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Ricki Heller

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Lucky Comestible 4 (2): Cuckoo for Coconut (GF Mini Loaves or Cupcakes)

by Ricki Heller 25 Comments

[I thought it would be fun to run a little series over here at DDD: I’ll profile one one of my favorite foods, or a food that I’ve recently discovered and enjoyed, over several days.  For this fourth entry, I’m focusing on Coconut. The series is presented on an occasional (and entirely arbitrary) basis, before I move on to the next lucky comestible. This is the second entry on coconut.]

First:  thank you all, most sincerely, for all your kind words regarding The Girls and the Ordeal of the Raisins. Both dogs are fine (my bank account, on the other hand, will suffer for some time–but that’s my penance, I reckon).  And I’m also glad that the post seems to have provided some new information to some of you, who may not have been aware that raisins are often poisonous to the canines in our lives. In fact, I was so rattled the other day that I neglected to mention something really great:  I won a contest!  And this time, folks, I truly felt the love! The eloquent, clever and enormously crafty Shellyfish of Musings from the Fishbowl recently conducted a contest to win one of her handcrafted felt change purses, and my comment was (randomly) chosen to win!  Whoo-hoo!  I am utterly thrilled and cannot wait to receive my prize in the mail.  I will, of course, blog all about it when it arrives. 🙂 Thanks, Shellyfish! And now, back to our regularly scheduled Lucky Comestible! You know how some people are just so eccentric, so outré, so larger-than-life that they may as well be a caricature of themselves? Think Jack Palance at the Oscars.  Think Richard Simmons.  Think my mother’s old friend Ms. Gabor. Say what? Ms. Gabor (a pseudonym, bien sûr) was one of my mother’s regular Mah Jong ladies who came to our house Thursday afternoons. Long before the era of elective plastic surgery, Ms. G managed to appear entirely plastic most of the time, all on her own. Likely in her 50s back then, she balanced under a towering, shellacked and elaborately braided beehive hairdo, pinned in place with a network of rhinestone-studded hair clips. She wore eyeliner too heavy, décolletage too revealing, and an attitude far too abrasive.  But what I remember most about Ms. G was how she coped with summer.  Because in the summer, our house–lacking any air conditioning–was not just hot; it was “feels-like-Vesuvius” hot; “the-smoke-detector-is-shrieking” hot; “someone-call-Denis-Leary-to-Rescue-Me” hot. On those blistering summer days when my mom and her friends played “Maj,” we kids would return home from school to a tableau of four women, reposing in a haze of smoke (everyone except my mom smoked cigarettes) and humidity, most of them dripping sweat and fanning themselves with handkerchiefs or napkins. And Ms. G, elbows on the table, calmly studying her tiles and wearing a black bra.  Yes, you read that correctly; it was not her black bra as seen through a sheer blouse; no, no; it was her black bra as seen on her torso because she had taken off her blouse and placed it on the back of her chair. “Dahlink, vould you be so kind as to get me a glass of soda?” she’d inquire in her heavy Hungarian accent, as soon as I entered the room.  Then I’d be forced to march to the fridge, pour the club soda, and hand her the glass while pretending that I didn’t notice she was wearing nothing more than a bra!  Seeing this vision on a weekly basis may have, I suspect, traumatized me just as much as did seeing The Girls eating raisins the other day. Well, my mother regularly made a dessert for the ladies that was her one coconut-based specialty.  She called it “Roly Poly,” and it was basically a layer of oily, dense dough rolled out to a rectangle, topped with (in this order) a thick slather of strawberry jam; sprinkles of toasted walnuts; a smattering of raisins; randomly scattered chunks of chopped Turkish Delight, and a final light shower of shredded coconut.  The entire monstrocity was rolled up jelly-roll style, sliced into pinwheels and baked.  It’s possible that the Turkish Delight, with its vaguely floral, vaguely alcoholic smell, is what pushed the roly poly over the edge from the “yucky parental dessert” category to the “makes me want to vomit” category, but I have an inkling it was more closely connected to the image of Ms. G munching mindlessly on a slice, crumbs floating gently into the cleavage on her black lace bra. I did, eventually, get over my coconut aversion, once I met the HH and found he adored the stuff. But the inspiration for today’s recipe was neither Roly Poly nor the HH; it was two of the recipe testers for my upcoming cookbook. (By the way, have I mentioned lately that I ADORE my cookbook testers??) Since these two women are gluten intolerant, I assumed they’d attempt the GF recipes exclusively (about 30% of the recipes will be gluten free).  What I’ve found, instead, is that these two have willingly adapted some of the original recipes to render them gluten-free!  I’ve been amazed at and inspired by their ingenuity, and decided I had to dive in and finally start creating more gluten-free goods myself. This coconut series seemed the perfect place to start out; I already had a recipe in mind that met my NAG requirements, so converting it to gluten-free was the next logical step.

Originally given to me by a friend in university, this recipe was titled, simply, “Coconut Loaf,” and called for eggs, butter, white sugar and white flour.  Using gluten-free flours and finally trying out some xanthan gum as a binder, I came up with this combination.  I’m happy to say that the resultant loaves were just as light as–if not lighter than–the original, with a tender, delicate crumb and ethereal coconut flavor. The HH pronounced this a hit as he bit into his second loaf, remarking, “The texture is so light, it reminds me of a Twinkie.”  (To the HH, this is the highest praise one can confer on a cake.) I, too, was very pleased with the result, and would certainly make these again, gluten free or not. Even if you are able to eat gluten, you might want to try these out as an alternative to your usual cupcakes; the preponderance of legume flour (from the beans and chickpeas) makes these an abundant source of both protein and fiber, more so than most other baked goods. I’m sure the Maj ladies would approve. I’m also contributing this post to the Living With Food Allergies blog carnival that takes place every month and is hosted by Rational Jenn. Finally, if you’ve recently posted any coconut recipes you’d like me to share, just leave the link here in the comments or send it via email, and I’ll add it to the list below!

Gluten Free Coconut Mini Loaves or Cupcakes

These are light and not too sweet, with a pronounced coconut flavor.  For fancier loaves, drizzle with your favorite glaze.

2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) coconut oil, melted

2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) cashew or macadamia nut butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup (180 ml.) coconut nectar

1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup (80 ml.) unsweetened almond, cashew or rice milk

1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) pure coconut extract (optional)

1 Tbsp. (15 m.) finely ground flax seeds

1/4 cup (30 g.) garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour

1/4 cup (40 g.) bean (or more chickpea) flour

1/4 cup (30 g.) sorghum flour

1/4 cup (45 g.) potato starch

1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) baking soda

1-1/4 tsp. (6 ml.) baking powder

1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) xanthan gum

1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) sea salt

1/2 cup (64 g.) shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350F (180 C).  Spray 6 mini loaf pans or with nonstick spray or line 8 cupcake cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and cashew butter.  Slowly stir in the agave, vanilla, almond milk, coconut flavoring and flax seeds; whisk to combine.  Set aside while you measure the dry ingredients, or at least 2 minutes.

In a larger bowl, sift together the garbanzo flour, whole bean flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Add the coconut and stir to blend.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir to mix well.  Using a large ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup, fill the loaves or cupcake cups about 3/4 full.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan once about halfway through, until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean (the tops will begin to crack and brown a bit).  Cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.  May be frozen.

[This recipe will also appear in my upcoming cookbook, Sweet Freedom, along with more than 100 others, most of which are not featured on this blog.  For more information, check the “Cookbook” button at right, or visit the cookbook blog.]

Other Posts in This Series:

Lucky Comestible 4(1): Cabbage T’horin

Lucky Comestible 4(3): Savory Veggies with Rice and Coconut

Lucky Comestible 4(4): Tofu and Chickpeas in a Thick Creamy Coconut Sauce

Lucky Comestible 4(5): Raspberry Coconut Coffee Cake

Other DDD Coconut Posts:

Mrs. K’s Date Cake (coconut topping)

Tropical Lemon-Coconut Muffins (with coconut and avocado)

Aloo Masala (Potato Curry with Coconut)

Polish Lemon Cake (lemon cake with gooey coconut topping)

Anzac Biscuits (the Australian tradition)

Coconut Recipes on Other Blogs:

From Lisa at Lisa’s Kitchen:

Shredded Beet and Dill Coconut Salad Coconut Soup with Mushrooms Toasted Fresh Coconut and Tomato Chutney Coconut Milk Muffin Scones

From Bee and Jai at Jugalbandi:

Chestnut-Coconut Buns
Thai Black Rice Pudding
Chakka Madhura Curry (a recipe that’s 1000 years old!!!)
Olan (This is Version 2–check their blog for Version 1 as well)
From Cheryl at Gluten-Free Goodness:
Banana Mac Cookies
Nanaimo Bars (delectable Canadian confection!)
A Coconut Curry
[If you are reading this post on a site that is not Diet, Dessert and Dogs, it has been plagiarized.  Feel free to give that scoundrel a piece of your mind!]

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[Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links. If you buy using these links, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission from the sale.]

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Filed Under: baking, blog event, cookbook, cupcakes, dessert, gluten free, lucky comestibles, muffins, recipes, reminiscences, Sweet Freedom, Uncategorized, vegan Tagged: baking, coconut, cupcakes, dairy free, dessert, egg free, gluten free, loaves, pareve, parve, sugar free, vegan, vegetarian, wheat-free

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bee says

    October 9, 2008 at 11:43 am

    another brilliant recipe. will get some xanthan gum and be sure to take my shirt off when i eat. it 😀

    Reply
  2. Celine says

    October 9, 2008 at 11:54 am

    byootiful!!

    Reply
  3. ChocolateCoveredVegan says

    October 9, 2008 at 12:12 pm

    Yum yum yum! Send me some! (Gosh, that rhymes!)

    Reply
  4. Barbara says

    October 9, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    i think i am in coconut heaven…
    thank you for this delicious post…

    Reply
  5. VeggieGirl says

    October 9, 2008 at 12:36 pm

    Hooray for The Girls being okay, winning Shel’s contest, and GLUTEN-FREE COCONUT GOODNESS!!! 😀

    Reply
  6. aTxVegn says

    October 9, 2008 at 1:04 pm

    Not only am I gluten free, but I am crazy for coconut. Thank you for this recipe!

    Reply
  7. shellyfish says

    October 9, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    I just love your creative non-fiction (this is how I just explained it to M. Fish who once again caught me laughing out loud at the image of Zaza in her black bra, cigarette dangling from her mouth, crumbs dusting her clevage – perfect! And I loved the Palance & Simmions references – very clear images indeed!
    I love that you felt the love – my psychic faxes are reaching southern Ontario!

    Reply
  8. shellyfish says

    October 9, 2008 at 2:15 pm

    I just love your creative non-fiction -this is how I just explained it to M. Fish who once again caught me laughing out loud at the image of Zaza in her black bra, cigarette dangling from her mouth, crumbs dusting her clevage – perfect! And I loved the Palance & Simmions references – very clear images indeed!
    I love that you felt the love – my psychic faxes are reaching southern Ontario!

    Reply
  9. Vegetation says

    October 9, 2008 at 5:28 pm

    Mmmm what else can I say but YUM!

    Reply
  10. holler says

    October 9, 2008 at 5:31 pm

    Those look tasty and I bet the house smelled divine, while they were cooking!

    What a trauma indeed! Although I do enjoy mah jong. I will have some new and unwanted images stuck in my brain as I listen to the click of the tiles now! Aarrrgh!

    Glad the girls are ok! Give them a hug from me 🙂

    Reply
  11. Ricki says

    October 9, 2008 at 7:44 pm

    holler,
    I’m so sorry! Of course I only thought of my own trauma, not that of my readers–oops!

    Reply
  12. Cheryl Harris says

    October 9, 2008 at 8:12 pm

    Hi Ricki–
    these look totally delish, thanks for a gf option.
    I have a few coconut recipes up, which I’ll email you.

    Reply
  13. Johanna says

    October 9, 2008 at 8:22 pm

    the image of Mrs G eating roly poly is indeed traumatic but am glad the HH has rescued you from your coconut aversion so you could enjoy this far superior coconut loaf – amd also pleased to hear that you have some gluten free recipes in your cookbook – and your cookbook testers sound great!

    Reply
  14. ttfn300 says

    October 10, 2008 at 9:06 am

    ummm, thanks for that visual of Mrs. G… ew. And great testers you have 🙂 That coconut loaf looks great!

    Reply
  15. stilllifeinbuenosaires says

    October 10, 2008 at 10:03 am

    Ugggh…roly poly sounds like something from a 60’s home economics book.

    I am curious about your statement about plagiarizing. Have you found your content on other sites?

    Reply
  16. Ricki says

    October 10, 2008 at 10:26 am

    Stilllife,
    Unfortunately, yes, I’ve found my content elsewhere without attribution. Sometimes, I’ve even seen an entire blog post, complete with photos, with another author’s name at the top–and the blog has disallowed comments, so I can’t even complain. Apparently, this is a huge issue in the world of blogging, and I’m just not tech-savvy enough at present to ensure that these entries aren’t stolen. I took my cue from Lisa at Lisa’s Kitchen and added the disclaimer at the end.

    Reply
  17. stilllifeinbuenosaires says

    October 10, 2008 at 3:31 pm

    Hmmm. Makes me want to Google some of my content.

    I forget sometimes that bloggers aren’t all good peeps.

    Reply
  18. usha says

    October 10, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    Looks wonderful 🙂

    Reply
  19. Tofufreak says

    October 10, 2008 at 4:39 pm

    Hooray for the dogs being okay!

    those coconut loaves look so scrumptious!!!! very exciting 😀

    Reply
  20. giz says

    October 10, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    Oh Rikki – your mom and her maj game with the heavy smoke and the Ms. G and my parents with the “check to the aces”, billowing smoke in the basement, roly poly on the table. These memories come from the anals of “give me the shivers and I don’t want to go there again”. I did have to laugh at the visual. I could have fixed Ms. G up with the one who had the smelly feet at my parents’ place – a match made in heaven.

    Reply
  21. bex says

    October 11, 2008 at 11:47 am

    the mini loaves!
    glad the dogs are fine.

    Reply
  22. CoconutOilGuy says

    October 13, 2008 at 12:29 am

    This is just perfect! I try my best to eat only whole wheat bread but my taste buds are beginning to give me signs that they want something different.

    This coconut loaves or cupcakes recipe could certainly sprinkle some much needed variety in my “bread diet.”

    Cheers,
    Frederick
    http://www.coconut-oil-central.com
    Your Drugstore in a Bottle

    Reply
  23. Lizzie says

    October 14, 2008 at 7:35 pm

    Gluten-free coconut loaves!!! You rock Ricki 🙂 That made my day.

    Reply
  24. Hetta says

    January 28, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    I tried making these as cupcakes. I frosted them with vanilla frosting from Cherrybrook Kitchen (www.cherrybrookkitchen) and they were yummy. Even my finicky daughter approved.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Sure Foods Living - for celiac disease, gluten intolerance, food allergies, peanut allergy, nut allergy, gluten-free diet, gfcf diet, dairy-free, egg-free, soy free or other allergen-free living » Food Allergies Blog Carnival says:
    October 16, 2008 at 6:28 pm

    […] “These are light with a cakelike texture and subtle coconut flavor. They’d be great frosted as cupcakes!” says Ricki from Diet, Dessert and Dogs of her gluten-free coconut treat. If you want the recipe (and to read a funny story from Ricki’s childhood!), go read Lucky Comestible 4 (2): Cuckoo for Coconut (GF Mini Loaves or Cupcakes) […]

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Ricki, cookbook author, professional recipe developer, holistic nutritionist and anti-candida crusader. Let me show you how easy it is to eat plant-based, sugar-free, gluten free food that tastes great!

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