Happy new year!!

Thankyou for the most recent comments everyone! I haven't forgotten this blog, I am just looking for more inspiration - so check back often!

Cherry fruit scones

My sister made some delicious scones at the weekend. This inspired me to make a gluten free version with a little twist. I introduce, fruit scones with added fruit yogurt. Why mix plain yogurt when there are so many tasty varieties waiting to be tested in scone mixture? I used black cherry in this recipe, but you can swap this for any fruit - dried apricots with apricot or peach yogurt, spiced apple with apple yogurt, dried pinapple with tropical fruit yogurt....... you get the picture. There are so many combinations to try. For savoury, just switch back to the plain yogurt and add your cheese or bacon bits to the dough. Enjoy!

12 oz GF flour mix
4 tsp xanthan gum powder
a good couple of pinches of sea salt
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
4 oz of butter
4 oz mixed, dried fruit
2 large eggs
4 fl oz of black cherry yogurt

1 Preheat the oven to 190 o C/375 f/ gas mark 5

2. Sift all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl

3. Rub in the butter so that the mix resembles fine bread crumbs

4. With a wooden spoon, stir in the dried fruit

5. Whisk together eggs and yogurt

6. Make a well in the centre of the dry mix and pour in the yogurt and egg

7. Turn out onto a floured surface and lightly kneed until the dough comes together and is smooth in texture.

8. Roll the dough out so that it is 1 1/2 inches thick, cut out with cookie or scone cutter.

9. Place on a floured baking tray and cook in the oven for 10 minutes or so, or until brown and slightly risen.


Lovely buttered with a dollop of jam, a little clotted cream and a nice, hot cup of tea.

Pie!

The basic premise for pastry can be used for most pastry based dishes. It doesn't have to be complicated. My son had a longing for a good old fashioned meat pie - mince and onion, no less. No problem! You can use this recipe for making pasties too. Add sugar to the pastry mix for fruit pies or for the base of lemon merrangue pie for example. The results were pretty impressive. A lovely, buttery pastry with a nice crumble to it, just like the 'real thing'. Needless to say, there were no leftovers!

Basic pastry mix

8 oz GF flour mix (I used Glutano)

4 oz of butter or margerine

1 egg

a pinch of sea salt (if making sweet pastry, replace this with 2 oz of caster sugar)

2-3 tablespoons of water

Rub the flour and butter together until they resemble fine bread crumbs. Add the sat or sugar and mix well.

Beat the egg and add tot he flour mix, mix in with a fork, add a little water until the dough comes together. At this point begin mixing and lightly kneading the dough together until it it is smooth and non sticky. You can add a little more flour as you knead it is necessary.

Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Roll out and use as ordinary pastry. It may be a little more fragile that ordinary dough - but not too much, so handle accordingly.

For the filling, we used minced beef steak, fried with onions. I am not big on proportions, add as much meat and onion as you prefer. For the gravy I used Bisto gravy (beef flavour) Both the beef and chicken varieties are gluten free and absolutley delicious. I lightly seasoned the mince and onion before adding the gravy. It is best to let the meat and gravy mixture cool before you put them into the pastry shell. In fact, I prefer to put the meat into the pie dish and just have a top layer of pastry.

Brush with a little egg and milk glaze and cook for 30 minutes or so on Gas mark 4, 350 f, 180 c - until lightly golden.

Enjoy!

Doughnut Magic! (Churros)

Don't you just hate it when you walk past the doughnut maker in the local market or fair? Fear not, you can make your own and bathe in the nostalgia of eating warm sugared dougnuts! The doughnuts will be in the shape of strips like churros - delicious!

12 fl oz of warm (not hot) milk
1 teaspoon of salt
2 1/2 oz caster sugar
8 oz of Gluten free flour
2 teaspoons of xanthan gum
2 teaspoons of yeast granules
oil for deep frying
1 teaspoon of mixed spice or cinnamon (optional)

Pour milk, salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sugar into the breadmaker pan

Add the flour, xanthan gum and yeast

Set the machine to the 'dough' setting.

When kneaded and proved, heat the oil for deep frying to 190 degrees C, or until a cube of GF bread browns in 30 seconds.

You can either put the dough in a piping bag, or make one with a heavy duty freezer bag (with the corner snipped off) Pipe the mixture into the heated oil, cutting off pieces at 3 inch sections.

Fry for around 4 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through, turning the doughnuts over as required. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Toss the pieces in a bag containing the remaining sugar and spices, serve while still warm and fresh.

Recipe notes: I used a heavy duty freezer bag to pipe strips of the fluffy dough out, and it was thick enough to make loops as it emerged out of the bag to create doughnuts witht he holes in the middle. Doughnuts old skool! There is nothing stopping you from icing them before serving, adding sprinkles or whatever you fancy.