Compote of Cherries with Gluten-free Spiced Breakfast Loaf
These two recipes are from Gordon Ramsay – Makes It Easy.
Since I didn’t really manage to make the chocolate pots correctly I decided to go with a Gordon Ramsay recipe again. I originally was just going to post the compote of cherries recipe – I love cherries. I made a gluten-free version of the spiced breakfast bread simply to have in the background of photos. And I made it gluten-free because of course I was going to taste it but I thought the flavour of it would be too strong – it contains a teaspoon of mixed spice and a teaspoon of 5 spice powder. It turned out to be amazing so… I had to add it here also. The combination does make for a lovely breakfast after all.
The bread does not use yeast and the lightness/volume of it after baking is due to a eggs beaten with sugar over a gentle heat – so they’ll whip up, and hold on to the air, more. Since you’re whisking the eggs in a bowl over simmering water you’ll need a bowl that’s made of glass or metal to conduct the heat. If all you have are plastic bowls – okay I only had plastic bowls first time – you obviously won’t be able to get the eggs as stiff this way but it’s fine because you also have a warmed milk and honey mix that you slowly add to the eggs and if you beat the eggs and sugar as much as possible before adding the warm mix bit by little bit, whisking all time, it actually has a similar effect. Whenever you add something hot into something cold with eggs you always have to add it slowly, bit by bit, or else the egg might scramble.
The recipe book suggest serving the compote of cherries with natural Greek yoghurt, which would be lovely. I just used cream because – that’s what I had.
In case I haven’t made this clear, this is a delicious breakfast – and it is easy to make.
The recipe for the compote of cherries is straight out of the book. The recipe for the bread has been modified to be gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 1kg fresh cherries
- 250ml fresh orange juice
- 100g sugar
- pared zest of 1 lemon
- few mint leaves
- butter to grease
- 3 large eggs
- 50g light brown sugar
- 250g thin honey
- 125ml whole milk
- 100g gluten-free plain white flour blend I used Dove's
- 25g ground almonds
- 125g buckwheat flour
- 1 tsp five-spice powder
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
- finely grated zest of 2 oranges
Instructions
- Pit the cherries and put into a non-reactive saucepan with the orange juice, sugar, lemon zest and mint leaves. Slowly bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent the cherries sticking.
- Tip into a bowl and allow to cool, then remove mint leaves and lemon zest. Cover and keep in the fridge until needed, for up to 3 days, but always serve at room temperature.
- Heat the oven to 160 C/ Gas 3. Grease a 25cm x 10cm loaf tin.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl over a pan of hot water, using an electric whisk, until the mixture is pale and thickened (enough to leave a ribbon when the beaters are lifted). Remove from the heat but leave the bowl set over it.
- Warm the honey and milk together in a small pan and gradually beat into the egg mixture until evenly mixed.
- Sift the flours and spices into a large bowl and add in the ground almonds. Carefully but thoroughly fold the egg mixture into the flours and then fold in the orange zest. It is important to fold rather than to stir so as not to knock all the air out.
- Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 45 - 60 minutes until well risen, firm to the touch and golden brown on top. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
