Tag Archives: christmas cake

Baking, Special Diets, Wheat Free

C is for Cake, Christmas and Calm.

Leave a comment

Christmas this year is going to be a bit different for us. We have friends staying for about 3 weeks, which is lovely, especially as they are more than happy to play toddler games and babysit.

For Christmas itself we are deserting our friends and going on a large family holiday to Marrakesh, which means Christmas in a hotel. Sounds pretty glam doesn’t it. However I’ll admit that part of it fills me with a certain dread – what will the food be like, will it cater for me as a “wheat free, can’t tolate much fat, can’t eat much food at breakfast” type of weirdo? I have a digestive condition that really affects my eating, so for me planning and preparation are key.

In my case I have….. rice cakes, cereal bars, dried fruit, nuts….. plus food for the toddler too as she’ll be wanting to share some of mummies.

I know we are away for actual Christmas, but that hasn’t stopped me getting into the fun of it all. I LOVE this time of year. Literally I love  it. Fortunately I also have a toddler who is embracing the Christmas season, here she is helping decorate our wheat free Christmas cake. It’s a “Twinkle Star” cake, partialy decorated in the way it is as she attacked it with a star shaped cutter when I turned my back 😉 Gotta love her creative spirit. Here is the recipe in case you missed it.

Dietitian UK: rolling out the marzipan
Dietitian UK: rolling out the marzipan – my smiling face!
Dietitian UK: It's serious stuff this cake decoration.
Dietitian UK: It’s serious stuff this cake decoration.

 

Hoping you all have a fabulous Christmas and look forward to sharing 2013 with you.

Baking, Gluten Free, Recipes, Special Diets, Wheat Free

Cheeky Christmas cake – gluten and wheat free.

2 Comments

Christmas… I literally love it. The smells, the sights, the sparkles, the foods, the fun, the family time. For us as Christians it’s a proper time to celebrate the birth of a special little baby. How better the celebrate than eat too much, drink too much and laze around?! Hold on, I’m a dietitian and a Pilates instructor…and YES I eat cake  😉

So Christmas cake for me is a big part of things, I love all the fruit, the booze, the decorating of it and the fact it lasts for soooooo long! Being wheat intolerant I know going out to Christmas event there is often not a lot of festive foods I can eat, so I make this and take a bit with me.

Last weekend I got busy soaking my fruit, I used a mix of sultanas, raisins, apricots, cranberries and prunes. My alcohol of choice this year was brandy, and I soaked it for a week…mainly so I could just keep smelling it 😉 My famous wedding cake was a mix of all the alcohol in my parents alcohol cabinet – Martini, whiskey, peach schnapps…you name it, it went in, soaked in a huge pan in my bedroom, I’m pretty sure I was drunk on the fumes, it tasted AMAZING!

So here is my wheat free, gluten free recipe – enjoy:

Ingredients:

  • 700g dried fruit (raisins, apricots, prunes, cranberries are all good)
  • 150ml brandy
  • 250g butter
  • 200g sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 tbsp mixed spice
  • 125g rice flour
  • 2 tsp xanthum gum
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 1 orange zest and juice

Recipe:

  • Place fruit in a bowl and cover with the alcohol, leave to soak for at least 24 hours.
Dietitian UK: Fruit soaks for Christmas cake
Dietitian UK: Fruit soaks for Christmas cake
  • Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a large cake tin.
  • Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until fluffy.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, if it starts to curdle add a little flour.
  • Add the rice flour, xanthum gum, ground almonds, mixed spice, orange zest and juice.
Dietitian UK: Wheatfree, Glutenfree Christmas cake Mixed up.
Dietitian UK: Wheatfree, Glutenfree Christmas cake Mixed up.
  • Pour into the tin and bake at Gas Mark 4 for 1 hour, then Gas Mark 3 for 2-2 1/2 hours.
  • When cool wrap in cling film and then foil.
  • To feed prick with a skewer and sprinly over 1 tbsp brandy.

I haven’t iced the Christmas cake  yet, but here is a pic of last years! How do you decorate your cake? I’m thinking of dried fruits and nuts with a glaze this year.