Gluten Free Boston Cream Donuts. Doughnuts

donuts.doughnuts.donuts

Gluten Free Dairy Free

Boston Cream Doughnuts 

With Whipped Coconut Cream

I have been away from my blog for a long time now!  It started with the computer crashing and losing the adapter to upload pics from my camera to my computer.  I am still having that problem as I'm using a crappy little tablet laptop that I don't enjoy but one of these days I'll get a new computer.  We have had a lot going on so it hasn't been top priority.  Things are mostly the same, Homeschooling is keeping us busy but we love it (most days) and the house is still on the market so that's awesome....not.  We need to get our butts from Nebraska to Georgia asap (although we love our home and peeps here!  that part is REALLY sad)  I have been really reluctant to leave as I grew to really appreciate the Omaha area over the past 2 years...It has a lot to offer for families without the traffic and other issues of living in a really large metro area.  But without further adieu let me get onto the Gluten Free Dairy Free Boston Cream Donuts (or doughnuts however you like to spell it) filled with whipped coconut cream!   

So far on this GF DF lifestyle I've been pretty positive about things and don't think too much about what I miss eating and can't have.  I've enjoyed figuring out how to eat well and usually feel like all the stuff I might miss eating was bad for me anyways.  HOWEVER!!!  I've been struggling lately..BECAUSE I'm PREGNANT!(which you can read about in my last post)  And I'm not vomiting non-stop this time around and instead actually have an appetite and suddenly it's hit me and I miss all kinds of my old favorite treats.    Especially donuts and in particular, some boston cream style donuts that used to be sold at my high school in Regina, SK when I was in 9th grade that instead of the typical custard pudding inside, had an explosion of whipped cream inside....they were my favorite!  So today we made gluten free dairy free donuts for the first time and attempted to bring back my favorite donut memories.

These Donuts turned out very yummy!  My only disappointment is that there was't as much of the whipped coconut cream inside as I thought I had put in there.  But is worked out because I had quite a bit extra whipped cream still in the bag so when we eat our donuts and get towards the middle where there was virtually no cream, we just piped some more onto it while eating and that did the trick.  

For the Donuts

I used a recipe from my new GF cookbook 1000+ Gluten Free Recipes

You can view the full recipe online HERE on pages 607-608

The only differences when I made the recipes was substituting potato starch for the corn starch because I'm trying to avoid corn right now.

Coconut Whipped Cream (dairy free whipped cream)

The Coconut Whipped Cream was very easy and heavenly!  I don't know why I waited so long to try making it....I want to just eat it for breakfast with a pile of strawberries!  To make the coconut cream I put a can of thai coconut milk in the fridge for a day.  After opening I drained out the liquid and what was left was the cream.  I put the cream in the mixer and whipped on high and added maybe a tablespoon of powdered sugar...maybe less...it wasn't very much. Then I filled a ziplock that had the corner cut and a icing tip inserted with the coconut cream.  Next I used a knife to cut a hole in the side of each donut, then inserted the icing tip into the hold and squeezed the bag to fill the donuts with the dairy free whipped cream.

Chocolate Frosting

For the Chocolate Frosting on the donuts, I used the Chocolate Syrup recipe from The Flying Apron cookbook that they use to top their macaroons.

It's a combination of dairy free chocolate chips, water, canola oil, and sea salt.  A Dairy Free Ganache would also be really yummy and work well to dip the donuts in and you can view my recipe for that here. (just make half the recipe or less though or you will have a lot extra.

Here are the gluten free donuts after a warm rise

This was the first donut, it burnt immediately, the oil was way too hot and I had to let it cool back to 375.

 

Frying the donuts the right way at 375 for 2 minutes or less total.

Drain them on paper towel.

Meanwhile made the whipped coconut cream

 

Put it in a large ziplock with a frosting tip on the end to pipe into the donuts for that gluten free boston cream donut goodness!

 Gluten Free Boston Cream filled donuts, ready to be dipped in chocolate.  (sorry the pictures are so bad it was dark)

Make a double boiler for the chocolate sauce / ganache

 Melt the chocolate chips and stir till smooth, then added the water, canola oil and sea salt.  Or you could add dairy free milk at this point to make ganache.  

Dip the donuts in the chocolate sauce / ganache

The next morning I got a better picture.  Once I bit into it I realized that there wasn't as much cream inside as I had thought.  But I had a bunch of extra whipped coconut cream still in the ziplock bag so I just piped a little more whipped cream onto the donut.  

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons - Gluten, Dairy, Egg and Soy Free

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Gluten, Dairy, Egg and Soy Free!

This recipe is a combination of 2 great macaroon recipes I have, a gluten free coconut macaroon recipe from The Flying Apron and a RAW chocolate macaroon recipe from my Aunt.  

Preheat oven to 350

In mixing bowl add the following

 6 cups shredded coconut 

(unsweetened if you want it healthier...I used sweeted because that's what I had)

1 cup cocoa powder or raw cacoa powder if you have it

1 cup Maple Syrup (real maple syrup!)

1 cup coconut milk

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp sea salt

2/3 cup gluten free flour (whatever blend you have or just use rice flour)

Combine all ingredients together until combined.  

Take a cookie scoop and pack with coconut mixture and then release onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Option- Press a raw almond into the top of each cookie, or press a couple straight into the cookie

Bake for about 15 minutes and then let cool completely on cookie sheet.

~My entry into {nifty thrifty sunday}http://www.niftythriftythings.com/ is sponsored by Appliances Online and their Fridges

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Gluten and Dairy Free

One of the things my kids and I share a deep love for is MUFFINS!  I have fond memories of my childhood going to the mall with my mom, smelling the wonderful smell of fresh baked muffins and sniffing my way to a MMMuffins! I chain in Canada where I always found my favorite treat...a big chocolate chip muffin!  I mean, just check out this muffin...wouldn't YOU want to dig in?  You have no idea how good these muffins are....unless of course you've had them...

mmmuffins

Then in my young adult years (up until I gave up gluten and got my joints back...I'm still 27...till my b-day in a week and a half...that's still young adult right??)  I would indulge in the chocolate chip muffins from Dunkin' Donuts when we made trips to the East Coast and then more frequently when we moved to Dallas.  Now....If I want to buy a good muffin, I'll pick up a 4 pack of Udi's blueberry muffins...but I'm not really allowed to eat them, my 4 year old will disown me  unless I sneak it, she's pretty possessive of her muffins....wonder where she gets that from!!!

Udi's blueberry muffins

So when it comes to having muffins enough to share, yummy enough to still want to hoard all 12 of them to yourself anyways, muffins that don't contain gluten or dairy and also don't break the bank we make our own.  We have a few good recipes we've shared previously such as

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin with Coconut Struesel
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

And our newest favorite ....

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

gluten free dairy free

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup flour gf flour blend*

3/4 cup sugar

1 TBsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/4 applesauce

3/4 milk (coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk, etc)

2 tsp vanilla

1 large banana (mashed)

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (ghiridelli semi sweet are dairy free)

*I use Silvana Nardone's Gluten Free Flour Blend if you have another gluten free flour blend you like, just use that but if there is not xanthan gum already in your blend, add 1 tsp xanthan gum to recipe.  I just love the texture of Silvana's blend, just like regular flour, light and smooth.

Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper muffin cups

Combine dry ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl.

In separate bowl, combine wet ingredients

Mix all together, add chocolate chips and gently fold and mix till just moistened

Divide into muffin cups and bake for 22-25 minutes til slightly golden on top.

Dig in while still steamy and chocolate chips are melting all over your face and hands......dare I say....mmmmmmmm....muffins!!!

Before you go, enter my current giveaway HERE!!!

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

Gluten Free Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Also Dairy Free

OK so maybe this isn’t the best recipe to be posting the first week of the new year when so many of use are trying to be healthier, but sometimes you need things like this to get through certain things….okay…yeah, we don’t NEED food to cope with things, but sometimes, if I can just eat something chocolate…I’m a much better person.  Anyways, the kids love ‘em too.  For some reason I got thinking about muffins and those jumbo chocolate chocolate chip muffins you can buy at Costco or other bakeries and I just really missed being able to have that.  So I pulled out the best muffin recipe I have ever used (including pre-gluten free days) and just made one change to it to make these delicious gluten free chocolate chocolate chip muffins or double chocolate chip muffins….however you want to say it!

Here is the gluten free muffin recipe, but to make them double chocolate, just like the ones from the store, you are going to subtract 1/3 cup flour and replace it with 1/3 cup cocoa powder.  Then add a cup of Ghirardelli semi-sweet or 60% cocoa chocolate chips (they are dairy free and I use coconut milk when making these).

Gluten Free Homemakers Basic Muffin Recipe

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

• 1 2/3 c. gluten-free flour mix
• 1/3 c cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1  Tb. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 – 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring
• 3/4 – 1 c. milk, juice, or water
• up to 1 c. chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and sugar.  In a smaller bowl, or measuring cup, combine the oil, eggs, vanilla and milk.  Add that to the dry ingredients and whisk together until moistened.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Divide into lined muffin cups and I like to sometimes sprinkle a little sugar on top like the bakeries do.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes.  Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.  Usually best served warm.

(note: I use Silvana Nardone's GF blend and leave out the xanthan gum when making this recipe since her blend already has the xanthan gum in it.  I just love her blend and all her recipes!  

I love this recipe because it is so versatile!  I've also used this gluten free muffin recipe to make

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffins

Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins

Gluten Free Blueberry Lemon Muffins with Coconut Streusel

Gluten Free Coffee Cake with Maple Frosting

Gluten Free Coffee Cake with Maple Frosting

Gluten Free Coffee Cake with Maple Frosting

So what do you get when you take the Gluten Free Homemakers Basic Muffin Recipe and combine it with Silvana's sticky cinnamon pancake recipe and put it in a 9x9 inch square cake pan?  A wonderful coffee cake that is almost identical to my favorite coffee cake I can't have anymore, the Krusteaz coffee cake mix from the box.

The kids and I had decided to make muffins and we normally use the gluten free homemaker's basic muffin recipe and make chocolate chip muffins but this day I was craving a Cinnabon or something like that.  On thanksgiving we had really enjoyed the gluten free sticky cinnamon swirl pancakes with maple frosting shared by Silvana Nardone... So... I decided to put those recipes together and we got this yummy scrumptious coffee cake!  So now I'm calling it....

Candace's Gluten Free Dairy Free Coffee Cake with Maple Frosting

2 cups gluten free flour (I use Silvana's Blend from her book, it already has the xanthan gum added)

if you are using a different gluten free baking mix just add 1 tsp xanthan gum

1 Tablespoon baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cups milk

8 tablespoons softened(1 stick) butter (I use best life or vegan buttery sticks to make it dairy free)

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Line a 9x9 in cake pan with parchment paper (or you can lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray) and preheat the oven to 375.

In a medium size bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  In a seperate bowk, mix the wet ingredients and then add to the flour mixture and stir til combined.

In a small mixing bowl, combine 8 tablespoons of butter softened to room temp, sugar and cinnamon and mix together. (if butter is out of fridge just nuke it for a several seconds to slightly soften but do not melt).

Pour half of your coffee cake batter into you cake pan and spread around.

Drop spoonfuls of the brown sugar mixture over the top and spread around, reserving some for the topping.

Plop the remaining cake batter over the cinnamon sugar and spread around.  Take a knife and swirl it through the entire thing a few times and the smooth out the batter so it is evenly distributed in the cake pan.  

Top with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

For the Maple Frosting combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons maple syrup and 1 tablespoon water and mix together.  Drizzle over the top of your coffee cake and you would never know you were eating something gluten and dairy free!

Gourmet NutRageous!

Gourmet NutRageous

Gluten Free and Dairy Free 
and better than the original (according to hubby)

Ok, so NutRageous has always been my favorite candy bar.  I remember one summer on vacation in Madison, CT my hubby and I were looking high and low at the various drug stores and grocery stores to satisfy my craving and when I was pregnant with B, 2 Christmas' ago, my husband got me a big box of NutRageous chocolate bars from Costco!   I had been craving them all pregnancy, but in Dallas we couldn't find them anywhere so when we were back in WA for Christmas, that big box of NutRageous bars was way better than a tiny box with something sparkly.  

SO, ever since I had B (now 18 months) I have been off dairy and now gluten, so I couldn't have a NutRageous even if I could track one down in Omaha, but I was really craving one last week while driving in the car and suddenly I knew what I had to do....

so here is what I did.....

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

mix pb, sugar and egg and then form cookies and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  let set for a few minutes then transfer to wire cooling rack.  I formed my cookies with a "canal" in the middle, pushing the length of my finger down the center rather than flattening with a fork, to hold the caramel.

I placed the cookies in muffin cups after making them, but you could start out making them in muffin cups to create a more uniform shape.  Line the cookies up on a cookie sheet.

Later that day when the cookies were cool and i had a minute, I made my mom's caramel corn recipe, her caramel corn is my favorite because the caramel is soft and doesn't break your teeth...perfect for a candy bar!

Dairy Free Caramel (make with real butter if you can have dairy)

2/3 cup sugar (all white or 1/2 white 1/2 brown)

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup butter (I use best life buttery baking sticks they are dairy free)

1 tsp vanilla

combine sugar, butter and corn syrup in a small pot. Melt to boil then boil for 3 minutes while stirring.  Add Vanilla.  I let the caramel cool and thicken a little bit and then spooned it on top of the gluten free peanut butter cookies.  

NUTS

Top caramel with a generous amount of peanuts and gently press into the caramel.

Set aside and let caramel set up completely, (a few minutes)

CHOCOLATE

In a microwave safe bowl, put a bag of 60% cocoa ghiradelli chocolate chips (they're dairy free) in bowl and microwave for 1 minutes.  Stir with a fork then microwave another 40 seconds, stir with fork and then microwave another 40 seconds and stir till chocolate chips are all melted.

Spoon melted chocolate over the cookes and spread around covering the entire surface.

Cover cookies with plastic wrap or foil and place in the fridge so the chocolate will harden back up.  Keep refriderated and remove from fridge 10-15 minutes before serving so they can soften up a bit.  The chocolate melts really fast so having the nutrageous in a muffin cup helps keep the hands cleaner.  For my daughter we put on a cutting board and cut the candybar into bite size pieces and that made it easier and less messy to handle.  Personally...I don't mind having to lick the chocolate off my fingers after I've polished off one of these babies!

It may seem like a lot of work, but it was really just a couple easy steps that I just came back to when I had a spare moment here and there yesterday.  I mean, take the easiest ever cookies recipe and the easiest fastest ever caramel recipe and that's the hardest part!...yeah not very hard :)