How does a gluten free cheesecake sound?  Here is a good recipe for baked banana and chocolate cheesecake that I believe you will enjoy.

Base Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 100g gluten-free bread crumbs (from my particularly crumbly GF bread atempt. Biscuits can also be used)
• 1 tbsp cocoa (optional)
• 2 tbsp golden syrup

Cheesecake Ingredients:

• 2 bananas
• 250g quark or ricotta cheese
• 100ml double cream
• 4 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 organic egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cocoa
• For extra chocolate fix, chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella) to serve

Cheesecake Directions:

1. Preheat the oven gas mark 6.
2. Place the bananas on a baking tray and roast for 15mins until the skins are black. Peel & mash with the back of a fork. Set aside to cool. Reduce the oven to gas mark 4.
3. To make the base, mix all the ingredients together and press into the bottom of a pre-greased cake tin. Bake in the oven for 10mins, remove & cool
4. Place the quark & cream in a mixing bowl. Beat in 3 tbsp of icing sugar and the cornflour.
5. Then add the egg & vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
6. In a separate bowl, dollop 2 generous tbsp of the cheesecake batter. Add the cocoa & 1 tbsp icing sugar, blend until well combined.
7. With the remaining cheesecake batter, add the mashed banana. Mix until well combined.
8. Pour the banana mix on top of the biscuit base, then dollop the chocolate mix on to this. Using a chopstick, swirl these two together to form a marbled pattern.
9. Bake for 30-40mins, until just set in the center and firm around the edges. Turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake to cool there for 1 ½-2 hrs, before transferring to the fridge to chill completely.

[Recipe Courtesy of Tea Factory]

Remember that labeling law the FDA approved specifically to help people with Celiac Disease?  I noticed Atlanticville has written a quick reminder about the change and thought I would pass it along. Here is a portion of their post:

Currently, U.S. food-labeling laws require that the eight most allergenic foods (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soybeans) be listed by their commonly recognized name on ingredient labels of packaged foods sold in the United States. The labeling requirement, which took effect in 2006 under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, helped consumers identify ingredients they needed to avoid as a result of various allergies and intolerances; however, for individualswith celiac disease, the labeling requirement was only partly helpful.

A definition of “gluten-free” has been developed for voluntary use on product labels, effective in August. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs and highly refined oils are not included, but any other processed food may put “glutenfree” on its label if it contains less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. There will also be new retail labeling guidelines in the fall regarding the country of origin of beef, lamb, pork, fish, shellfish, fruits, vegetables and peanuts. The information must state whether a product comes from the United States only, foreign sources only or is of mixed origin. Restaurants, cafeterias, food stands, and a few other small entities are exempt from this regulation.

Foods not governed by these guidelines may result in misleading labels that do not accurately reflect where individual ingredients are grown and processed. For example, a candy bar that is labeled “Product of France” may actually contain peanuts from Argentina.

Possibly my favorite treat is scotch-a-roos, so I have to say I was incredibly excited when I came across a recipe for gluten free scotch-a-roos.  It is actually just a normal recipe for a gluten free crispy rice.

Gluten Free Scotch-a-Roos Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups corn syrup
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups peanut butter
• 1 to 1 1/2 boxes crispy rice (Nature’s Path Crispy Rice)
• Chocolate chips
• Butterscotch chips

Scotch-a-Roos Directions:

1. In a pot combine corn syrup and water.
2. Heat on stove top until the mixture boils and becomes clear.
3. Take the mixture of the heat and add the 2 cups of peanut butter.
4. Stir it constantly until the peanut butter melts.
5. Add the crispy rice.
6. What I do is grease my pan and pour in the crispy rice ahead of time.
7. Then when the liquid part is ready to go I pour it over the rice and mix it in the pan it is going to be sit in.

Frosting Directions:

1. Equal parts chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.
2. Melt them together and frost scotch-a-roos.

[Recipe Courtesy of Celiac Teens]

We all know that good bread is probably the hardest thing to find for someone on a gluten free diet, so when I found a good recipe for Fococia bread, I figured it would make for a great post.

As with all our recipes, you can print them with the print button below this post.  You are also encouraged to give us feedback in the comments below if you like the recipe!

Gluten Free Fococia Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup millet flour
• 1/4 cup sorghum flour
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1 teaspoon guar gum
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2-2/3 cup warm water

Directions:

1. Grease and flour a 8-8” pan, use rice flour for this. I also put parchment paper on the bottom.
2. Mix dry ingredients together.
3. Put the yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar and let sit for 5 minutes or so.
4. Add the oil and add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix just until blended.
5. Mix with mixer on high for 2 minutes.
6. Spoon dough into pan.
7. Cover and let double in size, about 40-60 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 400 with rack in lower third of oven.
9. When dough has doubled in size, sprinkle with olive oil and brush across dough.
10. Sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt.
11. Bake 20 minutes, should be light brown.
12. Cool in pan 15 minutes and then enjoy.

[Recipe Courtesy of Recipe Zaar]

I just noticed that Celiac Disease has apparently been featured regularly on CNN.   Here is a quick gluten free cooking demonstration by Vanessa Maltin.