Gluten free home baking

This is a tough (no pun intended) topic to tackle, firstly to understand and secondly to do well. It can be quite off putting as there are so many varying ideas and suggestions of the best flours to use for gluten free baking. Information coming from celebrity chefs, gluten free product manufacturers and recipe books/websites it makes it difficult to know where to start with gluten free baking. The simplest way I have grown to understand it is there are different mixes of gluten free flours which will give different consistencies and desired finish to the baked goods. Take this for example, an article from Delicious magazine aimed at helping you perfect your gluten free baking:

Gluten free flour mix A - Makes 1kg (but can be easily stored in an airtight container)

700g fine white rice flour, 200g potato flour and 100g tapioca flour.

Gluten free flour mix B - Makes 1kg

300g fine polenta or chestnut flour, 500g brown rice flour and 200g cornflour.

Gluten free mixes A & B are great for biscuits and cakes.

Gluten free bread mix – Makes 1.3kg

400g soya flour, 200g tapioca flour, 400g potato flour and 300g cornflour.

All of these mixes are easily combined in any recipe in replacement of any standard plain gluten free flour, which doesn’t always offer the best finish for baked goods. It is suggested, before using these flour mixes in a recipe or combining for storage, thoroughly sift the flours together. I have to be honest while there are some great gluten free flour mixes available, Dove’s Farm are among them, some of the best gluten free baking I have tasted has been flourless. A popular example is flourless chocolate cake, you'll find several recipes available online. The BBC Good Food website offers a fabulous recipe for  flourless chocolate and pear cake. 

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8084/flourless-chocolate-and-pear-cake

Another superb flourless cake is my recently developed zesty lemon drizzle cake made with mashed potatoes and finely milled polenta/cornmeal. This cake is beautiful to look at, the bright colour mirrors the vibrant taste of zesty lemon and it really is an elegant yet versatile treat. It’s great as an everyday cake to share with family and friends, as a gorgeous dessert served with freshly whipped dairy free cream or even as part of an afternoon tea, it looks perfectly poised on a decorative cake stand. I hope you enjoy making and more importantly eating this cake.

Zesty Lemon Drizzle Cake 

Serves 8-10

 Margarine, softened, 200g

Golden caster sugar 200g

Eggs, medium, 4

Fine Polenta/Cornmeal 175g

Mashed Potatoes 270g

Zest 3 lemons

Gluten-free Baking Powder, 10g



For the Drizzle

Granulated Sugar 50g

Juice 1 lemon

1. In advance peel and cook 350g of potato, mash and then allow cooling before making the cake. It should work out to be 270g once peeled and cooked.

2. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease and line a deep, 20cm round cake tin, preferably one with a loose bottom. Beat together thoroughly the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. In a jug, whisk the eggs then gradually add a little at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in the polenta, cold mashed potato, lemon zest and baking powder.

3. Tip into the tin, level the top, then bake for 40-45 mins or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack after 10 minutes cooling. Mix the granulated sugar and the lemon juice together, insert a skewer several times over the top of the cake, then spoon over the top of the cake letting it trickle down the sides. Let the cake cool completely before slicing.

This cake could easily be made with left over mash potato if you had enough over from dinner the night before. It is also possible to make this cake using ground almonds as an alternative to the cornmeal/ fine polenta. I haven’t tried it with almonds yet so if anyone decides to give it a go please let me know what your thoughts are, I’d be interested to know. I was at a dinner party over the summer and I took along the lemon drizzle cake as an offering for dessert. It was a great discussion piece involving the whole table as everyone tried to guess the unique ingredient.  No one could guess that mashed potato was in fact the main ingredient. This is just one example of what is possible in gluten free baking replacing flour using inexpensive alternatives. There are a number of other good flourless cake recipes available, particularly on the internet (have a quick look at ‘Nigella Lawson’s’ website and ‘Delia Online’) and in some newer cookbooks. Flourless cakes are just one option when it comes to gluten free baking but the possibilities are endless. So why not try making some beautiful biscuits, gorgeous iced buns or the perfect scones for cream tea. Even take some inspiration from recipes already available, develop your own masterpiece and give gluten free baking a second chance.