Free from gluten, free from taste?

Whether Coeliac-afflicted, wheat-intolerant or a gluten banishing health hippy, laying off the white stuff can be difficult and seemingly impossible here in Scotland, a land of all things deep fried and gluten-laden-batter smothered – or so you’d think.

Here in our bubble of all things boutique and gourmet, we are lucky enough to have a fine selection of gluten-free treasures to be found at some of our most frequented foodie haunts, some more accommodating than others.Library caf, sort yoself out, there’s only so much soup and popcorn I can stomach. Bean Scene? No words.

Whilst the whole GF movement is certainly hip, hop and happening, it’s something that is important to those that can’t eat a chocolate éclair without feeling like a beached whale or whimpering like Ruby Tandoh. So if you’re hankering after something baked, sweet and definitely not GF (guilt-free), fear not, with such candidates as Gorgeous, The Cottage Kitchen, Taste, Bibi’s and resurrected Our Story all providing strong candidates in the cake category.

Cakey favorites include:

Bibi’s 

Peanut Butter brownie – Luxuriously soft and squidgy in the middle with a warm kick of peanut.

Taste

Homemade apple and pecan cake – Great for the autumnal season with its gloriously dense, nutty sponge and sugary buttercream and ideal with something hot and caffeinated to take the edge off that taxing essay.

Our Story

 GF cake of the month –  This time a tangy and decadent lemon drizzle cake topped with creamy, zesty, buttercream.

Mitchell’s

With its 3 wheat-free cakes on rotation and the sight of its GF carrot cake, something I haven’t had in years, practically bringing a tear to my eye. It could only be bettered by replacing the orange flavored icing (which tasted strangely of bubblegum) with one of classically salty-sweet cream cheese and it’d achieve perfection.

Cottage Kitchen

Flourless chocolate cake – enhanced with thick whipped cream and fresh berries, always a heavenly combination, definitely deserves a special mention.

But let’s be real, whilst you can have your cake and eat it, we cannot live on cake alone.

Zest-To-Go

Fulfills the gap with its ‘breakfast smoothie’ made with GF oats, bananas, strawberries and yoghurt, a perfect pick me up before an early-morning lecture, not to mention its naturally gluten-free custom salads.

Forgan’s

Ever usefully, they symbolise what is suitable on their menu and they have a plethora of starters, mains and desserts that provide a full whack on flavor but not on your intestine, including their signature duck shepherd’s pie – an unctuous mélange of perfectly-seasoned poultry under a crispy potato lid.

Gorgeous Café

The winner of The Great Gluten-Free Off. Not only are there scrummy bakes on sale (their salted caramel brownies are debatably the best in town) but gluten free toasties and bagels.

So head into town to satisfy those pangs without fear of the wheat-induced bloat and order a sandwich or a slice of cake for once. It will be momentous.

Image courtesy of www.weddingbee.com