Allergen Free Chocolate Chai Cupcakes

Gluten Free, Soy Free, Peanut/Tree nut Free, Dairy Free, and CORN FREE!! 

A small twist on the Crazy Cake recipe!  Replace cold water with brewed Chai tea (cold) and add Chai spices to the mix!  Awesome!!  I did some experimenting today and I hope you like it as much as me!  We are no longer using White Distilled Vinegar (because of pesky corn) so I wanted to mask the more pungent flavor of the apple cider vinegar.  I'll tell you in advance that the icing pictured is not allergen free because we didn't have all of the ingredients needed to make it today.  However, you can easily adapt my other icing recipe found here by replacing the shortening with a product like Spectrum All Vegetable.  Today's recipe is a variation on the 7 minute frosting and super easy so if y'all are interested I can post that another day. 

 1 1/2 Cups Gluten Free All Purpose Blend
1 Cup Raw Sugar (blended to fine consistency)
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
Pinch of Sea Salt
1 TB Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Cardamom
1 tsp Ginger
1 Cup Brewed Chai Tea (allowed to chill in fridge)
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup Oil (optional: if going to eat within an hour or two it isn't needed but if going to sit it is best to add it)

 Sift all dry ingredients then add in wet.  (For this I filled half of the liners then added oil to the bowl so I could test the difference)  You can not over mix this, so have a ball!  There's also no eggs so you can taste to see if you want to adjust seasonings. 

 Okay, this part is NOT corn free but is dairy free.  I added a few chocolate chips ;o) 

 All done and smell divine! 

Left side is oil free and the right has Olive Oil.  First impressions is that there isn't much difference in taste or texture.  However, as time rolls on the ones with oil retain their moisture much better.  If going to eat right away I would say it's safe to just omit the oil all together. 

Microwave Mug Cake using Oat Flour

Here's a super quick, super easy snack or dessert that takes minutes to put together!  No need to heat up the oven or make a huge batch of goodies to sit on the counter tempting you to eat them all!  This is also Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Soy Free....... did I miss any?  This is the base recipe and I will be posting several variations.  See how much I sacrifice to bring you all yummy recipes?  ;o)

 Ingredients:
5 TB Oat Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
2 TB Fruit puree
1 TB Honey
1 TB Hot water
Dash of Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt

 The kids really enjoyed measuring and making their own dessert!  I actually didn't tell them what they were making, so the final product was super fun!  You can certainly buy Oat Flour these days in a regular store but it is super easy to make.  Just put your oats into a blender and whirl away until it is a powder.  We don't even have a 'proper' blender, just one of the ones marketed more for smoothies and it worked just fine.  We actually used apple & butternut squash puree but even just applesauce would work just the same.  The kids eat tons of fruit and veggies (thankfully) but I still sneak them in every chance I get as well!  I am good at hiding them bwhahahahaha   Back to the cakes, the biggest thing is making sure that everything is well mixed.  The flour likes to hide in little pockets around the edge of the cup.  Zap it on high for 1 minute.  Seriously, that's it!!  It will be SUPER hot, you have been warned!  These would be really cute garnished with some whipped coconut cream and some fresh berries...... I think I need to make a trip down to the kitchen now and try that out!  Oh, one more quick note: the original recipe called for 2 TB of honey and we only used one so these were more like a muffin and not too sweet.  If you want it sweeter, by all means add the extra honey..... I won't tell! ;o)

 Smells SO good!!

 Seriously YUMMY!!

Homemade Marshmallows using Natural Sugar

Did you know that store bought marshmallows actually have blue dye in them?  Check it here  This makes them appear whiter oddly enough.  I started testing recipes for marshmallows a few years ago and really fell in love with a version that doesn't use corn starch.  Now we are moving more towards unprocessed sugars so I decided to give it a whirl in this recipe just to see what would happen.  Honestly I had a MAJOR craving on a really cold day for cocoa with marshmallows, so this recipe was put to the test.  I will tell you now that I was NOT patient and I turned these out a little too soon.  In hindsight popping them in the freezer for just a few minutes probably would have eliminated the issue but they tasted just fine!  Hindsight is always 20/20 and I was also out of plastic wrap AND parchment so I only powdered the pan instead of lining it.  I had also planned on this being a double duty post and incorporating homemade natural powdered sugar but my craving got the best of me so I subbed store bought powdered sugar (this time) but I will show you the other recipe later!

So I can tell you from experience that this works the same using regular white granulated sugar and the darker demerara sugar.  The only difference is that the dark sugar caused them to come out with a tan hue, but that doesn't bother me (or the kids) one bit!

A lovely afternoon pick-me-up S'mores coffee with marshmallows!

 Ingredients:
2 TB Powdered Gelatin
8 TB Water
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Cold Water
Splash of Vanilla
Pinch of Salt
Powdered Sugar

 Combine Gelatin with 8 TB of water and set aside.  Prepare pan.  This is an 8x8, if you put all of the mixture in here you will have HUGE marshmallows.  I would suggest 2 8x8 or a larger pan.  The thickness is completely up to you and whatever containers that you have.  I'd also suggest lining the pan with parchment or plastic wrap to make turning them out easier.

In a heavy pot combine sugar with 1/2 cup water over medium heat until all sugar is dissolved.  Once dissolved add the gelatin mixture and bring to a full boil.  Remove from heat and CAREFULLY pour mixture into the bowl for your stand mixer which is placed into an ice water bath.  This will help cool down your sugar. (See Below)

Once cooled place it on the stand with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed (increase slowly to avoid splashes) for 15 minutes or until doubled in size. 

Fill your pan(s) and wait until they are cooled completely and no longer sticky to touch.

See, mine are a bit jagged because I just could not wait any longer!  LOL  They were a tad sticky, just roll in powdered sugar.  These can very easily be cut into cute shapes using cookie cutters!!

 These will be a very soft texture.  I actually prefer leaving them like this overnight and let the outside crust a bit.  Place into a container with a tight fitting lid...... try not to eat them all at once ;o)