Gluten Free Hedgehog Cake by Bethany Pryor

Well, it' #docraftsmonday again and this week, I am posting about the Hedgehog cake my daughter designed for her 9th birthday (which is today, Happy Birthday Beth!)

 

Beth has a 'special' toy hedgehog and she asked if we could make a cake which could be a 'friend' for it! It had to be chocolate and it had to be gluten free (as there are four of us in our family!).

 

 

 

 We sifted 8oz of Orgran Gluten Free Self Raising Flour into a bowl, then

simply added 8oz Caster Sugar, 8oz Soft Margarine, 4 Large Eggs (at room temperature)

and 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and mixed it up. Here's how we made the Hedgehog...



 

The malteser Beth chose for the nose is not gluten free - as she can eat anything, the nose section is for her! We had such a lovely afternoon making this - the memory will stay with me as a very special big girl and Mummy time.

 

 

Needless to say, there is not much left already!

 

Thank you for looking!

 

Jill x

 

 

#docraftsmonday is a weekly 'show and tell' of your craft projects. On Mondays, post a photo of your recent craft project on the docrafts Facebook Page and add the hashtag #docraftsmonday.

You can see all #docraftsmonday projects by visiting the page and viewing the 'Posts by Others' section. When you see a project you like, be sure to comment or give it a Like!

 

N.B. The Cadburys chocolate buttons do carry a 'May Contain' warning as they are made in a factory which handles gluten - both my and Evie's consultants have said that unless we suffer any side effects from eating these sorts of products, they are okay to include in our diet -

you must decide for yourself on this point.

 

 



Sugar Crafted Gluten Free Lalaloopsy 6th Birthday Cake

Well, it's been a while since I had a moment to blog, but the kids are outside playing and I have a few spare minutes so here goes!

 

It was Evie's birthday on the 13th July and she asked for a Lalaloopsy cake - I had NO idea what she was talking about and had to google it! We brought her a Lala dolly, so I was able to use that as a guide for scale and shape. It was a challenge and I learnt more things along the way but I got there in the end! As I was so pushed for time, my lovely Mum made the actual cake and base iced it so it was a combined effort - and gluten free!

 

As you can see, the doll has strange dimensions, a very large head and

spindly legs (plus the button eyes!). Mum made two layers of vanilla sponge and

decorated it with pale pink icing.

 

 

I made large sugar paste letters, a number six and a variety of simple

flowers to decorate the cake edges.

 

 

Anyway, Evie loved it and that's what counts!

Happy birthday sweetheart xxx

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Jill x

 

 

First published cake project in the docrafts Creativity Magazine!

Phew, it's been a long time since I posted on this blog, but I had the incentive today, as I have had my first ever cake project published in the docrafts Creativity magazine (issue 40)!

I was given the brief of designing a cupcake bouquet using the Little Venice Cake Company products. Since this issue is summery, I chose roses (complete with a rose flavouring), and a pretty pink colour theme - and most importantly for Evie and I, the cupcakes were gluten free and this is made clear in the magazine's editorial, which is fabulous for coeliac awareness. (We did have a few spare at the time of making which were demolished pretty quickly!).

 

I have been trialing different gluten free cake recipes since I was diagnosed nearly two years ago, and, although I LOVE Phil Vickery's flour mixes (he is a gluten free God in our eyes!),

I made these cakes with Orgran gluten free self raising flour as I find it really easy and

effective to work with.

 

I have to say a MASSIVE thank you to my Mum, Diana Millis, who on the day of decorating and assembling the cupcakes, was AMAZING and kept me calm and focused when things got a little sticky! She is also the root of my inspiration for cake making, as I grew up surrounded by icing sugar, piping nozzles and her commissioned cakes (I now understand why she used to get a little prickly when we were transporting her works of art around the county!)

 

 

The docrafts Creativity magazine is available at all good craft stockists as well as Tesco's and Asda and is well worth a read! Click here for more information.

 

Thank you for looking!

 

Jill x

 

Getting messy with gluten free baking...

I LOVE letting the kid’s get messy in the kitchen! Some of my best memories of childhood are cooking with my Mum, licking the spoon, mixing, experimenting. With a coeliac child, it becomes even more important to teach them the basics and love of baking.

To be fair, the offering in the supermarkets is getting better – you can get your hands on chocolate muffins, biscuits, even pain au chocolate but boy, does it COST. A duo of cupcakes can set you back nearly £3, so you imagine what our weekly shop could add up to! The selection also becomes a bit boring after a while too, so there is no way around it, you HAVE to get stuck in and bake, bake, bake (okay, it makes us eat far too much of what we shouldn’t but at least we don’t get suffer for it!).

For beginners to gluten free baking, you MUST check out Phil Vickery’s cook books – he is amazing – his flour mixes make the most gorgeous cakes and goodies – his guidance was such a help when I was first diagnosed. If you follow the recipes, you can’t go far wrong. Check these out....

Phil Vickery Seriously Good Gluten Free Baking at amazon

  

Evie got stuck into chocolate cupcakes the other day. She always asks if each ingredient if gluten free, bless her. This is why it is so important you let coeliac kids have hands on - over time she will get more and more confident and realise that you can eat pretty much whatever you fancy as long as you make it yourself.... doughnuts and stuffed pasta are next on the list!

 

 

If you have any favourite gluten free recipes, leave a comment and share them!

 

Jill x

Being made to feel included...

When I first got diagnosed with coeliac, I found that some everyday things, like being asked out to lunch, became stressful. I was embarrassed to be the difficult one, the one who messes up the menu plan! Let’s face it, unless you are familiar with gluten free cooking, it’s a minefield to overcome. After 18 months of it however, I find it far easier – I am more comfortable about being different, am less bothered by it and find it easier to broach the subject.

Today, the girls and I were asked to lunch at Sonia, Simon, Nico (so cute you could eat him!) and Louis’s house. This time, we were lucky as Sonia is familiar with the gluten free concept (one of Nico’s school friends has coeliac too). She made a feast of roast chicken, home-made savoury rice, cold meats and baked potatoes, delicious! Evie felt one of the crowd as everyone was eating the same. Thank you Sonia for making us feel so welcome!

The girls had made some gluten free cupcakes beforehand which we took for pudding...Beth got creative with sugar-paste and food colouring and made these scrummy delights....

 Hope you get some sleep tonight Sonia!

Jill x