PUTTING THE NY SPIN ON BROWNIES

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There are few things more New York than coffee and a cannoli . . . so forget dinner . . . How about a good, hot Cafe Americano and a luscious gluten-free chocolate brownie topped with snow-white cannoli cream and slivers of red-ripe strawberries macerated in golden rum?  Are you smiling yet? Drooling? Making gluten-free cannoli shells is a bit of a project and doesn't lend itself to spontaneity. I've taken to topping brownies or filling figs with cannoli cream and that does it for me.


Cafe Americano
1 espresso added to six ounces of hot water

Chocolate Brownie with Cannoli Cream and Macerated Strawberries
BROWNIE RECIPE - Note: The brownie recipe is adapted from the highly recommended The Gluten-Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg.


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit

• 1 1/3 cups of organic granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup gluten-free, trans-fat free shortening, Spectrum
• 3 omega-3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon Singing Dog Organic Vanilla Extract
• 1 tablespoon white rum
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup Dagoba Organic Chocolate, pure cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons guar gum
• 1 cup Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Grease a 9" x 13" glass baking pan with some Spectrum and dust with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free All-purpose Flour

Cream the sugar and Spectrum together.  Lightly beat the eggs and add along with the vanilla and rum to the creamed sugar mixture. Mix well and add the remaining ingredients.  Make sure the batter is lump-free.  An old-fashioned hand-held mixer or an immersion blender work well for this. Bake 18 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out clean. Allow the brownies to cool on a rack before cutting and removing to serving dishes.

Top each serving with Cannoli Cream and Macerated Strawberries (below).  Serve with a hot Cafe Americano.

Cannoli Cream
When I found out I had Celiac Disease and would have to make wheat-and-gluten-free cannoli shells from scratch all the time, I realized that the outside of the cannoli wasn't as important to me as the cannoli cream filling.  I found other ways to use the filling when there is not enough time or energy to make the shells.

Traditionally, cannoli cream is made with goat's milk ricotta cheese, which is not readily available. Some clever person came up with the idea of adding goat's milk cheese to the ricotta for a more authentic taste.  Should you prefer to do without the goat's milk cheese, it is optional. The result will still be delicious.  Just add a bit more ricotta.  I have left out the candied fruits and cinnamon since in this dessert the Cream is pared with fruit and brownies, quite rich enough without those additions. This is a favorite at my house.  I'm sure it will be at yours as well.

CANNOLI CREAM RECIPE:

• 1 pound fresh whole-milk ricotta
• 2 ounces soft and mild goat's milk cheese
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Combine all ingredients in one bowl and mix well.

MACERATED STRAWBERRIES
You can prepare these while the brownies are baking so that they can macerated at room temperature for a while before you serve them.

• 2 small baskets of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced thin
• 3 tablespoons organic granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons white rum

Combine in one bowl and mix well.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.