It's a Wonderful Life

Over the last couple months, Jen and I have had more than a couple reasons to celebrate. Our Thanksgiving feast took all day to make, but it was well worth it! I love Thanksgiving - I see it as one of the only holidays that you get nothing out of other than spending time with friends and family. Jen and I brought friends together for a dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, squash, corn pudding, two types of sweet potatoes (one with bourbon, one topped with marshmallows), sweet potato biscuits, and three types of pie (apple, pumpkin, and chocolate pecan)! I think everyone was full for days.

Back home in the States, the Christmas season officially starts after Thanksgiving. To celebrate the most joyous of seasons, Jen and I had the most wonderful;y festive Saturday. We walked to our local Sainsbury's to get all of our tree decorations, stopped off for gingerbread and eggnog lattes, then went to get our tree! We went with a 6 1/2 foot frasier fir that we somehow managed to carry on our shoulders back to our flat. While the branches on our tree fell and the fire blazed (on our tv), we baked some Christmas cookies. Known by many names - snowballs, russian tea cakes, mexican wedding cakes - these are some of my favorite cookies for the season. After our cookies were out, we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation followed by It's a Wonderful Life (possibly my favorite movie of all time). It was such an amazing day! 

A week later I made a coconut cake for Jen's 24th birthday. It was one of the largest cakes I've ever made (not exactly on purpose)...it turned out to be more of a coconut pound cake, but it was delicious nonetheless. It was also topped with coconut buttercream made with desiccated coconut and a secret ingredient - Malibu coconut rum! 

Our Thanksgiving Feast

Christmas on Mill Lane

Jen turns 24!!

Snowball Cookies

225 g butter, softened

1/2 cup icing sugar

1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract, to taste

2 1/4 cups dove farm organic gluten free plain white flour

1 tablespoon xanthum gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups finely chopped pecans (or nuts of your choice)

Heat oven to 205 C. Mix butter, sugar and vanilla thoroughly. Work in flour, xanthum gum, salt and nuts until the dough holds together. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until set but not brown. While still warm, roll in icing sugar. Once cool, roll in icing sugar again. Make about 36 cookies. 

Happy Holidays!

A Halloween Treat

I hope you will all indulge my inner (okay, not really inner) history nerd while I give you a little background on the history of Halloween from the history channel website:

"Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats."

What concerns us most here are the sweet treats :-) This weekend I made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. It's hard to find pumpkin puree in London (I got mine at Whole Foods in Kensington), but I promise it's worth it to make these cupcakes - they are the perfect autumnal treat. Jen and I decorated them for Halloween with a monster army!

Jen and Jenny as a Pirate and Jessica (from True Blood)

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 1/4 cups dove's farm gluten free flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
3/4 cup milk

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 190 C and line your muffin tin. Mix the oil and sugars until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each. Next, stir in the milk and pumpkin. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthum gum until just combined. Distribute the batter into the muffin tin (this recipe makes 24 cupcakes). Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

To make the frosting, whisk the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly add the sugar and  then the vanilla. Frost the cupcakes once they are completely cool.

Happy Halloween!!!

Best. Muffins. Ever.

If you love cinnamon, you will love these muffins. They are kind of like a cinnamon roll masquerading as a muffin - a little bit of goo, some crunchy crumble topping, and the perfect amount of warm cinnamon flavor!

Cinnamon Muffins

Recipe:

Topping:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup gluten free oats
1/2 cup dove's farm gluten free plain white flour
40 g butter, softened

Filling (or "goo" as I like to call it):
40 g butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

Batter:
115 g butter
3/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups dove's farm gluten free plain white flour
1 tablespoon xanthum gum
1/2 cup gluten free oats
3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons corn flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 200 C and prepare a muffin tray with liners. Mix the topping ingredients in a small bowl until crumbly and set aside. Mix the filling ingredients in a separate small bowl and set aside as well. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, milk and eggs. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Equally distribute half the batter into the prepared tray. Top each muffin with 2 teaspoons of the filling mixture and then cover with the remaining batter. Sprinkle on the topping and lightly press it in. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Place on a rack to cool, but best enjoyed hot!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Churros are right up there tied for first as my favorite food in the world (with Corolla Pizza steak and cheese subs yum). Growing up I always had them in Disney World, but when I was diagnosed with celiac I knew I wouldn't be eating them in Frontierland anymore. Sooo I just had to make them myself! This wasn't my first attempt, but it was definitely the most successful. The recipe is quite labor intensive, but I promise it's worth it if you have a craving for churros! The chocolate sauce is delicious too and could be used for other things like ice cream topping, etc. It was fun to make - almost like making a potion or something wizard-y (which obviously was awesome because I am a huge nerd). Although it was great, honestly I think I would have preferred just straight dark chocolate - personal preference for sure, I've always liked pure chocolate better than mixed with spices and citrus.

Churros Recipe:

125 ml water

125 ml whole milk

110 g butter

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/4 cup dove's farm gluten free plain white flour

3 eggs

oil for frying (I used sunflower, but vegetable would work just as well)

cinnamon sugar for coating

Bring the water, milk, butter, salt and sugar to boil in a medium saucepan on the stove. Once it is boiling, add the flour in one go and stir until the mixture comes together into a ball. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and stir until most of the steam has escaped, then add the eggs one at a time mixing well after each. Prepare a plastic baggie by cutting a corner to about a half inch opening (or use a pastry bag). You can pipe the dough straight out of the corner, or use a piping tip (star shaped) to get the ridges on the churros. Transfer about 1/3 of the dough to your bag. 

To heat the oil: Pour your oil into a large saucepan, about 3 inches deep. Heat on medium high heat until you think it is hot enough - to test it, put a 1-inch cube piece of bread in the oil, if it fries in about 1 minute, the oil is ready. Be careful to tend it the whole time you are frying and don't let it get too hot.

Cover a plate with cinnamon sugar, ready for rolling the churros once they come out of the oil. Pipe the dough into the hot oil, cutting with scissors at about 4 inches. Cook until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and roll in cinnamon sugar. To keep them warm, you can put them on a tray in an oven preheated to about 70 C. 

Chocolate Dipping Sauce:

500 ml heavy cream

200 ml whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean pod, split

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

zest of 1/2 an orange (or up to the whole thing, to taste)

3 slices fresh ginger

1 tablespoon instant coffee

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

6 egg yolks

135 g dark chocolate, chopped

In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, milk, sugar, vanilla bean, star anise, cinnamon stick, orange zest and ginger slices to a boil. After it boils, turn the heat off and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes. Return the pot to a boil, then whisk in the coffee and cocoa powder and turn the heat off. Separate the eggs and put the yolks in a large bowl. Slowly add the cream mixture to the egg, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan on low and stir until it thickens slightly. Put the chopped chocolate in a large bowl and place a sieve over the bowl. Strain the cream mixture through the sieve into the chocolate and mix until the chocolate melts. Serve hot or cold, it's delicious either way!

First Day of School: Take Two

Monday was my first day of class at Camberwell and when I got home, exhausted and a bit overwhelmed, Jen was there to make me the most homey dessert - pear and apple crumble topped with vanilla ice cream. The photo doesn't even do it justice- I wish you could have smelled it! Butter, brown sugar, oats and apple baking in the oven, mmmmm. 

Recipe:

filling:
4 pears, peeled and sliced
2 apples, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup dove's farm gluten free plain white flour
pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
30 g butter

crumble:
40 g butter, softened
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
handful of chopped walnuts
1-2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 190 C. Mix all the filling ingredients excluding the butter and place in a square baking dish. Lay the butter on top of the mixture. In a separate bowl, mix all the crumble ingredients with your hands (or a pastry cutter if you have one on hand) and sprinkle on top of the pear and apple mixture. Bake until bubbly and the topping is golden brown, about 20 mins. Serve with vanilla ice cream. 

The Last Fruits of Summer

Blueberries are at the end of their peak, so we made some blueberry muffins on Thursday to get in our last bit of summer baking. It would be easy to fool us into thinking summer is still here though - today we had a picnic in Hampstead Heath because it was an amazing 30 C!! In October! In London! I'm afraid these are the last of our summer days, but that only means some delicious fall flavors to come.

Our Picnic

Blueberry Muffin Recipe:

2 cups dove's farm gluten free flour

1 teaspoon xanthum gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 egg

1 cup sugar

55 g butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 1/4 cups sour cream

1 1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 190 C. Prepare a muffin tin with liners. Whisk the flour, xanthum gum, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl until well combined and all the lumps are gone. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg until light colored. Add the sugar to the egg and whisk vigorously until thick, about 30 seconds. Add the butter in 2 or 3 additions, whisking well after each. Add the sour cream in 2 additions, whisking until just combined after each. Add the blueberries to the flour mixture and toss them until well coated. Add the sour cream mixture to the flour mixture and fold to combine (do not over mix). Put the batter in the muffin tin and bake until golden brown, 25-30 mins. Enjoy!

By Popular Demand...

The recipes have arrived! Some notes...the butter is always unsalted, the eggs are large, and there is a bit of a cross-atlantic mishmosh when it comes to ingredient amounts. I'm trying to keep it as consistent as possible - butter is in grams, dry goods are in cups, temperatures are C. It's pretty much determined by what we have in our kitchen, so apologies for any conversions you have to do! May you enjoy much baking and eating :-)

First Day of School

Yesterday was Jen's first day of class at UCL. Knowing how first days can be, I decided to surprise her with some blondies when she got home. I made these the same way as our party blondies, but added some xanthum gum (a gluten free baking essential) to keep them from crumbling. I think she liked them - there's nothing like home baked sweets after a hard day!

Recipe: 

115 g butter, softened 

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup dove's farm gluten free plain white flour

1 teaspoon xanthum gum

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 190 C. Butter a square baking dish, line it with baking parchment and butter again. Allow the baking parchment to hang over the edges (you will use it as a handle to lift the blondies out once they're cooked). Whisk together the butter and sugars, then add the vanilla and egg. Add the flour, xanthum gum and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, walnuts and coconut. Bake until golden brown and a knife comes out clean, 30-40 mins. Let them cool a bit in the dish, before lifting them out by the parchment. Let them cool completely before cutting into squares. Enjoy!

The Party Spread

On Saturday night we had our first successful party! For our housewarming, we made Double Chocolate Cookies and Blondies (we also made artichoke dip and had some other non-baked goods, but I won't talk about those here). The cookies were like a chocolate explosion in your mouth - soft and chewy, just as a chocolatey cookie should be! The blondies were delicious as well - we added chocolate chips, walnuts, and coconut. 

Double Chocolate Cookies

Recipe:

50 g butter

450 g good quality dark chocolate, chopped

2 eggs

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup dove's farm gluten free plain white flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 170 C. Melt the butter and half the chocolate together on the stove until smooth (to avoid burning, you could also set a heatproof bowl over a small pot of simmering water to melt it). In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract.  Gradually add the flour, salt and baking powder. Pour in the butter/chocolate mixture. Lastly, add the rest of the chocolate and stir to combine. Place on lined baking sheets in heaping teaspoonfuls. Bake for 10-15 mins until the tops of the cookies are cracked. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before trying to move them. Enjoy!

Guest Chef: Lorna

Coconut Blondies (that were really more like brownies) topped with whipped cream. The recipe called for white and dark chocolate, but the white chocolate at Tesco had gluten in it, so we made these just with dark. They turned out really well! 

Christening the Kitchen

When Jen arrived to London, we clearly had to do some baking to start the year off right! We decided on Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were a good choice - chewy, peanut buttery, with just the right amount of chocolate goodness. Needless to say, they didn't last long in our kitchen!

Recipe:

225 g butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

2 2/3 cups dove's farm gluten free plain white flour 

1 teaspoon xanthum gum

2 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

75 g dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 170 C. Whisk the butter and sugars together in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. Mix in the vanilla extract and peanut butter. Add the flour, xanthum gum, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Mix until a dough forms then add the chocolate. Place on lined baking sheets in heaping tablespoonfuls. Bake for 10 mins. Let the cookies cool a bit before moving them from the tray to a cooling rack. Enjoy!