Visions of Zarua #bookreview and Honey Cake recipe

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Originally posted on BARBED WORDS:
So today we have a guest post from the lovely Suzanne Rogerson as part of her World Blog Tour to promote her epic fantasy book, Visions of Zarua. Suzanne is a real life friend of mine (I…

#AtoZchallenge Z – Zucchini Cake – #glutenfree #dairyfree

On the last day of the AtoZ challenge, I am really pleased to share my recipe for Zucchini cake. It’s my favourite cake of all time, and it’s almost healthy!

Think about the vitamins and minerals from those fresh ingredients, and it’s gluten/dairy free as well.

Cake Ingredients

I’ve tweaked this recipe over the years and think I’ve finally found the perfect mix of ingredients. Recently both my kids have used this cake for homework assignments. Here is my daughter’s instructions on how to cook it.

Ingredients

3 eggs

400g of self-raising gluten free flour

100g of ground almonds

1tsp of salt

1tsp of ginger powder

150g of raisins

250g of brown sugar

150g of rapeseed oil

50g of caster sugar

Zest of a large orange

500g of grated carrot and courgette

3cm piece of ginger grated

 Instructions

  1. First you need to get a bowl and scales. Put the bowl on the scales and measure 400g of self-raising flour.
  2. Secondly add the rest of the dry ingredients which are ground almonds, salt, ginger powder and raisins.
  3. Now get another bowl and put in the wet ingredients which are the rest of the ingredients.
  4. Next tip a quarter of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bowl and stir. Then repeat until there is no more dry mixture left.
  5. Now line and grease 2 cake moulds and share the mixture between both.
  6. Next put in the oven at 170 degrees fan oven and cook for an hour.
  7. Lastly leave it to cool then enjoy.

(Do I have the new Delia on my hands?)

 

The kids love this cake and ask for it every birthday. They also love to help with the making; cracking eggs, grating, weighing ingredients, mixing, and eating it still warm from the oven.

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It’s a wonderful cake for any time of year, especially in the summer when there are plenty of Zucchinis / courgettes to spare. It works for breakfast, lunch or tea, and is surprisingly good with custard. (I’m actually making this cake to take to a family BBQ tomorrow. Because it’s not too sweet, it goes perfectly as a dessert with alcohol!)

The cake freezes well, and fresh it last for a few days, but it does become drier the longer you keep it. No chance of that in this house.

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Thanks for joining me on  my A-Z Challenge. It’s been fun, but I need a rest. Now to switch off the internet, flick on the kettle and resume editing my WIP.

Cake anyone?

Find links to all my other atoz posts here.

#AtoZChallenge G – Gluten Free Carrot Cake

I wanted share my favourite carrot cake recipes. Its gluten, wheat and dairy free, but does use ground almonds instead of flour so no good for those with a nut allergy.

It’s a very moist cake, which gets even more moist over time. Of course it doesn’t last very long in this house. I save calories by leaving out the topping. It’s so delicious, it doesn’t need anything added.

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Original recipe from ‘Beat IBS through Diet’ by Maryon Stewart & Dr Alan Stewart. I’ve added my own twist to this delicious recipe by adding cinnamon, raisins and using orange peel instead of lemon.

 

Ingredients

225g grated carrot

225g ground almonds

225g sugar (I’ve used Demerara sugar, which really changes the flavour. I love the slight crunch it gives)

4 eggs.

rind of an orange or lemon

80g raisins

1 & 1/2 tbsp rice flour

1tsp w/f baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon (could easily add more)

 

Instructions

1. Add the egg yolks, sugar and peel to a bowl and beat.

2. Add the carrot, ground almonds and raisins and mix.

3. Add the rice flour, baking powder and cinnamon and mix.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff.

5. Gently fold the egg whites into the rest of the mixture.

6. Add to a lined and greased loaf tin or high-sided baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes at 160/170 fan.

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Delicious, and the kids love it.

I love finding healthy (ish) gluten free recipes. Have you any to share?

***

Tomorrow Hampton Court.

Links to previous posts can be found here

Take a break and eat cake!

Every writer needs a break from their computers once in a while. Something I’ve found always relaxes me is baking my favourite cake. This is not just any cake. It’s gluten and dairy free and has a few secret ingredients that make it tasty and healthy.

How can a cake with these ingredients be anything but good for you!

Cake Ingredients

Time for a cuppa and a slice of cake.

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