Category Archives: reduced refined sugar

Thanksgiving Thoughts: Vegan Black Bean Kale Soup

dairy free, egg free, gluten free, Holidays, low fat, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free 1 Comment

“It is wonderful that she can see other people eat like this….”

I had a workshop last weekend where a mother brought her entire family. She explained that she wanted her daughter to see that they were not the only family who had to eat the way they did – meaning allergy friendly. Over the course of the two hour workshop, I watched the daughter enjoy treat after treat, surprised that her mother had told her she could eat anything she wanted from the table.

Too often the holidays are difficult for folks with health and/or food allergies because we know that much of what is on the table we can’t eat. At Thanksgiving, this can be especially depressing since Thanksgiving is celebrated largely through food.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been trying to post Thanksgiving ideas which are not as traditional, just to give folks something new to consider. From the emails I’ve received, it seems folks liked the the notion of vegan, gluten free cornbread stuffing and vegan, gluten free butternut squash swirled cheesecake. Today I’m going to suggest a hearty soup for folks who like to serve a soup course for Thanksgiving.

For any traditionalists who may have people with food allergies or health needs coming to dinner, making a roasted vegetable soup is a good way to go. The Roasting Vegetables post shares how to roast vegetables in a quick and easy way. To make what you’ve roasted into a soup, simply add to the roasted vegetables your favorite no salt, no sugar added vegetable broth, herbs, garlic and onions and puree to the consistency of your choice. Then on Thanksgiving day, just put it into your crockpot and let it cook until your guests arrive. Serve with allergy friendly crushed croutons, “cheese”, “sour cream”, and/or sunflower or pumpkin seeds.

Anyone who may be looking for something a bit heartier and different, though, I offer a black bean, kale soup, just as easy to prepare as the roasted vegetable soup but which adds not just another flavor to the meal, but which can be a more “filling” soup for vegans who have come for dinner.

Black Bean-Kale Soup 

(serves 6 to 8, depending on size of bowls)

Ingredients:

14 oz can no salt, no sugar added lentils

one tsp olive oil

minced garlic to taste

chopped onions to taste

crushed thyme leaves to taste

ground cumin to taste

black pepper to taste

one to two cups frozen or fresh finely chopped kale

1/4 to 1/2 cup finely diced yellow pepper

14 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp to 1/4 cup finely diced vegan ham

32 oz no salt, no sugar added vegetable broth

salsa to taste

Cooking Instructions:

  1. In a food processor or blender, empty the contents of the can of lentils and puree/blend until smooth. Set aside.
  2. In a large-width pan shallower (not a narrow soup pot) which has at least 2 inch sides, add the olive oil, garlic, onions, thyme, cumin and black pepper. Saute over medium-low heat for a minute to release the flavors, stirring so nothing burns.
  3. Add the kale and yellow pepper and saute for another couple of minutes to release the water from the vegetables.
  4. Add the drained and rinsed black beans and vegan ham bits, and saute for a minute, mixing them well with the herbs and vegetables.
  5. Add the vegetable broth and salsa to taste, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes over low heat until the soup has reduced a bit and is thicker.
  6. Serve with allergy friendly sour cream and “cheese”, if desired.

 

Thanksgiving Thoughts: Vegan, Gluten Free Butternut Squash Swirl Cheesecake

dairy free, egg free, gluten free, Holidays, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar 1 Comment

“Why not?”

A few years back, a cousin of Tim’s brought chocolate cupcakes to a Thanksgiving dinner, and when asked, “Why?”, she responded, “Why not?” Since we knew her fondness for chocolate it made sense, but of course the traditionalists of the family thought it was odd to not bring pie. As someone who is not fond of making pies, I was silently in her camp about a different type of Thanksgiving dessert being okay.

Where I did differ, though, is that I felt if you’re going to upset the apple cart, so to speak, then you might want to keep the “new” dessert in line with Thanksgiving flavors. With that in mind, I looked around for different types of desserts folks tended to make for Thanksgiving and noticed that cheesecake was actually the number one “non-pie” dessert eaten. I found many recipes for swirled cheesecakes using pumpkin which seemed interesting.

I picked one to use as a base and immediately realized that it needed work. The original recipe called for 2 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs for the crust, mixed with 1/2 cup of butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 tsp molasses. The filling was 3 packages of cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 3 tbsp molasses, 1 tsp vanilla, 4 eggs, 2 cups sour cream, 1 tsp spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger), and 1 cup of pumpkin. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know how I reacted to all that “sugar” in the recipe and that I was figuring out how I could cut the fat to at least some degree.

To revamp the crust, I cut the sugar and molasses completely from it. All graham crackers, whether they are wheat based, gluten free and/or sugar free, have sweeteners of some sort in them. There is no need to add any more. I also reduced the butter to 5 tbsp and swapped a vegan butter because you just need enough to moisten the crumbs so they’ll stick when baking. For the flavoring, which is what I presumed the extra molasses was for, I added 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice.

For the cheesecake filling, I swapped Tofutti dairy free cream cheese for the regular, and for the sweetener, I mixed 1/4 cup agave with 1/4 cup maple syrup. This kept the maple taste but with much less calories and sugars. I cut the white sugar out completely and reduced the molasses to 1 tbsp which would keep the molasses flavor but also reduce the sugars. To do something about the fat, I reduced the sour cream to 1 1/2 cups (a 12 oz container) and eliminated the eggs entirely so vegan folks could eat it, using instead 1/4 cup of arrowroot starch. Instead of the vanilla I opted to use 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice plus 1/4 tsp cloves which tend to be the flavors of Thanksgiving pies.

My final swap was to use roasted, pureed butternut squash but that simply was because I didn’t want to make a pumpkin cheesecake when there was going to be pumpkin pie, but folks can always choose to make it a pumpkin cheesecake, should you desire to do so.

Vegan, Gluten Free Butternut Squash Swirled Cheesecake

Ingredients:

For Crust:

2 1/2 cups gluten free crushed graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

5 tbsp melted vegan butter

For the Filling:

Three 8 oz dairy free cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup agave

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

12 oz (1 1/2 cup) dairy sour cream

1 tbsp molasses

1/4 cup arrowroot starch

1 cup pureed roasted butternut squash (or canned squash or pumpkin)

Baking Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Wrap aluminum foil around the base of a 10 inch spring form pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

  1. Mix together the graham crumbs and pumpkin pie spice. Mix in the melted vegan butter. Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of the spring form pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the crust is puffed and golden. Set aside to cool.
  2. In a mixer, blend the dairy free cream cheese until smooth.
  3. Mix the maple syrup with the agave and slowly pour it into the cream cheese mixture while the mixer is on low, until all is incorporated into the cream cheese.
  4. Add the pumpkin pie spice and ground cloves and mix.
  5. Add the dairy free sour cream and molasses and mix.
  6. Add the arrowroot starch and mix until it is fully incorporated and the filling is smooth.
  7. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the cheesecake filling and mix that with the pureed butternut squash.
  8. Dot the top of the crust with half of the cheesecake filling, using a spoon to drop spoonfuls onto the crust. Then using another spoon, drop spoonfuls of the squash filling to fill in the holes of the cheesecake filling.
  9. Using the second half of each of the fillings, drop spoonfuls of the squash filling on top of the first layer of cheesecake filling, and drop spoonfuls of the cheesecake filling on top of the layer of squash filling.
  10. Once both batters are completely in the pan, use a knife to swirl through the layers and then smooth down the top of the cheesecake to make sure the batter is even.
  11. Put the spring form pan into a larger pan, pour hot water in the pan until it’s about 1/3 to 1/2 way up the sides of the spring form pan.
  12. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the cheesecake is mostly firm and just jiggles a bit in the center.
  13. Turn off the heat, open the oven door and allow the cheesecake to cool for an hour and a half, before removing to the fridge to cool overnight.
  14. Before you are going to serve it, run a knife around the edges to loosen it. If you want to garnish it, to make it prettier, you can sprinkle ground cinnamon or decorate with dairy free whipped cream or do both as I did in the picture.

 

 

Thanksgiving Thoughts: Vegan Gluten Free Cornbread (to eat or for Stuffing)

dairy free, egg free, gluten free, lesson, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free Leave a comment

“It just requires a bit of planning….”

I was chatting with friends this week about Thanksgiving and the fact that I am making Thanksgiving dinner for folks who are vegan in addition to the folks with all the food allergies in our family. As someone who enjoys hosting and creating menus, this fact doesn’t overwhelm me, but I realized as I chatted with a person in line at the grocery store yesterday, that for some, cooking for folks with food restrictions seems daunting.

I explained to the woman in line that it doesn’t have to be. It just requires a bit of planning. And with that in mind, I thought I’d take the initiative over the next couple of weeks to post some recipes and thoughts which might be helpful for folks who need to think about family members with food sensitivities.

As it happens, I promised my mother-in-law that I’d make cornbread for a gathering this weekend, and I thought it would be a good chance to talk about stuffing. Many folks believe Thanksgiving dinner is not complete without stuffing. I am inclined to agree. If you are wheat or gluten sensitive, though, traditional stuffing won’t work for you. The nice thing about today’s world, though, is that you can choose from a variety of ready-made whole grain gluten free breads which you can simply substitute for regular bread in any stuffing recipe.

If you’re looking for something a little different, though, cornbread stuffing is a nice addition to any Thanksgiving meal. If there are food allergies, though, it is not as easy to find cornbread “stuffing” bread which is gluten, dairy, nut, and egg free. There are certainly gluten free mixes which you can swap out vegan alternatives for the butter, eggs and milk the box will tell you add, but if you’re going to take the time to do that, you may as well make your own from scratch which won’t take you any longer to do.

The recipe below is one I created for making a vegan, gluten free cornbread. You can make it as bread to eat or turn into corn muffins. You can also turn them into cubes for using in stuffing recipes.

Vegan, Gluten Free Cornbread

Ingredients:

2 tbsp ground golden flax seed

6 tbsp hot water

1/4 cup agave (optional) or additional 1/4 cup cold water

3 tbsp vegan butter

2 tbsp agave

1 1/2 cup dairy free milk of choice (I usually use soy milk)

2 cups favorite whole grain gluten free flour blend

1 cup gluten free cornmeal

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp chives

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp other herb of choice (like rosemary, sage, marjoram, or a mixture of all three)

1/2 tsp ground onion powder

1 tbsp vinegar (white or apple cider)

Baking Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare pan with parchment paper or favorite method of greasing the pan.**
  2. Mix the ground flax seed with the water and allow it to thicken. If you are used to “regular” cornbread, once the flax seed mixture has thickened add the agave. If you prefer a more savory cornbread, use water in place of the agave.
  3. Melt the vegan butter and add 2 tbsp of agave (regardless of whether you added the above 1/4 or not). Set aside.
  4. Measure out the milk and set aside.
  5. Mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chives, thyme, herb choice, and onion powder.
  6. Using a wooden spoon, mix into the dry ingredients the flax seed mixture until you have a mixture which looks like coarse crumbs.
  7. Add the butter mixture, the milk and the vinegar and whisk together quickly just until incorporated and somewhat smooth.
  8. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes until puffed and golden and a finger pressed into the top reveals that the cornbread is firm to the touch.
  9. Cool on a wire rack.

** If you’d prefer making cornbread muffins for Thanksgiving dinner, you can spoon the batter into greased muffin tins and bake until the muffins have puffed and are golden and firm to the touch. Usually the muffins will only need about 15 minutes, if using a traditional sized muffin tin.

To make cornbread crouton cubes for stuffing: To turn them into cubes for making stuffing from it, you simply cut the cooled cornbread into the size cubes you desire, lightly coat the cubes with a neutral tasting plant oil such as extra light olive oil, place the cubes in a single layer on a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven until they have dried into a crouton-texture. Most recipes for croutons will tell you to use higher temps like 400 degrees. I prefer to use a lower temp of 250 degrees, and I shake or turn the cubes over a couple of times during the process. It’s up to you what you choose, but what’s important is to definitely check on them every ten minutes or so and pull them out as soon as they dry out. You don’t want to brown or burn them. Once you have the cornbread croutons, then you can substitute those into any of your favorite cornbread stuffing recipe.

Healthy Habits: Triple Chocolate Avocado Brownies

dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free Leave a comment

“You’d have to do the impossible….”

As a child my father told me that I could do anything I set my mind to, and I believed him. His words served me well as I grew, helping me to succeed at things folks were quick to say I could not, to endure difficult situations I felt ill-equipped to handle, and to learn how do things I might not have otherwise tried.

I did learn that simply setting one’s mind isn’t always enough, of course, but at the end of the day, having confidence that you can achieve does tend to open up possibilities which are closed to folks who don’t even make the attempt.

So, when a friend who is allergic to wheat, dairy, soy, rice, apples, nuts, peanuts, coconut, flax seed, eggs, and bananas told me she hadn’t had a brownie in 15 years, I took up the challenge. How could I not? What did it matter that I couldn’t use any of the usual substitutions for traditional ingredients in brownies? I was determined to make a brownie my friend could eat.

My friend wasn’t convinced I could make a brownie from “nothing” as she said, and especially not one that would taste like a brownie, but it helped that she wasn’t allergic to avocados and that she wanted a fudgy brownie as opposed to a cakey or chewy one.

The beauty of avocados is that they can substitute for eggs and the fat as one item so both eggs and butter could be substituted for in the traditional brownie recipe. Most nontraditional recipes would then use a dairy free milk but my friend is allergic to most versions. I opted to use water but I needed the water to be thick. Using unsweetened chocolate as part of my flavoring added the thickness I needed to the water. Then, I only needed to refine the chocolate-ly taste by adding unsweetened special dark cocoa powder, Enjoy life mini chocolate chips, and cinnamon.

I tried the brownies out on a group before taking them to my friend, and the reviews were positive, and one person commented, “The whole piece tastes like the inside of a brownie, which is the best part!”

When I took a pan to my friend, she couldn’t believe I had done it – made a brownie she could eat. I, of course, had trusted that once again my father’s words would be true!

Triple Chocolate Avocado Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed ripe avocado (usually two avocados)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 cup boiling water

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup agave

2 cups gluten free flour blend (I used King Arthur’s whole grain version)

3/4 cup Hershey special dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Baking Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 11 x 15 pan with parchment paper.
  2. Mash the avocado in a large bowl and set aside.
  3. Place the unsweetened chocolate into a measuring cup or bowl which can sustain heat and pour the boiling water over it. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the liquid is slightly thick.
  4. Add the chocolate water mixture to the avocados, along with the vanilla and agave.
  5. In a smaller bowl, mix the flour with the unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
  6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until moistened.
  7. Add the chocolate chips and stir until the batter is well mixed.
  8. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the brownies are slightly puffed and just a slight indent remains in the center when you touch it.
  9. Allow the brownies to cool in the pan on top of a cooling rack.
  10. Remove the brownies from the pan by lifting the parchment paper, and slice the brownies into squares to enjoy.

Healthy Habits: Blueberry Oatmeal Cake

dairy free, gluten free, informational, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free Leave a comment

“How do I….?”

My oldest has been in Germany since the beginning of August, and if I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have cried so much when she left! Though she is across an ocean, I have heard from her every single day. The reason? To pepper me with questions about how to cook this or prepare that. Now that she is on her own for the first time in an apartment, she has to cook for herself, and every evening, as she prepares her dinner, she texts or calls with several questions.

So, not only am I not missing her because we speak more than we did while she was in college, but I have been happy to note that she is doing all she can on a limited budget with little cooking supplies to still try to eat as healthy as she can. In fact, she has an app she uses to help her make sure she gets all the nutrients and vitamins she needs from the food she eats. I am pleased that some of the lessons I imparted actually took root!

In the past couple of weeks, I have been working on those same lessons for healthy eating and revamped a couple of cake recipes for an uncle who is diabetic. He likes his sweets but white flour and sugar products don’t like him! Since dessert is something he often looks for, though, I put my hand to creating a couple of cakes which might be slightly better for him to consume.

To make a healthier cake, I chose to begin with whole grain, whole rolled oats because they contain a lot of fiber and protein. Then, I removed the sugar, opting instead to use smaller amounts of coconut sugar and/or agave and fruit like blueberries and chunky applesauce which contain fiber as well. My last change was to reduce the fat by swapping a reduced amount of oil for the usual butter and to use egg whites instead of whole eggs.  And of course, I made them gluten, dairy and tree nut free so I could eat them as well!

Below is the blueberry oatmeal cake recipe.

Blueberry Oatmeal Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free, whole grain, whole rolled oats

2 cups boiling water

1 cup gluten free flour blend

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup agave

1/2 cup extra light olive oil

1/2 cup liquid egg whites (or two whole eggs if you’d prefer or 2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water if you want it vegan)

1 cup to 2 cups fresh blueberries (depends on the ratio of cake to berries you want and the size of your berries)

Optional Topping:

In a pan, melt 2 tbsp of vegan butter, add 1 cup of whole rolled oats with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1 tbsp agave or coconut sugar. Mix well and cook for another minute. Sprinkle on top of the cake before putting it into the oven to bake.

Baking Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper or grease as you prefer.
  2. In a bowl mix the oats with the boiling water and let them sit until the oats have absorbed all the water. Usually only takes about five minutes.
  3. In another bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
  4. In the bowl with the oats, add the agave, olive oil and egg whites and mix well.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix well.
  6. Fold in the blueberries.
  7. Spread the batter into the prepared pan (adding the optional topping if you’d like now), and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is puffed, golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  8. Enjoy!

 

Recipe Revamping: Chocolate Chip Cake

dairy free, gluten free, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar Leave a comment

“You need a reset….”

I always anticipate summer to be an opportunity for rest and relaxation, and every year, summer whizzes by with a full schedule of appointments and family visits and school readiness with little rest and even less relaxation. Though we do take time here and there as a family to capture little pockets, the concept of taking time to sit back and revive one’s energy remains just that, an idea.

Some of the reason is simply the season of life we are in at the moment. The years raising children tend to be rather hectic and chaotic. Another reason is that working in the public school system during the year means having to work during the summer to supplement the income which precludes “vacation time”. Yet a third is that we live in a world that is busy, and we get caught up in that busyness.

As I was pondering busyness this week, I realized that as a family we are beginning a time where a “reset” is quite possible. Two of our three children will be away at graduate and undergraduate schools. I have stepped down from most of the obligations I have spent 17 years pursuing. My husband and I are looking at new life ventures. If ever we could make choices about health and lifestyle and time spent, it is now.

Deciding to make the choices, though, tends to be easier than following through with action. A recent email illustrated this. Someone’s health issues meant she had to really begin to watch what she ate. Her grandmother, however, had passed down a chocolate chip cake recipe which she loved and made frequently for the family. Lately, though, as her health has had more complications, she finally realized she couldn’t continue to eat her grandmother’s cake as it was originally made. She needed to remove the gluten and dairy which were making her sick and to make it healthier, fat-wise.

She reached out to me to see I might be able to revamp the recipe. The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of butter, 2 1/2 cups of sugar, 4 whole extra large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 4 cups all purpose white flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 cups full fat sour cream, and 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips.

You can see why she shouldn’t be eating it on a regular basis!

Making the cake gluten free was simply a matter of swapping a gluten free flour blend. I chose to use King Arthur’s wholegrain blend, but since I wanted to give the cake more protein and fiber, I opted to substitute one cup of the flour with gluten free oat flour which I made by finely processing gluten free whole rolled oats into a flour. This added the overall protein and fiber count of the cake.

Since making things healthier for me always includes removing the white refined sugar, I reduced the sweetener down to 1 cup and used agave instead of sugar.

The butter, sour cream and eggs, however, required some thinking. I needed to reduce all three if we wanted a healthier cake but how to do that without sacrificing the moisture in the cake? I switched vegan butter for the regular butter and reduced it to 1/2 cup. I substituted tofu sour cream for the regular and used only 3/4 cup. Then I reduced the eggs to two large.

All these reductions needed to be replaced, though, and as I thought about it, I finally decided to use banana cream. For folks not familiar with this, you simply freeze banana slices to the point where they’re mostly frozen but still a little flexible. Then you pop them into your food processor and let it zoop for several minutes until the frozen banana slices become the consistency of soft ice cream, which is how many folks eat it. I used it as a replaced for the missing butter, eggs and sour cream, and it worked beautifully, adding the moisture needed but not tasting overly much like bananas.

The final few changes I made were to use mini allergy friendly chocolate chips instead of the regular larger sized ones and to reduce the amount to 1 cup. Since the chips are mini, they distribute more evenly into the batter, and you need a lot less to get the same chocolate chip to cake ratio. I also added a tablespoon of cinnamon to add flavor and to help regulate blood sugar levels.

The folks I served it to this week, thought the cake was delicious, and the person who had originally emailed was glad she could eat it without making her health issues worse.

Chocolate Chip Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegan butter

1 cup agave

3 cups banana cream*

1 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

3 cup whole grain gluten free flour blend

1 cup gluten free oat flour**

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup tofu sour cream

1 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

*To make banana cream: Slice bananas into three cups worth and put into the freezer. Freeze just long enough to begin to freeze but so they are still slightly flexible. If you put the banana slices until a shallow pan in an even layer, this would only take 15 to 30 minutes. You can also freeze the bananas ahead of time in a tupperware, and when you need it, microwave them for just a few seconds to keep them frozen but pliable. Put the mostly frozen pieces of bananas into a food processor and begin to process until the pieces turn into a creamy soft ice cream mixture. This will take several minutes. Make the mixture just before you are ready to add it to the wet ingredients.

**You can use store bought gluten free oat flour, but if you want more protein and fiber, take gluten free wholegrain rolled oats and put them into your food processor and process until you have oat flour. This will take several minutes.

Baking Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and prepare a Bundt pan. (I used a non-aerosol olive oil and ground flaxseed.)
  2. In a mixer, cream the vegan butter. Scrape down, and with the mixer on low, slowly pour in the agave and blend the butter and agave until smooth.
  3. Add the banana cream and blend just until mixed. Add the vanilla.
  4. Add the eggs, one at time, mixing well with each addition. Set the wet mixture aside.
  5. Mix the flour blend, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
  6. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet and blend. Add the tofu sour cream. Mix well, and then add the second half of the dry ingredients.
  7. Mix in the mini chocolate chips.
  8. Add the vinegar and mix just until blended.
  9. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes until the cake has puffed, is golden, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Revamping: Blueberry Buckle

dairy free, gluten free, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free Leave a comment

“Simply relax and enjoy when you can….”

Two graduations, a wedding, a family reunion, visits with extended family, and a funeral, sprinkled in between doctor appointments for all family members and added on top of a summer work schedule and preparing our daughters to go away in August for their masters and bachelors programs, has left no time for vacation during our summer. So, we have been making the most of little pockets of time – playing family board games when we can, doing an Escape the Room adventure, getting massages, taking an afternoon walk.

This week, we took time to bake together, making the most of prime blueberry and peach season, and one of the items we made was a blueberry buckle. For folks not familiar, blueberry buckle is similar to a coffee cake but the ratios of fruit to batter are flipped. In coffee cakes, the cake is the star with fruit lending flavor. In a buckle, the fruit is in abundance and the batter is scant, just enough to suspend the fruit. Both have signature crumb toppings.

I wanted to make a blueberry buckle which was gluten and dairy free and which didn’t use white refined sugar. It turned out to be quite easy. I simply substituted a store bought gluten free flour blend for the flour, used half the amount of coconut sugar for the regular sugar, and creamed vegan butter instead of regular butter. The result was quite tasty when we had it for dessert with nondairy vanilla ice cream.

Blueberry Buckle

Ingredients:

Topping:

1/2 cup gluten free flour blend

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbsp vegan butter

Batter:

1 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup vegan butter

2/3 cup coconut sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

4 cups fresh blueberries

Baking Instructions:

  1. Line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix together the topping flour, coconut sugar, and cinnamon. Using clean hands, squeeze the vegan butter into the dry ingredients until you have thick crumbs. Set aside.
  3. Mix together the batter flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Set aside.
  4. In a mixer, cream together the vegan butter and coconut sugar. Add the vanilla and mix well.
  5. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between. The batter will look messy, like it’s all broken, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
  6. Add the dry batter ingredients to the wet and mix just until blended and smooth. The batter will be thick.
  7. Gently fold in the blueberries until the batter is completely mixed in with the berries.
  8. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, turning the pan halfway through at 25 minutes.
  9. The buckle will be golden and puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when it is done.
  10. Cool for ten minutes on a wire rack. Loosen the sides of the cake with a butter knife from the springform pan, and release and remove the side pan. Let the cake cool completely and enjoy!

 

Recipe Revamping: Carbonara

dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free Leave a comment

“It’s just that it was one of his favorites….”

Most folks ask me to revamp baked recipes since that is what I mostly post about, but I received a request this week from a mom after she saw my roasted garlic bread recipe, asking if I might help with one of her son’s favorite recipes, carbonara. Her son is eight, and the family recently learned that much of his stomach issues were due to eggs, dairy and wheat, all three of which are in carbonara.

For anyone who might not be familiar with carbonara, it is an Italian pasta dish which is essentially a creamy, cheesy sauce over noodles which tends to use cured meat products such as bacon, pancetta, prosciutto, or Italian sausage to flavor the sauce. To make the sauce creamy, recipes usually use cream or half and half and egg yolks with a variety of fancy cheeses and then adds the cured meat and white pasta to the dish. So, as a rule, even if you do not have food allergies, you probably should not make carbonara a regular part of your diet.

Unless, of course, you can find a way to create a healthier, allergy friendly version….

My first order of business was to tackle the cheesy sauce. The beauty of a carbonara sauce is that it clings to the noodles, so the sauce needs to be a thick, heavy sauce, which is why usually cream and egg yolks are utilized. I opted to make a basic white sauce with olive oil, millet flour and dairy free milk. To that I added Daiya cheddar cheese, garlic, onions, oregano, basil, and a tiny bit of red pepper.

The next item to tackle was the cured meat. To make it a tiny bit healthier, I chose to chop just four low fat, reduced salt, no nitrates, sweet Italian style fully cooked chicken sausage links into small pieces. This distributed the flavor without all the extra added fat and sodium and nitrates.

The final decision I made was to nix pasta altogether and use spiral cut veggies. I used a mixture of turnips, yellow squash and zucchini. Because I like my food to have lots of color, I also added diced petite tomatoes, which added a slight flavor twist to the whole dish. The result was quite yummy!

Vegetable “Noodle” Carbonara

(This recipe makes a lot because I wanted to feed a family of five and have leftovers for a second meal. You may want to halve the recipe.)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra light olive oil (you don’t want a heavy taste)

1/4 cup millet flour (or any other variety you’d like to use)

2 cups dairy free “milk” (I used soy but any variety will work)

8 oz shredded Daiya cheddar cheese

garlic, onions, oregano, basil, and red pepper (to your taste and liking)

16 oz each spiral cut turnip, yellow squash, and zucchini (you can change up the spiral cut noodle veggies as long as you have 48 oz total so the sauce and “noodle” amounts are in a good sauce to noodle clinging ratio)

4 low fat, reduced salt, no nitrates sweet Italian style fully cooked chicken sausage links

garlic, onions, oregano, basil, and red pepper (to your taste and liking)

14 oz can of no salt, no sugar added petite diced tomatoes (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

  1. In a shallow sauce pan, heat the olive oil for a minute over medium-low heat, and then stir in the millet flour until well mixed and cook for another 30 seconds.
  2. Slowly add one cup of the milk, stirring until the flour mixture is incorporated into the milk. Let the mixture begin to thicken. Time will vary, depending on how shallow your pan is but shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.
  3. Slowly add the second cup of milk, stirring to evenly mix the sauce.
  4. Add the Daiya cheese and stir well. Add the spices, and stir until the cheese is all melted, and turn the heat to low, stirring occasionally.
  5. In a larger shallow nonstick pan (if you aren’t using a nonstick pan, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil), cook the turnips until softened, usually about 3 to 5 minutes.
  6. Dice the sausage links into small bits and add to the turnips. Mix well and cook for a minute.
  7. Add the yellow squash and zucchini with the spices, and cook just until the squash and zucchini begin to soften.
  8. If you are using the tomatoes, add the diced tomatoes to the cheese sauce and stir well. Then add the sauce to the veggie noodles, mix well and serve. (As a garnish, you may sprinkle a mixture of fresh basil and chopped garlic as I did in the picture.)
  9. If you are not using the tomatoes, simply add the cheese sauce to the veggie noodles, mix well, and serve.

 

 

Roasted Garlic Bread

dairy free, egg free, gluten free, low fat, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free Leave a comment

“It’s the simple pleasures….”

I celebrated another birthday this year, and unlike many people, I don’t mind that I did. While I am not thrilled that my metabolism is slowing down and that aches tend to last longer, I am grateful for the maturing process which only aging and experience can bring. One gets to know oneself better as time goes on, and that’s a good thing, in my opinion, because only then can you really embrace your strengths, recognize and work on your weaknesses, and allow yourself to be the best version of yourself.

My husband wanted to know what I wanted to do for my birthday this weekend, because we have had a particularly stressful couple of weeks with a funeral and a graduation and time at a hospital with a dear friend. As I thought about what I wanted, I realized I simply wanted to hang with my family, particularly to have a good meal and to watch a movie while all three of my children were actually with me on my birthday for the first time in a few years.

Now, both cooking and watching a movie are not my husband’s ideas of a good time, but as a loving husband, he dutifully grilled the zucchini and chicken I prepared and sat through a movie. My gift to him for being kind enough to grill for me was to figure out a starch to go with the meal. Since I do have that slowing-down metabolism, I tend to eat less carbs these days, but I know that my husband thinks a meal is not complete without bread.

So, I decided I’d make garlic bread, but I didn’t want to use traditional white bread or the large amounts of butter. As I thought about garlic bread, I realized what I love best is the garlic so it occurred to me that garlic should be the the “showpiece” of garlic bread as opposed to the minced versions usually made, which led me to the idea of roasting the garlic and making a garlic bread similar to bruschetta which used olive oil, tomatoes and basil, only I used a gluten free whole grain bread instead.

The roasted garlic bread was ridiculously easy to make and added a nice dimension to the grilled dinner!

Roasted Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

peeled garlic cloves

olive oil

whole grain bread (gluten free or whole wheat or multi-grain)

fresh basil

grape tomatoes (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
  2. Mix a couple of cups of peeled garlic cloves (how much you need depends on how many slices of bread you are making; also if you buy them already peeled, it makes life easier) with just enough olive oil to coat them, and roast them in the oven, turning them every five minutes until the garlic has darkened in color. (Usually this only takes ten to 15 minutes.)
  3. Remove the garlic from the oven and reduce the oven to 350 degrees. Let the garlic cool for a few minutes.
  4. While the garlic is cooling, slice your whole grain bread (whether gluten free or not) into thin slices (unless you bought the already sliced version, in which case you’re set) and place the slices on a cookie sheet or shallow pan.
  5. Chop up a couple of cups of fresh basil into small sprinkle-able pieces (how much you need depends on how many slices of bread you are making; also, if you don’t have fresh basil, you can also use dried basil, but you’d only need a couple of teaspoons then).
  6. Slice the roasted garlic into thin slices and sprinkle evenly among all the bread slices. Then sprinkle the basil. (Optional: slice grape tomatoes into think slices and sprinkle in between the garlic before sprinkling the basil.)
  7. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over each bread.
  8. Bake in the reduced-heat oven for five to ten minutes until the bread is toasted.
  9. Serve immediately and enjoy.
  10. Leftovers keep well in the fridge. Simply reheat in the oven for a few minutes for crispy bread or microwave for a few seconds if you simply want it warm.

Recipe Revamping: Cardamom Citrus Bars

dairy free, gluten free, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free Leave a comment

“It was so nice of someone to think of us….”

The first full week in May is designated as appreciation week for teachers and nurses, and in our schools, the local PTO plans a week of nice surprises for the teaching staff. One day might be a luncheon. Another could be a day of raffles and winning prizes which have been donated. Sometimes they provide a breakfast. A few years included massage therapists coming in for 10 minute chair massage opportunities.

In the past I’ve helped to coordinate appreciation week for our schools but recently I’ve stepped down and help just by donating food for whatever special opportunities are being provided. This year, I made a couple of soups for the luncheon and signed up to bring in desserts for a special salty and sweet day the PTO planned.

Since I wasn’t sure what to make for the dessert, I asked for ideas from the staff, and someone mentioned that it would be lovely if I could make lemon bars for those with dairy, soy, gluten and nut allergies, all of which were prevalent among a number of the teachers. Since usually the bars I make are made from tofu, which was one of the allergies, I looked up a basic lemon bar recipe to revamp.

The recipes I found were all pretty much the same: To make the crust, mix 2 cups of flour, 1 cup butter, and 1/2 cup sugar, which was baked in a variety of pans sized from 8 x 8 to 7 x 11. The filling was usually 4 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and lemon juice which strangely ranged from 1/3 cup to 3/4.

Revamping the recipe:

For the flour: It was easy to simply substitute the flour with a gluten free flour blend. I chose King Arthur’s whole grain blend which is my current favorite since it is easy to get at the grocery store and has more protein and fiber than the other blends.

For the butter: To make the bars dairy free, I simply used Earth Balance’s soy free vegan butter.

For the sugar: The sugar was where I simply had to make some cuts. 2 1/2 cups of sugar in bars in an 8 x 8 or 7 x 11 or 9 x 9 pan is just too much sugar. I opted to use only 2 tablespoons in the crust, switching powdered sugar for the white sugar because it would combine more easily with the flour. And for the filling, I reduced the amount to 1/2 cup of white sugar and used 1/4 cup agave. As a final change, I used a 9 x 13 pan for thinner bars.

For the lemon: As a general rule, I suggest folks use fresh lemons for lemon bars. As I was looking at the recipe, I decided that I wanted to change things up a bit, so I opted to make citrus bars instead where I mixed freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice together. I also decided to add cardamom which is a spice that I like, just to further change things up a bit. Since the recipes varied greatly in amount, I cut the difference and used 1/2 cup of juice.

When I went to the school later in the day to help clean up, several staff stopped me to say how much they enjoyed the citrus bars, mostly because someone thought to make something they could eat, but also because they liked that the bars had so much less sugar but still tasted good.

Cardamom Citrus Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free flour blend (I used King Arthur’s whole grain version)

1/2 tsp cardamom

2 tbsp powdered sugar

1 cup vegan soy free butter

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup agave

1/4 cup gluten free flour of choice (I used sorghum flour)

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice (I used 1/4 cup of each)

Baking Instructions:

  1. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix the gluten free flour, powdered sugar and cardamom together. Using a pastry knife or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until crumbly.
  3. Spread the crust mixture into the prepared pan and use your clean fingers to press the mixture evenly into the pan.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until the crust is puffed and golden.
  5. While the crust is baking, mix together the eggs, sugar, agave, flour, cardamom, and lemon and orange juices.
  6. Pour the citrus mixture over the hot crust and spread evenly.
  7. Bake in the oven, another 15-20 minutes until the filling has solidified.
  8. Cool completely on a wire rack.
  9. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar. (Note: The bars absorb the powdered sugar, so sprinkling just before serving allows you to serve pretty bars without having to add more sugar than you ought to be eating.)

 

 

Recipe Revamping: Flourless Chocolate Torte

dairy free, gluten free, reduced refined sugar, soy free Leave a comment

“That’s a lot of butter and chocolate….”

We had company the other night, and I wanted to make a more “special” gluten and dairy free dessert. My oldest was home for Spring break from college, and as we bounced ideas around, we thought about a flourless chocolate torte. Immediately we looked up a recipe from a well-known chef. We both had a heart attack just reading the recipe.

The recipe? 16 oz semi sweet chocolate; 2 1/2 sticks of butter; 7 eggs, separated, 1 1/2 cups sugar; 2 T. rum; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 tsp salt.

I did some research and discovered that the majority of recipes by other folks called for crazy amounts as well, but I did find that a couple of folks did use smaller amounts of chocolate, sugar and butter… not greatly decreased but less. It seemed that the difference affected the density of the torte, exactly how torte-like versus cake-like versus mousse-like one wanted the dessert to be.

In the end I decided I’d make a lot of changes, and tried two different versions. Both were delicious, but one was a more dark chocolate, cakey variety, and the other more sweet and velvety. Below are both versions.

For both, I decreased the butter as well as substituted for it, and substituted alternatives for refined white sugar (0ne recipe uses coconut sugar; the other agave and truvia). I also decreased the chocolate amounts and swapped a raspberry liquor for the rum. In neither, though, did I decrease or play with the eggs because without the flour, the eggs are essentially what makes the cake! So, my apologies for folks with egg allergies. Will work at another time on creating something similar without eggs!

Flourless Chocolate Torte

Version One: Dark Chocolate Raspberry Torte (Dark Chocolate-y and More Cake-like)

Ingredients:

8 tbsp vegan soy free butter

7 ounces dairy free bittersweet chocolate

7 eggs, separated, with yolks in a large bowl and whites in a mixer

3/4 cup coconut sugar

2 tbsp raspberry liquor (optional)

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup coconut sugar

Version Two Ingredients: Semi-Sweet Chocolate Raspberry Torte (Sweeter and More Mousse-like)

Ingredients:

8 tbsp vegan soy free butter

10 ounces dairy free semi-sweet chocolate

7 eggs, separated, with yolks in a large bowl and whites in a mixer

1/2 cup Agave

2 tbsp raspberry liquor

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 tbsp truvia

Baking Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and take out a 10 inch springform pan. Do NOT grease the pan.
  2. Chop the chocolate into smaller pieces and put into a microwave safe bowl with the vegan butter. Microwave the butter and chips 20 seconds at a time, until the act of stirring completely melts the chips. Set aside.
  3. In the large bowl with the eggs yolks, add either the coconut sugar or the agave and beat the eggs with a wire whisk for about 5 minutes until the eggs increase in volume and are light and frothy.
  4. Slowly add the chocolate/butter mixture, stirring continually as you gradually add all of the chocolate mixture.
  5. Mix in the vanilla and raspberry liquor and set aside.
  6. Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and begin to blend on low speed.
  7. Gradually begin to increase the speed and slowly pour in either the coconut sugar or the truvia.
  8. Beat until the egg whites increase in volume, are no longer clear but white, and when you pull the mixing paddle up, the whites make peaks.
  9.  Using a rounded spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, a little at a time, until all the egg whites are completely incorporated into the mixture.
  10. Pour the batter into springform pan and bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes. (The second version took closer to 45-50 minutes.) The cake will have puffed and the top will look dry and no longer glossy.
  11. Remove to a wire cooling rack and allow the cake to cool.
  12. If you are eating it soon, you can run a knife around the pan and release the bottom from the springform and decorate the cake with fresh raspberries and a small sprinkling of powdered sugar.
  13. If you are not going to eat the cake within a few hours, put the cake in the refrigerator and decorate the cake with fresh raspberries before you’re ready to actually eat it.

 

 

Recipe Revamping: Chocolate Tunnel Bundt

dairy free, gluten free, reduced refined sugar Leave a comment

“You don’t accept me for the way I am….”

Raising children is not for the faint-hearted. If you are a parent, you know this truth. You survive endless nights of no sleep, trying to figure out the needs of an infant whose only mode of communication is a high-pitched cry worthy of being classified as a torture weapon, only to be thrust into the tantrums of the the toddler years and the beginnings of the end as your child discovers the word, “No.”

Just when you are beginning to see growth into a complete-sentence-talking, self-feeding, potty-trained, potentially reasoning-able individual, your child begins school which forces you to learn how to navigate a world fraught with “firsts” – the first time your child’s teacher calls to say your child made the whole class cry by telling them that Santa Claus was dead; the first time your child comes home crying because someone said they weren’t his friend anymore; the first recital where your child throws up from fear.

You begin to think those years will not end, but they do, only to be replaced by the middle school years which begins a roller-coaster ride through the ups and downs of your child’s emotions where you learn that the hold the perceptions they have about themselves from the outside world seems stronger than anything you say or do as the parent in her life.

You survive those years, too, but begin to wish to be back in them when the middle-schooler turns into the high school teen who hides in his cave-bedroom, believing you have no understanding, no wisdom, no sense, no anything that you can offer to his all-knowing self. You begin to actually doubt  your abilities until the day comes when she is accepted into college, and anxiety about actually leaving home mounts, and she reverts to two year old behavior, wanting and needing mommy to hug and console and be with her at all times until she leaves.

My second child, who is going to be graduating from high school has entered this last phase, and interestingly enough, her chosen way of spending time with her mother is that she suddenly wants to bake with me every other day – this of course being the same child who has been “too busy” to bake with me for the past four years and who now seems to think I should stop everything I am doing to bake with her whenever she is emotionally distraught about college.

Of course, I do drop everything, because she is my daughter, I do want to spend time with her, and I also enjoying baking. And this weekend, I taught her how to bake a chocolate bundt which I had revamped a couple of weeks ago when this same daughter had asked that I make a chocolate tunnel bundt cake for when my mother-in-law was visiting.

The original chocolate bundt cake recipe called for 3 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of butter, 3 eggs, 3 cups of all purpose flour, 3/4 cup cocoa, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup coffee, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup pecans, 1 tsp vanilla, 12 oz cream cheese, another 2 eggs, another 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup coconut, and 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips. It also called for a glaze made of 4 tbsp butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 3 tbsp cocoa, 2 tsp vanilla, and 1-3 tbsp water.

To revamp the recipe, I swapped olive oil for the butter and reduced it to 1 cup, and switched coconut sugar for the refined white sugar, cutting the amount to 2 cups. I used King Arthur’s whole grain gluten free flour in place of the white flour, and chose to use the special dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder for the regular cocoa powder. I reduced the salt to only 1/2 tsp. I made a “buttermilk” with soy milk and apple cider vinegar, reduced the eggs to two, and omitted the pecans altogether.

For the filling: I reduced the cream cheese to 8 oz instead of 12, using the tofu version,  and halved the eggs to one. I also omitted the coconut altogether and used Enjoy Life chocolate chips, reducing the amount to 1 cup of the mini chips. For the sugar, I once again used the coconut sugar, and I added a tablespoon of the cocoa powder and 1 tsp vanilla to increase the chocolate taste. Finally, I chose not to make a glaze.

The result was a delicious cake which had less fat and sugar and calories as well as more protein and fiber. I’m including the recipe below for the cake which can be made as the tunnel cake with the cream cheese filling or as a plain chocolate bundt without the filling.

Chocolate Tunnel Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

2 cup coconut sugar

1 cup extra light olive oil

2 eggs

3 cup gluten free flour blend (I used King Arthur’s whole grain blend)

3/4 cup special dark unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup strong, cooled coffee

1 cup soy milk mixed with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

For Filling:

8 oz tofu cream cheese

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1 tbsp cocoa

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

To make the filling:

Beat the tofu cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in the coconut sugar and cocoa powder, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the egg and vanilla. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Baking Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan with the preferred method. I use vegan butter and then sprinkle ground flax seed which coats the pan well, allows the cake to slide out easily, and adds the omegas from the flax seed to the nutrition of the cake, not to mention a pleasant tasting, textural crunch.
  2. Combine the coconut sugar, eggs, and olive oil in a mixing bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. In large measuring cup, blend the coffee and buttermilk and vanilla.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the sugar/oil mixture alternately with the wet ingredients, blending well, until the ingredients are incorporated.
  6. If making just the chocolate bundt cake, evenly spread the batter into the prepared bundt pan as is.
  7. If making the tunnel cake, evenly spread about 1/3 of the batter into the bundt pan; then evenly dollop the cream cheese mixture atop the batter, making sure to leave a wall of batter on either side of the cream cheese. Then carefully add the remaining batter on top of the cream cheese filling.
  8. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes until the cake is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with just dry crumbs. The cake will be slightly pulling away from the edges of the pan.