Moist Rich Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

it's not the Holy Grail, but people like it

In my experience gluten free chocolate cake, and perhaps other flavour cakes made with gluten free flour, can taste a bit powdery. This recipe from Dove's Farm, produces a beautifully moist springy cake. This one is made with a sweetened ganache (chocolate mixed with cream), but you could use a normal buttercream.

The recipe uses milk and oil in the place of the more usual butter. It doesn't matter whether you're an experienced cake maker or not because this cake is really a doddle. Just follow it and stir everything when it says to in the recipe below.

The cake keeps well. But there isn't really a risk of that. Enjoy.

Chocolate cake

• 75g cocoa powder
• 250 gluten free self raising white flour
• 325g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 200ml milk
• 200ml oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 125 ml boiling water
• Oil, for tins

Chocolate filling and topping

• 250g dark chocolate
• 250 ml double cream
• 100g caster sugar

Equipment: Three 20cm/8” cake tins, large jug, saucepan and two mixing bowls

Preparation: 

• Pre-heat the oven at 180 C/ fan 160 C/ 350 F/ Gas mark 4
• Prepare the tins, by oiling them or using a baking liner

Method

Cake

• Sieve the cocoa and flour into a bowl
• Add the caster sugar and stir to combine
• Break the eggs into a large jug, add the milk, oil and vanilla extract and beat together well
• Pour the egg mixture into the mixing bowl and mix everything together with a whisk
• Add the boiling water, beating well – this will make a runny mixture
• Divide the mixture between the three cake tins
• Bake for 35-40 minutes – they’ll be springy to the touch and a skewer will come out clean

Cool the cakes for a couple of minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack.

Filling and topping

• Break the chocolate into squares
• Put the cream and sugar into a saucepan and stir over a medium heat until it’s about to boil
• Pour the cream/sugar mixture onto the chocolate pieces and stir until combined
• Leave to cool, stirring every now and then until you have a thick paste
• Spread the filling over each cake, then stack them on top of each other

Slow cooked lamb, Greek style - Kleftiko

This recipe produces slow cooked tender lamb that falls apart easily and melts in the mouth. It makes the idea of being toothless not such a worry - a comfort to the ageing. It's gently flavoured with lemon and oregano backed up by the warmth of cinnamon, all of which soak into the potatoes sit under the lamb as it cooks. The resulting juice has a silky translucence.

I use Felicity Cloake’s Kleftiko recipe. I’ve edited it into steps to make it easier to plan the cooking. This is an easy dish with not too many ingredients, and the flavours are lovely, the lemon sings through.

I have failed to take any pictures both times I have made this meal - next time I make it…. pix to follow.

You need to start preparing this dish the day before, because the meat needs to marinade at least 12 hours. You can leave it a bit longer. I’ve tried making it ahead - up to the last two steps (completely cooked, just needs blasting at a hot temperature) - and everyone was happy, but I preferred it cooked and served immediately.

I have scaled this dish up to serve 20 people, doing a whole shoulder cut into two, and that works fine. I’ve also included a bit more liquid and more potatoes and that works too. It's an adaptable and forgiving recipe.

If you're feeding a crowd keep them happy with some easy starters, watermelon and mint, hummus and pitta, sliced cucumbers, a simple herby salsa, tzatziki. Buy them in, why not?

I like to serve a green salad alongside the lamb, with crusty bread.

Kleftiko

(serves 6)

1 lamb shoulder, about 2kg

Olive oil

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 heads of garlic

2 lemons

1 kg waxy potatoes

1 large red onion

1 red pepper

1 bay leaf

12 cherry tomatoes or 3 large tomatoes cut into quarters

Step 1 - day or night before serving

• Make a paste with the oil, juice of one lemon, cinnamon, oregano, salt, half a head of garlic (crushed cloves)
• Rub paste into the meat and leave for 12 hours

Step 2

• Heat the oven to 160C. 
• Use a large lidded casserole large enough for the shoulder and vegetables, or use a baking dish with a lid of double layer of baking parchment
• Cut the peeled or cleaned potatoes into wedges and spread across the bottom of the dish
• Cut the onion into wedges and the seeded pepper into chunky strips alongside the cherry tomatoes.
• Cut the remaining garlic and lemon across their width, squeeze the lemon briefly over the potatoes, and put the hollowed out lemons, the garlic and a bayleaf into the middle of the dish.
• Pour in 200ml of water and set the lamb on top of the lemon, garlic and bayleaf, pushing it in gently.
• Seal in the meat and veg using baking parchment under the lid, or tucking the double layer of parchment around the meat to enclose everything. 
• Bake for 4-5 hours until very tender.
• Turn the oven up to 220C remove the lid or paper and roast, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes
• Set the meat aside and cover
• Roast the veg for another 15 minutes at the higher temperature so they brown and the liquid reduces

Serve the meat and veg together

Chicken Teriyaki - sticky fried chicken with stickier sauce

I lifted this recipe from Chow, a brilliant website that has all sorts of useful videos and tips. It seems a little obsessed with cocktails, which in my book pander to a fantasy drink cabinet, because reading the list of ingredient makes me bemused. Who has all that stuff to hand? I don’t even keep tonic water. In a moment of enthusiasm three years ago I went out and bought angostura bitters, only to realise that it was just one component part of the cocktail I wanted to make. I never got around to buying what I needed to put the thing together. I fully expect that bottle to last me my whole life, I am sure I will move house several times with it, fondly imagining the times when I will have all the ingredients I need to make the perfect cocktail such as the Boothby, in the house at the same time. Meanwhile, I find myself occasionally unscrewing the lid and taking a little sniff, to remind me what the hell is in that bottle. In saner moments I recognise that this is what might be called a companion ingredient – I keep it for company, rather than for use. No doubt my kidneys are grateful to my maintenance of an aspirational but incomplete cocktail cabinet, and I can still dream. 

Back to food – my pantry ingredients are more regularly replenished – this is pseudo teriyaki but it is not ersatz teriyaki, as it delivers on flavour. The endorsement of the lovely Kitty, daughter who shuns the home-cooked anything, gives it the flavourful thumbs-up. This is a finger-licking dish, as somehow the sauce gets everywhere. The chicken is pan-fried before the sauce is added, it has a gentle heat from the pepper and the sticky sauce is wonderful with plain rice. 

A quick review of teriyaki recipes that might be thought of as more authentic, finds mirin, sake and sugar putting in an appearance, alongside fresh ginger. Some include different kinds of oil and marinading as part of the process. Some like to cook the chicken with skin on, making it nice and crisply, but I use skinless chickens. Simpler and less fat. This recipe substitutes a bit of bashing about for marinading, and uses honey and soy sauce for the teriyaki. I dilute the soy sauce so that it isn't too salty. In total it takes about 15 minutes. I like it with rice, some green salad and sliced cucumber.

Ingredients

½ cup soy sauce with ¼ cup water

¼ cup honey

1 ¼ tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger (from about a thumb length piece), grated very fine

500g (about four large boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs) the breasts will need pounding…

Freshly ground black pepper

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

If you like, serve with two spring onions (scallions to some), thinly sliced

Method

• Make the sauce first: Heat through the soy sauce, water and honey, bringing it to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until the honey has completely dissolved, about 5 minutes (alternatively use the microwave, for one minute, stirring after 30 seconds)
• Remove from heat and add the ginger, stirring to combine and set aside
• If using chicken breasts, place them on a cutting board and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet, frying pan or rolling pin. Gently pound them to a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut each in half so you have pieces roughly the same size. (If using chicken thighs, no need to pound or cut.)
• Season both sides of the chicken with pepper.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat until shimmering and add the chicken in a single layer, and cook without poking for around 3 minutes. Then flip and cook the second side until equally browned, about 3 minutes more.
• Reduce the heat to medium, slowly pour in the reserved sauce, and cook, turning the chicken occasionally to coat in the sauce, cooking through for around another 3 minutes.
• Take the chicken out, shaking any sauce back into the pan, and put it onto a cutting board. I like to cover the chicken with a bowl to keep the juices in.
• Keep cooking the sauce until it has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes more, then turn off the heat.
• Slice the rested chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces and put it on a serving dish. Drizzle over the sauce and sprinkle the sliced spring onions over the lot.

Ricotta citrus tart, crostata to some

I have just made this tart twice, adapting Carluccio’s recipe a bit. It is really easy, and the result is a very light cheesecake, with a flavour reminiscent of pannetone. The difference between this recipe and a more usual cheesecake is that the eggs are separated and the beaten egg whites give it a lift. I’ve seen it made with short crust elsewhere too, which would make it richer. Also, Carluccio adds the lemon zest after cooking, which gives an extra tang.

I used half a packet of puff pastry and rolled it very thin, and leaving about a one inch overlap, which gets folded over the mixture. Then I put little straps of pastry across, which I think looks good, but a rather acerbic relative (while eating it) said makes it looks like a hot cross bun, clearly meaning not in a good way. Sob.

In the mixture I added a spoonful of marmalade, reducing the sugar a little.

Carluccio says this tart is delicious served on its own or with roasted pears, which I haven’t tried yet.

Ingredients

For the pastry

·         1 x 400g/14oz ready-made puff pastry

·         Plain flour for dusting

·         1 lemon finely grated zest only

For the filling

·         300g/10½oz ricotta cheese

·         200g/7oz mascarpone cheese

·         200g/7oz candied peel roughly chopped

·         125g/4½oz caster sugar

·         6 free-range eggs, separated

Preparation method

1.     Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2.     Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured work surface to a 3mm/⅛in thickness. Use the pastry to line a 25cm/10in pastry case. Cover with a damp cloth while you make the filling.

3.     In a bowl, mix the ricotta, mascarpone and candied peel with 100g/3½oz of the sugar and five of the egg yolks until smooth and well combined.

4.     Whisk the egg whites in another large, clean bowl until fluffy. Whisk in the remaining sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed.

5.     Using a large metal spoon, fold the whites into the ricotta mixture, then pour into the pastry-lined tart tin.

6.     Beat the reserved egg yolk in a bowl. Fold in the overhanging pastry and brush with the egg yolk. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the pastry is cooked through and the filling has a slight wobble in the centre.

7.     Set aside to cool for two hours, then sprinkle with lemon zest.

reviving simple soup

I like soup and when I'm a bit limp, especially when cold stricken, I like it to have a lot of ginger in it. I chuck things together with gay abandon and it usually turns out pretty well. Since I'm bedridden, with lungs giving a pale imitation of the usually gusty bellows (more like a flooded and elderly church organ), I forced the kindly husband to magic some up for me. Straightforward info: chop one of each veg, cook with water and add the vital sauce. Steve has proved the value of gunpowder sauce, creating a delightful, warming and simple soup. This week's gunpowder included a black pepper kick, with a ginger bite backing it up, it was just the soup to revive a wheezing, sick woman.

Veg soup with gunpowder sauce


Ingredients

1 potato
1 carrot
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 slice ginger
3 tbsp gunpowder sauce

Method

Peel and slice all veg, and put into pan with two mugfuls of water.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, or until all the veg is cooked.
Add the gunpowder sauce and cook for 1 minute

Eat

I like a garnish of a finely chopped spring onion and a couple of pinches of gomasio.

Simple fruit tart

Tart made with Wilma's Bramley apples

The pastry of this tart is buttery, crunchy, like shortbread and flavoured by an unexpected addition – alcohol. The alcohol cooks off, so eating it won’t get you drunk, other than on pleasure. I usually use tightly packed plums or apricots as the filling - but here I've used Bramley apples.

Betty’s original recipe used Calvados, which lent a hint of apple, but any strong alcohol will do. I’ve tried using rum, brandy and vodka, although I prefer something with flavour. 

Since I've run out of Calvados I used rum in this tart

This rich pastry seems to resist getting a really soggy base from the abundant fruit juices. Cook it shortly before eating if you like the base of the tart crisp, or prepare it ahead and enjoy the slightly soaked-in flavour. Of course, it’s delicious either way.

Recipe
for two 8"/20cm tarts


For the pastry:
500g plain flour
300g unsalted butter
100g castor sugar
2 egg yolks
1 coffee cup of strong alcohol


For the filling - per tart
two tins of apricots
or
1kg/2lb+ of fresh fruit, stoned or peeled and cored 
 I usually use tightly packed plums or apricots as the filling - but you can use apples or pears


Method

• cream butter and sugar together
• add egg yolk, beat in until combined
• slowly add alcohol, beating all the time - if it happens to start to separate add a spoonful of flour
• add in sifted flour a little at a time
• if the mixture becomes slightly dry add water to combine into a ball

• allow mixture to sit for at least an hour - best in a plastic bag in the fridge

• roll out half the pastry and line well buttered tart tin - if it cracks patch with scraps
• crimp the edge with your fingers and trim of surplus - I like a nice fat edge

• pack fruit in tightly - fresh fruit is great, but you can also use tinned apricots
• sprinkle liberally with demerera sugar or failing that granulated sugar 

• cook for 45m at gas mark 4/350 F/180 C

• eat hot or cold 
• great with slightly sweetened creme fraiche, cream or ice cream

Tips
Don't stress too much about how the fruit is arranged, just make sure there is plenty of it, packed tight.


Try using the pastry recipe to make wonderful shortbread.

Either

Roll it into a fat sausage, wrap and chill for an hour, then cut slices with a very sharp knife.
lay out on lined baking sheet and prick with fork
cook for 15-20m gas mark 4/350 F/180 C

Or              

Just bundle it up, wrap it and chill, pinching off pieces of the mixture and flatten into discs with a fork.