Glazed Over

The other day a box of Krispy Kreme donuts was delivered to my door. A fundraiser was happening through a friend, so I signed up for a dozen donuts... for my mom. You see, she is the President of the Krispy Kreme Donut Fan Club.

OK, not really.

But if there was a KKDFC, she would most definitely be the President. I don't think she can drive past a KKD store without stopping. Thankfully, they aren't in the local area so she can only stop when she's traveling... which is a very good thing, because she would be a very large woman, indeed.

She was incredibly kind about having them in the house, never eating one upstairs in my presence. Although watching someone eat a "regular" food doesn't bother me anymore (except for pizza, eating that in front of me is just plain MEAN) she is always sensitive to my gf status.

So, although I never saw one of the donuts, they did get me thinking... about glaze. There is just something about a glazed donut. The slightly set, yet still soft glaze that covers it sends a donut over the top.

Glaze.

I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I decided to do something about it.

Below you will find a once-glutenous-now-gf cake recipe called "Honey Bun Cake"... complete with.... you guessed it... GLAZE.

Here's the thing, though. It will be tempting to shove your face right into the pan after glazing. Don't do that. Two reasons.

First, searing hot cake.

Second, it actually tastes even better after it has completely cooled.

Trust me, it will be worth the wait.

My apologies for the terrible photo. After waiting and waiting for this cake to cool, I must confess my mind was NOT focused on getting a good shot. It was focused on EATING IT.


Gluten Free Honey Bun Cake

1 cup brown sugar (I used light brown)
2 tsp cinnamon

1 box gf yellow cake mix (I used Wegmans, you can also use Betty Crocker)
1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
4 eggs
1/2 cup melted coconut oil (or veggie, canola)

2 cups powdered sugar
5-6 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, blend the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, sour cream, eggs and oil using a whisk. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over the batter, then spoon the remaining batter over the brown sugar and spread, covering all the brown sugar.

Using a knife, swirl the batter, running the knife in a zig-zag pattern.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. While the cake is baking, combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, drizzle the glaze over the cake and spread with a spatula.

Allow to cool completely before cutting.

It's About the Give and Take...

There is one negative to having a recipe blog. In order to know that the recipes I'm posting are up to the standard I want them to be... I have to actually make them and taste them. Now, if that recipe happens to be an experimental dinner dish, there's no problem! We must eat dinner, so no harm done.

But what if the recipe is for something like cake or cookies? I can't just slap a recipe concept on the blog that hasn't been tested, tweaked or sampled! That just wouldn't be right.

Today is one of those problematic recipes. You see, two days ago I made another recipe for the blog that I haven't posted yet... mainly because my current recipe brought on the question I am about to ask.

How can someone maintain a blog full of yummy gluten free goodies, conduct a taste test on them, and then have a batch of said goodies in the house and not end up with thighs the size of Mount Rushmore?

Currently, I have a plea post out on Facebook... begging local friends to stop in a grab a goody. I probably sound like one of the snack vendors in sporting arenas: "Free goodies, get your free goodies here!"

But what I do, I do for you. It is for you that I will sacrifice myself and expose myself to the extra calories. It is I - your gluten free blogger friend - who will continue to nibble and snack and tweak recipes and nibble again to present to you a gluten free goody worth posting on my blog.

Because that's what relationships are about - give and take! I give you the recipes and I take the calories. I give my thighs permission to take over more space and I take full responsibility for their expansion.

In all honesty, I know the answer. The answer is to have one bite of the goody and one bite only. Then, I just need to bring the batch of yumminess to a meeting, or to church... or send them to work with my hubby! The problem lies in showing complete restraint from the time I bake them to the moment they leave the house.

But I suppose that's more about self-control than it is about blogging.

Maybe I should start a new blog... a support blog for recipe bloggers with thighs that are beginning to take over new territory.

Gluten Free Glazed Doughnut Muffins 

(adapted to gf from original recipe at www.sweetpeaskitchen.com)

Muffins:
1/2 cup veggie or canola oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 2/3 cups Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix

1 cup milk (I used 1%)

Glaze:

3 Tbsp butter, melted

1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp hot water

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin papers or spray pan with non-stick baking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the oil and sugars until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one. With the mixer on low, add in baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Beat to thoroughly combine.

Alternately add the Pamela's Mix and milk, starting and ending with the Pamela's Mix, Combine thoroughly.

Pour batter into muffin cups. Fill almost to the top (leave an 1/8 of an inch). Bake for 15-17 minutes until slightly golden and springy to the touch, rotating the pan halfway through the baking.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove muffins to a cooling rack. 

In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and hot water for the glaze. Whisk together until smooth.

While the muffins are still slightly warm, dip the crown of each one into the glaze and allow glaze to drizzle down the sides slightly and harden. If desired, dip crowns again once muffins have cooled.

Makes 12 muffins.

Dunkin' Good!

Doughnuts are one of those foods that I always felt very guilty eating. Well, at least, after I was done eating one. The guilt would creep in as I ordered a fat-laden goodie at the counter... then I would shut it down as I munched... but as soon as the last bite was gone, the guilt would return. I mean, seriously, one doughnut from the local doughnut shop probably has a week's worth of fat allowance in it.... and I just ate it in 3 minutes. I was afraid to listen closely for fear of actually hearing my arteries clogging.

I should mention that I would partake of doughnuts maybe 3 times a year. Still, the guilt would come.

I've seen recently seen, in stores, these nifty baking pans shaped like doughnuts. And every time I passed them I would think, "Huh. Gotta give that a try some time." I did that many, many times... walking by and thinking I would get one some time.

I'm happy to report that my dear husband, who had witnessed the walking and thinking routine probably one too many times, decided to take matters into his own hands and give me the pan as a Christmas gift. Yay! No more walking and thinking... at least about the doughnut pan.

I wasn't sure where to start... cinnamon sugar doughnuts? Pumpkin doughnuts? No, no, no.... BANANA doughnuts. Ah, yes.

My first baked doughnut experience! It was exactly what I'd hoped it would be. If only I had whistled whilst making them, it could have been a Disney movie. I'm digressing.

These little guys are soft and sweet and... banana-y.... delicious. One word of caution... make them the day you plan to eat them. The banana makes them so moist and lovely that they lose their doughnut texture after a while (meaning, the next day). So - make 'em for breakfast or brunch and munch away!



Low Fat, Gluten Free BAKED Banana Doughnuts

1 1/2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup light sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a doughnut baking pan with non-stick baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the Pamela's mix, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, mashed bananas, vanilla and sour cream. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.

Spoon the batter into the prepared doughnut pan, about 3/4 of the way full. Baked 15-16 minutes until set. Let cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. Cook another 5 minutes, then roll each doughnut in some granulated sugar. Let cool completely before serving.

Makes about 12 doughnuts.

Deep Fried No-No

You know those foods that you LOVE but just cannot get yourself to eat because they are so incredibly bad for you? I have a list. It includes Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream (or any ice cream that comes in that small container that screams “757 grams of fat per spoonful!”) and anything deep fried. I think Funnel Cake was made to torture us… so yummy, sooooooooo very bad. And don’t even get me started on Mozzarella Sticks. Seriously, folks. Batter dipped, deep fried cheese. The food of champions, right there. Still, those sticks were probably my Achilles Heel in the war of Katie versus Deep Fried Food. If anything was going to get me to eat fried food, it was that.

And let’s not forget doughnuts. Yes, I know they are no longer on my list of safe foods (unless, of course, you make my outrageous GF Pumpkin Doughnuts… for guests, of course!) but still, there was something about the smell of a Dunkin’ Doughnut that had the ability to almost make me forget my list and snarf one down. Hey, don’t judge me. I said almost. *wink*

If doughnuts were at the top of your list prior to giving up gluten, I have a sweetly wrapped little gift for you. A nugget of love.

Donut Bites. No deep frying involved. Yes, you read that right.

Below you will find a recipe for little bites of doughnut goodness, BAKED. Let me make something clear, though. It may not be fried, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually good for you.

Make these for a Sunday brunch with friends as a little sweet treat to compliment your omelets and fruit. Have one (let’s stress the importance of the word “one”) with a cup of tea after a long, tiring day.

A nugget of love. For you, my friend and fellow gluten-free foodie.

Do you feel warm and fuzzy?

Gluten Free Doughnut Bites

½ cup sugar

¼ cup butter, melted

¾ tsp ground nutmeg

½ cup milk

1 cup Pamela’s Baking Mix

Topping:

¼ cup butter, melted

½ cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Spray 24 mini-muffin cups with non-stick spray.

Mix ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup melted butter and nutmeg in a small bowl. Stir in the milk and then add the Pamela’s until combined. Fill the mini-muffin cups half full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Put remaining ¼ cup melted butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl mix together remaining ½ cup sugar and cinnamon. Remove muffins from the cups, dip each in butter and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Allow to cool completely.

Makes 24.

Time to Make the Doughnuts...

There is an orchard near our house that makes the most amazing apple cider doughnuts. These are not the fluffy, airy puffs of dough covered in glaze that you get at a doughnut chain. These are dense, moist, cakey doughnuts, rolled in sugar. They are unreal. They are also completely off limits for this gluten free girl!

So when I stumbled upon a recipe for a doughnut that was quite similar in texture, I knew I had to tweak it! Hence… below you will find a recipe that will forever change your life. Ok, it won’t really, unless of course you eat more than one and your cholesterol levels go sky high. Then it actually WILL change your life.

My doughnuts are made with pumpkin puree… but that doesn’t mean you have to wait until the leaves start changing colors to make them. Make these bad boys for guests, a loved one’s birthday breakfast or to serve a friend with a cup of tea.

Be aware… the dough will be very fragile, so handle carefully when putting them into the hot oil. Once in, they become hearty! I suggest sliding each one on a spatula and then sliding it into the oil. To try and just pick them up will result in torn or oddly shaped doughnuts.

WARNING: The picture below reeks of sheer deliciousness. Please use caution and a paper towel to catch the drool.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Doughnuts

· 2 eggs

· 1 cup sugar

· 2 tablespoons butter, softened

· 1 cup canned pumpkin

· 1 tablespoon lemon juice

· 4 1/2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix (may need an extra ¼, if too sticky)

· 1/2 tsp salt

· 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

· 1 cup evaporated milk

· Oil for Deep Frying (I use canola oil)

· 1 cup sugar

· 2 tsp cinnamon

In a mixing bowl. beat eggs, 1 cup sugar, and butter. Add pumpkin and lemon juice; mix well.

Combine Pamela's, salt, and pumpkin pie spice; add to pumpkin mixture alternately with milk.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of Pamela's baking mix onto a clean work area. Use an ice cream scoop to measure dough for each doughnut (dough will be sticky). Drop each dough portion onto the prepared work surface. Gently turn until all sides are coated in Pamela's Baking Mix and dough is no longer sticky. Use your hands to gently shape each dough portion into a circle. Press your finger through the center of each dough portion all the way through to the work surface below; move your finger around so that you create a whole in the center of the dough, about 1'' in diameter. Gently transfer shaped dough to a floured cutting board.

In a cast iron dutch oven or deep fat fryer, heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, until golden, about 3 minutes (turn halfway through frying time with a slotted spoon). Drain on paper towel lined plates.

Combine 1 cup sugar and cinnamon; toss warm doughnut in mixture to coat. Makes at least 2 dozen, depending on size of doughnuts.