Product Review: Melinda’s Pancake and Seed Cracker Mixes

Recently Melinda from Melinda’s Gluten Free Goodies has produced these new packet mixes and asked for taste testers and feedback so I signed up. I’m always willing to try new products so here are my comments:

 

Lower Carb Pancake Mix

I made these according to the packet directions except that I used egg replacer (Orgran No Egg powder and water) and also added a little vinegar to the milk (as per packet suggestion). I used dairy milk as I can have dairy. They can be made vegan with a dairy alternative. I cooked them with my pancake maker and found that they cooked up just like my regular pancake mix I have published here. The result was a yummy pancake that we ate with maple syrup. All here liked them, but noted that the pancake itself didn’t have added sugar/sugar substitute which meant that they could be used as a savoury pancake in place of a burger bun, for example. If you prefer a sweeter pancake, it would be easy enough to add sugar to the mix before adding the liquids. Note that they are not suitable for people with nut allergies, as they contain almonds. We recommend them! Here’s what they looked like:

Seed Cracker Mix

Next I tried the seed cracker mix. This was really easy to make and I just followed the packet directions exactly. I cooked them for an hour and they look exactly like they should. They taste nice, although the only negative comment I could make was that they were lacking in salt. I’m not a huge salt fan, but these ones needed some salt sprinkled over the top of them before eating. At the Gluten-Free Show in Brisbane two weeks ago I saw Melinda and made this comment and she said that a number of people had complained of either too much salt or too little salt. She thinks that, in the batch produced for taste testing, that the salt sank to the bottom of the mix so that some came out with hardly any salt and some had way too much. I don’t know anything about the production process but there is probably a way to fix the problem. Here’s what they look like:

Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Eggless Mug Cake (with added cane sugar-free option)

We’re coming up to Christmas here and I’ve noticed that some have the idea of giving a gift of a mug cake mix so that friends can make their own sweet treat when they have the craving. I’ve had a fiddle around with a few recipes and, thanks to my two youngest sons acting as test testers, have come up with some variations to suit most. Here’s two versions. Both make enough for 6 mug cakes (pictures to come later):

Sugar added option:

Ingredients

150 g gluten-free self raising flour (or use plain/all purpose GF flour and add 2 teaspoons of GF baking powder)

165 g  caster sugar

40 g cocoa

Method

To make the mix: Sift all ingredients together and mix to evenly distribute.

To make the cake:

1. Place 55 g (3 Australian tablespoons – 1 tablespoon is 4 teaspoons) into a mug.
2. Add 30 g of milk (for dairy-free use either rice milk, soy milk or coconut milk) and half a teaspoon of oil (I used olive oil).
3. Mix well with a teaspoon. Microwave for 50 seconds (I have a 1000 W microwave, so you may need to adjust depending on your wattage). If you want a more fudgy, pudding style of cake, use slightly less time (I’d suggest 40 seconds).

No sugar added option:

Ingredients

150 g gluten-free self raising flour (or use plain/all purpose GF flour and add 2 teaspoons of GF baking powder)

17 g Stevia Sweet powder

40 g cocoa

Method

To make the mix: Sift all ingredients together and mix to evenly distribute.

To make the cake:

1. Place 32 g into a mug.
2. Proceed as for the sugar version above.

 

Gluten, Dairy and Egg-free Chocolate Carrot Cake

I’ve been doing some travelling this year, visiting Scotland and England. I was born in the UK so had a lovely time catching up with relatives as well as doing some sightseeing. The Scottish Highlands are absolutely amazing and I did see a ripple on Loch Ness so Nessie made an appearance just for me!

I was thrilled with finding the wonderful Schar bread in Tesco and Sainsbury stores. I really wish that our regular shops stocked it here in Australia. I was surprised to find that it was not so easy to obtain the Orgran No Egg (egg replacer) that I often use in cake recipes. Eventually I tracked it down in a Holland and Barrett store and I also saw it in a different health shop. So, if in the UK, check out the Holland and Barrett shops for it. This cake recipe was given to me 24 years ago, so I decided to make it gluten-free and vegan. The icing is made from cream cheese so if you want it vegan, have a look at substituting a vegan cream cheese and non-dairy margarine or just enjoy without icing. If not nut-free, a handful of walnuts thrown into the mixture go down well too.

Ingredients

190 g gluten-free self raising flour

20 g cocoa powder

110 g sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup grated carrot (weighs approximately 140 g)

225 g crushed pineapple

80 g water + 2 teaspoons Orgran No Egg (or use EnerG or use 2 eggs if you can have them)

115 g vegetable oil (I use sunflower oil)

Method

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the carrot and mix well again.
2. Add all of the wet ingredients into the middle and mix well with a wooden spoon.
3. Spoon into a medium sized ring tin.
4. Bake at 160 C fan-forced (180 C conventional) oven until a skewer inserted comes out not sticky. I found this took around 60 minutes.

Icing (not vegan)

1. Mix 60 g cream cheese and 30 g soft butter together with electric beaters.
2. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and beat again.
3. Add 175 g sifted icing mixture (powdered sugar/confectioner’s sugar) – make sure if it has starch that it is cornstarch not wheat start.
4. Add 2 teaspoons lemon juice and mix well.

Gluten, dairy, and egg-free vegan bread