Biscuit Cake (Nutmeg Spiced Milk Cookies)

Biscuit cake or milk cookie is a childhood favorite for many in Trinidad and Tobago and it's quite easy to make.

Trini Style Biscuit Cake

Ingredients

1¼ cup gluten free flour blend*

¼ cup potato starch

½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if included in your flour blend)

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

pinch of grated nutmeg

1/3 cup white sugar

¼ cup coconut milk (add more by teaspoon)**

1 tsp vinegar

¼ tsp almond extract

¼ cup melted vegan butter or margarine**

sugar for dusting cookies

*A 1 to1 blend is preferred over a bread mix

**Regular milk and butter will work

Instructions

Mix the dry ingredients together with the exception of the sugar and set aside

Stir or mix the sugar, milk and vinegar together until the sugar dissolves. Add the extract and butter, mix again. Add the flour and knead or mix to form a smooth dough that is soft and lightly sticky. Add more milk by teaspoon if the dough is too dry and not soft enough, (it should be softer than regular non gf cookie dough).

Place the dough on plastic wrap and using the wrap to handle the dough roll into a cylindrical shape. Fold the ends of the plastic wrap under the dough to seal it and place in the fridge or freezer to firm up.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F

Once the dough is firm, it will be easier to work with. Unwrap the dough and cut equal discs about 1/8” in thickness along the length of the cylinder. Place the discs on a parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten to your desired size. Lightly dust the top of each cookie with sugar.

Bake for 8 minutes, only the undersides of the cookie need to brown slightly.

Put the cookies on a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container.

Red Velvet Madeleines

This is a classic French dessert. Madeleines are usually browned and crispy on the outside and spongy and soft on the inside. Traditional recipes rely on butter (usually browned butter) and a whipped egg/sugar mixture. These are gluten free and vegan, a challenge therefore to replicate the recipe true to form. Nevertheless they taste great and over time with simple tweaks they get even better.

Red Velvet Madeleines

Ingredients (makes 12)

2/3 cup almond flour

¼ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup potato starch

¼ tsp xanthan gum

1 tbsp unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ cup coconut oil

¾ cup coconut milk (or other)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 drops (or more) of red food gel coloring

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions

Combine all of the dry ingredients, mix well and set aside

In a mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients and whip to combine

Add the dry ingredients and mix to form a thick batter, more like a brownie batter than a cake batter

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, can also be left overnight

When the rest period is almost done, preheat the oven to 425F. Prepare a madeleine tin by brushing the cavities with vegan butter or margarine

When ready remove the batter from the fridge. Spoon level amounts of batter, about 1 – 1½ tbsp, into each mold. I would usually spread the batter out a bit

Place the tray in the oven. Bake for 2 minutes then drop the the heat to 350F

Bake for 12 minutes or until set. The center of each madeleine should raise to form a dome or belly

Remove from the oven, cool as is in the tray for about 1 minute then gently remove the madeleines from the mold onto a cooling rack. If they are stuck, carefully push in the edges with the flat side of a knife to release. Serve at once, dip in chocolate or dust with confectioners sugar if desired. I also find these madeleines taste just fine the day after, stored in the refrigerator

Gluten Free Vegan “White” Sandwich Bread

This recipe uses the Tangzhong, Yukone or scalded flour method. This method pre-gelatinizes the starches in the flour. The resulting dough needs less water than when baking regular gluten free bread. Because of this you can easily manipulate the dough using more complicated techniques e.g. braiding. Read more about this method here

If you prefer to skip the Tangzhong method, add 1/4 of flour and 1 cup of water (or coconut milk) to the recipe. Adjust the liquid amount if necessary, the dough should be fairly sticky, closer to a thick muffin batter.

As a general rule I prefer to use psyllium husk powder in bread instead of xanthan gum, it builds a superior fiber network which means the bread is more likely to hold it's shape as it bakes.

If you are having problems with this recipe or any other bread recipe check out my "Troubleshooting Guide For Baking Gluten Free Bread"

White Sandwich Bread

Gluten Free Vegan “White” Sandwich Bread Recipe

Tangzhong or Yukone Starter

¼ cup of bread flour mix*

½ cup coconut milk

¾ cup water

Bread

2¼ cups bread flour mix*

1¼ tsp xanthan gum (omit if in your flour blend)

OR

1 tbsp psyllium husk powder

2 tsp brown sugar (omit if in your flour blend)

1 tbsp baking powder

2½ tsp instant yeast

1 tsp salt (omit if in your flour blend)

¼ cup vegetable oil (I use coconut)

2 tbsp vegan butter or margarine (softened)

½ cup aquafaba (or coconut milk) see here

tangzhong or yukone starter

¼ cup water

1 tbsp vinegar

*If you are using a pre-mixed blend, choose a bread flour mix instead of a 1 to 1 mix. Bread flour is higher in protein. To make your own blend, use a light flour (e.g. brown rice), a high protein flour (e.g. oats, millet, almond), and starches (for me that would be tapioca and potato starch, not potato flour). Make your blend using this formula as a guide, you can always adjust to your liking (for more info on building your own flour blend read this Post 1 and Post 2):

65% light flour

15% high protein flour

20% starches

Directions

Tangzhong Starter, Yukone or Scalded Flour

Tangzhong or Yukone Starter

Combine the flour, milk and water, mixing until there are no lumps. I use my immersion blender to do this. In a skillet cook the mix over medium heat until it thickens. Whisk often, the mix will soon form a gelatinous slurry. As you stir the mix you will notice that it is somewhat sticky and pulls away as one mass from the skillet. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Making the Bread

Place all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. With the exception of vinegar, add all of the wet ingredients and the cooled tangzhong starter. Knead or mix until thoroughly combined. The dough should feel soft, almost springy to the touch and only slightly sticky (regular GF bread dough needs more liquid).

Cover the mixing bowl and allow the dough to rest in a cool place for at least an hour. This will further hydrate the starches in the dough, resulting in a softer bread with a more developed flavor. You could also place the dough in the refrigerator to slow rise overnight.

When ready, grease or line a medium sized baking tin and set aside. A baking tin with tall (deep) side walls works best.

Add the vinegar to the dough and knead or mix until combined.

Spoon dough into the prepared baking tin, you do not have to knead the dough until smooth. An imperfect dough is better at creating larger pockets as the dough rises. Smooth the top (if desired) and cover the tin with lightly greased cling wrap. Allow to rise for 60 minutes or more. This dough is sturdier than regular gf bread dough and therefore there is less chance of the dough collapsing in the oven from over proofing.

Toward the end of the rise preheat oven to 275°F. When the oven is ready, bake bread for 60 minutes. At the end of the 60 minutes, take the bread out of the tin, put it back in the oven and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes. Bread is done when it makes a hollow sound once tapped.

Place the loaf on it's side onto a cooling rack. Cut only when completely cooled. Wrap the rest of the loaf tightly to maintain freshness for as long as possible, keep refrigerated. Bread is best sliced, wrapped and stored in the freezer if it will not be used within three days.

Note

The dough is great to work with, it is not as tacky to the touch as regular gf bread dough and it feels more elastic. For a challenge you can fold and roll the dough into a cylindrical shape or try your hand at braiding the dough. Have fun with it!

You can shape the dough by folding or braiding for example