Category Archives: Recipes

May 20, 2013 · 10:30 am

Millet Mug Chocolate Cake (gluten and dairy free)

Gluten-Free Millet Mug Chocolate Cake - The Dusty Baker-2

I’ve been so good with the sugar lately.

As my little tackle with Lyme symptoms flaring has made digesting sugar a bit hard (even small portions induce a bit of shaking), I’ve cut back dramatically on my intake and, therefore, the amount that I’ve been baking. But the other night as I whipped up my little Ramp and Maitake Tartelettes, I was craving something sweet. I don’t really keep sweets on hand, and didn’t want to go full force into a new recipe.

I had a bit of Divine cocoa powder left over from my Divine Gluten-Free Cocoa Brownies and wanted to showcase them in something incredibly quick and easy. A mug cake it would be.

There’s nothing revolutionary about mug cakes, with plenty of gluten-free recipes dotting the web. But I wanted to make one of my own, with one of my favorite flours, coconut oil in place of butter (I’ve been trying to bring more healthy oils into my diet for numerous reasons), and a touch of coconut sugar for a slight sweetness. This literally takes minutes, and is a delicately decadent treat for when you have 12 minutes until your dinner is done.

Gluten-Free Millet Mug Chocolate Cake - The Dusty Baker-1

Millet Mug Chocolate Cake (gluten and dairy free)

I like my treats only slightly sweet, so this is on the not-sweet side. If you’re going all fancy with a little ice cream or bananas, this amount of sugar is plenty. If you’re all purist about it but have a bigger sweet tooth than mine, just add another tablespoon. Mug cakes are pretty forgiving. You could also chop up some dark chocolate and toss it in for a gooey, more brownie-like center.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp millet flour
  • 1 Tbsp tapioca or arrowroot starch
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp Divine cocoa powder (or another delightful cocoa powder)
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 egg
  • 3 Tbsp coconut sugar, divided (add a fourth if you want more sweetness)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp almond milk, or milk of choice

In a mug, melt coconut oil for 30 seconds in microwave or until completely melted. Whisk in 2 Tbsp of the coconut sugar. Add the flours, starch, baking powder, cocoa and salt, then top with the egg, vanilla and milk (adding the egg in last prevents the warm oil from coddling it). Whisk to combine.

If your mug is thin-walled (like the one in these images), microwave for 45 seconds. The cake will rise quickly, but settle down delightfully once you pull it out. If your mug is a tad thicker, add time in 15-second increments. If it looks like it’s going to overflow, just stop the microwave for a second, then continue.

Enjoy!

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Filed under Cakes/Cupcakes, Dairy-free, Gluten and Dairy Free, Gluten-Free, Recipes

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May 16, 2013 · 12:15 pm

Ramp and Maitake Mushroom Tartelettes (gluten free)

Ramp and Maitake Tart - Gluten-free - The Dusty Baker-3

There’s a line in the movie The Truth About Cats and Dogs where Uma Therman says something like, “It was a joke… but not funny “ha ha“…”.

That line popped into my head yesterday day.

I had carefully wrapped five beautiful pheasant eggs I’d collected from my dad’s pheasants (the boys are named Amadeus, Biff and Guiseppe; the two ladies are unnamed as of now for some reason). Nestled amongst paper towels in a fitted takeaway container, they sat in my purse while I collected Mitra, her blanket, my raincoat, a canvas bag of miscellaneous toys and booty I’d pilfered from the house, and my stuffed weekend bag. I was planning on daydreaming about what I’d pick up at Fairway back in Harlem to feature the tiny little gems during the hour-long drive home. Then, as I searched my bag for my car keys with my shoulders loaded with the rest, the container slipped from my bag and onto the cement driveway. The glass compartment was intact, but as I dropped everything else to inspect the contents… my heart broke. All but one of the eggs was a gooey mess.

It was sorta funny… but not funny “ha ha”.

The night before I had stayed up late to write my post on Living with Lyme: Staying in My Body. I was exhausted and words weren’t coming right, but I was content as I hit “save draft” until… my browser froze, or hiccuped, or coughed or something and poof… I called it a night and started from scratch the next day.

Slightly funny… but not funny “ha ha”.

The thing is, none of that really mattered. I collected my sad little mess of eggs, rinsed off the remaining darling, and kept going. I drove home in my clean car under a gray-blue sky with trees budding all around and my iPhone in my hand recording thoughts that became this blog post. Mitra lay content in her bed on the passenger seat, I had a chilled decaf Americano to sip on, and an hour to talk with Muffin.

Back in Manhattan, I decided to let Fairway source my inspiration. I usually have two options with my weekly grocery haul; buy affordable organics in Connecticut and rotate a limited stock of produce, or splurge a tad at Fairway and find something new and exciting. Today I found these… Continue reading →

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Filed under Gluten-Free, Recipes, Vegetables and Sides

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May 6, 2013 · 3:13 pm

Divine Gluten-Free Cocoa Brownies (aka the easiest brownies you will ever make!)

Divine Gluten-Free Brownies - TheDustyBaker

Saturday was the New York City Bake Sale benefiting Share Our Strength’s NO KID HUNGRY. It’s a beautiful cause, chaired by chefs Marc Murphy and Alex Guarnaschelli and supported by a whole host of chefs, restaurant owners and mixologists…. and little bakers and bloggers like those who gathered together.

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday, and I trekked the 95 minutes down to Brooklyn (damn you, A train!) to drop off my goods. Honestly, I wasn’t quite up to it and have been having a series of symptom flares, so I didn’t stay long. And because of such flairs and a bit of burnout, and because honestly making things look crafty and cute is pretty far down on my list of priorities, my items were not nearly as beautiful as most of the offerings there. I am astounded by how talented and devoted bloggers are. They truly inspire me. While I only stayed a few minutes to meet the Divine folk, check out the glorious offerings (which I couldn’t buy because sugar is not my friend right now, symptom-wise), and grab a drink before heading back to the C train (damn you!), I was so happy to have been a part of this. Lillian of Sweets by Lillianah and Ken of Hungry Rabbit did a stellar job organizing and executing this event, which raised over $3,000 for the charity!

Continue reading →

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Filed under Baking for the Cause, Dessert, Gluten-Free, Recipes

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April 26, 2013 · 5:31 pm

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip and Banana Scones (gluten free)

Thank you to Alejandra Ramos of Always Order Dessert for this photo

Thank you to Alejandra Ramos of Always Order Dessert for this photo

Last Sunday I had the loveliest afternoon. My photographer Brent had gotten married the night before, and after I snuck out from the fabulous party flowing with really good Prosecco, dangerously good mescal and bacon wrapped figs / ribs / pickled veggies and charcuterie that was to die for, I came home to Lil Sis on my couch. She had driven the 10 hours up from North Carolina to bake with me on Sunday, because after a weekend of revelry that capped off a long week there was no way I could haul my loot downtown and bake 180 gluten-free scones by myself.

I am so thankful she came with me, and so psyched for what we did.

We joined 7 other bakers/bloggers, pastry chef Stephen Collucci and chocolatier Mehdi Chellaoui at the Sweet Sensations benefit for C-CAP, which helps at-risk kids find scholarships and placement in the culinary world.

Continue reading →

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April 15, 2013 · 9:07 am

Gluten-free Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Scones

As Americans, we seem to have several opinions on what a “scone” is, versus an American biscuit or the scone’s British counterpart. And, quite frankly, I couldn’t care less. Because no scone I make here is going to rival the memory of the one I ate in that random country garden in the southwest of England, slathered with jam and accompanied by a hot cup of tea en route to some Arthurian ruin I was longing to explore in the middle of July when I was 18. Or the comfy aroma of waking up at Ruark’s family’s house on holidays of one his dad was making to start the day.  Or even the first gluten-free one I made for myself, when I realized how relatively easy and incredibly versatile they are for the seasons or my moods.

Nothing rivals the sweetness of a good memory. But there’s always room for new ones. Continue reading →

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