Rhubarb and caramel upside down cake

It can be a challenge baking when you have coeliac disease to consider. It’s the gluten in flour that keeps baked goods elastic, and without it cakes and biscuits are often dry and crumbly. But going without gluten is a necessity for those with this lifelong autoimmune disease that causes damage to the small intestine and prevents nutrients from being properly absorbed. Coeliac Awareness Week runs from today until June 24 and this year’s theme — Together We are GlutenFree for Life — spells out the importance of understanding what is not a mere dietary preference. To help raise awareness and encourage people to enjoy baking again, Coeliac New Zealand ambassador Sally Holland (below) shares two tasty gluten-free recipes from her book Goodbye Gluten. It’s something she knows about all too well, giving traditional scones, sponge cakes, brownies and cupcakes a makeover after her husband Bill was diagnosed with the disease. Serves 8

¼ cup water

½ cup caster sugar

4 stems rhubarb, trimmed and cut in to 3cm

lengths

185g butter, softened

1 cup of sugar

1½ tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1½ cups gluten-free flour mix (see box) 1½ tsp baking powder, gluten-free

¾ cup sour cream

1 2 3 4 5 6

Heat oven to 165C. Prepare a 23cm round cake tin by heavily buttering the base. Place water and sugar in a small saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Allow to boil over medium heat until the syrup turns golden, about 5 minutes. Do not stir at this stage.

Pour into the tin and swirl the tin to spread the toffee evenly over the base. Arrange the sliced rhubarb on top of the toffee. Set aside while preparing the cake batter. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gently fold in the sifted flour mix and baking powder. Fold in the sour cream.

Turn out on to the rhubarb and spread evenly. Bake 60–70 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the tin to prevent any toffee sticking to it.

After a few minutes turn the cake out on to a wire rack to cool.