Happy week between Christmas and New Year to you all. I am in the position where I am working, but I don’t really know what day it is and I am still eating stuffing for breakfast (the trifle was finished yesterday). I made quite a few dishes this week, but something I made for some friends as a gift was gluten-free chocolate bark, and although there are many variations of what you can add here, I feel I came away with quite the winner!   Ingredients280 grams chopped dark chocolate (I did part plain and part Lindt orange) Dried cranberries Almond and cashews (mine were roasted and salted ..read more

The first dessert I ever made, and the first recipe post on this blog, was Jamie Oliver’s chocolate pots. If you love chocolate, these are smooth and delicious and are naturally gluten-free (how we like it). I could probably make them with my eyes closed by now and I have friends who specifically request that I make them because yes, they are that good! Definitely one to add to your gluten-free repertoire. Thank you, Jamie Oliver. Ingredients285 ml single cream 200 grams chocolate – 70% cocoa 2 large egg yolks 3 tablespoons brandy (I am more of a Frangelico or Kahlua girl myself) 20 grams but ..read more

With the Rugby World Cup final happening this weekend (and yes, an amazing result for South Africa last night so I am a little tired this Sunday morning), I thought it would be a good idea to make something a little traditional. Also taking into account the sudden hot weather in Johannesburg, peppermint crisp tart seemed to be a good idea. This is a dessert made of Tennis Biscuits, cream, caramel condensed milk and then peppermint crisp chocolate. The slight complexity is that I have never eaten this, never been able to eat this, and so I am not quite sure what the end result should taste like ..read more

I realise that I am about to make a strong statement, but for me the best gluten-free brownie ever is the one that you can find at the “naturally fast food” chain Leon in the UK (where fast food is good). And Leon’s has blessed us by supplying the Better Brownie recipe in their Leon’s “Brownies, Bars & Muffins” recipe book. These are a slight commitment to make, and possibly not for the faint hearted as there is a substantial amount of chocolate involved. I make these for friends who do not to follow a gluten-free diet and they also agree that these pretty good! So give yourself some ..read more

Something gluten-free that I used to eat as a child was macaroons. Diagnosed with coeliac disease at the age of 1, there was not much cake and biscuits available when I was growing up, but I remember some form of macaroons. Not to be confused with macarons, a macaroon is made up of egg whites, sugar and shredded coconut or almonds. A macaron on the other hand is a coloured cookie made from egg whites, sugar and ground almonds with two halves that are joined together with a ganache or buttercream. I have never attempted to make macarons; they just seem to be a little finicky and the texture can ..read more

Continuing the back-to-basics theme, one of the things that I am continually baking is gluten-free banana bread. This started before the pandemic, and yes, I definitely did bake this during lockdown. I have always used this recipe; it might not be sweet enough for some people as the only added sugar comes from a little maple syrup, which I often do not even add since I find the bananas are sweet enough. This recipe is from Hemsley and Hemsley and I did actually eat the real thing at their café at Selfridges before it sadly closed. I have taken to adding things to the recipe, and my only guidel ..read more

I have decided that in order to keep the momentum going I will return to some of the first gluten-free recipes on this blog. I use them regularly and I appreciate having them in one place to find as needed. So here we have gluten-free rocky road. This started in 2015 when I was watching an episode of Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill (Bill Granger). I had never made Rocky Road or really eaten it, but watching chocolate and butter slowly melt with some golden syrup thrown in for good measure was motivation enough for me to start! I could not find Bill’s exact recipe at the time, and I still can’t, s ..read more

So… it’s been a while. I have moved countries (again) and am back in Johannesburg – very grateful for the sun, but missing the concept of UK central heating especially this week with an unusual morning of snow. My flat is not built for ‘real feel’ -6 degrees. But I digress…I have decided it is time to get the blog back up and running, and this will be partly my adventures in baking/desserts, maybe some favourite meals, and my thoughts about living back in South Africa as a coeliac – I am acutely aware this time of how much harder it is to be a gluten-free here, especially when it comes to eati ..read more

Hello all. I see that it has been over a year since my last post. I feel this is a symptom of continued lockdown and then the horror of grey that is the English Winter. I may have grown up here but I think living in the Southern Hemisphere for many years has re-programmed my DNA to need sun and light; and the sky here (grey marl is a good word to use I feel) is just not playing ball. But today there was sun and I stood outside and stared, begging the serotonin to hit me! And here I am about to talk about food so something good must be happening. Last Thursday (after another vaccine – the life ..read more

Christmas Eve, still in Tier 3 here in the UK, I went out for brunch. Two days later we went into Tier 4 and now are in lockdown so this really was the last gluten-free brunch hurrah! With comments that lockdown might continue to the end of March I realise I am going to have to live vicariously through my pictures and previous posts! We had brunch at The Ivy, purely I think because we liked the idea of some bubbles to celebrate Christmas, and maybe a slight view of go big or go home (within reason at 9h30 in the morning ). I also know that they are responsive from a gluten-free perspective and ..read more