Clean Cakes by Henrietta Inman Photograph By Lisa Linder
Clean Cakes is an intriguing book full of original recipes for those embracing a gluten and dairy free diet or trying to reduce refined sugar and still enjoy delicious cakes. Stuffed with seventy five fabulous recipes from courgette, basil, lime and pistachio cake to Blueberry Lemon Mousse Cake this is certainly inventive and innovative.
The opening chapters are a beginners guide to ingredients, alternatives to dairy, sugar and gluten. A section on flavour enhancers from spices to maca powder and nuts. A how to section to making your own nut butters, nut milks, gluten free sweet pastry, jams, jellies and purees all a foundation for your culinary ‘free from’ adventure.
Cauliflower Chickpea Curry Cakes photograph by Lisa Linder
Whilst Clean Cakes offers show stopping sweet bakes with fabulous creamy frostings it also includes more everyday recipes such as Sour Cherry And macadamia Butterscotch Blondies and Waste Not Want Not Multi Seed Quinoa Bread. This cook book will take you from breakfast to dinner after you’ve stocked your Clean Cakes larder, which there is help with too.
Salted Tahini Shortbread Biscuit Bars photograph by Glamorous Glutton
I often make my own nut butters and opted to make Salted Tahini Shortbread Biscuit Bars With Yogurt-Coated Walnuts And Figs, which includes cashew nut butter. The ‘white chocolate yogurt’ is a clever mix of dairy free ingredients that once poured over the baked shortbread-like base, solidifies in the same way as chocolate to give a sweet coating. The instructions were easy to follow and the ingredients available either from my local supermarket or health food shop in the case of the coconut sugar.
I was very impressed with the variety of recipes but if you’re making just a one off the ingredients can be a bit expensive. This is the perfect cook book for those embarking on a gluten or dairy free journey with hints on vegan alternatives too. Once you’ve set up your larder and absorbed the intro pages, your journey into delicious delights will be a breeze.
Recipe and images extracted from Clean Cakes by Henrietta Inman, photography by Lisa Linder. Published by Jacqui Small (£20).
- Cauliflower chickpea cakes
- 1 small red chilli
- 8 spring onions (scallions)
- 2 large tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 20 g (¾ oz/3 tbsp) fresh turmeric,
- roughly chopped
- 20 g (¾ oz/3 tbsp) fresh ginger, roughly
- chopped
- ½ large cauliflower, florets only
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or EVCP rapeseed oil
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 300 g (10½ oz/2 cups) cooked chickpeas
- 150 ml (5 fl oz/scant ⅔ cup) coconut
- milk, plus more if necessary
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
- 20 g (¾ oz/scant ½ cup) coriander
- (cilantro), roughly chopped
- 75 g (2¾ oz/⅔ cup) gram flour
- 25 g (¾ oz/scant ¼ cup) milled flax
- seeds
- Salt and black pepper
- Lime and mint raita
- 250 g (8¾ oz/1 cup) natural coconut
- yogurt
- 200 g (7 oz) cucumber
- Generous handful finely chopped mint
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 4 tsp lime juice
- Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
- Himalayan pink salt or coarse sea salt
- Black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 and line a large baking tray with
- baking parchment.
- Finely chop the chilli and spring onions (scallions) and cube the tomatoes.
- Using a pestle and mortar, grind the garlic, turmeric and ginger to form a rough paste.
- Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until small pieces form resembling
- breadcrumbs. You need 350 g (12¼ oz) in total.
- In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil then add the ground turmeric,
- mustard and fenugreek seeds.
- After a few minutes, add the chopped chilli, onion and tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes or until beginning to colour.
- Add the garlic paste and continue to cook.
- When everything has softened and is coloured, add the cauliflower and chickpeas, stirring to coat. Add the coconut milk, lime zest and juice.
- Heat until the coconut milk just begins to boil and then lower the heat and add the coriander (cilantro), gram flour, milled flax seeds and seasoning.
- Stir everything to combine on a low heat for a further 5 minutes. If it looks a bit dry, add a little more coconut milk.
- Remove from the heat, leave to cool slightly and check for seasoning.
- To make the raita, put the yogurt into a medium-size bowl.
- Peel and grate the cucumber, you should get about 160 g (5½ oz) grated weight, and add to the
- yogurt.
- Add all the other ingredients, stir and season to taste, adding extra chopped mint and lime if you want.
- Make the cauliflower chickpea mix into 18 small cakes in your hands.
- The mix will feel a little wet but that’s normal.
- Put the cakes onto the lined baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove the tray from the oven, turn each cake over and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- The outer chickpeas become slightly crunchy while the inside stays perfectly soft.
- Serve warm with the raita.
- The cakes and the raita will keep for five days in a sealed container in the fridge.
Looks like an interesting book- like sound of these cauliflower fritters
The cauliflower fritters are wonderful. GG
It looks like a really great cookbook! Wish I could grab one of those sesame paste shortbread bars!
The recipes are really inventive, clever ingredients. GG
What a wonderful book! Definitely a great resource for gf and df folks. I could prolly use one! And those cauliflower cakes…they look delicious! I love cauliflower but get stuck with what to do with it. This is a great idea.
You’re right it is a great cauliflower recipe. This book is so full of interesting recipes. GG
Sounds like a book I need to own, right up my alley. The Salted Tahini Shortbread Biscuit Bars sound wonderful.
I will absolutely be giving the cauliflower chickpea cakes a go too. Yum!
I was really impressed with the original recipes and new ingredients. GG
Those chickpea cakes sound mazing and that book looks like a blooming good read GG!
Give the cauliflower cakes a go, I’m sure you’ll love them. GG
This book sounds like it would be a good addition to my bookshelf, as the recipes sound interesting. But I do bulk at the name. Hate this trend for referring to certain foods as ‘clean’ implying that everything else is dirty!
I know what you mean by the ‘Clean’ tag. Perhaps I should have mentioned that in my review. GG
Those cauliflower chickpea cakes look fab as do those biscuit bites. Yum!
Both of these a fab recipes and just the tip of the ice burg of what is available in the book. GG
I saw a copy of it the other day and the recipes all lookked sooooooo good.
They are Bintu, really gooood. GG
The photos are beautiful, especially the one on the cover. I will have to look out for this book.
The photos are fab aren’t they. The recipes are right up your street. GG
I’m not keen on the term “clean eating” but the it doesn look delicious. Lovely photos.
I agree about the ‘clean’ tag. I’m not sure we should demonise any food but apart from that the book is fab. GG
This looks like such a beautiful book. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
That slice does look very good! And that first image is so gorgeous 😀