Lisa Papademetriou - Confectionately Yours Collection

When a recipe calls for gluten-free all-purpose flour, I often recommend using Bobs Red Mill, but you can also easily make your own! Here are two variations to try.

INGREDIENTS FOR MIXTURE #1:

1/4 cup almond flour or coconut flour

1/3 cup white rice flour

1/3 cup quinoa flour or millet flour (millet is usually more affordable)

3 tablespoons tapioca flour

1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds

INGREDIENTS FOR MIXTURE #2:

2 cups sorghum flour

2 cups brown rice flour

1-1/2 cups potato starch (NOT potato flour)

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup amaranth flour

1/2 cup quinoa or millet flour (millet is usually more affordable)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. For either flour blend, sift each ingredient into a large mixing bowl. Thoroughly mix all ingredients together with a large whisk. Store the mix in a large covered container, either in the refrigerator or another cool, dark, and dry place. Label the container Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix to avoid confusion.
2. To use gluten-free (GF) all-purpose flour mixes, substitute your GF flour for all-purpose flour following a 1:1 ratio. (If the recipe calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour, substitute 1 cup of GF flour.) You can add up to 1/4 cup more GF flour than directed if the batter consistency seems too watery.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup soymilk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1-1/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pastry bag (or Ziploc bag)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soymilk and vinegar, and set aside to curdle for a few minutes.
3. In another larger bowl, sift together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Once the soymilk is curdled, add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, and mix thoroughly. Add the curdled soymilk, canola oil, and almond and vanilla extracts.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones a little bit at a time, and combine using a whisk or handheld mixer, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times, and mix until no lumps remain.
6. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 2022 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.
7. With your (clean!) thumb, poke large holes into the center of each cupcake. Alternately, take a small knife and carve out a cone from the center of each cupcake to create a well. (You can discard the cones, or eat them.)
8. Fill a pastry bag with Ricotta Frosting. (You can also make your own pastry bag by cutting off a corner from a plastic Ziploc bag.) Insert the tip of the pastry bag into each cupcake, and squeeze it to fill the cavity you created. Then swirl the frosting on top of the cupcake to cover the opening.

INGREDIENTS:

2-1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese

1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

Cheesecloth (or several layers of durable paper towels)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Take a bowl and place a wire mesh strainer inside it, then line the wire strainer with the cheesecloth (or paper towels). Add the ricotta cheese and place the bowl in the fridge, allowing it to strain for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
2. In a clean bowl, cream together the ricotta cheese and the confectioners sugar, slowly adding the sugar in 1/2-cup batches, mixing completely before adding more.
3. Add the vanilla extract and miniature chocolate chips (as much or as little as you like, really), and beat on high speed until fluffy.

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the help of my sister, Zo Papademetriou, who created the recipes in this book. I would also like to thank my editor Anamika Bhatnagar for her insight and input, and my agent Rosemary Stimola for her unwavering enthusiasm. Huge thanks to Cassandra Pelham, Starr Mayo, and Jackie Hornberger, whose help and high standards are essential to this series. As always, a loving hug to my husband and daughter. Thank you to Nerissa Nields for her support of my blog, and to Ellen Wittlinger, Nancy Werlin, Liza Ketchum, and Pat Collins for their willingness to share their work and careful attention to mine. And a huge shout-out to my fellow writers (and friends) at Vermont College of Fine Arts!