Halloween 2016: Maple Peacle Tarts (Wheat Free)

Continuing in the vein of Halloween treats, here is a tasty American style morsel for you: maple peacle tarts!

Yes, before you correct me, I know it's a pecan, not a peacle. But, this recipe combines the powers of a maple pecan pie, and a treacle tart. It's a bit of a Transatlantic experience.

Here in Ireland, maple syrup is incredibly expensive, as I discussed in my post on a full sized maple pecan pie. Luckily though, maple flavoured golden syrup is a thing! I prefer using it because it has a stronger--albeit synthetic--flavour, whereas natural maple syrup's flavour is much more subtle

As you can see in the picture, I used the wrong kind of cutter for the tarts: I tried to be all artsy and use a flower shaped cutter, but it meant that the filling overflowed. Take it from me: do traditional cases with a round cutter.

This recipe could very easily be adapted for the good American Thanksgiving celebration coming u in November, as I understand maple pecan tart is something eaten at a holiday family meal in the States. Or it could be eaten pretty much anytime!

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy (dairy substitutes can be found in italics)
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products


INGREDIMENTS
For 12 tarts

For the pastry

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) white spelt flour
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) butter, at room temperature, or margarine
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) icing sugar
• Cold water, to bind

For the filling

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) maple flavoured golden syrup
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) ground almonds
• 1 medium egg
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) chopped pecan nuts
• Zest of half a lemon
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) lemon juice
• 12 full pecan nut halves

METHOD

• Make the dough according to the instructions found here. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in cling film, and chill for an hour.
• When chilled, preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mk. 4)
• Roll out the dough to an eighth of an inch (3 millilitres) thick, and cut into 3 inch (8 centimetre) rounds. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with the rounds, and prick the bases with a fork. Crumple up squares of tin foil to fill each case, and cook for 15 minutes, or until golden.
• While the cases are baking, prepare the filling. Mix all the filling ingredients except for the nuts in a mixing bowl until smooth.
• When the cases are cooked, remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 150ºC (325ºF, Gas Mk. 2). Remove the tin boil balls, and divide the chopped nuts between the cases. Divide the batter between the cases, filling almost to the top, and place a pecan half in each tart.
• Tap gently on the work surface, and return to the oven for a further 20 to 25 minutes, or until the centres have set and they are golden and crusty on the top.
• Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

These tarts are super sweet, in true Halloween treat fashion! Enjoy with caution. These will keep in an airtight container for up to a week, if they last that long.

Carrot and Orange Cake with Fresh Cream Icing (Wheat Free)

This Monday just past was my brother's girlfriend's birthday, and he managed to sneakily ascertain that her favorite cake is carrot cake. And as such, I delivered!

I made a carrot cake for my blog a while back, but since then I've honed the recipe. I made sure to grate the carrot more finely, and find a good balance of carrot to cake mixture, and it turned out really well. However, traditionally, carrot cake is traditionally decorated with cream cheese icing, made by mixing cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and lemon juice, but I personally find this a bit sweet and heavy for carrot cake. Instead this time, I opted for a lighter icing, made with cream cheese and whipping cream.

I took a leaf from the book of making a gelatine free set cheesecake, where cream cheese and whipping cream are beaten together and mixed with lemon juice to set it, the acid reacting off the dairy. I sort of made up an icing recipe using the same logic (except with orange juice, because orange in a carrot cake is good and traditional) and it worked really well! It set up a little, but still remained light and fluffy. A nice accompaniment to the denseness of carrot cake.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy
☒ Gluten
☒ Nuts
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS:

For two round 8 inch (20 centimetre) sandwich cakes:

• 2 ounces (55 grammes) cornflour
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) baking powder
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) ginger
• ¼ teaspoon (2 millilitres) coriander
• 2 pinches ground cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 4 medium eggs
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) sunflower oil
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) brown sugar
• 8 ounces (225 grammes) finely grated carrot
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) raisins

For the fresh cream icing:

• 9 ounces (250 grammes) cream cheese
• 9 fluid ounces (250 millilitres) whipping cream
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

To decorate:

• 18 whole or halved nuts, for example pecans, walnuts, or almonds

METHOD

First, make the cakes:

• Preheat oven 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mk.4). Grease two 8 inch (20 centimetre) round sandwich tins with a little butter or margarine. 
• In large bowl, sieve the cornflour, spelt flour, baking powder, spices, salt, and caster sugar. Take a spoonful of this mixture and use it to dust the tins, returning the excess to the bowl.
• In a jug, beat together the brown sugar, sunflower oil, and eggs until fully combined. Mixing the brown sugar with the wet ingredients makes it easier to dissolve out the lumps.
• Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until it is half mixed, and then add in the carrot and raisins. Mix until completely combined and smooth.
• Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until springy to the touch and a cocktail stick poked into the centre comes out clean.
• Cool in the tins for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges to loosen. Turn out the cakes and allow them to cool completely.

Then, prepare the icing and decorate:

• In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add in the cream, a third at a time,beating until smooth between additions.
• Once all the cream is added, beat until the cream reaches soft peaks. This could take a while, especially if you're whisking by hand with a balloon whisk. I recommend a electric mixer for this.
• Once it has formed soft peaks, add in the juice, zest and half the sugar. Beat until mixed in, then add the rest of the sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over whip as the cream will split.
• If the cakes have a big dome, cut them off before decorating. Put one cake on the serving platter, top with about a quarter of the cream. Then place the other cake on top, upside down. Ice with another two quarters, then use the last quarter for piping little rosettes along the top and bottom edges.
• Place the nuts on top of the rosettes in a pretty pattern, spacing them evenly.
• Chill for at least 2 hours to allow the icing to set, then allow to temper to room temperature before serving.

And here's the end result. It was very tasty, and not all heavy and sweet with too much cream cheese icing. I think this is a nice, fresh twist on a classic.

THIS TIME IN 2014: No blog
THIS TIME IN 2013: Pouring Fondant Done the Awkward Way

Variation on a Theme: Choco-Nut Granola with Cranberries

I was originally considering calling this Schoko-Nuss Granola, because for some bizarre reason when I think of things with chocolate and nuts I imagine something that would be sold in Lidl or Aldi with big yellow letters on the packaging shouting German at you. Word association, eh? Gotta love it.

Seeing as eating granola seems to be my modus operandi for breakfast, I though I'd make a few different versions of granola. Last week I made normal granola with some trail mix thrown in, but I thought I'd take a different kind of spin on it for this week.

The inspiration for this was a recipe in a cookery book that I read at a friend's house about how to be ever so dappily vintage and what-not and throw vintage tea parties; this new obsession among the middle classes with the vintage chic is getting quite wearing, I think.

But anyway, all I did was use my Basic Granola recipe and added 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon instead of the mixed spice, and added in 2 ounces (55 grammes) of toasted and chopped mixed nuts and 2 ounces (55 grammes) of dried cranberries. It was right nice, and it's quite difficult to keep the portions small...

This granola is great because is makes your milk go all chocolatey, for those with inner children who love Coco Pops. This not demonstrated in the picture below as I had literally just poured the milk in.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR: No Money = No Baking

How NOT to Make Pistachio Ice-Cream: Another Failure

So a few posts ago I did some experimentation with hazelnut ice-cream and decided to try pistachio ice-cream.

Thinking that my method was sound and that my overwhipped the cream was the thing that caused it to fail, I repeat the exact same method but this time with pistachios. I added 3 ounces (85 grammes) each of ground toasted

pistachios and icing sugar to 8 fluid ounces (230 millilitres) of whipping cream and beat then together until light and fluffy, as is the usual method of making no churn ice-cream.

As it turns out, it wasn't just the overwhipping part that was wrong, the whole recipe itself doesn't work. It leads to a rock hard, crumbly and mostly unpleasant product that is a far cry from anything I have successfully made so far using the cream and condensed milk version.

I supposed I strayed from the condensed milk road thinking that using only nuts and a little sugar would make a really flavourful ice-cream, but I've now come to realise just how integral the condensed milk is to the process in keeping it soft enough to serve. Lesson learnt for real this time.

I think the next time I make a nut ice-cream I'll just add powdered nuts to the cream and condensed milk mixture, even if the flavour isn't as intense.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR: Ginger Nut Biscuits

How NOT to Make Hazelnut Ice-Cream

First of all, HAPPEEE INDEPENDENCE DAAAEEEEE to all my American readers!

So back to the ice-cream obsession, I couldn't stay away long.

Recently I've been pondering how to make the no-churn ice-cream thing a little more interesting. It works really well when you replace some of the condensed milk with jam (see my raspberry ice-cream and strawberry cheesecake ice-cream recipes) and with lemon curd (see my lemon curd ice-cream), and that is because condensed milk, jam and fruit curd all contain at least 50% sugar and either gelling agent or high fat content.

Why does it work? Well, the no-churn method works because sugar, fat and air don't freeze in home freezers, and the no-churn ice-cream method exploits this through the beating of the cream and the high sugar and fat content of condensed milk, and when we use jam or curd the fat content is replaced with a gelling agent, which also doesn't freeze.

As such I wondered, would this technique work with a nut butter of some kind? Like peanut butter? Peanut butter is extremely high in both sugar (50%) and fat (10%) content, so maybe that would translate well?

Of course, me being me, I couldn't just get a tub of peanut butter and try it out, I decided to go full-out from-scratch on this.

I bought some hazelnuts and decided to work from the Nigella Lawson school of no-churn ice-cream by using icing sugar instead of condensed milk, and I ground the nuts into a powder with the icing sugar and added this to the cream. I began to beat the cream into fluffy peaks, and it was all going well at this point, until I commited a huge massive irreversible sin: I overwhipped the cream
.

This turned the ice-cream into a thick, mashed potato-y like mess. I though if I just popped it into the freezer and froze it as normal it would work, but no, it didn't. Instead I was faced with a rock hard crumbly disaster.

My brother liked it though, but he's a fan of anything sweet and creamy, like me. Lesson learnt. I hope. I'm going to try this again at some stage, and hopefully it won't be an unmitigated disaster!

THIS TIME LAST YEAR: Soda Bread with Oats and Sunflower Seeds

Coffee and Walnut Gâteau (Wheat Free)

It was my brother's birthday last week, and as such it was time for a much requested favourite of his: Coffee and Walnut Gateau!

This is one of those old stalwarts of the home cooking repertoire: the coffee and walnut gateau! Technically this is not a gateau, as gateaux are cakes that use fresh cream, chocolate and fruits for filling and decoration, but this has always been known as a coffee and walnut gateau. The corner shop next to my estate, which sadly closed down after nearly 40 years of business last week, made an absolutely delicious rendition of this classic.

There's a lot of making in this cake, but trust me: it's totally worth the whole few hours/overnight wait!

FREE FROM
☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten
☒ Dairy (use ingredients in italics for a dairy-free version)
☒ Eggs
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS:

For two 8 or 9  inch (20 or 23 centimeter) round sandwich cakes

• 7 ounces (200 grammes) spelt flour
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) cornflour
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) ground coffee
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 5 medium eggs, at room temperature
• 2½ ounces (70 grammes) soft brown sugar
• 5 ounces (140 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 2½ ounces (70 grammes) sunflower oil
• 2½ ounces (70 grammes) butter or block margarine
• 5 to 7 tablespoons (75 to 105 millilitres) warm coffee

For filling, crumb coat and icing:

• 6 ounces (170 grammes) butter or block margarine, softened to room temperature
• 1 pound (450 grammes) icing sugar, sieved
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) instant espresso powder
• 2 tablespoons milk or water, or more if needed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For chocolate and walnut decoration:

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white chocolate
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) milk or dark chocolate
• 1 fluid ounce (30 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) finely chopped walnuts
• 20 whole walnut halves

HOW-TO:

First, prepare the cakes:

• Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4, or moderate).
• Prepare the cake mixture as per the basic sponge recipe, and pour into two greased and floured 9 inch (23 centimeter) cake tins. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes until ready. Allow to cool completely in tins.
• Once cold, cut each cake in half horizontally, and cut the domes off both cakes. Decide how you will assemble the layers, making sure the bottom layer of one cake, bottom side up, is on the top of the pile.

Then, fill and crumb coat the cake:

• Cut a circle of card that's the same size as the bottom of the cake.
• Make the coffee buttercream icing following this recipe 
• Smear a little buttercream on the card circle and stick the bottom layer of cake to it.
• Spread the bottom and middle two layers with half of the filling. Assemble the layers and chill for about half an hour.
• Once chilled, use some of the remaining half of the icing to spread the top and sides with a thin layer of icing to lock in the crumbs. Chill for at least an hour. Use the last of the icing to ice the sides of the cake and make a little dam around the edge of the cake's top; leave a little for attaching the walnuts later.
• Press the chopped nuts into the sides of the cake.

Next, prepare the chocolate glaze:

• In a microwave suitable bowl, heat the white chocolate and 4½ teaspoons (22 millilitres) of the oil in 30 seconds bursts until melted and smooth
• Heat the milk chocolate and remaining 1½ teaspoons (8 millilitres) sunflower oil the same way until smooth.
• Pour the white chocolate glaze atop the cake and spread it out to the dam, making sure it doesn't spill over the edges of the cake.
• Make lines of milk chocolate glaze on top of the white chocolate and marble with a cocktail stick as in the picture.
• Leave to set in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Assemble the masterpiece:

• Once the chocolate marble glaze has set, spread a little buttercream on the underside of each walnut half and arrange them in a ring around the top of the cake.

I'm quite proud of this cake and how it turned out! Especially the marbling: I used a double feathering technique that makes it look swirly...

Fruit and Nut Flapjacks (Gluten Free)

Flapjacks: oats wrapped in toffee. What's not to like?

I've always loved myself a flapjack, and I would have one every now and again. But once I was diagnosed with a wheat intolerance suddenly they became my main man (that and granola). Anything oaty and caramelly, like Hobnobs or Nature Valley bars were my go-to tea accompaniment for many months before I discovered spelt flour.

But, apart from their wheat-less wonders, they are also shockingly simple, consisting of 4 ingredients only in a easily remembered formula (if you think in ounces, like I do): 1:2:2:4, golden syrup to butter to sugar to oats. Also, you can make them all in one saucepan. Done and done!

INGREDIMENTS

• 1 ounce (30 grammes) golden syrup, or dark corn syrup or honey
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) brown sugar
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) rolled oats, check for gluten warnings
• Optional: 1 ounce (30 grammes) raisins
• Optional: 1 ounce (30 grammes) chopped nuts

HOW-TO

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4, or moderate). Grease and line a 9 inch (23 centimeter) round sandwich tin.
• Melt all syrup, butter and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.
• Mix in the oats and stir until fully coated. You could also add in the fruit and nuts if you want.
• Pour into the tin and flatten out with a spoon. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes until the edges are golden, the it's still soft.
• While still soft, score into eighths. Allow to cool fully in the tin and then turn out. Cut along the score lines with a sharp knife. I've found a pizza wheel works best.

These keep well as they don't really ever get that stale, soft texture. They do, however, go sticky on prolonged contact with the air, so make sure to keep them in an airtight tin.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing (Wheat Free)

Whether you love it or hate it, it must be said that carrot cake is one of the most ubiquitous cakes of all time; a quintessential recipe for any home baker. The idea of grating a root vegetable into a cake may seem unthinkable to some people, but it's something that just has to be resigned to and accepted for what it is. The usual placation of 'But you can't taste the carrot!' never works: it has to be fed to skeptics under the guise of something less offense.

But, more about the recipe itself! Carrot cake is kept wonderfully moist by the addition of oil and carrots, which are full of juices, and as such lends itself very well to a wheat-free rendition, as the gluten is not relied on to maintain the texture. Also, the concoction of spices can be tailored to suit any taste, or even a spoon of a shop-bought spice mixture can be used for those who don't feel confident in mixing spices; I personally like cinnamon, coriander and cloves (3 Cs)

I understand the ingredient list is very intimidating, but it's mostly spices and extras.

INGREDIMENTS
For two 9 inch (23 centimeter) round sandwich cakes

• 6 ounces (170 grammes) spelt flour
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) cornflour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 5 medium eggs, at room temperature
• 7 ounces (200 grammes) soft brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 
• 5 ounces (140 grammes) sunflower oil
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) carrot, grated
• Optional: 3 ounces (85 grammes) dessicated coconut
• Optional: 3 ounces (85 grammes) chopped brazil nuts, walnuts or pecan nuts
• Optional: 3 ounces (85 grammes) raisins or sultanas

For cream cheese icing

• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter, at room temperature
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) cream cheese, from the fridge
• 8 ounces (225 grammes) icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• Optional: 8 whole walnuts or pecan nuts

HOW-TO

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4, or moderate). If I turn my oven on directly before preparing the cake mixture, it's usually preheated by the time the mixture is ready.
• Prepare your tin for baking by greasing it on all sides then dusting with flour. Alternatively, you can line the tin with non-stick baking paper, or waxed paper. Here in Ireland, we have this marvelous sillicone-greased paper, and it works a treat.
• Sieve the spelt flour, cornflour, spices and baking powder (and salt, if using) into a bowl and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together with an electric hand mixer for about 4 or 5 minutes. It's ready when it is doubled in size, pale in colour, and leaves ribbon trails on itself when the beaters are lifted. If you don't have an electric hand mixer, you can use a balloon whisk, just set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Gently heating the egg mixture speeds up the process, and this means you won't snap off your arm by whisking for hours.
• While still whisking, gradually pour in the sunflower oil until fully mixed in.
• Add in the desiccated coconut (if using) and sieve in half of the flour mixture and fold in using a spatula, balloon whisk, or metal spoon. 
• Add all the grated carrot, and then fold gently. Sieve in the second half of the flour, and fold until just mixed. If you're adding nuts and fruit, gently fold them in here.
• Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin, and bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the door until after three-quarters of the cooking time has elapsed: the cake will sink.
• When the cake is baked, let it cool completely in the tin then turn out onto a wire rack.

For the cream cheese icing:

• In a bowl, beat the soft butter with a wooden spoon. You need to use a wooden spoon until the final beating, because cream cheese easily becomes runny on contact with sugar if mixed too much.
• Beat in a third of the sugar and mix until fully incorporated.
• Add in the cream cheese and zest and fold through gently. Add in the remaining icing sugar and lemon juice and mix until smooth, then beat very briefly to make it a little creamier.

Assemble the masterpiece:

• Put the bottom cake on a serving plate and cut off the dome. Save the dome for midnight snacking.
• Spread with half the icing, then put the second cake on top. Ice with the remaining icing, then streak or swirl on the top for prettiness. Decorate with nuts, if using.