Orange and apricot cake

I am not used to long breaks or holidays, especially not ones that involve extended stays at home.  But the Christmas break just passed saw me at home for the best part of two weeks.  It was less than twenty-four hours before I started getting cabin fever desperately trying to find things to occupy me.  I was further hampered by the need to rest my back after minor surgery so the few days running up to Christmas saw me mostly on the sofa surrounded by cook books with my laptop and a notebook for researching recipes.  I found lots and lots though I don't suppose that is any surprise, food-enthusiastics have grasped new technologies with both hands and share recipes and experiences around the world.  I did get very distracted trying to find out how to make vietnamese spring roll pancakes (I've not sussed that out yet) which then lead on to glutinous rice dumplings and then ... well, you know how it is.  Suddenly you have encircled the globe three times and completely forgotten what you started out looking for.

I have been thinking about the ultimate orange cake for some time.  I want to capture the zingy essential flavour of orange zest in a gluten free cake, with a light texture without any icing.  Of course, it also needs to be low fat and preferably sugar free too.  I am still working on this holy-grail of cakes but I thought I would share this recipe with you as it has definitely grown on me over the past couple of weeks.
The recipe is originally found here, on the Big Hospitality website and was created by Christine Bailey who was the joint winner of the Gluten-free Chef of the Year.  This is a variation of the theme of "take a whole orange, puree it and fold puree into polenta-based recipe".  I like this recipe because Christine has addressed a couple of points that I always see as negatives with this style of recipe.  By zesting the orange and then peeling it, discarding the white pith, you omit those bitter notes which can overpower the zesty flavour.  Then by adding a gluten-free flour blend to the polenta she has also lightening the consistency of the cake which is great.
This is a sugar-free recipe and that is worth bearing in mind before you take your first bite, even with the added honey, this cake is not sweet.  You can address that with the type of apricots you buy.  I used run-of-the-mill sulphured supermarket ones which added texture but no real sweetness to the recipe.  If you can choose unsulphured, organic apricots, those dark brown, unattractive fruits that tend to get ignored for their bright orange, less flavoursome counterparts  (squeeze the pack and make sure they are really squidgy if you can) then you will get a far richer sweeter flavour that will compliment this recipe perfectly.
I have copied the recipe just as Christine has written it though I made mine with dairy free margarine. My mixture curdled completely in the food processor but this makes no difference to the finished cake though, so don't be concerned if it happens to you too.  Instead of making one cake I split the mix into 2 x 5" round tins and 3 greased and flour dusted dariole molds.  The little ones took 15 minutes to bake and the 5" ones took 21 minutes.  I glazed one of the 5" cakes with a fresh orange juice and icing sugar (5 tsp icing sugar to 1 tbsp orange juice, I think) to serve for tea and have eaten the other, unglazed cakes for breakfast and they have been lovely!
I hope you enjoy them too.

Ingredients:

• Zest of two oranges
• 2 oranges peeled, cut into half
• 200g dried ready to eat apricots
• 125g unsalted butter (dairy free margarine*)
• 3 eggs
• 3tbsp honey or agave nectar
• 100g GF flour (75g rice flour + 25g millet flour*)
• 150g quick cook polenta (fine corn meal*)
• 2tsp gluten-free baking powder

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4
2. Grease and line a spring form 18-20cm cake tin
3. Place the orange zest and oranges in a food processor and process to form a thick puree. Add the apricots, butter, eggs and honey and process again until smooth.
4. Place the flour, polenta and baking powder in a bowl. 
5. Add the puree and beat well. 
6. Place in the cake tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes until a skewer placed in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. 

* these are my annotations but otherwise the recipe and method are exactly as Christine's original recipe.

my recipe for apricot & almond snack bars (gluten free, sugar free, high protein)

I posted a recipe for honey and apricot flapjack the other day, but mentioned that I don't eat them as I can't digest oats.  I have been playing around with my own recipes for gluten free bars but I haven't been really satisfied with anything I had made until now!

As a bar goes, these are light, cake-y in texture yet really filling and so very useful as snacks during the day, or to put in lunchboxes.  They are naturally gluten free and sugar free as well as containing no added fat and really high protein levels which will also make them good for pre- or post gym snacks.  They are vegan as long as you use pea or soy protein isolate.  You can find pea protein isolate from Pulsin' in the UK here with superfast delivery, alternatively stores like Holland & Barrett in the UK should stock it.  In the states you buy a non-GMO version here (I haven't ever bought from this company so I can't recommend them).
To some people's tastes these will not be sweet enough without adding some sweetener.  I didn't but it's up to you.  One 45g bar contains 139kcal without using any sweetener in the recipe, that statistic might persuade you to omit it!  Did I mention how filling they are? I ate one for breakfast 4 hours ago and I am still not at all hungry and even better, there is no sugar high or low as this contains protein and slow release carbs instead of sugar.
This recipe is a useful one for people who can't eat xanthan gum.  You can make these using ready-ground seeds and nuts if you have them which will save you time.  I haven't found any sources of freshly ground seeds, so as seed flours turn rancid quickly I still grind my own. 
I have found that buying a coffee grinder has soon paid for itself as seed flour is so much more expensive than raw seeds. Even if you are grinding your own seeds these are still quick to make and you can have these in the oven inside 15 minutes.  The bars will freeze fine and can be popped into a lunch box straight from the freezer.  Not only will they defrost by lunchtime, the chill will keep the rest of your lunch cool!

Apricot and Almond snack bars

Ingredients:

• 200g chopped apricots
• 175g chopped dates or figs (or a mix)
• 175g boiling water
• 150g blanched almonds
• 70g pumpkin seeds
• 60g hemp seeds (de-hulled) or sunflower seeds
• 60g linseeds (flax)
• 50g dried pineapple or mango (or other slightly acidic fruit)
• 30g whey / soy or pea protein isolate
• *honey, agave nectar or sweet freedom (if required)

Equipment:
12" x 9" x 1" baking tray, lined with non-stick paper + coffee grinder or mini chopper + food mixer/processor (or strong arm!) + oven

Method:

• soak the chopped dates in the boiling water in the bowl of your mixer or food processor (if you have one)
• grind the almonds in the coffee grinder to make a fine fluffy flour (do small batches of about 50g at a time to get a fine grind)
• repeat the process with each of the seeds in turn
• finely chop the pineapple or mango
• beat the date and water mixture for 2 mins until you have a thick and slightly aerated paste
• add the vanilla extract & the apricots and mix briefly to combine
• add all the nut & seed flours and protein isolate
• mix to make a thick paste and taste, sweeten if desired (I didn't sweetened mine at all)
• tip into lined baking tin and spread evenly across tin
• bake at 160° C for 30 minutes
• remove from oven, let rest in tin for 10 minutes before lifting out on baking paper and placing on cooling tray
• cut once cold, mine made 20 bars

To store: wrap and store in fridge or freezer (since they are unsweetened they will grow mould if left in a warm environment).  If storing in fridge eat within 7 days.  For frozen bars, wrap well & eat within 3 months.