I came home from Rudi’s Gluten-Free Gourmet Dinner at Root Down, Denver, with a loaf of Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bread and a recipe for the delicious gluten-free bread pudding that had been served for dessert. Root Down made a really good bread pudding, so I was eager to re-create it using my gluten-free loaf of bread.

I cut off most of the crust and cubed one loaf of Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery Bread for this recipe.

I altered the recipe slightly to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand. Here’s what I mixed up:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• a pinch of sea salt

I poured my liquid mixture over the bread cubes and let it sit, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Then, I added 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, mixed it one more time, and poured it into a pyrex baking dish to bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes, until it was golden brown and cooked through the center.

I patiently let it cool, then served it with farm-fresh strawberries, some peach, and a drizzle I made with equal parts heavy whipping cream and maple syrup.

This recipe is a winner! It is definitely some of the BEST bread pudding I’ve had.

I think the title of this blog post says it all: Fresh Strawberries with Candied Orange Peel in Tangerine Fig Balsamic. That’s all it is.

I love making cobblers for dessert in the summer with seasonal fresh fruit. Cobblers are quick and easy, but can be dressed up with ice cream or homemade whip cream. I usually make peach or pear cobblers, but this time I tried to create something new for dessert: Chocolate Cherry Cayenne Cobbler.

I couldn’t resist the beautiful red cherries at the Boulder Farmers’ Market. And when I found myself craving dessert on Saturday night, a chocolate cherry cobbler was the answer.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp (or more) of cayenne
• 1/3 cups sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1 TB walnut oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3-4 cups cherries, split in half and pitted

Put the cherries and chocolate chips in a pie pan or any other glass baking dish. Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside in one bowl, and mix together the wet ingredients in another. Pour the wet into the dry, mix well, and pour over the cherries. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or so, until the top is baked all the way through. Ovens definitely vary, so check it after 20 or 25 minutes to be sure it isn’t over-cooking.

Since I recently made a rhubarb cobbler, I wanted to make this one a little different to avoid being boring. I basically followed the recipe from my last Rhubarb Cobbler, but changed it a bit.

I cooked 6 stalks of rhubarb that I chopped into manageable chunks with 1/4 cup maple syrup on medium high heat until the syrup started to boil. I dropped it down to medium low and stirred it frequently until it looked like the mixture in the photo below. I added some freshly ground black pepper and transferred it to a pie pan.

For the topping, combine in one bowl:

• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger (I buy mine from Savory Spice Shop)
• a pinch of sea salt

• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 TB plain rice milk (I make homemade rice milk)
• 1 TB walnut oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until it looks like this.

I served it with some Ginger Cream Ice Cream from Boulder Ice Cream and enjoyed every last bite!