Gluten Free – Dairy Free- Lemon and Lime Cake

Originally, I wanted to make a yoghurt icing for this cake but everywhere I read online was not impressed with 'dairy-free' margarine/butter. So, I decided to just use icing sugar and soya yoghurt knowing full well that it is full of water and probably wouldn't work!

Long story short - it didn't work, I strained the yoghurt - it ALL went through.. I used the 'thicker' stuff.. it did NOTHING when I added the icing.. except go a horrible grey colour.. I will figure it out. But for this, I stuck with simple, yet effective, lemon icing. :)

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two 8 inch baking tins with baking powder. 

Ingredients

250g dairy-free margarine

250g caster sugar

4 eggs

250g plain gluten free flour

½ tsp. gluten-free baking powder

2 tbsp. full fat soya milk

2 tbsp. lemon & lime juice

Zest of a lemon & lime

•        Add the margarine, sugar and zest to a bowl – beat it with a paddle mixer until the mix is well combined.

•        Add the eggs one by one, it may look a little curdled but don’t panic it will look better once the flour is added.

•        Sift in the flour and baking powder – mix on low to combine.

•        Then add the milk and juices.

•        Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.

Sugar Syrup

50g caster sugar

50ml water

1 tsp. lemon & lime juice

•        Boil the sugar and water on a low heat until all the sugar is dissolved.

•        Remove from the heat and stir in the juices.

•        While the cakes are still warm, skewer some holes into the cake and pour the sugar syrup over them.

Icing

250g icing sugar

Lemon juice

•        Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the lemon juice tsp. by tsp. until the mixture is a ‘droppable’ consistency.

•        Pour the icing into the centre of the cake and let it pour over the edges. 

•        If you made the cake in two tins, add some icing to sandwich the sponges together. 

♥ ♥

Wendy

XO

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Amaretto Bakewell Buns

One of my favourite 'treats' (I'm not going to lie, there are many - sssh, secrets) is bakewell tarts - they are just perfect. 

Almonds ✓

Cake ✓

Icing ✓ 

Cherries  ✓

Yum ✓

Anyway, I really wanted to bake some.. but I was missing most of the ingredients so, I improvised and this is what happened! They were delicious. Go make them...right now. 

First, preheat the oven to 180°C and line a muffin tin with cupcake cases, now go!

Buns

150g butter

150g caster sugar

100g self-raising flour

3 eggs

½ tsp baking powder

60g ground almonds

1 tbsp amaretto liqueur

• beat the butter with a paddle attachment until its soft and creamy.
• add the sugar, flour, eggs, baking powder, almonds and liqueur and beat until smooth.
• spoon the mixture into each case (approximately 12) and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
• leave to cool on a wire rack while you prepare the icing.

Icing

250g icing sugar

3 tbsp amaretto liqueur

12 halved walnuts

4 tbsp jam 

• sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the liqueur to form a thick icing, be careful not to add too much liquid as it will become runny and difficult to reverse (see above ha-ha). 
• using an apple-corer remove the centre of each cake and fill with jam.
• add the icing with a teaspoon and top each cake with a walnut - enjoy! 

PS - I am 100% going to try out cherry bakewell buns or maybe even tarts, we'll see. Either way, it'll be yummy! 

♥ ♥

Wendy

XO

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Oaty Soda Bread

The oats in this bread give it a lovely texture! This recipe is so quick and easy - give it a go and enjoy :)

Preheat the oven to 180°C and have an 8 inch round tin to hand to transfer the dough into :)

Ingredients

400g plain flour

50g oats

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

300ml buttermilk

6 tbsp cool, boiled water

• sift the flour, bicarb and salt into a bowl, add the oats.
• using a dough hook attachment, on a slow speed, pour in the buttermilk and water to form a very soft dough.
• transfer the mixture to a tin and bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
• remove from the tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.

♥ ♥

Wendy

XO

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Gingernuts

These biscuits were so good. Lovely and crisp on the outside....soft and chewy in the middle. Yum Yum! They were so simple to make and perfect with a cup of tea.

 I'm not one for measuring out exactly '30' biscuits - I just make enough dough balls to use up the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 160°C and lightly grease two baking sheets with butter (I usually use Sunflower Oil Spray).

Ingredients

125g butter

75g golden syrup

350g self-raising flour

pinch of salt

200g caster sugar

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 lemon, rind grated 

• in a pot, melt the butter and golden syrup, set aside and leave to cool.
• sift the flour, salt, sugar, ginger and bicarb into a bowl.
• once cooled slightly, pour the butter and golden syrup over the dry ingredients.
• add the egg and grated lemon rind and mix to combine the dough.
• using your hands, shape the dough into even balls and place on the baking sheets.
• press each ball down with your fingers and bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes.
• once baked, transfer to a wire rack to cool.

♥ ♥

Wendy

XO

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January - Coffee Victoria Sponge

This was a really quick and fun way to make a coffee cake! Preheat the oven to 160^°C and line 2 tins with greaseproof paper. 

Melting icing...again

Sponge

4 Eggs 

Soft Margarine

Self-raising flour

2 tbsp instant coffee granules

• Weigh eggs in shells, weigh out the same amount of margarine, sugar and flour.
• Cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, whisk in the eggs, sieve flour into the mixture.
• Mix the coffee with 1 tbsp of hot water and fold into the mixture.
• Spoon into prepared tins and bake for 25 minutes.

Icing

300g icing sugar

2 tbsp instant coffee granules

15g butter, melted

Walnut halves (or coffee chocolate beans - nom!)

• Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl, mix the coffee with 3 tbsp of boiling water add to the icing sugar with the butter.
• Once the cake is cooled ice (ice baby...) and decorate your cake.

PS - I wish I was better at icing cakes 

Breakfast Bars

"Never work before breakfast; if you need to work before breakfast, eat your breakfast first"
- Josh Billings

150g Dried Cranberries
100g Dried Apricots
60g Shelled Pistachio Nuts
50g Sunflower Seeds
50g Porridge Oats
60g Wholemeal Flour
60ml Orange Juice
4 Tablespoons Honey

• Preheat the oven to 190^oC & line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
• Blitz the dried fruit in a food processor until roughly chopped.
• Fold in the nuts, seeds, oats & flour.
• Pour in the orange juice & honey - blitz until roughly combined.
• Transfer to the baking tray & spread out evenly.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown, leave to cool & then cut into bars.