Gluten free desserts can be delicious, even if you don’t follow a gluten-free diet. With the right recipes and ingredients, you can make tasty cookies, cakes and pastries of all kinds. I put together a collection of some of my favorite gluten free desserts to satisfy whatever you are craving. (Recipe for Pavlova below).
Gluten Free Desserts
Flan
Flan is a creamy custard that is bound by lots of whole eggs and can be silky smooth if baked just right. The trick is to bake it in a water bath until it is just set like jello, then take it out before the proteins in the eggs cook too tight and get rubbery. It is super simple, but takes knowing what to look for. You can watch me make it in my instagram video, so you’ll know the signs of a perfect flan. Get the recipe.
Crème Brûlée
As a French dessert, crème brûlée has a reputation for being a difficult dessert to make. In truth, creme brûlée is simple to make, despite its reputation of the opposite. There are a couple of tricks to guarantee success and I show you them in my instagram video. You can flavor your creme brûlée with lavender, tea, spices, coffee, or just about anything else you can steep in the cream. Get the recipe.
Macarons
Macarons are such a beautiful and simple dessert. I picked up some tips and tricks from Colette Christian’s Craftsy class on miniature French pastries, which really takes these to the next level. The bright colors and flavor combinations make macarons perfect for any special occasion. Get the recipe.
Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan too!)
Is there a better comfort food than chocolate chip cookies? these Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies from Stephanie Meyer’s The 30-Minute Paleo Cookbook are the ultimate snack to satisfy. They are super decadent and rich with flavor because they are made with almond butter. The cookies, like everything Stephanie creates, is gluten-free, in fact, these have NO flour at all and can also be made vegan. Get the recipe.
Pavlova
This ethereal crown of meringue, filled with cream and berries is a Pavlova. This is one of my favorite desserts, because I am a huge fan of meringue in just about any form. I love how it looks, how it tastes and the texture it lends. Pavlova, unlike other meringues, is made with vinegar and cornstarch, so the end result is crisp on the outside, but still has some tooth (chew) on the inside. Get the recipe.
Homemade Marshmallows
Homemade marshmallows are delicious, and incredibly easy to make. I am using sheet gelatin in my recipe, but I have also given the instructions for using the powdered variety. You can watch me use both types of gelatin in my instagram video. Perfect for campfires in the summer and hot chocolate in the winter. Get the recipe.
Awesome Apple Almond Crisp
This Awesome Apple Almond Crisp is the easy, last minute, under appreciated cousin to the Apple Pie. It is every bit as delicious and I think beautiful in a rustic way, albeit not as refined looking. It can be in the oven in less than 30 minutes and emerges bubbling, crisp (hence the name) and the perfect landing place for a scoop of ice cream. Get the recipe.
Flourless Chocolate Almond Torte
I’ve made several versions of flourless chocolate torte, but this one is far and away the most popular, especially for Passover. It is made of several layers of a flourless chocolate-almond cake and bittersweet ganache. I make the whole thing without dairy, and you’ll never know the difference. Get the recipe.
Roasted Squash Brown Butter Cake
This beautiful Roasted Squash Brown Butter Cake just happens to be gluten-free, as is everything in Aran Goyoaga’s book, Cannelle et Vanille. This gorgeous cake comes from the pages of her book and I added a cranberry relish that has fresh strawberries and pink peppercorns, a lovely compliment to the roasted squash brown butter cake. Get the recipe.
Chocolate Mousse with Toasted Meringue
Lemon-Lime Mousse with Fresh Strawberries
Cherry Semifreddo
A semifreddo is a cross between ice cream and mousse, but doesn’t require any special equipment to prepare. The texture is smooth and luxurious when allowed to sit at room temperature until it just on the verge of melting, but still partially cold, hence the name. This one is based on a recipe from Hetty McKinnon’s book, Family, and is a sweet treat. Get the recipe.
Blood-Orange Creamsicle Semifreddo
This Blood Orange Creamsicle Semifreddo was inspired by one of my first pastry mentors, Claudia Flemming. Her book, The Last Course, was a collection of desserts she created, and I was just as excited by the Frozen Orange-Blossom Honey Mousse today as I was the first time I made it in 2001. I topped it with Blood Orange Sorbet to create my idea of the perfect creamsicle. Get the recipe.
Peanut Butter Cup Meringue Cookies
Rebecca Firth’s The Cookie Book offers many wonderful treats, and I stopped in my tracks at the sight of these peanut butter cup meringue cookies. They are just the right balance of sweet and salty, like a peanut butter cup candy, but with the ethereal quality I love about meringue. Get the recipe.
Lemon-Lavender Meringue Tarts
These lemon-lavender meringue tarts may seem a little upside down, we usually think of the meringue piled high above the lemon filling, not the other way around. This is a simpler twist on the classic, but all the same tangy-sweet allure. Get the recipe.
Chocolate Caramel Matzo for Passover
My mother is Jewish and my dad was raised celebrating the Christian holidays. I’ve got culinary attachments to both faiths. I didn’t grow up eating caramel matzo at Passover (nor homemade matzo), but it’s become a yearly tradition after my Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day co-author, Jeff, introduced me to it 17 years ago. Now, this recipe isn’t technically gluten-free, however, you can find gluten-free matzo if you need it. Get the recipe.
Wonderful Pavlova demo
Thank you, Thank you for this gluten free collection! Can’t wait to make these!