Tag: Bakers

Gluten Free Rocky Road

Leave a comment

During the dark and cold month of January, I am usually found seeking out delicious comfort foods to perk up my mood.

For me, nothing quite beats curling up on the sofa with a good book, a cuppa and slice of my Gluten Free Rocky Road, which is packed full of delicious sweet treats and is certain to banish those winter blues!

image

 

Most traditional Rocky Road recipes are not Gluten Free because they usually include biscuits, so instead of Biscuits I decided to use Nature’s Store Puffed Rice Cereal as a substitute. Puffed rice is 100% Gluten Free and a healthier option than biscuits as it contains no sugar. You can of course use Gluten Free Biscuits if you’d prefer, but I honestly prefer using puffed rice as it still provides crunch expected from Rocky Road.

This is recipe is wonderfully simple and so easily adaptable so if you fancy changing it up, why not use raisins or cranberries instead of cherries? It is also a no bake recipe (perfect if you are feeling a little bit lazy), simply pop it in the fridge and let the magic happen – what’s not to like?

Gluten Free Rocky Road – GF/DF/EF

Ingredients

300g milk or dark chocolate (or dairy free alternative)
125g butter, softened (or dairy free spread)
100g pink and white mini Marshmallows (plus an extra handful for the top)
75g glacé cherries cut in half
25g Rude Health Brown puffed rice
25g almonds
3 tbsp golden syrup

Icing Sugar to dust

Method

1) Grease and line a square tin with greaseproof paper.

2) Melt the chocolate in large heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water.

3) In a separate pan melt together the butter and golden syrup, then add this to the melted chocolate and stir continuously until all the ingredients are combined.

4) Stir in the marshmallows, puffed rice, almonds and cherries until they are coated in a thick layer of the chocolate.

5) Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and use a greased palate knife to flatten down the mixture down and smooth it right to the corners of the tin.

6) Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on top of the mixture and press down firmly to help tightly pack the mixture into into the tin. Peel off the greaseproof paper and dot across the extra marshmallows.

7) Chill the Rocky Road in the fridge for at least two hours.

8) Use the greaseproof paper to help remove the slab of Rocky Road from the tin, then carefully cut it into equal pieces.

9) Lightly dust the Rocky Road with a little icing sugar and  enjoy!

Rocky Road should keep for up to a week stored in an airtight container, or you can keep it in the fridge if your home is a little warm.

image

If you want to keep up to date with my kitchen adventures on instagram, you can find me @titchyton.

Gluten Free Christmas: Kransekake Recipe

Leave a comment

For me, every Christmas table should have a showstopper, something extra special which makes the family go “Wow!”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think there is anything more show stopping than the towering Kransekake Cake which would look simply spectacular at the centre of any Christmas dinner table!
IMG_0393
The Kransekake is a traditional Scandinavian cake which is often served at special occasions including weddings and Christmas celebrations. It consists of 18 almond flavoured rings which are stacked on top of each other to form an impressive tower – If you’re a Marzipan fan, you’ll love this cake!

12360078_984881254917308_60926301423683865_n My Kransekake Design

Although it looks very impressive, it’s actually quite straight forward to make! The rings are made from a dough consisting of ground almonds, icing sugar and egg whites which is shaped to fit Kransekake moulds which can be found at Lakeland.

Kransekake Cakes are usually gluten free, although dough is sometimes rolled out in Semolina flour which is not suitable for Coeliacs. For my Kransekake cake, I rolled the dough out in Cornflour instead of Semolina.
image1-4
Gluten Free Kransekake Recipe – GF/DF

Recipe inspired by Paul Hollywood’s Recipe from ‘The Great British Bake Off’

Ingredients
500g ground almonds, plus cornflour for dusting
500g icing sugar
4 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract
sunflower oil spray

For the Decoration:
2 egg white
500g icing sugar
edible spray glitter
fondant stars (optional)

You will also need 6 Kransekake Moulds (I bought mine from Lakeland)

Method

1. In a large bowl mix together the ground almonds and icing sugar.

2. Add the egg whites and almond extract, then using your hands work the ingredients into a smooth ball of slightly sticky dough.

3. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least two hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 200 C/180 C Fan/gas mark 6.

5. Spray the Kransekake moulds with oil and dust them generously with cornflour.

6. Dust a work surface with cornflour and split the dough into 6 equally sized pieces.

7. Split one of the pieces of dough into three different sized pieces: one large, one medium and one small.

8. Roll the balls of dough out into pieces which are approximately a finger-width and long enough to wrap round the Kransekake moulds.

9. Place the first piece into the Kransekake mould and pinch the ends together. Repeat with all the other pieces until all the moulds are filled.

10. Place the moulds onto a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

11. Remove the Kransekake rings from the oven and allow them to set in their moulds – if you try to remove them while they are warm they will break! Once the Kransekake are cool remove them from their moulds and set them aside while you make the icing.

12. To make the Royal Icing, place the egg whites in a bowl and slowly sift in the icing sugar in batches. In between each batch of sugar stir the icing with a wooden spoon or a balloon whisk until the icing thickens up.

13. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round writing nozzle.

14. Before you begin to decorate, sort the rings out into size order.

15. Place the largest ring onto your serving plate (you could use a bit of icing to adhere it to the plate and stop it from slipping around). Pipe a zig-zag pattern onto the ring and place the second largest ring on top. Repeat until all the rings have been neatly stacked.

16. To finish, spray the Kransekake with edible spray glitter. I made mine extra special by covering it in gold stars made from fondant icing.

I hope you all enjoy the Christmas season and have a go at my Christmas recipes this year, which also include my Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies which I posted last Christmas, my Hazelnut Cranberry and Orange Biscotti and my Cointreau Christmas Cake.
DSC_0020
I am taking a well deserved Christmas break, but I will be back in the New Year with plenty more gluten free recipes for you all to try.  In the meantime, why not check out my out my Instagram page or my Facebook page to see what else I get up to over Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  xxx

Gluten Free Ginger Cake

6 Comments

Autumn is here and as the weather turns colder I look forward to all the flavours the new season has to offer. Gone are the summer fruits, in are the wintery comfort foods and what could be more comforting than slice of warm and spicy ginger cake?

image

In my opinion, comfort food should be as fuss free and simple to achieve as possible. My ginger cake recipe is exactly that and requires no advanced techniques – simply mix the ingredients together and bake!

This cake certainly packs a punch and has a very strong spicy ginger flavour, so feel free to use less ginger if you’d prefer a milder flavour.

image 
Ginger Cake – GF/DF options

Ingredients:
200g gluten free self raising flour
200g light brown sugar
2 – 3 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
55g unsalted butter, melted (or dairy free alternative)
2 large eggs
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp black treacle
100ml strong black tea, cooled

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/160 C fan/gas mark 4 then grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.

2. In a large bowl: Mix together the flour, sugar, ginger and bicarbonate of soda.

3. In a separate bowl: whisk together the eggs, golden syrup and treacle.

4. Make a well in the centre of the ingredients, add the egg mixture, melted butter and tea then mix until you are left with a smooth and lump-free batter.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, when the cake is done it should be firm to touch.

6. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and leave to cool before serving.

image

This cake matures really well and tastes even better after a day or two. If you can wait, wrap your cake in some greaseproof paper and store it in an air tight container for at least 12 hours before you tuck in – the longer you leave his cake, the sticker it gets! This cake will be at it’s best for at least 5 days and keeps for up to 7 days, if stored properly in an airtight container.

Gluten Free Baked Beans

Leave a comment

Hooray, it’s the weekend! And what could be a more perfect weekend recipe than homemade Gluten Free Baked Beans?
image
I know what you are thinking – ‘You can get baked beans out of a tin!’ – but nothing beats homemade baked beans, especially as part of a lovely English Breakfast at the weekend. Some tinned baked beans often include lots of additives and not all brands are gluten free.

The recipe is incredibly quick, so if you are looking for an easy and effort free way to make your weekends breakfasts more special, you’ve found it!

Gluten Free Baked Beans – GF/DF/EF

Ingredients:
1 tbsp sunflower Oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 400g tin of plum tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato purée
200 ml of gluten free vegetable stock
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp English mustard
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
400g (x 2 tins drained) haricot beans
Salt & pepper to season.

Method:

1) Blend the tomatoes in a food processor and set aside for later.

2) Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over a medium heat then fry the onion and garlic until the onions are soft.

3) Add the tomato purée, tomatoes, stock, paprika, sugar, mustard and red wine vinegar then cook the sauce at a gentle simmer for 5 minutes to help the sauce thicken.

4) Drain the beans then add them to sauce. Continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

5) Season with salt and pepper, then your baked beans are then ready to serve!

I served mine as part of a delicious English Breakfast, but you could serve them with chips, wedges, jacket potatoes or just plain old beans on toast!

This recipe makes quite a nice large batch, so leftovers can be frozen in individual portions, which are handy to have stashed in the freezer for when you are in a rush.