A note about health & nostalgia
Hudson Valley Family and Newborn Photographer
I come from an Italian background, where my mom loved to cook and is quite amazing at it. I always said, I never inherited the cooking gene from my mom, as I never really liked to cook. But now that I have my own daughter who happens to love to cook and bake, I have learned to love and embrace it!
Being that we have been home a lot lately due to the COVID-19 crisis, as well as a stretch of rainy weather, I have tried to come up with fun indoor things to do together. She loves to cook, but I thought it would be fun to take it a step further. I chose a recipe that has a nostalgic connection for me, and use it as an opportunity to share these memories with my daughter as well. Keeping nostalgia in mind, I also wanted to find a gluten free recipe to accomodate my health (more on that later). For the recipe, my daughter and I baked a gluten free lemon pound cake today, and let me tell you, its amazing. I have cooked many gluten free baking recipes before, only to be disappointed. I happened to come across this recipe online, and decided to give it a try. We tweaked it to our liking, and now happy to share it with all of you!
Because I suffer from Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, I have made a strong effort to be gluten free these past few months. After my son was born, I developed thyroid swelling and difficulty swallowing that had my doctor’s stumped. I happened to be a part of a facebook group for Hashimoto’s women, and many suggested I try going gluten free. I resisted for so long! I love my breads, pastas, baked goods so much. But after learning ways around it, and finding foods that are tasty and also gluten free, I really swear by it now. Once I went gluten free, my symptoms disappeared. My swelling was gone, and I had no more difficulty swallowing. I had gone for ultrasounds, seen specialists, and adjusted medications… yet my diet was what helped me. So of course, I try to find as many recipes I can that I know my kids will like, but also that I can enjoy too!
A NOTE ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHS
My husband and I went to the Amalfi Coast in Italy for our honeymoon. Lemons grow like crazy there, and lemon is incorporated into so many of the amazing foods and drinks we enjoyed. Ever since then, I have had a slight obsession for lemony foods and desserts (and drinks.. hello Limoncello!). That is the inspiration behind this dish, as well as the photos I took of the finished product!
The dish you see photographed with the lemons is my favorite souvenir from our honeymoon. We had the pottery handmade just for us in the amazing town of Positano where we stayed, with our new family name inscribed. I have this dish hanging in my home for decor, but had to get it out for the lemon cake of course. I love incorporating some of my favorite travel items into my photographs, so I love how these turned out. And it gave me the chance to explain on a simple scale to my 3 year old a little about why it was so special!
I had to include the photograph of my daughter below. She may not be a “mini-me” with looks (she takes after my husband there), but she is all my personality! She saw me photographing our finished product, and wanted to be just like mama. She took out her own camera, and piled all the lemons, as well as adding her own touch with avocados to photograph all the fruit we had. Too funny she is!
And now for the recipe, Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
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4 oz all purpose gluten free flour
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2 oz gluten free rice flour
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1 oz potato starch
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1 tsp baking powder
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1/2 tsp salt
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8 oz sugar ( I used truvia, in which case you would use a 1/2 cup truvia)
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2 tbsp lemon zest
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2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice ( you can adjust this amount to your liking. I like more flavor so I added probably 3 tbsp, maybe even a little more)
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4 large eggs
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4 oz cream cheese
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1 tsp vanilla
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4 oz (or one stick) of melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease your loaf pan
In medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt.
Place the sugar and lemon zest in a blender. Also add the lemon juice, eggs, cream cheese, and vanilla and blend well. Gradually add in butter and mix until well combined.
Add wet mixture into your bowl with the dry mix, and stir until smooth.
Pour into pan and bake for 15minutes. Then reduce oven temp to 325 degrees and continue to bake for another 40 minutes. About halfway through you can turn the pan around to make sure its cooking throughout.
Use toothpick to make sure it comes out clean, let cool for 15minutes and serve!
Bon Appetit!
xo
