Before bakeoff – I got really into baking with a bit of a difference. I experimented endlessly with gluten free alternatives, grain free baking and also sugar free baking.
My amazing sister, Sarah is a nutritionist. We talk about food a lot. It’s an obsession.
She and my mother are gluten intolerant. Not in a faddy, annoying way. I have come up with a number of recipes that are inspired by my sister. I love to play around with ingredients. Following a recipe isn’t something I am very disciplined with, it enables me to have fun and make discoveries.
This is one of them.
Try it. It’s delish. Go on.
You will need:
Butter – 150g – you can also use coconut oil
Xylitol 140g (you can get ‘Total Sweet’ from all UK supermarkets now.)
100g Truvia Stevia sweetener (also available in all UK supermarkets)
2 eggs (medium free range)
140g ground almonds
40g Cocoa powder
1/2 tsp Xanthan gum (powder)
1 tsp baking Powder
How to make this…
1. Pop on your oven set at 160 C
2. butter/oil and line a 6″ circular tin with baking parchment
3. Whip up a storm by creaming together your very soft butter or coconut oil with the Xylitol and Truvia light and fluffy, (you can do this in a mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon).
4. Once fluffy, add the eggs and the ground almonds, the Xanthium gum and Cocoa powder (sieved) and Baking powder. Don’t overwork this… With the addition of Xanthan gum powder, overworking will make the mixture rubbery.
5. Scoop into your tin and smooth out the surface, then slide it into your preheated oven for around an hour.
It took mine a good hour, but keep the temperature fairly low around 160/170 degrees Centigrade as it will burn easily. you could pop a circle of greased baking paper (grease proof or similar) on top just to ensure this doesn’t happen. Be careful, keep checking.
Remove and check the middle with a skewer. If it doesn’t come out clean you’ll probably have to pop it back in for a bit. It will be a slightly more squidgy consistency than your average baked cake. embrace the squidge.
Once cooked, leave it in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out very carefully and leaving to almost cool. (Almost, because this also tastes great just warm.)
I have dusted mine with a tiny smattering of icing sugar. This is of course optional!
Serve with cream or ice cream if you insist, or have it on its own with a nice cuppa. – Sooooooooo good.
