Gluten, dairy & sugar free chocolate cake

Ingredients 150ml coconut or olive oil, 50g raw cocoa powder 100ml boiling water, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 150g ground almonds, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 1/4 tsp salt, 200g coconut palm sugar, 3 large eggs.

Serves: (whoever you love enough to share it with) Preparation: 1 hour

Whether we like it or not, food intolerancy is a thing. A very big thing. Whether you believe that it's through years and years of poisoning our bodies with chemicalised and processed foods or some sort of voodoo, we all know far more people these days who have to be careful about what they eat.  
This recipe is adapted from a gluten and dairy free Nigella cake to make it sugar free and a little less moist than her slightly flabby flourless cake. It is absolutely DELICIOUS and the texture is FABULOUS. For any gluten free person who has made you eat a polenta cake or some other mad textured cake, do share this and tell them to put down the xantham gum because all is not lost.

1) Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3 (170 degrees) and grease a 9 or 10 inch springform tin with a little oil. I have also made this split into two mini 4 inch cake tins and it works perfectly.

2) Sift the cocoa powder into a bowl and whisk the boiling water and vanilla extract in until you have a smooth chocolate paste. Try not to eat it immediately, you get to lick the bowl after...

3) Measure out the ground almonds, bicarb of soda and salt into one bowl and the sugar, oil and eggs into another, then whisk the latter thoroughly for 3-4 minutes until you have a thickened, aerated and emulsified liquid.

4) Add the cocoa and vanilla paste and beat thoroughly, then add the almond mixture a little at a time.

5) Don't panic about the consistency, this is a liquid batter. Make sure your cake tin base is in the right way round (we've all done it but this cake is considerably less delicious when eaten off the floor of your oven...) and pour in the batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very centre, on top, has a bit of a wobble to it. I usually give the oven door a bit of a kick and if it wibbles alarmingly, give it another ten minutes or so. When you stick a skewer in it should come out with a few sticky crumbs clinging to it rather than a smear of batter but be warned, this cake rises up beautifully and then sinks back a bit so if you skewer it before it's ready, it's going to sink faster than the Titanic! The good news is that this cake is FABULOUS eaten hot with ice-cream, or leave it to cool in the tin until you're ready to scoff it.

Sugar-free pina colada muffins

Ingredients 350g spelt flour, 2 eggs, 2 tsp baking powder, 30g desiccated coconut 75g diced pineapple and dried cranberries, 150ml pineapple juice, 100g coconut palm sugar, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tsp honey.

Serves: 6 Preparation: 45 minutes (plus an hour soaking)

When it comes to food critiquing, my husband is a man of few words, and many facial expressions so his reaction to these muffins of "oh my god! mmmmmm!!!" before grabbing a second one, posting a picture on Facebook and then begging me to bake some more for him to take to work with him says it all. These are absolutely luscious and will fill your house with the most incredible tropical scent. Plus they're sugar free and made from "good fat" and healthy flour! Hurrah!

1) Soak the dried pineapple and cranberries in the pineapple juice along with the honey for ideally an hour, then pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4.

2) Sift together the flour, baking powder, dessicated coconut and set aside.

3) If the coconut oil has solidified, melt it gently, then whisk in the eggs and palm sugar before adding the pineapple and juice.

4) Roughly fold the wet ingredients into the dry - don't overmix it. Muffin batter should never be completely smooth. Spoon into muffin cases and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. I like to sprinkle a little extra coconut on the top before baking - the toasted coconut smells and tastes WONDERFUL.

5) Leave to cool, if you have the willpower, then devour. These are good for up to 3 days afterwards if sealed in a tupperware container but benefit from being gently warmed in the oven for a few minutes before serving after that!

Sugar-free gingerbread biscuits

Ingredients 250g plain flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 2 tbsp ground ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp allspice, 75g coconut palm sugar, 1 egg, 75g butter, 1 tsp hazelnut honey (optional).

Serves: 30-40 Preparation: 1 hour

Being the mother of an 18-month old starchild and an all-round healthy person myself, I am wicked-keen to replace refined sugar in all of my baking and cooking wherever possible. There are some recipes however where honey, banana or fruit juice just won't cut it - biscuits need sugar. It's science! So this month I am experimenting with *deep breath* Coconut palm sugar, coconut palm blossom syrup, agave syrup, and hazelnut honey which is just about the most delicious caramel-textured substance that I have ever encountered. 
These wonderful crisp gingerbread biscuits are spicy and sweet and will fill your house with the most amazing Christmassy smell.

1) Sift together the dry ingredients - flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda - and add to a food processor along with the butter. Blitz until fine breadcrumbs are formed.

2) Whisk the egg with the hazelnut honey if you're using it and add it, along with the sugar into the food processor and blitz through until the mixture comes together into a stiff dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes whilst you pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 (and clean up, if you're anything like me!).

3) LaRoll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface (I like to sprinkle a little extra ground ginger and allspice onto the surface as it not only gives the dough that lovely slightly freckled appearance but is just another excuse for The Tastiness) and roll out the biscuits to about 1/2cm thickness.

4) Cut out the shapes of your choice - stars of course being our preference! - and transfer to a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

5) It is of course traditional to decorate them, but I prefer to dust edible gold rather than ice them.