As anyone with food allergies will know, finding enough food for a satisfied stomach is pretty difficult. My sister has only recently found a complete solution to her stomach troubles, and it’s taken all gluten, dairy, and high-fructose corn syrup based products out of her diet. In an effort to provide balance, I looked more closely at the recipe for my cinnamon muffins and started to replace the  ingredients.

I should start by saying that I still use eggs here; sis can’t have them on their own, but used in baking has been just fine. I would also recommend close scrutiny when selecting the special diet items; most department store brands sneak in sugars and additives. Fresh Direct or Whole Foods in the US are your best bets. Not wanting to use this blog for schilling, I’ve decided to put the brand names in this recipe so that you can get exactly the same results.

2 cups gluten-free flour by Bob’s Red Mill

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup rice sugar by Lundberg (that’s almost an entire bottle)

2 eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk by Silk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp almond butter* by Arrowhead Mills

approx. 1 cup leftover fruit or nuts (I’ve used blueberries and hazelnuts so far – the hazelnuts are a clear winner)

*Ensure that the almond butter is well mixed by shaking the bottle well – the oil separates very quickly from the puree

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F/ 200 C
2. Combine the dry ingredients well in a large bowl
3. Make a well in the center and begin to add the wet ingredients – do not overmix!
4. Pour in the fruit or nuts and gently fold until well distributed
5. Grease a 6-muffin tin with vegetable spray – remember, no butter! – and fill almost to the top – this mixture is extremely wet and does not rise well
6. Bake for 18 minutes, or until risen and dark brown around the edges

I use a 6-cup muffin tin because this mixture is very thin and tends to burn on the outside rather easily. Any smaller might not cook through evenly. Two benefits to this: special diet folks will likely be so ravenously hungry for proper food that they gladly wolf down a huge muffin at one sitting. Also, the fast-cooking mixture means the fruits or nuts don’t sink to the bottoms.

Don’t be put off by how wet the muffins come out, they really do set well. My sister eats them warmed up, and crumbles them into pieces to eat with Benecol spread. The photos are of the hazelnut muffins, and even my decidedly glutenous/dairyous father loves them!

These little lovelies are based on a ‘cater for a crowd’ article in Delicious Magazine. I had to make double the amount because, let me tell you, this mixture will turn out about 24 cupcakes. I don’t know what kind of crowd the author of that article caters for, but they probably run out of food a lot. Trust me, people will want 2 or 3 of these little darlings minimum – so bear that in mind when you buy ingredients!

Ingredients

5 large eggs

400g caster sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

500g flour

20g baking powder

250g unsalted butter (melted)

Icing

125g unsalted butter

375g icing sugar

2tbsp milk (approx. – add slowly)

pastel sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F
2. Beat the eggs until pale and frothy
3. Add the caster sugar and vanilla – whip until thickened and pale
4. Gradually sift flour and baking powder into the eggy mixture, folding gently as you go
5. Pour in the melted butter, folding until fully absorbed
6. Using heaping table-spoon amounts of mixture per cup, fill a cupcake sheet lined with paper cases
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes, testing until a toothpick comes out clean

Icing

1. Beat the butter until pale and whipped
2. Gradually add the icing sugar and mix with the butter
3. Add milk one spoon at a time to get the right consistency (stiff on the spoon but not too heavy or crumbly)
4. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes (better than I did) – you can brush a little vanilla extract on top of the cakes if they’ve risen too high and broken their tops, it helps to adhere the icing
5. Sprinkle, sprinkle

Okay, so my icing skills are in dire need of practice since my little baking sabbatical during the UK-US move. And because of the miniature NYC kitchen here not having direct sunlight, all my photos use flash (gag). But the baking and blogging must go on!

That’s a looot of cupcakes! I even made a few with some leftover Christmas shiny, red cases – pretend they’re for Valentines Day.

It’s been months since my last post. Since then I’ve moved with He Who Eats to Florida and now finally Manhattan. I did little cooking and baking in Florida as I was kicking back for a bit, but this was merely a precursor to bigger plans.

I would genuinely like to bake for a living, and I am using our time in the big city to test my mettle.

Perhaps I’m not up to snuff, perhaps it’s all beyond me financially, perhaps I don’t have what it takes to compete in a glutted market of gluttony.

But when such niggly little suspicions dampen my spirits, I pull a pound of butter out of the fridge and whip myself into shape again. Plus I end up making lots and lots of gooey cookies.

I am normally so good at sourcing my recipes on here, but this is one that I grabbed and completely forgot to note the source. Suffice to say, I owe them one big time because these are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted. They’ve gone down a storm with the UK and US families & friends and I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Ingredients

1 lb unsalted butter (4 sticks here in the US)

2 cups sugar

2 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

6 cups plain flour

4 cups chocolate chips (bittersweets)

Notes:

1. Use one giant bowl for this as it makes a huge amount of dough

2. You should either count on baking these the next day, or preparing the dough early on the same day as the dough needs to be chilled

Cream the butter until whipped

Add caster and brown sugar and beat until absorbed

Mix the eggs and vanilla well in a mug, then add to the creamed mixture

Give this a good mixing to help the cookies rise

Create a well in the mixture and pour in all the dry ingredients (that ‘little at a time’ method has only resulted in unnecessary mess, in my experience)

If you don’t have a sturdy mixer, just use a wooden spoon for this next bit and get your arms ready.

Cut and fold the mixture until the dry is just absorbed into the wet. This means that you slice down the middle of the bowl, then scoop under half the mixture and fold it over onto the other half like an omelette. Keep turning the bowl to ensure an even distribution.

Now, you can either:

1. Be really nifty and lay out a long stretch of cling film, and roll your dough into a roulade in order to have a nice log from which to cut your cookies.

2. Or be like me and throw it all into one of those turkey baster plastic bags and dig out the dough with your hands and a spoon.

Once you’ve packed the dough away, put it in the fridge (hence not leaving it in that giant bowl) either all day or overnight. Seriously, this is crucial.

Lastly is the easy and delicious bit.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F

Take out your dough and scoop out enough to form a ball that rolls perfectly between your cupped palms. This seals it up nicely so that the cookies don’t crash and burn.

Bake for 15-17 mins or until the edges are lightly browned, wait one minute, then sink one in a glass of milk all for your little self. Now consider giving some to others.

There it is – already well eaten and full of soft homeliness. It took quite a while, but it came out exactly as the recipe said it would. Considering how cheap the ingredients are, it would be ideal to keep a steady rotation of starter and give up buying shop/bakery loaves altogether. That and it tastes sooo much more authentic. Though I have to say, I’ll need to make wholemeal loaves to keep the old guts down on me and Mr. Darcy. Lately our stomachs start cuddling before the rest of us reaches each other.

Again, this recipe hasn’t been made available online so I’m going to type it up. Be aware that you won’t be getting your fresh bread until at least a day after you start the recipe, possibly longer depending on your schedule. If you want to have it hot and fresh for breakfast, I would suggest starting on Saturday evening and getting up a good few hours before you want to eat…and fueling your kneading powers with some nice hot coffee! Mmmm coffee.

Starter

• 225g/8oz strong white bread flour
• 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast

The Bread

• 500g/1 lb 2oz strong white bread flour (plus extra for kneading and dusting)
• 2 tsp fast-action dried yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 75ml/2.5 fl oz plain yogurt
• oil, for greasing

First comes the starter:

1. Tip the flour and yeast into a medium-sized bowl
2. Pour over 200ml warm water
3. Mix together with a wooden spoon
4. Cover with a piece of oiled cling film
5. Leave in the fridge overnight, and it should look bubbly and smell sweet

Now for the bread:

1. In a large bowl, tip in the flour, yeast and salt
2. Pour 150ml warm water and the yogurt into the starter mixture, and stir until combines
3. Pour this into the larger bowl and stir these together until they form a ball
4. [The best method for this is to do sweeping, circular movements around the sides and base of the bowl, alternating with slicing down the middle of the dough]
5. Dust your clean counter lightly with flour and tip the ball of dough out (keep the oiled cling film ready)
6. Knead by stretching out and folding back the dough with the heels of your hands
7. Twist the dough at times, always bringing back to a ball shape – don’t be wimpy with it!
8. Keep this up for about 10 mins, and the dough should feel slightly springy and have a smooth surface
9. Quickly wash up your large bowl, then lightly oil it
10. Place the dough inside and cover with the oiled cling film, leave in a warm place in the kitchen for 45 mins-1 hr to treble the dough in size
11. Remove the cling film (keep aside) and drop the dough onto a floured surface again
12. Punch all of the air out, kneading as you go, and being very vigorous with it
13. Plop onto a baking sheet and shape into a nice round ball
14. Cover with the oiled cling film and leave for about 1 hr to double in size
15. Heat the oven to 230c/210c fan
16. Place a roasting tin or grill tray on the bottom of the oven and carefully fill halfway with boiled water from a kettle
17. Leave for about 10 mins to steam up the oven
18. Uncover the dough and carefully plump back into as round a shape as possible (if necessary)
19. With a very sharp knife, cut three slits in the top and dust with flour
20. Place on the top shelf of the oven and bake for 20 mins
21. Turn down the oven to 220c/220c fan and bake for 25 mins more
22. When done, the loaf should sound hollow when you tap the bottom – return to oven for a further 10 mins if not

For a video on how to knead bread dough, visit: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/knowhow/glossary/knead/

When I used to work at an office in Chichester, sometimes I would wend my way back from lunch via a little bakery and buy an individual carrot cake with the most delicious cream cheese icing I’ve ever tasted. These cakes were so moist that I had to wolf them down straight out of the paper casing, perched on the city wall steps nearby. And yes, I licked the icing off of the case too. This was back before I could even bake a biscuit without it going up in flames, so I always uttered a silent, fervent prayer that Spires would never, ever stop selling carrot cakes.

Now, I live rather too far to just stroll down the street to get my fix and I ferreted through a lot of recipes to find one that looked just right. I think my memories of those stolen, piggish moments just before the afternoon slog at work will never allow anything to top the carrot cakes I had then, but this one turned out gloriously. Highly recommended.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Eva-Raes-Carrot-Cake-119544

Linzers are real Golden Days fare, with an incredibly simple biscuit sandwiched together with any available jam and dusted with icing sugar. They store well in a tin, go absolutely perfectly with hot tea, and generally comfort the cash-strapped soul. Mr. Darcy and I are facing quite a monumental move and are savouring only the most basic, homemade treats. Honestly, it’s been lovely – we haven’t missed anything tied to money at all.

A Recipezaar bookmark for this recipe. As I wrote in the comments, I would advise against using any sort of cookie cutter (even though the main image shows a beautifully executed heart shape). The dough is far too soft and loose, which of course makes for great crumbly biscuits. Just check out the (endearingly) wonky results of mine up there So, stick to the directions in the recipe and you won’t go wrong!

http://www.recipezaar.com/Linzer-Tarts-191826

Okay, so I got these recipes from Delicious Magazine but they don’t seem to have them on their website yet. Mr. Darcy raved so much about this dish however, that I will type them up anyway. I have to say, I modified them ever so slightly for my preferences so I’ll only write up what I did.

Now, this is a very slow-going and admittedly dedicated recipe…well, I should say 2 recipes. Hee hee. What can I say? Some days – like these cold, rainy horrid English days – it’s lovely to burrow into the kitchen for hours, sipping tea and pottering about with herbs and creamy sauces. So don’t bother whipping this recipe out for a quick dinner, rather devote your hard work to either a very appreciative and discerning partner, or a dinner party with friends. I don’t know how to host a dinner party, so it was all Mr. Darcy.

Roast Chicken & White Wine Gravy

• 1 medium chicken (mine was about 1.5kg)
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic bulb, cloves separated and unpeeled
• 1/2 lemon
• Large handful fresh thyme leaves
• 3 carrots, roughly chopped
• 3 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 300ml white wine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Chicken stock, to top up gravy

1. Preheat oven to 180°C 160°C fan oven
2. Place an oven-proof roasting dish on the hob
3. Stuff the chicken with the lemon, thyme, half the garlic and onions
4. Drop a knob of butter and a drizzle of olive oil in the dish
5. Seal the bird’s flavour by browning all sides of the skin over a medium heat in the roasting dish
6. Scatter the remaining onion, garlic, and chopped veg around the chicken
7. Pour in the white wine and an equal amount of water, scatter over the thyme
8. Take a small knob of butter and stab into the top of the bird with the rosemary sprigs (this is a favourite method of mine
9. Cover the whole dish loosely with foil and cook for 45 mins
10. Remove, uncover and cook for a further 30 mins, or until the juices of the breast run clear
11. Take out of the oven and let cool for about 5-8 mins (I’d switch the oven off even if you’re going straight into the filo pie recipe, mustn’t waste energy)
12. Remove the chicken’s skin from the neck back to the rear opening, and carve into pieces (this will let the juices flow back into the dish and not onto your cutting board)
13. Place the bits on a board and begin shredding off the usable flesh for the pie
14. Either discard or save the carcass (for stock)

Gravy

1. Mash up the veg in the dish with a potato masher
2. Strain with the juice into a large jug, discarding the veg bits (there’s no more flavour in them)
3. Top up this liquid with about 450ml of hot chicken stock, sieving off any fatty residue that resettles at the top (this just looks like a layer of oil)

Okay, so that’s the hardest part over! By now your kitchen smells amazing (Mr. Darcy could smell it coming up the elevator shaft in our building) so time to turn that aromatic chicken and gravy into something really special…

Chicken and Leek Filo Pie

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• shredded chicken from 1 whole bird
• 300ml white wine gravy
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 150ml double cream
• 6 sheets filo pastry, cut into 1.5in strips
• 50g butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C 180°C fan
2. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, softening up the onion and leek
3. Pour in the gravy and shredded chicken – keep to a low heat (just enough to create steam)
4. Sprinkle the flour lightly and mix well
5. Add the thyme and cream – bringing to a boil
6. Turn down to simmer for 5 mins, adding a little water if the mixture starts turning to thick
7. Pour the contents into a round, deep oven-proof casserole
8. Carefully take each strip of filo and pass veeery delicately into the bowl of melted butter
9. Scrunch ever so slightly and carefully place on top of the pie filling (don’t use too much butter or else the pastry will sink)
10. Place into the oven for about 15-20 mins, or once the pastry is dark gold and the filling is bubbling around the edges
11. Let the pie stop bubbling once removed, and then serve with some steamed seasonal veg

Now, wasn’t that worth it? It may seem bizarre that I go to such lengths for food that I don’t actually eat, but psychologically I get ‘full up’ on both the smells and the sight of people moaning with pleasure over each mouthful of my food. All the reward with none of the calories, and a genuine sense of satisfaction that only comes with slow cooking.

Update:

Here’s the one I made my family in Florida this past December. It’s an all round success

In the last post, I included a little tip to those who find their crumble turns to mush – as mine did. But rather than lose a perfectly good mixture, I added some sugar and vanilla to make a sort of flat cookie base. I knew this wouldn’t be perfect, but looked up a nice sweet topping to turn it into cookie bars. I had bought a big bag of whole walnuts, and found a basic sticky honey recipe to bind them up. Mr. Darcy was already lingering around the kitchen to enjoy the smell of the apple crumble baking, and watched mesmerised as I walloped the nuts with my rolling pin (no nutcracker in the house, ack).

This was an unexpected new bake, but made for a deliciously gooey coffee-time treat when cut into bars. The honey, walnut topping just oozes all over the place mmmmmm.

Biscuit Base

• 175g plain flour
• 100g unsalted butter (softened, though mine was only accidentally softened )
• 90g light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Walnut Topping

• 100g unsalted butter
• 75g light brown sugar
• 175g honey
• 3tbsp cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 250g walnut pieces (or any nut of your choice really, enough to fill roughly 1 cup)

1. As I say, my biscuit base was half done due to failed crumble mixture but I’ll write this up to do it properly:
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C or 160°C for a fan oven
3. Cream together the butter and sugar – pour in the vanilla
4. Sift in the flour and mix until absorbed into the creamed mixture
5. Grease an oven-proof serving dish and press the biscuit base into the bottom, leveling off
6. Pop in the oven for 15 mins
7. Remove when done, and leave to set for about 5-10 mins – do not switch off oven
8. As the base cools, heat and mix the butter, sugar, and honey in a saucepan – bring to the boil
9. Stir in the cream and return to the boil (if necessary)
10. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and walnuts
11. Pour over top of the biscuit base and return to the oven for about 30 mins
12. Cool completely before serving – this may take up to 3 hours to ensure the topping doesn’t just slip everywhere, though I left mine overnight

This is a super-sweet recipe and not at all healthy, so make the portions small. Fortunately it will keep for absolutely ages thanks to the preserving power of honey and sugar, and the base is trapped beneath sticky moisture.

(I was begged to serve this so fast that I didn’t get a proper photo until two large helpings had gone – just 1/2 hour after baking, there was hardly any left!)

Apple crumble recipes seem to vary pretty widely in their measurements and ingredients, but they all share a common trait of being far too boring for my liking. My take on this dessert is that it should have a refined, exquisite flavour. Simply boiling up a bunch of apples and chucking some floury butter on top is an insult to baking, as is the completely pathetic amount of cinnamon I see used.

Mr. Darcy’s chef parents make a mean crumble, so perhaps my disdain is founded in wanting to show that I can make him a decent equivalent. So, I took one of the many basic recipes and tacked on some extra sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. These additions were met with great joy by He Who Eats…

Filling

• 900g (2lb) apples (cooking preferably, but mine were over-ripe braeburns) = 8 small, 6 medium, or 4 large
• 4tbsp soft light brown sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• few drops vanilla extract

Crumble

• 175g plain flour
• 100g cold butter (really, not room temp or it will be sticky horrid mess)
• pinch salt
• cinnamon to taste (we do like cinnamon indeed)

1. Preheat oven to 200°C or 180°C for a fan oven
2. Peel, core, and chop the apples into cubes roughly the size of your thumbnail
3. Pour into a saucepan with 50ml water and 4 tbsp light brown sugar – simmer covered for about 10mins, so that apple chunks just soften – add the vanilla and cinnamon at the end to keep the strong flavours
4. Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a bowl
5. Dice the chilled butter and, using fingertips, quickly roll into crumbs*
6. Tip the finished apples and goo into an oven-proof serving dish
7. Cover well with the crumble mixture – sprinkle a little of the light brown sugar on top
8. Bake for 40 mins, until the apple goo is bubbling through the edges of the crumble

*If your hands are too hot and melt the butter too fast, separate the mush with a fork whisked through vigorously

He Who Eats devoured two helpings of this plain, but I chose a smaller amount with a generous slosh of single cream. It doesn’t need to look fancy because the taste most certainly is.

This is a dish a lot of vegetarians will be familiar with as the veggie alternative to a regular meat roast. I recently saw it featured with pork sausages in a foodie mag, and decided to post up my own version of this warm, healthy standby. You can of course use the herb of your choice as garnish, I just happened to have some sweet little leaves growing on my basil plant. Thyme and Sage would of fit for Thanksgiving; or for a flavoursome dinner party entree, try a delicious little leaf called Lovage that I only found in Waitrose the other day (more on that one later).

• 4 medium sized potatoes, skins on (any seasonal type with a firm skin, look for baking rather than mashing)
• olive oil
• 2 small red onions, thickly sliced (these tend to be sweeter than larger ones, in my experience)
• 6-8 frozen vegetarian sausages (or unfrozen meat saussies)
• Small bunch of basil leaves
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 190°C or 150°C for a fan oven
2. Cut potatoes lengthwise into eight wedges, and toss in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper
3. Scatter into the oven-proof dish (I used a 9x7in shallow ceramic) and bake for about 15 mins
4. Remove dish, toss the onions in the seasoned oil, and chuck into the dish
5. Oil up the sausages as well, and arrange around the veg
6. Bake for a further 35 mins, or when the taters are softened
7. Scatter the basil over top and enjoy!