Banana Blueberry Bread

In an attempt to clear our freezer of frozen bananas, I made some banana blueberry bread this morning. I created somewhat of a hybrid recipe: I used a recipe from my Babycakes book and my 100 Best Gluten Free Recipes that my brother's girlfriend gave me as a Christmas present (thanks Val!) and added in some twists of my own. Daring, eh?

So, if you're in need of some tasty banana bread (because everyone needs tasty banana bread), here's the recipe.

You'll need:

2 cups of garbanzo fava bean flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp xantham gum

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp group cardamom (totally optional)

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (also totally optional)

1/2 cup coconut oil (or canola oil if you can't get your hands on some coconut oil)

2/3 cup milk of choice

2/3 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium-sized bananas)

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen. I used frozen wild Maine blueberries)

Some cinnamon sugar for sprinkling on top!

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 7 x 4 x 3-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xantham gum, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Add 1/2 cup oil and agave nectar, milk and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir until the batter is smooth. Using a spatula, gently fold in the bananas and blueberries until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Fill the prepared pan with the batter. Sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top for some extra-goodness. Bake the banana bread on the center rack for 45 - 50 minutes. Test to see if bread is done with a toothpick. Let the bread cool for 10 - 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Lael Cakes

So I just found this website and I felt that I must share. Emily Lael Aumiller just launched her new website, Lael Cakes. Lael Cakes is a bakery dedicated to baking vegan and gluten-free cakes.

Not only are they vegan and gluten-free, but they're beautiful cakes to boot.

I love that more places are becoming aware that there are people can't eat gluten and wheat, and lots of people are turning to veganism. Gluten-free products have certainly come a long, long way since I started eating gluten-free around 3 years ago. Just look at these gorgeous cakes! I don't think very many gluten-free cakes look liked this 3 years ago.

Yay for vegan and gluten-free!

Yay for Lael Cakes!

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

So I found a recipe for lemon raspberry cupcakes on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen like weeks ago and finally got around to making them last weekend! Of course I adapted them to be gluten-free. I was a little worried at first, but they came out delicious!

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Adapted from Tina (My Life as a Mrs) from Tasty Kitchen

1 box (18.25 Oz. Box) Yellow Cake Mix (I used Gefen's Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix instead)
1 box (small 4-serving Box) Instant Lemon Pudding (I used fat free lemon yogurt instead)
3 whole Eggs (I used 2 eggs since that's what it said on my cake mix box)
1 cup Water (My box said 1/4 cups water)
⅓ cups Vegetable Oil
⅛ cups Lemon Juice (I think I used about ⅓ cups lemon juice -- I wanted these cupcakes to be lemony!)
2 cups Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

I also added about 3/4 cups garbanzo and fava bean flour (I didn't have any more all-purpose gluten free baking flour left) because the batter seemed especially watery. (This is where I started to worry -- a) the batter was watery, b) garbanzo and fava flour can have a different taste.)

Anyway. Back to the recipe!

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line muffin tins with cupcake paper. Mix together the cupcake ingredients (except raspberries) until combined well. Then gently fold in the raspberries.

Fill lined muffin tins with batter, about 2/3 full. Bake according to box mix instructions (I think I left mine in a few minutes longer than the directions on my box). Remove from the oven then remove cupcakes from the tin and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.

The original recipe also had a recipe for the frosting. I just used regular old store bought vanilla frosting for my cupcakes (and I even think they would've been quite tasty without the frosting). But, if you feel ambitious enough to make your own frosting, here's the recipe:

2 blocks (8 Oz. Block) Cream Cheese
1 stick Butter
1 cup Powdered Sugar
4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix together frosting ingredients. Pour into a pastry bag with the pastry tip of choice (or you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off) and pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Top with a fresh raspberry (because they look so darn pretty!).

These cupcakes were absolutely delicious! I had nothing to worry about with the garbanzo flour -- they were quite yummy! Garbanzo flour is actually really good and healthy to boot -- it has lots of protein and even fiber!

So, I guess these cupcakes were actually semi-healthy...before I slathered vanilla frosting all over them.

Oh well.

I love frosting.

And sugar.

Mmmm.