Mini Batch Buttermilk Sultana Scones

I love a freshly baked scone, you can’t beat them when they are still warm from the oven and are most certainly best devoured the day they are made. However, this can sometimes prove a problem when there is only 1 or 2 of you in the house. Typical scone recipes make at least 8 scones, and yes you can freeze them or reheat them, but they are never quite the same.

Recently when the scone cravings called, I decided to do some experimenting and create sultana scones for the single girl. A small batch perfect for devouring while still warm and fresh from the oven.

5 batches of scones later (I’m not kidding) I had created not only a small batch scone recipe, but also a greatly improved, tastier, fluffier and taller scone recipe than my previous attempts. Hurrah. I admit I did use a pre-made flour blend, something which I tend to avoid these days, but for such a small batch of scones, quick and simple is the way to go.

The secret to the scones is the drop of vanilla and buttermilk, which I am convinced help create light and fluffy scones with a delicious flavour. I also decided to add a few sultanas which add a lovely sweet and juicy addition, but they are of course optional. You could add choc chips, chopped nuts or simply leave them plain if you prefer.

Savoured warm from the oven, spread with your favourite jam (and lashings of cream if you like) these scones are hard to beat. They can be made from raw ingredients to freshly baked scone in 20 minutes – what more could you want? Plus, the small batch means you can enjoy freshly baked scones every day!

Mini Batch Buttermilk Sultana Scones

Ingredients

40ml milk

45ml buttermilk

¼ tsp vanilla extract

100g gluten free plain flour (I used Doves Farm)

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

10g caster sugar

¼ tsp xanthan gum

20g sultanas

20g cold butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Stir together the milk, buttermilk and vanilla extract in a small bowl and set aside.

Add all the dry ingredients, including the sultanas, into a bowl and stir together. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Rub the butter into the flour mix using the tips of your fingers, lifting it and letting it fall back into the bowl as you rub them together until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. A few larger clumps of butter is fine.

Pour over the milk mixture and mix into the flour briefly using a round bladed butter knife until it begins to form a dough.

Tip the mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently to form a soft dough, don’t overdo it, it will be a little sticky.

Pat the mixture into a thick rectangle, around 1inch thick. It should be just big enough to stamp out 2 scones using a 5cm/2inch round cutter. Press the cutter down straight and do not twist or else they may rise wonky. Gather the scraps together and form them into a final scone by patting the mixture into the cutter to form the shape (no leftovers!)

Place the scones on the baking tray and brush the tops with a little milk. Don’t let it run down the sides.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until risen.

Transfer to a cooling rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Best eaten on day of baking. Re-warm any leftover scones in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before eating.

Makes 3 scones

Udi’s Gluten Free Pizza Base Mix Review

Udi’s are an American gluten free company, and their products became available in the UK a couple of years ago. I was aware of them before they came to the UK, having tasted some of their bagels when visiting a friend in California a few years ago. I loved the bagel and so was delighted when they were one of the first products they introduced to the UK market. I have tried quite a selection of Udi’s products now, and they are introducing more and more due to increasing demand. I’ve found some to be a bit hit and miss, but their bagels are probably one of my most regular purchases (especially the choc chip and savoury ones!)

Anyway, enough about bagels. Udi’s have just launched a whole selection of baking mixes and asked if I would be interested in trying some out. Being a good home baker, baking mixes are not something I have bought before, but I was interested to see how they would compare. I was sent a pizza base mix, bread mix, cake mix and flour mix.

Making bread and pizza is quite difficult to achieve gluten free, as breads rely so prevalently on gluten to help give them their texture and structure. It just so happened that the time the mixes arrived, I was looking after my younger brother and so together we decided to try out the pizza base mix for lunch.

I found the ingredient list and method to be a little disjointed across all the range. As I’ve previously mentioned they are an American company, but I would have expected the packaging to have been made more UK friendly, as the extra ingredients required were stated in tablespoons and cups rather than grams. However the total weight of the mix is given in grams and has been given a coeliac UK accredited logo, so they must have updated the packaging for this. The cooking times too were not consistent, with the pizza base mix being stated in Gas Mark and Degrees Celsius, whereas the white bread mix was provided in Ferinheight only. Another thing I thought was slightly odd is that the instructions tell you use to use the whole bag of pizza mix (570g) which then makes 9 x 6inch pizzas – who needs that many in all in one go?!

Nit picking about packaging aside, I got to work, using only half the mix and was pleased with how quick and easy it was to put together. A bag of flour mix is provided along with a sachet of yeast. Water and oil are the only additional ingredients required.

The instructions state to use a stand mixer, which I don’t own, so I used a spoon and my hands which worked fine. After a short prove I had a lovely soft pizza dough. The instructions say “let rise in a warm area for 40 minutes. Bake for 16-20 minutes at 200C” No mention of when to add toppings (before or after baking), so I went for adding toppings on raw pizza dough and then baking on a preheated baking tray to ensure a crisp base. I suspect this was the right thing to do but I would have liked the instructions to be a little clearer.

I topped my pizza with some leftover tomato salsa, cauliflower, courgette and mozzarella, and finished it with some fresh mint when cooked. Meanwhile, my brother went for a meaty feast of leftover smoked ham, bacon and mozzarella. Both pizzas turned out well. The edges crisped up nicely and turned pale golden brown.

The middle and base of the pizzas were cooked, and had a slight chew which was nice. It was sturdy enough to hold without crumbling apart and wasn’t gritty to eat. Potato and tapioca starch are some of the main flour ingredients in the mix, so I suspect this helped the chew and binding properties. The flavour was good, not too salty, although I did find it slightly sweet for my tastes.

My brother happily devoured his pizza, so it passed the non coeliac eater test. He said it wasn’t quite ‘bready’ enough, but he’d happily eat it.

For ease and convenience I was impressed with the Udi's pizza mix and it’s the kind of thing I would consider buying if I wanted to host or was invited to a mid week pizza making evening with friends. I do however feel more care should have been taken over the units of measure for the ingredients (grams rather than cups) and more consistency given to the cooking temperatures across the range. They should at least be consistent with each other and ideally more geared for the UK market.

I look forward to seeing what other products Udi’s develop. I’ve seen on their American website that have cinnamon rolls – please can we try those in the UK too!

Lemon & Ginger Crunch Tart

To see the New Year in, I hosted a bring and share supper night with my friends. I love hosting parties like this, it takes the pressure off hosting for everyone and means you can enjoy a selection of little bits of lots of different dishes. My friends pulled out all the stops and made sure everything they brought was also gluten free, which was a lovely gesture. We ended up with far too much food, but this creates the joy of leftovers for lunch the next day.

This lemon tart was my offering to the dessert selection. It’s one of my favourites, I can’t believe I haven’t blogged about it before. It’s very quick and simple to put together but results in a dessert that’s a cross between cheesecake and tarte au citron. It uses only 5 ingredients, 2 for the base and 3 for the topping, yet tastes like you have slaved away for ages.

The lemon topping is made from sweetened condensed milk, double cream and lots of lemon. The acidity in the lemon juice reacts with the cream, causing it to thicken almost instantly as you mix it together, creating a thick and zingy mixture that sets into a soft yet sliceable topping after a short chill in the fridge. It’s creamy, sweet and also extremely zingy which makes for a very refreshing tart.

The base is made of ginger biscuits, which is a lovely flavour pairing and adds gentle warmth against the zesty lemon topping. If you can find stem ginger biscuits, it’s even better as the little chunks of stem ginger adds a nice occasional chewy bite to the base when you come across one. Crunchy ginger base and zingy lemon topping, so simple yet so delicious.

Lemon & Ginger Crunch Tart

Ingredients

200g gluten free stem ginger biscuits

40g butter

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

125ml double cream

Zest & juice of 2 lemons

Method

Line the base of an 8inch/20cm springform tin or tart tin with greaseproof paper.

Blitz ginger biscuits in a food processor until they are broken into crumbs.

Melt the butter in a pan. Add the ginger biscuits to the pan and mix well to combine. Press the mixture into the base of the tin and press down well. Transfer to the fridge to chill.

Finely grate the zest off the lemons and add to a bowl along with the condensed milk and cream. Add the juice from both lemons and whisk together using a handheld whisk until thick and creamy. It should start to thicken up almost instantly into a smooth pourable cream.

Pour the lemon mix over the biscuit base and return to the fridge to set, around 6 hours.

Garnish with a slice of lemon before serving.

Makes 1 x 8inch/20cm tart

Snowflake Joconde Imprime Torte filled with Dark Chocolate Mousse & Cranberry Compote, topped with Chocolate Glaze

This torte was this years alternative dessert offering for those (strange) people who don’t like Christmas pudding. The non Christmas pudding eaters of the family are devout chocoholics and so any dessert must involve copious amounts of chocolate and this dessert doesn’t disappoint.

I wanted to create something with a bit of wow factor, to fit in with the Christmas celebrations and decided a joconde imprime torte would be the way to do it. It sounds a bit daunting, but it’s actually quite a simple yet very effective technique. You pipe a design onto your parchment using a special cake batter and freeze it before putting a swiss roll batter of a different colour over the top of the frozen cake batter and baking it. Freezing the design stops the two batters mixing together before you bake it. Then when you turn it out, you have a perfectly piped design on the underside of the sponge. Clever!

This joconde sponge is very flexible and it is used to line the sides and base of a ring mould which you can then fill with whatever takes your fancy. I decided to use a rich dark chocolate mousse with a layer of fresh cranberry compote for a festive flavour.

My joncode sponge was decorated with a piped snowflake design to make it extra Christmassy. I think it worked well although I was annoyed my silicone paper crinkled slightly in the oven after being transferred from the freezer, so the finished underside of my sponge was a little crinkled in places. I’ll make sure to use one of those stiff silicone mats next time. The effect was still good though.

I topped the torte with a hot water ganache which gave a lovely glossy finish. The finished torte was divine. Moist, light sponge filled with an airy, creamy, rich dark chocolate mousse with a hidden layer of the tart and tangy cranberry sauce. The fudgy chocolate glaze added an extra chocolaty hit. It tasted amazing! It was completely indulgent and intensely chocolaty but not in the least heavy or stodgy, perfect after a big Christmas meal.

All my family loved it and there were actually arguments over the leftovers the following day. I’ll be making this again for sure! It takes a little bit of time to make, as there are quite a few processes and the mousse has to chill in the fridge overnight, but don’t let that put you off. You could just make a plain joconde sponge and not bother with the design and then use a shop bought cranberry sauce to make things simpler.

I’ve already been asked to make it again for New Year! Tell me, what festive pud did you serve for the non Christmas pudding eaters of the family?

Oh and for people who wondered what my Christmas pudding looks like when its steamed and served – here’s a photo. Moist fruity boozy loveliness.

Snowflake Joconde Imprime Torte filled with Dark Chocolate Mousse & Cranberry Compote, topped with Chocolate Glaze

White Snowflake Sponge Paste

35g unsalted butter

35g icing sugar

1 egg white

40g rice flour

Chocolate Joconde Sponge

2 egg whites

15g caster sugar

60g ground almonds

60g icing sugar

2 eggs

20g cocoa powder

20g unsalted butter, melted

Cranberry Filling

200g fresh cranberries

2 tbsp caster sugar

Juice of 1 clementine

Chocolate Mousse

200g dark chocolate

120ml water

3 eggs, separated

40g caster sugar

150ml double cream

Chocolate Glaze

50g dark chocolate

2 tsp cocoa powder

2 tsp caster sugar

100ml hot water

To decorate

20g white chocolate

Method

Print out your chosen design for your sponge on a couple of A4 sheets of paper. Cut them so they line the base of a 33x25cm (13x10inch) swiss roll tin. Cut out a piece of silicone paper to line the base and sides of the tin and lay it over the top of the design.

For the white decorative paste, cream softened butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg white, beating continuously. Fold in the flour until combined. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a small tube nozzle. Pipe out your design onto the silicone paper, tracing over the printed out design beneath.

Transfer the silicone paper to a flat baking tray and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to freeze the design solid. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C and make the chocolate joconde sponge.

For the chocolate joconde sponge, whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl to stiff peaks stage. Add the caster sugar, one teaspoon at a time, whisking between each addition to make a glossy meringue. Set aside.

Add the ground almonds, icing sugar and eggs into a new clean bowl. Whisk together for 3-5 minutes, or until doubled in volume, a stand mixer is useful here, but not essential. Sift over the cocoa powder and fold it in gently. Add one-third of the whisked egg whites and fold in to lighten the mixture. Add the rest of the egg whites and fold in more gently until just incorporated. Melt the butter, and pour it down the inside side of the bowl and fold in, until incorporated.

Remove the silicone sheet with the decorative paste from the freezer and place into the base of the swiss roll tin.

Tip the joconde sponge mixture over the top and gently spread into an even thin layer. Bake for 7 minutes, or until slightly risen and lightly springy to the touch.

Place a sheet of baking parchment over a cooling rack and turn the cake out onto it. Carefully peel off the silicone paper from the base of the cake, revealing the piped design. Lay the paper back on top of the sponge and leave to cool completely.

To make the cranberry compote, place all the ingredients into a pan and heat gently. The cranberries will start to pop and released their juice. Simmer for 10 minutes until the cranberries have broken down and thickened into a thick compote. You should be able to drag a spatula along the base of the pan without any excess liquid flooding the space. This happens quite quickly. It will taste very sharp at this stage, but you need this to cut through the rich chocolate later. Set aside to cool.

Line the inside of a 20cm/8inch ring mould with a strip of acetate and place it onto a sturdy baking tray that has been covered with clingfilm. Trim off the sides of the sponge before cutting a long strip of sponge, 6cm tall from the long side of the sponge. Cut a similar sized strip from the shorter edge of the sponge and use them to line the inside edge of the ring mould. Make sure to have the design facing outwards, so it will show off the outside of the dessert once the ring is removed. Push the edges of sponge together to join them together and trim off any excess. Cut out a circle from the leftover sponge, slightly smaller than the diameter of the tin, and use it to line the base of the ring mould, design facing down. Spread the cooled cranberry compote evenly over the base of the sponge inside the ring.

For the chocolate mousse, break the chocolate into pieces and place into a small pan along with the water. Heat on the lowest heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is melted and combined with the water.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a clean bowl. Beat the yolks into the chocolate mixture and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites to the soft-peak stage, then whisk in the sugar, about a third at a time, whisking until the whites are glossy. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it; then carefully fold in the rest. Whip the cream until it just starts to hold its shape but is still very soft. Carefully fold this into the chocolate mixture.

Pour all the chocolate mixture into the ring mould, over the top of the cranberry compote. Don’t worry if it rises and fills the mould above the rim of the cake, this is fine. Carefully cover the top of the ring mould with clingfilm and place in the fridge to firm up and set for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

The following day, make the chocolate glaze. Break up the chocolate and place it into a small pan along with the cocoa powder, sugar and water. Heat over a low heat, stirring continuously until everything is melted and combined into a glossy sauce. It should be of a pouring consistency. If too thick, add a little boiling water from the kettle and stir to create the desired consistency. Do not add cold water or the mixture will seize.

Remove the torte from the fridge and pour the chocolate glaze over the top. Use a small pallet knife to spread it out to the edges. Give it a gentle shake to smooth the top.

Melt the white chocolate and drizzle or pipe it over the top of the torte to decorate.

Return to the fridge and chill for a further 2 hours before serving

To serve, carefully lift the torte off the baking tray and transfer to a serving plate. Remove the outer ring mould, this should lift off easily due to the acetate sheet beneath. Carefully peel away the acetate from the torte and serve. Use a sharp knife to cut down in one swift motion to get a clean cut. It’s quite rich so you only need fairly small slices.

Store any leftovers in the fridge and eat within 3 days.

Makes 1 x 8inch torte

Cucumber ‘Bread & Butter’ Pickle for Christmas

I can’t believe it’s Christmas day in 3 days time. Where has December gone? Every year I like to make something homemade to give away to family and friends along with their standard Christmas gifts. I think it adds a nice touch to get a handmade present, plus I enjoy the excuse to spend some time in the kitchen.

This year I decided to try making a pickle. I considered baking some cookies but my family always get so much to eat over Christmas that I wanted something they could enjoy later on without the fear of it spoiling. Pickles, jams and chutneys are the way to go.

My Dad has fond memories of his father making cucumber pickle aka Bread & Butter Pickle when he was growing up. I remember seeing jars of it in the cupboard, these odd looking jars of sliced cucumber with little flecks of red chilli and balls of mustard floating in it. My granddad is sadly no longer with us, so I thought it would be a nice idea to try and recreate a cucumber pickle for the festive season.

Pam Corbin of River Cottage fame came to the rescue with the perfect looking pickle. It looked and sounded just as I remember my grandfathers to be. I’ve never made a pickle before and was surprised to learn the ingredients require only the merest of cooking time, the majority of the time is spent brining the cucumbers before their soak in the pickling liquid. This also ensures the cucumber pickle retains a bit of crispness and bite, rather than being a mushy mess more in line with a chutney.

The pickling liquid a bit of raw onion and red chili to add a little extra kick. It’s not meant to be spicy, but lend a gentle background tongue tickle. Sugar is added for a touch of sweetness and to help balance out the sharp tang of vinegar. Ground turmeric also transform the pickle from a rather anemic looking green to a bright and exotic looking golden yellow (be carefully when handling it, turmeric stains are impossible to get out). I think it also makes it look wonderfully festive. The mustard seeds add little pops of flavour when eaten and I think there is something quite hypnotic watching they bob around in the pickle.

Cucumber pickle aka bread & butter pickle may sound an odd name as the pickle does not contain these ingredients. It gets its name from the fact it is a pickle traditionally eaten with your bread and butter. They got their name "bread & butter pickle" during the great depression when fresh cucumbers were grown by many households and so often eaten for lunch with bread and butter. Due to the lack of refrigeration, rather than let any surplus cucumbers go to waste, they were pickled to make them last all the rest of the year. Very frugal and a great way of ensuring nothing went to waste. I’m sure it would taste delicious with some leftover turkey, stuffing or cheese too!

To see Pam Corbin make the bread & butter pickle, click here for her video on River Cottage Food Tube.

Cucumber ‘Bread & Butter’ Pickle

(Recipe by Pam Corbin from River Cottage aka Pam The Jam)

Ingredients

1.5kg cucumber (5 large)
1 large onion
5tbsp salt
500ml cider vinegar (must be 5% proof or more*)
200g granulated sugar
1½ tsp ground turmeric
1½ tsp celery seeds
3 tbsp white mustard seeds
1-2 finely chopped red chilli, seeds removed

Method

Peel the cucumbers, cut off the ends, quarter lengthways and slice into 3-4mm thick slices.  Peel and chop the onion into fairly small pieces (no larger than the pieces of cucumber).  Mix the cucumber and onion pieces together in a non metallic bowl.

Sprinkle over the salt, gently toss through the cucumber and onion and leave for 2 hours.

Rinse the cucumber and onion well in icy water. Taste check the cucumber and rinse again if it is too salty (they will be naturally quite salty at this stage though). Leave them to drain in a large sieve or colander and pat dry with some kitchen paper.

Wash the jars well and place the lids and jars into the oven on baking tray. Heat the oven to 150C and leave the jars to heat and sterilize while you finish the chutney.

Place the vinegar into a saucepan that will be large enough to eventually take all the ingredients. Add the sugar, turmeric, celery seeds, white mustard seeds and chopped chilli.

Heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, stir to combine and bring to the boil.

Add the drained, rinsed cucumber and onion, stir and bring back to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes only! It needs this long to destroy any bacteria which could cause the pickle to deteriorate, but any longer and the pickle will be less crisp.

Remove the pan from the heat and the jars from the oven. Carefully distribute the cucumber pickle into the jars, filling almost to the very rim. Make sure all the cucumber is covered with some of the pickling liquid.

Using rubber gloves, quickly screw the lids tightly onto the jars while they are still hot. Leave them to cool on the side. You should hear the lids make a sudden ‘pop’ sound as they cool. This means the heat has created a vacuum and the jars are effectively sealed and airtight, meaning the pickle will keep safely until opened.

Label the jars and store in a cool place until required. Once opened, store in the fridge and eat within 4 weeks.

The pickle can be eaten immediately or kept for up at a year.

Makes 7 x 450g (1lb) jars

Note: The vinegar must be at least 5% proof in order to sufficiently pickle and preserve the cucumbers. The vinegars will state their proof % on the bottles.

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

2 Amazing Gluten Free Carrot Cakes when Out & About

My favourite cake of all time has to be carrot cake. I adore the different textures and flavours you get in each bite. The spices, the moist carrot, the bite from the carrot and/or nuts and raisins and the creamy cream cheese topping. You can’t beat it.

In my 4 years of being coeliac I’ve never yet found or been offered a gluten free carrot cake. Normally its lemon drizzle cake or chocolate brownie and although these are both fine, they get a bit boring after a while. So image my delight when this week I have sampled 2 gluten free carrot cakes in a mere 3 days – ah bliss!

Carrot Cake 1

I’ve had a few days off this past week and spent them visiting family and catching up with old friends. My mum wanted to take me out for coffee and cake and suggested a little tea shop she had heard good things about called Martha’s Vintage Tearoom in Shefford. I looked at their website and facebook but couldn’t see any mention of gluten free. I decided to give them a call and was pleased when they said they would make sure to have something for me when I called in the next day.

It’s a cute little place hidden just off the main high street in Shefford. We were shown to our table which was set with napkins and pretty mismatched vintage china which is so in fashion these days. The tables and chairs were set amongst a range of gifty things and done up in a festive Christmas theme which was nice.

We were given tea menus and I asked about gluten free cakes, expecting a shop bought brownie, so imagine my delight when I was offered a choice of home made gluten free chocolate cake or carrot cake. I looked at my mum in excitement, carrot cake….carrot cake!!!

Of course I had the carrot cake and when it arrived it looked so delicious and ‘normal’ that I got them to check it was really gluten free. It was a generous slice and you could still see little flecks of carrot throughout and it was nicely spiced. The cream cheese frosting was sweet and creamy and scattered with chopped walnuts. It was delicious, a perfect unexpected treat.

My mum went for a slice of coffee & walnut which is one of her favourites. They only had 3 cakes on offer that day so the fact we both got to enjoy our favourite cake was amazing.

They tea selection was also good and I went for an apple & pear tea which was lovely and fruity. The ideal drink on a cold frosty morning. The shop is a bit hidden away, but if you are in the area I’d recommend seeking them out.

Carrot Cake 2

On Friday I found myself in London with 60 minutes to spare before catching a train. I decided to wander off to Wholefoods and indulge in some full on food browsing. One of the first things to greet you as you walk in the door is the fresh bread selection and the counters of delicate cakes and pastries. I can’t help but look and drool over them all. I was pleased to discover that Wholefoods have expanded their gluten free offering and had a small selection of cakes, breads and puddings at one end. Unfortunately, all very very pricy! They had some ‘normal’ 6-7inch cakes for sale at around £6 each. At the end of the row I spotted they also had about 4 gluten free cakes, which looked very tempting. I considered maybe treating myself to one until I read the price tag £19.95. WHAT! Ekk, no way was a cake worth that. I know gluten free is more expensive to produce, but surly not that much!

Moving swiftly away I spotted a range of mini individual cakes, these too were a little pricy at £4 each for one of those tiny individual 2-bite muffin trays. Hmm, still a bit steep. I then spotted a range of muffins scattered haphazardly onto a shelf in no order at all. These were gluten free and dairy free and much more sensibly priced at £2 each. I went over to inspect and had a fun time playing lucky dip with the muffin flavours. I was delighted to come across one called Carrot & Apple…mine!

It looked moist, dark and sticky and screamed – “eat me I’m delicious” so naturally into the basket it went. I then had to dash for the train and couldn’t wait to get home to try the muffin, so ate it on the train.

Wow, this muffin was epic. I’m not sure I’ve ever described a food as epic before, but that is the word that crossed my mind as I ate it.

It had a moist, sticky, nobly top that had risen and spilled over the top of the paper liner, just like a proper muffin should. Breaking off a piece I could see it was packed with shreds of carrot, chunks of date and spices.

It felt a little dense and slightly dry when breaking off a piece, but the minute I put it into my mouth and started to chew the flakes of carrot and apple released their moisture and it became wonderfully moist and soft. I loved how it wasn’t very sweet, you could really taste the sweetness from the carrot, apple and dates itself and the muffin was based on brown rice flour rather than white, which also added to the wholesomeness of it – in the best way.

I got a few funny looks from the man in the business suit across from me, for taking multiple pictures of a muffin, but I didn’t care. This was an epic muffin. It was made by a company I haven’t heard of before called CraYve’s. From their website they appear to be a small London based company, but I’m going to keep my eye out for them in future. I can’t wait to try some of their other cakes.

Who knew carrot cakes could be like buses, none for 4 years and then 2 come along at once. Both different, but both amazing. What’s your favourite cake? Do you know anywhere else to get gluten free carrot cake that I could try? Now I’ve had a taste, I’m hungry for more!