Apple Crumble (Gluten Free)

I do love a good crumble, I can pretty much make a crumble mixture by eye these days but just for you I’ve measured out the quantities (I’m good to you aren’t I?).

Crumbles are the ultimate comfort food and served with custard can make many a grown man, or woman, weep with pleasure.  It’s a simple recipe and just as easy to make gluten free, if you aren’t a coeliac then just substitute gluten free flour for the ‘normal’ stuff.

I’ve made an apple one here because I’ve been popping down to my local market of late and getting the bargain of all bargains on big fat juicy Braeburns of 10 for a pound, can’t say fairer than that can you, but one can only eat so many apples a day in their raw form, so a crumble was in the offing from the moment those apples hit the bag.  You could use any fruit you like with this recipe, a bit of forced rhubarb would be nice or if you are making this at the end of the summer a few hedge picked blackberries in with the apples would go down a treat.  Right, enough waffling and onto the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz gluten free plain flour (I used Dove’s Farm)
• 2 oz of butter
• 1 1/2 oz of sugar
• 5 big apples
• a handful of sultanas
• 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• A squirt of agave syrup
• A baking dish about 25 cm long or whatever you;ve got

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees.  Peel and chop the apples roughly then stew in a pan with the sultanas, cinnamon, agave syrup and a splash of water until tender.  Pour apples into dish.  Rub the butter into the flour until you have crumbs.  Add the sugar and stir.  Then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top and shake to settle.  Bake in the oven for a bout 30/35 min until starting to turn a light golden and the apples bubbling up from the bottom.

Serve with custard, make your own if you can be bothered, it is much better that way but don’t feel guilty if you just peel open a tub from the cupboard. I didn’t…

Sultana Scones (Gluten Free)

One of my earliest memories of cooking is making scones at nursery in Scotland, my memory is pretty hazy as the recollection seems to have me measure and mix these little cream tea beauties with no help at all, what I do remember is planning to make sweet scones and ending up with cheese but whatevs, it’s the thought that counts.  I’ve been thinking a lot about scones and Welsh cakes recently, I think I was inspired by LondonEats recipe here.  It made me remember another episode from childhood when visiting my grandparents in Cardigan, watching my Step Gran making them on the  griddle and  serving them up warm with butter and jam mmmmm, just thinking about them is making me dribble so I’ll definitely have to make a gluten free version soon.  Anyways onto the scones, I think I’d forgotten how easy these are to whip up, but simple they are and best eaten on the day or frozen to keep fresh.  These gluten free ones are quite crumbly but just as delicious and can easily be adapted to make plain scones or cheese ones by swapping in and out some ingredients (I don’t need to spell it out to you do I?)

Makes about 6

Ingredients:

• 8oz of gluten free self raising flour
• 2 oz of butter
• 2 oz sugar
• 1 egg
• milk (I explain the measurement below)
• A big handful of sultanas

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees (fan).

Rub the butter into the flour in a large bowl.  Mix in the sultanas. Crack an egg into a measuring jug add the sugar and then top up with milk until it reaches the 5 fluid oz mark.  Whip the egg and milk mixture together then add to the dry ingredients.  Stir together then get your hands in to form into a ball.  Flour a board and plop out and flatten so that your mixture is about 2/3 cm thick.  Cut out rounds with a cutter (in an ideal world) or in my world a small mug.  Place on a baking tray lined with parchment, brush with egg wash (not essential) and bake in the oven for about 15 min until golden.

Serve warm with lashings (love that word) of butter, jam and, go on then, a big fat dollop of cream.

Spiced Pineapple and Rum Loaf (Gluten Free)

It’s getting chilly, the snow is starting to fall (well in Scotland and on WordPress!), decorations are going up and I’m getting all festive! Now is the time for warm spices, mulled cider or wine, clementines and all things cuddly and sparkly.

I had this pineapple that was starting to look a little sad in the corner of the kitchen and had somehow managed to let a bottle of rum fall into my shopping bag this morning, oops, so what better combination for a festive loaf thought I.

Not the prettiest of pictures, but pretty damn tasty...

Ingredients:

• A whole pineapple
• 4oz of sugar
• 4oz of butter
• 8oz of Doves Farm Gluten free Self Raising Flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 heaped teaspoons of mixed spice
• A big handful of sultanas
• 2 tablespoons of rum (I used some Gingerbread Rum, but a nice spiced one would be good too)
• Some extra butter and brown sugar for greasing and the topping

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees (fan oven).  Grease a loaf tin and heavily butter the base. Sprinkle the bottom with brown sugar, if you have muscovado use that, I just had some crappy granulated demerara and couldn’t be fecked to go out again.  Peel and core your pineapple.  Finely chop half the pineapple.  Slice the rest thinly, you won’t need all of it so help your self to a slice or three!

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Beat in the eggs, then the chopped pineapple, flour, sultanas, spice and rum.

Line the base of your loaf tin with pineapple slices, in an ideal world this will look pretty, in my world it will be a little bit of a mess.  Pour your batter on top and smooth down.

Pop into the oven and cook for about an hour, check with a skewer or knife and when it comes out clean it is done.

Serve warm with ice cream, custard or rum spiked cream or butter or cold with a nice cup of chai or a hot toddy.  I know what I’m having.

Baked Apples

This is my attempt to sate my crumble craving (this is all your blinking fault MathildeheartManech, your crumble muffins and links to beautiful crumble making blogs!).  This is not a crumble in any way but, in my diet addled brain, it seems to sit well as a lighter alternative that although lacking in the crumble still has that warm, spiced, sticky apple content that somehow fits so well in the beginning of Autumn.  Serve this with rich, creamy vanilla ice cream or  if like me that isn’t really an option, perhaps a crappy low fat version or some greek yoghurt spiked with vanilla and syrup.

Baked apples are something I often forget about then remember and become addicted once more.  This is the perfect time, British apples in season, temperatures cooling and leaves tumbling from the trees.  Wrap up, stick the oven on and relax with a bowl of baked apple and ice cream.

Baked Apples

Ingredients:

For 3 apples:

3 Apples

6 teaspoons of butter

half a teaspoon of cinnamon

2 teaspoons (? i just squirted) agave syrup (or brown sugar, golden syrup any sweet sticky goodness you have to hand)

A tablespoon of sultanas

Method:

Pre heat the oven to about 180 degrees.

Mix the butter, syrup, cinnamon and sultanas together. Core your apples and score a line with a sharp knife round the middle (i think this stops them exploding and also allows them to puff up like souffles as they cook).  Stuff the butter and sultana mix into the centres and place on a baking tray.  Cook in the oven for about 30/40 min or until golden, puffed and sticky.

Another Retro Lunch: Coronation Chicken

This is one of my favourite things to do with left over chicken.  I served mine with some salad but this makes an ace sandwich or jacket potato filling too. 

Ingredients:

Shredded left over chicken

A heaped dessert spoon of creme fraiche

A heaped dessert spoon of mayonnaise

A heaped teaspoon of mild curry powder

Half a teaspoon of ground coriander

A handful of raisins or sultanas

A dessert spoon of mango chutney (i used a smoothish variety but you could just chop up a chunky one)

Salt and pepper

Method:

Gently toast your spices in a dry pan.  Mix creme fraiche, mayo, chutney, spices and raisins together then stir in chicken until evenly coated, season and there you have it,  a very delicious luncheon with salad, in a sandwich or jacket spud.

Mini Lamb Kofta Burgers

I nearly didn’t make these but they are a late addition which will form part of tomorrow nights tea.  I adapted the recipe from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2187/lamb-koftas and just added a heaped tablespoon of sultanas to the mix.  I made mine into little mini burgers and am hoping to serve them with some homemade Tzatziki.  Watch this space!

Anyways goodbye lovely weekend, hope to see you again soon…

Banana Bread (gf)

I used the recipe on http://www.pattycake.ca/recipes/easygfbananabread as a basis for this but didn’t have all the ingredients so experimented a little.  My little family and me just shared a slice hot from the oven with some butter on, it was good.  I’m hoping it will still be delicious tomorrow as I am attempting to change my breakfast rut of the moment.  Every so often I get hooked on a breakfast and don’t stop eating it until I am sick of the sight of it.  I went through yoghurt, crunchy nut cornflakes with banana, fruit toast (gf), cheese on toast, flapjacks and my latest far from healthy start to the day a cheese and ham toasted gf muffin. So this is the plan, start having a slice of this of a morn and give myself a break from my croque monsieur obsession.