Hazelnut and Walnut Cake

We spotted this recipe in the Waitrose Kitchen Magazine, November 2013 issue, and thought it looked like something that'd convert to being Gluten Free quite easily... specially since there's only 2 tablespoonsful of flour in the ingredients.  It could probably also be adapted to be dairy free by using a dairy free cooking spread like Pure (which we use in baking our Quick Mix Chocolate Cake).

These are the ingredients we used -

150g unsalted butter, cubed and softened
90g walnut pieces
90g blanched hazelnuts
175g light brown soft sugar
2 Tablespoons Gluten Free self raising flour (we used Dove's Farm)
1 teaspoon Gluten Free baking powder (again, we used Dove's Farm)
3 eggs, beaten
1 orange, zest only
pinch of salt
icing sugar for dusting

The nuts and 50g of the sugar were whizzed in our small Braun hand blender - they're shown in the green bowl in the pic.  To this, we added the flour, baking powder and salt (shown in the red bowl) and mixed well.

In another bowl, we used our electric hand mixer to cream the butter and remaining sugar.  Once fluffy and light in colour, the eggs were added in small amounts.  Next, the orange zest was added, followed by the nut and flour and combined thoroughly.

Having lined a 20cm tin, we poured in the cake mix and baked in a pre-heated fan oven (160ºC) for 35-40 minutes until a skewer came out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.  We checked the base of the cake for 'sogginess' and were delighted there was no sign of a dreaded soggy bottom!



The cake was cooled in the tin, removed when cool and dusted with icing sugar prior to serving.

We served the cake with a dollop of Rodda's clotted cream.

Having had a hearty wedge of cake each, some of slices were placed in a plastic pot and frozen for a treat at a later date.

Chocolate Brownies

Whilst searching online I came across this recipe which, amazingly, we had all bar one of the ingredients to make.

We substituted walnuts for the pecans in the original recipe so what we had was:-

100g Dark chocolate
100g Unsalted butter (softened)
150g dark soft brown sugar
150g caster sugar
2 eggs (we used large ones)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150g ground almonds
50g marshmallows (we used large ones, chopped into 4s)
100g walnut pieces (optional)

The chocolate and butter were melted in a stainless steel mixing bowl over a pan of boiling water.  

Having been mixed and removed from the heat, the sugars were added.  Then the eggs were beaten in one at a time.  By this time, it was quite thick and had the salt and vanilla mixed through before we folded in the almonds.

Finally the walnuts and then the marshmallow pieces were stirred through the mix.

Having prepared the baking tin by lining it with foil and oiling it carefully, the mix was poured into the tin. 

It was time to bake! So the tin was placed in a pre-heated fan oven at 170ºC for 20 minutes, then we tested the centre with a skewer and returned it for another five minutes. 

After this time, it was smelling delicious and we had to be very disciplined to leave the tray to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Finally, it was cool enough to turn out of the tin, carefully remove the foil and cut into pieces.  We halved the traybake, cut one half into 9 and the other into 16.  Tasting by Sous Chef J confirmed it was "very good indeed".

 Being mindful of the need for easy Gluten Free day out treats, we hastily bagged some up to freeze in individual portions....

Well worth the effort although cannot bear to think of the calorific value. Definitely an "eat me as a treat"

Special Coffee and Walnut Cake (Gluten Free)

We got this recipe off the internet a while ago but the site it was on no longer exists, sadly.... no idea where the resources on there have gone but, luckily I scrawled the ingredients out for sous chef J to use when he's preparing to bake.  The method is just what we do (as ever!)

To make a 8 inch /20cm round cake, you will need

115g gluten free flour (we use Dove's Farm plain)

50g maize flour or cornflour

1 heaped teaspoon gluten free baking powder (again, we use Dove's Farm)

60g walnuts, ground (we use a Braun hand blender for this)

225g butter or margarine, at room temperature

225g unrefined caster sugar
4 large eggs

15ml/1 tablespoon instant coffee, mixed with a small amount of boiling water

small handful of walnuts (we roughly chop these)

For the icing, we use 125g butter at room temperature, 250g icing sugar and a dessert spoon (10ml) instant coffee mixed with a little boiling water.

The oven was preheated to 170ºC (fan oven) and the cake tin was lined with a baking parchment liner (we get the ones from Lakeland)... these are easier for sous chef J to use but you could also grease and line the tin with greaseproof paper if that's what you have to hand.

First sous chef J sifted together all the dry ingredients... he did this at least twice (more if we can spare the time!)  This is important as it makes sure all the baking powder is well distributed and makes the cooked cake have a better texture.

Next, the butter and sugar were creamed together.

Then the eggs were cracked into a bowl and lightly beaten before being added to the creamed mix a small amount at a time... the mix often starts to split so we just add a little of the dry ingredients in to stop this.

After this, we added the flour mix and folded it all in well.  Then the diluted coffee was added and mixed in.

Finally the roughly chopped walnut pieces were added and mixed through.





The mix was then placed in the lined baking tin and baked for 30-35 minutes (although it is less if you make cupcakes).  The important thing is to use a knife to test the cake - only remove it from the oven when the knife blade comes out clean.  The cake was then left to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack.

Whilst the cake was cooling, we prepared the icing.  The butter was beaten (using a hand mixer) to soften, the icing sugar and coffee mix were then added slowly. This was then mixed well until it was completely incorporated and the buttercream was soft and had an even colour.

The icing was then spread on the cake.... and a slice can be seen at the top of this page.

This cake is one we make for special occasions - it freezes well, adapts to being made into a loaf or cupcakes easily (these are decorated using Kuhn Rikon icing bottles and a star nozzle.)