Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: gluten-free strawberry shortcake

Sunday, April 23, 2017

It's a Strawberry kind of day + giveaway

From Daryl aka Avery:

Well, this is just a "because" recipe today.

Because it's Strawberry Season.

Because it's a Strawberry kind of day.

Because we can always eat Strawberry Shortcake.

And...

Because you probably need to READ, I'm giving away a choice of any of my published books. See the giveaway below!!

So here you go. A simple strawberry recipe and giveaway. For a simple Sunday.

Enjoy!

sweet biscuits

Gluten-free version

(makes 8-9 biscuits)

½ cup butter, very cold

2 cups gluten-free flour

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 large egg, beaten

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

(*For regular biscuits, substitute out the gluten-free flour and omit the xanthan gum)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the butter into small pieces. Put back in refrigerator to keep cold.

In a food processor, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add in the butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly and resembles a coarse meal.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg. Blend in the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients. Stir quickly until just combined.

This is a really WET dough. Using a quarter-cup scoop, turn out 9 biscuits onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using the bottom of a beverage glass dipped in flour, press down the mounds into round circles. (Don’t make them too flat or they won’t rise well. I’m sure regular flour users will have no problem getting the biscuits to rise!)

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.

Let cool completely before splitting in half for Strawberry Shortcake (recipe below). Best served the first day.

FOR STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

(serves 4)

4 biscuits (using recipe above)

2 cups strawberries, rinsed and sliced

2 teaspoons sugar

Heavy cream or whipped cream

Slice the biscuits in half. Set on 4 plates.

Place ¼ cup strawberries on the bottom half of each biscuit. Set the other half of the biscuit on top. Place ¼ cup more strawberries around the biscuit. Drizzle with heavy cream or top with whipped cream.

DON'T PRESS TOO FLAT! THESE ARE A TAD TOO FLAT.

Giveaway!

You can win a choice of any of my published books.

Tell me if you're doing anything fun today!

Leave an email in case you win so I can contact you.

By the way, my new suspense, DAY OF SECRETS, is available for e-book preorders on Amazon and Kobo for 99 cents! It comes out May 5th.

Savor the mystery!

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A DEADLY ÉCLAIR, the 1st in the French Bistro Mysteries, is coming November 2017. Can Mimi clear her name before the killer turns up the heat? Click here to order.

GRILLING THE SUBJECT, the 5th Cookbook Nook Mystery, is out!

The Wild West Extravaganza has come to Crystal Cove.

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FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE, the 7th Cheese Shop Mystery is out!

Finally there's going to be a cheese festival in Providence!

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GIRL ON THE RUN, a stand-alone suspense is out!

When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare,

Chessa Paxton must run for her life...but will the truth set her free?

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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Gluten-free Strawberry Shortcake a la the #Lagasse Girls #recipe from author @DarylWoodGerber

From Daryl aka Avery:

It's not quite strawberry season, but you can find them in your grocery store, and even not perfect strawberries worked for this recipe.

I love shortcake. I was browsing a cookbook my friend gave me for Christmas, from the LaGasse Girls, yes, the daughters of Emeril. They need to eat gluten-free, and I saw a picture of shortcake and KNEW I had to have some. Right now. And I had strawberries in the fridge. They are a go-to fruit for my morning gluten-free cereal.

I reviewed the recipe and realized I had everything in the cupboard, including the coconut oil.

Which is really weird-looking stuff, by the way. it looks like "lard," but melts quickly into "oil."

I'm on a health kick, so let me share what I recently learned about coconut oil. According to Health Remedies Journal: coconut oil helps memory and cognitive function; aids in weight loss (because it boosts your energy and enjoyment of life and therefore you won't eat as much); increases energy ("good" fat is where real energy comes from); has a high smoking point so it can replace butter and other fats; speeds up your metabolism (if you eat a tablespoon or two a day...it triggers the thyroid to do good things; reduces inflammation in the body; its lauric acid boosts your immune system; makes your skin and hair look great -- the oils are easily absorbed into the skin without clogging pores.

There! Don't you feel better already?

Anyway, the flavor is subtle in the biscuit, and I do think it made them light and fluffy. Note:
the biscuits need to be eaten right away. They are not good a day later. So, poor me, I had to down a few! Luckily, I had company or I would have been forced to eat them all, and then there go the "benefits" re: the diet! LOL

So here you go. Enjoy!

From Lagasse Girls’Big Flavor, Bold Taste and No Gluten Cookbook

Momma’s Strawberry Shortcake with Homemade Biscuits

Makes 8 servings

1 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend (I used tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, arrowroot)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup coconut oil (not sure what I would substitute; I LOVE coconut oil)

½ cup cold whole milk (I used 2%)

1 medium-size egg, lightly beaten (I used large egg)

1 pound strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced (about 2-3 cups)

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons water

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

1 vanilla bean pod , sliced and seeds scraped (I didn’t have and used ½ teaspoon vanilla)

Preheat oven to 425° F. Grease a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Now here’s where I vary. The GIRLS want you to sift and do things by hand. I used my countertop pastry mixer for the following:

Sift the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt together in a medium bowl.

Add the coconut oil and use your hands to mix until similar-size fine crumbles form. If the coconut oil is solid, it will melt naturally with your body heat and help to form the crumbles. Blend this as smoothly as you can, keeping in mind it will still be a bit lumpy. [In the countertop mixer, this was a cinch!]

Add the cold milk and egg and with a wooden spoon stir well to make a dough. [I didn’t use a wooden spoon.] It should be quite thick and cohesive.

Using a ¼-cup measuring cup, measure out eight servings of dough and place them on the prepared sheet. [I only could make 7 and I didn’t heap.]

Bake 14-16 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown on top. [I baked 14 on the dot.]

While the biscuits are baking, mix the sliced strawberries with the granulated sugar and the water in a small bowl and give it a good stir. You want the strawberries to retain their shape and allow the sugar to coax the fruit’s natural juices out so you have enough juice to spoon over your biscuits. If your strawberries are super ripe [mine were not], you may only need 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside while you make the whipped cream.

In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla bean [As I said, I didn’t have bean so I used a small amount of liquid] with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. [My note: do not over-whip or it will turn into butter. It took about 3 minutes for me.]

Again, here's we differ. Their picture showed biscuits split, and shortcake presented on plates, which is what I did.

Once your biscuits are cooked, split each one in half and place them in small bowls. Scoop a generous spoonful (about a ¼-cup of strawberries with juice over each. Top with a few heaping spoonfuls of whipped cream and dig in.

Um, I think they meant to put strawberries between halves, top with whopped cream and then top with the other half of the biscuit.

Whatever…it worked. These were delicious! They did not hold up well for the next day. They became a little hard. Still tasty but not good for shortcake. So use them up the first day. Have 2 if you need to! They’re not huge.

PS I made a half recipe and it was just the right size. And I was glad I had company!

Savor the mystery and say cheese!

Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames

Tasty ~ Zesty ~ Dangerous!

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