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1 Tb quick cooking granulated tapioca*

Glaze

1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp coconut milk

Making the Bread

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8 x 4 loaf pan with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl or cup, pour in the quick cooking tapioca and add the 2 Tb of coconut milk. Stir and allow the mixture to sit and thicken.

3. In a medium sized bowl pour in all the dry ingredients and stir.

4. In a mixing bowl, cream the coconut oil. Plop in the eggs and combine with the coconut oil. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk, agave syrup and tapioca gel. If using a mixer make sure to do this on low speed. Slowly add the dry ingredients.

5. Pour the batter in to the lined loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cover with foil. Return it to the oven and continue to bake for 20 minutes or until a pick comes out clean.

6. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes before applying the coconut glaze.

Making the Glaze

1. In a medium sized bowl, pour in the coconut milk. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Break up any powdered sugar lumps that have formed by pressing the lump between the back of a spoon and the side of the bowl.

2. Pour over the top of the bread. Using a spatula or knife spread the glaze until it covers the top.

How did it turn out? My husband and I thought it was delicious. Our favorite way to eat it was warm as it gave the coconut a wonderful toasted flavor. My son thought that the bread turned out nicely, but he didn't care for the flavor of coconut. For my daughter, who likes the flavor of coconut, thought that the bread had too much coconut. She wanted more bread flavor and less coconut.

Did the tapioca work to hold the bread together? It did a great job of binding all the flours together. The bread was easily held in your hand and didn't break down into crumbs when you broke off a bite with a fork.

*The brand of quick cooking organic tapioca that I used was Let's Do...Organic by Edward & Sons. I purchased it at my local Whole Foods store. If you substitute tapioca pearls for the granulated tapioca, make sure to break down the pearls into small bits before measuring.

**You can make your own coconut flour by processing coconut flakes or shredded coconut in a food processor. I have made coconut flour this way in the past by using Let's Do...Organic Coconut Flakes.