All posts filed under: desserts

Very Moist Chocolate Cake (Dairy-Egg-Nut and Gluten Free)

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Every time I read ‘free from’ gluten, egg, nut or dairy I feel lucky not to be allergic to any of those delicious ingredients. When my baby was just one month old, she started crying in pain after every feed. The kind advice I received on how to soothe her didn’t work so in the end I decided to change my diet, quitting dairy, nuts and gluten. And it worked! To my surprise, I discovered new products that stopped me from craving dairy or wheat flour. In London the variety of products ‘free from’ you can buy is huge. Even at your local cafe it’s easy to get an oat milk latte and a poached egg over gluten free bread…what a feast! On my birthday my two older daughters were in charge of making my birthday cake ‘free from’. I read many recipes to avoid disappointing my little chefs until I found this one. It’s perfect in every way…very easy to make and yummy. The recipe was tested three times in my kitchen (I never …

The Best Vanilla Panna Cotta

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Very simple to make, all you need is five ingredients to enjoy a fresh and delicious Panna Cotta. Originally from Italy this dessert is made of full fat milk, vanilla, cream, sugar and gelatine. The only tricky part is to use the right amount of gelatine to get a creamy and wobbly Panna Cotta. Below you’ll find the only recipe you’ll ever need for a basic Panna Cotta. Buon Appetito! Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus overnight fridge)   Portions: 4 Ingredients 75ml full-fat milk 425ml double cream 50g sugar 1 vanilla pod 2 fine leaves of gelatine (1.7 grams per leaf aprox) Equipment 1 saucepan 1 spatula 1 heatproof jug 1 cutting board 1 sharp knife 1 bowl with cold water (for the gelatine) 1 whisk or fork (for the gelatine) 4 ramekins (or custard molds) Instructions Pour the milk, the cream and the sugar into a saucepan. Stir. 2. Remove the seeds from the vanilla pod. Add the seeds and the emptied-out pod to the saucepan. 3. Put the saucepan on the stove over …

8 Reasons Why Your Meringue Fails

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Meringue is a great complement to many desserts; because of its beauty it stands out on any sweets table. It is also 100% fat free and protein rich. However it contains high levels of sugar which is essential to give the meringue stability. This means that it is hard to replace sugar with other sweeteners. Meringues are made of only two ingredients, but the chemistry involved in the preparation process makes it a challenging one. How to make a bullet proof meringue? Well, below you will find a few tips so that you will never again lose a single egg white! The bowl, mixer and anything that touches the egg whites must be 100% free of fat. (Avoid plastic bowls because their porous material may contain traces of fat) Egg whites must be 100% free of yolk Egg whites must be at room temperature Try to avoid humid or rainy days when preparing meringue To bake meringue, the oven must be preheated at a low temperature (100 celsius or less) Avoid a cold kitchen (a …