Taking wheat flour and sugar out of a baking recipe is like breaking the spell so the magic disappears. Excluding other high carbohydrate starches makes baking a dark art practised only by those with supernatural powers.  It was once said that I looked like Harry Potter – don’t ask, it’s a long story – so it is fitting that I’ve become something of a sorcerer’s apprentice over the last six months, baking cakes, cookies and breads using nuts, beans and natural sweeteners to avoid the effects wheat and sugar have on cholesterol.

There is nothing like a health scare to get you focused on what you eat but like alternative medicine, grain and sugar-free baking is on the fringes right now.  It appears to be mainly practised by real food advocates or people fighting gluten intolerance, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol but still want to enjoy bread, cakes and biscuits. Thankfully the Internet is bulging with information so you can research easily and quickly but like any over indulgence you can be left feeling intellectually bloated, with heartburn and a headache.

My quests for the perfect loaf, cookie or cake led me into a battle ground of conflicting information with people, mostly with a book to sell or seeking to build an audience for their blog, trading insults and arguments about the science of wheat and sugar on human health. Finding authoritative independent advice and information about what constitutes a health diet is as tricky as finding the best gluten-free and no sugar baking book to buy.

After hours of reading and experimentation in the kitchen, I investing in what I consider to be the best baking book on wheat free and sugar baking right now.   Ironically this book is co-authored by one of the superstars of traditional baking.  Getting The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar Free Baking by Peter Reinhart and Denene Wallace was like picking up a new baking wand bringing joy and magic back to my cake and biscuit tins.  Not just packed with recipes that work time after time, this book contains information that helps you understand how to bake in this untraditional way so you can create your own recipes and start to create your own baking magic.  I am once again excited about the possibilities of for sweet treats and still keep us on the cholesterol lowering dietary regime.

One of my favourite recipes from Reinhart and Wallace is for their biscotti. In the past I’ve found the wheat-based biscuit a danger to my teeth as it hardens to almost concrete proportions making dunking in your tea or coffee the only fail safe way to enjoy it. Although crunchy to eat, the nut based version is kinder to your dentures and more satisfying to eat.

I’m blogging this biscotti as the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea or coffee, whatever takes your fancy.  And,  as part of Sweet New Zealand a monthly blogging bake off created by Alessandra Zecchini and this month hosted by Arfi at HomeMadeS.

Pecan and Almond Biscotti

Adapted from The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar Free Baking by Peter Reinhart and Denene Wallace

1.5 cups Pecan Flour (grind your own using pecan nuts)

0.5 cups Almond Flour (ground almonds)

0.25 cups Coconut Flour (sieve the flour first)

0.5 cups Coconut Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

4 egg whites (you can now buy egg whites from the supermarket in NZ – I used 150g)

1 tsp vanilla essence

75g melted unsalted butter

1 cup roughly chopped almonds

1. Pre-heat oven to 190 Degrees C (fan oven, 10 degrees more if no fan) and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

2. Mix together pecan flour, ground almonds, coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking powder in a large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites, vanilla essence and melted butter. Add in the dry mix and using a wooden spoon stir for a couple of minutes until you get a thick sticky dough.

4.  Stir the chopped almonds into the dough mixture.  Mould the dough using your hands or a spatula into one large oval or two smaller ovals making them 3/4 inch tall.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the tray and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown and it is springy to touch in the centre of your oval(s).  Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes.

6. Turn down the oven to 120 Degrees C (fan oven, 10 degrees more if no fan).

7.  Using a sharp knife, slice the ovals on the diagonal to make slices 3/4 to one inch thick (depending on how indulgent you are).

8. Place each slice back onto the baking tray, cut side down, and bake for another 10-15 minutes then turn them over to the other cut side down, bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch.  Completely cool the biscotti on a cooling rack before eating.

The variations to this recipe are endless by mixing up the nut flours to suit your preference. As an alternative, mix of one cup Hazelnut flour and one cup almond flour with 1 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts and 0.5 cups of 70% chocolate nibs takes you to extremes of sugar and carbohyrated load but if that’s not a worry for you then go for it.  My next biscotti adventure will be with chestnut flour.