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plumcakeAs a tiny sense of autumn crisps itself into the air here in Los Angeles, I scrounged up a few end-of-season plums over the weekend and made a cake that, well, takes the cake. If I do say so myself. Which I do. :) Gluten-Free September Cake With Ricotta & Plums Pre-heat the oven to 350 and turn on tunes. My parents were in town over the weekend, and my dad was on the phone for much of it, so THAT soothing sound notwithstanding, I sang Earth Wind & Fire’s “September” while mixing up the batter. Of course.
  • 1/3 cup sunflower oil
  • 2/3 cup light agave
  • 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
  • zest of 1 lime
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups Pamela’s baking mix
  • 6-7 ripe plums, rinsed, halved (or quartered, your choice) and pitted
*Note: Make sure the plums are ripe! If they’re too tart, mix them with a tbls of agave or organic sugar before adding to the batter. Mix the oil, agave and ricotta together until well combined. Add the eggs and lime zest and mix again. Add the Pamela’s and incorporate well. (If you’re not using Pamela’s, you’ll need to add leavening. Just use Pamela’s. It’s awesome.) Pour the batter into a greased 9 inch spring form cake pan. Arrange the plums, cut sides down, around the top of the batter. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until the cake has browned nicely and is firm to the touch. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then take the ring off and let the cake finish cooling. Dust with a little organic confectioner’s sugar if you like before serving. YUM!! xox
My dad and my dog fought over the last piece of cake. My dad won. (Mostly.)
My dad and my dog fought over the last piece of cake. My dad won. (Mostly.)
   

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watermelon2When it’s this hot all I want is watermelon. No ovens, no baking, no starch. Just juice, crisp, sweet, hooray. 3 Piece Watermelon Salad
  • 1/2 watermelon, sliced how you like it
  • 2-3 tsps. chopped fresh mint
  • juice of one lime
Mix it up, eat! How easy is that? The tartness of a little lime juice balances out the sweet crisp of watermelon flavor, and the mint is just a clean surprise. Good for breakfast lunch or dinner! (I had it for breakfast this morning.) xox watermelon1 watermelon3  

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pieWhen my dad agrees to do something wonderful for me, like a photo shoot for instance, he generally insists on payment in the currency of lemon meringue pie. I am more than happy to oblige!

For today’s blog, I decided to go all techie and shoot iphone video while simultaneously baking. The result is BRILLIANT! Or, uh, something. Watch the video, then scroll down for the recipe! xox
Gluten-Free Lemon Meringue Pie Pre-heat oven to 375 and turn on tunes! My playlist this time was me, but that’s mostly due to copyright issues for video. For the crust:
  •  2 cups Pamela’s Baking Mix
  • 7 tbls. Sunflower oil
  • 2-3 tbls. light agave
  • 2 tbls. ice water
Mix the ingredients until well formed. Take the dough by the hand (dough si dough! I–I’m so ashamed) and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Prick all over with the tines of a fork, and bake until golden brown—about 10-12 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees. For the filling:
  •  3 eggs, separated
  • Generous 1/3 cup corn starch
  • ¾ cup light agave
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • ½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
  • Grated zest of one lemon
  • 1 tbls. unsalted butter
Put the egg whites in a bowl and set aside. Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork in a large mixing bowl. Mix the corn starch in a medium sauce pan with a little bit of the water, until it’s a smooth mixture. Add the agave and rest of the water. Stirring constantly over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil and boil for about one minute. Take off the heat, slowly pour half the mixture into the egg yolks and mix to temper, then pour that back in the pan with the rest of the mixture and bring it back to a boil. Boil and stir for one minute. Take it off the heat, add in the lemon juice and zest and butter and mix it up. Pour it into your baked pie shell and let’s make meringue! For the meringue:
  • 3 egg whites
  • ¼ tsp. cream of tartar
  • 1/3 cup light agave
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla
Mix the egg whites on high speed with cream of tartar until lightly stiff. Add in agave and vanilla and mix again until really stiff and glossy. Using a rubber spatula or a large spoon, scoop the meringue on top of the pie, making sure to bring the meringue all the way to the edges of the crust so it doesn’t shrink back while baking. Bake at 300 degrees for about 8-10 minutes, or until the peaks are lightly browned and pretty. Let ‘er cool for a bit, then serve and enjoy!! xoxox