Tag: gluten substitute

Almond Rose Financiers Using Almond Flour

~ Tandy ~ 16 Comments

Taking the ordinary to extra ordinary, I made almond rose financiers. These were inspired by a coffee date at Schoon, where we met James shortly before our trip overseas.

Almond Rose Financiers
Almond Rose Financiers
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My toothbrush continues to conspire. After having endless issues with the charging of our holiday toothbrush I have now made sure to charge it the day before I pack. This means that it should work on the plane, and for the first few days of our holiday. When we were on the barge the battery went flat. This was to be expected so I plugged the charger in, and it did not work. I do not like using the electric toothbrush without the vibration. So the next day I went looking for a new one. The shops in Auxerre had the Oral B Children’s brushes, but not one for adults. Settling for second best, I purchased two ordinary, cheap toothbrushes for Dave and I to use. None of the shops I went into had stock of the adult toothbrushes.

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I did a Google search and discovered that FNAC sold them, but at €99 I was not going to buy one. And then, in a large supermarket, I found it for €29! I didn’t have to think twice about buying it. Not only was it cheaper than in South Africa, it is lighter and smaller than the one we are currently using. As soon as we got back to the apartment I put our toothbrush on charge. I must say I was quite pleased to use it again after 1 week of brushing the old fashioned way. I have put the toothbrush into the bottom drawer for when Dave’s finally stops working. And the charger is with our holiday electronic things. I have also put the two cheapies into our carry-on luggage for in case (no pun intended). This should ensure the electronic one does not fail again.

Almond Rose Financiers

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Almond Rose Financiers
Author: 
 
I love the crunch the almonds add to these
Ingredients
  • 100g butter
  • 2.5mls crushed rose petals
  • 58g honey
  • 3 egg whites
  • 110g fructose
  • 130g almond flour
  • 77g flour
  • 15g flaked almonds
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 205° Celsius
  2. Place the butter and the rose petals into a saucepan
  3. Brown the butter on the stove over a medium temperature
  4. Remove from the heat, whisk into the honey and set aside
  5. Place the egg whites into a mixing bowl and whisk to slacken
  6. Add the fructose and whisk to soft peak
  7. Place the flours into a mixing bowl and stir to combine
  8. Add half to the egg whites and fold in
  9. Then gently fold in the rest of the flour
  10. Pour in the butter and gently fold in to combine
  11. Spoon the batter into a mini muffin tin and top with the almonds
  12. Place into the oven and bake for 24 minutes
  13. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes
  14. Gently pop the financiers out of the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack

 

Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime June 14:

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Recipe For Whisky Cake Using Jamesons

~ Tandy ~ 10 Comments

This whisky cake was inspired by our visit to Glenfiddich. There we met a very friendly young man. After we had espresso and cake, he did a great tasting for us. We had a single malt unique to the tasting room and spent some time chatting to him.

Whisky Cake
Whisky Cake
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Dave and I attended an evening with Pernod-Ricard. I intend on writing more about it at a later date. But first I want to tell you about Matthew. Dave started chatting with this young Scottish man. He is from a small village near Dufftown. Dave was telling him about our trip around Scotland. I joined them and we got talking about all the places we have visited. Matthew mentioned he studied in Edinburgh and Tom Kitchin and his restaurant came up. We were reminiscing about our visits to the city. We have eaten at both The Kitchin and at The Scran & Scallie. Matthew told us he lived upstairs from the pub and he could not believe it when I showed him a picture of his front door.

The Scran & Scallie
Matthew’s Green Front Door Next To The Scran & Scallie

We told him that we had been to Glenfiddich and started our afternoon with coffee and whisky cake before doing an amazing tasting. The coincidence grew when it turned out his brother had conducted the tasting. As an ode to our visit and to make good use of the Jameson’s Caskmates we were given by Pernod-Ricard,  I decided to make whisky cake. I am serving it today. My parents are visiting from Johannesburg. My mom did the fondant topping and I sprinkled on some glitter. We have friends joining us for lunch. I need to go and get organized but first let me wish all of you that celebrate, a very blessed Christmas.

Today’s inspiration ♥ Recipe For Whisky Cake ♥ can be found on Lavender and Lime Click To Tweet

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5.0 from 1 reviews
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Whisky Cake
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Make sure you give the raisins as much time as you can before making this cake
Ingredients
as far in advance as possible (up to one month)
  • 115g seedless raisins
  • 250mls whisky
for the cake
  • 114g butter
  • 100g fructose
  • 1 egg
  • 188g gluten free flour
  • 10mls baking powder
  • 5mls bicarbonate of soda
  • 2.5mls ground cardamom
  • 2.5mls ground cinnamon
  • 1.25mls ground allspice
  • Pinch of salt
  • 125g raw almonds, roughly chopped
  • 120mls whisky (some will come from the raisin whisky)
Instructions
to soak the raisins
  1. Place the raisins and whisky into a sealable container
  2. Put into a cupboard and leave until you bake the cake
for the cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 175° Celsius
  2. Pour the raisins and whisky into a sauce pan
  3. Bring to the boil, reduce the temperature and leave to simmer for 20 minutes
  4. Strain the raisins, reserving the liquid, and set aside
  5. Top up the liquid to 120mls with whisky
  6. Place the butter into a stand mixer bowl and cream
  7. Beat in the fructose a tablespoon at a time until all has been incorporated
  8. Add the egg and beat until pale and fluffy
  9. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt
  10. Fold a third into the butter mixture
  11. Mix in 40mls of the whisky then repeat until all of the ingredients have been incorporated
  12. Fold in the raisins and almonds
  13. Pour the batter into a lined 23cm springform tin
  14. Bake for 55 minutes, remove from the oven and turn out of the tin
  15. Cool on a wire rack before icing
Notes
My mom used the bottom of the cake for icing. It was topped with a thin layer of jam and then fondant
Whisky Cake With Blackberry Ripple Gelato
Whisky Cake With Blackberry Ripple Gelato
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime December 25:

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Recipe For Gluten-Free Soft Chocolate Cookies

~ Tandy ~ 14 Comments
I was inspired to make these Gluten-Free Soft Chocolate Cookies after watching Harry Foster make brookies for Nigella Lawson. They are cookies with a brownie texture.
Gluten-Free Soft Chocolate Cookies
Gluten Free Soft Chocolate Cookies
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Given years of poor infrastructure maintenance and bad choices the Western Cape is in a dire situation with a lack of water. At the time of writing this post we have had very little rainfall, and even less snow. A local company has made the offer to install desalination plants at no cost to the local Government. Within three months our water problems could be at an end. But to date no decision has been taken which would see the start of these facilities being implemented. The water would be sold to the City of Cape Town and we in turn would be charged for our consumption. This would be a far better proposal as to what we have at present. We are on level 4B water restrictions which have all sorts of implications for households. Our water usage is restricted to 87 litres per person, per day.

Today’s inspiration ♥ Recipe For Gluten-Free Soft Chocolate Cookies ♥ can be found on Lavender and Lime Click To Tweet

I am battling to find ways to come up with using less water. We absolutely refuse to not shower each day. I just cannot imagine waking up and not washing. So we have buckets placed all around when we shower. The fall off water is being used for cleaning and for flushing the loo. That is another thing I cannot just ignore. We are flushing less, but still doing so as I don’t want my drains to become blocked. We are using as much grey water as possible for the toilet but we still need fresh water for the laundry, to cook and to drink. I have been buying drinking water but that still has to come from somewhere. Do you have any great water saving tips to share? And for that, I will virtually share these yummy gluten-free soft chocolate cookies.

Gluten-Free Soft Chocolate Cookies

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5.0 from 2 reviews
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Gluten-Free Soft Chocolate Cookies
Author: 
 
These cookies have a soft interior and are packed full of chocolate
Ingredients
  • 350g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa, broken up into pieces
  • 45g butter
  • 225g fructose
  • 80g cassava flour
  • 5mls baking powder *
  • 3 eggs
  • 5mls vanilla purée
  • 25g g cacao nibs
Instructions
  1. Place the chocolate and butter into a glass bowl and melt in the microwave **
  2. Stir to combine and set aside to cool
  3. Place the fructose, flour, baking powder, eggs and vanilla purée into a stand mixer bowl
  4. Mix by hand with a spatula to combine and then beat with the paddle attachment until pale
  5. Add to the chocolate and mix until thoroughly combined
  6. Place the bowl into the fridge for 30 minutes
  7. Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
  8. Using an ice cream scoop, dollop the dough onto 2 lined baking sheets, leaving space between them as they will spread
  9. Flatten slightly and drop 1.25mls of cacao nibs onto each cookie, pressing in slightly
  10. Bake for 25 minutes and remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes on the tray
  11. Place onto a wire rack to cool completely
  12. Store in an airtight container
Notes
* make sure it is gluten-free
** do this in 30 second increments to make sure you do not burn the chocolate
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 20

 

Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime August 4:

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Recipe For Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

~ Tandy ~ 18 Comments

I chose to make my gluten free chocolate cake using cassava flour. It has the same taste and texture of ordinary wheat flour which is perfect for me.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
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Our telephone number at work is one digit different to the local taxi service. Because we often have issues with the line we have a cellphone number listed on the outgoing message. Early one morning the cellphone rang and it was someone telling me he did not need a taxi as he had made another plan. I explained that he had not called the taxi company. After a lengthy discussion he realized that the land line number he had orginally called was not the correct number. However, he did not work out from that conversation that the cellphone number he had dialled was also not the taxi service. Just before I hung up he told me he would call the cellphone next time he needed a lift somewhere. I then had to try and get him to understand that the end result would be the same as today.

Today’s inspiration ♥ Recipe For Gluten Free Chocolate Cake ♥ can be found on Lavender and Lime Click To Tweet

To make this gluten free chocolate cake I substituted regular cake flour for cassava flour. I have never tried it with the cake flour so I am not sure if I got the same end result. I don’t often bake gluten free as it does not always work well with sucrose free. But this worked fantastically well. The cake is a chocoholics delight. I am also very impressed with how the cassava flour worked and I will be showcasing more recipes soon. I want to play around with gluten flour substitutes as my parents are coming to visit in December. Is there a particular gluten free flour you use?

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

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5.0 from 3 reviews
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Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Author: 
 
This cake offers up everything you want in the form of chocolate
Ingredients
  • 250g dark, sugar free chocolate
  • 80g soft butter
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 105g fructose
  • 30g cassava flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • Fresh berries and cream to serve
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
  2. Place the chocolate and butter into a glass bowl and melt in the microwave *
  3. Place the egg yolks and the fructose into a large mixing bowl and whisk to ribbon stage
  4. Add the melted chocolate and whisk to combine completely
  5. Sift the flour and salt into the chocolate mixture and fold in until completely combined
  6. Place the egg whites into a mixing bowl and whisk until they form soft peaks
  7. Add a third of the egh whites into the batter and whisk gently to combine
  8. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites in two lots to combine
  9. Pour the batter into a lined 23cm spring-form tin
  10. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from the oven
  11. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before turning out
  12. Serve with fresh berries and cream
Notes
* be sure to do this in 30 second increments so that you do not burn the chocolate. You want it just melted and then use the residual heat to completely melt the chocolate

 

Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime July 28:

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Recipe For Melktert | Milk Tart

~ Tandy ~ 18 Comments
This recipe for old-fashioned milk tart (melktert) has been adapted from The Classic South African Cookbook which I was sent for review.
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Melktert
Melktert

Since February 2001 I have been seeing the same massage therapist for my bi-monthly treatments. We spend most of the 90 minutes talking about what has been happening in our lives. The week we got back from overseas I caught Nadia up on what we had done on our holiday. Once my 16 day story was told she let me know all about her upcoming plans. Together with friends, they were heading to Mozambique for a short break. Nadia gave me a rundown of their overnight stops both there and back. It’s a good thing we spend the time talking as their original plans would have seen her back at work the same day as my next appointment. Together with gym, these massages are keeping my knee away from the surgeon’s knife. I would have sat outside her rooms waiting for her as my appointments are scheduled months in advance.

Today’s inspiration ♥ Recipe For Melktert ♥ can be found on Lavender and Lime Click To Tweet

This conversation ensured I was not let down or upset and luckily for me my alternate therapist could see me that day. Caroline offers a completely different treatment to Nadia which is also a good thing for my muscles. Having two choices is always a plus. I have made milk tart before but I have been searching for a recipe that replicates one I made at school. This traditional recipe for Melktert was not a let-down. Dave thought it had far too much cinnamon on top, but I thought it was perfect. My pastry shrunk so if I make it again I will not trim it before blind baking. This meant we had left over milk tart filling which we ate with poached guavas that night.

Melktert

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5.0 from 3 reviews
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Melktert
Author: 
 
This desssert is sure to be a crowd pleaser
Ingredients
for the crust
  • 145g flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 25g fructose
  • 5mls baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 100g butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
for the custard
  • 1125mls milk, divided
  • 100g butter
  • 1 cinnamon quill
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 205g fructose
  • 72g flour
  • 70g cornflour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 5mls vanilla purée
  • Ground cinnamon for dusting
Instructions
for the crust
  1. Sift the flour, fructose, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl
  2. Grate the butter into the flour and mix in using your fingertips until it resembles bread crumbs
  3. Add the egg and mix to create a soft dough
  4. Shape the dough into a ball and press down to create a disc
  5. Cover in clingfilm and place into the fridge for 30 minutes
  6. Lightly grease an oven proof pie dish
  7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll until larger than your pie dish
  8. Carefully roll the dough over the rolling pin and then unroll it into the pie dish
  9. Press the dough firmly onto the bottom and sides of the dish
  10. Place the pie dish into the fridge while you preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
  11. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans and blind bake for 15 minutes
  12. Remove from the oven, remove the baking beans and baking paper and prick holes into the bottom of the pastry with a fork
  13. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes
  14. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the custard
  15. Trim the edges once cooled
for the custard
  1. Place 1000mls (1l) of the milk together with the butter and cinnamon quill into a large thick bottomed sauce pan
  2. Bring to the boil over a medium high temperature and then reduce the temperature
  3. Pour the remaining milk (125mls) into a mixing bowl and add the egg yolks, fructose, flour, cornflour and salt
  4. Whisk together to combine
  5. Remove the cinnamon quill from the milk and then add the egg mixture to the milk
  6. Whisk until smooth and then leave to simmer for 5 minutes before removing from the heat and setting aside to cool slightly *
  7. Place the egg whites into a mixing bowl and whisk to stiff peaks stage
  8. Fold the eggs whites into the custard using a whisk, until just combined
  9. Gently whisk in the vanilla purée and pour into the prepared crust
  10. Dust the top with the ground cinnamon - as thick as you would like it
  11. Leave to set before serving
Notes
* my mixture was not smooth so I strained it before folding in the egg whites

 

Melktert

Disclosure: This recipe has been published with permission. This post is in line with my blogging policy.

Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime July 7:

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Gluten Free Brownies Made With Chocolate

~ Tandy ~ 13 Comments

I have many friends and family members who are on a gluten free diet. Whether for celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or diabetes. As a sweet offering for them I make gluten free brownies.

Gluten Free Brownies
Gluten Free Brownies
Head straight on to the Recipe For Gluten Free Brownies ♥

In the good old days, before an ATM had been invented, we used to buy our foreign exchange in the form of travellers cheques. I can well remember standing in line at the bank in Jerusalem to convert my Dollar cheques into Shekels. The exchange rate was so volatile it changed from the person in the front of the queue to the person at the end. I have changed Dollar notes in Dubai to Dirhams and in Bali to Rupiah. This of course all equates to double commission as you pay the bank here for the pleasure of changing your Rands, and then you pay again overseas when you change your Dollars. Since our trip overseas in 2003 I have always taken cash with me.

Today’s inspiration ♥ Recipe For Gluten Free Brownies ♥ can be found on Lavender and Lime Click To Tweet

That means only paying one lot of bank fees. And in the small towns this makes life easier. Funnily enough, our budget has been the same amount per day for our spending money since then as well. Hotels that were costing us €100 per night for the two of us including breakfast are still charging the same. Which is a good thing as the Rand is not the strongest currency around. I would not recommend getting a card preloaded with cash as the small towns do not have ATM’s. Many market store holders do not take cards and in Germany for instance you may not pay for groceries on a debit card. Also, I would not take €100 notes! In the villages in rural France they will tell you that is money only for Paris. I cannot tell you how to work out a budget for daily expenses as that really depends on too many factors. Rather what I can tell you is to try these gluten free brownies!

Gluten Free Brownies

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5.0 from 2 reviews
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Gluten Free Brownies
Author: 
 
A serious chocolate treat which needs to be eaten within 2 days
Ingredients
  • 350g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cooca solids
  • 45g butter
  • 225g fructose
  • 80g cornflour
  • 5mls baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 5mls vanilla extract
  • 100g salted dark chocolate, roughly chopped
  • Whipped cream for serving
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
  2. Place the 70% chocolate and butter into a bowl and place over a bain-marie
  3. Once melted stir to combine
  4. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool
  5. Place the fructose, cornflour, baking powder, eggs and vanilla extract into a stand mixer bowl
  6. Beat using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy
  7. Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture until well combined
  8. Fold in the salted chocolate and pour into a lined brownie tin
  9. Bake for 35 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool
  10. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely before cutting
  11. Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream

 

Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime May 5:

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