This cake is based on one that 2 special friends have given me over the years (Hi Elena and Mary!). One of them lived in India, the other in Nepal, and at times, both struggled to get ‘normal’ cake ingredients, like butter and eggs, so it is made from super simple pantry staples.

There are a lot of versions around. I’ve seen them called Wacky cake, 3 Hole Cake or Depression Cake (as in, from the era of the Great Depression …. eating it will not make you feel sad!). This is my version.

See below the recipe for cupcake details and also a vanilla version.

• 1 1/3 cups plain GF flour (250g)
• 1 tsp psyllium OR 1 heaped tbsp almond/seed meal (20g)
• 1/2-1 cup coconut sugar (depending on your sweet tooth – I do 1/2)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 5 tbsp rice bran oil (or tasteless coconut oil/vegan butter melted, works too)
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 275ml cool water

(if you want to use regular wheat flour or spelt, omit the GF flour and psyllium/almond meal and replace with 1 1/2 cups plain wheat flour)

In a large baking dish, place all of the dry ingredients and use a whisk to combine evenly. (or speed 4, 6 seconds – then pour into a greased baking dish/tin)

Then make 3 holes in the mix and into each hole, add 1 of the following; vinegar, oil & vanilla. (Add in all wet ingredients together, including water, then, speed 4 for 15 seconds)

Pour water over the top and mix well (you skip this step if you are using a Thermal cooker, since you have already added the water above)

Cook in a pre-heated, moderate oven for about 30-35 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Rich Chocolate Icing

• 1 tbsp Nuttelex
• 1/2 cup dark choc chip of choice
• 3 tbsp milk of choice
• approx 1 cup GF icing sugar (more if required)

In a saucepan, gently melt the Nuttelex, choc chips and milk. (Speed 2, 100C, approx 2 mins)

Add the icing sugar and whisk until well combined and smooth. (Speed 4, 15 seconds at a time, scraping down in between)

Allow the cake to cool before icing.

We also make this cake into cup cakes  – makes about 12 and they take about 17-20 minutes to bake.

We also make a vanilla version of this cake by omitting the cocoa, then adding 2 extra tbsp of flour and 1 tbsp more of almond meal, plus 1 more tsp of vanilla bean paste. If you want them to be whiter cupcakes, use white sugar instead of the coconut sugar, as it gives a caramel colour.

I have even seen recipes for this kind of cake made without cocoa and some oil removed, added mashed banana and half of the water replaced with coffee, but I’m yet to give that one a go!

Maybe it could even be turned into carrot cake with lemon icing?! Let me know if you come up with any other varieties 😀

Enjoy!

 

 

I guess it’s no surprise to you by now that I’m posting more salted caramel flavoured recipes!

These bliss balls came about because I had some almond milk dulce de leche left over and I want to stop myself eating it from the jar with a spoon!

See below the recipe for nut free and coeliac options.

• 150g rolled oats*
• 30g rolled quinoa
• 20g flax seeds
• 3/4 tsp Himalayan salt
• 1 tbsp sunflower seed butter
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp almond milk dulce de leche (or use an extra tbsp maple syrup)
• 1tsp vanilla bean paste
• 12 pitted medjool dates

Place oats, quinoa, flax and salt in the bowl of your processor and blitz until fine (Speed 8, 12 seconds).

Add in seed butter, syrup, vanilla and dulce de leche. Process until well combined. (Speed 7, 8 seconds, then scrape down sides).

Add in dates one at a time through the top chute, on to spinning blades then process until date is finely chopped and evenly distributed.  (Speed 4 whilst you are adding dates, then up to speed 7 for 15 seconds).

Use teaspoons of mix and roll into balls.

Makes about 22.

Store in airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

*To make these coeliac friendly: remove the oats and bulk up the quinoa to 60g and add in 1 cup sunflower seeds.

Enjoy!

As is often the case, my wonderful and delightful (but cheeky and determined!!) little miss is the source of inspiration for my baking experiments.

We are struggling to get enough protein into her, but she is quite a fan of baked goods. So I have been trying to find higher protein flours to work with and Teff came up.

Apparently, according to my research, it is the world’s tiniest grain. It originated in Ethiopia where is has long been a staple in their diet. Compared with other grains, it has a higher percentage of bran and germ which makes it higher in fibre and protein. It’s also go the highest calcium content of all grains … another deficiency we struggle with. It has quite a light flavour and is naturally gluten free – wins all ’round!

So now …. what do I make with it?

Well, I bought a packet (of Bob’s Red Mill Teff) and on the back there was a recipe for teff and peanut butter cookies.

This is my adapted version.

• 1.5 cups teff flour
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (honey or rice malt works too)
• 1/2 tsp himilayan salt
• 175g sunflower seed butter
• 6 large medjool dates
• 3/4 tsp GF Baking powder
• 1 tbsp coconut oil/vegan butter
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

In your processor mix together syrup, seed butter, vanilla and oil. Process until completely combined (Speed 5, 10 seconds)

Remove the seeds from your dates and drop them, one at a time, through the chute of the processor on to spinning blades, then process until dates are very finely diced and well mixed in (Speed 4 while you are adding the dates then up to speed 7 for 15 seconds).

Add in the baking powder, salt and flour and process to combine into a thick dough (Speed 5 for 15 seconds, scrape down sides and repeat).

Use a teaspoon to scoop out the mixture and roll in to walnut sized balls, then press down with the back of a fork on to a lined baking tray.

Place in a preheated 180C oven and bake for 15 minutes. They don’t spread out much, but do rise a little.

The cookies will still be soft when removed from oven but they will harden as they cool.

Makes about 30-35 cookies. Store in an air tight container or pop them in the freezer.

Enjoy!

A little while ago I saw this amazing looking recipe for a Lemon and Blueberry shortbread slice and I couldn’t stop thinking about how I wanted to make something similar in an allergy friendly and low sugar version.

After recently having discovered ‘Aquafaba’ as an egg replacer I thought it might be a good way to add some lightness and rise to the filling of a tart. You can find out more about this amazing discovery at aquafaba.com

So after having a little play, this is my tart.

(See below the recipe for a nut free version)

• 180g Plain Gluten Free flour
• 160g almond meal
• 3 tbsp Rice Malt Syrup
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• juice and finely grated zest of 4 medium lemons
• 80g Stevia
• 50g pure cornflour
• 1 tbsp Nuttelex
• 1/2 the drained liquid from a 400g tin of chic peas
• 100g fresh blueberries

To make the crust place the flour, almond meal, syrup and oil in a food processor. Process to combine well and until it resembles wet sand (Pulse twice, then speed 5 for about 15 seconds in a Thermal Cooker).

Grease a 26cm round spring form pan and tip the base mix into the bottom. Use your hand to press the mix down to cover the bottom and a little bit up the sides.

Cover with baking paper and add blind baking weights (rice or beans work well) and place in a preheated 180C oven and bake for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and remove the weights and paper and return to oven for a further 5 minutes then remove from oven and set aside. Turn the oven down to 160C.

In a large saucepan place the zest, juice, stevia, cornflour and Nuttelex and heat over a gentle heat, whisking regularly to avoid lumps, until the curd begins to thicken. Remove from heat.

While to curd is heating, place the chic pea liquid drained into a stand mixer and whip on a high speed until fairly stiff peaks form (not as stiff as a meringue). This will take about 4-5 minutes.

Fold the whipped mix through the lemon curd mix – don’t over mix it.

Pour the lemon mix on top of the crust.

Place blueberries on top and place in a preheated 160C oven for about 40 minutes. The top will be golden and beginning to crack.

The filling of the tart will still be quite soft when you remove it from the oven but will become firmer as it cools.

Cut and serve – lovely warm or cold.

We took this one to share with family for afternoon tea and it was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone – even those without any food restrictions!

Enjoy 🙂

For a Nut Free Version; replace the almond meal with equal quantity sunflower seed meal or omit the almond meal and use gluten free flour plus 1 heaped tsp of psyllium (to help with flexibility).

It is always good to have clever friends … and it is extra great when they are vegan ‘foodies’ who are prepared to share their clever tricks with you!!

A little while ago I was chatting to my friend Dan and she told me about an egg replacer called ‘Aquafaba’ … the liquid drained from a can of chic peas. Um, what?

Yep – this stuff:

Apparently the clever vegans have been on to it for a while … I’ve just been a bit slow catching up 😉 It is the proteins in egg whites that help them to whip up all frothy and go stiff – which is why this replacement works well – the proteins from the legumes. Who knew?! And I promise you that there isn’t even a hint of a taste of the legumes. They look, feel and eat just like the real thing.

Here is the link to the original recipe for meringues.

I used

• The drained liquid from 1 400g can of chic peas (do not buy the no salt version!)
• 1/3 cup sugar (or about 1/4 cup powdered Stevia), milled to resemble icing sugar
• 3/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
• pinch cream of tartar
• Optional – sprinkles to top (I use the Hoppers brand that is allergies friendly and is also free of artificial colours and preservatives) and a few drops of natural food colours (Madam’s request is for pink next time!).

Place the liquid in a very clean bowl of your stand mixer and turn on to a high speed (Mine is a Sunbeam Mixmaster and goes up to 12 and I used speed 10).

Beat until doubled in size and very frothy.

Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. This took about 5 minutes.

Continue to beat and gradually add in the sweetener.

Beat until stiff peaks form.

Add in the vanilla and colour if you are using it.

Spoon on to a lined baking tray (and add sprinkles if you wish) and place in a preheated 100C oven to bake for about 1.5 hours.

Do not bake any hotter because you are essentially drying out the mixture rather than baking it (kind of like a fruit leather). Low and slow is the best option.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Store in an airtight container for a week.

Makes 24.

Enjoy!!