Blake Makes

Tom's Organic Old Fashioned Pound Cake

© Carrie Boyko

One of my trademarks in cooking is preparing things in advance, so I can enjoy the social time with company and family. This is a dessert which fits right in to my goal of preparing as much in advance as possible. This rich pound cake is best made 2-3 days before you plan to eat it. The passage of time helps the flavors blend and the moist texture become the best it can be. I think it is great to create my dessert for an event a few days ahead, since I’m always crazed the 2 days before the big day taking care of last minute details.

This pound cake has a thin, crispy crust on the top that remains even when you freeze the extra loaf. Surprise! The recipe makes 2 loaves, so you can freeze one for later, or give one to a friend. You can even eat them both and I won’t tell. Try it with a little fruit compote drizzled over the top for an added flavor boost. Like cheesecake, pound cake is a classic that always tastes good plain, but is delightful when you add a surprise topping. Enjoy it however you like it.

Tom’s Organic Old Fashioned Pound Cake

• 3 cups organic flour
• 3 cups organic sugar
• 6 organic eggs
• 1/2 pound organic butter
• 8 ounces organic sour cream (not low fat)
• 1 tablespoon organic almond or vanilla extract (or both–this is awesome!)
• 1/4 teaspoon aluminum free or organic baking soda

Directions:

1. Cream the butter and sugar well, followed by the eggs and then the sour cream.
2. Combine the dry ingredients and blend in thoroughly.
3. Pour into 2 prepared bread pans and bake 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours.
4. Test with a toothpick to determine when done.
5. Cool for a few minutes on a rack, loosening the cake from the pan with a knife, and then remove to finish cooling in 10-15 minutes.
6. When completely cool, wrap twice in plastic or wax paper, very securely. Loaves can be frozen, if desired, but are best left out to reach full flavor for 2-3 days before freezing or eating.

Baking for Blake Bakes is really making me popular at my house right now. Since my focus on my daily blog is totally on healthy and organic, I find myself enjoying the opportunity to create desserts which also fit these criteria. The result is I’m definitely not bored with fruits and vegetables, since I’m squeezing decadent desserts in between. I’ll be back next month with something less traditional, but I’ll keep it a surprise for now. Thanks for reading, and for giving organic a try.

Carrie Boyko of Organic Journey Online

A slice of Bakewell pudding

In typical inimitable British style this dessert recipe is called a pudding because ALL Brit desserts come under the title of ‘pudding’ and this particular one, from the beautiful little northern town of Bakewell, is meant to be consumed after the evening meal, as the ‘pudding’ course, and not for tea in the afternoon when it would indeed be called a tart or pie. Are you confused yet? In texture this pie is somewhat akin to a pecan pie without the nuts. It is dense and moist and actually quite light in flavour. It improves greatly with a day or two of ‘maturing’ at room temperature in a trusty metal cake tin and is always eaten cool but not cold ie do not refrigerate. It is not fussy or elegant, much more of a farmhouse recipe, but it is very satisfying especially if you like almond flavoured delights as I do. Here we go with the recipe:

Pate Brisee for the crust…a very reliable and crisp version which keeps well.

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 stick very cold butter, grated on a box grater
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup of very cold water

1. Mix flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add grated butter ( I do all my pastry by hand so grating the butter helps keep things cool for better pastry…of course you can choose to do this in a food processor)….rub the butter into the flour mix until it resembles coarse meal then quickly add in the water by dribbles, I mix with a fork to keep everything cool, and when you think it is wet enough, and it’s always less water than you think, quickly and gently ‘sqwoosh’ pastry together until you have a cohesive lump. Put into the fridge for, at the very least, half and hour and preferable longer, to ‘rest’. We all need a rest after this!
2. Take the pastry out of the fridge and let it warm up slightly before rolling out and lining a glass pie dish 9″ diameter. Put back in fridge until ready to be filled.

The filling:

• Raspberry jam preferably, strawberry second, anything else you choose third.
• 4 oz butter melted and slightly cooled
• 4 oz sugar
• 4oz roasted and ground almonds…if you are doing the roasting and grinding yourself let the almonds cool COMPLETELY, to get rid of any moisture, before you grind them in a coffee or spice grinder, and grind with equal amounts of the sugar so the mixture doesn’t get sticky.
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 egg whites whipped to soft peaks
• ½ teaspoon almond extract…have you tried the almond extract by ‘NOW organics’, it is the best I have ever tasted.

Putting it all together:

1. Take piecase out of fridge and spread your chosen jam over the bottom…I like just a coating, others like more…traditionally it is less rather than more.
2. Mix melted butter, almond extract and ground almonds and sugar together til well blended, add egg yolks and blend til smooth and finally add the beaten egg whites gently in batches so as not to deflate the bubbles.
3. Spread mixture over the jam and make sure the jam is sealed around the edges or else it will bubble out in baking.
4. Bake in the middle of a 350 degree oven for about half an hour until the filling is completely set but be careful not to burn the pastry.

Ta dah!! You have yourself a good northern English classic recipe that has been around for hundred’s of years and is still made prolifically in it’s home county of Derbyshire.

Happy Baking…let me know how it comes out!

The calendar may say it’s September, but here in New Jersey last week it was a sweltering 94 degrees on Sunday. So that makes it perfectly acceptable for me to bring you this light and cool Pineapple Pudding Cake!

This recipe comes from Taste of Home’s Healthy Cooking magazine. This was my first time looking through this magazine and I fell in love with it instantly. There are so many good for you recipes in it - I can’t wait to make more. But first on my list was this cake. It sounded so light and cool and refreshing that I knew it would be perfect to serve for dessert when I had my in-laws over on such a sticky Sunday, plus it had the added bonus of being low fat. I followed the recipe almost exactly, except I used regular instant pudding instead of sugar free (I hate the chemical taste of sugar-free pudding!). Next time I may mix some of the pineapple juice into the cake for a little added flavor. But as is, this dessert was a hit! Everyone loved this sweet and creamy treat - it makes me wish for a long Indian summer so I can make it again soon!

Pineapple Pudding Cake

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 1/2 cups fat free milk
• 1 package sugar-free instant pudding mix
• 1 package (8 ounces) fat free cream cheese
• 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen fat free whipped topping, thawed
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• Maraschino cherries

1. Prepare and bake cake according to package directions in a 9 x 13″ pan coated with cooking spray. Cool completely on wire rack.
2. In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.
3. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in pudding until blended.
4. Spread evenly over cake. Sprinkle with pineapple; spread with whipped topping. Sprinkle with walnuts and garnish with cherries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutrition: 1 piece - 131 calories, 2 grams fat. Makes 20 servings.

Brooke is a food lover (desserts in particular!) from Hamilton, NJ who enjoys trying out new recipes and treating her friends, family and co-workers to nice fattening baked goods whenever possible. She always has plenty of help in the kitchen - her two cats, Roy and Roger, are only too happy to supervise her chopping, mixing and stirring while her husband Joe and dog Tucker are perfect taste-testers. Brooke can be found at …and a cookie for dessert.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

YAY! This is my first post for Blake Bakes! I’ve been wanting to be part of BB for quite some time now. You see, all my baking peeps are here and I felt quite left out! So, what do I make for my debut, my grand entrance, my BIG first impression? Something with zucchini! I can see that look on your face. You’re hiding behind your computer screen saying, “WHAT? Not another zucchini recipe! What the heck is she thinking?”
There’s a method behind the madness…I think…Yes, I’m sure of it! I used to grow tons of zucchini when we lived in a square house and had a square garden. I made loads of zucchini bread, muffins and cupcakes for the bakery we owned. My customers waited all year for the zucchini harvest to arrive. OK, so I’m exaggerating a little. They probably never gave it a second thought, that is until I lined them all up on the counters to cool in front of an open window.

The smells of cinnamon, brown sugar and chocolate chips all mingled together made everyone’s mouths water. I added some cream cheese frosting to the top and it was party time! Back then, it was hard to keep the kid’s fingers out of the frosting. Cupcakes would mysteriously disappear. Many years later, I still have trouble, this time keeping my husband’s fingers out of the frosting!

Things have changed since then as I no longer live on land. Baking is a little more complicated now. My oven is always moving and taking photographs of my successes and flops is a challenge to say the least. I now live, bake, cook and blog about it all on a sailboat! I can only fit 12 cupcakes in my Easy-Bake-Oven at a time, so everything I make takes twice as long. I’ve heard some people say, “I can’t bake, my kitchen is too small, and I don’t have a KitchenAid mixer.” Well, I’m here to say, “Yes, you can. If I can do it in a space smaller than your bathroom, you can too!”

Anyway…to get back to zucchini! These Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes have been a family favorite for evah! Our kids loved chocolate chips in almost everything and it just seemed natural to throw a handful or two into these cupcakes! But they were still missing something. Cream Cheese Frosting with a touch of cinnamon did the trick! Then I went overboard (pun intended) with other ingredients. Coconut, walnuts and raisins were common add-ins. Sprinkles, non-pariels and dragees showed up on top of the mile-high frosting. Then lightening struck my brain! I was low on shortening, but I did have some marshmallow fluff! It took me (hhmm) years to discover the secret ingredient? Not telling, but it really does make an awesome frosting!

That really is a duck in the background!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

(an original recipe by Donna Diegel @ Spatulas & Corkscrews)

For the cupcakes:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups peeled and grated zucchini
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks, semi sweet or milk chocolate
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. This recipe makes 24 regular size cupcakes, so line muffin pans with paper or silicone liners and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In another large mixing bowl with a hand-held or stand mixer, beat eggs and sugars together. Add oil, vanilla and zucchini and blend well. Scrape bowl.
5. With mixer on low speed, add 1/2 the flour mixture and mix. Scrape down bowl and add the remaining flour. Beat on low just until blended and the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients.
6. Fold in chocolate chips and coconut if desired.
7. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, turning once half way through baking, until pick comes out clean.
8. Let sit on cooling racks for 5 minutes before removing cupcakes from pans.
9. Cool completely before frosting.
10. At this point, the cupcakes can be wrapped in Ziploc Bags and frozen for up to 2 months.
11. Makes 24 regular size cupcakes.

I love these Wilton silicone pans!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/4 cup Crisco shortening
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter
• 4 ounces softened cream cheese
• 1/4 cup marshmallow fluff
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pound (3 1/2 cups) 10X confectioners’ sugar
• 1 Tablespoon water, more or less

Directions:

You can skip the shortening and increase the butter to 1/2 cup (whole stick) if you’d like.
With electric mixer, beat shortening, butter, cream cheese and marshmallow fluff together in a large bowl until creamy. Scrape bowl.
Add vanilla and cinnamon and beat again. Scrape bowl.
On low speed, beat in half the confectioners’ sugar. Scrape and beat in the remaining 10X sugar, adding water as needed until frosting is nice and fluffy.
Decorate cupcakes any way you like!
Cover and refrigerate any leftovers if there are any!

This is Me!

Donna is an ex-caterer and pastry chef from Vermont that got tired of the rat race and sailed off into the sunset. That’s not just a metaphor, she really did! Donna had her own wholesale bakery and catering business for over 15 years when she finally got tired and bored with it and said to her husband, “Let’s get in the boat and sail away!” Their 4 adult children and four grandchildren were given 2 years notice that they were running away from home. She gave the inn-keeper 10 months notice to find another chef. Donna says, “They all thought we were nuts and would never follow through with it. Well, we did, and here I am, 4 years later living, cooking, baking, photographing and blogging about it all on a sailboat in RI. I do this all on a rocking, rolling boat with a 2-3 burner stove and mini oven that I affectionately call my Easy-Bake-Oven!” Gone are her 30 quart Hobart mixer, 10 burner stove and cheesecake slicer! Her plan was to eventually end up in the Bahamas sipping Pina Coladas with little umbrellas and her toes in the hot sand. Instead, they got “stuck” on the East coast of the USA with ice around their boat every winter. It makes for a great story though, and she wouldn’t change it for anything. But, if you ask her about the location she’ll say, “Yup, I would definitely go to the islands for the winter!” Read about her culinary and sailboat adventures on her blog, Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases. She’s also the Baking & Desserts Feature Writer for Suite101 which keeps her on an even keel and out of trouble!

Fall is just around the corner, and what a better way to celebrate than with candy corn and chocolate. So isn’t it great to see that Hershey put the two together to make Candy Corn Kisses? Sadly, I’ve had a bag of them, which I couldn’t eat since I’m on Atkins right now. The smell of them is so tempting as it comes right through the bag (YUM!). They also smell amazing in the chocolate thumbprint cookies I made.

Since our friend Matthew had just celebrated his 31st birthday, Carlo and I decided to bake a batch of cookies for him using the kisses. To find a recipe that would easily incorporate them, I went to the source, Hersheys.com. The thumbprint cookies were an easy choice. The recipe was simple and fun to make, especially rolling the dough into balls and making the thumbprints in them.

I was concerned about the cookies not holding up their shape while baking. They did pretty well. Out of the batch I made, there were only 2 cookie casualties (not bad). Then again, if I could eat the cookies myself, then I wouldn’t consider them that…just extra treats for me!

One thing I do have to say is that you should let the cookies cool completely before filling them with the vanilla icing and topping them with the kisses. The recipe suggested 5 minutes on the wire rack, but that was not enough. The icing started to melt and spread immediately. To ”save” them, I threw them in the freezer for a few minutes with the kisses on top. That definitely worked.

Though I couldn’t try one myself, the cookies turned out nicely. If they tasted as great as they smelled, I bet they were awesome. If not for anything, they looked pretty too! 

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Source: Hersheys.com

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Beat butter, sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla in medium bowl until fluffy. Stir together flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. With fork, beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white; roll in nuts. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Press thumb gently in center of each cookie. 
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Meanwhile, prepare VANILLA FILLING. Remove wrappers from chocolate pieces. Remove cookies from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool 5 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon filling into each thumbprint. Gently press chocolate piece in center of each cookie. Cool completely. About 2 dozen cookies.

VANILLA FILLING: Combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon softened butter or margarine, 2 teaspoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl; beat until smooth.

VARIATION: Omit egg white and chopped nuts. Roll balls in granulated sugar. Bake as directed. Top with VANILLA FILLING and pecan or walnut half.

Guess who’s back with another mouth watering muffin?

Yep, you guessed it. These muffins are pure heaven. Seriously, I have eaten four. As in, four today. Yes, they are THAT GOOD. Your butt will never forgive you, but these muffins are so worth it. Full of sweet cream cheese, moist, gooey jam, and bits of fresh fruit, what’s not to love? Give them a try an let me know what you think!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

An Original DoughMessTic Recipe - Makes 6 Texas size or 13 Standard Muffins

• 2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp Strawberry Extract
• 1 cup diced fresh strawberries
• 2/3 cup Strawberry Jam

Cream Cheese Center

• 4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
• 3 Tbsp. Sugar

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In stand mixer, combine eggs, milk, melted butter and extract. Whip on medium for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. On low, add dry mixture until just combined.
4. Fold in berries and jam.
5. In separate bowl, stir sugar and cream cheese together until well combined.
6. Pour muffin batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Spoon cream cheese mixture into each tin equally, pressing it into the center of the batter.
7. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (regular muffins) or 25 minutes for the large size.
8. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Susan is the Susie Homemaker behind She’s Becoming DoughMessTic, a blog about her journey to have it all…a happy family, a clean house, and a kitchen full of things worth eating. Married to a great husband and Mom to a beautiful baby boy, Susan does her best to juggle the little things…and a few big ones. Since her debut in blogging, she has created the cooking group My Kitchen, My World, as well as the Troop supporting Operation Baking GALS. But if you just want to know more about plain old Sus, you can visit her site here.

Where I live, snacks are abundant! Less than a block from my home, one will find 3 candy stores and a CVS. Go one more block and you’ll find four more stores full of sugary sodas, cheap candy and chips. Now, if I hadn’t changed the way I eat, I’d tell you I was in heaven. However, since being on Atkins, I don’t crave that junk anymore with the help of healthy alternatives, such as these “chips.”

The support group online that I joined has been such a valuable resource when it comes to recipes. One of those recipes was called “Cheese Crisps,” which has to be the next best thing to a cheddar cheese-sour cream potato chip. The recipe is so versatile that you can whatever cheese you wish and make them as big as you want. You can even use them to make an edible salad bowl, similar to the fried tortilla bowls found at some restaurants.

I’ve tried these so far with American, Cheddar and Fontina. Fontina has been my fave, thus far. I also like making them smaller, like the size of actual potato chips.

Cheese Crisps
Source: Linda’s Low Carb Menus & Recipes

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ounce bag shredded cheese, any flavor

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place a square of parchment paper (do NOT use wax paper) on a microwaveable dinner plate.
2. Place a generous tablespoon of cheese in center of plate and, with your fingers, gently spread into a circle about 3 1/2-4″ in diameter and not too thick in the middle.
3. Microwave on HIGH about 30-40 seconds or until a toasty color and they sound crisp when tapped with your fingernail.
4. Lift it off the paper with tongs and set on paper towel to cool. You can use the same piece of parchment over and over for the current crisp-making session.

Makes about 18-20 crisps
Can be frozen

Carmella is the female half of The Food Duo, a blog started in March 2008 with her husband, Carlo. While growing up in New York City, her South Carolinian mother was the baker of her family with her specialties involving traditional Low Country and Southern desserts with fruit and/or nuts. Now, that her mom has retired from work and baking, Carmella has stepped up to become the baker for her now larger family, often experimenting and making treats for everyone to enjoy – many being sugar-free variations.

Carlo and I are about 50 days into Atkins, and things have been going great. Each week, we try to test a new recipe that fits into low-carb eating. We’ve tried bread alternatives, delicious dinners and tasty snacks. Now, we’re trying out desserts that are satisfying, filling, sugar-free and low in carbs.

Recently, I found a recipe for a low-carb chocolate mousse at About.com. After having to read it more than once, I was confused and almost intimidated, but decided that I would be up for a challenge. I had to change a few things, as I didn’t have any erythritol (a natural sugar alcohol that is used as a sugar substitute) or espresso powder. I was also concerned that the mousse would be too sweet with the amounts of the erythritol and Splenda.

What I did was omit the erythritol and any substitution for it. I decreased the Splenda to 3/4 c. In fact, I ran it through our coffee grinder to get it into powdered form. I also replaced the espresso powder with 1 tsp of freshly and finely ground coffee. For the flavoring, I used 1 1/2 tbsp. of coconut-flavored Davinci sugar-free syrup. I even upped the vanilla by a 1/4 tsp. The result was a nice dark chocolate mousse with a subtle sweetness and a kick of espresso.

Low-Carb Chocolate Mousse
Source: About.com
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/desserts/r/lowcarbmousse.htm

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate, broken up
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1 cup erythritol (could use xylitol)
• 1 to 1½ cup worth of sugar substitute, to taste
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 Tablespoon rum, brandy, or use flavoring
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, cover the chocolate with boiling water.
2. Separate the eggs, putting the yolks in a smaller bowl, and the whites in a bowl to be used with a mixer.
3. Whisk the yolks with the erythritol, any other powdered sweetener, and the salt. Whisk until smooth and a light lemon color.
4. Pour the water off the chocolate (you don’t have to get every last bit), saving half a cup aside. Add rum or flavoring and liquid sweetener if used to water. Whisk cocoa and espresso powder into the chocolate, followed by the liquids, followed by the egg yolk mixture.
5. Whisk or beat egg white with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Whisk about a third of it into the chocolate mixture, and then fold the rest in. A few white streaks are fine, as you are going to fold in again in a few minutes.
6. In same mixer bowl*, whip cream with a couple of drops of sweetener (or a small amount of powdered), and the vanilla, until soft peaks form. Fold into the chocolate mixture, half at a time.
7. Spoon into individual glasses, cups, or bowls. Cover, and chill at least an hour before serving.

And less than 2 minutes out of the fridge…

Carmella is the female half of The Food Duo, a blog started in March 2008 with her husband, Carlo. While growing up in New York City, her South Carolinian mother was the baker of her family with her specialties involving traditional Low Country and Southern desserts with fruit and/or nuts. Now, that her mom has retired from work and baking, Carmella has stepped up to become the baker for her now larger family, often experimenting and making treats for everyone to enjoy – many being sugar-free variations.

No one should be denied a food, not even if they have an allergy or an intolerance. That’s why I was so thrilled to find this recipe for gluten-free brownies! They are simple to make, and a snap to change up depending on the different “add-ins” you use.

These gluten-free brownies are super moist & gooey, the perfect end to a day, or a great comfort food. You can add anything you like to them, white chocolate chunks, chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, the possible combinations are endless!

Source: Based on a recipe found at GlutenFreeGoddess

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup ground blanched almonds
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup sugar (brown or white)
• 5 Tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup shortening, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup add-ins (nuts, chocolate chunks, dried fruit, etc)

Directions:

1. Melt the shortening in a glass bowl using a microwave, then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine.
2. Add 1/2 cup of nuts, chocolate chunks, etc., if desired.
3. Spread into an 8×8-inch pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cool. Cut. Wrap and freeze.

Jeanine has been cooking and baking regularly ever since moving out of her parents’ house in the late ’90’s. Now, with her own home, which she shares with her husband and two children, Jeanine is committed to putting food on the table that excites everyone in her family. Shortly after she began blogging about food, she was diagnosed with Celiacs disease. Determined to not let the restrictions of a gluten-free diet ruin her enjoyment of good food, Jeanine has been actively experimenting with new recipes that challenge her culinary ability, with some amazing results. You can find her posting regularly at The Baking Beauties.