Gluten Free Mocha Caramel Pie

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Now whilst the baking world is going batter mad – Who knew a ‘pie’ could take on such a form! An idea I have had for a while and have finally been able to make and I’m sure there are many combinations that will similarly work…

It’s basically a cheesecake base, caramel filling and a no-bake cheesecake topping and I think it’s fairly easy to make. But I’ll let you decide on that.

I used an 8″ loose based cake tin, but I’m sure it’ll work with the spring-loaded variety too. Buts it’s all I had to hand. The base will need lining with greaseproof paper, to stop the biscuit base from sticking.

glutenfree-mocha-caramel-pie

3 packets of gluten free biscuits (approx. 350g – I used 3 packets of Schar Bourbon Biscuits crushed – save some for the topping and put to one side – but no more than a couple of biscuits worth.

100g melted butter

1 tin of ready-made Carnation Caramel

280g Full Fat Cream

150ml Double Cream

70g icing sugar

2 tablespoon of camp coffee

Mix the melted butter into the crushed biscuits and press into the base of the tin, and slightly up the side to create a ‘case’ in which to pour the caramel. Push the base down well so that the biscuits firm together and don’t break up when you cut the pie. Pour on the Carnation Caramel and spread evenly. Cover and pop in the fridge whilst you make the topping.

To make the topping whisk the cream cheese with the icing sugar for a couple of minutes, then add the double cream and Camp Coffee. Whisk then until then mixture thickens. But be careful not to over whisk or you will spilt the cream and it’ll turn sour. No more than 2 minutes.

gluten-free-mocha-caramel-pie

If your heart desires, reserve a small piping-bags-worth of the cream cheese mixture to use as piping/decoration. But otherwise remove the Pie base from the fridge and spread the coffee cream cheese mix evenly over the top of the caramel. Pipe if required and then return to the fridge for a couple of hours to set firm.

To serve, carefully run a knife around the edge of the tin to release the Pie. Run a knife under the base of the Pie to release it from the base of the tin also and cut with a sharp knife. You could serve with added cream – if your faint heart will take much more cream! Or just serve it on its own.. with the remainder of the crushed biscuits…

You’ll be going back for seconds🙂

 

 

 

Gluten Free Blueberry Loaf Cake

~ Cakes by Noah ~ 2 Comments

Finally I get around to posting this!

Sometimes, despite all the planning, it just all falls apart and something else just gets in the way. Others’ priorities take over, it goes above and beyond your control.

I’m  very proud to say that this gluten free Blueberry Loaf cake won me winner of  Week 2 of the Delicious Alchemy ‘Gluten Free Magic Bake Off’ or #GFMBO. Now in its 3rd year, it’s a great way for the gluten free community to showcase any and all of their bakes, through the magic of social media. Weekly winners are picked over 6 weeks and those winners, win a hamper of goodies. Then finally, all the bakes entered, go out to a massive public vote and there is then a final bake-off, before a winner is crowned.

Its my second year of entering and it really is such fun, especially trying to think of something different for each week.

That and with the #GBBOTwitterBakeAlong, being run by my Twitter friends The Baking Nanna and Robert Allen, there is plenty of baking to be done, as the Country goes baking mad over the course of the ‘Great British Bake Off’ on the Beeb.

Anyway, let’s cut to the chase…

Gluten Free Blueberry Loaf Cake

Preheat the oven to Gas 3/170c and line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper or a loaf tin liner.

180g soft butter

170g caster sugar

3 eggs

210g gluten free self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

60ml milk (I used semi skimmed)

200g fresh blueberries

120g Mrs Darlington’s Wild Blueberry Jam

approx 200g icing sugar

water to mix the icing sugar

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. You may need to add a little flour to stop it splitting. I’ve learnt over time, to be patient with this bit. Get the beat going and throughly mix this bit together.

Add the vanilla extract and beat again.

Pour in the rest of the flour and baking powder and mix well, you’re can add the milk at this point so the mix isn’t to stodgy.

Just before adding to the loaf tin, stir in the fresh blueberries, pour into the loaf tin. If you wish, at the point spread the jam over the top of the mix and gently mix in, into the top of the cake before popping into the oven on the middle shelf for 50 – 60 mins. Or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Leave to cool, before taking out of the tin, and then when cold remove the greaseproof/liner, before adding the icing.

To make the glacé icing, add a tablespoon of the water to icing a little at a time, until your desired thickness is achieved. I love my icing thick, but you may prefer it thinner. If you add to much water, add a little more icing and vice versa.

I have another similar recipe with blackcurrants and almond…..I’ll save that for another day perhaps…

Slice and enjoy 😄😄

 

Gluten Free Spiced Coffee and Pecan Cupcakes

~ Cakes by Noah ~ 2 Comments

Never one to shy away from an offer of a free sample and never one to then have to adapt a recipe around that product. I was very eager to try a sample of some speculaas spice from The Speculaas Spice Company. And of course its gluten free!

There are further details on the website of the origins of the spice, but it is a wonderful blend of – according to the literature – ‘9 spices including real, high grade cinnamon from Sri Lanka, cloves, ginger and 6 others’ its really quite heady. The smell whilst baking is certainly very festive as well.

But what to make? I had a few ideas and they may yet appear, but for now I went with gluten free Spiced Coffee and Pecan Cupcakes. Chocolate may be the next one… there are a few possibilities….

Gluten Free Spiced Coffee and Pecan Cupcake

Line a 12 hole cupcake tray and pre-heat the oven to 170c/gas 3.

150g soft butter

130g light brown sugar

2 eggs

3 tablespoons of Camp Coffee

120g Gluten Free Plain Flour

30g Ground Almonds

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon Van Dotsch Speculaas Spice Mix

50g Crushed Pecans (plus 12 extra for decoration)

Buttercream;

100g soft butter

200g icing sugar

1 tablespoon Camp Coffee

1/4 teaspoon Speculaas Spice Mix

Firstly mix/sift the flour, almonds, baking powder and spice mix together and set aside.

Cream the soft butter with the sugar until light and fluffy and the beat in, one at a time, the eggs, adding a little of the flour mix if needs b,e to stop the mix from curdling.

Mix in the flour mix and finish with the crushed pecans.

Divide between the 12 cupcake cases and bake for about 20 minutes – or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tray before removing onto a cooling rack to completely cool.

To make the buttercream, cream the butter till soft, stir in the icing sugar, speculaas spice mix and Camp Coffee and them finish beating – I used an electric hand mixer to get a smooth finish. Pipe as required onto the cupcakes and finish with a pecan. You could also just use plain water icing mixed with the spice.

Thanks again to Steven Dotsch at the Speculaas Spice Company for the sample, I’m looking forward to the next recipe

Enjoy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gluten Free Chocolate and Peanut Butter Squares

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I do like to try to mix things up occasionally. After all, what’s the worst that can happen?

We’ve had a few visitors over the past few weeks, the school holidays playing havoc with the normal routine (But then what is normal?) and it’s been a little chaotic!  Sometimes I’ve had time to bake, other times, sadly not. And in the hope of bettering myself I even baked some gluten free Caramel Shortcake for a job interview!! I was asked to talk about something I’m passionate about……. 😀

I think I’ve said it before, planning what to bake normally ends in epic failure! Make-it-up-as-I-go along mostly works out well and this was one of those occasions.

Pre-heat the oven to Gas 3 / 160c and line a small baking tray (20cm X 10cm) with greaseproof paper.

 

Gluten free Chocolate and Peanut Butter Squares

90g soft butter

80g soft peanut butter

160g soft brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

120g gluten free self-raising flour

40g Cocoa (I used Food Thoughts)

40g ground almonds

1 tsp bicarb of soda

200g chocolate (I use Callebaut)

80g melted butter

1 Bag of Reece’s mini peanut butter cups

First of all scatter about half the bag of mini chocolate peanut butter cups on the base of the baking tin.

Then mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Beat the butters with the  brown sugar until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs one at a time. I used a stand food mixer, so I also had to remember to scrap the sides occasionally. When beating in the eggs leave the to beat in well before adding the next. Ensure the mix is smooth and not curdled. Mix in the vanilla extract. Then alternate mixing in the sour cream and dry ingredients. Dry – cream – dry – cream – dry. Until all mixed in well. Pour over the scatter mini cups, smooth out to an even surface and bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30mins.

Leave to cool for about 30 minutes before removing from the pan, and making the topping.

Melt the chocolate – in a microwaveable bowl – in 30 second bursts. Or in a bowl over simmering water. Ensuring no water gets into the chocolate and the water isn’t touching the bottom of the bowl.

Once melted stir in the melted butter and pour over the chocolate cake. Spread evenly and then decorate with the remaining mini Reece’s chocolate  peanut butter cups.

Leave to cool and set at room temperature before cutting as it will cut easier. If you need it quick pop in the fridge. But beware……it’ll be harder to cut.

As with most gluten free fresh bakes,  it’ll only last a couple of days before it starts to dry out. The chances are though it won’t last that long😃😃

Enjoy 😀😀😀

 

Gluten Free Star Biscuits

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Biscuits. For the me the gluten free baker, are a bit of a devil.

The lack of gluten to hold the ingredients can prove a little tricky during baking as the mix just doesn’t hold and the ‘biscuits’ flood the baking tray. You’re left with a very tasty slab of biscuit.

So you have to think a little differently and a little outside the box sometimes. A little less of this and a little more of that. Trial and error. At least that’s what I’ve found.

I’ll keep at it, but I’d like to share this recipe with you in the meantime. You can of course eat these as simple biscuits without putting a filling in or drizzle some sauce on.

Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180c and make sure the shelf is in the middle of the oven. Line 3 baking sheets with greaseproof, or get sheets ready to put on baking sheets when you have cooked a tray of biscuits. This recipe will make about 20 biscuits, but that’ll depend on how big your cutter is.

Gluten Free Star Biscuits

100g butter

100g caster sugar

1 beaten egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

180g Gluten free Plain flour

100g Rice flour

Filling –

80g soft butter

160g Icing sugar – I used Sugar and Crumbs flavoured icing sugar. The Cherry Bakewell Icing is Gluten free.

Your choice of jam

Cream and the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the beaten egg and the essence. Stir in the flours until well combined and you have a lovely dough.

Place this on a floured surface and roll out to you desired thickness – about as thick as a pound coin.

Using your cutter of choice, gently cut out your shapes. Use a smaller cutter of the same shape and press into half of the biscuits to get a ‘hole’ – a bit like the Jammie dodgers you see. When done, you can bring the ‘bits’ together, form another dough ball and roll out again. Repeat again of needs be. Place your cut shapes on the greaseproof.

Before baking you need to rest the cut shapes in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Once rested, bake one tray at a time for about 8 minutes. Once cooked leave the trays of baked biscuits to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the greaseproof. They need to set and rest otherwise they’ll break and bend.

To make the buttercream beat the soft butter until fluffy then stir in the icing sugar before beating again – I used a hand-held electric whisk – until nice and smooth. Fill a piping bag using a plain nozzle.

To make the gluten free Bakewell Biscuits – pipe a little of the buttercream onto half of the biscuits – the ones without the hole, leaving a little gap in the middle for the jam. Put half a teaspoon of jam into the little space and then top with the holey biscuit.

If you want to buy some lovely flavoured icing sugars, the link is here. There is a fantastic range of flavours to get your imagination going.

Home

Mrs Darlington’s Jams, curds and pickles are now available on-line too.

http://www.mrsdarlingtons.com

 

Gluten Free Almond and Jam Thumbprint Bites

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Now, don’t get over excited….2 posts inside a week!!!

There is no other reason than the fact that these went down a storm and the four of us devoured the lot within 24 hours…….they needed to be shared with the world.

GF Almond & Jam Thumbprint BitesI also initially trialled a recipe for this a couple of weeks ago and its proved pretty popular on Instagram. So I thought I’d give it another go and make them even better🙂 And just ahead of the school holidays in the UK, it’s also a very quick and fun recipe to put together with the children. My eldest enjoyed rolling these into balls and popping in the jam…Noah just loved eating them.

Gluten Free Almond & Jam Thumbprint Bites

175g soft butter

50g caster sugar

50g Demerara sugar

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons of almond essence

280g gluten free plain flour – I use Dove Farm

60g Ground Almonds

60g chopped Glace cherries

150g jam – I actually used Mrs Darlington’s – Summer Fruits Jam – a current favourite

Preheat the oven to Gas 5 / 180c and line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof. This will make 24 ‘Bites’

Cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks and essence. Gently mix in the flour, almonds and cherries. Mix well until all the ingredients are bound together and you get a large dough.

Gluten Free Almond & Jam Bites

Divide this into 24 balls, roughly the size of a large walnut and place onto the 2 trays. Gently press a thumb into the middle of each ball to create a hollow. At the same time, you are also flattening them, which is fine. Into these, place about half a teaspoon of your preferred flavoured jam – raspberry would also work well.

Bake one tray at a time in the oven (you could put the other tray in the fridge) on the middle shelf for about 11  minutes, they’ll bronze nicely.  Once cooked put the other tray in and repeat.. Leave to cool and then eat…. They are great cool, but rather nice still warm…ummmm

 

Gluten Free Treacle Tart

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Back again…apologies for a slight delay in proceeding, it’s been a bit hectic, everyday life just takes over. But baking is never too far from my mind.,

Now although this might not be one for Noah it’s certainly a great choice for anyone. Whether it’s gluten free or not, it tastes great! Rich and rather creamy……

Gluten free treacle tart

It’s a recipe that’s been converted from one that was written by cook book author Maguerite Patten, from her book ‘Best British Dishes’. Although the printed recipe did need some additions as it wasn’t big enough for the stated flan size. It’s actual name is Norfolk Treacle Tart. Having made the version with breadcrumbs before, gluten free bread though is a taste a gluten eater will not take to easily….

You’ll need an 8″ fluted, loose bottom flan dish and baking beans.

Preheat the oven to Gas 5, 180c

Make the gluten free pastry;

200g Gluten free plain flour ( I use Dove Farm )

100g diced butter

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon of icing sugar

milk to bind

Either by hand or a food mixer, mix the butter and flour too breadcrumbs, stir in the icing sugar and yolks and a little milk if required to make into a dough. Cover with cling film and pop in the fridge for about half an hour.

Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and roll our to fit the flan dish.  Bake the pastry blind. Cover the base of the pasty with greaseproof and cover then with the baking beans and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven once baked and then remove the greaseproof and the beans and make the filling. Turn the oven down to Gas 3, 160c

4 egg yolks

6 tablespoon double cream

12 tablespoons of treacle/golden syrup

4 tablespoons of lemon juice

Add all of the above ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until well blended.

Pour into the baked pastry case and return to the cooled oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes. It’s done when the filling has set with a little wobble. Leave to cool before cutting and sampling – it’ll be rather hot.

I served this nice and cold on a summer’s day with a dollop of double cream…….