Gluten Free Lemon Slices

This is a very refreshing Summer Cake, especially if you like lemons...and Gluten Free! 

Ingredients for Cake: 

• 350g Butter
• 350g Sugar
• 350g Rice Flour or Gluten Free Flour
• 6 Eggs
• 1 Lemon, juice only
• 2 Lemon, grated rind
• 1 tsp Vanilla Sugar or a few drops of Vanilla Flavour
• 3 tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder
•  (TO MAKE YOUR OWN GLUTEN FREE BAKING POWDER mix
•  1/3 cup Baking Soda
•  2/3 cups Arrow Root or Potato Starch
•  2/3 cups Cream of Tartar - keep in an airtight container for future use)

Ingredients for basic Icing: 

• 300g Icing Sugar
• 1 Lemon, juice only

Method

Preheat oven to 150-175°C (depending on oven).

Lightly oil an oven tray and cover with baking paper. Use a smaller tray, than the size of your oven, that way the cake is a little bit higher – or use more ingredients, just try it out.

Base: 

1. Combine the soft Butter with the Sugar and Vanilla Sugar/Flavour and mix until creamy. 
2. Add the eggs slowly one by one into the mixture, keep mixing. 
3. Mix the Flour with the Baking Powder. 
4. Grate the Lemon and add Flour and Lemon to the Butter mixture, one spoon at a time.
5. Pour onto tray and bake for 20-30min. 

 Icing:

• Mix the Icing Sugar with the Lemon Juice. 
• Take cake out of oven, when ready and pour Lemon Icing over warm cake. This Icing will soak into the cake, keeping it nice and juicy. 
• Let it cool down and cut into slices.

I made this cake once with rice flour and although the texture wasn't as smooth as with ordinary flour, it was still very tasty!

Lemon Slices / Lemon Cake

This is one of my favourites, because it's juicy, even 2 days after making it-if there's still some left then! Even though it's nice and refreshing, it's not only for summer, but for any occasion. 
I love using this recipe for various cakes as a base. I made my nieces Christening Cake with this recipe and it was a great success. On another occasion I used a tray and instead of cutting the cake into slices, I cut out Olaf the snowman from Frozen, and decorated it with fondant Icing. 
If you use a round tin,  you might have to watch your baking times and leave it in longer - but make sure it doesn't burn. 

I love this cake as it is very versatile and Kids love eating it too. 

Ingredients for Cake:

• 350g Butter
• 350g Sugar
• 350g Plain or Cream Flour
• 6 Eggs
• 1 Lemon, juice only
• 2 Lemon, grated rind
• 1 tsp Vanilla Sugar or a few drops of Vanilla Flavour
• 3 tsp Baking Powder

Ingredients for simple Icing:

• 300g Icing Sugar
• 1 Lemon, juice only

Method

Preheat oven to 150-175°C (depending on oven). Lightly oil an oven tray and cover with baking paper. 
Use a smaller tray, than the size of your oven, that way the cake is a little bit higher – or use more ingredients, just try it out.


Base:

1. Combine the soft Butter with the Sugar and Vanilla Sugar/Flavour and mix until creamy. 
2. Add the eggs slowly one by one into the mixture, keep mixing. 
3. Mix the Flour with the Baking Powder. 
4. Grate the Lemon and add Flour and Lemon to the Butter mixture, one spoon at a time.
5. Pour onto tray and bake for 20-30min. 

Icing:

1. Mix the Icing Sugar with the Lemon Juice. 
2. Take cake out of oven, when ready and pour Lemon Icing over warm cake.
3. This Icing will soak into the cake, keeping it nice and juicy. 
4. Let it cool down and cut into slices. 

Tip: 
if you want to decorate the cake, i.e. for birthday parties, cover with another layer of icing, once the cake has cooled down. 
Decorate with sprinkles etc. or decorate it with another layer of lemon butter icing, like I did for the Christening Cake. 

Meringue Roulade with Strawberry & Raspberry

 

It might not be the weather for it right now, but I love this lovely summery fresh fruit roulade. 
Perfect to bring to garden party or a rainy day like today - a taste of summer :)

Ingredients

Meringue

• 3 large egg whites
• 175g caster sugar
• 1 level tsp cornflour
• 1tsp malt vinegar
• 1tsp vanilla extract

Filling

• 150ml/5fl oz double cream
• 200ml/7fl oz Greek yogurt
• 225g/8oz strawberries & raspberries.cut in to halves or quarters
• icing sugar, for dusting

Method

Meringue

1. Preheat the oven to 150C. 
2. Line a 33x23cm Swiss roll tin or tray with non-stick baking parchment. 
3. Beat the egg whites with an electric whisk until frothy and doubled in bulk. 
4. Slowly whisk in the caster sugar until thick and shiny. 
5. Mix the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract, then whisk into the egg whites.
6. Spoon into the tin and level the surface carefully, so you don't push out the air. 
7. Bake for about 30 minutes until the meringue surface is just firm.
8. Remove from the oven and cover with damp greaseproof paper for 10 minutes. 

Filling

1. Lightly whip the cream and mix with the yogurt. Spread evenly over the meringue.
2. Cut the strawberries into quarters and sprinkle over the cream mixture.
3. Roll up the meringue firmly, using the paper to help you, from the long end of the roulade. It is essential to keep the roll very tight.
4. Wrap in non-stick baking paper and chill before serving.
5. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

German Cheesecake Muffins

I was going with my Mother-in-law to her neighbour's coffee morning in aid of Aware. As I hosted a few coffee mornings myself, I always found it nice if people brought something they baked. To do something different, I decided on German Cheesecake Muffins, which are really easy and quick to make and went down a treat. Try for yourself :)

If you're not keen on mandarins, you can leave them out altogether or replace them with any other fruit, like cherries or even with chocolate chips ;)

Makes about 18 Muffins

Ingredients:

• 100g Butter
• 2 Eggs
• 180g Caster Sugar
• 500g Quark (Fromage Frais)
• 1 Packet (37g) of Vanilla Pudding powder or Custard Powder
• 1 tbsp Ground Rice or Semolina
• 1 small tin of Mandarins

Method:

1. Pre-heat Fan-Oven to 180°C
2. Add Soft Butter and Sugar to a bowl and mix until smooth
3. Then add all other ingredients and mix until well combined
4. Drain the Mandarins well
5. Add Muffin cases into Muffin tray 
6. Half fill Muffin cases with Muffin Mix
7. Add 2-3 Mandarins to each Muffin case and top up again with Muffin Mix to about 3/4
8. Bake for about 30 minutes (check that they're not wobbly otherwise leave for another 5-10 min but don't let them burn - they should be a golden brown colour)
9. Leave to cool. Don't be worried if the middle sinks - it's suppose to do that with Cheesecake

Rheinische Mutzen or Rhenish Doughnut

Rheinische Mutzen or Rhenish Mutzen (type of Doughnut) 

Mutzen, (Muuzen, Muzen), is a rhenish type of doughnut, which is traditionally made mainly at Carneval time or New Years Eve. They are best when eaten fresh, but even a day later, once stored in an airtight container, they are still delicious. There are a few varieties regarding flavour, with the Almond Mutzen being the most popular. There is a variety with rum as well as rosewater. My kids prefer the Almond one, so here's the recipe for it. Hope you like it.

Ingredents:

375 g Flour
2 TL Baking powder
100 g cold Butter in little pieces
100 g Caster Sugar
100 g Ground Almonds
3 Eggs (medium)
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
Zest of a lemon

For Cooking/decoration:
750 g Vegetable fat/Oil 
Icing Sugar for sprinkling

Method: 

1. Sieve the Flour and Baking powder onto the worktop.
2. Add butter pieces, Sugar & almond and mix lightly with your fingers.
3. add all other ingredients quickly and knead to form a smooth dough.
4. Cover in clingfilm and leave in fridge for about an hour.
5. Lightly flour your worktop and roll out dough with a rolling pin, so it's about 1cm thick.
6. With a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut dough into rhombus shapes.
7. Heat up the fat/oil in a deep pan. You can test if the oil is hot enough by sticking the end of a wooden spoon into the oil. If there are bubbles forming around the stick, the oil is hot enough...try and keep the heat,if necessary remove the pan from heat briefly.
8. Bake the Mutzen in batches in the oil until golden. They'll puff up in the oil and you might need to turn them around once.
9. Remove Mutzen from pan with a slotted spoon.
10. Put them on kitchen paper to drain excess oil.
11. Dust one side with icing sugar and enjoy!

Happy New Year

Hi Everyone, wishing you all a happy & healthy new Year and may all your wishes and aims for 2014 come true. December is always my most favourite baking month, with all the lovely Pre-Christmas bakes. And as every year, I was looking forward to bake my favourite things as well as try new recipes. Unfortunately we all got struck down by this annoying flu bug and I didn't get the chance in making half the things I planned. Well I am sure my husband and extended Family and Friends were secretly relieved they didn't have to face the temptation ;)
Anyhow, I still managed to make a 50th Birthday Cake for my friends husband - who's a Leeds Utd Supporter, for the 21st December. I must admit, I really enjoyed making the Shield and to figure out how to write LUFC onto it without a pen (it was already 9pm at night)! Icing Sugar, Blue food colouring and a good old fashioned tooth pick worked very well!
I made a 10'' Square Madeira sponge and filled the layers with Mascarpone & White Chocolate Icing, topped the cake with a bit of Apricot glaze to hold the Roll Out Icing. I cut the snowflakes out of light blue coloured icing and sprayed them then with some Silver Shimmer Spray. Overall I was quite happy with the result.

and for the kids I made a few chocolate cupcakes, which my girls helped me decorate.

Hope you all had a few lovely Festive Days. Wishing you all Happy Baking in 2014 - and remember 'Life's what you bake it' :)

Lovely Birthday Present

I got this lovely Birthday Present from a very dear friend of mine today...it's going to be my new Motto:

Life Is What You Bake It !