quinoa flour

Tiramisu made gluten-free has been something of a dream to me for ages; I have seen gluten-free ladyfingers in the store, but they are laden with chemicals and made with starches so I have just left them sitting on the shelves. I did realize though that I could try making tiramisu with a regular sponge and so I finally tried it - the experiment was successful and I was very pleased with how it turned out.

I made this with Baileys since that is my favourite with anything that has coffee in it, but you could try replacing it with Rhum, Kahlua, Marsala of course or just about anything. I would also recommend trying a lemon tiramisu sometime, it is really good.

Also, I cut corners with my tiramisu - making it faster - but you could make it slower and in a more traditional way.

I used my own gluten-free sponge recipe for the sponge and it worked well. Using potato flour in it makes the sponge very soft, but you could use just quinoa flour for a harder sponge, it does not taste as good as with potato flour though.

I usually whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together without adding any alcohol to the mixture and I do not use a bain-marie to make it. You could add some Baileys to this of course to make the flavour stronger in the cake.

Using whipped cream is optional, I use it sometimes, but it can easily be left out.

Tiramisu should really be made just the way you like it and according to your preference; in Finland for example many people use quark to make it - our love for quark really seems to shine through in so many of the foods made in Finland.

When using a sponge and not real ladyfingers, you need to be careful with the moisture; this is why I for example need only one cup of strong coffee mixed with Baileys. I would be using more moisture for ladyfingers. The sponge does get very moist easily and the longer it sits, the moister it becomes because the mascarpone mixture will add more moistness to it. So try to keep this in mind when making this.

I usually bake the sponge in the same dish where I will be making the tiramisu, so that I can just cut it in half and use it. You could make one on a sheet pan for example and then cut it so that it resembles ladyfingers.

Gluten-free tiramisu recipe

Serves 4-6, this takes only something like 15 minutes to make if you have the sponge ready. This recipe is suitable for a sponge made with 4 eggs.

-3/4 cup or 1,8 dl strong coffee (instant is fine, and use espresso if you have it, some dark roast coffee works well too)

-1/4 cup or 0,6 dl Baileys (or something else you like)

-2 eggs

-1/4 or 0,6 dl cup caster sugar

-250 grams or 0,8 cup mascarpone

-100 ml or 0,4 cup cream

-1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the coffee with the Baileys and leave it to sit.

Separate the eggs and then whisk the yolks and the sugar together, add the vanilla to it too.

Add the mascarpone to the mixture and mix everything together.

Whip the cream and add to the mixture.

Whip the egg whites until they are foamy and white. Then fold them gently into the mixture.

Take one layer of the sponge and moisten it with the coffee and then place half of the mascarpone mixture on to it. Add the remaining layer of the sponge on top of the mascarpone mixture and moisten this one too with coffee. Place the rest of the mascarpone on top of the sponge and dust with some cocoa.

Ideally this should sit in the fridge for some hours, but I think that it is edible straight away.

Take the separated egg yolks and add them to a bowl with the sugar.

Whip them until they are yellow and creamy. Then add the mascarpone.

Whip the cream if you are using it and add it to the mixture.

Whip the egg whites and add them, they should be foamy and white like in the picture. Fold them in gently.

Cut the sponge in half and start adding the coffee to it. Remember to careful with the moisture so that it does not become too moist. You can spoon it, but using a brush makes it easier to adjust the moisture.

Sorry about the baking dish being so dirty, but in my defense I will state that it is very old and also that I am too lazy to clean it up with anything else than a regular dishwasher.

Spoon half of the mascarpone on top of it.

Repeat with the other half of the sponge and then dust it with some cocoa.

This is what it will look like, you can see the different layers.

This is my entry to Hay, Hay it’s Donna Day, hosted by Addicted Sweet Tooth.

Popularity: 28% [?]

I think that there are different variations of meatballs in almost every culture - some ground meat which has something starchy added to it, maybe to make it cheaper, meat has been something of a luxury in the past. As for now it is one of the staples in many peoples diet, especially with families; it is easy, convenient and still cheaper than many other foods. It was most definitely a staple in our home when I was growing up; I can still remember the kind of meatballs my grandparents made, the kind my parents made and even the kind all my other relatives made just because it was always a food that tasted good and made me look forward to dinner.

When I think of meatballs the first thing that comes to mind is the kind which was made by my dad, not Italian style meatballs with milk soaked bread or anything like that, just some Scandinavian style meatballs with creme fraiche or sour cream, maybe it is the Slavic influence raising its head there, I always add something sour to foods and I prefer using sour dairy in some form, much like my parents. Something like creme fraiche or smetana does give a nice taste to meat though.

I have not been eating many meatballs now that I am gluten-free, but I have found that quinoa flour works well with them. Quinoa flour was the first and thus far the only flour I have tried using in meatballs, I have not felt the need to use something else since it works so well. I would say that you can use quinoa flour in your favourite meatball recipe instead of regular flour and it should work out well, I’m not totally sure since it might depend a lot on the recipe, but my own experiments have been successful using quinoa.

This recipe revolves around ground lamb meat; I have access to some local organic lamb and so I tend to use a lot of it, but it’s not the only reason why I wanted to post this particular recipe. The main reason was that this is a bit different from regular meatballs and totally delicious, some variety and twist added to everyday foods never hurt anyone.

I adapted this from Nigella’s aromatic lamb meatballs recipe.

Gluten-free lamb meatballs

-500 grams ground lamb meat

- 1 egg

- 2 tbls olive oil

-2 heaping tbls quinoa flour

- 2 chopped spring onions, or one small yellow onion

- 1 finely minced garlic clove

the spices

- 1 tsp cinnamon

-1 tsp coarse salt (this is a lot of salt, add just 1/2 tsp if you don’t want to use this much salt)

- 1 tsp cumin

- 1 tsp coriander/ some fresh coriander

-1 tsp all spice

Grind the spices and mix everything together. Let it sit for approximately one hour in the fridge. Heat the oven to 200 C or 400 F and depending on their size let them bake for 20-30 minutes.

Grind all of the spices; you’ll need to use coarse salt (sea salt) so that the spices will break more easily.

Put all the ingredients in to a bowl, I chop my onions coarsely since I don’t mind them looking like that and they will soften in the oven.

Mix everything together with your hands and then leave it to sit in the fridge for one hour.

Preheat oven to 200 C / 400 F.

Line a baking tray with some baking paper and roll the meatballs; if they stick to your hands use some water on your hands.

Let them bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on their size.

You can of course use a frying pan with these too, but I use an oven since it’s easiest that way.

I like to eat these with some baba ganoush, or rice, or some seasoned Greek yogurt, actually I like these with almost anything - not with something sweet though.

Popularity: 16% [?]