Yum!

More cakes! Not that we’re complaining. If only they didn’t taste so good and I wouldn’t feel the urge to eat so many of them. Our latest cake delivery was from Amanda Rayworth-Kiernan and the nice people at The Gluten Free Kitchen based in Hove, East Sussex. They specialise in super-cute gluten free cupcakes, birthday cakes, and wedding cakes.

We loved the packaging on these cakes, which arrived in something similar to an egg box. It means the cupcakes don’t get damaged in the post and so make the perfect birthday pressie for a gluten free friend.

Postman friendly packaging

Amanda is always experimenting with new flavours. So on this occasion we got to try lemon curd filled sponge (sublime); vegan chocolate (chocolatey); carrot and pecan with orange buttercream (amazing combination); and cherry jam filled vanilla sponge (a lovely old school sort of flavour). All are gluten free and dairy free, and all were light and fluffy and scrumptious.

Amanda makes celebration cakes too and gets regular orders for engagement cakes and other celebration cakes as well as loaf cakes and Bakewell tarts.

Find Gluten Free Cake Kitchen at the Brighton Open Market on London Road every Sunday.

Cupcakes are £2.25 each with a minimum order of £10. And celebration cakes start at £12. At the moment delivery is within the UK only and is £8 to £15.

Find out more about the Gluten Free Cake Kitchen:

• Web: glutenfreecakekitc.wix.com/glutenfreekitchen
• Email: glutenfreecakekitchen@gmail.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/theglutenfreecakekitchen
• Twitter: twitter.com/gfcakekitchen
• Pinterest: pinterest.com/theglutenfreecakekitchen
• Instagram: instagram.com/theglutenfreecakekitchen

Ready to be scoffed!

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Marnie Searchwell Gluten Free Cakes

With a birthday coming up, the month of July is all about cake eating. Like I need an excuse. This week we met the lovely Marnie Searchwell who swung by Gluten Free Towers from her kitchen in Kennington, London to drop off some samples of her award winning cakes. And they were an absolute treat.

Marnie makes gluten free cakes; gluten and dairy free cakes; and gluten, dairy and egg free cakes for all kinds of occasions: from weddings to kids’ birthdays. So no matter what your allergy, there’s no reason to miss out.

What’s more, Marnie only uses the finest ingredients, and organic wherever possible like Fairtrade organic chocolate, Appleton Jamaica Rum and organic unrefined cane sugar. The ground pimento berries (allspice) she uses in her fruitcakes come from a tree in her father’s garden in Jamaica.

And let’s just mention that gluten free luxury Jamaican fruitcake shall we? Unbelievable. Juicy fruit, moist and with a kick. This would make a lovely wedding cake.

Marnie bakes everything herself to order, in her own kitchen. And with a gluten intolerant husband she’s worked hard to create delicious cakes everyone can enjoy. Marnie has worked out a special blend of gluten-free flours that ensures her cakes have a fine texture and are light and delicate in the mouth. Five of her cakes won Great Taste Awards. It’s not difficult to see why.

So what else did we try?

Gluten-free cake flavours:

• Rose & Pistachio Cake
• Reine de Saba (amazing)
• Coco Blondie

Gluten- & dairy-free cake flavours:

• Luxury Jamaica Fruit Cake
• Tunisian Orange & Almond Cake
• Chocolate & Olive Oil Cake (highly recommended)

Gluten-, dairy- and egg-free cake flavours

• Carrot & Pineapple Cake
• Mocha Chocolate Cake (delicious)
• Lemon & Almond Cake (LOVED this!)

Find out more about Marnie Searchwell:

• Web: www.marniesearchwell.com
• Email: cakes@marniesearchwell.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/marnie.searchwell.cakes
• Twitter: @Marnie_Cakes

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New Udi’s gluten free products

Aaah. There’s always something totally ace about coming back from lunch and finding a hamper from Udi’s sitting on your desk.

Since we first heard of Udi’s last year, the US brand has slowly been introducing new gluten free products to the range. And we were chuffed to try some different Udi’s products.

We’ve tried Udi’s raisin and cinnamon bagels before which were absolutely yummy. So we had high hopes for the sun dried tomato ones – and they didn’t disappoint. In fact, I’d go as far to say that Udi’s are the best brand for bagels. These are moist, springy and tasty. The OH had one with bacon and I had mine with cream cheese. Delish.

Udi’s bagel chips are always a winner. They’re super crunchy so don’t take them to the library or cinema as a snack. Udi’s gluten free multiseed bread is very good too. The slices are smaller than – say – Genius loaves, so they’re not ideal for sarnies. But this loaf is perfect for toast. And as it’s multiseed it’s really tasty and filling. I had a couple of slices with homemade jam for breakfast, which was a great way to start the weekend.

Something else that was in our hamper was Udi’s all purpose pastry mix which, I’ll be honest, we haven’t even tried yet. But our nice friends at Udi’s sent us a brilliant recipe that we’re definitely going to try.

Udi’s Chicken, Asparagus and Garden Pea Mug Pie

The following makes two mugs.

Ingredients:

• Udi’s flaky and delicious pastry mix
• 20g chicken cubed
• Three stick of asparagus
• Handful garden peas
• One spring onion
• A few leaves flat leaf parsley
• Two eggs – one to add and one to glaze
• 50ml double cream
• Pinch of sea salt and black pepper

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C /Gas mark 6
2. Place the chicken in an oven proof dish and place in the oven until cooked through
3. Add the asparagus, peas, spring onion, one egg (beaten), double cream and salt and pepper to the chicken and stir through
4. Place the mixture in a mug
5. Make up the Udi’s pastry
6. Cut the pastry into quarters and roll out one of the quarters to the thickness of a £1 coin and cut into two circles
7. Put the rest of the pastry into the freezer
8. Put the pasty lids over the filling, brush with a beaten egg and place into the oven until the pastry is golden brown
9. Allow the pies to cool. Then pack into your picnic basket!

Udi’s Chicken, Asparagus and Garden Pea Mug Pie

Udi’s products are now available Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.

Connect with the nice people at Udi’s:

• Web: udisglutenfree.co.uk
• Twitter: @Udis_UK
• Facebook: UdisGlutenFreeUK
• Google+: Udi’s Gluten Free UK

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Provena gluten free products

Provena has launched a range of home-baking and breakfast products that are made from pure oats and are 100% gluten free, including all purpose flours, baking mixes, cereal and muesli, instant oat meal and porridge.

Oat protein doesn’t contain the type of gluten found in wheat, rye or barley because it comes from a different family of cereals. But in order for oat products to remain gluten free, it’s important they don’t come into contact with any cereals containing gluten at any stage.

All of the pure oats used in Provena products are grown, processed and packed entirely separately from cereals containing gluten. The strictly controlled production line ensures that the Provena products are gluten-free and safe for coeliacs.

What’s more all Provena products are delicious, nutritious and full of fibre. So far we’ve tried the gluten free chocolate muffin mix with chocolate chips and despite the fact it looks like I burnt them a teeny tiny bit, these were really nice and chocolatey. They need to eaten fairly fresh though as they did go a bit dry. And the raspberry instant oatmeal was filling and tasty. As it comes in individual sachets it’s perfect for sticking in your bag and having in the office.

Provena products are available from Holland & Barrett and Amazon. Take a look at the Provena website too for some tasty recipes.

To find out more about Provena check out their website, or find them on Facebook or Twitter.

Provena gluten free chocolate muffins

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Like the penne, the fusilli cooks exactly like regular pasta and the fat spirals keep their shape perfectly. Absolutely delicious served with a homemade tomato sauce, and a quick and healthy supper that can be rustled up in minutes.

Chickpea fusilli dish

As it’s fresh pasta, just stick the rest of the bag in the freezer once you’re done.

Dell’Ugo gluten free chickpea fusilli is available to buy in Asda and Waitrose from £1.78 per 300g bag.

Find out more on the Dell’Ugo website. Or follow them on Twitter or Instagram.

Dell’Ugo Gluten Free Chickpea Fusilli

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Snackly Gluten Free Snack Box

Ooh we love trying new gluten free goodies. And we especially like trying new gluten free goodies that arrive by post mid afternoon when we’re fading fast and in need of a pick me up.

So hooray for Snackly. It’s a gluten free snack box delivery service run by a couple of gluten intolerant foodies Sami and Yas. All you do is sign up on the Snackly website (no minimum subscription) and for £7.95 every month they’ll send a box choc full of scrummy gluten free snacks to your office or home. And the snack box fits through a letterbox too so you don’t even have to be there to sign for it. Brilliant.

So what was in our box? We had a Doisy and Dam goji and orange chocolate bar. Yum. Lovely organic dark chocolate and a bitter orange. This is the kind of chocolate that’s really good for you. Cute sized bars and nice branding too. There was also a bag of Joe & Seph’s caramel and sea salt gourmet popcorn. Popcorn is the perfect afternoon snack and these bags are only 85 calories a pop too. Plus the combination of salt and sweet caramel is amazing; it tastes like the seaside. We also got a deliciously squidgy fudgy chocolate brownie from May Smart which I had to fight everyone in the office for. Plus a bag of sweet and chewy dried mango from Urban Fruit (the perfect pre training snack). As well a bar of Cambrook almond brittle AND a coconut brittle from Ceeba Treats. (Which I’m just finishing off now. Nom nom.)

Snackly Gluten Free Snack Box

Phew. See? We said it was a snack box packed with goodies. And all for £7.95.

Each month the box is different. And, of course, this makes a great all year round treat for the gluten free person in your life. I would love to receive this as a gift. (Hint hint.)

To find out more visit www.snackly.co.uk or follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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Borough 22 Bakehouse specialises in making baked goods without allergens. So all their products can be dairy, egg, gluten, wheat and soya free, and are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Ryan’s business came about in a bid to make a treat for his multi-allergen wife (sorry ladies) and dairy intolerant kids that didn’t involve every pot pan and mixing bowl in the house. And his treats were all so amazing the business took off. And some. Now Ryan can be found hand delivering gorgeous boxes of gluten free goodies all over London.

Borough 22 Bakehouse gluten free goodies

Which is how I came to meet him outside a train station a few weeks ago to be handed a box of gluten free brownies, AND some cinnamon doughnuts, which I have to confess I tucked into on the way back to the office. And, oh my gosh, they are delicious. Light, sugary, cinnamon-y and perfect for dunking into a hot chocolate New York stylee.

As for the brownies. Ryan was right. These are definitely up there as the best gluten free brownies in London. They’re certainly in my top two. Crumbly on the outside, silky and creamy on the inside, these are a little slice of heaven. Ingredients include unsalted butter, 70% cacao solid single origin chocolate (Willie’s Cacao or The Grenada Chocolate Company), sugar, Dove’s gluten free flour, organic eggs and love. And it shows.

Borough 22 Bakehouse doughnuts and coffee

You can order a tray of brownies or a dozen of cupcakes or doughnuts for £22 plus delivery. We think these are the perfect pressie for a friend or gift for a client.

Find out more on the website. Or follow Ryan on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for info on all the latest goodies.

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Well luckily for us, the nice people at Nestlé have ripped up the rulebook and introduced their very own range of gluten free cornflakes. Two flavours are available: one with honey and one original. And both are light, toasty, tasty flakes packed full of the usual vitamins and minerals. As my gluten-loving colleague said in the office after he scoffed a bowl of honey cornflakes “you’d never know these were gluten free. They taste like cornflakes should taste.” And they do. I had a bowl with cold milk and blueberries. But I’m also going to use these gluten free cornflakes to make those little chocolate nests at Easter.

Nestlé Gluten Free Cornflakes with blueberries

So how much would you pay for gluten free cereals? £4.99 a box? £3.99? Well here’s the good news. The RRP of Nestlé Gluten Free Cornflakes are only £1.99 a box. And the honey ones are £2.19. So they’re not going to break the weekly shop budget and the whole family can enjoy them. Not just the gluten freers.

You can find Nestlé Gluten Free Cornflakes in the regular cereal aisle in Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose.

Find out more on the Nestlé website or on their cereals Facebook page.

Nestlé Gluten Free Cornflakes in Original and Honey

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Mrs Crimble’s Gluten Free Pancakes

It will soon be Shrove Tuesday, which can mean only one thing: The beginning of Lent? Nope. Pancake Day! And just because you’re a coeliac doesn’t mean you should miss out all that sugary-lemony loveliness.

Mrs Crimble’s Pancake Mix has made the whole pancake malarkey as easy as possible. Just add water and milk, whisk and pour into a hot frying pan.

Mrs Crimble’s Pancake Mix

I was a little over zealous with my pouring so it came out a little thicker than is ideal. But once it was covered in chocolate, who cares? And of course, as with all things Mrs Crimble it tasted just like the ‘real’ thing.

Your pancakes don’t have to be sweet of course. You can serve them with savoury fillings. And you can serve them all year round too. So if you’re buying a packet for Shrove Tuesday, buy two and store in your larder for later.

You can buy Mrs Crimble’s Pancake Mix in Sainsbury’s for £2 a packet. Or via the Mrs Crimble’s website.

Gluten free pancake made by a proper cook (my mum)

Mum’s look much better than mine!

Mrs Crimble’s Home Bake Pancake Mix

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Gluten Free Punku Quinoa Cookies

When I travelled across South America, I survived on a diet of banana milkshakes. So I was interested in trying these Bolivian-made quinoa cookies, courtesy of Punku Quinoa Foods.

The brand, which has recently launched in the UK, is headed up by Bolivian-born Patricia Estivariz, who now lives here. Having always enjoyed delicious, healthy and nutritious foods made with quinoa in her home country, Patricia set about introducing these healthy options to the UK.

We’ve always been fans of quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) at Gluten Free Towers. And we love that this grain-like crop is wheat and gluten fee and is a really versatile ingredient. You can use it in salads, soups, savoury dishes, puddings and cakes, and… now cookies!

Punku have launched with two flavours: Chocolate Chip (my favourite) and Orange & Mango and both taste deliciously crispy and crunchy, and dare I say it, healthy? They will certainly do you more good than a packet of digestives anyway.

The cookies are available via the website for £4.99 for a 200g box and each cookie is individually wrapped, so perfect for lunch boxes. The cookies are dairy and egg free too and suitable for vegans.

Although vast and rich in natural resources, Bolivia is still one of the poorest countries in Latin America. So Punku have worked closely with its suppliers in the region to develop education and health programmes to assist their employees. So by buying Punku products you’ll be helping hundreds of Bolivian families benefit from a better standard of living.

Over the coming months Punku will be introducing a complete range of foods containing quinoa. So remember to check back on the website soon.

Find out more at:

• www.punkuquinoafoods.co.uk
• www.facebook.com/PunkuQuinoaFoods

Orange & Mango Punku Quinoa Cookies

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Mrs Crimble’s Belgian Chocolate Coconut Stars

And here’s the star of the gluten free show!

I think I may have mentioned how much I like Mrs Crimble’s macaroons. Probably three of four times. Or ten. I also like chocolate. Especially the Belgian stuff. So it was with great joy I got my hands on the recently launched Mrs Crimble’s Belgian Chocolate Coconut Stars.

These are luxurious mini versions of the uber popular bigger macaroons – so taste amazing – and are cute star shapes – so nice and Chrismassy. And we think they make a scrumptious alternative to a box of chocolates for the gluten avoider in your life.

Hint: If anyone comes to my house over Christmas please bring a box of these with you.

They retail at £3.69 a box and are available at the usual Mrs Crimble’s stockists.

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Udi’s new gluten free products

We first wrote about Udi’s gluten free goodies back in April when the well-known American brand launched in the UK. We then we met up with the Udi’s team at the recent Allergy Show and tried the delicious Tiger Bloomer.

So it’s good to hear that the brand is going from strength to strength in the UK and has recently launched some exciting new products. These include Milk Chocolate Wafers, Apple Breakfast Bars, Blueberry Muffins and… drum roll… Chocolate Chip Cookie Baking Mix. (I love cookie mixes.)

Udi’s Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

The Blueberry Muffins were moist and sweet and packed full of blueberries. These were really popular in the office. The Apple Breakfast Bars were chewy and fruity but I thought they were quite dry. Not my favourites. But the winners were the Milk Chocolate Wafers: light, crispy and chocolatey. Be warned: one is not enough. These are scrummy. Highly recommended.

Udi’s Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

We also got to try the Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix. As you know I’m a terrible cook so I love these mixes. These were pretty good, sweet and chewy, although it looks like I burnt them in the pic (I didn’t!).

Udi’s Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (not burnt!)

I managed to make 24 cookies and I think I ate a couple of raw ones too that never made it to the oven. Good value considering a packet costs only £4.50. I would recommend flattening them out a bit before you put them in the oven.

You can find Udi’s products in Tesco where the Blueberry Muffins retail at £1.90, the Milk Chocolate Wafers at £3.00, and the Apple Breakfast Bars are £3.30.

Find out more about Udi’s on their website, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

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A box of 6 from Miss Macaroon

Now we love a gluten free product that not only tastes good but does good. So we were really interested to hear about Miss Macaroon, a company started by Rosie Ginday who wanted to combine her passion for beautiful handcrafted food with a desire to help disadvantaged young adults in her local area, Birmingham.

These beautifully coloured macaroons make perfect gifts and wedding favours, and sales from the macaroons are used to fund catering classes and courses for marginalised young people from deprived areas of the city.

So what were the macaroons like? Gorgeous and gluten free of course. They had light delicate flavours including green tea and rose; coconut and mango; peach and jasmine; elderflower, rhubarb and tonka bean and were filled with fluffy buttercream. And they arrived in a beautiful pink box. What’s not to love?

A wedding tower from Miss Macaroon

The macaroons can be ordered via the website and if you order before 2pm you can get next delivery. Perfect for that last minute birthday gift! Miss Macaroon also does corporate gifts. And if you want to have something completely different at your wedding why not opt for a macaroon tower?

A box costs between £15.50 and £16.50 for a box of six.

Miss Macaroon contact details

• Website: missmacaroon.co.uk
• Twitter: @iammissmacaroon
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/MissMacaroonCIC

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Slim Fruits are free from gluten, wheat, sugar, fat, carbohydrate, and dairy

So we have a new favourite thing in the office to beat those pre lunch or mid afternoon munchies.

From the land that brought us Vegemite, Ugg Boots and Kylie Minogue, we now have Slim Fruits, which are free from gluten, wheat, sugar, fat, carbohydrate, and dairy and only use only natural flavours and colours.

These best-selling sugar-free sweets are the world’s first confectionery product to ‘harness the satiety-giving properties of soluble dietary fibre’ says the news release. In other words, once you’ve scoffed them they combine with water to make you feel full and stop you reaching for the (gluten free) biscuit tin. No wonder they’re a favourite with dieters.

Each 24g pack of sweets contains a whopping 10g of bioactive soluble dietary fibre from the gum of the Acacia Tree; an ingredient that’s been used for thousands of years especially in Middle Eastern food. That’s the same amount of fibre found in six slices of wholemeal bread or 100g of dried haricot beans and no carbohydrates or fat. And, they’re only two calories per sweet too. Brilliant.

What are they like? Well the flavours are fruity and delicious: Rhubarb & Strawberry and Peach Melba. And they’re like a regular fruit pastille, so you suck for a bit and then you give in and have to chew. But be warned: they’re really moreish and they’re high in fibre…well, you do the math.

Slim Fruits are priced at £1.89 per pack from Boots stores nationwide. For more information check them out on Facebook.

Slim Fruits come in Rhubarb & Strawberry and Peach Melba flavours

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Unfortunately by the time I thought about taking a picture most of them had been eaten. If you’ve not tried these before, where have you been? These are moist, chocolatey and cocoanutty. And did you know that Mrs Crimble sells one of these every second. I can see why!

Mrs Crimble’s choc macaroons – with only two left

But a very close second and third fave, are the recently launched country fruit slices and lemon slices. The country slice is deliciously moist and packed with plump raisins, cranberries and apricots sitting on a thin pastry base. And the lemon slices are topped with a tangy citrus icing, and are sweet and sharp at the same time. What’s more the slices come in packs of four as well as individually wrapped packs – so perfect for lunch boxes.

Mrs Crimble’s Lemon Slice and Country Slice

Packs of Mrs Crimble’s country fruit slice and lemon fruit slices retail at between £1.69 and £1.89 and are available from the usual supermarkets plus service stations, delis, railway stations and garden centres.

Find out more about Mrs Crimble’s:

• Web: www.mrscrimbles.com
• Twitter: @mrscrimbles
• Facebook: mrscrimbles

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