Friday Bake: Gluten and dairy free Madeira Cake

Yippee it's Friday, which usually in this house means doing a spot of baking to prepare for the weekend. Our weekends usually consist of long and leisurely lunches as a family followed by cups of tea and cake. I figured seeing that I bake almost every Friday, I would start a little Friday Bake on my blog. If any of you fancy to join in, just let me know and I can pop a little button on for you to link in. This doesn't mean you have to bake every Friday, but you can do it as and when you see fit. I really like the idea of getting ideas for baking from a variety of sources. I will add here that you need to make sure that you only share if the recipe is yours, or if it is available on the Internet, in which case you can share the link. Alternatively you can just mention the book as I think most of us welcome new inspiration and it is a great way of getting ideas for Birthday's and Christmas too. I know I always like to add a few books to my 'want  need- list'.

I know that the majority of you indulge in gluten and dairy, so the fact that I state it is gluten and dairy free doesn't mean that you can't make it. The Madeira cake recipe I tried today is from this lovely book by Monty and Sarah Don, which is far from Gluten and Dairy free. It is a great book filled with some wonderful recipes for meals, soups, cakes, you name it. I came across it during our holiday to Wales one year and it has become a bit of a cooking companion shall we say. The pork belly recipe is simply the best and it works every time. The apple cake, is another one of our favourites and in fact I might just have to do it again soon, seeing that it is the season and all.

If you are not an avid baker, this recipe might suit you as it is really easy and simple, which is what we all need sometimes. Being a lover of all things lemon, this recipe really appeals, but I am sure you could happily miss out the lemon if you choose. Unfortunately this recipe isn't available online, but this recipe comes pretty close to it.

  

Apart from the dairy and gluten substitutes that I used, such as Doves Gluten Free Self Raising flour and Pure Sunflower Spread, instead of butter, I also used 110g of Palm Sugar and 65g of Caster sugar, instead of the 175g caster sugar. I have used palm sugar in baking quite a bit and I do think that apart from the fact that it is slightly healthier, it also adds a lovely flavour to the bake, but again it is a case of preference.

Not only do you use grated lemon rind, but you also put a couple of thin strips of the lemon rind half way through the bake, as pictured. I will add here that they do shrivel up, so I take they are there to infuse??The recipe that I have linked uses candied lemon, which might work slightly better and I might try that next time.

 Well the end result, is simply delicious and I am sure we will all devour this before the end of the weekend.

 

I enjoyed sitting out this afternoon in this glorious sun weaving in the ends of little Josh's scarf whilst enjoying a slice of Madeira cake and Rooibos tea. I was not alone, my creatures all joined me and we were graced with the company of this beautiful and elegant flutterby moving around the lavender. Here is a couple of minutes captured on film.

I feel so relieved that it is the weekend as my batteries are a little flat and in need of a recharge. This two kids in school malarkey should be more relaxing, but right now I am finding it quite full on when they get home. It is all very concentrated with trying to spread your energy, time and attention in two, but I will also add I am loving it. Fortunately, it seems that little Es is slowly starting to settle into her new world, which is just such a blessing and we are making the most of our hours together after school. She has already started with bits of homework, which is very simple, but I think she quite likes finally having her own homework book to do work in, especially having seen her brother with his for the last two years.

So what do you all have planned for this weekend? For me its a friends birthday party tonight for which I have prepared a chili to take along, and then this weekend will see more bulbs going into the ground, weather permitting, followed by the Treacle Market on Sunday and plenty of R&R in between with the family. I will be back on Sunday with a little stitching that I have been working on during the week.

Wishing you all a very happy weekend.

Warm Wishes

Hannapat

xoxo