I made 2 recipes from Coeliac Australia’s Recipe book, Pistachio & Zucchini Cake and Banana Bread.

Here are the recipes for you to try.

Pistachio & Zucchini Cake

Cake Ingredients:
Melted butter for greasing tin
2 tbsp gluten free self-raising flour mix or desiccated coconut
Rind of 2 limes, finely grated
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 medium to large zucchini, roughly grated
1/2 cup pistachio kernels, finely chopped
3/4 cup almond meal
2 cups gluten free self-raising flour mix, sifted
2 tsp ground cardamon, sifted

Glaze ingredients:
60g butter
Juice of one lime
1 cup gluten free icing sugar, sifted
Extra 1/2 cup pistachio kernels

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Brush a ring tin with melted butter. Dust with gluten free flour mix or desiccated coconut.
Put the rind, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Whisk until the mixture combines and thickens. Add pistachios, almond meal, flour, cardomon and zucchini and mix using a wooden spoon.
Spoon mixture into prepared tin. Smooth the surface. Bake in pre-heated oven for 55 minutes or until cooked. Stand cake on wire rack for 10 minutes before turning it out to cool.
To make the glaze, put the butter and lime juice into a pan. Stir over low heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat. Add icing sugar, stir to combine. Return to heat and stir for 1 minute. Remove and stand for 15 minutes.

Pour the glaze over the cake and serve.

I have never made a cake with zucchini in it before so was quite curious to see how this would turn out. It was actually really nice and refreshing. A tip if you’re making this, it cooks quite quickly – mine didn’t need 55 minutes – so make sure you check on the cake so it doesn’t burn.

Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups sifted gluten free self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in eggs. Blend in bananas and lemon juice. Re-sift flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Gradually add dry ingredients to creamed mix alternatively with sour cream, beating well after each addition.
Stir in nuts. Turn into 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Bake until tester inserted in centre comes out clean (about 40-45 minutes). Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack.

The photo above doesn’t look amazing as banana bread is not the most attractive thing in the world, but cake turned out nicely. Love a good banana cake in the afternoon with a cup of tea!

What does one do with lots of blood plums from a friend’s plum tree? Why not make an upside down down cake?

Here is a nice easy recipe that I use regularly from my favourite dessert cookbook – Donna Hay’s Modern Classics Book 2, adapted slightly to be gluten free.

You can use any stoned fruit for this recipe – plums, apricots, peaches…

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain gluten free flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g butter, melted

Topping:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
75g butter
12 blood plums (or any stone fruit), halved and stones removed

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. To make the topping, place the sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat and boil until the syrup is a golden brown colour. Remove from the heat and stir through the butter. Pour into a well greased 24cm round cake tin.

To make the cake, sift together the flour and baking powder three times and set aside.

Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until thick and pale. Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and gently fold through. Fold through the butter. Place the plums cut side down and very close together in the caramel. Spoon over the cake mixture and bake for 1 hour 5 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Allow to stand for 5 minutes then invert the cake into a plate.

Make a nice cup of tea and enjoy your work!

My new love’s name is Mr Close…a cafe/restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD in the Target centre (cnr Swanston and Bourke streets). Prices here are a wee bit higher than you would find in nearby cafes but you pay for a fresh gourmet menu that changes pretty much daily…and the food is generally really beautiful. I’ve eaten here many many times and have regular favourites, particularly the salads and curries. The menu is marked with what is gluten free and if you’re not sure you can ask the staff. The chef is usually there too and happy to talk through ingredients if the staff are not sure. They also do take away.

They also sometimes have amazingly decadent gluten free desserts.

Check out their website here.

Who loves prawn crackers? Yum! Vege Chips are like a sour cream & chives flavoured prawn cracker! These chips are really really nice…and really really addictive – very easy to eat the whole packet in one sitting! Which is not such a bad thing – they have  no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, totally gluten free and 80% less saturated fat than potato chips.

Find them in the health food aisle at Coles…but maybe just buy one packet at a time….

Take a look at their website here.

Sushi Sushi is a chain of sushi cafes around Melbourne (and all around Australia too) that have selected hand rolls and sushi packs that are gluten free. And they have just started stocking gluten free soy sauce – it’s an extra 20c but better than no soy on your sushi!

Most of the stores I’ve been to have a sign near the counter that shows which sushi is gluten free. If you want to research before hand you can check out their website which details gluten free options (although it’s quite clunky to use).

Go forth and eat sushi!

See their website for a full list of locations.

Japanese and gluten free don’t always go together, it’s quite hard to find Japanese restaurants that cater for gluten free. Mayeda is a Japanese tapas bar in Bridge Rd, Richmond that has a small gluten free menu (you need to ask for a separate GF menu). Whilst the selection is limited, what’s available is great quality and very healthy. Don’t go here for a big meal or expecting to fill up, there’s not a lot to choose from, but it’s a good light dinner option if you need one.

400 Bridge Rd, Richmond

Bizzarri Dolci is a bakery in East Malvern that make a beautiful range of biscuits and treats on site, lots of which are gluten free.

I dropped in on the weekend for some almond biscuits and Almond Butter Crunch for a Christmas party…serve with strawberries on a platter and you have a beautiful, quick, mess free dessert!

The staff are very helpful in pointing out what is gluten free too which is always nice.

Take a look at their website here and make sure you drop in for some treats soon!

510 Waverley Rd, Malvern East

Fox Hotel is an old style local pub – dark interior, pool tables, slightly musky smell…but has a pretty big food range on offer, not just the typical pub meals. There are a few gluten free options on the menu, and a few meals that can be made GF on request. I tried the salt and pepper squid which was nice, good generous sized serving…not the most amazing meal I’ve ever had but not the worst.

This is a good option if you want somewhere casual to go with friends and some good pub grub.

Click here to visit their website

351 Wellington St, Collingwood

Red Mullet is both a seafood restaurant and a fish and chippery. You’ll pay a little bit extra compared to the normal local fish and chip place here, but you’re getting quality every time. I’ve been here a few times now and every time has been excellent food, both dine in and take away.

They don’t do gluten free batter, but there are quite a few GF options on the menu without batter, like a Salmon fillet with sweet chilli sauce below. For some reason their online menu doesn’t list GF options, but the menu when you go there lists what is GF.

A great option for either a casual dine in restaurant meal or a quick take away.

Check out their website here

210 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern