Recipe: Chocolate Orange Cake

Ingredients:
100g butter
140g high quality dark chocolate
6 large eggs, separated
140g ground almonds
pinch of salt
85g caster of sugar
gluten free flour for dusting
few drops of orange extract

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 150’c. Grease a cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. Dust the sides with gluten free flour. Put the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Heat until melted, then remove the bowl from the pan and stir until smooth. Leave for about 5/10 minutes to cool slightly.

2. Stir in the egg yolks, ground almonds and the orange extract. Put the egg whites into a large bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form. Continue whisking, adding the sugar a little at a time, until stiff peaks form. Stir 2 tablespoons of the whites in the chocolate mixture, then carefully fold the remainder of the whites into the mix until there is no trace of the whites in the mix.

3. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 30 minutes until well risen and just firm to touch. Cool the cake in the tin and don’t worry if it sinks or cracks, it’s meant to!

4. Slice, eat and enjoy!

My Top 20 Free From Products – December 2014

I’m always on the look out for new free from products to try, especially when I’m out on my travels, so I thought I’d share my favourite products so far!

My plan is to keep updating my blog every so often with lists of new products that I think are worth trying, along with my other updates of recipes and suggestions. Also, as I’m heading out to Australia in 2015 I will be investigating what products they have to offer and comparing them to the ones we have access to.

So, here is my first list of my favourite products! They are in no specific order, just as they come into my head!

1. Lactofree Mature Cheddar Cheese – I’d be absolutely lost without this cheese. I love cheese and this tastes no different to normal cheddar. I’ve even tested it on work colleagues and they couldn’t tell the difference!

2. Marks & Spencer Free From Cod Fillet Fishcakes – Really tasty! All I need now is free from scampi in my life and my fish happiness would be complete.

3. Kirsty’s Beef Lasagne with Rich Bolognese Sauce – Kirsty’s ready meals are ideal for those nights you haven’t time to cook or you’re just to exhausted to cook. The lasagne is one of the latest to be added to Kirsty’s range and it’s really good. If you’re going to try anything give this a go.

4. Asda Free From Caramel Rice Squares – I always have a pack of these at home for the days that I need a chocolate fix.

5. Swedish Glace Smooth Vanilla ice cream – This is better than ‘normal’ ice cream! It’s rich in vanilla and very creamy.

6. Isabel’s Gluten Free Yorkshire Pudding Mix – completes a Sunday roast for me.

7. Gordon Rhodes Gluten Free Gourmet Sage & Onion Stuffing Mix – As I mentioned in my review on this product, it exceeded my expectations. Have a look in your local, independent delicatessens and butchers.

8. Genius Gluten Free Chicken & Gravy Pie – The chicken pies are my favourite from their pie range (there are quite a few popping up in shops).

9. Lactofree Fresh Semi Skimmed Milk – I will always need this product especially so I can have my mug of tea to start the day!

10. Sacla Free From Tomato Pesto – This is great stirred into some gluten free pasta then sprinkled with some lactofree cheese on top!

11. Newburn Bakehouse Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins – These are gorgeous! Before I cut out gluten my favourite cake was lemon loaf and this exceeded all my expectations when I eventually found it in the supermarket.

12. Tesco Free From White Rolls – I’ve tried various free from rolls and in my opinion these are the best at the moment. I find a lot of them quite sweet, but these aren’t and they seem to hold together quite well.

13. Heinz Deliciously Gluten Free Tomato Frito Pasta Sauce – This sauce is yummy and the garlic gives it a nice depth. I quite often have it on pasta for my lunch.

14. Taste of Goodness Secret Sauce – This is the sauce that’s used in a very popular fast food restaurant’s signature burger! Unfortunately, you can’t buy it in supermarkets.

15. Nairns Gluten Free Herb & Seed Oatcakes – I was never a huge fan of outcakes, I always thought they tasted of cardboard! These have a nice herby kick and are perfect with some cheddar.

16. Angelic Gluten Free Orange Chocolate Cookies – These are lovely and crunchy with a subtle hint of orange. Perfect for 10 o’clocks! Again, you can’t buy these in supermarkets.

17. Asda Glute Free Pasta – I’ve tried a few brands of gluten free pasta, but this is my favourite. It cooks perfectly and the texture is like normal pasta.

18. Kallo Organic Chicken Gravy Granules – A necessity for a Sunday roast!

19. Whole Earth Organic Cornflakes – This is the only gluten free cereal I’ve tried and I’ve stuck with it. I actually think it’s tastier than normal, branded cornflakes.

20. Mini Moos Honeycomb Bar – I can’t help myself when it comes to these little chocolate bars. Great for keeping in your handbag and forgetting about and then it’s a nice surprise when you’re stuck on a train etc. Maybe that’s just me…

So, that’s my top 20 at the moment. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone who follows my blog, has a quick skeck now and then or this is their first time visiting, a lovely Christmas and an exciting 2015!

Happy Christmas from Rachael x

Absolutely Stuffed!

Having gone back to brass banding recently has meant I’ve been reunited with old friends and made some new ones too. One of these old friends just happens to be a very generous butcher from Dalbeattie who has supplied me with a few gluten free treats to try.

Scott’s grandfather established T.H. Carson back in 1933 and they pride themselves on being a family run business with good, old fashioned customer service. All their meats are locally sourced with full traceability, which in this day and age is a major selling point for a lot of consumers. If you’re ever in Dalbeattie it’s well worth a stop to try his award winning produce and I do hear that there will be an online shop coming soon…

So, on a normal Wednesday night band rehearsal, Scott appeared with a carrier bag with some goodies! There was much excitement… well, for me!

One of these items was a packet of Gordon Rhodes sage and onion stuffing mix. I love sage and onion stuffing mix, it completes a Sunday roast for me, but giving up gluten meant I couldn’t have that well known brand stuffing mix.

All you need to do is add hot water to the mix and stick it in the oven for 20 minutes and hey presto, stuffing! I find the well known brand to be sometimes over powering with the sage, but this gluten free mix was perfect. The texture wasn’t any different – I was expecting it to be a bit powdery like some other gluten free products and the flavours weren’t too strong, but still had plenty of taste! Therefore, one happy gluten free camper at Sunday tea time.

Thank you very much, Scott! This gluten free product has the ‘Rachael’ stamp of approval!

http://www.thcarsononline.co.uk/index.html Check out their website (Scott is the one at the top of the page with the trophy, not the lassie with long dark hair – just in case there is any confusion!)

A Touch of Genius!

Being dairy free and gluten free can prove to be a challenge at times. A lot of ‘free from’ foods are either one or the other, but not both. A lot of restaurants only seem to have gluten free menus that are full of dairy. There is evidence that shows a link between gluten and dairy intolerances. This is because of the damage caused to the lining of the gut albeit, when you do change to a gluten free diet your body will eventually be able to digest lactose again. But, why aren’t more brands and restaurants jumping at this chance to do something and acknowlege both?

One brand that I have found  while I’ve been exploring is Genius. A brand who’s range is expanding with some wonderful products that are dairy and gluten free, hoorah!!! There website is full of interesting recipes to tantalize your taste buds, shows off their yummy range (choc chip brioche rolls, nom!) and a very interesting and informative blog. You can find them in all the big supermarkets and their products are reasonably priced.

So, if you have 5 minutes to spare, have a quick look over their website. You might find something that you want to try for dinner tonight!

http://www.geniusglutenfree.com/en_GB/

Time for Tea!

At 10 o’clock each morning it’s break time. For most people it’s time to have a cuppa, a piece of cake and catch up on the latest scandal. For dairy intolerant folks it’s a time to wonder what on earth there is to have that will give you that boost and still “fit in” with the other cake lovers.

Having recently ventured into a different Sainsbury’s store other than my usual, I was surprised and excited to find nearly one side of a full aisle for “Free From” items. This is unheard of where I live, free from is usually 3 or 4 shelves of poor choices for dairy free items. It was cake and snacks galore – lemon drizzle slice, ginger bread, flapjack, coffee & walnut slice and chocolate brownies.

So at 10 o’clock today, I was one of “them”, with my slice of dairy free lemon drizzle and my Lactofree milk portions for my tea.

Simple things like this bring me so much happiness!

Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

Over the festive period I didn’t want to feel left out while others tucked into Christmas pudding, gateaux, ice cream etc. So, I re-created a cheesecake recipe my Mum makes but made it dairy free!

Ingredients
6oz ginger nuts (I used Sainsbury’s Free From or McVities)
1.5oz demarara sugar
3oz butter (I used Pure sunflower spread)
4oz soft cheese (I used Lactofree soft cheese)
Juice of 1.5 lemons
3tbsp sugar
0.5pt double cream (I used Lactofree cream)
Fruit to decorate (optional)

Recipe
Melt the butter, stir in the demarara sugar and crushed biscuits. Mix thoroughly and press into a base of a 9″ loose bottomed flan tin (alternatively, I used ramakins that were from Sainsbury’s £10 meal deals so, everyone had their own little cheesecake!). Beat the soft cheese, lemon juice, sugar, and a little of the cream. Whip the rest of the cream and fold into the mixture. Spoon on to the base. Chill to set. Decorate with fruit.

It doesn’t take long at all and they’re absolutely beautiful. You’d never tell they were dairy free!