Hale & Hearty

I've never been a fan of packet mixes, not sure I've ever bought one (actually, not entirely true, 4 years ago I bought a biscuit kit for the In The Night Garden cutters in the box, but threw away the mix), but I'm aware some people do and find them easier than weighing out mixes.

Given the lack of suitable 'free from' products available off-the-shelf for multiple allergies, I was intrigued when I found Hale & Hearty cake mixes in Sainsbury's (some are now available from Ocado too). Ingredients looked good (Milk, Egg, Soya and Wheat Free), but instructions involved adding eggs and milk.

I then set about the surprisingly satisfying task of adapting the instructions to make them suitable. Suffice to say, they are now a store cupboard staple. Very easy to use AND fantastic results. Chocolate Raspberry Brownies went down particularly well on Cake Thursday at work.

Here are a few samples of what I have made so far:


Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

Lovely with frothy Oat Milk

Double Chocolate Muffin Mix

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Classic Vanilla Sponge Mix

Orange Star Cake to take to a birthday party

Rich Chocolate Brownie Mix

Raspberry and Hazelnut Brownie

Ok, so I still couldn't bring myself to just leave the mix alone...

Quick and Easy Pizza Mix makes great breadsticks and if you really don't want to cook, the Pure Oat Flapjack are individually wrapped and handy for snacks on the go.

I will get round to posting recipes eventually...

Blackcurrant and Raspberry Muffins

Apologies for not posting for a while, I now have a massive backlog of pictures to post, but it's been a busy few months. But I think I have finally perfected my Milk, Egg, Soya and Wheat Free muffins! One advantage of the damp summer is that the black currants in the garden have ripened more gradually than normal (usually, they all ripen and fall of the bush in the space of the week we are on holiday!) allowing us to make several batches of these. The first few batches got eaten pretty quickly, but I did eventually manage to freeze some. They defrost really well and are a handy packed lunch or picnic standby to have around

2 cups Gluten free bread flour (I used Dove's Farm, you might need to adjust the fluid for a different mix)

1/2 cup sugar (I used golden caster sugar, but any would work)

4 tsp baking powder

8 tbsp olive oil (or any other vegetable oil)

2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer*

1 cup plus 4 tbsp Oat milk (or other milk substitute)

1 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)

Fruit:

The basic recipe would work with any fruit but for these I used some black currants from the garden and some frozen raspberries (slightly crushed while still hard), probably about 3/4 to 1 cup full, but I didn't measure.

Preheat oven to 180º C.

Mix flour, sugar, egg replacer and baking powder together in a large bowl. *I've just come back from Mother-in-law's house, she made these very successfully without egg replacer, so if you don't have any, don't be put off trying them.

Mix milk substitute, vanilla and oil in a jug or bowl.

Pour into dry ingredients and mix until almost combined.

Add the fruit and continue to mix lightly - do not over mix or they will be tough.

Spoon into greased muffin tin, fill almost to the top.

(optional, sprinkle on a little sugar to form a crust on top)

Bake for 30 mins until risen and golden brown.

Remove from tin to cool, or they will go soggy on the bottom.