• 200g unsalted butter
• 200g gluten free dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
• 5 medium eggs
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 240g caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 200g ground almonds
• 50g chickpea (gram) flour

For the syrup:

• 100g caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

For the frosting:

• 500g mascarpone
• 50g honeycomb, chopped
• 100g cleat honey

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Line a 24cm round, 7cm deep, loose-bottomed cake tine with baking parchment. Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, take the pan off the heat but leave the bowl over the pan to keep the mixture warm.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl and whisk until thick and foamy, the add half the sugar, and whisk again until creamy and thick. Add the rest of the sugar and whisk until very stiff but still a creamy consistency. Stir the egg yolks, vanilla extract, almonds and chickpea flour into the warm chocolate and butter, then straight away add half the meringue, mixing well. Finally, add the rest of the meringue and fold in.

Spoon into the lined tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until well risen and firm.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly in the tin: it will collapse a little. Make several holes over the surface of the cake with a skewer.

Meanwhile, place the sugar, 100ml water and the mint in a small pan and boil until the sugar has dissolved, then strain. Spoon the syrup over the cake and leave to soak in and cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled, beat the mascarpone, honeycomb and honey together with a wooden spoon or spatula. Do not whisk of the mascarpone will be too soft and hot hold its shape on the cake.

Turn out the cake carefully on to a large, flat plate. As there is no gluten in the cake it will have quite a soft texture, so be careful. Cover the cake with the honey mascarpone. Eat straight away or chill for 1 hour. If you want to keep it for the next day, remove from the fridge 1 hour before eating.

Fudgy almond cake with mint syrup and frosting is a post from The Gluten Free Blog

Anyone who doubts that a feather light cake can be made without wheat flour should try this!

• Hazelnuts, skinned, roasted and lightly crushed – 100 g (4 oz)
• Margarine – 225 g (8 oz)
• Vanilla extract – 2 tsp
• Almond extract – 2 tsp
• Unsweetened cocoa powder – 4 tbsp
• Fructose – 200 g (7 oz)
• 4 medium eggs
• All-purpose wheat-free flour – 100 g (3½ oz)
• Baking powder – 1 tsp

For the frosting:

• Margarine – 225 g (8 oz)
• Vanilla extract – ¾ tsp
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted – 12 tbsp
• Maple syrup – 1½ tbsp

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. In a saucepan, melt the margarine with the vanilla and almond extracts and sifted cocoa powder until just melted. Do not boil. Stir and remove from the heat. In a mixing bowl, beat the fructose into the eggs until they become light and thick, using a balloon whisk or electric mixer. Do this thoroughly to achieve lightness in the finished sponge. Stir in the margarine mixture. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and stir. Add the nuts and mix well.

Cut two circles of greaseproof paper/baling parchment and place in the bottom of two 25 cm/10 in round cake tins. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for 20 minutes. The sponges will seem soft when removed from the oven and will come away from the sides of the tin if pulled gently with your fingers. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then turn out on twp wire racks to cool.

Put all the frosting ingredients into a mixing bowl and using a balloon whisk or electric mixer, beat until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate until the cakes have completely cool. To assemble the cake, put one of the cakes bottom side up on an upturned plate. Cover with a layer of frosting. Then place the other cake on top, bottom side down and frost the top and sides. Refrigerate until time to serve.

Serves 8

Chocolate Cake with Roasted Hazelnuts is a post from The Gluten Free Blog

Buckwheat is used extensively in Russian cuisine. Buckwheat contains more than 13 per cent protein and has a high amino acid content. Toasted and cooked like this it adds a nutty taste to any dish. Halloumi is a traditional white, semi-hard sheep’s milk cheese.

• 1 halloumi cheese
• A little all-purpose wheat-free flour for dusting

For the Kasha Salad:

• Buckwheat – 225 g (8 oz)
• Olive oil – 4 tbsp
• Water – 1 litre (1¾ pint)
• Mint, finely chopped – 55 g (2 oz)
• Flat parsley, chopped – 55 g (2 oz)
• Finely sliced spring onion/scallion – 4 tbsp
• Cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced – 300 g (10½ oz)
• Lemon juice – 4 tbsp
• Black pepper
• Pumpkin seeds – 75 g (3 oz)

Rinse the buckwheat in plenty of cold running water. Drain thoroughly. Put half the olive oil in a saucepan, add the buckwheat and fry, stirring until toasted and golden. Be careful not to burn. Pour in the water, cover and simmer gently until all the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave to stand, covered, for 5 minutes. If there is sediment on the grains, rinse again under running water.

Put the remaining ingredients except the pumpkin seeds in a bowl and mix well. Leave to stand.

Heat a heavy non-stick frying pan/skillet. Do not add any oil. When hot put in the pumpkin seeds and shake over a high heat until the seeds start to ‘pop’. Remove from the pan and put on a plate. Sprinkle these over the kasha salad just before serving.

Slice the cheese lengthways to a thickness of about 1 cm/½ in, dust with a little flour and dry-fry in a non-stick pan until the cheese is a rich caramel brown. Serve with the kasha salad.

Serves 4 as a main meal

Buckwheat Kasha Salad with Halloumi Cheese is a post from The Gluten Free Blog

What a lovely combination: sweet, creamy, chocolate matched with the tartness of the Bramley apple dip. It’s just superb!

For the base:

• 150g brown rice flour
• 55g caster sugar
• 115g unsalted butter
• Oil or butter for greasing

For the filling:

• 150g unsalted butter
• 150g soft dark brown sugar
• 397g tin of condensed milk

For the topping:

• 200g milk chocolate, broken into pieces
• 55g white chocolate, broken into pieces

For the dip:

• 4 large Bramley apples, peeled and cored
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

Grease and line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment. To make the base, mix the flour and sugar together and then rub into the butter until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Press this mixture very lightly and evenly into the tin and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes or until pale golden.

To make the filling, place the butter and sugar in a large non-stick frying pan and stir over a medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. To make a golden caramel, add the condensed milk, stirring continuously, until the first bubble appear on the surface. Remove from the heat as soon as it comes to the boil. Spread the caramel evenly over the shortbread base and the cool and chill for about 30 minutes.

Place the apples, sugar, cinnamon, lemon and orange zest and juice in a medium pan and cook down until the apples are cooked. Place the milk and white chocolate in two separate heatproof bowls. Place the bowls over two pans of barely simmering water to melt the chocolate.

Pour the melted milk chocolate over the cooled caramel, smoothing to the edges. Quickly pour over the white chocolate and gently swirl to create a marbled effect. Allow to set. When the chocolate has set, cut the shortbread into squares and serve with the dip.

Millionaire’s Shortbread with Bramley Apple Dip is a post from The Gluten Free Blog

This is a very clean tasting soup that has a truly amazing colour. Neither orange nor red, it is a brilliant flame colour. Equally delicious hot or cold, this is a useful party standby and makes a refreshing alternative to gazpacho. It may seem from the ingredient list that this is a very spicy soup, but it is not. The blend of flavours is very carefully balanced and no one ingredient dominates.

• Olive oil – 5 tbsp
• Carrots, diced – 140 g (5 oz)
• Orange-fleshed sweet potato, cut into chunks – 140 g (5 oz)
• Onion, chopped – 115 g (4 oz)
• 10 green cardamom seeds
• Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
• 3 dried bay leaves
• Turmeric or a few saffron strands – ½ tsp
• Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
• Can chopped tomatoes – 1 x 400 g (1 x 14 oz)
• Stock, either vegetable or chicken – 500 ml (16 fl oz)

For the garnish:

• Sheep’s yoghurt – 100 ml (3½ fl oz)
• Chopped fresh chives

In a heavy saucepan heat the oil and cook the carrot, sweet potato and onion for 3 minutes. Add the spices and stir them into the oil for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice, tomatoes and stock, and simmer covered with a lid for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves and liquidise the contents of the pan in a food processor. Pass the purée through a sieve.

If the soup is to be served hot, pour back into the cleaned saucepan and gently reheat. The soup is meant to be fairly thick, but if you prefer a thinner soup, add a little more stock at this stage. You may then need to adjust the seasoning slightly with a little more lemon juice and black pepper.

If the soup is to be served cold, pour into a bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator.

Whether hot or cold, garnish with a dollop of the yoghurt into which you have whisked the chives.

Serves 4

Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup is a post from The Gluten Free Blog

Shred a piece of semisweet chocolate to sprinkle over the top of the mousse before serving.

• 3 ounces white chocolate, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 cups gluten-free non-dairy whipped topping

Melt the chocolate with the water in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water until the chocolate is melted, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool, stirring occasionally. Fold in half of the whipped topping until completely blended, then gently fold in the remainder of the whipped topping. Spoon into bowls.

Makes 4 ½ cup servings

One serving – Calories: 74; Total fat: 4.4 g; Saturated fat: 3.9 g; Cholesterol: 1 mg; Sodium: 4 mg; Carbohydrates: 6.5 g; Fibre: 0 g; Sugar: 4.6 g; Protein: 0.2 g

White Chocolate Mousse is a post from The Gluten Free Blog

These ginger cookies are very crisp.

• Fine oatmeal flour – 55 g (2 oz)
• All-purpose wheat-free flour – 55 g (2 oz)
• Pine kernels – 2½ tbsp
• Grated fresh root ginger – 3 tbsp
• Runny honey – 2 tbsp
• Baking powder – ⅛ tsp
• Sunflower oil – 1½ tbsp

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas 2.

Put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and gather together with your hands to form a ball. Kneed the mixture in the bowl until it is smooth. The mixture will start out feeling rather wet, but as the flour absorbs the honey and oil, the dough will become firmer. It should look very glossy and have no cracks at all. If necessary, add some more oil to moisten.

Pinch out enough dough to form balls of about the size of a walnut and place these balls on an ungreased baking sheet, 7.5 cm/3 in apart. Using the heel of your thumb and palm, flatten the balls of dough as thinly as possible. This can also be done using a metal spatula. Tuck any loose edges of the mixture back into the dough to form a circular cookie.

Bake for 20 minutes or until evenly golden and cooked thoroughly. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 8 cookies.

Fresh Ginger and Honey Cookies with Pine Kernels is a post from The Gluten Free Blog

This dessert serves 10, so you can enjoy delicious leftovers.

• 2 envelopes gluten-free unflavoured gelatine
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2¼ cups evaporated skim milk
• 1 16-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin
• 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 10 teaspoons gluten-free non-dairy whipped topping
• Cinnamon

In a medium bowl, sprinkle the gelatine over the cold water to soften; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup of the evaporated milk to just boiling. Slowly stir the hot milk into the gelatine, stirring until the gelatine is dissolved. Stir in the remaining 1¼ cups of milk and the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and vanilla. Spray a 10-inch pie plate with gluten-free non-stick spray. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie plate. Chill until firm. To server, top each slice with a teaspoon of whipped topping, then sprinkle the topping lightly with cinnamon.

Makes 10 slices

One slice – Calories: 112; Total fat: 0.9 g; Saturated fat: 0.8 g; Cholesterol: 2 mg; Sodium: 71 mg; Carbohydrates: 15 g; Fibre: 1 g; Sugar: 14.1 g; Protein: 6.3 g

Crustless Pumpkin Pie is a post from The Gluten Free Blog