About Cheri Neufeld

http://kitchensimplicity.com

Posts by Cheri Neufeld:

Caramel-Pecan Chocolate Ripple Ice Cream (Dairy Free)

By in Cool, GF Sweets, Sweets 10 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

caramel pecan chocolate ice cream

A couple weeks ago I celebrated my birthday. My hubby and mom cooked up a steak dinner with all the trimmings and I took care of dessert. My parents are gluten and dairy free so I knew I wanted to make cake and ice cream that they could enjoy along with us. I love dreaming up new ice cream flavours, and making goodies that everyone can enjoy just makes me happy, so it was perfectly suitable for me to make my own birthday cake and ice cream. Plus, they can be made ahead so there was no real work to be done the day of.

I knew I wanted to make a simple chocolate cake. I had found a great looking gluten-free cake that I wanted to try for my mom and dad so it seemed like the perfect time. Since I was going with a simple cake I wanted to make an ice cream that would steal the show, and did it ever!

caramel pecan chocolate ice cream

Instead of making a custard based ice cream and simply swapping out the milk and cream for coconut milk, like I usually do, I decided to just do coconut milk – no eggs – since it’s so creamy on it’s own. You honestly could not tell that this wasn’t a custard based ice cream, which means my dairy-free ice creams just got that much easier. Of course I had to go and complicate things by adding caramelized sugar. But really, who’s going to complain about that?

I got my inspiration from Turtle’s chocolates and made a caramel ice cream with tons of toasted pecans and a swirling of chocolate sauce. Yes, it does taste just as good as it sounds.

Why are you still sitting here? Get on this!

caramel pecan chocolate ice cream

Caramel-Pecan Chocolate Ripple Ice Cream

Caramel Ice Cream
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cans coconut milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Place sugar in saucepan set over medium heat. As it begins to melt, gently push the melted sugar into the center to help the process along. Allow to cook until a deep amber colour (if you’re unsure you can test a small spoonful on a white plate to check the colour). Keep a close watch because it can burn quickly. Once desired colour is reached, remove from heat and stir in one can of coconut milk, along with salt. Set over low heat and cook until any hardened sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in remaining can of coconut milk, along with vanilla. Allow to cool, then refriderage for 8 hours, or until thoroughly chilled.

To Assemble

If using the recipe for chocolate sauce that is linked to, substitute evaporated milk with coconut milk to make it dairy free. Also feel free to substitute dark chocolate for the semi-sweet.

  • 1 recipe caramel ice cream (above)
  • 1.5 cups toasted pecans, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chocolate sauce, chilled

Freeze ice cream according to manufacturers instructions. Once ice cream has reached desired consistency, add pecans. Churn until evenly mixed. Spoon ice cream into a storage container, alternating with spoonfuls of chocolate sauce. Place in the freezer for several hours to firm up.

Creamy Baked Mac & Cheese

By in GF Mains, Main Dish, Meatless, Pasta, Sides 7 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

mac n cheese

I’ve tried many mac ‘n cheese recipes in my time. Back in the day we used to live off the boxed stuff but I stopped buying them long ago. Which meant that we stopped having mac and cheese all together because none of them ever held up to our expectations. They never seemed as creamy or as flavourful as the stuff from the store.

I’m happy to say I’ve finally found our perfect recipe (obviously because I’m sharing it!). It’s super creamy, cheesy and flavourful, and as a bonus it’s very easy to throw together. It would make a great side for any ham you have leftover from Easter. Or, make it a one dish by throwing in some diced ham and veggies. We also love it alongside barbecued chicken drumsticks (or really any barbecued meat) with a hefty serving of veggies alongside. Barbecue season is coming up quick and I think this is a great side to have in your back pocket. It’s a definite crowd pleaser.

One time I accidentally browned the butter for the roux and it added an extra depth of flavour that we loved. Now I brown the butter purposely to add that extra nutty and rich flavour, but it’s definitely not a necessity if you prefer to skip that step.

Creamy Baked Mac & Cheese

I’ve had great success making this gluten free by substituting gluten-free brown rice pasta and gluten-free all purpose flour, so feel free to experiment with this recipe if gluten is an issue for you.

  • 2.5 cups elbow macaroni
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese, divided

Cook macaroni in a medium-sized pot, according to package directions, until tender but firm (al dente). Drain and set aside. In the same pot melt the butter over medium heat (allow it to brown if desired). Add flour; cook and stir for one minute. Stir in salt, pepper and mustard. Slowly stir in milk, a bit at a time, whisking between each addition to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil, cook until thickened, stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in 1.5 cups cheese. Add macaroni, stirring to evenly coat. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes or until filling is bubbly and cheese is browned. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Makes: 6 servings (as a side dish)

Hatching Devilled Eggs

By in Appetizers, Easter, GF Sides 7 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

hatching devilled eggs

I’ve got one more quick bite to share with you in case you’re looking for a last minute idea to round out your Easter menu. Devilled eggs are just one of those things that coincides with Easter. All those colourful Easter eggs need to be put to good use! I decided to dress them up for Easter by slicing off the tops and giving them jagged edges to look like a hatching chick. It’s very easy to do but you do need to be gentle as the egg whites are quite fragile. So don’t try to do anything too fancy! I think it’s such a cute presentation and makes a classic just a little more special. Follow the how-to below with your favourite devilled egg recipe or use my lightened up version below.

I hope you all have a fantastic long weekend! Happy Easter!

hatching eggs how to

How to Make Hatching Devilled Eggs

If needed, cut a small slice off of the bottom of the hard boiled egg so that it will stand up straight. Turn it on it’s side and slice off the top portion of the egg. Using a small spoon, gently loosen and remove the egg yolk from both portions of the egg white. Reserve the egg yolks for the filling. With a sharp knife, carefully cut jagged edges into the top and bottom halves of the egg whites. Don’t make the cuts too deep or it will weaken the structure and the egg whites may not hold together when the filling is added. Once all the egg whites are ready, mash the filling in a medium-sized resealable bag until smooth. Snip of the end of the bag and pipe into the bottom halves of the egg whites, cover with egg white tops. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

Lightened Up Devilled Eggs

  • 12 hard boiled eggs, shells removed
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2-3 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

Slice eggs in half, remove yolks. Place yolks and remaining ingredients into a medium-sized resealable bag. Seal it up and mash the mixture in your hands until smooth (this part is fun for kids!). Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Snip off the end of the bag and pipe the filling into the egg whites. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to one day ahead.

Filling adapted from Food.com

Mini Dutch Baby Berry Baskets

By in Breakfast, Easter 5 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

mini dutch babies

Easter is almost upon us! It’s one of my favourite holidays, not only because of what it signifies but because it kicks off all things spring! All those baby chicks, pastel colours, baskets full of flowers and berries. It’s a bright spot at the end of a long winter.

If you’re throwing an Easter brunch, it doesn’t have to be stressful. Recipes like this mean you won’t be waking up in the wee hours of the morning to start prepping breakfast. It comes together in a flash and is almost completely hands off, meaning you’ve got a lot more time to work on other things. Or, just visit. :)

I think these mini dutch babies are just so darn cute. They’re little pancake baskets filled with a dollop of whipped cream (or dairy-free whipped cream) and sprinkling of fresh berries. The dutch babies are eggy like a crepe and the whipped cream and berries are the perfect light accompaniment. My kids could not get enough. They would have eaten the whole batch themselves if I had let them. No joke.

This is what they look like when they’re coming out of the oven. Do not panic! The centers will sink and they’ll make very cute little baskets. Promise. As per usual, I love that they’re not perfect and each has it’s own unique personality – that means it’s the real deal!

Mini Dutch Baby Berry Baskets

  • 1 cup milk
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • whipped cream (or dairy-free whipped cream), berries and maple syrup, to serve

Place milk, eggs, flour, salt and vanilla in a blender. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides to make sure all the flour is incorporated. Remove the fill cap and, with the processor running, slowly stream in the melted butter. Process until fully incorporated and mixture is smooth.

Grease one and a half regular-sized muffin tins (about 16 muffins cups), coating well with butter or oil of choice. Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into each cup. Bake at 400ºF for 15-18 minutes until puffy and golden. Serve warm filled with whipped cream and berries, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Makes: 14-16 servings

Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen.

 

Baked Doughnuts – Three Ways

By in Easter, Pastries, Sweets 6 Comments

baked doughnuts

It’s been a while since I made doughnuts, 2.5 years in fact. When Max sampled one of these he asked me “are doughnuts healthy, Mommy?” I told him no, he looked sad and said “aww, why not?” I wish they were too Sonny! He knows if they’re not healthy that means they will be very few and far between. But they’re definitely worth the wait.

If you’ve been around here long enough you know that I loathe deep frying. Pretty much everything about it. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some delicious homemade doughnuts once in a (too long) while!

These doughnuts are soft and tender and taste just like a doughnut should. Obviously it won’t have a deep fried taste, but they are so delicious my family did not miss that fact one bit!

I decided to make a sampler so everyone could choose their favourite topping. Each glaze recipe makes a small amount. If you’ll be serving them all straight away you can make all three kinds at once. But, if you won’t be eating them within the first couple of hours, you can pop the unglazed doughnuts in the freezer. Then you can just take out as many as you want, pick which topping you fancy at the moment, make it and dip away.

I think these would make a fantastic Easter treat. Dress them up with a couple berries to make them just a little more classy and they’ll be fit for any Easter spread.

Oh yeah, I forgot the best part. You don’t need a doughnut mould to make these. Just a rolling pin and round cutters. I’ve even used the top of jars or cups to make my doughnut shapes in a pinch.

baked doughnuts 66

Baked Doughnuts

  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup whole milk, warm (115ºF)
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2.5-3.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

Place egg and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Add milk, yeast, and vanilla. Allow yeast to proof a bit, then turn mixer to low and stir until incorperated. Add salt and 2 cups flour (1/2 cup at a time), beat until dough is thick and smooth. Add the butter, once piece at a time, beating until no large chunks of butter are visible. Switch to a dough hook and beat in just enough additional flour until the dough starts to clean the side of the boil and is tacky but not overly sticky. Allow to beat for another couple minutes until the dough is smooth. Place the dough in a large greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour). (I like to turn on my oven for one minute and then shut it off. I put the dough in the oven with the oven light on and shut the door. This keeps it nice and warm and helps it rise faster.)

Punch down the dough and roll it out about 1/2 inch thick. With a doughnut or cookie cutter, cut out 3 inch diameter rounds with 1 inch diameter holes. Transfer the doughnuts to a parchment lined baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart. Gather remaining dough scraps into a ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. Reroll the dough and cut out more doughnuts, placing them on a prepared baking sheet. Any dough that’s left can be made into doughnut holes. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until nearly doubled in size (20-30 minutes).

Bake at 400ºF for 5-8 minutes, until the doughnuts are a light golden brown, taking care not to overbake them. Glaze while warm or let cool and freeze.

Makes approximately: 14 doughnuts + doughnut holes

chocolate glaze

Chocolate Glaze

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 20 grams dark chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar

Place butter, vanilla, corn syrup and milk in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir until melted. Turn heat to low and add chocolate, stir until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in icing sugar until smooth. Dip tops of doughnuts into chocolate glaze. Place chocolate side up to set.

vanilla cream glaze

Creamy Vanilla Glaze

This glaze stays creamy after glazing and will not set hard. This is my hubby’s all-time favourite topping.

  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar

Place milk, granulated sugar, butter and vanilla in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and whisk in icing sugar until smooth. Dip doughnuts into glaze, covering all sides.

cinnamon sugar

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pour butter into a small plate. Mix together sugar and cinnamon in another small plate. Coat doughnuts in butter then in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Doughnut recipe adapted from Honey & Jam, originally from Doughnuts. Chocolate Glaze adapted from How Sweet It Is, originally from Alton Brown.

Grapefruit Honey Curd

By in Condiments, Snacks 6 Comments Tags: , ,

grapefruit honey curd

This week I’m busy packing up my house. We’re moving! Again. You guys must be so sick of hearing that. This time we’re at least staying in the same country, even the same province! ;) Max was so surprised and excited that we actually get to keep all our stuff! The poor guy’s so used to leaving everything behind. But don’t worry, there shouldn’t be any lag on the blog because I made sure to work ahead. I didn’t want to miss out on bringing you yummy Easter treats!

But before we get to Easter, I couldn’t resist sharing one more grapefruit recipe. We’ve been pretty obsessed. This time I decided to turn my grapefruits into a silky smooth curd. Curds are such a versatile ingredient. They can be transformed into tarts, used as fillings for cakes and cupcakes – basically they can be used in any dessert that you can dream up. This time I was aiming beyond desserts. I was going for something that could be swirled into homemade Greek yogurt. Hence the honey. I wanted something a bit more suitable as a healthy snack for my kiddos. Grapefruit yogurt anyone?

I experimented with a couple different versions until I came up with this one. It took a bit of trial an error to get it just right, but I finally got just what I was looking for. It has a nice bright clean flavour that is undeniably grapefruit, with a hint of honey to sweeten it up. And, I’m kind of in love with its creamy colour with the lightest pink tinge.

Use it in a dessert, use it in a snack, the choice is up to you and your imagination.

grapefruit honey curd

Grapefruit Honey Curd

  • 1 cup freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice (2 grapefruits)
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • pinch salt
  • 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

Place grapefruit juice in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Simmer rapidly until reduced by half (1/2 cup). This helps to concentrate the grapefruit flavour.

Meanwhile whisk together yolks, honey and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside. Once grapefruit juice is reduced, pour it into egg yolks in a slow steady stream, whisking to incorporate and temper the eggs. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and leaves a thick coating on the back of the spatula. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until fully melted.

Set a fine mesh sieve over a bowl. Strain curd through the sieve to remove any cooked egg or grapefruit seeds. Cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.

Makes approximately: 1 1/3 cups

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