When a doctor suggests that giving up foods that contain gluten could lead to a vast improvement in one's health the initial result is a moment, or in my case, several hours of panic. How will I cope?
As one comes to realise that this range of foods includes all wheat-, barley- and rye-based foods every trip to the supermarket becomes an exercise in reading labels. It gets easier as you learn more about what "gluten free" actually means, and where the hidden glutens reside. There is a wide variety of specially manufactured gluten-free foods including rice and chickpea-based pasta, gravies, bread and cake mixes, as well as ready-made breads, rolls, cakes and biscuits, but baking your own can be far more interesting!
Be Flexible in the Kitchen – Experiment
If you're planning to bake gluten-free cakes and biscuits flexibility and a sense of adventure are what you need. One of my favourite treats are McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, those small cakes filled with orange-flavoured jelly and topped with dark chocolate.
Gluten-Free Alternative to Jaffa Cakes
This recipe, which will produce plump muffin-type cakes rather than the small flat cakes known as Jaffa cakes, is the result of numerous experiments using alternatives to wheat flour selected from a long list that includes rice flour, tapioca flour (cassava flour), potato flour, cornflour, ground cornmeal (polenta), soya flour, gram flour (chickpea flour), chestnut flour, buckwheat flour, lotus root flour, carob flour, millet flour, quinoa flour, sorghum, arrowroot, linseed, sago and teff. Teff is a grain that contains some gluten, but it is not the type that people with gluten allergies react to. Most gluten intolerant people have no problem with this grain. Rice flour, or a mixture of equal parts of rice flour and potato flour, seems to produce the best results. All ingredients work best at room temperature.
Ingredients for Gluten Free Cupcakes With Orange-flavoured Filling:
- 150 g (5 oz) margarine
- 150 g (5 oz) caster sugar or golden caster sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 150 g (5 oz) rice flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- 75 g (3 oz) Orange marmalade or preserve
Method:
- Pre-heat oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6, and line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases.
- Cream the margarine until light and fluffy and add the sugar, beating until just combined.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder.
- Carefully add the eggs and flour – slowly alternating a tablespoonful of flour and a tablespoonful of beaten egg will ensure the mixture does not curdle. Mix well, but not more than is absolutely necessary.
- Divide two thirds of the mixture into the paper cases.
- Carefully place a teaspoonful of marmalade on the top of each cake.
- Cover each cake with the remaining cake mixture.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool on the tray.
Ingredients for Chocolate Topping:
- 75 g (3 oz) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 125 g (4 oz) unsalted butter
- 150 g (5 oz) icing (or confectioners) sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
Method:
- Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Do not refrigerate.
- In a separate bowl beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
- Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract.
- Stir in the melted chocolate and mix well until topping is smooth and glossy. Pour over the cupcakes immediately, and leave to set.
These gluten-free cupcakes will keep for up to a week in an airtight container - but will they last that long?
Frances Spiegel - Frances Spiegel, B.A. Hons. (Open)., Dip.Eur.Hum., read Art History/European Modern History at the Open University.
