Mum’s Marble Brownie

Make the whole thing in one pot!

Brownie Mix

• Melt 125g butter with ½ cup of rice syrup
• Remove from heat
• Mix in 1 cup of natural yoghurt,  2-3 eggs,  ½ cup of strong plunger coffee (cooled)
• Pinch of salt
• Next, mix in 1 ½ cups of flour – a Combination of any of the following
  – Almond meal
  – Buckwheat flour
  – Tapioca Flour
  – Coconut flour (note if you are using coconut flour, use less as it absorbs liquid)
• Adjust quantities so that you achieve a consistency where the mixture should run off the spoon easily.
• Mix in 1 cup of cocoa (or more if mixture too runny after adding dry ingredients)
  Then add ½ tsp cinnamon  and  ½ tsp cardamom (optional – add a pinch of chilli powder)
• Add a splash of Vanilla

Optional: Add a sprinkle of frozen mixed berries

• Pour mixture into a lined 30cm tin

Marble Mix:

• Combine  ½ to 1 tub of cream cheese  with one small egg
• Use a skewer to very lightly marble through the brownie mix in the cake tin (don’t overmix or you will lose the marble effect and dollops of cream cheese once cooked)

• Cook in an oven at 160 until JUST done!

(Tip: when cooked, put in  the freezer semi-hot – Mum think this helps with dense-ness!)

 

Superfood Slice

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds,
• 4 tbsp chia Seeds (cover with water to soften and create gel)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (or enough to bind and set slice)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 dessert spoons peanut butter or tahini (optional)
• Stevia to taste
• pinch of salt

Method

• Place all the dry ingredients into the food processor and whiz to a course crumble
• Add the wet ingredients and whiz to combine

 – Check consistency to ensure it will hold together. When satisfied, tip out into a dish lined with    baking paper and press in firmly. 

 – Chill in the fridge until set

 – Slice and enjoy

Kumara Paleo Bread

I have tried a few different Paleo “breads” or loaves. Most of them require a lot of eggs and also almond meal – making it rather expensive! What I love about this recipe is that it only uses 3 eggs and a little bit of coconut flour. In addition, it has a beautiful natural sweet flavour (from the kumara) and while it is quite dense, it is also somehow soft and light.

Ingredients

• 300 grams cooked kumara flesh (or 1 1/2 cups cooked kumara)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons of coconut milk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Juice of half a lemon
• pinch of salt

To make:

• Preheat your oven to 180 Degrees.
• Grease and line a  loaf tin with baking paper.
• Put the ingredients into your food processor or blender and pulse until well combined.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth over the top with a spoon.
• Bake for 40 minutes.
• Cover the loaf with foil and bake for a further 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.

Bounty Bites

My latest obsession! They came about as a happy accident … a delicious treat!

Ingredients

Chocolate Mixture

1 x Lindt 90% cocoa chocolate (100g)

A small sprinkle of pure Stevia to taste or one of the monk fruit/stevia baking blends (optional)

2-3 Tablespoons virgin coconut oil (melted)
Coconut Filling

2 tsp natural vanilla extract

A sprinkle of stevia to taste (or your preferred sweetener)

1/4 cup coconut cream

2 cups fine dedicated coconut

1/2 cup virgin coconut oil (melted)

To make …

Chocolate

• Melt the chocolate (either in a microwave or in a bowl sitting over a pot of water) – you want to get it to boiling point without burning, so that it sets again and goes shiny

• Mix in sweetener & coconut oil if using

• Spoon a tsp of the chocolate mixture into the bottom of a mini or regular muffin tray (lined if not silicon like mine). Spread it flat.

Coconut

• Put all the coconut filling ingredients into a food processor and blend until combined

• Spoon into the muffin tray evenly

• Then put another spoon of the chocolate mixture on top, smooth it out.

• Place in fridge to set. When set, pop them out of the tray and you’re good to go!

Optional: Sometimes I like to add a few drops of peppermint oil into the coconut mixture so they become like little coco-nutty mint slices

Vanilla Coconut Pikelets!

The humble pikelet! In New Zealand most of us grew up devouring these at our Grandmother’s house, with lashings of jam and cream! I was amazed when I only recently learned that we did not inherit these little afternoon tea delights from our  British history! They are unique to New Zealand and Australia.

Of course for those of us wanting to avoid things like gluten, wheat and sugar, they are off-limits… and if eggs are also off the table for you, this recipe isn’t for you. Otherwise, this recipe comes pretty close to a pikelet like Grandma used to make!

Here’s my take on Gluten free, Sugar free and Dairy free pikelets!

Ingredients

1/4 cup almond meal

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tablespoon of brown rice syrup, monk fruit powder or stevia

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Melted butter or coconut oil

Method

1. Sift flour and baking powder with a pinch of salt
2. Whisk coconut milk and egg together, then add the dry ingredients and sweetener, whisking until smooth.
3. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and throw in a couple of knobs of butter or coconut oil. Drop in a level tablespoon of mixture and cook until bubbles appear. Then flip and cook the other side for about a minute until golden
4. Repeat until you have used the mixture up (adding more butter or coconut oil to the pan frequently)

Best enjoyed with raspberry chia jam and cream (or coconut cream for the dairy-free!)

Coconut Bread

I won’t be making this one too often because with the recipe calling for 8 eggs it’s jolly expensive!

But as a weekend indulgence, a slice of this coconut bread smothered in beautiful New Zealand butter (and raspberry chia jam if you really want to go all out) goes down a real treat!

The recipe is from Dr Josh Axe.

Mine got a wee bit overcooked, however still has a beautiful texture and subtle neutral flavour making it versatile as either a sweet or savoury snack.

Ingredients

¾ cup coconut flour

1 tsp baking soda

Pinch of sea salt

4 whole eggs

3 eggs, separated

4-5 tbsp organic, grass-fed butter

3 tbsp coconut milk

1 tbsp raw honey

Organic, cold-pressed, unrefined virgin coconut oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degree Fahrenheit.
2. Lightly grease a loaf pan using the coconut oil. Line the pan with baking paper and spread another coating of oil.
3. With a handheld electric whisk, beat 3 egg whites until they become stiff (set the yolk aside).
4. With a food processor, mix together: 3 yolks, 4 whole eggs, butter, coconut milk and honey.
5. Slowly mix into the food processor: coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Combine everything to create a thick batter.
6. Pour the batter into a large mixing bowl.
7. Fold in the egg whites (from step 3).
8. Place the mixture into the loaf pan and bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.
9. Note: The top will brown, but the mixture will NOT have throughly cooked yet. Cover the loaf pan, reduce the heat to 150 and cook an additional 5-10 minutes
10. Remove the loaf pan from the oven. Take the bread out of the pan and set on a wire rack to cool.
11. Once the loaf is completely cooled (about an hour), it is ready to slice and eat!

Favourite toppings so far … peanut butter and raspberry chia jam & cream!

 

 

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Decadent, fudgy and satisfying !

Ingredients

• 220g peeled sweet potato, roughly chopped in same sized pieces
• ¾ cup almond or peanut butter
• ½ cup cacao (or cocoa) powder
• Stevia to taste (for sugar free), otherwise ¼ cup brown rice syrup (or honey/maple)
• ½ cup coconut oil
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup shredded coconut (optional for a crunchy texture. Add at the end…don’t blend)

Method

1. Steam sweet potato until it is soft and tender, then mash.
2. Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender with the cooked sweet potato. Blend until well combined (for no longer than 10 seconds, otherwise the fats will split the mixture).
3. Line a slice tin with greaseproof paper and spread the mixture evenly in the tin. Refrigerate until set, then cut into slices.

Chocolate & Raspberry Layer Cake

This is a bit of a recipe smash and was very much an experiment. So feel free to play with it and adjust to suit you or that special someone. You could easily add different flavours to the cheesecake layer (e.g. hazelnut or orange) or replace the berries for another fruit.

I made this cake in a couple of sessions   – I did the brownie layers one evening, the mousse and chia jam another evening and then the cheesecake layer compiling it all together the day before the birthday. I found that more manageable. But you may just want to bang it all out in one go.

1) Brownie

I made x3 of this recipe and cooked each layer separately. Be careful not to overcook as it is best when moist and dense and cooks quickly.

Ingredients

• 125g butter
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 Tbsp natural yoghurt
• ¼ c of strong filter coffee
• 3 eggs
• stevia to taste
• 4-6 Tbsp of any gluten free flour (I use x2 almond meal, x2 Tapioca Flour, x1-2 coconut flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda (leave out if you like your brownie dense & sludgey)
• ¾ cup cocoa
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon & mixed spice
• ½ cup of chopped 90% cacao chocolate (I use Lindt)Method
  • Melt butter & sweetener in saucepan – add essence & salt *Cool slightly
  • Whisk in yoghurt, eggs, coffee
  • Add cocoa, flour, baking soda & spices
  • Add chocolate

  *Mixture should drop of the spoon easily –  if mixture too dry add some more liquid, milk, yoghurt or coffee, if mixture too runny add a little more cocoa or gf flour

  • Pour into a square oven dish (or round 30cm cake tin) lined with baking paper & bake at 180 till mixture is JUST set – don’t overcook!
  • Remove from oven & pop in freezer to cool for 5-10 mins (*make sure to sit hot dish on place mat or board in freeze – you don’t have to do this, but it seems to make it extra moist)

   

  • Keep in fridge to stay deliciously moist!!

2) Chocolate Mousse Layer

This was taken from I Quit Sugar: https://iquitsugar.com/recipe/the-best-vegan-chocolate-mousse/

It is best left overnight so that the chia seeds really thicken the coconut cream.

Ingredients

• 400 ml can coconut cream (I prefer KARA)
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
• 1/4 cup rice malt syrup.
• 1/4 cup chia seeds.

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients together until well combined and smooth. Pour into a bowl and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or until firm.

3) Raspberry Chia Jam Layer

Also from IQS: https://iquitsugar.com/recipe/raspberry-chia-jam/

Ingredients

• 1 cup Raspberries, fresh or frozen.
• 2 tablespoons water.
• 1 tablespoon rice malt syrup.
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds.

1. Throw all the ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth. You may need to add some extra water to help it combine.
   Pour mixture into a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the mixture begins to bubble. Reduce the heat and whisk constantly until thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Chill

4) Cheesecake Layer

Note: the mixture for this can be made at any time, but only add in the gelatine once you are ready to spread it on the cake (so that it sets on the cake).

• 1 tablespoon gelatin + 2 tablespoons water
• 2½ cups unsweetened greek yogurt
• 250 grams cream cheese (room temperature, for smoothest results)
• ¼ cup rice syrup (can use honey)
• 1½ tablespoons vanilla bean paste
• sea salt

1. In the cleaned food processor (or in a high speed blender, for a smoother result), add softened (room temperature) cream cheese, yogurt, rice syrup, vanilla bean paste, and sea salt.
2. Process the cheesecake filling until very smooth.
3. Add gelatin to the water and allow to absorb. When you are ready add to your mixture, place it in a pan and heat until the gelatin is melted and there are no more clumps.
4. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in gelatin, and continue to process for 30 seconds to completely incorporate.
5. Spread onto your cake

(I split my cheesecake mixture and gelatine mixture in half and did this process twice for each layer I added)

For a dairy free option, you could whip up some good quality coconut cream or make a coconut cream custard.

 5) Chocolate Avocado Mousse (Icing)

This is one my all-time favourite desserts and can be kept in the freezer. However it also doubles as a healthy and delicious icing!

• I am not great with quantities, so use the below as a guide. With this mousse, go by taste and texture.

Combine in a food processor:

• 2-3 ripe avocados
• ¼ cup cocoa or raw cacao powder
• ¼ – ½ cup coconut cream (I prefer Kara)
• ¼ cup brown rice syrup or natural sweetener (adjust to taste)
• 1tsp Vanilla

Pinch of salt

Whiz until smooth and creamy and then chill.

Spread this onto the top of the cake, and top with fresh or frozen rasberries!

Lemon Coconut Cake

Love this cake! It is light, refreshing and not too sweet. Perfect with a cup of tea or as a dessert with some Greek Yoghurt!

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
• 1/2 Cup of Tapioca Flour
• 1/2 Cup of Almond Meal
• A sprinkle of stevia (to taste) or ½ Cup of Rice Malt Syrup

(check mixture for sweetness and adjust to taste)

• Pinch of salt
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 200g butter (or coconut oil)
• Zest and juice of two lemons
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 200-300ml milk (or use So Good Unsweetened Coconut/Almond Milk blend)
• 1/4 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt

Icing

• 400g Cream Cheese
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Lemon, orange or lime rind
• Rice Malt Syrup (or your choice of sweetener)

Lemon Curd Sauce

• 1 cup of lemon juice
• Zest of a lemon
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon of Cornflour or Arrowroot Powder
• Sweetener of choice (I like stevia)

Method

• Grease and line the base of a loose-bottom 20 cm cake tin.
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt, coconut and backing powder.
• Cut the butter into small cubes and rub in with fingertips or mix in food processor.
• When the butter is rubbed in, make a well in the centre and add the zest, lemon juice and eggs.
• Gradually mix in the milk till you have a soft dropping consistency.
• Pour into prepared tin and bake at 180⁰C for 40-50 minutes or until cake is risen and springy and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Icing

• Place cream cheese rind and lemon juice into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add rice syrup or stevia until you reach the desired sweetness.
• Lather generously onto your cake once cooled.

Lemon Curd Sauce

• Mix together the Cornflour, egg, zest and sweetener of choice (I use stevia, honey or rice malt syrup also works well)
• Slowly mix in lemon juice, careful to avoid lumps
• Gently heat on an element until it thickens
• Add a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil or butter and extra sweetener if needed

 

Moist Chocolate & Beetroot Cupcakes

Note: The below recipe is for quite a large brownie-style ‘cake’ or more than one tray of cupcakes. Simply reduce ingredient quantities to make less. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of Coconut Flour, 1 cup Almond Meal, ½ cup Tapioca Flour
• 1 cup of Cocoa
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• ¾ Rice Syrup
• 1 tin of beetroot
• ½ Cup of Coconut Oil
• 5 eggs
• ¾ cup of milk (or almond/coconut milk)
• 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 tsp Vanilla

Method:

• Into a food processor combine cider vinegar, eggs, milk, baking soda, vanilla and rice syrup. Blend thoroughly.
• Add the beetroot and coconut oil. Blend until combined.
• Add the flour and cocoa. Blend until combined.

The mixture should be thick but runny. If not runny enough you can add more liquid or more beetroot.

Pour mixture into a large cake tin or dish lined with baking paper, or spoon into a cupcake liners in a muffin pan.

Bake at 150⁰ until cooked but still “wobbly”.  It will still firm up, but to get it nice and moist, dense and slightly gooey, this is when you want to either take it out of the oven or turn the oven off.

Serve with berries! (Berries and beetroot are a great combo).

Tip: Put the brownie straight in the fridge after it comes out of the oven, wrapped in a plastic back or covered with a tea towel. This will make it even more moist and dense!