Gluten free honey cake

This was inspired by the kind gift of a jar of very local rapeseed honey and after I posted the pictures on Twitter, I've been asked to share the recipe.

I am not gluten intolerant myself, but have friends who are, so I like to come up with recipes that we can all share and enjoy, rather than marking them out as "different", or worst still getting them a gluten-free special from the supermarket.

This is a deliciously moist cake, which can either be eaten on its own, or served with a little extra something - see  below - as a dessert.

2 eggs
120g butter
120g runny honey
60g ground almonds
80g chestnut flour 
(You can also make this with 120g of self raising flour or a combination of 40g chestnut flour and 80g self raising flour)
30g pine nuts
Grated rind and juice of one orange

Pre heat the oven to 170ºC
Lightly toast the pine nuts - I've discovered that our blini pan is perfect for jobs like this.

Keep an eye on them - they burn in a instant :-)

Cream the butter and honey.

Add the orange rind and juice and beat in the eggs.

Fold in the almonds, chestnut flour and pine nuts.

Pour the mixture into a 22cm cake tin and bake for approx 30 mins, this will depend on your cooker.

If you want to serve this as an indulgent dessert, lightly toast a handful of chopped walnuts in a small pan , then add a couple of tablespoons of honey and the grated rind of an orange. Warm gently.

Serve the cake with a dollop of Ricotta cheese - the fresher the better and the honeyed walnuts poured over the top.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Lemon, lime and vodka ice cream - strictly for adults

This is a rather fine ice cream, enhanced with a slug of vodka, making it a special grown-up treat.
Of course, if you are feeling virtuous or want to share with the kids you can leave the vodka out.... or you could just feed them some vanilla!

                               


You will need.....
250 ml double cream
150ml full fat milk
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime
100ml Greek yogurt
2 eggs
150g sugar - more or less according to taste
Slug of vodka

Measure out 100ml of cream and put into a milk pan with the milk.
Heat gently.
Whisk the eggs, sugar, rind and juices together.
When the milk and cream are just coming to the boil, pour over the egg mix and whisk well.
Return to the pan.

Cook gently, stirring continuously until the custard coats the back of the spoon.

Transfer to a bowl and cool quickly - I stood mine in a bowl of iced water.

                                               

When cold, add the vodka.

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining cream until it just holds its shape and then stir in the yogurt.

Pour the lemon custard in and mix gently.

Pour into a plastic container and place in the freezer.

                                                   

Be patient until it has frozen.... you can always keep yourself distracted by making some shortbread to go with it..

50g crushed pistachios

50g sugar

100g butter, cubed

100g plain flour

4 heads of lavender

Pre-heat the oven to 140ºC

Place the pistachios and flour into a mixing bowl.

Rub the butter into the flour and pistachios.

Add the sugar and finely chopped lavender.

Knead together to form a ball of dough.

Roll out to approx, 10mm thick.

Cut into rounds and place on a baking tray

Place in the oven and cook for around 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Sweet treats

Sweet and simple, two desserts that you can make in a frying pan.

Pomelette

This is an apple omelette, which can be made in minutes.

2 dessert apples
25g butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
3 eggs, separated
Demerara sugar

Melt the butter and syrup in a frying pan, over a medium heat.  I used our 10" ovensafe pan for this, as you'll need to pop this under the grill.
Otherwise, remove the handles from your oak handled pan.

Peel and chop the apples and add to the pan.  Cook gently until soft.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and whisk the whites.  Fold them together with a metal spoon - do not overmix.

Pour over the apples and cook for 3 minutes. Heat the grill on HIGH.

Sprinkle the top with Demerara sugar and put under a hot grill until the sugar starts to bubble.

Serve immediately.  As someone remarked on Twitter, the Demerara sparkles likes diamonds.

Poached peaches

I bought 4 peaches for £1 in the village shop and decided to make something a little special from my "bargain".

First, I raided the garden for some rose petals - although I could also have used lavender.

40g sugar

300ml water

Handful of rose petals - check for insects :-)

Or, 5 lavender heads

4 peaches

Put the sugar, water and petals in a deep frying pan

Bring to the boil and then simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.

Remove the petals.

Halve and stone the peaches and add to the syrup.

                                           

Poach gently for around 10 minutes.  Wait until the peaches are cool enough to handle and carefully peel off the skin - it should come away from the flesh easily.

Arrange in a serving dish, pour over the remaining syrup, which will have become concentrated and be sweet and glossy.

Decorate with fresh rose petals and serve at room temperature.

We had some home made lemon biscuits with ours, but brandy snaps would also be a great accompaniment, as would a glass of champagne.

Netherton Foundry 2014 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk