Gluten-free, Egg-free and Dairy-free Gingerbread

Every Wednesday afternoon my son likes to bake and today he made this gingerbread. He made it gluten, egg and dairy-free.

Ingredients

225 g gluten-free plain flour

150 g gluten-free self raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

225 g sugar

250 ml milk (use rice milk for dairy-free)

80 ml water + 2 teaspoons Orgran No Egg egg replacer (or use 2 eggs if you can eat eggs)

125 g butter (use Nuttelex or another dairy-free margarine for dairy-free)

325 g golden syrup (1 metric cup)

Method

1. Place the butter/Nuttelex in a saucepan with the golden syrup and stir over a low heat until the butter/Nuttelex is melted. Set aside to cool.

2. Sift all of the dry ingredients together into a large bowl.

3. Add the milk and egg replacer and mix well.

4. Add the butter/Nuttelex and golden syrup mixture and mix well until there are no lumps.

5. Bake at 160 C fan-forced (180 C/350 F conventional oven) until a skewer inserted comes out clean. I used a bundt pan and a small loaf pan. The smaller pan took 30 min and the bundt pan took 45 min.

Gluten-free and Eggless Almond Cakes

Whenever I’m out with friends I often look in the cake cases at the cafe to see if there’s anything I can eat. I often see gluten-free and even gluten and dairy-free cake, but an eggless cake is something I’ve never found. I usually settle for a cup of tea and eat later. One of the cakes I often see is gluten-free friands. I’ve looked at recipes but they all use egg whites. I’ve had a go at using egg replacer instead of the egg whites but it hasn’t really worked for me as the cakes come out very dense. Instead I’ve taken the butter cake recipe and made adjustments to make it into almond muffins. This recipe does not use corn (except as noted below) so is good for those avoiding cornflour. Here it is:

Ingredients

120 g icing sugar (This is called ‘powdered sugar’ in North America. I use a gluten-free icing mixture which contains corn cornflour as the pure icing sugar is a pain to sift. If avoiding corn, just use the pure icing sugar but make sure you sift well to avoid a lumpy mixture.)

120 g butter

80 g sour cream

120 ml milk

120 g rice flour

120 g almond meal

4 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder

Method

1. Mix the butter, icing mixture/sugar and sour cream well with electric mixers until well combined and there are no lumps.

2. Sift the rice flour, almond meal and baking powder together.

3. Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the mix, then 1/2 the milk, then 1/3 of the flour mix, then 1/2 the milk, then the last 1/3 of the flour mixture.

4. Place into muffin sized tins (fill to approximately half-full) and cook for  20 minutes at 160 C fan-forced or (180 C/350 F conventional oven) or until a skewer comes out clean.

The next time I make these I’m going to add some raspberries.

Eggless, Gluten-free Marble Cake

This cake recipe was published by Melinda from Melinda’s Gluten Free Goodies on her Facebook page. It was created by a lady called Robyn. The recipe is reproduced here with permission. Thank you ladies! After seeing and baking this recipe I’ve done a Google search and it seems there are a number of eggless cake recipes which use sweetened condensed milk. I’ve put the weights here as well as cup measures. I cooked it in a ring tin but really should have cooked it in a loaf pan (as suggested). I also shouldn’t have inserted the skewer so early – I think that’s why it’s a little deflated in the middle.

Ingredients

100 g butter

40 g  sugar (2 metric tablespoons)

1 teaspoon vanilla

200 g sweetened condensed milk

125 ml milk

150 g (1 metric cup) Melinda’s gluten-free self raising flour*

12 g (1 metric tablespoon) cocoa
Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 C fan-forced (about 180 C/350 F conventional)

2. Combine butter and sugar with vanilla.

3. Mix in the milk and condensed milk.

4. Mix in the flour.

5. Divide the mixture in half and add sifted cocoa to one half.

6. Spoon into prepared tin. Mix a little with a knife to get a marble effect. Use a loaf pan. (I used a ring pan)

7. Cook until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. I forgot to time it, but estimate that it took around 40 minutes in my fan-forced oven.

*Melinda’s gluten-free flour contains soy flour. It is available in some IGA stores in Australia or online (see web link above). If overseas, use a soy based flour as an alternative or you could try another gluten-free flour if allergic to soy. I used Melinda’s flour in this recipe.

Eggless and Gluten-free Lemon Cheesecake

So…seeing as I was on the subject of condensed milk tin recipes I thought I may as well post the lemon cheesecake recipe. When I was first married my husband used to rave about his grandma’s cheesecake and how good it was. I asked her one day for the recipe and she just replied, “It’s on the side of the condensed milk tin.” Again, I thought everyone knew this recipe but when I’ve had visitors, particularly from North America, they don’t seem to know of it.  It’s an unbaked recipe and eggless and it’s easy enough to make gluten free too:
Ingredients

1 packet of gluten-free biscuits (I use Leda Arrowroot or Gingernut biscuits which are gluten, egg and dairy-free – a 205 g packet).

90 g butter (melted)

250 g cream cheese

395 g (1 tin) of sweetened condensed milk

85 ml (about 1/3 metric cup) lemon juice (for variation you can use lime juice)

Method

1. Crush the biscuits in a food processor.

2. Add the melted butter and press into a tart dish. Put into the refrigerator to set while you make the filling.

3. Mix the cream cheese with electric mixers until soft.

4. Gradually add the condensed milk and beat until the cheese and milk are well combined with no lumps. I usually scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure that all of the cheese is mixed with the milk.

5. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Pour into the biscuit shell and refrigerate until set.

Chocolate Caramel Slice Gluten-free Egg-free

I honestly thought that everyone knew how to make this slice seeing as the recipe is on the side of the condensed milk tin. However, every time I make it, people ask me for the recipe. The original recipe is not gluten-free, but using gluten-free flour works well. I have changed the chocolate icing recipe, as the one I use makes it easier to cut. I’ve also converted cup measurements to mass so that it is quick and easy to put together. The recipe below is for a double batch. With the colder than usual August weather in Brisbane everyone seems to be hungry and we have regular visitors who don’t mind a piece or two. Just halve the recipe if you don’t want so much!

Ingredients and Method

300 g gluten-free self-raising flour

340 g brown sugar

160 g coconut

250 g melted butter

Combine these four ingredients together and mix. Place into a large oven tray (I used one that is 35 cm x 25 cm x 6 cm). Bake at 160 C fan-forced or 180 C/350 F conventional oven for 10 minutes.

2 cans of sweetened condensed milk (each 395 g)

40 g butter

100 g golden syrup

Combine the condensed milk, butter and golden syrup in a large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until boiling then continue to simmer whilst stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Take care as the mixture is very hot and may ‘spit’ as air bubbles come to the surface. Pour over the base and cook for a further 10 minutes in the oven. (Keep the saucepan aside for scraping out later – yum!)

300 g chocolate

60 g butter

70 ml water

Combine the chocolate, butter and water in a heat proof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is well combined. Pour over the slice and refrigerate until set. Use a warm knife to cut into pieces. This slice keeps well in the fridge – if you can keep everyone away from it long enough!

Gluten-free and Egg-free Butter Cake

It’s jolly cold here near Brisbane at the moment and it seems to be making us all very hungry. My almost 9 year old son woke me up early this morning saying, “Mum, I know it’s early but my tummy is growling!” I’ve been doing a little research on what works well for egg replacement in cakes and have come across a number of sites which use sour cream instead of eggs. By using gluten-free flour the cakes become gluten-free too, though not dairy-free. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

180 g caster sugar

180 g soft butter

120 g sour cream

185 ml milk

370 g gluten-free self raising flour

pinch salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 C (fan-forced) or 180C/350F conventional.

2. Beat together butter, sugar and sour cream with electric mixers. Make sure there are no butter lumps.

3. Sift together flour and salt.

4. Add 1/3 flour to the mixture and mix until it is incorporated, then mix in 1/2 the milk, then 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the milk and then the final 1/3 of the flour.

5. Pour into a greased bundt tin and bake until the top is browned and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. In my oven it took approximately 35 minutes.

6. Invert the cake onto a plate.

Gluten-free, Egg-free and Dairy-free Coconut Spice Cake

This cake recipe was a modification of a recipe a friend gave me a few years back. The original recipe has dried apricots in it, but I thought I’d take the basic recipe and turn it into a spice cake. It’s so easy as the base recipe has only four ingredients. If there’s a spice on my list that you don’t like, just leave it out.

Ingredients

150 g gluten-free self raising flour

90 g dessicated coconut

115 g caster sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

250 ml milk (or rice milk for dairy-free)

Method

1. Place all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

2. Add the milk and mix well.

3. Pour into a loaf tin or 3 mini-loaf tins.

4. Cook in an oven at 160 C (fan-forced) or 180 C/350 F conventional until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

5. In the mini-loaf pans it took around 30 minutes to cook.

Tips

This cake is best eaten on the day it’s cooked. It is okay on day 2, but the keeping quality may be improved by adding a little oil.

Gluten-free, Egg-free and Dairy-free Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cake is so easy to make and it tastes great! It takes me less than 15 minutes to mix it and get it into the oven. Now that I have a new fan-forced oven, it’s cooked in no time. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

260 g self-raising gluten-free flour (The Orgran or Aldi ‘Has No” brands work well. Often other brands have too much raising agent in them, causing the cake to over rise and then sink)

340 g caster sugar

60 g cocoa

125 ml oil

375 ml milk (use coconut milk  or rice milk for dairy free – coconut milk gives a lovely flavour)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Sift the flour, sugar and cocoa together into a large bowl.

2. Mix the milk, oil and vanilla together and add to the dry ingredients.

3. Mix well with electric mixers until it is thoroughly mixed.

4. Place into a greased ring or bundt tin.

5. Bake at 160 C fan-forced (180 C/350 F for conventional oven) until cooked. My oven is fan-forced and it takes about 45 minutes in a bundt tin.

6. Allow to cool and then invert onto a plate.

Icing

Sift 140 g gluten-free icing sugar and 24 g cocoa into a bowl. Add 30 ml of hot water and 30 g of melted butter (or dairy-free margarine such as Nuttelex). Mix well.

Tips

It’s normal for the cake to sink a little in the middle when cooking. If using a bundt tin no one will notice the sink when it’s inverted!