Work catering #34: Gluten free bake!

I received a few mini recipe books in the mail from CSR (yes the sugar brand!) because they were free!! Gotta love freebies XD anyways one of them was full of GLUTEN FREE recipes ^^ I've always wanted to bake gluten free desserts but... I was a little scared~ I mean, what happens if the utensils I use have residues of gluten then I use them to bake... then.. it wouldn't be gluten free would it?

hahha.. ok maybe I think too much ^_^" Anyways.... so here are the recipes =)

Raspberry Jam Slice
Recipe adapted from "Gluten Free Delights" by CSR

Ingredients
Base
1 cup (150g) almond meal
1/2 cup (45g) fine desiccated coconut
1 cup (150g) gluten free plain flour
1 1/4 cups (275g) Raw Caster sugar (I actually didn't like the little "crunchy" raw bits of the sugar so I think next time I will just use regular caster sugar and probably bring it down to 1 cup)
1/2 cup (125g) unsalted butter, melted
2 egg yolks
1 tsp cold water

Filling
3/4 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup frozen raspberries

Topping
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups (215g) shredded coconut
1/3 cup (50g) soft icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 170oC (150oC fan forced). Grease and line 20x30cm baking tray with baking paper.
2. Base: combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the butter, yolks and water in separate small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until well combined. [OR.... you can just put everything in a food processor if you own one ^^]. Press into tray and bake for 20 minutes or until gold brown. Allow to cool.
3. Filling: Spread jam over base then sprinkle on raspberries.
4. Topping: Combine egg whites, shredded coconut and icing sugar and mix until combined. Spread over jam and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden.
5. Cool in pan and cut into slices.

I found the slice to be quite sweet... So that's why I suggested reducing the amount of sugar. The crunchy coconut topping was nice though :) Oh this is what it looked like in the book.

And this is what mine looked like =p

Love the redness of the jam!

Gluten Free Choc chip and coconut cookies
Recipe adapted from "Gluten Free Delights" by CSR

Ingredients
3/4 cup (185g) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 1/4 cup (200g) brown sugar
2 large egs
1 1/2 cups (225g) gluten free plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups (130g) desiccated coconut
1/2 cup (75g) almond meal
230g dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 200oC (180oC fan forced) and line 3 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift flour and baking powder together and add to mixture along with coconut, almond meal and choc chips. Mix until well combined. (If you find the mixture is quite wet and runny like I did, add a little more flour)
4. Place teaspoons (or tablespoons if you want bigger ones) of cookie dough onto baking trays, allowing room for the cookies to expand. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

I had a little trouble with the texture of these cookies because the dough was a bit wet so I added in a little more flour to get the consistency I was after. These cookies are the soft cakey type but the coconut really gives it a different texture and taste. This is what it looked like in the book..

Mine were a little different... haha

Anyways as it is still October, I would like to submit this to Aspiring Baker's #36: Choc-a-cookie (October 2013) hosted by Genie of Honeybee916food.