Lactose-free peach melba fairy cakes

By Rebecca Almond

Just peachy! Lactose-free cupcake

For those of you who are lactose intolerant or know someone who is, you’ll be familiar with the problems often faced when searching for lactose-free recipes. So it’s great to hear top London cookery school L’atelier des Chefs has teamed up with Lactofree to offer a series of cookery courses to inspire lactose-free cooking.

From 6 September to 9 November, you can learn how to create favourite dishes – from curries and French cuisine to cakes and bakes – using Lactofree’s cream, spread, dairy drinks and cheeses. And the good news is, it couldn’t be easier! The products can be used just like their lactose-containing equivalents – it’s just a matter of making a straight swap.

We went along to test the claim for ourselves and whipped up a batch of peach melba fairy cakes.

‘If anything, baking with Lactofree Spreadable is easier than butter,’ says head chef Neil Matthews. ‘It has a softer consistency so can be used straight from the fridge. The spread does make a looser cake mixture, but the quantities and cooking times are exactly the same.’ And they taste like the real deal, too.

To whet your appetite, the chefs at L’atelier have kindly shared their Lactofree cupcake recipe, exclusively for HFG blog readers! Why not give it a go, then visit atelierdeschefs.co.uk/en/cooking-classes/themes/1375-lactofree-cooking.phpto see their full range of Lactofree cookery courses.

Peach melba fairy cakes

Prep: 15 min + cooling Cook: 15 min Makes: 24 cupcakes

For the fairy cakes

250g Lactofree spreadable

250g caster sugar                                                          

250g self-raising flour                                                  

4 eggs

1tsp baking powder

50g fresh raspberries                                       

A few drops of red food colouring 

For the peach compote

50g caster sugar

30g fresh peaches, cut into 1cm pieces

100ml dry white wine

For the icing

250g icing sugar, plus extra to dust

100g Lactofree soft cheese

150g Lactofree spreadable                                           

A few drops of red food colouring                              

20g fresh peaches, chopped, and 50g fresh raspberries, halved, to decorate

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and line 2x12-hole fairy cake trays cupcake cases. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the Lactofree spreadable and 250g sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition until well combined. Sift in the flour and baking powder, then gently fold to combine. Add the food colouring and mix gently, then add the fresh raspberries and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, then bake for 12–14 minutes.

2 Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Heat the caster sugar in a saucepan over a low heat until it turns into a dark caramel. Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the peaches. Add the white wine, then return the pan to a medium heat, stirring continuously, for 1 min or until the peaches soften. Remove the mixture and set aside to cool completely.

3 To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl, then add the Lactofree soft cheese, Lactofree spreadable and food colouring and whisk until smooth and combined. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle attachment.

4 Using a small knife, cut a small piece from the middle of each cupcake and set aside. Spoon some of the peach compote into the middle of each cake, then pipe in a little of the icing. Replace the cake pieces, then pipe on a little more icing. Decorate with the raspberries and fresh peach pieces, then dust with icing sugar.

Tip: When using coloured butter icing, use disposable rather than fabric piping bags as the food colouring can stain.

Per cupcake 

222kcal


2.3g protein


12g fat


5.5g saturates


27.2g carbs


20.6g sugar


0.6g fibre


0.3g salt


45mg calcium


0.4mg iron

For more on lactose intolerance and the Lactofree range, visit lactofree.co.uk

Beat the barbecue binge

By Juliette Kellow

Last week, I enjoyed my ninth barbecue of the year. To be fair, we started early with our first one on a very chilly and windy February afternoon (new kitchen, loads of people for Sunday lunch – and no electricity! You get the picture). But, I’m not alone in my love of the griddle. Apparently, Brits hold more barbies than any other European country, with the average family hosting nine each year.

And it’s not surprising that we love them so much – they’re the perfect opportunity for relaxing and enjoying sunny days with family and friends. But at the risk of having a burger or two thrown at me, if you want to stay looking good in your swimsuit, it’s time for a waistline warning.

A study carried out three years ago revealed the average person consumes around 3,000 calories at a barbecue – one and a half times what a woman needs in a day; twice the amount if she’s trying to lose weight. On average, we munch our way through two sausages, one and half burgers, two chicken drumsticks, one-and-a-half meat skewers, a small piece of fish, a small jacket potato, green salad, pasta salad and two spoonfuls of mayo, all rounded off with double dessert. And that’s without any booze!

So how can you cut calories without cutting enjoyment? To start with, it’s usually the sheer abundance of food and drink that makes it so easy to overindulge – as the aforementioned study showed. My advice: if you’re holding a BBQ, buy the same amount of food as you would for a dinner party and fire up the barbie just once; if you’re at a BBQ, fill your plate just once, then step away from the trays of cooked food that are constantly being added to.

Most BBQs are a meat feast, so swap fatty burgers and sausages for low-fat versions (or make your own burgers with lean beef or turkey mince). Try chicken, turkey, lean pork, salmon, mackerel, fresh sardines, white fish, prawns or tofu as alternatives – and keep portions small. A serving should be about the size of a deck of cards (see the September Healthy Food Guide magazine, out now, for my guide to portion sizes). Alternating chunks of meat with veg on skewers makes a small amount of meat go a long way. And fill the grill – and your plate – with low-cal, antioxidant-rich veggies like aubergines, courgettes, peppers, asparagus, corn on the cob and mushrooms.

White rolls and French bread are low in nutrients and fibre. Instead, I make a ‘healthier’ potato salad – new potatoes in their skins, low-fat Greek yogurt, reduced-fat soured cream, spring onions, chives and lots of black pepper. For the kids, I cook jacket potatoes – and for burger lovers, I buy granary rolls. Bowls of green leaves usually end up in the bin so I make a Greek salad with cucumber, tomatoes, green peppers, reduced-fat feta and olives. Olive oil and white wine vinegar are on the side if anyone wants to add them. The mayo stays in the supermarket.

Chips and dips can be a calorie disaster, so I buy just one or two bags of crisps (depending on how many people there are) – once they’re gone, they’re gone – and put out carrot and pepper sticks with reduced-fat hummus, tzatziki and salsa, which are lower in calories than creamy or mayo-based dips.

Finally, it’s worth remembering booze calories aren’t even included in the average 3,000 calories we consume at a barbecue. Plus large amounts of alcohol can give us the munchies so we eat even more (and forget just how much we’ve eaten). If you’re heading to a barbie, offering to drive means you can stick to alcohol- and calorie-free drinks. And if you’re hosting, stock up on soda water, diet lemonade, slimline tonic and plenty of ice – great calorie-free ways to dilute the booze.

Rethink your drink

By Emer Delaney, British Dietetic Association spokesperson 

We all know that giving children fizzy drinks is never a great idea because they are high in sugar and have very little nutrients. Some contain the equivalent of eight heaped teaspoons of sugar, which can not only contribute to weight gain as they don't make your child feel full, but can also damage their teeth. And now health experts have calculated there's even more sugar in some smoothies and health drinks. While there are no recommendations on the number of sugary drinks that are allowed, parents should limit them as best they can.

Research has shown that children aged four to ten years get 16% of their sugar intake from soft and fizzy drinks and soft drinks were the largest contributor to sugar intake for children aged four to eighteen years.  These are frightening figures because when kids drink too much juice, juice or sport drinks their intake of milk declines and they get too little calcium for their growing teeth and bones.

Whether its fruit juice or fizzy drinks, the source of the sugar doesn't matter as any sugar the body doesn't need will be converted to fat. Also, when children have these drinks on an empty stomach, the body takes in sugar so quickly, insulin spikes and then drops suddenly, leaving them feeling hungry.   50% of UK children are now overweight so limiting these drinks is more important than ever.

So what can parents do? Limit the drinks for special occasions only like parties or holidays; dilute fruit juices with water; try flavoured water or de-caffeinated tea for a change. But the easiest and clearest message for all - milk or water should be a child's only choice.

We need to empower our children to make their own decisions and to teach them that too many fizzy drinks, fruit juice or sweet drinks are bad for their bodies. Change doesn't happen overnight, but we can start making small steps today and make it happen today.