Raspberry Ice-Cream – Gluten free and vegan

I’m sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Things have been rather busy in the household. Next year I hope to start on creating a cookbook. All recipes will be gluten free, vegan and free from all common allergens. I’ve noticed a few more likes on my Facebook page recently so meanwhile, here is a recipe that ticks all the boxes. Raspberries and coconut make a great combination.

Ingredients

250 g frozen raspberries

80 g coconut cream (or dairy cream if you can have it)

40 g sugar (or to taste) You can also use a sugar substitute here.

Method

Place all ingredients in a food processor or thermocooker and blend on high speed for about 20 seconds. You may need to scrape down in between. If the consistency seems a little too stiff, add a little coconut cream until it is the consistency desired. Place in the freezer to firm up or eat straightaway.

This recipe can be done with any frozen fruit, so long as the pieces are small enough for the food processor.

Vegetable Pancakes Gluten-free and Vegan

Recently I saw a recipe for vegetable pancakes and thought I’d give them a whirl for lunch one day. They contained gluten, eggs and dairy. I made them without eggs and gluten then decided to completely change the recipe and make them vegan also. Today I gave them a try and they worked out fine. These are not like fritters in texture. They are like a savoury pancake. Although they are vegan, you could use them as a base for making small blini sized ones if you just want allergy free, and top with a little bit of smoked salmon or whatever takes your fancy. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

220 g vegetables (I used one carrot, a small zucchini (courgette) and some spring onions)

160 g buckwheat flour

200 ml rice milk mixed with 1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

30 g melted dairy-free margarine (I use Nuttelex)

1 teaspoon salt

1 flax egg (4 teaspoons flaxmeal mixed with 40 ml/g hot water)

Optional: Add in 60 g tasty cheese (if not vegan and can have dairy) or add vegan cheese

Method

1. Using a food processor or thermocooker chop vegetables until they are finely chopped. I used speed 7, 10 seconds on my machine (a Smith and Nobel Kitchen Master).
2. Add all of the other ingredients and blend together (speed 6, 10 seconds on my machine).
3. I cooked these on a Kambrook pancake maker which was well greased with olive oil spray for a few minutes each side. I used 1/4 cup of batter for each.

Tips: Ensure that the frypan or pancake maker you are using is very well greased as buckwheat flour tends to stick easily.

Gingerbread Men – Gluten-free and Vegan

I’ve been a little quiet on this blog this year. We’ve had quite the medical roundabout with me having a couple of day surgeries, my youngest son having some medical problems and my husband being diagnosed with a very rare form of lymphoma. Thankfully, although rare, his lymphoma is very low grade and when he gets to the point of needing chemotherapy it should respond well. There’s been little spare time for baking but in time for Christmas I’ve been back in the kitchen trying out new recipes.

I’ve been wanting to sort out a gingerbread man recipe for some time now. In previous years I’ve used a recipe that comes out nicely but doesn’t quite have the zing that I was hoping for. I recently tried another recipe which had the zing but the texture was not quite how we like it. This recipe uses ideas from both recipes I’ve tried and it’s a winner. My youngest son finds it a little too zingy for his taste buds, so if you want it a bit milder just reduce the ginger amount. It’s a good recipe as it’s free from all the common allergens – gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts and soy. Here it is:

Ingredients

250 g dairy free margarine (I use Nuttelex in Australia) or you can use butter if not dairy -free

225 g brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

60 g water combined with 2 teaspoons of Organ No Egg powder (or use 2 eggs if you can have them) A flax egg should also work but I haven’t tried it in this recipe.

120 g golden syrup (if you can’t get golden syrup, perhaps try treacle)

600 g gluten free plain/all purpose flour (I use Aldi or Orgran gluten free plain flour)

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

4 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

Method

1. Cream margarine/butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixers.
2. Add water and No Egg powder and golden syrup and mix well.
3. Mix the dry ingredients well together and add to the creamed mixture until it is incorporated.
4. Roll out on floured baking paper until 3-5 mm thick and cut out the gingerbread people.
5. Transfer to a baking paper lined tray (I use silicon mats on a baking tray).
6. Cook at 160 C (fan-forced oven) or 180 C (conventional oven) for 15-20 minutes depending on thickness of the gingerbread men.
7. Cool on the trays then store in an airtight container.

Chocolate Coconut Bars – Gluten-free and Vegan

For a while now I’ve had this recipe for homemade ‘Bounty’ Bars devised by someone on Facebook called ‘Aldi Mum’. The recipe uses dairy so I figured I’d use the principle of the recipe and convert it to make it vegan. There are only three ingredients and they are so easy to make. I’ve realised that my phone pic above is quite blurry so I need to take clearer pictures and post later.

Ingredients

305 g tin of sweet condensed coconut milk (I use the Panaroo brand)

190 g packet of shredded coconut (I use the Aldi one as the amount of shredding is perfect for this recipe and the 190 g size is exactly right too)

400 g dairy-free chocolate (I used Aldi dark chocolate which says it may contain traces of milk. This is fine for our family who don’t have a dairy allergy but obviously this would be unsuitable for anyone with an anaphylactic dairy allergy. In Big W stores you can buy Kinnerton chocolate which is gluten, dairy, egg and nut-free. Always check the ingredient list!)

Method

1. Add the coconut to a medium sized bowl and add the tin of condensed coconut milk. Ensure it is thoroughly mixed together.
2. Form into small logs. I used two silicon ice-cube trays that I bought from Woolworths. With this amount, I had a little left over so used a silicone mini-muffin tray for the extra amount.
3. Freeze until firm.
4. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of boiled water.
5. Dip the frozen bars into the melted chocolate and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
6. Refrigerate until set then place in a container and keep refrigerated.

Here is a picture of the trays:

 

Pancakes – Gluten-free and Vegan

Yes, I have posted about pancakes before. The buckwheat recipe I posted recently is still a favourite here, however, I wanted to revisit the recipe I posted a little while back for regular pancakes (pikelets). When I visited the UK in 2016 I realised that the Orgran No Egg egg replacement powder is not as readily available as it is here in Australia so I wanted to see if I could make pancakes with another substitute. I’m going to try applesauce at some stage as a substitute but I know that mashed banana is also used as an egg replacement. I tried it yesterday and it worked fine. All of the other ingredients are the same as in the original recipe but I’ve re-posted it here for convenience. There is also a flax egg alternative if you don’t have or can’t eat bananas.

Ingredients

300 g gluten-free self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 mashed well ripened banana (medium size)* see flax alternative below

350 ml milk of choice (rice/coconut milk for dairy-free or regular milk if not dairy-free)

2 teaspoons white vinegar

20 g melted Nuttelex (or other dairy-free margarine, or butter if not dairy-free)

Method

1. Sift all of the dry ingredients together.
2. Mix the vinegar and melted Nuttelex with the milk and mashed banana and add to the dry ingredients.
3. Use electric mixers to mix well.
4. Heat a non-stick frypan, pancake maker or pie maker and spray with olive oil.
5. Add spoonfuls of the mixture and allow to cook until bubbles form at the surface then flip over to cook on the other side.
6. Allow to sit in a stack on a plate for 5-10 minutes before eating (this allows the inside to cook further – otherwise it can be a little doughy on the inside).

Bellini instructions:

1. Add the Nuttelex/butter to the Bellini bowl and mix speed 1, 60 C for 3 minutes or until melted.
2. Add the milk, banana and vinegar to the bowl.
3. Add the flour then the bicarb. soda on top.
4. Mix at speed 6 for 10 seconds. Scrape down and repeat if needed.

Tip: You may need to add a little more milk to the mix depending on which milk you use. For coconut milk, I find it needs a little more than with rice or dairy milk. If the mix doesn’t drop onto the frypan easily, add a tablespoon (20 g) at a time and mix until it looks right.

I cook mine using a Kambrook Pancake maker and use 1/4 cup of mixture. I preheat the maker then open up and spray with olive oil. I then add the mixture into the deep side and leave the maker open and allow it to cook. When the bubbles start breaking on the top, I close the lid and flip them over to the other side of the maker. I then open it up and spray the deep holes and add more mix while the first two are cooking on the other side. The instructions tell you to close the lid but I find that this compresses the pancakes and makes them doughy inside.

*An alternative to the banana is to use 6 teaspoons of flax meal and 80 g of hot water. Mix together and allow to gel for 10 minutes before using in the mixture.

 

Chocolate Fudge – Gluten-free and Vegan

Making fudge has had a bad history for me. When I was 14 I tried to make chocolate fudge. The recipe said to take it off the heat at a certain point, add butter and then beat it hard with a wooden spoon. I was a bit too enthusiastic with the wooden spoon and a pile of very hot fudge slopped out of the saucepan and onto my bare leg (I was wearing shorts). My father scooped me up in his arms and put me in the bathtub and had the cold water on immediately, but I still had a nasty burn. Thankfully there was no scarring but ever since I’ve been wary of piping hot things on the stove. A few years ago I made a caramel fudge in my Bellini but last night I decided to try a chocolate fudge on the stovetop. I wanted to make it vegan as I’m taking it to friends tomorrow who can’t have dairy or gluten. It’s worked out fine but if you try this please be very careful and also I’d suggest not having young children around your feet while making it as it needs careful attention and you don’t want the risk of them grabbing the saucepan. I started with a non-vegan recipe and converted it using coconut milk and Nuttelex. Here it is:

Ingredients

400 g white sugar

45 g cocoa powder

235 g coconut milk

55 g Nuttelex (or other dairy-free margarine)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Grease a square 20 x 20 cm tin/dish with Nuttelex (I used an oven-safe glass dish). Measure out the Nuttelex and vanilla extract into a small bowl.
2. Add the sugar to a large saucepan and sift the cocoa on top. Add the milk and stir to combine. Try not to get the sugar up the sides of the saucepan as it will affect the smoothness of the fudge if the sugar crystallises out.
3. Put on a high heat to bring to the boil, stirring often. Once boiling, turn down the heat to a medium level which will keep it boiling. On my electric stove top I have levels 1-6. I turned it down to level 3.
4. Use a candy thermometer to measure when the mixture is at 115 C. This took quite a while – I estimate 15-20 minutes. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test by putting a drop of the mixture into a glass of cold water. It will form a soft ball when ready.
5. Remove from heat and add Nuttelex and vanilla extract. Beat with a wooden spoon until the fudge loses the glossy look. Please be careful!
6. Pour into the tin and allow to cool before cutting up. Cut the squares quite small as the fudge is very rich and it could be quite devastating our waistlines!

Doughnut Muffins – Gluten-free and Vegan

A couple of years back on a Facebook thermocooker page this recipe for doughnut muffins went viral with everyone cooking them up. They are very yummy but the good news is that they can be made gluten-free and vegan easily. I’ve modified the recipe and upsized it to make 12-14 muffins which suits our household. You also don’t need a thermocooker to make them. I’ve used apple puree/applesauce to replace the egg, but No Egg replacement powder also works well. I have also used coconut milk for the milk. I think they would taste lovely with some chopped apple in them so that might be a future try. Eaten warm, these are fantastic. If you have any leftover, just freeze and reheat in the microwave and they will still taste good. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

300 g gluten free plain flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it’s gluten-free)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

240 g caster sugar

360 g rice milk (or coconut milk or dairy milk if you can have it)

100 g light flavoured oil (I use sunflower or canola)

60 g applesauce/apple puree (or you could use 60 g water + 1 1/2 teaspoons of Orgran No Egg powder)

Topping: Approximately 30 g of melted Nuttelex (or other dairy-free margarine) or butter (if not vegan and can have dairy), cinnamon sugar (I never measure this, I just add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to a bowl and stir through a teaspoon of cinnamon and add more of less of each until it looks right)

Method

1. Add all dry ingredients to a bowl (or thermocooker) and mix well. In a thermocooker press pulse a couple of times to mix.
2. Add the wet ingredients and mix well with beaters or on a thermocooker use speed 6, 10 seconds and then scrape down the bowl and then speed 6, 6 seconds.
3. Cook in muffin tins at 160 C (fan-forced oven) or 180 C (conventional oven) for approximately 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. The mix makes 12-14 muffins.
4. After a few minutes tip the muffins out of the tins. Dip or brush the tops with melted Nuttelex and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. I put the cinnamon sugar into a shaker and shake on top.

 

Yorkshire Pudding – Gluten-free and Egg-free

Yorkshire puddings are as British as you can get. Grandma lived in Yorkshire and made fantastic Yorkshire puddings. There seems to be two types of Yorkshire – the very high rise ones and the lower, slightly stodgy ones that my aunt in Nottingham used to make. I loved them no matter how they were served. Once I was diagnosed I missed being able to eat Yorkshire puds. The regular puddings are made with plain wheat flour, eggs and milk, so trying to make them allergy free is certainly a challenge. At this stage, I’ve made them without gluten or eggs but trying to omit dairy as well only resulted in a flop. I’m sorry about the lack of picture, but my hubby apologises as he accidentally deleted the photo he took. This recipe works but, unlike normal puds, you need to use self raising flour. It also uses aquafaba which is the ‘water’ you get from a tin of chickpeas. Aquafaba is able to be beaten like egg whites and I have made eggless meringue with it (will post recipe at a later date). These ones come out with a nice crunchy outside and soft inside.

Ingredients

150 g gluten free self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

250 g buttermilk

3 tablespoons aquafaba (the ‘water’ from a tin of chickpeas)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210 C fan-forced or 230 C conventional.
2. Measure the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and stir with a spoon to combine (or use a Bellini Intelli and pulse to combine).
3. In a separate bowl (I use a 1 litre glass jug), beat the aquafaba until very frothy, but not until the meringue stage. I should take a picture next time and put it here.
4. Place about 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil into muffin tins and put into the oven to heat for a few minutes.
5. While the oil is heating, add the aquafaba and buttermilk to the flour mixture and quickly mix well with the electric beaters until combined.
6. Remove the muffin tins from the oven and pour the mixture into each tin (it made about 10 muffin sized puddings in my muffin tins).
7. Place into the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes or until nicely golden brown.

Lamingtons – Gluten-free, Egg-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free, Vegan

I’m both British and Australian so I’ll be patriotic to both my birth country and my home county and do a couple of posts with traditional British and Aussie recipes made allergy free. First up, the lamington. For those who have no idea what these are, they are basically meant to be a square of sponge cake coated all over (underneath too) with chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut. With making them allergy free, the cake isn’t quite the traditional sponge, but my family who have no allergies tell me they prefer them to the shop bought ones. I think this is because I tend to put a thicker layer of the chocolate icing around the cake. I used an adjustment of my basic cake recipe and doubled it to make a large batch. There is never any point in making a single batch here as they disappear quickly. They freeze and thaw well, even with the icing on. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

Cake:

370 g gluten-free plain (all purpose) flour

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 teaspoon salt

450 g sugar

60 g corn cornflour

500 g coconut milk

150 g oil

40 g white vinegar

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Icing

280 g icing sugar (make sure it is gluten-free)

48 g cocoa

85 g hot water

coconut for rolling

Method

1. Grease and line a baking tray. For this double batch, I used a tray measuring 35 cm x 24 cm. Preheat the oven to 160 C fan-forced or 180 C conventional.
2. Place the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
3. Mix the coconut milk, vanilla, vinegar and oil together in a separate bowl then add to the dry ingredients.
4. Use electric beaters to quickly whisk the ingredients together. The flour needs to be incorporated but as soon as it’s mixed place into the baking tray and cook for approx 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
5. Allow the cake to cool thoroughly then wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze until firm.
6. For the icing, sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl and add the hot water. The icing needs to be runny enough to coat the pieces. Place the coconut on a plate
7. Remove the cake from the freezer and cut into the desired size. For these, I made them into finger size pieces, but traditional lamingtons are square.
8. Place the cake into the icing and use a spoon to coat them all over. Allow the excess to drip off then place into the coconut and coat the pieces all over. Place on a plate or tray and put into the freezer or fridge to firm up. Store in the fridge or you can freeze them to thaw at a later time.

Tips: Don’t be tempted to coat the cake if it is not frozen first as it will tend to fall apart in the icing mixture. You may need to add a little extra hot water to the icing if it is not runny enough.

 

Fruit cake – Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free, Vegan

A friend recently asked me if I could give advice on adjusting a cake recipe to make it gluten and dairy free. This was really easy to adjust and super easy to make. I’m not a huge fan of fruit cake but I liked this and my hubby (who loves fruit cake) was very pleased. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

300 g gluten-free self raising flour

1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

600 g dried fruit (I used sultanas as that’s what I had in the cupboard)

600 g milk of choice (I used coconut and almond milk, but just use coconut milk alone if there is a nut allergy to consider)

2 metric tablespoons (8 teaspoons) of oil of choice (I used canola)

Method

1. Mix the flour, baking powder and dried fruit together in a large bowl.
2. Add the milk and oil and mix well to combine.
3. Place into a greased and lined 20 cm square cake tin.
4. Cook at 160 C fan-forced (180 C conventional) oven for approximately 60 minutes. Check with a skewer to see if it’s cooked. It’s better to be a little under rather than overcooked and dry.
5. Cool and cut into slices. Eat with butter (or dairy-free butter) if desired.

I’d suggest freezing leftover cake as it tastes good for a couple of days but then will dry out.