Please help

[clairew]

Hi Everyone,
I am going to attempt to cook my first gluten free christnas cake. I am not a good cook and have never baked a cake before. I have got a reciepe off the net, but i have a problem it says i need potatoe flour. I cant find it anywhere. I have all the other ingredients and all the equipment i need. I have purchased cornflour, which i need. I also have brought 2 different plain flours and white bread flour. Can i use any of these instead of potatoe flour?
Take Care.
Claire

[ostrich]

If it helps, I believe potato flour and potato starch are the same thing. Usually I find one but not the other in the grocery store.
_________________
Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[cruelshoes]

Sorry, Os, Potato flour and potato starch are definitely NOT the same thing. Potato flour is heavy and grainy and tastes strongly of poato and potato starch is more like cornstarch in texture and has not much taste. They will lead to completely different results. It is more likely that the recipe really wants potato starch, but we would need to see it to be sure.

ClaireW - can you post a link to your recipe so we can look at it? That way we might be able to tell you what you can sub. Is the recipe from the UK? I don't see corn flour very often in US recipes, so that's why I am asking.
_________________
-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
10-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters (12 and 2) have neg. bloodwork

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[clairew]

Oh my god i cant believe i just did that, all by myself lol. It is from sainsburys, so i though i would be able to get all the ingredients there but i cant find potato flour. Thanks Claire

Recipe information:
Serves: 12
Prep time: 0 minutes
Cooking time: 0 minutes

Nutrition per serving:
544 calories, 19g fat (of which saturated fat 7g), 1g salt, 75g sugar
Gluten free christmas cakeRated 3 out of 5
A gluten free Christmas cake which everyone can enjoy.

Ingredients250g dairy-free butter or margarine
175g dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons treacle
2 tablespoons brandy
4 medium eggs
75g cornflour
100g potato flour
1 tablespoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons gluten-free baking powder
175g ground almonds (if you have a nut allergy replace with 75g more cornflour and 75g more potato flour)
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1kg luxury dried fruit mix
finely grated rind of 1 orange


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Print this recipe Email this recipe Buy ingredients online Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C, 325°F, gas mark 3.
Firstly prepare the tin. Grease the base and sides of a deep 20.5cm cake tin. Cut a double thickness strip of baking parchment 5cm deeper than the tin and long enough to wrap around the tin completely.
Make a 2.5cm crease along the long folded edge, then snip the paper from the fold to the crease at regular intervals. Press one paper strip into the tin, grease and then press the other strip on top, making sure the paper folds are flat on the bottom of the tin.

Cut 3 rounds of paper to fit the bottom of the tin and press into the base.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter or margarine, sugar and treacle until pale and creamy.
Whisk in the brandy and gradually add the eggs, with the cornflour.
Sieve in the potato flour, spice and baking powder, and fold in using a large metal spoon, along with the remaining ingredients.
Pile into the prepared tin and smooth over the top.
Bake in the oven for 2 hours, covering the top with foil if it browns too quickly, or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.

If you are decorating the cake, check that the marzipan and icing are gluten-free.

[ostrich]

I could've sworn there was a thread on potato flour vs. starch where it said they're the same...
_________________
Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[mrsppmrxky]

Os, like stated above, the two are completely different. Tapioca starch and Tapioca Flour are the same interchangable, but you will have a flop if you try to do that with the potato flour and starch.

Claire, you could order the potato flour over the net. Gluten free pantry sells the potato flour. If you are in the UK, there probably are some companies in the UK that sell over the net as well.
_________________

[The Edifying Conscience]

[The Edifying Conscience]

[aklap]

Os, you're not crazy - there is a post here somewhere...
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[cruelshoes]

OK Clairew - I found your original recipe here. I ran the conversion calculator and 100g equals out to 3.5 US ounces. Since you are in the UK, what the recipe is calling for is what we know as potato starch. This is not the same as what we call potato flour here in the US. You can substitute tapioca flour, arrowroot or cornstarch.

The confusion here is that UK potato flour = US potato starch. I have several UK GF cokooks, so that's how I know...
_________________
-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
10-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters (12 and 2) have neg. bloodwork

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[ostrich]

[cruelshoes]

Here is your original post, ostrich. Potato starch flour in the US is the same as potato starch. Potato flour in the UK is potato starch in the US. Potato flour is NOT the same thing as potato starch flour in the US. I don't know what the UK equivalent for US potato flour is. None of my UK cookbooks call for it.

Hope that response is as clear as mud! I honestly can't remember my own name after trying to think of all the possible combinations.
_________________
-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
10-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters (12 and 2) have neg. bloodwork

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt