Banana and Date Bread (gluten and refined sugar free)

For me a baked good is a treat with butter, sugar, chocolate, etc – if it tastes good I want it in there. However I’m not unaware of the move to healthier baking and cutting out refined sugar and making gluten free versions of favourite bakes is becoming increasingly popular.

 

There are lots of alternatives to refined sugar but in this I’ve just gone for the natural sugars in fruit to sweeten this banana bread. A girl I work with has inspired me as she has launched a site with her friend all about healthy eating, MT Real – check it out here. She eats the most amazing array of food and is constantly coming in with delicious bakes that are gluten and refined sugar free. So here is my contribution to celebrate her site launch.

Ingredients

175g ground almonds

2 tsp gluten free baking powder

½ tsp bicarb of soda

½ tsp salt

125g butter, melted

150g dried dates

2 large eggs

400g ripe bananas

60g chopped walnuts

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/GM 3.
2. Add the baking powder, bicarb and salt to the almonds and mix. Set to one side.
3. Take half the dates and put in a food processor with the bananas and whizz up until smooth.
4. Chop the remaining dates. Add 1 tbsp of almonds to this and mix to that the sticky edges of the chopped dates are covered. This keeps them separate and also helps them not drop once added to the mixture.
5. Whisk the eggs into the melted butter in a bowl.
6. Add the banana and date mixture, along with the vanilla extract and cinnamon, and mix again.
7. Add the ground almond mix and whisk until it’s all mixed well.
8. Pop in the chopped dates and walnuts and mix again.
9. Put into a lined loaf tin and bake for about an hour. It might need 10-15 mins longer.



Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Well it’s been a while since I posted but that hasn’t been because I haven’t been baking (I write this as if I think there are loads of people waiting with baited breath for my next post). Anyway I’m going to churn through the recipes I have done mainly because I use my blog as an online recipe book to consult if I’m food shopping.

So for something recent. I’m attempting to give up gluten. Mainly because I suspect I’m mildly allergic (yay for someone who likes baking). Now, I don’t really like recipes that attempt to do something with an alternative ingredient when really only wheat based flour will do. I think – you’ve given up gluten, just live without it. However I suspect that if you haven’t eaten gluten for years a cauliflower pizza base could start to be attractive. I’m not there yet. So I’m hunting around for things that work in their own right.

So on to breakfast. I’m been making overnight porridge with chia seeds during the week but at the weekend you want something a bit special. The Thew has been away doing various athletic endeavours so I’ve been left to my own devices. These have involved dancing round the flat to Uptown Funk, going out for pub lunches with my Kindle for company and making these.

Ingredients

120g buckwheat flour

Sprinkle of cinnamon (as much or little as you like)

Pinch of salt

½ tsp baking powder

1 egg

140ml milk

Blueberries - optional (or any berry)

Streaky bacon (cooked up and crispy)

Maple syrup

1. Mix the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder together.
2. Mix the egg into the mix.
3. Using a fork slowly mix the wet into the dry to create a batter. The mix in the blueberries (as there is no sugar in the batter these add sweetness).
4. Melt so butter (or oil) in a frying pan and dollop tablespoons of the mixture in. This makes about six of that size so I make half and keep the batter. (It is quite happy in the fridge for up to a week – leave the blueberries out if doing this).
5. Fry for a couple of minutes on each side – the blueberries will hiss and pop but ignore them.
6. Serve in a stack with the bacon on top and pour on that maple syrup.

Marshmallows (with no sugar thermometer)

So I'm writing this while waiting to run up and down a hill. It's The Thew's fault as he signed up for a race up and down three hills (hilariously called The 3 Molehills) and of course his family followed suit. My sister-in-law asked if I'd do one of the stages, so she could do only two, and for some reason I said yes.

Outside its pouring with rain and fairly cold. I'm surrounded by people waiting for their stage who seem genuinely excited about running and it's not helping my mood. I don't enjoy running and somehow I seem to do so much of it. I suppose it keeps me fit and gives me a focus for the monotony of the gym but it's annoying I don't enjoy it. Seriously it would make my life easier if I was super thrilled to run around all day, get muddy and sweat in public.

However the place where I'm waiting has a little Christmas shop so it's better than a tent in a field. It's getting all festive and before Christmas hits we have Thanksgiving to do first. If you know Americans, or anyone who has lived there for a while, try and celebrate it with them. There is all the good food and marshmallows play a large part. I mean they put them on top of sweet potatoes!!!! However, these ones are destined to be put on top of a chocolate pie. I thought I should try making them and sugar thermometer be damned. These are sufficiently good and I did it based on time rather than temperature. You can flavour and colour them however you like but I kept these white and vanilla to complement the dark richness of chocolate.

Ingredients
175ml water
300g granulated sugar
100ml golden syrup
5 sheets (about 9g) gelatine sheets
1/2tsp vanilla extract
Optional food colouring
Icing sugar
Oil
Cornflour

1. Put the water, sugar and syrup in a pan. Dissolve everything together on a medium heat and them put on medium/high. Once boiling set your timer for 9 minutes.
2. Put the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water. Once soft transfer to a large bowl and add the vanilla.
3. Get a loaf tin and lightly grease with vegetable oil. Then coat with cornflour. This is going to help you get the marshmallow out. It will be a pain still but at least you're ahead of the game.
4. Once the timer goes off slowly pour the sugar syrup into the bowl while whisking. I did it with hand held but a free standing with balloon whisk would be easier. Once all the syrup is in mix for 10 minutes. Yep - 10 minutes. This will transform the golden liquid into white fluffy sticky mallow.
5. Pour into tin and let set for a few hours.
6. To get it out I recommend having a pile of icing sugar on hand. Cover your fingers in it and gently prise one end away from the shortest side with the tin as upside down as you can. Then keep re-covering your fingers in icing sugar and slowly ease it from the tin onto a surface covered in icing sugar.
7. Cut with a sharp knife dipped in icing sugar and seal any sticky edges with some. There done!



Bacon and Chocolate Chip Cookies (Primal/Gluten Free/Dairy Free)

Primal – sounds fairly basic and maybe a little bit cool huh? It’s apparently a diet. Not a ‘less not eat anything until we need to pass out and then have a small piece of cheese’ diet but one that looks at what we evolved to eat. Or something like that. It’s probably like the Paleo diet and the Caveman diet and anything else that basically doesn’t let you eat anything fun or anything that was invented in France – French bread, pastries, macaroons, croissants (some of these things may not have been invented in France but I can’t be bothered to research in this for the sake of this). 

I’m slightly suspicious of these kinds of restrictions on what you eat, mainly because it stops me eating chocolate and bread. The Thew follows a Paleo-esque diet. He eats an incredibly healthy diet so he can drink lots of alcohol and maintain fitness. Currently he is spending most evenings upside down in a handstand position against one of our walls. Hey – whatever works for you! 

My good friend Claire shared this recipe with me and, while I’m not sure about trying to recreate recipes using paleo/primal ingredients in place of good old butter and sugar, it was intriguing enough for me to give them a try. The original method I read is a bit lacking on details and the one thing you need to do with these kind of recipes is a good methodology if you have any hope in hell of making something that looks like the ‘real’ thing. Many people at work liked these, and they are ok, but I’d just rather eat a chocolate chip cookie made with brown sugar and wheat flour. I’m not sure what the bacon adds, other than a bit of salty taste, but I guess it’s to add protein. Anyway, if this is your thing, go knock yourself out! 

Ingredients

5 rashers of streaky bacon (I used M&S)

60ml of maple syrup (plus 125ml – see below)

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

125ml coconut oil (make sure it’s fairly well melted so room temp or melt it first)

125ml maple syrup

1 tsp bicarb of soda

1 tsp salt

300g ground almonds

200g dark chocolate chips 

1.    Preheat the oven the 190°C/GM 5.

2.    Dip the bacon in the maple syrup and bake for about 25 minutes. It may need longer. Put them on foil to save mess. Turn half way through and ignore how burnt the foil gets from the run off maple syrup. Cool, ideally on fresh foil or greaseproof paper. They are very sticky! Chop into bits.

3.    Whisk the eggs, vanilla, coconut oil and 125ml maple syrup together in a bowl. You want to goof frothy mixture as the eggs will add air to the mixture and help keep them light.

4.    In a large bowl mix the bicarb, salt and almonds. Add the egg mixture and whisk together.

5.    Add the chocolate chips and bacon bits stirring to incorporate.

6.    The put heaped teaspoons of mixture on a baking tray, leaving space between them. Flatten them out with the back of a spoon or spatula so they resemble a cookie shape.

7.    Bake for 11-12 minutes – you want them turning golden brown. Cool completely before serving.

Makes about 30.

N.B. I made these afterwards without the bacon and they worked well. The bacon definitely gives a good savoury/salty edge but it's not necessary.

 

Alfajores

What is with all these celebrities writing open letters to each other? I get the idea behind them but it’s getting a bit boring. They have all this money and they resort to releasing the equivalent of a press release about someone else and their thoughts on them. It also seems to be the older celebrities that write them, I guess because younger celebrities just let rip at one another in 140 characters or less. 

However that is also disappointing. These people are meant to be creative and they’re just doing what everyone else does. Where is the sky writing above someone’s film premiere? Where is the interpretive dance on Oprah’s sofa to show how they feel about twerking while drinking SodaStream? Why don’t they write their thoughts across their naked body and commission a Vogue shoot? It could be so much more interesting and entertaining for all.  

Hey ho. I’ve been feeling slightly angry all week as the extent of my wheat allergy (which I’m in total denial about) starts to make itself known. I’ve done something gluten free this week and gone all out and made it dairy free as well. These do taste ok, and the texture of the biscuit does work, although if you’re ok with dairy then use better instead of the margarine. Sadly when cooking they don’t fill your home with the smell of fresh baking but more like slightly burnt rice. However the caramel filling smells great so that’s a bonus. The original recipe has Xanthan Gum in but as it's powdered mould I left it out. It doesn't lack for want of it.

Ingredients

 

Biscuits

200g dairy-free margarine (or butter)

100g icing sugar

200g ground almonds

200g brown rice flour

1tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt 

Caramel

150g dairy-free margarine (or butter)

150g light brown soft sugar

A good dollop of golden syrup

OR A tin of Carnation Caramel

 

1.    Cream the margarine and sugar, then add the rest of the biscuit ingredients, mixing well.

2.    Make the dough into a disc, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

3.    Preheat the oven, while you wait, to 180°C/GM4.

4.    Next make the caramel as it will need to cool before you use it. Put the sugar and golden syrup on a very low heat and melt together. You’ll need to mix it every now and again as you don’t want it to burn. It will create a paste, rather than liquid, so don’t panic.

5.    Add the margarine (it will spit a bit) and mix until the margarine is incorporated. Then leave on a slow simmer (it will look very bubbly) for 15 minutes. Do not stir. After that time drop some of it into a cup of cold water and check if it’s chewy. If it is it’s done. Leave to cool. Stir a bit as the fat will want to separate out but don’t panic about it.

6.    Once the dough has had its time in the fridge roll out on a surface floured with rice flour. You want it about 4mm thick. Then cut out discs of 4 – 6cm in diameter.

7.    Put on a baking tray, they don’t spread so you don’t have to worry about that, and bake for about 22 minutes (if you have a gas oven then turn half way through for an even colour).

8.    Cool and spread one biscuit with the caramel – there is enough to be generous – and sandwich with another. This makes about 20 in total if you use a 6cm cutter.

Nigella's Clementine Cake

The Thew has informed me that he sends people to my blog to get the recipe for the Clementine cake that I make and that they can’t ever find it. Well that is because it hasn’t been on here until now. I thought I should rectify the matter as it’s a great cake and one of those dairy and wheat free ones that rock (it’s not vegan because it uses eggs). 

I don’t think that you can get this wrong. It’s so easy and don’t be put off by the long time needed to poach the clementines. It’s very low intensity and fills your home with the most wonderful smell. The addition of chocolate to the top makes this a kind of massive Jaffa Cake. 

Ingredients

375g clementines (now you want to go over not under on weight so don’t worry if you’re at the 390g mark)

6 large eggs

225g sugar

250g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder (use gluten free if you want to keep non-wheat eaters happy)

100g dark chocolate (I sometimes use Maya Gold Green and Black as it has orange oil in it) 

1.     Fill a large saucepan with water and put the whole clementines in. Bring to the boil, cover and let simmer for 2 hours. By covering the saucepan the water won’t evaporate so you won’t need to keep topping up to ensure the clementines float throughout the poaching process.

2.    Once done, remove from the water and cool slightly. Cut in half, remove the pips and whatever is left of the stalk and pulp everything left including the skin.

3.    Preheat the oven to 190°C/GM5 and line a springform tin, greasing with oil to keep dairy free. I’ve used both a 20cm and 23cm tin so whatever you have.

4.    Beat the eggs well – make sure they get light and foamy. Add the sugar, almonds and baking powder, mixing well before adding the clementine pulp.

5.    Put in the tin and bake for 1 hour. Check after 40 minutes as it does brown and cover with foil for the last 20 minutes if it’s got dark.

6.    While that is going on grate or whizz up the chocolate into little pieces. Once the cake comes out of the oven sprinkle all over the top and watch it melt into a lovely topping.

7.    Cool completely before serving.

Chocolate, Fruit and Nut Bars

 

 

Why couldn’t my mum be from the Maldives? I hear it’s the flattest country in the world. Very flat, no big hills, level. But no. Ireland it is and not just any old part – Connemara with its hills, bogs and lashing of rain. Now on a good day Connemara is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s also good on a bad day when you’re in a car or a pub. When it’s not good would be when you’re running for two miles up a fairly hefty gradient knowing that it’s only the start of the half marathon, or so I imagine. Soon I won’t have to imagine and will actually be experiencing this joyous event for myself. 

 

For some reason I agreed with The Thew when he said that when visiting my family we should time it so we could do the Connemarathon. Ok I agreed to half but still, the course looks brutal. This now means that I have to actually train for it. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have to train for a normal one but it would be so much easier training for one in say the Maldives, than building hill training into my regime and thinking about waterproof clothing. I’m not the biggest fan of running at the best of times so I’ve decided to try and be a bit healthier so I have less of me to drag around the course.

  

So I’m afraid that today’s recipe is fairly healthy (although the dried fruit has a ton of sugar in so not that great – yay!) However it’s very easy and doesn’t involve putting the oven on. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while as The Thew eats a lot of Nakd bars and I think that they are dry and horrible. However when looking at the ingredients the bars should be moist so I decided to try them myself. I’m guessing that Nakd have to dry theirs out more in the cold pressing process they use so that they stay more rigid and can be packed easily. These bars retain the juiciness of the dried fruit used and are fairly sweet with the cocoa adding a nice touch of chocolate.  I actually enjoy these and they have gone down well in the office. Also gluten and dairy free, along with being vegan!

 

Ingredients

290g dried dates (stoned)

175g cashew nuts (not roasted or salted)

100g flame raisins (so I didn't use flame raisins once. You can read what happened here)

10-30g good quality cocoa powder (it’s more to taste and depends on how chocolately you want it. You can always add more so start low and just add more if you think it needs it.) 

 

1.    Whizz the cashews buts in a food processor until they are in tiny pieces.

2.    Add the rest of the ingredients and whizz into a mush. You’ll see what I mean.

3.    Turn out into a silicon or lined tray. I used a 20cm x 20cm silicon tray so something of similar dimension. Smooth out with the back of a spoon.

4.    Cover the top with baking paper and top with heavy books. Ideally the first book would roughly fit the dimensions of the tin to give an even press. Put it in the fridge for anything from 3 – 48 hours.

5.    Remove from the tin and cut into whatever size pieces you want.



Granola Bars

I may have a slight allergy to gluten. Obviously this is a nightmare for someone who bakes but I can't really deny anymore that I feel much better by cutting gluten out. Damn you gluten!!!!! The Thew is going to be beside himself with the news as he eats ridiculously well and avoids gluten whenever possible, telling me to do the same so I will feel better. He has this annoying habit of being right about things that I don't want him to be right about. Of course sometimes I'm right but have promised not to gloat about that latest incident so putting on my blog would contravene that. 

The Thew used to love the Pret Power Bars they used to do years ago and for some reason I thought I would take it upon myself to recreate them at home rather than just let him buy them. They turned out really well but I didn’t make them for a while (I think because he gave up gluten and this was before gluten free oats were widely available) and lost my recipe. So this week I decided to give it another go. I have used gluten free oats so these bad boys are 'healthy' for a given value when you consider the sugar and butter content. Oh yes! 

The ingredients below are a bit of a guide. The moisture adding ingreidents are needed but you can up the honey or syrup depending on what you like, the same goes for additional fruit and seeds (or nuts if you like those – I’m funny about the food I like nuts to infiltrate). Use what you like best. I always found this a great way to use up any leftover packets of random ingredients. If you have some nuts or odds and sods of dried fruit just whack them in. You can add desiccated coconut, flaked almonds - whatever. Up the oats and reduce the fruit if you want something more flap jack like and less granola bar. The oats are the base for you to customise – just make sure the mixture remains damp. 

Ingredients

250g butter

100g sugar (I use dark or light brown but use what you have)

100g golden syrup

100g honey

300g oats

100g seeds (I had pumpkin, sesame and sunflower but whatever you like. You could use nuts instead)

100g raisins or sultanas

200g other dried fruit (I used cranberries and blueberries but apricots, apple, whatever) 

1.    Preheat oven to 180°C/GM 4 and line a large tin with baking paper. I use a big roasting tin.

2.    Put the butter, sugar, syrup and honey in a saucepan. Heat gently until it's all melted and mixed together.

3.    Chuck all the other ingredients in and mix well.

4.    Turn out into the tin, even out and cook for 20 to 25 minutes (be careful as the fruit can burn on top).

5.    Cool and cut into pieces.

Meringues

A quarter of the year has gone. Where I don't know but it has. It never helps that at work I'm always planning months in advance with clients or working on projects with a live date about two months in the future. To be honest I'm just surprised it isn't Christmas already and thankful that there is still some of the year left. The clocks going forward and ‘summertime’ starting always seems like a kick up the arse with the year telling you to get on with everything as you can’t pretend its January anymore.

So I’ve decided to bake something I have never done before, using techniques I don’t particularly like but as baker should be able to do. I had some egg whites left in the fridge after the bread and butter pudding (as many yolks were needed) so meringues it is. I intend to make them everytime I have left over egg whites but never quite get around to it. I always think that they look great when I see them in shops and I thought – yep, I want to look that impressive. They are a show piece, especially if you make them a bit big. Ideally you use a piping bag to make them, which along with delicate icing, is not something I like to use. I get really messy as whatever I'm piping squirts everywhere. You can use a spoon but I thought I should get my piping skills up. It did mean hunting around for the stupid nozzles for my piping bag as I had no idea where I put them, however this little exercise unearthed some things I’d forgotten about so it was probably worth it.

Ingredients 

4 egg whites

Pinch of salt

115g caster sugar (I only had golden so that us why they aren't crisp white in colour)
115g icing sugar

1 heaped tsp cornflour

Food colouring (optional) 

1.    Preheat the oven to 140°C/GM 1.

2.    Lightly grease with oil a baking tray - I used rapeseed but just make sure it doesn't have an flavour.

3.    Put the egg whites and salt in a ridiculously clean bowl. I'm sure all your bowls are clean but one whiff of oil and you won't get the egg whites to fluff up. They are stupidly stubborn about that kind of thing. Anyway whisk the hell out of them until they form soft peaks.

4.    Then whisk in the sugar a tbsp at a time until you have a bowl of shiny egg whites that keep stiff peaks in them.

5.    Sift the cornflour and about a third of the icing sugar over the top. Then fold in with a metal spoon. Sift the rest of the icing sugar on top and then fold in.

6.    Now just take a heaped tablespoon of the egg white and put it on the baking tray. You'll probably need two, or do in two lots, as this makes about 15.

7.    Optional bit - put a drop of food colouring liquid or gel on the top and use a skewer, sharp end of a knife, toothpick to swirl it around.

8.    Put in the oven for about 50 minutes. I have a gas oven so I turn the tray midway through as the back ones will get done quicker. Once done switch off the oven, keep the door on the latch and let the meringues cool as the oven cools - about 30 minutes. Then you're done!

You can obviously serve these with cream or just on their own. The idea is that the outside is crunchy and the middle is sticky. After making these I did realise that I find the texture of the outside a bit weird on my teeth, like biting into cotton wool but that’s just me. I’m actually grimacing while writing this as it freaks me out but I eat them anyway as I like the middle bit!