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MarocMama

gluten-free

Easy Chocolate Cheesecake Pudding + Simple Summer Snacks

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We’re on week two of summer vacation and so far things are going great.  My kids have activities almost daily, we live within a short walking distance from a big swimming pool, and if they get really bored there are always boxes to pack! During the school year I send a lunch a few times a week, but in the summer I’ve got to make lunch every day, usually it’s a meal on the go. I put together a few of their favorites to share with other mom’s looking for ideas.

Simple Summer Snacks

Snack Ideas

  • air-popped popcorn.  You can add all kinds of toppings like cinnamon and sugar or my tandoori spice mix.
  • fruit – if I know my kids will be outside with their lunches I pop fruit like bananas, grapes, or blueberries in the freezer, they’re ready to eat my lunch and not mush.
  • cheese and crackers
  • peanut butter (or nut butter) and crackers
  • pudding!
  • small yogurts or yogurt drinks
  • tortilla chips and hummus
  • olives
  • vegetable slices with homemade ranch 

That cute wooden spoon and wooden bowl came in a box I received participating in the Food Blogger Prop Swap, hosted by Alyssa of www.EverydayMaven.com and Faith of www.AnEdibleMosaic.com, I sent a box of props to Tara of Tara’s Multicultural Table and I received a box from Patti of Comfy Cuisine (and a fellow #SundaySupper blogger!) in return. The swap was a lot of fun and it helped me to pare down my prop collection.  Deciding what, if anything, I’ll take with to Morocco has been a challenge!

My kids love pudding in their lunches but it gets expensive buying those little plastic cups.  This is a sometimes treat for them, and I’ve found in the summer it’s a great dessert to have when they’ve got friends over.  It’s low-cost and goes a long way. There are many organic pudding mixes that exist, and you can make cheesecake filling but I admit I don’t always have to whip that together.  So this is my shortcut method

[tasty-recipe id=”29864″]

You could make this with other kinds of pudding as well.

What are some of your favorite snacks for summer lunchboxes?

 

Gluten Free Lemon, Vanilla, and Almond Ghriba

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Moroccan pastries, like ghriba, are small, bite size gems of deliciousness.  Most have nuts, usually almonds, honey, and powdered sugar. Sadly, the majority also have wheat making them off-limits for us.  Ramadan is right around the corner and I have been re-making all of our favorite treats into gluten-free replicas. Are you ready for a ghriba-a-palooza?  I’ve created four new ghriba recipes that I’ll be sharing over the next few days. I think you’ll have a hard time choosing your favorite!

Gluten Free Ghriba Cookies

What is a ghriba?

Ghriba are one of the most well known Moroccan cookies.  They are easily identified because of their cracked surface – a must in ghriba making. They tend to be a bit crunchy on the outside but chewy inside. Most of the time they’re made with almonds, but can be made with walnuts, peanuts, really any kind of nut. When I started developing a recipe for gluten-free ghriba

I first looked to traditional recipes. There are some gluten-free recipes that exist but I find it easier to try and convert from a recipe with gluten to gluten-free. The problem here was there are a lot of different ways people make ghriba!  

Some used butter, some oil.  Some caster sugar, and some powdered sugar.  Some used semolina, or white flour, or coconut. Some people make ghriba and put jam in them, like thumbprint cookies. Basically there was no real base recipe to start from. Maybe that’s a good thing?

What I Made

I came up with four new kinds of ghriba – all of them are gluten free.

Today I’m sharing the recipe I created for Lemon Vanilla Almond Ghriba.  There’s also the classic ghriba recipe. They’re honestly not my favorite. I prefer these gluten free cookies to the original flour recipe. 

Gluten Free Almond Ghriba
Gluten Free Almond Ghriba

Lemon Vanilla Almond Ghriba

Yield: 20-24 cookies
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 47 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 1/2 c granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3 Tbsp liquid from preserved lemon (if you don't have this, the zest of 1 lemon will work)
  • 4 Tbsp room temperature butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 egg yolks
  • Whole blanced almonds to top cookies
  • powdered sugar to coat cookies

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
  2. In a large bowl combine almond flour, granulated sugar, and baking powder.
  3. Add to the dry ingredients the preserved lemon juice (or lemon zest), vanilla extract, and egg yolks.
  4. Break up the butter with your hands or a pastry cutter and begin working into the dough.
  5. Using your hands or pastry cutter mix all of the ingredients until everything has been combined, the dough will feel slightly sticky.
  6. From small balls with your hands, about 1" in diameter.
  7. Coat the balls with powdered sugar and place onto a cookie sheet or plate.
  8. Refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes, or place in freezer for 10 minutes.
  9. Arrange cookies on baking sheet and gently press an almond into the top of each. Do not flatten the cookies, they will naturally shape.
  10. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. The cookies should still be a pale color.
  11. Leave on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes to allow the cookies to finish setting, then transfer to a cooling rack.
  12. When the cookies are completely cool, transfer to an air tight container.
  13. Cookies can be stored on the counter for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, remove from the freezer and allow to warm up before serving.

Notes

The dough for these cookies MUST be refrigerated or frozen before baking to prevent them from melting.

© Amanda Mouttaki

Make these cookies and pick up my Moroccan dinner party guide or Moroccan cookbook for more delicious recipes to make your kitchen full of Moroccan flavors.

Lamb and Artichoke Tajine

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Artichoke and Lamb Tajine

Lamb or mutton is a meat that was new to me. My first memory encountering this was at a  seder meal every 5th grader at my church attended.  The seder meal marks the beginning of passover in Judaism.

Don’t ask me why a bunch of Scandinavian Lutherans included this practice in their congregation. They just did. I remember that we made bread for the meal, unleavened of course.  There was haroset (my favorite), bitter herbs (parsley-very exotic where I grew up) and there was lamb.

Fatty, unseasoned lamb.

We had plenty of “good cooks” in the congregation but few that had mastered mutton. Salt, pepper and garlic were about as wild as things got in the seasonings department.  So it wasn’t until I visited Morocco and ate lamb that was well seasoned, and well cooked that I realized it was actually good.

K’s favorite food is lamb and so when I made this tajine for dinner I knew I would have at least one hearty participant.  He liked it so much a lamb sandwich of leftovers went with him to school for lunch the next day.  Last week I showed you how to clean an artichoke.  This is the perfect recipe to use with fresh artichoke.  If you only have frozen on hand, don’t worry you can use that as well.

Artichoke and Lamb Tajine

Lamb and Artichoke Tajine

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 - 2 lbs lamb or mutton
  • 1 medium onion sliced into rings
  • 2-3 artichokes cleaned
  • 1/2 preserved lemon cut into several pieces
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp crushed or minced garlic
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 c water

Instructions

  1. In a bowl whisk together olive oil, cumin, garlic, pepper and turmeric.
  2. In the bottom of a medium tajine add the artichokes and sliced onions to create a bed for the lamb.
  3. Clean and trim the pieces of lamb removing some of the fat (but not all!)
  4. Place the lamb on top of the onions and artichokes.
  5. Drizzle the lamb with the oil and spice mixture, rubbing the mixture into the meat.
  6. Place the pieces of preserved lemon around the tajine, slipping between the meat and vegetables.
  7. Add the 1/2 cup of water to the tajine. Do not pour directly on top of the meat but around the edges.
  8. Cover the tajine and place on the stovetop, making sure to use a diffuser if cooking on an electric burner.
  9. Cook for 1 hour on low-medium heat. Check by lifting the lid and using a spoon to pour the liquid on top of the meat. Add more water if needed.
  10. Cover and cook until the meat is tender and falling apart and the liquid in the tajine has reduced to a medium/thick sauce.
  11. Serve with a crusty bread and eat hot.
© Amanda Mouttaki

I hope you’ll love this recipe as much as my family!  

Be sure to check out some of my other lamb recipes too:

Moroccan Roast Rack of Lamb

Mechoui – Moroccan Style BBQ

Making Marrakechi Tangia at Home

In search of more Moroccan tajine recipes? I can help!

Tandoori Spiced Popcorn

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You may have heard there’s a little event going on today.  Well, if you live in the US you couldn’t have missed it.  It’s Superbowl time!  For those of my readers who don’t know it’s a football game and an excuse for many Americans to overindulge in food, alcohol and noise.  I grew up watching football but the only time I’ve ever (and will ever) cheer for is Green Bay.  Sadly, they’re not playing this weekend.

While there are plenty of Superbowl parties being held, we have always stayed home and watched the game.  This year, I thought that MarocBaba and the kids weren’t really paying attention.  To my surprise I was given a list of items that they wanted to have on Superbowl Sunday.  I hadn’t realized that it had become such a tradition for them!  So I’ll be making guacamole, sloppy joe’s, chicken wings and probably a few other appetizer-style items.

Tandoori Spiced Popcorn

If you’ve gotten up this morning and realized there’s a party to throw and no menu in place, the #SundaySupper team is here to help!  All of the contributors are sharing great Superbowl inspired recipes for your parties.

I chose to share this Tandoori popcorn for a few reasons.  First, it’s delicious.  Second, it’s so easy!  Third, chances are you have everything on hand right now to make this.  Even if you’re getting a late start cooking, put this out with a few other munchies to keep your family (and/or visitors) satisfied while you finish up the rest of the food.

What you need (for appx 5 cups of popped popcorn):

  • popcorn! You can pop it yourself or do like me and pop a bag of the microwave variety!
  • 1 – 2 Tbsp butter (enough to get all the popcorn a little wet
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp corriander
  • 1/4 tsp ginger powder
  • 1/4 tsp hot paprika or cayenne flakes
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp turmeric

How to Make It:

Place your popped popcorn in a large bowl. It’s important to leave enough space so that you can easily mix the spices. Melt the butter on your stove top or in the microwave.  Pour half the butter over the popcorn and mix.  Then add the rest of the butter mixing again to incorporate well. Finally sprinkle the spice mix over everything mixing regularly so that all of the popcorn is covered.

That’s it – super easy and really tasty!  You could mix in other things to make a party mix. Pretzels, crunchy chickpeas, raisins, or even MnM’s. But it’s pretty good all by itself!

Tandoori Spiced Popcorn

Tandoori Spiced Popcorn

Gluten- Free Devils Food Cake

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Vintage Recipe Book

I’m still young enough that the generation I grew up in isn’t retro yet.  While one of my grandmother’s cooked a lot, she made meals that would be considered more ethnic fare.  There wasn’t a single recipe I could remember from my childhood that would count as retro!

As I scratched my head I thought of devil’s food cake.  For whatever reason it sounds and feels like a thing of the past. I asked my mom to look through my great grandma’s recipe box to unearth a recipe for this.  

No luck.

The next stop was several small, old cookbooks I acquired at a thrift store. One of them happened to be the book in the picture above.  There were two devil’s food cake recipes, one I had the ingredients for, the other I didn’t. I’m sure it’s pretty obvious which I chose.  

It’s called “Devil’s Food Cake De Luxe”.  It’s deluxe for sure.

What is devil’s food cake?

MarocBaba asked what the difference between devil’s food cake and chocolate cake was.  I didn’t know.  I always assumed devil’s food cake was a richer cake. But consulting a few different sources there seems to be no consensus as to the definition.  

Some possibilities are;

  • a moist, airy, rich chocolate layer cake similar to yellow or white angel food cake.
  • a cake that is more moist than the traditional chocolate cake that uses cocoa and coffee.
  • different from a chocolate cake because it uses baking soda, incorporates butter, and uses less egg.
  • a cake similar to red velvet cake, possibly incorporating beets (as a carrot cake incorporates carrots) and makes the color “devil red”.

What I do know:

  • layer cake
  • chocolate
  • moist
  • filling between the layers
  • Yum!

I knew I would never get away with making a cake that had gluten. MarocBaba would be devastated.  So I’m giving you this recipe with gluten free flours.  

If you’re making this with regular flour use 2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour in place of the gluten free flours. Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients or the multiple steps.  It’s worth the time to make each of the components from scratch but you could use a store bought frosting and cream if you’re short on time.

Gluten Free Retro Devils Food Cake

Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake

Yield: 8-12 pieces
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Cooling Time: 2 hours 40 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes

A retro recipe adapted for a gluten free diet. This cake is delicious and a great sweet for anyone that is gluten free.

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup sweet white rice flour
  • 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1 cup sorghum flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup boiling water
  • 3 squares (3 oz) unsweetened chocolate

Filling Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 cups milk, scalded
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 Tbsp corn syrup
  • 3 squares unsweetened chocolate
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp butter

Instructions

Preparing the Cake

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
  2. In a small bowl combine the water and chocolate, stir until thick and set aside.
  3. In another bowl, sift together all of the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  4. In a stand mixer cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy and smooth.
  5. Add the eggs and continue to beat until fluffy.
  6. Slowly add the melted chocolate, stirring to blend well.
  7. Next, add the sifted dry ingredients and buttermilk. Alternate between adding a portion of each, blending the mixture after adding each item.
  8. Spray two 8″ round pans with baking cooking spray or butter and dust each with flour.
  9. Pour equal amounts into each of the pans.
  10. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Making the Cream Filling

  1. Scald the milk before putting all of the ingredients together.
  2. Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt very well.
  3. Add egg yolks and beat well.
  4. Add a little bit of the milk (it will still be warm) slowly, mix and then, transfer the sugar and egg mix into the remaining milk.
  5. Whisk, whisk. whisk!
  6. Pour the mixture into a pan, turn the stovetop to medium heat and continually whisk.
  7. The mixture will thicken.
  8. Add butter, cool and then mix in the vanilla.
  9. Cool the cream before adding to the cake.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

  1. Cook sugar, corn syrup, chocolate and milk, stirring constantly, until it reaches 232F or a small amount of the syrup forms a very soft ball when dropped into cold water.
  2. Remove from the heat – add vanilla and butter.
  3. Cool to lukewarm.
  4. Beat in a stand mixer or mixer until creamy.

Assembling

  1. Once cool, cut each of the cake rounds in half horizontally.
  2. Place one round on the bottom of a large cake plate.
  3. Top with 1/3 of the cream filling.
  4. Add the next round on top of the first.
  5. Continue until the cake is assembled.
  6. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the fudge frosting.
  7. Serve in small slices. This cake is very rich and a little will go a long way.
  8. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
© Amanda
Cuisine: American

Gluten-Free Warka {Moroccan Phyllo}

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Ask any Moroccan chef or home cook what is the single item they would buy over making and chances are pretty good they will say warka (sometimes spelled oarka). Traditional warka is a pain to make. It is closely related to phyllo dough but is a little sturdier and has a crispier texture when cooked. It is time consuming, and involves a lot of stretching and pulling to make paper thin sheets.

In her book, Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco, Paula Wolfert details the process through illustration.  Recently she made a video with Alia from Cooking with Alia (I’m insanely jealous that Alia got to hang out with Paula!) showing a different way of making warka using a paint brush.

I knew that the traditional way of making warka wouldn’t work to make gluten-free warka. The pulling process is meant to activate the gluten and stretch out the gluten molecules to create the thin but sturdier sheets. Obviously, this would be impossible with gluten-free flours. But, when I saw Paula’s new technique there was some promise.  Some of our favorite Moroccan Ramadan treats use phyllo or warka so I was determined to create a gluten-free version.

I’m not going to lie to you – this recipe does take time but the results are worth it. Knowing that MarocBaba will be able to enjoy things like savory and sweet briouats as well as  b’stilla makes it all worth it.

Gluten Free Warka

Ingredients

    • 3/4 c sorghum flour
    • 1/4c tapioca starch
    • 1/4 c brown rice flour
    • 1/4 c white rice flour
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
    • 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
    • 2 3/4c water
    • paper towels or parchment paper
  • 3-4″ bristle paintbrush (one that is used only in the kitchen)

Instructions

      • In a food processor combine everything except the vegetable oil. Blend until everything is well combined and is a thin batter.
      • Refrigerate covered for 2 hours.
      • During this time prepare for making the warka. Cut sheets of parchment paper or paper towel into pieces to place between the layers. Place a small bowl of the vegetable oil in your work area with a paper towel to be used on the pastry sheets.
      • Remove batter from the refrigerator and heat a skillet on medium high heat. I’ve found using a pan that is the same size as the sheets you would like is the easiest.
      • Pour a small amount of oil into the pan and wipe off with a paper towel.
      • Using your paintbrush, brush on the batter making a thin layer. Working in a circular fashion dabbing batter in the areas with holes. This may take a few attempts to get a good understanding of how much to use. (See Alia’s video as the technique is the same).
      • Heat for approximately 2 minutes. you will see the edges starting to pull up and the middle beginning to dry. You do not want this to cook completely through or it will become hard and impossible to use for briouats or b’stila.
        Warka Opacity

 

      • Very carefully pull the sheet out of the pan and transfer to a parchment/paper towel on a plate. Dab another paper towel with vegetable oil and spread on the warka sheet. Cover with a sheet of parchment or paper towel. 
      • Repeat the steps until batter is gone. This recipe will make 30-32 sheets or warka.
    • The warka can be used immediately or placed into a freezer bag and frozen until ready to use. Be sure to thaw at room temperature before using.

Saving Warka

 These sheets can be used to make traditional Moroccan foods that call for warka or phyllo dough BUT they also can be used for other recipes that use phyllo.  I’m thinking of making some baklava with them soon!