20 Minute Cheese Cake

Ingredients

Base

• 180 g GF biscuits (Arnott's Rice cookies or similar)
• 90 g butter

Filling

• 250 g cream cheese
• 400 g sweetened condensed milk
• ¹⁄3 cup fresh lemon juice (never juice green lemons as filling won't set)
• 1 tsp gelatine

Topping

• 100 ml dollop cream
• 1 Flake chocolate bar 

Method

Base

1. Crumble biscuits
2. Melt butter
3. Combine melted butter and crumbed biscuits, mix well
4. Press biscuit mixture into a 23 cm pie plate to form a shell
5. Chill in fridge

Filling

1. Beat cream cheese until soft
2. Gradually beat in condensed milk
3. Add lemon juice and mix well
4. Dissolve gelatine in 1 tbsp hot water
5. Fold through filling
6. Pour filling into chilled shell
7. Place back in fridge and chill before serving

Topping

Just before serving:

1. Spread dollop cream evenly over filling
2. Crumble and sprinkle Flake over cream

Christmas Cake

Ingredients:

• 850g dried mixed fruit + small amount chopped glace ginger
•  1 cup brandy + a bit extra for after the cake is cooked
•  150g butter, softened
•  1 cup brown sugar
•  3 eggs, at room temperature
•  1 cup gluten-free plain flour
•  1/4 cup gluten-free self-raising flour
•  2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
•  1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
•  1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
•  3/4 cup blanched almonds
•  1/4 cup apricot jam

Method:

1. Place dried fruit and 1 cup brandy in a large airtight container. Mix well. Cover and stand overnight, stirring occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 150°C. Lightly grease a 7cm deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Line base and side with double layers brown paper and baking paper allowing a 6cm overhang at all sides. 
3. Using electric beaters, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. 
4. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Sift flours and spices over butter mixture. 
6. Add fruit mixture and stir until well combined. 
7. Press mixture into pan. Smooth surface. Decorate top with almonds.
8. Bake cake for 2 hours 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
9. Pour some extra brandy over hot cake. Allow to cool completely in pan.
10. Place jam in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds or until warm. Remove cake from pan and brush top with warm jam. Allow to set. Serve.

Polenta-Pumpkin Cake

Great taste! Slices of this go well with meat or bean dishes.

Ingredients

• 1kg pumpkin (Japanese squash recommended) skinned, seeded, cut into small pieces for boiling
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 eggs + four extra egg whites lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 2 flat tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 flat tsp nutmeg
• 1 flat tsp ground cloves
• 200 gm (approx 1 cup) low fat, plain yoghurt
• 2 cups polenta

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 C & grease (spray with oil) a 20 cm cake dish 
2. Boil pumpkin until very soft and then mash
3. Add all ingredients, except the yoghurt  & polenta to a blender or food processor. Process until evenly mixed.
4. Add mixture to a bowl
5. Stir in polenta and yoghurt
6. Add to cake dish and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
7. Cool slightly before slicing