Flourless.: Recipes for Naturally Gluten-Free Desserts

by Nicole Spiridakis, John Lee (Photographer)

“A feat of culinary legerdemain . . . Recipes for gluten-free fluffy cakes, chewy cookies, and crumbly bars—without a speck of gluten-free flour mix.” —The Kitchn   This collection of dessert recipes is so delicious no one will know they are gluten-free! With seventy-five recipes for naturally gluten-free desserts, author Nicole Spiridakis uses a wide range of non-wheat flours to finesse the balance between decadent and dietary. These tasty recipes bypass complicated alternate flour mixes and hard-to-find “gums,” fulfilling the increasing demand from those embracing a gluten-free diet (whether by necessity or choice). With creamy puddings infused with warm spices, cloudlike meringue cookies, dark chocolate brownies, and fruit crisps and crumbles, Flourless. turns dietary restrictions into something scrumptious.  “This book sets itself apart in the category by providing recipes that don’t require specialty flours, gums, or starches. A flawless angel food cake uses cornstarch; intense chocolate cookies rely on egg whites.” —Cooking Light   “These are lovely dessert ideas. They do happen to be flour-free but you won’t notice. Or mind. Not one bit.” —Cooking by the Book

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Nonfiction, Cooking, Adult

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 5, 2014

Reviews

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people have written irritated reviews, but I think they were looking for a different kind of cookbook, one that tries to recreate gluten recipes using a mix of flours and additives (like gums or potato starch). For me, this book was a life saver! I love it!

I used to bake with whole wheat and other whole grains, so when I went gluten free (while nursing my daughter, I found she had a gluten sensitivity), I was frustrated by all the cookbooks out there that used gums, tapioca, or potato starch, with a mixture of flours like white rice. I was unhappy with the textures of these baked goods, especially since I was never a white flour baker to begin with.

When I found Flourless and read her introduction, I was overjoyed! "You will not find complicated gluten-free flour mixes or recipes calling for additional binders such as xanathan gum or guar gum." I made the banana coconut cookies that turned out to be much like little scones I used to make. They were delicious!

A number of her recipes incorporate too much sugar for my personal taste (like the apple cake), but that's an easy adjustment. I'm always tweaking recipes anyway, it's just how I roll... or bake. I love the PB cupcakes, almond butter chocolate chip cookies, and we just tried the pavlova for Christmas dessert - fun!! I'm planning to make my way through this whole book and make each one.

I love this book so much, I returned my library copy and got myself a hard copy so I could write in some notes.

[Punk · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this case flourless means a lot of ground nuts, some cornmeal and cornstarch, oats—both rolled and ground—and lots of egg whites for lift. No gums. No custom flour blends. Has refined sugar, but also some recipes with maple syrup or honey. Spiridakis discusses substitutes for butter, milk, and eggs, but warns that when eggs are used for lift there's no substitution. That leaves a number of recipes that call for cream or yogurt, but no word on replacing those.

So, not exactly flourless, but close. It's a cookbook that mostly uses nut flours or pastes for bulk, so that's the cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and tarts, but it also does puddings, custards, mousses, meringues, and candies, which of course are heavy on the dairy and the chocolate.

Each recipe has a description so you know what the finished product will be like, but only about half have photos, which is a shame because they make the food look very appealing. Measurements are in U.S. volume and grams. Cookies and candies always have storage advice, but it's rare in other chapters, and the index is very good.

A little heavy on nuts for me, and the chocolate chip cookies are mostly powdered sugar and egg whites—so a meringue—but this is a nice book with range that does classics as well as some showstoppers, like the opera cake on the cover.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this cookbook out from the library first. I really liked it and was able to purchase it used for a great price.

The recipes are easy to follow and not overly complicated. The photographs are lovely and the pages are nice and thick. I am a messy cook and need cookbooks that hold up well. This one is hard backed and will be able to handle me shoving it in and out of the cupboard.

I am pretty excited about this find as I am newly gluten free. I adore sweet treats and I can't wait surprise my friends and family with treats we ALL can eat

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that allows you to make delicious desserts that are gluten free.

It seems as if there are more and more people who either have an allergy or intentionally choose to stay away from flour.

The recipes are varied, and ask for different flours which might mean a trip to the grocery store or to Amazon.

They seem repetitively easy to make and the pictures look great. I have yet to try a recipe.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overwrought prose but good recipes

Despite the author's tales of eating around a woodland fire with friends and perfect seaside days with the perfect type of baked good, this was a book. I object to going gluten free by adding chemicals and turning my kitchen into a lab so this easy ingredient guide was great. I just wish the "atmosphere" setting had been turned down a notch.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. There's nothing groundbreaking in this cookbook, and the few recipes I did try were nothing special.

I borrowed it from the library, but I didn't like it enough to either borrow it again or buy it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flourless.: Recipes for Naturally Gluten-Free Desserts (Hardcover)
by Nicole Spiridakis
from the library

ready to p/u at the library today

[Kit]

This book has a few photos of the cakes/cookies/puddings/ candies.

[Mallory · Rating 1 out of 5]

So far, I've been mightily disappointed by this book. I tried baking the carrot-cake cupcakes last night, and while not terrible, I wont be making them a second time. The first issue was the incredible amount of oil that seeped out of the cupcakes during baking (I assume from the coconut), leaving a mess in the pan, drippings all over my cooling rack and counter, and an unappealing slipperiness.
The second issue was the texture - these cupcakes did not have a nice crumb. Instead, they turned out almost gelatinous (probably not the right term). The carrot did not melt into the batter as it would in a regular carrot cake, but instead almost separated (along with the coconut) from the egg mixture, resulting in a disappointing texture.

I also tried making one of the cookies recipes from this book in the summer, and they spread out into a thin sheet, that was sticky and difficult to pack for lunches or camping (which is what i had made them for).

I received this book as a gift, so I may give a third recipe a try. But if it's not the charm, I intend to throw this book in the discard pile.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not exactly 'read', more like delightedly baked 7 successful recipes from here since receiving this for Christmas. As a celiac sweet-tooth, I really miss great gluten-free cakes and sweet treats, and this book is excellent in presenting lots of delicious recipes that are naturally gluten-free. Using lots of nuts and eggs to create 'flour' and bind the ingredients, the recipes are interesting and really work. I'm about to bake the Pumpkin Bread - a richly spiced sweet cake-like delight - for the 3rd time!

[Janet Elsbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious and beautiful--great for people who are stumped about making treats for people who avoid flour. No weird gums or elaborate formulas for flour substitutes, just a lively and tasty exploration of what can be eaten sweet without wheat.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. This one might be worth a purchase.

[Heydi Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection of naturally gluten-free desserts.

[Cj Mcewen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice recipes could use more photos of finished product

Recipes are straight forward and easy to follow. Nice to have desserts that don't require flour but still taste amazing.

[Mary Curran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great recipes which I've filed on Dropbox.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the recipes in this book, and will probably try a few of them at some point for some of my friends who are gluten free. It looks like it wouldn't be horrible difficult to make work, but it will be a little fiddly.