Adriana grew up in Colombia, then moved to the US before coming to Britain. After a career in design and advertising she set up her own baking business, The Little Red Barn.

The Little Red Barn had a prestigious customer list selling the most sought after brownies, biscotti and cookies in the UK. Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Starbucks stocked her products and it is rumoured that her dedicated fan base included the inhabitants of Number 10 Downing Street... The Little Red Barn Baking Book was published by Ebury Press in 2000. Adriana sold the company prior to the arrival of her daughter Ruth.

In 2004 Ruth was diagnosed with coeliac disease and since
then Adriana has become an expert on gluten-free cooking of
all types, but especially baking – aided and assisted by her discovery of the Thermomix! (See Michelle's blog here for an in-depth investigation into what a Thermomix could do for you!)

Adriana is an active blogger – check in at GlutenFree4Kids – tweets at @Glutenfree4kids, has already written one gluten-free cookbook (The Gluten Free Cookbook for Kids) and runs gluten-free cookery classes from her home and in both the Waitrose Cookery School in London and the Miele Experience in Abingdon. Her aim is to make delicious gluten-free cooking and baking widely accessible.

In the recipes below Adriana has given directions for making them both in a Thermomix and with standard kitchen equipment.

Christmas recipes

Buckwheat cheese straws
Cheesey Snakes
Cranberry and Lime Relish
Cornbread
Christmas Cornbread Stuffing
Sticky Banoffee (Figgy) Pudding
Iced Christmas Sugar Cookies
Classic Christmas Fruit Cake

Buckwheat cheese straws
CF; EF; GF; NiF; NuF; SF; WF; cbDF; cbLF

Here's a little recipe which I found on www.101cookbooks.com. I've adapted the original recipe and it's now gluten free! These are tasty, crunchy breadsticks which have a wonderful nutty flavour. 

Note: At the moment Doves Farm Buckwheat flour is not suitable for coeliacs.  You can make these straws using Teff Flour instead which is available at some health food shops or on line. Alternatively you could also experiment using gram (besan or chickpea flour). You may need to alter the amount of liquid slightly if you are using a different flour.

(NB. Ed. If you want to make the straws dairy free you could substitute a dairy-free spread for the butter and a soya cheese or some Vegusto 'NoMoo Melty' for the cheddar.)

Makes about 25-30 cheese straws

60g buckwheat flour
120g gluten free flour
1 tsp salt
110g cold unsalted butter, diced into cubes
70g mature cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
120ml iced water

Preheat oven to 450 F or 220 C. 
In a medium sized bowl combine the buckwheat flour, gluten free flour and salt. Mix gently with a fork and pour this into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter cubes and pulse briefly until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Pour the mixture back into the bowl and add the grated cheese and rosemary. Mix through. Add the iced water and mix with a fork until the dough comes together. Knead gently to make a dough, but don't overdo it or you'll end up with a greasy lump of dough. 
Pat the dough out into a circle, wrap with clingfilm and place in the freezer to chill for about 30 minutes. The dough will be fine in the freezer for a couple of days.
When you are ready to make the dough, cut the disc in half and keep the other half cold in the fridge. Make sure the oven is really hot. Roll out the dough to about 3/4 cm and then cut into 1 cm strips using a sharp knife. Pinch the dough together and then roll lightly on a lightly floured board. 
Place the breadsticks on a baking sheet as you go along and make sure they are all equal in width and length so that they bake evenly. Don't worry if the dough breaks up a bit, just pinch it back together and roll it out again. If the dough starts to get too soft and difficult to work with then put it back in the freezer for a few minutes to harden up.
Bake the breadsticks in a hot oven for about 8-10 minutes.  Leave them to cool before serving.

Notes
You can substitute other herbs for the rosemary such as thyme, oregano or even lavender.  You can also try using different cheeses such as Emmental, Gruyere or Parmesan.

To make the dough in your Thermomix
Weigh out all the ingredients with the exception of the water into your TM bowl. Using the turbo pulse button, pulse 2 or 3 times until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Add some of the water (you won’t need all of it) and use the kneading function (set for 30 seconds) adding just enough water to make a dough.  
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and pat lightly into a circle. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Cheesey Snakes
EF; GF; niF; nuF; Sf; WF; cbCF

These are little cheese scones, only much lighter and tastier. 
They are one of the top recipes in my book The Gluten Free Cookbook for Kids. 
These snakes make a delicious Christmas Breakfast treat. Fill them with a slice of ham, tomato and a few little leaves of basil. You can make them into any shape you like, so if you prefer a more traditional round shaped scone – then go for it.  They are best hot out of the oven.

(NB. Ed. If you want to make the snakes dairy free you could substitute soya or oat milk for the milk, a plain soya or coconut yogurt for the crème fraîche and yogurt and a soya cheese or some Vegusto 'NoMoo Melty' for the cheddar.)

Makes about 20 Snakes

250g gluten-free plain flour
1 tbsp gluten-free baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp gluten-free mustard powder
½ tsp xanthan gum
100g medium or strong Cheddar cheese, grated
200ml crème fraîche
50ml natural yoghurt
150ml milk

Pre-heat the oven to 220ºC (425ºF) Gas 7. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. 
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, mustard and xanthan gum.
Add the grated cheese and mix together. Combine the crème fraîche, yoghurt and milk in a jug and whisk the mixture with a fork.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and cheese mixture and then pour in the liquid. Bring the mixture together with a fork until you have a sticky dough.
Resist the temptation to add lots more flour – the dough will be sticky, but you will not need to handle it very much.   
Lightly flour a board or work surface. Turn the dough out on to the surface and very gently tap it into a round disk. With your hands pat the disk down evenly to a thickness of about 1.5 cm (½ in).
Cut into strips and then cut each strip in half. Using a palette knife, gently place these on a lined baking sheet. Bake for approximately 10 minutes until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool for a few minutes.   

To Make Cheesey Snakes in your Thermomix
Measure out all the dry ingredients into your TM bowl. Mix at speed 5 for 5 seconds. Add the cheese in even sized chunks along with crème fraiche, yoghurt and milk. Mix at speed 6 for 10 seconds. Sprinkle a board with a little gluten free flour. Turn the dough out and then briefly knead. Pinch off sections of dough and form into logs. Place these on a lined baking tray. Bake for 10- 12 minutes until golden brown. 

Cranberry and Lime Relish
Recipe from www.glutenfree4kids.com
CF; DF; EF; GF; LF; NiF; NuF; SF; WF

This relish takes minutes to prepare and adds a nice tart, citrusy note to the Christmas bird.

Serves 8-12

1 orange
1 lime
1 pack of fresh cranberries, washed and drained (about 300g)
Honey (about 3 tbs)

Place the orange and lime in a saucepan of boiling water. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Cut the orange and half and reserve 1/2 for another use. Cut the lime into quarters. Place the washed cranberries, ½ orange and lime in a food processor. Blitz for 30 seconds until everything is finely chopped but still has some texture. Pour this into a bowl and add about 3 tbs of honey to make a nice textured relish. Leave the mixture to sit for at least 2 hours before serving. It will keep in the fridge overnight.

To make in your Thermomix.
Place the orange and lime in the internal steaming basket with about 500ml of water. Cook at 100 degrees, speed 2 for 15 minutes. 
Remove the orange and lime from the basket and tip out any water in the bowl. Place these back in the bowl along with all the other ingredients. Pulse on turbo 2 or 3 times.

Cornbread
From The Gluten Free Cookbook for Kids
GF; NiF; NuF; SF; WF; cbDF; cbLF

An American favourite, this can be used for breakfast served with butter and jam, or to make sandwiches. You can also use it to make a delicious stuffing. Cornbread freezes well too. Keep a few pieces wrapped in tin foil in the freezer. Put the parcel straight from the freezer in a hot oven and you will have warm toasted
cornbread ready for breakfast in about 15 minutes.

(NB Ed: You could make this dairy free by substituting
dairy-free spread such as PURE for the butter, soya or
oat milk for the milk and a soya yogurt for the yogurt.)

75g unsalted butter
60g gluten free flour (you can substitute buckwheat flour)
225g polenta
1tsp salt
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tbs gluten-free baking powder
2 eggs well beaten
280ml milk
55ml plain yoghurt

Preheat oven to 240 C or hottest setting. Melt the butter and leave to cool.
Dip a pastry brush in the melted butter and lightly grease a 22 cm square tin.
Combine the gluten free flour, corn meal, salt, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add the eggs and the milk and yoghurt.
With a fork, stir to combine. Add the melted butter and mix through gently until just combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake for 15 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes then cut into squares and serve.

Note:
The type or brand of polenta used can give you very different batters. If the batter seems very thick and reluctant to pour out of the bowl, add a little more milk. If the batter seems very liquidy, add a little more polenta. The ideal consistency should be like a thick cake batter.

Christmas Cornbread Stuffing
GF; NiF; NuF; SF; WF; cbDF; cbLF

This recipe is adapted from my grandmother’s famous stuffing recipe. It contains lots of colourful vegetables and it is always a big hit. If you’ve got any vegetarians at your table, this stuffing will make them really happy. At home we like it hot and spicy, but if chili is not your thing then just leave it out or use red and green peppers instead.
This will make enough stuffing for a small bird. If you have a large turkey (5–6 kilos or more) then double or triple the recipe which will give you enough to stuff the bird and have an extra side dish of stuffing to serve as well.

1 recipe cornbread (see recipe above)
2 tbs sunflower oil
1 tbs butter or dairy-free spread
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
4-5 sticks of celery, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 green chili seeded and finely chopped (optional)
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tsp dry oregano
1 red chili seeded and finely chopped (optional)
splash of dry sherry
400ml (approx) chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 large egg
a large handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
a large handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped

If possible make the cornbread a day before you require it.
Cut it into 4 cm cubes and place in a large bowl. Leave it to sit out overnight so that it is slightly stale.
If you are making the cornbread on the same day then cut into cubes and place on a baking tray. Toast the cubes for 10-15 minutes in a medium oven, to dry out a bit. Leave to cool.
In a large pan fry the onions in the butter/spread and oil, but don’t allow them to brown. Cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the minced garlic and all the spices including the chilli if you are using it. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes until fragrant. Add a good splash of sherry and allow the mixture to simmer until the alcohol has evaporated.
Add half the chicken stock (about 200 ml) and the chopped celery. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool.
In a large bowl combine the cubed cornbread and grated carrots. Mix gently. Add the onion and spice mix and gently chop down with a wooden spoon. Try not to completely mash the cornbread but make sure it is well combined.
Add the egg and mix through thoroughly. The mixture should be moist but not completely damp. If it is too dry add a bit more chicken stock until you achieve the right consistency. It should be like soft clay. Finally, add the fresh chopped herbs and mix through. Ideally you should still have some chunks of cornbread, but don’t worry if you don’t. It will still taste good. Season with salt and pepper.
You can keep the stuffing in a bowl, covered, in the fridge for a maximum of 2 hours, but do not stuff the bird until you are ready to put it in the oven.
Preheat oven 200 C. Season your bird inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the bird and place in a roasting pan. Cover the breast with a little jacket made from the foil in which the butter is wrapped. This makes a cosy little jacket which will keep the breast nice and moist.
If you are baking your stuffing separately from your turkey, generously butter a baking dish big enough to hold the remainder of the stuffing. Spread the stuffing in the dish, dot with some butter and cover with tin foil.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Remove the tin foil during the last 15 minutes of cooking. The stuffing is cooked when it is crispy and golden

To make in your Thermomix
Measure out the oil and butter into your TM bowl. Add the onions (quartered), carrots (in chunks), celery (in chunks), chili or mixed peppers and whole cloves of garlic. 
Chop for 3-5 seconds/speed 6. Cook on Varoma 5min, spoon speed,  reverse blade. 
Add the spices and cook for a further 4 minutes 100 reverse blade, spoon speed. 
Add the sherry and cook for 8-10 minutes Varoma, MC off spoon speed, reverse blade. 
Add the ½ of the stock and cook 4 minutes, Varoma, MC off, spoon speed, reverse blade. 
Place your cubed cornbread in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the cooked vegetable mixture and chop down using a wooden spoon. You can do all this in the Thermomix, but take care not to over process it. You want a few chunks of cornbread in the mixture. 
Add the egg and mix through and then the fresh herbs. Bake as indicated in the main recipe.

Sticky Banoffee (Figgy) Pudding
Recipe from www.glutenfree4kids.com
GF; NiF; SF; WF; cbCF; cbDF; cbLF

This is a lovely Christmas day pudding, indulgent, sticky, surprisingly light and completely delicious. It can be made a few days in advance and then warmed up just before serving. I've made this in a square baking dish, but you could easily make it in individual pudding moulds.  Just remember to adjust your baking times accordingly.

(NB Ed. You can make the pudding dairy free by substituting coconut oil or a dairy free spread such as PURE for the butter. For the sauce, substitute coconut oil or PURE for the unsalted butter and soya and oat cream for the double cream.)

Serves 6-8

125g dates, stoned and chopped
125g dried figs, chopped (remove any hard bits)
250ml black tea made with 1 tea bag
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
85g unsalted butter (use coconut oil or diary-free spread for the dairy-free version)
175g caster sugar
2 large eggs
80g gluten free flour
80g ground almonds
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
3 ripe bananas roughly mashed
1 tsp mixed spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice)

For the sauce
100g soft light brown sugar
100g unsalted butter
150ml double cream
Pinch of salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. 
Butter a square baking dish (22 x 22 cm) or individual pudding moulds if you prefer. 
Place the dried fruit into a heat proof bowl. Add the hot tea and leave to soak for a few minutes. In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients, the flour, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, spices, salt and xanthan gum. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. 
Add the egg little by little until the mixture resembles mayonnaise. 
Now add the mashed bananas and the softened dried fruit along with the tea. 
Mix through and then fold in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. 
Pour into the prepared baking dish (or moulds) and bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Make the sauce while the pudding is in the oven. Combine the butter and sugar in a saucepan and melt over medium heat. When the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, add the double cream.  Simmer for 3-4 minutes until thickened and the sauce is a light golden toffee colour. You can make the sauce ahead of time and reheat it in a microwave or on the stove as needed before serving.

To serve, cut the pudding into squares and drizzle with the hot butterscotch sauce. Add ice cream or cream as required. The pudding is best served warm.

Iced Christmas Sugar Cookies
Recipe from The Gluten Free Cookbook for Kids
GF; NiF; SF; WF; cbDF; cbLF

These are a great for children’s parties. Get the children involved and let them have fun using cookie cutters and ready-made icing to make their own designs.

Makes about 50 cookies

150g gluten-free plain flour
100g ground almonds
1½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
½ tsp gluten-free bicarbonate of soda
85g unsalted butter or dairy-free spread
200g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
decorating icing

Combine the flour, almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well.
Gently add the flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Add a little more flour if necessary. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a rectangle. Flatten out slightly with a rolling pin. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 2 hours. You can keep the dough in the freezer for about a month.
Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC (375ºF) Gas 5.
Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll out the dough to 3 mm (1/8 in) thickness. Cut out the cookies with decorative cutters and place on an ungreased baking sheet. If the dough gets too soft, place back in the freezer to firm up a little before continuing.
Leave plenty of space between the cookies on the baking sheet as they will spread. Bake for 8–10 minutes until lightly golden around the edges. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before decorating with tubes of writing icing.

These cookies are best within 1-2 days of being made. Store in an airtight container. Alternatively you can keep them in the freezer.

Classic Christmas Fruit Cake
Recipe adapted from Miele’s Home Economist Elspeth Smith
CF; GF; NiF; SF; WF; cbDF; cbLF

I tasted this cake a few weeks ago at The Miele Experience
Centre in Abingdon. It left a long lasting impression on me. 
Up until that day, I’ve never really understood what fruitcake
lovers were going on about. This cake sets the record straight
and set me off on a two week quest of fruitcake madness. 
I’ve got several recipes I could share with you, but I am going
for this one which seems to have fruitcake lovers enthralled.
Like all fruitcakes, make it well in advance as the flavour and
the texture of the cake improves with age. You can also feed it
once or twice a week with a little extra brandy but to be honest,
it doesn’t really need it. You’ll see from the picture that my cake
is not iced and the reason is it never got to this stage as people
from all over the village kept stopping in to have a taste.
It doesn’t need the icing, but if you want the full effect, it can
only enhance what is already a very spectacular cake. 

If you think you might get fed up of fruitcake, then by all means halve the recipe. It works well and you will have sufficient cake to get you through Christmas and possibly the New Year. For half the recipe I baked my cake for just over 2 hours.  Remember that all ovens are different and what really gives this cake the wonderful moistness is a low and long baking using conventional heat, that is top and bottom heat. This stops the cake drying out.

Makes a large cake to serve about 12 – 16 people

230g sultanas
230g raisins
170g currants
100g glace cherries
100g dried apricots
50g mixed candied peel
8- 10 tbs brandy (or Jack Daniels, if you want to ring the changes)
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
50g flaked almonds
1 orange, zest only
1 lemon, zest only
250g ground almonds
250g unsalted butter (at room temperature) or dairy-free spread
250g dark brown sugar
5 large eggs
2 tbs black treacle

Weigh all the dried fruit into a large bowl and pour the brandy over it, mixing well. Cover and leave to soak for several hours and preferably overnight.
Grease and double line a 20cm round cake tin with greaseproof paper. Tie a double band of brown paper on the outside of the tin.
Select a conventional function on your oven (ie, not fan) and preheat the oven to 140 C. If you have a Miele oven then use the automatic programme for rich fruit cake and follow the instrucions in the oven display unit.
Combine the ground almonds and spices into a large bowl and add the flaked almonds, orange and lemon rind. 
In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar until light.  Beat the eggs in little by little to make an emulsified mixture the texture of mayonnaise. Add the black treacle and mix through. Gradually fold in the ground almonds and spice mixture, followed by the soaked fruit. Mix through gently to make sure the fruit is evenly distributed and pour into the prepared tin. Smooth down the mixture with the back of a spoon or spatula.  Cover the top of the cake loosely with a double circle of greaseproof paper. 
Place in the oven on a wire rack on the middle shelf. Time the cake for 1 hour and then reduce the temperature to 120 C and continue to bake for up to 3 hours. (Check after 2 ½ hours to see if the cake is done.) To check if the cake is done, place a skewer in the middle of the cake. If it’s done it should come out clean.  The cake should also be firm to the touch.
Allow the cake to cool  completely before removing it from the tin. (This is the hardest bit as your house will smell amazing and everyone will want to dig into it straight away.) This cake can be made up to 3 months in advance.  But if you are like me, you can make it a week before Christmas or even just a few days before. It definitely improves with age and you will get much neater slices if you can stop yourself cutting into it straight away.
To store the cake re-wrap in greaseproof paper and foil and store in an airtight tin. Keep it somewhere cool and dark and feed at intervals with brandy or sherry.

Note:  I used Jack Daniels in my cake but any spirit will do including Cognac, Sherry, Brandy etc. The quality of the alcohol does make a difference to the flavour, so it’s worth using something you would happily drink.