Grain free Chocolate cake refined sugar free too

A friend made this cake recently for her son’s birthday and recommended it to me. The recipe comes from spoonfulofsugarfree.com It is the most delicious chocolate cake, a little like a brownie in taste but lighter in texture. Well worth trying with a big dollop of double cream.

Here is the recipe Chocolate cake

First I mixed together the dry ingredients ground almonds, raw cacao powder, bicarbonate of soda

 

then I beat the eggs and put water and dates in a food processor until a smooth paste

I added the date puree to the eggs and coconut oil

Then I mixed the wet ingredients into the dry ones

I spooned the mixture into an 8 inch cake tin and put in a pre heated oven to 165oC

bake for 25-30 mins

I left the cake to cool in the tin

 

once cool I turned out onto a wire rack

 

follow on Twitter @sugarfreealex 

follow on Facebook spoonfulofsugarfree

check out the spoonfulofsugarfree website for lots of recipe ideas

Grain free Cheddar cheese biscuits

Recently a friend recommended a new recipe book, It was Wheat Belly cookbook.

I had heard of the original book Wheat belly by William Davis , MD which was a New York Times bestseller. This new book has 150 recipes and lots of information on Wheat. William Davis states “Wheat is not the healthy grain it was pretending to be” He also talks about why wheat can make your stomach hurt as well as causing many other medical issues. An informative read! He includes recipe ideas for Breakfasts, Sandwiches and salads, Main dishes and my favourite section Wheat belly bakery. If you are avoiding Wheat or grains for any reason this book is a must. William Davis is the creator of www.wheatbellyblog.com  is a preventive cardiologist. This book is great for Coeliacs or those on gluten or grain free diets .

Here is a recipe from the book which I have tested out. Well worth a try

Cheddar cheese biscuits

I would describe them as a healthy cheese scone, just what i’ve been looking for. They are absolutely delicious eaten with some butter

recipe-

1 cup Almond flour

1 cup ground golden flaxseeds ( I used Linwoods milled organic Flaxseed ) sold in Holland and Barrett 

4 tsp gluten free baking powder

1/2 tsp onion powder ( i left this out from mine )

4 tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes

1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese

4 egg whites

Method –

Preheat oven 175oF

mix dry ingredients together

beat egg whites until stiff

Add butter cubed into the dry ingredients

chop butter up in the dry ingredients, I rubbed it in with my fingers too.

Until it resembled breadcrumbs.

Add beaten egg whites, fold in

Spoon the mixture into 8 rounds onto a baking sheet

flatten to approximately 3/4 inch thickness

bake for 15 mins until golden brown

leave to cool on baking sheet

They look a little dull and possibly not that appertising but are soft and delicious much like an English cheese scone. You will love them. I have demolished two already.

Enjoy!

 

Check out William Davis MD website here wheatbellyblog.com

Mother’s Day afternoon tea

This Sunday in the UK is Mothering Sunday, what could be nicer on her special day than making your Mum or Grandma a special gluten free afternoon tea.

My Mum, my sister and me

Here are some simple recipes for a classic afternoon tea you could prepare at home.

Firstly a delicate gluten free sandwich, here is a few ideas for making your own gluten free bread Grain free bread ,  White bread mix from Food by Helen ,  Sukrin bread mix , Cheese and herb bread ,

grain free bread

 

Food by Helen bread mix

 

Choose a classic sandwich filling like egg and cress, cheese and tomato, ham or cucumber and cream cheese.

Cheese scones also work well for afternoon tea, here is a easy recipe Cheese scones . These can be made days before and frozen, defrost on sunday morning and re fresh in microwave for about 30 seconds. Serve with some delicious butter.

Now for something sweet!

A gluten free Victoria sandwich cake would be perfect or how about Lemon drizzle cake  Grain free carrot cake or everyones favourite Chocolate cake

 

Victoria sandwich cake

Grain free carrot cake

chocolate cake 

Or these delicious grain free cinnamon muffins

Grain free cinnamon muffins

 

If you would prefer to use a cake or muffin mix check out my reviews here carrot muffins from incognito cakes , Food by Helen chocolate cake mix 

 

Food by Helen Chocolate cakes

 

A classic afternoon tea wouldn’t be complete without a cream tea with simple gluten free plain scones served up with extra thick double or clotted cream and a low sugar strawberry jam like Delfour

Cream tea

 

If you have a 2 or 3 tier cake stand that would be ideal. Otherwise choose your prettiest plates and some nice serviettes

I hope this has given you some ideas to make this occasion something really special.

 

I would love to see your Mothers Day afternoon tea photos, Go on, have a go! I’m sure it will be very much appreciated.

Happy Mothering Sunday.

 

My afternoon tea,  gluten free and refined sugar free

Gluten free Victoria sandwich cake recipe

Today I baked a simple Birthday cake.

Here is the a recipe for a simple small gluten free Victoria sandwich cake

recipe –

175g soft butter

175g caster sugar or I used 190g dextrose

3 large eggs

175g gluten free SR flour i used doves farm flour

1 1/2 tsp Gluten free baking powder

filling-

no refined sugar jam I used St Dalfour strawberry or regular jam

2 x  cake tins 18cm ( 7inch)

Method-

grease and line tins

cream together fat and sugar

Add beaten eggs and flour and baking powder

mix together well

divide into the two cake tins

bake in pre heated oven 180 oC for 25mins

until golden brown

put on wire tray to cool

sandwich the two cakes together using the jam

sprinkle the top of the cake with a little icing sugar.

 

Happy Baking!

 

In search of the best grain free and yeast free bread

After looking through lots of grain free recipe books this morning I came across a new bread recipe to try in cooking for the Specific Carbohydrate diet by Erica Kerwien. @comfybelly

Simple Sandwich bread

Using just almond butter, eggs, honey, almond flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. I produced a small loaf

 

This loaf tasted surprisingly light, it has a strong flavour but quite pleasant. Would definitely make this again.

 

Recently I had a go at making a basic focaccia style loaf from a recipe in Wheat Belly cookbook by William Davis, MD this loaf used chickpea flour, ground golden flaxseeds, almond flour,baking power and egg whites.

 

It was delicious sliced thinly toasted with melted cheese but was quite heavy and dense to eat by itself. made very good fried bread using bacon fat Yum!

 

 

There is also a good recipe in the Gluten- Free Almond Flour cookbook by Elana Amsterdam called Olive Rosemary Bread, again a small loaf but very nice .

 

If like me you are trying to avoid all grains, these recipe books are well worth a look at. Most are inexpensive and available online.

 

I would love to hear about any recipes for grain free and yeast free bread you have tried and enjoyed. Grain free cook book recommendations would be very welcome too.

Review of Primal Joy Foods. UK’s first provider of Paleo snacks and treats

Recently I found Primal joy foods on Twitter. I have been searching for guilt free, gluten free treats that I could order online that were grain free and refined sugar free. Up popped Primal joy foods on to my twitter feed.

Based in Stroud, Gloucester Primal joy foods is a small company offering hand produced paleo snacks and treats. I was very excited especially at the thought of Paleo chocolate brownies. I cheekily tweeted them and asked if they would like me to review them on my blog. A few days later a little box of treats arrived.

Cocao and Orange Paleo balls – Indulgent and grain free these little balls were delicious. Chocolatey and orange flavoured using all wholesome ingredients. Dates, macadamia nuts, cacao, coconut oil, orange oil and almonds. Prices start at £1.75 for 3

Rich chocolate brownies – sweetened with dates and honey. Never thought I would find a guilt free chocolate brownie. I am so thrilled to have found these. My absolute favourite. Too good to share! Unsurprisingly these have been shortlisted for the 2014 Free From Foods innovation category. prices start at £3.50 for 2

Paleo bar macadamia – This is like a soft cereal bar, really very good. It would be perfect to take on a walk or cycle ride for that much needed pick me up. Crammed full of seeds and nuts and with a subtle sweet taste. Prices start at £2.69 for 2

Date and walnut Paleo balls – similar to the chocolate and orange balls, but less sweet. still very nice. My least favourite of all the products. Prices start from £1.75 for 3

Paleo bites – disk shaped treats with a slight chocolate flavour. A cold pressed snack with nuts , seeds, coconut oil and a hint of raw cacao. not overly pretty to look, but taste good. Prices start at £1.85 for 3 disks

Cinnamon Nut crunch – ( this has been shortlisted in the 2014 Free From Food awards Breakfast category ) Delicious with your favourite non dairy milk, great to top fruit fruit or simply to snack on. A real favourite in my house. Lovely cinnamon flavour and surprisingly sweet. Full of pumpkin and sunflower seeds this is a great choice for a healthier breakfast. Unlike granola this is more seeds less nuts. well worth a try! Price £5.99 for 300g

Selection boxes available from £13.99 A lovely idea for a Mothers Day gift or Birthday present.

No cheap fillers in any of these products. 100% natural and organic. They are all grain free and protein rich . Gluten free and also does not include any gluten free oats. Free from dairy too. Small delicious treats that still feel indulgent.

I will most definitely be ordering some of these Paleo treats for myself and I think they would make a lovely gift too.

You can follow @PrimalJoyFoods on Twitter

Here is their website Primaljoy.co.uk

Wishing Primal Joy Foods all the very best with the up coming Free From Food Awards.

Hope you love them too!

The most delicious chocolate mousse using Deliciously Ella’s recipe App

Tonight I used the Deliciously Ella’s App to make the most yummy dairy free, gluten free, refined sugar free Chocolate mousse. Crammed packed with healthy ingredients, it is divine!

The App costs £2.99 and has a large number of both sweet and savoury recipes to chose from.

Review of The Gluten Free Kitchen, North Yorkshire

The Gluten Free Kitchen is a bakery and shop selling in store and online. They also have a selection of products available in a number of Waitrose and Booths supermarkets and some National trust properties.

Chef Sue Powell and business partner David Fleming have been producing home baked gluten free products since 2005. The business is based in Leyburn, North Yorkshire. Products include ready to roll pastry, cakes muffins , savoury tarts, crumbles, bread etc

you can visit their website here to see more of their products www.glutenfreefood.info

Sue from The Gluten Free Kitchen asked if I would like to review their products, I was very happy to do so and I was sent a parcel containing a lovely selection of their products. I was very impressed by the packaging and chill pack inside the cold box. Everything had stayed perfectly fresh.

I also like their product packaging and leaflet very professional.

My family of 5 gluten eaters who mainly eat gluten free helped me test all the products today. They had a great time!

Coffee and walnut muffin – gluten and dairy free £2.05 A good size muffin with a lovely coffee flavour.  Moist cake with a delicious frosting.

Bakewell tart – £2.00 gluten and dairy free . A big favourite with us all. Very good pastry, even better than the ready rolled pastry. A good size tart easily shared.

Apple crumble –  gluten, dairy and egg free £2.29 nice apple filling with a good crumble top, some thought the crumble had a slight floury taste. But overall good. Perfect for one.

Lemon drizzle pudding – £2.29 A sharp lemon flavoured individual sponge, moist pudding easy to warm in microwave. very nice

Ready roll pastry –  gluten and dairy free £2.25 was easy to use, rolled out well and cooked nicely. I made a chicken pie topped with the pastry. Rather broke up when cut into slices and some felt it left a slightly floury taste in the mouth. Overall all felt if you couldn’t eat regular pastry this would be a very good alternative. A convenient product easily stored in the freezer ready for use.

homemade Chicken pie

Carrot cake muffin – £2.05 A moist cake with large pieces of walnut inside and delicious frosting , a little crumbly.

Chocolate cake muffin – £2.05 gluten , dairy and egg free.  A big favourite with my tasters. One saying it was the best chocolate cake he had tasted! good strong chocolate flavour and a scrummy chocolate topping.

Goats cheese and red onion tart – still to be reviewed . looks delicious

The gluten free bread from The gluten free Kitchen is also dairy soya and egg free. There is an oven crust loaf, white rolls , seeded loaf and seeded rolls which have added sunflower and flax seeds.

If you live in North Yorkshire or will be holidaying in this beautiful area of the UK. It is well worth taking a trip to Leyburn and dropping into the shop and bakery for some gluten fee and dairy free homemade baked goodies. I would love to hear your views!

Dont forget you can order online too. Minimum order is £20, delivery charges are on the website.

We really should support our local gluten free bakeries and shops who produce virtually homemade products far superior to the mass produced products filling our supermarket shelves.

you can follow @glutenfreeGFK on Twitter

on Facebook The Gluten Free Kitchen

I would love to see some grain free and refined sugar free products added to the range possibly in the future.

These products were sent to me free of charge but this hasn’t effected my impartiality.

Grain free Cinnamon bun muffins

Today I made these delicious cinnamon muffins. Hard to believe they don’t contain any grains. This recipe is from Erica Kerwien’s book  Cooking for the specific carbohydrate diet.

It calls for coconut flour I used  Tiana organic fair trade coconut flour. The recipe book contains 100 easy recipes both savoury and sweet. Even shows how to make your own nut milk. Lots of uses for cauliflower, almond flour and coconut flour gluten free and grain free. There is also a quick history on Specific carbohydrate diet  with what to eat and what to avoid. I am going to embrace grain free for a while and see how I feel.

Cinnamon bun muffins–

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

4 eggs beaten

1/3 cup dairy free milk or SCD Yoghurt ( I used coconut milk )

1/2 cup honey

 Cinnamon topping-

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp honey ( to make these fructose free you could use brown rice syrup )

2 tbsp unsalted butter or coconut oil

Pre heat oven 350oF 175oC

combine dry ingredients

mix wet ingredients together

add wet gradually into dry ingredients whisk until all lumps are removed

pop in to muffin cases

mix topping together and drizzle over muffins

put in hot oven for 20 mins

makes 8 muffins

These are a real alternative to using grains in baking. Lots more delicious recipes in this book, well worth buying

you can follow Erica Kerwien on twitter @comfybelly

her website is comfy belly.com

I bought the book on Amazon for £8.74

Grain free Carrot cake

As I am trying hard to be grain free I thought a family celebration was a great opportunity to make a grain free cake.

My Carrot cake recipe came from a favourite cookery book  the Gluten free Almond flour cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. This book is packed with easy to achieve recipes from bread to biscuits to delicious cakes like this one all grain free. I can recommend this recipe book I use it all the time.

Carrot Cake recipe- serves 12

3 cups almond flour ( ground almonds )

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup ( grapeseed oil ) I prefer to use melted coconut oil

1/2 cup of maple syrup or use gluten free brown rice syrup or raw honey

5 large eggs

3 cups of grated carrots

1 cup of raisins

1 cup of walnuts, coarsely chopped ( I soaked mine before chopping for a couple of hours first then rinsed and dried )

2 x 9 inch cake tins

Method –

Pre heat oven to 325oF or 165oC

grease and dust with almond flour 2 x 9 inch cake tins

In a bowl combine almond flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and nutmeg

In a medium bowl whisk together oil, agave/maple syrup and eggs

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones

Fold in the walnuts, carrots and raisins

put the batter into the cake tins

bake for 30 to 35 mins

leave cakes to cool for 1 hr in cake tins

serve with creamy coconut frosting or filling of your choice

Creamy coconut frosting –

recipe

1 cup of good quality unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup or slightly less of agave or maple syrup or brown rice syrup

pinch of sea salt

2 tbsp arrowroot powder

1 tbsp water

1 1/4 cups coconut oil, melted

Method –

in a saucepan bring the coconut milk, agave and salt to the boil

Whisk the ingredients then simmer for 8-10 mins. stir frequently

In a small bowl dissolve arrowroot powder in the water stir to make a paste

Add the arrowroot paste to the coconut mixture on the heat

whisk constantly until mixture thickens

remove pan from the heat

gradually blend in the coconut oil using a hand held blender

Place in freezer for a good 1/2hr

the frosting will solidify and turn opaque

remove and whip with the hand held mixer

store in glass jar in fridge for up to 3 days

this is time consuming but does taste very good.

Happy grain free baking!