Did you know that in some cakes, you can substitute apple puree for eggs?


I came across this adjusted recipe for Victoria Sponge, from cookery writer Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, the author of Food Allergy Cookbook and Leith\'s Techniques Bible. She says,

"I was actually finishing Leith's Techniques Bible when we arrived here and realised that it was a basic grounding in cooking that people dealing with food allergies need," she explains.

"They need to know why flour is used in cakes or bread, why it's wheat flour, why not use other flour. And once they know that, they can look at what the alternatives are.

Lucinda is a mother to two boys, one with dairy allergies and the other with gluten intolerance. She has a new book coming out next month: How to Cook for Food Allergies. I suppose the recipe for Victoria Sponge cake will be included there, but in the meantime you can already try it out. You'll need (here's the original recipe, with substitutes in brackets):

225g self-raising flour. (For gluten-free use 110g rice flour, 55g ground almonds and 55g cornflour).
2 tsp baking powder (For gluten-free use 4 tsp gluten-free baking powder).
225g soft butter (Or same amount dairy-free margarine)
225g caster sugar (For egg allergies use 170g caster sugar)
5 eggs (For egg allergies omit eggs and instead use 225ml apple puree or custard; for gluten-free add one more egg)
Strawberry jam and caster sugar for filling and to dust.

For the instructions, click here and scroll to the bottom.