By Annie Reid, illustration by Emily Faccini

Why shouldn’t children (and adults for that matter) who have allergies have a choice of tea-time treats? The supermarkets are gradually responding to customers’ demands for allergy free food and I now regularly buy wheat-free shortbread and ginger cookies. But nothing beats homemade. A visit to Books for Cooks in Notting Hill has resulted in many successful allergy-free meals. The sweet recipe pages in Allergy Free Food by Tanya Wright are now particularly well-thumbed. For much of these ingredients (especially carob powder, egg replacer etc), you’ll need to go to a wholefoods store (see outlets below) although you can buy goats’ butter and rice flour from most of the supermarkets.

Chocolate crunch crispies

One batch won’t nearly be enough! I prefer to leave out the cranberries/raisins.

• 125g dairy-free margarine or goats’ butter
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 25g cocoa powder
• 250g puffed rice or millet
• 135g dried cranberries or raisins

1. Place the margarine or butter and golden syrup in a large heavy saucepan and heat, stirring until the margarine melts.
2. Add a little of the syrup mixture to the cocoa powder and mix to form a smooth paste, then return the paste to the saucepan and blend well. Add the puffed rice or millet and cranberries or raisins and stir carefully until evenly coated.
3. Divide between 20 paper sweet cases. Allow time to chill.

Tick-tock birthday cake

A beautifully moist cake, decorated like a clock’s face.

• 125g dairy-free margarine or goats’ butter
• 125g golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 2 tsp egg replacer mixed with 4 tbsp water
• 75g grated carrot
• 125g pineapple, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp pineapple juice
• 125g potato flour
• 50g brown rice flour
• 50g soya flour
• 2 tsp wheat-free baking powder*

• 50g dairy-free margarine or goats’ butter
• 3 tbsp soya milk
• 250g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tbsp carob or cocoa powder, sifted

Glacé icing ingredients

• 50g icing sugar, sifted
• about 11/2 tsp warm water

1. Cream the margarine or butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the cinnamon. Gradually add the egg replacer mixture, beating well. Stir in the carrot, pineapple and juice.
2. Sift the flours and baking powder together and fold into the mixture.
3. Spoon the cake mixture into a greased and lined 20cm/8inch round cake tin and bake in a preheated oven 180°C (350°F), Gas 4 for 1 hour. Turn onto a wire rack.
4. To make the carob fudge icing, melt the margarine or butter in a small saucepan with the soya milk. Add the icing sugar and carob or cocoa powder and beat until smooth and glossy. Leave until lukewarm and then pour over the cake so that it runs down the sides and coats them well.
5. To make the glacé icing, put the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually add the water. Put the icing into a piping bag fitted with a writing nozzle and pipe on the clock numbers and hands pointing to the child’s age.

*Making your own wheat-free baking powder. Combine and keep in air-tight container: 125g rice flour, 50g bicarbonate of soda and 50g tartaric acid.

Gluten-free lemon shortbread

Sophisticated and delicious – will appeal to babies and grannies alike.

• 150g brown rice flour
• 25g ground rice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 50g golden caster sugar
• 125g dairy-free margarine or goats’ butter
• 1 tbsp unrefined demerara sugar

1. Sift the flour and ground rice into a bowl and stir in the lemon zest and sugar. Add the margarine or butter and rub in, then knead lightly to make a smooth dough. Cover and chill for 30 mins.
2. Press the dough into an 18cm(7”) plain round or fluted flan ring on a greased baking tray. Prick all over with a fork, then mark the shortbread into wedges. Chill for 15 mins.
3. Bake the shortbread in a preheated oven, 160°(325°F), Gas Mark 3, for 35–40 mins or until golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Leave to cool slightly and then transfer to a wire rack.