Special Celebration Cakes
I don’t normally do cakes per se as my focus has been on making muffin or cupcake size cakes for the school lunch box or for afternoon teas. A slice of cake doesn’t seem to stay in one piece in a lunch box whereas a muffin or cupcake seems to take the knocks.
But I have been doing a little bit of gluten free baking for a friend who has a cafe and so I have gone in search of “cake” recipes that present well in a cafe cabinet. I have actually enjoyed the challenge because I can bake a wider variety of recipes which might not otherwise be eaten at home.
Or these cake can be your celebration cake for that special occasion such as a birthday or family gathering.
My KJ has requested a Raspberry White Chocolate Cake for his upcoming birthday… I told him that I’ll see what I can do…
1. Flourless Lime and Almond Cake with Caramelised Limes 
4. Raspberry and Cacao Nib Tea Cake from The Gluten Free Scallywag
5. Passionfruit Ricotta Flan with Lemon Cream
6. Mandarin and Almond Cake or Gluten Free Mandarin and Almond Cake
Boiled Fruit Cake
My favourite fruit cake is the boiled fruit cake. I love it for its rich colour and overall moistness. Saying that I have found two fruit cake recipes using packet mixes which are well worth the baking effort, which I also include below.
1. The Boiled Fruit Cake is an oldie but a goodie and it converts well to gluten free.
Ingredients
375 g mixed fruit
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
180 g butter or margarine
1 egg
1 cup gluten free SR flour
1/2 cup gluten free plain flour
1/2 cup almond meal
2 level teaspoons baking soda
1 dessert spoon hot water
1 tablespoon rum
Method
1. Place mixed fruit, sugar, water, spice, salt and butter in saucepan.
2. Allow to boil for ten minutes.
3. Allow to cool.
4. Beat egg and add to cooled mixture.
5. Fold in sifted flours and almond meal, dissolved soda and rum.
6. Mix well together then pour into a prepared cake tin. For lunch boxes I use muffin tins lined with paper cases as the cake holds together better for the lunch box. Adjust cooking time accordingly.
7. Bake in slow to moderate oven for 1 1/2 hours for cake.
This recipe was featured in the latest yum.com online magazine. I think my oven was the problem as the cake was a little dry. The process of soaking fruit then coating fruit with bread mix ensured that the fruit did not sink but is distributed throughout the cake. The recipe also gives you some suggestions if you wish to bake a bigger or smaller cake. Thank you Decadent Alternatives.
3. Boiled Fruit Cake and Christmas Cake
Ingredients
375 g mixed dried fruit
60 g margarine
200 ml boiling water
1 packet Basco Gluten Free Butter Cake Mix
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch ground cinnamon
Method
Preheat oven to 180C (fan forced 160C). Grease a 20 cm square cake pan and line with baking paper. (10 muffin papers)
In a medium saucepan, combine dried fruit, margarine and boiling water. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off heat, stir and allow to stand for 5 minutes to cool.
In a bowl, empty contents of Basco cake mix sachet together with cinnamon, eggs and vanilla. Mix to combine.
Add fruit mixture to cake batter and beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Spread mixture into prepared pan and bake for 40 – 45 minutes. Alternatively, divide mixture into 10 muffin cases and bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Insert a skewer to test when cake is cooked. For cake, allow to stand for 10 minutes before gently turning out onto a wire rack to cook.
From “The Australian Coeliac” and Joy Williams – Gold Coast.
A Handful of Blueberries
I have had a bit of fun with blueberries of late, so here are a couple of ideas using either fresh or frozen blueberries.
This comes from the taste.com.au Gluten Free Recipe book. A dessert type cake, this goes wonderfully with custard.
I sprinkled the muffins with demerara sugar before baking.
4. Blueberry Cake
This is a moist and easy to make cake and presents quite beautifully. Because of its high butter content, it is not an every day kind of recipe, but if you are looking for something a little different for an afternoon tea or special occasion, then give this one a try.
Ingredients
butter 250 g softened
caster sugar 2/3 cup
orange 1, zest, 1/2 cup juice
eggs, 3
gluten free SR flour, 1 3/4 cup
blueberries (frozen or fresh), 1 cup
Method
1. Preheat oven to moderate 180 degrees C. Lightly grease and line a 14 cm x 24 cm loaf pan with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Beat in zest.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Lightly fold in flour and juice. Fold in berries. Spoon into pan, smoothing top. (I suggest pouring half to two-thirds of the cake mixture into the pan first and then layering the blueberries before topping with remaining cake mixture. It stops the run of colour and the blueberries sinking to the bottom)
5. Bake 55 -60 minutes until cooked when skewer comes out clean. Cool in pan before lifting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Dust lightly with gluten free icing sugar mixture.
(from Woman’s Day Gluten-free baking recipe)
Coffee and Hazelnut Cake
Moist, delicious and liked…
This recipe caught my eye as I was leafing through the latest Coles food magazine and I duly ripped it out.
There are those recipes that I know my son will like immediately. There are those cakes that will withstand the knocks of a school bag.
And there are those recipes that if I make the cake look like a muffin minus the icing then maybe it will be liked and stay in one piece until at least morning tea.
So with a few spare minutes to myself this afternoon, I made the cake for a lunch with friends tomorrow and I made a couple of muffins for the lunch box.
Ingredients
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
200 g hazelnut meal
2/3 cup gluten free plain flour
1/2 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1/4 cup water
200 g Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for a milder taste use light olive oil)
1 tablespoon coffee liqueur (or use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of crushed instant coffee granules and 1 – 2 teaspoons icing sugar)
1 cup thickened cream, whipped
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts, toasted
20 g gluten free dark chocolate, shaved
Method
Preheat oven to 170C (150C fan forced). Grease and line with baking paper, the base and sides of a 22 cm round spring form pan.
Use an electric mixer to beat eggs and sugar in a bowl for about 10 minutes or until light and fluffy and tripled in volume.
In another bowl, place hazelnut meat and then sift over the flour and baking powder and whisk to combine well.
Whisk the coffee and water in a small jug until dissolved.
With the motor running, slowly pour the oil into the egg mixture until fully incorporated.
Gently fold in the dry hazelnut mixture.
Gently stir through the coffee mixture until combined.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Stand in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove sides of pan and set aside to cook.
Whisk liqueur through whipped cream. Chill until ready to serve.
Top the cake with coffee cream and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate.
