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Gluten-free Pumpkin Cheesecake – NO! Pumpkin Custard Pie

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Pumpkin cheesecake in the pan

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THIS RECIPE IS UPDATED HERE!!!

—————————————————————————————————- This is a recipe we have been making for about 20 years!  It pre-dates the new trend of using faux cream cheese in vegan cheesecakes. The recipe itself has not changed much over time, but my perception of it has.

Something I used to call cheesecake, is now not really that at all.  Back in the day, when tofu cheesecakes were the standard, this was a sort of typical  recipe.  Now that there are faux cream cheese products available that when baked with more closely approximate a non-vegan cheesecake, I question the naming of this little pie.  Truth be told, it is a pie not a cake! This is, in fact, more of a pumpkin custard pie than a pumpkin cheesecake!

So there you have it.  Just like that, the recipe has not changed, but the name has!   In my opinion, this recipe is still the best pumpkin anything I have ever made.  Hope you like it too!

Gluten-free Pumpkin Custard Pie – 9 inch

Serves 8 or more

Ingredients:

Crust:

Dry:
½ cup gluten-free oats
¼ cup whole, raw brazil nuts
¼ cup gluten-free flour mix #2
1 teaspoon sorghum flour
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot
Pinch cinnamon
Dash xanthan gum

Wet:
2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil pie pan.

Put the nuts and all dry ingredients in food processor and process until perfectly smooth. Dough should be oily from the nuts. Be sure to scrape sides of food processor to ensure nuts are completely blended.

Add liquids through the spout of the food processor, and process until just together. Careful not to over process.

With well-floured hands, press dough into 9 inch pie pan. This pie crust does not need to be pre-baked.

Filling:

½ pound extra firm tofu
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
½ cup steamed sweet potato
1 thin sliver fresh ginger (more if you like ginger :-) )
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon arrowroot
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Dash allspice
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup brown rice syrup
1 liquid ounce tahini
¼ teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup pecan pieces

Place all ingredients in food processor and process until perfectly smooth. This should take several minutes, and you will need to pause and scrape the sides of the food processor. There should be no lumps visible in the mixture.

Pour into unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle pecans on top.

Bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

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Posted in Recipes, gluten-free baking, vegan baking | 7 Comments »

One 9 inch gluten-free tart crust

Monday, October 11th, 2010

photo by Kathy Patalsky

This crust was previously posted in a larger batch with measures given by weight. I think this one will be much more useful for folks working at home!  I also eliminated the buckwheat flour which tends to darken the crust.  Enjoy!

Dry:
½ cup gluten-free oats
¼ cup whole, raw brazil nuts
¼ cup gluten-free flour mix #2
1 teaspoon sorghum flour
1 tablespoon coconut flour
½ teaspoon arrowroot
Pinch cinnamon
Dash xanthan gum

Wet:
2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Preparation:

Put the nuts and all dry ingredients in food processor and process until perfectly smooth. Dough should be oily from the nuts. Be sure to scrape sides of food processor to ensure nuts are completely blended.

Add liquids through the spout of the food processor, and process until just together. Careful not to over process.

With well-floured hands, press dough into 9 inch pie pan. This pie crust does not need to be pre-baked.

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Posted in Recipes, gluten-free baking, vegan baking | 3 Comments »

Recipe tasting – day four (WE FINISHED!)

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Vegan gluten free sesame peanut cookies - one from the old days....

This really wasn’t such a big project.  I just have this nature that has to work on everything over and over.  So until the recipes were submitted in final form by Dustin, I was working to make them more betterer.

This sesame coated, peanut butter cookie recipe is a classic from the old Bread and Roses days.  It has gone through quite a few changes through the years. The original version was a crunchy cookie made with hydrogenated margarine (gasp) and wheat.  Now it is the softest and most melt in your mouth delicious glutenfree confection, with subtle undertones of coconut.  This cookie has long been a favorite of mine, as you can see by my loving description.

We also tested the pie crust recipe, which I scaled down to one 9 inch crust, and a citrus almond custard pie.  Dustin was quite taken with the custard pie and had it for breakfast three days in a row!

The pie crust recipe was brilliantly reworded by the (oft mentioned) recipe tester extraordinaire, Dustin. I will be reposting it here in the next few days.  As I most humbly thanked him and said “How many more ways can I find to praise you???????” he replied – get ready for the quote of a life time here –  “Oh, please. I am Forrest Gumping these recipes. You are The Supreme Master Genius from the Vegan Culinary Isle of Lesbos.”

Well if you insist…..

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Recipes, gluten-free baking | 2 Comments »

Recipe testing – day three

Friday, September 10th, 2010

Vegan glutenfree apple cake from the FoA test kitchens.

I am so late in posting after day three! I am literally done! Dustin has a few more recipes to test, but my portion is done. I slept in and took a long walk and drank a lot of tea and did a whole lot of nothing. I may even eat a proper meal today!

The hard part of this project for me was scaling down the measurements while keeping the final product true to the original recipe.  This is easy enough if you like math, which I do, but recipes need to be user friendly.  That was where the biggest challenge was for me.  It actually resulted in an entirely new recipe for a product we make all the time. Yup, the bi-product of this project is a new product for local Gone Pie people.  I will be tweaking that this weekend and offering it to stores next week.

So feast your eyes on the latest results from the test kitchen. I won’t tell you what Dustin renamed this cake, but let’s just say that if we don’t finish testing all these recipes soon, we will both need entirely new wardrobes!  Thankfully it is the weekend, as we are now banned from sending any more sweets into his partner’s office.  Our taste testers are incredulous they are eating vegan, glutenfree items and taking seconds.  And thirds.  And so on ….

Here is a closer look at a version of the cake I made when I was writing the recipe.

Apple cake fancied up with a sliced pear topping

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Recipes, gluten-free baking | No Comments »

Recipe testing – day two

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Glutenfree vegan sourcream chocolate cupcake from the FoA/Gone Pie test kitchens!

Day two was a bit busier around here. I was working on the last couple of recipes for the chapter while Dustin was checking in with questions about the cupcake recipe.

Dustin called in the middle of the batch to check on a measurement that I had given him as “1/c c” (?). He had already guessed the amount correctly by the time I returned his call and was scooping cupcakes. Mid conversation he exclaimed “this batter is delicious”. Oh the joys of vegan baking. Guilt free batter tasting!

After the recipe was completed and passed the test, Dustin politely said “I have changed wording here and there.”

My lesson for today is that making recipes is challenging but it’s only part of the job. Making a recipe usable for others is another HUGE task. For example, Dustin asked “Should I also make a comment on the dough itself for the cupcakes? It’s much thicker than a typical cupcake batter…I wouldn’t want people to think they’ve done it wrong.” Um. Yes please….

Dustin’s final comment of the day:
“You could make an incredible gluten free chocolate cake from that cupcake recipe! That’s an impressive final product. I am going to make it as a cake next time!”

My final comment of the day: “DUSTIN, DUSTIN, DUSTIN! I HEART DUSTIN!” :-)

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Recipes, gluten-free baking | No Comments »

Recipe testing – day one

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Glutenfree vegan oatmeal cookies from the FoA test kitchens!

If you know me or read this blog, you know I am one serious baker. Perhaps not how you picture the carefree life of a baker, magically concocting and spreading sugary joy. I do that too. But before I unveil a recipe or a treat, I obsess! Kind of a lot….

I worry when Gone Pie sells something that it will be what the customer is expecting. And hopefully even a bit more. I try to be creative when I present a product, but still stay close to what is expected. You know, nothing much. Just all things to all people.

When I write a recipe, I turn that obsessing up a notch. Egads! I want everyone’s results to delight them. I am guiding their use of time, energy and ingredients and hoping they will be pleased with their efforts. I really really really need to make my recipe tasty and unique.

It is with all of these humble goals in my mind, I enter this latest project I am working on. I am happy to be submitting several glutenfree recipes to the soon to be released second edition of Dining with Friends

Enter Dustin Rhodes, recipe tester extraordinaire who is currently test baking the submitted recipes. Today was oatmeal cookie day. I think Dustin’s cookies look better than mine! And I couldn’t be more pleased…..

UPDATE:

Dustin Rhodes, recipe tester extraordinaire, received the following feedback on our joint effort:
“They are delicious; I love the texture and the way they just melt in my mouth. 9.9 out of 10 (just because 10 is hardly ever used).”

You’re definitely going to want to order this cookbook! :-)

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Recipes, gluten-free baking | 1 Comment »

Mmmm….. Applesauce cake

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
Mmmmm......

Close up of applesauce cake with sliced pears on top

On Tuesday afternoon, I took this cake and a second version with a few minor changes in the recipe, to the offices of Friends of Animals in Connecticut.  The cake was meant to speak for me and my recipe submissions to the second edition of Dining with Friends.

I met with Priscilla Feral and taste tested the two versions.  We were in agreement that, the first version was good and would be a fine recipe to include in the book.  If only we hadn’t tasted the second version….  This recipe and several others will be tested next week.  Here is hoping they can be replicated by another baker.

As Priscilla said on twitter “Chef Gonepie’s 8-9 NEW, scrumptuous #glutenfree #vegan recipes in ~Dining With Friend’s~2nd edition are secret until book’s out!”

Ingredients: organic applesauce, glutenfree flours (organic sorghum flour, organic millet flour, organic coconut flour, organic brown rice flour, garfava flour, potato flour, tapioca flour),organic sour cream, organic maple syrup, organic vegan sugar, organic safflower oil, organic coconut oil, baking powder, baking soda, spices, xanthan gum, sea salt.

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Recipes, gluten-free | 4 Comments »

Vegan sour cream recipe Gone Pie stylee

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

I have been kind of obsessed with making our own vegan alternatives to commercial products lately. As I mentioned in a previous post we have been making sour cream and cream cheese to use in our recipes at the bakery. This was motivated by the so-so taste of the commercially available products, as well as their use of palm oil. I was pretty much working off a standard, functional internet vegan sour cream recipe.  Yesterday I decided to see if I could make a tasty condiment as well as a functional baking ingredient.

The internet recipes I have tried taste a lot like tofu, as does the Tofutti product “Better than Sour Cream”. The Tofutti product was also really, really firm and kind of unpleasant tasting on its own, although fine to bake and cook with. It is much whiter than what I came up with. I tried to select my ingredients with the goal of producing something as close to white as one expects sour cream to be. Alas, it is a tiny bit beige. But let’s focus on the flavor, which I think is quite good.

behold the "sour cream"

I am hoping this recipe will be included in the updated “Dining With Friends”, as it is featured in a couple of the recipes Gone Pie has contributed to the book.


Vegan Tofu Sour Cream

1 pound organic soft tofu
2T fresh organic lemon juice
2-3T organic brown rice vinegar
2T organic brown rice syrup
1/2 t sea salt
1-2T organic coconut oil
1 T mild organic vegetable oil
1/4 t xanthan gum

Gather your ingredients. Put them in your food processor and whirl away until you have a super smooth final product. I let it go several minutes. Patience in the processing will serve you in the final product. The longer you process the tofu etc., the smoother, lighter and better the final product. I definitely recommend letting the sour cream sit over night so the flavors can coalesce.

I used the maximum amount of vinegar and coconut oil. It was nice and sour and I think the coconut oil gave it a nice finished taste. You can definitely use all vegetable oil to replace the coconut oil, if you prefer. I am pretty sure the sour cream will have a hint of tofu flavor if you do that. The brown rice syrup is very mildly sweet and adds a nice sheen. Trust me on the salt and xanthan gum. The recipe really works out well once everything blends together.

I haven’t had non-vegan sour cream in over 20 years, so I am totally not sure if this tastes like the item it is based on. It definitely tastes better than the Tofutti product or the sour creams I made using on-line recipes.  As I taste tested it during the day for texture and flavor, I found myself enjoying it more than I expected. It even had a nearly dairy after taste, although I am not sure if that is a good thing!

I was pretty pleased. Hope you will be too!

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Recipes, palm oil, vegan baking, vegan cooking | 11 Comments »

Gluten-free Lemon poppyseed cake – updated

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Bathed in sunlight, lemon poppy and chocolate spice mini-cupcakes

Since I first posted this recipe, I have learned a few good tips that have made this recipe far superior to the earlier version.  I definitely used WAY too much xanthan gum originally.  And guess what?  The original recipe also had palm oil!  Yup.   I, too, had to learn of the evils of palm oil.

Here is the recipe again.  This time, I believe it is nearly perfect!

I make this recipe in a mixer.  Here is the most organized way I have found to make a semi-complicated recipe.  It is actually quite simple, if everything is organized properly.

1)  Process the following ingredients until extremely smooth and well aerated, then set aside.

  • 1/2 cup So delicious coconut milk (unsweetened)
  • 1     cup soured non-dairy milk
  • 1/2 cup silken tofu
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup lemon rind
  • 1T1t vanilla extract
  • 2T lemon extract
  • 2T lemon juice

2) Put the mixer bowl on top of a pot of hot water – double boiler style and combine these ingredients.

  • 1/4  cup coconut oil
  • 1/4  cup mild oil
  • 1 3/4 cup vegan white sugar

3)  Combine and sift dry ingredients.  Then add in poppy seeds.

  • 2 1/2 cup gluten-free flour mix
  • 2T quinoa flour
  • 2T coconut flour
  • 2T amaranth flour
  • 2t baking powder
  • 1/2t baking soda
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/2 t xanthan gum
  • 1/2 cup poppy seeds

4)  Take melted oils and sugar and whip them until they are homogeneous.  Add a small amount of the tofu liquid – again whipping until everything is well incorporated.  The mixture should be smooth and light.

5) Alternately add dry and remaining wet ingredients, scraping bowl well and often.  Do not over mix.  Once all ingredients are added, remove bowl from mixer and give it a good mix by hand to make sure the batter is evenly blended.

6) I made adorable tiny cupcakes, but you can bake this in any shape you like.  Scoop into your chosen mold, flatten the batter with wet hands and bake at 350 degrees.  The mini-cupcakes baked 25 minutes.  A larger mold will require longer baking.  The final product is firm to the touch.

I glazed the cupcakes with lemon and sugar and they were quite a hit!

Happy baking!

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Posted in Recipes, gluten-free baking, gluten-free flours, palm oil, vegan baking | Comments Off

Gluten-free/vegan Chocolate Spice Cupcakes

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Chocolate spice cupcake with a modified version of our very own rich dark chocolate frosting, then topped with chopped filberts and crystallized ginger.

I have a new favorite blog these days – An Opera Singer in the Kitchen.

One day, when perusing this ultra-tasty looking blog, I found a recipe, which inspired the above creation. Here is the recipe for the Gone Pie version of the cupcake. I recommend topping it with your favorite vegan ganache with a bit of cinnamon added.  There is a ganache recipe on the original post that seems nice (although I urge you to replace the Earth Balance with coconut oil).

Liquid ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup non-dairy milk (gluten-free)
  • 1/3 cup ginger syrup*
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 T coconut oil (melted)
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 1 t cider vinegar (gluten-free)
  • 3/4 cup vegan sugar

* ginger syrup is a delicious bi-product of crystallized ginger making. You can replace it with maple or agave and a touch more ginger powder.

Dry ingredients

  • 2T gluten-free flour blend
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/3 cup sorghum flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1/8 t salt
  • 1/4 t cinnamon
  • 1/8t ginger
  • dash cloves
  • dash cardamom
  • 1/4 t xanthan gum

    • Whip up the wet ingredients until they are well mixed and fluffy.

    Sift together dry ingredients.

    Fold dry ingredients into whipped wet ingredients.  Do not over mix.

    Scoop into muffin tins (I got 10 cupcakes) and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

    Depending upon how much you pack your flours into measuring cups, particularly the coconut, this will either make a perfectly domed cupcake or a slightly concave one.  I prefer the concave as it leaves a little crater for more frosting!

    Enjoy!

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    Posted in Recipes, gluten-free baking, gluten-free flours, palm oil, vegan baking | 6 Comments »

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