Gluten Free Luscious Lemon Syrup Cake

As a young child, I had always wanted to be a victim of some sort of dehabilitating disease so the other kids at school would think that I was cool and give me lots of attention. They would think that I was incredibly brave for living a normal life despite my condition and then I would achieve great things and there would be a book and perhaps a movie would follow. I was about 7. Then came the period where I remember really wanting to break some bones so I could get one of those cool plaster casts and an equally cool story about how I ended up in hospital -fighting invisible ninjas or something..

I really liked attention. Well.. I really liked the idea of getting attention.

Among these ridiculous day dreams, I even considered pretending to be allergic to certain foods because I thought being a picky person was pretty cool. Looking back, an older and more mature me is very thankful that I am able to eat anything I want and can down almost anything with my iron stomach. I love cake, chocolate milk and peanutty things and I cannot imagine ever having to go without! Along with this revelation, I also realised that being allergic to certain foods is not a choice people make to attract attention but a real hinderance to their lives..

..Which brings me to Coeliac Awareness Week..

My lovely friend brought to my attention that, although she loves reading my blog, the lack of gluten free baking prevents her from trying any of these delicious recipes. This one's for you, Anna =) I trolled through a whole stack of Healthy Food Guides to find the perfect cake for you.

Ingredients you will need. Not pictured: water, which I incidentally left out of my cake mix

I'll also take this moment to gush to you about how much I love reading Healthy Food Magazines. They have amazing recipes for everybody which are low cost and even some menu plans -not that I use them, but the idea is appealing..

The gluten free aisle at my local Countdown supermarket

So I started my day by dragging Jason to the local supermarket to explore the treats it had to offer the gluten free world and, to my surprise, there was actually quite a lot on offer -everything from gluten free baking mixes to gluten free pasta. This was pretty exciting and I found myself wanting to try all the products so I could see whether or not one was able to taste the difference between "normal" food. Jason only let me leave with the gluten free baking mix.

Step 3: Beating until thick. It's a pity I didn't bring my electric mixer. At least we'll get strong arm muscles!

 Let me take another moment to gush about one of my favourite bloggers -the InTolerant Chef. Gluten and Lactose are not her friends but she doesn't let that get her down! She is totally an inspiration and her blog has heaps and heaps of gluten (and lactose) free recipes for you.

Step 4: Add everything except the baking mix. Remember the water.

As with everything new, I somehow got it into my head that gluten free baking would be vastly different to everyday baking and had a hard time accepting that my cake would turn out "O.K." This thought had taken hold so much that I didn't even think twice when my cake mixture turned out quite stiff and doughy -"It's just that gluten free mix. Poor Coeliacs" I thought.

I even thought this would level off in the oven due to the heat

It never occured to me that I had left out the water.


Although I had made such a big mistake, the cake turned out fine. The only difference was that it was a bit dry and had a scone-like shape but other than that, IT WAS DELICIOUS! Especially with the lemon syrup.


The plus side is that now I have a bag of gluten free baking mix to experiment new recipes with (and not screw up) and another opportunity to make this cake look nice!

Maybe Anna will get a cake!

Luscious Lemon Syrup Cake (From the Healthy Food Guide)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oil 
1/4 cup water
2 cups Healtheries Simple Baking Mix
1 tsp lemon zest (I always like to add more. I really like my lemon)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
extra 1/4 cup sugar 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C . 
2. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper.
3. Place the sugar and eggs in a bowl and beat until thick.
4. Gradually pour in oil, water, lemon zest and mix.
5. Pour the cake mixture into the cake tin and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
6. Place lemon juice and extra sugar in a saucepan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. (Make sure that you don't heat your mixture for too long or you'll end up with toffee that gets all stuck in your teeth!)
7. Pour the lemon syrup over your baked cake.