MEET THE QUEEN OF GLUTEN FREE

Blogger and author Becky Excell talks exclusively to MC magazine’s Sophie Brown about living with coeliac disease * – and the bakery that changed her life.

Becky Excell

When Becky Excell was diagnosed with coeliac disease, all the foods she loved suddenly seemed out of reach – so she started creating her own recipes, and blogging about them.

Since then, she’s had 30 million blog views, become a bestselling author and been dubbed the ‘queen of gluten free’ by Nigella Lawson!

In her new book ‘How to Bake Anything Gluten Free,’ Becky busts the myth that ‘gluten free food has to always taste or look worse.’

She recalls constant mealtime struggles. “I’ve struggled most with missing the normality of being able to eat what I want when I want. Mealtimes, especially eating out, require planning. If I don’t plan it can be stressful.”

She’s also candid about how a restrictive diet fuelled her eating disorder, and how it took her ‘own motivation and decision to want to get better’, along with help from health professionals and her family, to ‘come out the other side’.

The idea for the book came during a visit to a gluten free bakery on her travels. Becky recalls being enamoured by what she saw. “There were so many cakes and pastries. I wished every gluten free person could experience the overwhelming feeling of choice, the bliss of eating something you’ve craved for years and the joy of just feeling like a ‘normal’ person again.

“Since I couldn’t take all my followers there personally, I decided to write a book… it shows you how to transform your kitchen into your own personal gluten free bakery.”

GOING GLUTEN FREE?

Becky advises anyone thinking of removing gluten from their diet to speak to their GP and do some research. Her top tips are:

• Visit the Coeliac UK website and consider joining

• Learn how to read ingredients lists so you know what products are safe

• Remember that so many foods are naturally gluten free

• If you’re going gluten free because you’re coeliac learn to understand cross contamination

• Join gluten free Facebook groups – there’s no limit to the amount of helpful info and advice you can learn from others!

*Coeliac disease is a condition where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. It stops you from taking in nutrients. Read more at: nhs.uk

Follow Becky on social media

Instagram:@Beckyexcell

Twitter: @Beckyexcell

Facebook: Becky Excell Gluten Free

BANANA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

INGREDIENTS

For the topping 50g butter, softened

50g light brown sugar

2 to 3 ripe bananas

For the sponge 100g butter, softened

100g light brown sugar

2 medium eggs 


1 tsp vanilla extract 


1 tbsp maple syrup 


100g gluten free self raising flour 


1 tsp gluten free baking powder 


50g chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven: 160°C fan: 180°C/350°F

SERVES: 8 to 10

TIME: 45 MINS

METHOD

• Topping: grab a medium mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy. Spoon into a 20cm (8in) cake tin spreading the mixture all over the base and up the sides too. Slice your bananas lengthwise and place across the base – as many as will fit!

• Sponge: grab a large mixing bowl and cream together your butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Crack in the eggs, then add the vanilla, maple syrup, flour and baking powder. Mix until well combined. Lastly, fold in your chocolate chips, if using.

• Pour the mixture over your bananas and spread it out so it’s nice and even on top. Bake in the oven for 30–35 minutes until cooked through and golden on top.

• Remove from the oven and allow to sit in the tin for around 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate – it’s ready to serve immediately. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or enjoy cold.

TIP: You can always switch up your toppings from bananas to canned pineapple or sliced pears. Dairy free – use dairy free choc chips and a (hard) dairy free butter alternative.

Recipe extracted from How To Bake Anything Gluten Free by Becky Excell (Quadrille, £20 RRP), published 30 September. 21