Ellesmere Carnival

Last Saturday I took my goodies to Ellesmere Carnival… I thought I was well prepared, and I was, apart from the small fact that I didn’t realise you had to bring your own table and tent. So there we were with a whole load of cakes but nothing to display them on and nothing to shelter us from the rain! However, it was not a lost cause… they managed to find us a table and put us in the beer tent! Note to self – always read information properly and never ‘just assume’ that everything will be okay!

Anyway, we managed to get everything set up and sorted, the only downside was that we weren’t in with all the other stalls so had quite a few hours of waiting for people to come and find the beer tent… which wasn’t until around 2 o clock :p However, I can’t complain as it was completely my own fault!

 

 

Things soon started to get busy though and I managed to sell most of my cakes by the end so it all turned out okay. I also had brought with me a few new goodies such as coffee cake, white chocolate and coconut blondies and popcorn lollipops (very popular with the children!), aswell as the old favourites – chocolate and butterscotch brownies and cherry and coconut slice.

 

Apart from that I have just been getting on with my usual orders and trying out a few new recipes to take with me to the Oswestry Farmers Market on Friday. Fingers crossed the rain stops!

Gluten and Dairy Free Lemon Drizzle Cake – Recipe!

Recipe time! I’ve had a few requests for this recipe so here it is – you can make it either just gluten free or gluten and dairy free, you just use different butters depending on what you want. I also do various decorations for this cake, the first time I did it for a friends birthday so I crystallised some edible flowers for decoration… but you can really do whatever you fancy. Grated lemon rind sprinkled over the top always makes for a pretty cake, and recently I used little sugared lemons and dotted them around the outside of the cake… just be creative & enjoy!

Gluten and Dairy Free Lemon Drizzle Cake

Makes one round 7 inch cake, serves 8-10. 

Oven temperature – 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4

Ingredients

225g/8oz gluten-free self raising flour

1tsp gluten-free baking powder

3/4 tsp of xanthan gum

225g/8oz soft butter/margarine (if you want to make it dairy free then just use dairy free butter, I used the Pure Sunflower dairy free butter and it worked well)

225g/8oz caster sugar

4 medium free-range eggs

Juice and rind of half a lemon (I always use a bit more because I like my cake to be very moist and lemony)

Icing:

110g/4oz icing sugar, sifted

Juice and rind of half a lemon (the rind is for decoration if this is what you choose to do)

Method 

1. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

2. In a different bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder and xanthan gum. Fold in the creamed mixture using a metal spoon. Add the juice and rind of half a lemon (or more).

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin lined with grease proof baking paper. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and springs back when touched.

4. Once you have taken it out of the oven, leave it in the tin for 15-20 minutes until it has cooled slightly. Then remove from the tin, peal off paper and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

5. Once the cake is completely cool, mix the sifted icing sugar with the lemon juice. The icing should coat the back of the spoon, if it is too stiff it won’t run down the sides of the cake.

6. Pour icing over the top of the cake and allow to run down the sides. Sprinkle with the lemon zest or whatever other decoration you fancy.

Gluten and Dairy free Lemon Drizzle Cake

 

An Update on Hannah’s Gluten-Free Goodies

The reason I’ve been so quiet lately is because things have suddenly got very busy for Hannah’s Gluten-Free Goodies! Last Saturday I was at Philpotts in Shrewsbury for the day handing out lots of free tasters of my cakes – people certainly love free cake whether it’s gluten-free or not! The feedback and comments that I got from people were really lovely, not to mention the fun and friendly staff at Philpotts – thank you for having me!

 

 

Since then I’ve had three orders to do this week… I’ve literally been baking and delivering all week but its what I love to do so I don’t mind at all. Here are a few pictures of some of the cakes I’ve baked this week…

 

 

 

 

All in all a very busy but fun and rewarding week! So if you’re in Shrewsbury then head to Philpotts or The Old Market Hall Cafe where you will find some of my gluten free goodies, or if you’re in Oswestry then a selection of my gluten free cakes are now available in Gillhams Delicatessen & Coffee Shop. I hope my cakes show that being gluten-free does not mean that you have to miss out on taste or variety!