When you have a food allergy or an intolerance, navigating your way through the festive season can be difficult, especially at a gathering when home-baked goods are on the cards. However, when baking in your own kitchen, and with the control of the ingredients in your own hands, delicious dishes can be made to suit every diet.

Many traditional Christmas recipes can still be enjoyed by substituting ingredients to make them safe for someone with a particular allergy or intolerance. Regular dairy products can easily be replaced by plant-based alternatives, while a chia or flaxseed ‘egg’ can be used in place of regular eggs, and aquafaba (the liquid from a tin of chickpeas) for egg whites.

Gluten-free flours, ground almonds or gluten-free oats can often be used in place of regular flours to make a recipe gluten-free. When following a gluten-free diet, the more common flours and grains can no longer be consumed, but many recipes still work well with gluten-free alternatives without compromising on the taste.

However for certain baked goods, these flours will require a little more fluids, so some tweaking of your favourite recipe may be required before perfecting your bake. Therefore, when cake-making, it can be best recommended to seek out a gluten-free or egg-free recipe, in place of substituting ingredients in a trusted regular cake recipe.

Chocolate orange is synonymous with Christmas, so I’m sharing two delicious, chocolate orange, gluten-free treats which you can enjoy by the fire over the Christmas season or even gift to a loved one. Both recipes are in no way compromised due to their lack of gluten, but are bursting with festive flavours.

Ingredients: Makes one log

4 free-range eggs

150g caster sugar

150g dark chocolate, melted and cooled

Zest of 1 orange

50g ground almonds

Chocolate ganache

200ml cream

200g mix of milk and dark chocolate chips

25g butter

75g icing sugar

1tsp orange extract

Filling

300ml cream, whipped

Method

1 Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ fan 160°C/gas mark 5. Line a Swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper, folding over the sides of the tin.

2 Place the eggs and caster sugar in a large bowl and whisk on high speed for 7-10 minutes. Slowly, pour in the cooled chocolate and fold together until well combined.

3 Add the orange zest and, one spoonful at a time, then the ground almonds and gently fold.

4 Transfer the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Once a skewer comes out clean the cake is cooked. Remove from the oven. Place on a wire rack still in the tin, expect the cake to crack a little, and set aside until cold.

5 To make the ganache, add the cream to a small saucepan over a medium heat. Gently heat the cream and, before it starts to bubble, take from the heat. Add the chocolate and butter.

Using a hand whisk, gently whisk until the ingredients are fully combined. Leave to cool a little, before whisking in the icing sugar and orange extract, and then pop in the fridge for an hour to thicken.

6 Lay a large piece of greaseproof paper on the work surface. Turn the cake out on to the paper and carefully peel off the greaseproof paper.

Spread the roulade with the whipped cream, and with one of the longest edges facing you, roll up the swiss roll away from you.

7 Place on a serving plate and top evenly with the ganache. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to set slightly. Take from the fridge and using a fork mark the ganache to resemble a tree bark. Dust with icing sugar and serve with some extra ganache on the side.

Ingredients: Makes 24

200g oats, check the packaging to ensure gluten-free

50g raw almonds

150g dates

125ml milk

100g peanut butter

2 tbsp cacao powder

Zest of 1 orange

Topping

150g white chocolate, melted

1 tbsp dried cranberries, each chopped into 4

3 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Method

1 Add the oats and almonds to a high-powered blender and blitz until fine.

2 Add the dates, milk, peanut butter, cacao, and orange zest. Blitz for about 30 seconds, until fully combined.

3 Taking a little scoop of the dough, roll into a ball and place on a greaseproof paper-lined tray.

Repeat with the remaining mixture, making about 24 balls.

4 Drizzle over the melted chocolate. Top with a piece of dried cranberry and two pumpkin seeds.

5 Leave to set and store in the fridge until ready to serve. They will keep well in the fridge in a sealed container for at least five days.