Learn by Harts : Free-From Baking
Harts Kitchen
Learn by Harts : Free-From Baking
The Taste of Honey
Honeybuns bakery ’ s Emma Goss-Custard shows us a gluten-free cake that ’ s strictly for the grown ups
“ E
mma Goss-Custard started Honeybuns in 1998 whilst a student at Oxford , trying to make some extra money ”, explains Lily Whitmarsh from the acclaimed Dorset bakery . “ She would make cakes in her shared digs using recipes handed down from her grandmother and deliver them to local businesses on an old post office bike .
“ Since then Honeybuns has relocated to a dairy farm in rural Dorset and the team is now 32 strong . They supply their award-winning glutenfree cakes to cafés , shops and online customers across the UK and beyond . The small team of bakers make everything by hand using innovative and naturally free-from ingredients . Emma ’ s focus is on flavour , texture and attention to detail . First and foremost these are delicious tasting cakes ; the fact that they ’ re free-from is an added bonus .
“ Emma and her husband Matt still own and run Honeybuns on the founding principles of quality , kindness and sustainability . The five acres surrounding the bakery is run as a nature reserve , with a collection of rescue animals , and they offer gluten-free glamping .
“ 2018 looks set to be an exciting year for Honeybuns . Not only are they celebrating their 20th birthday but they are also publishing their second book , Honeybuns All Day Cook Book , featuring sweet and savoury recipes .”
Coffee , whiskey and hazelnut cake Ingredients
500g / 1lb 2 oz / 2¼ cups butter , melted , plus extra for brushing 100g / 3½ oz tapioca flour , plus extra for dusting 8 eggs 450g / 1lb / 2¼ cups light brown sugar 200g / 7oz sorghum flour 100g / 3½ oz / 1 cup cornflour ( cornstarch ) 4 tsp gluten-free baking powder 200g / 7oz / 1½ cups hazelnuts , toasted and chopped 150g / 5½ oz / generous 1 cup hazelnuts , toasted and ground 2 tbsp espresso coffee granules Chocolate-covered coffee beans , to decorate
Coffee drench
1½ tbsp espresso coffee granules 1½ tbsp granulated sugar 1½ tbsp Irish whiskey 150ml / 5fl oz / 2 ⁄ 3 cup boiling water
Coffee liqueur icing
900g / 2lb / 7½ cups icing ( confectioners ’) sugar 5 tbsp Irish cream liqueur 300g / 10½ oz / 1¼ cups butter , melted 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 – 2 tbsp whole milk ( if required )
Method This is a grown-up party piece . It is a massive beast of a cake – you will need a very large mixing bowl and / or a large food processor .
1 . Preheat the oven to 180 ° C / 350 ° F / Gas 4 . Brush 3 x 20 cm / 8 in shallow cake tins with melted butter and dust with tapioca flour . Put all of the cake ingredients and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer at high speed for 2 – 3 minutes , until thick and creamy . Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula . Divide the mixture between the 3 tins and bake for 30 – 35 minutes , until firm and springy to the touch . 2 . Meanwhile , prepare the coffee drench . Mix the coffee , sugar and whiskey in a jug , add the boiling water and stir until the sugar dissolves . You need to slice the rounded top off 1 of the cakes – a quarter to a fifth of its depth . Keep this slice of cake to use for the crumb decoration . 3 . While the 3 cakes are still warm , pierce them all over with a skewer . Pour roughly equal amounts of the hot coffee drench over each of the cakes . Leave in the tins to cool . Turn out onto a rack covered in baking parchment . You will now be looking at their flat bottoms . Blitz the reserved slice of cake in a food processor to a breadcrumb-like consistency . 4 . To make the coffee liqueur icing , sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the liqueur , melted butter and vanilla . Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and spreadable . It mustn ’ t be sloppy , but it should be easy to apply . If necessary , add milk or more liqueur , a tablespoon or so at a time , to loosen the icing . 5 . Spread each sponge with the icing , and then layer them up with the thinner cake ( from which you removed a slice ) in the middle . Spread icing over the sides and top of the cake . Spread the cake crumbs on a clean surface and roll your cake in the crumbs . Decorate with chocolate-coated coffee beans .
The featured recipe is from the Honeybuns Gluten-Free Baking cookbook by Emma Goss-Custard , published by Pavilion Books . Image credit : Cristian Barnett .
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