Angel Food Cake!

I've been making mug cakes and chocolate melting cakes with potato starch for quite a while now, and I've observed that, because these cakes have a high egg content, their texture is a lot like angel food. So the wheels have been turning and today I experimented. I only made a half recipe so if it didn't turn out I would only have to throw away six eggs instead of twelve. Lo and behold, it was very, very good!

Here is the recipe for the large cake, not the half. It's actually a lot simpler than one would think, other than separating the eggs. You just have to figure out what to do with all those yolks. I'm going to make an omelet heavy on the yolks for breakfast a couple of mornings. Or maybe I'll have to perfect a sponge cake recipe. I'm bringing this cake for Mother's Day dinner-it's my mother-in-law's favorite dessert and I will be able to enjoy right along with everybody else!

Angel Food Cake

1 cup potato starch
3/4 cup sugar

12 egg whites
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sugar

Mix potato starch and sugar thoroughly with a whisk, or sift together. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar, salt and vanilla until they form soft peaks. Add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar one tablespoon at a time, continuing to beat until meringue holds stiff peaks.

Fold potato starch/sugar mixture into egg whites about 1/4 cup at a time until all the starch is incorporated. Pour into an UNGREASED tube pan and bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or til done. (toothpick test)

Invert pan on the counter and leave upside down until cake is cool. This keeps the cake from falling. My mom used to put the tube over a full pop bottle if the cake was high enough. One time it fell out of the pan as it cooled and when she came into the kitchen it had fallen down right around the pop bottle!

Slice with a serrated knife and enjoy. We especially love it with sweetened strawberries and whipped cream.

Sorry It's Been so Long!

Things are nuts in my life right now, so my blogs are being neglected. Our son, his wife and their 5 year old boy have been living with us for almost three months now, and all my routines have gone out the window!

I have been cooking but nothing original. I did, however, figure out that Jell-o is safe for me to eat, so the other day I picked up a big box of strawberry flavor.

This is what I did with it:

Dissolve in 2 cups boiling water, stir in 8 ounces softened cream cheese. In a food processor, chop 3 cups frozen whole strawberries. (I used what we grew last summer-yum!) Stir into Jell-o mixture and chill.

That's it! It was almost like a dessert, so I ate some with dinner, then had a bit more for dessert just to cover my bases!

Next project-I bought a bag of quinoa flour and I'm going to use it in my cookie recipe to see if I can get better results that what I've been using.

The kids are applying for an apartment this week, so hopefully I'll get my house back and also my routine!

Coconut Mug Cakes

Hubby hates chocolate. People ask me how a chocolate lover like me can live with an anti-chocolate person. My stock answer is, "More for me!"

Last night I went to a Pampered Chef party where they made these delicious-looking miniature gooey chocolate cakes. Of course I just had to look and not touch. So today I decided it was time to make chocolate mug cakes, which I did, using potato starch instead of wheat flour. But-what to make for Hubby's Sunday night treat? This recipe came from that and he ADORED it!

Coconut Mug Cakes

4 T flour of choice (I used 3 T potato starch and 1 T coconut flour)(hubby didn't miss the wheat)
4 T sugar
1 egg
3 T milk
3 T cooking oil
1/4 tsp coconut extract
3 T shredded coconut

I don't mix my mug cakes in the mug, I use a small bowl, so stir together flour and sugar in a small bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, except coconut, and mix until just blended with a wire whisk. Stir in coconut.

Brush a bit of oil in 2 8-ounce ramekins and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Divide batter between the two ramekins. Cook in the microwave approximately 1 minute 45 seconds. You might have to play a bit to get the right time, given the differing wattages of microwaves. Let cool a bit, turn out and serve.

I served this to Hubby with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and some raspberry Italian soda syrup. I kid you not, he went nuts for it! Then he suggested next time I use the Italian coconut syrup that's in the pantry downstairs. Sounds good to me.

A Little Shopping

For quite a while I've been looking for just the right ramekins. I wanted both the 8 oz and the 4 oz, but I had kind of given up. Last night I had an hour to kill, so I decided to wander about the local Dollar-type store. This one is a locally owned store that kind of reminds me of Big Lots.

Lo and behold, I found exactly what I was looking for!

I got six of each size, so look out Chocolate Melting Cake, here I come! (Recipe to follow in the near future)

About Time I Published the Cheesecake Recipe

My Allergy Free Cheesecake

3 8oz pkgs softened cream cheese
1/2 C potato flour
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom of a springform pan with wax paper or parchment, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Beat cream cheese, add sugar and coconut flour. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Spread in pan and bake for 50 minutes. Let cool a bit, then run a knife around edge to loosen and remove sides of pan. Cool completely. Not too heavy, not too "fluffy."

Raspberry Topping

4 C raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 C sugar
2-3 T potato starch

Crush half of the berries, mix with sugar and potato starch. Cook over medium heat until quite thick. Let cool for a few minutes, then add the remaining berries. Store in refrigerator.

I made this for a church potluck last week. I didn't tell anyone that it was for "special" diets and it disappeared so fast I almost didn't get a piece!

Berry Ice Cream

3 C half and half
1 C heavy cream
1 1/2 C sugar
6 oz softened cream cheese
2 C berries-raspberries or strawberries are delish. I like to use them frozen
1 tsp vanilla

Mix 2 cups half and half with the heavy cream, stir in sugar. Stir with a whisk until dissolved. In a food processor, blend 1 cup half and half with the cream cheese. Add berries (if they're frozen leave them that way) and process until smooth. Whisk into cream and sugar mixture and freeze in ice cream freezer. After ice cream is thickened pack into an airtight container and ripen in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

This recipe, of course, does have dairy, but it doesn't have eggs. I can eat eggs but my 4-year-old grandson Sam cannot, so I leave them out whenever possible. The berries I use are from my garden. I freeze them on cookie sheets and when they're hard I put them into zip-type sandwich bags in 2-cup portions.

First Recipe

Wheat/Gluten Free Crepes

1 C flour mix (I use 1/2 C potato flour, 1/4 C coconut flour, and 1/4 C teff flour)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 C milk
1 Tablespoon cooking oil
dash salt

Combine all ingredients. The best way to mix this is to use a blender, but if you don't have a blender, let it stand a few minutes after mixing. You might have to add a bit more milk-this is a very thin batter.

Pour about 1/4 cup batter in a hot, lightly greased 10 inch non-stick pan, swirling to cover bottom of pan. Cook on medium high until it starts to brown, flip by sliding a spatula under. Cook second side till dry. Keep mixing batter while cooking, it tends to settle. Makes 9-10 crepes. They freeze well-layer them with waxed paper, wrap and freeze.

Teff is a tiny grain from Ethiopia. It's actually a grass and is delicious. I like to cook the whole grain as a cereal similar to Cream of Wheat.

You will seldom find xanthan gum in my recipes. My digestive system dislikes it, and I really can't tell a difference in the texture of the baked goods when I use it anyway.