PISTACHIO CARDAMOM DOUGHNUTS WITH MASCARPONE GLAZE

As much as I love any and all baked goods (especially homemade) doughtnuts have never been my go-to.  I realize deep-fried, sugar-covered things are generally liked by literally everyone, but for me, they don't always have a ton of flavor.  

Not these little guys, though.  I've been obsessed with this amazing combination after trying the famous Ovenly Loaf and decided to test out my new mini doughnut pan while I'm at it.  This recipe makes over two dozen mini doughtnuts, but I promise you won't be able to keep them around long.

PISTACHIO CARDAMOM DOUGHNUTS WITH MASCARPONE GLAZE (Gluten-free) Makes 26 Mini Doughnuts

• 8 oz. shelled pistachios
• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons ghee or butter, melted and cooled
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Add pistachios to a food processor and pulse until ground into a meal / gritty flour (makes 1 cup pistachio meal).  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pistachio meal, almond flour, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, coconut sugar and salt.

In another small bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla, zest and butter.  Slowly combine wet with dry, folding batter to combine well.

Using a pastry bag, pipe batter into well-greased mini doughnut pan, making sure each is three-quarters full.  Bake for exactly 10 minutes.  Let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then carefully remove cakes from the pan.  Cool on a wire rack before glazing.

MASCARPONE GLAZE:

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons almond or hempmilk
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup pistachios, roughly chopped

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together first four ingredients until smooth and well-combined.  Dip doughnuts into glaze and set on a cooling rack over a baking sheet.  Before glaze has set, sprinkle each doughnut with pistachio.  Serve &/or eat immediately!

SPICED APPLE BREAKFAST CAKE WITH OAT STREUSEL

I'm definitely one for a savory breakfast (eggs, avocado toast, etc), but as soon as it starts to get cooler, I crave a sweet one now and then.  With apple season in full effect, I know a lot of us are trying to get rid of apples in as many recipes as possible.  This breakfast cake goes great with any fruit, but seasonal apples are a winner. It's perfectly sweet and nutty with the most delicious oat topping.  It's somewhere in between a light dessert and breakfast, but either way - I promise you'll enjoy it.

SPICED APPLE BREAKFAST CAKE WITH OAT STREUSEL (gluten-free) serves 6

• 3/4 cup almond flour or meal
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons almond milk
• 2 large apples (honeycrisp or granny smith, or your preference), peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• freshly ground nutmeg to taste

TOPPING:

• 1/2 cup gluten-free oats
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 taplespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Sprinkle of sea salt
• Raw sugar, to top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Whisk together first six ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  In separate mixing bowl, mix together butter, vanilla, eggs, almond milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and apples.  Slowly mix in the dry ingredients to the wet, adding a little at a time until all is well-combined without lumps.  

Pour cake batter into a greased 9x9 cake pan.  Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.  In the meantime, combine oats, walnuts, maple syrup, cinnamon, butter and sea salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Using your hands, mix together mixture well until cookie dough-like texture and well-combined. 

Top chilled cake with crumb topping, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt and raw sugar. then bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool for 20-25 minutes before serving.

FIG AND HAZELNUT CREME TART WITH BUCKWHEAT CRUST

I totally get why people aren't into baking.  I'm sure for some it seems too detailed, time-intensive, maybe even technical.  Especially when it comes to gluten-free, it gets dicey and sometimes expensive, with the addition of 2-3 flours for every dough. But for me, baking has always been how-do-I-say…healing?  There is nothing in the world like the feeling of finishing a tart or pie, with all the steps, techniques, chilling, pulsing, rolling, etc.  It can cure any bad mood.  The fact that it takes time is what I love about it most.  Baking makes you work for it, and I've always loved that kind of attitude.

This Summer has kept me so baking-busy that I've been just trying to see how much I can bang out on any given weekend.  (Yes, Summer baking.  Where the true bakers lie.) Sometimes though, the best days are when you spend the whole afternoon making one…single…dessert.  Even if maybe baking isn't your thing, I suggest you use it as a tool -- if only to cure a little depression and/or eat something sweet.  There's something about it that really fills you up when nothing else can. 

FIG AND HAZELNUT CREME TART WITH BUCKWHEAT CRUST (gluten-free) SERVES 6

FILLING (Adapted from Martha Stewart)

• 3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), soft
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cognac
• 8 oz figs, thinly sliced
• 2 plums, thinly sliced
• Handful of red currants
• Raw sugar, to top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a food processor, pulse together sugar and hazelnuts until the size of hazelnut meal.  Add the next four ingredients and pulse until well combined and smooth.  Set aside.

BUCKWHEAT ALMOND CRUST (adapted from The Bojon Gourmet)

• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
• 1/2 tsp. xanthum gum
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6T butter, chilled + cubed
• 6 tablespoons ice water

Add the first six ingredients to a food processor. Pulse your dough until butter is about pea-sized and crumbly. Then add one tablespoon of water at a time until dough forms and begins to come away from the edge.  Fraisage your dough (shown here, starts at 2:00), meaning use the heel of your hand to smear dough, a little at a time, across the counter.  This helps to add long strands of butter into your dough for better texture.  

Pat your dough together into a 6'' disk, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.  Once chilled, roll out between two pieces of plastic wrap.  Roll out a few inches wider than your intended tart dish (I used an 8 inch).

Place your greased tart pan nearby, remove one side of plastic wrap and carefully (using two hands) flip dough over into your pie dish.  Remove last sheet of syran wrap and carefully fit and press dough into your tart pan evenly.  

Gluten-free dough can be dicey, but remain calm! If any piece rips of gets torn, carefully pinch it together again.  Remove the excess tart dough (save for a mini tart) and parbake for 10 minutes.

Once tart crust is parbaked, reduce oven heat to 325 degrees.  Pour in filling making sure to spread evenly before topping with figs, plum and red currant.  Arrange in a pleasing fashion and sprinkle with raw sugar.  Bake for 1 hour, then cool for 25 minutes before serving.  

(For those asking, you can purchase this tart pan HERE)