Crossed Grain

WWW.COELIAC.ORG.UK 41 RECIPES “I started baking gluten free when my daughter Gabriella, now aged 11, was diagnosed with coeliac disease at the age of 5. Over the last 5 years baking has become my hobby. It gives me pleasure to make birthday cakes for my family – they all request the gluten free lemon and coconut cake. Gabriella used to find attending friends' birthday parties a challenge, particularly as she could never have a piece of birthday cake. But she now attends parties with her own special gluten free cupcake and looks forward to her own birthdays where all her friends get to share her birthday cake, which she is very proud her mummy made! When I read about Coelic UK’s 50th Anniversary it was the day before the closing date…I had never entered a cake competition before and I didn’t expect to win! This time I set myself the challenge of colouring the sponges in shades of orange and a surprise filling in the centre.” Ingredients • 225ml (8 fl oz) milk • 5 tbsp lemon juice • 350g (12oz) caster sugar • finely grated zest of 2 large unwaxed lemons • 100g (4oz) dessicated coconut • 300g (10oz) gluten free plain flour* • 1¹⁄2 tsp baking powder* • ¹⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda* • 1 tsp xanthan gum • 225g (8oz) unsalted butter, softened • 4 large eggs • jelly tots for the centre • orange food colouring for the sponges *Check our Food and Drink Information for suitable products. Method 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line three 20cm shallow cake tins. Put the milk and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a jug. Stir and leave to stand for a few minutes 2 Put the rest of the juice in a pan with 75g of the sugar and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and coconut. Set aside 3 Sift together the gluten free plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and xanthan gum 4 Cream the butter and add the rest of the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time 5 Fold in the flour, milk and coconut mix. Transfer to the tins, level the tops and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Cool on a wire rack 6 Sandwich the cakes together with lemon curd and two thirds of your choice of filling, eg buttercream or cream cheese and spread the rest over the top. "For the filling I choose lemon curd and either cream cheese if the cake is ‘naked’ or lemon buttercream if making it as a covered birthday cake." BEVERLEY’S COCONUT AND LEMON CAKE WITH SURPRISE!