Category Archives: Party Food

Celebrating a Birthday

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This year for Sierra’s Birthday we had 3 “cakes”.

1) I sent cupcakes to kindergarten to share with her friends. I used the basic vanilla cupcake recipe from Gluten-Free Cupcakes but added lemon zest and Chocolate Frosting from my cookbook. The “Happy Birthday Sign” was part of Sierra’s bento that day. The other half of the bento was filled with Chicken Salad- her favorite food.

2) For a little get together with the grandparents, I made the Acorn Squash Cake from my cookbook and frosted some of it with left-over chocolate frosting and some with cashew cream and mangoes (6′s because she is 6).

3) For a party with a few of her friends I made the Chocolate cake from my cookbook and frosted it with pink cashew/coconut frosting (which started to look odd but still tasted good) and toasted coconut.

The rest of the party spread included humus with cookie cutter veggies, some chips, and apple slices.

I can’t keep up the pace of making three Birthday cakes for every Birthday… but at least I have something to blog about!

Speaking of blogging… please share my blog- let your friends know about me.

Bean-Free Hummus and Olympic Bento

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bean-free hummus

I love hummus. It is one of my favorite party foods. The problem is, some people can’t digest chickpeas and I like to make food that everyone can enjoy. I also follow a few Paleo diet bloggers, and I started to think, “I wonder if they miss hummus?” (Paleo diet excludes eating beans). So, I created a bean-free hummus. It tastes quite a bit like hummus and it is very flexible- allowing you to flavor it to your preference.

Olympic Bento

Olympic Bento: There is an open face sandwich on one side with the Olympic rings (simply cut from fruits and vegetables with cookie cutters). Then I used the hummus as “water” and green beans for the swim lanes. I cut the swimmers out with a paring knife after sketching the swimmer first on paper.

Note: I don’t eat nightshades and you won’t see them in my recipes, but my daughter does eat them, so occasionally they will appear in bento photos.

Bean-Free Hummus Recipe
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1 cup raw cashews (soaked for 3 hours)
1/4 cup raw tahini (be sure it is raw- toasted tahini will taste too strong)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Lemon juice (1/2-1 lemon to taste)
1/4-1 clove garlic (to taste)
Salt to taste (1/8 teaspoon)
1/4-1/2 cup water

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This recipe is all about personal preference. Basically just puree everything until very smooth in a food processor. Add water to achieve a nice dipping texture. Add lemon, salt, and garlic to your tastes. Garnish with chives or scallions (I used lemon zest too- my husband said, “too much”, while I loved it lemony.

Serve at room temperature. If refrigerated it will thicken, so just let it come back to room temperature before serving.

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I am sharing this recipe on Allergy Free Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Bento Blog Network, and Wellness Weekend

Gluten-Free Waffle Cones

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ice cream cones

I always make homemade ice cream and waffle cones for my parties. I think at this point my friends would be disappointed if I didn’t. We just had Strawberry Festival here at my house and the cones were very popular. This is one recipe I must outright brag about. These cones are really great– better than the sugar/gluten version. Really.

I make them small, for the kids, and if the grown-ups want more they can always have seconds. If I have time, it is nice to pour a small bit of melted chocolate into the bottom of a chilled cone. This prevents any leaks out of the bottom and makes the last bite an extra special treat.

Grain-free friends I am working on a recipe for you…

Waffle Cone Recipe
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1 egg (yolk and white)
1 egg white
2 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)
1/2 cup agave syrup
2/3 cup white rice flour
1.5 tablespoons Namaste Perfect Blend Flour (Other all-purpose gluten-free flours would most likely be the same. Or use 2 tablespoons of rice flour- the cones will be slightly more fragile but not significantly. Alternatively you could add a pinch of arrowroot too.)

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These instructions are specific to the Chef’s Choice Waffle Cone Express. Not because it is the best (although it might be), but because it is the only one I have ever used. Will a Panzanella maker work too? Probably. Will other waffle irons work? No, you need a special flat iron for waffle cones.

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes (very important). Stir.

Preheat the waffle cone iron. Set the heat/browning level to 2.5-3 on the Chef’s Choice (other brands you will need to experiment). Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter onto the center of the iron and gently close the lid. Cook for 2 minutes or until cooked through and golden (waffle irons may vary).

Take the waffle out, shape it with the cone shaper. Press the edge and end tightly to seal the cone. Set it out on a cooling rack.

Repeat 20 times. Yes, this takes almost an hour. I think it is worth the trouble.

Problem solving:

If your cones are too delicate you may need to: rest the batter longer, or add a touch of flour (a teaspoon at a time of all-purpose will usually do the the trick).

Having trouble getting the edges to seal: work faster while they are very hot and use a bit more pressure (be sure to use the shaper or they will collapse).

Shared on Allergy-Free Wednesdays and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

Blueberry Pound Cupcake and Cookie Monster

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I’m new to the (blogger) neighborhood– sort of. I’ve been around, eating gluten-free for about 6 years, reading gluten-free blogs for about four years, and writing recipes for several years too. But, I never had my own blog … until now. So I’m new. I am introducing myself to my neighbors; joining in the blog hops and online events.

For this post I am participating in Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger. I chose to adopt Shirley from Gluten-Free Easily (her blog is older than mine, but youngsters can adopt in blog-land). I have long admired her blog banner (the alphabet backwards highlighting the gfe- clever right?)  I was also recently inspired by her Coconut Blueberry Pound Cupcakes. So I made them, and followed the recipe exactly …

Pound Cupcake

… then I made it cute. If you type “Cookie Monster Cupcakes” into a search engine you will get about 500 images of similar cupcakes. This is not an originally idea, but it sure is fun! I put my healthy spin on it and used blueberries to color the frosting, apples for the eyes, and raisins for the pupils. I used the batter from the cupcakes to make tiny cookies with cacao nibs (they are a bit fragile). If you have a child with food restrictions, it is really nice to have a recipe like this to turn to.

Cookie Monster

As for Shirley’s recipe:

1) She says the flavor gets better as the cupcakes sit. She is right. Please don’t even bother tasting these for 2 hours. I took a nibble after 20 minutes and was disappointed, then I tried one after a few hours and ended up eating 3. So delicious!

2) They don’t taste like coconut to me. It tastes like pound cake with blueberries, and it is quite sweet.

3) When I make these again I will be adding orange zest and I could see lemon zest being nice another day.

The frosting: sorry no recipe for that; I just pureed coconut butter, coconut shreds, honey, and blueberries (wild frozen berries give the most color) in a food processor. The quantities? I just kept adding stuff until it tasted good. Then I chilled it in the refrigerator to thicken a bit.

Chocolate Leaves

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Chocolate Leaves

I wanted to make chocolate feathers but didn’t have a mold for that. Then, somehow, I got off topic and started daydreaming about making chocolate leaves. It occurred to me that I could use a real leaf as a mold. I got started on the project that afternoon. That’s the kind of person I am- off and running at the first inclining of an art project.

Leaf Close Up

For the plate you see here, I roasted chopped almonds and spread them over the bottom of the plate. Then I poured white chocolate over the nuts. After that set, I poured semi-sweet chocolate over the top. I used chocolate molds from the store for the flowers. I used my recipes for chocolate and white chocolate ( in my cookbook), but you can melt semi-sweet chocolate and use that.

Leaf Close Up

How to Make Chocolate Leaves
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Ingredients:

High Water Content Edible Leaves (I used spinach for this project. I tried strawberry leaves for another project but they did not work so well due to not freezing well)
Melted Chocolate

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Prepare a platter with parchment paper and place the leaves on top. Put the whole thing in the freezer. Give it at least half an hour to freeze.

Dip the frozen leaves carefully in melted (but not hot) chocolate. Only get chocolate on the backside of the leaf. It takes practice. The leaves wilt very quickly so you may want to leave most of them in the freezer and work with one at a time. Place the dipped leaf on the frozen parchment paper (chocolate side up). (I also tried pouring chocolate onto the backside of the leaves, and it worked but was more difficult to control.)

Place the leaves back in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Take them out, let them warm-up for a few minute and the leaves will easily peel off the chocolate.

Some thoughts:

Maybe leaves out of the refrigerator instead of the freezer would work better. I will try that next time.

This is a just for fun activity. If you want a perfect, works every time project, you might not want to play this chocolate leaf game. That being said, these photos are from my first attempt- so it clearly works!

Shared on:

Sweet Tooth Friday

Vegan Cream Cheese

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Cream cheese on bagel

What could be more perfect than bagels with cream cheese? I have two bagel recipes in my cookbook, but I am also posting a new bagel recipe next week here on Cuter Than Gluten.

This cream cheese is creamy and delicious and I made a strawberry version! I can’t explain why the strawberry version is sort of lavender instead of pink (hard to tell in the photo). Hmm… cooking chemistry is not my point of expertise. Anyway, I like purple.

I am sure this could lead to some tasty frosting too. I would add the sweetener during the cooking faze if you decide to try it. Later I will experiment and write a recipe for that if it works out.

Strawberry Mice

I saw these cute strawberry mice made with candy features on a preschool handout and I decided to improvise with what I had on hand. I gave them pumpkin seed ears, a sunflower nose, nori paper eyes, and radish root tails. The tails bother me a bit. They border on creepy. Maybe next time a parsley stem or something less “bare” looking.

Strawberry Cream Cheese

Vegan Cream Cheese Recipe
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3/4 cup raw cashews
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 1/4 teaspoons agar agar powder (if you have flakes grind them down before measuring)
3/4 cup canned full fat coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup strawberry “jam” * (optional)
1/2 teaspoon honey or agave (optional)

*Strawberry “Jam”: cook down fresh strawberries until they are the texture of jam. It is hard to say how many to start with as the water content varies but try about 2 cups. You might try store-bought strawberry jam, but it will make the cream cheese sweeter (which could be nice!)

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Blend the cashews in a good blender or food processor until finely ground/powdery.  Add the salt.

In a large sauce pan bring the water to a boil and add the agar agar. Whisk until dissolved (2 minutes or so). Slowly stir in the coconut milk and bring to a boil (whisking all the while). Pour the mixture into the blender, add the vinegar, jam (if using), and honey.

Blend until very smooth (use caution blending hot liquids). Pour the contents into a glass storage container and chill in the refrigerator for several hours until firm.

The cream cheese can be used in this solid form, but I like it best when whipped. So, I drop it into the food processor and process until very smooth.

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I am sharing this recipe on … and love it too! for strawberry month. Yum! Also on Allergy Free Wednesdays.

Cinnamon Banana Coffee Cake, grain-free

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Cinnamon Banana Coffee Cake

Coffee cake was never a welcome sight when I was young. My dad would usually bring home donuts on Sunday morning, but if he showed up with coffee cake; it meant no donuts. Coffee cake got an unfair rap with me as– poor substitute- wanna-be donuts. Plus the store-bought what-ever brand cake really wasn’t that good.

Finally I overcame my coffee cake aversion and decided to try to make a good coffee cake. And I think this cake is great. If you want to serve it as a Birthday Cake you might frost the entire top, or for a less sweet breakfast, omit the frosting altogether.

I tried a few versions of coffee cake, and then, when I saw Elana’s Paleo Breakfast Bread, I knew it would make a great cinnamon swirl in the cake.

Piece of cake

The white chocolate leaves are a fun addition, check out how I made them.

There is a birthday party over at Daily Dietribe and I hope Iris has a great 30th.

White Chocolate Leaves

Cinnamon Banana Coffee Cake Recipe
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Banana Cake
1 1/2 cups almond meal/ flour, packed then sifted
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup mashed banana
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey or raw agave syrup

Cinnamon Swirl
1/4 cup roasted smooth almond butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon honey or raw agave syrup
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Topping
1 cup minced pecans
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
2 tablespoons buttery spread (I used Earthbalance), coconut oil might work (not tested)
2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey or agave)

Frosting
2 tablespoons 100% vegetable shortening (or more coconut oil- but in hot weather it won’t hold up)
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or more shortening)
1-2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 teaspoons coconut flour

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper and oil the sides.

Combine all of the Banana Cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Scoop the contents into the prepared pan.

Combine all of the Cinnamon Swirl ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Dolop the contents over the top of the Banana Cake batter. Swirl the two batters together a bit (like a marble cake) but don’t stir or overdo it.

Combine the Topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until mostly firm on top, a toothpick will come out clean, and the top will be a bit golden. Don’t overcook to the point of being dry. Cook completely.

Combine the frosting ingredients. Add sweetener to taste and add coconut flour if more stability is needed. If the weather is hot, you may need more coconut flour and/or you will need to refrigerate the frosting to firm it up.

Drizzle the frosting over the cake and enjoy or refrigerate until serving.

Shared on Whole Food Fridays.

Cutie Pie

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Cutie Pie

My daughter (she is 5) and I were discussing fun food projects. Somehow we got on the subject of pie and she started talking about a “cutie pie”. Great idea!

Later that day I stumbled upon a notice about Pie Party 2012 on Facebook- and it was happening the next day. Well I got up and made a cutie pie first thing in the morning. What else could I do?

This is a pie/crisp. Peaches on the bottom, then crisp topping pressed flat on top. I used Namaste Food’s Pie Crust mix for the cutout features. I just cut them freehand. My daughter came along and suggested the bow. Raisins for eyes and a dried cranberry for the bow.

The recipe for the crisp topping is in my cookbook.

Graduation Hat

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Graduation Hat

My daughter is off to kindergarten in September and there was a nice send off at her preschool yesterday. She let me know that she wanted a graduation hat bento, but it was a potluck event so I needed to make a hat for the group. (I brought a big bowl of watermelon on the side too.) This hat is full (adult) size and is carved out of one chunk (the top and base are connected). I used fondant cookie cutters for the letters and numbers– those are honeydew melon. By the end of the party the other watermelon was gone and no one had cut into this, so I went over and chopped it up so it would get eaten.

Graduation Hat

Coconut Frosting and Bunny Cake

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Bunny Cake

When my kids get invited to birthday parties, I always make them cupcakes, or a cake to share with the everyone (because the birthday cake is sure to be made with gluten and dairy).  Needless to say I make a lot of cakes, which is fine with me– I think it is fun.  My friend gave me the heads-up that she was having a Hello Kitty cake at Amani’s party, so I made Hello Kitty’s bunny friend.

My kids and I like this frosting.  But, to be honest, it might not pass as frosting with a traditional crowd, as it isn’t super sweet.  I love it on carrot cake.

Coconut Frosting Recipe
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1 cup raw cashews
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup coconut milk (canned, full fat, stirred)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup raw agave nectar, or more to taste (honey or maple syrup would be fine)
1/2-1 tablespoon coconut flour

Beet juice for pink
Turmeric powder for yellow
Cacao powder for brown

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Soak the cashews and shredded coconut in cold water for 3 hours.  Drain and rinse in a sieve.

Puree all of the ingredients except the coconut flour until slightly chunky or smooth (to your preference).  Add coconut flour as needed to thicken the frosting.  I will thicken more if refrigerated too.

Color the frosting (if desired).  Turmeric powder can change the taste a bit– but is a nice addition to carrot cake.  Use a little or lot of beet juice for pink or red.  (Boil a few beet shavings in a bit of water to get the beet liquid.)