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dairyfree

Ice Cream Recipes

by Emilia on November 17, 2008

Ice cream is an icy and creamy decadent dessert which also happens to be naturally gluten-free. This is one of the reasons why we decided to buy an ice cream machine.

The main reason behind the purchase was my boyfriend’s ice cream addiction; he eats ice cream almost everyday. When we first met I noticed how many empty ice cream containers he had at home, but I thought that those had accumulated over a longer time - but I was wrong. After a while I had come to terms with his almost ridiculous ice cream consumption; I sometimes asked him about it, trying to understand why anyone would want to eat that much ice cream, but he always acted as if it was the most natural thing to eat massive amounts of icy flavoured cream.

An ice cream machine was some sort of a compromise between his love for ice cream and my aim to eat natural foods. Finding a good quality ice cream here in Finland is almost impossible, there are many, many ice creams filled with thickeners, emulsifiers, trans fats, syrups that are usually made out of wheat and non natural flavourings. I have found that nothing is more painful for my stomach than syrup made out of wheat; they say that celiacs should be able to eat it, but I certainly can not without the feeling that resembles that of an rabid animal gnawing at my insides in a fury.

I really do not see much point in indulging in a beautiful gluttonous moment with ingredients like that - I want something decadent and real.

Homemade ice cream is just that; made with real ingredients, and you can make any flavour you want. It also tastes much better than most commercial brands.

It is easy to make ice cream, the only difficult moment would be when the custard thickens, but you learn to see it after you have made ice cream a couple of times. I have also found that coconut cream and coconut milk works just as well as dairy products, so, if you have an intolerance to dairy, try making ice cream with coconut milk – it is really, really good.

Ice Cream Recipes

You can use regular cream instead of coconut cream and regular full fat milk instead of the coconut milk in these recipes, if needed. I always try to use unrefined sugar when I make ice cream; it tastes so much better than white sugar, especially in ice cream. Honey is also a great sweetener for ice creams. The amount of sugar can be adjusted according to taste; you can add just one cup for a slightly less sweet result and up to two cups for a very sweet result.

The tamarind ice cream is slightly tangy, and it goes perfectly with some chocolate cake. Using unrefined sugar and flavouring the ice cream custard with real vanilla and some ground cardamom produces the most perfect ice cream, ever.

Cardamom ice cream

makes a bit over one litre of ice cream

-1 cup or 2,5 dl sugar (unrefined if possible, use 2 cups of sugar for a sweeter result)

-12 egg yolks

-2 vanilla pods

-3 flat tbls ground cardamom

-800 ml coconut milk (one can is 400ml, so it is two cans)

-400 ml coconut cream (you can measure it with the coconut milk can)

- 1-2 tbls of alcohol, rum for example, to prevent ice crystals (this is optional)

Separate the egg yolks and measure the sugar, place them into a bowl.

Whisk them together until they become creamy. Leave aside.

Measure the coconut milk and coconut cream into a saucepan. Measure the ground cardamom into the saucepan. Split the vanilla pods and scrape the seeds from the inside and place into the saucepan. Chop up the emptied pods and place them also into the saucepan.

Heat them together on medium heat, the mixture should not boil, just warm it.

Then pour the warm coconut milk mixture into the bowl were you have the creamed eggs and sugar. Whisk them together.

Pour everything back to the saucepan and place it on medium heat.

This is the only difficult part of the ice cream process, you should not overcook the mixture, but if you do, it is not the end of the world, it will just taste a bit more like eggs. After a couple of times you will notice it more easily.

You have two options with the custard, either wait for the bubbles to disappear, it is done when the bubbles disappear. The second option would be to stick a spoon into the mixture and draw a line on the middle of the spoon, if the line sticks for a while, the custard is done.

Like this.

Place the mixture into a container and leave to cool into the fridge. When it has cooled down place it into your ice cream machine and follow the manufacturers’ instructions.

Tamarind Ice Cream

makes a bit over one litre of ice cream

-1 cup or 2,5 dl sugar (unrefined if possible, the tamarind is tangy, so some might like to use 2 cups of sugar)

-12 egg yolks

-800 ml coconut milk (two cans)

-400 ml coconut cream (you can measure it with the coconut milk can)

- 2 flat tbls of concentrated tamarind paste (it can usually be found in Asian shops)

- 1-2 tbls of alcohol, rum for example, to prevent ice crystals (this is optional)

Measure the sugar and separate the egg yolks. Whisk them until they have a creamy consistency.

Measure the coconut milk and the coconut cream into a saucepan, add the tamarind paste into the saucepan, and heat the mixture on medium heat. It should not boil, just warm up slightly.

Pour the warm coconut mixture into the bowl with the eggs and sugar. Whisk them together. Pour them back into the saucepan and place it on medium heat.

You have two options with the custard, either wait for the bubbles to disappear, it is done when the bubbles disappear. The other option would be to stick a spoon into the mixture and draw a line on the middle of the spoon, if the line sticks for a while, the custard is done.Place the custard into a container and let it cool down in a fridge. When it has cooled down place it into the ice cream machine and follow the manufacturers instructions.

Remember that homemade ice cream melts really fast, you should eat it straight away.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Gluten-Free Apple Pie

by Emilia on November 3, 2008

I finally made an apple pie with coconut flour that I think tasted good and not like an omelette; this is something that almost always happens to me when I try coconut flour - everything tastes just like eggs.

Giving up is something I usually end up doing due to my impatient nature and I did just that with coconut flour - I gave up. What made me try again was the fact that I tried making Elana’s coconut flour cupcakes, which are just some of the best gluten-free cupcakes I have tried. This made me feel like it was possible to bake with coconut flour; I really wanted to learn using it since the texture is something I like and it is not a starchy flour.

Maybe I will be baking more with coconut flour after this experiment, I do hope so.

Using whole flours without the use of xanthan gum is very important to me, the slimy texture of xanthan gum is something I can not eat, and I would rather be without baked goods if this is the option. Gluten-free flour mixes with the likes of potato starch etc. is also something I do not like, and once again I would rather eat just vegetables and meat than eat anything made with those flours; they are also a health risk if used in bread and eaten everyday, many people with celiac end up with weight gain and blood sugar problems because of the use of starch. I do not believe that this is a problem in cakes and things that are not eaten everyday, but when eaten often these ingredients become a problem.

I knew of this when I stopped eating gluten because my aunt’s husband gained a lot of weight eating those starchy gluten-free breads, and eventually ended up with pre-diabetes. At first I just ate regular food without bread- of course most desserts were out of the question. Then I tried out some quinoa flour and I liked it a lot, those first months I baked mainly just some chocolate cupcakes and really enjoyed the fact that I could have something like cupcakes again. After some time I tried making pizza, bread and cakes, sometimes it did not work out, but when it did I cherished the fact that flour like quinoa is available.

Eventually I tried other flours - buckwheat, rice flour, nut meal, each of them had qualities I liked and so I ended up using them, but mainly I still used quinoa flour. In everyday life I try to use flours with a fairly low starch content and with as much nutrients as possible, but I do not have a problem eating something with for example potato flour sometimes, and I do not have a problem with eating sugar sometimes. However, I feel that it is necessary for me to avoid starchy flour mixes and the likes in everyday life - for my health and for my taste buds.

I think that there are really good alternatives for all the starch in gluten-free baking and at least trying out something like coconut flour, almond meal or quinoa is worth it, in my opinion anyway.

Gluten-free apple pie recipe

I used almond meal and coconut flour for the base, nuts should be baked below 170C, but I bake this pie at 200 C; you can always reduce the heat and bake for a little while longer if you are worried about this. When grinding almonds I usually never peel and soak them, some say that nuts contain potent antinutrients if they are not roasted or soaked, but I am not very bothered with it.

You should brush the apples right after peeling with some lemon juice if you want them to stay white.

I usually bake the batter for a small while before adding the apples since it is really loose, but you can place the apples on top right away - they will just sink into the batter.

The recipe-

The batter

Wet ingredients:

-4 eggs, I use rather small organic eggs, so 3 large ones would be enough

-1 dl or 0,4 cup melted butter, or dairy-free margarine

-1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:

-1 dl  or 0,4 cup almond meal (ground almonds)

-3/4 dl or 0,3 cup coconut flour

-1 dl or 0,4 cup sugar, or some other sweetener

-1 tsp baking powder

-1 heaping tsp cinnamon

- a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

- a pinch of salt, if you are using unsalted butter

on top

-5-6 apples, tart ones taste better and since this is an open pie, firm apples should be used

- 3 tbls melted butter

-1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1/2 dl or 0,2 cup sugar

- 1 tbls cinnamon

- a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

- a pinch of salt, if you are using unsalted butter

Preheat an oven to 200 c or 400 F.

Grease a pie dish with butter and coat it with almond meal.

Sift the dry ingredients together for the batter, and then mix the wet ones together, then combine them into a rather loose batter.

Pour the batter into the pie dish. Put the batter into the oven while you slice the apples.

Slice the apples and combine the vanilla extract with the melted butter. Mix together the spices and the sugar.

Take the batter out of the oven and place the apples on top, brush them with the butter and sprinkle the sugar on top.

Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes in the oven.

Serve with some vanilla custard or vanilla ice cream.

A recommendation

I could not believe my eyes when I saw a French bakery in the middle of Helsinki and they had some macaroons in the window.

Macaroons mean gluten-free goodness.

Instantly I bought different kind of macaroons and madeleines (for someone who is not celiac). They have other kind of gluten-free goods besides macaroons, so I was told. There were also croissants made with real butter and not some hydrogenated junk; this is a rare treat in Finland where real butter is almost never used in anything.

I am not sure that the things sold there are certified gluten-free; I did not ask about it, they are after all made in the same bakery where they bake bread. However I and some other celiacs have not had any problems when eating things bought from there.

The address is this if you live in Finland or are visiting and want to try having some of their macaroons.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Gluten-Free Apple Desserts

by Emilia on October 1, 2008

It is apple season here.

I have been eating apples almost everyday - local apples are the best, maybe it is the cold winters and the light during the nights in summer, but I have never had better apples than the ones growing here. Therefore I embrace this time of year and eat locally grown apples as much as I can.

Even the scent of them is intoxicating and heavy; I often walk around shops trying to decide what fruit or vegetable to buy and I always smell them and rely on that one sense to pick up the best tasting ones.

Foreign winter apples do not have any kind of scent compared to these seasonal, tiny and perhaps a little bit bruised local apples.

I wish locally produced food was more appreciated here in Finland; that is certainly not the case at the moment, even though it is much the trend elsewhere. There are many benefits to eating mainly seasonal and local, but the most important thing would be - for me at least - the fact that it tastes, oh, so good.

We just recently got locally produced organic pork; you just can not compare the taste of it to the meat that has been produced with factory farming. The price was also much cheaper than when bought from a supermarket, we paid 4,50 euros per kilogram, when the price is twice that at a supermarket for factory farmed pork meat. It was also nice to be able to see the pigs and have some sort of connection to the food I eat.

It has been many meals now with apples and pork; I still feel that this is the most delicious of meals and I am ever so grateful for the opportunity to eat like this.

Apples boiled with hard cider

I came to make this dessert one evening when we had made some pork chops with cider and there was some left; I was surprised with the intensity of flavour and delighted, this has since become a favourite for us, and it works well as sweet dessert or as a side dish, especially with five spice flavoured pork.

The sugar should be left out if this is used as a side dish for something savoury; as for the cider, I would imagine that using some sharp apple juice might also work, but I have not tried it. If you are into fat-free cooking, just lose the butter, I do not think that the flavour will suffer much. A dairy-free margarine would work just as well as butter.

Make sure your cider is gluten-free if you are celiac.

Apples boiled with cider recipe

serves 4, takes around 15-20 minutes to make

-6 small apples or 4 medium sized

-1-2 cups hard apple cider

-2 heaping tablespoons of butter

-small pinch of salt if you are using unsalted butter

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla

-0,4 cup, 1 dl, sugar, I would recommend replacing a part of this with brown sugar or muscovado sugar, or then using 0,2 cup maple syrup. It will taste better than with just white sugar.

Heat a (cast iron) pan on medium heat.

Slice those apples and place on the pan with the butter.

After the apples have gone a little bit soft add the sugar, wait until the sugar has melted and then add the cider.

Make sure the apples are covered with the cider and then let it reduce.

The apples are done when there is only a small amount of the sugar and cider mixture left along with the apples; you don’t want to make this too dry.

Serve hot with some good quality vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.

Tosca apples

This recipe is a nice substitute for a more traditional apple crumble, I think so.

As for variations, replace the butter with some dairy-free margarine for a vegan and casein free dessert. The amount of sugar and also the kind of sugar used can be played with; if you like using just brown sugar or maple syrup, then try it, also some other kind of sweeteners might work.

Tosca apples recipe

serves 4 and takes about half an hour to make

-100 grams almond slivers

-6 small apples or 4 medium sized ones

-1-2 tbls vanilla sugar

-100 grams butter

-1 dl, 0,4 cup, sugar, or 0,2 cup maple syrup, I really recommend trying this with maple syrup

-2 tbls muscovado sugar

-small pinch of salt if you are using unsalted butter

-1 tbls cinnamon

Preheat oven to 170 C 340 F.

Slice the apples.

Take a small saucepan and place it on medium heat. Place the butter in it along with the sugar and let them melt together.

Take a baking pan, or a cast iron pan, grease it and place the apples in it. I would recommend using a cast iron pan here, if you have one of those where you can take the handle off.

Place the apples on the pan and sprinkle some vanilla sugar on them along with the cinnamon.

Sprinkle the almond slivers on top and then pour the sugar and butter mixture on top of the almond slivers.

Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven, the almond slivers should be slightly browned, just slightly, and the apples should be soft when this is done.

Serve with some ice cream.

Popularity: 12% [?]

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