Mommy's Pesach Banana Cake

I know Pesach is a long way behind us, but I had all of the ingredients at the ready for this cake so I decided to bake it anyway. Besides, in this case kosher for Pesach means gluten-free, and when you know people who are living the gluten-free lifestyle, this is a cake to make any time. This cake is in the style of sponge/chiffon cakes, except in this case, there is no oil. That's right- except for the yolks, this is a fat-free cake. The bananas, sugar and yolks are sufficient to keep this cake moist and the beaten egg whites contribute their usual light-and-fluffiness. My mother likes to add some vanilla sugar to the batter but I just made do with vanilla extract. This cake is not only delicious, but to me, sentimental as well. My mother bakes this cake, along with her chocolate cake, every Pesach and in the years I've been home, I've been right alongside her, helping to fold in the whites. I hope it becomes a mainstay in your homes, too.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's been a while since I've attempted anything gluten free. (I really do need to get my hands on a gluten free baking book!!!!) Recently, KAF posted a recipe for gluten free scones. In that post was a link to their other gluten free recipes, one of them being chocolate chip cookies. I immediately bookmarked the recipe to make one day for one of my girls who is gluten intolerant. Yesterday seemed the perfect day to make them. I made the dough in the morning and chilled them until later. The dough pretty much came together as would a regular one, but it felt slightly tacky and the color was a bit lighter than normal. The resulting cookies looked just like their gluten filled counterparts but the texture was chewy and remained so for hours after. I can't say how long that chewiness would have lasted because they all disappeared before I could test that. My gluten free girl gave the seal of approval, saying that they were very good. Almost everyone else who had one couldnt tell at all that they were gluten free, they just pronounced them really delicious. They literally walked off the plate. That's all that matters when it comes to cookies. More importantly though, I feel encouraged by this gluten-free venture. It's nice to be able to help someone who can't eat these things enjoy a treat occasionally. Who knows what's next?

KAF's Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

This year, one of my girl's presented me with a serious food challenge. She is the first girl I have met in my time here who has a gluten allergy due to a disease called colitis. I flipped out when I heard that! How on earth do they manage to stay away from all things bread?! I may only allow myself bread on weekends and holidays, but to have to go without bread forever??? To me, it's inconceivable but if it improves someone's health and quality of life.... I also felt bad that while everyone else can eat my baked goods, she can't. And so, I decided that I would make her some gluten-free goodies. Not all the time, but as a special treat, now and again. And so I conducted a ton of research and found out a lot of fascinating things about celiacs and gluten free baking. I became possessed by the research, scouring blogs and various web sites for promising recipes, finding many promising leads. So I went to the health food store in search of xantham gum, the one ingredient without which all of this gluten-free baking couldnt be done. Lo and behold, there in the Israeli health food store my eyes spotted the words (in Hebrew) "ksantam gam" and below it in English, xanthan gum. Bingo! I then proceeded to stock up on some gluten-free flours. The first thing I made her were brownies, as they are simple and chocolate- a good gluten-free choice. They were not only simple but well-received, if a bit fudgy and gooey. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about that.... My next challenge was bread. I remembered seeing a blog on the KAF Baker's Banter and went back to theirs. It looked really good and so I set out to make it having all of the ingredients on hand. Let me just say- gluten-free is a whole other ball game! It was refreshing not to worry about over beating the flours but it was also oddly goopy but didnt really stick to much. It was a really cool experiment. I gave A, the girl I'm baking for the loaf with the warning that gluten-free is not my niche and it's not my fault if it's bad. She took a piece off while it was hot and said that it was pretty good for gluten free. Afraid to taste it, I declined but then thought better of it later. I had her bring me a piece and I thought, that was it really good. I wouldn't even say good for gluten-free. I liked it! It was kind of nutty and a bit sweet... I was a fan. I would definitely make it again. The only changes I made were to use a bit of white rice flour instead of all brown, margarine instead of butter, and soy milk instead of regular and I used a hand mixer. This is impossible to make without some sort of electric mixer. Consider yourself warned. This bread is off to Yeastspotting!