The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

What I love the most about being a part of the Daring Bakers is the variety of recipes I’ve had a chance to bake. Some recipes are easy to throw together and others have been definitely more complicated. In the end, I always end up learning something new–be it a technique, a “new to me” ingredient, or just simply something that I’ve never eaten or have yet to create. This months’ challenge was exactly that for me–my first time making and eating a Nanaimo bar.

While this is a challenge and variations of the original recipe are encouraged and allowed, I didn’t stray too far from the classic recipe. I used pistachios instead of almonds and I froze the bottom and middle layers, cut them into squares, and dipped each square into melted chocolate.

Unfortunately, I did not have all the required gluten-free flours in my kitchen and no time to shop for them, so I made the grahams completely using all-purpose flour. I baked my crackers at 350 degrees and they were done in about 18 minutes rather than the stated bake time of 25 minutes. I think my oven runs hot so, if you plan to make these be sure to check on them a couple of times to prevent burning.

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers

(If using all-purpose flour replace the gluten free flours with 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp of all purpose or wheat flour).

Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.

2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.

4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.

7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.

8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.

9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

Nanaimo Bars Ingredients:

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Directions:

1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.

2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.

3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

The bars were tasty, almost like a tiny little cheesecake or tart. Thanks again to Lauren from Celiac Teen for hosting a new and fun challenge this month!

It’s been pouring buckets of rain here for the last week.

I’m sure not complaining. Although, I am a true beach goer and lover of the outdoors, I’ve been craving this weather like crazy. It’s also no secret that California needs this downpour more than ever. Now, I have even more reason to hibernate inside the comfort of my cozy kitchen and not mind the warmth of the oven heating up the entire apartment. It’s been nice actually–listening to the rain hit the windows; watching the storms pass through just in time for the next set of clouds to settle in. In the mornings, if I have time and if it’s not pouring, I like to take a walk to the beach to get my day going.

Well, after taking a peek into the fridge, I can tell you that it was clearly time to go to the grocery store. But, I managed to wrangle up a few odds and ends.

With a few tomatoes and fresh rosemary as the main ingredients, combined with a little onion, garlic, goat cheese, and lemon I was able to put together these savory rosemary tomato tarts. Since it’s the dead of winter and definitely not tomato season, the onion, garlic and lemon, really help to boost the flavor of the tomatoes.

I love making savory tarts because you can toss practically any combination of vegetables, herbs, or bits of leftover meat if you like, into the filling. I also really like to flavor the crust with herbs. Today, it was rosemary, which was delicious coupled with the tomatoes. A perfect light lunch and a great way to enjoy a little bit of summer warmth on a cold rainy winter day.

Rosemary Tomato Tarts

For three 5″ tarts or one 9″

Savory Tart Crust

1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

1 stick of butter (very, very cold and cubed)

1/4 tsp palm sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1-3 tbsp ice cold water

In a food processor, combine flour, salt, sugar and rosemary. Pulse a 1-2 times until just incorporated. Add the butter cubes and pulse until mixture resembles course meal about the size of a pea. Add water a tablespoon at a time and pulse only until mixture just comes together. Test by squeezing a pinch of dough. If it sticks together it’s done.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Form into a disk shapes, flour all sides, and wrap well with plastic. (If making small tarts, separate dough into thirds and wrap each individually.) Refrigerate for at least 1 hour up to 24 hours. When you are ready to roll out, make sure to let dough come to room temperature for about 10-15 minutes before rolling out.

Preheat oven to 350 when you are ready to make your tarts.

Rosemary Tomato Filling

3 -4 tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced into thin strips

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

goat cheese

juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Sautee onions for about 5 minutes until they are translucent. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the rosemary and stir. Add the lemon juice and stir. Remove from heat.

Roll out your dough into rounds and place each round into a tart shell. Carefully press dough into shell and cut off excess to use for another tart if necessary. Poke holes in the bottom of shells and place a third of the onion mixture on shell. Follow with a sprinkling of goat cheese. Arrange tomato slices on top. Add a very light drizzle of olive oil and top with chopped fresh rosemary. Repeat for the last two tarts, if making the small tarts.

Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on your oven. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

It was one crazy year, that 2009–the month of December was packed with traveling, visiting family and friends, and recently getting my health back from being sick. I loved all the celebrating, the visiting, the cooking, and of course, the baking but I’m sooo glad the holidays are over. It’s time for a new year full of new opportunities and exciting prospects– time to look at things with fresh eyes.

A new year and fresh eyes means a clean slate and many new begininnings. Some of us have made resolutions for the year ahead: eat healthier, lose weight, exercise more often, spend less money, be nicer– just to name a few. For me, resolutions were only good for maybe 2 weeks tops, and then I would be back to old habits. The last few years, rather than making resolutions, I started to create goals instead. When January rolls around, I take the first couple of weeks to assess and then I write a list of realistic attainable goals that relates to each aspect of my life. This process has worked much better for me and I’m so excited for what lies ahead in the near future.

Speaking of fresh starts, here is a new twist on a delicious classic; chocolate banana muffins, one of my favorites. My inspiration for these muffins comes from two recipes; one by Nick Malgieri and the other, a recipe from La Tartine Gourmande. I’ve made both recipes with great success and have equal love for each. This time, I’ve combined elements from each recipe and created a delicious breakfast or anytime snack.

I love La Tartine Gourmande’s use of gluten-free flours as I experiment with these flours myself often. I don’t have a gluten intolerance specifically but it does run in my family. So, I’ve just been experimenting with alternative flours here and there and sometimes combine many different types in my baking. For this recipe, I decided to go with a combination of all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, and unsweetened cocoa. The rest of the recipe loosely follows La Tartine Gourmande’s recipe for Banana Coconut muffins.

The result? A moist, delicious, and light chocolate snack. Just right for warming up in the oven or microwave on those cold mornings–and a perfect snack to go along with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

Wishes to you all for a year filled with loads of peace, love, and endless happiness–Happy New Year!

Chocolate Banana Coconut Muffins

Inspired by La Tartine Gourmande and Nick Malgieri

3 ripe bananas

2 eggs

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa

1/2 cup coconut oil*

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon of salt

*In a small pot, heat coconut oil on low to medium heat until melted and measure.

In a bowl, mash the bananas with a fork; set aside. Preheat the oven at 350 F. Fill a muffin pan with papers and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the oil and mix well. Add the coconut milk and mix.

In a bowl, combine the flours, grated coconut, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until just combined.

Fold in the bananas.

Fill the muffin pan. Sprinkle with more grated coconut and bake for 20- 25 minutes.

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

I decided to go with Y’s recipe. The recipe is simple, not too many ingredients, and bakes up a nice sturdy batch of gingerbread. I planned to melt candy into the windows to look like glass but I forgot to cut the windows out before I baked the gingerbread. I tried cutting the windows out very, very carefully, after the gingerbread had baked, but no such luck. My walls cracked and broke and I had to make another batch of dough. But, I finally got my candied windows!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to finish my house because one side of the roof slid off as I was decorating, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get any photos before the house decided to collapse entirely. I was able to save the roof by piping an enormous amount of royal icing on it again and holding it together for a minute which helped it to adhere. For decorations, I used a combination of really simple edible items; mini vanilla wafers and peppermint candy for the rooftop, hard candies for the windows and stepping stones for a walkway. I also added some pecans for the trim in the front of the house as the royal icing got really messy– it made a good cover up for the overflow of icing oozing from the walls.

Now, eight days later–a few cracks in the candied windows, handfuls of fallen vanilla wafers from the rooftop everyday, and it’s still standing pretty strong. Really strong, in fact! I’m impressed! This was a lot of fun and I will definitely keep this recipe on hand for next year, though, I hope to have more time to spend planning, building and decorating. Maybe next time I’ll try the simple syrup as well. Thanks to Anna and Y for such a great challenge.

Happy Holidays!