Lemon and Saffron Tea Cake - Gluten Free and Dairy Free

On Monday, it was my friend Craig's birthday.  Craig is gluten and dairy intolerant, so I wanted a recipe that was free of both, but was not something typical of gluten free cakes (eg almond meal/chocolate).

Indulge by Rowie Dillon contains a recipe for a gluten free Lemon and Saffron Tea Cake (which can be made dairy free by using margarine, or in  my case, vegetable oil).   You can find the recipe online here (see p5).   Rowie describes this cake as "exotic", which seemed to fit the bill for a birthday.   I made a small cake just for me so I could try it - here is a peek inside:

The cake has a glorious yellow colour from the saffron.  However, I am not so sure of the flavour - it may have been the saffron, the soy milk or the quinoa flour, or a combination of all three, but the taste of this cake was on the unusual side - definitely exotic!  It was much nicer than the muffins I made out of the same book (which Sandra and I were not that keen on, but which Tim liked), but the flavour was not what you would usually expect from a cake.  It's hard to describe, and you will have to try the cake for yourself to decide if you like it.

My cake was nowhere near as tall as the one in the photo - I can only assume that they used a smaller tin than was specified in the recipe, or had some mighty kickin' baking powder.  (I don't think the spoonful that I made into a cupcake for myself would make the cake that much smaller.) 

As this was a birthday cake, I iced it with lemon icing and wrote Happy Birthday on it with piping gel:

I am having dinner with Craig tomorrow night, so I will have to ask his verdict on the cake then!