Gluten Free and Vegan Boozy Plum Tart

This is one of those recipes where smell and taste is your ultimate guide. It's very easy to make substitutions for the filling (another fruit or berry) and for the crumb topping (any combination of flour, grains, seeds, nuts or as I did here leftovers). It's also a great way to recycle any baking mishaps. I used some donuts that just did not turn out right to make this crumb topping. Taste, adjust, bake and most importantly enjoy!

Gluten Free and Vegan Boozy Plum Tart

Ingredients

For the plum filling

300g plums (pitted and cubed)

2 tbsp GF flour

¼ cup brown sugar (more or less to taste)

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp rum

2 dashes of Angostura Bitters

pinch of salt to taste if needed

For the crumb layer

Leftovers e.g. cake, donuts, cookies*

¼ cup of whole almonds

1 tbs oil (or more)

sugar & salt to taste

water

*You can use an equivalent amount of flour, see the recipe for added info

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare an 8 x 8 baking tin

In a mixing bowl add the flour, half of the sugar and cinnamon to the diced plums. Stir to coat the plums

Add the rum and bitters and stir again to mix well. Taste and adjust sugar and salt if necessary (add even a bit more rum if you wish).

Scoop the plum mixture into the baking tin and spread evenly

For the crumb layer if you are using leftovers, pulse it to form a crumbly mixture. You can use an equivalent amount of flour, you will need more oil (or butter), salt and sugar to flavor the crumb topping

Chop or mince the almonds chunky or fine, whichever you prefer

In a mixing bowl, add the crumb mix to the almonds for a total of 1½ cups

Add the oil and mix well, the crumbs should hold loosely together if pressed, no need to form a dough. Because I use previously baked goods I needed very little oil to hold the mixture together you can add more if needed. The same with sugar and salt, add only as necessary.

Spoon the crumb mixture over the plums, press firmly to over and spread evenly. You can spritz the top with water to help hold the crumbs together

Bake for 30 – 40 mins, the plum sauce will bubble and the top will brown. If at the 30 minute mark my crumb topping has browned sufficiently, I will cover the baking tin with foil and continue to bake the tart for another 10 minutes

Remove from the oven, cool in the tin. Serve warm (my preference). Top with ice cream or whipped cream for an extra treat

Baiganee Casserole

In Trinidad and Tobago, Baiganee is made with slices of eggplant (baigan) dipped in a split pea batter and fried. It is served with a chutney and is often street food fare.

I am following the basic recipe but baking the Baiganee as a casserole. If you wish to fry the eggplant (baigan) add 2 tsps of baking powder to the batter. Follow the recipe but dip the slices in the batter and deep fry until browned on each side.

Baiganee Casserole

Sweating the eggplant (baigan)

Layering the eggplant and split pea mix

Baiganee Casserole

Ingredients

2 small to medium eggplants (baigan)

salt to “sweat” the eggplant

1 cup gluten free flour

1 tsp xanthan gum (omit if in your mix)

1 cup split pea powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp turmeric powder

¼ tsp amchar masala

pinch of cayenne pepper

4-5 cloves of garlic minced

2 leaves of shadow beni minced (culantro)

¾ cup water

vegetable oil

Directions

Wash and dry the whole eggplant, trim off the ends

Slice the eggplant into diagonal pieces about 1/4” thick

Line a tray or other work surface with paper towels

Rub each piece of eggplant on both sides with salt and place on the tray

Leave the eggplant for 30 minutes or so, it will “sweat”, losing most of it's water and any bitter taste

Preheat your oven to 350F

Grease a casserole baking dish, I used a 12” x 8” x 1½” dish

Combine all of the dry ingredients, the garlic and the shadow beni (culantro)

Add the water and mix well to form a pourable paste, use more water if necessary (like a tomato or white sauce used to make lasagna)

Wipe dry each piece of eggplant, dusting off as much salt as possible

Spread some of the split pea mix on the bottom of the baking dish. Add a single layer of eggplant slices, top with some of the split pea mix. Continue layering the split pea mix and the eggplant, ending with the split pea mix

Lightly spread some oil over the last layer of the split pea mix. This will help it to bake without becoming too dry

Bake for 35 – 40 mins. You can check after 30 mins, add a little more oil if the crust is too dry. The eggplant is cooked when it becomes somewhat translucent

Remove from the oven, cool and serve with your favorite chutney on the side

"Trini" Hops Bread, the gluten free and vegan way

(makes about 8 buns)

After a few trials I realized that I could not duplicate every aspect of traditional hops (popular in Trinidad and Tobago) without specialty ingredients or a more complicated technique. You cannot shape the buns by hand as there is no gluten structure to create and maintain the domed top. The traditional Hops bread recipe is quite simple. Flour, water, yeast, very little sugar, salt and either margarine or shortening. This recipe mimics that simplicity in terms of flavor. These hops are soft and have a good crumb structure. You could rest the dough either overnight or for a few hours before placing in the baking molds. That will help the development of a more yeasty bread flavor and soften the starches in the dough.

As with all my recipes, I will continue to explore ways to make it better. I'll post updates if and when there are improvements. For now, hope you find that this recipe satisfies your craving for a gf/vegan version of Trini hops bread!

For a little history on this iconic bread check here

If you are having problems with this recipe or any other bread recipe check out my "Troubleshooting Guide For Baking Gluten Free Bread"

Hops Bread (gluten free and vegan)

Gluten Free and Vegan Trini Hops Bread Recipe

Ingredients

2¼ cups gluten free flour (a 1 to 1 blend)*

¼ cup almond flour

1 tbsp psyllium husk powder

OR

1 tsp xanthan gum (omit if in your flour blend)

2½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tsp brown sugar

2½ tsp instant yeast

¼ cup aquafaba** (or coconut milk)

½ cup warm water (add more by tablespoon)

¼ cup vegetable oil (I use coconut)

1½ tbsp vinegar

*I made a blend with 1½ cups rice flour, ½ cup potato starch and ¼ cup tapioca starch. If you use a bread flour blend you could omit the almond flour and use 2½ cups of flour instead.

**Aquafaba is the brine from boiling chickpeas (channa) or the liquid in a can of chickpeas. More info here

Directions

You will need a bread bun or cake mold like this one or 4” – 5” aluminum foil tart pans like these

Grease or line the baking molds. If you are using the single tart pans, have a tray ready to place the pans on

Mix all of the dry ingredients together

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the aquafaba (or coconut milk), water, oil and vinegar

Knead or mix until thoroughly combined. The dough should be like a thick pancake batter, not runny or pourable but definitely wet to the touch. Add more water if necessary to achieve that consistency.

Spoon dough into the prepared baking molds, smooth the top and cover the baking tray with lightly greased cling wrap. Allow to rise 30 - 45 mins or more until the dough is at the rim of the baking mold. The dough will take the shape and height of the container it is in. So if you want a higher dome you may need to use a mold that is around 4” in diameter and more importantly taller sides like 1½” in height. You can always make smaller buns if you have a mold that is less that 4” in diameter but that has tall walls (by tall walls I do not mean a muffin or cupcake tin, unless you are okay with your hops looking like a muffin. See the link under the heading “Directions” for a link to bread bun baking molds)

Toward the end of the rise preheat oven to 350°F. Before placing in the oven, spoon some coconut oil over each bun and gently spread across the surface of the bread with the back of a spoon

When the oven is ready, bake the bread for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, brush a bit more coconut oil on the top of each bun and raise the temperature to 425°F. Bake for another 5 minutes until golden in colour. You can take the buns out of the mold for this step to encourage the underside to develop a bit more colour and a slight crust

When the bread is done, place the buns on a wire rack to cool. You can serve the hops warm.

Wrap the rest of the buns tightly to maintain freshness for as long as possible, keep refrigerated. Bread is best wrapped and stored in the freezer if it will not be used within three days. he end of the rise preheat oven to 350°F.