Chocolate cupcakes

By special request... when sometimes only chocolate will do.


Ingredients for 12 cupcakes

60g chocolate, at least 70%
1 cup sugar
200g butter, soft
2 eggs- at room temperature
1+ 3/4 cups gluten free flour
pinch of salt
125ml buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
Melt the chocolate in a bain marie and leave to cool
Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in the chocolate.
Beat in the flour and salt, alternating with the buttermilk.
Spoon into 12 cake moulds and bake 15 - 25 minutes until the tops are springy when
pressed in the centre.
Cool, before icing or pouring melted chocolate over

Cherry Cheesecake

What follows is a recipe for a heavy, rich baked cheesecake although it can be lightened a little by using half full-fat cottage cheese to half philadelphia. The base can be a good way of using up gluten free biscuits[buckwheat choc chip cookies, Anzac cookies or cranberry & macadamia cookies ] which are past their best. Personally I prefer a shortbread layer underneath.

Whatever cheese you use, it must be at room temperature for best results and baking in a bain-marie produces the creamiest texture. To start, prepare the base of your choice in a 23cm springform tin and set up a bain-marie. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Ingredients
500g cream cheese - philadelphia [full fat]
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 vanilla pod

Blend the cheese and sugar well together.
Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla pod and add.
Add the eggs and blend and then the cream and mix at low speed for around 5 minutes until smooth.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake until just set - between an hour and 90 minutes.
Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let cool in the oven for an hour.
Refrigerate overnight.
When ready to serve, add cherry compote.

Gluten free madeleines

To make these madeleines, you need a good gluten free flour of which you are happy with the taste. They are flavoured with lemon zest, but if you check the quantity of flour you can see there is nowhere for the 'gluten free' taste to hide. After over ten years of eating gluten free, I can enjoy these but when newly diagnosed I remember needing to mask the gluten free flour with stronger flavours such as berries, chocolate, coffee, nuts so be warned...Note also the mixture needs an hour resting before baking. The mixture makes two trays.

Ingredients
90g sugar
2 eggs
grated zest of 1 lemon
pinch of salt
100g gluten free flour
100g butter.

Whisk the sugar, eggs, salt and lemon zest on high speed for 4 minutes.
Melt and cool the butter.
Sift the flour into the mixture and fold in.
Stir in the butter.
Rest 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Fill the moulds three-quarters full and bake for 10 -15 minutes.

Mushroom Quiche

Gluten free savoury pastry, part II
With cherry tomatoes and gouda.
Portable.
Tastes good warm or cold.
A flavourful alternative to gf bread.

Local Cape Town company Glutagonproduce an excellent pastry flour - Self-binding flour. It's available in Superspar, Dischem or the Wellness Warehouse

Gluten Free Quiche

I found an interesting video on gluten free pastry on Juvela's site and article. Follow their advice to forget everything you know about making pastry: knead well, and enjoy the impressive results. You will need a gluten free flour mix with xanthan gum, though. I used Glutagon's all purpose self-binding gluten free flour.