Gluten Free Butternut Pumpkin and Honey Drizzle Cake

This cake I remember reading about a number of years ago in the Life and Style section of The Guardian newspaper.  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall had written an interesting article about baking using vegetables as key ingredient, which does intrigue me, as I am always keen to find healthier alternatives to the more traditional forms of baking.  I know that some mothers always make brownies for their children that are filled with beetroot and zucchini.  These I am yet to try - stay tuned....

I have adapted this very English sounding cake into a gluten free recipe.  It is a very moist cake with a fresh citrus taste that keeps well - if it lasts that long!

Gluten Free Butternut Pumpkin and Honey Drizzle Cake

from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall adapted by me!

180g gluten free self-raising flour
1 tsp of baking powder
90g white sugar
90g brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 pinch of ground cloves
finely grated zest of an orange
180g of unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
300g of butternut pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and grated
70g of walnuts
45g sultanas
2 tbsp honey
5 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 160℃ fan forced.

Grease and line a loaf tin.

In the food processor whizz the flour, baking powder, sugars, spices and orange zest. 

Add the butter and eggs and process until smooth.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pumpkin until combined.

Add the sultanas and nuts and pulse two to three times until mixed through but not pulverized. 

Pour into the greased tin and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when the cake is tested.

Whilst the cake is cooking, heat the honey, orange and lemon juices in a small pan, simmering for a few minutes.  According to the recipe it is supposed to thicken slightly, but it didn’t for me, despite my patience.

Remove the tin from the oven when cooked and place on rack.  Pour the honey and citrus mixture over the cake.  I did this in two stages as it seemed to be so much liquid, but the cake did absorb it all.  Leave the cake to cool completely in its tin.

When completely cool, turn out of the tin.

Enjoy on a lovely spring afternoon with a warming cup of tea.

monica@loveglutenfreeaustralia

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Gluten Free Patty Cakes (or Cupcakes)

The weekend that has just passed us by here in Sydney, was the Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend.  The weather was warm and sunny during the day with a gentle winter’s chill in the evening.  Whilst I would not launch into the statement that winter has arrived, it is at least attempting to.

If you were lucky enough to have all three days off work, as I was (utter bliss by the way!) I found that I relaxed the weekend away as well as catching up with some friends, which is a rare occurrence as Husband and I are never at home at the same time.

To celebrate this occasion and also as a sweet treat I made patty cakes as I knew them growing up, now more commonly known as cupcakes.  These little cakes, whatever you call them, are delicious little morsels that I recall devouring as a child.  My Nana always made us fresh patty cakes when we visited her, usually recruiting us to help her ice them and maybe sample some of the icing and cakes before lunch! 

As with all gluten free cooking I am driven by my childhood recollections of sweet treats and when I am able to find a recipe that works well with gluten free ingredients I am so pleased.  This recipe from Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess is one that works each time that I try it and with different brands of flour.  There are two tricks to these patty cakes:  ensure that the batter is not too thick by ensuring you add enough milk and they are cooked at a lower temperature for a little longer.  Do this and you will be gobbling down patty cakes and reminiscing your childhood.  

Fairy Cakes from Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess
(or as I call them patty cakes)

125g unsalted butter, soft
125g caster sugar - you can used white sugar and pulse it a few times in the processor
2 large eggs - I use 700g eggs at room temperature
125g self raising GF flour - I have used a few different brands here, all work well
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbs milk - possibly a pinch more if your mixture is too stiff

Preheat your oven to 150℃ fan-forced.

As Nigella writes:  “It couldn’t be easier to make fairy cakes” and she is right.  Put all dry ingredients plus the two eggs in the food processor and blitz until everything is combined and smooth.   Scrape down the sides and turn back on and slowly pour the milk in the top funnel.  The mixture needs to be a “soft, dropping consistency” as written by Miss Lawson.  If you are unsure, do not be tempted to add more milk, trust the recipe and continue on.

If you don’t have a food processor and will be making them by hand, you start with creaming the butter and the sugar, then add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time.  Then add the flour a spoonful at a time alternating with the milk.  Always finish off with the milk as it will ensure the flour is easily mixed in - at least this is what I remember from Grade 8 Home Ec Class with Mrs Walker. 

Spoon the mixture evenly between the patty cake cases, bearing in mind that patty cakes are smaller than the typical cupcake size these days.  I tend to get about 12 to 15 patty cakes out of the mixture, depending on how generous I am with my spoonfuls.

Place in the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes, checking them at 20 minutes as they may have already cooked in that time. 

Let the patty cakes cool slightly in the tin before tipping out onto a cake cooler.  Let them cool completely before icing and adding any other decoration your heart desires.

monica@loveglutenfreeaustralia

La Torta Paradisio - a piece of gluten free heaven!

La Torta Paradisio is a wonderful simple cake that always works.  My eldest brother gave me the recipe a number of years ago after he had found it in a recipe book, possibly an Anna del Conte book, but I may be mistaken as the copy I have is handwritten.  Nevertheless it a delicious, fluffy, lemony cake that is surprisingly filling - it must be from the potato flour and butter.  

The last time that we had it was at Easter as I did not want to be making a complicated dessert after a rather heavy roast dinner.  This cake was perfect.  Served topped with icing sugar and a few strawberries on the side we all devoured our slices.

This cake also lasts quite well in a sealed container.  I must admit that I have been rather strong willed in ensuring that it has lasted up to five days after being made and was still quite fresh.

Give this recipe a try you will be a convert as I was many years ago.

La Torta Paradisio

325g unsalted butter at room temperature
325g caster suger
3 x size 2 very fresh eggs
325g potato flour
3g / a generous 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3g / a generous 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
3g / a generous 1/2 tsp of salt
the zest of one unwaxed lemon
butter and gluten free breadcrumbs or rice crumbs for the tin
icing sugar to finish

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees fan forced.

Cut the butter into small pieces and put these into a bowl - I use my food processor for this recipe.  Add the sugar and mix together until blended.  

Add one egg at a time to the butter/sugar cream, while leaving the mixer to run.  Do not add a second egg until the first is completely mixed in.

Sift the potato flour with the cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda and salt together and spoon into the butter cream with the processor running.

Add the lemon rind into the mixture and combine well.

Prepare a 25cm spring form tin by buttering generously and sprinkling the surface with gluten free breadcrumbs.  Turn the tin upside-down and tap put the excess.  Spoon the cake mixture into the tin and give the tin a jerk to settle the mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes or so until the a cake tester comes out clean and it has shrunk from the sides.

Unmold the cake and leave to cool on a wire rack.  

Sprinkle the top with a generous layer of icing sugar before serving.

Enjoy!

monica@loveglutenfreeaustralia

Homemade Gluten Free Anzac Biscuits

I decided that I would try my hand at making Anzac biscuits using the Margaret Fulton recipe that I used as a child making these.  Except this time I needed to change a few ingredients to make them gluten free.  I substituted the rolled oats with rolled quinoa and the plain flour with gluten free plain flour.

Fortunately they worked a treat and tasted delicious.  There was no need to alter the amounts of any of the ingredients or cook them at a different temperature - so easy.

Gluten Free Anzac Biscuits

Based on the recipe from Margaret Fulton's Encyclopedia of Food and Cookery

125g of butter
1 tbs of golden syrup
2 tbs of boiling water
1 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
1 cup of rolled quinoa
1 cup of gluten free plain flour - I used a general all purpose flour from the supermarket
1 cup of white sugar
1 tsp of xanthum gum

Melt the butter and the golden syrup together in a saucepan - do this on the stove not in the microwave as you will have a little science trick happen later.

Combine the rolled quinoa, flour, sugar and xanthum gum together in a bowl or stand mixer.
Once the butter and the syrup are melted mix the bicarbonate of soda with the boiling water and add to the butter/syrup mixture.  This is the magic part:  it will froth up.

Mix this into the dry ingredients until well combined.

Roll into small balls pressing them onto a lined baking tray.

Place in a preheated oven at 150 degrees fan forced for 15-20 minutes until golden.  

Let the biscuits cool completely before removing from the tray as they will hard significantly when cool.

Enjoy with a cup of tea or milk.

monica@loveglutenfreeaustralia

The Queen of Sheba

Happy 2nd Birthday Alice! 

My youngest niece turned two a short while ago and we all celebrated her birthday.  Alice had a wonderful time and was a little overwhelmed at all of the attention, particularly when it came to cutting the cake.  

My sister, Catherine, had made a fantastic spider cake, pictured here.  All Alice wanted to do was pat it which she did very carefully and fortunately after we had all taken photos of it.  Disaster was swiftly avoided. 

The cake itself was delicious. It is from a recipe for a Queen of Sheba cake.  Pretty much equal parts egg, sugar and almond meal.  Such a quick and easy cake to make.  This cake has been a regular visitor to our family's table for a number of years and it is always a winner.

Queen of Sheba Cake (Reine de Saba, as it is a French cake)

120g of unsalted melted butter

120g of caster sugar

120g of ground almonds

120g of melted dark chocolate

4 extra large eggs, separated

a pinch of salt

Melt the butter and chocolate together and cool together.

Mix in sugar, egg yolks and almonds.   My brother, Tim, recommends that you can add vanilla, orange rind or almond essence to flavour the cake but this is not necessary, it is entirely delicious on its own.

Beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until stiff.  You can can reserve some of the sugar and beat it in here once they are stiff.

Mix in a quarter of the whites to lighten the chocolate mixture, then fold in the rest.

Pour into a greased mould (20-23cm) lined on the bottom with baking paper.

Bake at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes until the edges come away from the sides and a cake tester comes out clean.

Let the cake sit in the tin for a few minutes before turning it out to cool on a wire rack.

Serve the cake dusted with sugar, accompanied with whipped cream or coated with ganache or chocolate icing.  It is entirely up to you.  

Bon appetit! 

Love Gluten Free on Tour - London Tips

When traveling in the UK you find that you do have an easy time when finding breakfast, lunch or dinner. Each time that I return to the UK I find that more and more places have gluten free options advertised on their menu and that the wait-staff are aware of what gluten free means and what you can safely order.

As I have a mentioned in an earlier blog, the River Cottage Canteen was a real treat - all three courses of it. But this was not the only place that I safely enjoyed a meal.

A quick lunch on the run years ago, before my diagnosis meant I would grab a sandwich from Marks and Spencer Food Hall or Boots and eat on the run. Now I no longer have the option of the sandwich, but both Marks and Spencer and Boots still have their takeaway lunches and snacks but they now include salads, sushi and soups. Each of these items have the ingredients listed on the back and highlight any ingredients such as gluten, wheat or dairy.  If you have the pleasure of good weather, then you can enjoy a picinc in a local park or square whilst you enjoy your meal.


If you want to buy a little more in bulk Sainsburys Local, Tesco Express, Marks and Spencer Just Food are all smaller versions of the larger supermarkets and do have a smaller range of gluten free options which is useful for breakfast ie a two pack of muffins or a half loaf of bread.  Some have the gluten free items under the 'Free From' banner - take a look at the links to these stores below. Waitrose have the smaller stores as well and do stock GF items. I have found that they usually have stores that attached to petrol stations along the motorways - useful when on a driving trip.

For a gluten free carb fix I managed to find a few places by stumbling across them in the various parts of town that we happened to be in.
Zizzi restaurant: we visited the Notting Hill branch of the restaurant and enjoyed a gluten free pizza and salad. They have just introduced gluten free items to their menu and were rather pleased that someone was ordering a GF meal. In addition to GF pizza, they have GF pasta as well.
Orsini Restaurant is located opposite the V&A Museum in Kensington. It is a little Italian restaurant that serves GF pasta. They have a good variety of GF pasta types and a variety of really simple yet delicious sauces too.
The Wolseley on Piccadilly: I had never heard of The Wolseley until a friend invited us to brunch there one morning. It is a beautiful building, a very old world, English style of place. I enjoyed an omelette with gruyere cheese - yummo! I would recommend visiting here even for a pot of tea one afternoon for the experience and people watching. But do book as they can get rather busy.
Humming Bird Bakery:  this is a great place to stop early on a Saturday morning before the Portobello Rd Market in Notting Hill becomes chaos.  They have a couple of GF options - I chose the Red Velvet cupcake and a fantastic Illy Coffee - heaven as we had only arrived that morning.

Pubs are always welcoming but the typical English pub is something very special. I find that the older the pub the more atmosphere they have as well as being so different from what I go to at home. Often the pub meals are rather hearty fare but the staff, depending on the pub itself are very helpful and worse case scenario, there is always a grilled steak and salad for dinner. Pubs usually have local ciders on tap which I recommend. A lovely apple or pear cider is rather refreshing after a day of sightseeing and walking around town.

Marks and Spencer click here
Sainsbury click here
Tesco click here
Waitrose click here

Zizzi Restaurant click here
The Wolsley click here
Hummingbird Bakery click here

Rockin' Red Rocket Cake

Last week a friend of mine, Danny, turned the ripe old age of 30-something and I decided, along with my other half, that it would be a fun idea to bake him a birthday cake with a difference! Hence the Red Rocket Cake.

I got the idea from a couple of kid's birthday cake recipe books, namely the famous Womans' Weekly Children's Birthday Cake book from the early '80s that I know I wanted many a cake from as a child.  
Children's birthday cakes these days are far more professional looking than the ones that we all had as kids.  Gone are the days of the Vienna Icing coloured with Queen food colouring from the supermarket.  These are now replaced with the ready to roll icing that is coloured expertly, using paste colours and a great number of tools.  
When investigating these more up-to-date ingredients and methods, I decided that I would stick to the 'old fashioned way of doing things'.

The cake that I baked to shape the rocket out of, was my mother's chocolate cake recipe.  This was a tradition in our family where she would bake the cake in a very 1970's ring mould and ice it.

I made a single batch of cake batter which allowed to me to make two small round cakes, these I fashioned into the shape of the rocket.  Frankly the icing could have turned out better, but for a first try and really making it up as I went along, I think that it was a pretty good effort.  And besides, it was delicious!

My Mum's Chocolate Cake

185g of melted unsalted butter
3/4 cup pure cocoa
1/2 cup of hot water
1 cup of milk
1 & 1/2 cups of white sugar
3 eggs
2 cups of gluten-free self-raising flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon of gluten-free baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter and the sugar, add the eggs one at a time.  Add the hot water to the cocoa in a jug and mix until smooth.  Add this to the mixture.  
Add the salt, soda, cream of tartar to the self-raising flour and sift together.
Add the flour to the mixture alternating with the milk.  Remember to finish the alternating with the milk for easy combining.

Bake in two large sponge tins in a moderate oven for 20 - 25 minutes.

I had a template to cut the base shape of the cake out from, then using chocolate ganache, I stuck all of the pieces of the cake together, cutting the shape of the rocket as I went.  I then coated the cake in the ganache.  This ganache is basically chocolate and cream melted and mixed together.  Leave it to cool before using or else it will be too runny.

Once the cake was at this stage, I let the ganache set whilst I made the Vienna Icing with a lot of red food colouring - not one for the kids!

Decorate the cake as desired with the icing and gluten-free goodies and enjoy!