Gluten Free Pumpkin whoopie pies with marshmallow cream filling.

 

 

 That fluff has a mid of its own... reminds me of all that flowing marshmallow stuff in Ghost Busters...

 

( I have always wanted to be the stay puff marshmallow man at halloween... gonna have to get thinking about costumes stat.)

Whooopieeee It's half term holiday! (about bloody time) With my cupboards nicely stocked up pumpkin and With halloween around the corner I thought I'd get baking. Really missed my Bake n Beebz down time in the kitchen lately.

 Ive always wanted to bake whoopie pies, its always been on my baking to do list, but something else always just beats it to the oven and I have just never got around to actually doing it. They always seemed like such a good idea as the top of cupcakes/ muffins aaaand the frosting is ALWAYS the best and my favourite bit.
So armed with some left over  gf cake box mix, canned pumpkin and my spatula I got to work.

 Its pretty obivious now i am pretty mildly obessed with cinnemon spices and pump combo, Instead of making the box mix up with the oil and eggs called for i just spooned in the pumpkin for a low fat whoopie. whoooooopiiieeeeeeee...

 PUMPKIN SPICE WHOOPIE PIES WITH MARSHMALLOW CREAM FILLING.
(lower fat/calories version)
Makes 6 large whoops

Ingredients

•  GF cake box mix (I use Mrs Crimbles sponge mix)
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger 
• marshmallow fluff for filling.

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper
3. whisk egg white into to pumpkin mixture. Blending well.
4. Add box mixture.  and Blend well with whisk on high speed.
5. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop dough onto parchment paper/baking sheet with 2 inchest between cookies. Flatten out batter with wet spatula.(for even whoopies)
6. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from parchment paper.
7. Once cool dollop one piece with marshmallow and sandwich together with another pie top.
8. decorate accordingly.

 I opted for spooky pumpkins, pretty frightening huh? Scared myself a little with each bite.

CAKE POPS!

As a thank you present I made my friend Charlotte some cake pops, she got me a paid temping job as receptionist at her office, so the least I could do was make her something sweet and chocolaty as a gift.

Using another of those delicious chocolate spreads I nabbed, (I used the chocolate coconut spread, I think this maybe my fave?!) I quickly rolled together some cake pops, dipped them in chocolate and shook lashings of sprinkles all over those babies.

These are so easy to make and there is absolutely no cooking involved, oh apart from just nuking the chocolate in a microwave.

Makes 8 lollipops
Ingredients 

• 250g (9oz) of Madeira sponge cake, bought or homemade. (For my gluten free version I used crumbled rusks!)
• 100g (4oz) two large tablespoons of chocolate spread.
• 100g (4oz) your choice of milk chocolate or dark or white, whichever you want to coat your finished pop with.
• A few drops of flavouring essence (you could try lemon, vanilla, coffee, almond again its your choice really, whatever takes your fancy.)
• Sprinkles
• wooden skewers

Method 

1. break and Crumble the cake or rusk into a bowl.
2. Add the chocolate spread to bind the cake crumb,  this gives a 'cookie dough' like texture to the finished pop.
3. Mix it all together with a spoon then your hands, it's ready when it looks like play dough.
4. Take even amounts of the dough, roll into balls a bit smaller than a golf ball. Pop the balls into the fridge, on a prepared tray/container lined with silicone paper, to firm up.
5. Melt the chocolate on a medium setting in the microwave, regulary checking and stirring to vaoid burning the chocolate.
6. take the balls from the fridge, dip the wooden sticks in chocolate and really get it stuck into the ball. 
7. Return the balls to the fridge to let the chocolate set.
8. Remove from the fridge once again and coat / roll each ball in the melted chocolate of choice, add sprinklings.  Return to the fridge to set.

For presentation, as they were a gift, when set, I put my finished cake pops in cellophane bags and add curled ribbon for a finishing touch. 

GULTEN FREE + VEGAN CHOCOLOATE CUPCAKES

I whipped up some special cupcakes for a special occasion! These Anniversary Cupcakes tasted rich and decadent but aren't too naughty for the waistline... oh and there vegan aaaaaand Gluten Free. Its a miracle.

 

I did a little experimenting first....lab coat on and electric whisk plugged in. For my first recipe trial, I used chickpea gram flour and adapted a Babycakes recipe. For the second batch  I used only rice flour. The Babycakes recipe was very fudgey, I could just taste gram flour and didn't rise too well but...

After extensive taste tasting I was pleasantly surprised with how successful my rice flour cakes had turned out. they rose a treat, had a bouncy, spongy crumb and weren't too over overpoweringly chocolaty. WE HAVE A WINNER.

GLUTEN FREE AND VEGAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE!
Ingredients- makes 10 cupcakes

 Dry ingredients
110g rice flour
35g potato flour
50g cocoa powder
15g arrowroot
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt

100 ml coconut oil (melted)
100 ml applesauce
150 ml agave nectar
110 ml hot water

Directions.

1. Pre heat oven to 170 degrees C and line a muffin tin with paper cases.
2. In a bowl sift all dry ingredients and mix.
3. in a jug or bowl combine the wet ingredients and slowly pour into dry ingredients whilst electric mixer is on slow.
4. whisk until mixture is smooth, pour or spoon into cases.
5. bakes for 15- 18 minutes. 
6. allow to cool then frost and sprinkle those babies!

 These were so delicious! I used a chocolate vegan icing recipe to top them off!

what have you baked lately?
Have you ever tried vegan or gluten free baked goods?

Baking for the birthday boy... Chocolateiest Chocolate Cake!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MR. BAKE N' BEEBZ!

 For the sepcial man in my life... a special cake!

 I asked Harry what sort ofcake he would like and asked for a chocolate one... and specifically not a 'healthy' chocolate one. So i went all out for this special occasion. In my head i was picturing recreating the massive one from matilda, always envied that kid and his cake.

Livin' the dream

 

 

The crack in the top sorta looks like a heart. nawwwww.

 I used a Nigella recipe, of coarse. her ol' faithful, favourite go to chocolate cake recipe... and now mine! Holy deliciousness, ate half of the batter before it reached the tin or oven (nothing new there) but it still made a beast of a sponge cake.

 Ingrediants

• 200g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 40g best-quality cocoa
• 175g soft unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
• 150ml sour cream  

Directions as penned by Nige herself...

Method

1. Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C and line and grease your tin with removable base.
3. Now all you have to do is put all the cake ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream - into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture.
4. pour batter into prepared tin and bake until a cake tester, or a thin skewer, comes out clean, which should be about 45 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 35.
5. Remove the cake, in their tin, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of the tin. Don't worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the icing later.  

 

I cut my cake in half and once cool spread white chocolate swirl chocolate spread over one half.

Popped the top on and spread on extra icing, I used melted milk chocolate with a bit of golden syrup spooned in, carefully placed on some buttons and stars for decoration, and bobs your uncle, you got a cake. A very chocolatey cake. Perfect.

Celebration dinner! I cooked pan seared, pesto pork medallions with a chedder, sour cream, sweet corn potato mash and veggies on the side. We are going to have a quite night in with Jersey Shore and a slab of cake. Goodnight.