Gorgeous Gluten Free Yorkshire Puddings (Lactose Free Option)

Missing a decent Yorkshire pudding in your life?

Eating gluten free can often mean missing out on your favourite treats, or putting up with second rate substitutes that aren't a patch on the real thing.

As a parent who loves cooking, and has a child with coeliac disease who doesn't have a choice about eating gluten, I'm determined to make sure she can enjoy the same foods, and better where possible - and to share the recipes for anyone else who wants to make tasty gluten free food! 

Bacon Wrapped Herbed Sausagemeat Stuffing Roll (can be gluten free)

A moist and delicious way to have your stuffing with roast dinners, with a tasty bacon wrapping.

This is really delicious served with roast dinners such as roast chicken, turkey, guinea fowl or pork Even better, to make life easy, you can even prepare this a day or two in advance so you have less to do on the day! I started making stuffing in a roll like this (too many) years ago, and it was so successful I've carried on, and thought I'd blog it now for posterity (and everyone else to enjoy)!

I do like a bit of stuffing, and/or a couple of 'pigs in blankets' with roast poultry or pork, but I must confess that sometimes my pigs in blankets might get a little too cosy in the oven (I get easily distracted and sometimes they are a little charred if I forget about them for ten minutes)! Wrapping the sausagemeat stuffing in bacon and cooking it this way means that you get all the flavours of pigs in blankets, and stuffing, and you don't need to worry so much about them in the oven, as it's more forgiving and turns out nice and moist inside.

Luxury Sherry Trifle with Fresh Raspberries (with Thermomix instructions)

A traditional-based sherry trifle perfect for special occasions - you can leave out the sherry if you want the kids to have some too!

In our family, it has become traditional to make a sherry trifle over the festive period. I have given you the option whether you wish to make this trifle with or without  jelly - I like to make mine without, with plenty of fresh raspberries lightly crushed and crammed into the middle to counteract the sweetness of the sherry-soaked sponge and the custard.

Custard wise, if you own a Thermomix, I've put instructions for making your own custard at the bottom; if not a 500ml tub of good quality thick custard is perfect for the job (or of course, you could make up 500ml of instant custard if you prefer a more set texture).

This should serve around ten people, or a few more if the portions aren't too large!

Luxury Fruit Christmas Cake (includes Thermomix method)

A rich and decadent traditional style Christmas cake, packed with fruit

For me, this is best prepared by around mid-November, so you can give it a few 'feeds' of brandy before Christmas. This makes one large cake, which is great if you have a family who really love it and will get through it (although it will keep for up to a year!) - or if you don't want lots of leftovers, you can cook it in a large square tin (which is what I generally prefer to do), then just before you're ready to ice it, cut into four smaller square cakes and give three away!

Yes, there is a 'little' missing from the top left square of the cake in the bottom middle photo...

As far as the mixed fruit goes, you can play about with the dried fruit types and quantities I've given you in the ingredients. If you don't like something, then substitute it for something you do like, the same weight - chopped dried apricots or dates, dried cherries, blueberries, pineapple - whatever you fancy. Play around with the weights of different things if you want too, just try and keep the overall weight the same (1kg dried fruit including glace cherries). If you don't have bags of assorted dried fruits permanently hanging around your kitchen cupboards like I seem to have, then for convenience you could just buy an 800g pack of dried mixed fruit of your choice (preferably including peel if you like it) and a 200g tub of glace cherries (or buy a 1kg mix including glace cherries) and mix with the liquid ingredients. Easy peasy!

Cranberry Sauce with Port and Orange (includes Thermomix instructions)

Delicious served as a condiment with a roast turkey dinner, on the side of cold meats, or in a baguette with soft brie, and maybe even a little bacon, or with turkey, ham and stuffing!

Cranberry sauce isn't just for Christmas, so why not make more of this deliciously tart and tangy sauce! This luxury version is enhanced by the flavours of port, orange and a hint of star anise, and as well as the traditional foil for a rich turkey dinner, it is the perfect partner to rich and creamy French cheeses and cold meats.

This yields about 1.1 to 1.2 litres of sauce, and it will keep unopened in the fridge for many months (mine usually happily lasts up to a year, or more!) if sealed in sterilised jars, as well as keeping a good few weeks after being opened. Makes a lovely gift, too. Around 50 calories per tablespoon.

Cauliflower Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower and a Parmesan Crust

When it's good, it's very, very good...

If you're passionate about cauliflower, you'll find that tossing it in oil then roasting it intensifies and transforms the taste, giving a deep, nutty,  flavour. You could eat it on it's own like this, with a sprinkling of sea salt, or use it in other dishes, such as this cauliflower cheese dish. I think it's perfect for cauliflower cheese, because it means you avoid two heinous crimes against said dish, being either a watery sauce leaching out from soggy cauliflower (from the juices leaking out) or a stodgy lump you can pick up on your fork, from the dish cooking too long and all liquids evaporating. Yes, you know what I'm talking about! (Don't mention this to Grandma).

I have given you two versions, naughty and nice - one for the sinful amongst you, made with a traditional Béchamel and plenty of cheese, the other equally tasty, but with a lighter gluten-free version of a Béchamel sauce, both topped with a Parmesan cheese crumb. How much, if any, of the Parmesan crumb you choose to sprinkle on is up to you - you may just decide you prefer to have grated cheese on top. Or nothing extra. What you will get, though, is delicious cauliflower in a silky sauce. If you want to make it a little more punchy, add a spoonful of Dijon or English mustard to the sauce, and if you haven't got time to infuse the milk with the onion, you could cheat and add a little onion powder / granules instead.