Roasted Almond & Fresh Cherry Cake and a Fond Farewell to Blogging

It is with slight trepidation and a mix of sadness and excitement that I wish to let you know that I have decided to finish blogging. I started this blog in my first year of uni, nearly 9 years ago (scary). At the time there were only a handful of food blogs around and when you mentioned to someone that you wrote a blog they looked at you blankly. It was new, exciting, secretive and a bizarre thought to think that something I wrote could be viewed by people all over the world. The world of social media and blogs had not yet fully taken off and it felt like I was joining a secret society. I never expected my little blog to have continued for as long as it has.

At the time it was something to keep me occupied between classes and gave me a reason for trying new recipes. However, I soon fell in love with it and it became part of my life. I became one of those people who spent hours reading blogs, browsing recipes, going on shopping trips specifically to find new spoons or coloured backgrounds for taking shots of food. I’d make a cake and not let anyone near it until I’d photographed it, often much to my family’s annoyance.

As time has gone on, my life has changed. I’ve graduated from uni, had 3 different jobs and lived in 3 different locations. Around the middle I was also diagnosed coeliac which at the time threatened to be the end of the blog and my love of baking. How can someone who loves cakes and baking so much suddenly be told they are not allowed to eat those things any more?! Yet it was actually blogging that got me through it. After a few weeks of crying whenever I walked near the bakery section in the supermarkets, it was experimenting with new recipes, sharing both my successes and failures and reading and learning about other gluten free ingredients and gluten free recipes/bloggers that provided me a whole new exciting food challenge and one I shall be forever grateful for.

I still love blogging and I will certainly never stop baking, but I have found over the past few months it has felt more and more like a chore than a hobby. After Christmas I started a new job which involves long hours, split shifts and working weekends. I am starting to create a new life in London and find I have less and less time for blogging. Rather than let it slowly peter out, until one day I simply never post again, I have decided to finish with a clean cut. There are now so many fabulous blogs out there that people have so much more to choose from that in order to be successful you really have to work at your blog, and I want to bake for enjoyment, rather than worry about whether the light is right for photos, or not making the same thing twice etc

I’ve had some amazing experiences, met some wonderful people, baked some delicious food and learnt so much about different cultures, ingredients and cuisines. Thank you all for reading over the years and providing such wonderful inspiration. I’ll keep reading and commenting, but for Apple & Spice it’s time to wish you all a fond farewell. Happy Baking! J

Roasted Almond & Fresh Cherry Cake

I wanted to end with a delicious cake. For me, it’s always been about the cake! This cake is a cross between a cake and the filling of a frangipane tart. It’s dense, moist and nutty as ground almonds make up most of the dry ingredients called for in the recipe. Very little flour is required meaning it was very easy to convert to being gluten free. It also only uses egg whites, rather than whole eggs which lends it a wonderfully light but slightly sticky texture.

The original recipe is from Rachel Allen and she uses pears and describes the recipe a pastryless tart rather than a cake. You can see a video of her making it here.

I adore the flavours of cherry and almonds together and as fresh English cherries are at their peak at the moment, (I even picked my own!) I decided to showcase these. I also roasted and ground my own ground almonds, which gave the cake a wonderful nutty, deeper almond flavour than using the pre-ground almonds. I also left the skin on mine which gave the cake a slightly darker speckled appearance, compared to Rachel’s pale golden affair, but I like this rustic look and it certainly enhanced the almond flavour.

The fresh glossy red cherries looked so pretty dotted into the cake and when cut into, they provided little pools of ruby juice against the golden cake. Eating a ripe, freshly picked, still warm cherry is also a wonderous thing. Really sweet and juicy with a great cherry flavour. So delicious when paired with the nutty almonds.

Roasted Almond & Fresh Cherry Cake

(Recipe adapted from Rachel Allen)

Ingredients

60g skin on almonds (or ground almonds)

90g butter, melted

90g icing sugar

30g buckwheat flour

3 egg whites

2 tsp lemon juice

Large handful of fresh cherries

20g flaked almonds

Method

Heat the oven to 200C. Line the base of a 6inch cake or tart tin with greaseproof paper and grease the sides.

Place the skin on almonds on a baking tray and roast them in the oven for 6-8 minutes until smelling lightly toasted. Leave to cool before blitzing in a small food processor to create ground almonds. It don’t need to be as fine as flour.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly.

Sieve the icing sugar and buckwheat flour into a clean bowl and stir in the ground almonds.

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites for 30 seconds, until just frothy. They don’t need to be peaky, just slightly aerated.

Add the whisked egg whites, melted butter and lemon juice to the dry ingredients and mix together with a spatula until combined and smooth.

Pour into the tart/cake tin and dot the top with the fresh cherries (you can de-stone them first, but I didn’t bother). Scatter over a few flaked almonds.

Bake in the oven at 200C for 12 minutes, before reducing the heat to 180C and baking for a further 12-15 minutes. It should be ever so slightly golden in colour, with a shiny, slightly sticky surface.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin to room temperature before serving. Warn your guests to look out for cherry stones if you’ve left them in!

Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Makes 1 x 6inch cake

Note: I’ve also made this cake with fresh plums, blueberries and nectarines

Raspberry Meringue Pie with Lime & Pistachio Pastry

Growing up my mums lemon meringue pie was one of my favourite Sunday treats. I’ve not eaten one for several years, so when I recently saw a recipe for raspberry meringue pie I had feelings of both nostalgia and excitement over childhood favourite with a new twist. I’d heard of lime or orange meringue pie, even a chocolate meringue pie, but never a raspberry meringue pie. It looked too delicious to pass up.

This pie is extra special as not only is it filled with a zingy raspberry curd, but it’s also spiked with lime for an extra fresh kick. The pastry contains lime, pistachios and brown sugar for a really unique and delicious meringue pie pastry twist. It smelt unimaginably amazing when it was baking.

Instead of raspberries, you could try using other fruits, blackcurrants, cherries or mixed forest fruits, but I think raspberries are the fruit of choice for a truly spectacular magenta coloured curd filling. The contrast of the vibrant raspberry against the puffy pale meringue topping is stunning. It gives much more of a wow factor than a lemon meringue pie.

This pie tastes delicious eaten when still warm from the oven, which is how we served it initially, but I wouldn’t recommend this if you are going for dainty elegant presentation. When hot, the curd is melted, oozy and gooey, meaning it pools out of the tart when cut. Not exactly photo worthy. However, leave it to cool, or even better, chill for a few hours in the fridge and you get a perfectly behaved and sliceable pie, with all the layers staying distinct. I think this gives a much better impression, see below.

Warm and oozy

Chilled and elegant

Leaving the pie to chill also allows the flavours to develop. The lime and raspberry mingle together well and the subtle nuttiness of the pistachio pastry is more noticeable. I also love the texture when it’s been chilled. The meringue maintains the crisp top sugary shell with airy mallowy meringue below which just dissolves on your tongue. By contrast the curd is thick, smooth and softly set and the base crisp and nicely crumbly. A wonderful mix of textures and flavours.

The raspberry filling is quite tangy, the freshness from the raspberry really being the star of the show. This is emphasised by the subtle zing of lime in the filling and pastry. This was delicious against the sweetness of the meringue top, and really kept the fresh raspberry flavour (despite using frozen berries!)

If you are looking for a real show stopper of a dessert I couldn’t recommend this pie enough. My sister and I made this for our mum for Mothers Day last weekend, and it was the perfect pretty-in-pink dessert. I love how you can use frozen berries in winter and fresh berries in summer. It would rival any summer pudding at a BBQ and would make a great non-chocolaty Easter dessert.

The recipe below makes enough filling and meringue for one deep 8inch tart, but you will have some pastry leftover – this tastes delicious cut into rounds and baked as mini biscuits to serve with a mousse or just to munch on. The pistachio and lime making them much more flavoursome than regular pastry. It’s quite time consuming to make, but definitely worth the effort.

Raspberry Meringue Pie with Lime & Pistachio Pastry

(Slightly altered from Gluten Free Alchemist blog)

Lime Pistachio Pastry 

40g pistachio nuts

80g rice flour

60g cornflour

50g buckwheat flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

Zest of 1 lime (save the juice for the filling)

50g light soft brown sugar

110g cold butter

1 egg

1 tbsp cold water

Method

Have to hand a deep 8inch/20cm tart tin with a loose base and set to one side.

Grind the pistachio nuts so they resemble fine crumbs, then mix in a large bowl along with the flours, xanthan gum, salt, lime zest and sugar.

Chop the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour mix using the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Lightly beat the egg with the water and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix with a flat butter knife until it begins to come together as a dough. It may look a little dry at first, but don’t add any more water just yet.

When large clumps begin to form, switch to your hands and bring the mixture together to form a dough, kneading gently. Add a few drops more water if it’s too crumbly.

Lay a large sheet of clingfilm over the work surface and place the pastry on top. Cover with another large sheet of clingfilm before rolling out the dough until 2-3mm thick. Lift up and reposition the top layer of clingfilm to help you as you roll.

Remove the top layer of clingfilm and lift the pastry up with the base layer of clingfilm still in place to support it. Flip the pastry into the tart tin and press into the edges before peeling away the clingfilm. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and place into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Wrap any leftover pastry in clingfilm and store in the fridge for use later (delicious baked as mini biscuits).

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C.

Dock the base of the pastry with a fork and line with baking paper or clingfilm and fill with baking beans. 

Blind bake the pastry for 10-12 minutes before removing the beans and baking for a further 5-10 minutes until the pastry is lightly golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Switch off the oven.

Raspberry Filling

350g fresh or frozen raspberries

Juice of 1 lime

40g caster sugar

20g cornflour

2 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)

25g butter

Method

Thaw the raspberries if frozen, then puree with the lime juice in a liquidizer. Pour into a sieve set over a bowl and press with the back of a spoon to sieve out the seeds. (This takes a while). Discard the seeds. 

Combine the raspberry puree with the sugar in a saucepan.

Mix the cornflour with a little water in a small bowl to make a paste and then stir this into the raspberry mix.

Heat gently, stirring continually until the mixture comes to a simmer. Continue to stir over a low heat for 1-3 minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. 

Whisk in the egg yolks one at a time, before cubing and whisking in the butter.

Spoon the filling into the pastry case and smooth the surface. Chill for at least 30 minutes to allow the filling to set.

Meringue Topping

2 egg whites                

100g caster sugar

Method

When the raspberry curd is chilled, preheat the oven to 180C and place a flat baking tray in the oven to heat up.

In a large clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly until the meringue forms stiff glossy peaks. 

Spoon mounds of meringue over the chilled raspberry tart filling making sure it reaches the edges of the pastry to seal it.

Carefully remove the hot baking tray from the oven and place the tart onto it. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes in the middle of the oven until the meringue surface is lightly golden and crisp, underneath should still be soft and mallowy. The curd will be melted and gooey when hot, so don’t use this as a baking indicator of doneness.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes before carefully removing from the tin.

Best served chilled for ease of slicing, although also tastes delicious warm – the filling will ooze out if eaten warm.

Makes 1 x 8inch tart

Cauliflower Pizza Base

Cauliflower pizza bases have been making the rounds on blogs, and in the news a lot in the past few months. I’m a little late at joining the party as I only made and tasted my first cauliflower base pizza a couple of weekends ago, when I met up with my sister. We like to get together every few months, catch up with each others news and cook something for lunch. Cauliflower pizza is something we have both been longing to try for some time so pizza it was to be!

The base is made of blitzed, lightly cooked cauliflower that is bound together with ground almonds and eggs before being prebaked to form a ‘crust’ on which to spread your pizza toppings. Its gluten free, dairy free, paleo, flourless and grainless so would suit a wide variety of diets. It’s lower carb, is fibre packed and higher in protein than your traditional bready pizza base. So far so good.

After cooking the cauliflower and squeezing out the excess water we were left with a mix that almost resembled a dough. We combined this with the other ingredients to create a thick paste which is then baked. It turned a lovely golden brown colour and smelt really good when baking. Slightly nutty, no sodden cauliflower aroma. You make a little rim around the edge to hold in your toppings and give it that risen crust appearance, which is a nice touch.

After adding our toppings - mushrooms, artichoke hearts, courgette, peppers, olives and a sprinkle of chilli for us - it had a final bake before we tucked in.

We had a slight issue with getting it off the baking parchment, it had stuck in some places and being a softer, not so sturdy veg base rather than a chewy bread dough it was hard to get it off without tearing it. Note to self, next time use a silicone baking sheet, nothing ever seems to stick to them!

Once plated we took our first bites. It was interesting…good interesting but different. It had the flavour of pizza, but without the right texture. The crust was more of a base than an actual crisp crust. It was softer and lighter, slightly coarse in texture and reminded me strongly of a thick oat pancake in texture. It carried the flavours of the pizza toppings well, but you didn’t get that same crunch or chew as you experience from a bread dough base. It was also quite fragile, definitely a knife and fork job, you couldn’t pick it up with your fingers.

I know it sounds like we didn’t enjoy it, but we did! The flavour was delicious and we both agreed if you wanted a change from regular pizza or had a diet that normally prohibited pizza then this would be a great alternative. The base was slightly sweet and nutty, and we didn’t detect any overcooked sodden-sock taste or aroma to the cauliflower, it was very neutral. Nor did it taste overly of almonds or taste like a dessert, something we were a little worried about as it was so almond packed.

It was definitely like eating pizza baked onto a large pancake. Only the very exposed edges had stayed crisp, the rest having softened under the moisture from the sauce and toppings. That aside, we loved it and both agreed that we felt energised all afternoon without that usual bloat or drowsiness that often follows a pizza fest.

I want to make it again but try and tweak the base recipe to make it more of a crispy crust. To me that’s part of what makes pizza so great. We used a recipe from BBC Good Food, but I’ve seen others that don’t use the ground almonds and just use cauliflower and egg for the base. I think they may work better at forming a lighter, crisper, less pancake-like crust. Experimentation ahead!

Have you tried cauliflower pizza? What did you think?

Cauliflower Pizza Base

(Recipe from BBC Good Food)

Base

1 head cauliflower (about 750g)

100g ground almonds

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp dried oregano

Salt & pepper

Oil for greasing

Tomato Sauce

2 tsp oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 x 220g can chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato purée

½ tsp dried oregano

Small bunch basil leaves

Salt and pepper

Toppings of choice

1 x ball mozzarella

Courgette, mushrooms, olives, peppers, artichoke hearts, chilli etc

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. Line two baking trays with silicone sheets or baking parchment that is greased with oil.

Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and trim the stalk end. Cut into chunks and blitz in a food processor until finely chopped, like rice. (You may need to do this in two batches).

Tip the cauliflower in a bowl, cover with cling film and microwave on high for 5-6 minutes until softened. Tip onto a clean tea towel and leave to cool a little. Once cool enough to handle, scrunch up the tea towel, twist and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. It should feel dry and almost look like dough. Then transfer it into a clean bowl.

Stir in the ground almonds, egg, oregano and seasoning. Mound half the cauliflower mix into the centre of each tray, then cover with a layer of cling film and use the flat of your hand to smooth the mixture out into an 8-9inch round. Pat the edges in to make it a little thicker and create a ‘crust’.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp a little at the edges.

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat a little oil in a saucepan and fry the garlic until softened. Pour in the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, oregano and a few leaves of basil. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 8-10 minutes until thick. Season to taste.

Once the cauliflower base is cooked, set aside to cool a little. Turn the oven up to 240C.

Prepare your toppings of choice. Spread the tomato sauce over the bases leaving a rim around the edge. Arrange your toppings of choice over the top and finish with some blobs of mozzarella. Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes, depending on how thick you’ve made your bases and how much topping you have piled on!

Once cooked, leave to stand for 3 minutes before using a fish slice or palette knife to remove the pizzas from the tray. Scatter over some more basil leaves before serving.

Makes 2 x 8-9 inch pizzas, or one massive one.

Choc Chip, Fig, Pistachio & Almond Brown Butter Financiers

Just saying all those ingredients you know these are going to taste good. This was a bake of firsts for me. I’ve never made my own financiers before and I’ve never made a cake using brown butter (beurre noisette) before either. After baking these tempting little cakes I can safely say I’ll definitely be making both again.

I decided to bake financiers as I had two egg whites leftover after making a lemon tart and wanted to use them up. I’m not much or a meringue fan and all my other egg white cakes I’ve made in the past required more than two egg whites, so I went blog browsing and stumbled upon financiers.

These cute mini cakes are often served as part of an afternoon tea or after dinner treat due to their size and pretty presentation. You can buy oval shaped financier tins, but I decided to use some petit fours tins I had recently rediscovered in a dusty corner of my cupboard. I think their little fluted edges make them look very dainty.

They are quite dense little cakes, but this doesn’t mean they are heavy. They are simply moist, soft almond packed little cakes that reminded me almost of marzipan. The use of egg whites keeps them moist and light with an elegant pale coloured crumb.

The browned butter enhanced their natural nuttiness and gave them a greater depth of flavour. It was subtle, but definitely made a difference. I’m going to have to try it again in some other bakes.

A slice of fresh fig and a scatter of chopped pistachios made for an elegant finish. There is something about figs that just scream luxury. The other half were topped with slivered almonds and dark choc chips which stayed wonderful soft and melty after baking. When presented together I was really pleased how they turned out, and I loved the flavours of both.

Next time you have some leftover egg whites, bake financiers!

Choc Chip, Fig, Pistachio & Almond Brown Butter Financiers

Ingredients
60g butter, plus extra for greasing
60g icing sugar
75g ground almonds
25g rice flour
2 egg whites
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 fresh fig

10 pistachio nuts

20 dark chocolate chips

2 tsp flaked almonds

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Melt some butter and brush the insides of 8 petit four tins or financier tins.

Put the butter in a small pan and heat gently, allowing it to melt and then come to a gentle simmer. Keep watch while it turns from pale yellow to a pale golden amber colour. Do not let it burn. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Put the pistachio nuts and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. 

Mix together the ground almonds, flour and icing sugar in a bowl. 

Lightly beat the egg whites until they foam, but not hold their shape. Add to the flour mix along with the vanilla and beat together whisk a whisk.

Mix in the warmed brown butter a little at a time, until combined.

Divide the financier batter evenly between the tins, filling three-quarters full.

Cut the fig into quarters or sixths (depending on size) and add a slice to the top of half of the financiers. Roughly chop the pistachios and scatter around the fig.

Top the other half of the financiers with dark chocolate chips and flaked almonds.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tops look ‘set’ and very pale brown around the edges. They do not brown much. (I found the choc chip ones took 12 mins and the fig took 15 mins).

Cool in the tins for 5 minutes before carefully tipping out of the tins and leaving to cool completely.

Lightly dust with icing sugar before serving. Best eaten within 24 hours.

Makes 8 financiers

Trio of Hazelnut, Blackberry & Coconut Profiteroles

A few weeks ago it was my Dad’s birthday and to celebrate we got together as a family with my sister, brother and I cooking my Dad (and Mum) a surprise three course meal, with each of us taking charge of a course.

My brother made his family cooking début with a delicious pea & mint soup which he garnished with fried pancetta and homemade parmesan crisps (no pancetta for me). This was his first time cooking for any of us and I’m not just being kind when I say it was the best pea soup I’ve ever had. So fresh and vibrant. Well done J!

My sister was in charge of the main course which was a delicious Moroccan inspired stew with dried apricots and squash accompanied by a dome of two different sorts of rice. I was too busy eating to remember to take a photo – sorry C it was just too tasty!

I was put in charge of dessert and decided to do a gluten free trio of mini profiteroles, each with their own differently flavoured filling. I spent far too long worrying over what flavours to make, my family all has their own individual tastes and I wanted something to please everyone. Eventually I settled on roasted hazelnut, blackberry and coconut. These flavours all worked well on their own and when eaten together. I also liked how they all were a different colour, giving a hint as to their flavour.

For the hazelnut filling I roasted some whole hazelnuts and then skinned and ground them. This produced such a fabulous intense hazelnut flavour and aroma that I would strongly urge you to do this yourself, rather than buy pre-ground hazelnuts. It’s the food equivalent of freshly ground coffee over instant, both work, but one is far superior. The hazelnut one was by far my favourite of the trio. The creamy nutty filling went so well with the dark chocolate glaze on top, a sort of grown up Nutella flavour.

The blackberry filling was made with pureed and sieved blackberry coulis that we had made in the summer from foraging the hedgerows, and frozen. Blackberries have such a strong dark purple colour and deep fruity flavour that it made for a fresh and fruity tasting cream. This too worked well with the rich dark chocolate topping. I also added some Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) to the filling, which gave it a lovely subtle fruity kick, although unfortunately it did make the filling a little runny.

The coconut filling was made with a very nifty ingredient called coconut milk powder. You can find this in some large supermarkets and Asian stores. It’s essentially dried coconut cream that you are meant to rehydrate and use in curries, but I’ve found stirring the powder directly into cream or adding it to baked goods gives a great intense coconut flavour without the need to add any extra liquid. The coconut filling tasted extra rich and creamy with a lingering coconutty taste. This was a lovely contrast against the other flavours and the dark chocolate glaze.

As I had some blackberry coulis left over I used it to swipe the serving plates with an arty brushstroke – I keep seeing them do this on Masterchef, and it did look pretty.

The little profiterole bites were a lovely end to the celebratory meal. My Dad loved how we had all worked together to produce the meal, especially as my brother got involved, a family first! It was so nice to sit down together as a family and all enjoy the same food. Happy Birthday Dad.

Trio of Hazelnut, Blackberry & Coconut Profiteroles

Choux Pastry

50g rice flour

20g cornflour

10g tapioca starch

¼ tsp xanthan gum

120ml water

50g butter

3 eggs

Cream Filling Base

250g ricotta

150ml double cream

Roasted Hazelnut Filling

1/3 of cream filling above

50g whole skin on hazelnuts

1 heaped tsp icing sugar

2 tsp milk to thin, if needed

Blackberry Filling

1/3 of cream filling above

2 tbsp blackberry coulis

1 heaped tsp icing sugar

½ tbsp Crème de Cassis

Coconut Filling

1/3 of cream filling above

2 tbsp coconut milk/cream powder

3 tsp heaped icing sugar

Chocolate Ganache

100g dark chocolate

100ml milk

1 tbsp golden syrup

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 width of a 2 pence piece (1.5cm).

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 10 minutes. Then reduce the oven to 150C and bake for a further 15 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 ricotta until smooth. Lightly beat the double cream in a clean bowl until just at soft peak stage. Stir this through the ricotta and divide into 3 bowls for the 3 fillings.

For the hazelnut filling, roast the hazelnuts at 200C for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and the skin are starting to flake away from the nuts. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 3 minutes before putting into a few sheets of kitchen roll and rubbing together so the skins flake off.

Place the hazelnuts into a small blender and blitz to cream a fine powder.

Stir half the hazelnut powder into the cream along with the sugar. Taste and add more hazelnuts if you want a stronger flavour. Thin down the cream mixture with a little milk if required.

For the blackberry filling, stir the sugar, fruit coulis and Crème de Cassis into the cream and mix together well. Chill in the fridge until required. You can use pureed blueberries or raspberries too if you prefer, or even some fruit compote.

For the coconut filling, stir the coconut milk/cream powder into the cream along with the sugar. Taste and add more sugar if needed. The sugar will help bring out the coconut flavour.

For the chocolate glaze, heat the chocolate, milk and golden syrup together in a small pan until the chocolate has melted. Heat gently until the mixture starts to simmer and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes until it thickens into a sauce, stir often to prevent it from burning on the base. Remove it from the heat and set aside to cool and thicken slightly.

To serve, either pipe or spoon the cream fillings into the choux buns. Then dip or spoon some of the chocolate glaze over the top of each profiterole.

Swipe your serving plates with some fruit coulis using a pastry brush. Arrange one of each profiterole flavour on the plate and serve.

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 around 30 bite size profiteroles

Roast Hazelnut, Choc Chip & Sour Cherry Oat Cookies

Yesterday my parents came for a visit. We planned to go out for lunch but I wanted to bake us a little treat to have with afternoon tea when we got back to my flat. I settled on cookies. I haven’t baked a batch of cookies in ages, cake being my usual go-to treat but the cookies made a lovely change.

I’ve said it before but I’m a person who loves different textures in their foods. These cookies are no exception making use of wholesome oats (gluten free ones naturally), gooey dark chocolate chips, nuggets of roasted hazelnuts and chewy tart dried cherries. A delicious combination.

The cookies are quite thick and substantial, meaning they have a wonderfully crisp edge yet stay soft and slightly doughy in the middle, mmmm. The oats add a wholesome bite and flavour while the nuts add crunch and an intense nutty flavour when bitten into, even more so as I pre-roasted them. The chocolate chips stayed soft and melty, while giving an intense dark chocolate flavour which paired brilliantly against the sweet/tart chewy cherries. Every bite was slightly different and it made the cookies very moreish.

I used to make this type of cookie quite often but for some reason I haven’t made them in the past 2-3years! Now I’ve rediscovered them I’ll definitely be baking more soon.

You can of course add whatever add-ins you like. Cinnamon & raisins are classic, but crystallised ginger & lemon or cherry & flaked almonds also work brilliantly.

Roast Hazelnut, Chocolate & Sour Cherry Oat Cookies

Ingredients
150g butter
100g light soft brown sugar
70g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g roasted hazelnuts, halved

50g dark chocolate chips

40g dried sour cherries

170g gluten free porridge oats
20g tapioca starch

135g rice flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp bicarbonate soda

Method

Roast your hazelnuts in a 180C oven for 5-6 minutes until lightly toasted and golden brown, then set aside to cool (optional)
In a large bowl, cream the butter together with both the sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Stir in the hazelnuts, chocolate chips and sour cherries.
Add the oats, tapioca starch, rice flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into the bowl and mix together using a spatula until all incorporated.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of dough onto a baking tray. You can pack them close together for now.

Place the cookie balls into the fridge for chill for 20 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 190C and line another baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Remove the cookie balls from the fridge and arrange half on them onto the new baking tray. Leave 2-3 inches between each one. Gently press the tops of the cookie dough balls down, to form thick flat round discs.
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown at the edges and still slightly pale in the middle.
Cool on sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a rack with the help of a palette knife. Repeat with any leftover cookie balls.
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. They also freeze well.
Makes 15-16 cookies

Nutty Cinnamon Sultana Crumb Cake

I first made this cake a few years ago in my pre-coeliac days. I have fond memories of it being one of my favourite cakes I’ve ever baked. I have recently been longing to recreate it, but part of me was worried it either wouldn’t live up to my expectations, or else wouldn’t replicate so well in gluten free form.

This weekend I decided to do some therapeutic cake baking, and wanted something tasty and yet not piled high with mountains of frosting (I’ve really gone off buttercream frosting recently). My thoughts drifted back to this cake and I decided to bite the bullet and bake it.

 

The original cake calls for a much bigger pan, so I started my halving the quantities. I then used a combination of different gluten free flours and added some xanthan gum to held bind it all together. Tapioca starch is a recent discovery of mine and it adds a great chewy moistness to baked products, you only need a little though. It wouldn’t be suitable to use all tapioca starch.

I also substituted the milk with buttermilk, which like yoghurt, I find adds a lovely moistness and tenderness to the crumb. I also increased the quantity of the buttermilk, as gluten free flours are quite starchy and tend to absorb more liquid. The final substitution I made was to swop the raisins for sultanas.

The cake comprises of a thick vanilla cake mix layered with cinnamon sugar, melted butter, sultanas and chopped pecans. A second layer of cake mix is added before the cake is topped off with more of the nutty cinnamon. The cake batter itself turned out quite stiff, almost like a very soft scone mixture, but still light and airy. At first there didn’t look enough to cover the middle layer, but it puffed up and rose nicely in the oven.

 

Half an hour later I removed the cake from the oven. The top had turned into a crisp sugary cinnamon surface, studded with the sultanas and now-lightly-toasted pecans. It smelt divine and I had to prevent myself from sticking my fork straight in. I managed to resist temptation and left it to cool in the tin while I went and did my weekly shop.

 

Upon returning, the waft of sweet spicy cinnamon and freshly baked cake hit me as soon as I opened the door and I knew it was time for a taste.

The cake was light and tender in texture but sturdy enough to hold together well on slicing. The top and sides were crisp and slightly chewy while the middle was soft and yielding to the fork. The sultanas gave a wonderful chew and the nuts were…nutty thanks for their toasting in the oven. The cake batter itself is not that sweet, the main sweetness coming from the generous layers of cinnamon sugar both inside and out. I think using buttermilk in the batter was good too, as its natural acidity and tang helped combat some of the sweetness, preventing the finished cake from being overly sweet.

 

The texture had a slight chew to it, almost like it was a yeasted cake. It took me a while to realise what it reminded me of – a cinnamon roll! This cake is like a cinnamon roll in cake form – that same soft yet sturdy texture to the crumb. Delicious.

This cake was a little different in texture, but just as tempting tasty as I remember. I love how it has two distinct layers of the cinnamon, nuts and fruit, rather than everything being mixed together. I really enjoy having lots of different textures in a cake, and this one didn’t disappoint. A mix of tender cake, chewy raisins, toasted nuts and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar which turns crisp and caramelised during baking. I might just go and have another slice…just to neaten off the edges.

Nutty Cinnamon Sultana Crumb Cake

(Recipe loosely based from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)
Cake
90g white rice flour

50g brown rice flour

30g tapioca starch/flour
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
165g buttermilk
100g butter, softened
70g caster sugar
1 egg

Nutty Cinnamon Sultana Filling
65g light soft brown sugar
1 tbsp white rice flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
100g sultanas
70g pecans
70g butter, melted

Method – Nutty Cinnamon Sultana Filling
Combine the light brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork to mix everything well. Roughly chop the pecans and mix with the sultanas in another bowl. In a third bowl, melt the butter until liquid and set aside for use later.

Method - Cake
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line an 8x8inch/20cm square pan.
In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on high speed until pale and evenly mixed. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg and vanilla and beat until the mixture is smooth and aerated.
Combine the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir with a spatula, only until the flour disappears. Add a third of the buttermilk and fold in. Repeat twice more until all the flour and buttermilk have been incorporated. Stir just enough to incorporate the ingredients.
Spread half the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the batter and then drizzle over half the melted butter using a spoon. Scatter half the sultanas and nuts over the top.
Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter carefully over the filling and use a spatula to smooth the batter all the way to the edges of the pan. (It will look like there isn’t enough, but it puffs up on baking). Top with the leftover cinnamon, butter and nut mixture, covering the cake evenly.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, fragrant and beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. A skewer can have a few sticky cinnamon crumbs attached, but no raw batter.

Place the tin on a wire rack and leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before cutting into generous squares and devouring.

Store any leftovers on a plate wrapped in clingfilm or an airtight container

Makes 1 x 8inch cake