The Baking Beauties » Quick Bread

Gluten Free Classic Strawberry Shortcake

Jeanine Friesen — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:53:48 +0000

Summer’s here and that means it’s time for a trip to the berry patch. As a child, my mom would lug me, my brother and an armful of empty ice cream pails to our local U-Pick strawberry field. It was messy business crawling along the straw-packed rows of ripe berries. It was impossible to keep our clothes from getting stained and dirty so, in her motherly wisdom, mom dressed us in our oldest, rattiest, nearly-grown-out-of clothes. This way it wouldn’t matter when our knees were stained crimson red from the juice of the berries we’d accidentally crawl over, or if the front of our shirts were full of strawberry juice that had dribbled down our chin as we bit into the biggest berry we could find.

To keep herself sane, Mom always had a check list to complete before we left the house on our berry wrangling adventure.

First on that list was to always make sure to go to the bathroom before heading out on our adventure, since we knew the berry farm only had one lone outhouse along the side of the field. Enough said.

Secondly, we’d nearly bathe in mosquito repellent. If you think grocery shopping with an impatient child in your cart is hard to do, you should attempt getting 8 ice cream pails of strawberries off the plant with two whining, complaining kids that are getting eaten by mosquitoes. It’s not going to happen. You will pack up with the one-and-a-half pails you managed to get off the plant before the kids went berserk and head for home, stopping to buy some strawberry jam at the store along the way.

And lastly, we made sure to not have any breakfast before heading to the farm (OK, maybe that was on our list, not hers). We always joked about how it was a good thing that the farmer didn’t weigh us before and after picking. If my Mom had to pay for the berries my brother and I put in our bellies instead of our pails, I doubt she would have taken us picking anymore. It would have led to financial ruin.

I’m grown now, with children of my own. Although we’re not able to make it to the berry patch every year, when we can, we get out there to pick our share of fresh strawberries. The kids love homemade strawberry jam, and they know that for fresh jam, we need to get fresh berries. And while we slowly move our way along the row, picking only the reddest berries, I know that they are busy filling their bellies more than their baskets. And I smile.

My Strawberry Shortcake after a visit to the berry patch when she was 3.

Anytime berry season hits, the one dessert that people typically think about is Strawberry Shortcake. There are two kinds of strawberry shortcake; the sponge cake-type, and the biscuit-type. Today I am sharing my recipe for Gluten Free Classic Strawberry Shortcake, which is the light biscuit-style shortcakes that many of us had to leave behind when going on this gluten-free journey. After several attempts, I believe I got it just right. The biscuits are airy and delicate, overflowing with luscious strawberries and lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Gluten Free Classic Strawberry Shortcake

Author: Jeanine Friesen

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 8

In about 25 minutes, you could be enjoying these simple Gluten Free Classic Strawberry Shortcakes, topped with sweet, juicy berries and airy whipped cream. To make things easier, the strawberries and whipped cream can be prepared hours in advance.

Ingredients

Filling

1 1/2 pounds strawberries, washed & cut up
3 tablespoons granulated sugar (less if your berries are sweet)
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Dry Ingredients

1 1/4 cups brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chill Your Butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter, placed in the freezer for 30 minutes before use

Wet Ingredients

6 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

For Topping

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons coarse sugar

Whipped Topping

1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Filling:

Sprinkle berries with sugar and lemon juice. Toss to coat. Allow to sit for at least 20-30 minutes before serving.

Biscuits:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients until evenly combined.
Using a coarse grater, grate the slightly frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Stir to coat the butter with the dry ingredients.
Whisk the wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until the dough begins to come together.
Place a sheet of plastic wrap on a slightly damp counter. Sprinkle the plastic wrap with sweet rice flour or potato starch. Turn the dough out onto the plastic wrap, and without handling the dough too much, knead it until it comes together in one ball. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough and roll to about 3/4″ thick. Cut into circles using a 3″ biscuit cutter, and place biscuits on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until the dough has all been formed into biscuits, trying to handle it the least amount possible.
Brush the tops of the biscuits with heavy whipping cream, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake biscuits in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until a nice golden brown on top. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Whipped Topping:

Place cold whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in a deep, chilled bowl. Using an electric mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form. This can be done hours in advance, and stored covered in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

To Serve:

Slice biscuit in half. Top with about 1/3 cup cut up strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream before placing the top of the biscuit back on top. Garnish with more strawberries if desired.

Notes

Alternately, you can prepare the biscuit dough by using a food processor. Add the dry ingredients first, pulsing to blend. Add the butter, cut into cubes, and pulse until the butter is about the size of a pea. Pour in all the wet ingredients at once, and pulse until the dough comes together. I just found I got better results using the above method.

Other Berry-licious Gluten-Free Recipes You Might Enjoy:

Gluten-free Lemon Pound Cake Recipe

Jeanine Friesen — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:32:49 +0000

I have been trying to find ‘the’ pound cake recipe for a while. I’ve had as many errors as trials, and just felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere with it. Last week, when I just wanted to play in the kitchen for a while, and not have to experiment with figuring out the flours, starches, and liquids, I just simply adapted a recipe from Simply…Gluten-Free. Carol is a genius in the gluten-free kitchen. I’ve admired her work for years already, and have had success with all the recipes of hers that I’ve tried. That said – I had high hopes for this pound cake.

And let me tell you, it did not disappoint! This was seriously the best lemon-anything I’ve had in a while (well, since the doughnuts at least), but it was so good, and seriously got better each day after baking it. The first day it was good, but letting it sit on the counter, the second, third, and fourth day, it was even better. So moist, and lemony, purely delightful. I’m sure that this recipe could be adapted as well, to create more delicious pound cake recipes.

Yields one 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf

Adapted from Simply…Gluten-Free

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons superfine white rice flour
4 Tablespoons sweet rice (glutinous) flour
5 Tablespoons potato starch
3 Tablespoons tapioca starch
1/4 cup dry instant lemon pudding mix (OR an additional tablespoon of each sweet rice flour and potato starch)
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest (zest of one large lemon)
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line loaf pan with parchment paper, so that the paper comes up both sides (making it easier to remove the loaf after baking).
In a large bowl, whisk together the rice flour, sweet rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, dry pudding mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. The colour should be a very pale yellow. This takes about 5 minutes.
With the mixer running on low, add the eggs, one at a time, being sure the egg is completely blended with the sugar before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl between additions to make sure everything is getting fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
With the mixer on low, add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Once that is incorporated, add the milk, lemon juice, and zest to the batter. Finish by adding the remaining flour mixture. Mix just until all ingredients are fully combined.
Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon.
Bake in preheated oven for 65-70 minute, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. If the loaf seems to be browning too quickly, lightly cover with a sheet of foil. Allow loaf to sit in baking pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Cool completely before pouring a glaze over the top.
Keep loaf wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ (icing) sugar
1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice
lemon zest to garnish

Mix ingredients together and drizzle over cooled pound cake.

Gluten-free Chocolate Mint Doughnuts

Jeanine Friesen — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 21:41:19 +0000

I’m not really one to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. I have no Irish background. We never celebrated as kids. The extent of our ‘celebration’ is wearing green, and eating something green. Pretty simple. So, this past week when I looked at the calendar and saw that it was St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, I knew I had to make something green to go with the occasion. I decided to make some baked chocolate doughnuts, and simply top them with a mint frosting and mini chocolate chips. My kids loved them, and apparently the kids in their class were quite envious come lunch time. Nearly started a brawl – so I guess they are kind of Irish, huh?

Yields 6 large doughnuts

Chocolate Doughnuts:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
2 Tbsp potato starch
1 Tbsp tapioca starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 Tbsp dry instant chocolate pudding mix (or dry milk powder)
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a Doughnut Pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until fully combined.
Spoon mixture into prepared doughnut pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of the doughnut comes out clean.
Let doughnuts sit for 5 minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Mint Frosting:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ (icing) sugar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 Tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
4 drops green food colouring
2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

In a small mixing bowl, beat together all ingredients (except the mini chocolate chips).
Frost cooled doughnuts, and sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips.

Gluten-free Baked Lemon Doughnuts

Jeanine Friesen — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:00:11 +0000

If you live somewhere that has snow on the ground for nearly 6 months of the year, you’ll understand this. You start to get a little antsy, a little fidgety, and a little impatient when signs of spring start to appear. I’m alright with snow, especially in December. I can’t imagine a Christmas without snow. I can bear it for January, and even February. But, when the sun (when it’s shining) is starting to feel warm, and the roads get slushy from the melting snow – I’m ready for it to be over with. Done! Pack it in, pack it up, and move on. Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn’t listen to me nor anyone else that is living through a never-ending winter right now. So, you have to do what you can to make it another week, hoping for the sunshine to grace your doorstep, and melt the ice that has accumulated there over the past few months.

Thankfully, when our faces are (literally) frozen in a permanent “grin and bear it” appearance from January through March, the citrus fruits are at their best. Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes are like an artificial sun to us. There is something so clean, crisp, and “sunny” when you smell citrus fruit, even if it is still snowing outside, and you’re still having to dig your way out time and again. So, the other day while the snow was falling and being blown by the wind, I was making my own sunshine inside with these Baked Lemon Doughnuts. When I bit into one, I couldn’t believe how good it was. These gluten-free doughnuts carry some serious lemon flavour. The perfect pick-me-up on a “will-winter-ever-end?” March day.

Gluten-free Baked Lemon Doughnuts

Author: Jeanine Friesen

Serves: 6

These baked lemon doughnuts are moist, and full of lemon flavour. They can be a little ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

Ingredients

Lemon Doughnuts

1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon white rice flour
1/4 cup millet flour
2 Tablespoons potato starch
1 Tablespoon tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 Tablespoons dry instant Lemon pudding mix (or dry milk powder)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup milk

Lemon Frosting

1 cup confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2-4 Tablespoons lemon juice (depending on whether you want a thick frosting, or a thin glaze)

Instructions

Lemon Doughnuts

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a Doughnut Pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients, minus the granulated sugar.
Combine the granulated sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl. Using your fingers, rub the sugar and zest together, releasing the oils into the sugar, giving you a better lemon flavour. Add to dry ingredients, and whisk to combine.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until fully combined.
Spoon mixture into a large resealable plastic bag. Cut the corner off, and pipe the batter into the prepared doughnut pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of the doughnut comes out clean.
Let doughnuts sit for 5 minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Frosting

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth.
If using a thin glaze, dip the doughnuts into the glaze while they are still hot. Set on a cooling rack over a sheet of waxed paper to cool.
If using a thicker frosting, wait until doughnuts are completely cool before frosting.
Store doughnuts in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.

Gluten-free Pumpkin Scones with a Spiced Glaze

Jeanine Friesen — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:32:31 +0000

Nothing is as comforting on those cool Autumn mornings as the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. These light, fluffy gluten-free scones are filled with the moisture of pumpkin, and the beautiful, comforting aroma of pumpkin pie spice. They are great eaten warm, but are also delicious when eaten the next day. The glaze is optional, but adds a nice sweetness to the scone, perfect for those chilly weekend mornings when you curl up with cup of your favorite brew and a good book (fuzzy slippers are optional).

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
4 tsp xanthan gum (UPDATE – I’ve made with 2 tsp, and it worked GREAT)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
6 Tbsp unsalted cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp milk or cream
1 large egg
egg white or milk to brush the tops of the scones with (optional)
1 Tbsp course sugar to sprinkle on the top (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust the parchment paper with brown rice flour. Set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, place all of the dry ingredients. Run the processor until the dry ingredients are well blended.
Add the cold butter, and pulse until butter is cut into pieces, about the size of a pea. Add the pumpkin puree, milk and egg. Run food processor just until dough comes together in a ball.
Turn the dough out onto the baking sheet. Dust your hands with brown rice flour, and quickly form the dough into a 10-inch circle, approximately 3/4″ thick.
With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges. Carefully move the wedges apart, leaving at least 1″ between them so that they will not touch when baking.
Brush the tops of the scones with milk or egg white, and sprinkle with course sugar. Bake in preheated oven for 14-16 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Drizzle with Spice Glaze (see recipe below) and serve.

Spice Glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners’ (or icing) sugar
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbsp milk

Whisk together until smooth. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle the glaze over the top of the slightly cooled scones. Do not stack glazed scones, or the glaze will get squished.