Sweet Pastry

Today's challenge was to try a pastry recipe for a boy on a very restricted diet. I sent his dad one adapted from Flying Apron's cookbook, so thought I'd better give it a try!

This pastry was whisked together and a beautiful texture to work with, but on my first attempt shrank from the tin and cracked into about 5 pieces. It was a lovely golden colour (often difficult to achieve in wheat free cooking) and crisp texture, so definitely worth a second shot. I had rolled it quite thin and not left it to rest, because the recipe said it wasn't needed. 

I also added extra xanthan gum to the next batch, so don't know if it was that or the thicker pastry that helped.

Really must get round to getting scales that weigh in grammes so I can weigh the equivalent cups (I've only got balance scales and I've lost my 1/2 oz weight!), but you can buy measuring cups easily and cheaply these days (I think Asda do a £2 set!).

Sweet Pastry

1 1/2 cups Gluten free bread flour, plus extra for rolling (recipe said brown rice flour, but I didn't have any)
1 tsp Xanthan Gum

1/2 cup, plus 3 tbsn white veg fat eg Trex, Cookeen etc (I used a mix of that and Dairy free spread)

3 tbsn maple syrup

1-2 tbsn cold water

Whisk the fat until softened and light.

Carefully whisk in 1 cup of the flour.

Whisk in all other ingredients until smooth and well combined.

Bring the pastry together with floured hands, cover and rest for 20 mins.

Roll out on floured board (if you do it on greaseproof paper it makes it easier to lift onto a pie tin).

Line pie tin (if it breaks, just patch it up with extra bits and press to the same thickness)

My second attempt didn't crack, but it still shrank, so next time, I'd try refrigerating it in the tin for 30 mins before cooking.

Book suggests baking for 15 mins at 200ºC before filling and baking according to your recipe, I wanted to use a cold filling, so baked for 25-30mins - I think I turned the oven down to 180 after 10 minutes, I meant too, but can't remember if I did...

I filled mine with sliced banana and caramel custard...

Chestnut and chocolate muffin 2!

Better late than never...


When I picked my son up from the childminder today she told me he had said he really enjoyed his packed lunch today, especially the little cake. He then asked me if he could have another one when we got home and was disappointed when I told him I ate the last one with my lunch (actually, I'm not sure it made it to lunchtime...) and asked when we could make more - guess that's a good sign.


I made 1/2 quantity, which was enough for 12 generous mini muffins, this should fill 10-12 normal size ones.

2 cups chestnut flour (200g)
3/4 – 1cup coconut flour (60g)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (I think I only used about 1/2 cup)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
120mls  oat cream (or other milk substitute)
125g Dairy and Soya free spread
250-300mls cup milk substitute (try 250 and add more if not a dropping consistency, I'm not entirely sure how much extra I added, recipe said 3/4 cup and that was too dry)
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Dairy free chocolate chunks or chips (I used a mixture of chopped Moo Free chocolate and dark chocolate buttons) - as much or little as you want.

1. Preheat oven to 190C / 375F. 

2. Whisk the dairy free spread with the brown sugar until pale, slowly whisk in the oat cream until light and creamy before finally mixing in the vanilla.

3. Carefully fold in the dry ingredients and the milk substitute until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and spoon into muffin cases, or silicon cases (comes out easier in an egg free mix). Smooth the tops with a wet spoon.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Chestnut and Chocolate Muffins

While trying to find a source of dried coconut milk that didn't contain Cow's milk (!), I discovered coconut flour is available and a useful fibre source in wheat free cooking, and is milk free. On a trip to Cambridge this weekend, I managed to get to the health food shop for a rummage, was looking for Chestnut flour, and also spied a bag of Coconut flour. Picked up both, while noting the extortionate price they charge for Oat milk, and set about looking for a recipe to try for the chestnut flour that didn't use the whole bag!

Chestnut flour is a popular ingredient in Italian cooking, but most of the traditional cakes had too many eggs for me to try a straight substitution. Spotted this recipe for muffins and as an added bonus it also used coconut flour. Made the usual substitutions (dairy free spared, oat milk and 120mls oat cream in place of the 2 eggs), but didn't look anything like the consistency in her picture for the uncooked mix. Not sure if original recipe was wrong, or as one of the comments suggested, she didn't actually mean coconut flour, but finely ground coconut, which is more oily and less absorbent. I added more oat milk until it 'looked' right and it seemed to do the trick. 

Chestnut and Chocolate Muffins

Unusually for gluten free muffins, these were actually a better texture (less crumbly) the next day and a welcome treat in today's packed lunch. The flour's have quite a strong flavour and they may be better with less chestnut flour and a little Gluten free plain flour - I'll try that next time.

Have just seen the time, so will copy out the recipe another day, or if you can't wait, follow the link above and make the substitutions yourself.

Lentil and Sweet Potato Patties

1/4 cup (50g) dried red lentils

200g chopped peeled sweet potato

2 tablespoons finely chopped celery

1/4 cup coarsley grated apple

1/2 clove crushed garlic

3/4 cup of bread crumbs (or gluten free bread crumbs)

Add lentils to a small pan of boiling water and simmer for about 10 minutes until soft, drain well.

Cook the sweet potato (works well roasted as then not too wet) and mash.

Mix 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs with the sweet potato, lentils, apple, celery and garlic. 

Roll into balls and flatten, or shape into fingers.

Coat in remaining breadcrumbs.

spray lightly with cooking oil and bake for 15 minutes at 180ºC until lightly browned (or shallow fry to add extra calories).

Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Great finger food for someone who wants to feed themselves and with the lentils are a good source of iron. Try adding other chopped/frozen veg and different herbs/spices for more variety.

Picnic Parkin

Thanks to mini monster's current obsession with cooking, we watched an episode of 'I Can Cook' yesterday on iPlayer that wasn't just cheese and egg! Try watching the episode with your kids and then making it with them using the following recipe. We made one with wheat flour and one with wheat free flour and I wasn't entirely sure which was which when it came out of the oven, a good sign I think! (I guess the paler one was wheat free as they never brown so well). Both cakes eaten within 24 hours so didn't manage to get picture of both together, may have to make more...

Wheat, Milk, Soya and Egg free Parkin

2 dessertspoons vegetable oil, plus some for greasing

50g plain flour or wheat free flour (I used Dove's Farm gluten free bread flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon dark soft brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

40g rolled oats

4 dessertspoons Oat/Rice milk

5 dessertspoons golden syrup (squeezy syrup is easier than a tin)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Oil and line a small loaf tin.

Mix oats and milk substitute in a bowl and set aside for 5-10minutes.

In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar and spice. 

Add the oil and golden syrup into the oat mixture and stir. 

Stir the flour mixture into the oaty mixture until well combined. 

Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until risen and golden. Leave to cool slightly before removing from tin. (I was impatient as we wanted it with bedtime oat milk and it fell apart when I tipped it out of the tin - I also didn't bother lining the tin...).  

White chocolate without soya!

Well my Mortimer's White Couverture arrived in time for Christmas, but alas, due to life (and death) getting in the way, I didn't get a chance to do all the Christmassy things I had planned. We did manage a gingerbread house, which I will do instructions for in time for next year...

Roofing with 'white chocolate' tiles

I'm lucky that my boys like dark chocolate (and are particularly enjoying the Montezuma's 54% Dark Chocolate Giant Buttons from Uncle Richard), but I know some kids don't so I've been experimenting again...

Mortimer's White Couverture (they can't call it chocolate as it doesn't contain milk!) comes as a finely ground powder (cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla). Melt in a warm pan (turn off the heat so doesn't boil) and stir with a spatula until grainyness from sugar has gone. leave to cool slightly and pour into tray lined with clingfilm (I did this for tiles on gingerbread house) and cut to desired shape once set. I also made drops by dripping onto clingfilm. Can also be poured into silicon chocolate molds if you have one!

'White Chocolate' Hippo