The Wheat-Free Meat-Free Cookbook: 100 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes (12 page)

Makes approximately 30 cookies

½ cup shelled pistachios

¼ cup walnuts

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon honey

8 16-centimeter circular rice papers

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the pistachios and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
   
2. Stir together the nuts, cinnamon, and allspice in a medium bowl. Stir in honey until well combined.
   
3. Fill a low wide bowl with warm water. Have a flat working surface ready.
   
4. Dip one rice paper in the water and let soften, 20-30 seconds. Lay out on the work surface. Brush each side with butter. Scoop a tightly-packed tablespoon of the nut mixture. In your hands, form the filling into a cylinder about 3 inches long and place it a couple of inches from one edge of the rice paper. Fold that end over the nuts, and then fold in each side. Roll up and place on a baking sheet. Continue with the remaining ingredients.
   
5. Bake for 13-15 minutes.
   

Serves 4

The rolls do not have to be served directly from the oven, but they are most crispy when warm. As they cool the rice paper becomes chewier.

While baking, if the ends of the rolls become very dark or it looks like the paper is starting to crack, remove the rolls from the oven.

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick) + more for the casserole dish

3 tablespoons sorghum flour

3 tablespoons tapioca starch

¼ teaspoon salt

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

¾ cup white sugar

2 large eggs

5 ounces dark chocolate and caramel bar

coarse sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch casserole dish with parchment paper and lightly grease. Whisk the flour and starch together in a small bowl.
   
2. Melt the butter in a medium pot over low heat. Add the salt and chocolate and cook while stirring frequently, until the chocolate is melted. Immediately remove from the heat.
   
3. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in the flour blend.
   
4. Pour half of the batter into the prepared casserole dish. Break or chop the chocolate bar and layer the pieces with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt over the batter. Pour the remaining batter on top and smooth to the edges.
   
5. Bake for 30 minutes, until the middle is just set. Let cool before cutting.
   

Makes 16 brownies

1 750-ml bottle + 2 cups dry red wine

¾ cup white sugar + 2 tablespoons, divided

1-2 small cinnamon sticks

¼ teaspoon whole cloves

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 ripe Anjou pears (2 pounds)

2-4 ounces mascarpone cheese

1. Place the wine, ¾ cup sugar, cinnamon, and cloves in a medium pot. Set over medium-high heat.
   
2. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with cold water and stir in the lemon juice. Core the pears from the bottom. Slice a little off the bottom end so that the pear can stand up, then peel. Place each pear in the lemon water after peeling to keep from browning.
   
3. Once the wine mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to low and add the pears. Simmer the pears until soft, 30-45 minutes, making sure to turn them periodically if they’re not entirely covered by the wine mixture.
   
4. Remove the pears from the pot and set aside to cool. Remove the cloves and cinnamon sticks. Discard (or reserve
   ***
   ) all but 1 cup of the wine. Return the 1 cup of wine to the pot and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set over medium-high heat. Let the wine mixture boil until it’s reduced by half, around 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
   
5. Once the pears are at room temperature, stuff each with mascarpone. To serve, place a pear in the middle of a small plate and spoon the wine syrup over the top. Repeat with remaining pears and syrup.
   

Serves 4

The longer the pears cook, the more color they take on. Pears can be made a day ahead of time and allowed to soak, refrigerated, in the wine.

Be sure to let the pears cool before stuffing with the cheese, otherwise the cheese melts and drips out of the bottom.

***
The extra wine can be served as mulled wine.

Frosting

3 cups whipping cream

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped

¼ cup powdered sugar

Cake

½ cup vegetable oil + more for the pans

1½ cups white sugar, divided

1 cup tapioca starch

½ cup millet flour

½ cup white rice flour

¼ cup sorghum flour

1½ teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs, separated

½ cup unsweetened soymilk

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup Amaretto liqueur, divided

1. For the frosting, place the whipping cream and chocolate in a medium pot. Set over medium heat. Cook, whisking lightly, until the chocolate is just melted, 6-8 minutes. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 2-3 hours.
   
2. For the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of two 10-inch cake pans.
   
3. Whisk 1 cup sugar with the starch, flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
   
4. Place the egg whites and remaining ½ cup sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Beat over medium speed, until soft peaks form.
   
5. Meanwhile, lightly whisk together the egg yolks, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour into the dry mixture and stir until combined. The batter will be very stiff.
   
6. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the batter, until thoroughly incorporated. Fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon the batter evenly between the cake pans and smooth it to the edges of the pans.
   
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cake is light golden-brown on the top and springs back when touched. Set upside-down on cooling racks and let cool completely.
   
8. When ready to assemble, place the chocolate whipping cream in the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Beat over medium speed. Slowly whip in the powdered sugar until clear streaks that keep their shape form. If the mixture starts to look grainy, stop mixing.
   
9. Place one layer of cake on a serving platter. Poke all over with a toothpick. Brush half of the Amaretto onto the cake. Spread a layer of frosting on top. Poke holes in the second cake and set it on top of the first layer. Brush the remaining Amaretto on the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake.
   

Serves 8-10

Be gentle folding the egg whites into the cake batter. Also, take your time, as it can take a while to get them completely incorporated.

The chocolate whipped cream can be chilled for longer. It can be useful to chill the bowl and beaters in the freezer for 15 minutes before making the frosting. The recipe makes plenty of frosting, so be generous between layers and on the sides.

Special thanks go to Alisa Fleming for editing what was a giant mess. The readers have you to thank for ordered ingredients and instructions that actually make sense.

Thanks also go to Victoria Valentine who, with very little direction, produced a beautiful cover I’m proud to show to the world.

Kalinda Piper is the author of the popular blog
WheatFreeMeatFree.com
, which currently has more than 7,000 email subscribers. She lives in Manitou Springs, Colorado, where she enjoys rock climbing and hiking with her husband. She still isn’t allowed to wield a chef’s knife in her parents’ kitchen.