Flourless to Stop Him (29 page)

1 package gluten-free white cake mix

2 egg whites

1 cup water

½ cup strawberries (can use frozen if thawed)

8 ounces mascarpone cheese

2½ cups powdered sugar

¼ cup butter (melted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Line 12 muffin cups with liners.

Stir cake mix, water, mascarpone cheese, butter, and egg whites in a bowl until well combined.

Pour cake mixture into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Place strawberries in a food processor or blender; puree until smooth.

Stir pureed strawberries and powdered sugar together in a bowl.

Spoon strawberry mixture on top of cupcakes.

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (or a mix of gluten-free flours to your taste—I like 1 part tapioca, 1 part almond flour, 1 part potato starch)

¾ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons cold butter

⅓ to ½ cup ice water

FOR BUTTER PACKET:

4 tablespoons all-purpose gluten-free flour

16 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

In a large bowl, place the 2 cups flour and salt, and whisk to combine well. Chop the 4 tablespoons cold butter into large chunks, and place them into the bowl of dry ingredients. Gently stir the butter in the flour, to cover the chunks of butter with flour. With well-floured hands, press each chunk
of butter flat between your thumb and forefinger. Create a well in the dry ingredients, and add ⅓ cup of ice water to the center. With a wooden spoon, stir the mixture to combine. Add more ice water one tablespoon at a time until the dough stays together when pressed. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, cover, and press together into a ball. Place in the refrigerator to chill until firm, about 1 hour.

While the dough is chilling, make the butter packet. Dust a sheet of parchment paper with 2 tablespoons of gluten-free flour. Place the two sticks of butter, side by side and touching one another, in the center of the flour. Sprinkle the butter with the remaining 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and pound the butter with the rolling pin to begin to flatten it and to press the two sticks of butter together. Remove the top sheet of parchment, fold the butter in half, and cover once more. Pound again until flat, and repeat the process until you have a butter packet that is about 5 inches square. Place the butter packet in the refrigerator until beginning to firm (5 minutes).

Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle with more gluten-free flour and cover with another sheet of parchment. Press and roll the dough until it is about a 9-inch round. Remove the top sheet of parchment, and place the chilled butter packet in the center of the round of dough. Lightly score the perimeter of the butter packet and set just the butter packet aside. Dust the top of the dough once more with gluten-free flour, and roll out the dough from the 4 scoring marks and out, away from the center of the dough, to create 4 flaps. Dust with more gluten-free flour as necessary to prevent the rolling pin from sticking to the dough. (Hint: I cover with parchment paper and roll to prevent sticking. Place the butter packet back in the center of the dough, and fold the 4 flaps onto the butter like you would the bottom of a cardboard box. Press the dough around the butter packet to seal it in.

Replace the top parchment paper, and press and roll the dough away from you into a long rectangle that is about ½ inch thick. Starting at a short side, fold the rectangle into thirds. Turn the dough so an open end of the dough is facing you, and roll it, covered in parchment and dusted again with gluten-free flour, into another long rectangle, the same size and shape. Fold in the same manner, once again, starting at a short side and folding into thirds. You have just completed the first “turn.” With a floured knuckle, make one single impression on the dough, to represent the completion of one turn. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes.

Once the dough is firm, remove it from the refrigerator, flour the outside and place between two sheets of parchment paper. Once again, with an open end of the folded dough facing you, roll away from you and into a long rectangle about ½ inch thick. Fold once more, and mark the dough twice with your knuckle, to represent two completed turns. Refrigerate until firm, and repeat the process of rolling, folding, marking, and chilling for a total of 5 or 6 turns. Separate into 4 sheets wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Can be frozen for later use.

1 sheet of puff pastry

1 tablespoon gluten-free flour for dusting (can dust with powdered sugar for extra sweetness)

1 egg, beaten

⅓ cup lemon curd

12 fresh blackberries

1 tablespoon powdered sugar (or superfine baker’s sugar)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Roll out puff pastry to ¼-inch thickness on a work surface dusted with gluten-free flour. Using a 1½- to 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out 12 round pieces. Place pastry rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Using a slightly smaller round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out inner circles in each pastry round, leaving them in place. Brush each pastry round with beaten egg.

Bake in the preheated oven until browned and puffed, 13 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before filling.

Cut around the small inner circle of each pastry round and gently push it down. Fill each tartlet with lemon curd and top with a blackberry. Dust with powdered sugar.

3 egg whites

6 tablespoons superfine sugar

1 cup almond flour

1½ teaspoons finely ground almonds

1⅓ cups powdered sugar (sifted)

2 tablespoons dark cocoa

Preheat oven to 320 degrees F (160 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk egg whites in a clean metal mixing bowl until thick, about 5 minutes; whisk the superfine sugar into the egg whites until stiff peaks form about 5 to 8 more minutes. Place a sieve over the bowl containing egg whites and sieve almond flour, ground almonds, powdered sugar, and cocoa
into the egg white mixture. Gently fold, retaining as much air as possible.

Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a ⅜-inch tip. Pipe 1-inch disks of meringue onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.

Let the cookies stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes to form a thin skin. Pick up the baking sheets and let drop from several inches above the work surface to adhere cookies to the baking sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven until tops are dry, about 15 minutes; let cool completely on the baking sheets before peeling off the parchment paper.

1 cup butter

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 cup almond flour

1 cup tapioca flour

¼ cup cornstarch

½ cup dried cherries, finely chopped

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 tablespoon sugar

DRIZZLE:

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon butter

Mix butter, ½ cup sugar, and almond extract thoroughly using an electric mixer. Gradually blend in flours and cornstarch. Add cherries and chocolate.

Form into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Pour 1 tablespoon sugar on a small plate; dip bottom of drinking glass in sugar and gently press down on each cookie to flatten.

Bake in a preheated 300 degrees F oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until bottoms begin to brown.

Cool 5 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For drizzle:
Place 2 ounces chocolate and butter in a small resealable freezer bag. Microwave on HIGH for about 30 seconds, until chocolate melts. Snip off corner and drizzle over cookies.

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