Gluten free orange cupcakes - thermomix

These are SO yummy, and despite using the skin and pith are not bitter at all.  I am really enjoying making these cakes at the moment.  If you don't have a thermomix you could try it with a food processor, but it may take a little longer to blitz/process.

Whole Orange cupcakes

1 whole orange cut into quarters (skin and all)
225g butter
3 eggs
1 cup [200g] sugar
2 cups [300g] gluten free flour blended with 2 tsp xanthan gum
2 teaspoons GF baking powder

Put the orange and butter into thermomix bowl. Blitz for 7 seconds [speed 8]. Scrape bowl and repeat.

Add eggs, sugar and flour. Mix for 20-30 seconds [speed 4].

Spoon into cupcake papers, bake at 170 C for 15-20 mins or until cooked. 


Dust with icing sugar or [my favourite] top with chocolate ganache.

Gluten free lemon curd cake

I stumbled upon this cake recipe on a thermomix recipe forum when looking for an easy cake my girls could make for my birthday in the thermomix.  It is so delicious, and so easy, I have made it three times in the last fortnight.  If you don't have a thermomix, you can still make this yummy cake, I discovered it was originally posted on this blog. 

Lemon curd cake

Cake mixture
150 grams gluten free SR Flour
60 grams butter
110 grams sugar
1 egg
Lemon curd
60 grams lemon juice
60 grams butter
110 grams sugar
1 egg
  

To make cake mixture, place all ingredients into TM bowl and beat for 30 seconds on speed 5. Remove from bowl and set aside.

To make lemon curd, place all ingredients into TM bowl and cook at 100 degrees for 5 minutes on speed 4.

Grease and line a round cake tin.
Spread half the cake mixture into the base of the tin [the cake mixture will be quite thick].
Pour lemon curd over cake mixture [the lemon curd mixture will be quite runny].
Dollop 1/2 teaspoonfuls of remaining cake mixture over the top of the lemon curd [sometimes I roll it into balls to make it 'neater'].
Bake at 180C for half an hour.
Eat warm or cold.

Gluten free baking - a collection of recipes

Recently a friend asked me for a collection of my gluten free recipes, so she could learn to bake gluten free.  I directed her to my blog, but then realised it is very difficult to find all the recipes here.  This is a list of the gluten free recipes I've featured here on my blog so far:

beautiful quick and easy nut slice
mud cake
choc chip cookies
peanut butter biscuits
super-easy healthy chocolate muffins
marbled chocolate cheesecake slice
chocolate fudge cake
My world famous brownies
raspberry white choc muffins
melting moments
quick microwave fruit cake
wacky cake - basic gluten & dairy free cake
pecan pie

Enjoy!!

Gluten free carrot cake

I was given this recipe many years ago when my eldest was first diagnosed with coeliac disease.  It is a really lovely cake, and it always seems to work perfectly.  Noone believes me that it's gluten free when I serve it.  I happen to love carrot cake because of the frosting: cream cheese frosting is something wonderful.  I always make a double-batch of cream cheese frosting, because you need a really thick layer on a carrot cake, and because there has to be enough for me to lick the bowl!!

BEST GLUTEN FREE CARROT CAKE

Recipe can be made a day ahead.  Suitable to freeze.

 1 cup [125g] soy flour or chickpea [besan] flour

¾ cup [110g] maize cornflour [100% corn]
2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 cup [200g] firmly packed brown sugar
1½ cups [360g] grated carrot
1 cup [120g] chopped walnuts
½ cup [125ml] extra light olive oil
½ cup [125ml] sour cream
3 eggs, beaten lightly

ORANGE FROSTING:

125g cream cheese, chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
1½ cups [240g] pure icing sugar

Preheat the oven to moderately slow [160 C].  Grease a deep 20cm round cake tin and line base and sides with baking paper. 

Sift flours, baking powder, soda, and spice into a large bowl; stir in the sugar, carrots and walnuts. 
Stir in the combined oil, cream and eggs until smooth.  Pour the mixture into prepared pan and bake in a moderately slow oven for about one hour.
Stand the cake for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.  Top cake with Orange Frosting.

Orange Frosting: Beat the cheese and rind in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in the sifted icing sugar until smooth.

Miss 9's birthday cakes

Miss 9 had two cakes this year, the number nine on her actual birthday with the family, and then the fairy princess castle for her party.  She helped to decorate them both, she loves to decorate cakes now.  I have had to let go of my perfectionism to let the girls help to decorate their own birthday cakes, but they love them all the more when they have a hand in decorating them. 

Miss 9 will be doing it all herself in a couple of years I think.  She is very creative. 

Miss 7's birthday cakes

The first birthday of the year was this week.  Miss 7 had three birthday celebrations, one with friends at school

One with us on her actual birthday

And she shared a dvd and some craft with three friends last night

I have to say I am OVER cake decorating.  It was a mammoth two days.  I have two weeks to recover before the next birthday...

Beautiful, quick and easy nut slice

This is another of my 'go-to' slices, for when I need a quick, yummy morning tea or supper.  It is delicious.  Some of you may remember a slice called "no-bowl slice".  This is a variation on that old favourite.

QUICK AND EASY BEAUTIFUL SLICE

·        125g butter, melted
·        125g crushed biscuits
·        1 cup coconut
·        ½ - 1 packet choc chips (dark)
·        1 can condensed milk
·        1 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped [or a mixture of macadamias and pecans]

Preheat oven to 180^oC. Line a slice pan with baking paper.

Combine biscuits, coconut and melted butter. Press mixture into the prepared pan. Spread the chocolate bits over evenly; top with nuts; pour condensed milk over the whole lot.

Cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool. Set in the fridge before slicing.

My Favourite Mud Cake - gluten free

MUD CAKE

250g cold unsalted butter, chopped

150g dark chocolate, chopped

2 cups [440g] castor sugar

1 cup [250ml] water

1/3 cup [80ml] whisky

1 tablespoon dry instant coffee

1 ½ cups [225g] plain flour & ¼ cup [35g] SR flour [to make gluten free, use 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour and ¼ tsp gluten free baking powder]

¼ cup [25g] cocoa powder

2 eggs, beaten lightly

Grease 23cm swuare slab cake pan, line base with baking paper [DO NOT USE A SPRINGFORM PAN OR YOUR CAKE WILL LEAK ALL OVER YOUR OVEN – I KNOW THIS FROM EXPERIENCE].

Combine butter, chocolate, sugar, water, whisky and coffee in medium saucepan, stir over heat until butter and chocolate melt.  Transfer mixture to large bowl; cool. 

Stir in sifted flours and cocoa, then eggs; pour mixture into prepared pan. 

Bake in moderately slow oven [160 C] for 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours.  Stand cake in pan 30 minutes; turn onto wire rack to cool. 

Serve dusted with sifted icing sugar, or ice with chocolate ganache for an even richer cake experience!

__________________________________________________________

CHOCOLATE GANACHE:           combine 200g melted dark chocolate and ½ cup cream.  Refrigerate 30 minutes till thick and spread over cake.  Decorate with chocolate curls and strawberries.

 

GLUTEN FREE CHOC-CHIP COOKIES

This recipe makes dozens of cookies.  I mean dozens.  The best part is, you can freeze them.  So I can always have cookies on hand for those busy weeks when I can't bake.  They're so yummy.  I have also substituted the chocolate for nuts or pressed gluten-free smarties in the top of the plain dough [the kid's favourite].  It's a brilliant basic recipe.

500g butter

1 x 395g tin condensed milk
1 cup sugar
5 cups SR flour [I use my own blend, from Betty Hagman, with added baking powder]

2-3 blocks of chocolate [white, milk or dark] roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180 C.  Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy.  Beat in condensed milk.  Add the flour and mix until smooth.  Stir in the chocolate until well combined. 

Roll about 2 teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place on baking paper-lined trays.  Bake for 12-15 mins or until lightly golden.  Remove from oven and cool on the trays.  Store in airtight containers.

Miss 2's birthday cake

Miss 2 is into dogs and puppies. Really into them. We don't have a dog. But she does have a stuffed dog teddy. He gets carried around the house and taken out in the car most days. Reading books containing dogs is also a favourite thing of hers to do. And each time we see a dog while out driving, or on tv, she gets really excited. For a little girl who doesn't talk yet, we know she loves dogs. So it was easy to decide what birthday cake to choose for her - Spot the dog.

I used my new favourite gluten free cake recipe: the gluten free madiera [pound] cake, but I made it with vanilla extract rather than orange. It was so delicious, that ALL OF THIS CAKE GOT CONSUMED within 2 days. Usually my birthday cakes get eaten for a day or two but I throw the rest away as it goes stale and yukky.

Gluten free orange cakes

I thought I'd try a new recipe, for cupcakes, the other week. It's one I've been wanting to trial for a while now. It is for madiera or pound cake [as the Americans call it]. I found it worked brilliantly, in fact, other than being a little dry, I could not tell it was gluten free.

GLUTEN FREE MADEIRA CAKE
1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
170g butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs
the zest of one orange, finely grated
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 180 C.
Cream butter and sugar together with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
Measure dry ingredients into a bowl, use a hand whisk to combine.
Add dry ingredients. Mix until well incorporated.
Spoon into cupcake cases, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cakes spring back to the touch.


Ice with butter cream icing flavoured with orange juice [used instead of milk/cream for liquid]. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

MY FAVOURITE GLUTEN FREE PEANUT BUTTER BISCUITS

Oh how I LOVE these cookies. I eat far too many of them at once. I prefer them cold, out of the fridge, so the chocolate is hard and provides a textural difference to the biscuit crumb. This batch I made with crunchy peanut butter [it was all I had in the pantry] and the extra crunch of peanut pieces was lovely. I don't think I'll go back to smooth peanut butter for these.

GLUTEN FREE PEANUT BUTTER BISCUITS

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup castor sugar

1 egg

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients in a bowl by hand with a spoon. Form into small cookies. Place on a baking tray and bake at 180 C for approximately 10 minutes. DO NOT ALLOW TO OVERCOOK. Cool on the tray and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Super healthy gluten free muffins

I read in a food magazine recently [which one I can't recall] an idea for a healthy muffin:
Just mix the dry ingredients from a chocolate cake packet mix [I used gluten free] with 2 cups of mashed pumpkin and bake as regular muffins.
That's it. Pretty amazing.

ANOTHER RAINBOW CAKE

There are some crafts that I do with my kids that I think are significant, and then there are the ones that they ask to do again and again. The rainbow cake was one of those silly things we did one day to teach Miss 4 primary and secondary colours. The other day she asked to do it again, almost 12 months since the last time! So I got our our 6 bowls and food colouring and the usual wacky cake recipe, and we started with our three primary colours. Yet again Miss 4 was so surprised at the transformation of yellow and blue into green, and the other secondary colours. But by far her favourite part of this process is licking the bowl.Miss 1 thought it was pretty good too:

If you're going to do this at home here are few tips:

1. 1/2 teaspoon of food colouring is TOO MUCH for each bowl of 1/2 cup cake batter - it won't cook properly and will send your kids cuckoo


2. Put your children in old clothes and expect that it will take a day or two to get the food colouring out of your toddler's hair


3. Start with red [or pink] and pour into the centre of the prepared cake tin, then continue on with the colours in order pouring each on top of the one before, they push the first ones aside. When you turn the cake out, put it on it's top and ice the base so when you cut it a true rainbow will appear


4. I use plain white butter icing and tell everyone it's a 'cloud' cake, then they get a lovely surprise when it's cut
   

4 YEAR OLD GLUTEN FREE TEA PARTY MENU

For her birthday this year Miss 4 had a tea party. We set the table with a tablecloth, put little espresso cups and saucers out [just the right size], serviettes, and a red tea pot filled with apple juice.


I decided that a tea party should have tiny finger food so on the table we put:

• tiny melting moments with pink icing


• pikelets [50c coin size] with jam and cream on top


• mini frankfurts from Aldi [they come in a jar and are truly adorable - they're so small]


• grapes

It worked really well. The kids loved it. There was also birthday cake of course,

and we played pass the parcel. The parents sat down and had a cuppa, and the kids played. All in all a perfect 4 year old birthday party.

COULD THIS BE THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I'VE EVER MADE?

I don't have any photographic evidence, it all got consumed. EVERYONE who ate this cake complimented me on it, which is rare. Gluten free it was amazing. And huge. The only reason it all went so quick was that I had the neighbours over in the morning and the men's bible study at our place that night. YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS CAKE. It is made like muffins, add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir to combine. I think it will probably freeze well too. I will have to test that next time I make it :)

POSSIBLY THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I'VE EVER MADE

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cup white rice flour


• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour


• 1/2 cup cornstarch


• 2 cups castor sugar


• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda


• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 230g butter


• 5 tablespoons cocoa


• 1 cup boiling water


• 1/2 cup buttermilk


• 2 large eggs


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a large baking tray or lamington tray with baking paper. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and allow mixture to cook for 3 minutes. Stir in boiling water and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a minute or so.

Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir to combine with a balloon whisk. Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla, mix until a batter consistency. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch. Pour icing over warm cake and cool in pan.

For the Icing:

• 110g butter


• 5 tablespoons cocoa


• 3 1/2 cups icing sugar


• 6 tablespoons milk


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter in a saucepan, add cocoa. Then add the sugar, milk and vanilla and stir over low heat until smooth and shiny. Pour over warm cake.

MY WORLD FAMOUS BROWNIES

Yes, it sounds presumptuous, but I have been giving this recipe out for years as everyone who eats them asks for the recipe. It has ended up all over the world as it's shared with friends and family. So it IS world famous! And easy to make, which is always a bonus.
When you need a chocolate fix there's nothing better. Seriously.

SHELLE'S WORLD FAMOUS BROWNIES
125g butter
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup flour [gluten free or wheat, depending who you're baking for]
1 teaspoon baking powder
250g chocolate chips [I always use dark, but use whatever you prefer]

Melt butter in a medium saucepan or microwave jug. Stir in sugar, cocoa, salt, eggs and vanilla, mixing well.

Stir through flour and baking powder. Stir through chocolate chips/pieces. The mixture will be quite stiff. Line an 18 x 28cm slice tin with baking paper. Spread brownie mixture evenly in tin.

Bake in a moderate oven [180C] for 25-30 minutes. Brownies will seem quite soft, but will firm on cooling. Leave in tin to cool completely [I put it into the fridge in the tin and cut it later - you get neater cuts when it's less gooey]. Cut into squares.
Store in refrigerator.

Miss 4's birthday cakes

Here are the two cakes I made in the last 24 hours for Miss 4's birthday. The swimming pool was for her tea party with two friends from church. The koala was for her family dinner celebration. Just as I'd finished cutting the koala shape she asked me if I'd put a baby on the koala's back [I thought you'd better know in case you thought I was confused about koala anatomy].

I always use wacky cake as my base for kid's birthday cakes, because you often need a double or triple batch and they really only eat the icing anyway, which is expensive if you need lots of eggs and butter in your gluten free cake recipe. Wacky cake holds it's shape well when you cut it out, and if you make it chocolate tastes pretty good gluten free.

Now that I'm through the last 6 weeks of "3 kids' birthdays plus various other crazy life events" I will get back into some sort of routine and try to find photos of Miss 6 and Miss 8's cakes. When I find them I will post them here. If only posting photos here meant I was scrapbooking them as well. Sigh.

GLUTEN FREE RASPBERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

I have a new obsession: muffins. I got sick of cupcakes, brownies, chocolate marble slice, fruit cake, and yummy layer slice [my standard baking I seem to do in a month].

Those of you who know me outside of cyberspace will know that I only eat dark chocolate. I have been known to remark that putting milk into chocolate just removes space that could be taken up by more "pure" chocolate. And I never let white chocolate rubbish pass my lips!

Newsflash! I have found a reason to eat white chocolate: raspberries. I tried these muffins with regular wheat flour last week for bible study and they worked really well. Then I had to try to convert the recipe to gluten-free.

The result is delicious.

GLUTEN FREE RASPBERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS [makes 12 medium]

2 cups gluten free flour [either blended yourself or a commercial one]

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup caster sugar

180g block white chocolate, roughly cut into small squares

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

125g canola oil [you can substitute melted butter, I was just too lazy to melt]

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup frozen raspberries [don't defrost]

Fill a 12-hole muffin pan with muffin papers. Preheat oven to 190C.

Combine dry ingredients [including chocolate and frozen berries] in one bowl.

Combine wet ingredients in another bowl.

Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry, until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX or they won't rise as much and will be tough.

Spoon into muffin papers and bake for 20mins.

Turn onto wire rack to cool.

I then decided there was only one way to improve them: make them dark!!

I added 1/4 cup cocoa to the dry ingredients and substitute dark chocolate for the white.

Go make some muffins!

AUSSIE CUPCAKES

I needed to do something special with the girls to pass the time today as we are quarantined [with impetigo no less - that's school sores - but I prefer the medical name as it doesn't sound so gross] and Mr E is away at a conference. I picked up these really cute cake toppers at Aldi on Friday [yes gluten free - I always read labels!!] that were Australian animals. Today we made chocolate cupcakes [brown for dirt] with green icing [for grass] and stuck them on top. Very cute and the kids all thought they were very special. Cake toppers are a great way for the kids to do the decorating and having the cakes coming out looking very presentable. If only we were able to go out we could share them with someone...