{ Mélanger :: to mix }

What a baking journey this has been!

This month I ventured into (very!) unfamiliar baking territory and discovered egg free, dairy free, gluten free, and nut free ingredients and recipes.

Wheat flour was replaced with potato flour, soya flour, tapoica flour, rice flour.  Butter was replaced by vegetable/canola oils, dairy free spreads or vegetable shortening.  Egg was replaced by a heated flour/water thickening technique.

I have not even scratch the surface of all the possibilities, but I am glad I have challenged myself to bake with some new ingredients and food substitutions.  To give myself a greater appreciation of what people with allergies face every day.

Thank you to everyone that also trialed some of these recipes – appears as though the Dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free oat crunch biscuits (aka ‘Arnotts Kingstons’) were not just a hit in my household!  (Hint, hint….)

Big thank you as well for some of the other great ingredient substitution and technique ideas.  I am blown away by the wealth of ‘allergy-free’ knowledge out there.  It really is such a specialised area of baking.

Here is a round up of the recipes I tackled this month, plus a few from the archives that are more allergy-free by way of omission rather than substitution.

{ Dairy-free, egg-free brownies } This recipe highlights dairy-free and egg-free baking techniques. These brownies are sweet, rich, and chocolately.  They are moist in the centre and have a lovely crusty surface.  And best of all, they are a snap to bake.  5 minutes preparation and 25 minutes baking.  Simple. { Read more here … }

{ Gluten-free, dairy-free fig jam tarts } This recipe highlights a favourite of mine.  Pastry.  Just a simple tart pastry.  I adapted a previously used pastry recipe and switched out regular flour for a gluten-free flour mix, and used vegetable shortening to replace butter. The pastry seemed to work but warning … it is much more fragile than regular wheat pastry.  { Read more here … }

{ Dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free oat crunch biscuits } You must bake a batch (or two!) of these biscuits. For me, these biscuits are an example of how you do not have to sacrifice taste, flavour and texture, to accommodate an allergy.  If you have not already, I hope you bake some for yourself, very soon!  { Read more here … }

{ Gluten-free, dairy-free orange almond cake } If you are a fan of the rich, intense flavour of orange marmalade you should try this cake.  There is no hiding the essence of the core ingredient here.  It is bold and concentrated.  The cake is very moist and a delicate slice (or two) is delicious served with a coffee or tea for a bit of an afternoon pick me up.  { Read more here … }

{ Chocolate Chunk Coconut Macaroons } Gluten-free and dairy-free.  These little hay-stacked cookies are a simple little biscuit perfect for a sweet indulgence any time of day.  They are simple and quick to make.  The perfect allergy-free Petits fours to whip up at a moment’s notice.  { Read more here … }

{ Calisson d’Aix}  Gluten-free and dairy-free.  Calisson d’Aix is a speciality of Aix-en-Provence.  A tiny diamond shaped sweet, made with ground almonds and candied fruits and finished with white royal icing.  They are traditionally served with coffee after dessert.  A lovely little treat. { Read more here … }

{ Chocolate chestnut cake } Gluten-free.  This cake is dense and rich, but not too sweet. More appropriately a dessert cake rather than afternoon tea cake. But in saying that, it certainly it is quick to prepare and bake.  Recommend serving a healthy dollop (or two!) of thick cream.  { Read more here … }

{ Triple Chocolate Macarons } Gluten-free.  Chocolate is my ultimate weakness in the world.  Thus, in honour of the chocolate macaron, I create a triple chocolate macaron treat.  A chocolate macaron shell, filled with a bittersweet chocolate ganache, and a healthy dusting of cocoa to finish.  { Read more here … }

Have you ever been given a gift and not appreciated its value fully?

Back in 1997, my foodie sister gave me a house warming gift.  A copy of Stephanie Alexander’s “The Cook’s Companion“.  It was a well thumbed book in my sister’s collection, and she was hopeful I would find it valuable, too.

It traveled with me to Boston where it sat mostly on a shelf for five years, and then returned back home to Brisbane.  Then one day, ready for some recipe inspiration, I bypassed by my usual baking books and cracked The Cook’s Companion open.

I could not believe what I had missed.  This bright orange book contained absolute gold.

Since, I have referenced it frequently.  Like my sister’s original edition, it is now truly well thumbed – so really, about time I share a recipe from this treasured reference.

A friend at work actually pointed out this recipe as an option for my ‘Allergy-free baking‘ month.  She had seen the recipe posted at Peter’s always mouth-watering blog, Souvlaki for the soul.

If you are a fan of the rich, intense flavour of orange marmalade you should try this cake.  There is no hiding the essence of the core ingredient here.  It is bold and concentrated.  The cake is very moist and a delicate slice (or two) is delicious served with a coffee or tea for a bit of an afternoon pick me up.

{ Claudia Roden’s Middle Eastern Orange Cake } From Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion

* Ingredients *
2 large oranges, washed
6 eggs, beaten
250g ground almonds
250g sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder

* Directions *
Boil oranges, barely covered with water, in a covered saucepan for 2 hours. Allow to cool, then cut open, remove pips and chop roughly, including the rind. Preheat oven to 190°C and butter and flour a 24cm springform tin. Blend oranges and eggs thoroughly in a food processor. Mix ground almonds, sugar and baking powder in a bowl, then add orange mixture and whisk to combine. Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour. If cake is still very wet, cook a little longer. Cool in tin before gently turning out.

You must bake a batch (or two!) of these biscuits. Allergy or no allergy, these chocolate sandwiched coconut oat biscuits are simply delicious.

I was given this recipe by a co-worker and was quickly told they “taste like Kingston’s”.  (From those outside Australia, the Kingston is a hugely popular biscuit made by Arnotts.)

When Mr Mélanger taste-tested these biscuits (unaware they were part of my ‘Allergy-free baking‘ month), he boldedly declared, “they are better than the Kingston!”

Needless to say, they did not last long.  But they are such a snap to make, I will certainly be baking up another batch.

For me, these biscuits are an example of how you do not have to sacrifice taste, flavour and texture, to accommodate an allergy.  I hope you bake some for yourself, very soon!

{ Oat Crunch Biscuits }

It was the first time I used a nut, dairy, gluten and egg free chocolate.  I was impressed by the dark chocolate made by Kinnerton.

* Ingredients *
180g butter substitute (I used Nuttelex)
90g golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
60g rolled oats
120g demerara sugar
150g plain flour
60g dessicated coconut
150g nut, dairy, egg and gluten free chocolate (I used Kinnerton)

* Directions *
Preheat oven to 160C.  Cream butter, sugar and golden syrup until pale and fluffy.  Add flour, bicarb soda, coconut and rolled oats, and beat on slow speed until just combined.  Drop teaspoons of mixture onto paper lined trays.  Bake in oven for 15 minutes or golden.  For the filling, melt chocolate and sandwich biscuits together.  Can be kept in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

I have never baked with gluten-free flour before.

When I starting reading about gluten-free flour substitutions for the theme this month, I was overwhelmed.  Very quickly I uncovered a range of different flours people use in substitution for standard wheat flour – potato flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, soya flour.

And, even more interestingly, I discovered that people had their favourite blend and mix of these flours to achieve a certain result.  I was so impressed by all the baking trial and error that obviously had gone into finding those special combinations.

But these are all new considerations for me, someone who lives unaffected by allergies.

For my ‘Allergy-free baking‘ month, I wanted to include a favourite of mine.  Pastry.  Just a simple tart pastry.  I looked to adapt a previously used pastry recipe and switch out regular flour for a gluten-free flour mix, and use vegetable shortening to replace butter.  I figured that would be a good place to start in this gluten-free voyage.

I admittedly did not find making this pastry that easy.  The texture and consistency of the pastry was significantly different, and much more delicate and fragile to handle.  But, with an injection of patience, I managed to create some sweet fig jam tarts.

This is turning out to be an interesting (and educational!) baking journey.

{ Gluten-free, dairy-free fig tarts } adapted from Star Topped Mince Pies by Nigella Lawson

* Ingredients *
1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
Zest of 1/2 orange
Juice of 1 small orange
½ cup fig jam
Gluten free icing sugar for dusting, optional

* Directions *
Measure the flour out into a shallow bowl or dish, and using a teaspoon, dollop in little mounds of shortening.  Add the zest.  Combine with your hands and put in the freezer for 20 minutes.  Measure out the orange juice and put in the refrigerator.  Empty out the flour and fat into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until you have a pale pile of oatmeal-like crumbs.  Add the juice down the funnel, pulsing till it looks as if the dough is about to cohere; you want to stop just before it does (even if some orange juice is left).  If all your juice is used up and you need more liquid, add some iced water.  Turn out of the processor and, in your hands, combine to a dough.  Then form into two discs.  Wrap each in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to rest for 20 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 220/425.  Roll out the discs one at a time as thinly as you can without exaggerating.  Out of each rolled out disc cut out circles.  Press these circles gently into moulds and dollop in a scant teaspoon of jam.  Then cut out your stars and place them lightly on top.  Re-roll pastry as required.  Bake pies for 8-10 minutes.  Cool on a rack and dust with icing sugar (optional) before serving.

Makes 2 dozen finished pies

My first venture into allergy-free baking.

This recipe was given to me by a co-worker, whose children have life-threatening allergies.  For my ‘Allergy-free baking‘ month, I was keen to trial some recipes that were twists on familiar favourites.

Enter the brownie.

This recipe highlights dairy-free and egg-free baking techniques.  The dairy substitution seemed simple enough.  Oil instead of butter, and healthy doses of cocoa and dairy free chocolate instead of standard chocolate.  The egg substitution was a little less intuitive for me.  The technique of boiling water and flour to create a gluey paste that acts as a binder to replace egg was unusual for me.

But apart from that, the overall baking process, the texture of the mixture, and the final appearance of this old fashioned favourite was fairly straight forward.

So, if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.  Right?

Not necessarily.

Although these brownies appeared like regular brownies, for obvious reasons the flavour was not quite the same as the traditional variety.  The taste of the oil for me was perhaps a little too prominent, compared with the more subtle flavour that comes with butter.  And although these brownies were very chocolately, the depth of the chocolate flavour was just not as strong as other traditional recipes I have baked.

But in saying that, if I were looking for a dairy free and egg free chocolate treat, I would certainly jump on this recipe.  These brownies are sweet, rich, and chocolately.  They are moist in the centre and have a lovely crusty surface.  And best of all, they are a snap to bake.  5 minutes preparation and 25 minutes baking.  Simple.

{ Dairy-free, egg-free brownies }

* Ingredients *
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips (optional)

* Directions *
Boil water and 1/2 cup of the flour over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches the consistency of a thin gluey paste. Remove from heat and let cool completely.  Mix sugar, salt, vanilla, cocoa and oil. Then add the rest flour-water mixture. Mix well.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour, baking powder and the chocolate chips.  Spread mixture into a greased 20 cm/8 inch pan. Bake at 180/350 for 25 minutes, or until a knife can be inserted and come out clean.

Next month, baby Mélanger is due to arrive and join the Mélanger household.  Thus far, my pregnancy has been mostly agreeable (touch wood that continues), …. except for one little minor grumble.

Food restrictions.

Being the risk averse person I am, I have taken on the task of eliminating any potential food or beverage nasty with force.  Not just some of the time, but 100% of the time.

Mr Mélanger has been handed the essential role of food reintroduction facilitator.  I have created a detailed day-by-day menu outlining specific foods that I impatiently want to consume, yet again.  (Probably no surprises what graces that list.)  And so during the first four to five days after delivery of bub while I am still in hospital, I hope to be reacquainted with some of my old favourites.

I am lucky not to have any allergies to food, nor (as far as I am aware) any food intolerances.  But many people face permanent food restrictions in their life.  Each and every single day.

So this month is my way of learning more about allergy free baking.  My way of increasing the awareness of allergy restrictions (for myself and others), and to challenge myself to bake with some new ingredients and food substitutions.

And although I cannot compare nine short months of food restrictions with a life threatening allergy, I must say that my pregnancy experience has given me a greater appreciation of what people with allergies and face every day.

So join me as a I venture into very unfamiliar allergy free baking territory!