Chocolate

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients

  • Nonstick spray
  • 4 very ripe medium bananas
  • 4 1⁄2 tbsps olive oil
  • 5⁄9 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 2⁄3 dark brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cups GF all-purpose flour
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1⁄3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 3⁄4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Prep

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas using a fork. Whisk in the wet ingredients (oil, yogurt, eggs and vanilla) and brown sugar until well combined.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt) to combine. Add the dry mixture to the large bowl and stir until uniformly combined.
  4. Gently stir in chocolate chips and walnuts, and evenly pour the batter into loaf pan.
  5. Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes to until a knife inserted into the loaf comes out cleanly. After allowing loaf to cool for 10 minutes, enjoy a slice with a cup of tea.

Adapted from NYT Cooking’s Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe.

Decadent Raspberry Chocolate Torte

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” -Charles M. Schulz

Ingredients:

  • 1 pkg. Baker’s Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, divided
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 pkg. Jell-O Brand Raspberry Flavor Gelatin
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup GF baking flour*
  • 1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip Light Whipped Topping
  • 1 small box of raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with Pam Cooking Spray. Line the bottom with wax paper. Microwave 4-sq. of baking chocolate and the butter in a microwavable bowl on high for 2 minutes or until the chocolate is almost melted. Stop 1 minute through and stir the chocolate until melted. Stir dry gelatin mix and the sugar into chocolate until well blended. Mix in eggs and flour until it is completely blended.  Pour the mix into a prepared pan.  Bake for 35 minutes. Stick a toothpick into the center and make sure it comes out with moist crumbs. Do not over bake. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes. Invert onto serving platter and remove wax paper. Cool cake completely.

For the frosting, melt the remaining 4 sq. of the chocolate  in a microwavable bowl for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted.  Stir in the Cool Whip until it is smooth. Frost cake with whipped chocolate mixture. Garnish the cake with fresh raspberries.

*I used Arrowhead Mills GF All-Purpose Baking Flour for the 1/3 cup flour

Chocolate Coconut Slices

Ingredients:

  • 6 ounces milk chocolate, melted
  • 4 1/2 ounces desiccated coconut
  • 4 ounces caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325°F. Pour melted milk chocolate into a foil-lined 7 inch square tin. Beat egg and add coconut and sugar. Mix well. Spread evenly over chocolate. Top with cranberries.  Bake for 25 minutes. Allow the chocolate slices to cool. Lift out of tin and slice.  Enjoy!

This delicious recipe is by courtesy of Mary, Rosie’s lovely mom from Cow House Studios in Wexford County, Ireland.

Georgetown Cupcakes

Question: What do you think of when you think of Georgetown?

A) A beautiful harbor with cozy restaurants and cafes

B) A spectacular view overlooking the Potomac and the Kennedy Center?

C) Clusters of Hoyas sporting blue and gray near Georgetown University’s campus

D) The award-winning, gourmet cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes

Answer: It’s a no brainer – Georgetown Cupcakes, of course!

You can’t visit Georgetown without stopping by Georgetown Cupcakes. It would nearly be a crime. Scratch that. It would be a crime. Do you remember watching the Food Network on a late summer night and seeing the hit series DC Cupcakes? It made you salivate so much that you wanted to eat half a dozen cupcakes right then and there? Well, hopefully it rings a bell because the stars of the show are none other than the creators of Georgetown Cupcakes!

Alright, let’s get right to it. Hands down some of the best gluten-free cupcakes I’ve ever tasted. Not all the cupcakes are gluten-free, but everyday, Georgetown Cupcakes offers one freshly baked gluten-free cupcake flavor (and one vegan flavor). The gluten-free varieties include lava fudge, chocolate salted caramel, strawberry lava fudge, chocolate birthday, and peanut butter fudge. I’ve had the pleasure of trying the lava fudge, strawberry lava fudge, and peanut butter fudge – and I will vouch for them all! What excites me the most about Georgetown Cupcakes is that just because the cupcakes are gluten-free, the complexity of the flavors are not compromised. In other words, with most cupcakeries, you won’t be so lucky to find gluten-free cupcakes, and if you are lucky, cupcakeries with gluten-free options typically offer a vanilla or chocolate cupcake.You might get cream cheese icing if you’re lucky. Gluten-free flavors tend to be very standard flavors, they aren’t usually the adventurous flavors. And Georgetown Cupcakes truly defies that notion. The strawberry lava fudge has a delicious strawberry icing and a soft chocolate cake base that melt in your mouth with a gooey, rich, chocolatey “lava-like” filling just flowing out of the cupcake. It’s a work of art.

IMG_4971

So, how do you get your hands on these cupcakes? Well, Georgetown Cupcakes can be found in Georgetown, Bethesda, NYC, Boston, LA, and Atlanta. If you can’t make it in person, don’t fret. They deliver all across the country! I once received a dozen gluten-free cupcakes from here via mail as a surprise present to cheer me up – take my word for it, your family and friends will love you forever if you ship them some of these cupcakes!

Cheers,

Anika

June 2015: Betty Crocker GF Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

“C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me” -Cookie Monster

Summertime means block parties celebrating the 4th of July. Summertime means weekend trips to the Big Apple and nation’s capital. Summertime means lazy afternoons binge-watching tv shows on Netflix. But summertime also means homemade baked goods. No, those aren’t just for Christmas time and the New Years. Any occasion– summer or winter– calls for a plate of homemade cookies!

Cookies. Such a simple baked good. Just add 1 stick of butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1 egg to Betty Crocker’s GF Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix. Mix throughly– I’d recommend mixing with a spoon or spatula first and then kneading it with your hands– it makes the dough softer. The instructions call for an ungreased cookie sheet, however I’m a fan of using Pam. And I found that if you choose to make smaller, bite-size cookies, you can make approximately 24 cookies from 1/2 the chocolate chip cookie mix. Moreover, only bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake the cookies.Keeping all these tips in mind, this recipe is simple. So simple even a fourth grader could bake these cookies. These are soft, chewy, melt-in-your-mouth gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Hands down my favorite chocolate chip cookies!

Also try out Betty Crocker’s GF Brownie Mix! The best gluten-free brownie mix I’ve had thus far. I haven’t been able to get my hands on the gluten-free cake mix yet, but I’m dying to try it. Comment with your favorite gluten-free baking mixes!

Cheers,

Anika

January 2015: Trader Joe’s GF Brownie Mix

This is questionably the most disquieting and rejuvenating time of year. Rounding the last corner of 2014, some of us leave behind familiarity, take comfort in the newly found ability to change, and seek a new beginning. Others are content in with their choices and their seemingly inevitable fate and pray for nothing to change. Some choose to confront our actions of the past year and others choose to move forward without taking a glance at the powdered rubble that lay where they once trekked.

Where do you stand as a new year and new opportunity stand right before us? Are you smiling as you replay back intimate, cherished memories in your head from the year past? Are you regretfully looking back on a year full of mistakes ready for a clean slate? No matter what events transpired in 2014, 2015-or simply the mere idea of a new year- can bring about a fresh start or a reminder of who we are and who we want to be.

How are you going to play the next chapter in the game of life? Well, that is that’s up to you, my friend.

* * * * * *

And the holiday baking continued. Over this winter break, a friend of mine kindly baked me a batch of gluten-free brownies. It’s not too often people are willing to share their baked goods (obviously with good reason) – so do be appreciative of when they do!

They were absolutely de-licious. In each bite, the brownie crumbles apart in your mouth into a perfect combination of silky chocolatey-ness with an immensely chewy texture. I thought I had reached a heaven for brownie-enthuiasts with Betty Crocker’s GF Brownie Mix; however, I was shocked to find that these Trader Joe’s brownies hands down beat out the former reigning champion. Now, mind you, I did not bake these brownies, so I can only pray that they will turn out just as good when I do. Additionally, to mix things up a little, my friend added chopped walnuts to the brownie mix for a little nutty flavor. If you would like to experience the perfection of gluten-free brownies, simply purchase the baking mix from Trader Joe’s, follow the directions on the box, add some chopped walnuts, and voila!

Happy baking and cheers to the endless possibilities the new year may bring!

Anika

December 2014: Betty Crocker GF Chocolate Brownie Mix

“Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate” -Jo Brand

The holiday season is here! Bright lights, gingerbread houses, festive snowman sweaters, peppermint hot chocolate, ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas- the whole ordeal. It’s that time of year to spread warmth and joy, to give a friendly smile to a stranger, and to donate presents to those less fortunate in true holiday spirit. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

In keeping with holiday traditions, I have commenced the journey through a baker’s heaven- starting with a scrumptious batch of gluten-free “double chocolate” brownies. I have made numerous batches of GF brownies over the years, but Betty Crockers GF Chocolate Brownie mix is unparalelled in the field of brownie mixes. Instead of the typical sticky, dense gluten-free brownie, I strived to make a brownie that was immensely chocolatey, fudge-y, and chewy in the middle with a crackly top- the perfect brownie. And that is exactly what I made with this mix.

I had been using Bob’s Red Mill GF Brownie Mix for years. At first, I was satisfied with the mere idea of being able to eat a brownie again. But I soon realized that the brownie itself wasn’t satisfying at all! These brownies were sticky. With each bite, the morsels of brownie would stick to my front teeth and gum line. Definitely not the most pleasant experience! The corner pieces weren’t even worth fighting over- and that’s saying something.

Betty Crockers was my savior. This mix allowed me to make brownies to the point of bakery perfection. I followed the simple recipe on the back of the box: heat up the oven to 350 degrees, grease the baking pan, stir the brownie mix, 1/2 stick of butter, and 2 eggs, spread the batter, and bake. It only takes five-ten minutes to prep before popping the brownies in the oven to bake. I only made one alteration: I added about 1/3 cup of semisweet medium-sized chocolate chips to the batter. I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a chocoholic, and if you are too, I would definitely recommend adding a little more chocolate to enhance the flavor. You can even get creative by adding white and dark chocolate chips to the batter, frosting the brownies with peanut butter, or even sprinkling crushed peppermint for a fun holiday twist!

Hopefully you whip up a batch of brownies or two this holiday season and send in any pictures of your baking creations!!

Cheers,

Anika

Gluten-Free on Halloween?!

Hello, lovely people! Unfortunately we haven’t crossed the finish line on the marathon to gingerbread houses and Christmas carols as yet, but do not fret, we have another holiday pit-stop racing towards us! This Friday is a night for laughs and scares, to be yourself and to be someone or something else entirely, to rekindle your inner kid spirit and to solemnly swear never to do it again at the end of the night. But most importantly, it is a night notorious for us fellow celiacs to slip up and down a chocolate or two that may not be gluten-free.

Yes, I understand that those adorable fun-size chocolate bars don’t have ingredients listed on them- heck most halloween candy doesn’t! That’s why it’s imperative you do your research before so you can enjoy a fun-filled night without anything interfering with your schemes and shenanigans. Below you can find two great links to the most updated list of gluten-free Halloween candy. Please take the time to browse through and make a mental note of any candies or chocolates you thought were gluten-free but do not appear on the list. Steer clear of those on Friday night!!

http://celiac.org/live-gluten-free/gluten-free-lifestyle/gluten-free-candy-list/

http://surefoodsliving.com/2014/10/gluten-free-halloween-candy-quick-list-2014/

Please feel free to comment with any specific questions regarding staying safe and eating gluten-free on Halloween or simply your favorite Halloween treat!

Cheers,

Anika

 

 

Choco Banana Pie

“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” -David Mamet

Ingredients:

  • 2 bananas, sliced
  • 8 oz. low-fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese
  • 2 6 oz. Chobani Greek Yogurt Vanilla Blended
  • 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1/3 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 Mi-Del GF Chocolate Snap Pie Crust

IMG_1175

Combine greek yogurt and cream cheese in mixing bowl. Mix with hand-held electric mixer. Add the vanilla extract and nutmeg while mixing. Place approximately half of the thinly sliced bananas to cover the base of the pie crust.

IMG_1177

Then evenly pour the greek yogurt and cream cheese filling on top of the bananas. Layer the top with the remaining sliced bananas. Put the pie in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of four hours. Enjoy!

Aux Petits Delices

Finally, the time has come: my first bakery review! As a fellow gluten-free foodie, you know as well as I do that bakeries contain all the wheat flour filled goodies that we are deprived of. Is this a gluten-free bakery? Sadly no. But it has many gluten-free treats for us to munch on along side with our friends!

This fine French bakery is well known for its pastries, chocolates, and cakes. Located in the heart of Wayne, PA, its one of the “Main Line’s” best bakeries. You absolutely must try the handmade chocolates. Simply ask which ones are not contaminated with gluten. My favorites include the Louvre, a white chocolate with the center of marinated raspberries, and the Hazelnut Diamond, a milk chocolate filled with hazelnut cream and fresh hazelnut. They are simply divine!

You may be thinking, okay, I’ve got to try some fancy chocolates, but any baked goods? Well, of course! The French bakery offers a specialty gluten-free cake menu. I have ordered one of these cakes (made of almond flour and potato starch) almost every year when my birthday rolls around. My two favorites are Citronelle which is an almond cake with lemon filling, and Delice which is a chocolate mousse with hazelnut crunch. I have yet to try all five year-round gluten-free options. And I’ve heard the macaroons (gluten-free) are just scrumptious!*

Cheers,

Anika

IMG_2513

* I finally got around to trying the macaroons and would definitely vouch for them! The vanilla bean and raspberry ones are my favorite.