Free From everything birthday cake

I take much pleasure in researching. Whether for a trip abroad, birthday presents or even cake... oh the chore! But I have to admit that this challenge took some real investigative work. But, after scouring cookbooks and websites to find the most appealing recipe, then after baking five cakes I found something to celebrate with. A delicious gluten, egg, nut and dairy free carrot cake sandwiched and smothered with a vanilla vegan frosting. Decorated with a giant 1 candle and fizzing sparkler, this cake was ready to party.

I can take no credit for this recipe though as I am not an experimental cook willing to create a recipe. I like the relative predictability of a tried and tested instructions But luckily for the birthday boy and our guests, fellow blogger Mel at Pig in the Kitchen is an alchemist in the kitchen and her site bursts with amazing reliable egg, dairy and gluten free recipes.

Given this was my sons first taste of cake in his life, I don't think he was the most discerning critic, stuffing it into his mouth quicker than we could sing "Happy Birthday"! In the name of protecting my cooking reputation, when the invitations were sent I did ask friends and family to come with an open mind. When I said there would be bubbles and 'cake' it would be a homemade free from cake. However it went down a storm, some came back for more, and there was even a "WOW" from one quiet sceptic.

So, down to the details... here is the recipe, courtesy of Pig in the Kitchen. I made double the amount and baked it in two sandwich tins for a real cake tower. The frosting was just normal buttercream replacing butter with half Trex (solid vegetarian fat) and half vegan margarine such as Pure sunflower. The solid fat helps to make the frosting firmer as with just margarine, it becomes very runny at room temperature.

Happy first birthday Oliver... and here's hoping that next year you'll be free to eat whatever cake you like!

Gluten, Egg and Dairy Free Carrot Cake

Ingredients

2 tbsps ground linseeds (also known as flaxseeds)

3 tbsps rice milk

125g sugar

70ml vegetable oil

1 medium apple grated

175g grated carrots

50g raisins

zest of 1/2 lemon

zest of 1/2 orange 

75g brown rice flour

75g cornflour

1.5tsp gluten free baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

a good scraping of whole nutmeg or 0.25tsp

Icing

120g Trex or similar hard cooking fat

120g Dairy free margarine such as Pure / Vitalite

1 tsp vanilla essence

450g icing sugar

Recipe

Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, Gas mark 4 and line a 19cm (square or round) tin with baking parchment

Mix the linseeds with the rice milk in a small bowl and set aside.

Put the sugar, linseed mix and oil into a large mixing bowl and mix together thoroughly.

Add the apple, carrots, raisins lemon and orange zest into the bowl, and mix everything together.

Mix in the cornflour, rice flour, baking powder and spices.

Scrape into the tin and level off using the back of the spoon.

Place in the oven for approximately 25 minutes. The cake is cooked when it is firm and slightly springy.  Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely.

When the cake is cold, remove from the tin make the buttercream by blending together the fats until they are light and fluffy. Mix in the icing sugar and vanilla and use the buttercream to sandwich together and / or decorate your cake. 

Flourless peanut butter cookies

Cooler days and rare hour to spare leads me to the warmth of the kitchen to bake. Whilst I have been relishing the challenge of free from cooking, I wanted to indulge Jack this time round with one of his favourites but also take something to a gathering of our new baby buddies. After sharing the ups and downs of new motherhood over the past year, I felt like we needed something to celebrate. But in the face of my new reality, I ran out of time! Typical - trying to do too much at once. However I did just manage to squeeze in a few trays of quick gluten free cookies, courtesy of one of my favourite blogs 3191 Miles Apart.

Whenever I come across a naturally gluten free recipe - and this is happening more and more - I bookmark it or tear it out and stuff it into my food folder book which is bursting with recipes I want to cook. But these Peanut Butter Cookies are so quick and easy to make, so moreish, and keep for ages that I wanted to share them with my new mum friends (and secretly see if they realised they were free from flour!).

Perfect with a afternoon cup of tea whilst my little man takes a nap in this unseasonably late sunshine. A small sweet indulgence. Quick to bake and even quicker to eat!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2/ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
Chocolate chunks / drops

Recipe
Preheat the oven to 180oC and line a baking tray with baking parchment or reusable bake-o-glide.
Blend all the ingredients together thoroughly.
Roll into 25g balls (about the size of a large walnut)
Bake for 12 mins turning around half way through for an even bake.
Leave to cool for 5 mins on the tray then transfer to wire rack for cooling.

More ingredients = better free from cake

The search continues as the deadline fast approaches for an egg, dairy and gluten free birthday cake. My second attempt has also surprised me. It's long daunting list of ingredients, actually had a simple recipe, as most of the free from cakes seem to do. Mix wet ingredients with dry. Bake.

Today's blueberry & orange cake is from the Chopra Centre Cookbook by Indian health guru Deepak Chopra, although as ever I have amended the ingredients according to what I have in the cupboard. Within reason. I chose this recipe over many others I have found purely because my little boy loves blueberries. He pops them like sweeties, will do anything for them and his very kind grandmother - also known as Janma - sent the whole crop from her only bush through the post as a present for him! He loves them that much.

This healthy, quick to make and bake recipe has resulted in a well risen cake that hasn't sunk on cooling. It's a little chewy on the surface, but I think this is because my oven temperature was too low to start with. It has a really good, cakey texture and even when made with gluten free flour is remarkably cake like. It has quite a strong spice flavour which I may dabble with, but overall I thought it was pretty good. I still don't really believe how good these recipes are (although I must wait for a normal cake eater to give the verdict too since I only eat GF cake now which is not the same).

So this is a very strong contender. I am currently researching vegan frostings for the decoration with fresh blueberries and a candle, but will continue with the shortlist so as to find the best for my boy! And to help me in this research I have also discovered there is a vegan cupcake shop, also in Brixton, home of the free from bakeries. And they always have a gluten free one on offer!

Blueberry Orange Cake


Ingredients
300g gluten free flour (Doves)
120g unrefined caster sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp flavourless oil (vegetable)
120g fruit puree (I used pear, but mango, banana, apple all work)
120ml orange juice
1 tbsp orange zest
Half cup rice or soya milk
Few drops of vanilla essence for taste
80g maple syrup
150g blueberries, thawed if frozen (I used frozen fruits of the forest mix which works well)

Recipe
Preheat oven to 180degrees centigrade and grease a 20cm square non stick cake tin
Combine all the dry ingredients together and whisk to thoroughly mix.
In a large bowl whisk all the wet ingredients, except the blueberries.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and gently mix with a rubber spatular.
Add the blueberries and combine briefly.
Pour mixture into the tin and bake for 30-40mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave cake to cool in tin.

It looks like cake...

it tastes like cake... so I suppose it is cake.

This is the first attempt at my gluten, egg and milk free birthday cake for my son. A good friend of mine, equally food obsessed sent me a range of free from cake recipes. This had the fewest ingredients and simplest recipe so seemed like a logical place to start, when juggling it with a baby's day.

I am yet to find out the source of this recipe, but all credit goes to its creator and I wil endeavour to find out. It was EXTREMELY easy to make, particularly as I have a a new set of measuring cups. You literally just mix the wet with the dry ingredients then bake for 30mins. And I have to say it tastes alright. I was pleasantly surprised. The combination of dark brown sugar and cocoa give it a lovely, fudgey flavour, and it improves the day after baking.

Given that this is my first attempt, I have big hopes for the more complex recipes I have collected each with rather exotic ingredients, such as tapioca and quinoa flours that I am yet to source. In the mean time, I am off this weekend to sample  my most recent find WAG (wheat and gluten) FREE Bakery in Brixton. A complete mecca for Coeliacs where we can eat everything in the shop, I will be sure to try some cake all in the name of research, and let you know the results.

Gluten, dairy and egg free chocolate cake
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I used a mixture of rice and buckwheat)
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence
6 tbsp oil (vegetable, olive or groundnut)


Recipe
Preheat the oven to 180degrees and grease a 20cm square non-stick cake tin.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
Pour in all the wet ingredients and whisk to achieve a batter.
Pour the batter into the cake tine and bake for 25-30mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cook in the tin and remove.

Note: you may find that you need to add a little more water, depending on the flours used. I added about 4 tbsp extra.

Delicious with fresh strawberries and creme fraiche.

The challange - gluten, egg and dairy free birthday cake

I have always loved a challenge. I particularly love a foodie one, and it's a good job. My son, who is fast approaching his first birthday was diagnosed with egg and milk allergies a few months ago. Needless to say, I was gutted. However the consultants believe he will grow out of them so I am keeping my fingers crossed that one day we will all be eating "family" food, albeit gluten free of course.

The invites have been sent, so the next priority is the food. I have never catered for a party before, so I am enjoying browsing through my cookbook stash for inspiration. However my collection does not stretch to gluten, egg and dairy free birthday cakes. I have raided the library, trawled the internet and now have a collection of cakes to try. Not that I think you can call them cakes, since they are missing flour, eggs and butter - ingredients I imagine the judges of the brilliant Great British Bake Off would be keen to debate. 

So for the next couple of weeks we are going to be eating a lot of cake round here. I am going to attempt to find the best free from everything cake and will report my findings here. In the meantime, if you have any pearls of wisdom to share on egg replacers, the use of margarine over butter or any excellent recipes, feel free to comment below.

Wish me luck!

Gluten Free Cherry Clafoutis - Recipe of the Week

I am still eating my way through my preserved cherries. Two years after a mammoth cherry picking and preserving session I have two litre kilner jars of hand stoned Kentish cherries in syrup and one litre of cherry brandy. So with my super cool pal Sophie and her hubby coming for dinner I decided to make a cherry clafoutis. 


The french batter pudding has been something of a fascination for years, and I assumed that it was a no go gluten free pudding, but I was wrong. I recently came across two recipes for clafoutis that were naturally gluten free and with plump cherries waiting to be used I had the perfect excuse and recipe.


I ended up using a recipe from The Cranks Bible as it was the most straightforward and included a scant 50g of Coeliac friendly potato flour. Make sure you have an oven proof dish big enough for all the liquid (something I failed to do), but thankfully it turned out perfectly, just cooked enough and browned on the surface.


Cherry Clafoutis
Ingredients
A knob of butter to grease the dish
500g stoned cherries (preserved or fresh)
50g potato flour
A pinch of sea salt
60g golden caster sugar
4 organic eggs beaten
300ml whole milk
300ml double cream
2 organic egg yolks 


Method
Preheat the oven to 180degrees
Butter a shallow baking dish, sprinkle with a tablespoon of the sugar and put the cherries in the dish
Make the batter in a large bowl. Sift the flour and mix with the salt, sugar and gradually beat in the whole eggs. Mix in the milk and cream followed by the egg yolks to make a smooth batter the consistency of single cream.
Pour the batter over the cherries and bake for 40minutes until the batter is risen and golden on the surface.
Serve warm.  

Recipe of the week - gluten free florentines

I love Florentines. The simplicity of their fruit and nuttiness with or without a chocolate bottom, but the shop ones are rarely gluten free for the miniscule amount of wheat flour they contain. Their implied simplicity led me to quickly throw a batch together one afternoon in anticipation of a visit from my mother. Impending guests are now used as an excuse to bake otherwise I bake too much and eat too much cake.

On this occasion I had already made a tropical lime, mango, passion fruit and coconut cake making embracing the lack of English fruits and ripe tropical ones (shipped and not air freighted I have you know which I actually find improves their flavour) in my fruit box. A clipped magazine recipe from I don’t know where, the Florentine recipe looked straightforward and allowed me to bake at the same temperature.

A simple recipe of weighing, melting and mixing I saw little room for error, but my gung-ho approach to gluten free cooking soon changed that. Looking back the mistake came at measuring. I try and limit my collection of kitchen paraphernalia but sometimes this hampers my cooking making a de-cluttered kitchen irrelevant. My huge measuring jug being a case in point since 90ml of cream in this recipe represents just a dribble on its base. This in turn created a thinner toffee base and meant that my piles of nuts, fruits and seeds soon resembled a pool of caramelised Florentine tray bake.

Tasty nonetheless, and not one to waste anything, the Florentine tray bake was broken into bite size shards and still accompanied the intended coffees on my mother’s arrival. Just in shards. So this week’s recipe of the week comes with a reminder to measure your ingredients properly, and embrace those cooking mistakes... it’s the only way to learn.

Florentines (makes about 12)

Ingredients

25g butter

90ml cream

60g golden caster sugar

75g flaked almonds

75g crystallised ginger

25g sultanas

5g gluten free flour

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C and line 2 large baking sheets with non stick parchment paper

Heat the butter, cream and sugar in a small saucepan on a low heat and bring to the boil so that the sugar dissolves.

Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the remaining ingredients gently but thoroughly.

Place 12 tablespoons onto the baking sheet spacing them about 3” apart to allow for them spreading

Bake for 8-10mintues or until golden. Allow to cool for a few minutes and slide them onto cooling rack.

Please note - I only wish my florentines looked as good as the ones in the image above... but this pic is courtesy of Fudges Bakery.. but I don't think they are gluten free. Try baking your own!

Bash it about gluten free pastry

I am a competent cook, but I have never had the skill or patience to make pastry. The only times I have made it, it has strunk, cracked and crumbled (I was clearly destined for life with gluten free pastry) and to be honest I blame my hot hands. I think there is a real art to pastry making and when I was in Paris before Christmas I gazed in admiration at the Patisserie windows brimming with thin, delicate buttery pastry. It is a skill that I lack.

But it is also a skill I no longer need. Living on a gluten free diet I wholeheartedly embrace the essential skill of problem solving to navigate my foodie desires. It has to be said that there are times when I crave a little pastry case enveloping a thick chocolate ganache, especially the case in Paris. But the time I crave pastry most is at Christmas.

I know this is the most unseasonal of blog posts, however I had such fun using up all my Christmas-y leftovers and such a result with the pastry that I wanted to share it with you now. After all, you can eat pastry all year, especially as quiches which I love and this savoury almost cheesy (without any cheese in) recipe can be found in a new eagerly awaited recipe book in the Coeliac world.

To be honest, I wasn’t waiting for this one. I have one very good gluten free book, but find much more inspiration in my growing and varied normal collection. However having been on the telly with him, and tasted not one but two of the recipes in the book on live tv (thanks for the warning Fern – not!) I thought it would make a nice little memento. To be honest, I was also curious as to what it would contain as he told me on the show how he’d been working on it for more than two years. So my lovely mother bought it for me for 

Christmas.

But Christmas came and went and the leftover icing and mincemeat glared at me every time I entered the kitchen waiting to be made into something delicious... mince pies. I no longer get the chance to overindulge in mince pies at Christmas since the gluten free ones are so expensive. But this easy to make pastry provided the flaky base and was perfect for my hot hands and lack of pastry skills. You don’t even have to roll it out... just bash it into the tin.

Based on Gluten Free Pastry in Seriously Good Gluten Free Cooking, by Phil Vickery

Ingredients

110g rice flour

70g cornmeal

45g corn flour

100g butter

1 tsp xanthan gum

Pinch of salt

1 medium egg

Oil or butter for greasing

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C and grease a 23cm round tin

Put all the ingredients except the egg into the food processor and blend into fine breadcrumbs

Add the egg and pulse until the mixture begins to come together. You may need to add a few drops of cold water

Tip out onto the surface and knead into a smooth dough

Shape the dough into a long shape and cut 1 cm thick circles and press into the base of the tin, joining up the circles by pressing them together and up the sides of the tin. Be sure to press it to about ½ cm thick and no thinner and get seamless seals in the pastry as on cooking it can crack and leave holes that leak filling.

Bake the pastry blind for about 15minutes and leave to cool, then use for sweet or savoury fillings.

I used sweet mincemeat and a thin layer of icing for indulgent mince pies and also for a leek and mascarpone tart.

A snowy afternoon perfect for baking

As the snow flakes silently fell, and temperatures plummeted we were feeling a little sad. Since the second weekend of December we have had festive decorations adorning the flat, and particularly enjoyed the glow of the lights on the tree. Making a feature of the long dark nights, with presents still under the tree to distrubute after being left behind after our Christmas adventure, it warmed the cockles as the sun set of an afternoon. Twelfth night had arrived though and to help prevent a descent into January blues we decided that 2010 would be the dawn of a new family tradition. 

Gluten free Cookies!


Having discovered gluten free oats a while ago, they get me going on these cold and snowy winter mornings. But this evening I was going to draft in my special oats, usually only reserved for breakfast, to make oat and raisin cookies.

I have made these before and you would never know they were free from gluten. They melt in the mouth and really raised the spirits here as we undressed the tree.

Gluten Free Oat and Raisin Cookies


Ingredients
120g Gluten free oats
50g Gluten free flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
125g butter
7tbsp caster sugar
3tbsp brown sugar
1tsp Gluten free baking powde mixed with 1tsp boiling water
1 egg beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g currants soaked in 50ml water


Method
Preheat the oven to 190degrees c
Mix together the oats, flour, salt and cinnamon in a bowl
In a separate large bowl beat the butters and sugars until light and fluffy with an electric whisk. Stir in the baking powder mixture then beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients followed by the currants and mix well. Line a baking tray with baking / parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1"balls and place on the baking tray 2" apart.
Bake for 8-10mins. They should be dark brown round the edges and slightly soft in the middle.
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 5 minutes before lifting the cookies off.
Can be kept in an airtight container... if they last that long!

Perfect gluten free fruit cake

David Lebovitz is one of my food heros, a devotee to everything sweet and Parisian always bringing something new to the blogsphere. Recently he posted a recipe for Fruitcake bars and with Christmas looming and a deficit of gluten free Christmas goodies, I reviewed the recipe to see if I could adapt it, and it only contained a little bit of flour.

I love baking in the run up to Christmas, and with in-laws descending this weekend it was the perfect excuse to try out the recipe. With a little tweaking to allow for the ultra absorbant gluten free flour, this was such an easy, successful cake to bake. Perfect for Christmas and flexible enough to accommodate the fruit and nuts you have at hand, get the oven on!

Based on David Lebovit's Fruitcake Bar
Ingredients
4tbsp gluten free flour
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
4 tbsp dark brown sugar
170g chopped dried fruit (dates, prunes, figs)
170g chopped dried apricots
200g roasted and chopped nuts (I used walnuts and almonds)
1/4 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg beaten

Method
Line a square 20cm tin with a cross of foil, folding it over the edges so that you can lift out the cake after cooking. Preheat the oven to 160degrees c.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinammon, sugars, nuts and fruits using your hands to seperate the fruit with flour.

Add the beaten egg and mix until the fruit and nuts are covered in a batter.

Spread into the cake tin and smooth the top. Bake for 35-40 min until a skewer comes out of the cake clean. Leave in the tin to cool and lift out using the foil.

With a sharp, heavy knife, cut into bars (or slabs in our house). Keep in an airtight containter for up to a week at room temperature.

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My first Chrsitmas cake

Essential gluten free baking equipment

Perseverence with gluten free pastry

I am gradually working my way through my culinary wish list and this week I embarked on a big ol' journey. I entered the world of gluten free pastry. 


I have to admit many of the gluten free cookbooks and blogs I read often feature pastry suitable for Coeliacs but have include too many different flours which I never seem to have. However whilst browsing Maggie Beers Harvest I found a simple recipe calling for just a bog standard gluten free flour mix which I always have.


As a young old child I used to make profiteroles from choux pastry, and this recipe is made along similar lines. But I have to be honest, it was a small disaster.

I made the dough well enough and chilled it down before rolling out between two oiled sheets of greaseproof paper. But when I tried to fold the pastry into the newly purchases flan tin thats when I cam a cropper. It was like really sticky cement. It wouldn't come off the greaseproof and I quickly lost patience screwing the lot into a ball. But, before I slam dunked it into the bin, I took a final look and a deep breath. Unable to throw the baby out with the bathwater, I squeezed out the pastry and mixed in more flour to try and salvage something to eat. Beating in more flour, it was still incredibly sticky so I spread the "dough" into some individual flan tins. After much prodding, smoothing and with more mixture on my hands than in the three little cases, I blind baked them. Success.

As you can see, they looked like normal pastry cases. A little thicker than most, but still pretty good. Now I had to fill them with something. Doh!


Leeks with mascapone, based on the onion tart in Nigella's How To Eat... Pouring in the custard my heart was in my mouth... would they even set? I was winging everything up to that point and couldn't believe I was going get a meal out of all this faffing around. Success again, and they were delicious.

Gluten free Leek and Mascapone tarts...I need to perfect the recipe before I share it with you here... Have you had success with gluten free pastry?

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Gluten free bread
Gluten Free Baking Equipment

Gluten Free Pancakes for Brunch

I have always loved a weekend brunch and before I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease, we frequently descended on the wide selection of places in Chiswick (where we lived before our urban Peckham life) which served all day breakfasts. By this I don’t mean the English fry up, although that had to be available as the default for Jack, but rather pancakes, waffles, brioche, poached eggs on English muffins, kedgeree and the likes of the modern American / Aussie concept of brunch.Having to eat gluten free, this is no longer much fun. Partly because you have the whole hooha of eating out and the “I’m a Coeliac” speech which for me is a little involved before the first meal of the day. But also, the gluten free selection is always the same; eggs, bacon, yoghurt, fruit... basically what I have during the week and not the indulgent, “I wouldn’t bother to make this myself for breakfast” occasion I imagine.

So rather than miss out, I have taken to experimenting with making brunch at home, and one success I have been having is with pancakes. Whilst learning about the food in India, I discovered that they use gram flour (chickpea flour) for pancakes and although the flavour of chickpeas is a little savoury for my idea of breakfast this provides a base from which to experiment. What I have found was that most gluten free flours such as rice flour, Doves plain flour, buckwheat and corn flour all make great pancakes so long as you add enough liquid. I find that adding a touch of baking powder lightens the mixture, and leaving it to rest seems to help in making a richer batter too.

The recipe below is interchangeable depending on the flours you have to hand. When I was in India I used to make coconut pancakes substituting some of the milk for coconut milk producing a richer and moister breakfast base.

In terms of toppings, I go with the season’s fruit offerings, topped with yoghurt, crème fraiche or whatever’s in the fridge, but this morning’s winning combination was vanilla apple compote, with crème fraiche and maple syrup. I’m next going to try mixing stuff into the batter... pear slices with cinnamon, raisins and maple syrup or even the last of my frozen blackberries.

Ingredients

2tbsp Doves gluten free plain flour

2tbsp rice flour

2tbsp gram flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1tbsp sugar

Pinch of salt

1 egg lightly beaten

about 100ml of milk

Method

Mix together the flours, baking powder, sugar and salt making a well in the centre.

Add the egg to the well and mix in the flours gradually.

Pour in about half the milk and mix in all the dry ingredients.

You want to get the mixture to a double cream consistency, so trust yourself and use your judgement. If you add too much liquid, whisk in a little more flour a little at a time.

Set the batter aside for 10-20mins to rest if you have time.

Heat a heavy based pan on a low heat and melt a small knob of butter in the pan. (most pans are non-stick as are mine, however I like the flavour it gives. Feel free to use a little sunflower oil instead.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the mixture onto the pan to make a scotch pancake size, and repeat depending on the size of your pan and how many you can fit in.

Cook on a low to medium heat and watch for bubbles to appear on the uncooked surface before flipping the pancake with a fish slice. This should take a minute or two.

Cook on the other side for a similar amount of time being careful not to overcook and dry out your breakfast.

Remove from the pan to a warmed plate and cover in foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Devour with seasonal toppings and yoghurt, or whatever takes your fancy.

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Rocking GF Pancakes

*Last year was my first attempt at a gluten free Shrove Tuesday - making stacks and stacks of buckwheat American style pancakes. This year I wanted to make slightly smaller quantity of a lighter, more delicate crepe and threw together rather successful recipe.

I was planning to use my standard Doves Organic GF flour - but I had run out and didn't plan to replace it with moving to India. But, brilliantly, I had a selection of flours leftover from the bread making, resulting in a light, lacy pancake - and my wheat eating friend was none the wiser.

Gluten Free Pancake Recipes

Ingredients:
50g buckwheat flour
25g rice flour

25g corn flour

2 eggs

pinch of sugar

250ml milk

25g melted butter, plus extra for greasing the pan

Method:
Sift all the flours into a large bowl
Mix in the eggs and a 2-3 tablespoons of milk into a paste
Mix in the rest of the milk and sugar into a thin batter
Pour in the melted butter and whisk by hand for a couple of minutes
Leave to stand for at least 1 hour

Heat a large non-stick frying pan to a medium temperature
Melt a smudge butter in the pan (to help with browning and flavour if you are using a non-stick pan)
Pour in enough batter to cover the base of the frying pan with a thin layer - a lacy edge is fine - and leave to cook for 1-2mins.
Depending on how daring you are feeling flip over the pancake to cook on the other side for a minute or so.
Slide the pancake off onto a plate and douse with freshly squeezed lemon and Fair Trade sugar or a topping of your choice.
Devour.

*Image courtesy of 101cookbooks

Natural gluten free bread at last...

Success!

After making my natural gluten free leven from rice flour, and one failed attempt at the bread, this weekend I had toast for breakfast for the first time in 2 years.

My first attempt made me question whether I actually wanted to eat bread again. But the effort I had gone to making the GF leven I thought I had to see it through.

Using a mixture of quinoa, buckwheat, corn and soya flours a pinch of sea salt and my production dough, it required none of the kneading of conventional bread - just mix and prove in a warm place in the tin. Baking for 30mins and I had created a savoury, light and chewy sourdough.

My previous attempt to bake the bread had been thwarted by the lack of proving. Even this time round, the dough didn't rise as a conventional loaf, yet I persevered with the process. I baked the loaf as per the recipe in the Bread Matters book by Andrew Whitley and the result was the best bread I have tasted.

Whilst I think there is room for perfecting my natural leven (I believe this was the cause for a substantial lack of rise) it was the most bread like gluten free loaf I have tasted yet. The recipe recommends freezing after a few days for the best texture, so there is one more breakfast of toast to look forward to.

Andrew Whitely uses his loaf...

Andrew Whitley has written Bread Matters all about natural, traditionally made breads. Browsing through the chapters, I happened upon a whole chapter dedicated to gluten free baking and was immeadiately inspired.

He comprehensively explains Coeliac Disease and the issues we face, highlighting, as I have in previous posts, the chemical laden alternatives provided by the food industry who make "overprocessed ingredients into superfically attractive products". I love how Andrew says "Perhaps people with a sensitivity to gluten deserve better than to be fobbed off with highly processed chemical additives". This was inspiring enough stuff to attempt making my own gluten free bread.

I am taking part in a sourdough challenge over at FoodScoop where I am making my sourdough from scratch making a leven based on Andrew Whitelys gluten free recipe using brown rice flour, naturally abundant with wild yeasts.

Dispensing further good advice, Andrew also talks about adapting to a gluten free diet, and not replacing like for like, an approach I too have adopted. Gluten free bread is never going to be like a real, freshly baked, loaf with a light and airy centre but I am looking forward to seeing how the potato and quinoa bread made using my sourdough leven will turn out. I know it won't be the same, but hopefully it will be a delicious product in it's own

My gluten free sourdough leven - Day 2

For me, this experience is about embracing the opportunties out there for a more varied, natural and delicous gluten free diet - such as discovering potato bread - perfect for mopping up free range fried eggs.

To watch the progress of both the rye and gluten free sourdoughs - click here, or why not start your own. Have you made GF bread before? Any tips to share with this first timer?

Essential equipment for gluten free baking

A great friend of mine EG happened to be an Australian living in London. She was my foodie friend and with her husband they became our eating out friends. But they went home back to Adelaide. I was very sad to see them go, and have not yet found a replacement (nominations accepted by email...!).

EG's parting gift was an electric hand whisk - although thinking about it, I think she made me buy it from her. Anyway, everytime I use it I think of her. Thats quite a lot at the moment as I have baking like crazy, partly because I now have eletric hand whisk.

Without using wheat flour or a gluten ingredient in making cakes, puddings and deserts you loose the associated structure, texture and rise. Another way of bringing volume and texture to the final result is through eggs, which is how most of the recipes I have been using replace the need for wheat flour.

Seperating the eggs and whisking air into the whites or creaming the sugar with egg yolks makes the cake lighter and rise with a souflee like texture. Before my good friend's departure I used to do this all by hand making which made me much less inclinded to bake. But now....with electric whisk in hand - nothing can stop me.

My weekend ritual has become experimenting with new cakes - and we are getting a little more round in this house as a result. This weekend with an excess of seasonal beetroot, I was emailed by my organic box scheme company Riverford Organics a recipe for beetroot brownies... inspired!

They should however come with a warning...they are bright PINK!

The mixture is bright pink from the cooked and pureed beetroot, so you do need to be careful where you put the lid from the food processor, for example...

A great use for the surplus of beetroot at this time of year, they resulted in a very moist, gluten free chocolate brownie with the slightest hue of deep pink. Testament to this...? There were none left a day later!

If you are newly diagnosed and looking to get into gluten free baking...get an electric hand whisk...

Other cake recipes - Poopy seed cake, Lemon and Polenta Cake, Christmas Cake, Victoria Sponge, Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Brownies, Lemon Pudding and plenty more to come.

My First Gluten Free Christmas

Christmas is a surprisingly gluten infested feast – bread sauce for the turkey, Christmas Pudding, Christmas Cake, Mince Pies, chipolatas, Yule log, trifle, blinis for the smoked salmon starter ...even the childhood stocking regular (and breakfast) of Cadbury’s selection packs are a no go these days. But, not one to miss out on the festivities, I spent much of November and December researching gluten free goodies to make and buy.

To those new to gluten free Christmas, the wonderful Village Bakery produce a range of festive foods produced in a dedicated gluten free facility. However, having severely got the baking bug, I wanted to start making my own.

As a child, as early as October, my mother would be found making enough Christmas puddings for the whole neighbourhood in the washing up bowl as there was never a bowl big enough for the all the mixture. We would only ever eat one of them over Christmas. The rest would be stored and matured for next year, when they would be discovered as the next batch was being put away for maturing.


My Mother also made the Christmas cake, maturing it and feeding it's boozy diet of brandy, then covered the alcohol laced cake in marzipan and icing. My brother and I would invariably be present for this final stage, to sneak the 'leftover' marzipan and provide artistic direction for the decorating. Every year, mum was determined to use the plastic snowman, Merry Christmas sign and paper ruffle – but I always wanted to replicate the BBC Good Food Magazine creation of that year.

So this year, with the opportunity to eat as much marzipan without a slapped wrist, I found a recipe for gluten free Christmas Cake. It comes from Good HouseKeeping Magazine and I just swapped the 250g of flour for 200g of ground almonds and 40g of gluten free plain flour - as I find it is much more absorbent than wheat flour.


Covered in marzipan and ready to roll icing (after mums rock hard icing incident, I don't plan to make my own!) the decoration was to be saved for Christmas Eve when Mum was arriving at our house, bringing with her 'the tin'. In a moment of nostalgia, when excitedly telling Mum about my gluten free baking triumph, she asked how I was decorating it. I had used all the icing with enough left over for a small snowman, and she jokingly offered her decorations. I accepted hoping for a comedy cake moment on Christmas day when unveiling it to my brother...


But she forgot 'the tin'...


At this point on Christmas Eve, having used every inch of ribbon in the house, the only decoration left was my little snowman, and black ribbon. Not very festive, but minimalistic...

Gluten Free Christmas Cake
You need:
500g sultanas and raisins
250g Agen prunes roughly chopped
100g dried sour cherries
150ml Brandy or Armagnac
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange
100g molasses sugar
150g dark brown sugar
250g pack of unsalted butter at room temp, plus extra for greasing
4 large free range eggs
200g ground almonds
40g gluten free plain flour
1tbsp black treacle
1.5 tsp mixed spice
Half tsp ground ginger
Pinch of salt

23cm cake tin
Brown paper and string

To make it...

Soak all the fruit in a non-metallic bowl in the Brandy, citrus zests and juices, covered overnight.

Next day, preheat oven to 150degrees C and grease and line the cake tin.

Beat the sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric beater until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs a little at a time to make sure that it doesn't curdle. If it starts to curdle, add a little flour. Beat in the black treacle.

Sift the flour, spices and a pinch of salt into the mixture and fold with a metal spoon.

Fold in the soaked fruit and tip the mixture into the prepare tin and level the surface.

Wrap a double layer of brown paper around the outside of the tin to prevent the sides of the cake from burning.

Bake for 3-3.5 hours until the skewer comes out clean.

TIP - put a tray under the cake as the oil from the almonds can leak a little, and next year I may up the the flour and reduce the almonds...

Leave the cake in the tin for about 10mins, then turn it out to cool on the rack.

Keep the cake in the greaseproof paper, wrap in cling film, then foil and store in an airtight container.

After 2weeks of maturing, prick the cake all over with a skewer and drizzle over about a tablespoon of brandy. Leave to soak then store as before.

Marzipan and ice the cake as per the instructions on the pack...decorate.

The cake will keep for up to 3months.

Wobbly Middle Chocolate Pudding

Yes, thats right, a recipe for a gluten free wobbly middle chocolate pud - Divine!

Straightforward to make, these are an impressive dinner party pud based on the recipe by Nigel Slater in his Kitchen Diaries book.

Melting Middle Chocolate Pudding - makes 4 individual puddings

Ingredients:

200g fine quality gluten free chocolate - Lindt, Rococo, Montezumas
3 eggs
100g caster sugar
60g butter
2 heaped teaspoons chocolate hazlenut spread

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C and butter 4 ramekins

Slowly melt the chocolate in a pan suspended over a pan of hot water, or gently in the microwave
Seperate the eggs and beat the sugar with the yolks in a food processor or with an electric beater until thick and creamy.

In a seperate bowl whisk the egg whites until forming stiff peaks.

Stir the butter and chocolate spread into the melted chocolate and leave until melted.

Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg and sugar mixture, then carefully fold in the egg whites with a metal spoon to ensure you keep all the air in.

Take care not to overmix, but ensure there are no leftover swathes of egg whites.

Divide the mixture between the ramekins and place on a baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for between 12 and 15 minutes. When they are cooked they will be well risen and leave no mixture on a skewer when slid into the middle if the pudding. Ideally you want them to be slighly wobbly in the middle - as the name suggests.

For a little suprise, I dropped a dollop of my homemade cherry jam into the ramekins before adding the mixture.

A recipe perfect for this blog...

I am off for a fresh air fix this weekend - to breathe in the clean sussex air and walk in the woods. When visiting my mother I usually decend on her with the aim of cooking something gluten free that I have never attempted before. In the past it has included gluten free almond biscuits, polenta cake and this weekend I am going to make Fig and Walnut Cake - perfect for this blog, and 2 of my favourite ingredients.

Being down at mums, I also get plenty of willing tasters as my dear brother also decends for a periodic wholesome meal... with or without gluten.

The recipe comes from fellow gluten free blog Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried and will post the results...

Best friends search for gluten free cake

A springtime visit to (my then very pregnant) best friends' new home in Exeter was a gluten free cake eating feast. In preparation for my visit, she had oh so kindly researched the best place for us to go for coffee and cake. This was something we did when she lived in London, and whenever I spoke with her post move, I received updates on her search for gluten free cake.

In fact thinking back over that weekend, it was all about cake. She also made me the most delicious gluten free muffins from scratch improvising on a recipe she had found, keeping it all natural with fruits and seeds. I had these for breakfast, perfect when slightly warm just to lighten the texture... and on leaving she packed me off with the leftovers for the journey. Yum!

So, after wandering round the excellent Exeter Food Festival, we went to rest her weary pregnant feet at a cafe called Chandos Deli where the research had culminated. Its a charming place with a great selection of grocery products, cheese etc, however we were there for CAKE. Even after stuffing ourselves at the festival, I had to sample the efforts of this pregnant-cake-searching-girl, and after ensuring that it was indeed gluten free, I bought some Lemon Polenta Cake.

This cake was a revelation in gluten free eating. It was moist, dense, not too sweet with a zesty zing to contrast the sweetness. Topped with a drizzle of icing this cake was something I wanted to recreate on my return to London.

So, back in the big smoke and after much searching, I have found and tried a polenta cake recipe which can be found here. The recipe actually works very well, and when it says not to worry about the amount of lemon syrup... don't worry, it does all get absorbed and makes the cake moist and lemony.

Some experiments to try are blitzing raspberries to put in, and trying some icing to decorate...

So thanks to my Baking Best Friend for introducing me to Exeter, and the wonderful Lemon Polenta Cake which is now firmly in my naturally gluten free cake collection!