gluten free cakes

Debz tak a look at this site:-

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-2548/gluten-free-cake-recipes.aspx

not tried any but they do look delicious 

this one works, tried and tested many times....
 Flourless chokky torte

 ingredients.


400g butter
400g dark chocolate
250g unsalted butter
10 eggs
 
other stuff..

a 10 inch springform tin about 2 inches deep.
3 mixing bowls, one pretty big for the whites, you can do it with less but you'll make a mess!

Method.

melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stiring every now and again til combined, whilst thats melting separate the eggs. Beat the whites til stiff and fluffy (helps if you've got big fore-arms like Popeye or an electric whisk!).
And in another bowl whisk the yolks and sugar together until pale.

when your chocolate and butter is melted mix it into the whipped yolks, if it feels too hot let it cool a bit, you don't want scrambled eggs, don't worry it'll stay runny for ages!

now fold everything into the whites, (don't be overcautious about bashing alot of the air out, you don't want it to rise too far), you can be quite rough.

now pour your mix into a greased springform tin with a bit of baking paper in the bottom and bake on about gas mark 2 for about 45 minutes, it should have a bit of a wobble when it comes out. when cool let it chill in the fridge until properly set (about 3 hours).

i find it helps if you put the cake tin on a baking sheet, helps disapate the heat a little and catches any drips if you've got a leaky tin!

this does about 10 portions, if the top goes a bit crumbly, don't worry just serve it upside down, goes nice with raspberry coulis and a blob of creme fraiche or mascarpone,
 
hope that helps.

My husband was diagnosed as gluten-intolerant about 20 years ago.  At first I was terrified, and stuck religiously to the specialist recipes, using all sorts of weird and wonderful ingredients!  However, I soon found that as long as you're accurate with your quantities in terms of a basic gluten-free flour mix and whichever raising agent you choose, you can pretty much adapt most ordinary baking recipes.  I use Juvela flour mix for all my baking, and have rarely had a problem - Doves Farm is also excellent.  The only difficult thing is pastry, as it's incredibly short (it's as if it's been made with cornflour!) and so breaks up very easily - I'm afraid I now cheat and buy it ready made from Sainsbury's!  It's the DS (Dietary Specials) brand of ready-made shortcrust from the 'free from' section in the freezer cabinet, and it's great. 

As for a previous post on a flour-free chocolate truffle torte, the Delia Smith version (which is also egg-free) has become a family favourite over the years .... her recipe lines the base with crushed Amaretti (almond macaroons) - just make sure the brand you use ARE gluten-free, because many of the commercial brands aren't.  Or, as per the recipe in the post, you can manage without.  It's so rich that you can pour it into individual ramekins or espresso cups to set, and serve it as you would a chocolate mousse.  Here's the recipe:

Truffle Torte
Serves at least 10 (yes, really!!)

5 tbsp liquid glucose
5 tbsp rum or brandy
450g plain chocolate – at least 70% cocoa solids
1 pint double cream
100gm Amaretti biscuits, crushed
9” (23cm) cake tin lined with baking parchment

Sprinkle the crushed Amaretti evenly over the base of the tin.
Break the chocolate into sections and put them in a heat-proof bowl together with the liquid glucose and the rum or brandy, and fit the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.  Ensure the bottom of the bowl isn’t in contact with the water, or the mixture will curdle.
Leave until the chocolate has melted and become quite smooth.  Stir, then take off the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes or so until it feels just warm.
In a separate bowl, beat the cream until slightly thickened.  Fold half the cream into the chocolate mixture, then fold that mixture into the rest of the cream until smoothly blended.
Spoon into the prepared tin (being careful not to disturb the Amaretti – they will form the topping when it’s turned out), ensuring the mixture is evenly spread.  Cover with clingfilm and chill overnight.
Just before serving, run a palette knife round the edge to loosen, and turn it out onto a serving plate with the Amaretti on the top.  You can add sifted cocoa powder to the topping, but I don’t find it’s necessary.
If you really want to push the boat out, you can add some Amaretti liqueur to some pouring cream to go with the torte, but it’s fine on its own or with plain cream.  It’s incredibly rich though, so serve in ‘dainty’ portions!! 
It freezes really well too, so if you have any left over, you can save it for another time.  It also means you can make it well in advance when cooking for Christmas etc.

I know it's nothing to do with cakes, but I thought whilst we're on the subject of GF, I'd pass on my scotch egg recipe! 
- I use gluten free sausages such as Black Farmer, which I slit open to remove the sausagemeat and discard the skins. 
- I then add some dried sage or thyme to the sausagemeat along with a good shake of white pepper (it seems to go better with the flavours than ground black), and mix everything together with my hands. 
- Each hardboiled egg takes two sausages worth of sausagemeat, so a pack of six like Black Farmer will cover three eggs.  Divide the sausagemeat into three and shape each piece into a rough pattie.  Place the hardboiled egg in the centre and fold the sausagemeat round it - just keep moulding and pinching it till the egg is evenly covered, and then roll it around a little till it's smooth.
- Blitz some gluten-free bread in a food processor (or grate it by hand) to make breadcrumbs.  Place them in a bowl, and roll the scotch egg around in the crumbs until covered (you can dip the scotch egg in milk or beaten egg first if you're worried about the crumbs not sticking to the sausagemeat, but I don't find it's necessary).
- Place the breadcrumbed eggs onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment, and bake in a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 6/200 C for 30-40 minutes, turning every so often to ensure they're evenly cooked.  The cooking time will depend on whether your eggs and/or sausagemeat were chilled or at room temperature, but obviously you need to ensure they're piping hot all the way through.
- When they're cool, they can be wrapped individually in clingfilm and stored in the fridge - I've also found they freeze successfully, which is a bonus! 

Thank you all for your help and advice.  I was going to ask you about substituting gluten free flour into regular recipes today but you have already answered that before I had a chance to.  This is such a great place to get advice.

I hadn't particularly noticed it whilst reading through, but whilst I had a flick through the October issue of delicious magazine this morning, I noticed they had an article on gluten free with a number of recipes - savoury dishes not cakes. I looked on their website too and whilst I could find an online copy of said article, they do have loads of other gluten free recipes and articles online.

 

I'm a coeliac and found this thread extremely informative. I tend to do all the cooking in this house (my wife doesn't mind one bit). For any recipe which require flour I always use Juvela. Thank you to all who have added their own recipes. Food For Thought!!!!
P.S. Juvela have a good selection of recipes on their website.