Almond Tea Cakes

I had to create a set of cakes for a party I’m going to tonight. I know there will be at least one other Gluten sensitive person there. I think these would be quite marvelous for a tea dusted with some powdered sugar and served with fresh strawberries. I really do like egg-sponge cakes better than baking powder leavened cakes.

I adapted the Financier Cake here: http://frenchfood.about.com/od/frenchdessertrecipes/r/tradfinancier.htm

By substituting 1 c. flour with 1/4 cornstarch, 1/4 potato starch and 1/2 tapioca flour and 1/2 tsp. Xantham gum. Also I baked them in metal tart tins (well-greased with butter) for 12-14 minutes at 375 F.

Let the tins cool on a rack for about 5 minutes before removing the cakes. I found out that in a conventional oven it’s best to bake only 12 tins at a time and that the tins with the least amount of flat surface area actually released their cakes easily when tapped lightly.

I have to confess I think I broke two or three on purpose so I could eat the ‘rejects.’ Don’t know why I still have to do that.

English muffins that don’t taste like rocks

 

Kninnikinnick English Muffins 

I think my search for decent gluten-free breakfast breads might almost be over. We just had these for breakfast and they were not that bad. The didn’t taste exactly like an English muffin and they didn’t have the airy and crusty texture we’re accustomed to.  At least they didn’t taste like something I should be scrubbing the bathtub with. I’m thinking that they’d make decent hamburger buns.

It looks like you can order these products via the mail. Though that’s a concept I may need to get used to… mail order baked goods.

http://www.kinnikinnick.com/

Bakewell Tart Reference

So now… I’ve decided to set up a few challenges for myself. Gluten Free Recipe Challenges. It actually would be great to have a recipe competition for finding the best substitutes for one’s favorite gluten filled recipes. Thanks to the BBC series and the character DCI Gene Hunt, I think I may have found my first challenge.

My husband and I adore watching the show Life on Mars. In one episode the hard-nosed Detective Chief Inspector gives Detective Inspector Sam Tyler a hard time for being a little too soft…”Should I bring out the Bakewell Tarts and a spot of tea?” he jabs.

So now being very uneducated about British cuisine I search google for bakewell tart images and the history and I find this. I also find this absolutely delicious sounding recipe on Foodaholic: Celebrating the Bakewell Tart. Note, the image of the tart on this blog is far more tantalizing that the one I found below.

My first challenge will of course be creating a decent shortbread… which I suspect may not be that hard…it might just take a good and selective blend of tapioca, potato, and dairy whey, with either rice or sorghum flours. The frangipan filling is easy enough. Check back by the end of the month I may have something for you.