Readers, as I have a coeliac best friend, last week, I felt it
was time to venture into the world of gluten free baking. Up til now, I've avoided it, for fear it was
a science I wasn’t quite ready for!
Turns out, working with gluten free ingredients, is indeed a
science. Little things like violent
temperate changes and too much raising agent, can destroy a cake.
This week, I was working on a gluten free birthday cake
(more about that in another post) and I have to admit, it took two attempts
after numero uno sunk in the middle.
However, not one to waste a perfectly good, just slightly
misshapen, sponge, I edited this unfortunate cake, to become a perfectly tasty
lemon drizzle cut up sponge. Another
money saving tip from What Claire Baked.
This week I've learnt:
- Don’t mess about with raising agents. If you use any more than the recipe states, it will sink in the middle. If it’s not part of the recipe, don’t add it in.
- Use a good quality flour – I can highly recommend Doves Farm Organic Gluten Free.
- Don’t take your finished cake out of the oven straight away. Switch off the oven, open the door slightly, then a little further, then fully, before you transfer to cool on a rack, after about 5 minutes.
I'm entering this recipe into this week's #recipeoftheweek over at A Mummy Too
Gluten Free Lemon Drizzle Sponge Cake
Ingredients
90g Butter
90g Gluten Free Self Raising Flour
90g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
To decorate
Icing sugar, water and a little lemon juice
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190c/ Fan 170c /Gas 5.
- Lightly grease an 8in square silicone baking pan with butter.
- In a clean bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
- Add
in the lemon juice and zest and mix to combine with an electric mixer.
Add in the lemon juice and zest - Add the eggs one by one, adding a teaspoon of flour to prevent curdling. Mix until fully incorporated using an electric mixer.
- Sift in the remaining flour and mix to combine until a cake batter has been created.
- Transfer to your baking pan and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until a metal skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Switch off oven and open the door slightly. Gradually open the door further and after no more than 5 minutes, remove and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Remove
from baking pan and allow to cool fully on the rack.
Spot the slight sinking in the middle - Prepare a little icing sugar, water and a splash of lemon juice, to create an thin icing suitable for drizzling.
- Drizzle over the top of the cooled cake, then cut into small pieces to serve.
- Store
in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Gluten free lemon cake
I've never heard the tip about opening the oven door--good to know! I've been a little afraid of gluten-free baking, too, but always like to try new things.
ReplyDeleteSame Lauren - I was scared of it too. First cake wasn't a great success but it's a bit of trial and error to get it right. So many people are coeliac now it's good to have real tasting cake!
Delete