(Photo taked by the lovely Kari Ray)

A couple weeks ago I somehow managed to finagle my way into a recipe swap with some fantastic food bloggers.   For those of your who are unfamiliar with what a recipe swap it, it’s nothing like a clothing swap, because we aren’t actually trading old recipes.  This recipe swap is all about reinventing and recreating.  Let me explain: CM from Burwell General Store found a great old cookbook at a swap meet in LA with some classic old recipes in it.  She had an idea to reinterpret some of these recipes and got a couple other food bloggers on board.  It started with Miss Rosemarried herself, Lindsay, then Toni of Boulder Locavore hopped on board, and now it’s grown to 7.  Our job is to recreate the recipe, changing at least 3 key components of the original, but still keeping with the essence of it.  We have 3 weeks or so to think, dream, test, taste, photograph, and write about our recreations. At first, I felt like a very little fish swimming in a very large pond.  But with determination, I puffed up my gills and decided to swim strong with the big fish.  Challenges are scary and I wasn’t sure I had it in me, but if I want to become a better cook, I have to step up to plate and take a risk.  So here I go!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Miss CM picked a pastry recipe:
“Company Time” Lemon Cake:

Oooooh boy…baking.  Haven’t done much of it since I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes nearly 3 years ago.  I’ve done even less since finding out I have a gluten and dairy allergy.  That’s a one/two punch if you ask me.  But lo and behold, there are ways to get around the blood sugar spikes and sluggishness that come along with white sugar and wheat flour.  I just had to find out how.

This challenge kept me up one night because I had so many ideas.  I wanted to keep it gluten free and use some sort of white sugar alternative (read: NATURAL sugar substitute.  Just say no to Splenda, etc).  I also wanted to add an Oregon wine component to it.  All seven of us have a unique stamp on our cooking: Toni isn’t call Boulder Locavore for nothing.  Nay and Lindsay are seasonal, local, farmers market going gals.  Dennis is Mr. Italiano.  Christianna is butter and sugar and French inspired all the time.  So  with some help from my fellow recipe swappers and (BIG shout out to) Karen from Dessert Labs gluten free bakery here in Portland (she started following me on Twitter right when we started this recipe swap. It was meant to be), I narrowed it down and here you have it:

Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Angel Food Cake with an Oregon Pinot Gris Glaze

Ingredients (mostly in gram measurements for precision.  Best to use an electronic food scale.  I’ll give you some approximations):

Cake:

400g (≈13) egg whites
200g (≈1.5 cups) Coconut Palm Sugar*
75g (≈3/4 c) brown rice flour
25g millet flour
22g potato starch
22g tapioca starch
100g Coconut Sugar/Corn Starch blend**
½ tsp guar gum
Pinch cream of tartar
Pinch salt
3 tbsp poppy seeds
zest of 2 lemons

*Available at Whole Foods
**50g coconut sugar and 50g corn starch blended in food processor until texture of powdered sugar.  Or you can just use 100g powdered sugar if you prefer.
(If you live in the Portland area, I highly recommend Bob’s Red Mill for bulk spices and baking needs.)

Glaze:

1 stick unsalted butter cut into chunks
¾ c coconut palm sugar
½ c Oregon Pinot Gris*
zest from 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract

*I used Erath Pinot Gris.  You can find this all over the country in your supermarket or liquor store.

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°

In mixing bowl, combine brown rice flour, millet flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, guar gum, salt, and coconut sugar/corn starch blend.  Set aside.

In electric mixer, whip egg whites and cream of tarter until foamy.  Add coconut sugar spoonful at a time until you get stiff peaks (be sure to taste it…it’ll taste like a toasted marshmallow!).

Fold in dry mix in 4-5 additions until incorporated, then fold in lemon zest and poppy seeds.  Do not over stir and deflate the egg white mixture.

Pour into ungreased 10-inch angel food cake pan.  Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.  Reduce to 375º and bake for another 25 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool, then remove from pan and place on large plate.

In the meantime, make glaze.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine wine, vanilla and butter until melted.  Add sugar and lemon and stir until dissolved.  Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until thick.  Drizzle generously over cake and let glaze soak in.

Now comes the fun part: eat until your hearts content…and of course share it with you friends!  Lindsay and I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon in her kitchen cooking and baking up a storm which was great since we were the first to taste each others delights.  My one wish is that I lived in the same place as my other recipe swappers.  The treats these brillant minds baked up are nothing short of inspiring:

• Christianna (Burwell General Store) Meyer Lemon Curd Shortcakes with Orange Flower Water Glaze
• Chef Dennis (More Than a Mountfull) Italian Lemon Pear Cake
• Lindsay (Rosemarried) Grapefruit Cupckaes with Grapefruit Curd and Whipped Cream Frosting with Candied Grapefruit Peel
• Toni (Boulder Locavore) Gluten Free Orange-Cardamom 3 Layer Cake and The Bronx Cocktail
• Nay (Spicy Living) Lemon Lavender Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Sabrina (The Tomato Tart) Brown Sugar Lemon Rosemary Cake with Rosemary Caramel

This challenge was so much fun for me.  I didn’t know I had it in me, but now I cannot wait until the next recipe swap.  Stayed tuned