Gluten Free Salted Caramel Millionaires Shortbread

I am currently in the process of moving and after spending three and a half years of loving life in Liverpool I am off to the other side of the Irish Sea and shall be settling down in the land of Northern Ireland (for the next couple of years at least). Having a real hatred of packing I have been dreading every moment of the move so have been distracting myself in the kitchen whenever possible (using up a variety of left overs and ingredients that have been lurking at the back of my cupboards for years). But I have justified the amount of time I have been spending in the kitchen as opposed to packing by making baked goods to present as goodbye/thank you gifts to the many friends I will be leaving when I move.

When making the ultimate farewell treat for my colleagues there was only ever going to be one option of what to make, a massive personal favourite of mine… Millionaires Shortbread! What is there not to like about caramel teamed up with chocolate and biscuit…it’s like a Twix but...well better!

So to fit with the blog I updated my mum’s traditional shortbread recipe to make a gluten free variety. I then went all out and rather than using a tin of condensed milk to make my caramel I started from scratch following a recipe from Heson’s latest book Heston Blumenthal At Home to make my very own salted caramel.

I don’t think I have ever experienced greater satisfaction in the kitchen than when I turned sugar, butter, milk, liquid glucose and cream (oh and salt) into the silky, smooth and ever so slightly salty wonder that is caramel. At the end of the process my arms may have been aching from the persistent whisking of the mixture (it felt like I was stirring for at least 30 minutes if not longer), I may have been quite a lot more dishevelled than when I set foot in the kitchen, my sugar thermometer may have become permanently encased in solidified sugar and my eyebrows may have been a little singed by the steam released from the 153 deg C sugar mixture as I added the warmed cream to create a bubbling lava pit of sweetness before the steam subsided and a saucepan of velvety goodness was revealed! (I think I am starting to sound a little bit too excited about this caramel making process), but trust me the effort is worth it! However, as Heston’s salted caramel recipe is not published on-line and is currently only available in his book (and I copied his recipe to the letter making no personal adjustments) I don’t feel I can divulge the recipe on my blog….but go buy the book it is beautiful, and despite being Heston I really feel that most of the recipes are achievable in an average kitchen (with an average kinda cook!!)

But my gluten free shortbread recipe is below, so make this and then top with caramel (there are 100s of simpler recipes available on-line), followed by chocolate…and voila, Millionaires Shortbread.

P.S. as I am in the middle of a move, and am in the midst of negotiations with broadband providers to get my new house hooked up to the internet I may be quiet on the blog front for the next couple of weeks…but no need to panic I will be back!

INGREDIENTS

340g butter or margarine

2/3 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup icing sugar

200g rice flour

400g wheat free/gluten free flour blend

Makes approximatley 30 biscuits depending on size

Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C / 350 deg F

Allow the butter/margerine to soften slightly at room temperature. Then cream together in a large bowl with the caster sugar, using a wooden spoon to blend the ingredients together, until light and fluffy.

Sift in both flours and the icing sugar and continue stirring until well combined. As the ingredients come together you may find it easier to ditch the spoon and use your hands to bring the mixture together into quite a stiff dough.

Line a large, shallow baking tray with greaseproof paper. Take small handfuls of the mixture and press into the baking tray until the tray is full and evenly filled with the  mixture. I found this easier than rolling out the mixture as the use of gluten free flour rather than normal plain flour makes this mixture quite crumbly and difficult to roll out easily.

Use a knife to score the top of the shortbread into regular rectangles (this makes it easier to divide up the mixture into separate portions once baked).

Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, after 20 minutes check to see if the shortbread is golden brown in colour, bake for a further 5 minutes if a little more colour needed on the biscuits.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Then turn the mixture out onto a flat surface of chopping board, and whilst still warm use a sharp knife to divide the shortbread into individual portions (using the score lines as a guide), transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool before eating.

Gluten Free Pancakes

So Pancake Day is getting even closer (well it is tomorrow!!) And after my failed attempts of making a vegan crepe I thought I would turn my attention to a gluten free version instead. This crepe style recipe is really easy to make and is perfectly accompanied with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of sugar. I know what I am going to be eating excessive amount of tomorrow…gluten free pancake overdose here I come!!!!!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup corn flour (or corn starch as it is known in America)

½ cup tapioca flour

2 eggs

2 to 2 ½ cups milk

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl until a smooth batter is formed. I started by just adding 2 cups of milk, adding a little extra once all of the ingredients were combined to form quite a thin batter.

Place a non-stick saucepan over a medium-high heat and add a small dash of vegetable oil so that the pan is lightly greased.

Allow the oil to heat up then lift the pan away from the heat, add a ladle full of the batter mixture and quickly swirl the pan around so that the batter coats the whole pan. Then return the pan to the heat and leave for about a minute.

After a minute use a spatula to loosen the edges of the mixture. You can then use the spatula to flip the pancake over or alternatively remove the pan from the heat again, shuffle the pancake to the edge of the pan and then give the pan a quick flick to flip the pancake over. Then return to the heat and cook for another minute or two until both sides are golden brown.

Turn the pancake out onto a plate and continue cooking the rest of the batter in this way, you may need to add a little more oil to the pan between cooking each pancake if the pan becomes a little too dry.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of sugar or a drizzle of maple syrup.

Recipe adapted from Celiac.com crepe#1 recipe

Vegan Pancakes

Shrove Tuesday is fast approaching…which in the UK at least means pancakes. I love pancakes, I think most people do! But it is one of those things I don’t make that often, well until Pancake Day that is and then I usually completely overdose on these treats eating sweet and savoury versions for breakfast, lunch and dinner! This year I thought I would get in early on the pancake bandwagon and start experimenting with a few recipes where there is ‘something missing’ , starting with a vegan recipe.

I originally wanted to make a crepe style pancake as this is what I most closely associate with Pancake Day, simply topped with a squeeze of lemon juice and a generous sprinkling of sugar. It turns out, however, that removing the eggs from pancake mix can have quite dramatic effects on the end product. I found a lot of recipes on-line that added extra fat to the soy milk and flour mix with melted margarine or vegetable oil and then a bit of added sweetness with some maple syrup. So I chose one of these recipes, followed it to the letter, let the batter chill for a couple of hours before frying and then I created….well a big sticky (although still pretty tasty) mess! From regularly making pancakes in the past I have learnt that the first is often sacrificed to the pan until the temperature  is right and the amount of oil in the pan is just enough to prevent the mixture sticking. But after the fourth attempt using my maple syrup containing mix I still could not produce anything other than a big blob of rubbery dough. Whatever I did the mixture instantly stuck to the pan (I think it may have had something to do with the high sugar content of the mix?!?) and could not be shifted. So I gave up, went back to the internet and returned with an American style vegan pancake recipe which worked out pretty well, especially in comparison with my previous attempt!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plain flour

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder (yes tablespoon not teaspoon)

1 cup unsweetened soy milk

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Makes approximately 10 pancakes (depending on size)

Sieve the flour into a bowl, add the sugar and baking powder and stir until well combined.

Add the milk and vegetable oil to the mixture and mix until well combined producing a smooth mixture. To achieve this you may find it easier to use a whisk to mix the ingredients together.

Place a non-stick saucepan over a medium-high heat and add a small dash of vegetable oil so that the pan is lightly greased. Allow the oil to heat up then add a ladle of the mixture to the pan (I produced pancakes that were about 10cm in diameter). After 1 to 2 minutes small air bubbles should start to appear in the mixture, at this point use a spatula to flip the pancake over. Cook for a couple of minutes on this second side. Flip back over and cook on the first side for another minute if needed until lightly golden in colour.

Continue cooking the rest of the batter in this way, if your pan is big enough it is possible to cook a couple of pancakes at the same time.

I served mine up with greek yoghurt and fresh fruit…which does undermine the vegan element of this recipe, but a drizzle of maple syrup on top would also be the perfect accompaniment.

If you make too many these pancakes can also be frozen and enjoyed at a later date.

Recipe adapted from About.com vegan pancakes

Spiced Carob and Apple Cake

Since embarking on a journey of baking with ‘something missing’ I have been spending more time than ever before in the wonderful world of Mattas. Mattas is an International Food shop in Liverpool full of colourful and exotic vegetables, herbs and spices alongside endless varieties of flousr, nut butters, noodles and tea. It was during a visit just before Christmas last year that I came across a little box of carob powder nestling on the hallowed shelves. The carob plant is part of the pea family and when the pods are roasted and ground down a slightly sweet powder similar to cocoa is produced. Unlike cocoa, however, carob is naturally caffeine free and contains less fat so can provide a great alternative to chocolate. So I eventually got around to using my carob powder in what would normally be a spiced apple and chocolate cake recipe. If you can’t get carob powder just use cocoa instead but the carob powder does produce a rich moist cake and combines well with the spices used in this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs

2 cups caster sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup water

2 1/4 cups plain flour

2 tablespoons carob powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups grated apple (there is no need to peel the apples, just core and grate)

Pre-heat the oven to 165degC/325degF.

Lightly grease a 10” loose bottomed cake tin.

In a large bowl cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Then gradually incorporate the eggs, followed by the water.

Sift the flour, carob powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices into the bowl and mix well.

Finally fold in the grated apple until the  fruit is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour. After an hour ensure a sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, then remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing the cake from the tin.

Sprinkle the cake with icing sugar and serve.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes - 'Cocoa Apple Cake'

3

English Muffins

So here is another recipe, like my choc chunk cookies, that only requires the egg whites and not the yolks. Perfect for using up the left over whites after a custard or ice cream making session. And the addition of the whisked egg whites gives a wonderfully light texture to this traditional English recipe. I love to eat these lightly toasted and topped with a couple of poached eggs as part of a lazy Sunday brunch….a perfect way to finish off any weekend!

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ cups of luke warm water

4 cups strong flour

2 ½ teaspoons of instant yeast

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 egg whites

Put the water into a large bowl and add the yeast, baking soda and 2 cups of the flour. Mix well to form a smooth paste and allow the mixture to sit for 15 minutes.

Put the egg whites into a separate bowl and whisk until you form stiff peaks.

Gradually add the egg whites to the dough mixture a spoonful at a time, folding it gently into the paste until combined, but be careful not to overwork the dough.

Gradually add the rest of the flour along with the salt to the mixture, again folding the remaining flour in gently.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough has an elastic type consistency and the dough bounces back to its original shape when you make an indentation with your thumb.

Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and leave in a warm room for an hour to rise.

After an hour turn the dough out onto a floured surface again and roll it out until it is about ½ inch thick. Then cut out circles roughly 10cm in diameter, either using a circular cookie cutter, or using a knife, carefully cutting around something like a pint glass to provide a circular guide.

Allow the circles of dough to rest for 45 minutes and then cook them using a frying pan or griddle. If using a frying pan lightly grease it and place over a medium high heat. Place the discs into the pan, or onto the griddle once it is heated up and cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side, repeat this twice cooking the muffins for a total of 16 minutes.

Then enjoy freshly cooked or toasted the next day. These can also be frozen to be enjoyed at a later date.

Recipe from cookingbread.com

Sugar free bitter chocolate cupcakes

Since embarking on my quest to fill a blog with recipes that have some vital ingredient missing I have had a couple of friends ask me if I have ever made a cake that doesn’t contain any sugar. One particular friend wanted to find a recipe suitable for a diabetic colleague to indulge in. According to Diabetes UK it is a myth that people with diabetes have to eliminate sugar from their diet completely, but it is important to follow a balanced diet that is generally low in fat and includes carbohydrates that have a low glycaemic index so that the consumption of these won’t affect blood glucose levels too much. But I was still open to the challenge of making a sugar free cake (well a no added sugar cake) and set about making these mini chocolate cupcakes that rely on the natural sugars found in fruit to provide a little sweetness. The cakes themselves are quite bitter but if you are a fan of dark chocolate you will love these, and the icing (which can easily be made suitable for a vegan diet) gives a slightly sweeter kick to cut through the bitterness of the cake.

INGREDIENTS

120g butter

250g of sugar free jam (I used St. Dalfour’s ‘Rhapsodie de Fruit’ jam which just contains fruit and uses grape juice concentrate as a natural sweetener)

200g self-raising flour

120g cocoa

120g ground almonds

4 eggs

Makes approximately 40 mini cupcakes

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degC or 350 deg F

Place the jam and butter into a small saucepan and gently heat until melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Sieve the flour and cocoa into a large bowl, add the ground almonds and stir until combined.

Add the melted butter and jam to the bowl and mix well until the ingredients are well combined. Then add the beaten eggs and continue to stir until quite a thick cake batter is formed.

Line a mini muffin tin with mini muffin cake cases (you can make larger cupcakes but because this mixture produces quite bitter little cakes I found mini cupcakes provided the perfect bitesize portion!). Divide the mixture between the cake cases and then place into the oven for 10-12 minutes until the cakes are firm and a skewer placed into a cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the icing

250g pitted dates

150ml apple juice

50g cocoa

1-2 tablespoons milk

Chop the dates into small pieces and place in a small saucepan with the apple juice.

Gently heat the contents of the saucepan until the dates begin to soften and the apple juice is absorbed into the mixture. Then remove from the heat and transfer to a food processor, blitzing until well combined.

Add the cocoa to the mixture and blend again until all of the ingredients are mixed together well and a smooth paste is formed. If the mixture becomes a little stiff and dry add a tablespoon or two of milk to loosen (or to keep the icing as a vegan recipe swap the milk for a non-dairy alternative, or add a little more apple juice).

Finally spread the mix onto the top of the cooled cupcakes.

Cake recipe adapted from the Rich Chocolate Cake recipe on Sugar Free Recipes

Pao de Queijo - (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

This time last year I was lucky enough to spend some time travelling around South America. My travels finished in the colourful country of Brazil where I enjoyed beautiful weather amongst beautiful people, and discovered the joy of samba dancing, caipirinhas….and pao de queijo! My first encounter with these little doughy cheese balls was actually in Sao Paulo bus station but they can be found across the country with bakeries dedicated to their production. Best served straight from the oven the warm pao de queijo have a moist, chewy texture. This is down to the main ingredient…tapioca flour, which is also known as ground cassava. I actually had a bit of trouble getting hold of the appropriate tapioca flour locally (I think I need to hunt through my local ethic food shops a bit more thoroughly) but fortunately one of my colleagues is Portuguese and she was kind enough to bring some flour back from Portugal when she was visiting family at Christmas. So although I am in the midst of a rather grey northern winter I was able to inject just a tiny little bit of that Brazilian sunshine into my kitchen when I got around to making these cheese balls at the weekend. And because tapioca flour is used this recipe is naturally gluten free!!

INGREDIENTS

½ cup water

½ cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil

½ teaspoon salt

250g tapioca flour

2 eggs

½ cup finely grated parmesan

½ cup finely grated mature cheddar

Makes 18-20

Pre-heat the oven to 220degC/450degF

Put the water, milk and oil into a saucepan and place over a medium heat until the mixture begins to boil.

Once boiling remove from the heat and add the flour and salt, stirring with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are well combined and the mixture forms a sticky ball.

Allow the mixture to cool slightly, and in the meantime grate the cheese using the finest holes on your grater producing very finely grated cheese.

Add the cheese and eggs to the mixture in the saucepan and work all of the ingredients together, again mixing with a wooden spoon. Don’t worry if the mixture seems quite wet, this is what you want.

Lightly oil your hands to prevent the mixture sticking to your fingers and then shape small quantities of the mixture into little balls (I made mine slightly smaller than the size of a ping pong ball). Place these balls onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, leaving space between the balls as they pretty much double in size when you cook them.

Then place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 20/25 minutes until lightly golden.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly…but don’t leave it too long before you sample your pao de queijo as these little stodgy treats are best eaten warm!

This recipe was adapted from the instructions on the back of the tapioca flour packet as brought back from Portugal by Jonana….thanks Jo!