Gluten Free Fruity Christmas Pudding with Amaretto for Stir Up Sunday

Today is Stir Up Sunday – the official day to stir together a delicious mix of dried fruits and spices to make your Christmas pudding. Every year the Sunday before the last Sunday in November, the last Sunday before the start of advent, is the official day to make your xmas pud. It is a tradition that has been going on for decades, possibly centuries, and one I hope continues for many more to come. I love the thought that today people all over the country are today making a pudding for their friends and relatives to eat and enjoy on Christmas day. It’s the kind of unity and homely food based tradition that I love. I expect many people buy their Christmas puddings from supermarkets these days, but for me its more than the enjoyment of eating the pud, it’s the time, care and love that went into making it, knowing its something special to be shared by the whole family that forms part of my enjoyment of it. Especially as they are eaten but once a year.

In years gone by all the family would gather together around the bowl and take it in turns to give the ingredients a stir, while making a wish. In some households, people put coins in the pudding mix and allow children to find them, and it was believed that finding a coin brings wealth, health, happiness for the coming year. The coin traditionally used was a silver sixpence. This isn’t something we tend to do now, but I like the idea. I can image the health and safety police did away with it for fear of people choking on their coins!

Christmas pudding is not too dissimilar to Christmas cake. Your soak your fruits in alcohol before using them, like a Christmas cake, but then combine this glossy boozy fruity mixture with a mix of spices, breadcrumbs and traditionally suet. I love how the often dried and wizened fruits become so plump and glossy after their boozy soaking session and the aroma of boozy soaked fruit with fresh citrus and spices is intoxicating.

I always made my own breadcrumbs from crumbling up some gluten free bread and use frozen grated butter in place of the suet (which is usually coated in wheat flour). This fruity, spicy mixture is placed into a pudding basin and part boiled, part steamed for several hours to create a densely fruited, rich, spicy and incredibly moist fruit pudding. It has all the flavours of Christmas cake only in a squishier, softer and more intense form. The pudding mix doesn’t look all that appetising before it’s steamed, but just look at the fabulously dark and succulent sticky pudding it transforms into after its steaming session. You get the added bonus of it filling the house with a fabulous rich and spicy Christmas scent as it happily simmers away.

Like Christmas Cake, the pudding is kept for several weeks to allow the flavour to mature and develop. Then on Christmas day the pudding is heated, doused in Brandy and set alight! The lights are quickly turned down and people ‘ohhh’ and ‘awww’ as wispy blue flames dance around the pudding creating a spectacular end to the Christmas meal. There can’t be many foods that people look forward to intentionally setting on fire! The only other one I can think of is Baked Alaska and that’s more of a gentle torching rather than dousing it in a flammable liquid and setting it alight! However, the actual flames last mere seconds, so no harm comes to the pudding itself, its too moist to get scorched or burnt.

The pudding requires 5 hours of boiling/steaming, but don’t let that put you off. As long as you check the water level a couple of times during cooking, it can be left to its own devises. It’s quite relaxing pottering around the house and listening to it gently simmering, filling the kitchen with the warm spicy note of Christmas. I always like to line the base of the pan I steam it in with paper. This protects the pudding from the direct base heat of the pan and stops it making too much noise from the pudding basin hitting the base of the pan as it simmers. It’s a great way to make use of some of the tedious junk mail and unwanted catalogues that always get pushed through the letterbox at this time of year.

I actually steamed mine yesterday, so right now it’s wrapped up tight and awaiting its final steam on Christmas day. You still have time to make your own and you can add whatever fruits and spices you like to it. You can also replace the alcohol with orange juice or non alcoholic wine if you wish. Go stir up a pudding – its stir up Sunday!

Oh and if you want to make a Christmas cake too, click to see the recipes I use most – traditional or gingerspiced.

Gluten Free Fruity Christmas Pudding with Amaretto

Ingredients

200g raisins
120g sultanas

50g chopped dates
60g glace cherries (check they are GF)
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
100ml Amaretto (or Brandy)
20g chopped pecans (optional)
50g grated frozen butter
30g gluten free fresh breadcrumbs (crumbled from some GF bread)
45g rice flour

5g tapioca starch
90g dark soft brown sugar*
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground star anise (or clove)
½ tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

* I was out of dark brown sugar so used 70g light soft brown sugar & 20g black treacle

Method
The day before (or up to 3 days before), add the raisins, sultanas and chopped dates into a bowl. Chop the cherries in half and add to bowl. Grate the orange and lemon zest over the top and pour in the Amaretto. Give everything a good stir, cover the bowl with clingfilm and set aside for 24 hours (or up to 3 days) to allow the fruits to plump up and absorb the alcohol.
The next day, place all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Add the soaked fruits, scraping in any leftover juices. Fold everything together with a spatula until everything is evenly combined, it may look a little dry at first but keep mixing.
Place a small disc of parchment paper in the base of a 1½ pint pudding basin. Fill the basin with the pudding mix, pressing down lightly. Place another disc of parchment on top and cover the top of the basin with a sheet of foil that you have folded a pleat into the middle of, to allow the pudding to rise during steaming.
Tie a long strip of string around the top rim of the pudding and then secure it over the top of the basin from one side to the other to form a string handle. (This will help you retrieve the pudding from the pan later without burning yourself).
Lay sheets of newspaper (or junk mail) in the base of a large saucepan. (This protects the base of the pudding from the direct heat from the stove and stops it rattling around inside your pan.) Place the pudding on the papers before filling the pan with boiling water from the kettle, until it reaches halfway up the side of the pudding basin.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to the merest of simmers, cover with the lid and leave to simmer gently for 5 hours. It should be barely bubbling. Leave the pan half off the heat of the flame if your hob doesn’t go low enough.
Every 2 hours lift the lid of the pan to check the water level. Add more boiling water if it’s looking low.
Once the 5 hours is up, lift the pudding out of the pan with the help of the string handle. Place on a cooling rack and leave until cool. Leave it in the basin and with the parchment disc still on top. Once cooled, remove the foil top and wrap the whole pudding, still in the basin, tightly in clingfilm and store in a cool dark place until required, the longer the better.
On Christmas Day, steam the pudding again for 2 hours to heat through thoroughly. When hot, run a knife around the edge of the pudding and turn out onto a serving plate that has a rim. Carefully warm a ladleful of Brandy, then set light to it with a match or lighter and quickly pour it over the pudding to flambé. Serve with Brandy butter, Brandy cream or custard once the flames have extinguished. 
Makes 1 pudding, to serve 6 – 10 people

Gluten Free Profiteroles with Peanut Butter Cream & Chocolate Ganache

Today marks 4 years since my coeliac diagnosis. It’s funny how the knowledge and awareness of coeliac disease and gluten free diets has grown so much in just the 4 years I have been actively conscious of it. This has had both a positive and negative effect. The positive is that more people are aware of it and there are becoming a lot more options for food when eating out and choices in the shops. On the negative, people now consider it a fad, which means some people think you are being picky when you say you need a gluten free diet, I’ve seen many a waiter eye roll or else people start a gluten free diet who are simply jumping on band wagon and loudly proclaim they too are eating gluten free but then tuck into the office birthday cake or enjoy a few beers down the pub. This gives a confusing message to people who don’t really understand and lessens the actual severity of ensuring foods are gluten free. On the whole it’s a positive progression though.

What better way to celebrate 4 years gluten free than with some delicious profiteroles inspired by my gluten free pastry course fromLeiths. I tweaked the recipe a bit from the one they gave us on the course, as the flour mix they used was a bought brand and I wanted to make my own. Also the recipe we used on the course were for super cheesy Gougères and I wanted a cheesless profiterole.

I have tried making gluten free choux pastry once before and it was a bit of a disaster, but fresh from my training I was willing to give them another go. I am so pleased I did as they turned out brilliantly (even if I do say so myself)!

To save on some arm muscles, I used a food mixer for part of the mixing method, but I think it may have been simpler to do it by hand – not to mention less washing up. I was worried my choux would either be doughy in the middle, or else not puff up, but they puffed and hollowed just as they should. They were very light and airy little puffs.

I am not a fan of plain cream, to me it’s just tasteless and a little greasy tasting, but flavour that cream with some creamy peanut butter and you are on to a winner. Top it off with some warm chocolate ganache and a sprinkling of peanut brittle and I quite happily devoured 5 in one sitting – don’t judge me, it was my first gluten free profiterole in 4 years!

The mix of light choux pastry, airy but creamy peanut butter filling and warm bitter chocolate ganache was divine. Peanut butter and dark chocolate are a match made in heaven and to have it all wrapped up within little treat of a dessert was delicious. I used a mix of ricotta and double cream for the filling, which resulted in a wonderful thick, almost moussy peanut butter cream. I can see many more profiteroles on the horizon!

Profiteroles with Peanut Butter Cream & Chocolate Ganache

Choux Pastry

50g rice flour

20g cornflour

10g tapioca starch

¼ tsp xanthan gum

120ml water

50g butter

3 eggs

Peanut Butter Cream

150g ricotta cheese

150g double cream

2 tbsp smooth peanut butter

Chocolate Ganache

100g dark chocolate

80g double cream

1 tbsp golden syrup

Decoration

Peanut brittle

Method

Combine the 3 flours and xanthan gum together in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Place the water and butter into a medium sized pan and heat until the butter is melted. Bring the mixture to a simmer then remove from the heat and quickly add your flour mix in one go. Immediately start to beat the flour into the butter mixture, you need to work quickly and stir vigorously. Continue to beat it until the mix comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick dough. Keep beating until all lumps of flour are mixed in.

Then tip the dough out onto a plate and smooth out into an even layer. This helps cool it down quickly. (At this stage the dough is known as a ‘Panade’ a paste mixture of a soft dough).

Leave it to cool slightly for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C and line a tray with silicone paper.

Once the mix has cooled slightly, return it to the pan. Whisk the eggs together in a jug and pour this into the choux dough, a little at a time, beating well between each addition. The mix will go sloppy, greasy and slimy looking at each addition of egg – this is normal. Keep beating until it absorbs the egg and then add a little bit more. Continue this until you have a batter that reluctantly drops from the spatula when lifted. If it’s too thick and sticky to fall off without shaking, then you need to add a little more egg. You also don’t want it too sloppy and runny as you need to pipe it, so if you have particularly large eggs, you may not need all of it.

It’s a hard arm workout, but keep beating until you have a smooth sticky batter.

Scoop the batter into a piping bag fitted with a large plain tube nozzle.

Pipe rounds of batter onto the baking tray, leaving an inch between each one. You want them to be about the size of a large walnut.

Dip your finger in water and dab the tops of the piped choux to flatten out any peaks formed from the piping bag.

Sprinkle a few drops of water all over the baking tray, as this will create steam in the oven which will help them rise.

Bake in the oven at 220C for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven to 150C and bake for a further 8-12 minutes until they are puffed, golden brown and lightly crisp to the touch.

Remove the choux buns from the oven, remove them from the baking tray and make a little hole in the base of each one to let the steam out. Cool them upside down so the steam can escape up out of the hole (or else they go soggy)

Make the cream by beating the peanut butter into the ricotta until smooth and well combined. Lightly whip the cream until its just beginning to thicken, then stir this through the ricotta mixture to make a mousse-like texture.

For the chocolate ganache, heat the chocolate, cream and golden syrup together in a small pan. Stir gradually until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Do not let it boil. Remove it from the heat and set aside to cool and thicken slightly.

To serve, either pipe or spoon the peanut butter cream into the choux buns (I like to pipe it in using the hole created in the bottom so they stay hole.) Then dip the top of each profiterole into the warm chocolate sauce and arrange on a plate. Roughly chop up some peanut brittle and sprinkle a little over the top of the profiteroles.

Best eaten on day of baking. Assemble just before eating as they will go soft if left to stand for too long.

Eat and enjoy.

Makes 16-18 profiteroles

Leiths School of Food & Wine: Gluten Free Pastry

After my Gluten Free Bread course, next day was Gluten Free Pastry. Gluten free pastry is a tricky one to master. It’s got to be sturdy enough to roll out and shape, and yet also be short and nicely crumbly once cooked. If you add too many gums or starches to replace the gluten it holds together and rolls our well, but then becomes tough and dense like cardboard when baked – not so tasty. Equally if you don’t get the right mix of gums and starches it becomes far too fragile and you end up with a pile of crumbs rather than a crisp pastry base.

On the plus side however, as there is no gluten to overwork, if your pastry falls apart when trying to line the tin then simply scoop it back together and re-roll it without too many issues. One of the best tips I know about how to easily roll out pastry is to roll it out between two sheets of clingfilm. This not only stops it sticking to the work surface and requires no extra flour, but also means you can use the base layer to help you lift and flip the pastry into the tin. (We were shown this on the course but I have been doing it myself for years).

On the course we learnt not only standard pastry, but also a few different types of pastry! Flaky Shortcrust which we turned into an amazing roast vegetable quiche for lunch

Pâte Sucrée with which we made delicious cherry Bakewell tarts

Hot Water Crust Pastry for sturdier meat pies and sausage rolls and even….Choux Pastry which we made into very cheesy Gougères!

The Choux and Hot Water Crust pastry were completely new to me so I was very excited. I have previously attempted a gluten free choux pastry and well… it was sort of a disaster so I was eager to see how it’s done. I’ve made my own gluten free Shortcrust and Pâte Sucrée before, but the techniques we were shown were new to me and produced fantastic results.

For the shortcrust pastry we were shown a very nifty technique for achieving ultra smooth pastry with the butter and flour evenly distributed in layers. It’s known as 'fraisering’. You start by rubbing the butter into the flour as normal and then squishing it into a rough log shape. Don’t kneed or over-handle it. You should still have a few lumps of butter mixed in. You then take your log of pastry and, using a pallet knife, cut off a slice about 5mm thick, almost to the base of the log. Then tilt your pallet knife to 45 degrees and drag it towards you, smearing out the pastry onto the work surface. Then carefully run your pallet knife back over it three times, each time collecting a little more of the pastry while you draw it towards yourself. (Almost like when making chocolate curls along the back of a block of chocolate). This smoothes the flour and butter into layers. Then place your smooth pastry piece to one side, cut another 5mm slice and repeat. At the end gather your pastry together (don’t kneed it), place it in some cling film and chill for 30 minutes before rolling it out between two large sheets of clingfilm and lining your tin. Such a simple technique but it really does produce the most smooth and evenly worked pastry. Plus you handle it very little so it stays nicely cool and the butter doesn’t melt.

Here the technique is beautifully hand modeled her by my friend Kizzy, who I met on the first day bread course and was back for the second day too!

The Pâte Sucrée (French sweet pastry) also had a very different technique. This was made almost like making fresh pasta. You start by pouring your dry ingredients on the work surface and making a well in the middle. Into this you add small cubes of butter and sugar, and squish them into a paste using the very tips of your fingers. You then add some egg yolks and again work them into the butter/sugar mix using your fingers until you end up with rather a soft and sloppy mixture. You then switch to a pallet knife and draw the flour into the butter mixture using a cutting and sweeping motion with the blade of the pallet knife. Once it begins to form a dough, keep chopping it with the blade and folding it back together with the knife almost like chopping fresh herbs. It will be too soft to handle with your hands.

Scoop the dough into a mound, wrap in clingfilm and chill before rolling out between two layers of clingfilm again. So clever! It produced the most amazing pastry. Really light, buttery and perfectly short. It held together beautifully but crumbled deliciously in the mouth.

Just look at the lovely little cherry Bakewell tarts we made with it. I took one of mine home and fed it to my parents. They can both be quite critical of gluten free food, but said they would never have known these were gluten free – hurrah!

We were running a bit short on time so in the afternoon we quickly made cheese gougères which are savoury cheesy choux buns. You eat them as they are, no extra filling required, the astonishing amount of cheese incorporated into the batter adding the flavour. When eaten warm the cheese is wonderfully melty. Kizzy and I decided to also added a pinch of paprika and chilli powder to ours for a bit of background heat. It also explains why ours came out a little orange!

They were delicious and certainly very cheesy, although sadly not as perfectly formed as we’d have liked as we ran out of time and had to take them out the oven before they were fully cooked. The top tip for this one is to let the batter cool before beating in the eggs to form the paste. (I think this is where I went wrong when I attempted them previously) It’s hard work beating in the eggs, you have to do it gradually and the mix is very thick and stiff, so you need a friend to help you or else some strong arm muscles!

Overall I had a fantastic day, the food was delicious, the company amazing and the techniques I learnt are invaluable. I can’t wait to try some out myself at home. At the start of the courses I was most looking forward to the bread day, but I think after doing both, the pastry has the edge on knowledge, skills and overall deliciousness value for me. I would really really recommend this pastry course to anyone struggling with gluten free pastry.

Note: As with the bread course, I attended this gluten free pastry course of my own accord. I was not invited by Leiths to attend, I received no discount on the fees and they never knew I write a food blog. 

Blackcurrant & Ginger Yoghurt Cheesecake

Ok so this is not technically a cheesecake in the traditional sense, as it contains no cheese – yep this is a cheese-free cheesecake. It does however still look like a cheesecake, taste like a cheesecake and contain lovely thick Greek yoghurt – which is still milk/dairy and as this forms the base of cheese, then I’m still calling this dessert cheesecake.

On my recent visit home to my parents I also managed to arrange to see some of my old friends. I was invited to dinner with one friend and her family and they have the most amazing garden complete with a vast array of homegrown fruits and vegetables. They put Tom and Barbara from The Good Life to shame. Homegrown tomatoes, cabbages, leeks, green beans, spring onions, beetroot, lettuce, cherries, apricots, apples, pears, quinces, gooseberries, blackcurrants and figs!! Figs! I didn’t know you could even grow figs in this country. I was in love with their garden and could have quite happily lived in there, snuggled under a bush, feasting on the delights. Sadly the figs weren’t ripe at the time of my visit but I did leave with an array of tomatoes and a huge bagful of freshly picked blackcurrants. I am so jealous and can’t wait to have my own garden so I can (attempt to) grow my own fruit and veg too.

I wanted to put the blackcurrants to good use and decided to use them to top a cheesecake. I adore cheesecake but don’t make it that often as unless you are having people round I find a whole cheesecake can be a bit rich for one person! As the warm weather has finally arrived I was also worried that cheesecake might be a bit too heavy for a summer dessert. I then remember the cheeseless yoghurt cheesecake I invented a few years back and decided to do the same again here. Using yoghurt rather than cream cheese makes for a lighter, softer and more summery cheesecake.

I wanted the blackcurrants to really stand out, so cooked them slightly and then used them as a topping for the cheesecake, rather than stirring them in. Fresh blackcurrants are amazing. They have such a distinctive sharp zingy flavour, that really is the essence of concentrated Ribena. It’s quite a sophisticated grown up fruit flavour, almost like a mature Port. It’s very unique and I loved how plump and juicy these currants were. I find pairing ginger with fresh zingy fruits always works well and so used some fiery stem ginger biscuits as my cheesecake base.

The finished cheesecake tasted amazing. The blackcurrants were the star of the show, becoming even more sweet and intensified in flavour after their bake in the oven. They retained their lovely juiciness and zing which then complimented the smooth and creamy yoghurt cheesecake, with its lightness and freshness. This was then finished with a little peppery ginger kick from the stem ginger biscuit base.

Oh it was so good, I ate far too much of it on the first day, but I just couldn’t stop myself going back for ‘just another small slice’ and then to ‘just neaten up the edges’. I drizzled each slice with some of the reserved blackcurrant juice which added extra glossy fruity goodness.

I’m convinced yoghurt cheesecakes are the way to go. They are lighter and fresher, meaning you can eat more of them without feeling guilty or bloated! A well known brand of full fat cream cheese has around 235 kcal and 22g fat per 100g whereas full fat Greek yogurt has only around 100 kcal and 5g fat per 100g. That’s less than half! Imagine what you could get it down to if you used low fat or 0% fat Greek yoghurt too. Now you really can have your (cheese)cake and eat it too!

Blackcurrant & Ginger Yoghurt Cheesecake

Blackcurrant Topping

150g fresh or frozen blackcurrants

80g caster sugar

100ml water

¼ tsp arrowroot or cornflour

Ginger Biscuit Base

150g gluten free stem ginger biscuits

50g butter

Yoghurt Cheesecake

500g full fat Greek yoghurt

2 tbsp cornflour

50g caster sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Start by making the blackcurrant topping. Place the blackcurrants, sugar and water into a pan. Bring to a simmer and allow to bubble gently until the blackcurrants have released some of their juice and liquid has turned purple. Dissolve the arrowroot in a little water and add to the pan. Stir until combined and then remove from the heat. This will help thicken the liquid slightly. You can use cornflour, but this will turn it slightly cloudy.

Drain the syrup into one bowl and place the blackcurrants into another. Set aside to cool.

Make the biscuit base. Heat the oven to 180C. Line the base of a round 6 inch deep springform tin with baking paper.

Crush the ginger biscuits until they resemble fine crumbs. You can either do this in a food processor at place them into a bag and attack it with a rolling pin.

Melt the butter and stir in the biscuit crumbs. Mix until well combined and then tip into the base of the tin. Press the crumbs down well to form an even layer. (A good tip is to cover it with clingfilm and then press down with a potato masher, then remove the clingfilm)

Place the base into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Then remove from the oven and set aside.

For the yoghurt cheesecake, take 1 tbsp of the yoghurt and mix it with the cornflour until you have a smooth paste. Mix this into the remaining yoghurt and stir well.

Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla and whisk together until you have a smooth, thick mix.

Pour the yoghurt mix over the ginger biscuit base and smooth the top.

Carefully spoon most of the blackcurrants (without their syrup) over the top of the cheesecake, making sure to scatter them into an even layer. They should stay on top.

Place the tin on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

It should be slightly risen, lightly golden brown and puffed around the edges. Give it a gentle shake and if it wobbles in the centre slightly then it’s cooked. If the whole top wobbles then leave it for a further 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool at room temperature for 1½ hours before covering the top with clingfilm and placing in the fridge to chill and set for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight.

It may relax, sink back down and crack slightly on cooling, this is fine.

When ready to serve, run a sharp knife around the inside of the tin before carefully releasing from the tin.

Transfer to a plate and serve drizzled with some of the reserved blackcurrant syrup.

Makes 1 x 6 inch yoghurt cheesecake.

Coconut, Mango & Lime Chia Pudding and Running Race for Life

Chia seeds are quite new to me. I’ve seen them used a lot on American blogs, and have just started to hear whispers of chia seeds being used in specialist breads in the UK, but as yet they are relatively unknown and unused.

Chia seeds are quite unique in that they have the ability to swell up, and thicken liquids into gels and gums without any heating. The seeds look like pale grey sesame seeds, but are crisp and crunchy in such a way that they give a little ‘pop’ when you bite into them. They can be eaten in their raw state sprinkled on top of salads or cereal, as you would other seeds, or, their unique thickening abilities can be harnessed are used to create different tastes and textures in recipes.

They are also a bit of a ‘superfood.’ Chia is an ancient seed that has more Omega 3 ALA (19.3g/100g) and dietary fibre (37.5g/100g) than any other natural food. It is also a great source of protein (20.4g/100g) and other antioxidants. I was persuaded to try it as I have been trying to eat more protein recently as I’ve been training for taking part in the Race for Life event, that I ran this morning!

I was inspired to try creating a chia seed pudding after seeing a recipe on the fantastic blog Not Quite Nigella. I was intrigued at how these tiny crunchy seeds could create a thick almost porridge-like pudding. I had a very ripe mango in the fridge and decided to puree some to stir into my chia pudding to flavour it. To enhance the tropical feel I used coconut milk instead of regular milk and added a little lime zest. The coconut milk was the kind you can not buy in cartons from the supermarkets for pouring on your breakfast cereal, not the thick kind in tins used in curries.

I was amazed that even as I was stirring the ingredient together in a bowl I could feel the texture starting to thicken, you don’t even need to crush the seeds. I set the pudding in the fridge for a few hours before taking another peak. It had completely thickened up and was sturdy enough to support the weight of a small spoon when placed upright into the bowl!

I feared I may have made it too thick, but it turned out to still be soft and spoonable. The seeds had swollen in such a way that they now resembled a cross between quinoa and tapioca. They had a gummy, almost gelatinous outer layer with a crisp seed encased in the middle. It really was a most unique texture. Soft and granular with the crunchy popping seeds. The closest thing I can relate it to it tapioca pudding. If you love tapioca you’d love chia pudding, if that frog spawn texture is not your thing, then you probably won’t be a fan.

The flavours of the coconut, mango and lime worked really well together, giving it a tropical edge. It wasn’t too sweet and could easily be eaten for breakfast rather than a dessert if desired – something I know some people already do. It’s a shame it’s grey coloured, as I found that slightly detracted from its overall appearance.

I loved the novel experience of eating the chia pudding, but I did find the texture a little odd, personally I’m not a big fan of tapioca and this was a little too similar. I do love the pop and crispness of the seeds themselves though, so will try baking them into a cake or some biscuits to see how they turn out. They are worth eating for their nutrition value alone and I’m sure some clever people will be able to create some amazing foodie creations with chia given their unique thickening abilities. I can see chia becoming more and more popular.

Have you tried chia pudding or chia seeds? If so, what’s your favourite way to eat it?

Coconut, Mango & Lime Chia Pudding

(Inspiration taken from Not Quite Nigella blog)

Ingredients

½ large mango

30g chia seeds

1 tbsp agave or honey

Grated zest 1 lime

110ml coconut milk (the kind sold in cartons for adding to your breakfast, not the thick kind used in curries)

Method

Remove the flesh from the mango and put into a small food processor. Blitz until a rough puree is formed, a few chunks are fine.

Pour the mango puree into a bowl and stir in the chia seeds, agave syrup and half the grated lime zest.

Stir in the coconut milk, mixing for 30 seconds until the mix starts to thicken slightly and a few bubbles appear.

Cover the top of the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge to set. Anything from 3 hours to overnight is fine.

Once thick and set, divide the pudding between serving bowls or glasses, top with a little extra diced mango and a sprinkle of lime zest.

Eat and enjoy

Makes 1 – 2 generous portions

As mentioned briefly above, today I also took part in the 5k Race for Life event in aid of Cancer Research UK. Myself and 10 other women who are all part of the Wonderful Women group I belong to, decided to get together and run the course to raise money. I’ve spent the last 3 months trying to get fitter on the treadmill at the gym and until this morning had only managed to get to 4K without having to stop for a rest.

We all met at Meadowhall (a big shopping centre in Sheffield where the race began) this morning at 9:30am where we, along with thousands of other women all dressed in pink, set off for the run.

I am delighted to say I did it! I ran the course and finished in 31 minutes, 4 seconds. A personal best. It was a lovely sunny day and the atmosphere was fantastic with people cheering us one. It’s not only made me fitter, but we’ve raised lots of money for a great charity and all got a medal at the end to show for it.

Lemon Drizzle Mashed Potato Cake

It’s been a gloriously warm and sunny week here in Sheffield – about time too! Earlier in the week I had planned to bake some form of chocolate cake, but the sunshine made me yearn for something fresh and zingy instead, and lemon was the obvious choice. I wanted to try something a bit different and remembered seeing an old episode of River Cottage on TV where one of the chefs who works with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall made a lemon cake with a secret ingredient – mashed potato!

On first consideration mashed potato may sound like an odd ingredient for a cake, but if I had suggested pumpkin or sweet potato cake I doubt many people would have been overly surprised. The cake is also gluten free and potato flour is a common ingredient in gluten free baking, so on reflection using mashed potato in a cake is not that odd a concept. That being said I was still very eager and excited to try it out myself.

The mashed potato doesn’t replace any of the standard cake ingredients – they are all still there in their equal quantities, it is simply an additional ingredient. I imagined using mashed potato in a cake would result in a very dense and heavy sort of cake – maybe even one a little gummy, but let me re-assure you this cake turned out to be amazingly light and soft. Not heavy or dense in the slightest.

The cake baked evenly and despite its rather compact crumb appearance it was incredibly light, soft and moist. The lemon flavour really shone through, especially as it’s doused in a zingy lemon syrup once removed from the oven. I would describe it as ‘damp’ but in the most delicious way possible, rather than ‘damp and soggy’ which is not good for a cake.

Surprisingly despite using 3 lemons it wasn’t overpoweringly lemony. The potato seemed to mellow out the lemons sharp acidity giving the finished cake a flavour similar to a well made lemon curd. Fresh and lemony, but nicely balanced and sweet too.

It has to be one of the simplest looking, yet most delicious lemon cakes I’ve ever made. The potato gave it a fabulous texture, reminiscent of cakes made with sour cream. It kept just as damp and delicious for the 4 days it lasted. I didn’t have any berries with me at the time but I can imagine it would be great with some fresh raspberries on the side. Worthy of a picnic or BBQ dessert. Do give it a go.

Lemon Drizzle Mashed Potato Cake

(Adapted from River Cottage by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter, softened

175g caster sugar

4 eggs

100g ground almonds

75g white rice flour

2 tsp gluten free baking powder

2 large baking potatoes (around 400g raw = 250g cooked & mashed)

Finely grated zest of 3 lemons

For the topping

Juice of 2 lemons

55g caster sugar

Method

Prepare you mashed potato in advance. Cook it in the skin, then mash it without adding any additional butter or milk and set aside until cold.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line an 8inch/20cm springform cake tin.

Finely grate the zest of the lemons and set it aside to use later. Mix the ground almonds, rice flour and baking powder together and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light, pale and fluffy, around 3-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of almond flour mix with each addition to stop the mixture curdling.

Once the last egg is added, scatter the rest of the almond flour mix over the top and fold into the mixture.

Weigh out and add 250g of cold mashed potato to the bowl and gently whisk until the potato is incorporated and no large clumps remain. Try not to beat all the air out of the batter.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Check it after 30 minutes to make sure it is not browning too much, and quickly cover with a sheet of foil if it is.

Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the lemons and stir in the caster sugar.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately prick the top all over with a skewer. Use a spoon to gradually pour the lemon syrup over the top of the cake, letting it soak in before adding more. Make sure to spread it all over the cake evenly.

Leave the cake to cool completely before serving

Lemon & Almond Magic Cake

I first saw this recipe for Magic Cake a few months ago and bookmarked it at once to try. It intrigued me as the magic part comes from the cake mix separating out into 3 distinct layers during baking. A top sponge layer, a custard middle layer and a firmer base layer. It looked incredible and I couldn’t wait to try it for myself.

I was a little dubious at first, as my cake batter was more like cake soup. It was very thin and slightly aerated from the addition of whisked egg whites. I was doubtful it would actually transform into anything sliceable.

On removing my cake from the tin I was amazed and delighted to discover that it had in fact separated into layers! I had not 3, but 4 layers in mine. A top sponge, a soft custard, a firmer custard and a more compact base layer. It was so exciting seeing the pool of cake soup transform into something that resembled cake.

The original recipe used only vanilla extract for flavour but I decided to use almond and lemon zest for mine. I love this flavour combination and the lemon gave it a nice freshness. The top sponge layer was very light and fluffy and the custardy filling was amazingly smooth and creamy.

It was tasty in a novel and unique ‘I can’t believe that worked’ sort of way. But looking at the dessert in its entirety, once you have got over the magic of it forming layers, I felt the base layer let it down. It became very firm and rubbery when stored in the fridge overnight and not that pleasant to eat. The airy sponge and silky custard top layers were so soft and light that the dense rubbery base kind of spoilt it. It has potential to be really good though, so don’t be put off trying it for yourself. The fact I used gluten free flour rather than wheat flour (used in the original) may have had something to do with the rubbery base texture. Others may be more successful

Lemon & Almond Magic Cake

(Recipe adapted from Kitchen Nostalgia blog)

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated

1 tbsp water

150g caster sugar

125g butter

115g gluten free plain flour

500ml milk

1 tsp almond extract

Zest of 2 lemons

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease an 8inch springform tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. Wrap the whole outside base of the tin in a sheet of foil, in case of any leakages during baking.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites and yolks into different bowl. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form and set aside..

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, water and almond extract until light and creamy in colour. Add melted butter and continue beating for another minute. Scatter the flour and lemon zest over the top and gently mix together.

Heat the milk until it is only just slightly warm to the touch, then gradually add it to the batter mix, while mixing slowly. It will become very liquid at this stage.

Add the egg whites on top and gently fold them into the liquid batter using a spatula. Mix until they are mostly incorporated, but a few lumps of whisked egg white are fine.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for about 60 minutes or until the top is golden and puffy looking.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for at least 3 hours. The top may sink slightly on cooling, this is fine. Then carefully remove from the tin and slide the ‘cake’ onto a serving plate using a big palette knife to help you.

Sprinkle the top with icing sugar and serve. You should be able to see a dense base layer, middle custard layer and airy sponge top.

Makes 1 x 8inch custardy cake