Tag Archives: baking

IT’s CHRISTTTTTMAAAAASSSS! :) A rich tasting christmas cake that’s gluten and fat free!

Posted on by
3

Well I had a special request to see if I could come up with a gluten free christmas cake. The big challenge was not only making it gluten free but also dairy free without turning to processed soya margarine… so I had little play around this week and I think I’ve got a winner here.  At first I wasn’t too sure about it, I was worried it was more of a bread pudding or tea loaf than a christmas cake. It’s now been tested by a good friend and christmas cake connoisseur and she gave it the thumbs up so I think it’s ready to be posted here!

IMG_9854

Gluten free flour blend:
65g Gram flour and 105g Rice flour
3/4 tsp Xantham gum
1 tsp Baking powder

or 170g White spelt flour for a low gluten option

For the rest of the cake:

85g Raw coconut sugar (or dark muscovado)
85g Currants
85g Sultanas
70g Raisins
25g Dried cherries– chopped
25g Dried cranberries
140ml Soya milk (or oat milk, rice milk, or coconut milk)
85g Ground linseed (just pop whole linseeds in a coffee grinder and whizz until powdery)
enough water to cover well.
Grated rind of 1/2 – 1 lemon
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate soda
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Ground cloves
1/2 tsp Mixed spice
pinch Himalayan rock salt
45ml Brandy (optional)

Sieve the gluten free flour blend (gram and rice flour, xantham gum and baking powder) (or spelt flour) together with the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and mixed spice in to a large mixing bowl. Put the ground linseed into a small bowl and cover with water. Allow the linseed to soak up the water, then add a bit more, you want a gelatinous consistency. Stir it in to the flour mix. It will be quite hard to mix, add a little water if necessary, but not too much.

Stir in the sugar and dried fruit. Add the lemon rind and give it a good but gentle stir. Then add all but 2 tbsp of the soya milk and mix gently again. Gently warm the 2 tbsp of soya milk in a microwave or on the hob – don’t let it boil, just warm it (you should be able to put your finger in it without it burning!). Add the bicarbonate of soda to the warm milk and then add to the cake mixture amd stir gently until combined.

Pour the mixture into a lined 7 inch cake tin.  Smooth the top and make a small hollow in the centre. Bake at 180 C for one hour, then turn the oven down to 160 C and bake for a further 30 – 45 mins (or until a skewer insered in the middle comes out clean). Keep an eye on it while it’s baking.

Before you bake it you can add blanched almonds to the top. If you do this then make sure you check the cake regularly and when they start to brown cover the cake with foil for the rest of the baking time.

Once the cake is cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the cake tin. Allow to cool.

IMG_9843

If you are going to use the brandy then once the cake is cool prick it with a cocktail stick or a small skewer  and feed with a third of the brandy. Then wrap the cake in greaseproof paper and store in an airtight container. You can pour the rest of the brandy over the cake at weekly intervals. With the Brandy in it it will keep for up to a year (apparently!), without it will last 4 weeks if stored properly.

Obviously you can then add marzipan and royal icing to this. I am going to have a go at creating some dairy and gluten free marzipan and royal icing so watch this space!

IMG_9852

Chocolate banana bread! Omg!

Posted on by
2

So I have had some very ripe bananas hanging about in my kitchen for the past few days and decided I just had to do something with them… and it just had to be banana bread! But… I was in need of a chocolate fix….. and boy, is this a good chocolate fix!

I used my original non-dairy banana bread recipe with just a couple of additions:

2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
couple of handfuls of chopped non-dairy dark chocolate of your choice
1 cup coconut palm (or any unrefined) sugar
1/4 cup and 2 tbsps almond oil or olive oil
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup soya milk mixed with 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp himalayan rock salt

Preheat oven to 350 F / 175 C. Line and grease a small loaf tin (approximately 8 inches x 4 inches) or 6 mini loaf tins.

Mix the flour, baking soda, raw cacao, cinnamon, allspice and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the oil and sugar together until well combined. Add the mashed bananas and the soya milk (to which vinegar has been added) and the vanilla extract. Add this mix to the flour mixture and stir well. Finally stir in the chopped chocolate. Pour into the loaf tin and place in the oven for an hour, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Once cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool. And then eat…. quickly.. while it’s still warm and the chocolate is still melted! yum!!

 

 

Kiwi loaf – dairy and gluten free and helps you sleep!

Posted on by
1

It’s been a busy couple of months since I got back from my trip to Indonesia and in that time as well as having loads on at work, we’ve had our kitchen re-done and a load of building work at home. As a result, not only have I not been able to do any baking, but I’ve found living in a building site has been impacting on my sleep! So I did some research and discovered that there’s pretty good evidence that kiwi’s (the fruit!) can help improve the quality and quantity of sleep you get (you can read my article about it here). That got me thinking about creative things to do with kiwi’s other than fruit salads! Lots of the research also suggests that a carb-based snack will also aid restful sleep so I thought I’d try combining the two. I stumbled across a recipe for kiwi bread some time ago so now that the kitchen is finally finished I decided to adapt it and give it a go. I wasn’t sure exactly how it would turn out but it’s actually really good and rather like banana bread. It’s not too sweet but you get lovely flavours from the spices which really complement the slightly tangy kiwi flavour – delish, especially warm!

1/4 cup Agave nectar or sweet freedom (or you could use honey or any liquid sweetner)

1/3 cup Almond oil (or other neutral oil)

1 tbsp Ground flaxseed (linseed) in 3 tbsp warm water (or you could use 1 egg)

1 and 1/2 cups gluten-free flour

1 cup kiwi pulp (approx 4 kiwi’s)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used hazelnuts and almonds as it’s what I had in the cupboard!)

1 cup Raisins

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tbsp Ground cloves

1/4 tsp Himlayan Rock Salt

1 tsp Baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees CPut the ground flaxseed in the warm water and allow to thicken, then beat with the agave and oil until well mixed. Sieve in the flour, baking powder, salt and spices and combine. Then add the kiwi, raisins and nuts stirring gently. Transfer to a greased loaf tin and place in the oven for 40 – 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before slicing (or it will crumble – as I discovered as I just couldn’t wait! 🙂 ). Enjoy slightly warm in the evening (or at any time of day to be honest!). Sweet dreams! 🙂

Chocolate hazelnut Biscotti – Dairy Free, Gluten Free and yet more chocolate!

Posted on by
Reply

As the end of chocolate week draws near I thought I’d finish with this little recipe which is another I’ve had for a while and not got round to posting. These do require double baking but it’s less of a faff than you think – honest! and it’s very much worth it!  I guarantee you won’t be able to tell these apart from “normal” (gluten filled, dairy filled) chocolate biscotti and they’re perfect with a cup of coffee over the weekend 🙂

I hope you enjoy it and do let me know if you try out this recipe and what you think of it (that goes for all my recipes!).

1/3 cup Almond milk
2 tbsp Ground linseed
3/4 cup and 2 tbsp Raw unrefined coconut palm sugar
1/2 cup Almond or Hazelnut oil
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Almond extract
1 and 1/4 cups Spelt flour (wholewheat or white) or Gluten free flour blend
1/2 cup Quinoa flour (if you don’t have this add more spelt flour)
1/3 cup Raw cocoa Powder
2 tbsp Arrowroot powder or Cornflour (also known as cornstarch in the US)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt
1 cup Whole, Raw Hazelnuts (these can be toasted first if you want really crunchy nuts!)

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and grease a large baking tray very well.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and ground linseed for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar, oil and extracts and stir until smooth. Sieve in the flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot or cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Stir to mix and just as the dough starts to come together, knead in hazelnuts. Knead very briefly to form a stiff dough.

Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and form it into a rectangle (approx 12 inches long and 3 – 4 inches wide). Push in the nuts if they pop out! Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. It will rise and get a bit puffy and the top may start to crackle. Keep an eye on it from 20 minutes onwards as it can start to burn. Obviously remove if it starts to burn (this can be hard to see because of the chocolate colour so give it a good sniff if in doubt!) 🙂

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes until very firm.

Turn up the oven to 375F/190C. Carefully transfer the baked dough to chopping board and using a serrated knife, slice 1/2 inch slices. Push the knife down in one go, don’t use a sawing action as you will find the biscotti crumble. They are extremely delicate at this stage so you need to be gentle. I ended up with a fair bit of crumbling and breakage but that’s not the end of the world, it just meant I had lots of bits to taste! 🙂

Place the slices on the baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes until brown and crispy. Don’t be tempted to over bake – they will still seem quite soft when you remove them from the oven but they will crisp up as they cool – I promise (Trust me, I’m a Dr 😉 ). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring the slices to a cooling rack. When completely cool, store in an air tight container and enjoy with a cup of your favourite coffee 🙂

Spicy chocolate chewy cookies – dairy free, gluten free goodness

Posted on by
Reply

It’s grey and windy here in the UK at the moment (well it is where I live!) so it just makes me want to have lots of warming, spicy foods and we all know how well chilli and chocolate go together so I thought it was time I wheeled out this recipe. I actually made these ages ago but just never got the chance to post the recipe. It’s modified from the amazing Isa Chandra’s recipe

1/2 cup Almond oil

1 cup Raw unrefined coconut palm sugar

1/4 cup Maple syrup

3 tbsp Almond or Soya milk

2 tsp Vanilla extract

1 and 2/3 cup Spelt or gluten free flour blend

1/2 Raw cacao powder

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp Himalayan rock salt

For the topping:

1/3 cup Raw golden caster sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease and line a baking tray (or 2!).

Put the oil, sugar, maple syrup and milk in a bowl and mix together using a fork. Add in the vanilla extract and mix well. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and sieve in to the wet ingredients. Mix until you have a dough. The dough will be quite moist and sticky.

Put the topping ingredients on a plate and mix together.

Take small, walnut sized, balls of the dough and pat into the topping sugar to make discs about 2 inches across. Make sure they are well covered in sugar. Put them on to the baking tray with the sugar facing up. Cook for 10 – 12 minutes until they are crackly on the top and have spread a little. Allow to cool on the baking tray for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy! 🙂

.

Super healthy chocolately goodness – dairy free, sugar free just not actually free!

Posted on by
Reply

Continuing my chocolatey theme I thought today I’d leap in with my current favourite chocolate treat. I’ve shared this delight before but not in it’s chocolate form! This stuff is amazing and such a blessing for anyone trying to avoid dairy (for whatever reason) but still wanting something yoghurt/mousse-like in their diet.

It’s Coyo! the raw chocolate variety 🙂 It’s basically just coconut milk and raw chocolate! It’s great on it’s own or really good with some fresh berries 🙂

Chocolate week! the healthy (healthier) way… :)

Posted on by
Reply

It’s “Chocolate week” this week apparently! Hurrah I hear you cry! 🙂

So in order to celebrate one of my favourite things I wanted to share some chocolatey goodness with you all. Sadly my kitchen is still in a state of disarray (tile dramas!) so I haven’t been able to create anything new but it offers the perfect chance to go back to some old favourites. So here, just for you all, are a few of my favourite chocolate creations:

These are naughty, but not too naughty…. They’re best served hot so the chocolate oozes out of them…. hmmmmmm

Chunky Cherry Chocolate Loaves

This has to come a close second. It was originally featured on the fab Pure Form Fitness Kitchen blog and it’s the Ultimate Chocolate Dessert. The spelt chocolate brownies (which are also used for the valentine Brownie Love Bites) are, in my humble opinion, out of this world, especially with the sauce on it (which you can make thicker and as more of an icing if you choose….)

You can’t beat a bit of simplicity and these Raw Chilli Chocolates certainly fit the bill. They’re so easy and quick to make, full of antioxidants and simply divine!

Another recipe featured on Pure Form Fitness Kitchen, is my Chocolate Treat Bar. These are fab – full of goodness, full of chocolate but still healthy! These are my go to bar if I’ve had a big work out day or if I’m just having a chocolate craving! 100 times better than any pre-packaged cereal bar and you can use whatever seeds (or nuts) and dried fruit you like in them.

I’m going to leave it at that for now, before we all pass out from a chocolate induced high! But as it’s chocolate week ALL week I’m going to keep on posting a few more chocolatey delights as the week goes on so watch this space! 🙂

Hello Herman – a healthier version of the friendship cake!

Posted on by
2

I had the pleasure of meeting a new friend last week and I’d like to introduce him to you all. Many of you will know him, he’s been all over the world and he’s a very friendly type so is always keen to meet new people…

His name is Herman, the German!

Baby Herman

He is a sourdough starter 🙂 Basically you keep him warm (well room temp), feed him and then after 10 days you make a cake (or bread) with him and you give some baby hermans away to your friends so they can do the same. Think chain letter in baking form!

For more info on him check out this site all about Herman and how you can start your own and spread the love to your friends too 🙂

So I’ve spent the last 10 days nurturing Herman and yesterday he finally grew up and look what he became!

This is a modified version of the herman friendship cake recipe. I used soya milk, unrefined raw sugar and spelt flour to feed Herman and for the cake included apples and blackberries 🙂 I did use eggs in the recipe but will try substituting them out next time.

The recipe is as follows:

1 cup Unrefined raw sugar
1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt
2 cups Spelt flour
2/3 cup of Almond/ Olive oil
2 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla essence
2 cooking Apples
1 cup of Blackberries
2 heaped tsp Cinnamon
2 heaped tsp Baking powder

Mix all the ingredients into Herman once you get to Day 10 (detailed instructions are here) and then bake in the oven at 180 C for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean 🙂

Can be frozen 🙂

 

Dad’s Ginger Cake (dairy-free, low-gluten)

Posted on by
5

Nine years ago today my dad passed away. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think about him, miss him and wish he was still here.  It may seem a little odd but I like to do something “nice” to remember him on this day and since baking is something I love (and the results are something he loved!) I baked a ginger cake this weekend in his honour! Ginger cake was one of his favourites, though being a bit odd 😉  whenever he was offered a slice  he would usually tell us he couldn’t possibly have it then and that he’d save it and have it for breakfast.. and he did! 🙂 We always used to take the mickey out of him for it and it still makes me chuckle to think about it. This cake is sticky and gooey and just gets better the longer you leave it in the tin (IF you can leave it alone that is!)

So, Dad, this cake’s for you! I’m sure you’d love it 🙂

1/2 cup Almond oil
1 cup Coconut sugar / unrefined raw sugar
1/2 cup Molasses
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
2 cups Spelt flour or gluten free flour mix
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp ground Ginger
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
2/3 cup boiling Water
6 tbsp pureed Apple
1/4 – 1/2 cup Crystallised ginger

Preheat the oven to 170 C and line a small cake tin with greaseproof paper (I used a square brownie tray approx 8 inch square).

Mix the sugar and oil together in a large bowl. Add the molasses, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in to the mix and stir well. Sieve the flour with the baking powder and ginger into a large bowl and leave to one side. Put the bicarbonate of soda into a wet measuring cup and add the boiling water then immediately pour the mixture into the sugar/oil/molasses mix and stir to combine. Add the flour gradually and stir well until there are no lumps.
Add the apple and mix well. Finally stir in the crystallised ginger. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 40 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes then turn out on to a wire rack to cool. Then enjoy!

Lemon Chia seed cookies (dairy free, low gluten)

Posted on by
8

I know I know – not ANOTHER lemon and chia seed recipe but I’m really loving this combo at the moment and having fun trying out some recipes with them 🙂

This cookie recipe is a departure from my normal suite of ingredients as I’m using some Soya yoghurt. I’ve seen it in recipes before but never used it so thought I’d have a go! It can be substituted for silken tofu if you can’t have soya though.

These need to be flattened out really thin before you bake them otherwise they end up cakey and not crispy (but if you like your cookies like that then go for it!)

1 1/4 cup Coconut palm sugar/ raw unrefined sugar
3/4 cup Olive oil
3/4 cup Soya yogurt (natural or lemon flavoured works best)
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 1/2 Cups Spelt flour or gluten free flour blend
3/4 tsp Himalayan rock salt
3/4 tsp Bicarobonate of soda
Zest of 1 large Lemon (plus juice of half a lemon if desired)
1/3 cup Chia seeds

For decoration: Raw golden icing sugar and a few drops of lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees.

Mix the oil and sugar together until well combined. Add the Soya yoghurt and vanilla extract and stir well. Sieve in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix well. Finally stir in the lemon zest and chia seeds, and the lemon juice if you like your biscuits lemony!

The batter will be quite sticky and not like a traditional biscuit dough but don’t worry. Drop small spoonfuls onto a greased baking tray. Using the back of a fork flatten these out until they are only a few mm thick (unless you like your cookies cakey in which case don’t!). Bake in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them, if they start to puff up then just flatten them a bit with a fork. Bake until they are golden brown. Remove and allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cool you can ice them if you want to – just mix up the icing sugar with a few drops of lemon juice or water until you get a thick consistency then pipe over the biscuits 🙂