Sweet Nothings
A Recipe and a Prompt for the Gluten-Free
Dear Readers and Writers: you’re in for a delicious treat. This week I’m including a recipe AND a prompt, and I’m making it available to all subscribers.
I know. I’m sweet.
It goes with the theme.
Let’s begin with our quote, this time from Julia Child.
A party without a cake is just a meeting.
I couldn’t agree more.
Some of you know that my live workshops include a spread, especially my Gay Men’s Writing Brunch, and always, a DeLorenzo Dessert: usually a cake. Others may be privy to the fact that I’ve been writing about my recent attempts to consume less inflammatory foods, which, for a baker, has been challenging, to say the least.
What I’ve discovered is a plethora of other bakers who are trying to make healthier desserts with more nutrition and less sugar, and some of them are incredible. The recipe below is one I’ve enjoyed making for my groups again and again: Gluten Free Chocolate Coconut Loaf. While it does include 3/4 of a cup of sugar, you could use coconut sugar, which doesn’t cause your glucose to spike the same way processed white sugar does. Coconut sugar is minimally processed and even has some nutritional value (okay, just a tiny bit of potassium, but that’s something!).
After the recipe, you’ll find a menu from an old fashioned ice cream shop. Read over the recipe and see what it evokes. For me, it was a regular visit with my mom and sister to Goodrich Dairy for a butterscotch shake; Mom always got a hot fudge sundae, and for my sister, a scoop of Mint Chip. A quick online search shows that Goodrich is permanently closed, and Mom has been gone a long time now, but that sweet memory lives on.
What does reading the ice cream menu below bring up for you? Read through it and write in response.
p.s. I’m not including any of my own writing this week, but I did include a poem after the sundae menu. Enjoy!
Recipe: GF Chocolate Coconut Loaf
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 ½" x 4 ½" loaf pan and set it aside.
Sift together:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
1/2 coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt          Â
Set the flour mixture aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl (or a small saucepan, if you don't have a microwave): melt and whisk together:
¾  cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
If you are using a saucepan, transfer the melted chocolate to a large mixing bowl once it is completely smooth.
To that bowl add:
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 large eggs
Whisk until smooth. Add the coconut flour-baking powder mixture and whisk again until completely smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and place in the oven right away. Coconut flour is very absorbent: you will notice the batter continues to thicken if it rests. If you don't place the pan in the oven right away, there will be less moisture, and the cake will be too dry.
Bake the loaf until a cake tester (or toothpick) inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely.
The prompt:
PARLOR PICKS
The Avalanche
Look out below! This combination of three dips of Blue Bunny Premium Vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, hot caramel, OREO® bits and whipped cream will rock your world!
Tortoise and the Hare
Slow and steady may win the race, but you'll want to savor every moment of this delicious treat! A rich and fudgie brownie topped with a delicious dip of Blue Bunny Premium Vanilla ice cream, caramel topping, hot fudge, pecans, whipped cream and a cherry.
Chocolate Mudslide
An earthmoving experience of three scoops of Blue Bunny Premium Chocolate ice cream topped with marshmallow and brownie chunks. If you don’t order this, your name is mud!
Hot Fanana Sundae
A large scoop of Blue Bunny Premium Vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge, banana, whipped cream and a cherry.
The Goliath Sundae
Why should David have all the fun? It’s your turn to slay Goliath! Grab a spoon and dig in to six scoops of premium Blue Bunny Premium ice cream and your choice of toppings. Can you handle the giant?
Heath Bar® Sundae
Buttery toffee bits, hot caramel sauce and lots of thick rich hot fudge sauce, served over generous scoops of rich and creamy Blue Bunny Premium Vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry.
Lucky Stars Sundae
A decadent combination of Blue Bunny Premium Vanilla and Chocolate ice cream, topped with thick layers of hot fudge and hot caramel sauces, whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry for a cosmically classic taste that is simply out of this world!
Turtle Sundae
Blue Bunny Premium Vanilla ice cream buried in hot caramel, hot fudge and pecans, then topped with whipped cream and a cherry.
Black & White Sundae
Blue Bunny Premium Chocolate ice cream covered with marshmallow, chocolate syrup, crushed Oreos®, whipped cream and a cherry.
Nut Roll Sundae
One dip of Blue Bunny Premium Vanilla ice cream covered with marshmallow, caramel, whole salted peanuts, whipped cream and a cherry.
Classic Banana Split
Banana, one scoop of each Blue Bunny Premium Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry ice cream, topped with chocolate syrup, pineapple and strawberry with whipped cream and a cherry (nuts available on request).
Double Dog Dare
We double dog dare you to try this gigantic banana split! Twice the size of our classic banana split.
Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Hot Fudge, Raspberry, Banana, Butterscotch, Cherry, Blueberry, Hot Caramel, Marshmallow, Pineapple, Creme de Menthe, Root Beer (special requests welcome)
Kryptonice Cream Sundae
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a sundae that will require super powers to finish! A giant scoop of Blue Bunny Scooper Hero® Ice Cream covered in exploding Pop Rocks® mini-boulders and clouds of whipped cream. Cape and tights not included.
Dirt & Worms Mud Puddle Sundae
Gummi worms squirm their way over one dip of Blue Bunny Chocolate Ice Cream and chocolate sandwich cookies into a puddle of fudge sauce, whipped cream and a cherry. These are the only worms we recommend you eat!
Eating Together
by Kim Addonizio
I know my friend is going,
though she still sits there
across from me in the restaurant,
and leans over the table to dip
her bread in the oil on my plate; I know
how thick her hair used to be,
and what it takes for her to discard
her man’s cap partway through our meal,
to look straight at the young waiter
and smile when he asks
how we are liking it. She eats
as though starving—chicken, dolmata,
the buttery flakes of filo—
and what’s killing her
eats, too. I watch her lift
a glistening black olive and peel
the meat from the pit, watch
her fine long fingers, and her face,
puffy from medication. She lowers
her eyes to the food, pretending
not to know what I know. She’s going.
And we go on eating.