Have Your Cake And Eat It ... Gluten-Free!

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Great photo from Fiona McKean

The lovely Fee asked a brilliant question about gluten a couple of weeks ago. Namely, what is it, and why we should avoid it.


A lot of the cakes at LovePureCakes are gluten-free and are properly labelled so.


A Touch of History
I decided to go down the "healthy cakes" route because when I set up a pop-up cafe during the Edinburgh Festival of 2009, I could not believe the number of people asking for dairy-free, gluten-free, lo-sugar, lo-salt and all the other food requirements.


I was really shocked because after having set up and run Patisserie Florentine for years, and educating Edinburgh palates on the joys of French Patisserie, I realised the politics of food and food preferences had moved on.


No longer were people content to load up on full fat.  Instead they wanted to eliminate toxins, reduce carbon imprints, eat more healthily AND STILL be able to wrap their lips around some delicious cakes.

Experimenting and Concocting
I slaved away in my kitchen for months, forcing green seaweed cakes and no-sugar cakes down the throats of unsuspecting friends and family.  


They didn't thank me for it then, but they do now.


It's pretty tricky to get it right. Especially on the gluten-side. Once you take out the gluten for example, the cakes tend not to rise so well.  


As they say in cake world, 'you eat with your eyes' as well as your mouth, so I couldn't let that continue.


Eventually I had a eureka moment and the cakes are now being baked, primped and primed ready for feasting on with all your senses.


People Who Must Avoid Gluten In Their Diet

1. People who suffer from Celiac Disease (up to 1% of the population) - an autoimmune disorder that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages.  Symptoms include chronic diarrhoea, failure to thrive in children and chronic fatigue.
2. People with a Wheat Allergy - symptoms include headaches, bloated stomach, fatigue and skin rashes
3. People who want to eat healthily - avoiding gluten ('glue' in Latin) in their diet can boost their energy, immunities and overall health.

Many of my friends and family have now decided to avoid gluten wherever possible after having been schooled on the problem with glutenous bread, pasta and cakes.  They all, to a man, woman and child, swear they are no longer feeling that swollen, bloated feeling they'd resigned to just being part of them.

Challenge

Have you ever tried to eliminate gluten from your diet?  Seen any results?  Fancy trying it but not sure where to start?  Are you worried that you wouldn't be able to eat 'normally' without having to go to specialist shops? 

Let me know your views and we can all put pressure on the retailers to start a revolution. After all, revolutions can always start one cake at a time, n'est-ce pas?

Cake lovingly yours, Lorna x