When my six-month-old son, Angus, was diagnosed with a dairy allergy, my heart sank. I feared the years ahead of us would be filled with separate meals and denial. Two years later, my second son Robin was born with an intolerance to gluten and I began to think differently. Of course I was sad that my children weren’t going to partake in ‘normal’ kids’ activities, such as coming home from parties splattered in birthday cake, but I was determined that they would miss out on as little as possible – so I took on the culinary challenge with a degree of ferocity.
After years of my experiments with different ingredients, my sons have finally settled to fairly normal diets. And I have discovered a new way of cooking: by blending ingredients such as gluten- and wheat-free flours with everyday ingredients such as ground rice, ground almonds and cornflour, with egg to bind,
it’s possible to produce crisp pastry, biscuits and light cakes and bread.
Oats, rye and barley are also useful in wheat-free cooking as they contain binding proteins similar to the gluten present in wheat.
This Easter, I am adamant that any abstinence in our house will not extend past Lent. I plan to make a wonderful spring lamb pie, topped with a crisp, rice and potato pastry, which is both wheat- and gluten-free. I will also be using my tried-and-tested, wheat- and gluten-free sponge mixture to make some dainty lemon cup cakes, which the kids can help me ice and decorate with pretty pastel sugar flowers and mini eggs – no need to miss out on the splattered-with-icing fun of childhood after all. For a more grown-up treat, my Tuscan ricciarelli biscuits are also completely free of wheat and gluten – just check the baking powder you use is gluten-free.
In the course of my Easter baking, I have also come up with a light recipe for wheat-free hot cross buns, as well as a rich chocolate and prune bread. Both are sure to be enjoyed by anyone – whether they have an intolerance or not. In fact, I think all these recipes can rival or even surpass their wheat-rich counterparts in taste and texture. I hope you enjoy them too.
'How To Cook For Food Allergies' by Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne is published by Pan Macmillan at £16.99. For more information, visit lucindabrucegardyne.com.