Cinnamon Roll Cake

When you have to go Gluten Free, there is always a certain special treat (or two or three LOL) that you wish you could have, but it's either not possible, or a lot of work, or too expensive.  One of my favorite treats was a cinnamon roll, warm from the oven and drizzled in icing.  Yum!  Unfortunately, due to the nature of gluten free doughs, it's really difficult to make a decent cinnamon roll.  And though we have a FANTASTIC Gluten Free bakery near by, the rolls are a bit expensive and it is a bit of a drive for a single cinnamon roll.  This is probably a good thing for my waistline LOL.

But then I stumbled across this recipe for Cinnamon Roll Cake:
http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/01/cinnamon-roll-cake/

And the drool began flowing.  The memories of eating cinnamon rolls surfaced.  My eyes glazed over.  And then it hit me...  Even though this isn't a Gluten Free recipe, could I make it work if I just used Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour instead of the wheat flour?  It was time to find out!

First, I gathered all my ingredients.  Well, not ALL my ingredients, I forgot to include in the picture the HUGE container of cinnamon from Costco and the brown sugar, both used in the cinnamon "filling".  Oops!

Before making the cake batter, I made the cinnamon "filling" that will be swirled into the top of the cake.

I combined all the dry ingredients for the cake in the bowl of my stand mixer and stirred to combine.  Note that I tried this recipe without using Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, which most GF recipes use to mimic the missing gluten.  I find that my body doesn't tolerate these very well so I left them out.  Fingers crossed that it works!

Next I added the wet ingredients and used the paddle attachment on my stand mixer to mix the batter well, stopping once to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything was well combined.  At first it seemed very wet, but after scraping down the sides of the bowl and giving the flours time to hydrate, it thickened up like it was supposed to.  There, that's looking great!

As soon as the batter was ready, I spread it in my prepared 9x13 baking dish.  Then I dotted the top with the cinnamon "filling".

Using a butter knife, I swirled the "filling" along the top of the cake.  I think I should have mixed the two layers together more, honestly... you'll see why in a moment.

I baked the cake as directed in the recipe, and boy did it look good when it came out of the oven!

But after it cooled, sections of it deflated quite a bit.  I wonder if that's because I didn't swirl the "filling" with the cake batter enough?  Or maybe it's because of the high content of butter in the "filling"?  I may try it again with less butter and more swirling action and see how it turns out.

The icing mixed up easily and filled in all those nooks and crannies... Hmmmm, maybe that's what was suppoed to happen?  LOL!

I can honestly say that this was a good dessert.  The crumb of the cake reminded me a LOT of coffee cake, so I can see making this as a breakfast treat as well as a dessert for after dinner.  And maybe if it were made in a smaller baking dish, it wouldn't deflate quite as far as it cools.  I guess this means I'll have to try it again.  Not that I'm complaining, mind you.  :)

Rainbow Hash

I call this Rainbow Hash not because it makes you see rainbows after eating it, but because the ingredients are so colorful.  :)  You know, now that I think about it, aren't we encouraged to eat a rainbow of foods?  Apparently this is because the brightly colored foods have nutrients and vitamins that we need.  :)

You'll need:
* 1 pound Red Potatoes
* 1 pound Purple Potatoes
* ½ medium Orange Pepper
* ½ medium Yellow or Sweet Onion
* 1 pound Italian sausage
* 2 Eggs
* ½ cup milk
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 2 Tbsp olive oil

First, dice up your potatoes into ½" cubes, like so:

Note: If you can't find purple potatoes, you can substitute Russet potatoes instead.  Both the Purple and Russet potatoes have a different texture from the Red potatoes and it makes for a nice combination.

Toss the potatoes with 2 Tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and if you wish you can add some oregano or thyme.  Place the potatoes in a 9x13 baking dish that has been prepared with nonstick cooking spray, and roast them in the oven for 25 minutes at 425 degrees F.  Stir occasionally to prevent them from sticking and to cook evenly.  They should be fork tender after 25 minutes; if not, put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until finished.

While the potatoes are roasting, dice your yellow onion and orange pepper like so:

Set the onion and pepper aside for the moment.  Prepare your eggs to be scrambled: Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk until mostly smooth.  Add the milk, and salt and pepper to taste, then whisk again until the milk is incorporated.

Now, get out your handy dandy cast 12" iron skillet (or any skillet really, I just love my cast iron skillet).  Cook your Italian sausage until all the pink is gone.

Remove the sausage to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.  Pour off all but 1 Tbsp of the grease from the pan, and saute your onion and pepper until the onion is translucent and the peppers are fragrant.

Once the peppers and onions are done cooking, remove them to the same plate as the sausage and quickly scramble your eggs.  You may need to add a little bit of butter or oil to the pan to cook your eggs so they don't stick, but it won't take much.

Now it's time to toss all your cooked goodness together!  Once your potatoes are finished roasting, combine all the ingredients (potatoes, sausage, peppers and onions, and eggs) into a bowl and gently mix to combine.  Adjust salt and pepper as needed.  Serve and enjoy!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Scones

This recipe is the result of my taking three different recipes, which all had elements I liked, and combining them together.  Of course, if you do not have to be gluten free, simply use all-purpose flour instead of the GF Blend below and omit the xanthan gum.  I do think this is a fantastic recipe and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do.

Yield: 8 scones

GF All-Purpose Flour Blend:

* 2 cups brown rice flour

* 1.5 cups sorghum flour

* 3 cups tapioca flour or starch

* 2 tsp xanthan gum

Scone ingredients:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour (regular or GF blend)

* 1/2 tsp additional xanthan gum for GF scones

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 1/2 tsp nutmeg

* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

* 1/4 tsp ground ginger

* 1/4 tsp allspice

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1/4 tsp baking soda

* 1/4 tsp salt

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

* 1/3 cup buttermilk

* 1/2 cup pumpkin

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze ingredients:

* 8 oz (1/2 lb) powdered sugar

* 1/8 to 1/4 cup milk (start with less)

* 2 Tbsp butter, melted

* Dash of salt

Spiced Glaze ingredients:

* 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

* 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

* Dash ginger

* Dash ground cloves

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, mix together the dry scone ingredients: flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2) Cut butter into small pieces and cut into flour mixture with two forks or a pastry cutter.  Mixture should look like crumbs or sand.

3) In a medium bowl, mix together the pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Add this to the flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together into a rough ball.  If the dough seems too dry, add a splash of buttermilk and mix some more.

4) Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead 4-5 times until a cohesive ball is formed.  Flatten into a disk about 1.5" thick.

5) Cut the disk into 8 wedges, transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6) Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7) Transfer baked scones to a cookie rack to cool completely before icing.

8) When the scones are cool, make the icing.  Combine all icing ingredients into a bowl and stir until smooth.  You might want to start with the smaller amount of milk indicated, and add a bit more as you go until you get the texture you want.  It should be somewhat thick, but able to drizzle or spread.

9) Spoon some icing onto each scone and encourage it to cover the whole top with the spoon.  Use about 1/2 to 2/3 of the glaze for this step.

10) To make the Spiced Glaze to drizzle over the top, add all the Spiced Glaze ingredients to the remaining Glaze and mix well.  Transfer to a plastic baggie, then cut a small bit off one corner of the baggie.  Use this to pipe a drizzle of Spiced Glaze across the top of each scone.

Gluten Free Granola

I want to share some of my favorite recipes with you, here on my blog.  I have gluten sensitivity so all my recipes will be gluten free, and they are all super tasty!  If you don't have to be gluten free, you can substitute your regular ingredients in place of any specifically gluten free ingredients.

This is a fantastic recipe for making granola.  It's tasty and hearty, it'll fill you up and keep you going.  A 1/2 cup serving is about 300 calories, so be aware of that.  Enjoy it with milk or yogurt.

Ingredients:

* 5 cups Bob's Red Mill GF Oatmeal

* 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

* 2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds

* 2/3 cup chopped pecans

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 1/4 cup unsalted cashew pieces

* 1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds

* 1/2 cup maple syrup

* 1/2 cup water

* 1/4 cup canola or grapeseed oil

* 1 cup mixed dried fruits

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

2) Combine all ingredients from the oats to the sunflower seeds (all the dry ingredients) in a large bowl.

3) Combine the maple syrup, water, and canola oil in a small bowl.  Whisk until well combined.  Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

4) Spread the mixture evenly onto a large rimmed baking sheet.

5) Bake for 45 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

6) Remove from the oven, stir well, then return to the oven and continue baking until golden brown and beginning to crisp, about 40-45 minutes more.  Stir once or twice while baking.

7) Remove from oven and stir in dried fruit.

8) Allow to cool completely, at least 1 hour.  Store in an airtight container.  Enjoy!