Dairy and Gluten Free Marzipan Ring Cake

My husband got hold of this cake before I could take a picture of the whole ring! I thought the strong almond flavour might put him off but he actually asked me to make it again. This cake has a really light texture and it keeps really well.

The recipe comes from the Nigella Lawson website under the name "Easy Almond Cake"... I know, I have quite a few of her recipes in my blog now but I find that most of her baking recipes work well with gluten free flours and are very easy to follow. I think I saw a comment in her website from a member about filling the centre of the ring with little chocolate eggs for Easter. What a great idea.

By the way this is my first ring cake that hasn't broken into pieces after tuning it out from the tin :)


Ingredients:

• 250g dairy free spread
• 250g marzipan
• 150g caster sugar
•  1/4 tsp almond essence
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 large eggs
• 150g self-raising gluten free flour

Method:.

Butter and flour a 25cm springform ring mould. Preheat the oven to 170C. Chop the margarine and marzipan and put them in the bowl of a food processor (fitted with the double bladed knife) with the sugar. Process until combined and smooth. Add almond essence and vanilla extract, process again, then break the eggs one at a time through the funnel, processing again each time. Tip the flour down the funnel, processing again, and then pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula. Bake for 40-50 minutes. When a skewer comes out clean and the cake is of a golden colour remove it from the oven and leave to cool in the tin before turning out.

That's it!

www.meandmyibs2.blogspot.com

Gluten and Dairy Free Muffin Doughnuts

This recipe is from the foodnetwork.com website, courtesy of Ina Garten from the show "Barefoot Contessa".

I had a real craving for doughnuts the other day. I looked for a baked doughnut recipe on the Internet and this was one of the easiest. The results were just great. I'm going to make them again and I will try them without the cinnamon and nutmeg, dipping them in icing and sprinkles or in melted dark chocolate. Yum.

The recipe yields 12 doughnuts and you are meant to use 2 doughnut pans but since I don't have any I used a muffin tin and made about 10 muffins. The doughnut pans are going in my "wishing list" along with the ice cream maker (Santa take notes...).

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten free flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp gluten free baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups almond or rice milk
• 2 tblsp dairy free margarine, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping:

• 8 tblsp dairy free margarine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a muffin tin with a little sunflower oil. Into a large bowl, , sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted margarine and vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. Bake for 18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then tap the muffins out.

For the topping, melt the 8 tablespoons of margarine in a pan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each muffin first in the margarine and then in the cinnamon sugar.

Enjoy.

www.meandmyibs2.blogspot.com

Nevaditos (Spanish Christmas Sweets)

Yes, I know it 's very unseasonal but I tried another recipe for them at Christmas with disastrous results and for some reason I had a craving for them the other day.

Don't be put off by the lard, these are actually very delicate and light. They melt in your mouth. I found this recipe in a Spanish website: cocina.facilisimo.com and changed a couple of things.

Ingredients:

• 200g lard
• 20g icing sugar
• 75ml white wine or water
• zest of a lemon
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 350g gluten free flour
• half teaspoon gluten free baking powder

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except for the flour and baking powder. I used the food processor to soften the lard and then mix them in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Then add the flour and baking powder and mix again. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 180C. Roll out the dough and cut into shapes 2cm thick (oval and round work well). Cover a baking tray with baking paper and bake for 40 minutes. Once cool sprinkle icing sugar.