Honey Cake, also known as Lebkuchen, is a traditional Jewish dessert eaten during Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year); my family sometimes serves it during Yom Kippur Break Fast as well since it is a warming, comforting food. Traditionally, we eat honey during the High Holidays as this ritual sets the tone for a sweet new year. It is common to dip apples in honey at the Rosh Hashanah meals.

Most honey cake recipes include coffee, I left it out of this one to simplify the recipe and make it a couple of steps easier.

My husband loved this cake –as you can see from the photo above, a large piece has been devoured. And a friend said it was the best honey cake she had ever eaten, gluten free or not; however, I’ll let you all be the judge of that!

It seems that just about everyone at the synagogue we attend is gluten free and a number of the folks are Paleo as well. Given how many requests I received this past month from our congregation for a Paleo Honey Cake, I thought it made sense to share this recipe.

Here are some additional Paleo Dessert recipes for the festive Jewish caveman in all of us:

• Paleo Banana Bread
• Paleo Pumpkin Bread
• Paleo Fruitcake

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During the holidays I’m always looking for yummy treats to eat that won’t leave me with a high-carb hangover. This paleo dessert recipe for a moist, gluten free fruitcake fits the bill. Sweetened with one tablespoon of coconut sugar, along with dates, raisins and dried cherries, my Paleo version of this classic treat is great with a cup of tea, Dandelion Root Coffee, or makes a beautifully simple gift to give to friends and neighbors during the holidays.

According to Wikipedia, fruitcake is:

A cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and (optionally) soaked in spirits. A cake that simply has fruit in it as an ingredient can also be colloquially called a fruitcake. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated. Fruitcakes are often served in celebration of weddings and Christmas.

Along with visions of wacky people, the word “fruitcake” can also conjure thoughts of dry, icky cake. I think you’ll be pleased to find that this easy Paleo recipe is rich and moist –a Christmas Cake recipe that is versatile enough to use all year round.

I think this might be my first Paleo cake recipe. I could be wrong though. What Paleo grain-free, dairy-free desserts will you be serving this holiday season?

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Here’s a lovely seasonal treat –gluten free apple crisp that’s simple and easy to make with very few, and very healthy ingredients. This recipe for Granny Smith Apple Crisp is particularly low carb because I use the low glycemic sweetener xylitol.

Since so many people have written to me to tell me they do not use agave, I thought it would be nice to research a variety of alternative sweeteners and experiment with them. Hence the use of xylitol (a low glycemic sweetener) in this recipe. My children couldn’t taste the difference and my doctor highly recommends xylitol for those that can digest it –it is not as easy to digest as agave for some people.

As always, use the ingredients that suit you best, and take the time to experiment with substitutions, as I cannot answer your (or my own) substitution questions without actually testing them in real life in my real kitchen.

As you can see from the note above, this recipe was a major hit with my older son. He left me a note on the dessert that said, “Mom, please do not let ANYONE eat the crisp. I want to eat it. TKS (Thanks).”

Every fall when I begin baking fruit desserts in earnest, I have the same internal dialogue –what is the exact difference between a crumble and a crisp? And every fall, without fail, I pull out my well worn copy of the Joy of Cooking and look this up again. I thought I would share what the good book says with all of you:

“For a crisp, the flour, butter, and sugar are mixed together like pie dough before the liquid is added, and the mixture scattered over the top.”

“A crunch is fruit sandwiched between two layers of sweetened, buttered crumbs; it is served cut into squares, like bar cookies , but is more fragile…Crumble is the British name for a crisp or crunch with oatmeal in the topping.”

Here are some more healthy gluten free recipes using apples:
-Cinnamon Apple Cake
-Caramel Apples
-Fennel Apple Soup

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One summer evening as I baked countless batches of gluten free cookies, my older son popped into the kitchen. Determined to join me in my culinary adventures, he decided to make gluten free strawberry shortcake from scratch (as in using no cookbook or recipe). The twist?  He’s a chocolate lover, so he made Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake.

As you may know, Jewish mothers tend to think of their sons as geniuses, and I am no exception. I love that my 12 year old boy could whip up a recipe from scratch with no help whatsoever. I think that the boys have learned this skill (my 11 year old specializes in omelets and pancakes), from hanging out with me while I cook.

My favorite thing about cooking is making mistakes. As a perfectionist, I find this very freeing. Strangely, my son created this cute little recipe on his first try. I have taught the boys to measure and write down all of the ingredients they use when cooking. This way, if they like something and it turns out well, they can make it again. Or I can make it and share it with you all.

So, I present you with my 12 year old son’s gluten free Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake. He did not want me to disclose his name, though said it was ok to use his first initial –”J.”

So this simple strawberry recipe is easy enough to make with your children. And if you have little ones that follow a gluten-free diet, well, this is even better.

Cooking with children can be a blast; here are some other quick and easy child friendly recipes you can make with your little ones:
-Chocolate Chip Cookies (with video!)
-Liberté, Egalité, Crudité
-Kale with Cranberries

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Photo by Annabelle Breakey from Gluten-Free Cupcakes

I am beyond tickled to announce the forthcoming publication of my second book Gluten-Free Cupcakes on April 26th, 2011. Right now the book is available for pre-order online for only $9.03!

I also want to thank so many of my delightful colleagues for spreading the word about my new book and blogging, facebooking and tweeting their hearts out about it:

Gluten-Free Cupcakes is truly a labor of love, as my boys were very involved in its conception and development –what child doesn’t love cupcakes? Jacob and Ethan my two sons, are now 12 and 11 respectively.

When my editor and I settled on a preliminary recipe list for the book, the first thing I did was print out two copies, one for each of the boys. They sat on the couch, read through the list, and then I queried them, “Which recipes do you like? Are there any that you want removed? Are we missing anything?”

My two little editors-in-chief, had quite a lot of feedback for me –Baseball Cupcakes easily made the cut. Then the concept of a cheesecake cupcake was added by Ethan, and a marble cupcake was added by Jacob. That’s just a highlight of our late night conversations –late night being before 9pm in our house, at least when it comes to children. Many a night after the boys were in bed, I was up baking cupcakes until 2 or 3 am.

Below is my recipe for Strawberry Cupcakes from Gluten-Free Cupcakes; it is one of Ethan’s favorites.

Strawberry CupcakesNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

• ½ cup coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 8 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, arrowroot powder, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, agave nectar, and vanilla extract. Blend the wet ingredients into the coconut flour mixture with a handheld mixer until thoroughly combined, then fold in the strawberries.

Scoop ¼ cup of batter into each prepared muffin cup.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 1 hour.

Frost with Whipped Cream Frosting or Strawberry Meringue Frosting (pg.92) from Gluten-Free Cupcakes: 50 Irresistible Recipes Made with Almond and Coconut Flour, and serve.

Makes 8 cupcakes

Here are some more gluten free dessert recipes that use strawberries that you might like:
-Strawberry & Mini Cupcake Kabobs from Kelly of The Spunky Coconut
-Strawberry Mousse (SCD & GFCF) from Zoe of Z’s Cup of Tea
-Chocolate Covered Berries from SunnyB of And Love It Too

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Happy Birthday Dad!  These gluten free cupcake bites are all the rage right now, very popular.  And since you’re celebrating a big birthday, I thought I would make up a batch in your honor.  With love, here are some delicious, mostly healthy, gluten free cupcake bites for you!

Dad, I warn you, these are not easy to make, so don’t try this at home!   Maybe Mom can make some for you to tide you over until I get there for the celebration.

And by the way, these cute little gluten free cupcake bites are not my own invention.  The idea for them comes from Bakerella’s book, Cake Pops.  You may want to check it out, it’s a gorgeous, fun and original cookbook. Speaking of which, if you haven’t already, check out my recent recipe for gluten free Chocolate Raspberry Cake Pops.

My husband and children thoroughly enjoyed these decadent little gluten free treats.  Though my husband said that instead of calling them gluten free Cupcakes Bites I could call them “Cake in a Cup.”  He could not believe that the “wrapper” of the cupcake was made of chocolate and edible, telling me he thought it was a paper wrapper until he bit into it.

Gluten Free Cake in a Cup (Bakerella’s Cupcake Bites)Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 Chocolate Cake, from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, page 84 (view the PDF)
½ cup raspberry jam
1 cup chocolate drops
1 cup white chocolate
1 package sprinkles

Special Equipment:
-medium sized candy cup mold (cavity openings 1 ½ inches wide)
-small paint brush

1. Bake Chocolate Cake as directed on page 84 of The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook; cool completely
2. Once cake is cooled, crumble into a big bowl, making sure there are no large pieces
3. Mix raspberry fruit spread into crumbled cake, using the back of a large metal spoon to thoroughly combine
4. Mixture will be moist enough to roll into 1 ½ inch balls and still hold a round shape
5. After rolling, place on a parchment lined plate and set aside
6. Melt dark chocolate in a very small pot, over very low heat
7. Paint dark chocolate into the candy mold, coating thickly
8. Place a rolled cake ball into each chocolate painted mold
9. Place the filled candy mold in the freezer for 20 minutes to let set
10. Remove candy mold from freezer
11. Separate the half coated cupcake bites from the mold
12. Melt white chocolate in a very small pan over very low heat
13. Holding bottom of cupcake bite, dip top in melted white chocolate, until it meets the edge of chocolate coating
14. Decorate with sprinkles right away, before chocolate sets
15. Transfer to a plate to set
16. Serve!

Makes 22 Gluten Free Cupcake Bites

This may be the most complicated recipe I have posted here.  Ever.  As you can see, there are quite a lot of instructions above.  Don’t be scared though, if you can organize all of your equipment before you get started on making the actual cupcake bites, this project will not be quite so daunting.

Here are some other cake bite type recipes from other food bloggers:
-Carrot Cake Bites from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
-Raw Chocolate Brownie Bites by Ginger Lemon Girl
-Coconut Cake Bites from Healthy Indulgences

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Looking for a quick and easy gluten free chocolate cake? This one is so simple that you can make it one pot and it doesn’t need a drop of frosting.  I’m hooked on this thick, fudgey, yet cakey treat.  I made it a couple of weeks ago during our Super Bowl party and it was gobbled up in mere minutes by our boisterous gang of guests.

If you are not in the mood for white chocolate, or wish to make a more Paleo/Primal treat, replace the white chocolate chips with dark chocolate chips.  Replacing the white chocolate with dark chocolate turns this dessert into a healthy treat with high fat coconut milk (great fat to anchor your blood sugar levels) as well as almond flour and eggs (full of good proteins that also anchor blood sugar levels and keep you satiated).

The recipe below is actually based on a brownie recipe by the lovely Marinka.  When I posted my Double Chocolate Walnut Brownies, she left a comment with a link to her brownies, which I then in turn based this cake upon.

Black and White CakeNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 cup chocolate drops (if you want to use a bar, it’s about 6 ounces)
½ cup coconut milk
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Melt dark chocolate chips and coconut milk in a small saucepan over very low heat
2. When chocolate is completely melted, remove saucepan from heat
3. Stir eggs into saucepan containing chocolate/coconut milk mixture
4. Next, stir in almond flour, salt and baking soda
5. Fold in ½ cup of the white chocolate chips
6. Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with oil of your choice
7. Pour batter into baking dish, then sprinkle remaining white chocolate chips over batter
8. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes
9. Cool and serve

In terms of substitution questions, feel free to try this replacing the eggs with some other ingredient of your choice.  If you replace the eggs, or any other ingredient in this recipe, for that matter, please leave a comment and let us know how it goes!  It took me quite a few tries to get this recipe just so, therefore I’m really not sure how it would work with various adaptations –the only way to find out is to give it the old college try.

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All of you regular readers know that I have an obsession with making healthy (ok, “healthier”) gluten free cake pops.  Well, this obsession continues for Valentine’s Day.

I spent an afternoon in my kitchen last week in total chocolate chaos.  I even tweeted about it (if you’re not involved in the party that’s over on twitter you may want to join, I’m there several times daily, tweeting away).  On twitter I stated, or shall I say, tweeted,  “my kitchen is covered in chocolate and I can’t say why.”

Well, now I’m saying why.  My kitchen was covered in chocolate because I was making gluten free Valentine’s Day cake pops two ways.  First, pictured above, they are coated in white chocolate.  Next, below, the cake pops are coated in dark chocolate.  While they have very different flavor profiles, they’re equally tasty and decadent in their own ways.  Of course, the dark chocolate covered cake pops are far healthier, so if that’s a consideration, I would recommend going with them.

For these cake pops, I’ve omitted the jam or frosting on the inside, in order to create a more simply flavored confection.  The cake I use below is moist enough to hold together without any jam or frosting to “bind” it, so frankly it’s not necessary for construction, it would just add another yummy flavor.

I hope you enjoy these Valentine’s cake pops as much as we do, they are a huge hit in my household, and I feel happy just looking at them (though trust me, I ate my share as well!)

Valentine’s Day Cake PopsNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

1 Chocolate Cake, from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, page 84 (view PDF)
2 cups chocolate drops or white chocolate chips
1 package gluten free organic sprinkles

Special Equipment:
1 heart muffin pan
22 paper lollipop sticks
2-4 styrofoam blocks

1. Bake Chocolate Cake as directed on page 84 of The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook
2. Cool cake completely
3. Once cooled, crumble cake into a big bowl, making sure there are no large pieces
4. Cake mixture will be very moist, no need to add frosting or jam
5. Massage cake mixture with hands
6. Press mixture into heart shaped mold, then remove immediately and transfer to a parchment lined plate
7. Place plate of hearts in freezer for 1-2 hours until very solid
8. Remove one heart at a time from freezer
9. Dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into melted chocolate
10. Insert the lollipop stick straight into the bottom of the heart, pushing about ⅓ of an inch deep
11. Holding stick with heart attached, dip entirely into melted chocolate, until covered
12. Make sure chocolate coating meets at base of lollipop stick; this helps secure heart to stick
13. Twirl any excess chocolate coating off the cake pop so it is evenly coated
14. Apply sprinkles (if desired)
15. Place stick of cake pop into styrofoam block
16. Complete with remaining hearts and allow to set completely
17. Serve your gluten free Valentine’s Day Cake Pops!

(You can store these gluten free cake pops in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days)

Makes about 22 Gluten Free Valentine’s Day Cake Pops

If you haven’t already seen Bakerella’s amazing cake pop video, I highly recommend it.  Her book is fantastic as well, with amazing ideas for cake pop creations.

What is your favorite “special treat” to make for yourself and your family.  Obviously, my favorite at present is cake pops, though I’d love to get a glimpse of things outside of the “cake pops box” and broaden my horizons, so please leave a comment below and let us know.

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My favorite part of Super Bowl Sunday is the food.  I love preparing healthy gluten free Super Bowl snacks for my boys and all of their friends.

I would love to say that the cute little gluten free cake pops above were assembled by my children.  However, I made them, and as you can see my cake and candy decorating skills are on par with those of a 10 year old.  Or maybe a 6 year old.  In any event, when I was a child I loved crafty little projects like candy making and such.  Obviously, I haven’t had much practice since back then.

I hope you all enjoy these gluten free Super Bowl Cake pops!  If you make them, please take a photo, as I would like to do a post sometime soon with all of your beautiful gluten free football cake pops.

Super Bowl Cake PopsNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
½ Chocolate Cake, from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, page 84 (view PDF)
2 tablespoons raspberry jam
1 ½ cups chocolate drops
¼ cup white chocolate, melted

Special Equipment:
22 paper lollipop sticks
2-4 Styrofoam blocks

1. Bake Chocolate Cake as directed on page 84 of The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook
2. Cool cake completely
3. Once cooled, crumble ½ of cake into a big bowl, making sure there are no large pieces
4. Mix raspberry fruit spread into crumbled cake, use back of a large metal spoon to combine
5. Mixture will be moist enough to roll into 1-inch balls and still hold a round shape
6. After making balls, squish into an oval shape and pinch each end to make footballs
7. Place footballs on a parchment paper lined plate and place in freezer for at least an hour
8. Melt dark chocolate in a very small pot, over very low heat
9. One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into melted chocolate
10. Insert the lollipop stick straight into a (football) cake ball, no more than halfway through
11. Holding stick with (football) cake ball attached, dip entire cake ball into melted chocolate, until covered
12. Make sure chocolate coating meets at base of lollipop stick; this helps secure cake ball to stick
13. Twirl any excess chocolate coating off the cake pop so it is evenly coated
14. Place lollipop stick into the Styrofoam block; allow chocolate coating to dry
15. Pipe white chocolate stitches onto football cake pops
16. Serve your healthier gluten free Super Bowl Cake Pops and wow your guests!

(store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days)

Makes 22 Super Bowl Cake Pops

Here is a fabulous post by Bakerella with her football cake pops versus football cakeblobs.  And don’t forget to take a look at Bakerella’s how to make cake pops video. It is indispensable when it comes to tips for how to make great cake pops.

Happy Super Bowl snacking everyone!

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This recipe for cake pops is one of my favorite gluten free desserts and can also be considered a gluten free candy.

I bought Bakerella’s fabulous book Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats just after Thanksgiving. 

Our chavurah came over for Shabbos dinner one night in early December and my friend Paige brought over a bunch of leftover cake balls that she had made from Bakerella’s book for a school bake sale.  As soon as I saw those cake balls I was hooked!  I began my own gluten free cake pop project a couple of days later.

What is a cake pop you ask?  Well, to totally understand the concept, you’ll need to purchase Bakerella’s book, it’s well worth the price with excellent instructions and wonderful tips and tricks.  If you’re not up for that, at least go to her fantastic website for a thorough understanding of this phenomenon she has created.  Or, check out Bakerella’s excellent video on how to make cake pops:

Although the above video is great, I will also do my best here to briefly explain the concept of cake balls and cake pops.  A cake ball is a bite size piece of cake dipped in candy coating; a cake pop is a bite size cake ball (again, dipped in candy coating) on a stick (a lollipop stick to be exact).  My husband says that everyone loves cake pops because they have a high ratio of frosting (or candy coating) to cake –so all of you frosting-a-holics out there take note.  He also states that my cake pops do not taste gluten free –high compliments from a worldly eater such as my gluten eating husband.

Over the past month or so, I’ve worked on adapting several types of cake pops from Bakerella’s book, making them gluten free.  The recipe below is based on Bakerella’s “Basic Cake Pop” recipe on page 15 of her book.  While she uses frosting to hold together her cake balls, I use fruit spread to make them a little less heavy –you might consider them a healthier cake pop, though I’m not entirely sure about that.  So, this is a gluten free chocolate raspberry cake pop.  They’re a lot of work, though I think (as my family would heartily concur) that they’re well worth the effort.

In anticipation of your questions, you can try to experiment with other cake recipes than the one I used above, I do not however, know if they will work as this is the only one I have tested.  I wish I could look into a crystal ball and answer all of your substitution questions.  If I was able to do that, I can assure you, I wouldn’t need to test every recipe I make a dozen times.  All of this is just grunt work, I can assure you.

So if you don’t wish to use the recommended cake recipe, feel free to try something else, call it an experiment, and please, be sure to let us know when you find success.

For other groovy gluten free cake pop recipes check out the links below:
-How To Make Gluten Free Birthday Cake Pops from Gluten Free Diva
-Gluten Free and Dairy Free Cake Pops from And Love It Too
-Dairy Free Cheesecake Pops from Book of Yum

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