Howard Middleton - Great British Bake Off contestant launches his book

‘Gluten-free baking’ isn’t a piece of cake after all

Howard Middleton, a previous contestant of Great British Bake off, known for his gluten free baking expertise hosted a live demonstration for a full house of people who wanted to nail the perfect gluten free cake. The event was held at the Owen Campus, Sheffield Hallam University. The smell of cake batter is more than enough to tempt anyone irrespective of their age and with Christmas just a month way, a baking demo was a perfect place to be.

Howard, who comes in the category of ‘local Sheffield celebrity’, demonstrated a recipe from his recently published book called ‘Delicious Gluten Free Baking.’ He prepared what he called “a cross between blueberry cake and lemon cake which exhibits a romantic chemistry.” He stuck to the wooden spoon method rather than using the electric mixer to mix the batter. He used zest of lemon, sugar, margarine and emphasized on the importance of separating egg whites from egg yolks. He asked the audience to make sure that the baking powder they are using has ‘gluten free’ labeled on it.

He used corn flour that has got relegated which he calls “gravely miscarriage of justice.” He used one of his favorite ingredient that is Amaranth flakes which are healthy grinded nuts and according to him are “available widely only on online health stores. Those who can't get hold of it can substitute it with quinoa,” he said. Howard gave a lot of tips and instructions on making the healthy gluten free cake. He focused on practical but inspiring recipes and techniques using local produce – and adapting these for baking various things with different ingredients.

In the meanwhile, he also shared his experience of being a contestant on the famous Great British Bake off show and said that, “I learnt from other cultures for example use of chickpea powder which is widely used in Indian cookery and tapioca powder which is used in Africa , chestnut flour in French and Italian cooking.” However his favorite remains the chestnut flour as it adds a lovely flavor and quality and gives his cakes a festive taste.

The event concluded with him answering culinary related questions of the audience and signing books for all. The audience was lucky enough to get a piece of the demo cake along with ginger cookies baked by the chef himself.