Coconut Milk Ice Cream Berry Parfaits

Easy elegance.Coconut ice cream. Berries. Boom. Parfait!

The Gluten-Free Goddess Time Machine dips back into the archives for a fabulous coconut ice cream recipe served parfait style with blueberries and strawberries.

We are slowly melting here in the usually friendlier, temperate wedge of Northwest Connecticut. This heat wave has not been fun. Yesterday we hit 87º degrees. Inside the barn. In the kitchen (if you can call it that), where I am not cooking. I am painting. Very slowly. And sweating. Profusely. The studio air smelled like a West Hollywood muffler shop (if I was a betting soul I'd wager greenbacks on the landlord lying when he assured us the barn was insulated). Yours truly may be suffering quasi-serious brain damage due to these cranium-baking temperatures. I cannot form a cohesive thought. Neither can my iMac which gets dangerously hot (I am writing this post early, while the room temperature is a balmy 78º).

Obviously I am unable to muster any enthusiasm for cooking.

I've been living on gluten-free peanut butter toast. And ice cream. Yes, I know. I am a poor, sad, sad role model. What kind of food blogger doesn't rise to the challenge and cheer-lead you to whip up kale salads and raw peach smoothies? What kind of food blogger would simply give in to her sticky, damp fatigue and general overall crankiness and not create some inspiring, nutritious, bunny food slaw for you?

This one.

She who is about to share a no-cook recipe she actually DID make last night, standing directly in front of her three-speed fan, silver streaked hair pinned wantonly (fashionably!) askew atop her itchy, sweaty head.

Sweet and cold and creamy. Coconut milk ice cream.

It's what's for dinner.


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Karina's Nirvana Layer Bars: Chocolate Coconut Bliss

Divine Gluten-Free Layer Bars

This dessert is a family favorite- my chocolate-coconut layer bar recipe. Simple to make. Sweet and gooey and bliss inducing. And most important? You can offer them at any gathering without a gluten-free apology. (Would that be, Don't ask, don't tell?)

Bummed about the dairy in it? My son Alex has created his own casein-free version using condensed coconut milk. See our Dairy-Free Nirvana Bars recipe here.


Chill before serving, if you like, for a snappy, cold burst of sweetness.

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Gluten-Free Coconut Layer Cake

Coconut cake heaven. Gluten-free and dairy-free deliciousness.

Let Us Eat Cake

Birthdays are complicated when you reach a certain age. Oh, don't get me wrong. You're grateful for another year. I mean. You're still alive and kicking, right? Waking up to a fresh start. Starting a spanking new year on the planet with one more number under your (slightly pinching) belt. A number that grants you a whisker more authority in the world. A tad more wisdom.

If you've been paying attention to the lessons life likes to offer up as experience, and not sleepwalking, that is. Not acquiescing to the expectations of others. Or choosing safety over the challenge of the new. Or worse- finding yourself somewhere, in some situation, or relationship, strictly for the sake of momentum, chafing inside a role you don't remember signing up for.

Birthdays can be markers like that.

Defining where we've been. And how far we've come. Or not.

It was my husband's birthday this weekend. And yes, I baked a cake. And as I stirred the batter and scooped it into cake pans, I thought about the other cakes I have baked for him. The chocolate cake in our first year of marriage. Children beneath our roof. Blue balloons and candles. The newness of each others' dreams. The shine of our ideas. The belief in what was possible.

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Gluten-Free Raspberry Coconut-Almond Bars

Gluten-free almond raspberry bars with coconut are sweet temptation.

Let's Party

Let's be honest. I am here today to tempt you. To coax you. To seduce you with a (gluten-free vegan!) dessert worthy of every single luscious calorie. In full transparency, I am admitting up front these are not fat-free. Or sugar-free. These aren't diet food. They're not proper for breakfast (unless you serve them with Champagne).

And you won't be able to sigh ever-so-wistfully at parties and mention, off hand, how hard it is to eat gluten-free at family gatherings and parties. Because, Darling Reader, you'll score zero sympathy points once people sink their teeth into the luscious raspberry jam filling nestled between buttery toasted coconut-almond crunch topping and tender hazelnut cookie crust. Nope.

In fact, these decadent raspberry coconut-almond bars should come with a warning:  

{Be careful who you share these with.

Because they are sure to fall madly in love with you.}

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Gluten-Free Pineapple Coconut Muffins

Tender pineapple muffins with toasted coconut.

A famous food blogger-turned-author whose foodie envied blog-to-movie deal has apparently not cultivated much compassion for those of us stricken with gluten sensitivity recently barked on Facebook, "If I have to read one more thing about going gluten free I'm going to stomp on someone's face." And more than one person agreed with her. One of her fans (also a food blogger) added, it's "too precious".

Strap on your helmets, Campers. There's not a lot of love out there.

I know this. You know this. Some of you have even shared stories with me- about not only eye-rolling waiters and could-care-less food preparers, but family members sneaking gluten into what they feed you, just to "see what happens". Just to test you.

Let me repeat that.

Family. Feeding you gluten. On purpose.

No wonder strangers feel they can openly spout contempt. If we are not respected within the bosom of our own clan, our flesh and blood, how can we expect random strangers to care?

The truth is, they don't.


Until their child gets anemic for no apparent reason. Or their young wife breaks a hip. Or their mother shrinks to skin and bones before their very eyes. Then it becomes interesting. Then the mystery becomes worthy of their attention. And they start asking questions. What is that disease called, you know the one where you can't eat bread?

Celiac disease is sadly under diagnosed. Millions have it and don't know it. And that translates to an epidemic of silent suffering- a lot of mysterious malnourishment, anemia, and osteoporosis. A lot of migraines, depression, infertility, and blistery skin rashes in unmentionable locations. A lot of bloating and Pepto Bismol chugging. But hey.

We know you don't want to hear about it.

So forgive us, please.

Forgive us for living with a autoimmune disease whose only cure is a gluten-free diet. Forgive us for focusing so much on food- our only medicine. Our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Our daily bread. Forgive us for asking questions in restaurants. Forgive us for feeling awkward at social events where food is ubiquitous, and family parties, where your disbelief and denial can make us sick for three days.

Forgive us for getting excited when a new recipe works, and our daughter can eat a chocolate chip cookie that isn't going to make her ill. Forgive us for sending our son to school with gluten-free vegan cupcakes for the class. Forgive us for wanting our children to feel like they belong and contribute.

Forgive us our passion for gluten-free food that fills our bellies and lightens our souls. Just a little.

Because to those of us who must live gluten-free- every day of our life- food is no small thing.

Food is precious.



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Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Apple Cake

A lovely gluten-free apple cake with coconut flour.

Wheat-Free Apple Cake with Coconut Flour

The weather here has hula-hooped back into summer. I kid you not. It is ninety-seven degrees here in Little Russia, my West Hollywood neighborhood. As in 97. That's three shy of one hundred, Bubbe. In September. And what am I doing? Baking a cake. Heating up the kitchen. It figures.

As soon as I buy apples and start daydreaming about my favorite fall confections, imagining clear, cool evenings and Eva Cassidy's haunting rendition of Autumn Leaves, September turns sultry and sends me back into the closet, peeling off my straight legged jeans and Converse All Stars faster than Gordon Ramsay can mock sashimi.

So I may as well share my latest gluten-free cake recipe with you. I mean, I suffered extreme heat for it. I hot flashed till I was squishy for it. I panted and sweat until I resembled an over-ripe heirloom tomato. You know, dimpled and dented. Flabby. A little misshapen. And well. Squishy. Not a pretty sight.

Not that I'm trying to induce guilt or anything.

Not me.

So go ahead. Enjoy this new apple cake recipe. Share a slice or two amongst yourselves. Don't worry about me here in hot little WeHo. Really. Go. Bake. Discuss. Have some coffee.

And coffee tawk.

xox


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Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Lovely and classic gluten-free carrot cake 

with coconut, iced with lemon cream cheese frosting.

Karina's Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe with Coconut and Cream Cheese Icing

Recipe posted June 2006.

Once in a blue moon I get a hankering for this old school classic. Lucky for me it translates well to gluten free. This recipe is based on one of my own [pre-gluten free] standbys. I changed it very little, except for the flour.

Please note: This recipe has no added leavening because it is using a leavened baking and pancake mix.

Ingredients:

3 large organic free-range eggs

1/2 cup light vegetable oil or Spectrum Organic Shortening

1 cup organic light brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup plain yogurt or coconut yogurt

2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey or agave (for added moisture)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice, or Apple Pie Spice [or a mix of nutmeg, clove, ginger, allspice]

2 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix *see notes

3/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1 1/2 cups processed or finely grated carrots (about 4 medium carrots)

1/2 cup golden raisins or currants

1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch Springform cake pan.

In a mixing bowl beat the eggs; add the oil and beat; add the brown sugar and beat till smooth. Beat in the yogurt, vanilla, honey, cinnamon and spice. Add in the baking mix and beat till combined. The batter should be a bit thicker than wheat flour batter. Add in the coconut, carrots, raisins and nuts; stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Spread the batter evenly in the cake pan; and place the pan in the center of a preheated oven. Bake until the cake is firm, and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean, about 40 to 45 minutes or longer if necessary - I baked mine at high altitude. Cool on a wire rack.

Frost with your favorite cream cheese icing and sprinkle with coconut, if desired.

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

4 oz. softened cream cheese
2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract, to taste
3 cups powdered cane sugar- or more, if needed

A squeeze or two of fresh citrus, to taste- lemon, lime or orange

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time; squeeze a little lemon or other citrus juice into the frosting and beat till smooth. Taste test. Add more sugar, if needed, to thicken; add more juice to thin.

Frost the cake.

Makes one nine inch cake.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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Karina's Notes:

For replacing Pamela's Baking Mix, I used to say just try another leavened GF baking mix or GF pancake mix- but I no longer believe all GF mixes/GF flour blends behave the same way. You'll need to experiment.

Gluten free cakes tend to dry out quickly. If you are not serving this cake the day you bake it, I'd advise chilling it to firm up the icing; wrap well and chill. For more than a day ahead, I would wrap and freeze it; thaw the day of serving (remove the wrap so the icing doesn't stick!) and served slightly chilled.

 

Dairy-Free Layer Bars: Coconut Chocolate Nirvana

Dairy-Free Bliss:

Coconut-Almond-Chocolate Layer Bar

This is a quickie bonus post. Chocolate-coconut layered cookie bar bliss --- just in time for the holidays. A wink and a nudge to the retro cookie layer bar recipe I posted two years ago. This newer version is non-dairy using condensed coconut milk, so you lactose-free folks don't miss out on all the fun.

Now get ready to party.

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Vegan Coconut Bars

Chocolate and coconut vegan heaven.

Make it a Coconut Chocolate Treat

Sometimes you just need a treat. A recipe with coconut and chocolate. After all, you've been so good. You've been munching fresh veggies and brown rice. You've been slurping healing soup with cabbage and drinking green tea. You've been diligent checking labels for gluten, casein, and soy. So it's time for something sweet. Something moist and chewy and perfect with a cup of tea.

Egg-free baking is tricky. And at high altitude, even trickier. Truth be told, I've tossed a dozen egg-free experiments into the trash this summer. But these little vegan gems?

These were keepers.

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