Special Diet Archives - Jenny is baking

Colombian Buñuelos with German Ingredients

Yay, today I get to introduce Colombian buñuelos with German ingredients. I already have a buñuelos recipe on the blog. However, for the previous recipe we had to make the cheese ourselves. But now I managed to make a recipe with cheeses that are readily available in Germany. So let me introduce to you these cheese fritters. They are traditionally served in December, for sure for Christmas, but also for New Year’s. If you would like to learn more about Colombian Christmas traditions and recipes, check out that blog post. Just as I managed to make Colombian pandebonos with this farmer’s cheese, I replaced the Colombian queso costeño with it. I also like to use a mix and throw in feta cheese. As cheeses have a different amount of liquid, I had to tweak the recipe a bit, but then it was perfect!

29/11/2024

Vegan Gingerbread Houses for the Mug

Aren’t these tiny gingerbread houses cute? Bonus point, they are even vegan, I tried for the first time vegan royal icing and the secret is chickpea brine! That is the only “funny” ingredient you need, but other than that, all pretty normal. Of course I already have these cute little gingerbread houses here on the blog. Those are made with normal royal icing, which has egg whites. However, this time I decided to make them fully vegan. I already knew that making the dough vegan was super easy as it does not contain any egg (or potassium carbonate, which for some strange reason is used in seasonal baking in Germany). So I knew the only obstacle to tackle was the vegan icing. Royal icing contains egg whites, however, we are going to use the brine of chickpeas, also known as aquafaba. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was. So are you in? Do you want to gift these to somebody?

05/11/2024

Isla Flotante – A Fluffy Meringue Cake with Caramel

If you are in the mood for a fluffy and airy dessert, this is for you. This is meringue made in a waterbath and there is a reason it is called isla flotante or “floating island”. It is so airy, it is only floating. It is perfect for anyone who can’t eat gluten as it does not contain any flour. As stated, you will prepare a meringue and bake it in a waterbath. The top is caramelized. You may serve it just like that or you can serve it with the custard called Sabayon. I also caramelized some strawberries since I like some fresh component. Even if you serve it with all these extras, you will only need five ingredients in total: eggs, sugar, vanilla, alcohol and strawberries. May I interest you in this dessert?

08/06/2024

Patacones – Fried Green Plantains

Patacones or tostones can be described as chips made from green plantains. You will fry these beauties twice. They are often served as a side and are popular throughout Latin American. Especially countries close to the equator seem to love this little snack. Producing patacones is pretty straight forward, you will first peel, then slice green plantains and cook them in oil. Then they are smashed and fried a second time. The best part is to decide how to serve them, sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt and herbs or serve beside a dip or a nice salsa. Such a treat!

08/03/2024

Cute Snowmen Macarons

Awww, these are super cute, aren’t they? Cute little snowmen as macarons. I find it so fitting that it actually snowed during the night, what better time to publish this recipe than today? I published a bucket list on January 1 with 24 ideas of what you may wish to tackle in your baking, myself included. In my opinion French macarons should definitely be on your baking bucket list. I already have several recipes on my blog. However, what I hadn’t tried so far is to decorate macarons with royal icing. Maybe due to all the gingerbread houses I decorated with royal icing not long ago made me think. You can also decorate French macarons with them, so I decided to make some snowmen. I only decorated the macaron shells on the top with rocal icing. It actually was a lot of fun. I hope these sweeten a cold winter day for you!

19/01/2024

Vegan Gingerbread Hearts with Jam Filling

Today we are making vegan gingerbread hearts with jam filling. If you so desire, you can also make them vegan, you only need to swap out the butter for vegan butter as the dough naturally does not contain any eggs. You may find this gingerbread surprising as it contains jam and chocolate. I can assure you, this is a very German recipe. In fact, every year these gingerbread hearts are sold as of October. I always thought it was impossible to make them at home. But one time when I was eating a store-bought heart, I thought, let’s see how they are actually made and consulted the Internet. To my surprise they are much easier to make than originally thought. You make gingerbread dough (check), you cut out hearts with a cookie cutter, then you place a bit of jam on one heart and seal it with another heart on top. You bake them and dunk them in chocolate. That’s it!

17/11/2023

Gluten-free Arepas with Plantain

Guys, these gluten-free arepas with plantain are a dream come true! Try to think of a flatbread with a touch of sweetness from the plantain, which is filled with mozzarella. I tell you, of all the arepas I have eaten, this is by far my favorite. Since I am married to a Colombian, I have had my share of arepas. Just as bread is extremely important in German culture, arepas are a staple in Colombia. Of course I posted the basic arepa recipe, some from the region Boyaca, which are slightly sweet, and arepas with cheese filling, which have become popular after the movie Encanto. In Venezuela arepas are commonly filled and stuffed, I introdcued arepas with chicken filling and today, finally, let me introduce arepas made with mashed plantains.

19/05/2023

Brazilian Cheese Puffs, Pão de Queijo

Today I am introducing the small cheese puffs called pão de queijo from Brazil. Cheese puffs are extremely popular in Latin America, every country has its version and style. Almost all have in common that they are not prepared with wheat flour, but instead tapioca (also known as cassava or manioc) starch is used. On top, it is the starch and not the flour what you are looking for. Naturally, they are all gluten-free. I already introduced the ones from Colombia called pandebonos and also the Paraguayan ones called chipa.

19/02/2023

Classic Colombian Empanadas

Warning, these classic empanadas from Colombia are a labor of love. If you are going to make everything from scratch like I did, you will need a few hours. However, one of the good things about empanadas is that you can prepare a lot in advance. You may wish to make the filling and/or the dough one to two days prior and then “only” need to fill and fry the empanadas the following day. But before we get into the details, what are empanadas exactly? Empanadas are dumplings, each Latin American country has its own variation, heck, every region and city will be proud of their particular empanadas. Since I was born in Uruguay, I am used to empanadas made with wheat flour. The traditional filling in Uruguay is beef (duh) and they are usually baked in the oven. Yes, of course I have a recipe for Uruguayan empanadas on my blog. Colombian empanadas on the other hand are made with cornmeal, if using the right one, they will be gluten-free. Most of the time they are not baked in the oven, but deep-fried. The filling varies, some use a piece of meat that is later pulled apart, I simply decided to use already minced meat. One particularity of Colombia is the “guiso” or “hogao”, this is a thick sauce made of tomatoes, spring onions, onions and herbs that are typically mixed with the meat filling. This makes them Colombian.

09/09/2022

From Colombia: Merengón with Fruits

Updated recipe in 2022 with clearer instructions and more options

I love meringue. I got to love meringue at a very late stage. Maybe because I feel meringue doesn’t play a very important role in the baking industry. But even though it was late love, merengón from Colombia is the best. It consists of three layers, meringue, whipped cream and a layer of fruit sauce. Easy to prepare, wonderful to look at and once you take the first bite, you will be in heaven, melts in your mouth and has a nice tangy aftertaste due to the fruits. Really a fairy dream!

29/07/2022

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