Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on January 25, 2013 by sparecake

I started off thinking I’d just make these for my mom and not eat any myself, because they use coconut flour and I hate coconut. In the finished cookie, though, I didn’t really notice a coconut flavor, and they were actually quite tasty!

IMG_4474The dough of these cookies is pretty dry, but you can press it together with your hands, and the baked cookies aren’t crumbly and dry.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl, stir together the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. In  another small bowl, mix together the egg, yolk, and vanilla.

In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and brown sugar until well combined.

IMG_4452Add the egg mixture to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.

IMG_4451Sprinkle the dry goods over the peanut butter mixture and beat until just combined.

IMG_4453Add the chocolate chips and beat for another few seconds to mix them in. This kinda crumbled up the lumps of dough that had come together, but the dough would still back together if pressed.

IMG_4454Cover the dough and refrigerate for about an hour. Don’t leave overnight, as the dough will dry out too much.

Preheat the oven to 365 degrees and grease or line a cookie sheet. Scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and pack the dough together in your hands.

IMG_4468Bake 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

IMG_4471Cool on the sheet for a while, then enjoy!

IMG_4470Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Vanilla Sugar Blog.

  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl, stir together the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. In  another small bowl, mix together the egg, yolk, and vanilla.

In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and brown sugar until well combined. Add the egg mixture to the peanut butter mixture and mix well, then sprinkle the dry goods over the peanut butter mixture and beat until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and beat for another few seconds to mix them in. Cover the dough and refrigerate for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 365 degrees and grease or line a cookie sheet. Scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and pack the dough together in your hands. Bake 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on the sheet for a while, then enjoy!

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Shepherd’s Pie Soup

Posted on January 23, 2013 by sparecake

On the original post where I got this recipe, there were several comments noting that to be shepherd’s pie, it should be lamb. Turns out, what I consider shepherd’s pie is actually cottage pie, but… I’m not too bothered. I feel like most people I know think beef+veggies+mashed potato is shepherd’s pie, despite shepherds generally dealing in sheep…

Ingredients:

  • 5 pound bag of potatoes, minus one large potato
  • 2 32 ounce boxes of chicken stock (I used one chicken, one beef, do what you like)
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 or 3 carrots, chopped
  • half cup of grated cheese

Peel and roughly chop the potatoes and put them in a large pot with the stock. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, then puree until smooth. This would be an ideal use for an immersion blender, but mine’s off in storage. Instead, I transferred the soup/broth mixture to a regular blender in batches. The second batch I was blending, I either filled the blender too high, or didn’t hold the lid down tight enough, or something, but basically… I didn’t get a ton of pictures cooking this recipe, because I was busy cleaning potato glop off the wall and dealing with a burnt hand. So, uh, be careful of that.

While the potatoes cook, cook the beef in a pan on the stove over medium heat until browned.

IMG_4463Remove the beef from the pan and set aside. Cook the onion and carrot for about 10 minutes, until the onion has started to become soft and clear.

IMG_4466Once the potatoes are cooked and blended into the broth, add the beef, onion and carrot, and the frozen corn and peas to the potato mixture. Stir well, and continue to cook until everything is warm.

IMG_4469Serve topped with cheese.

IMG_4472Thick, filling,  and tasty! Assuming your hand isn’t on potato-fire.

Shepherd’s Pie Soup

From The Food In My Beard.

  • 5 pound bag of potatoes, minus one large potato
  • 2 32 ounce boxes of chicken stock
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 or 3 carrots, chopped
  • half cup of grated cheese

Peel and roughly chop the potatoes and put them in a large pot with the stock. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, then puree until smooth.

While the potatoes cook, cook the beef in a pan on the stove over medium heat until browned. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside. Cook the onion and carrot in for about 10 minutes, until the onion has started to become soft and clear.

Once the potatoes are cooked and blended into the broth, add the beef, onion and carrot, and the frozen corn and peas to the potato mixture. Stir well, and continue to cook until everything is warm, then serve topped with cheese.

Posted in Dinner | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Posted on January 21, 2013 by sparecake

This is a pretty simple chicken dish, but it bakes for an hour, leaving you plenty of time to ponder making some rice and/or a vegetable to go with it. (Yeah, ok, some rice anyway.)

IMG_4440Ingredients:

Chicken:

  • 3-4 boneless chicken breasts (I used 8 little chicken tender things, which I think is around 4 breasts)
  • salt + pepper
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce:

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 4 tbs ketchup
  • 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a 9X13″ with foil. Put a large skillet on the stove over medium heat, and add the oil.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. Roll the chicken until completely coated in cornstarch, then dip them in egg. Once your fingers are covered in cornstarch, rubbing them against each other feels a bit nails-on-chalkboard-y, but you’ll survive. Put the coated chicken in the hot oil, and cook until browned on the outside, but not cooked completely through.

IMG_4442IMG_4443Transfer the browned chicken to your lined pan. I didn’t read well and used a full baking sheet – a 9X13″ would have made more sense, as the chicken would have been closer together, and the sauce wouldn’t have had room to spread once it was added.

IMG_4444Whisk together all the sauce ingredients, and pour evenly over the chicken.

IMG_4445Bake for 1 hour, turning the chicken every 15 minutes.

IMG_4446Serve with rice.

IMG_4447That’s a very tasty sauce!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

From Lovin’ From the Oven.

Chicken:

  • 3-4 boneless chicken breasts
  • salt + pepper
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce:

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 4 tbs ketchup
  • 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a 9X13″ with foil. Put a large skillet on the stove over medium heat, and add the oil.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. Roll the chicken until completely coated in cornstarch, then dip them in egg. Put the coated chicken in the hot oil, and cook until browned on the outside, but not cooked completely through, then put on your lined pan.

Whisk together all the sauce ingredients, and pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for 1 hour, turning the chicken every 15 minutes.

Serve with rice and some vegetables, if desired.

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Gluten Free Truffle Cookies

Posted on January 18, 2013 by sparecake

The next gluten free thing I made was some gluten free truffle cookies, so that my mom could stop looking sad while I scarfed my way through the second batch of wheat-having truffle cookies I made recently. They have very similar ingredients/process to the chocolate chocolate chip meringues I also made recently, but have a very different texture. These have a crisp outside and a creamy chocolate inside. They’re delicious.    IMG_4425  Happily, one of the indexes the Daily Cookie has tells you which cookies fit various dietary restrictions. Convenient!

Ingredients:

  • 6 1/2 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli chips)
  • 2 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Melt the chocolate carefully in the microwave.

Aaand done. Just eat this.

Aaand done. Just eat this.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on high until stiff peaks start to form.

IMG_4416Beat in the vanilla, then add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, still on high speed. Continue to beat until stiff and glossy.

IMG_4419Gently fold the melted chocolate in by hand, using a rubber spatula.

IMG_4421Drop the batter on the lined sheet in heaping teaspoons 2 1/2″ apart. Apparently the book and I have different opinions on “heaping teaspoon,” as it gets 16 cookies and I got 9. If you have 16, use a second pan.

IMG_4422Bake 8-10 minutes, one pan at a time. Because mine were apparently nearly twice the intended size, I cooked mine an eleventh minute. Let cool several minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

IMG_4426Crispy, creamy, chocolatey and delicious! If you wanted, you could probably stir a half (full?) cup of mini chocolate chips in the batter to make them more like the other truffle cookies.

Gluten Free Truffle Cookies

From The Daily Cookie.

  • 6 1/2 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli chips)
  • 2 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Melt the chocolate carefully in the microwave, then set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on high until stiff peaks start to form, then add the vanilla. Add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and continue beating until stiff and glossy. Gently fold the melted chocolate in by hand, using a rubber spatula.

Drop the batter on the lined sheets in heaping teaspoons 2 1/2″ apart. Bake 8-10 minutes, one pan at a time. Let cool several minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Gluten Free White Bread

Posted on January 16, 2013 by sparecake

Some of the family has, for health reasons, decided to go gluten free. After a quick glance around the internet… Geeze! What a pain! So many gluten free recipes have 4 different wheat-free flours, plus xantham gum, coconut oil, and maybe some agave nectar. Oy! For a first attempt, though, I found a bread recipe that uses just a general all-purpose gluten free flour mix, and otherwise ‘normal’ ingredients to ease in with. In fact, this is even easier than many of the breads I normally make, as there’s no kneading required!

IMG_4409This makes a totally decent bread. It’s got a good firm, crunchy outer crust, and an airy inside. The texture of the inside reminded me a bit of cornbread, without the corn flavor.IMG_4435 IMG_4439Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 1/8 cup warm water
  • 3 1/3 cup gluten-free flour mix
  • 3 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup dry milk
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

Stir together all the dry goods in a medium bowl and whisk together the liquids in a large bowl.

IMG_4410Slowly add the dry goods to the liquids, stirring very well, until no little pockets of flour are left hiding in the mixture. It’ll be about the consistency of cake batter.

IMG_4411Pour into a large, lightly greased bowl and let rise somewhere warm until doubled, 1-1 1/2 hours.

first riseStir gently to deflate, then transfer to a greased bread pan and let rise again until doubled, another 1-1 1/2 hours.

When it can't rise any more without pouring over the sides is doubled enough!

When it can’t rise any more without pouring over the sides is ‘doubled’ enough!

During the second rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 35 minutes and remove from the oven.

Already pretty brown.

Already pretty brown.

Cover with foil, then return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.

IMG_4433Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

IMG_4434Surprisingly good, all things considered! I’d happily eat it again. And in the meantime, I’ll be submitting it to YeastSpotting.

IMG_4438Gluten Free White Bread

From Celiac.com.

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 1/8 cup warm water
  • 3 1/3 cup gluten-free flour mix
  • 3 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup dry milk
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

Stir together all the dry goods in a medium bowl and whisk together the liquids in a large bowl. Slowly add the dry goods to the liquids, stirring very well, until completely mixed. Pour into a large, lightly greased bowl and let rise somewhere warm until doubled, 1-1 1/2 hours.

Stir gently to deflate, then transfer to a greased bread pan and let rise again until doubled, another 1-1 1/2 hours.

During the second rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 35 minutes and remove from the oven. Cover with foil, then return to the oven for a further 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Posted in Bread | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Vegan Brownies

Posted on January 14, 2013 by sparecake

Another quickish post today, this time vegan brownies. I’ve seen a ton of recipes that apparently think because they’re vegan, they must have tofu or avocado or at the very least egg replacers, but it’s just not necessary, at least not for brownies!

(Oh and if you’re not vegan, these work juuuust fine in chocolate mousse ice cream!)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13″ pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

IMG_3904Stir in the water, oil, and vanilla.

IMG_3905Transfer to the greased pan, then sprinkle with the chocolate chips.

IMG_3906Bake 25-3o minutes, until no longer shiny. Let cool at least 1o minutes before cutting. Cool completely to minimize crumbling when you cut out pieces.

IMG_3907And you’re done! Unless, of course, you want to go on and put them in some ice cream. But really…vegan things just don’t have to be super complex, despite what the internet may sometimes tell you!

IMG_3921

And now, I should get back in the kitchen!

Vegan Brownies

Lightly adapted from AllRecipes.

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13″ pan.

Combine the dry goods in a large bowl, then stir in the wet ingredients. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the chocolate chips.

Bake 25-3o minutes, until no longer shiny. Let cool at least 1o minutes before cutting.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Mint Chocolate Cookies

Posted on January 11, 2013 by sparecake

After last week’s floor hockey game, a few of my teammates mentioned that mint chocolate is their favorite flavor. I figured I’d make some Thin Mints this week for play offs, but realized at the last minute we didn’t have mint extract. Curses! We did, however, have a bunch of kinds of chocolate chips and bits with mint, so I just made the coating, rather than the center of the cookie, the mint bit. My teammates found it a wholly acceptable solution!

IMG_4399Ingredients:

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup Andes mint baking bits

Beat the 8 tablespoons butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, then beat in the sugar until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until smooth.

IMG_4385Sift together the dry goods, then add to the butter mixture in two batches, beating until just combined.

IMG_4387Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a 1-1 1/2″ thick log on wax paper.

IMG_4389Wrap in the wax paper, and refrigerate 5 hours.

Transfer the rolls to the freezer for a final half hour, then preheat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one roll from the freezer and cut into 1/4″ slices.

IMG_4390Place on the lined sheet, and bake 10-12 minutes. They spread very little, so you can put them reasonably close together.

IMG_4391While the first batch bakes, prepare the second batch.

IMG_4393Let cool on the pans at least 5 minutes, then melt together the remaining butter, chocolate, and mint bits. I did this part in 3 batches. Dip the slightly cooled cookies in the chocolate mixture, flipping them with a fork, and let the extra chocolate run off before placing them on a rack to firm up.

Tap tap. Tap tap taptaptap.

Tap tap. Tap tap taptaptap.

The back ones are lumpier because I tried a different combo of mint chocolate things first, that didn't melt as smoothly.

The back ones are lumpier because I tried a different combo of mint chocolate things first, that didn’t melt as smoothly.

Despite the mint being in the ‘wrong’ part of these, they’re really good.

Aaand didn't hide the chocolatey hands as well as I intended. Oh well.

Aaand didn’t hide the chocolatey hands as well as I intended. Oh well.

Mint Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from AllRecipes.

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup Andes mint baking bits

Beat the 8 tablespoons butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, then beat in the sugar until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until smooth.

Sift together the dry goods, then add to the butter mixture in two batches, beating until just combined. Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a 1-1 1/2″ thick log on wax paper. Wrap in the wax paper, and refrigerate 5 hours, and freeze for a final half hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one roll from the freezer and cut into 1/4″ slices. Place on one of the lined sheets, and bake 10-12 minutes. While the first batch bakes, prepare the second batch.

Let cool on the pans at least 5 minutes, then melt together the remaining butter, chocolate, and mint bits. Dip the slightly cooled cookies in the chocolate mixture, flipping them with a fork, and let the extra chocolate run off before placing them on a rack to firm up.

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Tunnel of Fudge Cake

Posted on January 9, 2013 by sparecake

I have a whole bunch of bookmarked recipes that I’ve been putting off for months/years because they require Dutch processed cocoa powder, and I couldn’t be bothered to get it. But that changed recently (immediately before those truffle cookies…) and I’m getting to things I’ve been reading about for ages! This cake was worth the wait. Even the batter is super delicious, and then it does cool things when it bakes. Instead of being just a solid fluffy chocolate bundt, you get, as the name says, a tunnel of gooey fudgeyness evenly throughout the whole ring of the cake. Add a chocolate topping, and it’s pretty irresistible!

Fudgey filling!

Fudgey filling!

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 5 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 20 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Glaze:

  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

IMG_4378

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour. I hate the cooking spray I have (it smells weird!) but refuse to open a new one until this one is finished, so just greased and floured the pan myself. 100% reasonable.

Put the chocolate in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Let stand for one minute, then stir together until smooth. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. I don’t know if I was working super slow or what, but my oven was already preheated by the time I got these all done, so you might be able to start heating yours a bit later in the process. Things move quickly from here on, though!

IMG_4369Using your mixer’s paddle attachment, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy.

IMG_4370Add the egg mixture on low and beat until just incorporated.

Still a bit lumpy, that's ok.

Still a bit lumpy, that’s ok.

Add the chocolate and beat in on low until combined, then add the dry goods and beat until just combined. This was a large enough amount of dry goods that even adding in two batches, I wished I had used the collar attachment thing that goes over the mixer bowl and keeps things from exploding out. I recommend getting in there with a spatula and just wetting the dry goods a bit before the mixer starts stirring, or you’re going to be cleaning flour off everything in a three foot radius.

IMG_4373Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

IMG_4374Bake for 45 minutes, or until the edges of the cake start to separate from the pan an the top springs back when lightly pressed. Let cool in the pan for a hour and a half, then cool completely on a wire rack before glazing, about 2 more hours. I just didn’t have that much time, and pulled my cake out of the pan early, and a chunk stuck inside the pan. Luckily, it gets glazed and imperfections can be covered up!

The most minor disaster of the week.

The most minor disaster of the week.

Make the glaze by combining the cream, corn syrup, and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until smooth and melted. Stir in the vanilla, then let stand until somewhat thickened, 20-30 minutes. Spread on the cake, let set briefly, and serve. I only made 1/2 that much glaze, and it was plenty. (A quarter cup is 4 tablespoons, if you need some help with the division.)

IMG_4377IMG_4380The chocolate flavor from the melted chocolate plus cocoa powder is pretty excellent, and the somewhat gooey center is lovely. Two thumbs up! And now… I just got the new/last Wheel of Time book and have to get reading!

Fudgey filling!

Fudgey filling!

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

From Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.

Cake:

  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 5 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 20 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Glaze:

  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour.

Put the chocolate in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Let stand for one minute, then stir together until smooth. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl.

Using your mixer’s paddle attachment, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture on low and beat until just incorporated. Add the chocolate and beat in on low until combined, then carefully add the dry goods and beat until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the edges of the cake start to separate from the pan an the top springs back when lightly pressed.Let cool in the pan for a hour and a half, then cool completely on a wire rack before glazing, about 2 more hours.

Make the glaze by combining the cream, corn syrup, and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until smooth and melted. Stir in the vanilla, then let stand until somewhat thickened, 20-30 minutes. Spread on the cake, let set briefly, and serve.

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Chumley’s Cake

Posted on January 7, 2013 by sparecake

I need a bit of a break from time consuming recipes and posts, which means today you’re finding out what Chumley, my mom’s giant Newfoundland with wheat allergies, had for his 9th birthday.

IMG_4359

Lighting the candle, obviously.

Ingredients:

  • roughly 2/3 cup shredded chicken
  • roughly 2/3 cup cooked white rice
  • roughly 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
  • 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 3″ springform pan.

Stir together the chicken, rice, and a handful of the cheese.

IMG_4350Beat the eggs together briefly in a small dish, then stir into the chicken mixture to evenly coat. Spoon into the prepared pan.

IMG_4351Cover with remaining cheese, then bake 20 minutes until beginning to brown.

IMG_4354Let cool in the pan, then remove from the pan and serve.

IMG_4356Not surprisingly, he liked it! (He likes everything.) He also looked really dashing in one of my Sailor Moon party hats!

IMG_4358IMG_4360There you have it, birthday cake for a wheat-free dog.

Chumley’s Cake

  • roughly 2/3 cup shredded chicken
  • roughly 2/3 cup cooked white rice
  • roughly 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
  • 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 3″ springform pan.

Stir together the chicken, rice, and a handful of the cheese.

Beat the eggs together briefly in a small dish, then stir into the chicken mixture until evenly coated. Spoon into the prepared pan. Cover with remaining cheese, then bake 20 minutes until beginning to brown.

Let cool in the pan, then remove from the pan and serve.

Posted in dog treats | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Cocoa Cookies

Posted on January 4, 2013 by sparecake

I started off yesterday looking for a simple cookie that wouldn’t require anything I didn’t have in arm’s reach. After baking I decided to jazz them up a bit, although still kept to stuff that was already in the kitchen and open. Chocolate is always open. Always.

IMG_4309

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • approximately 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • sprinkles

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa together and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and milk and beat until well combined.

Finally got to use the new beater attachment with the side-scrapey bits!

Finally got to use the new beater attachment with the side-scrapey rubber bits!

Beat in the dry goods on low speed until well mixed. Cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

IMG_4300Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into roughly tablespoon-sized balls and flatten slightly between your hands before placing on the lined sheet.

IMG_4302Bake 11 minutes, until set and cracked looking.

IMG_4303IMG_4304Let cool at least 15 minutes, then melt the chocolate and dip 1/2 of each cookie in the melted chocolate. Place each dipped cookie back on parchment and sprinkle with…er, the sprinkles.

IMG_4308Refrigerate to set the chocolate.

IMG_4319

Cocoa Cookies

Adapted from Kitchen Historic.

  • 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • approximately 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • sprinkles

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa together and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and milk and beat until well combined. Beat in the dry goods on low speed until well mixed. Cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into roughly tablespoon-sized balls and flatten slightly between your hands before placing on the lined sheet. Bake 11 minutes, until set and cracked looking.

Let cool at least 15 minutes, then melt the chocolate and dip 1/2 of each cookie in the melted chocolate. Place each dipped cookie back on parchment and sprinkle with sprinkles. Refrigerate to set the chocolate.

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