Simple Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Fall is finally here and with it comes pumpkin flavored deliciousness!  I LOVE fall; the smells and the colors and particularly pumpkin.  I find it frustrating, as someone unable to eat gluten, to try to find baking recipes that don't require an intensely complicated (and costly) mix of flours and specialty ingredients.  Below is a recipe that, after much experimentation, resulted in fluffy, moist cupcakes boasting the flavors of fall without breaking the bank.

What you need:

Cupcakes - 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3/4 cups white rice flour

1/2 tsp xanthum gum

3/4 cups almond flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lining cupcake tin with paper liners.

Mix butter with sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined. Combine all dry ingredients and add to butter mixture, mixing well.  Stir in milk and pumpkin.  

Pour batter into lined cupcake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Frosting - 

1 package cream cheese

1/4 cup butter, softenend

2 cups icing sugar

Beat all ingredients until smooth and frost cooled cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Lemon Tart Recipe (Gluten Free)

I made this delicious lemon tart for my husband's birthday over the weekend and it was a huge hit! The Gluten-Free crust is a perfect shortbread base and the lemon topping is a creamy mix of tart and sweet.  I believe in keeping things simple and could not be more excited to have a pie crust recipe ready to go that requires only a few ingredients but still tastes amazing!

What you'll need:
Crust -
3/4 Cup Softened Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Glutinous Rice Flour
12 Tsp Xanthum Gum

Topping -
4 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1/4 Cup Rice Flour
2 Lemons, Juiced

9 inch Round Pie Plate lined with parchment
350 Preheat Oven

Directions:

1. Combine all crust ingredients with a mixer and press into the lined pie plate. Bake for 30 minutes or until it begins to brown around the edges.
2. Combine all topping ingredients with a mixer and pour over crust.  Bake for a further 20 minutes and you are done!

Baked Chicken Meatball Recipe

As dinner hour approaches I sometimes find myself at a loss for ideas for meals that taste good, are affordable and that my husband will enjoy enough to want to take to work for lunch the next day. We have a fairly spicy palate in my home, I introduced my better half to jalapenos and he has never looked back, so please feel free to adjust to your taste.  That said these meatballs are great with pasta, on a sandwich or over rice with tomato sauce.  I hope you enjoy!

 Ingredients - 
1 Pound Ground Chicken (turkey would work just as well)
1 Jalapeno
1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
1 Tablespoon Basil
1 Egg
(Optional) 1/4 Cup Cheese of any kind

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Add chicken to a mixing bowl and all other ingredients to a blender.  Blend until pepper is finely diced.  Add blender mix to chicken and fold into meat (do not over mix or chicken will cook to be quite dense).
Using two spoons create approximately 20 meatballs on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 18-20 minutes or until liquid from meat runs clear. 

At this point I add the meatballs to a homemade (or store bought tomato sauce) and simmer for 20 minutes so the meat takes on the sauces flavors. Overall this creates a quick and easy meal that we enjoy over at least two meals.

Simple and Incredibly Rich Flourless Chocolate Cake (Gluten-Free)

I would like to say that my incessant chocolate cravings are a result of my pregnancy, but in all honesty there is nothing that I love to eat more then something as rich as flourless chocolate cake.  This cake will impress even the most discerning palate with it's smooth and buttery flavour but has the added bonus (for those like me who are allergic to gluten) of being gluten free.  It takes only 45 minutes to prepare, including cook time, so it is great way to wrap up a dinner party or for just for a treat to keep in the freezer for days when you need a little something special.

This recipe is an adaptation of Flourless Chocolate Cake by Linda Larsen, About.com Guide to Busy Cooks.

What you'll need:

8 Inch Round Cake Pan with bottom lined with Parchment Paper

Cake Ingredients-
6 Ounces of Semisweet Chocolate 
1/2 Cup of Unsalted Butter
3/4 Cup of Sugar
3 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Cocoa
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Glaze Ingredients-
2 Ounces Semisweet Chocolate
3 Tablespoons Butter
1/4 Cup Whole Milk or Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

You will have 6-8 servings of chocolaty goodness.

Prep time (approximately 20 Minutes):

1. Chop up 6 Ounces of Chocolate and melt with butter in a saucepan over medium low heat until smooth.
2. Reduce heat to low and add sugar and salt, stirring for one minute.
3. Remove pan from heat and mix in eggs, one at a time until mixture has glossy appearance.
4. Mix in sieved cocoa (to avoid lumps) and pour into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until the center of the cake is slightly firm to touch.
6. Prepare glaze, while cake is inverted and cooling on a plate, by melting 2 Ounces of Chocolate with butter.
7. Remove from heat when chocolate mixture is appears smooth and add milk, mix.
8. Pour over cake and spread with spatula as required.