Gluten-Free Peach Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

It was so hard to let this cake cool before cutting into it.

Why is it when I bake a coffee cake I get all dreamy and gooey inside, like a knee-socked school girl in Latin class, riveted to the patch of peachy, fuzzy cloud against the swaying swatch of blue between the maple tree branches outside the classroom window, imagining love itself is out there, waiting, breathing, just beyond reach, ready to pounce. Like grace. When you least expect it, a gift arrives. Often in a form you don't recognize at first.

Like a plaid shirt.

And hands that juggle.

The truth is, I didn't even know juggling was on my list.

My top criteria (scrawled in gel black ink one rainy night post divorce) listed kindness, a sense of humor, artistic.

It conjured images of tempered masculinity. Intelligence. Adept at conversation. Curiosity.

Likes women (a big one).

It mentioned nothing about juggling. Or fierce devotion to coffee. Or a willingness to wash dishes. It neglected to include the seductive power of coffee cake. The sexy allure of a cinnamon dusted chin.

So imagine my surprise when on our second date (post French roast coffee and dirt bomb muffins) he grabs three apples. And juggles. While whistling. I can't remember the tune.

Because my knees turned to pudding.

And now, almost twenty years later, I hear a key in the door. And my heart is grateful. It's him. The guy in a plaid shirt.

Bearing peaches.

More gifts.

And once more, I accept.


Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Applesauce Crumb Cake with Cinnamon

Cake lovers unite. Skip the pie. An apple pie spiced cake!

Coffee Cake to the Rescue

Knee deep in book boxes, I decided to bake a cake. Because trying to wrestle gluten-free pie dough for an apple pie just seemed too fussy. Too complicated. Though in all honesty, that isn't the whole, unvarnished truth. The whole, unvarnished truth is, Yours Truly is more of a cake person than a pie person (downright blasphemy this time of year, I realize, as Thanksgiving looms large). But yeah. It's true. Pies have their charm. I've been known to inhale a slice or two of apple pie in my day. But here's the thing.

And I'm going to be blunt.

Gluten-free pastry crust is simply not as flaky and tender and melt-in-your-mouth wonderful as wheat pastry crust. There. I said it. Fighting words, to some. And if you are among those true believers feel free to disagree. And go eat your gluten-free pie. I bless you with a thousand sprinkles of pie fairy dust. With love. And kisses.

And pink ponies.

Respectfully.

Gluten, you see, is more than a pesky protein with a bad rep. Gluten is what makes pastry dough soft, flaky and tender. Gluten is what inspired bakers to bake all those years ago, firing up their hand-hewn brick-lined ovens. Gluten was their muse. Their seductive mistress. Gluten took them beyond three ingredient pancakes and palm-tossed flatbreads. Gluten fed their imagination. Inspired tarts, baklava, cupcakes. Napoleons.

And yes.

Apple pie.

Because gluten is a magical ingredient (despite its bad press these days).

We have to admit it. She's not an easy paramour to replace.

Perhaps some day soon I'll be tempted to experiment with a gluten-free pastry dough. I'll be lured into believing I can recreate such delicate, fragile beauty. But not today. If I do crave pie I'll bake this no apology necessary Apple Crisp and serve it warm with a snowy scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream. Or this vegan Pumpkin Pie with Coconut-Pecan Crust.

And for breakfast, I'll eat cake.

Applesauce cake.

Right now, I can live with that.

Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Gluten-Free Banana Crumb Cake

Lovely for snacking. Gluten-Free Banana Crumb Cake.

A certain someone in our household has a sweet tooth. And- best of all- he not only likes to eat cake, he likes to bake it, too (apparently baking can be a form of meditation for some folks, a calming, distracting respite from toiling away in one's head for hours, excavating the various thematic elements underpinning character motivation, conflict and story arcs. All those juicy, gnarly, invisible threads and knots we movie viewers take for granted when we settle in with our gluten-free popcorn to watch a screenplay come to life.

Something I've learned, living with a screenwriter (aside from the fact that baking is therapy)?

Don't judge the script by the movie.

Because chances are the script was good.

Chances are the script was tight and wry and sharp. And moving. And funny. Chances are the script made you leak a well-earned tear. Or two.

Then came the notes.

From the director. From the actor. From the producer. And the producer's girlfriend. Her dentist.

So the script gets whittled. And weakened. And tweaked. Scenes are added to make a character more likeable (How 'bout we give him a dog- or a koi pond?). Then locales get switched (apparently producers believe New Mexican Pueblo humor translates without a glitch to Australia's Gold-Coast). The language once precise gets watered down with unimaginative phrases you've heard before (not every actor can improvise like Robert De Niro I am sorry to tell you).

Sometimes the collaborative magic of filmmaking works.

And sometimes it doesn't.

And baking ensues.

Lately?

We always have cake in the freezer.


Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Frosted Carrot Cake Quinoa Bars

Frosted carrot quinoa bars. Gluten-free. Dairy-free.

Gettin' Fancy

My intrepid husband slash sous chef was craving a carrot cake style quinoa bar for a mid-morning snack. To be exact, he said, Hey. I'm craving a carrot cake style quinoa breakfast bar. You know. For breakfast. To which yours truly replied, Look who wants to get fancy. My chocolate chip quinoa breakfast bars aren't good enough for you? Now you need frosting? To which said long suffering husband replied, Frosting makes everything better.

Who am I to argue with that?

Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Crumb Cake

A light, pumpkin coffee cake for your holiday brunch.

The Winter Solstice will be here soon. The holiday frenzy of gift buying and light stringing and cookie making is officially upon us. Everywhere I cast my gaze I am pummeled with messages. SHOP! BAKE! SPARKLE! And that's okay. Because I understand the hoopla. I know where this urge comes from. The itch to make a ruckus in the dark. To sing, brave and clear, cupping our tiny flames against Midwinter's long night.

The California sun hangs soft and low in the sky, as pale as ice cream. Hours feel clipped. Afternoons are shorter and shorter. Night creeps ever closer. Darkness will soon reign over light.

But only for a moment. One single, solitary, longest night of the year.

No wonder we gather to celebrate. The rebirth of light is no small thing. And a brand new year awaits. Front loaded with promise, and changes hoped for.

I had hoped to finally conquer gluten-free sugar cookies. But after tasting more than one middling batch (I also have to bake without butter, remember) I became more interested in reading a new book than wrestling with sugar cookie dough. Yes, I miss rolling out sugar cookies. And yes, I would be (more than!) thrilled to sign on here today and boast about the best gluten-free sugar cookie ever. But. It's not gonna happen. This week anyway.

I had two sad, cracked (and complaining) teeth yanked this week. (Celiac disease is not kind to teeth and bones. My childhood was riddled with amalgam and the torture inducing whine of belt-driven drills, cementing a lifelong terror of dentists.)

So that gave me the perfect excuse to nap. And read in bed.

I am reading Carolyn G. Heilbrun- The Last Gift of Time. I read a chapter on memory- and the seduction of nostalgia (a favorite subject of mine, you may remember). And I read this...

"Every time those of us in our last decades allow a memory to occur, we forget to look at what is in front of us, at the new ideas and pleasures we might, if firmly in the present, encounter and enjoy."

Carolyn (in her seventies when she wrote this book) urges us to stay present in the here and now as we age, and not drift into the mental trap of nostalgia and memories. I wholeheartedly agree. I love learning something new- every day- turning not to an assumption, a belief or a habit, but toward the thrill of a new skill, and new technologies (iphoneography is a new passion of mine- an art form in its infancy). Keeping myself open, engaged in the here and now means keeping things fresh. Letting go of the old, the stale past, the so-called good old days. Because as good as they were, they are not now. And as bad as some days may have been, today can be different.

Now is new.

And in this spirit, Steve and I baked a pumpkin crumb cake instead of recreating cookies. A new Christmas tradition, perhaps? Why not?

Cake for breakfast.

Sweet.


Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Gluten-Free Apple Cake with Cranberries

A gluten-free cranberry apple cake- with a sweet-tart kick.

No philosophy today. Instead, a cake. A beautiful gluten-free cake to bake for the holidays- or any day you feel like celebrating. So dust off your cake pan, Babycakes.

This is a moist and tender apple cake laced with a hint of cinnamon and studded with fresh tart berries. After seven eight nine years of baking various gluten-free incarnations of my tried and true Jewish apple cake recipe, this could be our favorite. Maybe it's the sweet-tart combo. The subtlety of flavors. In a food culture obsessed with kicking up recipes with more for the sake of more (white chocolate peanut butter bacon swirled maple mouse drizzled in dulche de leche coconut marshmallow and dusted with sugared lime zest and shaved dark chocolate, anyone?) the clean and classic flavor contrast of apples and cranberries is somehow new again. Even, refreshing.

I don't need dessert to taste like candy. I like my cake to taste like cake.

How about you?

Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Gluten-Free Blueberry Crumb Cake Recipe

Blueberry crumb cake- gluten-free summer goodness.

Coffee cake for the road.

Sometimes in life- when you least expect it- the stars are kind. Synchronicity smiles. And disparate pieces of your dreams bump up against one another and nestle snug into place. I'm referring, of course, to my dream of California. Summer by the Pacific, walking the beach, shopping the Farmers' Market, reuniting with my sons. Cooking. Writing. Haunting book stores and coffee shops.

I've been trying to get there for two years.

No, the house hasn't sold yet. But Plan B is under way. We found the elusive summer rental. Just when I thought it wasn't going to happen. A sublet in Santa Monica. In the nick of time. A lovely, light filled creative space. With a sweet kitchen. So I am back to making lists, mapping our drive south to Flagstaff, AZ, turning west to aim for the coast. I am lying in the dark alert, at 3 AM, pondering not the mysteries of the collective unconscious, not the properties of desire and effect, quantum attraction and Zen detachment, but favorite flavors of chocolate chip cookies. I am imagining herbed sandwich wraps (recipe soon!). Bags of salted popcorn. iTunes playlists. And this, a new blueberry cake recipe I felt inspired to bake. With a cinnamon crumb topping.

I think it's perfect to pack for a two-day road trip, don't you? Or even a two minute trip, scooting across the back yard barefoot to visit your best friend and neighbor. She'll make the coffee. Or iced chai. While you unrap the cake you get to eat, too.

Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

My Best Gluten-Free Cake + Cupcake Recipes

Orange infused gluten-free cupcakes!

My Best Gluten-Free Cake + Cupcake Recipes

Here is a selection of my favorite gluten-free cake recipes on Gluten-Free Goddess- from company worthy coconut layer cake to cozy cinnamon crumbed coffee cake, from rich and fudgy flourless chocolate elegance to sassy orange vegan cupcakes.

Apple Cake with Cranberries

Apple Cake Muffins

Applesauce Crumb Cake

Banana Bundt Cake

Banana-Blueberry Muffin Cake

Banana Polenta Cake 

Banana Crumb Cake 

Banana Spice Cake

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Cherry Clafoutis

Chocolate Cupcakes with Coffee Icing

Chocolate Gingerbread 

Chocolate Layer Cake

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Coconut Apple Cake

Coconut Carrot Cake

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cake

Coconut Layer Cake

Dark Goddess Cake

Flourless Banana Snacking Cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Frosted Carrot Quinoa Bars

Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes

Lemon Almond Yogurt Cake

Maple Frosted Pumpkin Cake

Orange Creme Cupcakes

Peach Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

Peanut Butter Banana Cake

Pumpkin Cheesecake 

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

Quinoa Breakfast Cake

Rustic Strawberry Cobbler Cake

Sour Cream Apple Cake

Vanilla Cupcakes with Mocha Icing

Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake

Super rich and decadent truffle cake.

Gluten-Free Goddess' Gluten-Free Cake Baking Tips:

New to baking gluten-free cakes and cupcakes? See my post Gluten-Free Cooking + Baking Tips for what to expect and how to problem solve.

Gluten-free vegan batter (without dairy and eggs) behaves differently than wheat batter. It is generally stickier, and thicker than standard batter.

Eggs are a boon to gluten-free baking. They add lift, moisture and lightness to heavy gluten-free flours.  If fat is a concern, use whisked egg whites instead of whole eggs, and an extra egg white.

Bake in the center of a pre-heated oven. If your cakes sink in the center you may be adding too much liquid to the batter, not baking it long enough, or your oven temperature may run a tad cool. Conversely, if the cake rises high and fast, then collapses, your oven may run hot.

For essential tips on baking gluten-free and dairy-free without eggs see my Vegan Baking Cheat Sheet, with trouble shooting strategies for baking success.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Karina's Gluten-free Peach Cake

A vegan peach cake perfect for a summer picnic.

Lazy summer days are sweet and sticky jewels studded with fresh cut fruit and juicy cakes. Farmers' markets buzz with color and scents. And peaches are the star. Get them while you can, Gentle Reader. Inhale their ripe velvet voluptuousness. Because all too soon they will be gone, and the stony, flavorless winter impostors picked well before ripening, thrown into crates and imported from far off orchards flirting with the southern hemisphere sun will be posing at your market as peaches. But they are not. And they know it.

They don't even try to pretend.

So grab your baskets and get thee to a local farmers' market. There is peach cake and peach crisp, and peach ice cream to be savored.

Some of you may recognize the basic recipe here. It's one I've posted and tweaked. It's not in my nature to follow directions or repeat a success without tweaking it, you see. I just can't do it. My brain chemistry switches to Bored Beyond Belief faster than you can mutter the words peach pancakes on a stick.

Let's just say I was a challenge in school. And in jobs (and okay, relationships) requiring a set routine or specific schedule. Rules and expectations writ in stone give me the itch to break free and play, What if? I just can't do the same thing over and over. I get too restless. I get punchy. And I'm also a big believer in change.

Change is good.

Change means I'm alive, growing and learning. Change means I'm curious, taking a risk, discovering something I didn't know before. Experimenting and sometimes failing or looking like an idiot often comes with the territory. Sure, I might end up feeling inept or totally stupid. Born too late. Or too soon. But will that keep me in my proper place and tame my wanton right-brained ways?

Not on your life, Babycakes.



Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Gluten-Free Strawberry Cobbler Cake

Dear Gluten-Free Goddess,

Not another strawberry recipe. Please. And a cake recipe at that? Pfffft. I've had it with all your so called strawberry deliciousness. Will you just get over it already? (What do you think this is, strawberry season?) I'm totally bored with the whole strawberry thing. Good Gracious Lord In Heaven.

Where the bleep are the broccolini recipes? The watercress and sardine tarts? The marinated scapes, head cheese, and tripe? Where's your squid ink linguini recipe? And croissants! I can't find them anywhere.

And must I beg you for boutique bean recipes? You of all people- living in your precious New Mexico desert. Or have you moved to Hollyweird now (that figures). I need boutique heirloom bean recipes. I need my daily local vegan fiber, if you get my drift.

Hmm? None of the above?

Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Gluten-Free Banana-Blueberry Muffin Cake

Kick up your gluten-free banana cake with blueberries.

My partner in culinary crime- the infamous and ever-up-for-baking husband Steve- informed me our bananas were mucho ripe. In fact, to be completely accurate, he poked his head into my cozy little studio the other day and declared, Our bananas are ripe. I should bake something.

I looked up from my iMac and murmured Hmmm, in assent.

But what, exactly?

Ripe bananas were calling. Begging to be a part of some grander life affirming tastebud tingling scheme. But do readers really need another banana cake recipe? I pondered, slurping cold coffee with vanilla hemp milk. Which reminds me. I should share this.

Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Coffee Cake- and a love story

Winter in Northern New Mexico- my view.

It's been snowy, windy, cold- you name it. From all the tweets I've been reading over on Twitter lately, I'm not alone. Far from it. This has been one crazy snowy month. So what does a gluten-free goddess do when she gets stuck in the middle of the desert with no buckwheat flour, no sorghum, and no four-wheel drive? (Note to self- if you're going to live in rural Northern New Mexico, Darling, a cute and thrifty little Honda Fit won't cut it.)

Snowed in and hungry she does the only sensible thing.

She scans the pantry and pulls out a Whole Foods gluten-free cake mix and starts stirring things up. She starts imagining dirt bombs. And bakes up a coffee cake worthy of the winter holidays.

The love part of the story?

Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake

A warm and spicy pumpkin cake recipe for autumn.

Fall is my favorite season- for more reasons than I can count. Clear cool mornings that reinvigorate my affection for walking- not to mention- turning on the oven to bake. The freshened sense of new beginnings- yes, I know, I'm weird this way. Rather than the greening of spring, it's the winged migration of fall that kindles my creative spirit.

Fall feels like a fresh start, the smell of sharpened pencils, crisp white sheets of paper and a new box of crayons. Time to stack unread books by the bed, recycle old clothes, worn out paradigms and old ideas.

Time to get the broom and make a clean sweep of things.

Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Quinoa Breakfast Cake Recipe

Tender and moist quinoa breakfast cake- really delicious.

There are some days [okay, I confess!] I eat a brownie for breakfast. And not just a brownie. A tender, dark chocolaty coconut and brown sugar laced delectable gluten-free blondie style brownie. A brownie to delight in. A brownie to savor. A brownie even gluten-eaters would covet. And I lick my fingers. Is it a nutritious choice? Um, probably not.

Except as food for the soul.

And sometimes, let’s face it. The soul needs chocolate. For breakfast. But this morning there was a trendy new box of quinoa flakes perched on the kitchen counter. And a fresh bag of plump seedless raisins nearby. I leaned against the counter's edge and sipped my morning cup of English Breakfast tea. I started daydreaming about oatmeal cookies. Then carrot cake. Carrot raisin cookies. Molasses and cinnamon. I knew what I had to do. I had to bake.

Quinoa was calling to me.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a fab ancient faux grain (it's actually a fruit seed) that is high in protein and naturally gluten-free, and lucky for cereal lovers, turns out it's a satisfying hot cereal choice, too.

Quinoa cereal flakes approximate quick-oats-style oatmeal in size and texture. The taste is different, though. More nutty. Kinda toasty. A tad unfamiliar. And it takes some getting used to. Bland as oatmeal, it is not. It has a definite personality.

Dress it up with maple syrup, chopped nuts, raisins or dried cherries. A sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar. You name it. Quinoa can handle it.

And I am here to tell you- the flakes are a tasty little number for baking. Different, yes. But once you nibble a second bite, and a third, and a fourth, you start thinking, Hey. This is good stuff! You break off a warm piece and ferry it across the saltillo tile floor to your script-typing husband and offer it with a smile.

You urge, Try this.

And he murmurs, Hmmm.

And you reassure him with, The second bite is better, and he interrupts and says, No, this is excellent. It’s different, but it’s good. Very good.

Yup. This quinoa-loving goddess couldn't agree more.

Read more + get the recipe >>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad