Carrot Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting (Gluten Free)

Here is a delicious little cake that was a success when I took it to my local Needlework Group...Carrot Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting...using a commercial Gluten Free Flour...

Magazine from this issue of Better Homes and Gardens (November 2007)...

Pecan nuts are in this recipe...I just love the scent of nuts roasting on the pan...

The look of the mix...

All baked...

and ready to cut for the ladies...

and there still wasn't enough LOL!!!
Recipe can be found over here or hop on over to recipes on the side bar!!!

Bon Appetit...Dzintra

Apple Tea Cake...Gluten Free!!!

Recently I came across this wonderfully easy Apple Tea Cake from an older edition of Better Homes and Gardens!!!

Issue November 2007

Apple Tea Cake ready for the oven...

Cut open...

Ready with custard...

Nice and easy...the recipe is as follows:

APPLE TEA CAKE

Serves 6

100g butter...chopped

3/4C caster sugar

1t vanilla essence

2 eggs

1 and a 1/2 C gluten free self raising flour...sifted

1/2C milk

1 pink lady apple

Extra 10g butter...melted

1t cinnamon

1T sugar

Preheat oven to 180c

Line base and sides of 20cm springform tin with baking paper

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in the small bowl of an electric mixer until mixture is pale and creamy

Add eggs and beat until combined

Add the flour and milk, then stir mixture with a wooden spoon until well combined

Spoon the mixture into prepared tin and smooth the top

Cut apple into quarters

Remove core and thinly slice each quarter

Arrange appple slices on top of the cake batter

Brush with the extra melted butter and sprinkle with combined cinnamon and sugar

Bake for 30-35m or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean

Serve warm...

Enjoy!!!
Bon Appetit...Dzintra♥

Apple and Strawberry Galettes...Entertaining with Donna Hay!!!

One of the best discoveries I have made since being gluten intolerant is Gluten and Wheat Free Pastry!!!

I couldn't resist making these Galettes from the Donna Hay Instant Entertaining Book...

The recipe is here and on the sidebar along with others...

The pastry is from The Pastry Pantry...more of which can be read over here

I was so excited to see this in the local supermarket!!!

Pastry rounds cut out...

Spread with Raspberry Jam and Almond Meal...

Apple Slices and Strawberries atop...

Out of the oven...and just soooo very very mooorish!!!

And just to finish off...this print brought home to me by Mr Dolce Vita...
all matching perfectly with the Paris plate above!!!
Bon Appetit and here's to more pastry!!!

Floating Islands for Christmas In July!!!

It's Christmas in July at our house!!!

JoJo just loves every celebration, and she has taught us so much on how to celebrate any occassion !!!

Here in Australia Christmas in July is becoming widely celebrated...

and we had our own little celebration last weekend!!!

A very popular classic French dessert known as Ile Flottante is very popular in Latvia also where it is known as Peldosa Salas

To read more about this classic dish...go over here

Floating Islands has various names according to each country...here are a few...

French :
île flottante
German :
Schnee-Eier ("snow eggs")
Polish :
zupa nic
Austrian :
Kanarimilch
Hungarian :
madártej ("bird's milk")
Croatian :
schneenockerln, šnenokle
Romanian :
lapte de pasăre ("bird's milk")

I saw this gluten free fruit cake mix and thought JoJo could help prepare this...

it came with it's own custard mix but we didn't try it...
the prepared mix was choc-full of fruit...and once made up was quite nice...

to make it tastier I added some brandy...cherries and almonds...

Here it is in our oven...

and ready to slice up...

Making the Custard Sauce...

Scald milk and vanilla, add sugar

beating egg whites...

and here they are...
the poached egg white on Custard Sauce...

Recipe from my Mum...Mum's Floating Islands

• 4 eggs, separated
• pint of milk (2 C)
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 t sugar
• 1/4 C sugar, extra, if desired
• vanilla

• Beat egg white with a pinch of salt
• (I also added 1/4 C sugar) Mum prefers no sugar
• Beat the egg yolks lightly together with sugar
• Scald the milk and vanilla
• Place spoonfuls of beaten egg white into milk
• Turn a couple of times and take out with slotted spoon
• Drain whites
• Add egg yolk to milk and stir till it comes to just under boil
• Rinse dish with cold water
• Put custard in and then spoon in egg white

Note: This is more a sauce than a custard...but oh so delicious!!!

There are many variations on the net...

Creme Anglaise can also be made...or your favourite custard recipe...

Happy Christmas in July...and Bon Appetit!!!

Thanks Mum!!!

Lemon and Broccoli Soup

Recently I saw over at Vickis-bit-o-earth that she was going to pick some broccoli from her abundant Californian garden and turn it into soup...Vicki's post is over here...I immediately enquired of her the recipe and she said it was a Donna Hay one...I tried it and what an absolute treat it was!!!

Vicki and I regularly do a cook up from Donna Hay magazines and blog about it...

anyone can come and join us...it's simple, just cook something from the magazine and then blog it!!!

Thank you so much for the heads up on this Vicki...I loved it!!!

English Spinach...

Sauteing leek...

Adding the leek to the broccoli...

I recently saw this bread mix and though I'd try it to have with the soup...

Using the dough hook...

in the oven...

Sliced into...texture is quite different to 'normal' bread as it is gluten free...

Not too long to wait...and the soup is absolutely delicious!!!

This soup is one of my Winter favourites...perfect with a glass of red!!!

For the recipe go over here...

Bon Appetit...Dzintra

Narooma Oyster Festival!!!

A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to be able to attend the Narooma Oyster Festival...

A little booklet of oyster recipes I purchased...

There were various stalls...and Mr Dolce Vita purchased some Gluten Free Rocky Road for me...delicious!!!

Treasures Onion Marmalade and Chilli Jam...when we purchased these a Protea came with them...

Tastings...

Some of the selection...

Natural Oysters...

Kilpatrick...

Garlic Butter...Mornay and Kilpatrick Oysters...

Downed with a glass of wine from Tilba Valley Wines...

There were cooking demonstrations by the Royal Australian Navy...

Rick Stein's wine was available to taste along with...

(Charantay) Sausages prepared by Rick's Head Chef Julian Lloyd at Bannister's Restaurant...

'Fruits of the Sea'...a wonderful dish of seafood prepared by Julian...

And to top it all off Oysters Natural with (Charantay) Sausages on Seaweed!!!
A wonderful day and I'm looking forward to see what next year has to offer...

For more pics on the Festival go over to Queen of the Armchair (my other blog)!!!