www.veganstore.co.uk

This is a brilliant website stocking vegan groceries, toiletries and clothing but the page which really excites me is Chocolate and Sweets!

Not only can you buy a whole range of dairy free chocolate, you will also find vegan jelly sweets, dairy free fudge, vegan marshmallows and loads more.

I received a carton of Vanilla Rice Dream to try last week. I have used rice milk before but it’s always nice to receive something for free!

I do find rice milk too thin in consistency for cooking but the Vanilla Rice Dream is refreshing as a drink. I keep a few small cartons of the milkshakes to take on picnics.

My mother in law makes a lovely cup of coffee using half a cup of hot Vanilla Rice Dream and half a cup of hot water.

The Rice Dream website gives lots of information about their products and general advice about allergies and intolerances. It also contains lots of dairy free recipes. http://www.ricedream.co.uk/

My sister in law bought a tube to decorate some cupcakes so we both gave it a try.

The icing comes in a 120g tube with three piping nozzles – small round writing nozzle, star and ribbon. It is available in white, pink, blue, chocolate flavour, red, green, yellow and black. The red is not suitable for vegetarians. It is labelled as ‘May contain wheat and gluten’.

The writing nozzle was quite easy to squeeze from the tube but I couldn’t pipe a neat message with it because of the bulkiness of the tube. Once piped, the icing did spread a little too.

The ribbon and star nozzles were quite hard to pipe with. I had to really squeeze the tube with both hands which made them ache very quickly. As the tube emptied, the harder it was to pipe.

I think this product is convenient to use when decorating cakes with children but I wouldn’t use it to decorate a cake for a customer.

A better idea would be to pipe with watered down sugarpaste -

 Mix 20g coloured sugarpaste with 1ml cold water.
Use a small palette knife to paddle the sugarpaste on a plate to remove any lumps.
Make a paper piping bag. You can fit a piping nozzle in the bottom, fill the piping bag with the watered down sugarpaste, fold over the top of the bag and use to pipe.
This can be used for fine piping such as wording or patterned piping such as shells or scrolls. It is slightly stretchy so practise before piping onto a cake or biscuit.

But do they taste nice and can they be used successfully in cakes and for decorating in the same way as usual chocolate?

Some chocolate may be labelled as Vegan but state ‘May contain traces of dairy’ as dairy products may be produced in the same factory or production line. They maybe safe for a person on a dairy free diet to eat but that is for that person to decide. As a caterer you need to be sure that the product you are using is safe for for the customer. For a one off commision you could ask the customer what they usually eat and are happy with or if you plan to make a lot of dairy free cakes, find a brand you are happy with.

Dark/Plain Chocolate

Not all dark chocolate is dairy free. Many brands are labelled with ‘May contain dairy’ and some brands add dairy so it is cheaper to produce. So as ever always check the label.

For baking I think it is best to use a chocolate with about 55 – 60% cocoa solids. A chocolate with a high cocoa content can make a cake quite dry or a ganache too firm.

If you only need a small amount, Kinnertons produce a luxury dark chocolate bar which is suitable for dairy free, gluten free, egg free and nut free diets. It contains 55% cocoa solids and can be found in most supermarkets as an 85g bar.

If you need a large amount of dairy free dark chocolate, Plamil produce a range of dairy free chocolate which is also gluten free and nut free and it is available in 1kg bags and 6kg bags from their website www.plamilfoods.co.uk

 They produce a chocolate with 60% cocoa solids which is perfect in baking and for making dairy free chocolate ganache. I also recommend their dairy free chocolate chips which is available in 200g tubs from whole food stores or in bulk from http://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/catering

Dairy Free ‘Milk’ Chocolate

Plamil produce a nice dairy free ‘milk’ chocolate. it can be found as a 100g bar in whole food shops or in bulk from their website.

Organica produce a 100g bar which can also be found in whole food shops. This has a nice flavour but is labelled as vegan and may contain traces of dairy and nuts.

My favourite dairy free milk chocolate is Humdinger dairy free milk chocolate buttons available from most supermarkets. I think this tastes and melts in the mouth the closest to dairy milk chocolate. You can use it to make chocolate cigerellos and moulded chocolates.  The only trouble is it is only available in 25 gram bags. This chocolate does contain soya.

Dairy Free ‘White’ Chocolate

Some dairy free white chocolate is quite different to usual white chocolate and doesn’t work in the same way in recipes.

Plamil produce a dairy free white chocolate which can be bought in bulk from their website. It can vary in colour from a creamy colour to light brown.

Organica produce a 100g bar which is available from whole food shops. It is off white in colour with flecks of vanilla in it.

If you want a dairy free white chocolate that tastes similar to dairy white chocolate then the best to use is Humdinger dairy free white chocolate buttons available from most supermarkets. Again it is only available in 25g bags and contains soya. This is the only white chocolate which will work well for dairy free chocolate ganache.

The rules on making claims about gluten in food are changing on the 1^st January 2012 and you may no longer be able to call your food gluten free unless the food has been tested for the gluten levels.

The Food Standards Agency has produced three guides to explain the new rules.

• Gluten factsheet for caterers
• Gluten regulations – frequently asked questions
• Guidance on the Composition and Labelling of Foodstuffs Suitable for People Intolerant to Gluten

The second and third factsheet explain the rules clearer to small food producers and caterers.

So as a caterer you can only label your food as ‘gluten free’ or ‘very low gluten’ if you buy in manufactured gluten free food and do nothing more than serve it or if you conduct appropriate tests on batches of meals ahead of service and reduce cross contamination using HACCP type processes.

If you have previously labelled your homemade, untested food as gluten free – you can now label it with ‘No gluten containing ingredients’. You can provide additional information to back this up. If you do this, it is advised that you speak to your local Trading Standards to check you are doing this correctly.

The following information is taken from factsheet – Guidance on the Composition and Labelling of Foodstuffs Suitable for People Intolerant to Gluten 

Factual statements and further information about the risk of cross-contamination with gluten in either the manufacturing or catering environment can be communicated in a variety of different ways, including on websites, on product labels and in verbal communication between the customers and staff. By extension, product lists such as the Coeliac UK Directory would be allowed to communicate the absence of gluten-containing cereal ingredients in products. This information could also be provided via retailer product lists and customer care lines. 

Factual statements are not permitted on foods specially prepared for people intolerant to gluten (Parnuts foods), where only “gluten-free” or “very low gluten” statements may be used.

Other allergy labelling information can be found on the Food Standards Agency website www.food.gov.uk

My nearly 3 year old is getting very fussy about what he will eat. He used to love food and would eat anything I put in front of him.

I used to be quite strict with snacks only giving him cakes and biscuits sweetened with fruit, then sugar started creeping into his diet. I wonder if this is part of the reason he has become so fussy?

So I am trying to cut out sugary snacks and get back to the treats which I used to make.

Here is a fruit muffin recipe from a book called ‘Yummy’ by Jane Clarke.

Makes 18 small muffins

• 30g very soft butter or dairy free margarine ( I use Vitalite)
• 4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup for under 1 year olds
• 3 eggs
• 40ml sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon Good oil (optional)
• 50ml milk or your choice of dairy free milk
• 480g plain flour (gluten free – 240g gluten free plain flour, 120g cornflour, 120g ground almonds – sieved together 4 times with the baking powder)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (or gluten free baking powder)
• large handful of crunched cornflakes (gluten free cornflakes)
• 2 teaspoons ground mixed spice
• 1 apple, grated
• zest half lemon
• 100g blueberries
• 100g raspberries
• 2 ripe bananas, squashed

Preheat the oven to 180°c/Gas Mark 4.

In a large bowl mix together the butter and honey. Add the eggs and beat until smooth, then add the oils.

Put all the remaining ingredients apart from the fruit in another bowl in the order in which they are listed, mixing a little in between additions.

Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet, combining all the time but lightly as possible. The less you beat the flour, the fluffier your muffins will be! Finally add the fruit and stir through.

Spoon the mixture into paper cups in a muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

I find I need to add a little more liquid until it is a thick batter. The muffins freeze well and defrost really quickly.

You could change the berries for other fruits. I keep bags of frozen fruit in the freezer for this which are also handy for fruit smoothies.

The muffins have gone down surprisingly well.

Yummy by Jane Clarke is available through Amazon – click here to find out more

My two year old and I decided to play in the kitchen today so we made some dairy free chocolates for nanny. These are quick enough to make to hold a toddlers attention!

First we made dairy free white chocolate pennies. We topped half with Hundreds and thousands and half with dairy free plain chocolate chips.

We then made dairy free white chocolate cornflake bites.

To make 14 chocolate pennies

100g dairy free white chocolate
Dr Oetker Hundreds and Thousands (these are not gluten free)
Plamil dairy free chocolate chips

Place a piece of baking parchment onto a baking tray.

Break up the white chocolate into a bowl. Melt on a low heat in a microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.

Place teaspoon full amounts onto the baking tray. Using the back of the spoon, shape into flat discs.

Sprinkle Hundreds and thousands over the top of half the discs until completely covered. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the other half.

Leave to set before tipping the tray to let the excess topping roll off.

12 white chocolate cornflake bites

65g dairy free white chocolate
25g cornflakes (can use gluten free cornflakes)
30g dried cranberries

Place a piece of baking parchment onto a baking tray.

Break up the white chocolate into a bowl. Melt on a low heat in a microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.

Crush the cornflakes into smaller flakes – not too small. Stir into the chocolate, then stir in the dried cranberries.

Use a teaspoon to place small amounts onto the baking tray. Leave to set.

Put the chocolates into little cellophane bags tied with ribbon. We are going to buy a nice tin for our chocolates.

It’s finally here. After months of late nights and a 7lb 14oz baby boy!

Iced Gem Cakes and Bakes – Your guide to making dairy free, egg free, wheat free, gluten free and vegan celebration cakes.

Over 200 pages of all you need to know.

So if you’re a professional cake maker who’s fed up with turning down orders, or if you want to make beautiful creations in your own kitchen, this book will show you that catering for special diets really is a piece of cake!

The book includes:-

• Cake recipes for all of these diets and combinations of the diets too.
• Vegan flower paste and modelling paste recipes.
• Diet information, cross contamination, tips for preparing special diet cakes and instructions to make 12 fabulous cakes and cookies.

Techniques include:-

• Royal icing style piping without the egg.
• Vegan / dairy free white chocolate roses
• Vegan / dairy free chocolate gananche 
• Dairy and gluten free Croquembouche

For a full list of contents, see here

I hope you like it!

Many cake makers are reluctant to make cakes for special diets as they don’t know enough about ingredients or what people can or can’t eat.

In my new book I will be offering advice about diets, cross contamination, wheat and gluten free, dairy free, egg free and vegan cake recipes and tips / techniques for decorating celebration cakes.

Click here for the Gluten and Dairy Free Victoria Sponge Recipe

I went to the Orgran website and was amazed to see a recipe for egg free meringue. I couldn’t quite believe it so I had to give it a try.

I was a little sceptical but as you can see I made a meringue!

The outside is light and fluffy. The inside is quite chewy, it reminded me of those foamy penny sweets.

I topped the meringue with dairy free ice cream and autumn raspberries as this was all I had. The meringue softened with the ice cream and became easier to eat. Brilliant if you can’t eat eggs or choose not to.

I also made the ‘Victorian sponge cake’ using gluten free flour.

This turned out quite edible especially if filled with jam and cream. The sponge has a close texture.

I have to say I prefer my recipe for egg free sponge cake.