Nürnberger Elisenlebkuchen

Nürnberger lebkuchen is a speciality made during Christmas time and originating from Nürnberg in the state of Bavaria, Germany. It is now a protected name and can only be used for Lebkuchen actually originating from there, when sold. A comparatively newer variant of this lebkuchen is the Nürnberger Elisenlebkuchen, which are baked without any flour. And this is one fact which makes them so interesting for me. Need I mention why? They are gluten free!
But, another reason for this is that I don't like the lebkuchen found in the markets usually. They taste too much of cinnamon and you might know that I prefer it with only little cinnamon. So, that means I have to bake them myself.
And going through this book I got as a gift from a friend of mine, I found this lovely recipe of these exquisite Nürnberger Elisenlenbkuchen. The recipe couldn't have been more perfect for me. After having baked my first round of cookies already, I felt confident enough to try these myself as well.

Nünberger Elisen-Lebkuchen

Recipe by PG of My Kitchen Stories

Based on the Book: Dr. Oetker's Weihnachts Bäckerei (Dr. Oetker Verlag)

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes
Baking Temperature: 130-150°C (convection oven: 120°C) ; gas - position 1
Baking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients:

75 -100 g candied orange and lemon peel, finely chopped
125 g almonds meal
2 eggs
200g fine crystal sugar
1 pack vanilla sugar or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch ground clove or cinnamon (I only used cinnamon)
a few drops rum flavouring or 2 tbsp rum
1 tbsp lemon peel or a few drops lemon flavouring
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
75-125 g ground hazelnuts (depending on the size)
30 small paper thin round wafers* ( communion wafers / host, called Oblate in German), to place the batter on
or
spread ground nuts (almonds or hazelnuts) on the baking sheet (almond or hazelnut)

Icing:

white:
150 g powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
1-2 tbsp warm water or lemon juice or a mixture

Chocolate:
75 g dark chocolate icing
or
75 g dark chocolate
10 g coconut fat

Method:

• mix together finely chopped candied orange and lemon peel with almonds and set aside
• beat the eggs in a deep bowl at highest speed to get a fluffy and creamy mixture
• add vanilla extract or sugar and slowly sprinkle the sugar into the mixture while beating, which takes about a minute
• fold in the aromas, cinnamon and lemon peel
• add baking powder to the almond mixture and fold it slowly into the egg mixture (you can use the egg beater at the lowest speed)
• fold in so much ground hazelnuts so that the batter is still easily spreadable
• spread baking sheets over baking trays and grease them
• if using hosts/wafers then place them on these sheets
• if using ground nuts then sprinkle slightly on the sheet to have a thin layer to prevent the cookies from sticking to the sheet
  
• using two spoons place spoonfuls of the cookie mixture on each of the wafers or on simply on the sheet to make around 30 cookies
  
• bake in preheated oven (requires about 5-10 minutes) at 150°C (convection oven: 120°C) for 25-30 minutes
• for the white sugar icing mix so much water or lemon juice with the sugar to make a thick paste and
  
• for the chocolate icing melt the ingredients in a double boiler / water bath and stir
  
• spread the icings on the still hot cookies, by dipping the cookies in the icing or by pouring it on the cookies with a spoon

*NOTE: the wafers are not always gluten free, so one needs to either make the without the wafers or use wafers made with a substitute like rice flour. I made the majority of these without the wafers and only a small part with the wafers.

As you can see here, these haven't turned out perfect. I have no clue as to why these got wrinkled on top or when. It did not affect the flavour or the taste, as they taste fantastic. I made both the coatings for them, sugar and chocolate. But, hubby didn't want any, so I also left a part of the cookies plain. And they actually taste wonderful! But, again each one of us has found his favorite, while sunny boy always chooses the ones with sugar coating (surprisingly, as chocolate in general is his favorite) and I like the ones with chocolate and hubby plain. I'll be making another round soon and let me see if I can figure out why the surface got wrinkled, maybe the oven wasn't hot enough or I had opened it once. Or that I used the mixer at lowest speed to fold in the almond meal.
But, it was utter pleasure to bite into these chewy and flavourful orange and lemony cookies or to be precise, lebkuchen, as these are a special type of cookies made for Christmas. And I'm so happy to have tried these and I will surely make them again.

These cookies go to Susan's Eat Christmas Cookies (part 2) at Food Blogga , the round up is here.

Jingle bells! Jingle bells!...yum yum...yum yum yum!!

...Oh what fun it is to munch on lovely christmas yums.... :D
Christmas time is time for cookies. Do you agree or do you agree?
Yes, you do. Of course, you do!
So, here are two recipes which I had selected which were gluten and dairy free too and still so perfect for Christmas! Sunny boy's favorite is the almond cinnamon stars and mine coconut macaroons, and hubby's BOTH! I just hope they last till Christmas. maybe I need to make another round of cookies. I already have two more cookie recipes to post about, though.

Before I give you the recipes let me tell you why I choose these two recipes, apart from the reasons of their being gluten and dairy free. I love coconut in any form. Although, I know about this recipe of coconut macaroons since long, I had not tried making them until now. So, now with Christmas coming I had to hurry up with my Christmas baking. Here are two recipe I chose to start with. One is, as already mentioned, the coconut macaroons and the other is a very popular Christmas cookie here and is practically a must at Christmas time and children and adults alike love these "Zimtsterne".
These are two gluten and diary free recipes and the best thing about it is that I didn't have to make any substitutions as these neither require flours nor any milk products. Although there are many different recipes for"Zimtsterne" available, so I was very happy with this one. But, in these recipes you couldn't do without eggs, I would think. But, hey, who knows maybe you expert bakers out there know about that too. I would love to hear it, if you know something more than me.

So, here are the recipes....

Zimtsterne (Almond cinnamon stars)

Based on the Book: Dr. Oetker's Weihnachts Bäckerei (Dr. Oetker Verlag)

Ingredients:

4 egg whites (make sure that no traces of egg yolk are there, otherwise the egg white will not become stiff)
250 g powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
50-100 g sugar for rolling the dough
1 packet vanilla sugar (or 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract)
3 drops bitter almond aroma (I left it out)
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
350 - 400 g almond meal (ground with skin) - depends on the size of the eggs (I required 400 g for medium sized eggs)

Method:

• beat egg whites in a deep clean and fat-free bowl until a knife cuts in the stiff froth remain visible (another test: invert the bowl and the stiff froth will not fall off)
• slowly add powdered sugar to the egg white while beating (1 spoon at a time, once it is incorporated, add more)
• !! remove about 3-4 tablespoons of meringue in a clean fat free bowl, for coating the tops later
• add vanilla essence to the remaining and fold in spoonfuls of almond meal into the meringue until it is not sticky anymore and makes a nice ball
• place the ball on a clean surface sprinkled generously with powdered sugar
• roll it out with a rolling pin, using some powdered sugar on top in between
• cut out stars or any desired shape with cookie cutters
• place baking paper sheets on two baking trays and place the cookies on them
• coat each cookie with little meringue using a spoon
• bake in oven for 20-30 minutes at:
• 130-150°C (preheated)
• convection: 120°C (preheated)
• gas: position 1 (preheated)

• the cookies will still be soft at the base when you take them out of the oven

Coconut macaroons

Recipe from Huettenhilfe.de

Ingredients:
4 egg whites, free from any traces of egg yolks
200 g sugar, fine grained (or use confectioners sugar)
200 g grated dessicated coconut
45-50 round paper thin (rice) wafers*, about 1" in diameter (communion wafers, called Oblate in German)

Method:

• beat egg whites in a deep clean and fat-free bowl until a knife cut in the stiff froth remain visible (another test: invert the bowl and the stiff froth will not fall off)
• slowly add sugar to the egg white while beating (1 spoon at a time, once it is incorporated, add more)
• fold in grated coconut into the meringue with a spatula
• place baking paper sheets on two baking trays and place the rice wafers on them
• take about one spoonful of the meringue and carefully from a round or oval shape with two spoons
• place on one wafer with a spoon, pressing it down gently to spread it over the wafer
• repeat for all the wafers or till the meringue is used up
• bake in oven for 20-30 minutes at:
• 130-150°C (preheated)
• convection: 120°C (preheated)
• gas: position 1 (preheated)

* TIP: use a well greased baking paper sheet or simply grease the baking tray properly as these are very sticky, if no such communion wafers are available.

Since I feel these fit so well to this months theme of Food In Colours : White, an event started by Sunshinemom of Tongueticklers and being hosted this time by Lubna Karim at Yummy Food, I'm sending these yummy cookies over to Lubna.
And these also go to Vandana's event Baking for Beginners at her blog Cooking up Something Nice.

Similar recipes:
Cinnamon stars at Meeta's WFLH

Rice Buckwheat Pancakes

Sunny boy got a contagious infection from the kindergarten, which isn't that bad actually. He was a little down on the first day, or maybe on two days and I noticed it a day later when the rashes started to show up in the morning. Since I had to keep him at home for the next few days and keep him busy too, this whirlwind that he is, one minute you think he is playing peacefully and the next moment - you just have to forget him for only a minute - and he is again up to some mischief.
So, one day I thought of making some pancakes for lunch for both of us. This time for a change I decided not to use maple syrup, which is usually always at the table when we make pancakes. I made a simple plum compote instead from the plums lazing around in my fruit basket and served the pancakes with the compote and a ready made apple sauce. I also put a tiny dollop of margarine (free of trans fatty acids and fortified with vitamins A, D and E - butter contains them naturally). A good dose of vitamin D in these cold months is very much required by the body to utilise calcium properly at his growing age.

Rice Buckwheat Pancake

Ingredients:

Pancake batter
8-12 tbsp brown rice flour
8-12 tbsp whole buckwheat flour
2 tsp whole cane sugar ( powdered jaggery)
1 pinch salt
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/4 tsp powdered cinnamon or cardamom, as per choice (optional)- I left it out
100 ml (or more) rice milk (calcium fortified organic) to make a thin batter
2 tbsp rapeseed oil

Compote
5 plums, washed, seeds removed and cut into 6 pieces each
2 tbsp sugar
a few tbsp water
a small piece of cinnamon- optional - I left it out


Method:

• cook all the ingredients for the compote for about 15 to 25 minutes on medium low heat
• mix all ingredients except for the oil for the pancake batter thoroughly to make a thin batter
• heat two tbsp of oil in a fry pan on medium heat
• add a ladle of batter in the pan and slowly spread it with circular movement to make a pancake
• cover with a lid with holes to allow steam to escape
  
• when the upper side is no more fluid (take about 30 -45 seconds) flip the sides
• bake the other side for another minute and remove from pan and keep warm
  
• make the following rounds without adding any oil
  
• serve warm with maple syrup, honey, apple sauce or any fruit compote
  

By the way, these are gluten free and dairy free pancakes! :)

Sunny boy loved it. He ate- you won't believe it- but he really ate five of these. OK, two of the pancakes were small in size, but still, I was afraid that he might get a stomach upset, but nothing happened, and then, as expected, he ate very little in the evening. And I think it is OK, for every now and then. As you can see these were only very very healthy with whole meal flours and only mildly sweet just like the apple sauce and the compote. And I didn't use any more oil for the pancakes. And I made about 10 pancakes and I could have easily made five more without adding any oil to the pan. So, except for the first pancake, these were also low on fat.

Gluten free Brownie Muffins

As you might know, this is the trial where I made a gluten free version of brownies, but without the xanthan gum. We made them using a muffin pan. Sonny boy loved these, so did I. To bite into the crust and then into the soft centre. It was something like a different version of Eclairs! :D
Hubby, he's not a brownie fan. But, the reason could have been the not so perfect results. The long baking time I used made the outer cover dry out a bit and I had to increase the baking time as the centre was still much too soft after 30 minutes. And maybe it was the lack of xanthan gum needed to replace the absence of wheat flour. I'm not sure. So, you see this is not a perfect result. I do plan to make them again and tell you about the improvements. But, anyways they tasted wonderful!

And here is the recipe:

Gluten free Brownie Muffins

I used a recipe from Wiki (here).

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 25-35 minutes
Baking temperature: 160-170 °C (convection: 150°C)


Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter (60 g)
1 cup sugar (200 g)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract -I used bourbon vanilla extract
2 eggs -I used 1/2 cup or 100 g silken tofu, whipped smooth with a hand blender
1/3 cup all purpose flour (40 g )- I used 30 g rice flour and 10 g cornstarch
6 tbsp cocoa powder (40 g)
1/4 tsp salt (a pinch) -I used lesser than 1/4 tsp
1 cup whole nuts of choice, chopped or whole, like walnuts or hazelnuts or pecans

Method:

• melt butter in a pot, add sugar, vanilla extract and eggs (or whipped silken tofu) and whip everything together
• add flour(s) and cocoa powder (preferably sieved, to prevent clumps)
• and stir to make a creamy paste
• add the nuts, chopped or whole, and mix
  
• spread on a small baking pan - I used a muffin pan
  
• bake at 160-170 °C (convection: 150°C) for 25 - 35 minutes (check after 25 minutes) - I had to bake for 40 minutes

NOTE: The inside was very soft and gooey and the outside a bit dry. Although I'm told that this is how a brownie normally is, I'm not sure if this was an optimal result. Maybe I need to add xanthan gum or something similar to compensate for the wheat flour.

Rishab and I enjoyed the last bit of it yesterday and it was pure pleasure for both of us. So, I thought I might as well publish these not-so-perfect but yummy recipe, even though I had initially planned to bake it again and then publish it. As you can see I also made a coating of chocolate icing to compensate for the dryness, which worked wonders....

Pumpkin Quick Bread

As you might know, I have been wanting to bake or prepare different things which are gluten and casein free for my nephew Advik. I had been asking my sister to give me some ideas about some gluten free recipes which she would like me to make and then finally she mentioned about the pumpkin spice bread. On checking some recipes I found that it is a quick bread which does not require any xanthan gum either. I had most of the ingredients and only needed to buy pumpkin. So, I thought, before the pumpkin season is completely over and I cannot get any of them any more in the market, let me get one and try a recipe of pumpkin spice bread, which I also found very fast.
I did very careful calculations to convert the cup measurements into grams, and planned and checked and rechecked everything, and got going with it this weekend. I had no idea of how it would turn out, not a clue. But, I made the recipe very carefully, and didn't make any substitutions, or only that what was really unavoidable. I went step by step slowly beating everything one by one, taking time for every step carefully. It looked good, almost all the way until I had also added the milk. Then all that I could think of was : "Oh no! That does not look so good.....", as all the fluffyness which I had acieved with all the beating seemed to go away. So, I stopped beating it and continued with adding the flour and beating the batter side by side. This time I had to hurry up as I had added soda, which, once added to the wet ingredients start working. The end result didn't look bad. So, I quickly poured it into a springform pan and put it in the preheated oven.

Pumpkin Quick Bread

Based on a recipe from a Gluten free recipe source

I converted the amounts using the online weight conversion calculator and have given the weight in grams I actually used, if deviating, at the end.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups (480 g) rice flour - I used gluten free whole meal rice flour, coarsely ground
1/4 cup (30 g) soy or gram flour - I used 35 gram flour – Indian besan)
1 heaped tsp turmeric powder (optional -I used it to give it a yellowish tinge)
1/2 tsp. baking powder - I used 1 tsp gluten free cream of tartar baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt - I used 1 tsp
1 tsp. cinnamon (powdered)
1 tsp. cloves (if using for the first time: use ½ tsp) - I ground about 15 -20 cloves with my coffee mill
2/3 (150 g) cup butter or margarine - I used margarine, free from trans fats and milk products
2 cups (460 g) dark brown sugar - I used 400g whole cane sugar / powdered jaggery and 50 g castor sugar
1 envelop (about 5 g) of bourbon vanilla sugar ( contains ground vanilla bean, vanilla extract and sugar)
4 eggs (medium sized)
1 can (1 lb.) or 2 cups (500 g) mashed squash or pumpkin - I used cooked and mashed fresh hokaido pumpkin
2/3 cup (11 measured tbsp) water or milk - I used soya milk
2/3 cup chopped nuts (I used soaked almonds chopped coarsely)
1/3 cup (60 – 80 g) golden raisins - I had none, so used chopped soft dried-apricots)
1/3 cup (60 – 80 g) raisins

Method:

• In a bowl mix both the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices
• Cream butter and sugar with a hand blender until it turns from brown to creamish in colour and is fluffy
• Add eggs one by one and keep beating
• Add pumpkin and milk one after the other and keep beating
• Add the flour mix to the pumpkin batter
• Stir in almonds, apricots and raisins
• Pour into a greased springform pan or into two 9''x5'' loaf pans
• If you use a springform pan, then almost double the amount of time will be required, like in my case
• Bake at 350 ° F (175 °C: 160°C convection) for one hour or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

I baked the bread for the first hour at 160°C and then for the next hour at 165 °C in a convection oven, since I had used a larger spring form pan instead of a loaf pan.

Changes I plan to make for next time:

1. reduce the amount of sugar to about 380 g, if using castor sugar, to 350 g
2. reduce the amount of salt to 1/2 tsp; 1 tsp was still too much for my taste
3. leave out cinnamon or replace with half with dried ginger: saunth
4. leave out cloves, gives too strong a flavour, or use ½ tsp


I was quite afraid about how it would turn out. But after about 15 minutes itself, I could see how it had risen, to my happiness. And after another 15 minutes it had risen even more to make me even more happy. I felt that it was a good sign as that could be a good indication of the bread being soft and spongy. But, after an hour when I checked the bread with knife, I found that the centre was all wet and undone. So, I knew it needed to be baked for at least half an hour more. I also increased the temperature by 5 °C. Afterwards when I checked the cake, it was much better but still far from being done, much too soft at the centre. So, another half an hour of baking and then I swithed off the oven and let it stand there as it was in the oven for a while, before I took it out and checked. And yes! The bread looked quite good. Infact much too good! No... wait... it was perfect! As perfect as I could imagine it to be. Soft, and with a nice sponge. Perfect crispy crust. It was just wonderful! It tasted sweet, a bit too sweet actualy , which I realised only later on. But, it did not disturb us. We like to eat things too sweet, if only the health factor wasn't there. :)
But, there was one thing which had started worrying me by the time I had switched off the oven. The smell. I guess some would love it, but I don't like cinnamon and clove in sweet things so much and I could smell it distinctly. I had purposefully kept the recipe the way it is . After all it is pumpkin spice bread. But, my fears were unfounded. The bread tasted very good.
But, still I would reduce the amount of these spices, as I feel that would be more like my bread. And sugar, I felt that it was too much, but didn't feel like making an changes and in the last moment added the remaining sugar as per the calculations.

Hubby was the first person to eat it and found it wonderful. Sonny boy loves this bread, I served it with whipped cream, but to go with the recipe I also wanted to prepare a gluten and casein free icing and found a nice recipe at Sophie's Flour Arrangements. But, as I wanted to make the spread I realised that I had finished off the margarine while making the cake. I had forgotten to stock up on it when I went shopping last time. So, I used butter instead to prepare it and, of course, left out all the spices, as I felt these were enough in the cake this time and only mixed some powdered jaggery with butter to make a simple but lovely icing. The jaggery gives a wonderful flavour to the butter so that nothing else is really needed.
And I also prepared an orange sauce for the cake from one of my cookbooks. Here also I had to use butter instead of margarine. If you wish to have the recipe, then ask me and I'll send it to you. And I sprinkled the butter icing with oraganic lemon zest and poure some orange sauce over it. Yummy!


And now I have to mention one thing: I was planning to send this recipe for Zorra's Bread Baking Day event: Coloured Breads for December, but this turned out to be dark brown as you see. Now breads usually look dark brown and I had hoped for something in yellow or orange. So, I would think, if I were to use regular caster sugar for this, it might actually turn yellowish in colour. Well, to find that out I'll have to wait for a while, before I try this recipe again. But this is one good recipe I would preserve carefully so that when one day the need arises, I can bake it for my my nephew, my dearest Advik.

And this wonderful and successful experiment I am so proud of, I'm sending off to Srivalli's Rice Mela at Cooking 4 All Seasons !!

Fruity apple cookies

This recipe of cookies has been inspired by Madhram's event Egg replacement-flax seeds at her Egglesscooking .com. Now, all I needed was a nice recipe of cookies to take on this challenge. On searching, I found this simple recipe of cookies with some lovely ingredients and I felt that this would be a good bet for combining both my experiments. Now you might ask, which two? Well, one is the egg replacement with flax seeds and the other to make it gluten free.
Lately, I have been wanting to again start with my experiments with gluten free baking for my nephew Advik. I had done it once a while ago, but somehow got stuck after that. Now, I want to spare you with my excuses and rather tell you what all I have been wanting to do, and what all I have tried already, like this recipe too. I want to bake a bread, but still haven't really got an appropriate recipe. As most of the recipes call for xanthan gum, something which I haven't found yet locally. I haven't tried it online, but I really didn't want mine being shipped from far off places, if it is not necessary.
After trying out a couple of recipes I have now realised that xanthan gum or something similar is an important ingredient of gluten free baking, especially for breads to turn out into something edible. And it was a good idea to wait for the bread recipe and trying out some simpler experiments first. I have tried a recipe of gluten free brownies, which did not turn out the way it should have, I think (recipe coming up soon!). Now there, like here too I also tried to make them egg free by replacing them with silken tofu, maybe I should do it step by step and not make too many experiments in one go. It tasted wonderful, but was a bit sticky and gooey and not fluffy at all.
From what I know for cookies the flour types can be much more easily replaced or exchanged than for breads. Unless you have xanthan gum. My search is on. But, I am happy with this recipe which is also gluten and egg free.

A note beforehand: As guided by Madhuram in her event, this is what I did to replace the eggs: For each egg to be replaced, whisk 1 tablespoon (15gm) of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons (I required 4 tbsp) of water until the mixture is thick and creamy.

Apple Oats Cookies

Based on the recipe at Kochmeister.com

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 20 - 25 minutes (I baked for 35 minutes)
Baking temp.: 200°C (Convection oven: 180°C)
Quantity : about 25- 30 pieces, for 2 baking sheets

Dry Ingredients:
500 g tart apples, washed and grated with skin (6-7 small apples from the garden)
150 g all purpose flour - I replaced it with : 100 g whole meal rice flour (coarse ground) and 50 g cornstarch - both gluten free
100 g thick rolled oats (kernige Haferflocken) - I would like to replace it with puffed amaranth and some sunflower seeds next time
2 1/2 tsp baking powder - I used gluten-free cream of tartar baking powder
1 pinch cinnamon
I also added:
50 g ground almonds with skin

Wet Ingredients:
100 g soft butter
70 g brown sugar - I used powdered jaggery / whole cane sugar
zest of 1 lemon
3 middle sized eggs - I replaced them with 3 tbsp finely ground flax seeds (linseed) and added 4 tbsp lukewarm water for each, i.e., 12 tbsp in total in a bowl and let seep for a while
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp orange juice
50 g raisins - I soaked 60 g in hot water for short and let excess water drip off on a sieve


Method:

• Mix thoroughly with a whisk flour, cornstarch, rolled oats, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl
• beat together butter, sugar, lemon zest, the juices, and eggs (or the replacement) - start beating with butter and add the ingredients one by one
• Preheat oven, grate apples and add to the batter along with the flour and raisins and mix to wet everything
• with a tablespoon place spoonfuls on two baking trays lined with baking sheets. pressing it down a little to make round shapes
• bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (I used convection: 180°C) for 20-25 minutes, I needed 35 minutes and let stand in the oven a while before opening the door slightly and leaving it for another 20 minutes or so before taking them out and letting them cool down

How did my experiment taste?
Wonderful! It had this slightly sour taste through the tart apples which was lovely and I had coated half of the cookies as you can see with some leftover chocolate icing (couverture; I'm not sure if there is a difference between the two, but I used the latter) which made the taste even more better. But, as I knew hubby would prefer without, I did not bother to coat them all with the chocolate icing. And hubby actually found the ones without the icing better. These cookies are very mildly sweet. So, one could surely increase the sweetness to ones taste.
I would like to add some more cinnamon or cardamom next time too.
These were quite soft and not the crispy kinds, like cookies normally are. Almost like a miniature bread, maybe because of the apples or maybe because of the rice? Maybe that also explains why the brownies also turned out so soft. Maybe it is the rice flour which is making it so soft. Now the next time I will make them with wheat flour to solve the puzzle. :)
Naturally I'm sending this off to Flax seeds-egg replacement event at Madhuram's Egglesscooking .com