Gluten Free Winter Desserts

Baby it’s cold outside!

At GF Pantry we have many favourite winter desserts to keep us warm on the inside, and smiling on the outside.  Whether you are stuck at home with the kids, or wanting something special for a friend coming to visit, we have the right food for you.

Our top two favourites are the traditional home baked gluten free apple crumble, and a more modern cacao, almond and raspberry cake, but anything hearty tastes great when it’s cold outside.  Traditional winter recipes use lots of apples, citrus fruits, berries or chocolate.

For those in a hurry or less adventurous, grab a gluten free cake or brownie mix from our huge selection of baking mixes, or why not try a really easy mug brownie.  For a quick apple crumble, try heating canned apples with one of our delicious gluten free mueslis on top.

If you do have time to experiment, we have lots of basic gluten free baking ingredients such as Xanthan gum and baking soda to use.

For healthier versions of your favourite winter dessert, top your treats with Greek yogurt or crème fraiche sweetened with a touch of maple syrup.  Serve with fresh berries for added vitamin C.

For vegan versions, use coconut oil in place of butter and egg replacer for eggs.  We also have a fabulous selection of vegan whipping creams to try.

And now here’s our top two favourite gluten free winter desserts.  We hope you enjoy them.

Home Baked Gluten Free Apple Crumble

Apple Mix

  • 6 Granny smith or similar cooking apples, peeled and sliced thinly
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ cup of caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • Pinch of salt
  • Butter for greasing the baking dish (we use GF/DF butter)

Crumble

  • 1 cup almond flour
  • ½ cup desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 cup flaked almonds
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 100 g cold butter (we use GF/DF butter)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 C and grease a medium sized baking dish.
  2. Combine all the apple mixture ingredients and then layer in the baking dish.
  3. Combine almond flour, coconut, almonds and sugar well, before rubbing the dry mix through the cold butter with your fingers.
  4. Place the apple filling in the bottom, then evenly distribute the crumble on top.
  5. Bake in the lower part of the oven for 45 minutes until cooked through, hot and bubbly.
  6. Serve with good vanilla icecream (Pana or So Good is our go to choice for a yummy GF/DF icecream)

Cacao, almond and raspberry cake

Ingredients
  • 1 cup of coconut oil, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 100 g raw cacao powder, sieved,
  • 6 eggs, separated
  • 250 gm brown sugar
  • 150 g almond flour
  • 50 g coconut flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 80 g raspberries, plus extra to serve
  • 20 g cacao nibs, plus extra to serve

 Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 170 C.
  2. Grease and line a 20 cm cake tin.
  3. Combine and whisk coconut oil, vanilla essence and cacao powder until smooth. 
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and half the sugar for about 1 ½ minutes, until thick and pale.
  5. Fold in the cacao mixture, both flours, baking powder and a pinch of salt.
  6. Whisk egg whites and another pinch of salt separately in an electric mixer until soft peaks form, slowly adding remaining sugar and whisk to firm peaks.
  7. Fold both mixtures together, then gently stir in the cacao nibs and raspberries.
  8. Spoon batter into cake tin; smooth and bake for 15 -20 minutes or until set with a slight centre wobble.
  9. Cool for 15 minutes, before refrigerating for at least 2 hours.
  10. Scatter extra raspberries and cacao nibs on top and serve with cream.

So, is now the time to start cooking, or do you also need some winter breakfast ideas or gluten free baking tips?  For more ideas, head back to our long list of gluten free blog articles, have a read and remember to stay warm!

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