Borne out of a desire to actually be able to eat what I bake as well as flapjacks we can all enjoy, this morning I decided to go wild and try something new. Taking a basic fruitcake recipe that I know works well with gluten free (GF) flour, I decided to add some lemon and make some buns. Well, I call them buns, but only because I baked them in a bun tin, not because they are bun-like. In fact, they are hard to describe. Still, I got the use up the lemon that was getting lonely in the fruit bowl and create something edible that is gluten free, egg free, dairy free but is still tasty.
The results were certainly interesting. They look edible for sure and could easily be iced or decorated. However, I think the lack of milk made them a bit crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside instead of light and fluffy (this doesn’t quite describe them well enough – they are really nice!). Something tells me they would taste better if they were oblong-shaped instead of round but I’m not sure if my brain is telling me that lemony things should be shaped like a Madeleine. NB These do not taste like Madeleines.
They are good enough to eat for sure, but feel free to give me some pointers on how to improve the recipe. Am sure that many of you experts will be able to see something just by looking at it. I think milk may help it be fluffier, but not sure. Besides, would have to be oat milk or soya (at a pinch) so that MyItchyBoy can eat them happily too.
Anyway, this is what I used and how I did it (I apologise for the imperial measurements but the adapted recipe is one from my mother and you know what mothers are like. Most scales have an easy switch over I think, so you should be fine).
Ingredients (makes 12):
- 8oz self-raising gluten free flour
- 4oz margarine (Pure sunflower)
- 3.5 oz golden caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (GF)
- 1 dose egg replacer (we use Orgran) equivalent to 1 real egg
- Zest of 1 lemon finely grated
- Juice of 1 lemon– equivalent to 5 tablespoons
Sultanas to your taste (I only used a large handful as they make our tummies grumbly if we have too many in this household!). Considering the buns were a bit crunchy the sultanas were a nice bit of texture.
Method:
Put the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl (I tend not to sieve it as it is so fine), rub in margarine until mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add sugar and zest and mix in. Add egg replacer and juice and give it a really good mix. Add some sultanas, if you like.
Spoon the mixture into a greased bun tin and bake at 180c/350F/Gas 4 until golden and cake tester comes out clean (approx 30-40 mins).
Cool on a wire rack.
Munch on them and give me your feedback!
Leave a Reply