dhar-ma (n) the essential nature of a thing. cakes (n) a sweet baked food.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Apple, Walnut Flappers & the Buffy Flay Throwdown

I have a secret... I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ok... I'm a tad bit obsessed with it actually. Not in a weird way mind you, I just think that it is one of the best TV shows that have ever existed, and if you have never watched Buffy, trust me you are seriously missing out. But my love for a show that has been off the air for 9 years now is not what this post is really about. You see, last week my brother Adam brought over the epic find of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game for the gamecube, and since I have commandeered his Nintendo Wii, this was truly an exciting event. In the midst of my enthusiasm however I came to the sad realization that I suck at video games. I swear I have absolutely no manual dexterity or fine motor skills when it comes to those controllers, and end up mashing buttons furiously while facing backwards from the target because I can't figure out how to turn around. It's quite sad really... But I am determined to take on my role as Slayer and fight my way through hordes of vampires and zombies and bizarre wolverine looking creatures to save the day, so I made a deal...
My brother will come over and help kill said vampires, zombies, and wolverine creatures, and I will make him dinner. Brilliant, I help save the world from evil and no one goes hungry... two vamps, one stake. Hence Saturday night has become what we call the "Buffy Flay Throwdown."
Adam has become a recent convert to the wonder that is the Food Network, and Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives is his hero. So when I called him up to ask what he wanted me to make it wasn't too much of a shock to learn it was something he had seen the other night on Triple D: Apple, Walnut Flappers (Pancakes) with Brie. You can watch the segment featuring them here. Since I like to eat too, my challenge was to make them gluten free and vegan, while still having them taste like something you might find Guy chowing down on. A daunting task.

The flappers on the show were made with a yeast dough, and try as I might I could not find a gluten free yeast pancake recipe anywhere. So I pulled out my box of magic flours and found a regular recipe for yeast pancakes on the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site, and got to mixing up some gluten free mojo. The results...
Yum... Brinner is served. Thick, chewy, delicious pancakes covered with a sweet apple, walnut caramel sauce... the gluten eaters proclaimed "these are good, really good" and I was happy they didn't turn out like lead, actually I was more than happy because they were the exact opposite of lead, they were a gluten free taste extravaganza... Mine were served sans Brie, but I was informed that if you can eat the cheese, a slice or two of Brie on the top takes them to a whole other level of Brinnery goodness.

G-Free, Vegan Apple Walnut Flappers
Ingredients:
2 cups Sorghum flour
1 cup Millet flour
1 cup Tapioca Flour
1 cup Potato Starch
2 tsp xatham gum
2 Tbs organic cane sugar
1 Tbs salt
2 packets yeast
4 cups coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk of your choice) warmed to 100 - 120 degrees
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup melted earth balance soy free margarine
2 Tbs ground flax seed + 6 Tbs water (or egg replacer for 2 eggs)

For the Apple Walnut Sauce:
5 apples - cored, peeled and diced tossed in lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp apple pie spice
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs earth balance soy free margarine

Directions:

In a small bowl mix flax seed with water, let sit for five minutes to thicken and gel. In a large bowl combine the flours and starches, mixing very well to ensure even distribution. Add in the remainder of the dry ingredients, the salt, sugar, yeast and xanthan gum. Pour in the warmed milk, vanilla, margarine and flax seed gel. Stir into the batter until well combined. Cover and let rise in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. (I preheat my oven to 175 degrees and then turn off and place my dough inside. It rises beautifully every time.)

Pour batter by 1/2 cupfuls onto a greased hot griddle and spread them out a little. Turn when bubbles form on top of the pancake; cook until the second side is golden brown. These pancakes are thick and rise quite a bit while cooking. I checked them with a toothpick to ensure they were cooked through and not doughy in the center.

Meanwhile for the sauce, melt the margarine in a hot skillet. Add the apples, sugar, spices, walnuts, vanilla, and maple syrup and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until apples are soft and liquid has reduced to a thick caramel sauce consistency.

Serve flappers with the apple, walnut sauce spooned over them.

Serves 4

No comments:

Post a Comment