Peach and Poppy Seed Dessert Cake

This cake was the result of needing something quick to whip up for dinner with my parents. I called it a dessert cake because, as with any cake with lots of fruit, it doesn’t keep well. It’s perfect to pull out of the oven, all warm and delicious, to be eaten there and then. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a great evening snack in front of the TV, just a spoon and the baking dish full of leftovers, but it was primarily designed with dessert in mind. It worked a treat too. There wasn’t really much need for the addition of custard or ice cream. The peaches left the sponge so moist and sweet that it was great on it’s own. Next time I want to try swapping the vanilla extract for almond extract, and sprinkling flaked almonds on top before baking, instead of mixing in poppy seeds. Yum!

I used a tin of peaches in syrup as that was all I had. You could easily use fresh, ripe peaches, and would probably need about four or five. If you are going with tinned, make sure you drain them well or the cake will get all soggy and not so great. Using tinned peaches, combined with the simple cake recipe, make this an affordable dish to serve for any occasion. If you would like to have a go, read on for the recipe and directions 🙂

Recipe

4oz Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

4oz Caster Sugar

4oz Dairy Free Butter (I used Sunflower)

2 eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tbsp Poppy Seeds

1 tin Peach Slices

Pre heat your oven to 160c Fan or 180c if your oven is not fan assisted. Open up your tin of peaches and let them drain in a sieve while you prepare the cake. Feel free to save the liquid to add to a smoothie later on, or for breakfast! Cream together the dairy free butter and the caster sugar until soft and grain free. You want to get as much air in as you can to counter act the peach juice that is determined to bring your sponge back down to a gloopy mess. Whisk in your beaten eggs until well combined, along with the vanilla. Fold gently in your flour and poppy seeds. Choose a pyrex dish or baking tray with deep enough sides to contain your mix. Lay out the peach slices all over the base, adding some on top if you have too many. The peaches are the main focus of the dish so better to have too many than not enough! Spoon your mixture over the peaches and gently distribute with a spatcula, taking care not to displace the slices, while still covering them all with the batter. And that’s it! Pop the cake into the oven for 20-25 minutes and then serve warm. I put mine in the oven after I had plated up our meal so that I had enough time to eat with my parent’s and only had to jump up and take the cake out of the oven quickly, before returning back to the table.

I really hope you get to try this one. Peaches are one of my favourite fruit and go perfectly with soft, fluffy cake 🙂

Banana Comfort Bread

I’m very proud of this recipe. I feel like a gushing mother whose baby has just smiled their first smile. I want to show everyone! Everyone, look at this beauty!! Ok, maybe I am getting a little carried away. But this really is delicious. I have named it Banana Comfort Bread; A) Because it is Banana Bread (obviously), and B) Because it ticks all the comfort food boxes. I can’t think of anything that would comfort me more than this, fresh from the oven with the chocolate still lovely and melty, the heady scent of baking in the air. Did I mention how good it smells? It filled my kitchen with the most amazing aromas that got my mouth watering in anticipation.

Ok, so let’s rewind. I have made banana bread once before and it was quite dry and crumbly. I wanted to make something moist and delicious, with all the best kind of textures and flavours. I am a strong believer that chocolate makes everything better…sort of like how cheese makes everything savoury better. And cutting out cheese almost killed me! So dairy free chocolate has become my best friend. And then there are the nuts. I chose walnuts because I had them sitting in my cupboard, but this would be great with pecans or whatever you have. And because they are baked into the bread, they don’t overpower the banana taste at all. Then, just to top it all off, there’s the maple syrup. Need I say more?

Dairy Free, Gluten Free Banana Comfort Bread

200g Self Raising Gluten Free Flour Blend (Add 1tsp of Xanthan Gum if it isn’t already in your blend)

1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda)

20z Soft Brown Sugar

4 tsp Maple Syrup

100g Dairy Free Butter (I used Pure Sunflower Spread)

3 Medium Eggs

3 Medium/Large Bananas

50g Chopped Walnuts

100g Dairy Free Dark Chocolate (chopped)

How it’s done

Cream together the butter and sugar, ideally with an electric hand whisk because it’s a lot easier. Whisk in the eggs, ignoring any curdling as it will turn nice and smooth by the time you are done. Mash up your bananas and fold them into the mix. Sift in the dry ingredients and fold them in too, including the nuts and chocolate. When everything is in and nicely combined, spoon into a lined or well greased loaf tin (of medium size) and put it in a preheated oven, 180c/160c fan for 40-50 minutes. The top goes quiet dark but it won’t taste burnt…unless you burn it! A skewer should come out clean and the top should be golden and crusty. And voila! Tuck in and be transported to your sofa with your blanket and favourite cup of tea, with your most comfortable clothes on and your hair looking a little worse for where. You deserve it!

I hope you get to try this. You won’t regret it!

“Apple Pie” Cupcakes

I am a sucker for apple pie. I love the crisp, crumbly pastry with the sweet apples inside…especially when it is topped with custard or ice cream! I have once attempted to make gluten free pastry, and failed miserably. It was a while back but it still hurts. I try not to think about it Anyway, I recently stumbled upon a recipe for Dutch Apple Cake and had a light bulb moment. Why not combine all the things I love about apple pie, with the stuff I have already mastered..cupcakes!

Because I wanted this to be a complete recipe in itself, I put dairy free custard powder in the batter to bring that comforting flavour to the ultimate portable snack. If you can’t find any suitable custard power then don’t worry. I would just suggest adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract for that depth of flavour. You can also use all caster sugar or all light brown sugar, depending on what you have or like. There is a touch extra sugar in this recipe to counterbalance the tartness of the apples. The additional sugar for topping creates the crispy top that is associated with apple pie, so I suggest sticking to that part, even if you do replace the brown sugar wth white. Brown sugar has more flavour than white, which is why I included it in this dish.

So now we are over with the boring, technical bits, the recipe awaits!!

Recipe

4oz Gluten Free Self Raising Flour (or 4oz Rice Flour with 1tsp of Gluten Free Baking Powder)

4oz Dairy Free Margarine

3oz Caster Sugar

20z Soft Light Brown Sugar

2 Medium Eggs

1 tsp Bicarb (Baking Soda)

1/2 tsp Cinnamon (more if you are a cinnamon addict as this doesn’t give a strong hit)

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tbsps Dairy Free Custard Powder

1 Medium Cooking Apple (Bramley)

More Brown Sugar for topping, and a little icing sugar, if you feel like it.

How it’s done

Cream the Margarine and both Sugars together with an electric hand whisk, until soft and fluffy. Whisk in the Eggs until well combined. Next, fold in everything else, except for the Apple and extra Sugar, making sure not to over mix as you will need all the air you created to raise the cake around the apple. Spoon a small amount into paper cupcake cases, about 1/4 full. You then want to layer the apple over that. I peeled and cored my apple, and then quartered it.

 

I sliced each quarter width ways so that they would fit in the cake, and sliced them about 1mm thick so that they would cook in the same amount of time as the cake. I put 8-10 slices in each cupcake, although they could have took more if you like lots of Apple! Spoon on more mix over the Apples, not worrying too much about covering the Apple as it all gets enveloped as the cake cooks anyway. You should fill the cases about 2/3 full, altogether, as they do rise well. Sprinkle on a bit of Brown Sugar over each cake and put them in a 160 C fan oven for 10-15 minutes. The mix makes around 12 medium sized cupcakes.

When they are cooked through, and golden brown on top, take them out and allow to cool. I dusted mine with a little icing sugar for that finishing touch. And enjoy! P.S. I highly recommend stealing one (cook’s perk!) and eating it while it is still warm. For quality control reasons, obviously!