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Recipe: Flourless chocolate cake
Everyone needs a recipe for flourless chocolate cake in their arsenal for those times when they need a dessert for their chocolate-loving gluten-free or low-carb friends. Despite using milk chocolate, this cake eats like a dark chocolate cake. This is because there is no added sugar and there is additional cocoa powder. If you like sweet cakes, feel free to either add some sugar or other sweetener. You could also use drinking chocolate powder (sweetened with either sugar or natural sweetener depending on your needs), which will make the cake less intense in the chocolate front. This recipe uses cold brew concentrate or espresso to complement the chocolate flavour. You…
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Recipe: Gluten-free banana bread
Much like brownies, there are different kinds of banana bread. Some people like them dense; while some enjoy the cakey, airy variety. This gluten-free banana bread falls in the second category and is great either fresh or toasted. Besides being gluten-free, this banana bread does not contain any added sugar. The riper the bananas you use, the sweeter the bread will be. Having said that, if you are used to commercial banana breads, you might want to add a drizzle of maple syrup or honey on top prior to eating. Of course, toppings are optional, we usually enjoy ours with butter but peanut butter is also a great option. If…
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Recipe: Zucchini & carrot brownies
Wondering how you can consume 5 serves of vegetables? Do you want to sneak more veggies into your kids’ diet? Although these zucchini & carrot brownies are a once-in-a-while treat, they are a certainly a healthier alternative to regular dessert. The texture of these brownies is on the soft, cake-y side due to the coconut flour. If you prefer denser brownies, keep your eyes peeled for upcoming recipes.
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Recipe: Gluten-free torta de galletas (biscuit cake)
My aunties didn’t bake a lot, so when it was time for cake they often made torta de galletas, a layered biscuit “cake”. I have vivid memories of me helping make the icing in their vintage stand mixer and, most importantly, licking the icing off the beaters. Of course, I also helped assemble the cake and waited patiently until the next day, when the biscuits had absorbed all the moisture and the cake had a much better structure. My auntie Sumi passed away a few weeks ago. She was a great cook and she was a very kind, loving auntie. It was hard to think of a particular dish that…
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Recipe: Gluten and dairy-free tres leches cake
I don’t know where tres leches (three milks) cake came from but it’s very popular in several Latin American countries. It’s basically a sponge cake soaked in a mix of evaporated milk, condensed milk and cream (hence the name). Peruvian dessert queen Sandra Plevisani has a cinco leches version that uses coconut milk and dulce de leche (caramel) in addition. Needless to say, both versions are unbelievably sweet. While it’s not my favourite cake (I prefer chocolate over anything else), I realise it’s a crowd pleaser. My version is lower in sugar, plus gluten and dairy-free.
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Recipe: Gluten-free lamingtons (take 1)
Happy Australia Day! Time for a confession: in the 4 years I’ve lived in Australia I have never eaten a lamington. When we were “fresh” in the country I didn’t like coconut. Over time, this aversion disappeared but I just wasn’t too excited about sponge cake with chocolate icing and desiccated coconut. Then I ditched the grains so lamingtons were out of the question. As an almost citizen of Australia, I felt it was about time to try a lamington. I thought it would be relatively easy to find a gluten-free commercial one, but not a grain-free, crap-free one. So I had to make my own. Luckily, I’m one of…
