This is just a short post, and ideal if you want to create something that looks and tastes good but a bit time poor.
Red Velvet cake always looks amazing and the Betty Crocker red velvet cake mix was on special offer so I gave it a go. You just need to add water, oil and eggs, mix and that’s pretty much it. I decided to make it as cupcakes rather than one big cake and topped off with buttercream icing, they were really moist and tasty.
Happy Pancake Day!! Although it may not be a public holiday (I definitely think it should be), it is a good excuse to dig out any sweet treats, stick on your pyjama bottoms and eat pancakes till you burst.
This is quite a thick and squidgy mixture but it gives thick and fluffy American style pancakes. They can be made the night before and warmed up in the morning, just add a generous dollop of honey or mascarpone.
Ingredients
145g gluten free plain flour
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
1 tsp xanthum gum
2 ½ tbsp caster sugar
140ml semi-skimmed milk
2 large eggs beaten
100g blueberries
Oil for cooking
Method
Sieve the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
In a jug mix the beaten egg and milk together.
Add a small amount of the wet mix into the dry ingredients and whisk well, carry on slowly adding the wet mix while whisking until it is all well combined and there are no lumps.
This is a thick mix but you may want to add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, to make a more manageable mix.
You need a hot, well oiled frying pan, as the mixture is thick you want to cook on more of a medium heat to make sure the pancake is thoroughly cooked.
Add an ice cream scoop size of mixture into the pan and level out, place some blueberries on the top side, when the bottom side is done, flip.
When I dropped my little girl off at nursery she asked that when we got home could we make gingerbread men. ‘Of course’ I replied ‘I’ll get the ingredients ’. Of course I forgot and of course she didn’t, so I had to improvise slightly which is why this recipe is sort of gingerbread. A key ingredient in gingerbread is ginger, which was the one ingredient I didn’t have. I couldn’t face the tantrum, so carried on regardless, but it actually turned out to be a much softer taste so it was all good in the end.
Ingredients
12oz of gluten free plain flour plus some for rolling
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
4oz butter, cut into cubes
6oz golden caster sugar
1 large egg beaten
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp honey
Clingfilm for chilling
Plus any decorations
In a food processor add all the sieved dry ingredients then add the cubes of butter and using a dough hook on a low speed allow to form a crumb mixture.
Once you have a fine crumb, add the egg, syrup and honey, once the mixture starts to come together stop the processor and gently pat into a ball.
Lightly dust a sheet of cling film, add the dough, wrap and chill for 20 minutes in the fridge.
Pre-heat the oven to about 150c and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Remove your dough from the fridge and roll out to about ½ cm in thickness. Cut your desired shapes place on the baking tray. You could add chocolate drops to make features at this point.
Bake for about 15 minutes, the gingerbread will carry on cooking when it is out of the oven so to avoid it being overdone, remove it from the oven when the outside edges feel firm to the touch but the inside is a little bouncy.
Allow to cool and decorate as you wish.
