EVENT: GLUTEN FREE EXPO

I am really looking forward to the Gluten Free Expo on in Sydney on the 21st and 22nd August 2009. It is free entry, and if it's anything like the expo's I have been to before there will be lots of new and exciting GF foods to sample. I will do a review of any new and great products I discover after the expo - stay tuned!

MY PICK: CHOCOLATE BISCUITS

I often find it hard to get gluten free products with an adequate amount of 'crunch'. They are often soft or crumbly, and that's no fun when you really want an amazing crunchy gluten free biscuit. Luckily I have discovered D'Lush Double Choc Biscuits which are a wonderfully crunchy biscuit covered in lashings of chocolate. Yum! They are particularly good dipped in a cup of tea, or if you want a complete chocolate hit then go ahead and dunk them in your hot chocolate! I buy mine at my local Coles supermarket.

JAFFA CAKE

This jaffa cake is sooooo easy to make! I took it to the football and it was a big hit, especially with the boys (and they are all non-GF too!). I also did another version of this cake in the shape of a pirates treasure chest for my friends pirate themed party.

INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE
2 navel oranges
6 eggs
2 1/2C almond meal
1C sugar
INGREDIENTS FOR GANACHE
200g dark chocolate
1/2C cream

METHOD
1. Boil whole oranges for 1-2 hours, until they are soft and you can easily pierce them with a skewer. (They will fill your house with the most gorgeous aroma!). Allow them to cool a bit. You can leave them overnight in an airtight container if you wish.
2. Preheat oven to 190ºC, grease and line cake tin of your shape of choice.
3. Place oranges in a food processor and mix until smooth.
4. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Pour into cake tin and cook for about an hour - sometimes it needs a little bit longer. The cake should be quite moist, but cake should be pulling away from the edges of the tin and a skewer should come out fairly clean.
6. Allow cake to cool a bit, then tip out of tin to completely cool.
7. To make ganache - melt chocolate and cream in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until melted, smooth and glossy. You may need to add a little more cream to get consistency right.
8. Allow to cool a bit and thicken, then smear over the cooled cake.
9. Once ganache has had a bit of time to set the cake is ready to serve.

Enjoy!

MY PICK: GLUTEN FREE BREADS

Gluten free breads have come a long way since I first tasted them in 2002. I remember being appalled by the heavy, crumbly and almost inedible loaves. Now there are plenty of decent breads on the market, phew! After trialling most of them I have decided that Naturally Gluten Free is definitely my favourite brand. The loaves are a decent size (don't you just hate how some brands are miniature?! Mini cupcakes might be cute, but not loaves of bread!), and the textures and flavours are fantastic. They have a large and increasing range of products, and I am totally hooked on the Crunch savoury loaf as well as the Banana Bread. Have a look at their website to find your nearest stockist.

DOUBLE CHOC PECAN BROWNIES

Yum! These brownies are rich and fudgy. Perfect as a gift or for an afternoon treat for the office.

INGREDIENTS
200g dark chocolate
250g butter
1 1/2C brown sugar
4 eggs
1/3C cocoa
1 1/4C gluten free plain flour (I use White Wings)
1/2tsp gluten free baking powder
200g white chocolate, roughly chopped
120g pecans, roughly chopped

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 160ºC. Grease and line your tin.
2. Melt butter and dark chocolate in bowl over a saucepan on simmering water.
3. Once melted, remove from heat and add sugar and eggs and mix in well. Then mix in flour, baking powder and cocoa. The mixture should be quite thick now.
4. Fold in the pecans and white chocolate, then press the mixture evenly into the tin.
5. Pop in the oven for about 50 minutes. Once completely cool, turn out onto a chopping board, dust with icing sugar and cut into squares.

Makes about 20 squares - depending how big you like them!

DARK CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES

I'd always heard that souffles were tricky to make, so thought it would take a few goes to get them right, but these were very easy! I think the key is to have a well greased ramekin, and make sure that you pour the mixture into the ramekin evenly, not spilling any drops onto the rim or down the sides. I served mine with a chocolate cream, simply made by whipping cream with a little sugar and grated chocolate. If you don't like dark chocolate I would imagine this recipe would also work well with milk chocolate.

INGREDIENTS
Soft butter, to grease ramekins
Caster sugar, to dust ramekins
100g dark chocolate
4 eggs, separated

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Generously grease ramekins, including rims. Pop in the fridge for about 5 minutes and grease again. Pour a little caster sugar into each ramekin and tip and rotate so that the base and sides are lightly covered. Tip out any left over loose sugar. Place ramekins on a baking tray.
2. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Once smooth remove from heat and stir in the egg yolks.
3. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add about 1/3 of the egg whites to the chocolate and mix in well. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold in gently.
4. Pour or spoon the mixture evenly among the ramekins, being careful not to spill any drops down the sides or on the rims (as this will stop them rising evenly).
5. Pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes. They are ready when they have puffed up nicely. Dust with some icing sugar and serve immediately!

Makes 4 x 150ml ramekins

MY PICK: GLUTEN FREE PASTA

Over the years I have tried many brands of gluten free pasta - some awful, some okay, but the best that I have found is (surprisingly) San Remo gluten free pastas. My favourites are the Spaghetti, Penne and Spirals. Just make sure you cook them in plenty of water!