Lemon and Lime Citrus Cake

For months this idea of a citrus cake has been floating around in my head. I had ideas but never put it on paper till recently. For this cake I knew I did not want to use Pamela's Baking Mix. I wanted something different and new. So I made my own flour mixture for this cake using coconut flour, white rice flour and tapioca flour! The combination of these flours gives this cake a sweet, moist, dense texture to it but the sour fruit fights back making the cake taste light at the same time. And that's how I came up with this sweet and sour cake.

If you like sour foods you will love this cake!

Pre-heat your oven to: 350

You will need:

1/2 cup Coconut Flour

1/2 cup White Rice Flour

1/3 cup Tapioca Flour

1 cup Sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder

2 medium sized Lemons

2 medium sized Limes

2 Eggs

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 cup Milk

Butter a 9 inch round spring pan (you can use an 8 inch round spring pan if that's all you have).

In a medium bowl mix the dry ingredients (Coconut Flour, Rice Flour, Tapioca Flour, Baking Powder and Sugar) together with a fork or whisk.

Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl together

Now take the lemons and limes and cut them into circles (you will get about 4 or 5 circles per lemon or lime). Try to get all the seeds out without killing the fruit. SAVE THE ENDS where there is not enough to get another circle from. You will need to squeeze the juice out of them later.

Cut the rind and white part off of the circles leaving as much of the flesh of the fruit as possible.

Cut each circle into 1/4 or smaller if the rounds are big.

If the center has a lot of white where the small individual pieces connect, cut it off.

Its is fine if the chunks are not even or one piece. They will be going inside the cake so you will not see them.

Take the ends of the lemons and limes and squeeze the juices out of them into a small bowl.

Now you get to mix the dry and wet ingredients together (EXCLUDING the lemon and lime juice). Its normal for the batter to be thick.

Once it is well combined, add the lemon and lime juice mixing well until there are no clumps. By now the batter should be a bit thinner.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the lemon and lime pieces on top of the batter.

Pour the rest of the batter on top of the fruit. You may need to use a spatula to move the batter so it covers at least the majority of the fruit.

Cook for 50 minutes until it starts to brown around the edges, is pulling away from the edges and is firm in the center.

Let cool till its at room temperature and enjoy!

Gluten Free Chocolate Bread Pudding

A few months ago I found a chocolate bread pudding recipe, made with cinnamon bread.* I did not want to make some yummy gluten dessert with my brother and father around so I edited it and made it 100% Gluten Free!

Pre-Heat your oven to: 350

What you will need:

11 Slices of gluten free bread (I used Glutino's Corn Bread)

4 Cups of Milk

2 Tablespoons of Butter (and some more for buttering the pan)

6 oz Semisweet chocolate

4 Eggs

1 Cup of sugar

1 Teaspoon vanilla

Approx. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Powdered Sugar for garnish if you wish :)

First Butter a 8 x 12 inch pan (the pan size can be changed but keep it as close as possible or run the risk of all the yummy filling not fitting in the pan.).

Cut the bread, so you should end up with about 9 squares per slice.

Since the bread I am using is not perfectly shaped it will depend on the size of each slice the amount of cubes you get. As you can see the bread that I used is about 4 x 4 inches.

Once you have cut all the bread and buttered the pan place the bread into the pan.

In a large sauce pan heat up the milk, butter and chocolate. Stir the liquid frequently making sure the chocolate does not burn on the bottom of the pot.

This is what the chocolate mixture should look like when fully combined.

While the chocolate and milk mixture is heating up, in a bowl beat/mix the eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, until well combined.

When the chocolate and milk solution is combined, temper the eggs by adding a small amount of the hot milk into the eggs and mix for a few seconds bring the eggs up to (or close to) the same temperature as the milk. Repeat this step a few times till you have used about half the liquid.

When I made this the first time I did not temper the eggs enough and poured too much of the hot milk in at once. I ended up cooking some of the eggs in the bowl. If you see small bits or clumps of yellow in the mixture, that means you added too much of the hot milk in the beginning, like me!

Tempering the eggs

This is what it should look like when the egg and milk mixtures are combined (the foam depends on how fast you stir).

Pour the liquid over the bread trying to coat every piece while you go.

Carefully carry the mixture to the oven and place on the middle rack. Cook for 40 - 45 minutes. Keep an eye on it, because the top of the bread will burn if you are not careful!

When finished the liquid should have set and firmed but should still have a little movement to it. If you are not sure, its better to take it out sooner than later because it will keep cooking in the pan, and egg does not usually talk that long to cook.

Cool for at least 10 minutes and sprinkle with powdered sugar!

Serve warm or at room temperature and,

ENJOY!!

* This recipe is based on a Martha Stewart recipe, and has been changed to be Gluten Free.

My Birthday!

Just a few pictures from my birthday (November 2007)!!




It was so funny when my mom asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday! That's usually the question I ask everyone else!
This pie was so yummy! It was a peanut-butter custard sort of filling, in a gluten free crust with a chocolate whipped cream on top! Got to find the recipe so I can post it for all you readers!

Hey Karina recognize this?
I got a hoodie for my birthday made by Karina! Help a fellow blogger and get a great jacket, it's a win win situation!
Look at all of Karina's clothing creations here, or visit her food blog at Gluten Free Goddess or her art blog at A Painter's Kitchen