Gluten Free Millionaire Shortbread

Did you know that this week 14th - 20th May 2012 is Coeliac UK Awareness Week? Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease.  Gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye triggers an immune reaction in people with coeliac disease. This means that eating gluten damages the lining of the small intestine. it affects approximately 1 in 100 people in the UK so the chances are you will know someone that has coeliac disease or be affected yourself. 

I know quite a few people who are gluten intolerant so I have tried quite a few gluten free recipes.  This time, I wanted to take a well known recipe and make it gluten-free in the spirit of the Gluten-Free Challenge 

I chose Millionaire Shortbread as I've never made it before and I love the name of it. I have to admit I cheated slightly by using canned caramel but you can of course make your own from scratch. These are really quick and simple to make and tasted really good. My colleague who has Coeliac disease really enjoyed them as did everyone else. I love the crunch from the polenta which had a grainy, crumbly texture and worked really well with the caramel and chocolate. 

As this recipe contains chocolate and almonds, I am entering them to We Should Cocoa, run by Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog and Chele from Chocolate Teapot.  This month, it is hosted by Laura from How to Cook Good Food and the theme is almonds.

 I found this bag of polenta from an Asian grocery store (as well as the amazing rose essence). 

 Polenta shortbread ready to go in the oven 

 Once cooked and cooled, spread caramel on top... 

 then melted chocolate and chill in the fridge

 slice... 

... and enjoy! 

Anyone has any tips on how to get neat, perfect squares? I chilled mine overnight but the chocolate layer kept cracking as I was slicing! 

200g ground almonds

250g ground polenta

225g butter, softened

225g caster sugar

1 can of caramel (or you can make your own)

200g dark chocolate

(I would recommend halving the shortbread recipe if you want a more even slice as this recipe makes a lot of shortbread!)

• Preheat oven to 170C.
• In a large bowl, mix the ground almonds, polenta and sugar until well combined.
• Add the butter and rub until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Press into a baking tray evenly.
• Use a fork to prick holes in the dough.
• Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until cooked.
• Melt 200g chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave (make sure not to burn the chocolate!)
• Spread a layer of caramel on top of the cooled shortbread.
• Add a layer of melted chocolate.
• Chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
• Slice into squares and enjoy!

Nigella's Clementine Cake for Chinese New Year

In case you didn't know, today Jan 23rd is Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year. It is the year of the dragon  which symbolises power, strength and good luck. The following excerpt is taken from the daily mail (click on the link to see lots of pretty pictures!)

"Often regarded as one of the most important signs in the zodiac, Chinese tradition dictates that those born in Dragon years tend to be brave, innovative and highly driven, regularly making it to the top of their profession.  Famous people born in Dragon years include former U.S. president Bill Clinton, actress Reese Witherspoon and artist Salvador Dali.  Those celebrating Chinese New Year mark the occasion by buying presents, clothing, food and decorations embracing popular themes such as wealth, happiness and good fortune. "

Oranges are symbolic in chinese culture as a wish for good fortune. Tangerines and oranges sound like luck and wealth in the chinese language and hence are given freely during the festive period. (ps google is amazing!)

So to celebrate chinese new year, I decided to make a clementine cake from Nigella which was actually recommended by my mum - thanks mum! It's a really easy cake to make, Nigella says "It's the easiest cake I know" The added bonus is that it's gluten free. Everyone really enjoyed this cake. It was really moist and aromatic and I was impressed with the height considering that it's flourless. I've made a similar orange polenta cake but this is much better in my opinion!

As it's a Nigella recipe, I'm entering it to Forever Nigella hosted by Sarah from Maison Cupcake. 

And also to Simple and in Season hosted by Ren from Fabulicious Food 

 boil clementines for 2 hours

 then blitz

 mix all ingredients together and bake

Recipe is from Nigella's website 

Flourless Almond Cake with raspberries

I was talking to a colleague recently and found out she is intolerant of flour. That explains why she politely declines all my baked goods. So I decided to make a flourless cake so she could join in the indulgence! I've made a few flourless cakes previously, usually of the chocolate variety and decided to do something a little different this time. This is a really simple recipe with fantastic results. Its the first recipe I'm trying from a book I bought a while back called Home Bake by Eric Lanlard. He has a cafe-patisserie, Cake Boy in London which another colleague has told me about but I've never had a chance to try it. Has anyone been?
The book is full of lovely pictures, great recipes and tips and I'll definitely be baking from here again. I made some madeleines following the success of this recipe but that's for another day :)
I decided to jazz up this simple cake with some raspberries and homemade raspberry sauce. The verdict - everyone really enjoyed it especially the intended recipient. I've made another one tonight as the first one disappeared so quickly, not everyone had a chance to try it!

100g unsalted butter, melted
200g golden caster sugar
4 large eggs
200g ground almonds
1 teaspoon almond essence

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Grease and line a 20cm sponge tin.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and eggs together at medium-high speed until they double in volume. 
• Whisk in the melted butter and then the ground almonds and almond essence. 
• Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 30-45 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown and the cake is shrinking away from the side of the tin.
• Allow to stand for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• I served mine with fresh raspberries on top and a homemade raspberry sauce (blitz 150g raspberries with a few drops of lemon juice (to taste) and a few teaspoons of icing sugar (to taste) )

Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Yet another flourless version of cookies. This time with chocolate :) I was a little sceptical at first but as I bit into my second and then my third cookie, I thought this is actually really nice. It's got a lovely, chewy texture to it. You can definitely taste the walnut and chocolate flavours. Might try it with a different nut next time - almonds or maybe pecans.

Finely chop walnuts and roast in oven until fragrant

Mix sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl

Stir in walnuts

Add egg whites and vanilla extract

Spoon batter onto baking sheets

Delicious, chewy cookies :)

Ingredients
300g walnuts
250g icing sugar
60g cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Finely chop walnuts and bake in preheated oven until fragrant (approximately 10mins)
• Mix sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a large bowl.
• Stir in walnuts.
• Add the egg whites and vanilla extract.
• Beat until just moistened - do not overbeat or batter will stiffen
• Drop teaspoonfuls of batter onto a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until tops are lightly cracked and glossy.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

The cookie binge continues... this time with a slight twist. Flourless versions for someone with specific dietary requirements. These are really simple to make and if you love peanut butter like me, you'll definitely love these! I made them in a hurry and should have taken more care to make them prettier but they tasted good which is what counts! Just about remembered to take a photo of it in the end :)

Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
just under 1/4 cup white sugar (omit if you prefer cookies less sweet)
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
• Mix peanut butter and sugars until well combined.
• Add in the egg and baking powder if using.
• Shape into little balls or if you're lazy like me, just drop spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.