Amaretti Biscuits

Looking through this week's Waitrose Weekend paper, we spotted a recipe by Martha Collison for Amaretti Biscuits.  As they contain very few ingredients and are naturally glutenfree, we decided to give them a go.

As usual, it would be too simple to actually follow a recipe... and due to 'ingredient limitations' (only had one egg...) we decided to make a half batch.  This meant we needed to use - 1 egg white, 75g caster sugar, 87.5g ground almonds, a few drops of vanilla bean extract and icing sugar (for dusting).

Using an electric hand mixer, the egg white was beaten to stiff peak consistency.



The caster sugar was added in thirds and thoroughly combined.

Next the almonds were also added in thirds and mixed in well using a silicone spatula.

Finally, a few drops of almond bean extract were added and mixed through well.

The mix was then divided into (roughly) 10g balls and rolled in icing sugar before being put on a silicone sheet covered baking tray.

Baking the biscuits in a pre-heated oven (170ºC) for 10 minutes, they were checked to see if they had expanded and turned a light golden shade... they were returned to the oven for another couple of minutes before being removed and allowed to cool completely.

The biscuits were lovely freshly baked... but seem even more delicious the next day (having been stored in an airtight container overnight) as they have a crisp outer and soft, gooey centre. Very tasty indeed... and will be added to the 'must bake regularly' list!

Cheese and Chilli Whorls

Today was a 'make it' day... with not much time.  The oven was on and we needed some savoury snacks for the weekend.

A fridge audit revealed some Silly Yak pastry and grated mature cheddar... and an idea was forming.

Using half a pack of Silly Yak gluten free puff pastry, it was rolled out into a rectangle (about 3mm thick). 

The cheese was mixed with a Tablespoonful of paprika and smoked paprika, and a 'generous' sprinkle of chilli flakes.  These were then spread over the pastry, patted down and the pastry was rolled from one of the long sides... into a swiss roll shape.

Cutting the pastry roll into slices about 1.5cm thick, they were placed on a non-stick baking sheet and then put in a pre-heated hot oven (180C) for 10 minutes; they were checked and cooked for another 2 minutes until crisp and bubbling. 

Cooling them on the baking tray for a few minutes, they were removed and allowed to cool completely. 

A delicious, simple and spicy savoury treat.  Prepared and baked in 20 minutes - that's my type of cooking!

Speedy "Danish" Pastries

Having bought some Silly Yak ready made Gluten Free puff pastry, and looking for some breakfast ideas to tempt Sous Chef J, I hit on the idea of a sort-of Danish pastry.  We've also been blackberry picking this week and had made some stewed Blackberry and Apple... a plan formed.  A very SIMPLE plan.

Ingredients -

Silly Yak Gluten Free puff pastry (half a pack)
Four tablespoons of stewed fruit
a little beaten egg

To decorate/drizzle - two tablespoons of icing sugar and a small amount of warm water (make this as thick or runny as you like... it's your choice!)

Starting with the pastry block, it was rolled out to about 5mm thickness (we do this on a silicone sheet dusted with gluten free flour). 

The pastry was then cut into four squares.

An Lshaped cut was made to opposite sides of the square, the inner square's edges were brushed with egg and the cut section was carefully folded to line up with the inner square.

The pastry shapes were then put onto a non-stick baking sheet, brushed with egg and put in the fridge to chill whilst the oven reached baking temperature.

Once chilled, about a tablespoon of the stewed fruit mix was placed in the middle of each pastry.



Baking the pastries in a preheated oven at 180ºC for 8-10minutes, we checked them and turned the sheet, baking for a further 2 minutes before removing and cooling on the baking sheet.














The pastries were then drizzled with icing as decoration, just before serving. 

Marks and Spencer Made Without Wheat Victoria Sponge Cake Mix

We picked up a packet cake mix in Marks and Spencer - J's always been a fan of Victoria Sponge and he thought he'd "give it a go".  It's from their Made Without Wheat range and required the addition of two eggs, some melted butter and milk.

Gathering the ingredients and equipment that would be needed to bake the cake, Sous Chef J was keen to follow the mix's instructions
to the (rather small) letter.

Having greased and lined the baking tins, SCJ started by sifting the flour mix from the bag into a large mixing bowl.

Next the milk and eggs were lightly beaten together and added to the flour mix.

Melting the butter, this was then allowed to cool slightly before being added to the cake mix.


The batter came together well and was quite thick but easily mixable with a silicone spatula.






The mix was shared between two 6" sandwich tins (SCJ used scales to ensure even distribution) and then baked according to the instructions.

Once baked thoroughly, the cakes were removed from the oven and allowed to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Raspberry jam was then spread on the top of one of the cakes.  SCJ used a small silicone spatula to do this.

Finally, whipped cream was added, the other cake was placed on top and it was covered with a dusting of icing sugar.

The cake was moist, light and very tasty.  It didn't last long!  We'll definitely buy the mix again... so long as supplies are on the shelves, that is.

Pecan Cinnamon Twists

We were looking for a maple and pecan recipe (to try to 'do' a Danish like the ones J sees in the Waitrose cafe) but then realised we didn't have any maple syrup.  With this in mind, we decided to make up a 'post-Christmas' ingredients recipe to use up some of the things we had in the cupboards.  This is how we hit upon a recipe to use ground cinnamon and pecan nuts.

Having finally found some Silly Yak gluten free pastry (in the normal chiller with other pastries at Tesco) we thought we'd use this too.

We gathered the following ingredients -

35g dark brown sugar
25g pecans, shelled
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
200g puff pastry (rolled out to 20 x 25 cm sheet)  (we used Silly Yak gluten free which we'd finally tracked down in the chiller cabinet at Tesco)








To start, we combined first three ingredients in a the small hand blender bowl and blitzed till finely and combined.

Next the puff pastry was rolled out.  We used silicone sheets and lots of flour to make sure the pastry was thin and didn't stick (too much).

Once rolled out, the pastry sheet was brushed with the beated egg and then the sugar/nut mix was spread over it.

Using a pizza cutter, we cut the sheet into strips which were then twisted and placed on a chilled, non-stick, baking sheet.  We made sure to push the ends down in the hope this would stop the twists from straightening during baking.

We placed each finished sheet in the fridge to keep the twists chilled.

The twists were then baked in a hot (180ºC fan) oven for 12-15 minutes until golden (this time will vary depending on how thick you made your twists)

Cooling the twists for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, they were then transferred to a rack to fully cool.

YUM!

Coconut and Blueberry Cake

Spotting a tasty sounding cake recipe that made use of coconut flour and was also dairy free, we took a look and decided it was something we had to try.

The ingredients we used were -

4 medium eggs

125g caster sugar

100g Lucy Bee Coconut oil, melted

50g coconut flour, sifted

1 tsp gluten free baking powder (we used Dr Oetker)

50g desiccated coconut

150g blueberries

Quite a simple to make cake.  The eggs and sugar were whisked together using the electric hand mixer until they'd doubled in volume.  

The melted coconut oil was then slowly drizzled into the egg/sugar mix to combine.

Next, the dry ingredients were folded through to incorporate fully.

Finally the blueberries were added and stirred into the cake mix.

Pouring the cake mix into a lined, round 7" cake tin, the cake was then baked in a 160º fan oven for 30 minutes... after this time the oven temperature was reduced to 150º and the timer set for 20 minutes.  We checked the cake when the timer went off and saw that a knife blade came out clean so removed the cake from the oven.

Placing the cake on a wire rack to cool in its tin for 10 minutes, we allowed it to cool a little before turning it out of the tin and leaving

it to cool fully.

Dusting the top of the cake with icing sugar, we sliced it and served with fresh strawberries and cream (obviously leave out the cream if your aim is a
dairy free cake/dessert).

It was a lovely moist cake and, surprisingly, the texture was airy and light.