Tag: gluten free

Winter spice cake with Cointreau icing

Like a lot of people I’m not a bit fan of traditional British Christmas cake, pudding, and mince pies.  They’re just not really to my taste, so a few years ago I made a lightly spiced sponge cake in a bundt tin, and iced it with a drizzle of white water icing and some shiny gold sprinkles.  It was simple but festive, a nice antidote to the sickly stickiness of the dried fruit which dominates at this time of year.  Great for children and adults, I decided that I would definitely make this cake again for future Christmases.  

Winter spice cake with Cointreau icing

It’s the perfect cake to have when people drop by; it’s light and festive, and can be customised as you please.  Although it’s gluten free this cake doesn’t crumble to dust on impact, but remains lovely  and spongey.  The warm spices gently unfurl as you’re eating the cake, and the toppings provide crunch and chew.  I think that any decoration on a bake should be pleasant both to look at and to eat.  Dried rose petals, for instance, look divine but become pot pourri in the mouth.  

Winter spice cake with Cointreau icing

 This time I decided to add Cointreau (an orange liqueur) to the icing.  I feel like Cointreau is one of those old-school drinks which comes out at Christmastime, and I wanted to provide some inspiration of what to do with it if you stumble upon a bottle (you can also make my Christmas 75 cocktail, recipe on the blog!).  If you’re making this cake for children or non-drinkers then feel free to replace the Cointreau with fresh orange juice or orange extract and water.

Christmas 75 cocktail and winter spice cake

Winter Spice cake with Cointreau Icing:

175g gluten-free self-raising flour

175g butter

115g caster sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1tsp almond extract (optional)

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

100g icing sugar

Cointreau or orange juice or orange extract

Toppings of your choice (dried fruit, nuts, sprinkles etc)

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and butter a bundt tin.  
  2. Cream the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together well.
  4. When the mixture is well combined place it in the bundt tin evenly and smooth the top.  Try to ensure that the mixture looks level all around. 
  5. Bake for about twenty minutes until the cake is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Leave the cake to cool.
  6. Once the cake is cool place a plate or board on top and flip the plate/board and cake tin upside down.  Your cake might not come out straight away; I went around the edge of mine with a dinner knife a few times first. 
  7. Once the cake is out you can prepare your icing.  Pour the icing sugar into the bowl and gradually add your liquid (Cointreau, juice, water) bit by bit, stirring well, until you have a thick, opaque icing which drips easily from the spoon.  If you’re using Cointreau you may think the icing tastes strong, but once it’s on the cake it tastes fine.
  8. Decorate your cake as you please.  Enjoy! 

Cheddar pepper flapjacks

I had the idea for this bake in the best place to have ideas: the shower.  I decided that I wanted to bake something savoury so that my family and I would not be drowning in cake come Christmastime (although come to think of it that sounds like a great way to go). 

For whatever reason, I recalled the cheesy, savoury flapjacks that my mum used to make me for my school bag.  I know that you might be confused and mildly disgusted by this idea, but once you get your head (and your mouth) around these treats I think you’ll change your mind (unless you’re a cheese hater, but I don’t tend to socialise with those sorts of people).  

Cheddar pepper flapjack with pumpkin seeds

Some things I like about this bake (besides the fact that it’s delicious) is that it’s versatile, low cost and easy.  I know that my last recipe was bit complex.  This one is definitely for beginners, students short on money who want to make their own snacks, and anybody who’s ever wanted to eat oats glued together with cheese. 

Cheddar pepper flapjack with pumpkin seeds

I added pumpkin seeds, mostly because we had them in the cupboard and I thought they’d add a nice bit of colour.  I had the idea to position some seeds on the top; I think they look a bit like fir trees (you might disagree, I won’t blame you).  Upon munching my first helping, I also realised that the seeds add a nice vegetal freshness to a treat which could be too rich otherwise.  The herbs and paprika also give the flapjacks a savoury depth as well as adding to their golden colour.  

Cheddar pepper flapjack with pumpkin seeds

Feel free to add different seeds and flavourings, or even try a different hard cheese.  Great for lunchboxes and picnics, and, I like to think, leaving out for Father Christmas on the night before Christmas.  He’s probably fed up of mince pies by now.   

Cheddar Pepper Flapjacks:

360g pure oats (I use these because I’m gluten intolerant, if you’re not then use regular oats)

340g cheddar

3 eggs

125g butter

2 tsp dried mixed herbs

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp ground black pepper

Handful of pumpkin seeds

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a large roasting dish with baking paper.  Personally, I like the baking paper which has foil on the other side so it’s easy to mould to the pan. 
  2. Grate the cheese.  Please don’t hurt your fingers when you do this.  If little lumps of cheese fall in, it’s ok.  These will be bonus pieces and make the flapjacks even better.
  3. Gently melt the butter.
  4. Once the butter is melted, mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
  5. Put the mixture into the roasting pan.  Spread it out evenly and press it down.  If you wish, you can use seeds to make a pattern on your flapjack as I did.  They will brown a bit in the oven but they’ll still look (and taste) good.
  6. Bake for 35 minutes until the flapjack is golden all over and the sides are shrinking away from the paper.  Enjoy the cheesy smell which fills your kitchen.