Almond Fruit Cake

This is a recipe from when we started on the GAPS Diet 6+ years ago. There have been a number of 'adjustments' we've made over the years but the following is what we started out with!

Almond fruit cake

Makes 2, 7" round cakes.

6 large eggs

0.75kg Butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped finely in food processor (can also use other squash or courgette)

1 Tablespoon coconut oil - add to chopped butternut squash and blitz for a short time in processor

Dried fruit (any combination)

Ground Almonds - enough to make a porridge like consistency (amount needed will depend on freshness of eggs)

Flaked Almonds - handful (as topping)

Pre-heat oven to 170-180C.

1. Whisk eggs well.

2. Add Butternut squash mixture to eggs and mix thoroughly.

3. Add sufficient ground almonds so mixture has a porridge-like consistency.

4. Line cake tins and sprinkle bases with dried fruit.

5. Pour in cake mix and then top with flaked almonds.

6. Bake for 30-45 minutes until skewer inserted in middle comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool and store in airtight container in fridge or freezer.

Making it today, however, we used 3 extra large eggs, added about 100g of sultanas and 7 Tablespoons of ground almonds.  Also, we baked the cake in one, lined, 8" round springform baking tin.

To start, the butternut squash was peeled and chopped roughly before being placed in the large bowl of our Braun multiquick and whizzed for a few minutes... ending with evenly sized pieces.  The blitzed butternut squash then had the coconut oil added to it, mixed through and then this was all added to the whisked eggs.  

After mixing the butternut squash and the eggs together, ground almonds were then incorporated until the mix was a little firmer and at this point the sultanas were added.  Next, the mix was put in the lined baking tin and some flaked almonds were sprinkled on top.  

Finally, the cake was put in a preheated (170ºC) oven and baked for 40 minutes. To test it was cooked, a knife was inserted and, as it came out clean, the cake was removed from the oven and left to cool in the tin.

This cake cuts well once cool, can be frozen if needed and is good with creme fraiche as a pudding.


Give it a go... and let us know what you think!

Baked Apple and Almond Pudding

Back in 2006, I found this recipe on deliaonline.com  it's already Gluten Free and makes use of apples (or which we've carrier bags full from pals' trees) hence we decided to give it a go.

As ever, Sous Chef J began by gathering the ingredients together.  A slight variance from Delia's recipe is that we used eating apples rather than Bramleys so no sugar was added to the apples during cooking.





First of all, the apples were prepared - cored, peeled and chopped - and added to a pan with 2 Tablespoons of water to simmer gently until they were softened.  They were then added to the base of a  Pyrex bowl that Sous Chef J had expertly buttered in preparation.

Then we then creamed the softened butter and sugar....

... before adding the beaten eggs and then folding in the ground almonds.

This was then spread over the apple mix and placed a preheated 170ºC fan oven.  As stated in Delia's recipe, we cooked it for exactly one hour... it even had its own timer.

At the appointed time, we removed the pudding and it looked like this...

... and here's Sous Chef J's portion.

Delia's recipe says it keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days... I don't think ours will last that long though!

Mmm-macaroons!

In the last post, we mentioned we met up with Charlotte, MD of Go Free Foods Ltd, in order to buy some almond macaroons. Having spotted an opportunity to meet up and buy some macaroons when we were down in London last week, I liaised with Charlotte to find a mutually convenient time and place.   Our expectations were more than exceeded.  We bought 15 almond macaroons (kindly packed in family sized bags of 3 for us) and Charlotte said she'd included some scones too... much to Sous Chef J's delight.

We took possession of the lovely box of goodies and (after our meal at Leon) opened the box when we got back to the hotel.  The macaroons were packed in cellophane bags adorned with pink ribbon bearing labels.  Also inside were the promised scones (two packs) and Sous Chef J was most impressed with their appearance. 

It was agreed to try a macaroon each and save the rest for when we were home.  The macaroons were moist, almondy and dusted in icing sugar... the ingredients are listed as Almonds, sugar, egg and essential oil of bitter almonds.  They were delicious!


When we got home Sous Chef J was keen to get his hands on the scones.  This is what he did...

Scone, cut in half

Added jam and cream

Final creation

Then ate the fruits of his labours... slurp.

What a lovely way to end a hectic couple of days in London!  Thanks again to Charlotte at Go Free Foods Ltd for meeting us... we look forward to seeing you soon.

Gluten Free Berry Almond Slice

This is a recipe from an autumn edition of Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine that we have made a few changes to in order to make it both Gluten Free and also bakeable at any time of the year.  Here's a link to their website recipe and you will see, if you look, that we've removed the need for pastry and also use raspberries (in this case fresh ones but, at other times, we do use frozen fruit).

 

So the ingredients were gathered by Sous Chef J using the crumpled bit of paper I tore out of a Waitrose magazine some time ago.  We don't use the pastry or jam, though.  Our ingredients looked like this...

Sous Chef J in action!

Having preheated the oven to 170ºC, the softened butter and sugar were combined using a hand mixer until they looked light and creamy.  Sous Chef J actually did quite a lot of this (for a change) but would rather have a yellow stand mixer to be in control of... but he's going to have to wait a while for one of those!

Folding in ground almonds

Adding vanilla essence

Next, the vanilla essence was added.  The lightly beaten eggs were then incorporated, a little at a time.  Then the ground almonds were folded into the mix.

Spreading the mix

The berries are added

This slightly firm mixture was then spread, evenly, into a non-stick baking tin (ours is 19cm x 28cm) before having raspberries placed on top.  It was then placed into the warm oven.

 

 

After 10 minutes in oven

Sprinkled with flaked almonds

Having cooked for 10 minutes, the tray was removed and the sliced almonds were sprinkled over.  The cake was then returned to the oven for another 10 minutes to finish baking. 

We allowed the cake to cook in the tray for 15 minutes and then turned it out... the underside looked like this before we 'flipped' it back the right way up!

 As you can see, it was another successful baking session.  The slice freezes well - we freeze it in portions suitable for 3.  It can be served with a cup of tea as an afternoon treat or with creme fraiche as an easy pudding. 

Give it a go... it's a tasty treat and Gluten eaters also love it so it's a good offering to take to pals if you're going to be eating out.  I know it's puds and snacks that my pals struggle with when we visit - they can manage meat and veg without gluten but mention 'afters' and even the most hardy usually blanche at the prospect!

Plum Streusel Cake

Before we went onto a Gluten Free regime, five years ago now, the following recipe was a standby for all occasions. It's from the Sainsbury's website and can be found here
 
Recently, we have tried making it with Dove's Farm Gluten Free Flour and it's been declared a great success once more!

As the weekend was a bit of a wash out for us, Sunday afternoon became a baking time and plum streusel was one of the cakes we decided to bake. So, a 20cm/8"spring form baking tin was lined with a greaseproof cake case and the oven was set to heat to 180ºC (fan oven).

Next we gathered the ingredients as follows:-


For the base

• 125g caster sugar
• 175g butter, softened
• 2 medium size eggs
• 125g self raising flour, sifted (we use Dove's Farm Gluten Free SR Flour)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 680g punnet plums, halved and stoned

For the topping

• 125g plain flour, sieved (again, we use Dove's Farm Gluten Free Plain Flour)
• 25g ground almonds
• 50g demerara sugar
• 25g toasted flaked almonds

1. Having softened the butter, 125g of butter and the sugar was creamed into the mix until it was light and fluffy.
2. Next the eggs, SR flour and vanilla extract were added to the mix and beaten until well combined.
3. The mix was then spread over the base of the cake tin and the plums were arranged, cut side down on top.
4. The remaining ingredients (apart from the demerara sugar) were placed in a bowl and rubbed together to make a crumble topping. The demerara was then stirred into the topping mix.
5. Next, the topping was put on top of the plums and the tin was gently shaken to spread the topping evenly.
6. Finally, the cake was then placed in the oven to bake for 60-70 minutes (this can vary a bit, so keep checking after about an hour)

If the top is cooking too quickly, cover with a piece of greaseproof paper or foil for the remainder of the cooking time.

It was then cooled, in the tin, before being devoured with creme fraiche as a pudding.

Store in an airtight container.

We also cooked a brand-new-to-us Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe, it will feature in an upcoming blog post... when we've fully taste tested it!

UPDATE - 30 August 2011

Sous Chef J made this cake without assistance (apart from using the oven)... here's the pic he took to show how we're using the plums we picked at our pals' house yesterday.

The finished creation... like a cake with a plum crumble topping... and very, very delicious!