Roasted Vegetable Quiche with Gluten Free Pastry

Looking at this quiche I expect you’re thinking – ‘mmm looks tasty but I think she overcooked the pastry, it looks a little dark.’ Well hold your horses – it’s not over baked, it started out that colour! You see this isn’t any ordinary pastry it’s a gluten free pastry, made from brown rice flour and brown teff flour – result – brown pastry!

I have generally been getting on quite well with gluten free baking – the sweet stuff anyway. It seems if you add enough raising agents, eggs, butter and sugar than pretty much everything tastes good. It’s the savoury side, namely bread and pastry that has been my downfall. I attempted a gluten free loaf a few weeks ago, I even used a pre mixed gluten free bread mix to ensure I got a decent loaf. Unfortunately things didn’t turn out that way. In its defence the crust was good, thick and crusty, but it was flat, misshapen and the inside was like gumming wallpaper paste. It stuck to the knife in horrible globs as I tried to slice it. The following day it had solidified into a dense dry lump, and you know what? I was so determined that it wasn’t going to be a failure that I still ate it – toasted and covered in jam or peanut butter. However, the experience made me nervous and I haven’t attempted one since.

Yesterday I woke up after having dreamed a really odd dream that I was having a picnic on the moon, but had forgotten to bring any food. However, it turned out the moon was made of quiche (who knew?) so I sat there with a fork eating it. I woke up craving quiche and newly determined that savoury baking wasn’t going to get the better of me.

I browsed a few sites to get some ideas and it seemed that a combination of different flours and starches was the way to go. I decided to try out a new flour that I have recently discovered but until then had not used – brown teff flour. I had to order it as I couldn’t find any shops that sold it. It arrived looking suitably space age in a shiny silver pouch, the sort of thing astronauts probably eat their meals out of. I combined this with some brown rice flour for bulk and tapioca starch as a sort of binder, as this one goes more gummy when wet.

I was surprised on opening the pouch that the brown teff flour had such a dark cocoa brown appearance. You may think being labelled as ‘brown’ this might have been pretty obvious, but brown rice flour is surprisingly light in colour. This is the reason behind my dark brown pastry – it’s not over baked, it’s whole grain!

I also added an egg and some xanthan gum which is a special powder that helps replace some of the action from gluten, making things a little more elastic so they don’t crumble so easily. Kneading the dough I was actually really impressed how much it resembled ‘real’ pastry. It was smooth and pliable and didn’t crack on rolling out. An additional bonus is that you can knead or reroll it as often as you like as there is no gluten in the dough to overwork, plus it doesn’t shrink on baking.

I filled the quiche with some roasted veggies and after a short bake in the oven I was able to tuck into a slice for lunch. Oh it was delicious. The pastry was light and crisp but didn’t crumble; nor was it tough or chewy. It had a slightly gritty texture from the rice flour, but I liked this, similar to a shortbread biscuit. The roasted veggies added a wonderful flavour and sweetness. So all in all a great success – yay!

Teff is a teeny tiny grain that is approximately 150 times smaller than a grain of wheat. It is actually the smallest grain in the world! However, for such a tiny grain is also highly nutritious, especially when left wholesome brown (white teff flour is also available). Teff contains 40% more calcium than milk, has twice as much iron as wheat and contains all 8 essential amino acids making it a complete protein. It’s also high in fiber, potassium and zinc. That’s one super grain. (click here for more info) To me, it has a wholesome toasted flavour similar to rye flour, although stronger. I can see it becoming one of my new favourite flours.

Pastry done, bread to go – oh err, wish me luck!

Roasted Vegetable Quiche with Gluten Free Pastry

Gluten Free Pastry
100g brown rice flour
60g brown teff flour
40g tapioca starch
1½ tsp xanthan gum
1 egg
80g cold butter
2-3 tbsp cold water

Roasted Veg Filling
2 eggs
400ml milk
1 tsp dried thyme
1 small red onion
1 small brown onion
½ red pepper
½ yellow pepper
½ large courgette
3 springs fresh rosemary
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method – Pastry
Weigh the flours, tapioca starch and xanthan gum into a bowl. Cut the cold butter into little cubes and rub it through the flour using the tips of your fingers, lifting them above the rim of the bowl and letting the flour fall back into it as you rub. Continue until all the butter has broken down and the mix contains some small clumps.
Lightly beat the egg, add to the flour mix and work in using a round bladed bread knife. Add two tablespoons of cold water and mix gently.
Tip the mix out onto a clean work surface (t may still look too dry at this stage) and switch to your hands and try to bring the mix together into a dough. If it still seems too dry add a little more water, a teaspoon at a time, until you are able to form a dough.
Knead the dough gently until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for 30 – 60 minutes.

Roasted Veg Filling

Preheat the oven to 200C. Cut the onions and peppers into small-ish chunks, about 1inch/2.5cm. Slice the courgette into 1-2cm slices.
Place the veg onto a baking tray and drizzle over the oil. Tuck the springs of rosemary in-between the veg and place in the oven to roast for 50minutes (after 30minutes, give the veg a mix and return to the oven for the remaining 20minutes).
Once roasted, remove the from the oven and leave to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C and place a large baking tray in the oven to heat up.

Assembly
Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and roll it out between two big sheets of clingfilm until 3-4mm thick (this does away with the need for flouring a work surface). Use to line a 6-7inch round tin or a long rectangular tart tin.
Arrange the roasted veg inside the tart.
In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, dried thyme and some seasoning until well combined. Pour over the roasted veg and carefully transfer the quiche onto the preheated baking tray.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the egg mixture it set and the pastry crisp.
Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and serving.
Serves 4

The Cake Slice November 2010: Cinnamon Pudding Cake (GF)

I was delighted when this cake won the vote to be Novembers cake. I adore cinnamon in any form and the idea of using it in a hot pudding cake sounded perfect for the cold chilly winter days we have been having. This pudding cake takes the form of a self saucing pudding. It’s a cinnamon spiced cake that has a thin caramel sauce poured all over the top of the batter before being baked in the oven. During the baking process, the sauce seeps down to the base of the pan and thickens up into a thick and gooey caramel with the cinnamon sponge on top – magic!

I was a little dubious that this would work as described as my caramel sauce was very thin and liquidly when I poured it over the cake batter, so much so that it completely drowned the cake mix. However, the cake worked its magic in the oven and the golden cinnamon sponge emerged from beneath and baked into a lovely golden cake, complete with a crisp crackly crust – delicious.

My cake batter took on a slightly golden colour due to the flour I used. I am still experimenting with different gluten free flours and for this cake I used predominantly gram flour (chickpea flour) and just a little maize and tapioca flour. Gram flour is used mostly in Indian cooking, either as a thickener or in the batter used to make onion bhajee’s. It has a soft chalky feel to it, similar to cornflour and quite a savoury taste. I wouldn’t recommend it for normal sweet cake batters, but as this cake was so sweet and had all the gooey caramel sauce I felt it could take it.

The finished cake looked and smelt wonderful but the problems started when it came to turn the cake out. The recipe suggested inverting the cake onto a plate so that the caramel sauce at the base became the top of the cake. When I attempted this my caramel sauce was so thick and gooey that it stuck the cake to the pan, causing it to brake and come away in chunks instead of turning out cleanly. Well, darn.

Personally I think it would have been far better to serve the cake straight from the pan and keep it as a pudding with the sauce underneath, but hay ho, I’ll know to do this next time.

Despite its rather poor appearance it tasted fabulous when still hot out the oven. The cake was soft and moist with the cinnamon flavour coming through nicely. I have said in the past that I am not a fan of caramel, but this caramel was divine! I suspect it was because it was made with brown sugar, rather than burnt white sugar which came it a far nicer subtle caramel overtone. When paired with the hot cinnamon cake it was gorgeous.

With my delicious yet broken cake I decided to do away with attempting to cut a neat and even little square, which was what I had intended to do, and instead dug straight in with my fork. It may not have been pretty but when you have hot spiced cake with gooey caramel sauce who’s going to complain? Even my fork knew what to do – Eat Me!

I found the cake tended to get a little dry when cold, but a short burst in the microwave softened the caramel and had it back to being a soft and moist cake once more. As its called ‘Pudding Cake’ then I feel serving it warm is as it is intended to be. I’d make this cake again, but I think its best eaten the day, if not the minute its baked and next time I’ll serve it straight from the pan rather than trying to turn it out!

Click here to see The Cake Slice blogroll.

Cinnamon Pudding Cake (gluten free)
(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)
For the Caramel Topping

200g light brown sugar
170ml water
15g unsalted butter
½ tsp salt

For the Cake
240g plain flour (OR, 200g gram/chickpea flour & 50g maize/tapioca flour mix)
2 tsp GF baking powder
2½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
30g unsalted butter, softened
200g caster sugar (I only used 100g)
225ml whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method – Topping
Heat the oven to 180C. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8 inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine the brown sugar, water, butter and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally, then set aside to cool.

Method – Cake
Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
With the mixer on medium-low speed, add a third of the flour mixture to the bowl. Add half of the milk and the vanilla. Add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining milk and the rest of the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds.
Scrape the batter onto the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Pour the topping over the batter (the pan will be very full). Carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake until set, 45 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, invert it onto a large rimmed serving platter and serve warm.
Let any leftover cake cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes & Alterations

On recommendations of other bakers I stirred 3tbsp of the syrup through the cake batter before placing it in the tin and I baked the cake in a 9inch pan and reduced the baking time by 10 minutes. This helped keep it moist as some early bakers had commented the cake was dry when baked for the full amount.
I only left my cake in the pan for 5 minutes only before trying to turn it out, but the caramel had already began to set and my cake stuck and broke. I would recommended turning it out of the pan immediately after removing from the oven while the caramel is still hot and runny.

Spicy Mole 3 Bean Chilli

On Saturday it was my turn to host the friend’s dinner evening get together that my friends and I take it in turns to host every month. One of my friends informed me that at the moment she is avoiding eating potatoes, rice, raw dairy and anything citrus, this along with the meal having to be vegetarian and gluten free meant it was rather a challenge trying to figure out a meal we could all eat. There were only going to be three of us at the dinner, so I didn’t really want to start making multiple dishes.

After running through a few ideas I suddenly remembered a bean chilli I had made a few months back and amazingly it suited all our dietary requirements – hurrah! I decided to serve it corn tortilla chips which we used to scoop up and eat the chilli. This did away with the need for cutlery which made for a fun and informal dinner. The chilli also tastes good topped with a little sour cream, avocado and coriander, but I find it’s best to serve these separately and let the guests help themselves as not everyone likes these.

The chilli contained lots of veggies and three different varieties of beans simmered together in a spicy smoky chili and tomato sauce. It also contained a secret ingredient – a little cocoa powder! This may sound odd at first but the cocoa powder adds a wonderful depth and richness to the dish as well as a deep earthy brown colour, without adding any chocolate flavour. This is actually quite traditional in Spanish and Mexican cuisine and these types of dishes can often be referred to as Moles.

Moles (pronounced Mo-Lay) come in a variety of flavours depending on the ingredients used. It is rumoured that they were originally created by nuns as a way of using up leftovers and often consisted of chili’s, spices, stale bread, nuts and chocolate. Mole poblano is one of the most famous and is a dark red brown sauce containing chilis and chocolate which is often served over meat – although in my case lots of beans!

I’ve never had an authentic Mole, but my concoction was delicious and just what was called for on a dark cold winter evening. Rich, thick and spicy with the salty crunch for the corn tortilla chips it was very hearty and comforting. The chili and spices warming us up from the inside out. You can make it as spicy as you like but personally I enjoy it with a bit of a kick. As an added bonus the dish actually tastes better if allowed to sit for a few hours or even overnight to allow all the spices and flavours to mingle and develop. This means you can prepare it in advance and are free to enjoy the time with your guests without any manic last minute cooking required, which is always a bonus.

Spicy Mole 3 Bean Chilli

Ingredients
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
400g can kidney beans
400g can black eyed beans
400g can Auzaki beans
1 red chili
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
1 large carrot
2 large mushrooms
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 red pepper
½ small can (100g) sweetcorn
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground chillies
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp olive oil
Ground pepper

To serve
Dollop of sour cream
Avocado, diced
Corn tortilla chips (check your brand as some also contain wheat flour)
Fresh coriander

Method
Slice the onion, carrot, mushrooms and red pepper into a small dice. Finely chop the garlic and red chili (seeds and all if you like it hot).
In a large saucepan heat the oil and sweat the onion, garlic and carrot until beginning to soften but it still with some bite.
Add the red pepper, chilli, cumin, paprika, ground chilli and cayenne.
Drain the tins of beans and add to pan along with the sweetcorn. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato puree. Season a little pepper.
Bring the mix to a boil then reduce to a simmer and allow to bubble and reduce for 20-30 minutes.
Mix the cocoa powder with a little hot water to form a thin paste. Stir into the chilli.
Cook for 5 minutes more before serving.
To Serve
Top with the sour cream, avocado and coriander if desired. Serve with corn tortilla chips and use them to scoop up and eat the chilli.
Serves 6

Waitrose Seriously Dessert Competition – Vote for Me!

A few months ago Waitrose advertised a competition where their online members were asked to suggest a new summer inspired dessert for their Seriously Dessert range. The favourite few would then be put to a vote, with the winner’s dessert potentially being developed for sale in Waitrose next summer.

I thought it sounded like a bit of fun, so I entered, but expected that to be the last of it. I was amazed to receive an email recently telling me that my dessert entry was down to the final 10 and would now be put to the public vote!! How exciting!

This was my dessert entry:
Seriously Fruity Chocolate Cherries & Berries Summer Puddings
"Two individual summer puddings, with sour cherries and summer berries layered with moist chocolate cake (instead of white bread) in an elegant tower shape, drizzled with blackcurrant crème de cassis liqueur."

It was a more sophisticated version of the summer pudding towers I created a few years back.

However, I now need your help. So if you are a My Waitrose member then please click here and vote for me! (I'm the last one listed on the page)

Gluten Free Muesli

It was really quite ridiculous how happy I felt after creating this batch of muesli. In the first few weeks of my new diet, the thing I missed the most, more so than bread, was my cereals, muesli and porridge*(see note at end). Breakfast has long been my favourite meal of the day and I loved porridge, bran flakes, granola, weetabix, mini shredded wheats, muesli and the occasional sugar laden novelty cereal so much than I often used to snack on it straight from the box. To suddenly have to ban them all from my cupboards was very hard and for a few weeks I mourned their absence and was at a loss of what to eat in their place. However, as I have fast been learning a gluten free diet is not so much about denying yourself certain foods, but finding suitable substitutions.

After a bit of internet searching I discovered a sort of wholesome/natural foods warehouse called (ironically) Daily Bread Co-Operative, which said they specialised in foods for special diets. It was a bit of a trek away but I was only too eager to make the trip if it meant browsing food isles could become enjoyable again.

It turned out to be a fantastic place filled with all sorts of fruits, nuts, seeds and grains, including some I had never seen before but were gluten free! Buckwheat puffs anyone? I returned home with two big bags full of suitable breakfast grains and immediately set about creating a muesli mix.

Here are the things I bought and used to make my muesli mix for anyone who’s interested.
Buckwheat puffs – Look like tiny mottled popcorn puffs with a similar texture. They have a toasted nutty flavour
Millet puffs – Tiny beads of popcorn like puffs. Sweet and mellow flavour
Brown rice flakes – Very thin, crisp and brittle flakes. Slightly tacky and chewy when wet but add great crispness when mixed with other things
Millet – Tiny balls of millet, crisp and crunchy
Millet flakes – Similar to very finely ground oats. Quite powdery but add a nice creaminess when mixed with other things
Linseeds/Flaxseeds – Don’t really add flavour but packed with essential fatty acids and omega 3 – must be crushed before eating to release their nutritious oils
Dried apple rings – Soft, slightly chewy and sweet with a great apple flavour
Dried apricots – Very sweet, sticky and incredibly fruity. Great flavour
Raisins – We all know what raisins taste like!

Eating my first bowlful was such an enjoyable experience. It contained the varied combination of sweet, nutty, crisp, crunchy and chewy that I had been craving. Some of the grains were a little bitter on their own, but when eaten with yoghurt and a drizzle of honey it was delicious!

I decided to make just a small batch at first as this would allow me to create a new mix each week to keep things interesting. The amounts below may seem very small but the puffed grains are incredibly light meaning you get a lot of them for your weight. I might try baking some with honey and nuts next time to create more of a granola style mix. Hurrah for exciting cereal again - the worlds my buckwheat puff!

Gluten Free Muesli

Ingredients
30g buckwheat puffs
20g millet puffs
30g brown rice flakes
30g millet
40g millet flakes
40g dried apple
50g raisins
30g dried apricots
50g ground linseed/flaxseed (keep separate and sprinkle over each serving before eating)

Method
Weight out all the flakes, grains and puffs and toss together in an airtight container. Finely chop and dried apple and apricots until they are the same size as the raisins. Mix in all the fruit to the grains.
Grind the linseed in a small food processor until the seeds are cracked and broken (don’t overdo it or it will start to form a mushy paste). Store the crushed linseed in a separate container.
Serve with sliced fresh fruit, milk or yoghurt and a drizzle of honey. Sprinkle a teaspoonful of the crushed linseeds over your bowl of muesli before eating. (It falls to the bottom if mixed with everything else)
Makes enough for 4-6 servings

* Note about oats
Some people may wonder why I can’t have porridge on my gluten free diet. It is true that oats are gluten free but many oats are milled using the same machines as wheat, meaning there is a high risk they have been contaminated with gluten making them unsafe to eat. You can buy oats that are guaranteed to be milled away from gluten grains and these are often labelled as ‘pure oats.’ However, until my gut has fully recovered and I’m back to full health I have been advised to avoid all oat products as some coealics are unable to tolerate the protein in oats as well as gluten proteins so I have to avoid them for now too. (I hope I’m not one of these people and that I can eat oats in the future!)

Halloween Cupcakes

Woohoo! It's Halloween

I just wanted to share a quick photo of some cupcakes I made for a friends Halloween party this evening. Lemon cupcakes with orange and black icing - not gluten free, but I had a lot of fun making them!
Hope everyone is having a spook-tacula day!

Daring Bakers October 2010 Challenge: Buttermilk Doughnuts - Gluten Free!!

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

I was more than a little daunted when I saw this months challenge. It was not the prospect of making doughnuts that made me nervous, we had done these before. It was the prospect of making them gluten free that I was worried about.

We were provided with an assortment of different doughnut recipes to chose from for this challenge, including a vegan gluten free recipe, however, as it was vegan this recipe didn’t include any milk or eggs in the recipe and I wanted to use these for my own doughnuts and so I decided to combine two different recipes together. I used the basic quantities from the vegan gluten free version and the ingredients and method from the non gf version. This worked well although my recipe was still a little hit and miss with the quantity of flour. Gluten free flours generally result in thicker batters as they absorb more liquid than wheat flours. My dough started off a little wet so I ended up just adding more flour until I got the right consistency but this seemed to work fine.

The dough was still quite sticky but we had been warned that this was expected so I didn’t worry. I also used a mix of yeast and baking agents in the dough as I wanted my doughnuts to be as light and puffy as possible. It produced a very smooth and puffy dough that was easy to work with.

I decided to make a few different varieties of doughnut – ring doughnuts, doughnut holes (the middle cut outs of the ring doughnuts) and chocolate stuffed round doughnuts. I filled the rounds of doughnut dough with chocolate chips before frying them, which meant a glorious molten chocolate centre when they were eaten hot from the pan – just watch out as they’ll be hot!

The doughnuts seemed to brown and cook incredibly quickly, more so than standard doughnuts I have done in the past. I’m not sure why this was but they were still cooked all the way through so it didn’t really matter. The ring doughnuts were coated in a maple sugar glaze, the doughnut holes were tossed in cinnamon sugar and the chocolate stuffed doughnuts were dusted with regular caster sugar.

When eaten warm the doughnuts were light, puffy and full of air holes. They had a crisp golden outer crust and a soft springy middle – success! I think the chocolate stuffed ones were my favourite, there is something so indulgent about biting into a hot gooey chocolate centre.

A word to the wise though, gluten free doughnuts do not keep well. They are fine for a couple of hours but after this time they start to turn a bit hard and dense. So if you want gluten free doughnuts – make and fry them to order!

Either way I was really pleased with my doughnuts and ate far too many of them – I had to take photos of them all you see. Thanks Lori for such a great challenge. Click to see the Daring Bakers blogroll for more doughnut delights.

Gluten Free Buttermilk Yeasted Cake Doughnuts

(My adapted combination of Nancy Silverton’s cake doughnuts and Whole Living Daily’s vegan gluten free doughnut recipe)

Ingredients
60 ml warm water
150g maize flour

100g rice flour

50g tapioca flour

50g buckwheat flour

¾ tsp xanthan gum
100g caster sugar
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1&1/8 tsp dried fast action yeast
200ml buttermilk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Sunflower oil for frying

Extras

Decorations of your choice – I used cinnamon sugar, caster sugar and maple icing glaze

Fillings of your choice – I used chocolate chips

Method

Scatter two large baking trays with extra flour and set aside for later.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flours, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, xanthan gum and baking powder. Make a large well in the center, add the yeast and pour over the warm water and leave for 3 minutes before mixing briefly.

Add the buttermilk, whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix together well using a round bladed butter knife. Switch to your fingers once the mixture starts to come together – it will be very sticky, but shouldn’t be wet.

Flour a work surface well with flour and turn out your dough. Scatter over a little more flour and gently roll or press the dough out until it is around 2cm thick.

Have the cutter of your choice to hand and cut out large round discs of doughnut dough. Use a smaller cut to cut away the centre if you want to make ring doughnuts. Keep any centre cut outs as these make great mini doughnut holes. Place the cut out doughnuts on the pre-prepared floured baking trays.

Gather up any scraps of dough and roll out again until all the dough is used up.

Leave the trays of doughnuts to prove for an hour in a warm place. They should puff up slightly but will not double in size.

Heat 1½ inches deep of oil in a fairly large saucepan until a small scrap of dough dropped into it turns golden brown within 20seconds (around 190C).

Carefully drop the doughnuts, 1 – 2 large ones at a time, into the hot oil. Once they start to look golden brown around the edges, flip them over and cook for a further 20 seconds. Remove from the oil with a slotted fish slice and drain briefly on kitchen paper before tossing in sugar or drizzling with a glaze.

Best served and eaten whilst still warm.

To make Filled Doughnuts

Method 1: Fill a piping bag with smooth seedless jam, custard or filling of your choice. Once the doughnuts are cooked, insert the tip of the piping bag in the side of the doughnut and squeeze out a generous amount of filling.

Method 2: (For more solid fillings) Place a teaspoon full of chocolate chips into the centre of the raw round of doughnut dough. Gather up the sides and squish together in the centre, encasing the chocolate in the dough. Turn the dough over and pat into a round flat disc. Fry as normal and leave to cool slightly before taking a bite. The chocolate middle should be all gooey and melted!

I made 12 assorted large ring & round doughnuts and 12 doughnut holes

The Cake Slice October 2010: Pumpkin (Sweet Potato) Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (GF)

I’m so excited to be able to reveal that the new cake book that The Cake Slice bakers will be baking from for the next year is…. Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman! It’s a fantastic looking book and absolutely full of all sorts of different types and styles of cakes – not just layer cakes, but loaf cakes, bundt cakes and snacking cakes to name but a few. If they are half as good as this months debut cake then we are going to be in for a treat!

The winning cake from our new cake book was a pumpkin chocolate chip loaf cake, which I was delighted about considering how seasonal it is. The recipe calls for canned pumpkin puree, but it is near impossible to find pumpkin puree in this country and so I substituted this with some pureed sweet potato. This worked really well and resulted in a deliciously moist and tender cake that had a faint pleasing orange colour.

I actually made this cake just a few days after discovering I had to go gluten free and so it was my very first attempt at baking. I decided to substitute the flour for Buckwheat flour, which despite its name is gluten free. This has a subtle nutty grassy flavour to it, similar to rye flour, and a natural sweetness that I thought would go well with the chocolate chips and sweet potato elements of the cake.

The recipe made a lot of cake mix and I was worried there would be too much for the tin but it baked up fine, tall and puffy with a long crack down one side which I actually think improved the appearance as it gave a tempting insight into the melty chocolate chips hidden within.

I absolutely loved the results and would never have guessed it was gluten free. It was light, soft and springy and wonderfully moist. I loved the dark chocolate chips studded throughout the cake which seemed to stay permanently soft and slightly gooey after baking. I couldn’t stop eating it and bizarrely it tasted really good when dipped into hot strong coffee.

Unfortunately the rest of my family had mixed results to this cake. My mum ate it and said it was ok, but she didn’t like the grassy note from the buckwheat. My dad was not a fan but he likes more traditional flavours and was highly confused by the combination of spices, sweet potato and chocolate chips in a cake. However, my lovely grandmother (who shares/shared my tastes for rye breads and other assorted grains) adored the cake as much as I did. She even said that if that’s what gluten free cake tasted like then she wouldn’t mind binning wheat altogether – I love you grandma!

I know that other members of the group loved this cake too, so gluten free or not, this autumnal cake is perfect for this time of year and definitely worth making. Click to see the Cake Slice blogroll.

Pumpkin (Sweet Potato) Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (GF)(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Ingredients

210g plain flour (I used Doves buckwheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground cloves

Pinch nutmeg

100g unsalted butter, softened

280g caster sugar

3 eggs

200g pumpkin puree (I used pureed sweet potato*)

1 tsp vanilla extract

75ml milk

75g dark chocolate chips

75g chopped walnuts (I’d run out of these)

MethodHeat the oven to 180C. Coat the inside of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary.

With the mixer on medium low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the pumpkin puree (see note below) and vanilla. Stir in the milk.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, a third at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until it is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack and then turn it right side up on a rack to cool completely.

Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic for up to 1 week.

Makes one 9 by 5 inch loaf cake

Note* It’s very hard to find pumpkin puree in the UK, so I substituted this with homemade sweet potato puree. Simply cut a large sweet potato in half, place in a bowl and add 2tbsp water. Cover the top with clingfilm and microwave on high for 7 minutes until the flesh is soft. Scoop out the flesh and mash with a potato masher (you won’t need to add any liquid or butter) and use as above.