Nut free Gluten free Vegan Brownies

Nut free Gluten free Vegan Brownies with glace icing

The very first gluten free recipe I tried making was brownies. Figured that it will be the most forgiving one. So it has proven to be. But since that first one, my recipe has undergone several revisions. I tried replacing xanthan gum with guar gum and found that it gave the brownies a slightly weird gel-like feel in the mouth. Too strange. I read up further on guar gum and found that it works best in cold foods, presumably ice-creams and such. It thickens without heat and a little goes a long way. Well, here's the recipe for gluten-free brownies. It contains xanthan gum, as I used a gluten free self raising flour mix to which xanthan gum had been added already. Feel free to use any flour mix of your liking in its place and add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the recipe. I have used all rice flour and it turns out just fine. As I said, it is a very forgiving recipe.

Nut free & Gluten free Vegan Brownies

The Dry
1 1/4 cup gluten free self raising flour
1/2 cup pure unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/4 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
3/4 cup light brown sugar (increase the sugar by a 1/4 cup if you like as these aren't very sweet)

The Wet
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1/4 cup rice milk
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoon hot water (aka flax egg)
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1 tablespoon rice milk - extra

The Glaze
1 cup pure icing sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons cool water

Method: Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius. Mix wet ingredients with the dry using a spoon or your hands. It will be crumbly, almost like a cookie dough. If it's very dry, add 1 tablespoon of water or rice milk. Press into an 8"x7" rectangular pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Check with a toothpick after 10 minutes. When ready, remove pan to a wire rack to cool. When cool, mix the glace icing and drizzle over brownie. Chill for at least 2 hours before cutting into squares. For glace icing, slowly mix water, teaspoonful at a time into icing sugar, till a thick sugar paste is formed. Use a fork and dribble over brownie.

Kinda' Gluten free, Nut free Vegan Cornbread

Nut free & Gluten free Vegan Cornbread

Cornbread? Perfectionists may not think this should be called cornbread but then, my version did start out as rice pancakes and evolved! Sorry but I do tend to make these huge fantastical leaps of faith and and mostly end up in a muddle. But this time, perhaps I got it right. This recipe contains cooked rice, rice flour and cornmeal to which I added corn(obviously), peppers and herbs to liven things up and mask the obvious gluten-freeness of the recipe. The full recipe follows so have a look, a try and bring on the comments and suggestions, please!

Chockfull of delicious herbs and veg!

Gluten free vegan cornbread

The wet
1 cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sunflower or coconut oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 tablespoon flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoon hot water (aka flax egg)
1/4 cup soft cooked rice

The dry
1 cup fine cornmeal
1 cup white or brown rice flour
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon fine sugar

And the Wild
1 cup cooked corn kernels
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup finely diced red pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions

Method of madness: Place the dry and the wet in a food processor and blend till well mixed. Then add the interesting stuff and mix by hand till well combined. Pour into an 8"x5" rectangular pan or muffin cases and bake for about 25 minutes at 180 degrees (medium oven) for the pan and about 15 minutes for the muffins. Test with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before turning out and cutting into whatever shapes you like. I grilled the leftovers in a grill pan and they were great the next day.

As muffins.....

Btw, these can be baked in muffin cases as well, for great easy to grab-and-go corn muffins. Brekkie and lunch box friendly.