Today’s Festive recipe of Gluten Free Chocolate Mud Cakes with Pomegranate jam filling is brought to us by the talented macsbymark

Its December and it’s time to treat yourself!

When it comes to Christmas I instantly think of chocolate and I wanted to create something that would not only taste and look great, but would be easy to make aswell. These gluten free chocolate mud cakes with a fruity pomegranate filling are ideal to make, share and impress your family and friends with (if you don’t eat them all yourself first!)

These Gluten Free Chocolate Mud Cakes cakes are so simple to make and you end up with a light but gooey chocolate mini cake. Even better its gluten free! I used the self-raising gluten and wheat free flour from Doves Farm which contains a rice, potato, tapioca, maize, buckwheat blend and xanthum gum as a raising agent so you don’t need to worry about a flat dry crumbly cake. If you have your own blend feel free to try that out, but bear in mind the texture might change slightly as a result.

I love the crunch of pomegranate seeds and the sweet but slightly tangy flavour it offers. I cook them down a little bit but not too much so that I retain a bit of texture which contrasts well with the layers of fudgy cake. If you wanted to make this truly decadent, whip some cream up and layer it in the middle along with the jam. A dusting of icing sugar and a few mint leaves finish these cakes off- prepare to WOW whoever you decide to share these with!

INGREDIENTS:

• 350g self raising gluten free flour
• 70g cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 450ml milk
• 250g unsalted butter
• 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 300g caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons Madagascan vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Line two brownie trays or deep baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Place a heatproof mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water. Place the butter, milk, chocolate, coffee and sugar into the bowl and heat gently ensuring the bottom of bowl does not touch the water. Stir continuously until it has all melted. Once all melted, set aside to cool.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a large bowl and mix to form one uniform mixture. Make a well in the centre.

4. Once the chocolate mixture has cooled so that it is no longer too hot to touch, add it to the dry mixture along with the eggs and vanilla extract and stir vigorously until smooth. It’s important to ensure the chocolate mixture is not too hot otherwise the eggs will scramble at this point!

5. Pour the batter into the prepared trays and bake for 20-25 minutes. The cake is cooked when it starts coming away from the sides of the pan and parchment paper or when it is springs back if you touch it gently. You can also insert a metal skewer to check for uncooked batter. If so put it back in the oven for a few more minutes before removing and testing again.

6. Leave the cake to cool whilst you prepare the pomegranate filling!

Pomegranate Jam

INGREDIENTS:

• 150g pomegranate seeds
• 80ml pomegranate juice
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Simply put all the ingredients in a saucepan and allow to boil for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. It is done when the liquid has reduced and the pomegranates soften slightly. You want to retain some crunch to the pomegranate- its so satisfying when paired with the soft fudgy cake!

ASSEMBLY:

1. Use a cookie cutter to cut the round shapes. You can use larger or smaller ones depending on what you wanted but I have opted for 6cm cutter here.
2. Sandwich two pieces together with the pomegranate jam and some of the juices so that it soaks into the sponge.

3. Dust with icing sugar (make sure its GF of course) and fresh pomegranates and mint leaves!

4. ENJOY!

Gluten Free Chocolate Mud Cakes article written by and all photos are copyright of macsbymark