Steeliac

Tag: Gluten free product review

  • Chocolates By Design

    Chocolates By Design

    How lucky am I, that this wonderful box of chocolately goodness dropped through my letterbox before the bank holiday weekend? You’ll know from the (in)frequency of my posts that keeping this blog going is a very side-of-desk gig for me. One that’s been increasingly challenging to fit in around the chaos of a full-time job, raising teenagers, and, added into the mix over this last year, training a puppy. But no matter how busy life gets, the gluten thing never goes away, does it? It’s always lurking, always in the background, ready to provide you with an extra layer of hassle at any moment.

    So I was very excited when a treat popped through my letterbox from Chocolates by Design, and with it, an opportunity to promote a small, Sheffield-based, gluten free creator without having to leave my sofa. I don’t often get sent freebies, so when I do, it’s a bit of an occasion.

    What arrived was a carefully packaged, simple but robust box:

    A rectangular, textured black box lid with purple writing saying Chocolates by Design

    But inside the box, oh my goodness, a riot of colour and design. Just look at these – twelve chocolates, all individually crafted and meticulously decorated; some of them looked like miniature planets. It was almost a shame to eat them, really.

    A rectangular box containing twelve really quite spectacular chocolates in different shapes (heart, sphere, square) and all brightly decorated with colours, prints and swirls

    Jo and Tony, the chocolatiers, have put together a fairly extensive menu of flavours and designs, split into three collections: cocktails, desserts and experimental, all made in their completely gluten free chocolate workshop. My box contained six from the dessert collection and six from the experimental collection.

    From the dessert collection, I had a tiramisu, Black Forest gateaux, sherry trifle, creme brulee, lemon meringue and cherry Bakewell. They were almost like a tasting plate of desserts, all with distinctive but gently balanced flavours, no one flavour shouting too loudly. They were as enjoyable to eat as they were to look at.

    My experimental selection included pistachio, rose and cardamom; raspberry, lilac and lychee; acorn, coffee and macadamia nut; tonka bean; sweet miso and hazelnut; and lemon thyme. These were all fairly novel combinations for me and it was a bit like doing the ingredients test on Masterchef testing my palate with what flavours I could identify! Again, all were very delicious, but I think a few of the flavours could be bolder – the miso, the cardamom and the thyme, to really push the boundaries.

    I’m very tempted to place an order for some of the cocktail collection, which includes some of my all time favourites: espresso martini, amaretto sour and pina colada, amongst classics like mojito, negroni and old fashioned. One for the birthday or Christmas list..?

    So where can you buy these tempting treats? Chocolates by Design have an online shop and they also attend events including markets such as Sharrow Vale, Fox Valley and Graves Park. Take a look on their page for more opportunities to find them. In 2025, they deservedly won a gold medal from the Free From Awards, which is testament not only to the quality of the product, but also the confidence in their allergen control.

    Buy local, support your local makers, and treat yourself.

  • Ferrero Rocher ice cream!

    Ferrero Rocher ice cream!

    This was rather a good find in the Tesco Local near me. These are about the size of a Mini Magnum and there are four in a pack. Whilst the Ferrero Rocher chocolates aren’t gluten free, these ice cream bars don’t have any wafer in them, and there isn’t a ‘may contain’ statement on the ingredients either – winner!

    A gluten free chocolate and nut covered ice cream on a stick
    A gold coloured packet containing an ice cream bar
    A packet of Ferrero Rocher ice cream bars, which happen to be gluten free.

    Inside the chocolate and nut exterior, they have a hazelnut flavoured ice cream with a chocolate and hazelnut swirl through it – a welcome treat in the garden last weekend.

  • Magpie’s Secret

    Magpie’s Secret

    Very occasionally, Steeliac gets me a treat. I’ve had the odd free meal when a new gluten free menu has been launched or trialled, but 99% of what’s on the blog is just my own experience as a consumer. However, this week, a pleasant surprise dropped into my inbox, from Rosie at Magpie’s Secret, asking if I wanted to try out her cupcakes. Obviously, being keen to support local gluten free business, it didn’t take me long to say yes. And a couple of days later, these vanilla and chocolate beauties turned up.

    Rosie is a specialist gluten free baker based in Sheffield. Her main focus is to make gluten free cakes and treats just as exciting and fun as regular ones. She’s a big foodie and gets really annoyed at having to expect lower quality treats due to being on a gluten free diet, so she’s taken matters into her own hands.

    We dived into the cupcakes after our tea – always best as fresh as possible – and they were every bit as good as they look. The sponge was remarkably soft and there was just the right amount of frosting (for me! – I reckon the kids could take more.)

    The cupcakes can be found in the Gallery page on Rosie’s website. They start at ÂŁ30 per dozen, and come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and flavours. Also in the gallery are some rather delicious looking brownies (ÂŁ20 for 9, also vegan) and a couple of celebration cakes.

    Magpie’s Secret also currently sells hot chocolate in a variety of flavours (including Irish cream, raspberry, caramel and peppermint) and two types of cookie: chewy chocolate chip and zesty lemon. I like the sound of the lemon cookies! Everything on there is gluten free and most things can be dairy free or vegan as well.

  • Coop Coconut & Chilli King Prawns

    Coop Coconut & Chilli King Prawns

    I recently discovered this little gem in the Coop – king prawns in a coconut and chilli crumb, which is great for a quick lunch for two with a bit of salad. The Coop have several breaded items in their standard range that are gluten free, which is great, and means the price is reasonable. They have some brilliant melting middle fish cakes as well, which are great for an easy kids’ tea (or indeed an easy grown ups’ tea).

    I think there were about ten decent sized prawns in the pack. They bake in the oven for about 10 mins and we drizzled a bit of sweet chilli sauce on and had them with some salad for a weekday lunch. (#workingfromhome) They were a bit of a treat and made a nice change from the usual leftovers/salad.

  • Amazing GF focaccia

    Amazing GF focaccia

    This focaccia might just be my new favourite gluten free bread. The texture was wonderful and softly chewy on the inside, the outside had a lovely crunch, it had amazing flavours on the top and the trademark focaccia dimples. It even met with approval from the house’s gluten eaters. The only drawback? You have to make it yourself! But it’s very easy.

    I bought the mix early on in the first lockdown to go with a home made lasagne but that was when you had to re-mortgage your house to buy yeast and flour, so it sat in my cupboard for quite a while. It’s a Davinia Steel mix. I’ve not used any of her other products, but there’s a scone mix, a pizza mix and a loaf mix as well as this one. I’ve just had a look at the website and discovered they have recently launched a ‘dipping and dunking snack range’ of (pre-made) biscotti and crostini, which look rather fine!

    Apologies for the next photo – evidently taken after opening!

    Once I did get hold of some yeast, the mix was really easy to make. This kit comes with a flour mix and two packets containing rosemary leaves and garlic powder. To make the bread, you just need to add water and salt (and the yeast, of course) to the bread mix, and you need to have a 20cm, cake tin, oiled. With a generous amount of oil on your hands, it’s fairly easy to flatten the top of the mix and make the dimples with your fingers.

    After an initial proving, which I did in the oven at about 50C, it had doubled in size and I was pleased that the dimples were still there. At this point, the rosemary leaves (provided) can be sprinkled on. I also added a bit of garlic powder and extra salt on the top, and then baked in the oven for about 25 minutes.

    Once baked, you leave it the focaccia in the tin to cool and the steam helps it come out. You’re supposed to leave it to cool completely before eating, but as I botched my timings, we ended up eating it much sooner than that.

    We ate it with carbonara but it would go well with any pasta, with soup or just with antipasto.

    It was so good, I’ve already bought another one for myself and one as a present!

  • Pizza Time!

    Pizza Time!

    Hi, I’m finally back!!

    We found an amazing pizza from M&S food, which we have been ordering from Ocado. It had a really good pizza texture [ one of the BEST I’ve had!]. It also tasted phenomenally good for a gluten free base!!

    We have our suspicions that it may be the same recipe as Pizza Express!!

    And, as it is only a base, you can put whatever you want on it! [I wouldn’t recommend a sweet pizza though!]. Overall, it was great for a Friday night tea with sweet potato fries!

  • Gluten free profiteroles – blink and they’re gone!

    Gluten free profiteroles – blink and they’re gone!

    We recently hosted a bring and share BBQ for our friends – the last one of the season, I imagine. There were five families in all, with children, and out of nineteen of us, an impressive four are gluten free. I made some chicken and vegetable kebabs and a butternut squash and feta salad, so I wanted something I could assemble quickly for dessert. I ended up buying a few packs of these Rule of Crumb profiteroles, which you keep in the freezer until a few hours before you need them, then defrost and serve. Super easy.

    The profiteroles are filled with cream and come with two sauce sachets, one salted caramel and the other chocolate, which drizzle on nicely. They didn’t last long! Everybody said they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them and gluten containing ones.

    As well as being delicious, these are also accredited by Coeliac UK, for an extra level of reassurance.

    I know it’s a bit early to use the ‘C’ word, but these will definitely be putting in an appearance over Christmas in our house! I might need to find a slightly classier serving dish though…

    PS this is absolutely not a sponsored post! I bought them, and we ate them.  🙂

     

  • Ugo Thrive fresh pasta

    Ugo Thrive fresh pasta

    There seems to be a lot of gluten free fresh pasta coming into the supermarkets at the moment. These Ugo Thrive filled pasta shapes are available from Sainsbury’s and Ocado. The first time I tried some filled GF tortellini I totally overcooked it, and it turned to mush, so I’ve not bought any for a while. However, the pumpkin and sage raviolini was enough to make me try again. We used to love pumpkin and sage ravioli as a quick weeknight tea, and I have really missed the flavour.

    One packet is enough for two, unless you’re super hungry! The kids had the spinach and ricotta tortellini with some tomato sauce and loved it. We shared the pumpkin and sage raviolini, just with plenty of extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and parmesan. Normally, I’d mix in a few green salad leaves too.

    The trick with these is to follow the instructions and cook them for no more than one minute, so they don’t fall apart. This was easy with the raviolini, but less so with the tortellini, as I usually cook the pasta, drain, then stir in the tomato sauce and heat it in the pan. To avoid collapse, I’d recommend cooking the pasta for only 30 seconds, and heating up the sauce separately first, so you don’t need to do too much stirring!

    Great when you need an instant meal!

     

  • Old El Paso GF Fajitas

    Old El Paso GF Fajitas

    I was very excited to try the new gluten free fajita dinner kit by Old El Paso. This used to be a bit of a treat before I was coeliac, and ever since it’s always been a bit dissatisfying trying to use a gluten free wrap in place of the tortillas. They are generally a bit too filling, as they are quite thick and / or they split and leak when folded up.

    So it’s great that you can now buy not only the GF dinner kit, but also the 100% corn wraps, which are available in the regular aisle of the supermarket with the other Mexican items. (Sainsbury’s, Archer Road in my case)

    I also bought one of the super mild kits, so the kids could have a mild chicken fajita, whilst the adults had the spicier version with a combination of chicken and steak. The spice sachets seem to be the same as the normal kits, so everything tastes the same. And we had a variety of toppings: avocado, salsa, lettuce, cheese, black beans and sour cream.

    I thought the gluten free corn tortillas were very good. They’re a bit smaller than the regular ones, but almost as soft, and did the job very well. We’ll definitely get this again – it’s a great, quick Friday night meal.

     

     

  • Jus-Rol gluten free puff pastry

    Jus-Rol gluten free puff pastry

    I was excited (in that way that only a coeliac could be) to come across some refrigerated Jus-Rol gluten free puff pastry in the shops last week so I thought I’d give it a whirl.

    I used to cook a little tart out of regular puff pastry. This would be done by piling up the filling in the middle and scoring all the way round about 2cm from the side. The edges would then puff up nicely in the oven, creating a sort of pastry barricade to hold in the filling.

    I tested this out on the kids, with a filling of roasted squash and beetroot, then topped with a bit of parmesan once cooked:img_6508

    It rose a little bit, but not enough to make this worthwhile. Although the boys said it tasted nice, the base was pretty difficult for them to cut up.

    So I refined my technique for the grown ups’ tea! At seven year old’s suggestion, I used the remaining pastry to top the filling instead, which is probably what it’s meant for. This had much better results:

    To make this one, I roasted a selection of seasoned vegetables in the oven until just cooked (squash, red onion, pepper, courgette). When completely cool, these went into a dish (Rectangular makes the most of the pastry’s pre-cut shape.) and I crumbled in some feta cheese.

    I cut a slightly dodgy lattice into the pastry and pulled it apart as far as I could before popping it on the top of the veg, and brushing with egg. It ripped in a couple of places, but that wasn’t much of a problem. Twenty minutes in the oven ensured the pastry was cooked and the veg nice and hot, and this made a really nice weeknight tea.

    The pastry was nice and crispy on top, and had a little chew underneath where it was touching the soft vegetables, and it gave a nice crunch to the meal. It had risen just enough to know it was puff pastry – I could see the layers in it when cut apart.

    I would say this pastry is really nice, as long as you don’t mentally compare it to regular (non-GF) puff pastry, as it couldn’t ever live up to the flakiness and puffiness.  It’s good enough for me though, and I’ll probably buy it again, if only to try making a neater lattice!