No Bake Daiquiri Cheesecake

This was one of the recipes I made for the "Easter baking marathon". It is one of my Mom's best kept little secrets, in fact the recipe goes so far back it was actually typed on a typewriter (gasp.. he he). To make it gluten free, I used Pamela's Mini Gingersnaps and they were the perfect substitute. It is very light, and just downright amazing.... this is a family favorite with good reason.  Enjoy!:)

No Bake Daiquiri Cheesecake-

*serves 10-12

1 1/4 cups of Graham Cracker Crust (I used GF cookies...)

1/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp melted butter

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup rum -80 Proof

2 tsp grated lime peel

1 tsp grated lemon peel

1/2 cup lime juice

4 beaten egg yolks

4 egg whites

2 8oz packages of cream cheese- cubed & softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup whipping cream

Combine crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar & butter. Remove 2 tbsp crumbs & set aside. Press remaining crumbs in bottom of 9 inch spring form pan. Chill 45 minutes (I put it in the freezer). Meanwhile, in medium saucepan combine gelatin & 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in rum, citrus peels, lime juice and egg yolk. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly, till slightly thickened 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Beat in cream cheese till smooth. In separate bowl, beat egg whites till soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar beating till peaks are stiff. In another small bowl, whip cream till soft peaks... Fold egg white & whipped cream into gelatin mixture. Turn into crumb lined pan. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on side of the pan. Cover & chill till firm or overnight.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

This weekend during my Easter holiday Bake-a-thon, an old friend appeared to me, one that I nearly had forgotten about. Who you ask?? My bundt pan... he he. See for some weird reason, I LOVE the shape of this pan... It is not like a cookie sheet, you don't use it all the time... but it is one of those that is just so fun to work with. Not to mention the word "bundt" just simply makes me giggle (there is a story behind that one, which I will leave up to your imagination.. but lets just say it comes from when I was a little girl and you can blame my brother... that's all i'm sayin.)

Anyways, I suddenly got a hankering to make some sort of bundt recipe. My dear cousin/friend, Lynne came to my rescue quickly with several MOUTH watering recipes that she had found on Foodgawker. This one in particular jumped out at me, I mean HOW can you possibly go wrong with cinnamon and sugar?? Um yea, this had to be a hit. Not to mention... several bloggers have been testing these on their beautiful blogs and all gave rave reviews. And I am happy to report it was RIDICULOUSLY good. OBSCENELY good!! So good in fact, that it is only 9am.. and I only have one little piece left at my desk at work. It has all been devoured happily by my coworkers... This one will with out question be repeated many times! Of course I made it Gluten free, which you would have never known. I will post the original recipe for you, and my GF adjustments next to it. Please make this asap, I promise you won't be sorry. ;)

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake-
from Dozen Flours

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 cups White rice flour, 1/2 cup potato starch, 1/2 cup tapioca flour & 1 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature (or 3/4 cup Egg Beaters)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature (I used low fat sour cream and it still was divine!)

1. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix together really well and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 325F. Using a spray product like Pam with Flour , generously spray a 9 inch Bundt pan, being careful to cover all the nooks and crannies, as well as the center tube. (Note: If you don't want to use Pam with Flour, you can just grease the pan with shortening.) Gently dust the entire inside of the pan with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. You should only need about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar, but you want to try and evenly coat the inside surface of the pan, including the tube. Save the remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture and set everything aside.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

4. Beat just the butter on medium speed for one full minute. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and blade and add the brown sugar.Mix for 2 minutes until the mixture looks light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for 1 full minute. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well.

5. Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture over top the cake. Spread the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top. (If you run out of cinnamon sugar, you can mix just 1/4 cup of sugar + 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon together for the top of the cake. It should be more than enough.)

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

**The one thing I would change on this, is adding more of the cinnamon mixture to the center of the cake. I will be doing that the next round. :)

Tuesdays with Dorie- Chocolate Amaretti Torte

After a weekend of MAD holiday baking.... (cookies for the kidos, bread, home-made ice cream and cheesecake.. phew..) I was just about to skip this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie. I was just exhausted and a bit baked out. Given the fact that this was "promised" to be a 15 minute prep recipe, with using only a food processor... and I happened to be at Starbucks yesterday afternoon with a coworker, saw some Amaretti and figured the baking gods had intervened!


This weeks recipe was chosen by Holly of Phe.mom.enon. This recipe was just as promised, super easy and fast.(it really did only take 15 minutes.. woot woot!) I can see why Dorie says she uses it as a base for hot fudge sundays... as it is very Brownie like. I halved the recipe and used a mini cake pan. I also skipped the glaze.. as I was just too darn'd tired. Regardless, it was delicious... and would be fabulous with some vanilla ice cream! Thanks Holly for a great choice... :)

Tuesdays with Dorie- Cranberry Crumb Cake

Oh man, another great Tuesdays with Dorie this week that is going to force me to punish myself at the gym today, and tomorrow and the next day. ;) Sihan great choice this week with the Blueberry Crumb Cake! I decided to switch mine up a bit, I added Cranberries instead of Blueberries.... and baked them in a muffin pan for easy office distribution. The muffin version only required 35 minutes of baking time.For the gluten free flour substitution I used 1 cup sweet white rice flour, 1/2 cup Tapioca flour, 1/2 cup Potato Starch and 1 tsp of Xanthan gum. It worked flawlessly,and had the perfect "crumb cake texture". Although, the crumble sunk into the muffins, you can see it still had a nice layer.The cranberries were just delicious and tangy with a slight hint of lemon, and theses got rave reviews with my coworkers. Already gone! Please visit Sihan's adorable blog for the recipe.

Tuesdays with Dorie- French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze

What a great choice this week of the French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze, by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction. This cake was a breeze to put together, and just delicious! I decided to depart from my regular gluten free flour mix ,Pamela's, and try some other grains to convert this cake. (I know gettin crazy, huh? ha!) I substituted 1/2 cup sweet white rice flour, 1/4 cup potato starch & 1/4 tapioca flour (as well as 1 tsp of Xanthan gum) for all purpose flour.

It worked like a charm, and had the perfect consistency of regular cake! I was thrilled... Because I made mini- loafs it only needed to be baked for 35 minutes. I had my doubts about using the lemon marmalade, but it was very tasty. This cake would be a terrific addition to a brunch....and will most definitely be repeat. Thanks, Liliana for a wonderful choice! For the recipe please visit Liliana's site.

Happy New Year- Christmas Cookie Recap

Happy 2009!! I for one, am VERY excited for this year and all the great things it will bring... I know it is going to be a great one. Sorry for my long absence. I was a very lucky girl this year, as Santa brought me a shinny new laptop for Christmas!! I absolutely love it... but did not have a USB cord for my camera to retrieve my photos. (hence the blog break). Last night I finally broke down & stole a cord ..opps I mean borrowed one from my Dad..and am finally back in action. :)

Since I haven't blogged in a while, I thought I would recap two of my favorite cookies from this years Holiday Cookie Batch.

The first is my Grandma's Ginger Snaps. Oh my goodness are these painfully good. Just looking back at the recipe and photos, makes me want to whip up a batch asap. (It also makes a ridiculous amount of cookies... you could probably squeeze about 60 out of this recipe)

The second recipe is from a dear family friend's cook book. Christmas Oatmeal Cookies... a lovely oatmeal cookie, with a candy cane twist.

Grandma's Gingersnaps

3/4 c vegetable shortening (I didn't have any, so I substituted butter & it worked great)

1 c sugar

1/4 c molasses

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp ginger

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream together sugar and shortening (or butter). Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger & baking soda. Then add to sugar mixture, gradually. Roll into small balls, then roll in sugar. Bake for 10-15 minutes (1o for softer cookies, 15 for crispier cookies) on greased cookie sheet.

Christmas Oatmeal Cookies- by Stephanie T.

1 c butter softened

3/4 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 egg

1 3/4 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 c quick rolled oats

1 tsp vanilla

2-3 crushed candy canes

* Sugar for dipping

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg & beat well. Combine flour, soda & cinnamon in seperate bowl. Blend into butter mixture. Stir in oats & vanilla. Chill dough for 1 hour or more. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease several cookie sheets & drop dough by rounded teaspoons. Grease the bottom of a small glass, dip in sugar and press gently on each cookie..flattening it to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Re-sugar glass for each cookie. Top with crushed candy canes (about 1 tsp per cookie) and press in lightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy.

OH, one more fabulous thing... My cousin Honeymuffin highly recommended a Molton Chocolate Cake recipe, on her blog, from Bon Appetit. I made it for Christmas Dinner... WOW is all I can say. Please make this recipe.. it is super easy for dinner parties and it truly was a huge hit. I unfortunately did not take any photos, but here is the recipe. Also please see Lynne's post for her photos and her terrific blog.

Molten Chocolate Cakes (adapted from Bon Appetit, January 2001)
Makes 6.

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
10 TBS unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
½ cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 450.

Butter or spray six ¾ cup (6 oz.) ramekins. Stir chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool slightly. Whisk eggs and egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, then chocolate mixture and flour. Divide batter equally among ramekins.(only fill 3/4 of the way full) **Can be made ahead! Just cover and chill.

Bake cakes 11 minutes – sides will be set, but center may remain soft-looking. Might take a few minutes longer for refrigerated batter.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Coffee cake has always been a favorite in my family, as well as crumb cake. It is tradition, that we serve it while opening presents on Christmas morning... before we make our big breakfast. Between my sibling's families there are 5 kiddos (soon to be 6) that demand we get down to business, ie. opening gifts, before we cook breakfast (who can blame them!! ). I am always looking for great coffee cake recipes... (often times we are lazy and buy Entenmann's .. which by the way is damn good!)

This is a classic recipe using sour cream & it is from a dear family friend... Last night I was feeling up for a challenge and decided to see if I could succeed making it gluten free. It turned out wonderfully! I was very pleased... you never would have known it was GF (which is not always easy to achieve). I am posting the original recipe, with my gluten free adjustments next to it. *if you use Pamelas GF baking mix.. please remember that you must adjust the baking powder & baking soda measurements. The leavening in Pamela's is equivalent to 1 tsp baking powder & 1/4 tsp baking soda per cup.

Cake
1/2 c butter
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs or 1/2 c egg substitute
1 cup light sour cream
1 1/2c flour (I used Pamela's Gluten Free Baking mix)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder (do not add)
1 tsp baking soda (5/8 tsp)
1 tsp vanilla

Filling/Topping

1/2 c Brown Sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking dish (or tube pan)... I used a 9'"x 13". In a large bowl, cream butter & sugar. Beat in egg substitute. Add sour cream & mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder & baking soda. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, mixing well. Add vanilla. To prepare the topping, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Place half of the batter in baking dish & sprinkle with half the topping. Repeat. Cut through the batter several times with knife. Bake 45-50 minutes. Makes 12 servings.