Another year, another cake...

     The ol' blog is celebrating its 4th year today!  I can't believe how quickly it's gone by. 

The boys had a Minecraft party this past weekend, and I will be posting pictures and recipes, but for now, I thought I'd post this little cupcake to celebrate another year of food, friends, and fun.

Chocolate Joe Joe's Vanilla Cupcakes:
Modified from America's Test Kitchen Classic Yellow Sheet Cake from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

2 3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 C sugar
4 large eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C whole milk, room temp
1 /3 box Joe Joe's cookies with chocolate centers, crushed

Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.  Preheat oven to 350.  Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.  Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.  Alternate adding flour and milk, starting and ending with flour.  Stir in the cookies.  Portion the batter into the prepared cups.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then set onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.  Frost when completely cool.

Frosting:
Modified from America's Test Kitchen Chocolate Frosting from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

10 oz chocolate chips
1 C heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 C confectioner's sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened

Place chocolate into a food processor.  Bring the cream and salt to a boil in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and process until smooth.  Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to process until combined.  With the machine running, add the butter one piece at a time.  Continue to process until smooth.  Transfer the frosting to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate until thick and spreadable (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours).

Enjoy, everybody! 

Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking Winner!!

Congratulations to Nicollette Dailey!  You have won a copy of this fabulous book of your very own!  Please e-mail me your address and I will get your book in the mail right away!

Fork & Beans Give Away!!

 

     My friend, Cara Reed, at Fork & Beans is well known to my regular readers as the genius who converts my Christmas cookies every year for those who can't have gluten.  I am so happy to announce that her first cookbook Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking is out and rocking!  Besides all her fantastic recipes, this book contains lots of tips for egg substitutions, two gluten-free flour recipes, lots of sauce and toppings, too!  Oh.  And gluten-free and vegan Girl Scout Cookie replicas.  You heard me.  Lucky, lucky you!  She has allowed me to share one of the recipes from her book and give one of you a free copy!  Since we're getting into soup season around here, I thought I'd share a cornbread perfect for pairing with soup, chili, or just a tall glass of (dairy free) milk.  Gluten-free Thanksgiving stuffing, anyone?  Cara also suggests adding jalapeños, canned chilies, or vegan cheese to mix it up a bit.

Stone-Ground Cornbread

Makes 8 slices

DRY

1 c/165 g Cara’sAll-Purpose Blend (page 166)

1¼ c/153 g stone-ground yellow cornmeal

½ c/100 g granulated sugar

3 tsp/11 g baking powder

½ tsp salt

WET

3 tsp/9.5 g Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 6 Tbsp/90 ml water, whisk until frothy (I used Cara's chia seed substitution on p. 172)

1 c/120 ml nondairy milk

4 Tbsp/56 g vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Coconut Spread that I melted in the microwave.)

Preheat oven to 400°F/ 200°C and grease an 8–inch/20-cm round pan.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Mix until just combined. Pour batter into the greased pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

Drown in nondairy butter.

Review:

My whole family liked this!  Even my youngest who doesn't like cornbread.  It's sweeter than what we normally make, being Southern and all, but the flavor and texture are nice and my husband said, "It doesn't taste gluten-free at all!"  My eldest said, "It's sweeter and butterier than normal."   Considering there's no butter in it, I'd say that was a pretty good endorsement!

Who wants to win this?!  I know it's you.  Whether you're making the switch to gluten-free, cooking for gluten-free friends or relatives, or maybe you want to give this as a Christmas gift.  Now's your chance to win!  Just leave me a comment below or on facebook and you will be entered.  Last day for entries is November 20th by 5pm PST and the winner will be announced November 21.