No flour? No worries - let's cake!

Don't despair, cakes will not go begging during this time.

Layered cashew meringue cake (sans rival) Source: Alan Benson

Flour, flour, wherefore art thou, flour?

The shelves are empty across the land - no plain flour, self-raising, coconut, spelt, buckwheat or besan. Nope, not even wholemeal.

Never fear - you can still bake yourself a pick-me-up teacake. All of these slices don't need a dust of flour to taste amazing. You will, however, need nut meal for many of them. If you can't get your hands on almond, hazelnut, or cashew nut meal, you can make your own.

Make your own

Making your own nut meal or flour is easy. No need to peel your nuts before processing either. Source: Getty Images

You need a food processor, a fine-mesh sieve and about five minutes to make your own nut meal. 1 cup of raw nuts will yield approx. 1 ¼ cup of nut flour

• Place the nuts in your food processor and blend.
• Sift the meal through a fine-mesh sieve and re-process any remaining chunkier bits.
• Repeat until all of the nuts are processed to flour.

Keeps well for up to one month in the pantry, or longer if refrigerated. You can also freeze nut meal for up to three months.

No flour cakes to make

Aside from bypassing the current flour shortage, all of these flourless cakes are gluten-free and rather spectacular.

#1 cake honours

Food Safari's orange almond cake just keeps on giving. Source: Alan Benson

This orange and almond cake is one of SBS Food's most clicked-on cakes. Could it be that it takes only five ingredients to pull together? Or the fact that it contains two whole oranges, skin, pips and all? That it's dairy-free as well as gluten-free? All of the above plus the fact that it tastes incredible.

Rich, decadent and completely addictive

There's a delicious 'toasty' undertone to this rich chocolate cake. Source: Alan Benson

You can make this chocolate cake with whatever nuts you have on hand. It will still come out uber-chocolatey and dense enough to post a slice to your mum. It will keep for up to five days in the fridge, so you can keep on treating yourself, day after day.

Love in the time of coronavirus

This pretty cake is an absolute show stopper, but it’s also one of the easiest cakes you’ll ever make. Source: Murdoch Books

It's worth making a Persian love cake for the name alone. You'll then fall hard for the fragrant rose, cardamon, citrusy notes. Once you bite into a piece, you'll vow to make this cake forever and ever.

A cake worth online dating

A smooth mousse layers crunchy meringue and everyone is happy. Source: Murdoch Books / Greg Elms

It's the kind of cake you'd usually bake for a crowd you're desperate to please. So what if that crowd currently consists of you and your goldfish? Make the cake, halve the cake and leave a chocolate date meringue cake gift on your neighbour's doorstep. Good times.

One for the honey

This not-too-sweet gluten-free cake is a marvel: the cake stays moist even after a couple of days. Source: Benito Martin

Pistachios and polenta do the work of flour in this honey-scented cake that stays moist for days. It's the kind of cake that feels like it's doing you good while you munch away. Serve it with a dollop of Greek yoghurt for a sweet start to the day.

Walnut be going out

Creamy, fluffy meringue top over a nutty-cakey-biscuity base. Source: Brett Stevens

Six ingredients defy social distancing rules and meet to mingle. The result is an almond chocolate-walnut torte that will make you glad that you stayed home.

Punch it up

Chewy layers of cashew meringue are sandwiched with a rum-spiked buttercream to create this traditional Filipino dessert. Source: Alan Benson

The stack of cashew meringue discs grabs you, then the rum buttercream icing tips you straight over the edge. Be warned: this Filipino layered cashew meringue cake is rich, unashamedly sweet and not for the faint-hearted; but most definitely for the big-hearted.

Light and rosy

To make sugared rose petals: paint petals with egg white, toss them in sugar and lay to dry until crisp. Source: Bloomsbury

Despite being made without flour this cream-filled rose and pistachio cake is as light and airy as a sponge. The prettiest DIY sugared rose petals lift it even further.

Classic makeover

Only ten minutes of prep time to make your new favourite afternoon tea loaf. Source: Chris Chen

Orange poppy seed cake is a cafe favourite and here it gets a healthy makeover. Hazelnuts and almonds create a denser cake that stays moist for longer. Especially when you pour a sweet orange syrup right over the top. Hmmm... flour, what flour?