Cocaine worth more than $10m was stored as evidence at a courthouse in Fiji, but at some point in the long-running drug trial was replaced by flour. Authorities admit that about 87 pounds of cocaine is "effectively missing;" ABC News in Australia describes it as "yet another apparent example of internal corruption that has plagued Fiji's authorities." — Read the rest

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This may or may not happen to you, but sometimes when I’m a guest in someone’s home, where everyone pitches in to make dinner, all eyes (or just the host’s eyes) fall on me to make dessert. Gulp. I happy to pitch in with the cooking or bringing along a few baked goodies for the weekend, but I’m not always prepared to bake on the spot.

If you’re lucky, there may be a scale, a cake pan, a sharp knife, and hopefully sugar, butter, eggs, and flour. If you’re really lucky, there might be a whisk and a spatula, too. But if you’ve ever tried to peel a dozen apples with a steak knife because it’s the only one that’s even close to sharp, or eyeball 1 cup/140g) of flour, you know what I’m talking about. I once did a post on Things I Bring When I’m a Guest for the Weekend, which raised the ire of some, but I require a minimum of a knife, a spatula, a bowl, and a cake pan if I’m going to bake something, like a cake.

You’re likely familiar with the Moelleux au chocolat, the soft warm individual melting cakes that everybody loves. (If you have the kind of friends that have six to eight ramekins, well, that’s great.) I recently saw French food writer and journalist François-Régis Gaudy (his book, Let’s Eat France, translated into English, is a lot of fun and pretty amazing) make a Moelleux à la abricot on his Instagram page, which didn’t require a mixer or any special equipment. Not even a whisk!

His Apricot Cake was a very casual affair, baked in a rectangular mold on a sheet of parchment paper, and came out of the oven rather free-form, looking exactly like something that would come out of a French home cook’s kitchen, when baking dessert for friends. I’m fine with that but didn’t know if you were, so I thought I’d tinker with it and make it in a cake pan, which is easier to slice. I also fiddled around with the ingredients, as well as putting the brown granulated sugar on top (rather than underneath), to give the moelleux a nice sheen.

I used a springform cake pan but you can use any similar-sized vessel; an 8-, 9- or 10-square or round cake pan would work, or even a baking dish. The baking time will vary but if your experience with using a variety of ovens in other people’s homes is anything like mine, you’ll find that each one is different, and what one says is 350ºF/180ºC will be different than another whose dial says 350ºF/180ºC. I don’t travel with an oven thermometer but may add that to things I bring when I’m staying with people.

Tip: If you’re staying in someone’s place for the weekend, you can mix the dry ingredients in a container or zip-top bag then put the dessert together when you get there.

I made one cake with apricots first, which was sensational, but knowing fresh apricots are harder to come by elsewhere, I made another one with plums, which came out great as well. It would work with other summer fruits and berries but I really like the tanginess of apricots or plums against the moist cake layer, so stuck with those two. A handful of berries wouldn’t hurt either, but I do recommend keeping it simple.

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Moelleux aux fruits d'ete

Inspired by a recipe from French food writer and journalist François-Régis Gaudry

The ground almonds are really delicious in the dessert, but if you can't get ground almonds (sometimes called almond meal or almond flour), you can use 1 1/4 cups (175g) of all-purpose flour in place of the mix.

The picture in the post of the batter shows 3 eggs being added, and I took that photo when I first tested the recipe, which I did a few more times after that. The final recipe that I came up with, below, uses 2 eggs.

Course Dessert

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds (680g) apricots or plums (or another summer fruit, see headnote)
• 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons (100g) almond flour
• 1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder preferably aluminum-free
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (230g) granulated sugar
• 5 ounces (140g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse granulated brown sugar such as tubinado sugar (or granulated white sugar)

Instructions

• Halve the fruit and remove the pits. Slice the fruit into 3/4- to 1-inch (2-3cm) wedges. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC.) Grease a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan very well with butter or non-stick spray. (If you don't have a springform pan, you can use another cake pan but it may be harder to get the cake out so you may want to also line the bottom with parchment paper.)
• In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. (My preferred tool to use for this step is a silicone spatula.) Add the soft butter and mix it in with the spatula until it's broken up into little pieces, roughly the size of kernels of corn. Stir in the eggs and vanilla extract, until it's almost smooth. It's fine if there are small pieces of butter visible.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Arrange the wedges of fruit on their sides in concentric circles over the batter, snugly placing the wedges against each other, pressing them gently into the batter as you go. Avoid putting them right up against the sides of the pan. It's best to leave some room for the batter to rise between the fruit and the pan, to avoid juices from the fruit adhering to the sides of the pan as the moelleux bakes. (It's unavoidable - and natural - if using juicy fruits, like plums, to have juice run out. But placing the slices not right up against the sides of the pan will help you get the cake out of the pan later.)
• Sprinkle the coarse sugar over the top and bake until the center just feels set; a toothpick inserted into the center should come out free of cake crumbs stuck to it, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack. If any fruit juices have bubbled up and stuck to the sides of the pan, run a knife around the outside of the cake, which will help it release later.

Notes

Notes: If you want to make this gluten-free, I'd go with the almond flour rendition, and use a gluten-free flour substitute in place of the wheat flour. If you want to reduce the sugar in the recipe, you could cut it by 6 tablespoons/75g and skip the sugar on top, although I wouldn't.

Honey almond snack cake!? You know you want to jump in on the fun! This GORGEOUS loaf is perfectly moist with a lightly floral flavor and beautiful sponge texture. Bonus? It’s made without gluten or dairy, but no one will know.

It’s the perfect cake for afternoon tea, brunch gatherings, and beyond! Just 10 ingredients, 1 bowl, and simple methods (no mixer) required. Let’s bake!

1-Bowl Honey Almond Snack Cake (Gluten-Free) from Minimalist Baker →

This blackberry cobbler recipe is a summertime delight! It features jammy blackberries underneath a tender, golden, scone-like topping. I’m quite smitten with this recipe—something borderline magical happens when you bake blackberries. The heat of the oven seems to enhance their floral undertones and make them taste extra special.

This is a simple dessert that you’ll want to make over and over again. Lemon zest, a touch of cinnamon, and a dab of tangy Greek yogurt add some flavor intrigue. Your guests might ask, “Why is this so good?”

It also happens to be gluten free, since I used almond flour in the topping instead of conventional all-purpose flour. Almond flour is very easy to work with and offers a subtle almond flavor that pairs beautifully with berries. If you’ve tried my peach cobbler or blueberry cobbler, you’re already familiar with it. I hope you’ll give this one a try!

The post Blackberry Cobbler appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

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Transitioning a recipe from conventional wheat-based flour to almond flour is never straightforward. It requires reducing the amount of liquid, since almond flour is less absorbent, and fat, since almond flour naturally contains some. It took over ten tries to get the texture of this muffin just right, but it was worth the effort.

Like any great blueberry muffin, they’re golden on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and punctuated by jammy blueberries. Unlike most blueberry muffins, this recipe is quite wholesome but still tastes like a treat.

The post Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free) appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

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Not only are they incredibly delicious, but these fritters are vegan, optionally gluten-free, and SO easy to make! Grab your mixing bowl and 10 basic ingredients, and you’ll be enjoying fritters in 30 minutes or less.

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This blueberry cobbler is a summertime delight! It features jammy ripe blueberries beneath an almond flour-based biscuit topping that’s tender on the inside and perfectly crisp and craggy along the edges. I hope this recipe will become one of your go-to summertime treats. It’s certainly a winner in my repertoire.

This recipe is the cobbler version of my popular blueberry crisp. It’s based on my peach cobbler recipe, which was arguably the most delicious dessert made in my kitchen last summer. I’ve always loved making fruity crisps, and now I’ve moved on to cobblers. Don’t make me choose a favorite!

The post Blueberry Cobbler with Almond Topping appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

These scones are made with almond flour, and frankly, maybe all scones should be—whether you need them to be gluten-free or not. They’re 100 percent delicious, featuring perfectly tender insides and golden exteriors that offer a light crunch along the edges. Jammy burst blueberries, lemon zest and a light sprinkle of raw sugar take them to the next level!

I didn’t come up with this idea myself. When I published my Blueberry Scones, which are made with whole wheat or all-purpose flour, I received several questions about how to make the recipe with almond flour.

Since almond flour has become my favorite flour over the past year or two, I had to figure it out. Despite being made entirely with almond flour, the scones don’t taste overtly of almond. They’re easy to make with simple, wholesome, lower carbohydrate ingredients, so they’re a win all around.

It took seven tries to get the recipe just right. Along the way, it became the topping for a Peach Cobbler. I’m delighted with this recipe and all the variations you’ll find below.

The post Almond Flour Scones (Gluten Free) appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

It took me ten tries to get this cookie recipe just right, but it was worth the effort! These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are made with just one wholesome flour—almond flour. They’re also sweetened with maple syrup instead of brown sugar, although you likely wouldn’t guess it. I love to use natural sweeteners when I can.

These cookies are golden and lightly crisp around the edges, and tender and chewy in the middle, which is exactly how I want my chocolate chip cookies to be. If you’re looking for a gluten-free cookie or a healthier take on a classic Tollhouse cookie, you’ve found a winner here. As a bonus, they’re remarkably easy to stir together by hand, with no chilling time required!

The post Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

While recently making our tahini cookies for what felt like the millionth time, we thought, Why not add chocolate to this party? The result was even better than we imagined. Introducing: fudgy chocolate tahini cookies studded with chocolate chips! They’re vegan, gluten-free, and absolutely delicious — like a brownie and cookie in one!

All you need for these? 1 bowl, 8 ingredients, and about 20 minutes.

Fudgy Chocolate Tahini Cookies (1 Bowl!) from Minimalist Baker →

Say hello to morning glory muffins, made vegan + gluten-free! A classic treat originally created by Pam McKinstry in 1978 at her Nantucket restaurant, Morning Glory Cafe, these muffins are lightly sweet, subtly spiced, and packed with fruits, veggies, AND nuts. OH yeah! 

Our gluten-free twist uses oat flour and potato starch (no almond flour!) to create a tender muffin that’s wholesome and satisfying.

Vegan Gluten-Free Morning Glory Muffins from Minimalist Baker →

The texture and flavor of a cookie with the ease of a bar? Talk about the perfect dessert! Introducing: cranberry orange cookie bars! 

These chewy, buttery cookie bars are packed with zesty orange flavor and pops of tart cranberries. Your new go-to treat awaits with just 1 bowl and 8 ingredients required! Did we mention they’re vegan and gluten-free? No one else has to know.

Cranberry Orange Cookie Bars (Vegan + Gluten-Free) from Minimalist Baker →

We’ve long admired the super talented gluten-free chef and baker Aran Goyoaga. But our status went from fans to super fans last year when she posted a video of the fluffiest gluten-free dinner rolls we had ever seen. They looked like fluffy, dreamy clouds — how could they possibly be gluten-free?! We wanted to reach through the screen to make sure they were real (translation: eat the whole pan 🤤).

Then earlier this year, Aran announced she was writing a new cookbook(!!) and we nearly started doing cartwheels.

Pillowy Gluten-Free Pita (from Aran Goyoaga’s Cookbook) from Minimalist Baker →

Fall has three essentials: cozy sweaters, warming soups, and PUMPKIN BREAD! Whether your fond memories of this spice-filled treat are from Starbucks, Grandma’s house, or your favorite box mix, we’re bringing you alllll the nostalgia! This homemade gluten-free + dairy-free pumpkin bread is FLUFFY, tender, spice-filled, and has the perfect balance of sweetness and pumpkin flavor!

Just 1 bowl and simple ingredients required for this fall classic.

The BEST Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread (1 Bowl!) from Minimalist Baker →

Meet the peach cobbler of my dreams! This irresistible dessert features warm, bubbling peaches with a golden cobbler topping that’s craggy at the edges and tender inside. Make this recipe from mid-to-late summer when fresh peaches are at their peak.

This simple peach cobbler recipe is sweet but not too sweet, so the glorious peach flavor shines above all else. The filling is sweetened with honey, and the topping is lightly sweetened with lemony sugar—both of which impart some lovely complementary flavors that make this cobbler taste extra special. The recipe is not complete without some vanilla extract, cinnamon and yogurt for a light, buttermilk-like tang.

The buttery topping is made of almond flour, which offers a tender crumb and light almond flavor that pairs perfectly with ripe peaches. I tried making this cobbler with regular all-purpose flour and much preferred it with almond flour. Thanks to the almond flour, this recipe is gluten-free, whether you need it to be or not!

The post Peach Cobbler with Almond Topping appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Hold onto your sprinkles, folks! This recipe takes the cake, literally. We’ve taken our crowd-favorite funfetti cupcakes and made them undetectably gluten-free! Your friends and family will be begging for the recipe for these soft, fluffy, perfectly moist, incredibly delicious gems!

The catch? There is no catch. They’re made in 1 bowl with just 10 ingredients! What are you waiting for? Let’s bake some cupcakes!

Gluten-Free Funfetti Cupcakes (1 Bowl!) from Minimalist Baker →

Pancake lovers, this recipe is for you, whether you’re gluten-free or not! This easy recipe calls for one wholesome flour—oat flour—and basic ingredients like Greek yogurt, maple syrup, butter and eggs. (If you don’t have oat flour on hand, you can easily make your own by blending old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats in a food processor or blender.)

These golden pancakes are fluffy and delicious, with a subtle oatmeal flavor. The yogurt offers a light tang similar to buttermilk, along with some extra protein, and the maple syrup is more flavorful than plain sugar.

You could certainly say that these pancakes are healthier than your average stack of pancakes, especially when you choose wholesome toppings to go along with them. Above all, though, they’re a fun treat to serve on the weekends, and they reheat beautifully for quick weekday breakfasts.

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Let your tastebuds transport you to a tropical destination with our new NO-BAKE Coconut Lime Energy Bites! What started as a cake quickly turned into these tasty little treats because who wants to turn on their oven during summer?

These 7-ingredient, flavor-filled bites are the perfect mid-day treat for summer & beyond. They’re tangy, coconutty, and ridiculously easy to make. Let us show you how!

These naturally sweetened coconut lime energy bites begin with our favorite fiber & mineral-rich sweetener: dates!

No-Bake Coconut Lime Energy Bites from Minimalist Baker →

Friends, prepare to level up your muffin game with these undetectably vegan and gluten-free lemon poppy seed muffins! They’re perfectly sweet, tender, FLUFFY, and bursting with bright, lemony goodness. 

Made in just 1 bowl, they’re just as fun to make as they are to eat! Let’s get baking!

How to Make Vegan Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These super FLUFFY muffins begin with using an electric mixer to cream together the vegan butter, cane sugar, and lemon zest.

Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Vegan) from Minimalist Baker →

Chocolate, banana, and pecans…this flavor combination is meant to be. And in a muffin? Truly magical! These FLUFFY banana nut muffins are vegan, gluten-free, and generously studded with pecans and chocolate chips. Hubba hubba!

Bonus? They’re easy to make with just 1 BOWL and a handful of simple, wholesome ingredients. It’s muffin time, friends!

These vegan + gluten-free chocolate chip muffins begin with the egg-free binders: mashed banana and flax eggs.

1-Bowl Banana Chocolate Pecan Muffins (Vegan + GF) from Minimalist Baker →