Going Gluten-Free!

Some people with vague,
undiagnosed illnesses feel better after cutting out gluten, a protein in
flour-based foods. Many Americans, including professional athletes and
celebrities such as Zooey Deschanel and men’s tennis leader Djovak Nokovic, say
they look and perform better since dropping gluten from their diets.

What if you could toss the
flour in your pastries, but keep the flavor?

Follow Kyra Bussanich on Twitter like the Media Guy does.

“Unfortunately, a lot of
people who commit to a gluten-free lifestyle believe they have to sacrifice
their favorite desserts, because gluten-free treats are often loaded with sugar
but low on flavor,” says Kyra Bussanich, (www.kyrasbakeshop.com), author of a new, full-color recipe
book, “Sweet Cravings: 50 Seductive Desserts for a Gluten-Free Lifestyle

Bussanich’s gluten-free
cupcakes twice bested their floury competition on “Cupcake Wars” (2011 and
2012) and were a runner-up for the show’s Cupcake Champion. She shares her
secrets in recipes such as Mexican Chocolate Baked Alaska, Persian Love Cakes
with Cardamom Buttercream and Vanilla Chiffon Cake with Blackberry Coulis. 

After suffering a
life-threatening illness at 20, Bussanich recovered with the help of a new diet
without gluten. She began testing gluten-free recipes while attending the
prestigious Le Cordon Bleu patisserie program and later opened her popular
business, Kyra’s Bake Shop.

“My recipes are not good ‘for
being gluten-free;’ they’re just good, and that’s why people who eat gluten
visit my bakery and order gluten-free desserts,” she says. “For me, being
diagnosed with an autoimmune disease allowed me to turn lemons into gluten-free
lemon meringue pie!”

Any doubt that gluten-free
can be delicious? Try this one (and add in a Venti gluten-free cup of Starbucks!):

Apple
Crisp
6 large tart apples (Pippin
or Granny Smith)
1/3 cup sugar, or 1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Generous pinch salt
3 tablespoons cold butter

Topping
1/2 cup sweet white rice
flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup gluten-free oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
 
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Peel, core and slice the apples into 1/4-inch slices. Put the apple slices into
a large bowl and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Add the tapioca starch,
cinnamon, five-spice, ginger and salt and toss together to evenly coat the
apple slices. Pour into a 9 by 13-inch baking pan, dot the top with pieces of
the butter and set aside. To make the topping, combine the flours, tapioca
starch, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, five-spice and ginger in a mixing bowl. In
a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix in the butter until it is uniformly
incorporated into the flour mixture. Stir in the oats and pecans.

Crumble the oat topping
evenly over the apples. Bake until the topping is golden brown and set and the
apples are warm and bubbly, 55 to 60 minutes.

You can prepare everything
ahead of time. Refrigerate the apple filling and keep the topping frozen until
ready to assemble and bake. Don’t refrigerate the unbaked topping overnight
since the millet flour will interact with the butter and taste and smell cheesy
when it’s baked.

Get the book at Amazon.com