7 is the # between 6 & 8

SEVEN is also:

• a lucky and happy prime number;
• the amount of wonders of the ancient world;
• how many deadly sins there supposedly are;
• the number of dwarves that kept Snow White company;
• how many gods of fortune in Japanese mythology there are;
• the number of spots on a seven-spotted ladybug; and
• the number of posts I have been tagged to resuscitate by Ryan of Ryan Bakes and Ramona of Curry and Comfort.

MOST...

1 - Beautiful

Grapetizer Layer Cake - a freaky but fantastic gluten-free recipe based on Joyti of Darjeeling Dreams Blackberry + Champagne Layer Cake, made just after I got a shiny new camera to play with.

2 - Popular

Gluten-Free, Egg-Free Chocolate Cake - a collaborative effort between my Mom and me, which garnered my first website feedback of someone who actually baked it and got back to me. Yay! :-)

3 - Controversial

Chickpea Brownies - a chance find entirely made up (necessitated by what I had left in my kitchen when a chocolate craving struck.) It didn't get many comment but, to this day, still manages to top my Google Analytics charts with the most amount of views ever.

4 - Helpful

Buttermilk Rusks - a South African classic updated for an allergy-prone world. I have received the most appreciative e-mails from South Africans and ex-pats around the world seeking some homemade comfort and nostalgia. I *heart* it! :-)


5 - Successful (with an added dash of "Surprise!")

Nonna's Rustic Apple Cake - I was tripping down memory lane when I wrote this post, and I think readers identified with the family element. I've also noticed that  people really want egg-free cake recipes that actually work reliably. This is one of those.

6 - Underrated

Gluten/Egg/Corn/Nut-Free Pizza Bases - this is one of those recipes I wish I could make for EVEYRONE so that they could be addicted to wanting to make it themselves :-) But I totally understand that if one could buy a ready-made pizza base, one would. So it's all good.

7 - Proud of...

Chocolate Pots - the writing muse was with me when I churned out this one. Really. The planets aligned.

So...

1. Stacey of bakercourt
2. Lynn of Gimme Gluten Free
3. Marisa of The Creative Pot 
4. Natalie of The Wooden Spoon Blog
5. Kim Bee of Cravings of a Lunatic

..."Tag...you're it!"

Play with if you feel like it :-)

Homemade, gluten-free buttermilk rusks

When my then boyfriend/now hubby and I were in varsity, and money for dates was thin on the ground, we used to raid my parents' pantry for Ouma buttermilk rusks dipped in frothy, delicious cappuccinos (the flavoured packet mixes). We'd find a spot on the couch in the lounge or outside on the bench in the garden, and smul lekker !

Other than Nature's Choice gluten-free coconut & sesame rusks which are buttery with no nasty aftertaste (but are seriously on the pricey side), no bought gluten-free rusk I've tasted up to now comes close to Ouma buttermilk rusks. But this recipe is about as close as it's going to get.

It's adapted from a recipe which came printed in a little booklet with the Ideas Magazine a few months ago. Make it when you have some time on your hands and are craving a true, homegrown South African tradition - 'n lekker koppie koffie met beskuit op die stoep! (Translation: an enjoyable cup of coffee with rusks on the verandah.)

Buttermilk Rusks
(gluten-free)

Ingredients:

- 1kg gluten-free cake flour*
- 280g sugar
- 250g butter
- 3 eggs
- 333ml buttermilk

Method:

1) Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour* and sugar. * Note on the flour: Pick a well-balanced gluten-free flour blend with a taste you love. The quality of the flour will determine how fluffy and light your rusks turn out. If you use a single-source dense flour, the rusks will be dense and wont turn out looking like mine. I use my own mix of flours. Just like I had to, you will need to experiment with the recipe until you find the magic touch which works for YOUR tastebuds and visual appeal. The recipe, however, is a solid, no-flop base recipe open to variation.

2) Make a well in the centre and use a dough hook attachment on your mixer
to add the eggs and butttermilk (the consistensy will be like a thick scone batter).

3) Roll balls and put them next to eachother
in a loaf tin or a cake tin or something with edges.

4) Bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 30 - 40 mins (till golden)
BUT you have to start watching them after 20 mins already.

5) THEN you take them out, break them apart, eat a few
as delicious/rich/soft scones
with jam and double thick cream on




AND

put the rest on a wire rack on a baking sheet in the oven at 50 degrees Celsius
with a wooden spoon in the oven door for air flow
and bake it for a few hours (mine took 2 - 3 hours)
till it's the crispy texture of a rusk.

(See pic above post.)

Geniet dit!Enjoy it!