Banana, Seed & Oat Muffins

August 27, 2016January 6, 2019 ~ desertcook ~ 4 Comments

These muffins are super easy to make (quick enough that we’ve had them fresh for breakfast!), they are light, moist and sweet but low on sugars, they freeze well for lunchboxes, and best of all – my little people love them!

See below the recipe for the Coeliac friendly version.

300g spelt flour (half wholemeal)
3 heaped tbsp of your favourite seed (mill these first if you want to hide them!)
1/3 cup rolled oats (mill these too if you need to hide ‘bits’)
2.5 tsp GF baking powder
3 tbsp honey/maple syrup/date paste
3 tbsp melted Nuttelex/Vegan butter/tasteless coconut oil**
1 large overripe banana
220ml milk of choice (I love unsweetened vanilla almond milk here)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
pinch pink salt flakes

Into your blender/processor/nutribullet/thermo cooker place the banana, Nuttelex, vanilla, milk and honey. Blitz until smooth (Speed 7, 10 seconds)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking powder, salt, oats, seeds and flour.

Add the dry mix to the wet and mix to combine (Speed 4, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat). Don’t over beat. I often just tip the wet mix into the bowl with the flour mix and combine by hand.

Spoon into muffin pans (lined or well greased) and bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 20 mins or until they are well browns and spring back when gently pressed.

Makes 14-6.

Enjoy 🙂

For an even more nutritious muffin, I reduce the flour by 50g and add in another 50g of almond or seed meal.

To make these ones Coeliac friendly I replaced the spelt with 1.5 cups GF flour and 1/2 cup almond/seed meal mix, then replace the oats with equal measure of rolled quinoa or desiccated coconut. Increase the milk by an additional 2 tbsp.

** If you want to cut back on your oils, 1 heaped tbsp of sunflower seed butter (or other nut butter) plus 2 tbsp of aquafaba work well here to replace the 3 tbsp of oil.

Self Saucing Chocolate pudding

August 12, 2016June 24, 2024 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

This warm gooey pudding seems to be a bit of an Aussie ‘classic’ for dessert, and one I have enjoyed at my Mother-in-law’s home many times. But my little miss has always missed out … until now.

“Pleeeeeeease can we make cake for dessert?!”.

Well, it’s Friday – sure! 5 minutes to whip it up and it baked while we ate our dinner. Yummo!! One happy little girl … who wants the left overs in her lunchbox … um, maybe not flossy-dot!

Pudding:

80g neutral tasting oil (I’ve used rice bran or melted Nuttelex)
100g sugar (increase to 130g if you are a sweet tooth)
3/4 cup SR flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 tsp baking powder
130g milk of choice
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chick peas) OR 1 whole egg.
Optional: handful finely chopped dark chocolate or choc chip of choice

Sauce:

2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp sugar
350ml boiling water

In a large mixing bowl, use a whisk to mix together the flour, nut meal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cocoa.

In a smaller bowl whisk together the milk, oil, egg/aquafaba and vanilla.

Add the wet mix to the dry and whisk together until well combined. Stir in the chocolate peices if using.

Pour into a greased baking dish.

Mix together the cocoa and sugar for the sauce and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the cake batter.

Pour the boiling water evenly over the top of cake, but do not mix it.

Place the dish into a preheated moderate oven for about 30-35 minutes or until the cake is well risen.

Oops – forgot to take a pic before we dug in!

Serve warm, on its own, or with a little ice-cream of choice.

Serves 6-8

Want it gluten free? use 160g of a good all purpose GF SR mix (I like Bob’s Red Mill) with 1 tsp of psyllium, and increase the milk to 150ml.

Want it nut free? Replace the almond meal with another 1/4 cup of SR flour and omit the baking powder

Need it for a bigger crowd? The recipe doubles perfectly.

Enjoy 🙂

Spiced Apricot Muffins

June 17, 2016June 22, 2016 ~ desertcook ~ 3 Comments

These little delights are a bit of a twist on my Spiced Plum Cake.

So easy to make and speedy to get in the oven, the kids love them … and I might be quite partial to one with an afternoon cuppa too!

225g stewed/tinned apricots (drained from their juices) – this is about 8 whole fresh fruit
50g Nuttelex/vegan butter/tasteless coconut oil, melted
160g milk of choice
1 medium overripe banana
4 tbsp honey (use rice malt or maple syrup for the vegan version)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 cups spelt flour (i do half whomeal and half white) OR 1 1/2 cups GF flour mix plus 1/4 cup almond/seed meal
2.5 tsp GF baking powder
pinch Himilayan salt
1 tbsp coconut sugar

Into your blender/processor/nutribullet/thermo cooker place the apricots, banana, Nuttelex, vanilla, milk and syrup. Blitz until smooth (Speed 7, 10 seconds)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking powder, salt, spices and flour (and almond/seed meal if using).

Add the dry mix to the wet and mix to combine (Speed 4, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat). Don’t over beat. I often just tip the wet mix into the bowl with the flour mix and combine by hand.

Pour into a lined muffin tin and sprinkle with coconut sugar.

Place into preheated moderate oven and bake for about 18 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Makes about 20 and they freeze and defrost well.

Enjoy 🙂

Gingernut Biscuits

June 15, 2016June 14, 2016 ~ desertcook ~ 4 Comments

I grew up dunking hard gingernut biscuits in hot drinks … Ultimate comfort food!

When William was really little and we’d go to visit his grandparents, he’d want to copy us and ‘dunk’ too. We found a pretty decent substitute in the Leda brand of gingernut … But they have a lot of sugar and they are quite expensive… And on the whole I always prefer to make my own if at all possible.

20160614_151104 — He’s still a keen dunker!

So I’ve been playing around with a ginger bikkie to dunk into our afternoon cuppa … And this seems to be the winner!!

1 1/4 cup spelt flour OR 1 cup plain GF flour mix plus 1/2 tsp psyllium
1 tsp GF baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
80g coconut sugar
Pinch pink salt
2 heaped tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
60g nuttelex/vegan butter, room temperature
30g maple syrup
3 tbsp aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chick peas)

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and use a whisk to combine evenly (speed 4, 10 seconds)

Add in the Nuttelex, syrup and aquafaba and use a wooden spoon to mix well and bring together to a stiff dough (speed 4, 8 seconds, scrape down and repeat).

Make small balls of the mixture (about 1 teaspoon full). Place on to a lined baking tray and press down gently.

Place into a preheated 150 C oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

The bikkies will still be slightly soft when you remove them from the oven but will harden on cooling. Leave on the tray for 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 24, and they store well for about a week in an airtight container.

Enjoy…. And happy dunking!

Upside down spiced Banana cake

June 10, 2016June 22, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I have been really busy lately and don’t feel like I’ve spent as much time with my kids as I’d normally like – so today, at her request, my little miss and I had a really lovely afternoon together. We watched Lady and the Tramp cuddled on the couch and then she asked to make a cake together for afternoon tea – how could I resist this face …..

We had a whole bunch (pun intended!) of bananas that needed using up, sooner rather than later, so we quickly made this cake. So deliciously moist and sweet. My kids were in afternoon tea heaven!

1 1/4 cups plain spelt OR GF flour mix
1/4 cup almond OR seed meal
2tsp GF baking powder
Pinch pink salt
2tsp mixed spice
90g Nuttelex/vegan butter, melted
30g Sunflower seed butter (or other nut butter that suits)
1/4 cup yoghurt of choice (I’ve used soy or coconut)
1/2 cup honey OR maple syrup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
4 medium, overripe bananas
1 tbsp coconut sugar.

Into your blender/processor/nutribullet/thermo cooker place 2 of the the bananas, Nuttelex, seed butter, yoghurt, vinegar and honey/syrup. Blitz until smooth (Speed 7, 10 seconds)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, meal, baking powder, salt and 1 tsp of the mixed spice..

Add the dry mix to the wet and mix to combine (Speed 4, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat). Don’t over beat. I often just tip the wet mix into the bowl with the flour mix and combine by hand.

Line the bottom of a cake tin, then mix together the coconut sugar and 2nd tsp of mixed spice, the sprinkle evenly over the bottom of the tin.

Slice the remaining 2 bananas and spread them evenly around the tin on top of the spiced sugar mix.

Pour the cake mix over the top of the bananas and sugar, then place into a preheated moderate oven for about 30 minutes or until well risen, golden and an inserted skewer is just clean.

Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate, slice and serve.

Especially delicious served warm!

Enjoy 🙂

Lemon Thyme Mushroom risotto

June 8, 2016June 7, 2016 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

It is really chilly in Perth today – delightful! But it does trigger the desire for some serious comfort food.

I have been working really hard to add some more vegan meals into our regular menu – so we’ve been eating a lot of mushrooms. I also have copious amounts of lemon and thyme from my garden – so risotto it is!

5 cups chicken or vegetable stock (for an instant variety I use ‘Massel’ stock powder)
4 tbsp garlic olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely diced
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chooped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
2 cups chopped green beans
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp pink salt
1/3 tsp ground black pepper
fine zest and juice of 1 lemon
OPTIONAL – 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped

In a large, heavy based pan, heat 1 tsbp of oil. Add in the mushrooms, salt, pepper, thyme and lemon zest.

Cook down until the mushroom are just tender. Set them aside.

Bring the stock to boil in a saucepan then turn it down to the lowest possible simmer.

In the same pan that you used for the mushrooms, heat the remaining oil and add in the onion. Cook, stirring for a couple of minutes until the onion is just soft.

Add rice and stir for about 1 minute, ensuring the rice in coated with the onion mix.

Add in the juice of the lemon and stir well, to deglaze the bottom of the pan.

Add approx 1/2 cup of stock at a time to the rice and stir consistently over a low/medium heat until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is creamy and just tender.

Meanwhile, lightly steam the green beans.

Remove risotto from as you add the final half cup of stock. Stir through the mushrooms and beans, cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

20160607_172647 — Still a bit wet after the last stock addition …

Top with hazelnuts if your diet allows.

Serve immediately. Feeds 5-6 adults.

If your diet allows it, you could also stir though a handful of finely grated parmesan cheese before the mushrooms…. but I think it is creamy and flavourful enough without it!

Enjoy 🙂

Super Simple Hot Chocolate

June 7, 2016 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

A cold, rainy day and my kids beg for hot chocolate … but I’ve just started a 1 month no extra grocery shoping challenge….

No problems!

My crazy babies love this powder and it made for a very happy afternoon tea 🙂 (together with my Honey and Banana Pancakes)

4 tbsp cocoa
4 tbsp coconut sugar (or your choice of sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/4 tsp pink salt

Place all of your ingredients in a powerful blender/processor/nutribullet/thermal cooker.

And blitz until fine and really well combined (there should be no clumps or hint of the wet paste left). (use Speed 9 for 10 seconds).

Use powder as you would for any hot chocolate. And store in an airtight container.

My kids have 1 teaspoon, half a cup of hot water, then topped up with their milk …. and a few mini marshmallows (egg, dairy and gluten free of course!)

Enjoy 🙂

Vanilla Almond Pikelets (Hotcakes)

June 4, 2016February 16, 2025 ~ desertcook ~ 7 Comments

Light and fluffy pikelets (or you might know them as hotcakes?!) – are a very popular weekend breakfast in our house.

These are light, fluffy and fragrant and they get absolutely demolished …. by all 6 of us!

1 1/2 cups flour (half wholemeal) OR 1 1/3 cups plain GF flour mix
1/2 cup almond meal OR a seed meal mix
2 tsp GF baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk of choice
30g melted butter/nuttelex/light tasting oil
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 whole egg OR 3 tbsp aquafaba (liquid drained from can of chick peas) OR 1 medium, overripe banana, well mashed
Optional- 1 tbsp sugar or maple syrup*
Optional – 1/4 cup hemp seeds
toppings of choice to serve
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (optional)

*We don’t add any sweetener when we use a ripe banana in the mix, but taste test and adjust according to your preference.

In a large bowl whisk together all of your dry ingredients (Speed 4, 10 seconds). Then set aside.

Mix together the oil/butter, milk and vanilla and whisk until well combined. If you are using the maple syrup, aquafaba, banana or an egg, add in at this step. (Blend all together on speed 5 for 8 secs)

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and whisk well to combine. (Speed 4, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat).

Fold through the blueberries (Use speed 3 for 15 seconds), if using. Vanilla, almonds and blueberries go so well together!

Pour the batter into a preheated (medium heat) lightly greased frying pan, wait until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Add your topping of choice and serve warm.

These ones also freeze and defrost really well. I tend to make a double batch and then freeze 2 together, sandwich style, with vegan butter or sunflower seed butter in the middle for an easy, low mess snack -perfect for lunchboxes or rushed school morning breakfast!

Enjoy … We sure do!

For Easter we have tuned our pikelets in to bunny butts! So cute as they run away!

A bigger one for the body and 2 smaller ones for the feet – decorate with your imagination.

We like Bananas, dates and seed butter as a great combo, or if you’re a serious sweet tooth, whipped cream and dark chocolate!

Roasted Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

June 4, 2016June 3, 2016 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

pumpkin (approx 900g before peeling and de-seeding)
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp pink salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
400g tin chic peas, drained (but keep the brine ‘aquafaba’ as an egg replacer)
1 brown onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup hot chicken or vegetable stock (I used Massel)
1 tsbp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp coconut cream (optional)

Peel, de-seed and cut up pumpkin into small pieces. Try to keep them roughly the same size.

Drizzle 1 tbsp of oil plus the salt, pepper and thyme over the pumpkin and toss well to coat. Place into a large baking dish and spread out evenly.

Place into a pre-heated hot oven and roast for about 45 minutes, tossing after about 25 minutes.

In a large pan, heat the remaining oil. Finely chop the onion and garlic and add to the oil, and cooking, stirring until translucent.

(In a Thermal cooker, blitz the onion and garlic on speed 5 for about 8 seconds, then add oil and cook on steam temp, speed 1 for about 3-4 minutes with the m/c off).

Place the pumpkin, chic peas, nutritional yeast, stock and onion mix to a processor and process until smooth.

(In a Thermal cooker, add the pumpkin, stock, nutritional yeast and chic peas to the onion mix, then process on speed 5 for about 20 seconds, scrape down and repeat until smooth, combined consistency is reached).

Add coconut cream if using and mix to combine (Speed 4, 10 seconds).

Stir through your favourite al dente cooked pasta.

I love to add a large handful of baby spinach and top with a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts or toasted sunflower seeds.

Yum – Enjoy 🙂

Chocolate banana muffins

June 3, 2016October 24, 2024 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I meant to make my Pear Surprise muffins the other day …. but it turns out that I didn’t have the stewed pears left in the fridge that I thought I did. Oops.

I did have extra overripe bananas frozen and a little miss begging me for chocolate muffins …. so this was the result. These are lovely, light and moist.

75g butter/plant based butter, melted OR light tasting oil
180g milk of choice (we use almond or soy)
1.5 medium overripe bananas
4 tbsp sugar (honey or rice malt syrup work well too)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 cups flour (half wholemeal)*
2.5 tsp GF baking powder
pinch salt flakes
2 rounded tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg**

*To make this one coeliac friendly: replace the spelt flour with 1 1/2 cups GF flour mix plus 1/4 cup almond/seed meal

*To make this one egg free: replace the egg with an additional 1/2 banana

*To boost the nutrients: replace the 1/3 of the flour with equal quantities of almond or seed meal.

Into your blender/processor/nutribullet/thermo cooker place the bananas, butter, vanilla, milk and sugar/syrup. Blitz until smooth (Speed 7, 10 seconds)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour baking powder, cocoa, salt and cinnamon (plus almond/seed meal if using).

Add the dry mix to the wet and mix to combine (Speed 4, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat). Don’t over beat. I often just tip the wet mix into the bowl with the flour mix and combine by hand.

Line a standard muffin tin and spoon fill.

Place in a preheated moderate oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until well risen and they spring back when gently touched.

You can eat these as is, dust with pure icing sugar or ice them like cupcakes. And if you like a sweeter treat you could add a handful of choc chips to the mix.