Tag: soya-free

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I’m delighted that the Great British Bake Off is back on – not only is it light and frothy viewing (just what we need these days) but it also gives lots of new inspiration for bakes, as well as the pressure to keep up. I’ve got into a phase of having masses of recipes but never getting round to writing them up – well that has to change, and what better time than right now?

Week 1 was cake week and featured Battenberg, pineapple upside down cake or a cake bust. Well, i’m not quite in the mood to fashion a horrifyingly bad bust out of cake and Battenberg isn’t to my taste so pineapple upside down cake it is. In fact, someone asked me ages a go to come up with a pineapple upside down cake recipe but somehow it never got to the top of the ‘to do list’, until now that is! (I do hope you are still reading if it was you?)

Anyway, this cake is a real hit. Delightfully retro and garish with the tinned pineapple rings and glace cherries (I toned it down a little with morello glace cherries rather than the almost neon maraschino versions) and the epitome of comfort food. This is a cake which will take you back in time. In fact I had a leftover pineapple ring which ended up as the chef’s treat and even that was a trip down memory lane – who eats tinned pineapple these days?! This cake is probably best served with a good dose of custard, and not whipped cream like they did on the bake off, what on earth were they thinking?

Pineapple Upside Down Cake works well as a large cake as I’ve made here but would be even better as individual servings, each with a little pineapple ring topping the cake like a golden crown. I didn’t have the right sized moulds so one big cake it is! If you want to make individuals just evenly divide the mixture and reduce the cooking time to about 18-20 minutes (but do keep checking).

 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegan and vegetarian)

makes 1 16cm cake or 4-6 individuals

Tinned pineapple rings to top the cakes (i used 3)

2 tbsp demerara sugar

1/2 tbsp dairy-free margarine

200g self-raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g soft brown sugar

50g golden syrup

Pinch of salt

100ml sunflower oil

150ml dairy-free milk

1/2 tsp lemon juice

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade
  2. Grease a spring-form tin or individual mould with the dairy-free margarine. Sprinkle the sugar into the buttered base.
  3. Lay over the pineapple rings and fill the centres with a place cherry. Set aside.
  4. Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate and salt. Stir in the sugar.
  5. Combine the syrup, oil, dairy-free milk and lemon juice. Give it a stir and pour into the dry ingredients. Gently mix to make a smooth and runny batter
  6. Pour into the pineapple lined tin and bake for about 30-35 minutes until risen, golden and a knife comes out clean. I recommend placing the tin onto of a baking sheet as you may get some caramel leakage!
  7. Invert onto a plate and carefully remove the cake tin. If a pineapple ring sticks to the base just gently place back on the top of the cake. Pour over any remaining syrup.

 

 

lucylox1 Comment

Dairy-free Summer Berry Fro-Yo

Wow, what a scorcher! It’s sweltering here so we need as much cooling down as possible. In the UK we’re not really set up for true heat, so rather than having the benefit of air conditioning everywhere, we’ve got to get by with cold drinks and doing as little hot cooking as possible.

While there are so many fantastic dairy-free ice creams available these days (how things have changed in the past 10 years or so!), sometimes you need something a bit lighter and fresher. This simple three ingredient summer berry ‘fro-yo’ is light, refreshing, and yet creamy and utterly delicious. It takes only minutes to prepare followed by a couple of hours in the freezer, and there you have the perfect refreshing summer pudding.

Not only does it involve just three ingredients but they are ones that that you are likely to have in,  which means a beautiful frozen dessert is always within reach. By all means use any frozen fruit you have to hand, but the tartness of the berries gives an extra cooling tang which is welcome on a mid-30 degrees kind of day!

Dairy-free Summer Berry Fro-Yo

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, sesame-free, gluten-free, can be soya-free, vegetarian and vegan)

serves 4

250g frozen berries

2-4 tbsps icing sugar

1 tbsp water

250g dairy-free yogurt, ideally Greek style

  1. In a food processor or high speed blender blitz together the frozen berries and icing sugar and 1 tbsp water. You will end up with a granular paste.
  2. Add the Greek-style yogurt and blitz until smooth and uniform. Freeze for an hour. Stir and freeze for another hour. Easy, no? Enjoy 😊

 

 

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Ginger Syrup Cake

I’ve been doing the shopping for my mother in law whilst she is sheltering and she often asks for a ginger cake – you know one of those squidgy packet cakes that have been around forever and come in either ginger or golden syrup flavour? Well it got me thinking that a combination of the two varieties would make a nice variation – sweet, spicy and syrupy but not too dark.

This cake fits all the bills – it’s tasty, light, sticky and with a good dose of ginger. It also lasts well and is brilliantly easy to make. One of those perfect keep up your sleeve for an emergency pudding or tea kind of cake (I would say for unexpected guests but they don’t really exist right now!). I made one the other day whilst the cupboards were looking bare and it made a fantastic last minute pud. It also freezes well, so why not double the quantities and make two 🙂

Ginger Syrup Cake

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

 

makes 1 2lb loaf

75g caster sugar

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 to 2 tsp ground ginger, depending on how spicy you like it

125g golden syrup

75g dairy-free margarine

160ml boiling water

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/gas mark 4. Line a loaf tin
  2. In a large bowl, place all the ingredients except the margarine and boiling water. Place the margarine on top of the dry ingredients, then pour over the boiling water. This will melt the margarine into the batter as you whisk together all the ingredients until well combined. The mixture will be very runny
  3. Pour into the lined tin and bake for 40-50 minutes until golden on top and a knife comes out clean
  4. Cool in the tin before moving to a wire rack

lucylox6 Comments

Homemade Lindor style truffle filled chocolates – dairy-free

I think lockdown is a time for looking after yourself and others, for putting well-being and mental and physical health at the top of the agenda. What could be better a promoting a sense of feeling good than a luxury homemade chocolate to raise the spirits and feed the soul.

We decided on these Lindor style chocolate because i’d been given some and both girls were “ooh they look nice, I wish we could eat them’. Well these home-made versions are almost spot on – the filling is maybe a little softer than the originals, and the coating is darker but that’s my preference because then i can get a lovely shiny chocolate!

Enjoy, look after yourself and your tastebuds and stay safe and well x

Homemade Dairy-free Lindor Chocolates

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, can be soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes about 20

for the shells:

150g dairy-free chocolate

for the truffle centres:

100g dairy-free chocolate, I used a creamy version

2 tbsps dairy-free mik

2 tbsps golden syrup

pinch of salt

The process:

  1. First make the truffles: Melt all the truffle ingredients in a microwave or over a bain-marie. Stir until smooth. Place bowl in the fridge for the ganache to fully set.
  2. Next start making the shells: first temper the chocolate. In a microwave or over a Bain Marie, only just melt the chocolate, then stir until all the pieces are melted. You need to bring it down to degrees either by stirring in the bowl until the temp had reduced or pouring out onto a cold work top ( I have a marble board which is perfect for the job) and move it around with a palette knife until it has cooled and has turned beautifully shiny.
  3. Pour a blob of chocolate into each mould and evenly coat all the sides; a small brand new paint brush may help. Leave to set for a few minutes and then paint on another layer if it looks thin or has any gaps. Place in a cool spot to firm up.
  4. One the truffle mix is firm enough to spoon, fill each mould and then seal with a layer of melted chocolate.
  5. Leave to set and then unfold. We find it best to keep them in the fridge 🙂

lucylox2 Comments

Chocolate and Vanilla Yo-Yo Cookies

What crazy and unpresidented  times we are living through! I don’t think that even a few weeks we could have imagined lock down, and certainly not lock down for 1/4 of the world’s population. We didn’t know what social distancing meant, loo roll and pasta shortages were something we couldn’t imagine and coronavirus was nowhere near home. At times it seems like we’re living through a badly written disaster movie, if only a super hero would come and save us all. Although on this occasion the super heroes will be the medical staff who are looking after the sick and putting their own health in danger.

A few days ago I was reading the news all the time and feeling pretty anxious, upset and overwhelmed about the whole situation. It all looked so bleak. Now, I’ve decided to step away from the news, just dip in occasionally and instead focus on cooking. I’ve certainly got enough time to develop those recipes that have been on the back burner! I also have lots of ideas for using simple store cupboard ingredients to make delicious tasty meals, so keep tuned for some exciting cooking and baking ideas.

But first, I think we need some sweet luxury, something pretty, tempting, and delicious to add a ray of sunshine into the otherwise bleak outlook.

These Chocolate and Vanilla Yo-yo cookies are not only as pretty as a picture, but sweet and crumbly with a super rich chocolate filling. The sort of cookie to give a metaphorical hug (just what we need right now) whilst having a hot drink. Do be careful with Bird’s custard powder, some is safe and some contains milk. If you can’t find the safe one just sub for cornflour.

Stay safe everyone x

Chocolate and Vanilla Yo-Yo Cookies

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegan and vegetarian)

makes about 20 sandwich biscuits

150g dairy-free margarine

65g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla essence

pinch of salt

55g custard powder or cornflour

175g plain flour

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/Gas mark 4
  2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment
  3. Beat together the margarine, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
  4. Sift in the flours and salt to form a very soft, but not sticky dough.
  5. Make large marble sized balls and place on the baking sheet (try to make an even number). Flatten with the back of a fork.
  6. Bake for 12 minutes until only a hint of colour on the edges
  7. Cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before moving to a wire rack.
  8. Once completely cool, sandwich together with the chocolate cream.
  9. Dust with icing sugar if desired

Chocolate Cream

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, gluten-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

60g dairy-free margarine

200g icing sugar

1 tsp dairy-free milk (if needed)

25g melted dairy-free chocolate

    1. Whisk the margarine  with the icing sugar until it is all incorporated, adding the milk if the mixture is too stiff. Stir in the melted chocolate.

lucylox3 Comments

Lemon and Poppy Seed Yogurt Loaf Cake

You might think that yogurt wouldn’t work in a dairy-free cake, but i’ve had great success using dairy-free yogurt to create a light and fluffy but also moist sponge.

This week’s inspiration was once again the Great British Bake Off, unfortunately they chose to make it dairy-week so i obviously had to flip that over into being non-dairy week! The choices were a cake including a cultured dairy-product, maids of hour or Mishhti (Indian sweets). neither Maids of Honour (custard tarts), or Mishti appealed so I went with the cultured dairy(free!) cake.

The beauty of using yogurt means the bicarb is activated without the need for any vinegar, giving a lovely delicate flavour that works well with this lemon and poppy seed version. The crumb is delicate but moist and would carry many flavour combinations with ease. This lemon is subtle (that was to encourage the youngest who isn’t a fan!) so if you like more lemon zing i would recommend adding a drizzle before the icing.

Lemon and Poppyseed Yogurt Cake

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegan and vegetarian)

makes 1 loaf

200g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

1 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp poppy seeds

100g caster sugar

zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice

100ml flavourless oil

125ml dairy-free yogurt

125ml dairy-free milk

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade and line a loaf tin (I used a 2lb tin)
  2. Sift together the flour, bicarb, baking powder, salt and cornflour.
  3. Stir in the sugar, lemon zest and poppy seeds
  4. In a separate bowl mix together the oil, yogurt, lemon juice and milk. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth batter
  5. Pour into the lined loaf tin, level off and bake for 45-55 minutes until a knife comes out clean.
  6. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
  7. Drizzle with lemon syrup if you like it zingy
  8. Top with a water icing made with icing sugar and lemon juice

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