Breakfast: Buckwheat, Banana and Fruit Muffins
This year, I have been discovering uses for buckwheat flour. Aside from it being gluten free, it has a unique nuttiness that comes through nicely, especially paired with fruits. I am also intrigued by its unique properties; the flour flexes like it has gluten and it even gels like you used psyllium husk. What I mean, it displays terrific water binding property. These muffins were a creation of necessity as well as curiosity. The usual bananas ripening faster than consumption triggered it. I also wanted to see how a baked good would taste with no added sugar and using only the natural sugars from the fruits in it.
Apple and Pear Loaf {Gluten Free}
This wonderfully light and moist Fall/Winter fruit loaf is one of those delights I have been making with simple alternate baking flours. Here I use my everyday staple mix of oat and almond flours for a nutty, robust and flavorful finish. Mixing cooked and grated fresh fruit makes for a moist cake that holds its flavor and suppleness for more days despite the use of naturally drier (compared to wheat) flours. The good thing about this recipe is that it does not need any binding agent other than egg and butter. So, no added gums or starches, which, for me is one of its elegant highlights.
Apple Pie Brandy Pudding
So! I am betting that this Apple Pie Pudding will go down in the anals of food history as an accident that was simply waiting to happen! And, when it did, brought greater joy than either pie or pudding could have in of themselves.
Here is what happened. I have been experimenting with different flours. Recently, I decided to test what wheat I am intolerant to. And, I have reading about how heritage strains of grain may not trigger the same issues as the mass produced, yield enhancing GMO versions. Einkorn has been one of those much talked about ancient wheat varietals that supposedly is less trigger happy than regular all purpose flour. The only problem is that it is more dense and less glutenous. Therefore, it because markedly unlike regular flour. Think, low rise and less flaky.
So, when I decided to make apple pie, using the regular pie recipe....