Episode two of Thandi's food recipes

Gluten free lemon drizzle cake

Being in lockdown means there is a shortage of flour so for this post I decided to delve into the unknown and try baking a gluten free cake (to be perfectly honest that is the only flour I have left!) If like me you are struggling to fill your time during SARS Cov-2 pandemic then experimenting with bakes might help with wellbeing.

Ingredients

• 200g gluten free flour (I used M n S flour)
• 200g Stork margarine
• 175g caster sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 2tsp baking powder
• 4 lemons
• 1 orange
• Icing sugar for drizzle
• Sugar syrup made from 1 part hot water and 4 parts sugar with lemon juice added for taste.

Method

Heat oven to 180 degrees C and line a 10″ cake tin with baking parchment using butter as an adhesive ( or just brush tin with butter)

To a mixing bowl add the eggs, sugar, juice of 1 lemon and butter and whisk till incorporated

Fold in the flour and baking powder then whisk on a high setting until mixture appears light and fluffy (if this does not happen you do not have enough air introduced so keep mixing)

Pour cake mixture into tin and bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown. Use a butter knife to check if cake is cooked through.

Remove cake from oven and brush with lemon sugar syrup to lock in moisture as cake cools. After 10 minutes remove cake from tin and leave to completely cool on a rack.

To make the glaze….

In a bowl, add juice of 3 lemons and 1 orange (reduces the acidic taste of lemon)

Sieve small amounts of icing sugar into juice and whisk until you get a consistent thick glaze that is not too runny

Poke holes in your cooled cake and pour your glaze onto the cake very slowly from the centre.

Garnish with lemon slices and serve.

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Cinnamon & Nutmeg Buns with Orange glaze icing

It’s half term which means I have some time for blogging new recipes. As I am getting ready for Christmas I thought this recipe is a nice and easy start. 

These rolls are very easy to make and one can teach the science behind kneading too! 

Be patient when kneading as you want to ensure all the gluten is activated and yeast is incorporated otherwise the rolls will be dense. Always use a good quality flour for better results. And lastly, prove for at least an hour  or longer in colder months.

Ingredients

500g Very strong white bread flour (I used Allinson) plus extra for dusting.

1tbsp Honey runny

1tsp Salt

1 Easy bake yeast sachet (7g) (I used Allinson)

1 Egg yolk – free range if possible

1½tbsp Butter (unsalted) melted

345ml Warm water

1tsp Cinnamon

1tsp Nutmeg

2tbsp Unrefined demerara sugar ( I used Billington’s)

For the icing

1 large orange 

300g icing sugar sifted

2/3 tbsp cold water

Method 

Preheat oven to 220°C, (200°C fan, gas mark 7).

Place the flour, honey, salt and yeast into a bowl then mix to a soft dough with the egg, butter and water.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.   

This should take around 10 minutes. Roll out into a rectangle.  

  Sprinkle over the cinnamon and demerara sugar and then roll up like a swiss roll.  

Cut into thick 2.5cm slices and  place in an ovenproof roasting dish or casserole dish.  

 Cover with a slightly damp tea towel and leave to prove until double in size. Sprinkle some cinnamon and nutmeg on top.  

   Glaze  with an egg and place in an oven and immediately turn the heat down to 200°C (180°C fan, gas mark 6). Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.   

  Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. 

Whilst the buns are cooling, make the orange drip icing by sieving the icing sugar into a bowl and squeezing the juice of 1 large orange into the icing sugar.

Mix with a whisk and add a table spoon of cold water at a time until you get a thick drip icing. 

Remove rolls from oven dish carefully and place on a board. Pour icing on top and spread evenly ensuring that not too much icing drips on the sides. 

Garnish with thin slices of orange and serve by tearing rolls apart.   

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More recipes to come......