Gluten Free Chocolate Courgette Cake

This moist, dark chocolate cake is gluten free, potentially dairy free if you top with melted chocolate instead of the icing, and most importantly totally delicious. You can't taste the courgette, but it gives the crumb a lovely soft and fluffy texture, the perfect foil for some rich chocolate icing and lots of easter eggs. If you're in any doubt of the health benefits of this cake, just remember that it contains three courgettes, so that's at least 1 of your 5 a day, no?

Recipe
Serves 8-10

Base recipe adapted from the one by Sandy at the All Recipes website, see it here at www.allrecipes.co.uk
Icing recipe adapted from one by Mitzie Wilson and Caroline Russell at delicious. Magazine online. See their recipe here.


175g gluten free plain flour
250g golden caster sugar
50g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
two thirds of a teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 medium eggs
230ml vegetable oil
220g grated courgette



1. Turn oven to 180C (160C fan oven), and grease and line a 20cm spring form cake tin.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl.

3. Add the eggs and the oil, beating well.

4. Fold in the grated courgette, mixing until thoroughly combined.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin, and bake in the oven for approximately 50 minutes. You'll know it's done when a skewer comes out clean.

6. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, before placing on a wire rack or plate to cool completely.

for the icing:
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
225g plain chocolate,
142ml double cream
and/or 100g dark chocolate, optional

for the chocolate mice:
white chocolate bars, milk chocolate bars, dark chocolate bars as below

8. To make the icing, break the plain chocolate into small pieces and melt with the butter in a heat proof bowl over another bain mairie as before.

9. Stir it carefully, then when all melted beat in the double cream with an electric hand whisk. Take off the heat and leave the mixture to cool.

10. When the base and the icing are smooth, spread icing over the top and the sides of the cake. In an optional extra manouevre to make it even more chocolatey I then melted 100g dark chocolate and spooned that over the top of the cake, before leaving to cool. If you want this to be a dairy free cake, then spoon approx 150g-200g dark chocolate over the top of the un-iced cake,

11. When the melted chocolate is totally cool, decorate with eggs and chocolate bunnies and chicks. You can see how to make your own chocolate animals at my white chocolate mouse cake post here
Add sprinkles or anything else you fancy to decorate, the kitscher the better.

HAPPY EASTER!

This cake was baked while listening to Leonard Cohen's new album Old Ideas, and was decorated by Mr Stanley Booth aged nearly 4

Gluten Free Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

I was a fussy eater as a little girl, for many years the only cake I would eat was Chocolate Fudge Cake. This rich scrumptious cake tastes of a chocoholic's paradise. Here's my easy gluten free adaptation of the classic recipe, and it remains one of my favourite cakes. If you're not gluten intolerant and would like to bake it with normal flour, just swop the the gluten free flour mix for the regular stuff. To my mind, the directional flicking of melted chocolate could be a favourite past time for kids and adults alike, just don't wear your best clothes!

Recipe
Serves 10-12
Adapted from the lovely recipe by Mitzie Wilson and Caroline Russell at delicious. Magazine online. See their recipe here.
I've turned their recipe gluten free, and added the gorgeous triple chocolate topping.


1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
250ml milk
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
100g plain chocolate
20g cocoa powder
2 large eggs, room temperature
225g caster sugar
300g gluten free self raising flour (Dove's Farm recommended)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1. Turn the oven to 180C (160 fan), and butter and line a 20cm springform cake tin.

2. Break the plain chocolate into small pieces and heat gently in a heat proof bowl over a bain mairie ( a small pan of slightly simmering water). Once melted cover the bowl of chocolate with a plate and put to one side.

3. Combine the milk and red wine vinegar in a small bowl.

4. In a larger bowl mix the butter, eggs and sugar together. Sift in the flour, bicarb of soda and cocoa powder, and then stir in the melted chocolate.

5. Beat in the milk and vinegar, until the batter is well combined and smooth.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin, and bake for an hour. You'll know the cake's done when the top springs back under your finger, and a skewer comes out clean.

7. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, before transferring onto a wire rack or plate to cool further.

for the icing:
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
225g plain chocolate
142ml double cream
70g milk chocolate
70g white chocolate

8. To make the icing, break the plain chocolate into small pieces and melt with the butter in a heat proof bowl over another bain mairie as before.

9. Stir it carefully, then when all melted beat in the double cream with an electric hand whisk. Take off the heat and leave the mixture to cool.

10. To make this a layer cake, halve the cake when it's totally cool (I forgot to because I had to finish this cake in a rush before our friends arrived), and spread a quarter of the icing over one half of the cake. Top with the second half of the cake, and cover the top and sides with the rest of the icing.

11. To triple the chocolate decoration, break the white and milk chocolate up into small chunks. Melt in 2 separate bowls the 2 types of chocolate one after the other over the bain mairie. Flick first the melted white chocolate, and then the melted milk chocolate over the top of the iced cake using the end of a spoon. The wilder the flicking, the more Jackson Pollock style arty the topping. Enjoy licking out the leftovers.

This cake was idly baked to the sounds of Tom Waits' album Real Gone.