It is Passover. Whenever people tell me that they are gluten allergic or discovered their kids are, I tell them to look up Passover recipes. Some of them have Matzo flour, those are irrelevant, but some have no flour at all. Those are the ones that can be made and enjoyed year round.

I find using coconut flour, almond flour and rice flour fun and the end result is delicious. When it comes to gluten free flour – one brand stands out to me and that is King Arthur’s Gluten Free Flour– no after-taste and doesn’t taste of a meal. It is a great ingredient for sweets.

I like trying to replace the regular flour with gluten free flour or almond flour. Most times, it works. When it doesn’t…. I guess I’ve learned another lesson. By the way, I always write in my cook books when a recipe is good or not and if I’ve made adaptations to it, I write what worked…. It’s a great way to remember for next time.

By playing around with recipes I have developed amazing gluten free biscotti and gluten free banana breads. When I’m looking for options with no flour at all I go for mousse, meringue, macaroons, pavlova, or a dense truffle chocolate cake.

Gluten Free Biscotti

What you need:

2 cups gluten free flour

5 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste or essence

1 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup Kahlua/brandy and orange juice

1/3 cup coconut

additions– craisins, almonds, hazelnuts, chocolate – the sweeter your additions, the more you can cut down on sugar…. I’ve actually made them with no sugar at all and they were very good…. I used more orange juice and kahlua – about 1/2 cup….

How to make the Biscotti:

Whip the eggs together until fluffy. Add sugar, vanilla and orange juice/Kahlua.

Add the flour to the eggs slowly. The dough will be very sticky and soft.

Add your additions – again, anything goes…..

Place a baking sheet on a large baking pan, spread the dough to about a 1.5 inch height.

Heat oven to 350F, 180C and bake for about 30-40 minutes.

Once baked, take out the Biscotti and cut then into strips. Place them back on the baking rack and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until hard and crispy.

   The Biscotti will be hard like regular ones, great for dipping. You can dip one side in chocolate as well…..

Gluten Free Banana Bread

What you need:

200 gram (7oz) unsalted butter or dairy free vegetable oil spread – I recommend Fleischmann’s unsalted.

1 tsp. vanilla paste

2 eggs

4 ripe bananas

2 cups gluten free flour

If you like it sweet – 1/4 cup sugar- I find that no sugar needed as the ripe bananas are sweet enough on their own.

1-1.5 spoon cinnamon

Additions: nuts, chocolate, berries

I recommend NOT using ANY baking powder in banana bread. If you feel you must, add a tsp. baking powder.

Mix butter, sugar (if needed) and vanilla together

Add the eggs one at a time. Mix in between.

Add the bananas one at a time, mix.

Add the flour and cinnamon.

Add the additions you have chosen.

Bake in 350F, 180C for about 40 minutes. I like to put frozen berries on top before placing in the oven and cut nuts or dark  chocolate in the dough.

Meringue

Meringue are delicious, easy to make and versatile.

You can make small bites, cup shaped if you want to add whipped cream and berries (pavlova), add colors or flavors to the cream before baking as well as almond flour, coconut or sprinkle chopped chocolates above.

My rule of thumb is 50 gram (1.7oz) sugar for every large egg white used. I usually make 4 egg whites at a time.

Whip very well the egg whites with the sugar until very stiff cream forms. Add 2 tbsp. shifted corn flour to the mix.

Place in a piping bag and make the shapes and sizes you’d like.

Bake in low heat 220F, 130C for about 90-120 minutes- until they are hard on the out side and if you take one out and cool for a minute it is crispy and dry.

For more Gluten Free recipes or to make your favorite recipe gluten free, write to me anytime.