Gluten Free Chocolate Baileys Cake

That's right guys, the highly anticipated full fat chocolate cake post.

I made this to go with my flat christmas dinner. Nobody likes christmas cake, or christmas pudding. Or stollen. Or cheeseboards. Or anything other than chocolate cake, right? I have been waiting for an excuse to make a chocolate cake for ages, because I really can't justify making one for myself, so I figured christmas dinner was the perfect time. I jumped at the chance to make dessert and forced chocolate cake on my flatmates once we'd all already eaten a disgusting amount of food and drank our body weight's in wine. This cake is quite light, and stays fresh for a good few days afterwards. The original recipe contained a teaspoon of xantham gum, but I didn't have any. It would probably improve the texture but it can be made without. Don't ask me for nutritional information, I refuse to acknowledge the fat, sugar or calories in this. It will make me cry. But it's good, and calories don't count in December, so just don't think about it.


200g gluten free flour
2tsp baking powder
200g demerara sugar
175g unsalted butter
4 eggs, beaten
50g cocoa powder
75g ground almonds
1-2tsp vanilla extract
200ml milk
50ml Baileys

For the topping
Some butter
Some icing sugar
Some dark chocolate
Some baileys
Some milk

Heat oven to 180C and grease a cake tin (I used a 20cm one). Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into one bowl. In another, cream together the butter and sugar (I used an electric hand whisk). Beat the eggs, and gradually add the eggs and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture. Alternating between a tablespoon of each, fold the flour mixture and milk into the mixture, until you have a smooth mixture. Add the Baileys. Then fold in the ground almonds. By this point, you should have a smooth, chocolately mixture that falls off the spoon. Spoon this into the cake tin, and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. It may take longer, the original recipe said 50 minutes but mine was definitely ready in 40 so check then and judge by what yours looks like.

Baileys buttercream

Melt about 50g butter with 100g dark (at least 70% cocoa solids) chocolate in a saucepan. Keep the heat low, you don't want it to burn. Add some icing sugar, add some milk, add some Baileys, add some more icing sugar, add some more Baileys....keep going until you have buttercream. I didn't measure quantities, I was drinking wine at the time, sorry. But it doesn't have to be precise. Just keep adding and tasting until it seems right. Once the cake has cooled, pour the buttercream over the cake and leave to set. And there you have it, gluten free chocolate baileys cake. Beautiful.

Look how pretty it looks with cherries on top...

And yeah, I smudged the icing when I put more on top because I'm greedy.

PS - I apologise for the imprecise nature of some of these recipes. Wine takes over...

Gluten Free Porridge

Jess' turn!

This is essentially the antithesis to Tom's muesli post. Me and Tom will have to eternally agree to disagree on the way to eat oats. Personally, the idea of eating oats soaked in cold water is not appealing. Oats should be eaten hot! Porridge is the way forward.

Firstly, I implore you to not buy 'instant porridge'. It is overpriced and really not great. Yes, there are lots of wonderful flavours out there but in my experience, they never taste as good as you expect them to and it would be a LOT cheaper to make the flavours you fancy yourself. There are so many ways to make porridge more exciting than just hot milky oats, I will never understand people who say porridge is boring. It's great, filling comfort food and only needs to take a few minutes to make!

So anyway. Please buy plain oats. I would recommend Scottish oats (I don't know why they're nicest, they just are). I don't buy gluten free oats because they are exceptionally expensive compared to normal ones and I've never had a problem with oats, probably because I'm wheat intolerant not coeliac. But if you are coeliac and need gluten free oats, don't buy the instant packs, just buy the oats in a bag. Trust.

This post isn't going to result in an exciting recipe to try - it really is as simple as this:

Put 40-50g oats in a bowl. Add 200-250ml milk or water or a mix of both (depending on how creamy you want it to be). Microwave on full power for 2 minutes, stir, microwave further if needed. There you go. Porridge.

That's what I do when I have work or uni to attend in the morning. Add some fruit on top and you're sorted. There is no need for sugar. However, there are variations that make it more exciting. Making porridge with 1 part oats to 1 part oat bran makes a slightly creamier texture and since oat bran is great in lowering cholesterol and is generally recommended in weight loss plans (eg. Dukan diet), I like to think it's healthier even if the calories are the same. I use no-fat skimmed cows milk for my porridge, usually half milk and half water, but using hazelnut or almond milk makes a nice change sometimes.

One thing i always always always add to porridge is cinnamon. If you don't like it, sorry. But cinnamon makes everything amazing. I tend to add it once the porridge is already cooked, and just stir it in on top with fruit. Cinnamon porridge with raisins and hazelnut milk - please tell me if anything has ever sounded more appetising! Chop or grate an apple into cinnamon porridge and you have a bowl of apple cinnamon goodness for breakfast. Adding a bit of maple syrup to porridge is lovely too. As is honey. And jam - morello cherry flavour is a favourite at the moment. Blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, chopped banana, all wonderful additions. A tablespoon of milled flaxseed on top adds omega fats and protein. A handful of nuts and seeds also works. Literally anything goes.

Except instant porridge and sugar. Enjoy!

Pan-Fried Cabbage

A quick one from Tom today,

Whilst making a thai red curry, the internet (I have absolutely no clue where I found it) suggested this as a nice side for the meal. However, it was so freakin tasty I felt it deserved it's own post, and I will definitely be putting this on the side of many more things! This would also work well with white cabbage if you prefer (or a mixture), I'm not sure about savoy or chinese but I think they would be okay.

This makes enough for a small side for two

For the Pan-Fried Cabbage:

1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup of shredded Red Cabbage
2 cloves Garlic
1 tbsp Soy Sauce (I used dark)
1 tbsp Saki (optional, I thought it added a nice flavour)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a frying pan.
Add the cabbage, garlic, saki, soy sauce and fry on a high heat for just a couple of minutes so all the liquid is gone and the cabbage is nicely coated but still crunchy.
Once off the heat, season as you like.
Enjoy!


Nutritional Information (calculated using myfitnesspal.com) -


                      Calories   Carbs     Fat     Protein     Sodium     Sugar
          Total:      201         13        14          2            625           5
Per Serving:       101           7         7           1            313           3

Butternut Squash Thai Red Curry

Tom tonight,

Jess is off being drunk somewhere (I have the texts to prove it) and my housemate Lucy is leaving tomorrow to get herself her own place so were making a big curry for her last meal. This is the first time I've made a red curry, and because I am cheap I have bought a curry paste rather than making my own. It's probably not too hard to make your own but this is easy and I think it still tastes awesome. I'm making this with Thai sticky rice and pan-fried red cabbage. The vegetables used in this can be changed for others if you like but I like the colour combinations these bring - originally I was going to add the red cabbage but I saw online someone suggested doing this and honestly it turned out incredibly tasty so will definitely make this a regular part of my cooking. I also baked chicken breasts in the curry paste for Lucy as a non-vegan. Also added peanut butter for an extra flavour as I'm liking adding peanut butter to asian dishes and butternut squash and peanut butter are a match made in heaven.

This recipe makes enough for about 5 portions of curry and rice.

Ingredients:

For the Curry:

1 Butternut Squash
1 large Onion
1 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
4 cloves Garlic
1 small Chili
2 inch of fresh Ginger
6 large closed cup Mushrooms
1/2 a Courgette
1 Red Pepper
1/2 pack of Dwarf Beans
1 dessertspoon Peanut Butter
1/2 can Tomatoes
1 litre Boiling Water
1 1/2 tsp Bouillon
1 inch block of Creamed Coconut
3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Chicken:

1 Chicken Breast
1 tbsp Red Thai Curry Paste

For the Rice:
1/2 a pack of Thai Fragrant Rice
A sprinkle of Seaweed Flakes (my secret ingredient for everything)
Cold Water

Method:

First peel the butternut squash, drizzle with a little bit of oil and pinch of salt flakes and roast in a hot oven until cooked and browned.
Next put the rice on, cover with a centimetre of water and add a sprinkle of nori flakes if you have them, a sprinkle of jasmine leaves  also adds a great flavour if you have them.
Put on a high heat until bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan, then turn down to a low heat and put the lid on.
Leave until all the water has been absorbed, then fluff up and leave with the lid on to steam for a few mintues. While this cooks start the curry
Chop up the onion and fry in oil in a saucepan until soft.
Once soft, add the garlic, chili, ginger and curry paste, fry for a few minutes.
Chop up the mushrooms, courgette, pepper and dwarf beans and add to the saucepan, mix thoroughly and cook until soft.
Add the peanut butter and mix well, it helps to put the peanut butter to the bottom so it heats up and then it's easier to stir in.
Add the tomatoes and mix again.
Add boiling water until the vegetables are covered by about a centimetre of water and just a bit thinner than you want it to be.
Next add the stock and creamed coconut (you can make each of these separately if you want to but i didn't think it was necessary and this seemed easier to get the right consistency.
By this time the butternut squash should be nicely roasted, add this to the curry. At this point I rubbed the chicken with the paste and put in the oven to bake (reuse oven tray, save washing up, done).
Mix all of this together and bring to the boil.
Simmer until the correct consistency (as you like it).
At this point I quickly fried the cabbage (link) if you want to make that as a side.
Serve and enjoy.

Really pleased with how this came out, the curry paste I used wasn't fantastic but I imagine you could get nicer ones without too much effort, and if i find a decent recipe to make one I will definitely post it later. This could be very easily adapted to make it how you like, spinach might make a nice addition to this! As always, let us know your own versions at twocooksoneblog@gmail.com.

Nutritional Info:


                      Calories   Carbs     Fat     Protein     Sodium     Sugar
          Total:     885         113       40         24          3481         42
Per Serving:       177          23        8           5            696          8


And 1 cup of rice adds around 240 calories, and 101 from the cabbage (worth it!) giving 512 for the meal in total! (not including chicken)

Ignore the cabbage, originally this post included that recipe.

I apologise for the steam, it was a very, very, very, very cold day.

The vegan version

And with the baked chicken.

Lemon and Coconut Chickpea Macaroons

Tom today,

Ever since going to the christmas markets (if you haven't been yet and are in manchester, GO, albert square, now) and smelling all of the wonderful things that I couldn't eat, I've had a massive craving for coconut macaroons. The smell of them cooking was enough to make my stomach tap it's watch disapprovingly to remind me it was dinner time. So, after a hard day's revision I decided that I would throw something together that vaguely resembled them, put it on the internet, then sit back and bask in the glory of my own genius. Here's what happened.

Ingredients:

1 can Chickpeas (drained and thoroughly washed)

1/2 cup Dessicated Coconut

3 tbsp Coconut Milk (I used creamed coconut in hot water)

1 tsp Baking Powder

6 tbsp Rolled Oats (This came out as roughly 75g when I measured it afterwards)

Pinch of Salt (I always use Maldon - you caught me, I'm a salt snob.)

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

Juice and Zest of 1/2 a Lemon

This is another complete make-it-up-as-I-go-along recipe, but my last one went pretty well so I'm hopeful. I used this recipe to make 16 smallish cookies. These worked out to only 77 calories each, which was definitely my favourite bit!

Method:

Preheat an oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Blend the chickpeas in a mixing bowl.

Add all the dry ingredients (coconut, oats, baking powder, salt and sugar) and mix together thoroughly.

Add the vanilla bean paste, lemon (zest and juice) fold through.

Add the coconut milk, stirring gently until the mixture is the right consistency (if you don't need all the milk don't add it, and if it's a bit thick or dry then add a dash of water and mix in.

Spoon cookie-sized balls onto a lightly greased baking tray.

Cook for 15 minutes on the top shelf.

Then, just as they start to brown around the edges, squash them flat with a spoon (I was hoping they would spread like cookies but apparently I was too optimistic here)

Cook for a further 10 minutes until golden.

I am super happy with how these turned out! Only 77 calories apiece. And the smell filling the kitchen is definitely christmas-market-ey enough to satisfy my stomach. I'm starting to get into this style of cooking, however pretty soon I think I'm going to have to bake something hideous and fat filled to balance this out.

(Jess: Tom gave me one of these the day after making them and they were delicious - please try this recipe!)

As always, email any comments or photos you have to me and Jess at twocooksoneblog@gmail.com - we love to hear from you!

Enjoy

A close-up slightly-out-of-focus picture of food on a food blog!? Genius.

Nuritional Info (if made into 16)

                      Calories   Carbs     Fat     Protein     Sodium     Sugar

          Total:     1236        182       45         29             67          113

Per Serving:        77           11        3          2               4            7

Tom's Teriyaki Sauce

This is just a quick recipe of how to make my version of teriyaki fried…well anything. Here I’m using Tuna for the sushi that me and Jess made (link) but you can really do it with anything. I also used leftover sauce to teriyaki some sugarsaps for me. Salmon also works really well!

Ingredients for Teriyaki Tuna

1 Tuna Steak (any size is fine)

1 part Dark Soy Sauce

1 part Mirin

1 part Saki (rice wine)

1 dessertspoon Sugar

For the vegan alternative Teriyaki Sugarsnaps:

The rest of the Teriyaki Sauce

Handfull of Sugarsnap Peas

Method:

Mix the soy sauce, mirin, saki and sugar in a cup.

Heat up a frying pan on a high heat.

Add the teriyaki sauce and continue to heat until it starts to bubble really furiously around the edges. This will reduce the sauce down to a thick glaze.

Add your meat (with any skin removed). Cook just quickly on one side (as if you were searing) and then flip over to cook on the other side, only a minute or two for each.

Then, flip over once more to give the meat a good coating in the sauce and then remove from the frying pan into a plate to serve.

Jess <3 Teriyaki

Enjoy either as a dish with rice or vegetables, or use with sushi rice to make nagiri or maki or uramaki as you like. For our guide on making sushi see (link).

Asian Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

Tom here,

Another quick recipe today. This is a simple dish I often made on the side of whatever else I'm making, often a noodle salad or stirfry. Super quick and super tasty, it's a favourite of mine at the moment. I call it asian because I'm not sure exactly what else to call it, but it uses classic pan-asian ingredients so we'll stick with that.

Ingredients:

1/2 a Sweet Potato
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Coriander
1 tsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce (light is fine but I prefer dark)
1 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil

Method:

Preheat an oven to 220 degrees celsius.
Chop the potato into wedges.
Mix all ingredients in a roasting tin.
Roast for half an hour, until crispy and black.

Serve with satay sauce and a spicy noodle salad (recipe hopfully to follow!)

Nutritional Info:


                      Calories   Carbs     Fat     Protein     Sodium     Sugar
          Total:      285          38       14          2           365          10

Serve with Teriyaki Sugarsnaps as the perfect starter/side for any asian meal!