Crossed Grain

40 WWW.COELIAC.ORG.UK JESS’S DAIRY FREE WHITE CHOCOLATE DELIGHT “I was diagnosed with coeliac disease just last year (on my birthday!!) having had years of ongoing stomach issues. After several failed attempts at eating out, I decided to turn this into a challenge and I had to win. Step one was asking Coeliac UK for help and they’ve been fantastic. Step two was Instagram to find inspiration and meet fellow coeliacs. I’ve also created a website to help others like me - www.jessicaskitchen-gf.com . I made this cake for my whole family to enjoy and piled it high with all my favourite gluten and dairy free treats. I decorated it with orange as it’s Coeliac UK’s signature colour, with an ombre sponge surprise hidden inside!” Ingredients For the cake (makes 4 tiers, 4.5 inch tin) • 170g (6oz) gluten free self-raising flour* • 170g (6oz) dairy free butter • 170g (6oz) caster sugar • 4 eggs • 1 tsp of orange food colouring For the toppings • 100g (4oz) bar of dairy free white chocolate* • 400g (14oz) icing sugar • 250g (9oz) dairy free butter • 50g (2oz) desiccated coconut • small drop of orange food colouring • lots of your favourite sweets!* • fondant icing for flowers and leaves (optional) *Check our Food and Drink Information for suitable products. Method 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Whisk together the butter and sugar until creamy. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and tip into the buttercream mix 2 Sift the flour into the mixture and whisk together until fully combined 3 Divide the mixture into four bowls and set one aside (we’ll leave this a vanilla colour). Add one drop of orange food colouring to the first bowl, two drops to the next bowl and three drops to the final bowl. Whisk each bowl separately until the colours are fully mixed in 4 Pour into four cake tins and bake for 20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Cool completely before decorating. Decorating and assembling the cake 1 Whisk together the butter and icing sugar 2 Melt the chocolate and allow to cool for 10-15 mins. Once cool, stir the melted chocolate into the butter icing 3 Use a palette knife to spread the buttercream onto each cake and sandwich together – do not layer it too thick otherwise the cakes will slide around 4 Spread the rest of the buttercream around the outside of your cake. It’s difficult to get the buttercream looking neat so you can use a fork to run lines up the side instead – this gives a tree bark effect and looks great when you add the flowers! 5 Add a drop of orange food colouring to the coconut and stir until it's fully coloured. Scatter over the top of the cake. Decorate with fondant icing flowers (there’s lots of videos on YouTube if you’d like to make them) 6 Finally, pile all your favourite sweets on top and enjoy!