Japanese Christmas Cake is a traditional holiday dessert made of sponge cake, strawberries and whipped cream. When we found this
video of a Pikachu Christmas cake, we were inspired to bake a gluten-free version. We made two versions of the recipe one with eggs/dairy and a dairy-free version. This recipe take a lot of work, but the results are well worth it ^^
Ingredients:
The Cake:1 bag of Namaste Vanilla Cake Mix (or use your favorite G-free mix)
Egg version3 Egg Whites
2 Tsp of Cream of Tarter
1 cup of club soda
omit the water
Egg-Free/Banana VersionEgg-Free Recipe Ingredients:
2 large rip bananas
1/4 of a cup of water
1 cup of club soda
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Whipped Cream:Fat-Free Whipped Cream:1/2 cup of non-fat dry milk
1/2 cup of cold water
3/4 tsp of gelatin
1 tbsp of water
2 TBSP of honey
1/2 tsp of vanilla
Rockin' Vegan Coconut Whip Cream:1 Can of coconut milk (full fat or two 1/3 fat cans)
2 TBSP of corn-free confections sugar
1/4 tsp of vanilla
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1/4 of a cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
6-7 strawberries sliced
yellow food coloring or 2TBSP of turmeric and 1/3 cup of hot water
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Materials: parchment paper
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Directions:Prep:
Slice 6-7 strawberries vertically. Take two strawberries and chop off the end- those will be Pikachu's checks. Place the strawberries in the fridge until needed.
[If you plan on using Coconut Whip-cream. Prep by putting can(s) in the fridge over night, and to prep while the cake is baking]
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The Cake:1) Line your cake pans with parchment paper, the bottom and the sides.
2) Pokemon Trainers the choice is yours: Follow the original Namaste recipe or use either of our substitutions. We going to be using 1/2 of the mix, if you wish to make a large cake then double the substitutions.
- EGG Version-1) Place 3 Eggs White in a mixing a bowl , with 2 tsp of cream of tartar, and beat with a hand mixer until you reach soft peaks.
2) Slowly fold in 1/2 of the Namaste Foods Vanilla cake mix; then add club soda (make sure its room temperature), and keep folding.
3) When ingredients are mixed, pour the batter in the lined cake pans.
4) Place in the oven at 350 degrees, and bake for 20-25 mins. Cake is done when toothpick inserted inside in center comes out clean.
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-EGG-Free/Banana Version1) Take 2 large rip banana's chop and place in a microwave safe bowl, then add 1/4 of a cup of water. Place bowl in microwave for 1 minute or until banana's are soft.
2) Place microwaved banana's in mixing bowl and blend using a Cuisine-Art or handmixer.
3) Then add 1/2 of the Namaste Foods Vanilla cake mix, and 1 cup of club soda( at room temperature) and mix well.
4) Pour the batter into the lined cake pans, and bake for 30 mins at 350 degrees. [Note banana cake is very sticky, but it doesn't mean its not cooked]
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3) When your cakes are done baking, remove form the oven and let them cool for about 15-20 mins. [Let the banana cake cool a little longer]
4) After the cakes have cooled down, remove them from there pans. This should be much easier due to the parchment paper. Place cake on a large plate.
banana cake pieces 5) [*Kids have your parents do this steps*] Using a sharp knife, cut the cake into even square pieces, like brownies. The banana is going to be similar to cutting a cheesecake-so use a very sharp knife and rise it in cold water each time before cutting a new piece.
egg white cake pieces[Don't worry about the color of the cake, its perfectly normal for banana cake to be much darker]
Shaping- Now it's time to start building Pikachu. Are you ready?
1) To create Pikachu's face, take 8 square cake pieces, place 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top, making a square. (just like in the photo above.)
2) Using a knife, cut off the edges to form a circle/oval shape.
3) To create the Ears. Take 8 square pieces, and form to rectangles; 2 piece on top and 2 pieces on the bottom. Using a knife chop off the edge creating a round long oval, like in the photo above. Do this for each ear. [We made our cake using both the banana cake pieces and egg-white cake pieces.]
The Creamy Center-Here comes the fun part....whipped cream ^^ If you can't use regular whipped cream, feel free to use either the
Fat-Free Dairy version or our
Rockin' Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream, both of them are delicious ~.^
You'll need to make two batch of whipped cream, one for the inside of the cake, and other for the outside.
The Inside-
1) Remove the top pieces of the cake. Cover the bottom with whipped cream.
2) Then place the sliced strawberries on the whipped cream.
3) Place the other cake pieces back on top and cover the area with whip cream, using a knife you can start shaping Pikachu's face and ear. Place in fridge for 15 so cream can harden slightly.
The Outside-This is where we start to see Pikachu take shape. Using the other batch of whipped cream that was set aside, add yellow food coloring. Add as much coloring needed until you get a nice soft yellow color.
To make your own yellow food coloring:1) Take 2 TBSP of turmeric + 1/3 of a cup of water.
2) Boil the mixture until there is a strong yellow/orange color, and set aside and cool.
1) Remove cake from the fridge, the white layer of whipped cream on the top should be nice and semi-hard. Using the yellow whipped cream start frosting the top and the white parts are covered.
2) Now it's time to set the face ^^ Take the strawberry ends that we set aside earlier those are Pikachu's checks.
There are several way to create the eyes and mouth, and nose, we used chocolate.
To create Pikachu's eye, nose and mouth:
- 1) Take a medium rectangle piece of parchment paper
- 2) Melt 1/4 of enjoy Life Chocolate chips in the microwave, spread the chocolate on the parchment.
- 3) Place in fridge until semi-hard.
- 4) Using a knife trace two eye, a small circle for a nose, like the photo above.
3) Place the eye, nose and mouth on the cake. To make the white take a drop of whipped cream and place it on the circles.
4) The Ears: Take the left over melted chocolate and crumbly it, sprinkle until you form the ears.
Pikachu Christmas Cake.... Happy Holidays ^^
There one thing that we've missed most this holiday season is, baking sugar cookies. It's a time honored tradition that has brought families together for generations. Yes, you can you can create your own gluten-free cookie dough. The truth is, the majority of these recipes require the use of butter or soy/corn based shortenings. Those allergic to dairy/soy/corn are out of luck. We were on the verge of retiring our cookie cutters, until we discovered Gibert's Goodies Cookie Dough
Gilbert Gourmet Cookies are known for their outstanding reputation of gluten/allergy-free baked goods. The company, founded by Liz Gilbert, (who also has food allergies); has created a high quality allergy friendly product free of: gluten, nuts, soy, corn, dairy, trans-fats and contain all natural ingredients. Their cookies recently won the Outstanding Gluten-Free Award from the CT Fancy Food Association.
At midnight, January 23, 2012, Chinese people around the world will welcome the new year, ushering in the Year of the Dragon. The year of the dragon carries great optimism and promise for positive change. It's the most powerful of the 12 signs of the zodiac. This year is very special, because it is the year of the water dragon, something that happens once every 60 years.
There are many Chinese New Year dishes that are said to bring good fortune. There's none more special than, the Orange. Traditional they're served at the end of a meal; there said to bring good luck and wealth. This Chinese New Year were giving a special shout-out to our favorite fruit: The Orange ^^ Good Luck + Vitamin C= Good Stuff!
- EGG Version-
banana cake pieces 
egg white cake pieces
1) To create Pikachu's face, take 8 square cake pieces, place 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top, making a square. (just like in the photo above.)
2) Using a knife, cut off the edges to form a circle/oval shape.
3) To create the Ears. Take 8 square pieces, and form to rectangles; 2 piece on top and 2 pieces on the bottom. Using a knife chop off the edge creating a round long oval, like in the photo above. Do this for each ear. [We made our cake using both the banana cake pieces and egg-white cake pieces.]
1) Remove the top pieces of the cake. Cover the bottom with whipped cream.
2) Then place the sliced strawberries on the whipped cream.
3) Place the other cake pieces back on top and cover the area with whip cream, using a knife you can start shaping Pikachu's face and ear. Place in fridge for 15 so cream can harden slightly.
1) Remove cake from the fridge, the white layer of whipped cream on the top should be nice and semi-hard. Using the yellow whipped cream start frosting the top and the white parts are covered.
2) Now it's time to set the face ^^ Take the strawberry ends that we set aside earlier those are Pikachu's checks.
