Showing newest 8 of 10 posts from February 2010. Show older posts
Showing newest 8 of 10 posts from February 2010. Show older posts

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Gluten-Free Tiramisu for Daring Bakers

This has been an insane month.  So many great things packed into this tiny 28-day period.  The ebook I created for Haiti (which is still on sale!  It costs a minimum of $10 and all proceeds go to the Red Cross for Haiti Relief) has raised almost $5000.  I received my copies of BlogAid, the cookbook created by Julie that I was lucky enough to be a part of, and we've been watching tons of Olympic events.  So many amazing stories there.

This was the perfect way to cap off this month.  No question.

TiramisuOrange

Well, I had some questions before I started.  We were making cheese after all!  Then, many other parts and coffee.  I'm not a fan of coffee.  But I do love tea.  There has been some Chai in my house recently, so I decided to make a Gluten-Free Chai Tiramisu.  Oh yes.  It is as fantastically delicious as it sounds.

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Although don't typically post the challenge recipes, this one I have to share.  But the Ladyfingers, they deserve their own post.  Watch for that this week.  I've already made 2 batches.  One for the tiramisu and one just for cookie eating =D.  But don't worry, you can still scroll down for pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures.

Gluten-Free Chai Tiramisu
Adapted from the February 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge by Lauren of Celiac Teen.
Ingredients
For the zabaglione:
2 large egg yolks
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup brewed Chai tea
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

For the vanilla pastry cream:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp millet flour
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup whole milk

For the whipped cream:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract

To assemble the tiramisu:
2 cups brewed Chai tea, warmed
1/2 cup sugar (or less, the tea doesn't need as much as the espresso)
1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)

Steps
For the zabaglione: 
Heat water in a double boiler. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Chai tea, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.

Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.  Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the pastry cream: 
Mix together the sugar, millet flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth. Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.

Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes (it really does take awhile!) the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer or not worry about them.) Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the whipped cream:
Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

To assemble the tiramisu: 
Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or round springform pan. Mix together the Chai tea and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

Working quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened tea, about 1 second per side (I only did one side not both). They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.  Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges. Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer (Mine only had enough for 2 layers, but my pan was pretty large). Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.  (Or freeze, thats what I did with mine!)

To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

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CremeAFouetter
Mascarpone first.

Sure, I could be boring and show you the English side of the box of cream, but what fun would that be.  I'm also trying *cough* to use a bit more of my French.  I don't have very much.  But I can read this!

MicrowaveThermometer
The microwave thermometer.  I don't even know if it works when its not in a microwave.  C'est la vie.

Lemon
Did you catch that French?  Thought so ;D.  

Lemons, for lemon juice, to change the chemistry of the whipped cream, allowing the buttery goodness of mascarpone to emerge.

MascarponeLiquid
But not now.  Now, it must chill until morning.

Mascarpone
Ta da!  Thick, fantastic and a wonderful addition to desserts and dinners alike.

Chai
Another very important part:  Tea, Chai Tea.  

Its sort of like Bond, James Bond.  And related to Bond, Hydrogen Bond.  Yes, we watched a cheesy movie in Chemistry.  You probably don't want to ask.

Ladyfingers
Ladyfingers.  Soon, you will get this recipe.  Seriously.  It's worth the wait.

Ladyfinger
Dip in Chai.

StartingTiramisu
Drop in Pan.

Tiramisu
The next day, pull it out of the freezer.  So unassuming, yet so awesome.

TiramisuSlice
Isn't it gorgeous cut?

TiramisuCocoa
How about with a sprinkling of cocoa powder?

TiramisuOrange
Or some orange wedges?

I've been eating so many oranges lately.  Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Dessert, Now.

TiramisuBite
Is it weird to say that this photo brings me peace?  The little spot on the corner that is just starting to melt, the crystalized centre that was smoothly removed with a fork, the innocent cocoa standing by.  The clementine wedges in all of their orange, segmented glory.  It just feels right to me.

TiramisuFork
It ends with one bite.  Don't they always?

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Once more, please consider purchasing an ebook for Haiti!  

Thank you immensely to Deeba and Aparna for this challenge!  You pushed me out of my comfort zone and into the arms of this fabulously versatile dessert.  Thank you for all of your work on the challenge, it was wonderful!

xoxo
Lauren

Twitter, Facebook, Foodbuzz and Flickr.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Brazilian Cheese Bread

Traditional foods that are naturally gluten-free are gold mines for any gluten-free baker.  They've been perfected through the generations, and due to available ingredients, just happen to be missing that fateful component that some of us lucky ones can't tolerate.  The darling Amy behind Playing House introduced me to this particular wonder, and I'm very glad she did!  It also only uses one flour; that of tapioca.  You cook it right on the stovetop before popping them into the oven to form these adorable little buns.  Sure, it may sound odd, but I found them to be an absolute delight!

CheeseBread

The fantastic gooeyness of the tapioca starch cooks on the stove, forging a yeast-free spongyish dough.  As you stir the cheese into this hot clumped-up mess, the dough begs it to liquify; the miniscule shreds of hard cheese take their time contemplating whether or not to oblige.  Before either party can realize, they've already been plopped onto the silpat-lined pan and shoved into the oven.

Brazilian Cheese Bread
Adapted from All Recipes by Lauren of Celiac Teen.
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp salt
2 cups tapioca starch/flour
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup grated romano cheese
2 eggs, beaten

Steps
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place olive oil, water, milk and salt into a large saucepan over high heat.  When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the tapioca and garlic powder until smooth.  Let mixture rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir the cheeses and eggs into the tapioca mixture until well combined.  The mixture won't be smooth, but like cottage cheese.  Drop rounded 1/4-cup sized balls of the dough onto an ungreased or silpat lined cookie sheet.  Bake until the tops are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

CheeseBread Hand
We had some fantastically deep yellow yolks in the eggs, so the colour carried through to the buns!  Or is it bread?  Honestly, I don't care.  These are delicious.

CheeseBread Cut
Split in half and topped with some butter that quickly liquified and seeped in to all of those beautiful tiny crevices.

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I wish I had more to show you of these, but they disappeared much too fast.  I think it made 10 or maybe 12, but I can't be too sure as at the end of the day, there was only 2 left.  They were left uncovered on the counter-top, and were fantastic for lunch the next day, warmed in the microwave and topped with a pat of butter.

Without question, these will be made again.  

xoxo
Lauren

Twitter, Facebook, Foodbuzz and Flickr.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Lemon Cheesecake Brownie Pie

On the night Canada received the first gold medal on home soil (or snow, as my brother quickly corrected) ever, it was also Valentine's Day.  Speaking of Valentine's, you should read Tea's post.  It's beautiful.  There are so many types of love, as we too often forget.  This pie, has many types of love.  First off, it's a pie.  A just tough enough shell that holds everything else together.

46.365


Lemon zest brings out the soft and creamy tones of the cream cheese.  Not over powering, but refreshing.  Then, a lightly placed layer of sliced almonds adds just a touch of texture.  As it bakes, they soften up giving a barely noticable separation between the cheesecake and brownie layers.  The final layer of brownie completes the pleasing dessert.  Or breakfast if you really want - it does have cheese and nuts and fruit after all!

So, here I present to you the ultimate dessert of indecision.  Not deciding is the best part of it =D.  Of course, if you wanted to add a topping, that opens up the realms of possibilities: a compote, whipped cream, ganache, buttercream, all of the above?  Its up to you.

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Lemon Cheesecake Brownie Pie
An original recipe by Lauren of Celiac Teen.
Ingredients
8 oz block of cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg white
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp lemon zest
1 pre-baked gluten-free pie shell
2 tbsp sliced almonds
150 grams semisweet chocolate
1 stick butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour
1/2 cup rice flour

Steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Blend together first five ingredients until uniform and spreadable.  Spread into pie shell.  Sprinkle almonds on top.

Melt butter and chocolate together, in 30-second increments in the microwave, stirring between each.  Let cool a bit.  Whip eggs and sugar in a bowl, until thick and light in colour.  Add vanilla to egg mixture.  Gradually add chocolate mixture to egg mixture, ensuring that the eggs don't scramble by adding the chocolate slowly and at the same time, whisking the mixtures together quickly.

Once chocolate is incorporated, whisk in the tapioca and rice flours.  Pour brownie mixture on top of nuts and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the brownie comes out clean.

Note: If you don't do nuts, you can leave them out.

LemonCheese
The brownie-less pie.  

CheesecakeBrownie Pie
Layers of lusciousness.  Brownie yumminess.  Cream cheese smoothness.  Pie crust flakiness.  All awesomeness.

CheesecakeBrownie Pie Fork
Do I really need to say anything more?  Its got everything.  And can become anything.

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In other news, the Haiti Ebook is still for sale.  Thank you to all that have purchased a copy - we've raised (including all of the matching) nearly $5000 for the Canadian Red Cross, under Haiti relief.  If you haven't bought one yet, I highly recommend that you do - its a minimum of $10, and totals over 80 recipes, with 90 pages.  Best of all, all proceeds go to the Red Cross.

xoxo
Lauren

Twitter, Facebook, Foodbuzz and Flickr.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Chai-Infused Quinoa Flakes

Sounds so exotic, doesn't it?  Over the past couple of years, my breakfast habits have changed drastically.  The only thing that hasn't is that I have breakfast habits and love pancakes on the weekends.  Before going gluten-free, I would go through cereals.  Probably one and a half boxes before I was bored of it.  Then, I would ask mom to pick up a different one, grudgingly finishing that last half-box.  Sometimes it didn't even get finished.



Looking back, how much I went through those Cheerios, Mini Wheats, Rice Crispies, Corn Flakes, Life, and so many more, one common thread lies - they all had gluten.  Its like I tried them again and again to see if they still irritated my tummy.  They always did.  I just never realized it.

Occasionally, when I was freezing, or just didn't feel like cold cereal, I would try some oatmeal.  In fact, right near the end of my gluten career, I ate oatmeal every day.  For quite some time in fact.  The second I was diagnosed, I was back to cereal though.  Gluten-free not-quite-as-I-remembered cereals that were good.  They just weren't always great.  But I did stick with them.  Not just for a couple of weeks, but months and months.  My gut was healing and re-discovering the great thing that is food.

When winter came, it was freezing to have ice-cold milk splashing down my throat every morning.  So, I went through a few hot cereals, and one day I tried quinoa flakes.  They were weird.  But they were warm.  So, I stuck with them.  Before I realized, I absolutely loved them.  They're tender yet have substance.  A fantastic mellow flavour that doesn't harass me, just comforts.  When a spoonful of the tinted crystallized brown sugar is sprinkled on top of this microwaved-to-perfection meal, its perfect.

As I said before, I like to change things up.  I surely don't get as bored as fast as I did when boxed cereals started my day, but its always nice to play with things!  So, after seeing Lorraine (from the fantastic blog Not Quite Nigella)'s submission to the Haiti Ebook, I decided to try chai-infused quinoa flakes.  They are as simple as can be.  And, they won't take very long.

Chai-Infused Quinoa Flakes
An original "recipe" by Lauren of Celiac Teen.
Ingredients
boiling water
chai tea bag (I used decaf vanilla chai)
1/3 cup quinoa flakes

Steps
Brew a cup of chai tea.  Let cool (I placed in refrigerator until no longer warm).

Place quinoa flakes in a microwave safe bowl, that is a minimum of 2 cups in capacity.  Cover flakes with up to 1 cup of cold chai tea (I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup, not filling it to the brim for the 3 times, but how much you use is a personal choice!).  Stir until uniform.

Place bowl in microwave, and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes.

Top with desired toppings and enjoy!

This is my favourite consistency.  The chai tea gave it such a lovely depth of colour.


I love top put hemp seeds on top.  Normally there is about twice this amount, but I was finishing off this container =D.


Brown sugar.  Sometimes I do maple syrup, but the brown sugar with vanilla meshed beautifully.


Then, it gets all stirred up.

And drenched in milk.  Yum.

---

So, minus the chai part, thats pretty much my daily breakfast.  What do you do for breakfast?  

xoxo
Lauren

Twitter, Facebook, Foodbuzz and Flickr.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Gluten-Free Cocoa Pancakes

If you're looking for the Haiti Ebook, click here!

I haven't been having time to bake.  At least not much.  I guess I never realized how much I do so, but being busy with the ebook and then trying to recover from the exhaustion that followed was not a good combination for my kitchen.  Each day that week I reclaimed a small amount of energy from the deficit I obtained, but the days still felt long and tiresome.  After this lovely long weekend (and the Olympics starting and Valentine's day), I felt more firm.  Firm in my arms, that is.  When I'm overtired and running on empty, my arms don't feel solid.  They aren't getting their blood as strongly as a good day.  The plasma moves along dully and chills me to the core.  But that is getting better.  And these pancakes were the start of it.

CocoaPancakes Close

These pancakes are much more of a cake.  One that just happens to be cooked in a pan.  They come courtesy of the lovely Kristen of Dine and Dish (who not only created the Adopt-A-Blogger program, but also contributed to A Hand for Haiti).  On that note, I am both an adoptee and a mentor for her program!  I'm thrilled on both parts and would love to introduce you to these lovely people.

Anne, of Cooking with Anne, is my fantastic mentor.  She has been blogging for years (and years!), and writes all over the web these days.  Family.com anyone?

Cathy, of ShowFood Chef is my awesome adoptee.  She's a bit newer to the game, but does wonders making great food (and has me craving nutella).

Anyways, all in all I'm so glad to be matched up with these great girls =D.

Gluten-Free Cocoa Pancakes
Adapted from Dine and Dish by Lauren of Celiac Teen.
Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup tapioca starch/flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup millet flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Steps
In a small bowl, combine milk, egg, butter and vanilla until blended.  In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients.  Whisk until uniform.  Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and whisk until just moistened.

Heat griddle or frying pan over medium heat until hot.  Use ~1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.  Just be aware that they do spread, so don't crowd in the beginning.  Cook each pancake for 1-2 minutes, until the batter is set around the edges, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until cooked through.

Top with powdered sugar or any other toppings you enjoy!

Note: As I said, its more of a cake in a pan than a breakfast food.  But go ahead and have them for breakfast.  I sure would!

CocoaPancakes
You can make them plain, or play with shapes.  Either way, they're delicious!
CocoaPancakes forks

Don't laugh.  It was almost Valentine's day.  I wanted to be cute.

CocoaPancakes basket
Best basket ever.  I made all sorts of shapes and sizes!

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So... yeah.  Thats about it.  Cocoa + pancakes = delicious cakefullness.

xoxo
Lauren

Twitter, Facebook, Foodbuzz and Flickr.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Daring Cooks: Gluten-Free Pitas and Hummus

I was nervous and excited about this month's Daring Cooks challenge.  Pita.  One of those things you either forget about or lust over on a gluten-free diet (croissants, oreos, graham wafers, doughnuts and many other things are also in that category).  The challenge was for Mezze, a style of eating including hummus and pita.  I did this on a day with lots of food.  Pita, hummus, butternut squash dip, baba ganoush, falafel, as well as a nice breakfast, buns (to come) and cake.  It was busy, but also relaxing.  A good day.

First off, I would like to thank Michele, our host.  She did an amazing job hosting.  Its a lot of work, but also fun and rewarding.

For that reason, I'm sad to say that this wasn't my favourite challenge.  The flavours just didn't gel with us.  Maybe I was heavy handed in adding garlic or lemon juice, but in the end it wasn't a winner.  However, I'm glad I made it and I really want to play with pita in the future.  Wheat balloons up (literally), so if I could get that (even just a teeny tiny bit) it would be wonderful.  Pitas were a very regular bread alternative in my house.  Mini-pitas filled with a bit of peanut butter were weekly (at least) occurrences.  Something I miss?  No doubt.

The 2010 February Daring COOKs challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

Now, I'm going to let the photos do the talking.  Okay, with a touch of commentary =D.

patting out pitas
Pita dough hasn't been conquered by me yet.  However, they patted out nicely!


The left one had been in for longer.

They didn't puff up.  I was secretly hoping they would double and triple like this cake had.

And, I only dropped parts of two (it might have been three) pitas when putting them onto the pizza stone!  Taking them out was the easy part.


Don't they look nice?  They didn't taste bad, but not fantastic either.  The ratios I played with weren't perfect by any means.  I have some ideas though.

my first eggplant
My first eggplant.  That I've cooked at least. 

eggplant heart
Look at that tender beautiful meat!  The heart shape is how I'm bringing valentines day into this =D.  If you celebrate, have a great night.  If not, have a great night.


And, the baba ganoush.  I used this recipe.  

This might be my favourite part.  It was also my first time with butternut squash.  I cubed and boiled it until tender.  Then, drained and mashed it and put in a touch of honey.  Simple as can be.  Delicious too.


The colour brings just the right amount of spunk to the mezze.

The hummus.  Will try again with much less lemon juice and less garlic.  That should do the trick for me =D.


Our mezze platter.  Minus the falafel.  It was just coming out of the oven.

falafel
See?  Here it is!  I baked the falafel, for ease more than anything.  I was wiped and oil was not gonna happen.  And, it sometimes makes my tummy turn.  Anyways, these looked nice and all but were just too strong.  I think these are things that must be eased into =D.

---

Yes, I am going to try this again.  Not sure how much, but I really want to play with the flavours, maybe focusing more on the base ingredients than the spices.  Plus, mezze is an entire style of eating so the possibilities are endless!  

Also, for those of you that haven't got it yet, the Haiti Ebook is still for sale!  It contains over 80 recipes that make the authors feel at home, from over 70 contributors (including some Daring Cooks!).  All proceeds go to the Red Cross.  So far, it has raised over $1400.  Government matching (and the matching from my parents) which are now finished, made that into $4755.  Please continue to buy it, it can cost anything from $10 and up - its completely your decision.

I think thats about it.  

xoxo 
Lauren

Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Go Canada Cake

If you're looking for the Haiti Ebook, go here!

Today is the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, held here in Canada no less.  I am so excited, and can't wait to watch all of the sports (yes, every one =D).  Although I'm sure certain ones will have priority on the TV screen in my house, one of my favourite parts of the Olympics is seeing this great mix of sports that you don't necessarily get to watch any other time.

CanadaCake Bite


Now, about this cake.  It started out interesting-looking.  Plops of colour, one thicker than the other, all piled up.  In the oven, it rose up to the sky, doubling in size while not overflowing.  It just went straight up.  After letting it cool, it sank.  But the sinking didn't leave it thick or eggy or anything.  It left it light.  Delicious.  Homey.

Go Canada Cake
An original recipe by Lauren of Celiac Teen.
Ingredients
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract *
1/8 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp red food colouring
1/4 cup milk
3 tbsp oil

Steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place a round of parchment paper in the base of a 9 inch cake pan and mist bottom and sides with cooking spray.

Whisk together flours, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until mixture is light.  Add in milk, oil and extracts and whisk until uniform.  Add dry mixture to wet mixture and whisk until combined.

Separate the mixture in half, with slightly more in the white portion.  To the other part, sift in cocoa powder.  Add food colouring, and if the cocoa mixture is much thicker than the white mixture, add milk and oil.

Drop a spoonful of white mixture into the cake pan.  Then, drop a spoonful of red mixture on top of the white one.  Top with another white spoonful and so on, until all batter has been used.  I ended up having to start multiple piles as the batter was quite thick.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for awhile, then cool on rack.

* To make it more "Canadian" you could swap the vanilla extract for maple extract.  Just a thought.  And if you feel like icing it, Maple Cream Cheese Buttercream would be the way to go.  No question.

CanadaCake
Its... Mountainous.  But forgiving.  And yummy.  It gives when you press it, and springs back to its original shape, with no memories left in indentations.
CanadaCake Slice
Think red velvet marble cake.

Or, just "Go Canada!"
CanadaCake Cut
I love the almost swirls.  I suppose you could swirl with a butterknife it if you prefer.  Whatever suits your fancy.  I happen to love this method =D.

---

When my brother had some of this cake (he ate about 1/3 of it, and only 1/2 was eaten at dinner), I asked him if it tasted gluten-full or gluten-free and he said something quite interesting (I'm paraphrasing here, but something like) Well the standards of gluten-free has changed so what I originally thought of gluten-free is not what it is now.  So it does taste gluten-free but so does something with gluten.

And yes, it doesn't really make sense, but if gluten foods taste like gluten-free ones, it can't be a bad thing.  No, not at all!

I hope you all enjoy the Olympics, and maybe even with a slice of this cake!

Just a note about the Haiti Ebook: As of when I'm writing this, we've sold 84 ebooks for $1320.  With matching that becomes $4640.  This is awesome!  Keep it coming =D.  Best of all: the proceeds are heading to the Red Cross for Haiti Relief.

xoxo
Lauren

Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Haiti Ebook

Okay, so after hours and hours of asking for recipes, designing the ebook, reformatting recipes and researching ways to get it out there and get the money to Haiti, it is here.

First off, I would like to say thank you to every single person who has sent in recipes, tweeted about this, posted on their blogs about this and any other way you may have spread the word.  Now, I can only hope that we get the same response for the actual ebook.  After all, that is what this is about: selling ebooks to donate money to Haiti.

All proceeds will do to the Red Cross.  The Canadian Red Cross that is.  You see, I am Canadian so it only makes sense to donate to this one.  Also, it has been in Haiti for many years, so they will be able to use the funds to help as in the best areas possible.  And here's the really important part: the Canadian Government will match all donations received by February 12th, that are marked for Haiti Relief (as I will be doing to these).  They are matching donations made by individuals as well as those made from fundraisers for Haiti (like this ebook) by schools, businesses, social groups (that is what I believe we are, as blogging is a community of people, in this case coming together around food), etc.

Of course, you may continue to purchase the ebook and donate after the 12th, but getting it matched makes it just that much better!  Also, my parents have agreed to match all donations up to $1000.

I'm utterly exhausted, but also extremely excited and ready to share.  So here it is:  There are 87 recipes contributed by 71 fantastic people.  They are a collection of home.  People from all over the world have provided recipes that bring them comfort.  I have loved looking through them, and can't wait to cook them!  I hope you do too.

In terms of price, the ebook will cost as much as you want it to cost, with a bare minimum of $10.  It is a donation, so that price is adjustable and you can donate as much as you wish!  Whether you purchase it for $10 or $510, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  All together, we can make a difference.  We can pool our donations and extend a hand to Haiti.


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Enjoy this book.  It has been an absolute labour of love.  Best of all, it is for a good cause.

Notes:  Being an ebook, you purchase the PDF file, then can print off as many copies as you wish!


xoxo
Lauren

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