The word “less”, apart from when it’s applied to architecture, seems to spell only misery, especially when linked to food. Any dish without the full complement of ingredients spells sacrifice and second best.

But in the case of omitting flour from cakes, there is a different story to tell. As a passionate baker, most of my favourite sponge cake recipes (Victoria sandwich aside) do not contain so much as a grain of wheat.

Transport yourself for a moment to that café at the base of an alpine slope in an Austrian village, where you settled down to a steaming mug of hot chocolate and a generous slice of torte. Or think back to that neat, tiered délice bought at a patisserie in a French square; lovely fudgey layers of almond sponge, with creamy layers of bavarois and mousse in between.

Continentals have long made an art out of cakes using ground nuts, and not simply almonds. In France ground hazelnuts are just as common in the cake section of the supermarket, and I am never quite sure why we don’t find them over here. Meanwhile, it is the easiest procedure in the world to grind your own in an electric coffee mill. The only caveat is to do it in small batches.

Other finely ground ingredients are also candidates, though not a substitute, for flour in the same way as nuts, which release their oil as they bake. The River Café’s deliciously dense but loose-textured lemon cake has spawned a thousand polenta cakes around the land, of which the recipe below is yet another.

Polenta brings texture and a sweet, mealy flavour to the party, but is not the easiest of ingredients to bake with. Even when advertised as “fine” its consistency can vary from something that resembles the sands off the Isle of Wight to Chanel face powder. On the whole, it needs to be cut with ground nuts if you want a sponge with any grace.

If, however, you are confident that “fine” really is “fine”, for instance the Natco brand, then you can use it instead of flour to make a lovely sponge, something like a Madeira. Though akin to a scone or cornbread, the cake will be at its best the day it is baked – it’s not a keeper. For that we have to go back to ground nuts, which is yet another reason why they’re inked on to my list of favourites.

Annie Bell is the author of Gorgeous Cakes. Her latest book, Gorgeous Desserts (Kyle Cathie Publishing, £14.99) is available from Times Books First at £13.49, free p&p. Visit timesonline.co.uk/booksfirst , or call 0870 1608080

Nutritionist’s verdict Amanda Ursell, the Times nutritionist, gives Annie’s recipes a health check

Flourless cakes offer nourishment and a treat to people such as the half a million coeliac disease sufferers in the UK who have to avoid wheat to be symptom-free. Then there’s the 1 per cent of adults and up to 8 per cent of children with general food intolerance, which may include reactions to wheat, says the British Dietetic Association. Many more adults may have a passing intolerance to wheat, shown in bloating and abdominal discomfort.

Flourless cakes can add vital nutrients: calcium, essential oils and vitamin E from nuts, iron from dried fruits and the heart-protecting supernutrients contained in dark chocolate. If dried fruits are used, less sugar may be needed, and nuts may cut how much traditional fat is needed. But be sure to exercise portion control, as flourless cakes may not have fewer calories.

Chocolate and apricot cake

Makes a 20cm cake; serves 6-8 For the sponge

4 medium eggs, separated;
150g golden caster sugar
3 tbsp cocoa, sifted;
225g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder, sifted

For the filling

225g ready-to-eat dried apricots
200ml orange juice, sieved, or water
1 tbsp apricot jam, sieved
4 tbsp coarsely grated dark chocolate (about 85 per cent cocoa)

Heat a fan oven to 180C (200C for an electric oven) and butter a 20cm cake tin, 9cm deep with a removeable collar. Stiffly whisk the egg whites in a medium bowl. Also whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Fold the egg whites into the egg and sugar mixture in three goes, then fold in the cocoa, the ground almonds and baking powder. Transfer the cake mixture to the tin, smooth the surface and bake for 35 minutes until the sponge starts to shrink from the sides and a skewer put in the centre comes out clean. Run a knife around the cake’s edge and leave it to cool in the tin. While the cake is baking, place the apricots and the juice or water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer over a low heat for 20-30 minutes until the apricots are tender and have absorbed all the liquid. Watch they don’t catch. Purée the apricots in a food processor, transfer to a bowl, cover and leave to cool. Remove the collar from the cake (you can leave it on the base to serve). Slit cake in half using a bread knife. Spread the lower half with the apricot purée and sandwich with the top. Brush the top of the cake with the sieved jam and scatter over the chocolate. The cake is lovely and moist and will keep well for several days in an airtight container.

Nutritionist’s verdict

Divided between 10, one slice has 18g fat (8g less than two slices of buttered toast), most of it unsaturated “good” fat, and 17g of added sugar (little more than toast with marmalade). It has 314 calories a slice, similiar to traditional chocolate cake, but with far more vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Lemon polenta cake

Makes a 20cm cake Serves 6-8

200g unsalted butter, diced
200g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
130g ground hazelnuts
2 tsp baking powder, sifted
70g fine polenta Icing sugar (for dusting)
A few physalis (Cape gooseberry, optional)

Heat the oven to 170C fan oven/190C electric oven. Place all the ingredients for the cake in the bowl of a food processor and cream together. Transfer the mixture to a buttered 20cm cake tin at least 5cm deep with a removeable collar, smoothing the surface with a spoon, and bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Run a knife around the sides of the cake, remove the collar and leave to cool. Shortly before serving, dust the cake with icing sugar, and decorate with physalis, with their petals pulled back if wished. You can either serve it off the base, or remove it as you prefer. It will keep for several days in an airtight container.

Nutritionist’s verdict

This delicious treat for people with wheat and gluten intolerances compares with a 100g slice of lemon cheesecake. Divided between eight, it has 461 calories and 34g of fat each, so take care if watching weight and cholesterol levels.

Ricotta cream

A filling that has a fraction of the calories and saturated fat of any whipped-up fancy

2 x 250g tubs of ricotta, drained 3 tbsp set honey

Place the ricotta and honey in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Reserving a couple of tablespoons of the ricotta cream, spread the rest over the base of your cake and sandwich with the top half. Spread reserved cream in a thin layer over the surface of the cake and scatter grated chocolate. Set aside to cool. If keeping the cake longer than a few hours, cover, chill and bring back up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes before serving. It will keep for several days.

Nutritionist’s verdict

Annie’s cream is a fantastic alternative to butter icing, with 850 calories and 55g of fat for the entire recipe – significantly healthier than the 2,500 calories and 150g of fat in traditional butter icing.

Yes-Yes fruit cake

Makes a 20cm cake Serves 10-plus

A hat-trick for those with intolerances as it contains no wheat, no gluten, no dairy, no added sugar and no eggs. In fact, aside from a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, this cake consists very simply of fruit and nuts. Perfect with the holiday approaching, it’s every bit as luxurious as a traditional Christmas cake and can be wrapped in baking paper and given small quantities of brandy or rum in the run-up to Christmas. You can either marzipan and ice it, or shower it with icing sugar.

200ml almond (or groundnut) oil
500ml apple juice
300g pitted and chopped dates
350g raisins and 200g sultanas
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
300g ground almonds
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Finely grated zest of an orange
100g chopped walnuts
Icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Pour the oil and apple juice into a medium-size saucepan, then stir in the dates, raisins and sultanas, bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. The mixture will sizzle furiously, then leave it to cool for 10 minutes. Heat the oven to 140C fan oven/160C electric oven, and butter or oil a 20cm cake tin 9cm deep, with a removeable collar. Line the bottom with baking paper, and butter this also. Fold the ground almonds, nutmeg and orange zest into the dried fruit mixture, and then the walnuts.

Transfer the mixture to the cake tin, smoothing the surface. Tear off a sheet of baking paper large enough to cover the surface of the cake and go about half way down the sides of the tin. Cut out a small circle from the centre about 2cm in diameter. Lay it over the top of the tin and tie it in place with string. Bake the cake for 3 hours, testing it with a skewer after about 2½ hours to be on the safe side, and you can do this through the hole in the paper without removing it. Run a knife around the collar, remove it and leave the cake to cool on the base. It will be good to eat from the following day. If you like, you can give it a dusting of icing sugar before serving, and remove the paper. It will keep well in a tin or covered container for several weeks.

Nutritionist’s verdict

Consisting almost solely of nuts, oil and dried fruits, a slice of this cake packs in 638 calories and 43g of fat (women should have no more than 70g a day and men 90g), before any marzipan or icing. You would be well advised to have half this serving. On the bright side, the ingredients provide a fourth and a fifth respectively of women and men’s daily protein needs, plus a seventh of daily calcium for both.

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