eggnog chocolate chip bread [gluten free, soy free]

How is it that we're already like pretty much half way through January? How? I feel like I was just watching the Naked Gun series with friends and family, waiting for midnight to strike so we could watch the ball drop and then promptly go to bed. (Seriously, staying up until midnight is becoming more and more of a challenge. I'm usually in bed by like 10. Or 10:30, if I decide to walk a little on the wild side.) It's like I'm reverting back to childhood. Or becoming an old lady. Either one. Maybe both. Is that possible? Quick story: when I was little, my best friend and I were determined to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve. Our parents didn't think that we could do it. So, in order to prove that we stayed up until midnight, we recorded what Emily's hamster was doing in half-hour intervals (or fifteen minutes. Or hourly. I can't remember exactly how precise we were.) Anyhow, we logged Hammy's activities -- the majority of them being "sleeping" or "eating food pellets." I'm positive we made it to midnight, but I'm not sure if the log convinced our parents. I don't know why not -- it was very scientific and all. 

Anyway. It's just bizarre that it's like mid-January already. And I suppose it's bizarre that I'm sharing this eggnog bread recipe with you, well after the holidays. I actually bought some rice nog for Christmas. I have to admit, I do like eggnog, but I don't like drinking a lot of it since it's so rich. So, instead of buying real egg nog, I bought some rice nog. For some reason, that sounded rational to me. But, I never opened up the rice nog over the holidays. Nope. It sat in the cabinet. Good think that unopened rice milk is shelf-stable. So, the holidays came and went and there my rice nog sat, languishing in the cabinet. It was finally opened when my brother wanted to make an eggnog milkshake, and all we had in the fridge was an old carton of eggnog that was way past its prime (my mom did buy some real eggnog. We usually have it during the holidays. I don't know why no one really drank it this year -- we all like eggnog perfectly fine. We're not particularly eggnog haters. What was up with this past holiday season?) 

Anyhow. So now I had an opened carton of rice nog that I was pretty sure I wouldn't finish off before it had to be thrown out. Last year I made some eggnog cookies, which turned out pretty well. But I wanted to make something different this year. And I really wanted to make something with chocolate. Chocolate makes the world go 'round. And, voila -- eggnog chocolate chip bread! Well, technically I guess it would be rice nog chocolate chip bread. Details, details. 

Eggnog (Rice Nog) Chocolate Chip Bread

gluten free, soy free 

inspired by and adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free all purpose flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of salt

1/2 cup Earth Balance soy free spread, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup rice nog (or regular eggnog)
2/3 cup of Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the melted soy free spread and sugar until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract and then add in one egg at a time, whisking until fully combined. Add the rice nog to the mixture, and then slowly incorporate the flour mixture. Stir together until just combined. Toss the chocolate chips in some flour and fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the bread is golden. Let cool, and then dig in! Eat it for breakfast, eat it for dessert. Heck, eat it for lunch and dinner too! Okay, well maybe not lunch and dinner. But it's totally acceptable for breakfast and dessert.

flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce

First post of the year! Woo! 2013 -- here we are! Has anyone made any good new year's resolutions? I can't even remember the last time I did. I do remember back in elementary school, we had to write down a list of resolutions. I can't remember any of them. And I probably never actually did any of them either. I'm just so not good at making and keeping resolutions. Maybe one year I resolved to floss my teeth on a regular basis. I still don't floss my teeth on a regular basis. I'll floss my teeth for like a week, and then I'll decide to skip a day, and then it's all downhill from there. Maybe that should be my new year's resolution. I know a couple of years I've also resolved to exercise more. Pffftt. Exercise. And now here I am, posting a decadent dessert after all sorts of holiday feasting. Yup. Exercise? What. Naahhh. What you need is chocolate. You just can't go without chocolate. Plus, cocoa powder is good for you! Really. Promise. PLUS the raspberry also adds an extra boost of nutrition -- right? Raspberries are full of vitamin C and high in polyphenol antioxidants. See? Healthy. We'll just ignore all the sugar that goes into it.

Actually, I did make this flourless chocolate cake and raspberry sauce for our Christmas dinner dessert (along with a gluten-free vegan gingerbread cake -- you'll be seeing that soon!) And since my uncle is diabetic, this dessert is sugar free! (Well, sort of.) I used a mixture of stevia and agave nectar in the raspberry sauce, and stevia replaced the granulated sugar in the cake. This is just getting healthier by the second!

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce
gluten free, soy free, sugar free

Ingredients
Cake:
4 oz of Enjoy Life semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup of Earth Balance Soy Free spread
3/4 cup stevia (you might want to use less, perhaps 1/2 cup)
3 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Raspberry sauce:
16 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup stevia
1/4 agave nectar (any kind)
1/4 cup water

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8 inch cake pan (I used a spring form pan, which I think may have been a 9 inch. This resulted in a very thin, almost torte-like cake. You can certainly do this, just take the cake out of the oven sooner. You can also certainly use a regular cake pan as well. That is all. Now back to the recipe.) In a double boiler, or, like I did, a glass bowl set on a saucepan with simmering water, melt the chocolate and the Earth Spread, stirring together. Once it's all melted and and smooth, remove from the stovetop and whisk in the stevia. (You can definitely use regular sugar if you want. I would actually use less stevia next time. I simply subbed in the stevia for the sugar 1:1. However, I felt that the taste of the stevia was a little overpowering, and I think I would probably use 1/2 cup or even 1/3 cup next time. Okay, back to the recipe again!) Whisk in the eggs. Sift the cocoa powder over the mixture and whisk that in as well. Pour the batter into the pan and place it in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until there is a thin crust on top of the cake. (If you're using a 9 inch pan or spring form pan, you may want to check the cake around 15 - 20 minutes into baking.)

For the raspberry sauce: Combine the raspberries, stevia, agave nectar, and water in a saucepan. Mix it all around and bring the saucepan to a simmer, continuing to stir. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced down a bit. Let cool, and then drizzle over flourless chocolate cake and dig in! This sauce would also be awesome on ice cream or lemon cake. Or pancakes! Or waffles! Mmmm!

hello world! + dark chocolate coconut fudge

Hello there world! Welcome to my little corner of the interwebs. It seems like I've been thinking about starting a gluten free blog to share my recipes and photography for FOREVER. And, ta-da, I'm finally doing it! I love cooking and baking and thought that it would be fun to share these recipes and photos, and also to show people that allergy-conscious food can still look and taste delicious! So, here goes!

Since we are full swing into the holiday season, why not start with fudge? Whenever I think of fudge, I instantly think about Christmas. Our family would always receive fudge from friends for the holidays; it's the perfect gift to give and receive! Fudge is so versatile -- you can really go crazy with different flavors and customize the fudge for friends and family. AND you can wrap it up in really cute little boxes with ribbon. Score.

For this recipe, I took a really basic, foolproof fudge recipe and subbed in dark chocolate for the standard milk chocolate. I then added in some shredded coconut for some extra deliciousness. The coconut pairs really nicely with the dark chocolate; it adds some sweetness to balance off the bitterness of the chocolate. And, between the antioxidants in the dark chocolate and the healthy fats in the coconut, you could almost argue that this fudge is good for you. Really. It's healthy. At least that's what I tell myself everytime I eat a piece. Or two. Okay, or maybe three.


Dark Chocolate Coconut Fudge
gluten free, soy free

Ingredients
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand is good)
1 1o oz bag of Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of Enjoy Life or Theo Organic dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Earth Balance soy free spread, plus more for greasing the pan
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus more for sprinkling
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Grease a 9 x 9 inch pan with Earth Balance soy free spread. Then, in a large saucepan add the combine the sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, and Earth Balance spread. Cook over a low heat and stir often so that the chocolate mixture doesn't burn. Cook until all ingredients are melted and well combined. Remove from heat and add vanilla and shredded coconut; stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the buttered pan, smooth out, and sprinkle some additional coconut on top. Put the pan in the refrigerator and let the fudge set for at least two hours. When fudge is all set, let sit at room temperature for a bit, cut up into squares, and enjoy! Or, if you're impatient like me, run a knife under some hot water to make it easier to cut the fudge.

This recipe is MADE for riffing. You can definitely go traditional and use milk chocolate. Or switch it up and use some white chocolate! Add a layer of caramel and finish it off with a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt. Chop up some peppermint and stir it in. Add in some toffee! But probably not all at the same time. Go crazy, have fun, and enjoy!

[print recipe]

A Wednesday List: Five Things

Five things I couldn't possibly live without:

1. My cat

2. My Chucks

3. The ocean

4. Chocolate (looove the chili chocolate...soo good)

and 5. My friends and family!

Okay, so maybe that last one was more than one thing, but I kind of feel like family and friends are interchangeable. They're one thing, like familends. Or frienamily.

PS - I apologize that not all familends/frienamily have been represented equally as I do not have access to all my photos at the moment. But you all are represented in thought and spirit.

We'll pretend that made sense.

The end.