Scotch pancakes with a twist

After walking past it for weeks, I finally bought myself a non-stick pancake pan the other day. Good thing too since two days later, they were gone off the shelf.

Its inaugural use was actually for an omelette while I was sick and avoiding sugar, but today they served their true purpose - and what a grand and far easier purpose it was!

Gluten-free Scotch pancakes

Ingredients:

• 240ml potato starch
• 5ml hemp protein powder
• 5ml cocoa powder
• 125ml buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 0.5ml bicarbonate of soda
• 0.5ml creme of tartar
• coconut oil (for the pan/griddle)
• For the variation: coconut flakes and agave syrup
  

Method:

1. Mix the ingredients together very lightly...
really, just enought to get rid of any flour lumps.

2. Oil the non-stick pan lightly and pour the desired
amount of batter into the pan on medium heat.


3. When it bubbles on the top, it is ready for flipping over,
and then it just needs about 30 - 40 seconds depending on the heat.


4. Variation: Once the batter has been poured into the pan,
sprinkle the batter with coconut flakes and drizzle with agave syrup.
Once flipped, watch it carefully else the coconut/agave will burn.


5. Enjoy with the jam/fruit preserve/syrup of your choice.

These aren't the prettiest looking pancakes but they shape well, they're quick to make and they sure do taste nice!

Weekend treats

I'm celebrating my last day of four-weeks of hour-long, five-day-a-week, early-morning boot camp classes with one of my favourite things for a weekend treat - cocoa dressed up as a baked good.

I chanced upon this excellent recipe one day when all I had in the way of gluten-free flour was potato flour. Since potato flour likes to be baked with friends, I figured that I needed to find a recipe which minimises flour usage. I immediately thought of brownies.

The original recipe is over at Joy of Baking filed under healthy, low-fat desserts; but I've reduced the sugar content substantially, de-glutenised it and have used real butter/sour cream (I'm SO not one for using low-fat/artificial substitutions because I figure that treats are supposed to be exactly that - TREATS - not soulless imitations of the real thing!) Therefore, I am by no means asserting that these are low-fat, but rather lower sugar and lower fat than, say, a normal cake recipe. As always, moderation is key I suspect.

Quick tip: These are beyond excellent frozen. Yes, that's right, eaten right from the freezer after being frozen for about 12 - 15 hours. It's like some sort of ice-creamy-biscuity-chewy effect which is quite the taste sensation. Try it - you might like it :-)

Chocolate Brownies
(gluten-free)

Ingredients:

• 80 grams sugar
• 75 grams butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  
• 1 large egg
• 45g flour (I used potato flour)
• 35g cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarb + 1/2 teaspoon creme of tartar
• 60 millilitres (4 tablespoons) sour cream

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
2. Butter a 20cm square pan/oven dish.
3. Beat sugar & butter together.
4. Beat in egg & vanilla.
5. In a seperate bowl, mix together flour/cocoa/raising agents.
6. Fold flour mix into sugar/butter/egg mix.
7. Stir in the sour cream.
8. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes (till edges pull away from tin slightly, but centre is still soft).
9. Remove once cool & place on a wire rack to cool OR leave it in the glass baking dish pre-portioned and loosened, cover with foil/cling wrap and freeze (can be frozen for 1 - 2 months apparently, but it wont last that long unless you have the iron will of, well, Iron Man?)
10. Makes around 6 decadent slices, or 12 littler ones, which I can't handle because it seems cruel to dole them out little-by-little.

Born up a gluten-free-tree and viva cocoa-filled weekend treats!

Cheese Scones

Recipe
Gluten-Free
Adapted from my Mom's recipe
(Makes 12)

Ingredients:

• 250ml flour (I used 3/4 rice flour + 1/4 potato flour)
• 250ml cheese (cheddar/feta/etc.)
  
• 185ml milk (if you use potato flour, you'll need 200ml milk)
• 1 tsp baking powder (1/2 tsp bicarb + 1/2 tsp creme of tartar)
• pinch of salt/pepper/mixed herbs

Method:

• Mix all ingredients together (no mixer/whisk necessary).
• Spoon into a greased muffin tin.
• Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 12 - 15 minutes.

Rocking Gluten-Free-School-Holiday Flapjacks

School is out and I felt the need to celebrate the afternoon in style by making gluten-free flapjacks!

This was my first attempt at gf flapjacks, and boy did I strike it lucky the first time round.

I adapted a recipe by Chef Jackie Cameron of Hartford House in the Kwazulu Natal Midlands (original recipe found here).

Here is my version:

Potato Flour Flapjacks

Ingredients:

2 Eggs (jumbo)
50ml Butter (melted)
200ml Milk
2 cups (500ml) Potato flour
3/4tsp Bicarbonate of soda
3/4tsp Creme of tartar

Quick and Unfussy Method:

• Chuck the potato flour, bicarb and creme of tartar into a bowl.
• Make a hole in the middle of the ingredients.
• Toss the butter, milk and eggs into the hole (in that order in case your butter is a bit hot, then the cold milk buffers the eggs from cooking)
• Mix it together (I used a fork - ironically, despite being an ex-chef I have never owned an electric mixer or even a whisk for home use...I prefer robust home cooking which is no mess, no fuss).
• Use a pan with some form of non-stick 'itemage' coating the bottom (I used butter for richness, but you could use oil or Spray 'n Cook or whatever blows your hair back)

The consistency of this batter was SO perfect that the batter forms its own perfect circle when ladelled into the pan (well, that's what mine did...you might need to tweak your batter with a little more milk or a little more flour).


The recipe made 6 of these big beauties in total...


...which I serve with this sucrose-free treat...


...which looks like this when dolloped with decadently thick cream.


Mamasita blessed the cooking process with her voluptuous clay presence ;-D


I now consider my holiday officially started in sweet style - a flapjack, a fresh mug of rooibos chai, a Summer breeze and the following playlist:
Chris Cornell - Black Hole Sun (acoustic);
The Dirty Skirts - Daddy Don't Disco;
Incubus - Wish You Were Here; and
Chris Cornell - Long Gone.

Happy holidays!