When Only A Cake Will Do

Gluten Free Chai Tea Loaf

It’s a baking day but I probably should be outside enjoying the first sunny day of the year but I’ve a craving for cake that must be fulfilled. This tea loaf takes a little time but for any of you who like chai tea, the spicing of this cake is delicate and tastes better a day or two later as the flavours develop further (nothing lasts that long in my house) whilst the cake remains moist due to all the tea soaked fruit.

You can use your favourite chai tea mixes but I have infused the milk with my favourite spices by bringing it up to nearly boiling, then leaving to cool completely. Once the milk is infused, strain the milk through a sieve and discard the spices. I used a 2lb loaf tin but you can make 2 smaller loaves if you have 1lb tins and put one in the freezer to eat another time.

Ingredients

1 tea bag (your choice, I used English breakfast tea)

50ml milk

2 inches cinnamon

1 star anise

200g mixed dried fruit, I used sultanas, cranberries and raisins

10 crushed cardamom pods

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/4 nutmeg, grated

Pinch of salt

200g butter, softened

200g light brown sugar

250g gluten free self raising flour

additional pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon

3 eggs

Method

• Make a strong cup of black tea. Discard tea bag and put in a large bowl. Add dried fruit and allow the fruit to plump up while the tea cools.
• Add milk to a saucepan. Add whole spices and vanilla bean paste, then bring the milk to just below boiling. Turn off the heat and allow the milk to cool completely.
• Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and mix well. Add the cooled milk and 50ml of the cold tea mixture.
• Add the soaked fruit and stir gently with a spatula or wooden spoon.
• Fold in the flour until you have a smooth batter. The mix will seem a little wet but the cake is cooked for 50-60 minutes in a low oven (140 degrees).
• Pour into a greased 2lb loaf tin and place in a preheated oven. Check after 50 minutes by inserting a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean the cake is done. Leave to cool completely.
• Serve as it is or spread slices thickly with butter. I hope you’ll agree it’s delicious.
  
  

Gluten Free Pizza with Ancho Chilli Sauce

My Pizza Nirvana

I’ve only gone and done it! Yes readers I’m a little over-excited. Previously I have mastered a gluten free sweet and savoury pastry, but breads have continued to baffle me. I’ve tried many and have reported the less than satisfactory results on earlier posts, they may have made for funny anecdotes but none made a decent bread.

This does the job, at least as a thin crispy pizza dough or a flat bread to eat with dips and mezze. It’s slightly unconventional cooking method may also improve DIY plastering skills (read on) but the results are a olive oil rich dough that provides a great base for my slightly tart and deeply spicy slow cooked tomato and ancho chilli sauce. Feel free to adapt the toppings as you like, I’ve used what I have in my fridge a day before payday but I hope you’ll agree this is remarkably quick to make and was wolfed down by all whilst watching the rugby.

I have used Doves Farm plain gluten free flour for this while the parmesan and oregano gives the crust a lovely flavour. Make this as thin as you can, I’ve found the reusable silicone baking sheets excellent for spreading the dough out thinly.
Makes 2 large bases

Ingredients for the dough

100g gluten free plain flour
50g cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated
warm water to bring to a thick spreadable batter

Ingredients for the ancho chilli sauce

1 ancho chilli, soaked in warm water, seeds removed and chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, seeds removed and cut into quarters
1 tin plum tomatoes
1/2 glass red wine
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp English mustard powder
Salt and pepper

My toppings

Goats cheese
Basil
Roasted onions, peppers and garlic
Fresh tomatoes
Parmesan

Method

• Make the sauce first. Roast onion, pepper and garlic in a moderate oven until slightly charred. Peel skin off peppers and garlic cloves and place all in a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 1 hour to allow the flavours to develop. Blitz in a blender or use a hand blender to make a smooth sauce. Check seasoning and set aside.
• Make the dough. Add the measured dry ingredients to a mixing bowl, then add olive oil and mix. Add enough warm water to make a stiff batter. Preheat grill to it’s maximum setting.

• Spread out the dough as shown on a baking sheet and grill until golden brown and bubbling up in places. Carefully remove from the grill and turn over, it shouldn’t stick with the olive oil but it is quite delicate. Turn the grill down to a medium setting.
• Add the sauce and toppings of your choice, grill until the toppings are warmed through and the cheese has melted.

A wheat free weekday favourite

Toad in the Hole

(So good you won’t know it’s gluten free)

This is one recipe where those with wheat or gluten intolerances don’t have to feel short-changed in terms of flavour or texture with a gluten free alternative. My partner makes this for me when I’m considering risking the pain of slipping off the gluten free wagon and it does the job perfectly. Like a typical ‘toad’ the batter when cooked becomes crisp and golden on the outside while the inside is fluffy and light.




Make sure if you are cooking this for people who cannot tolerate gluten or wheat that the sausages are also gluten free. You can get good quality, high meat content sausages from some major supermarkets that carry the gluten free mark, but also many independent butchers are meeting the need for gluten free products so it’s definitely worth an ask..
Serve with onion or a red wine gravy and mustard mash for a wonderful comforting weekday meal.

Ingredients

115 g gluten free self raising flour
280 ml semi skimmed milk
1 egg
Salt and pepper
1 tsp xanthan gum
Pinch of chives
Few leaves of fresh sage
1 pack gluten free sausages (6 sausages in my pack)
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

• Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Cook the sausages for 15 minutes and set aside. Add 3 tbsp vegetable oil to a heatproof dish and place in the oven.
• Add flour, xanthan gum and seasonings to a large bowl and mix. Make a well in the centre and add the beaten egg and half the milk. Mix well, The mixture at this point doesn’t look too promising, but as you add the rest of the milk it will become smooth albeit thicker than a normal ‘toad’ batter.
• Gradually add the rest of the milk and add the herbs, mix.
• Remove the heatproof dish from the oven and add the batter (the oil should be extremely hot at this point) Place the sausages into the batter and put the dish back in the oven for 40 minutes or until crispy and golden on top.

Feeling Christmassy yet?

Mulled Plum Frangipane Tarts

This is another gluten free recipe but feel free to make with sweet shortcrust pastry, the filling is delicious and despite there being three stages to do, each takes minutes to prepare and none are too complicated. 
While these are baking the house is filled with the smells of mulled wine and almonds and for those not able to eat regular pastry, I think this is a very good sweet pastry substitute and has gone down very well with those who can tolerate gluten..

Ingredients

For the Mulled Plums

2 glasses red wine, I used Cabernet Sauvignon
75g brown sugar
1 stick cinnamon
2 cloves
2 star anise
pinch grated nutmeg
1 orange
1 lemon
Punnet of plums, about 12

For the pastry

175g fine ground brown rice flour
100g cornmeal
75g ground almonds
150g butter
75g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
cold water to bind

For the frangipane

100g softened butter
100g icing sugar
100g ground almonds
2 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp reserved mulling syrup

Method

• Add all the ingredients to a saucepan except the plums and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Halve and de-stone the plums, add these to the mulled wine mixture and continue to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the plums to cool in the syrupy wine mix.
• Make the pastry. Combine the flour, ground almonds, cornmeal, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor to resemble breadcrumbs. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the eggs. Bring the dough together and add a small amount of cold water if needed to make a firm dough.
• Wrap in clingfilm and leave in fridge for up to an hour to chill.
• Remove plums from wine mix and reduce on a low heat for 10 minutes or until reduced to a thick syrup. Slice plums thinly and put to one side.
• Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of clingfilm until a few millimetres thick. Lift gently with a palette knife and transfer into a bun tin. Cook in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
• Make the frangipane. In a bowl mix together the butter and sugar until fluffy, add ground almonds and 3 tbsp of the reduced wine syrup and mix until thoroughly combined.
• Add frangipane to each pastry case and add slices of the plums gently on top. Place in the oven for a further 12-15 minutes.
• Finally brush the tops of each tart with some of the remaining syrup and leave to cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold with lashings of whipped cream.

Sweet Treats for a Winter's Night

Lemon, stem ginger and cardamom sponge puddings

These are lovely at any time of year, however they make a delicious alternative to those who don’t like Christmas pudding as these are light enough to not need to lie down for an hour to digest. 

I do suggest upping the calorie content further with a generous amount of cream or custard so this is no diet friendly recipe.

I have made these with gluten free self raising flour but the recipe is equally good with normal self raising flour and the quantities are the same.  

Ingredients

100g golden caster sugar
100g softened butter
180 ml milk
2 eggs
200g gluten free self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
5 green cardamom, crushed seeds
5 stem ginger pieces, 3 sliced, 2 roughly chopped and a little of the syrup
Pinch of sea salt
Butter for greasing pudding bowls
Pudding bowls with lids, I made 4 individual 1/4 pint puds and a 1/2 pint pud from this mix, you could do a larger pudding and adjust cooking time. Always test with a skewer in the centre of the pudding, it should come out nearly clean.

Method

• In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together, add milk and eggs and whisk to a smooth batter.
• Sift in flour and bicarbonate of soda and add zest and juice of one lemon.. Whisk in thoroughly ensuring a lump free mixture.
• Add roughly chopped stem ginger, the crushed cardamom seeds and a pinch of salt and stir in gently.
• At the base of each pudding bowl place slices of stem ginger to cover and add mixture 3/4 of the way up each container.
• Put lid on securely and steam. The 1/4 pint puds took 70 minutes, the 1/2 pint just 85 minutes in an electric steamer.
• Serve with cream or custard. Delicious

One for the Kids (Big or Small)

Halloween Gingerbread

Here’s a lovely quick recipe you can make with the children over the holiday, although they disappeared as if by magic from my work when I took a box in the other day...
I’ve made these several times using gluten free plain flour and brown rice flour as the latter gives a nice texture, but all plain flour will work for those with no allergies. The ginger taste is stronger than some bought gingerbread so you may want to adjust a little for a child’s taste.
Makes about 50 small cookies.




Ingredients

175g brown rice flour
450g plain flour (plus extra for rolling out)
175g soft brown sugar
100 butter
1 egg
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp dried ginger
Pinch sea salt
Fun cutters of your choice
Icing and sweets to decorate

Method

• Add all dried ingredients and mix to ensure all lumps are removed.

• Melt butter and golden syrup and add to mixture, add beaten egg and mix thoroughly. The dough should be firm and quite dry.

• Leave to chill in the fridge for about an hour before rolling out to about the depth of a £1 coin. Sprinkle with additional flour if the mix sticks to the rolling pin.

• Cut out shapes and place on greased baking tray. I like the reusable silicone sheets you can buy in most cookshops (nothing ever sticks).

• Place in a preheated oven at 180 for about 8 minutes, remove from sheet when warm and leave to cool.

• Decorate as you like and enjoy.

The search for gluten free bread or the making of WMD’s (weapons of minor destruction)

The truth is I’m intolerant. No not of everything, merely wheat. I’d love to say I’ve adjusted to a wheat free life but I cannot. I miss bread more than anything else, I could happily live without cake, biscuits and pasta, but life without a crumb of the good stuff is quite depressing.

Before I am bombarded with comments about wheat free substitutes readily available in most supermarkets, I have tried many of these alternatives but find they lack either or both the taste and texture of the real thing not to mention they are expensive.

My current mission then has become one of making my own bread starting with basic white rolls, first using some of the packet mixes one can buy that usually require addition of an egg and water. Once mixed the resulting paste resembling white plaster should have alerted me to impending disaster. If not feeling doomed at this point I continued, hoping that the mix would firm up somewhat when proving. I was proved wrong, my dough failed to thrive as no rising occurred, the mix just got stickier so I spooned it into the tins, shoved it in the oven and hoped for the best.

The smell from the oven was heavenly and bread-like enough to induce salivation. A knife and butter awaited the emergence from the oven and I paced around like an expectant parent awaiting the birth of their first-born. 

Hurrah forty minutes later I had my prize, tapping the underside of the rolls they sounded hollow, I felt this was a good omen. I plunged the knife into the warm dough, the  texture seemed good and it smelt wonderful. Butter slathered, I sunk my teeth in. It’s not polite to groan, eat and wretch simultaneously but such was my disappointment I succeeded. It would be wrong to say there was no flavour but what there was wasn’t nice, like eating industrial grade sponge used to stuff sofas. Texturally, when warm it was pretty much as bread should be. When cold it became an entirely different entity, with a crust so firm it could not be crushed with a fist. I hate food waste but I feel putting this out for young birds would inhibit their ability to fly and ducks may sink to the bottom of ponds following ingestion.





Here ends my first serious attempt at gluten free bread cookery. I’ve been sent another recipe from a friend, I have some more unusual ingredients to buy before I try it but be sure, whether a success or failure, you’ll be first to know.