Sweet breakfast: Rice and buckwheat biscuits

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For the ‘friends‘ recipes‘ section, today we offer you the recipe that Simonetta recommended: Rice and buckwheat biscuits prepared with naturally gluten-free flours.

Breakfast is essential for the energy boost we need to get through the day and is also the time when we can indulge in the sweet moment with less fear of not being able to deal with the carbohydrate load. Furthermore, homemade gluten-free biscuits are certainly an extra guarantee of the quality of the food we consume. Also try my Lavender biscuits to enrich your breakfast.

We really liked them…we couldn’t stop eating them.

Rice and buckwheat biscuits

69.46g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 250g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 250g buckwheat flour* (or 200g buckwheat flour* plus 50g cocoa* or Venere rice flour*)
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 100g butter
  • 8g baking powder
  • ginger, cinnamon and jam to taste

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Wait until the butter is soft and mix it with sugar, eggs one at a time, flour and baking powder. Mix everything together to a firm, smooth ball.
  2. Divide the dough into 3 parts; leave one part plain to form the biscuits that will be filled with jam; add ginger to the second part and cinnamon to the third part.
  3. Then roll out the doughs with the help of a rolling pin and cut the biscuits to the desired shapes. Put them on a baking tin lined with parchment paper and bake at 180°C for about 15 minutes.

Biscotti_al_riso_e_saraceno_senza_glutine

  1. Finally, choose the shape you want to give the biscuits with jam, fill them and join them two by two.

Biscotti_gluten_Free

Version with gluten of Rice and buckwheat biscuits

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

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Valentine’s day’s recipes: Lovers’ Sacher cake

Valentine’s Day is arriving to celebrate the feeling of love, to be together and exchange sweet thoughts. And what gift could be more appreciated than a delicious Lovers’ Sacher cake, decorated with fresh raspberries?

The perfect ingredients are all there: irresistible dark chocolate, delicate apricot jam and the intense flavour of raspberries to top it.

The shape chosen, needless to say, is the heart shape.

Try our recipe and give it to someone you love! And if you want more ideas for Valentine’s Day, have a look at these Chocolate sweets with candied violets.

Lovers’ Sacher cake

39.85g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the cake

  • 150g gluten free flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 150g sugar free dark chocolate*
  • 150g butter
  • 150g sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • a bit of vanilla from the pod
  • a pinch of salt

Ingredients for filling and coating

  • 250g raspberry jam without added sugar*
  • 120g apricot jam*
  • 150g sugar free dark chocolate*
  • 50g fresh raspberries
  • 50g fresh cream
  • 30g water

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Melt chocolate and butter in a bain-marie, or in the microwave, stirring so that the two ingredients are perfectly incorporated. Then let the mixture cool.
    Separate the yolks from the egg whites and whip the latter until stiff, adding a pinch of salt; then set them aside. Add sugar to the chocolate mixture and then one egg yolk at a time, stirring with a whisk. Add the sifted flour and vanilla, continuing to mix so that no lumps form.
    Finally, incorporate the beaten egg whites.
  2. Pour the mixture into a heart-shaped cake tin, corresponding to a baking tin about 24cm in diameter, lined with wet and squeezed baking paper so that it adheres well to the walls of the tin; gently beat the tin on a surface to let any air bubbles out and bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 35 minutes. Once the necessary time has elapsed, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool.
La base della Sacher

Sacher base

  1. Cut the cake in half horizontally. Spread 250g of raspberry jam on the lower half, then cover it with the top half. Pour the apricot jam into a thick-bottomed saucepan together with a little water; put it on the heat and let it melt slightly, then strain it through a fairly thick sieve to obtain a kind of thick, smooth juice.
  2. Use this jam to generously moisten the surface and sides of the chocolate cake.
La copertura con il cioccolato

Chocolate coating

  1. Prepare the chocolate coating by melting the chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over very low heat or in the microwave. Stir well to obtain a smooth and even cream and cover the cake with the help of a smooth-bladed knife.
La decorazione con i lamponi

Decorating with raspberries

  1. Place fresh raspberries around the perimeter of the heart to define it.
La Sacher pronta per essere gustata

Sacher ready to be enjoyed

Version with gluten of Lovers’ Sacher cake

Replace the 150g of gluten-free flour with an equal amount of wheat flour.

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Carnival sweets: try Chiacchiere di Carnevale

Carnival has arrived, and with it the desire for the delicacies that the most colourful festival of the year brings. Children eagerly await these days not only to dress up, but also to enjoy the delicious traditional sweets that most represent this occasion: Chiacchiere di Carnevale (enjoy also Fried Cream and the Krapfen).

An important note on the presence of gluten in spirits and liqueurs. Susanna Neuhold, Italian Food Area Manager of AICexplains: “EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, following studies on distillates from cereals containing gluten, confirms that the distillation production process does not lead to the presence of gluten in the finished product, not even by contamination. Pure distillates such as cognac, gin, grappa, rum and vodka are therefore permitted. Flavoured distillates, on the other hand, may only be consumed if they are labelled ‘gluten free’. Wine and sparkling wine are always allowed’.

Precisely in order to fully experience the playful atmosphere of carnival events at the table too, I propose my version of gluten free Chiacchiere di Carneale: light, crispy and for all palates.

Chiacchiere di Carnevale

55.20g carbohydrates per 100g without icing sugar dusting

 

Ingredients for 6 servings

  • 350g gluten-free flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 40g orange zest and juice
  • 30g sugar
  • 30g cognac or rum (approx. ½ shot)
  • 20g softened butter
  • 4 eggs (3 yolks + 1 whole egg)
  • oil for frying, icing sugar*

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation of Chiacchiere di Carnevale

  1. Knead all ingredients together to form a soft dough. Then cover it with cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Come tagliare le Chiacchiere

How to cut Chiacchiere

  1. Once ready, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1mm and cut out 2cm wide and 8-10cm long strips with a toothed pasta cutter.
  2. Now it’s time to fry!

La frittura delle Chiacchiere

Frying ChiacchiereDeep-fry Chiacchiere in plenty of hot oil; drain them carefully and place them on blotting paper to remove any oil on the surface and for them to be crispier.

Le Chiacchiere fritte

Fried Chiacchiere

  1. Finally, dust them with icing sugar.
Le Chiacchiere pronte per essere gustate

Chiacchiere ready to be enjoyed

Version with gluten of Chiacchiere

Replace the BiAglut gluten-free flour with an equal amount of wheat flour reducing the egg yolks to 2.

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Gluten-free Mini cheesecakes with chocolate and orange

The recipe we are proposing was a real experiment, one of those that not only succeeds perfectly, but can become a must to end a dinner party with a dessert that will conquer the palate: Mini cheesecakes with chocolate and orange.

Beautiful to look at and excellent to eat, these Mini cheesecakes with chocolate and orange are a perfect example of harmony of flavours: the mouth-watering contrast between the chocolate of the base, the cream cheese and the final layer of bitter orange perfectly balances sweetness. The result is a perfect combination that explodes in the mouth.

Can we say that we fell in love? And if you like cheesecakes, also try the strawberry version.

Here’s how to prepare them.

Mini cheesecakes with chocolate and orange

20.26g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the base

  • 200g biscuits**
  • 110g butter
  • 50g Nutella

Ingredients for the mousse

  • 250g whipping cream
  • 150g spreadable cheese at room temperature
  • 60g icing sugar*
  • 50g chocolate chips*
  • 8g gelatine sheets*
  • 2 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 vanilla pod

Ingredients for the orange topping

  • 150g bitter orange marmalade* 15g Cointreau or orange juice

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Put the biscuits and butter in the blender and blend everything until you obtain a rather fine mixture. Finally, add Nutella, stirring until all ingredients are mixed well.
  2. Use the mixture to form the bottom of 8 round pastry rings having a diameter of 8cm placed on a tray. Level the base well and compact it with the back of a spoon. Put to rest in the refrigerator for about half an hour.
  3. In the meantime, prepare the mousse.
    Soak the gelatine in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
  4. Put the cheese in a bowl, add the icing sugar and a bit of vanilla from the pod, then mix.
    In another bowl, whip the cream and add other seeds from the vanilla pod.
  5. In a small saucepan, heat the 2 tablespoons of milk without letting it boil, remove it from the heat and add the squeezed gelatine stirring for it to dissolve. When it has cooled, strain it through a sieve and add it to the cream cheese. Fold in the whipped cream gently.
    Add chocolate chips as desired and pour the resulting cream over the biscuit base inside the rings.
    Let the cheesecakes rest for at least 3 hours.
  6. And now the last step.

Uno_Chef_per_Gaia_mini cheesecake al cioccolato e arancia

Place the orange marmalade in a cup and dilute it with 3 tablespoons of Cointreau (or orange juice) to soften it so it can be spread on the cheesecakes.
7. To do so, take them out of the rings, cover the surface with a generous layer of jam and decorate to taste with a slice of orange and a few drops of chocolate.

Version with gluten of Mini cheesecakes with chocolate and orange

Replace gluten free biscuits with standard ones; no other adaptation is needed.

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Craving for something sweet? Try my gluten-free Apple pie

Gluten-free Apple pie is a must. Impossible to resist the scent of apples, their taste that blends sweet and ‘sharp’ flavours in a single bite, further enhanced by the many spices that can be used to create flavour variations.

And it is precisely apples the main ingredient in the dessert we are recommending today: a gluten-free Apple Pie that can be enjoyed at any time of the day, for breakfast, as a snack, to accompany tea, but also to finish dinner on a sweet note.

With this recipe, you can create a cake with a soft and enveloping heart, enclosed in a thin shell of fragrant puff pastry, a mouth-watering idea to pamper your palate. If you like apple cakes, also try my Soft apple and cinnamon cake.

Uno_Chef_per_Gaia_ricetta Apple Pie

Gluten-free Apple pie

19.30g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the brisè pastry

  • 300g gluten-free flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 150g cold butter
  • 80g water
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • sweetener* or sugar

Ingredients for the filling

  • 1350g Granny Smith apples (weight of whole, unpeeled apples)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of water
  • 25g lemon juice
  • 25g almond flour*
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • sweetener* or sugar

Ingredients for finishing

  • 1 whole eggs
  • 20g brown sugar

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Start preparing the shortcrust pastry by mixing flour, butter cut into chunks, sugar/sweetener and a pinch of salt. The mixture will be grainy, so mix it until it becomes firm, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate whilst preparing the filling.
  2. And now the filling! Peel and cut the apples, put them in a non-stick pan with a few tablespoons of water and let them cook until soft. Then remove everything from the heat and let it cool down.
    At this point you can add the sugar/sweetener, lemon juice and cinnamon, stirring to combine all the flavours.
  3. Well, we have both the dough and its filling….let’s assemble.
  4. Roll out more than half of the brisè pastry on a sheet of baking paper and line a 24cm diameter mould. Sprinkle the base with almond flour, cover the bottom with the freshly prepared apple filling and close with another disc of brisè. It will be like a treasure chest of taste and scents.
  5. Make ray-like cuts on the surface and brush it with beaten egg and a sprinkling of sugar to taste. Finally, bake the cake in a convection oven preheated to 180°C for about 45 minutes.
L'Apple pie pronta per essere gustata

Apple pie ready to be enjoyed

  1. If it does not brown properly, set the oven to 200°C and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes. This fantastic Apple Pie can be served either warm or cold.

Version with gluten of Apple pie

Replace the gluten free BiAglut flour with an equal amount of wheat flour and possibly reduce the amount of water to be added to the crust.

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