Really good gluten free cake or sweet treat?

[JumpNWave]

My best friend’s birthday is next week and I want to make her a cake or some sort of sweet goodies as a treat.

She was recently diagnosed as celiac and I’m clueless about gluten free baking (and not a brilliant baker anyway!).

Any good tips?

Macarons are delicious and naturally gluten free, though can be tricky if you are not an experienced baker. Flapjacks (with gluten free oats) are also naturally gluten free and delicious. This cake recipe is the best gluten free one I've tried. The texture is soft and doesn't have the chalky texture that gluten free baked goods often do. The buttercream makes a lot, but freezes well.

If your friend is coeliac though, cross contamination will be a real concern and maybe buying something in would be better this time and maybe ask her what she does or doesn't like.

If you’re not a confident baker and don’t want to get GF flour especially, then I’d do this tiffin recipe. Lyle’s golden syrup is GF, just use GF digestives and check the milk chocolate is GF.

The gluten free orange cakes are usually pretty simple and tasty, eg
www.joskitchenlarder.com/gluten-free-orange-almond-cake/

This woman is amazing. I've always found her recipes absolutely spot on.

glutenfreecuppatea.co.uk/2019/05/24/gluten-free-victoria-sponge-cake-recipe-dairy-free/

This is fantastic.

www.nigella.com/recipes/clementine-cake

I can recommend this one: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/flourless-chocolate-pear-cake

It's "accidentally" gluten free, so no weird ingredients required, it's very quick to make and absolutely delicious. Works both as an afternoon treat and as a dessert, especially if you serve it with a scoop of ice cream on the side. It's chocolatey and hazelnutty, but not heavy at all. I cannot praise it enough.

Another suggestion could be cheesecake, provided you buy gluten free digestive biscuits for the base (very easy to find)

I second this. I make it often, and there is never anything left. Also impossible to screw up.

Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour works in exactly the same as regular self raising.it’s just much lighter in texture. You could make a lovely Victoria sponge

As previously mentioned, Nigella's clementine cake. Delicious!

Nigella's clementine cake or a chocolate brownie/cake recipe can often be gluten free - I think Nigella does a chocolate cloud cake which is also naturally GF.

Or meringue and make an amazing pavlova?

Flourless chocolate cake or pavlova, but as mentioned if she's coeliac cross contamination is very likely in a normal domestic kitchen using utensils and equipment that have been used for gluten.

If you're feeling quite lazy or unadventurous, the Betty Crocker gluten free chocolate cake mixes are really good. Just add egg, water and oil.

DS is coeliac. I don't worry about cross contamination from utensils as long as they have been thoroughly washed or are starlight out of the dishwasher.

But if you are not used to avoiding contamination of ingredients I would buy fresh for what you are making. Eggs will obviously be OK but butter if not fresh out of a new packet could easily have been contaminated with breadcrumbs etc. And sugar/cocoa maybe.