I like to think of this bake as an exercise in simplicity. In the interests of simplicity, I’ll keep this post short and sweet (just like these cakes!). I saw a picture of a full-sized jam and coconut sponge on instagram recently and it took me back to my school days. Tender golden sponge, a thin layer of jam, and dessicated coconut on top. That’s it. It’s simple but comforting. I’ve made my version here, gluten free and in miniature. Enjoy!
Mini jam + coconut sponges
170g gluten-free self-raising flour
170g butter
110g caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
Your favourite jam (red berry jams are traditional, but any seedless jam will work)
Dessicated coconut
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and prepare your baking tray. I used cardboard loaf cases which I bought from my local supermarket, but you could also make these as cupcakes.
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
Add in the eggs, vanilla extract and flour and mix to combine.
Distribute the mix evenly between the cases and bake for 12-15 minutes until the cakes are golden and springy to the touch.
Place the cakes on a cooling rack and warm up some jam in a saucepan. This shouldn’t take long, you just want to loosen it up. Add a thin layer of jam to each cake and sprinkle over the coconut. Et voila!
One thing which I haven’t mentioned so far on my blog is that I suffer from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and a reflux condition. Because of these I’ve ‘restricted’ my diet over the past few years, excluding and reducing certain foods to treat my symptoms.
When I was first diagnosed with IBS in December 2014 I did what people usually do and went to google. Online I saw countless stories from sufferers who were thoroughly miserable. People with no social life, people who felt completely helpless (it is a sad truth that there are links between digestive issues and poor mental health). These stories terrified me, and I was determined to find control over my illness in whatever way I could.
My life completely transformed once I got onto a low-FODMAP diet and cut out gluten. Later on I also had to cut out cocoa (sob) to treat my reflux disorder. Although the diet is a nuisance sometimes, I can honestly say that I feel normal again. I’m not debilitated by my disorders anymore, and any flare-ups are infrequent and much easier to manage.
That’s the back story in brief. I’ll leave some links below the recipe for those of you who’d like to know more about the topic.
When I started my diet I had an app that indicated which foods were ‘safe’ to eat on the diet, and which should be avoided. Once I was done mourning for the foods that I couldn’t eat (technically an ongoing process) I decided to focus on the ‘safe’ foods which I hadn’t tried before, which included lots of lovely tropical fruit like papaya.
If anything, this diet has pushed me to become a better and more creative cook. If you’re also on a restricted diet, or you have some digestive trouble, I hope to be a positive corner of the internet for you. You’ll find replacements, and you might even find some new favourite foods. You don’t have to lose the joy in food.
Now I’ll tell you about these cookies. Lightly crispy and golden on the outside, these are robust biscuits with gorgeous chewy pieces of dried papaya and a mellow coconut flavour which isn’t overpowering. If you’re not keen on papaya you could replace it with chunks of dried pineapple for a pina colada style cookie!
Papaya + coconut cookies
200g gluten-free plain flour
100g light brown sugar
50g dessicated coconut
90g small dried papaya chunks (I got mine at Holland & Barrett)
50ml coconut oil
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
Line two baking trays and preheat your oven to 160 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Melt the coconut oil and add to the dry ingredients alongside the egg and milk.
Mix until combined. The mixture should look damp but a little crumbly.
Take an amount a bit larger than a golf ball and shape it into a patty in your palms. The dough should just hold together when pressed into shape. I made 9 cookies with this amount of dough.
Bake for around 17 minutes until the cookies are golden and not sticking to the baking paper.
Dandy Bakes 