Sunday 29 May 2011

'Going Gluten Free' Celebration Cupcakes






















I have recently made the decision to try and go gluten free. I'm not Coeliac but I do have some other autoimmune problems such as Hashimoto's Disease as well as Fibromyalgia. I guess the writing has been on the wall for a while now. I have some friends who have Fibro who have seen a huge improvement in their symptoms once they went gluten free. I also have a good friend who is Coeliac and she has shown me that eating gluten free isn't as limiting as I first thought. She has been so generous by passing on information, giving me tips and advice and loaning me some of her cookbooks. (Thanks L...hugs, hugs.)

Giving up bread and wheat isn't so daunting really...but it's the baked goods that had me concerned. My beloved cakes and pastries would be no longer! I thought a gluten free cupcake would taste like dust. I was so wrong! I made these delicious cupcakes today from the 'Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes' recipe from this gorgeous cookbook by Harry Eastwood. The cake part is made from courgette/zucchini, ground almonds and rice flour. There is a dollop of strawberry jam in the middle. The frosting is made from icing sugar, a wee bit of butter, vanilla and mascarpone cheese. It's not as sickly sweet as a conventional buttercream frosting and not as sour as a cream cheese frosting...and I kinda like that. Wayne wasn't too crazy about the texture which is a bit grainy rather than spongy but he thought that they tasted better than regular cupcakes. I think they taste better too. They taste real. Like real food and not sickly and processed-like...does that make sense? Anyway, I am now in love with Harry Eastwood....I can't wait to make more stuff...and to share it around. Life is just better if you can have cake and share it with those you love.

x

3 comments:

Laura Ward said...

They look amazing! I hear some of Harry's other recipes are really good too.

This is the first coeliac blog I got into: http://glutenfreegirl.com/. I came across her book in Canada a few years ago and she became a bit of a cook. You can find her on flickr which is really handy - someone who posts photos of everything she makes.

Mmm! I saw a wheat free Orange cake in Benugo's today. Looked great! I keep seeing wheat/gluten free options cropping up all over the place today.

Anonymous said...

Can u send me one ASAP?
Yummmm

Eartha Kitsch said...

They look and sound wonderful! I have Fibromyalgia too and have been dabbling in the gluten free lifestyle. I know it will help a lot but it's hard to get used to at the beginning. Knowing that great tasting baked goods exist helps though! :)

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