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.

Peanut Butter Brownies

These brownies really don't need much of an introduction. I have been craving peanut butter all week, and after a failed attempt at making peanut butter hot chocolate earlier in the week (bleurgh), these were exactly what I was looking for! Simple to make and with just a few ingredients, these make a very satisfying, rich brownie, with a lovely, light buttercream frosting full of peanut butter - perfect!

Peanut Butter Brownies

140g salted butter
220g sugar
80g cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extra
2 large eggs
70g gluten free self-raising flour

For the frosting:
100g butter
185g smooth peanut butter
125g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line and grease a brownie tin with greaseproof paper.

Put butter, sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl and melt in the microwave in short, 15 second bursts til the mixture comes together and is just warm. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and add eggs, flour and vanilla extract. Beat until glossy and pour into lined tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer dipped into the brownie comes out clean. While the tray is cooling, prepare the frosting by mixing the butter, peanut butter and icing sugar with an electric whisk, until light and fluffy. When the brownie is completely cooled, spread the frosting over it and put it in the fridge for half an hour or so. Remove, and slice into 16 equal squares.

Chocolate Salami

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with many gorgeous gluten free goodies!

I am starting the year as I mean to go on with a blog post. I plan to keep this updated more often, but I think I've said that every year so far, so we'll see!

This is a great recipe to use up some of your leftover Christmas chocolate/biscuits/nuts. It can be kept in the fridge and sliced up as and when you want it. It would probably also freeze well. From this recipe, I made two large 'salamis' and gave one to my boyfriend's dad as we still have so much to get through!

I first saw chocolate salami on a Nigella Lawson programme and searched for the recipe afterwards. It would seem that most traditional recipes use raw eggs. I know this is perfectly safe, but I always feel a bit funny about raw eggs, so after researching a few more recipes and playing about with different combinations, I ended up with the one below. This recipe could be adapted in so many ways - try just milk chocolate if you don't want it to be so rich, use a flavoured syrup in place of alcohol, try different nuts, biscuits or even dried fruit to create a different texture. You can't really go wrong!

Chocolate Salami

100g good quality milk chocolate
100g good quality dark chocolate
150g unsalted butter
120g sugar
100g cocoa powder
100g hazelnuts, chopped
125-150g crushed gluten free biscuits (I used rich tea)
3 tbsp Cointreau or liqueur or your choice (optional)
Icing sugar to dust
String to 'wrap' the salami
Greaseproof paper

In a saucepan, melt the milk and dark chocolate with the butter, sugar and cocoa powder over a low heat. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and add the biscuits, nuts and Cointreau. Mix to combine it all and leave to cool for a while, before adding the white chocolate chips. Turn out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and shape into a sausage. Use the paper to help you shape it smoothly and roll it up tightly, twisting each end. (You could also use the same method to create a few smaller sausages)

Store in the fridge until completely cooled. It should feel quite firm to the touch.

Remove the paper and dust the salami with icing sugar. Tie a long piece of string along the whole thing to look like a real salami (I just improvved this bit!). Use another piece of greaseproof paper to wrap it back up, or store it in an airtight container.

REVIEW: Zizzi

I have been meaning to do a review of Zizzi for a while now, and after eating there last night, there's no time like the present!

Zizzi is a nationwide chain of Italian restaurants similar to Strada, Prezzo and Carluccio's. They boast an impressive gluten free menu which isn't just limited to a couple of pasta dishes and salad. Their website has a separate 'special diets' menu, which lists all the food safe to eat for vegetarians and various allergies. I find this really helpful as you can plan in advance what you might have to eat, and it is particularly useful if you have trouble trusting the knowledge of the staff. They have copies of this menu within the restaurant, so make sure you ask for it when you're seated. Admittedly, when I asked to see it last night, I was told "oh you can have the pasta dishes, we just use gluten free pasta."  This isn't true. Some of the sauces contain gluten and are not safe, and there are more choices than just pasta, so be persistent in asking for the menu if you aren't offered it!

Having eaten at Zizzi before, I already knew what I wanted to order - the Strozzapreti Pesto Rosso. I love chicken pasta dishes and this one is gorgeous. Spiced creme fraiche sauce with spring onions and torn chicken breast. I am slightly confused by their special diets menu, as this dish is not listed as safe for coeliacs anymore, yet it does say it's fine in the allergen table at the back, providing the pasta is substituted.  I asked my server, and again had to ask twice as initially she said "oh it's probably not gluten free anymore then," and only sought confirmation when I explained about the table in the back of the menu. When she returned, I was told it was still fine and must be a printing error, so I'm going to raise this issue with Zizzi and ask them to recheck their menus. It would be a shame to miss out on my favourite meal because of a printing error.  Needless to say, I did order that and was fine the next day, so I'm confident it's still safe.

  My Strozzapreti Pesto Rosso. (Admittedly, it was hard not to
    divert my eyes towards my boyfriend's Rustica Pizza in the background!

Service aside, the meal was really nice. Ironically, I know I'm eating good gluten free pasta, when every mouthful has me doubting whether or not it is actually gluten free! Even my boyfriend couldn't tell the difference, but I was assured by two separate servers that it definitely was. The pasta they use is Doves Farm, and to my knowledge, I've never bought it before but I might have to add it to my trolley next time!

As with most of the gluten free menus at mainstream Italian restaurants, the only thing missing is pizza/bread options. It is understandable why they don't feature, with cross-contamination concerns etc, but it's still a shame as it would be lovely to have some garlic bread with my pasta. Perhaps they will look into some frozen/premade bread as gluten free options continue to expand and improve? I imagine that with Zizzi, it would be difficult, as their pizzas are cooked in a stone fired oven so I would rather know that what I'm eating was cooked separately and definitely safe. Lack of bread aside, the menu at Zizzi is brilliant for coeliacs. Various pasta and risotto dishes, starters (albeit only olives and prawns!), mains, sides and a couple of nice desserts are all safe, so if you like Italian food, you're bound to find something you like!

Maybe I could sneak a couple of slices of bread in my handbag next time?