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.