gluten-free and cane sugar-free baking

Some of us who can't tolerate gluten in our diets can't tolerate other members of the grass family, namely, cane sugar! As a life-long baker, this was a serious blow to my baking plans. I have come to the conclusion that after removing all cane sugar from my diet that I do not miss it. When I have it, it doesn't even taste good to me anymore. Seriously, it is so sweet and off the charts that it doesn't register in my brain as "good." I have really been into a local honey called golden angels, and agave as a close second, with maple syrup as a pinch hitter if I want to take it up a sweet notch.
That being said, I think I am ok with sorghum flour, also in the grass fam. But if you want to err on the safe side, just replace it with brown rice flour.

I was very happy to read this post about baking without gluten and cane sugar; I hope you find it as helpful as I did:

from gluten-free goddess

it can be done! we've been really enjoying summer's berries and peaches in crumble and cobbler form; of late, peach-blueberry. these recipes I altered came from gluten-free girl and the chef.

hers used sugar and apricots instead, ck it out here.

Peach-blueberry crumble

Fruit filling

1 pint blueberries
2 peaches, pitted and sliced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
3 T honey

Crumble topping

1 c brown rice flour
½ cup sorghum flour
½ cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 c honey
3-4 T butter


Turn your oven on to 375°.

Jumble the blueberries and peaches in a large bowl. Stir in the honey, vanilla and tapioca flour.
Pour the prepared filling into a buttered pan. (I like a shallow casserole dish, but you could just as easily use a 9-inch pie pan. Just be sure you have an inch of room, at least, after you have poured in the filling.) Put it into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the fruit is fork-tender and the juices are beginning to run.
As the fruit is baking, put together the crumble topping. (You can also prepare double batches of this and store them in the refrigerator, which allows you to make crumble any time of the day you wish.) Combine the dry ingredients then add the honey and butter (I use my hands to make a coarse meal).

Baking the crumble. pull the baking dish out of the oven. Spoon the crumble on top of the fruit, making sure to cover it all. Slide the dish back into the oven.

Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling juicily, and the topping has browned nicely.

or, if you feel more like a cobbler:

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

Cobbler topping

¼ cup sorghum flour
½ cup tapioca flour
¼ cup brown rice flour
½ t sea salt
4 T honey
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup sour cream or yoghurt (I have also skipped this and added rice milk til it looked like a wet dough, less than a quarter cup)
3 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Combine all the gluten-free flours with the salt and cinnamon. Add the honey. Cut the pieces of butter into the flour until the mixtures comes together and has the texture coarse cornmeal. Spoon in the sour cream and stir the concoction with a rubber spatula, until it all just starts to come together.

fruit filling

1 pint or so of blueberries
2-3 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
2 T honey
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Turn on the oven and let it heat to 375°.

Prepare the fruit filling using ingredients above.

Cover the fruit with your cobbler topping. Bake for 30 minutes and check the color and consistency. When the cobbler topping has a firm feeling and is lovely and brown, the fruit bubbling up the edges of the pan — the cobbler is done.

We top ours with whipped cream, adding in a dash of vanilla and a spoonful of honey as we whip it.

Enjoy your desserts without cane sugar (or gluten) -- I don't think you'll miss it!

summer g-f menu ideas

whilst I have been convalescing and healing up, mentally and physically, my wonderful hubby Jim has been cookin up a storm!
and never underestimate the healing power of whipped cream...

here are some of our summer menus:

1. pan-fried scallops - sauteed with olive oil, garlic and white wine - on a bed of peas, brown rice fusilli (Tinkayda pasta) (added butter, olive oil and grated pecorino romano), romaine heart salad with balsamic vinaigrette

2. honey-glazed wild salmon on a bed of red onions, pesto basmati rice, greens (drizzle extra pesto on the salmon = yum)

3. baked stuffed zucchini, summer squash and mushrooms (stuffing = shroom and squash scooped out innards, minced garlic, black olives, pecorino romano, salt, pepper, brown rice crumbs)
a side of Tinkyada pasta with sauteed white beans, garlic and a splash of red wine vinegar as it's sauteing, drizzled with olive oil, salad

4. corn meal crusted baked scallops, sweet potato fries, garlicky broccoli

5. charcoal-grilled chicken (marinated in white wine and garlic), roasted golden beet salad, pesto pasta

6. baked goat cheese garden salad, beet relish and zucchini and corn fritters

and, most importantly, what we put the whipped cream on top of:

blueberry dutch pancake (dessert, breakfast, teatime, whenever!)

preheat oven to 450.

in an 8" round or sq baking dish, put 1-2 T butter in it and place in oven to melt.

whisk 3 eggs in a med bowl.
add 1/2 c rice milk
1/2 c white rice flour
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
2-3 T honey

pour batter into dish with melted butter; reserve 1/3 of it. add 1-2 c fresh or frozen blueberries, add rest of batter. sprinkle with a little dash of nutmeg.

bake at 450 for 15 mins. then 350 for 5 or until done.
let it rest for 10 mins or so, then serve, topped with whipped cream (we whip ours with a dash of vanilla and a drizzle of honey).

enjoy~