The Gluten Free Blog

Jessica Bakes-Well Chocolate Brownie Mix

Regular readers to this blog will know that there are two things I really like: Chocolate brownies and not cooking.

So when the lovely Jessica Bakes-Well sent us a jar of their artisan gluten free Chocolate Brownie Mix it was a bit of a dream come true. And just how pretty are those jars?

Each high quality ingredient is carefully measured and hand layered into the jar including white, milk and dark chocolate chunks (yum). Then all you have to do is tip the contents of the jar into a bowl, add butter and milk, and bake. And – hey, presto – amazingly deliciously gorgeous chocolate brownies just 20 minutes later. And these were really scrumptious. Read the rest of this entry »

Mrs Crimble’s Home Bake Muffin & Sponge Mix

Our lovely friends at Mrs Crimble’s recently sent us one of their home bake mixes to try. We loved this muffin and sponge mix. It’s the perfect store cupboard staple and easy for kids or the culinary challenged to whip up scrummy muffins in moments.

Empty the contents into a bowl, add milk and butter (I used lactose free and a soya substitute), and stir. The good thing about these mixes is that they’re a good base to do your own thing. So I chucked in a bunch of blueberries for a bit of colour and they came out brilliantly! Moist and fluffy and ‘even better than the real thing’ as someone said at work. Read the rest of this entry »

Sticky Mix White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies

As you know, I’m a fan of the ‘empty packet and add butter and eggs’ type of cooking. And there are some brands out there at the moment that are doing this really, really well. This week we’ve been trying out Sticky Mix.

It’s a Derbyshire based company, started by two busy mums, who wanted to make cookies and brownies the whole family could enjoy – even the ones with allergies. So they started Sticky Mix, which specialises in artisan cake mixes that use the finest ingredients including real Belgian chocolate. The range includes regular cake mixes, gluten free cake mixes, dairy and soya free cake mixes and dairy, soya and egg free cake mixes. They also do little bags for kids. So there’s really something for everyone. Read the rest of this entry »

Cocoa Delight and Berry Delight Nakd Bits

We’ve always enjoyed Nakd bars at Gluten Free Towers. They’re made from 100% natural ingredients such as nuts and fruit and have no added rubbishy stuff like syrup and sugar. And of course they’re wheat, dairy and gluten free. They’re the perfect lunch box or on-the-go snack bar.

So when the chaps at Natural Balance Foods sent us some bags of Nakd Bits we were more than willing to give them a go. (And thanks for the nice mug too!)

Like the bars, the Bits are made from 100% natural ingredients and come in scrumptious flavours like Cocoa Orange, Berry Delight and Cocoa Delight. We tried the Berry Delight made with dates, cashews, raisins, raspberries and natural berry flavour, and the Cocoa Delight made with dates, cashews, raisins, cocoa and natural chocolate flavour. And that’s it. Nothing else is included.

Both flavours are substantial and tasty, with a lovely texture. And you can’t help but feel a bit virtuous when you try these as they’re so blooming healthy. The best bit (and the worst bit) is that as they’re in a bag so you can share them round the office. With the Cocoa ones especially it was like dibbing into a bag of chocolates – without the guilt!

The good news? You can buy Nakd bars and bits from just about everywhere.

For more information visit the Nakd website. And you can follow Nakd on Twitter at @nakd.

Udi’s Gluten Free box of goodies

If you’re an American stranded on this side of the Atlantic or you’re someone who loves American grub, you’ll be pleased to know that Udi’s, the famous, award-winning gluten free brand from the US is now available here in the UK.

There are 19 products in the range, including freshly baked gluten-free bagels in three delicious flavours, soft brown and white sandwich bread, classic white rolls and finger rolls, tasty muffins, toaster pastries, ancient grain crisps, granola, fruity breakfast bars and mince pies.

And we were fortunate, recently, to receive a lovely hamper from the nice people at Udi’s. We didn’t waste any time tucking into the products. Read the rest of this entry »