Gluten-free – Page 6

Italian meringue buttercream

11.02.2014 by georgie // Leave a Comment

This makes enough to cover one large cake or frost 18 – 20 cupcakes.

3 large egg whites, free range or organic
180g caster sugar
300g unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of fine salt
Vanilla extract

Place 150g of the sugar in a small pan with 60ml of water and gently bring to the boil. Do not stir, but swirl around to dissolve the sugar. Leave the pan on a gently rolling boil, until it reaches 121c on a sugar thermometer. Have a bowl of cold water at the ready to plunge the pan into.

Whilst the syrup is on the hob whisk the egg whites in a free standing mixer until you have stiff peaks, and then gradually whisk in the remaining sugar. As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 121c, plunge the pan into the bowl of cold water for just a few seconds to cool quickly. Then, with the mixer on full speed, gently pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream until all mixed together (try not to get the sugar syrup up the sides of the bowl or on the whisk itself as it will stick to them, aim for the egg whites). Continue to mix for a further 8 – 10 minutes until the bowl is cool. Chop the butter into chunks and gradually whisk into the meringue, with the salt and a splash of vanilla. It may look like the mixture has split but keep mixing, you will end up with a smooth and fluffy buttercream.

FInished carrot honey cake with Italian meringue frosting

Tofu and peanut bun cha

10.28.2014 by georgie // 3 Comments

I’ve spent a lot of my late twenties/ early thirties eating Vietnamese food. Heck, if we were tallying up take-aways and meals out, I would put a bet on pho being the front runner. I love it, it is my ultimate healthy eating comfort food (as long as it isn’t laden with MSG, I’m too old to deal with MSG hangovers now).

We live Shoreditch, a part of London with brilliant authentic Vietnamese eateries and shops; I honestly never tire of their offerings. We love it so much in fact that we went to Vietnam about 3 years ago, purely because of how much we love the food. (We now love the country too. What a place). My order will usually be along the lines of salt and pepper squid/ banh xeo and a pho. However occasionally I’ll mix it up a bit and order a bun cha. Perfect for warmer days, lighter meals and very easy to make at home (unlike pho where you need hours to get a good stock). Traditionally you’re looking at pork, prawns etc for your protein, but for this particular lunch I went tofu. It’s perfect for me during the day, a meal for one, easy to do, nutritious and delicious (albeit high in salt) and really quick.

TOFU AND PEANUT BUN CHA

Serves 1 (multiply as needed)

You could use crushed, roasted (unsalted) peanuts on here instead of the peanut butter. But I like the creaminess it gave the tofu, and think it works well once dressed.

Handful of iceburg lettuce, washed and spun dry
1 small or 1/2 a large carrot, peeled
A spring onion, washed
4 sprigs of coriander, washed
40g rice or sweet potato noodles
4cm piece of cucumber
75g fried/ firm tofu
Half a lime
A heaped teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter
A large clove of garlic, peeled
Groundnut oil
A tablespoon of soy sauce
1/4 – 1/2 a red chilli
A teaspoon of golden caster sugar
A tablespoon of rice wine or white wine vinegar
A tablespoon of fish sauce
2cm piece of ginger, peeled

Start by prepping the veg. Shred the lettuce, finely slice the spring onion, julienne the carrot and cucumber and roughly chop the coriander. Cook the noodles according to packet instructions and leave to one side. Make the dressing by mixing together the caster sugar, vinegar, fish sauce and 50ml of boiling water. Finely grate in the ginger and whisk.

Place a small non-stick pan on a medium heat and add a lug of groundnut oil. Finely slice the garlic, finely chop the chilli and chop the tofu into 2-3cm chunks. Add everything to the pan and fry until lightly golden all over. Add the soy sauce and peanut butter and coat the tofu, frying for a further 1 – 2 minutes.

Pour the dressing into a large bowl. Top with the noodles and then arrange the chopped veg and coriander all around it. Spoon the tofu into the middle and then toss everything together, with the squeezed lime half.

Wild plum liqueur

10.23.2014 by georgie // 5 Comments

I am lucky to have many wonderful friends in my life, some food lovers, some not (it isn’t friendship criteria but if you don’t appreciate/ love good food I will probably try and convert you). However it must be said that my friend Holly is easily be one of the biggest food lovers I know. I love Holly time, we’ll chat about all sorts of stuff but there will always be some pretty geeky food chat going on. The last time I saw her she had a log of Norwegian butter in her bag, that she had brought me all the way back from Norway, and a bag of frozen wild plums from a foraging trip to Kent. The time before that she brought me a tray of homemade coconut ice cream with rippled tamarind caramel. Seriously… it’s like crack.

So, the Norwegian butter I have eaten simply on fresh bread and it is wonderful, but the plums, well there was only one thing for it. Pre-weighed into 400g batches and frozen (this girl doesn’t mess about), it had to be booze. I love flavouring alcohol, and always have a few bottles on the go at any given time. Sloe gin, bergamot gin, limoncello, kumquat brandy… It is easy to do, tasty as hell and they make great gifts (we made a load for our wedding favours). For some reason I have never used plums or damsons before so was excited to add a new bottle to our collection. Now the obvious pairing for these autumnal treats is gin, and by all means use that! However it is not a joke when they call gin ‘mothers ruin’ so for now I am staying clear. I used good quality organic vodka instead, I just have to wait another month till I can try it…

WILD PLUM LIQUEUR

400g wild plums or damsons, washed and frozen
125g golden caster sugar
750cl good quality vodka or gin

You will need a 1L kilner jar, as the plums won’t fit in a bottle.

This recipe could not be more simple. Just layer up the plums with the sugar in the large clean kilner jar and then pour over your chosen alcohol. Seal tightly and give it a shake.

Store the jar in a dark spot, away from sunlight, and give it a little shake every day for a week till the sugar dissolves. Leave the jar well alone for 2 – 3 months, only disturbing it to give it a little taste after a month to see if it needs more sugar. Check the sweetness, adding another spoonful or so of sugar if it still feels a little tart. Then seal back down, give it a shake and return to your dark spot.

You can strain it after a few months, but if you can wait a little longer I would leave it. The more patient you are the tastier the booze.

If you want to add a little extra flavour to your liqueur, try popping in a split vanilla pod, or a few bay leaves. You could also make it a spiced plum liqueur for christmas, just add a cinnamon stick, a few cloves, a couple of cardamom pods and a few peppercorns half way through steeping. You don’t want them to overpower the plum flavour, just add a lovely wintery warmth.

Finished booze shot to come…