Gluten Free Lemon Cake with Raspberries and White Chocolate

Hey hey, everyone! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all!!!! I've got a slew of new recipes coming up for you all  the first of which is a delectable and delightful Lemon White Chocolate and Raspberry cake. I made this recipe for my friend Amar's birthday and it was such a hit that another friend of mine placed an order for it the very next day. ;) This cake is very moist, very lemony and has just the right amount of sweetness. I hope you enjoy it!

1 c butter, softened to room temperature
2 c organic sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c lemon juice (approx 2 - 2 1/2 large juicy lemons)
zest of 2 large lemons
1 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt for extra protein)
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 c gluten free flour (I used Trader Joe's brand)
1 1/2 c white chocolate chips
1 c raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Lemon Glaze

1/2 c butter, softened
2 - 3 c powdered sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla
Limoncello (Italian lemon liquor) or milk to thin

Preheat oven to 375*F. Butter and flour a non stick bundt pan and set aside. (Use the same gluten free flour used in the cake to dust the pan.)

In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, yogurt, salt, and baking powder and mix well. While mixing, slowly add in gluten free flour; mix well and stir in white chocolate chips and raspberries. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake at 375* for about 45 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean but moist. Cake will be firm to the touch and the top and sides will be golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 10 - 15 minutes before removing from pan. Invert cake onto a plate and drizzle with lemon glaze.

Decorate to your hearts content, I used fresh flowers, lemon slices, a dusting of powdered sugar, and more grated lemon zest to spruce the cake up and make it oh so pretty!!!

Enjoy! And Shimmy on! <3

Gluten Free White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies

Hello world!!!! This is my first new recipe and first new post of my blog in over a YEAR!!! Sorry I've been MIA. There have been so many life changes since I moved to San Francisco that I haven' been able to devote much time to creating new recipes or updating my blog, but that's all changing now. The Bellydancing Baker is BACK in action! ;). Anyway, back to the recipe!!!! This is my first recipe trying out a gluten free flour blend instead of relying on beans to make my gluten free goodies. I used Trader Joe's brand gluten free flour mix and it won my seal of approval! These blondies are very lightly spiced, because I had a few complaints about my pumpkin bars being TOO spicy from a few people. If you like more spice feel absolutely free to up the amounts. These delicious little blondiess started out as a gluten free cookie recipe experiment hence the amount of butter in the recipe. (I'll work on a lower fat version next ;) The batter ended up being too soft for cookies but perfect for bar cookie (blondies!), mini muffins, or if you want something prettier, spoon the batter into different shaped baking pans to suit the season, or your mood. I'm always in the mood for love, so I used heart shaped baking pans! <3 The end result is completely melt in your mouth, soft, sweet, and delicately delicious. The taste and texture reminds me of a cake donut. YUM!!!!!!!

Buttery delicious goodness.... need I say more?

Gluten Free White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies

1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c organic brown sugar
1 c organic cane sugar
2 eggs
1 c pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 c gluten free flour blend (Trader Joe's brand or your favorite)
1.5 c white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375*F

Grease a 13"x 9 " baking pan with coconut oil, butter, or fat of your choice.
In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add in pumpkin, vanilla, spices, salt and baking powder; mix until blended well. Slowly add in gluten free four and mix until a soft batter forms. Stir or mix in white chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly into a prepared 13"x 9" baking pan and bake at 375* for 25 - 35 minutes or until edges are golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting up into bars, serving, and DEVOURING!  ENJOY! <3