Gluten-Free Waffle Extravaganza

I knew I was in for a treat this Memorial Day when I woke to the sounds of the Kitchenaid mixer running. I could clearly discern the unmistakable sound of the whisk attachment spinning away, which surely meant that egg-whites were part of whatever gluten-free recipe was being created. Given the hour of day, it was a fair bet my initial hunch - waffles? - would correctly identify the first course of the day.

I love waffles! Homemade gluten-free waffles especially, since their wonderful texture and taste can not be beat by any store bought varieties (though, I don't know why, since we freeze our "extra" waffles and then reheat them in a toaster at a later date just like a purchased gluten-free waffle would be - and they are perfectly delicious for months this way).

Today's assortment of fresh-baked (or fresh-ironed, in the waffle iron) waffles were all dairy-free in addition to gluten-free, and included a nice range of flavors. My wife has again outdone herself and baked an assortment (for this morning, and for future consumption) including:

• Cocoa, Chocolate-Chip, and Pumpkin variety
  
• Tofu, Flax, Buckwheat, Blueberry, cinnamon
  
• Banana-Walnut

Oh what a treat!
I was able to sample from each type, and had one of the greatest Memorial Day gluten-free / wheat-free breakfasts anyone could ask for. It was the perfect way to start the day!

I'll try to get around to posting the various recipes soon. They are each essentially variations on a theme, originating with the existing waffle recipes we have online already at the Gluten-Free Recipe Library here (though, those original waffle recipes were not dairy-free, so I definitely need to post the extended versions).

Enjoy your Memorial Day... I know I will, especially after starting out with such a great breakfast treat!

Gluten-Free Cake Recipe Variation - Dairy-Free Black Forest Bundt

We are getting around to adapting even more of our Gluten-Free Desserts to be dairy-free (in addition to wheat-free / gluten-free) in hopes that we help as many Celiac sufferers as possible find great dessert recipes they can enjoy. Pictured above is one of the latest variations that my wife has created - a variation on our Gluten-Free Black-Forest Bundt Cake (from pages 36-37 in our book), which has now been modified to no longer contain any dairy products in this latest variation.

You will also notice that we were out of cherries when we baked this particular cake, so we cheated a bit and used Strawberries instead (which you can see inside the cake and one on the surface). The results were still quite delicious!

Hopefully, if you are dairy-free, you can still enjoy soy in your diet. I realize there are a few people that also have gone soy-free out there, and none of our original recipes in our cookbook use any soy. We made a conscious decision to avoid soy in the book since it seemed that a fair number of people considered it an allergen or dietary ingredient to avoid. But, we also realize the benefits that soy protein can offer to the majority of people that still consume soy as a part of their gluten-free diet. So, with this cake recipe variation, we tried for a happy medium: dairy-free, but with soy ingredients.

This particular recipe variation made use of soy-protein, in the form of soft Tofu (the kind that comes in those little 12 ounce "boxes"). The tofu replaced the sour-cream we originally used, thus bringing some additional protein into the mix and lowering the fat content a bit while, of course, removing that dairy / casein containing item. We also replaced the butter with margarine, making the whole cake dairy-free. If you own our cookbook, and want to try baking this dairy-free variation, just see this gluten-free cake recipe-variation link for all the details of the remaining few minor modifications we made.

The soy protein (i.e., tofu) makes for a really nice result: it gives the cake a wonderful texture while also enhancing the "shelf life" of the cake from my experience -- I was eating this cake for a few days and had it just sitting out on the counter with a bit of plastic wrap over the top. The tofu seems to make the gluten-free cake retain moisture well over time, and thus be less susceptible to drying out if left exposed to the elements.

As with any gluten-replacement strategy, using soy-protein to replace the wheat-protein (i.e., gluten / gliaden) is one approach to gluten-free baking that can be helpful. Other (gluten / protein) alternatives that can be helpful include dairy and egg proteins, which in this case we have opted not to use the dairy-protein side of the equation. Along similar lines, my wife created a wonderful soy/tofu waffle variation that is quite nice too! I'll publish that full recipe soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the latest gluten-free dessert recipe / variation!