Emmelou Green’s recipe for blueberry muffins looks delicious but I don’t like using butter in recipes since they’re already so calorie dense. So today I experimented by replacing the butter with courgette! Success! Enjoy these moreish and healthy treats.
Ingredients
200g rice or buckwheat flour
50g almond meal
50g raw cane sugar
100g finely grated courgette (mix it in the mixer so you get a mushy mix)
150g yoghurt
2 eggs
1 tsp psyllium
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Zest of 1 lemon
Handful of blueberries
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
Line or oil a muffin tray.
Mix all of the ingredients apart from the blueberries together.
Add the blueberries. I chucked in a piece of chocolate in each muffin.
Divide the mix over the muffin tray and bake in the oven for 30 mins.
I’ve not had much time to experiment with baking recently, but when I saw @growforagecookferment’s Instagram post about blood orange cake, I just needed to see if I might turn it into something I might be allowed to eat.m
My son’s been eating so many blood oranges recently, it’s been exciting to do something else with the oranges rather than just devouring them raw!
Ingredients
Syrup: 120ml water, 90g sugar, and 60ml maple syrup, 2 blood oranges finely sliced
100g almond meal
140g finely grated sweet potato
80g buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
90g maple syrup
120g lactose free yoghurt
1/4 tsp psyllium
2 eggs
Rind of 2 lemons and some dried rosemary
Instructions
For the syrup, boil the water, sugar, and maple syrup for 5 minutes.
Add the blood orange slices gently, and leave to simmer for 5 more minutes.
Meanwhile, Pre-heat the oven to 175C.
Mix all of the cake ingredients to quite a dry mix.
Put one orange slice in the middle of an oiled cake tin with baking paper. Put more slices from the middle, overlapping until the touch the outside of the tin. Add some syrup on top.
Pour the cake mix on top of the orange slice.
Bake for 45 mins.
Turn the cake upside down and take out of the tin.
Pour some more syrup over the cake before you eat it. The rind is edible by the way.
If you read my previous recipe, you’ll know I made my own mincemeat a few days ago, for the first time ever. It’s delicious and I wanted to try using it in a few ways. So yesterday there were traditional mince pies (and people from outside the UK were like – wait, there’s no meat in these?! Bizarre how some cultural things don’t travel.) Today I baked a fancy fluffy christmas cake using up the mincemeat in combination with pear and some very quick marzipan balls which are hidden in the middle of the cake (surprise!). I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Ingredients
For the cake:
3 medium eggs
100 raw cane sugar or honey
200g very finely grated courgette
120g ground almonds
1,5 tsp baking powder
zest of 2 lemons
a pinch of salt
For the filling:
150g mincemeat
1 large pear, diced into fairly hefty chunks
80g almond flour
50g honey
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
Beat the eggs and sugar/honey together for five minutes till very fluffy.
Add the other cake ingredients and mix well.
Add the diced pear and mincemeat.
Mix almond flour and honey in a blender until well combined. Then roll out small balls in the palm of your hand.
Pour half the cake mix into a 18cm diameter pre-oiled cake tin.
Put the marzipan balls on top, spread out over the surface.
Pour over the other half of the cake mix and flatten the surface.
Bake for 35 mins. Let cool entirely. Enjoy with cinnamon ice cream or something similar.
I’ve had one busy term at work, and it made me very sad not to have time to bake. So I’ve been catching up in the past few weeks since my workload has eased (a little…). Strangely (or perhaps not strangely, considering these discomforting times), it took a while to get my creative juices flowing again: for the first few weeks I just used my existing recipes or other people’s. But while talking to friends in the UK and Ireland, I got so nostalgic (not to mention upset about not being able to travel there) about a British-Irish christmas, I just wanted to do something so I could at least feel I was there in spirit. So this mince pie recipe was stewing in my mind for a while (and no, this isn’t a meat pie for those of you unfamiliar with the Irish and British tradition of mince pies: though in Tudor times they had mince meat in them, it is now a supersweet dessert with dried and fresh fruit and spices).
The problem is that the bought ones have so many additives and sugar, not to mention (non-vegetarian) suet, that I wanted to create a recipe that’s completely gluten-free, lactose-free, low on (non-refined) sugar, alcohol-free, and vegetarian – yet still delicious for an allergy-prone person like me. (I took some recipes on the BBC Good Food website as a starting point – thank you BBC!) Just to warn you, this recipe does take some preparation, so don’t make these when you’re in a hurry. What I’ve enjoyed most about making these is the smell! While the mince was soaking, I went over every few hours to just go and just stand over the mixture and let the smells carry me to Wales and Kildare. It’s the smell of Christmas for me – delicious!
Update: I had my first one this morning and I didn’t have any reaction, so that’s great. I hope you enjoy these too! Oh, and Merry Christmas!
Ingredients
For the mince:
250g sultanas (I love the yellow ones, but use whichever you prefer, or raisins etc.)
70g dried unsulphured apricots
40g dried cranberries
zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange juice
40g coarsely grated apple
80g fresh cranberries
100ml of ginger ale
100g lactose-free butter
100g raw cane sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
For the pies:
120g lactose-free cold butter, diced
120g rice or buckwheat flour
60g almond flour
20g potato starch
1/2 tsp psyllium
zest of one lemon
60 mls of water
some extra flour for when you’re rolling out the dough
Instructions
A day before you want to make the mince pies, put all the ingredients for the mince (except butter, sugar, and the spices) in one bowl and mix well. Leave to soak up the beautiful ginger ale and juices of the lemon and orange.
Around 24 hours later, put the mincemeat mix with the butter, sugar, and spice into a pot, bring to a boil and then let simmer for around 5 minutes. You’ll see that the mixture starts to thicken. Put the mix into a sterilized pot if you want to keep it for longer. Let cool down entirely.
Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
Then, you can start making the pies: rub all the pie ingredients except the water together, and then add the water to knead into a flexible dough.
Put the dough into the fridge for at least 30 mins. Then roll it out to 1/3 inch or less than 1 cm thickness and cut circles out of it (it’s easier when you sprinkle your rolling surface with some extra rice or buckwheat flour first). Put the pie crusts into little tartlette moulds (such as these – no I’m not sponsored!), fill properly with mincemeat, and add little christmas shapes of the dough on top.
Bake for 20 minutes (keep an eye out because they can suddenly burn) and leave to cool. Top out of the tartlette moulds and sprinkle with e.g. stevia. Serve with, oh I dunno, some lovely vegan ice cream, or just enjoy on its own for breakfast as my kid did today!
So. Much. Rhubarb ! I’m totally addicted to rhubarb. Its freshness sings of spring and comfort. Maybe it’s because one of my early childhood memories is of eating rhubarb right after cutting it, by rubbing it with a sugar cube. Ah, growing up in the eighties… This recipe is a bit more sophisticated but also very easy, so a good choice for lazy afternoons.
Ingredients
For the rhubarb cream:
4 stalks of rhubarb, cut into small chunks
100g sugar (I don’t normally use this much but honestly, rhubarb is so tart, it really needs it)
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
2 tbsp elderflower cordial
100g lactose free or vegan cream cheese
For the cake:
125g grated courgette
100g ground almonds
100g buckwheat flour
150g sugar
100g cream cheese
3 eggs
1 tsp psyllium husk
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp elderflower cordial
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
For the rhubarb cream: mix all the ingredients apart from the cream in a bowl, then transfer to an oven dish and cover with baking paper. Bake for 25 mins and then leave to cool.
For the cake: mix all the ingredients. Turn the oven d
Add half of the baked rhubarb to the mix and pour the mix into a well oiled cake tin.
Bake in the oven for 35 mins. Take out and leave to cool.
Mix the remaining rhubarb with the remainng cream. Cut the cake in half, put the cream filling in the middle.
My son has started asking me what witchery I’m cooking up today. After nettle picking for soup and dandelion leaf and rocket pesto, I also made a dandelion syrup from the flower petals. I call it basic witchery😊 and my son is very interested. I wanted to do something with my new dandelion syrup and this polenta cake I’ve been meaning to put together for ages was a match made in heaven.
If you don’t have dandelion syrup or can’t be fussed making it, not to worry: you can use a regular lemon syrup which doesn’t take long to make as well. But of course with dandelion you get the added bonus of extra vitamins a and B12, and delicious antioxidants.
Ingredients
For the syrup: about 2 handfuls of dandelion petals (pull a flower in 2 and pick the petals out from the middle, it’s easier than trying to separate them one by one from the green), 150ml water, half a lemon, and 300g sugar
For the cake: 2 eggs
160g sugar
200g carrot puree (boil and puree carrots, let them cool down)
200g ground almonds
100g finely ground polenta
2 tsp baking powder
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp psyllium
Pinch of salt
Instructions
Start making the syrup the night before: put petals and water in a pot on the fire to boil for a few minutes, then cover and let sit for the night.
The next morning, drain the liquid into another pot (make sure you squeeze the liquid out of the petals). Add the sugar, the juice of the lemon and the rest of the lemon cut into chunks. Let boil on a low heat for 2 hours or until it’s thick enough for your liking. Take the lemon chunks out. That’s your dandelion syrup!
For the cake, Pre-heat the oven to 180C
Beat the eggs and sugar for 4 minutes and add the rest of the ingredients.
Pour into a lined and oiled cake tin and bake on 180C for 20 minutes and 160C for 40 mins. Check if a skewer comes out cleanish (crumbs are ok bit it shouldn’t be too sticky).
With a skewer, prick holes in the cake and pour some of the syrup over it. Let the cake stand for another hour (difficult, I know), finish with petals and sugar (I wouldn’t normally, but this cake is almost medicinal…) and enjoy! The texture of this cake is quite crumbly btw, that’s normal. Enjoy with some cream!
Anxiety, loss, threat… It’s difficult to remain optimistic these days. I cope with a mix of work (distraction!), mindfulness… and relaxation (more distraction). Baking keeps the wolves of anxiety at bay, and for that I’m truly grateful.
Yet while humanity struggles, nature is blossoming and spring is here. Hope springs! So here is a lemon and ginger cake to put a spring in your step, even if that is indoors or in other confined conditions. Lots of love and self care to you all.
Ingredients
200g boiled and mashed carrot
120g runny honey
2 eggs
Grated zest of 1 big lemon
Grated ginger, about 10g (but if you’re not a fan, take less)
60g rice or buckwheat flour
60g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
For the drizzle: juice of 1 lemon and 3 tbsp fine sugar
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line a bread tin with baking foil.
Mix eggs and sugar for 3 minutes and then fold in all the other cake ingredients gently.
Pour in the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, make the drizzle by mixing lemon juice and fine sugar.
Once baked, prick holes in the cake right through to the bottom and pour the drizzle over. Leave the cake to stand for 10 minutes and forget about your worries and strife! ❤️
I was planning on making rhubarb and strawberry jam but didn’t have pectine so my kid was in luck… Crumble it was😄
This is such an easy recipe, but fairly healthy too, and gluten and (can be) dairy free. It smells of my first ever day in Ireland as a student, when I got crumble for dessert in the pub my friends and I went into. Sigh…
Ingredients
500g rhubarb
200g strawberries (but other berries, apple etc all work well)
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
Pinch of powdered ginger
2 tsp maple syrup
100g rice flour
100g teff flour
100g oats
90g sugar or substitute
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
100g cold butter, diced (vegan butter works as well but make sure it’s cold)
1 egg
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Cut up the fruit into chunks and mix with the juice, ginger, and maple syrup.
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and knead with your hands until it’s a crumbly dough.
Put baking paper into a baking a tray.
Put 2/3 of the dough into the bottom and squish to flatten and create a bottom.
Add the fruit on top and then the remaining 1/3 of the crumble, crumbled roughly (add a bit more flour if it’s not crumbly enough).
Leave in the oven for 30 minutes (and then another 10 if you prefer it better baked) and enjoy with cream or ice cream. Or, hey why not, both…
Today, I had some lemons, cream, and cookies that urgently needed to using. Cue this ridiculously easy lemon curd cheesecake, with a minimum number of ingredients yet maximum flavour. That it’s almost gone entirely half an hour after I took it out of the freezer is proof of its deliciousness. My family just won’t stop eating…
Ingredients
For the curd:
2 eggs
80g sugar or substitute
Juice and rind of 2 lemons
For the cheesecake:
400g cookies (I took a mix of lemon and choc chip cookies – but think reasonably about which flavours will match)
75g lactose free butter
400g lactose free cream cheese
200g lactose free heavy cream
100g sugar or substitute
125g lemon curd
Instructions
For the lemon curd, put all the ingredients into a pot on top of another pot with boiling water. Keep mixing vigorously for about 5 minutes until the mix starts to thicken. Put into a jar to cool down (and keep away from your mother so she doesn’t eat it all😄)…
For the cheesecake, start by making the base: break up all the cookies and crumb with your hands. Add the melted butter and mix until it comes together in a sticky dough. Press to the bottom and sides of a pre-oiled round baking tin and put in the fridge to set.
Next, make the cheesecake mix. Beat the cream and sugar until the cream comes together in stiff peaks. Add the cream cheese and lemon curd and mix again until well combined.
Put the mix in the tin and put in the freezer for 1,5 hours. It’ll be ready to serve. You can leave it for another hour which will allow it to set further, but my family simply wouldn’t wait…
Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside – these biscuits are a household favourite… To the extent I’m thinking of starting to bake triple batches so they actually last more than a day! These are super light and delicate little showstoppers, to be enjoyed with a cuppa and a sudoku 😉
Ingredients
1 egg white
80g sugar or substitute
90g hazelnut flour (or replace with other nut flours except coconut)
20g tapioca starch
1/2 tsp baking powder
Rind from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp almond extract
15g melted butter (vegan works too)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 140C.
Combine hazelnut flour, tapioca, baking powder, lemon rind, butter, and almond extract in a bowl.
In another bowl, beat the egg white and slowly add the sugar. Then beat for 5 mins until stiff peaks form.
Add the other ingredients and mix slowly until well incorporated.
Drop teaspoons of the mix onto baking parchment on a baking sheet – leave sufficient space between cookies as these spread.
The mix will be sticky but don’t worry about that. The cookies will come out looking smooth.
Bake for 22-25 mins until golden.
Leave on the baking sheet until cool, then scrape off carefully with a flat spatula.
You can always drizzle melted chocolate on and decorate further, but I like to leave them basic for the moment (fewer calories😁).
Miss Madeleine Bakes 