banana choc chip muffins

 Hello there, it's been rather quiet on the blog in July.  School holidays have kept us busy.  We are enjoying the last few days ☺
I'm here to share a recipe - it's been a while.  These are a favourite in this house and are quick and easy to make.  They are great for school baking!!

 Ingredients + Method

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup olive oil/macadamia oil

1 banana

1 cup spelt flour

1 cup almond meal

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup rapadura sugar

1/2 cup choc chips

Mix together well, all the wet ingredients.

Then add dry ingredients - don't over mix.  

Spoon into your muffin tin and bake for approx 15-20mins in mod oven

Enjoy

 This makes 12 muffins which are not too big ---- perfect for the lunch box snack.

 I love adding almond meal to my cakes - the texture is a little more dense but makes a more wholesome cake.  The trick with muffins is to be gentle when adding in the dry ingredients and don't over mix - that way your muffin will have a great rustic texture ☺

You could play around with this recipe and add walnuts instead of the choc chips ---- or maybe both. 
Hope you will give this one a go.
Thanks for coming by ♥

choc brownie

Hello, hope your week is going well.  It's been a little while since I last shared a recipe.  So I have one here, my last recipe post for the year ☺
My boys love chocolate and I love to make them chocolate treats.

 This here is a chocolate brownie slice that has been adapted from a recipe I had in one of my files - I've changed up the ingredients and added in a few extra too ..............
I do this one in my Thermomix but you could easily adapt to suit ☺

 Chocolate Brownie

Ingredients:

100 - 150gr butter

1/2 cup rapadura

4 eggs

1 cup almond meal

1/4 cup raw cacao powder

100 - 150gr dark choc **

5 medjool dates

Method:

Place all ingredients in Thermomix or processor and blend together til just combined.  I don't over do it, as I like chocolate chunks in the cake; but if you wish, you could make a smooth batter.

Pour into a lined rectangle tin and bake for approx 20 mins - don't over cook as you want the cake to be moist.

 It's lovely eaten warm with cream and strawberries, but easily keeps for a few days in the fridge.
For a variation you could add: 2-3 tblsp of espresso - yummy ☺

I hope you give it a try - this cake is gluten free and refined sugar free.
* I use a 70% cocoa chocolate bar but if you like a sweeter cake, choose the chocolate of your choice ☺

Happy baking ♥

zucchini, chia + walnut cake

 Hello - hope your week is going well ☺ We are enjoying school holidays - so there's lots of lovely, relaxed days.
It's time for a recipe share - I've been making this one quite a bit lately!

I remember growing up as a young girl and watching my mum in the kitchen, baking and cooking away.  She always made lots of yummy food!  I think that's where I've got my love of baking from ☺ 
I have a note book with hand-written recipes - a collection of favourites that I remember my mum making.  I used the recipe below as inspiration for the recipe I'm going to share - I've tweaked the ingredient list just a little ☺
  

 Ingredients + Method

 3 eggs

100 gr rapadura sugar

100 gr macadamia oil, butter or coconut oil

1 zucchini

80 gr walnuts

200 gr spelt white flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tsp baking powder

Grate the zucchini by hand or in thermomix - 3 seconds Sp 5.

Set aside.

Beat together eggs + sugar - 30 seconds Sp 5

Add in oil/butter til all combined.

Add in all the remaining ingredients and mix together - I do this for about 10 seconds on Sp 4.  There is no need to over-mix!

Pour into a lined loaf tin or muffin cases - here I've made muffins - it makes 10 large size ones ☺

Bake in 180 degree oven for approx 20 mins or til done.

 This cake is moist and tasty!  I love it with a dollop of butter ☺ Enjoy for a yummy morning tea with coffee or tea.

I hope you will give these a go ..................................
Enjoy the weekend and I'll be back next week with something creative.

Creating with love + happiness ♥

raw lemon + coconut tart

 Hey everyone - today I'm sharing a sweet treat from my kitchen: Raw Lemon + Coconut Tarts.  
I was inspired to create these after a morning out, for tea and cake - I had a lemon + coconut slice which was rather yummy!  So I decided to re-created it in my own kitchen for my family ☺

 You could easily make this into one large slice, but I've chosen to put them in little tart tins - this recipe made five.  Raw cakes are quite rich, so you only really need bite size pieces ☺

 Ingredients + Method

for the base:

3/4 cup of each - medjool dates, shredded coconut + nuts of your choice

process these three ingredients together - I used my Thermomix - process for as long as it takes for the mix to come together - it doesn't need to be smooth

press into little tart tins 

for the filling:

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup 100%

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup cashews (you can soak these for a creamier mix)

2 tblsp coconut cream

mix all of these ingredients together in the Thermomix til it is creamy - you may need to scrape down the side a few times and keep processing until it's quite smooth

spread out filling over the base

the tarts are ready - refridgerate for a few hours and then enjoy.  

raw treats always need to be stored in the fridge or freezer ☺

Each little tart can be cut into four pieces- perfect for that afternoon tea ☺  I hope you enjoy these.

Creating with love + happiness ♥

apple cake

 Hello and happy Spring!!!  Such a gorgeous time of year with happiness coming from everywhere.  Today I'm sharing some happiness from my kitchen.  I thought it was time to share another recipe ☺

We love apple cake - this one is delicious!!  It's gluten free and refined sugar free.

This cake is actually very similar to my date + banana cake recipe - have just tweaked the ingredients a little!
The cake crumb is moist and soft - the dates and apples give a lovely sweetness to the cake.

 

Ingredients & Method

2/3 cup medjool dates (pits taken out)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

1/4 cup rapadura

Place all the above ingredients into a bowl and add:

3/4 cup of boiling hot water

Allow to sit for about 5mins to soften the dates and melt butter.

Add to bowl:

2 eggs

Process mixture together so it's all blended well.

Add to bowl:

  3/4 cup buckwheat flour

  3/4 cup almond meal

2 tsp gluten free baking powder

2-3 green apples - peeled and diced

handful of walnuts (optional)

Combine all ingredients well.

Pour into lined round cake tin and bake at 180 degrees

for approx 30-40 mins or until cooked

Serve with a dollop of cream and enjoy ☺

This recipe could easily be made into muffins.  Just follow the same method as above;  fill muffin liners 3/4 full and bake for approx 15 mins or until cooked through. Instead of apple, you could add in about 1 cup of frozen berries ☺

I hope you enjoy this one.  You can print the recipe out by clicking on the 'print friendly' option at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for popping in ☺
Creating with love + happiness ♥

Nutty Cacao Balls

 Hello + happy Friday.  I love the weekend and love it even better that there is only one week left before school holidays start!!
This week I've been busy baking treats for our camping holiday which we leave for next week.  One of them are: Nutty Cacao Balls.
There are many different recipes and versions of this healthy snack - you only need to google - bliss balls .........

Today I want to share my version!!  Quite often I just mix up together ingredients that I have in my cupboard, but I recently wrote down one version I used and I'm sharing it with you ☺

Nutty Cacao Balls

Place the following ingredients into your thermomix or processor:

10 medjool dates

1 cup raw macadamia

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup pepitas

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 tblsp chia seeds

2 tblsp raw cacao powder

1 tblsp coconut oil

2 tblsp maleo (honey or 100% maple syrup)

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

pinch of salt flakes

 dash of cinnamon powder

a bit of extra coconut to coat the balls

Process together til all the ingredients come together.

Form into small balls and roll into coconut.

Store in fridge.

(you can substitute ingredients for different tastes - almonds can be used and other seeds too.)

I whip up a batch of these weekly as they are perfect lunch box treats and my boys just love them ☺  I hope you will give them a go too ☺

You can print this recipe out - just click on the post title, scroll down to bottom of post and you will see the 'print friendly' icon - click on that for printing options.

Creating with love + happiness ♥

date and banana cake

 Hello creative people ☺  Today I'm sharing another recipe from my Kitchen.  This one has been well and truly 'tried and tested' many times and is our favourite cake.  I make this weekly for the lunch boxes and it's very well loved.  It's delicious and moist and is gluten free and refined sugar free. 

 I like my baking to be quick and easy, especially for weekly baking!  Generally, the recipes I use are only a few steps and can be whipped up with ease - I've been known to make these before school and the boys can enjoy some on their way to the bus ☺

Ingredients & Method

2/3 cup medjool dates (pits taken out)

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup rapadura

Place all the above ingredients into a bowl and add:

3/4 cup of boiling hot water

Allow to sit for about 5mins to soften the dates and melt butter.

Add to bowl:

2-3 ripe bananas

2 eggs

Process mixture together so it's all blended well.

Add to bowl:

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1 cup almond meal

2 tsp gluten free baking powder

1 tbsp chia seeds

Combine all ingredients well.

Pour into lined loaf tin and bake at 180 degrees

for approx 30-40 mins or until cooked

 

 Enjoy with fresh homemade butter ☺

 This recipe also makes lovely cupcakes - just follow the same method as above, fill cup-cake liners 3/4 full and bake for approx 15 mins or until cooked.
Walnuts are a great addition to this cake - either mixed through batter or sprinkle over the top before baking!

I've received some lovely reviews on my gluten free Ginger Spice Cake - I'm glad it's being enjoyed by some of you. Thank you for the feedback.

Let me know if you make this Date and Banana Cake too ☺

Creating with love and happiness ♥

If you would like to print out this post - please click on the post title and scroll down to bottom of post til you see the 'print friendly' button.  Click and it will open a PDF and allow you to print - thank you ☺

Ginger Spice Cake (Koek)

Hello there - my first non-crafty post ☺
If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that I love to share my baking and cooking.  Over the past year, I've developed a bigger interest in food, especially healthy and wholesome food.  I spend a lot of time in my kitchen, preparing and making food that our bodies will love and that I know is good for my family.
I believe in a wholefood diet - one that incorporates fresh, local food and if possible organic.  I like to know where my food comes from and therefore support local suppliers in my area.
Since finding out that I'm sensitive to gluten, I choose not to include this in my food.  I also eliminate foods that have preservatives and additives. This means that I make a lot of homemade food and goodies!

I really enjoying baking cakes and treats: I have little books and notepads, recipe books that date back ........ I've kept all of these; they hold some of my favourite recipes, even those that have been passed on to me by family members.  As most of these recipes include ingredients that I no longer use, I've been converting them to the ingredients that are in my pantry and what I consider, a healthier option.

These baking treats are 'taste tested' by my wonderful family, who always appreciate 'home-baked' goodness in their lunch boxes each day.
 

So here goes my first recipe that I would like to share.  It's based on a 'koek' recipe which I've called: Ginger Spice Cake. (Koek is a traditional dutch loaf cake)

Ginger Spice Cake

Ingredients & Method

1 cup full fat milk (organic)

1/2 cup rapadura sugar *

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup raw honey *

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp fresh grated ginger *

1/4 cup sultanas

Heat all of the above ingredients in a saucepan til they are warmed through.

For Thermomix: 90 degrees, 3mins, Sp 1

2 eggs (free-range)

1 cup almond meal *

1 cup buckwheat flour *

2 tsp gluten free baking powder

Combine the above ingredients with the warm liquid in a large mixing bowl.

Mix together til combined.

For Thermomix: Add the above ingredients to TM bowl and mix on Sp 5 approx 10 sec, til combined.

Pour into a large lined loaf tin (or two smaller tins) and bake in 180 degree oven approx 45 mins or until cooked through.

Enjoy with butter and a cuppa☺

* rapadura is an un-refined sugar - you can also use raw sugar

* honey can be replaced with golden syrup 

* you can also use ground ginger

* if you have a Thermomix, you can mill raw almonds to make your own almond meal

* buckwheat flour is available from health food stores

You can vary this recipe by adding in more sultanas and adjusting/adding more spice to your liking ☺
 This will last nicely for a few days in an air-tight container. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe - let me know if you make it and what you think ☺  We all enjoy this one very much, as a yummy treat.

If you would like to follow me on Instagram - my name is chan4boys

I also have a Facebook page:  Creative-ness.around my home

Creating with love and happiness  ♥