Anyone craving a Tim-Tam?

For all of you that don’t know, the Tim-Tam is one of Australia’s favourite Arnott’s biscuits. What is there not to love about it? Two chocolate biscuits sandwiched together by a chocolate butter cream and dipped in chocolate… absolute heaven! 

I have never met a fellow Aussie that did not love a Tim-Tam. Unfortunately for all my coeliac readers, you will also know that there is nothing quite like it in the gluten free world. So I got thinking… what if I made a chocolate dessert based on the great Aussie favourite. And here you have it… the Tim-Tam inspired biscuit log! 

Warning: This recipe is deadly sweet and definitely not on the diet list! 

{Gluten Free Recipe} TIM-TAM INSPIRED BISCUIT LOG

1 packet plain, dry gluten free biscuits (we used Schar Petit biscuits) 

BUTTER CREAM 

120g unsalted butter, softened and cubed 

3 cups icing sugar, sifted 

150g chocolate 

1 tbsp milk 

CHOCOLATE GANACHE 

150ml thickened cream 

200g milk chocolate 

1. Place butter and sifted icing sugar into a bowl. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. 

2. Half fill a medium saucepan with water. Bring the water to a simmer. Place 150g of the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place over the simmering water (making sure the bowl does not touch the water). Stir chocolate, over low heat, until melted and smooth. 

3. Add melted chocolate and milk to the butter mixture, and beat until smooth. 

4. Spread a spoonful of butter cream onto one side of a gluten free biscuit. Place another biscuit alongside and sandwich together. Place biscuits upright on a serving platter. Continue layering remaining biscuits and butter cream to form a log. 

5. Spread remaining butter cream over top and sides of log to fill all gaps. Smooth surface. Place in fridge to cool while making ganache. 

6. To prepare the chocolate ganache, break the remaining 200g of chocolate into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan, over low heat. Bring to boil and remove from the heat immediately. Allow to cool for a couple minutes. 

7. Pour hot cream over chocolate pieces and set aside for 10 minutes. Using a whisk, mix cream and chocolate together until smooth. Cool the ganache in fridge for 10 minutes, until it reaches room temperature and thickens. 

8. Pour over the biscuit log and smooth using a spatula. Chill in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes, until the ganache sets. Serve biscuit log at room temperature.

TIP: Why not make your own GF Tim-Tams! Simply sandwich 2 biscuits together with the butter cream and cover with ganache or simply melted chocolate.

Australia Day Sausage Rolls

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi! This is the chant you will hear all over Australia on the 26th January, the official national day of Australia. Commemorating the 1788 landing of the first fleet at Sydney Cove. 

Australia Day is a day to celebrate with friends and family. Wether it’s celebrated with a game of cricket in the backyard, a picnic at the beach, or a good old Aussie BBQ! On a hot, summers day there is nothing better than sitting back and relaxing, with a beer in hand (the gluten free kind!) and some fair dinkum Aussie tucker, listening to the tunes of triple J's Hottest 100 Countdown. 

So in True Blue Aussie style here is our version of gluten free Aussie Sausage Rolls. Happy Australia Day everyone and let’s hope there are not too many sore heads on Friday morning! 

{Gluten Free Recipe} AUSSIE SAUSAGE ROLLS 

PASTRY* 

375g Orgran Pizza & Pastry multimix 

Pinch of salt 

120g cold butter, cubed 

1 egg 

40ml cold water 

FILLING 

500g beef mince 

100g gluten free breadcrumbs 

40g grated Parmesan cheese 

1 tablespoon chopped parsley 

1 egg 

2/4 cup water 

1 clove garlic, crushed 

EXTRA 

GF flour for rolling 

1 egg white, whisked 

Tomato sauce, to serve 

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. 

2. Combine mince, breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, garlic and egg in a bowl. Gradually add the water, a handful at a time, until it forms a wet mixture. Set aside. 

3. For the pastry, empty contents of Orgran Pizza & Pastry mulitimix into a large bowl and add a pinch of salt. Mix. Rub butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips, until it resembles a fine crumb. 

4. Whisk egg and water in a separate bowl and add to dry ingredients. 

5. Mix together with a fork until the pastry comes together and then form into a ball with your hands. 

6. Knead gently on a floured surface for a few minutes before rolling out. 

7. Divide dough in half. To prevent sticking place dough on floured baking paper and roll out 1cm thick with a rolling pin (flour rolling pin to prevent sticking). Continue rolling until it forms approximately a 25cm square. Trim edges with a knife to form a clean square. Note: Pastry is very crumbly so be careful while rolling and work quickly or pastry will dry out and crumble further. 

8. Shape a handful of mince mixture into a sausage shape. Place along one side of pastry. Using the baking paper, carefully roll the pastry around the sausage until the edges meet, leaving enough space for pastry to overlap 1cm. Trim excess pastry and add to remaining dough. 

9. Brush edge of pastry with egg white and press firmly in place to seal. Cut log into 3 pieces (cut into smaller or bigger pieces depending on size you want your sausage rolls). Place on prepared trays and repeat with remaining pastry dough and mince mixture. 

10. Brush tops of sausage rolls with egg white. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Serve with tomato sauce. 

Makes approximately 12 sausage rolls (depending on size of pieces cut). 

*TIP: If you prefer, you can buy pre-made pastry sheets. Try the Pastry Pantry.

If you have left over mince mixture, roll into balls and fry. These will make tasty meatballs!

Serving up luck for the New Year

There are many foods thought to bring good luck and fortune in the New Year. In the Italian tradition lentils are eaten, as they are thought to resemble coins, bringing with them prosperity in the New Year. 

Not only are lentils naturally gluten free, but they are also jam packed with nutrients and health benefits. Lentils are high in fibre and a great source of B vitamins. They are also high in iron, making them an excellent meat substitute for vegans and vegetarians. Lentils are a cholesterol lowering food and are full of protein. 

So with all these health benefits in mind, and hope of some extra luck in 2012, we have decided to make a lentil salad to serve on New Years Eve. See recipe below. 

2011 has been such an amazing year and we would like to thank you for all the support you have given us! This year we kick started our blog and even started up our very own Facebook page. If you haven’t already, head over and click LIKE on our page, or you could be missing out on loads of extra tips and gluten free news! 

Wishing you a safe and happy new year and looking forward to more great adventures and surprises in the kitchen in 2012! 

{Gluten Free Recipe} LENTIL, BEETROOT AND GOATS CHEESE SALAD 

2 rashers bacon, diced 

1 tin (400g) lentils 

1/2 Spanish onion, finely sliced 

1/2 tin (200g) whole baby beetroot 

25g walnuts, roughly chopped 

2 tablespoons continental parsley, chopped 

1 tablespoon mint, chopped 

60g goats cheese, crumbled 

Juice of 1 lemon 

1 tablespoon oil 

Salt 

Pepper 

1. Fry bacon in a non-stick pan until browned and crisp. Once cooked, place on a plate covered with kitchen paper to absorb the oil. 

2. Drain and rinse the tinned lentils and place into a medium bowl. Add the bacon, Spanish onion, walnuts, parsley and mint, and stir together. Cut the baby beetroots into quarters (or halves depending on size) and add to bowl. 

3. Whisk lemon juice and oil in a separate bowl and pour over lentils. Season with salt and pepper. 

4. Add crumbled goats cheese and toss through salad.

Red Velvet Christmas Tree Cakes

One more sleep left till Christmas and so much cooking to do! 

At least we have our desert sorted. We are making these cute little Christmas tree cakes, made from a red velvety cake mixture and luscious cream cheese frosting (see recipe below). 

We wish you all a very Merry GF Christmas and Happy New Year! 

RED VELVET CAKE 

2 1/2 cups GF plain flour, sifted* 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon xanthan gum 

1 teaspoon salt 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened) 

50ml red food colouring 

1/2 cup (approx 113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 1/2 cups caster sugar 

2 eggs, at room temperature 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature 

1 teaspoon white vinegar 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

Cream Cheese Frosting 

250ml cream cheese, softened 

50g unsalted butter, softened 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 1/2 cups GF icing sugar mixture*, sifted 

pinch of salt 

1. Preheat oven to 180°. Butter and flour 6 Christmas Tree cake moulds. 

2. Sift together the GF flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, mix food colouring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside. 

 

3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula. 

4. Make sure you have cake moulds nearby. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Add it to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Working quickly, divide batter evenly between the cake moulds and place them immediately in the preheated oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. 

5. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting. 

6. To make the cream cheese frosting, blend together cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Turn mixer to low speed and blend in icing sugar mixture, salt and vanilla extract. Turn mixer on high and beat until light and fluffy. Spread over cakes. Use immediately. 

*TIP: Sift cake flour once before measuring, then sift again with the other dry ingredients per recipe instructions. 

If you prefer a sweeter and/or stiffer frosting, more icing sugar mixture can be added (up to four cups). But remember, the more sugar you add, the less you’ll be able to taste the cream cheese.

Snowballs

Christmas time brings back a childhood memory of being in the kitchen with my two sisters making snowballs. Food has always been a passion for us, so it was only natural for our mum to get us started at an early age. I remember making these delicious chocolate coconut balls with condensed milk goodness... my sisters would roll the mixture and I was given the task of coating the balls with the coconut. Being the youngest, I really had no choice! They told me I was too young and that was all I was allowed to do. 

Traditionally these were made with milk arrowroot biscuits. But since being diagnosed with Coeliac it got me thinking, why not make a gluten free version! I searched high and low for the recipe and finally found it. 

With the school holidays coming up, these are great to keep the kids entertained. And they would also make a gorgeous Christmas gift! So here is my version of gluten free snowballs. 

 

{Gluten Free Recipe} SNOWBALLS 

1 packet (200g) plain, dry gluten free biscuits* 

50g linseed meal 

40g gluten free cocoa powder 

45g desiccated coconut (plus extra for rolling) 

1 tin (395g) condensed milk 

1. Crush the biscuits until fine and place into a mixing bowl. You can use a food processor for this, but I find it easiest to place the biscuits into a tea towel and pound using a rolling pin (great to de-stress!) 

2. Add linseed meal, cocoa powder and coconut. Stir together. Then add the condensed milk and stir until it forms a wet mixture. 

3. Pour some extra coconut into a separate bowl. 

4. Take teaspoons of the mixture and roll into balls, then roll through coconut and place onto a tray. Continue until all the mixture has been used up. 

5. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

*TIP: Use dry biscuits, such as Eskal Tea Biscuits. Try to avoid buttery biscuits like shortbread. 

These snowballs are kid-friendly but for a naughty adults only version add a splash of rum, or why not even try Malibu to go with the coconut flavour!