Peanut Honeycomb Chocolate Pieces

The Vegan Kind Christmas Selection Box.

Kransekake Bites.

Homemade Mulled Extract

Spiced Sweet Potato Breakfast Bread

Three Pumpkin Recipes in One Go.

So despite October and Halloween coming to an end, it is still autumn and it is still pumpkin season, actually you might be able to get a great deal on some edible pumpkins now that Halloween is over.

Dairy free chocolate easter treats

Ingredients:
200g dark dairy free chocolate of choice
25g coconut oil
2 tablespoons of sweet freedom or agave
pinch of salt
100g almonds
100g raisins

Lightly roast the almonds in the oven for about 5-8 minutes, until they get a more golden colour inside the almond when cutting it in half. Set aside to cool, then chop roughly.

Melt chocolate, coconut oil, sweet freedom or agave, and salt on a low heat while stirring. Once all melted and incorporated, turn the almonds and raisins into the chocolate mixture.

Spread into a small dish or baking pan lined with baking paper. Refrigerate for a few hours or over night, then cut into bite size pieces.

Keep refrigerated until serving.

Enjoy

Dairy free small lemon drizzle cakes

I made a big batch of apple sauce from some apples that wasn't as crisp as I had expected when buying them. So instead of letting them go to waist, I just peeled, cored and cut up into smaller pieces. Put in a pot with a bit of apple juice, just so they don't stick and burn at the bottom of the pan, covered with a lit and cook for 20-30 minutes or until they go mushy. Cool and then just blend until smooth. Store in the fridge for a couple of days or portion it up and freeze, then just take out a couple of hours before use.

Oreo now dairy free in EU???

Apparently so! I did a blog post almost 3 years ago, click Here to read, about how there is a difference between American Oreo's and European Oreo's, but it seems no more. 

Back then I contacted Nestle EU to ask if they where going to make the EU Oreo's dairy free as well, but their answer was a bit fuzzy, but from what I could interpret they were going to start using the american recipe in EU at some point.

A better for you chocolate chip cookie

I have found that snacks are a necessity to help you though an Olympic fever :-) And in the Olympic spirit of sports and eating healthy, these cookies are just the right snack for any event.
These lovely cookies taste just as good as any cookie, but with no egg, butter or white sugar, but packed with vitamins from the nuts and with slow release of energy, so a great snack after doing sports.....or watching some ;-)

I know I say “they are so easy to make” a lot, but these really are super easy to make, and great to make with kids, as they can help with almost the whole process, from measuring, stirring and shaping.

Small chocolate cake-brownies. Gluten, Dairy, Egg and White Sugar free.

You would never believe that these little cake like brownie are Egg, Gluten, Dairy and white sugar free if you didn’t know it, and none of your guest would know it either, they would simply think that they had just tasted one of the best chocolate cakes ever.
Even good for people who are keeping an eye on their cholesterol.

Naturally sweetened apple sauce

The main reason for me putting this recipe on the blog is because it is good to use in Gluten free, Egg free, White sugar free and Dairy free baking, but this recipe is also delicious to use on you breakfast porridge or as a healthy desert with some roasted nut and maybe a bit of lactofree whip cream.

You can make this on the amount of apples you have, simply just ad up with how many grams of apples you have. 400g apples makes about 300g apple sauce.

Per 100g of peeled and cored apples use:
½ tablespoon agave syrup or sweet freedom (available in most supermarkets)
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Lemon and Almond drizzle cake

I have made so many lemon drizzle cakes in the last few years, as it is my boyfriend’s workplaces favourite and they are always asking for it.

Lemon cake aren’t the prettiest of cakes for holidays, but what this lack in looks it certainly makes up for in taste and would be a perfect end to an Easter dinner.

Dairy free chocolate Easter eggs

Still unsure where to get your chocolate Easter egg for Easter, then here are some links for the chocolate eggs I would recommend.

If you are looking for an Easter egg for a kid or someone who is not keen on dark chocolate, for me it has to be the Moofree Easter egg. It doesn’t have a funny aftertaste like some dairy free “dairy” chocolates can have, it is a bit on the sweet site, but beside that is a really really good dairy free chocolate. see an earlier post on Moofree here.
www.moofreechocolates.com

Rum-Raisin

One of my favourite ice cream flavours has always been rum raisin, so quite obvious one of the first toppings for the new lactofree icecream I thought off was rum raisin.

It is quite easy to make and actually taste better if you make it the day before.

25g dark brown sugar
25g golden syrup
100ml rum
100g raisins

In a small pan, stir together brown sugar and syrup over medium heat, until melted. Bring to a boil and let it bubble for 1-2 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and add 50ml of the rum (be careful doing this, the alcohol hitting the sugar will make it bubble up). Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Ad the raisins and set it aside to cool.
Once cooled to room temperature, ad the last 50ml of rum and stir well to incorporate.
Transferee to a container and store in the fridge for minimum 1 hour, but preferably around 24 hours.

Chocolate syrup

Chocolate syrup isn’t as well known in Europe, it is more an American thing and is used in milk for chocolate milk or drizzled on ice creams and deserts.

It is super easy to make, and will keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

½ cup pure cocoa powder
½ cup water
½ cup sugar, agave or sweet freedom (agave and sweet freedom is good to use if you don’t want to much refined sugar)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small pot mix the coco powder, water and salt together and bring to a boil. Whisk until there are no lumps.
Ad the sugar or agave, and boil until it stars to thicken a bit (like syrup).
Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Let it cool for a bit, then transferee to container of choice (I used an empty agave bottle).
Store in the fridge and give it a shake before use.

Coconut Fudge

21. December

This recipe is very difficult to make, and shouldn't be made unless you are very confident in the kitchen and you have a pre knowledge of candy making.

This is an adaptation of a Martha Stewart recipe, and you can see a video of how the original is made here.

 
60g Coconut oil, room temperature, plus more for baking sheet
400g Sugar
1 can of coconut milk
300g dairy free dark chocolate

Oil a rimmed baking sheet; set aside.
Mix sugar and coconut milk together in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and bring to a boil, until mixture reaches 115°C on a candy thermometer, 40 to 50 minutes. Add the coconut oil and let the temperature reach 115°C again.
Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Let cool ½-1 hours, until it is not too hot for the hands to handle. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Using your hands, begin to pull and press the mixture. Keep pulling and kneading mixture until it lightens in colour, loses its shine, and no longer sticks to your fingers, 15 to 45 minutes. Roll mixture into small balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Place on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until firm and cold, about 10 minutes. Or spread out on a small baking tray lined with baking paper, cool and cut into 1.5x1.5 inches squares.
In a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, melt chocolate. Using a toothpick or a fork, dip each ball or squares into chocolate mixture, and return to baking sheet. Refrigerate until fudge is chilled and chocolate has set, about 30 minutes.

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Sweetcheeks

Sweetcheeks christmas selection 2011

11. December

I have loved Sweetcheeks cakes ever since I bought some cupcakes at the allergy show earlier this year, and now whenever I am in London on a Saturday, I always swing by the Marylebone High Street Market to try a few new flavours.

Sweetcheeks cakes are all Vegan and Gluten free, than means no dairy, eggs or flour. You might think that sound dull, but believe me these cakes are anything but dull, they are the most moist and flavourful cakes you will ever buy. And an extra bonus is that because they use good fats, no eggs and agave nectar when can, they are a bit healthier and lower in calories then normal cakes.

Catherine from Sweetcheeks has been so kind as to let me share one of her cupcake recipes with you on my blog, so if you don't live in the London area, you can make your own amazing cupcakes at home. 

Ingredients 60g rice flour 230g potato flour 120g corn flour 1.5 tbsp gluten free baking powder 1/2 tsp xanthan gum 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp salt 160ml canola oil 320ml agave nectar or fructose syrup 180g plum puree (bake about 4 plums then mash away) 240ml warm water 1 tbsp vanilla essence Handful of vegan white chocolate drops Handful of fresh raspberries

Method 1. Set the oven to 150 C / gas mark 2, and line muffin tins for 24 cupcakes. 2. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl together and mix. 3. Add the oil, nectar, puree and water and stir well until the lumps have gone. 4. Then add the raspberries and crumble the white chocolate into the mix and stir well. 5. The mix should be the between the consistency of dough and custard. 6. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases about 2/3 full 7. Put into the oven for 18 minutes (rotating the tins after about 12 minutes) 8. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. 9. Leave the cupcakes to cool For the Frosting 115g vegetable shortening 115g soya margarine 500g sifted icing sugar Splash of soya milk Raspberry juice 1. Whisk the margarine and shortening together until smooth 2. Gradually add the icing sugar and blend well until fluffy 3. Add a splash of soya milk and raspberry juice (to make it easier to pipe the frosting and give it good flavour and a dash of colour) 4. Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes and sit back with a cuppa and enjoy.

Note: All the ingredients might seem very foreign to some, but they can all be bought in any good supermarket. And if making your own plum puree seems a bit daunting you could try and replace it with un-sweetened applesauce. 

For more information on how to get a hold of your own Sweetcheeks cakes, visit the Sweetcheeks website or facebook page.

Sticky Apple Cake

9. December

When it is Christmas, we often eat a lot of sinful food, but this cake has all the taste of Christmas, but will defiantly not make you feel bad by eating it.

Serves 8
500g cored but not peeled
50g almonds
60g raisins
100g honey
1 egg and 1 egg white (or 3 egg whites)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
100g plain white flour

Preheat oven to 175°C
Cut the apple into small pieces and chop the almonds roughly.
Whisk egg and honey well, then mix in all the dry ingredients.
With a big spoon or spatula turn in apple pieces, raisins and almonds in the dough
Transfer the dough to a 8×8 inches/20×20 cm cake tin
Bake it for about 40 minutes until the top turns brown

If you are gluten intolerant and try making this recipe with gluten free flour, please let me know how it turns out.

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Mulled Cider

7. December

If you haven't tried mulled cider before, then this is really one of those need to try recipes.

Mullet cider is different from mullet wine as it doesn't have as much alcohol in it and a much rounder taste.

2 Litre of Cider (use on you like the taste of normally. I like using cloudy cider.)
3-6 tablespoons sugar
2 oranges cut in quarters or 4 clementines halved
2 cinnamon sticks
4 whole anis
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice

Put all the ingredients except sugar in a big pan and let it heat up slowly but not letting it reach the boiling point.
Ad 3 tablespoons of sugar and stir to let it dissolve, have a taste to see if it needs more sugar and add a tablespoon at a time till you get the wanted taste.
Take it off the heat and let it stand for an hour or a few until needed.
Heat back up and using a spoon, press the oranges or clementines against the side of the pan to squeeze the juice out of them.

Enjoy.

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