Gluten-Free Iced Summer Fruit & Meringue Parfait

This iced dessert, adapted from a great recipe by Nigel Slater, is a multi faceted gem: fresh berries and apricots are mixed together with home made ice cream and meringue to create a gorgeous cake style parfait. On a hot day it really makes your taste buds pop. You could make the ice cream and meringues in advance - or use good quality shop bought ones of course - and just bung it all together as a parfait when you're ready.

The Blueberry Ice Cream

Recipe
My own

375ml double cream
200g blueberries
75g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
juice of 1 lemon


1. Heat the lemon juice, blueberries and sugar together for a few minutes in a pan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil so that berries soften and release their juices, then turn down to a simmer and stir gently until a syrupy consistency.

2. I chose to keep the berries intact in my icecream, giving an iced berry crunch to the end result. If you'd prefer a smoother consistency, mash and then strain the berry mixture, getting rid of any berry pips and skin.


3. Add the cream and vanilla extract to the berry syrup, and mix well.


4. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the maker's instructions, then place in the freezer for a few hours.

5. Alternatively if you don't have an ice cream maker, then pour the mixture into a plastic container, cover with a lid and place in the coldest part of your freezer to set. After an hour, take out and churn with a fork every 40 minutes or so until the ice cream has frozen in a smooth, soft-set way.




The Meringues

Recipe
My own

1 and half large eggs, whites only, room temperature
75g caster sugar


1. Turn the oven to 150C (130C fan), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl for a couple of minutes until stiff. You'll need to use an electic whisk or mixer to beat the whites hard enough.

3. Gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating between each addition.  Beat until well combined and glossy and smooth. The mixture should be stiff enough that it stands up in stiff peaks.

4. Spoon the meringue in smallish circles onto the parchment paper. Leave enough room between them to allow the meringues to expand, I fitted 4 or 5 on a baking tray. If you want to turn them into nests just make a well in the centre of each.

5. As soon as the meringues go in the oven turn the heat down to 120C (100C fan) and bake for 2 hours.

6. When the time is up, turn off the oven and leave the meringues in it to cool for half an hour or so. After this time you can place them on a wire rack if they need to cool further.

The Parfait

Recipe
Adapted from the Iced Apricot & Blackcurrant Terrine recipe by Nigel Slater in his brilliant book Tender Volume II. Click here to buy the book on Amazon.



Taeberries and/or raspberries, 200g total
4 fresh apricots, washed
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons golden caster sugar
Blueberry icecream as above, 500ml
Meringues as above, 200g


1. First make a berry coulis, by heating the tayberries and/ or raspberries in a pan over a low heat with the sugar and water. Turn the heat up, and let the berries boil for a few minutes before taking off the heat. Leave to cool.


2. Slice the apricots into thin pieces. Line a 2lb metal or loaf tin, or a freezer box with cling film, leaving some overhang over the edges. Take the blueberry icecream out of freezer approximately 10/15 minutes before the coulis has cooled.


3. Once the coulis is cool, scoop the icecream into a large bowl, and stir in the apricots.


4. Crumble the meringues into small chunks, and add them to the icecream, giving another gentle stir.


5. Finally spoon the icecream parfait mixture into the lined loaf tin, before pouring the berry coulis over the top. Using a skewer swirl briefly through the parfait to mix it up.


 6. Cover the top of the parfait with cling film, and place in the freezer for at least 5 hours.


7. Take out of the freezer 5 minutes before serving, and cut with a sharp knife.

This parfait was idly made to the sounds of Arcade Fire's album The Suburbs

Eggless, Gluten Free, Nut Free: Banana & Cinnamon Ice Cream

It was sod's law that as soon as I'd decided to make my first ever ice cream the weather changed from hot and sunny to cool and rain splattered. Humph. But I pressed ahead anyway, and boy am I glad I did, for it surprised me with its utter simplicity and scrumptiousness. Gorgeous rich banana marries with the smoky sweetness of cinnamon to create something wonderful. The sun may be hiding but this ice cream brings it back to me with every mouthful.

Recipe
Adapted from the one for Banana Ice Cream at Ice Cream Recipes website, click to see it here
Serves approx 6

375ml double cream
3 and a half large ripe bananas, or 4 small ones
75g sugar
1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
1 squeeze of lemon
cinnamon sticks to decorate, optional


1. Chop the banana into small chunks, before placing in a large bowl and mashing well with a fork.


2. Add the cream, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice, stirring until well combined.


3. Chill the mixture in fridge for an hour.

4. Then pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze following the maker's instructions. If the finished icecream is still a little runny for your tastes, pop it into the freezer for a few hours.


5. If you don't have an ice cream maker, then pour the mixture into a plastic container, cover with a lid and place in the coldest part of your freezer  to set. After an hour, take out and churn with a fork every 40 minutes or so until the ice cream has frozen in a smooth, soft-set way.


6. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and place in the fridge about 15 minutes before serving. Add a cinnamon stick to each serving if you like for decoration.

This icecream was idly churned while listening to Io Echo's Doorway

Gluten Free, Nut Free: Cardamon Pear Cake

This dessert cake is moist and delicate, the crumb threaded with rum soaked pears and a hint of cardamon spice. A great gluten and nut free bake which tastes gorgeous whether served warm or cold.

Recipe
My own, inspired by one for Anjou Pear Cake at bbcgoodfood.com see the recipe here.

Serves 8-10


for the pears:
500g pears, ideally firm not overripe
freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon rum

for the base:
175g unsalted butter, room temperature
175g light muscovado sugar
3 large or medium eggs
175g gluten free self raising flour (Dove's Farm recommended)
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder (Barkart recommended)
1 teaspoon ground cardamon seeds, taken from 3 pods



1. Heat oven to 180 (160C Fan) and line and grease a 20cm spring form cake tin.

2. Peel, core and chop the pears into small pieces, then soak them in a bowl with the rum and lemon juice to stop them browning.

3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.

4. Add the first egg, and a tablespoon of flour, and then beat well.

5. Follow the same process for the other 2 eggs, beating each with a tablespoon of flour into the batter until frothy.

6. To prepare the cardamon, open 3 pods and grind the seeds in a pestle and mortar before stirring into the cake batter.

7. Sift in the rest of the gluten free flour and the baking powder, and stir until well combined.

8. Gently fold in the pear pieces, with a teaspoon or so of the rum and lemon juice.

9. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin, and smooth down the top. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

10. When the cake is done, take it out of the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, before carefully placing upside down on a wire rack or plate to cool further.

11. When ready to serve, place a paper doily over the top of the cake and sift icing sugar to create a little sugar stencil pattern.

12. You can serve this cake warm or cooled, and decorated with the icing sugar stencil, or simply with sifted icing sugar ontop. Serve with creme fraiche or cream, perhaps even with a drizzle more rum if you're feeling especially naughty as our friends were today!

This cake was idly baked while listening to the Lianne La Havas album Lost & Found

Winter Orange & Cinnamon Salad

This lovely refreshing aromatic dessert is simplicity itself. A morrocan style fruit salad, it is something to savour and enjoy while feeling smug about how healthy we've become. I'm going to make the most of this feeling while I can - as February rears its head, tis not too long now before January's healthy eating resolutions fade far away....

Recipe

Serves 4

3 oranges

1 handful demerara sugar

3 drops orange blossom water

handful of fine gratings cinnamon stick

1. Peel and slice the oranges laterally into thin slices.

2. Place one layer of the orange slices on a plate, and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon gratings.

3. Add a couple of drops of orange blossom water.

4. Layer the rest of the orange slices ontop, and sprinkle with more sugar, cinnamon, and another drop of orange blossom water.

This winter salad was made while listening to the Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man album 'Out Of Season'

Guilt Free: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free Chocolate Mousse

Let me tell you, I have found this most wonderful recipe by Rachel de Thample for the healthiest EVER chocolate mousse, and I can't wait to share it! All you need is some cocoa powder, a few avocados, a little honey, spice and water.  The days of fattening egg and cream chocolate mousse are officially over. This tastes sweetly fantastic and even counts as 1 of your 5 a day.

Recipe
By Rachel de Thample, taken from her brilliant cookery book Less Meat More Veg. Everyone interested in eating healthily and enviromentally wisely should have this book. Buy the book on Amazon here.

Serves 2

1 and a half ripe avocados
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons honey
1-2 tablespoons cold water
half a pinch of cinnamon


1. Scoop the avocado flesh out and place it in a food processor or food mixer.

2. Throw in the honey, cocoa powder, water and cinnamon. Blend until combined. Personally I didn't bother to make mine very smooth as I don't have a blender and prefer the rustic look.

3. When smooth enough, taste the mixture and add more cocoa, water and/or honey if you think necessary.

4. Spoon the mousse into 2 glasses or cups, and then chill for an hour.

5. When ready to eat, serve with blueberries or other berries.

This mousse was idly made while listening to The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4.

Gluten Free, Nut Free: Salted Caramel Meringue Kisses

These are the first meringues I've ever made, and quite frankly they are a doddle. If you've a working electric whisk then half the battle is won. Dinky, sweet and tasty, they make great presents to give for Christmas. I've frozen them, unfilled, to defrost on Christmas Eve and then spread with salted caramel or lemon curd. The great thing about these meringues for anyone with allergies is that they're naturally flour and nut free. If you'd like to make them dairy free too then you could replace the salted caramel with raspberry jam.

Adapted from the meringue recipe by Joanne Wheatley on the BBC Food Website. See her recipe here

Makes about 40 mini meringues, so 20 filled kisses


3 egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon juice
150g caster sugar

1. Turn the oven low, to 110C (90C fan ovens).

2. Line baking sheets or trays with non stick baking paper (you may need to do this in shifts if you only have one baking sheet or tray). Lightly brush the baking paper with vegetable oil.

3. Whisk the egg whites and lemon juice in a large bowl until they form stiff peaks.

4. Next add one third of the caster sugar, and whisk again until smooth and glossy.

5. Fold in the rest of the sugar.

6. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a small fluted or plain round nozzle, and pipe small rounds onto the baking paper, allowing space between each one.

7. Bake in the oven for approx 2 hours, then take out and leave to cool totally on a wire rack.

8. Store in an airtight container until needed, or wrap carefully in clingfilm and freeze in freezer bags, removing from the freezer 2 hours before filling and serving.


For the kiss filling: 
shop bought jar of salted caramel

9. To serve, spread the flat side of half the meringues with about a teaspoon of salted caramel, then sandwich together. If you prefer you could spread them with lemon curd and whipped cream instead.

10. To give these meringue kisses as presents, present them in mini cupcake cases, in pretty boxes or bags.

These meringue kisses were idly baked to the soundtrack of the film Broken Flowers.

Chocolate & Blueberry Marble Cake

Marble cakes epitomise the wonder of childhood to me, with their surreal and beautiful swirls they are quite magical. This lovely chocolate and blueberry marble cake looks tricky to make but it's actually really simple. The sweet taste of the cake makes it especially good for children, and they'll enjoy making the swirly batter with you too. If you'd like to make a cocoa-free version, just replace the chocolate batter with a colour tinted one like red or blue.

Recipe

Serves 8

Base cake adapted from the recipe given at BBC Good Food Online. See the recipe here.

Icing adapted from Fiona Cairn's book Bake & Decorate. Buy the book on Amazon

for the base:

4 tbsps milk

2 or 3 tbsps cocoa

1 tsp vanilla extract

225g unsalted butter

225g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

225g caster sugar

1. Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan ovens), and grease and line a 20cm baking tin.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3. Add the first egg to the creamed mixture, and beat well before adding the second and beating until the mixture is combined. 

4. Next throw in the flour, milk, and vanilla extract a bit at a time. Mix well until the batter is smooth.

5. Find a second large mixing bowl, and spoon half of the batter into it. Add cocoa powder to this half of the batter, stirring carefully until integrated and dark.

6. Using 2 spoons, spoon alternate dollops of the chocolate and vanilla batters into the cake tin, until the mix is all used and the bottom of the tin evenly covered. Tap the base of the tin on a work surface to get rid of any cake bubbles. Then take a skewer or the tip of a knife, and gently swirl it around the mixture a couple of times to create the marbling.

7. Bake for 50 minutes until the top bounces back under you finger and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before placing on a wire rack or plate to cool. 

 

 

For the buttercream icing:

80g blueberries, washed

1 tbsp water

150g unsalted butter

200g icing sugar

Extra blueberries for decoration, optional

8. To make the buttercream, beat the butter until fluffy.

9. Heat the blueberries with the water in a small saucepan over a low heat for 5 minutes. Then crush the berries with a fork, before sieving them over a bowl to catch the berry juice.

10. Add the berry juices to the butter, and colour purple (I used SugarFlair Grape Violet). With colour tint pastes you only need to add a pin prick amount before stirring it in to give the icing colour, so the more you add the stronger the colour will be.

11. Sift the icing sugar into the mixture and beat for a minimum of 5 minutes, until all is combined and creamy.

12. Spread over the top of the cooled cake, and dot with blueberries in any pattern you like. Enjoy! Due to the buttercream, this cake keeps best if stored in the fridge.

This cake was idly baked to the sounds of Zbigniev Preisner's Requiem for My Friend.



Easy Baked Raspberry Cheesecake

Last week I baked my first ever cheesecake. Being an idle sort, I was searching around for the easiest recipe when I found this gem online via Olive Magazine. Forget all the fussy water baths or food processors required by most cheesecake recipes, this one is remarkably simple. And what it loses in culinary fuss it makes up for in taste. It is just exquisite. Who knew that delicious cheesecakes could be so easy to bake! Well maybe you did, but I'm a little slow with these things and my eyes have finally been opened. This will be the first of many cheesecakes to come.

Recipe
From Olive Magazine July 2005, listed at BBC Good Food Online. See the recipe here. 
Serves 8

8 or 9 digestive biscuits
600g mascarpone cheese or other cream cheese
50g butter, at room temperature
175g caster sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
half a teaspoon vanilla extract
300g raspberries
142 ml sour cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar

1. Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan) and get out a 20cm cake tin.

2. Crush the biscuits by putting them in a sealed plastic bag and attacking them with a rolling pin (this is very enjoyable, a good way of getting rid of any grievances of the day).

3. Either melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat, or do what I did and forget to melt it. Mix the crushed ground biscuits with the butter. Because I forgot to melt it I just cut the butter up very small and then combined it with the biccies with my clean hands. But the melted butter option is probably a quicker way to combine the two.

4. Press the biscuit butter mixture into the cake tin, making sure it covers the bottom evenly. Cook in the oven for 5 minutes, then take out and leave to cool.

5. In a large bowl mix the flour, caster sugar, cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla extract, eggs and egg yolk. Beat until fluffy.

6. Add half the raspberries (150g), stirring them gently into the batter.

7. Pour the batter into the tin, making sure it covers all the biscuit base, and smooth down the top.

8. Bake for approx 40 minutes. You'll know it's done when the cheesecake is set but still a bit wobbly in the middle. Leave the cake in the tin to cool. Ideally, once the cheesecake is cool, you can put it in the fridge to help it set overnight, before adding the topping the next day when ready to serve.

9. However if you want to serve the cake on the same day, then you can get straight on with the topping. Put a large handful of the leftover raspberries to one side for later. When the cake is cool, put all the rest of the berries in a pan with 1 tablespoon of icing sugar, and heat them gently for approx 5 minutes until they're giving out their lovely pink juice. Squash them with a fork and then push them through a sieve with a bowl underneath to catch all the juices.

10. When the cheesecake is ready to serve, pour the raspberry sauce over the cake and top it with the handful of raspberries. If the cake has been in the fridge overnight, just take it out and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes before adding the sauce and raspberry topping when ready to serve.

This cheesecake was idly baked to the sounds (and sights) of Sam Peckinpah's classic western Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

Gluten Free Rose & Lemon cupcakes

This simple recipe is my own creation, and I'm very pleased with it. The rose and lemon evoke turkish delight in delicate cupcake form. I should say that cupcakes satisfy the girly, romantic side of me, there's something so wonderfully, enjoyably frivolous about them. They're very quick to make and lots of fun to eat, just watch out for the sugar rush as you take your first mouthful of the cream cheese icing! These are both gluten free and nut free. If you'd like to go a step further and make them dairy free as well, then replace the butter in the cake batter with a dairy free margarine, and leave out the cream cheese icing, opting for a simple drizzle made from icing sugar and a few tablespoons of rose water or lemon juice instead.

Recipe
Makes 12 medium muffin-sized cupcakes

125g gluten free self raising flour (Dove's Farm recommended)
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder (Barkart recommended)
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
125g caster sugar
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 tablespoon rose water

1. Turn the oven to 180 (160 fan) and place large cupcake cases in a 12 muffin baking tray. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl, until smooth and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in. Then pour in the lemon zest and tablespoon of rose water, stirring well.

3. Next sieve the flour and baking powder into the mixture, stirring gently until the batter is combined.

4. Spoon the batter into each cupcake case, until they are approximately two-thirds full (you want to leave enough room for the cakes to rise).

5. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. You'll know the cakes are done if a skewer comes out clean.

6. Take out of the oven and leave for a few minutes, before moving the cupcakes in their cases to a wire rack or plate to cool.

for the icing:

1 or 2 teaspoons of rose water

100g butter

100g cream cheese

410g icing sugar

food colouring tint pastes (I used Dusky Pink and Grape Violet, both by Sugarflair)

7. Combine the butter and cream cheese. Stir in the teaspoon or 2 of rose water and mix together. 

8. Sift half the icing sugar into the mixture, and stir thoroughly, before adding the other half and continuing to stir until it is a thick paste. Take care stirring the icing sugar, as this is a bit messy, I tend to wear an apron as I've been known to accidentally drench myself in it when stirring too vigorously!

9. When the icing is combined, the only thing left to do is to colour it. If you're making more than 1 colour icing as I was, then divide the icing into 2 bowls and colour each accordingly. With colour tint pastes you only need to add a pin prick amount before stirring it in to give the icing a beautiful pastel colour.

10. Get a pint glass (or 2 if you're icing 2 different colours, in which case just follow the same method for each individual colour). Place a piping bag with a nozzle inside the glass, so that the nozzle is on the bottom of the glass. Fold the piping bag edges over the glass rim. Spoon the paste into the piping bag, then carefully take the bag out of the glass and twist the end of the bag so that the icing is well contained.

11. Pipe the icing over the cupcakes and add any sprinkles or sugar flowers you fancy to decorate. To pipe a rose, you start piping in the middle of the cupcake and work outwards. To pipe a classic swirl, you start piping at the outer edge of the cupcake and work inwards.

These cupcakes were idly baked to the sounds of David Bowie's Singles Collection, the Space Oddity and Ziggy Stardust years.