One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, four!

Potatoes in an apple cake?  I came across an unlikely sounding recipe for Pratie Cake this week which I couldn't resist trying.  It is an old Irish recipe, hence the potatoes, and seemed appropriate as it was St Patrick's Day earlier in the week.  Yes I know I'm a little late with my Irish theme.  The recipe uses potatoes as an alternative pie crust surrounding a juicy appley centre.  It only needed a little fiddling to make it gluten free and low in added sugar.  I was worried that the potato dough would be difficult to handle but actually it was easier than my usual gluten free pastry.

The results were deliciously different, like a soft apple pie, and strangely there was very little taste of potato.  The rest of the family loved it and there was enough to reheat for second helpings the following evening.  I am now wondering how I could ring the changes with some different fillings.  Sorry about the poor photos with this one, but we were in a hurry to try to try the cake and didn't have time for anything arty!

 

Pratie Cake (Gluten free and low sugar)

 

Ingredients - makes an 18cm / 7in cake

• 450g potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 50g butter / margarine, melted
• 4 tbsp gluten free plain flour (approx 40g)
• 1/2 xanthan gum
• 1/2 ground ginger (optional)
• 1 large or 2 small cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 tbsp demerara or light soft brown sugar or sugar substitute (I used 1 tbsp 'Tate & Lyle Light at Heart' which is a brown sugar and stevia blend) 
• a little extra butter / margarine
• demerara sugar or caster sugar or 'Light at heart' for dredging

1. Preheat the oven to 190C / Gas 5.  Lightly grease a baking tray.
2. Mix together the mashed potatoes, salt and butter.
3. Sieve in the flour, xanthan gum and ground ginger.  Mix in to make a soft dough.
4. Knead lightly on a floured surface and divide into two portions.  Roll each portion out into a round of about 18cm / 7in across.
5. Place one round on the baking tray and pile on the apple in the centre.  Sprinkle with the sugar or sugar substitute.  
6. Dampen the edges of the dough with a little milk and lay the other round on top.  Press the edges together well and patch up any gaps which appear in your dough.
7. Bake for 45-60 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from the oven, spread with a little butter and sprinkle with sugar to your taste.  Serve hot.

My cake made 8 portions and I calculated that each portion had roughly 18-20g carbohydrates.