Sainsbury’s allergy friendly Stir up Sunday

Back in September I was lucky enough to be invited to a “Stir Up Sunday” baking masterclass by award winning baker and food writer Dan Lepard.  It was held in Sainsbury’s rather swish HQ in London where Dan demonstrated cooking allergy-friendly festive treats that everyone can share in.

If, like me, you didn’t know what Stir Up Sunday is, it’s traditionally the last Sunday before Advent and designated the day used to bake the all important Christmas pudding.  This year it falls on Sunday 25th November.  Whether you’re a slave to tradition or not, Stir up Sunday is a good time to at least think about those gluten-free festive treats.

My main focus for the masterclass was on Dan’s tips on gluten-free baking which I have had varying degrees of success with so was eager to learn from an expert.  Dan talked about the importance of adding spices, particularly ginger and extracts like Valencian orange, to gluten-free Christmas bakes to give that extra taste boost.  It was also the first time I’d heard of Psyllium Husk Powder which Dan said acts like gluten and makes the dough easier to roll.  Psyllium Husk is a naturally occurring fibre that swells in water to form a gel and acts like egg white when added to a recipe, it looks like this..

Dan made a delicious Ginger and Orange Christmas Pudding which was not only gluten-free but dairy-free, egg-free and vegan too.  I’ll post the details for this recipe later this week.

We all had a slice of Dan’s Christmas cake which tasted as Christmas cake should, no gluten-free inferior product here!  Again it’s gluten, dairy and egg free as well as being suitable for vegans.  I’ll also give you the recipe for that in another post.

To me mince pies seem to be a bit like Marmite, people either love them or hate them.  I fall in the first category but am quite fussy about the quality of them and that was before I was denied wheat in my diet.  So what chance does a gluten-free mince pie have?  Well I have to say Dan Lepard’s were pretty good.  He made them with Shortcrust pastry using the aforementioned Psyllium Husk and filled them with golden mincemeat. When making the pastry Dan gave a few tips explaining that when mixed, it will be a sticky mess so leave it to cool for about 10 minutes before handling it.   He also added that if you want a crumblier texture to add some ground almonds.

You can see the man in action creating the mince pies in this video

and check out the recipe on the Sainsbury’s website.

Watch out for recipes of Dan’s Christmas cake and his ginger and orange Christmas pudding, coming soon along with some other gluten-free festive treats!

In the meantime I’d love to hear what your home-made gluten-free Christmas treats are going to be this year, so drop by and let me know by leaving a comment.

Please note, I was not paid by Sainsbury’s to attend this event but received a goodie bag of their FreeFrom range.  Also, my usual photographer was not available so the images are my own ( you can probably tell!) or Sainsbury’s as stated.

 

 

 

 

 

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Are there tastier choices for a gluten-free breakfast?

My gluten eating eight year old has recently been complaining of the lack of choice at breakfast.  On a weekday she is offered a wide range of cereals, delicious bread-maker bread or toast and sometimes even a crumpet.  The choice at weekends extends to eggs in a variety of forms and homemade smoothies. I envy her options. My gluten-free choice be it weekdays or weekends is the same, gluten-free bread or toast (no-way as good as it’s glutened version) or  one or two cereals.  I don’t like eggs so that isn’t an option, but I enjoy our homemade smoothies.

So, after 18 months of living a gluten free lifestyle I’m bored with my gluten-free breakfasts & wish I had my daughter’s choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By it’s nature, breakfast is a glutened meal with bread, cereals, pancakes and muffins featuring heavily.  The breads I’ve tried are OK and have improved a lot but they’re just not the same so I try to the ring the changes a bit by mixing my gluten free cereals up and adding extra dried fruit and nuts.  It’s fine on a weekday but at weekends I don’t ever feel as though I’ve luxuriated in a delicious breakfast.  Although Genius chocolate croissants and pain au chocolate are a welcome change they’re not as crumbly or moist as the “real thing”.

So after a bit of research on You Tube I’m thinking of trying the super food Quinoa.  I’ve only used it once before for a savoury dish & it came out a sticky mess but having found a Quinoa healthy breakfast video viewed by more than 16,000 people I’m inspired to give it another go.  One viewer says it tasted “delicious” which to be honest it doesn’t look but appearances, as we know, can be deceiving.  Take a look it’s only 53 seconds long & see whether you’re  tempted too…

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/s1sKBXzLAxE” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

So what do you think, is it worth a try or do you have more exciting and even luxurious gluten free breakfast options up your sleeve?  If so, would you be willing to share them with me…. please?!

Indulgent or not I need some breakfast variety in my life!

 

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A passion for gluten free lemon drizzle cake

I have a confession to make, before I turned gluten free I used to bake not one but two lemon drizzle cakes at a time.  I’d have a slice with morning coffee, another with lunch and yet another if I needed a quick pick me in the afternoon!  If I was visiting friends, I’d also take one with me as a “gift”, encourage them to try some whilst I was there, so of course I’d get a slice too.  I was a lemon drizzle cake addict, I just loved that bitter sweet taste and fluffy texture.

But for the last 17 months not a morsel of the delicious stuff has passed my lips.  That is until yesterday when I tried a Whitworths recipe for gluten free lemon drizzle cake which I can safely say is just delicious & no I have not been paid for this post!

I wasn’t expecting much as a lot of gluten free cakes have quite a gritty, not terribly appealing texture.   The inclusion of xantham gum generally helps so I didn’t hold out much hope for the Whitworth’s recipe as it didn’t have anything like that in it.

But I was wrong.  It’s gluten free cake heaven.  I had a slice last night after dinner, one more whilst I was.. er .. “clearing up” the kitchen and .. er have just had 2 slices with lunch!

So if you fancy some gluten free heaven this weekend then reach for your gluten free flour and prepare for a taste of lemony heaven.

*As this recipe is from Whitworths, they obviously recommend their own brand of caster sugar and demerara sugar but clearly it works just as well with other brands.   However, for courtesy’s sake I am giving you the original recipe …

Whitworth’s gluten free lemon drizzle cake

170g softened butter

250g whitworths fine caster sugar*

1tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 lemons, zest and juice

2 tblsp milk

170g gluten and wheat-free white self-raising flour, sieved

25g whitworths crunchy demerara sugar*

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 180 C /Gas Mark 4

Line an 18cm/7in loaf tin with oiled greaseproof paper

Beat the butter, caster sugar and vanilla for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and lemon zest and continue to beat for 2-3 minutes.

Add the juice of half a lemon, milk and beat to combine.

Add the flour and gently mix to combine thoroughly.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and tap the cake tin gently a few times on the counter top to flatten out the top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.

Meanwhile, gently heat the remaining lemon juice and 80g of whitworth’s fine caster sugar in a small pan to dissolve and allow to reduce to a syrupy consistency over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes. (Mine didn’t go very syrupy).

Remove the cake from the oven and prick all over with a fork.

Carefully spoon the hot lemon syrup over the cake and finally sprinkle over the whitworths crunchy demerara sugar.

Leave the cake in the tin for 20-30 minutes to allow the syrup to settle.

Remove the cake from the tin & cool completely on a wire rack.

And finally …. enjoy!

Next time I’ll be making 2 cakes to see if it freezes well.

 

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I get a bit bored of gluten free sandwiches for lunch

so was searching the internet for inspiration and happened upon this video by Phil Vickery.  I have one of his gluten free cook books and often refer to it, it’s written in juction with Coeliac UK so whether you’re Coeliac or gluten/ wheat intolerant you can be assured he know’s what he’s talking about.

The 4 and half minute video has been done with Warburtons so is based around their gluten free bread range which isn’t bad but freezes terribly badly in my opinion as it just falls apart once you’ve defrosted it.  However, if you’re in need of some inspiration for lunch or a quick snack check these recipes for soft cheese & pepperdew toasties and bramley apple caramel tea cakes they could come to your rescue.

 

 

Anyone want to share their homemade favourite gluten free snack?

 

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Gluten Free baked goodies on sale in Boscastle

A big hello to all my lovely readers.  I apologise for the distinct lack of posts over the last few months.  Unfortunately, my mother died so I took a break from blogging.

But, now I’m back & have been catching up with all that’s been going on in the gluten free world.  Great to see the Gluten Free bloggersphere is growing rapidly.  Collectively we must be making quiet a noise by now!

Recently, I’ve been lucky enough to attend a few exciting Sainsbury’s press events, the content of which will all be revealed in due course so watch this space…

Over the summer my family & I enjoyed a Staycation in Cornwall.  As usual the prospect of eating out Gluten Free is an issue so I packed numerous bars to keep me going whilst out and about.  However, I was amazed and genuinely overjoyed to see this sign outside a cafe in Boscastle …

Wow … to think that an eating establishment actually thinks about advertising the fact they offer Gluten Free options was so exciting!

Unfortunately, it was a typically Cornish rainy summer’s day so it was very busy inside & no tables available to try their Gluten Free delights.  So we trotted over the road to Boscastle’s National Trust’s coffee shop and to my equal delight discovered they offered packets of Gluten Free biscuits and Mrs Crumbles Brownies.  Whilst my children pushed their noses against the cake cabinet to choose their Glutened treat I spotted a GF Bakewell slice sitting there.  It actually had it’s own label too making it easier to spot amongst all the other baked goods.  Well I was flabbergasted, so much choice! So without a moment’s hesitation I opted for the Bakewell slice and it was wonderfully moist and crumbled really well just like a regular Bakewell.  Even my Gluten eating husband thought it was good & he’s quite an expert on Bakewell slices.  Here it is…

So well done & thank you Boscastle for catering to those of us who have to live life without wheat!

How did the rest of you fare with eating out Gluten Free over the summer, any pleasant surprises you’d like to share?

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