Sorry back to the dreadful yellow light.

This fruitcake has solved a problem that was looming up for Xmas.

Our family likes Xmas cake... English version. I think the children like the icing more than the cake but it is the tradition that counts.

So what to do about it in GF terms. Well, try some fruit cakes to see what will work best.

First I tried a Dundee cake substituting GF flour (Potato Starch, tapioca starch and Rice flour)

Unfortunately it turned out "Tolerable" but too dry for my liking.

Jan had the answer... she suggested using a boiled fruit recipe instead and what this actually meant chemically is that there were all the same molecules in the cake with 8fl oz of H2O molecules as well. This couldn't be better.... I don't think she will mind me posting her recipe as she is just like that! -generous to a fault, if such a condition is possible.

Jan's School Fruit Cake

4 oz butter

12 oz dried fruit

2 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp bicarb of soda

7 oz brown sugar (the darker the better I think, oh, and I used less)

8 fl oz boiling water

Boil all these ingredients for 5 minutes (of course I boiled it for longer - being the forgetful type)

Cool for 5 mins (or longer!)

9 oz flour *

pinch salt

3/4 tsp Xanthan gum (which I have learnt is the outer cell wall of some organism or other so really a vegan shouldn't be using it at all!)

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

Mix all the dry ingredients together very well, as is normal for GF cooking

Then mix in all the above ingredients into the wet ones

*the Flour mix that I use is in the ratio of 3:2 :1 Brown rice flour, Potato starch, Tapioca Starch

Those Ginger biscuits (101 uses)

Here we have wonderful Breyers real vanilla ice cream resting on a bed of crumbed ginger biscuits (GF of course) with a fresh raspberry coulis (with a hint of lemon). This is a trial run for a recipe I am planning for Yuletide dinner.... See later blog entry.

Channuka and GF Latkes

This recipe was an amalgamation. Not just an amalgamation of potatoes but an amalgamation of recipes.

The first from Mollie Katzen - Still life with Menu book where she suggests parboiling the grated potatoes, then draining them very well... The second our own family recipe for latkes... which basically goes like this.

Peel potatoes and put them through the grater of the Kenwood Chef.

Add salt and pepper and an onion (similarly grated in the kenwood).

Add eggs till it is just sloppy

Add flour till it isn't

The third modification was to create a GF latke...

By using rice flour instead of wheat flour and guess what.... they made the best latkes I have ever made.

We celebrated Channuka very jollilly.

I then made a huge latke for John (here it is cooking on the first side) - we all agreed it was really a Rosti... thus convincingly demonstrating parallel evolution in food.