Almond Frangipane Fingers- vegan, gluten-free, sugar free

"Free-from" almond fingers; no egg, gluten, wheat, dairy or sugar

I enjoy baking- and eating- my Agave Almond Slice and Chocolate Agave Almond Slice but after listening to BBC Radio Four's "The Food Program" last Sunday, I decided to change the recipe a bit and create a new version. Let me explain: the radio show was about "free from" foods, which are gaining in popularity here in the UK. Most major supermarkets now have a small section devoted to gluten, dairy and egg- free products for those who have food allergies and intolerances and those who have simply chosen to cut down on/ cut out certain ingredients. As many of us probably have at least one friend or colleague who has an intolerance to wheat, dairy, gluten etc. and all of us could do with something a little different sometimes, I think it's important to have a few good "free-from"recipes in our repertoires. This one is totally guilt-free too. My next plan is to combine this with pears on a buckwheat base and make a frangipane tart... let me know if you try that one before I do! 


300g ground almonds
100g buckwheat flour
100g  xylitol/ the equivalent in stevia
5 tsps baking powder
400ml soya milk
100ml agave nectar
150ml coconut oil (liquified)
2 tsps pure almond essence
flaked almonds to decorate

• Mix together the almonds, buckwheat flour, baking powder and stevia/ xylitol in a large bowl.
• In another jug/ bowl, combine the soya milk, agave nectar, coconut oil and almond essence. (If you are going to leave it before mixing, you may need to gently reheat in a saucepan as the coconut oil will solidify!)
• Beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The batter will be quite a bit wetter than your usual cake mix, but don't worry about this. As long as you follow the instructions for baking carefully it will turn out just fine.
• Pour into a greased and lined/ dampened tin or silicone mould. A shallow-ish rectangular one is ideal. Make it no more than about an inch thick, as it will rise on the oven.
• Sprinkle with a good layer of flaked almonds, and bake in an oven preheated to 175C. After 10 minutes then at 150C for another 15 minutes. It is done when a skewer inserted into the middle emerges clean. 
• When cool, remove carefully from the tin/ mould and cut into fingers.