Becca Week: Saint Pancake

Hello readers,

I would like to wish you all a happy and blessed Saint Pancake <3

No, I haven't just lost my mind. Today is a very special day: it is Saint Pancake! 

Yaaaay Saint Pancake! :D

Ok, I admit, this isn't an 'official' holiday. But who doesn't want a holiday which is all about pancakes? I know I do! 

The first time I heard about Saint Pancake was when I was about 11. My godmother used to read these comic books called 'Jan, Jans en de kinderen' (Jack, Jackie and the kids), created by Jan Kruis. The comics contain funny stories about the family, the kids growing up, the father's job and more :) One special comic story, was about Saint Pancake. 

The story started with the grandfather preparing vegetables with one of the kids. The child didn't really feel like having the veggies, and so the grandfather sort of 'made up' the holiday Saint Pancake :) Which suppoingly 'originates' in Rotterdam, and is very 'traditionally' celebrated on November 29. When father comes home from a long day at work, everybody in the family puts a pancake on their head and wishes father a "happy and blessed Saint Pancake". 

Many thanks to Jan Kruis for creating this lovely Holiday :) 

Don't you just love this story and picture? :D And ever since, me and my family have also celebrated Saint Pancake! 

Pancakes come in many many MANY forms and flavours. There are regular pancakes, french crêpes, thick American pancakes, Russian blini's, Japanese okonomiyani's, you can eat them with fruits, chocolate, vegetables, bacon, honey, whipped cream, mushrooms, cheese, ham, maple syrup..!

I love maple syrup <3<3

Basic pancakes contain only four ingredients: butter, milk, flour and salt. That's it. You can add flavours to choice, like sugar, vanilla, almond. You can decide to change the flour (make it gluten free, be sure to add some baking powder then too). The variations are limitless! Did you know that the recipe for pancakes dates back to the year 5 BC? Incredible, right?! 

My most successfull recipe contains 500 ml of milk, 2 large eggs (or 3 small ones), 200 grams of flour, a pinch of salt, and the seeds of 1 vanilla bean. Mix, mix, mix, melt some butter in the frying pan, fry 2-3 minutes on both sides and voila. 

It's commonly said that the first pancake always fails. Truth or false? FALSE. The reason why the first pancake always fails, is because your frying pan isn't hot enough. Make sure that, when you turn the heat on, you won't pour in the first batch right away. Leave the frying pan for a minute to get hot. You'll know it's hot enough when the butter sizzles right away. Continue as instructed and you'll always have a perfect first pancake.

Bon appetit :)

Time to round up this post and eat my pancakes :) See you soon!

Love love love love,

Rebecca 

Becca Week: Afternoon/High Tea

Good evening my dear readers,

Imagine sitting in a yard, on a warm, spring day. You're drinking tea and your waitor places a gorgeously filled cake stand in front of you. It is time for one of the finest moments of the afternoon <3 

Tea... Tea... Tea please!!

Today I will take you back to last weekend, when I had a High Tea with my closest friend <3 In Holland, when we mention a High Tea, you can expect multiple courses: sandwiches, sweets, scones, savoury snacks, chocolates and more! Including unlimited tea :)

Chatting away, numerous goods are being placed on the cake stand, we start with the most british snack: scones with jam and cream.

Scones make me happy <3

Scones originate in Scotland, 1513 to be exact. The very word "scone" can be pronounced in two different kinds: 'scone' as in 'tone' (most common) and 'scone' as in 'gone'. It all depends on your class and region which way you pronounce it. I imagine in Scotland, they use the word that sounds like 'gone' :)

Fun fact: it is believed that the word 'scone' is based on a Dutch word :) which is 'schoonbrood' (clean/pure bread). This isn't confirmed though, some say it originates in Scotland too. I like to believe the first ;)

Egg, samon and carpaccio sandwiches are next! 

The trick for a successfull Afternoon Tea is to make all snacks finger-sized or bite-sized. The traditional Afternoon Tea is a very light meal that takes place between 15:00 and 17:00, which can easily be consumed before dinner. It's a very social gathering, which used to be for the upper class of Britain. The social part never went away (chatting chatting :)), but nowadays, an Afternoon Tea is for everybody!

Common flavours for Afternoon Tea sandwiches are: cucumber, egg, salmon and ham. When I create a High Tea with my mom, we also make sandwiches with chicken and bacon :) Try it out, it's very good!

On to the next round :) 

An Afternoon Tea traditionally contains only tea, scones and sandwiches. A High Tea is a whole other thing when it comes to food.

While an Afternoon Tea is being held in a more informal room, with comfy chairs and coffee tables.. The High tea is actually a savoury meal for the 'working class'. You can get a mug of tea with vegetables, meat, potatoes, which you eat by a dinner table. Your regular dinner you could say.

Nowadays the term is also used to continue the High Tea with savoury bites. These can differ per restaurant, country, region, but usually you can get sausage rolls, omelette or mini pies :)

Sweet tooth acting up.. <3<3

My favourite part is up last: sweets! <3 Cakes, pastries, cookies, cream puffs... Anything that is sweet, it can be used for the Afternoon/High Tea!

I like how you can play with the ingredients and flavours during this lovely event. A very important notice when preparing an Afternoon/High tea: the flavours of the food simply can't be predominating. Remember, it's all about the tea and combinations. You can adjust it to the region you're in, the season that's currently there (think black tea with cinnamon cake in autumn or jasmin tea with citrus pasties in spring). The sky is the limit! <3

Empty cake stand.. boo :(

As you can tell, last weekend's High Tea was very nice :) I do wish to visit the restaurant again, where I had the best High Tea I ever tasted.. We'll see what the future brings!

Tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen, is a very special day. Stay tuned for a detailed post about.. Pancakes ;)

See you tomorrow!

Love, Rebecca 

Becca Week: TBT #7

Hello readers! 

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you're celebrating it with your family and loved ones :) Today's TBT is a personal favourite TBT (number 7 already!), and very unlike thanksgiving. 

Sushi... Sushi everywhere.. :D

As I told you earlier this week, sushi is something I love very much. This is a picture of the second time I made sushi. This was through an online workshop by 24kitchen. Yes, an online workshop :) which meant I was cooking while watching my laptop. 

I received a shopping list a week before the workshop. I got all my things and put all my bowls and utensils set. Totally ready to follow the workshop! 

My favourite kind of sushi is the one with eel!

It was very easy to follow. Every kind of sushi (nigiri, maki, handrolls) was made online too and you could ask questions if things were unclear or if the instructions were going too fast or slow :) and I'm very pleased with the results. 

Handrolls are surprisingly good :)

I going to have sushi again this weekend <3 I love sushi, I love all Japanese food! Have you ever watched the YouTube channel Cooking with Dog? They produce amazing dishes, using traditional Japanese recipes and very Japanese preparation ways :) I love their channel, I will feature them in the future for sure.

Ok I'm hungry now :(

So, today's TBT was a savoury one! I do have quite a sweet tooth but I do like my savoury bites. Give me crisps any time! My favourite dutch savoury dish (winter dish) is "stamppot". Which is basically potatoes and vegetables mashed up. Add gravy and sausage and you've got "stamppot"! The food is mashed with this very special, very dutch device:

Mashmashmash! 

It needs a lot of muscle power :) but it's worth the while! 

Also today, I had a team session for work (lunch and snacks tasted very good ;)) and I've taken a lot of pictures. Time to look through them :) have a lovely thanksgiving people, see you soon! 

Love, Rebecca 

Becca Week: Sharing

Hello readers!

"Oh, you baked! Is it your birthday?"

Nope, I just love to bake :) 

The best thing about baking isn't eating your results. It's not even the results themselfs. It's sharing them with others <3 

Sharing is love <3

When I baked something, I always watch other people's faces/reactions. That is the joy in my hobby. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing lit up, bubbly, smiling faces when they've taken a bite from your bakes. 

I always share my bakes with my parents. I bring a lot of snacks to neighbours and friends. But quite often, I bring sweets to work. Last Monday, I brought some mini apple cinnamon muffins. 

Left overs! :)

I have to tell you, apple cinnamon (in any form) is an award winning flavour on the working floor. Everybody loves apple cinnamon, the mini muffins were gonna in a flash (I brought 12!). 

There is one challenge waiting for me though: baking something special (and savoury!) for my manager, who doesn't like sweets. Challenge accepted!! 

See you the next time readers <3

Love, Rebecca 

Becca week: Origins

Aloha readers!

Welcome to themed week #2: Becca's Week! 

Hello there! :D

I will take you with me for a whole week to tell baking stories, adventures, opinions and more :) I will share recipes, old favourites and tell more about me and my life.

Today's post is an origin post about yours truly: Becca. This is my mother's nickname for me :) and my favourite nickname! My closest friend calls me Bexx (coolest nickname ever) and other friends (and one of my managers) call me R. Not many people call me Rebecca actually, funny :) 

Mini me x3!

I have liked baking and cooking ever since I can remember. I remember helping my mom when she's cooking. When we visited my grandparents, I would help out my grandmother. My mom and grandma have these unique ways to present food, which I truly love. I remember my mom once telling that she made a tower of cream puffs. A tower..... Note to self: add to baking list. 

Just like everyone else, I started with the easy, 'only add milk and eggs' packets you can buy in the supermarket. This is the best way to start baking: practising with easy ingredients. After a few years of occasionally baking, I heard on tv that a new food channel would air. That's when things started to get worse :) 

This is a part of my collection of cooking books.. 

I bought cooking books, watched the new food channel 24/7. Tv shows are very motivating for me, I want to be able to bake the same things as the people on tv. Watching The Great British Bake Off on Wednesdays would make my hands twitch, because I usually only bake in the weekends, I had to wait such a long time! I wanted (still want to) be able to be as good as the people on TV. With my own twists! 

The reason I started this blog, is because I want to share my stories with the world and share my inspiration. I get my inspiration out of everything! Tv shows, cook books, stories, pictures, Internet of course but also walking outside :) but the most important thing with baking (cooking too) is: listening. Listen to what your surroundings love. Baking with love and seing loved ones enjoying the bakes is most rewarding <3

My name on a Nutella jar.. What more do you want? :)

Random facts about Rebecca:

- The first cupcake I baked was the Peche Melba cupcake :) 

- Chocolate used to make my face cringe.. Long time ago, I love it now! 

- I am a huge lover of sushi. 

- Other things I love to do besides baking are: photographing, listening to old records, reading and going to the cinema/watching movies. Especially the last one is something I love <3 

And thus, this post comes to an end. I hope you liked my 'origin' story :) I'll tell more about myself and my baking origins later this week. Lots to look forward to :D

I will end this story with a picture of a lot of peppernuts. Peppernuts are a traditional dutch snack, eaten around December 5th. More info about that later.. ;)

So many peppernuts! <3

See you soon readers!

Love, Rebecca

TBT #6: Boterkoek and dinners

Hello readers!

Welcome to TBT #6! :D

This looks like quite a good bite, doesn't it? Don't be mistaken, there is a ton of butter in this very jummy dessert.. 

This is the traditional dutch Boterkoek, which literally means 'butter cake'. It's a very full, creamy cake, every dutch person knows Boterkoek! The beautiful golden brown colour appears cause of a mixture of milk and egg yolks. Whenever you need to bake something with a crispy top: mix egg yolks and milk :)

Sorry for the radio silence. It's busy times at work and at home. End of the year celebrations, big meetings, team building, dinner meetings and I'm starting a study in December too :) busy, but I'm very excited! 

...... <3<3

Yesterday, my mom and I went to a 'new' (new to us) restaurant in the city, and BOY. The food was just... Omnomnom!! 

I had Lobster soup for the first course, which was my first time eating lobster. It's a very rich taste, I'd like to try fresh lobster sometime too :) For main, I had roasted duck. Duck is my favourite kind of meat, along with lamb <3 and last but not least: a mixed dessert plate. 

Mixed desserts: my favourite! <3

There is yoghurt ice cream, chocolate mousse and tiramisu. Nothing makes a girl more happy than a good chocolate mousse. Yoghurt ice cream is very delish but perfection hit the spot on the tiramisu. I've never had such light but creamy tiramisu with very little alcohol taste. Perfection!! <3 Definitely one of the best restaurants I've eaten with so far. 

More dining posts coming up in the next weeks, I counted 5 dinner meetings until Christmas.. Oh dear! Stay happy, healthy and bubbly readers. See you soon :) 

Love, Rebecca 

Autumn feelings

Hello readers,

Autumn is seriously knocking in here. In Holland it's been around 15 degrees Celsius for a couple of weeks (which is pretty rare in October/November), but next week it'll be colder, more storming and the weathermen even predicted snow.. Time for a classic, autumn-flavoured bake! :)

Autumn reminds me of coming home in a warm home, after walking through a rainy storm. Getting a mug of hot chocolate or tea and sit down with a blanket and watch a movie. Warm, comfy, trusted. There is only one baked good that comes to my mind with that description.

Caaaake!! <3

Yes, I'm talking about an apple-cinnamon (and crumble) cake! Nothing beats the smell of an apple-cinnamon cake in the oven <3 Don't you just love it when your whole house smells like apples and cinnamon? I know I do!

Lots of people buy a cake mix in the stores for an apple-crumble cake, because they believe it's hard to bake such a cake yourself. It really isn't! And the taste is a lot better and more natural too. All you gotta do, is bake a regular vanilla cake, and add apples and cinnamon. Add crumbles too if you like! Even the regular vanilla cake is one of the easiest bakes to master.

Here is a basic recipe I always use when baking a vanilla cake or an apple-cinnamon cake:

Vanilla cake
- 200 grams of butter
- 200 grams of sugar
- seeds of 1 vanilla pod
- a pint of salt
- 4 medium sized eggs
- 200 grams of self-raising flour

- a cake tin
- baking parchment
- a bit of butter

For the apple-cinnamon cake (text colour red), use the top recipe and add:
- 1 apple
- 3 tablespoons of cinnamon

Easy ingredients, easy instructions, here we go :)

Beautiful cake mixture you're about to make! 

Preheat the oven at 170 degrees Celsius. Butter the cake tin and put a piece of baking parchment in it. If you don't have baking parchment, use some flour. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod. Be sure to use the back of your knife, we don't want to leave seeds behind or to damage them!

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla seeds (make sure it looks pale). Add the eggs one by one. Make sure the added egg is well-mixed with the butter mixture before adding the next. Add all of them at once and you will get a big soggy mess that won't mix well. So one at the time!

Sift in the self-raising flour and salt and mix at high speed for 1 minute.

This part is for the apple-cinnamon bit :) apples and crumbles! 

Make sure you get a sturdy, bit of sourish apple. Sturdy is important, it needs to keep its form in the oven at 170 degrees! Cut it in tiny cubes and add to the cake mix. Add the cinnamon (add more or less to flavour, but I like my cinnamon, so three tablespoons is recommended :) ) and mix well. 

Good luck cake! Do your work! ... I'm talking to a cake, sorry. 

Put the mixture in the cake tin. For the apple-cinnamon cake, you can add a bit of crumble if you like. For this, mix 120 grams of flour, 120 grams of (brown) sugar, a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and knead it until crumbles form. You can also use a fork, but kneading it with your hands is a lot more fun :) Sprinkle over the cake. 

Place the cake tin in the oven and bake until golden brown (50-60 minutes). Test if the cake is ready by poking in a bamboo sewer. If it comes out clean, it's ready. Leave it to cool in the baking tin for 5 minutes, then remove and let it cool on a cake rack.

Lovely crumbles... :D

And there you've got yourself a delicious, moist (;)) cake with vanilla or apple-cinnamon. Adding whipped cream with apple bakes is always a big bonus. Try it out :)

A simple cake like this is always a big favourite on birthdays at work. I read somewhere that nowhere in the world people use the same work tradition as in Holland. Usually, when someone has his/her birthday at work, the colleagues treat him/her to cake.

In Holland it's very common for the birthday boy/girl to bring the cake for colleagues :) Funny, huh? I always bring my home-baked goods on my birthday (June 17th). They usually get eaten pretty fast.. :)

That's all for today! Have a lovely Sunday, where ever you are :) See you soon!

Happy weekend! *nomnomnom*

Love, Rebecca

VIP: Very Important Photoshoot (of the Cake Shop)

Hello readers!

I hope you're well. I haven't posted a lot the last days because I have been preparing for a very very very VERY special event: the photoshoot!

As you know, the photos of this photoshoot will feature in my company's newsletter. I was really so excited and prepared well. I picked my, what I call, signature bakes. They've featured before on this blog: Pêche Melba cupcakes and rainbow jelly.

Tadaaaa! 

I have to admit, the rainbow jelly turned out much better than the first time I made it. One color just flowing into the next. I'm very pleased with it!

Cupcakes are really my signature bake :) especially these Pêche Melba cupcakes. Pêche Melba is my favourite ice cream of all time, so baking this cupcake was not a hard decision to make. The icing turned out exceptionally well, very fluffy! The photographer liked it a lot :)

Cupcakes.. Omnomnom!

Preparing for the photoshoot, I already made the cupcakes, put the icing in a piping bag and the fruits in bowls for 'live' decoration. I finished the jelly and set my decoration ready to put on.

The photoshoot went very well. I did feel a little funny being photographed while working :) While being photographed, it's essential to move extra slowly. Which was perfect, because decorating slowly creates perfect bakes. Yay! <3

Fresh raspberries are so pretty <3

For the photoshoot, I picked up my old trusty Nikon D60. I have to admit, I truly and honestly missed this. I love photographing and I haven't used my camera in a while cause, like everybody else, I think taking pictures with my phone is a lot quicker. But the quality of the pictures I have taken during the shoot (yes I was photographed while I was photographing) is just beautiful. You can see for yourself, all pictures in this post are taken by my Nikon!

Rainbow jelly v2 :)

The article and pictures will feature in the company's newsletter in December. I will share it with you by the time it's there. I'm very curious :)

Speaking of December: it's only a couple of weeks left till Christmas! Amazing how time flies. 

I found a bunch of old photos on my camera, all of London in 2013. I will end this blogspot with one of my favourite museums in London. Little fanbased, but still! <3 Bye readers!

"If you eliminate the impossible, what ever remains, however improbable, it must be true."

Love, Rebecca

Birthday cupcakes (gluten free)

Hello readers,

Previously, I told you about my trials for gluten free cupcakes. It was very fun to try out (I WENT ON AN ADVENTURE :D)! Finally, the time has come for the full report.

Chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing for Floor! 

A few weeks ago, a good friend of my mom asked me if I could bake cupcakes for the birthday of her daughter (Floor). Sure, it's always fun to bake birthday cupcakes :) one condition: they have to be gluten free.

... And thus began my adventure in the gluten free baking world. I had never ever baked gluten free before. I know gluten is in the most common things, so I did some research work and did my trials last weekend.

More birthday cupcakes.. :D

Last Monday, I brought two gluten free cupcakes to work, to let my colleagues try. They couldn't even tell they were gluten free! Mission accomplished, the real deal started last Friday.

The things a baker needs to keep in mind when baking gluten free is to make the baked good fluffy/blubbly/airy, binding and moist. Not an easy job when gluten free ingredients contain neither of the previous aspects. You simply can't take a recipe for regular cupcakes and replace the flour with gluten free flour. You'll have to change the way you prepare cupcakes to create a good tasting gluten free cupcake.

As it is hard to find a good recipe for gluten free cupcakes, I will share mine with you! This is for approx. 12 cupcakes:

4 large eggs
150 gr sugar
125 gr softened butter (double check for gluten!)
a pinch of salt
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod
1 tablespoon of gluten free baking powder
150 grams of gluten free flour (choose flour of choice, I used Schaer Mix C, Kuchen & Kekse)
1-1,5 tablespoon of jam (choose flavour of choice, I used strawberry)

12 cupcake cups
cupcake tray

mixmixmixmixmix

Start off by turning on your oven: 175 degrees celsius, fan. Separating your eggs and remove the seeds of the vanilla pod. Mix the egg yolks, butter, salt, 100 grams of sugar and the vanilla seeds until you get a pale mixture.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the egg-butter mixture and blend.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining amount of sugar (50 grams) and beat again until stiff peaks form. Best way to test if your egg whites are stiff enough is to turn the bowl upside down over your head :D

Perfect silky egg whites <3

In four turns, fold the egg whites into the mixture until you get a smooth batter. Fill the cupcake cups for 75-80% and place the cupcake tray in the middle of the oven. Bake until golden brown (approx. 20 minutes).

You can test if the cupcakes are ready by poking the top of the cupcake. If the cupcake bounces back flexibly, they're done! You can also test it by taking a bamboo skewer and pierce the cupcake. If the skewer comes out clean, they're ready :-)

Look how shiny the chocolate batter is! 

I also made chocolate cupcakes! Use the ingredients I mentioned before, but replace 50 grams of the flour by 50 grams of cocoa. Sift in with the flour and follow the rest of the recipe :-)

And that's how you get gluten free cupcakes that taste like regular cupcakes. Using eggs whites to bake cupcakes is the best way to bake fluffy, light cupcakes. Adding jam to the mixture makes them extra moist. I personally think you shouldn't add less than a tablespoon, but likely more. A good, full tablespoon is the perfect amount. And the vanilla seeds add more flavour to the 'flavourless' gluten free bakings.

Close up on the vanilla cupcakes with orange icing :)

I added a regular butter cream (replaces the flour with corn starch) in vanilla and orange flavored to the cupcakes, decorated with bright colours (as Floor requested) and added some sugared soccer balls, as football is one of her favourite things to do :-)

You might have noticed the flags in the cupcakes too. I made these myself, with some inspiration of Pinterest :-)

Tutorial to make cute mini-flags! 

Aren't the flags cute? And very easy to make! You don't need special or specific equipment, just some scissors, toothpicks and washi tape. Cut off a piece of washi tape, press the toothpick down in the middle so it sticks to the tape. Roll over, stick together and cut off the access bits. Tada, you've got yourself a homemade, supercute mini-flag :D

So, today I had to deliver the cupcakes so I packed them in several boxes, keeping a constant eye on the boxes to see if the cupcakes were still alright. I delivered the cupcakes and received a lovely thank you gift from Floor herself <3

<3<3

Beautiful roses, my favourite flowers (I almost typed flours there, lol)! <3 Thank you so much for this lovely order, I had so much fun trying out gluten free baking and got to know a lot more about food shopping, ingredients and the types of food that contain (and don't contain) gluten!

Time for the next big event: on Wednesday I will have a baking photoshoot! I will star two or three different desserts. Definitely cupcakes! So excited, can't wait!

See you soon readers!!!! :D

Love, Rebecca

Running and.. Throwback Wednesday?

Hello readers!

When I logged into facebook this morning, I got a memory reminder. 

Strawberry jelly :D

I can't believe it's been three years since I made this dessert! It's only a simple jelly but looks beautiful in the wine glass. I love putting simple desserts in a different presentation form. It does remind me of a glass of wine :) (and I'm too impatient for throwback thursday lol)

The recipe is very simple. Take three gelatin sheets, put them in cold water for a minute. Take them out, don't squeeze them! Place the gelatin sheets in a small pot on the stove and turn in the heat. Stir well until the gelatin has dissolved with the water. Mix this gelatin water with 500 ml of strawberry juice or raspberry juice (use any juice you like!). Add at least 250 grams of (frozen) berries. Wait for 10 minutes and stir a bit. Add to a glass/bowl of your choice and refrigerate for 3 hours. Add some whipped cream and mint for decoration and voila! Easy, everybody can make this dessert :)  

Libby likes my new shoes I think..

In other news, I have started running. I don't run very far yet (I die somewhere in the middle), but it's weirdly motivating. Running longer distances in shorter periods of time every day is amazing! My legs are killing me though.... It'll get better, I'm working on it! :) Do you have any tips on nutricious snacks after running? A banana helps out great now, but maybe there's other stuff?

That's it for now, bexx over and out! :)

Love, Rebecca 

Happy (gluten free) Halloween!

Hello readers!

I'm sorry for the lack of posts in these special days! I do hope you had a lovely Halloween. Got a lot of candy? Went trick-or-treating? Partying? :)

The last time I told you about the busy times in the Cake Shop. As we speak, I am trying to bake gluten free cupcakes. I have to admit, I thought I had seen and done a lot in baking. None of that matters when you're baking gluten free.

Gluten free logo!

Gluten are in the most common things, like bread, crackers, anything with wheat or rye, but also a lot of candy! I always thought: oh it must be so hard for kids, that they can't eat normal things. But the thing is: lots of kids with gluten allergies are used to the gluten free food.

When I was a lot younger, a boy used to come over to play and he had a gluten allergy. I remember tasting a piece of bread he ate and I couldn't swallow it. It was so dry! But he loved it. The girl I'm baking the cupcakes for now, has had a gluten allergy since she was four years old.

Flour and cornstarch :)

Gluten free products are surprisingly easy to find in supermarkets these days. You can search for the  grane icon on products to find out if there's gluten in the product :) in Holland, supermarkets like Albert Heijn or stores like Hema have their own shelves with gluten free products. I can still remember the times where people had no idea what a gluten allergy was. I read that now 1% of all western people have a gluten allergy. Can you imagine how many people that is?

In the baking world, gluten are EVERYWHERE. Take your everyday flour for example. Can't use it. Baking powder? Can't use it. Yeast? Nope. Colouring? Not safe. Butter? Check it on the packet! But not being able to use those ingredients.. Is it hard to bake? NO. Because, there is special gluten free baking ingredients!

Mixing flour and baking powder.. Funny looking huh!

The consistency of these products is very different from regular baking ingredients. The baking powder for example has the consistency of salt. Weird, don't you agree? Flour usually doesn't have a strong smell. This kind of flour does.

As a baker, I believe that you should always taste the batter before you pop it into the oven or fridge or likewise. Tried the gluten free batter, and the first thing that popped into my mind was: this is so powdery and dry! The trick with gluten free baking is: make it airy and moist. Add a tablespoon of jam or chocolate paste. Separate your eggs so you can create the ultimate light, bubbly and airy batter. Also, fruits are natural sweeting ingredients. Also moist, if you use strawberries or bananas!

Trial 1.. going into the oven now :)

Back to work now, the gluten free baking continues :)  I wish you all a happy Sunday and also.. Happy belated Halloween to all of you!! <3

AAAHH MUMMY CUPCAKES!! :D

Love, Rebecca