Gluten-Free Deliciousness with Cherie Lyden

As a coeliac and qualified nutritionist, Cherie Lyden ’s greatest joy is finding ways to create deliciousness without the magic elasticity of gluten.

Recipes have been reproduced with thanks as an extract from Gluten-Free Baking Made Simple by Cherie Lyden, photography by Ben Dearnley.

Murdoch Books RRP $55.00.

Blueberry, Apple & Lemon Muffins

6 Large Muffins

(Pictured Above)

Serves 4–6

1 tablespoon chia seeds

¼ cup boiling water

2 eggs

½ cup light oil (e.g. sunflower, rice bran, canola, light olive oil) or melted butter

1 cup milk (or non-dairy alternative)

12/3 cups gluten-free self-raising flour

¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), sifted

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1¼ cups fresh or frozen blueberries, plus extra to decorate

¾ cup grated apple, plus extra apple slices to decorate

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan-forced) with the oven rack positioned in the middle of the oven. Line a large 6-hole muffin tin with high-sided muffin wraps (or grease the tin with a little butter or oil if not using papers).

Mix the chia seeds and boiling water together in a small bowl. Set aside for 2–3 minutes to form a gel. Whisk the eggs, oil and milk together in a separate bowl. Tip in the chia gel and whisk again to break up the gel. Set aside.

Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Using a spatula, tip the wet mix into the dry mix and gently fold it through until just mixed. (The mix should still be lumpy.) Fold in the blueberries, apple and lemon zest.

Using a ¼ cup spring-loaded ice-cream scoop, take a flat scoop of mixture and empty it into a muffin wrap. Repeat the process so you have two scoops per muffin wrap. (The mix should be about two-thirds of the way up each muffin wrap, leaving enough room for the muffins to rise.)

Decorate the top of each muffin with a couple of slices of apple and a few blueberries, transfer to the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, then rotate the tray and continue to bake for a further 10 minutes, or until the muffins are lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of each comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

Makes 12

1½ cups gluten-free self-raising flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted

145 g unsalted butter (or non-dairy alternative), cut into small cubes and at room temperature

1 cup caster (superfine) sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature

¼ cup light oil (e.g. sunflower, rice bran, canola, light olive oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract

100 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

1/3 cup milk (or non-dairy alternative)

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

200 ml single (pure) cream (or non-dairy alternative)

200 g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces, plus extra shavings to decorate

40 g unsalted butter (or non-dairy alternative), cut into small cubes and at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced) with the oven rack positioned in the middle of the oven. Line a 12-hole cupcake pan with paper cases.

Sift the flour and cocoa into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted and cream together, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium, until pale and fluffy. (Alternatively, mix the ingredients together in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer.)

Reduce the mixing speed to low–medium and add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the oil and vanilla and continue to mix until well combined.

Turn off the mixer, add the chocolate, half the flour mixture and half the milk and gently fold in. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk, being careful not to overmix.

Using a ¼ cup spring-loaded ice-cream scoop, take a heaped scoop (approx. 65 g) of mixture and empty it into one of the paper cases so that it is two-thirds full. Repeat with the rest of the mixture and paper cases, being sure not to overfill the cases, as the mixture will double in size on cooking.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, rotating three-quarters of the way through cooking, or until the cupcakes are very lightly coloured and firm to the touch. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, transfer the tin to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

When the cupcakes are cool, make the ganache. Bring the cream just to the boil, remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Add the butter and stir until nice and smooth.

Take a cupcake and dip the top of it into the ganache mixture, then turn it over, sprinkle with chocolate shavings and leave to set.