Gluten Free Desserts

Have you ever wondered how someone comes to find out they can't eat gluten? I used to wonder that very thing, because if you ask most people, they don't know what gluten is or what it comes from. So if you don't know what something is in, how do you know you can't eat it? This last year has really been very educational for me in regard to gluten. I started baking some gluten free treats so that I could make something delicious for those poor souls who couldn't have gluten, whatever it was. I learned about gluten-free flour substitutes- white and brown rice flours, sorghum flour, buckwheat flour. It gets confusing because gluten is the protein in wheat, barley, rye, farro....but buckwheat is actually a grass, not a wheat. Then there is the tapioca and potato flours and starches- tapioca flour and tapioca starch are the same thing, just use them interchangeably. The potato is not however- potato flour is completely different from potato starch and they are not interchangeable!
Confusing world, isn't it? Not so much, once you understand the basics. And I needed to go beyond the basics as I ended up giving up gluten and dairy Labor day 2010. Gluten has to be given up by people with celiac disease, but there are many other health issues that benefit from a gluten free diet, and rheumatoid arthritis is one of them. While being tested, I gave up gluten and within 5 days I felt so much better. So now I can really understand why someone would choose to follow this sometimes difficult dietary choice. But still, we have to have a treat sometimes, don't we? And that is why I love to experiment with gluten-free desserts.
Right now, I am able to offer gluten free, baked donuts, cake/cupcakes and cookies. I am experimenting with flavors and textures and hope to have some really good G-free cinnamon rolls soon. It is such a great feeling to make something for someone and have them say "This is the best thing I have been able to eat since giving up gluten." THAT is such a reward, to put a smile on someone's face and give them a feeling of comfort knowing that this treat isn't going to make them sick like most baked goods would. It is so exciting to me to be able to do this for people!
stay sweet! ~Patti

A very special cake

Today I had the pleasure of delivering a cake for a very special birthday- the caterer I work with was throwing a surprise birthday party for his mom's 80th birthday and he asked me to do her dessert. I was so excited because the Granata family is in its third or fourth generation of chefs! The family has owned a pastry shop in NYC and they know pastry! I felt very honored that Michael trusted me to make the cake, but at the same time I was nervous as well considering their background.

I really like contrast in texture as well as flavor and I really concentrated on that in the dessert. The base is a disk of french meringue, and the layer on top of that is a chocolate genoise cake. That was layered with dark Belgian chocolate ganache and sliced fresh strawberries. Atop that was another layer of genoise, then a quick chocolate "mousse". That was topped with white chocolate buttercream, then strewn with sugared strawberries, golden white chocolate pearls, and curls of dark and white chocolate. The whole thing was wrapped in dark chocolate. To wrap the cake, I melted dark chocolate and added a small amount of glucose syrup to make the chocolate flexible. This was cooled until it could be kneaded, then rolled out between two sheets of freezer paper. The cake was wrapped in the chocolate and then a chocolate fondant bow was wrapped around that. This was painted with edible gold paint.

The ultimate compliment? The family LOVED the cake and said it was crazy awesome! I am so glad- they are a very special family and I was glad to help out in their celebrations!