Gluten Free Summer Berry Crumble

What do you do with all the mushy fruit left over from the picnic fruit salad? Pick the berries out and make a crumble from them. You can use any kind of berries or fruit with this recipe but this time I used a combination of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries because that's what I had left to use up. The crumble is so good you would NEVER guess it's not made from wheat. I have fed it to the fussiest of wheat eaters, not telling them it was gluten free, and they didn't even notice!

Ingredients:

750g fresh berries (or other fruit like rhubarb or peaches)

175g sugar

2 tbsp orange juice

75g butter (softened)

175g gluten free flour (I use Doves Farm Plain White Flour Blend)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Bake:

1. Preheat oven to 190c (375f) or gas mark 5. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a deep, ovenproof dish.

2. Chop the strawberries into bite size pieces and put all the berries into the baking dish, evenly distributed. Sprinkle HALF of the sugar all over the fruit. Then spoon the orange juice evenly over the fruit. Set dish aside.

3. In a medium bowl rub the softened butter into the flour until it is all mixed in and resembles large bread crumbs (I use my bare hands but you can also us the back of a wooden spoon or a pastry blender.) Blend in the remaining sugar mixed in with the cinnamon and ginger. Pour the crumble mixture over the fruit, pressing it down well with the back of a spoon.

4. Bake in the center of the oven for about 35-40 minutes or until crumble topping is browned and the fruit is bubbly. Serve it up hot or cold...either way it's deeeelicious!

Enjoy :-)

Love and Light

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Recipe: Gluten Free Courgette (Zucchini), Almond and Lemon Cake

After combining a few recipes and then some tweaking, I have made this deliciously moist cake that is relatively low in fats and sugars. I thought I would share it with you. The courgettes and ground almonds keep the cake moist and sweet which means no butter or oil is needed, and less sugar to be used. Make sure you use fresh courgettes because they have the most juices in them. You will need this juice along with the grated pulp to keep the cake moist.

Ingredients:

3 medium free-range eggs (at room temp)

160g golden caster sugar

1 tsp good quality vanilla extract (seeds in is best)

200g finely grated (un-peeled) courgette

120g white rice flour

80g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

¼ tsp salt

Zest and juice from one lemon

Bake:

1. Preheat oven to 180c (350f)

Grease and flour (rice flour) a standard size, loose bottom cake tin.

2. Whisk (beat) eggs, sugar and vanilla for 3 full minutes until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the grated courgette, followed by the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate soda, and salt.

Add the lemon zest and juice before beating again to make sure all ingredients are mixed together well.

3. Pour cake mixture into pan and place in the middle of the pre-heated oven for APPROX 30 MINUTES. Ovens vary, so keep checking it. Cake is done when knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cake cool completely before removing it from the pan.

Enjoy...and please do let me know if you decide to make it and how you liked it.

Love and Light

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Another Lush Batch of Gluten Free Cupcakes!

The Gluten Free adventure is still on but I have to be honest that I haven't been on it 100% which may explain why I don't feel any different. But I can say one thing...if I eat something with lots of gluten in it....like pizza or a big portion of pasta...my Fibro symptoms are way worse. I have really noticed it since I have been (mostly) gluten free. Maybe I needed to cheat here and there to kind of test it...I don't know...but I do plan on going at it 100% full throttle very soon. I'm still poring over all the cookbooks I bought and planning meals etc. Will keep you posted.

Meanwhile...will you look at these gorgeous cupcakes! They are chamomile, lemon and courgette with a chamomile/lemon butter cream frosting...and they are gluten free. I made them for a dinner party and everyone there said they tasted better than cupcakes made with wheat flour. They were delicious. The recipe is from THIS amazing book...I highly recommend it.

Have a great weekend!
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'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.

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