Category: Baking & Desserts

Baking & Desserts

cake_long

Chocolate Orange Olive Oil Cake

cakeThis is an adaptation of Nigella’s classic chocolate olive oil cake – made with less sugar and olive oil, and an orange and hazelnut twist.

This recipe calls for a hand mixer, but I actually made it in a nutribullet and it worked perfectly and the whole thing was mixed and ready in under 5 minutes!

If you haven’t got either, some elbow grease, a large bowl and a whisk should work fine.

Ingredients

  • 130 millilitres regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)
  • 50 grams good-quality cocoa powder – I used a Green and Blacks
  • 125 millilitres boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
  • zest of one orange
  • 100 grams ground almonds
  • 50 grams ground hazelnuts (also ground in the Nutribullet – you can do 150 grams of ground almonds if you prefer)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 100 grams caster sugar or honey
  • 50 grams Sweet Freedom chocolate orange shot (or increase the sugar / honey by 50g)
  • 3 free range eggs

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325ºF. Grease an 8 inch springform tin with a little oil and cut a circle of greaseproof to line the bottom of the tin.
  2. Measure out the cocoa powder and place in a bowl. Pour in the boiling water and whisk together until you have a smooth liquid. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside.
  3. Put the sugar, sweet freedom olive oil and eggs into a mixer or a large nutribullet cup and whisk or blend together until you have a smooth thickened cream – should take a few minutes in a mixer, or a minute in the nutribullet. Add the cocoa mix and blend again briefly until all of the mix in combined.
  4. In a large mixing bowl combine the ground almonds, hazelnuts, salt, orange zest and baking powder with a wooden spoon. Gradually pour in the chocolate mix and stir until all the ingredients are combined.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for around 40 minutes or until the sides are set – the top will look a little bit wet still.
  6. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan. Cool completely and decorate with fruits, or serve warm – it’s great with Greek yoghurt.

 

savoury_flapjack_crop

Savoury 3-seed and cheese flapjacks

flapjacksOats are a great energising food because the carbohydrates they contain are digested slowly, giving you steady energy.

Flapjacks are normally packed with sugar and syrup, but these savoury flapjacks are the ultimate sugar free snack and will turn the way you think about flapjacks upside down! With seeds and olive oil they’re a great source of healthy fats, plus there’s even a dose of veggies involved. Better still they are ridiculously EASY to make.

Make a tray and wrap individually for a ready-to-eat snack that’s perfect pre-workout or to fuel a busy afternoon or morning. They’re also great for a grab and go breakfast!

Ingredients

  • 150g whole rolled oats
  • 1 carrot or zucchini, grated
  • 4oz mature grated cheddar or parmesan
  • 1 generous tbsp olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 3oz mixed seeds or omega 3 seed mix (I used pumpkin, chia seeds and sunflower)
  • pinch salt and black pepper
  • teaspoon dried rosemary (optional)

How to

  1. Pre-heat an oven to around 160c/320F, grease and line a square baking pan (around 8 inch)
  2. Weigh out the ingredients, whisk the eggs and grate the carrot and cheese
  3. Pour the oats into a large mixing bowl with the carrot, seeds and seasoning. Mix with your hands to combine everything evenly
  4. Pour in the eggs and oil and use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix everything together until you have a sticky ball
  5. Tip the mix into your baking pan and use your hands to press the mix evenly into the pan, then use the back of a spoon to smooth over the top so you have a flat surface
  6. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes until golden then remove and allow to cool for 10 minute before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.

Nutritional info

Per flapjack, based on 9 squares

Calories

Carbs

Fat

Protein

152

13

8

6
oatcakes

Homemade Oatcakes

oatcakes smallI love oatcakes – I must go through a pack a week.

A great portable snack, oatcakes are rich in fibre which means slow release energy. Teamed with a protein rich food (think cottage cheese,  a chunk of salmon or boiled egg) or a splodge of peanut or almond butter they stave off hunger for a few hours, plus they’re a lifesaver if you’re follow a wheat free or low FODMAP diet.

Tonight I had a go at making my own oatcakes- not only was it super simple, they taste brilliant. Plus for the price of a bag of oats and bottle of olive oil (which you may already have), you can keep yourself in oatcakes for a good few weeks to come (depending on how many you eat at once). Plus its always nice to have the the satisfaction of saying ‘I made those!”

Here’s the basic recipe – feel free add adding herbs, seeds and spices. My next batch will be pumpkin seed and Parmesan.

Ingredients

  • 200g oats
  • 50ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 50-100ml hot water
  • sea salt and cracked black pepper
  • seasoning / flavourings as you wish

How to

  1. Preheat your oven to ~ 160-180c (depending on fan assisted, err on the side of caution to avoid burning.  Line a couple of baking trays with parchment.
  2. Unless your oats are finely milled, pop half of them into a blender and blitz lightly until you have a finer texture
  3. Tip both lots of oats into a large bowl with the salt and pepper. If you’re adding other ingredients this is the time to pop them in.
  4. Pour in the olive oil and mix with your hands. Once the oats are coated with the oil add the water (being careful not to burn yourself) and mix to a sticky ball – it will take a while for the oats to come together. Once you have a pliable mass, roll into a ball and chill for about 20 minutes.
  5. Flour a work surface and roll out your dough to around 4-5mm thick. Using a cookie cutter or the top of a mug, cut out your oatcakes and pop onto the baking trays – you can press bits together so don’t worry if they’re slightly haphazrd.
  6. Cook for around 15 minutes until crisp and golden – you might need to turn the trays. Cool and seal in tupperware or similar to keep fresh.
banana_bread

Sugar Free Banana Bread

banana_bread_smIf you’re looking for a healthy cake look no further. This recipe is the perfect way to save overripe bananas from the bin.

All the sweet tasting credit goes to the bananas – the riper the better, so make sure you save them until they’re very spotty or black.

This recipe uses spelt flour, an ancient variety of wheat, but this can be switched out for buckwheat to make it gluten free or regular wholemeal flour if you’re not fussed.

(N.B. if you are coeliac you’ll also need to swap the baking powder for bicarb and a teaspoon of lemon  as it contains wheat)

Ingredients – makes 10 slices

  • 4 good sized super ripe bananas
  • 3 medium free range eggs, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g almond flour (ground almonds)
  • 100g spelt flour or buckwheat if you want to make this gluten free
  • 1 heaped tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 50g walnuts, chopped
  • pinch salt
  • 30g butter, melted

Method;

1. Heat the oven to 160° C. Lightly grease a loaf tin and line the edges with greaseproof paper.

2. In one bowl, mash the bananas and then stir in the melted butter, eggs and vanilla. For ease, you can ‘blitz’ the bananas in a food processor before adding the rest of the liquid ingredients.

3. In a second bowl mix together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

4. Fold the flour mix into the banana and stir to combine. Add a splash of milk if the mixture seems too stiff. Finally add the nuts and stir gently. Pour into the prepared tin.

5. Bake for 40-50 minutes until well risen and golden brown. If the top starts to over brown before the loaf is cooked, cover with a sheet of greaseproof.

6. Leave to cool for around 30 minutes before removing from the tin. Good topped with a big dollop of Greek yoghurt.

brownie_large

Sugar-Free Sweet Potato Brownies

brownieFor a while now I’ve been experimenting with healthy baking – I’ll admit this has been a slightly selfish endeavour on my behalf in an attempt to satify a sweet tooth without sugar, but hopefully you’ll agree it’s a worthwhile effort.

Sweet potato brownies have been doing the rounds for a while – Dan Lepard did a great version in the Guardian, but I wanted to create a gluten free one without added fat or sugar.  This recipe was my third attempt, and though I’m sure it can do with tweaking, it’s a great result. It’s not overly sweet, but for a brownie minus added sugar it’s pretty good.

My one tip would be to save time by throwing a couple of sweet potatoes in the oven when you’re preparing dinner.  Bake with skins on and leave to cool – you can then scoop out the flesh to use when you’re ready.

Depending on how indulgent you want to be, you can add chunks of dark chocolate (or melt and fold in after the eggs) or dried cherries to increase sweetness. You can also tweak by adding a spoon of honey as you wish – but for now here’s the naked version

Ingredients (makes around 9 brownies)

  • 250-300 grams baked sweet potato
  • 150 grams prunes (go for the sticky sort) – can also use medjool dates
  • cup of black tea
  • 3 free range eggs, lightly beaten
  • 100 grams flour of your choice (buckwheat, spelt, almond, plain – I used buckwheat this time)
  • 30-40g good quality cocoa powder, go for a high percentage cocoa
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder (for a gluten free version use baking soda and a teaspoon of lemon juice)
  • 50 grams chopped pecans or walnuts or a mix
  • decent splash milk (either cows, soy or almond)

Optional

  • dark chocolate chips or dried cherries if desired – suggest 50 grams of either

How to

  • Heat the oven to gas mark 4 or 160 c for fan assisted. Grease and line a baking tin – a square or circle 8 inch tin works well.
  • Pop the prunes or dates in a bowl and cover with a cup of black tea. Leave to soak for around an hour until squidgy- you can leave overnight if easier. Once soaked, drain the prunes and add to a food processor with about 2 tablespoons of water. Blitz until you have a smooth paste – you’ll need to scrape down the sides of the processor a couple of times.
  • Add the flesh of the sweet potato to the processor and blitz again for a couple of minutes until you have a bright orange fluffy puree – it will increase in volume and become meringue like. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the beaten eggs a little at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon. Beat in the vanilla essence until smooth.
  • Using a sieve, add the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder a few spoons a time and fold in with a wooden spoon until it’s all added. Add enough milk to loosen the mixture to a ‘dropping’ consistency – if you’re adding melted chocolate you’ll not need to. Any other additions such as chocolate, dried cherries – add now.
  • Fold in the pecans or walnuts to combine evenly. Transfer to your baking tin and even out with the back of a spoon. Bake for 30-25 minutes until risen and spongy and just cooked – it will probably still be slightly sticky in the centre due to the sweet potato and fruit. Leave in the tin to cool then slice – extras will keep in a tin or airtight container for a few days (if they last that long!)

Nutritional info

Per brownie, based on 9 slices using above ingredients

Calories

Carbohydrate

Fat

Protein

165

19

7

7