Lemon and Lime Cheesecake

Hello food lovers!

This last week or so I have been experimenting with the delights of citrus cheesecake, Oh yes, I'm on a BIG cheesecake kick, folks! You see before I was diagnosed with coeliac disease, I could quite happily munch my way through an entire chocolate cheesecake in 2-3 days. And I was only a size 8-10...ahh the joys of youth.

Anyway, because of our shared history, cheesecake and I are very firm friends and I know how hard it can be to get hold of a gluten free cheesecake (especially if you don't want it to also be dairy free). And because not everyone is a fan of chocolate...although I don't know WHO these people are?!?...I decided to test out a lemon and lime cheesecake.

Now, I'll be honest. The first attempt was an unmitigated diaster. Such is life! Of course, in this case it was a silly rookie mistake of leaving out all the sugar. Oops! Anyone who is a big fan of the zingy tang of citrus fruits knows you need sugar to help carry flavour, as well as to combat the sourness. So...imagine for a moment a cheesecake with NO sugar, and a LOT of lemon and lime zest. Ohhh I promise you, it was baaaaaad. Actually, bad isn't quite enough to describe just how rotten it tasted. I was a tad upset. Not quite hissy-fit levels, but I did feel a bit like growling like a rabid dog.

Fast forward a few days and with the previous cheesecake-tastrophy a thing of the past, I decided to have another bash. This time, I decided to incoporate a few ginger biscuits into the base, I DID remember the sugar (go me!), and I used the juice of one lime and half a lemon. I also swirled some lime curd through the mix once it was in the tin. And how did it turn out?

It was loovvvely! Well, I'll admit I actually don't really like citrus flavours at all, but the ginger biscuits complemented the zingyness (zingyness??) beautifully, and this time it had BAGS of flavour in it. I'm very pleased with how it worked out. My wonderful husband has taken it into work today, so I shall see how it gets on with his colleagues, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

As for lessons learned from this cheesecake, the severe cracking in it that you can see on the picture below is the result of using cold cream cheese and cold lime curd before putting it into a hot oven. So next time, so I am reliably informed, the key is to let my ingredients come up to room temperature (as you should always do with a sponge cake) first, and also keep a bowl of water in the bottom of the oven while it bakes. In theory, that should reduce or eliminate the cracking altogether.

See? Stuff like this is why I should have paid more attention in science class!

So, that's two awesome cheesecakes down. Whatever next!? Banoffee cupcakes? Cookies? I guess we'll see where the oven takes me next week. Stay tuned!

Recipe - Best American-Style Banana Pancakes

In an earlier post, I promised I'd try to give you recipes, and because tomorrow is (apparently) known as 'Blue Monday', I thought now would be the perfect time to introduce you to some of the best (and healthiest) pancakes you can eat. I hope you'll think they're some of the best, anyway!

So, this recipe is based originally on a recipe for drop scones by Mr Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. In his version, the mixture was quite thin and he sliced bananas on the top, which is a lovely idea, but sometimes you want something more substantial, more decadent, for breakfast. So, if you're feeling the blues on Blue Monday, let these pancakes lift your spirits for the week ahead.

125g gluten free self-raising flour
2 large eggs
100ml semi-skimmed milk
3 bananas
25g unsalted butter

To make the pancake batter, mix together in a large bowl the flour, eggs and milk. Melt the butter (ESSENTIAL - do NOT put it in cold. I did this once and it was disgusting!) and pour it into the batter slowly, mixing all the time. You'll know if you do it too fast because it'll curdle and then, no pancakes for you!

Now for the bananas. Ripe bananas are best but it's entirely your call. If you're using a handwhisk, mash the bananas first, then add and mix. If you're using a standing mixer, just break off chunks of banana and chuck in while the mixer is on. It'll mash the banana into the mix with minimal effort from you, and you get small but gooey and delicious chunks in the mix. Yum!

When you cook them, DON'T over heat the pan!! You have been warned! We have a gas hob, so I put it on the second-from-lowest setting. The key here is to make sure the pan is properly pre-heated and, if using a non-stick pan, definitely don't grease it. You want a dry pan for this. When the pan is up to temperature, pour a small amount of the batter in using a ladel and spread a little with the back of the ladel. When teeny bubbles appear around the edges, you can turn it. I'd strongly recommend a fish slice for this, not flipping it like a British pancake. I did try to flip it once...I got splatted by the wet mixture on the top. Don't do it!

Keep a warm plate in the oven, and add each pancake to the plate as you go.

Once you've finished, top with a generous helping of golden syrup, Nutella, natural yoghurt or, for a special treat, a good-quality ice cream (salted caramel would work excellently).

Enjoy your Blue Monday!

Chocolate Caramel Swirl Cheesecake

One of the great pleasures in life is taking a recipe and experimenting with it to make it your own. If you're a keen baker, you'll know exactly what this is about. You find a recipe that sounds kind of interesting. Then your brain gets a little over-excited and before you know it, you're taking some things out and then throwing in other things and hoping you'll have created the 'next taste sensation'.

Unfortunately, sometimes the results of these experiments are, oh what's the word? Oh yes, disgusting!! In truth, it's kind of like Edison at the lightbulb; you find several ways NOT to make a cake.

This week, I've been experimenting with cheesecake, and I've learned quite a lot.

Lesson no.1: Read the template recipe properly!!! On my first attempt I'd intended to use half the sugar and use golden instead of white. Then I forgot to put the sugar in altogether. Oops. Once the cheesecake was cooked, I took it out of the oven to cool and realised 40 minutes later that the template recipe had said 'turn off the oven and leave cheesecake in to cool'.

Lesson no.2: If you're going to make a baked cheesecake, and the cream cheese you use is quite 'loose' then you need extra binding agent. On my second attempt I used just mascarpone, which is a very loose cheese. When I tried to slice it up, it began falling apart completely! Disaster!! After consulting a cheesecake-expert, I learned I should have included 3-5 eggs, rather than the 2 the template recipe stated because it will work to bind the mixture together. Aha!

Lesson no.3: Offering people free tasters of cheesecake is one of the fastest ways to make friends. It's true!

Lessons learned, I'm now adding this chocolate caramel swirl cheesecake to my product listing, and it will be available for purchase! Whoop whoop! 

Introducing The Buttercup Bakery!

Hello and welcome to The Buttercup Bakery!

My name is Vikki Cook and I've recently (today, in fact) started this business because baking is something I really love. But also, over the years I've often struggled to find great-tasting, interesting baked goods that are also gluten free, but didn't have bizarre ingredients in them. Hydroxymethylcellulose anyone?! Mmm...tasty!

I was diagnosed with coeliac disease at 18 (just over 10 years ago. Any jokes about nearing 30 WILL earn a slap!) . My Dad had been diagnosed around 3 years earlier, so I'd had an idea of what to expect and had done a little gluen-free baking already, but boy, did I SULK!! Cheesecakes! Brownies! Double chocolate chip muffins! Every time I thought about a delicious treat I couldn't eat any more, it was like being punched in the stomach. And let me tell you, the alternatives in shops back then were awful. Bread was a weapon of mass destruction and you could build walls with the biscuits!

But then it dawned on me - if I couldn't buy my favourite baked goods any more, why not make them myself? Since then there have been a few disasters. Well, lots, actually. Rock-solid chocolate ganache, collapsed cakes, choux pastry that looked (and somehow smelled?!) like cheesey mashed potato. In spite of that, my passion for baking has only grown.

After being diagnosed with M.E almost 3 years ago now, I had a really hard time, and in November 2013, I left my job. Afterwards, I decided to take a chance and try to turn my passion into a business. The Buttercup Bakery was born! Eventually, it would be great to sell my cakes at food fairs, markets, coffee shops, and maybe even one day have a proper bakery of my own (as opposed to my own kitchen!) but for now I'll bake a new thing every week and post pictures of it, alongside a post about it. I'll also give you hints and tips to help you improve your own baking, and from time to time, keep your eyes peeled for an exclusive home-spun recipe to try yourself.

So join me, won't you? Let's bake!