Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Frangipane Tart

My little girl, Emily, has been asking me for 'Rahhhspberries' all day today. She's never had them before and they just so happened to be on offer in Aldi, so I bought a punnet for her. She put one in her mouth and immediately spat it out, declaring "I don't like that one, Mummy." I don't really like raspberries on their own either, so I decided to use them to make a cake.

Personally, I love raspberry cheesecake, but my fiancé isn't fussed on them and to be honest, I need to start making things he will eat too, otherwise I'll be struggling to get into my favourite jeans! He loves bakewell tart, so the recipe below is a bit of an adaptation on that. The pastry is probably the best one I've made to date - light, crumbly and sweet and it complements the moist frangipane. The raspberries add a bit of zing, and the dark chocolate perfectly finishes the whole thing off! It's gone down well with all three of us, so I'll definitely be making this again!

As ever, make sure you check labels on everything to ensure it's all gluten free.

Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Frangipane Tart

Pastry
100g unsalted butter diced
100g icing sugar
50g ground almonds
1 medium egg, beaten
200g plain gluten free flour plus extra for rolling
Baking beans/uncooked rice

Filling
125g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
1tsp almond extract
125g ground almonds
2 eggs
100g fresh raspberries, halved
30g Dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 160 degrees and grease a 9inch/23cm tart tin. (I also line it with foil first for easier removal)

To make the pastry, rub the butter and sugar between your fingers to form crumbs. Stir in the almonds and icing sugar and add the egg a little at a time to form a soft dough. Use a little more flour to roll out to a thickness of about 0.25cm. Line the tin with the pastry, gently pushing it to the corners. Trim excess from around the edge and blind bake using the baking beans/rice for 10 minutes, until the edges start to brown slightly.

For the frangipane, cream the butter, sugar and almond extract together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat the mixture. Gently stir in the almonds. Place the halved raspberries on the pastry base in circles and then spread the frangipane mixture on top. Bake until golden and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool.

Put the dark chocolate in a sandwich bag and melt in some boiled water. Snip the corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the cake.

Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes

Caramel Macchiatos are my favourite drink in Starbucks. So much so that on my last visit, I bought a bottle of the caramel drizzle sauce they use on top so that I can make my own imitation versions at home. However,  I've yet to master the milk frother on my coffee machine, as it turns out more like bath foam rather than the silky, thick stuff you can stand your spoon up in at Starbucks. As such, a little drizzle of caramel sauce just sinks to the bottom. Woe.

Anyway, I digress. Because of my homemade latte failure, I've been squirting on the sauce on just about anything else - pancakes, ice cream, my mouth.. and decided to have a play around with a cake recipe based on my favourite drink. It worked quite well! I think a marshmallow creme might work better to imitate the milky foam, rather than buttercream, maybe I'll try that next time!

Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes 

Makes 8 large cakes

125g of margarine
125g caster sugar
125g Doves Farm gluten free self-raising flour
2 eggs
2 tsp of coffee mixed with a tbsp of boiling water, left to cool
2 tsp caramel flavoured syrup (I used this)

Buttercream

150g Icing sugar
50g butter
splash of milk

Caramel Sauce to drizzle over cupcakes

Preheat oven to 190 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together in a bowl using an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add eggs and 25g of flour and whisk until combined. Add the rest of the flour, the coffee and the caramel syrup and whisk together for a couple more minutes. Evenly spoon mixture into cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until a cocktail stick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Leave to cool and make the buttercream. Spread a thin layer over the top of the cakes, and then drizzle some caramel sauce over each cake.

REVIEW: The No Gluten Baker

Run from their home in Southport, the No Gluten Baker is a family business created by husband and wife team, Richard and Di. They are a relative newcomer to the gluten free market, but they already have an impressive range of cakes, pasties, pies and other delights to choose from. I have met them a couple of times at the Wirral Farmer's Market and the Gluten Free Food Fair in Ellesmere Port and have sampled a few of their products. My personal favourite is their cheesebread. It's like nothing I've ever tasted before and it's delicious!

'Bread' is not really what I'd describe it as to be honest, it comes in a little cardboard loaf tray, but the texture is not really 'bread-like' and it contains no yeast. It's quite difficult to describe the texture, but it's more like a cross between a scone, a dumpling and a crumpet! Quite dense and so full of flavour from the locally sourced cheese that's packed into it.

As such, although the loaf is quite small, two or three slices would be enough for a filling snack. The bread can be frozen in case you can't get through the whole loaf, so I slice it beforehand and freeze it. That way, whenever I fancy some, I can put it straight under the grill from frozen!  You can eat it cold, but I would recommend toasting it and eating hot with a generous spread of butter.

This is definitely going to be a staple snack for me! You can order direct from the No Gluten Baker (check out their Facebook page, as yet they do not have a website) or you can see them at various markets around the North West. I am delighted to hear* that they will be a regular stallholder at the Wirral Farmer's Market until October as it is very close to where I live!




*I am also getting slightly concerned about the effect this is going to have on my waistline..

REVIEW: Penny's Puds

I recently got in touch with Penny from The Litton Larder to enquire about 'Penny's Puds' and she very kindly sent me a sample to review for my blog. I had heard good reviews about them, so I was really excited to try one!

Firstly, a word of warning. Do not save these puddings for a dessert after a large meal unless you're planning to share one, they're very generous portions! They are packaged in a little cardboard tub, with reheating instructions printed on the side which couldn't be easier. Simply place in the microwave for 60 seconds, turn out onto a plate et voila! 

The first thing I noticed was the sauce. I love sticky toffee sauce, and I've been disappointed in the past by other puddings which seem to soak up the sauce and leave none to drizzle. As you can see, there was plenty of sauce on this pudding! And it's amazing; buttery and silky like liquid fudge. The pudding itself is divine. So moist and sticky, while also retaining a light, soft texture, and not crumbly like other gluten free puddings I've tried. I had mine with some vanilla ice cream and half a pudding was more than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Penny's Puds can be stored in the fridge until their use by date, printed on the carton. They can also be frozen and reheated without the need to be defrosted, so they're perfect to hide away for when you just need a nice, comforting pudding!

The puddings can be ordered direct from the Litton Larder website. They are £14 for a box of four, with free delivery. They are also stocked in various shops and cafes in and around the Peak District. Take a look at their website for stockists. Penny and her puds also visit various food fairs and Coeliac UK events around the country.

Hands down, this is the nicest sticky toffee pudding I have EVER tried, even before my Coeliac days, and it's clear to see why Penny's Puds are so popular whether you're gluten free or not. I will definitely be ordering more in future!

Red Velvet Cake

I think this is my favourite cake in the world. Bright red, moist sponge with a delicate chocolate flavour, filled and coated with light cream cheese frosting - yum!

I first tried it in New York in 2009, and hadn't seen it anywhere in the UK at that time. It has now made its way over here and I've seen it in several bakeries and cake shops. So far, I haven't had the pleasure to find it in gluten free form. Clearly, the only solution here was to make my own!

This one actually took a bit of trial and error. First of all, I ruined the first cake by cooking it too high, resulting in a soggy middle and a concrete exterior. Then I ruined the frosting by thinking it looked a bit too firm and adding a tiny bit of milk. Don't do this! You will end up with sloppy, but tasty icing.

It is based on a recipe I found on the internet, with a few tweaks to make it gluten free. It uses oil instead of butter because the cake should be very moist. I guess you could quite easily make this cake vegan too by substituting the eggs, cream cheese and butter!

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

300g Dove's Farm self-raising flour

1tsp gluten free baking soda

300g granulated sugar

2 medium eggs

480ml vegetable oil

1tsp cider vinegar (or any other gluten free white vinegar)

8-10 tsp red food colouring

2 tsp vanilla extract

240ml buttermilk

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 tubs of soft cheese

300g icing sugar

200g butter

1tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 170. Grease/line 3 sandwich tins, or two larger cake tins and wrap the outside in foil. This prevents the cake cooking too quickly at the sides, and also helps to prevent the 'mushroom' effect in the middle of the cake.

Use an electric whisk to mix the sugar and oil in a large bowl. Add the eggs, food colouring, vanilla essence and vinegar and whisk until mixed. Sift the flour and baking soda together, and add to the mixture gradually, whisking to incorporate. Add the buttermilk and whisk on high for a few minutes until the mixture becomes lighter. Divide between your trays and bake for around 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Leave each layer to cool.

To make the frosting, whisk the butter and vanilla extract in a large bowl on a high setting until it becomes light and fluffy. Add the two tubs of cheese and sift in the icing sugar, a bit at a time, whisking until you have a light frosting. Use to sandwich together the layers of your cake and coat the outside.

To prevent getting crumbs in your frosting, spread a thin layer on first to seal the cake.