Fruit Bread

This is a variation of Orgran Easy Bake mix.

The Orgran mix is by far the easiest bread mix I have tried, not as versatile as the Juvela Harvest White (ie cannot make pastry, bake with it as free from flour) but you cannot beat it for ease when it comes to making a loaf. Rolls are harder to form because the mixture is thicker and stickier however, but for a basic loaf to slice and freeze it's fab!

So I decided to try adding some raisins, cinnamon, mixed spice and a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar to try and achieve a fruit bread. And a little cocoa powder to change the colour a little.

The results are amazing, great texture, easy to slice so it can be frozen, and should toast well too.

One word of warning though..... the sugar had another effect.... it really makes it expand more and I should have split the mixture between two loaf tins I think so leave plenty of room!!!

Orgran Easy Bake really IS that easy but there is even a YouTube video on how to do it!

Cakes!

This is a general post about cakes, the birthday cake post I wrote some time ago is still valid, in so much as it works well, and the cake is still available. Tesco's chocolate version is even more yummy though!

It comes ready iced too, always a bonus! All our family love this moist, chocolatey cake.

There are lots of options now, it is definitely getting easier to find cake alternatives or ingredient alternatives. My children love decorating their own cakes and biscuits with icing pens too.


If you prefer a dry mix, I have tried two recently. The Hale and Hearty mix on the right (which is good but I prefer their brownie mix for taste)
and the Glebe Farm Mix which is fool proof, works every time and I would love to know why it is so much better than my own efforts when the ingredients are pretty much the same!

My friend Suzanne at "Free From for Kids" has a reliable stock of the Hale and Hearty mix, sometimes found in Sainsbury's and the Glebe Farm one is increasingly available at local outlets like farm shops etc. They make a blueberry muffin mix, carrot cake mix and pizza base mix which I have recently bought to try. Muffins were very successful!

Of course, you can use a regular sponge cake recipe (4oz/100g of flour, same of marge, same of caster sugar with 2 eggs) and substitute everything for free from ingredients which I do very successfully pretty frequently. Works fine with muffins and if you can tolerate banana they help with the rising for beautifully tall cupcakes and muffins.

There are lots of variations on this theme on the "Sweet Treats" page. There is a fantastic chart for alternatives to egg in cakes here too.

Happy Baking! 

Great idea! Just like the "Pouched" pouches JoJoMaman Bebe are selling, these new refillable drink bottles are available in an increasing number of outlets as well as on the internet.

You could fill them with smoothies and save money buying the large cartons rather than the individual ones for school, or fill with your own purees.

These "Angry Birds" Pouches are from ebay but friends have found them on the High Street too.

Marmite Pinwheels

A friend asked for this very simple recipe after her son enjoyed them so much at our house recently!

It's so easy (and quick) but they don't keep very well due to the usual problems with "free from" pastry mix.

Method

• Using a pastry mix, (such as Crimble's pastry or mix up the Juvela Harvest White bread mix as per the pastry recipe on the back of the box.) make up a ball of pastry.

• Roll out and spread with Marmite. (Not suitable for coeliacs sadly)

• Cut into strips and roll up, then cut the cylinder into rounds.

• Bake for 7-10 mins until the pastry is cooked.

Tip: Free From pastry can get very dry, warming for a few seconds in the microwave before eating is recommended.