Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate and Olive Oil Cake

This flourless cake is a recipe by Nigella Lawson. I first came across it in a magazine but it's also published in her website. She has quite a few gluten free cake recipes unfortunately most of her chocolate cakes require dairy and while I don't mind swapping butter for oil or dairy free spread substituting chocolate for a dairy free option, although doable, makes the baking experience an expensive affair.

I made this cake for the first time for my "mince pie" party and it was a success! There were leftovers of everything except for the chocolate and olive cake.

If you are on a low FODMAP diet you might want to proceed with caution as almonds are no longer low FODMAP but moderate FODMAP and you are advised not to consume more than 10 almonds in one serving. I have no idea how many there are in a slice, I had two slices and I was fine but everybody is different...

Ingredients:

• 150ml light olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 50g cocoa powder, sifted
• 125ml boiling water
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• pinch salt
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 eggs

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease a 23cm springform tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Mix the cocoa powder with the boiling water. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool. In another bowl combine the ground almonds with the bicarbonate and salt. Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into a food processor and beat for 3 minutes. Turn the speed down and pour in the cocoa mixture. Add the almond mixture. Scrape down the sides and pour the batter into the tin. Bake for 40 minutes. The middle might be still slightly damp but that's OK. Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack still in its tin, then ease the sides. Serve warm or cold.

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Christmas Drinks: Spiced Apple Juice and Mulled Wine

I threw a little "mince pie" party last week where I served these festive drinks. I don't think they fit into the Low FODMAP diet but they were mainly for the guests. I did try the hot apple juice and I had two small glasses of mulled wine without any tummy upsets.

I made the "mulled" apple juice for the drivers but although people complimented it I had apple juice leftover and I run out of mulled wine!

SPICED APPLE JUICE

Ingredients:

• 1 litre apple juice (ideally not from concentrate)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• strips of orange peel
• sugar to taste

Method:

Simmer the apple juice with the strips of orange peel, cinnamon stick and cloves for 10 minutes. Sweeten to taste.

MULLED WINE
 
Ingredients:

• 1x75cl bottle light red wine (I used a light Merlot, claret is supposed to be good too)
• little freshly grated nutmeg
• 100g light muscovado sugar
• 2 oranges, zest pared, juice squeezed from one, the other cut into chunks
• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
• 1 apple, quartered, cored and thickly sliced

Method:

Put the sugar, the orange zest, juice and chunks, cinnamon and nutmeg in a pan with 300ml water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes to infuse the spices, then add the wine and apple slices and bring to a simmer.

Low FODMAP Salmon Chowder

It's very cold out there. Time for soups, casseroles, stews...

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons dairy free margarine or oil
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 2-3 cups diced potatoes
• 2 tablespoons gluten free plain flour
• 3 cups of fish stock
• 1 cup rice or almond milk
• 2 fresh salmon fillets, diced
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• salt and pepper

Method:

Heat the oil  and saute the celery and carrot until the celery is tender. Stir in the flour until well blended. Pour in the fish stock and add the potatoes. Bring to the boil, then  lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add the salmon, peas and milk and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper.

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