Sunday 20 October 2013

Gluten free buckwheat mini muffins/cakes

Lately I have been experimenting with buckwheat. I LOVE buckwheat, grew up on it. Back in a part of the world where  I happen to grow up, buckwheat is as common as rise in Asia. But only as a grain, to make a kind of porridge. Cook it savory to go on a side with meats or stews, or kids favorite-sprinkle with a lot of sugar and add milk, kind like cereal. At some point, for some short time (about 20 years ago) Kelloggs made a cereal from it. Was my favourite.
  About a year ago I have discovered a buckwheat flour. And was doing pancakes with it. But now I got hooked on trying doing other things with it. Due to my training, and health issues (wheat intolerance) I'm gone wheat free, which in most cases/recipes goes along with gluten free.
A bit about buckwheat. While many people think that buckwheat is a cereal grain, it is actually a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel making it a suitable substitute for grains for people who are sensitive to wheat or other grains that contain protein glutens. Buckwheat also contains almost 86 milligrams of magnesium in a one-cup serving. Magnesium relaxes blood vessels, improving blood flow and nutrient delivery while lowering blood pressure—the perfect combination for a healthy cardiovascular system. Buckwheat is a very good source of manganese and a good source of magnesium, copper, and dietary fiber. Buckwheat contains two flavonoids with significant health-promoting actions: rutin and quercetin. The protein in buckwheat is a high quality protein, containing all eight essential amino acids, including lysine.

So here's a recipe for my mini muffins/fairy cakes.
Makes about 30 mini cases. I used 150gr Dove plain gluten free flour and 150gr of Buckwheat flour.
300gr of flour.
300gr of softened butter (can be replaced with coconut oil or other)
2tbsp of unrefined sugar whichever you like (of course you can add more sugar to your liking)
Vanilla, I use half the stalk.
2tsp of baking powder
4 eggs
6 tbsp of milk
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in the egg one by one. Followed by the baking powder, flour and milk. Dived between the cases and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Gas mark 4.
Tips: 
I use very little sugar. For kids I let them ice/decorate, or put jam on them or in. 
For parties, I put skittles inside when butter in a case, and a marshmallow.
You can use this recipe to make Gluten free Victoria sponge.
For me, I eat them instead of bread.


                       Here is an idea on using wholegrain buckwheat in a salad