naked chocolate cake - yum!

I've been getting into a little baking lately, and trying to make things that I will love as well as the kids. Things I might be able to use in the lunch box too, so I can completely stop buying snack foods. The more I've been reading about nutrition and what's in our food and the products we use, the more horrified I'm getting! I'd love to be able to make everything at some point, including bread, but I'll need to work up to that.

Anyway, I came across The Healthy Chef blog recently. It's great, as it's Australian, and all the recipes I've come across so far are super easy, and super yummy! I noticed the Naked Chocolate Cake last week and was determined to make it. I've made it three times already! It's really, really good, and not an ounce of sugar. The only sweetness added to this is through the pure maple syrup. This is the type of thing I'd be more than happy to put in the kids lunch boxes, knowing exactly what is in it, and it really isn't all that bad either. It's also gluten free, and can be easily adapted to be nut free, which is also great for the kids taking to school.

There's not much to it either, so it's quick to make and it was a great one to do with Zoe who LOVES cooking and baking with me.

I've been eating it with my new favourite yoghurt, Barambah Organics natural yoghurt, and I don't feel guilty at all eating it! Win win!!

coconut flour banana muffins

Little Miss Zoe loves, loves, loves baking with me. So today we whipped these coconut flour banana muffins up. I've had the coconut flour sitting in the cupboard for a while, so it was great to finally make something with it and see the results!

I was happy with how they turned out. They don't look overly pretty but the taste was good. I was a bit worried at first as I put the eggs straight in to the mixture right after I had put the melted coconut oil in, and of course, the oil was still hot, and the little one couldn't mix it quick enough, so we had a few chunks of cooked egg white swirling around! When I saw it, I was a bit disappointed, and very nearly threw it out, but knew we couldn't start over as I didn't have any more bananas left. So I thought we'd press on anyway and see how they turned out. I'm surprised to say they don't taste egg-y at ALL! Next time, I'll wait until the oil has cooled a bit and make sure I stir the eggs straight away, or at least whisk them in a separate bowl before adding.

We also didn't add the walnuts in ours. Zoe decorated the top of them with a sprinkle of coconut flakes and a few choc chip bits.

The were lovely and moist and tasty, and Zoe declared them 'the best cakes I ever had!'. No sugar in these either, so no guilt with these! Perfect in lunch boxes I think or as an afternoon snack on the balcony as we preferred. Yum!

need a pick me up....

 

I need me some of this right now.....chocolate espresso mousse cake. Get the low down for the recipe at Birthday Girl. Mmmmmmm.

yum yum yum cooking with kids

I love getting goodies, and not so long ago I was the recipient of this wonderful bundle of goodies!

It was the Braun Multiquick 7 cordless hand processor and a some lovely fresh ingredients and place setting for dinner courtesy of Braun. I have had one of the older models of the Braun hand processor for a few years now but I was very keen to try the new cordless version, especially since I usually have a very keen three year old helper around. Not having the cord to get in the way was certainly a very appealing thought to me. And as it turned out it was brilliant for this. It was great not having to worry about it myself, I just picked it up off the charger and used it without having to plug in and make sure the cord wasn't caught around anything, and even for Josh, it was super easy for him to use without the hassle of the cord.

All in all I loved it. It lets you use the blender as is to mix things in a bowl, or you can attach it to the blender bit with the blade to chop/blend without making a mess. 

The afternoon our goodies arrived we got to work making some delicious burgers which we had all the fresh ingredients for. Josh was a great help with blending the veges and tomatoes and the kids were great with heating their healthy dinner that night! Here's the result of our efforts...

Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a go. Super easy and quick to prepare, especially with the Braun cordless blender!

Grilled Beef Burgers with Tomato Salsa

Makes 8 x 150gm burgers

Ingredients
750g minced beef chuck steak, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
1 tbsp chopped thyme
1 whole egg
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp grated parmesan
10 g chopped parsley
30g fresh bread crumbs
100g chopped carrot
100g chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
50g chopped celery

Method
Chop the vegetables using the Braun Multiquick Cordless chopper
Combine all the ingredients for the burger together and gently slap together to form a
cohesive mixture. Shape into 200g discs and chill for at least 30 minutes for them to firm up
and cool down.
Preheat a heavy pan or BBQ and lightly oil the surface. Cook the patties for about 10
minutes turning twice and allow to rest for three minutes before serving.

Tomato sauce

Ingredients
750g fresh tomatoes, blanched and peeled
1 sprig of fresh thyme leaves removed from the stalk
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method
Chop the tomatoes using the Braun Multiquick Cordless chopper.
Warm the olive oil in a frypan and add the garlic and thyme. Now add the tomatoes and
cook gently until they have broken down and their excess water has evaporated.
Season with salt and pepper and add a little sugar to taste if required.
Blend to a smooth consistency using the Braun Multiquick Cordless hand attachment.

Recipe serves family of four

chocolate raspberry muffins....a rainy day delight

A little while ago, I was sent this cook book - NESTLE Survival for the active family cookbook (Australian Institute of Sport). It's a great little cookbook full of really family (and busy mummy) friendly recipes. As I flicked through the pages, I nodded my head several times thinking, yes, I could cook that, that looks yummy! Time ran away from me and I only just picked it up again recently and let the cooking bug finally get the better of me this weekend! I chose these delicious chocolate raspberry muffins to make as I knew they would go down very well with the kids (and me! perhaps with my morning coffee....)

Here's how you make them.

2 1/2 cups self raising flour

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

3/4 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup white choc bits (I didn't have any so substituted with Lindt hot chocolate flakes.....mmmm)

1 tbsp margarine, melted

1 1/2 cups skim milk 

1 egg

300g frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper muffin cases. (I just lightly sprayed my pan with olive oil spray.)

Sift the flour, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and choc bits and make a well in the centre.

In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together the margarine, milk and egg, and then add it to the flour mixture. Stir gently until mixture is just combined. Don't overbeat!

Fold the raspberries through the mixture.

Spoon mixture into cases. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins are well risen and spring back to the touch. Or in my case, intend to bake them for 20 minutes, but then get distracted by a million and one things during arsenic hour and forget to turn the oven off. Thankfully they weren't burnt, but probably a tad drier than if they had been taken out at the right time! Still delish though. 

Leave in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Eat and enjoy!

I was on such a cooking frenzy this weekend. I also made a lovely harissa chicken with lentil mash and baby spinach and some salmon and dill bites for the kids (who wouldn't eat them). I don't really cook a lot, so it was nice to get in the kitchen and create some lovely food.

What did you get up to?

my favourite banana bread

It's perfect banana bread weather at the moment, don't you think?

This is my favourite recipe. I've used it over and over again with a few of my own amendments. It's a Donna Hay recipe and the best one I've tried. My favourite thing about it is the hazelnut meal in it. It just makes it that much denser, more wholesome and less cakey than a lot of other ones I've tried.

Here's the recipe:

Banana cinnamon breads

140g butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups plain four, sifted

3/4 teaspoon baking powder, sifted

1/2 cup hazelnut meal

1/3 cup buttermilk (I've just used normal milk if I haven't any buttermilk and it still works fine)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large or 2 small bananas, sliced (I also mash 1-2 bananas and mix into the mixture at the end)

melted butter for brushing

demerara sugar for sprinkling (it's worth using this sugar, it's chunkier and more caramel-y than normal sugar)

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Add the flour, baking powder, hazelnut meal, buttermilk and cinnamon and fold through until smooth.

Grease 6 x 3/4 cup capacity tins. (I don't do this, I just put it all into a loaf tin.) Spoon in the mixture and place the banana slices on top. Brush with the melted butter, sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake for 35 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. Then enjoy!

I always seem to have overripe bananas in the fruit bowl and I make sure there always hazelnut meal in the pantry, just in case I get the hankering for some banana bread, though I have done this with almond meal as well. Not quite the same but still works. 

I love eating this bread any time of the day, but particularly in the mornings with my coffee. Heaven!

the best tiramisu recipe ever

This is my favourite dessert. Ever. I'm sure I must have been Italian in another life.

I've had a few requests for this recipe now, so thought I would share it here. It will mean I won't break out in a sweat if I lose the recipe again either! 

This recipe comes from Stephanie Alexander & Maggie Beer's Tuscan Cookbook and is the only version I will make now. It's truly divine. I'm one of those people that will only use the BEST ingredients for this as well. So make sure you use the proper Italian saviordi sponge fingers, good quality coffee - not instant (I make a brew of Illy), chocolate with a high cocoa percentage like the Lindt 75% cocoa variety, and definitely use marscapone - don't substitute with cream cheese or similar. (Yes, I'm a tiramisu snob!)

To make it you will need:

375g sponge finger biscuits (roughly 24, depending on the size/shape of the dish you set it out in)
2 cups of cold strong black brewed coffee
200g grated 70-85% cocoa chocolate
500g marscapone
organic cocoa
extra grated chocolate for finishing touches!

For the zabaglione:
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup brandy

You'll need to make the zabaglione first as it needs to cool down for using later to assemble your tiramisu. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and brandy in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until its thick, then remove it from the heat. Make sure you keep whisking even after you remove the bowl from the heat. You can stop once it cools down, but if you stop while it's hot, the egg will start to 'cook' and go clumpy in the mixture. 

Grab another bowl and whisk the mascarpone until it's nice and soft and then fold in the cooled zabaglione mixture.

Putting it together:

You will need a deep round (preferably glass, to see the pretty layers) bowl to serve it in. Arrange half the sponge finger biscuits over the base. I usually break a few here and there to fill any gaps since the dish I use is round. Next, sprinkle half the coffee and half the chocolate over the biscuits. Spoon in up to half of the zabaglione/marscapone mixture and spread it over the biscuit layer, then repeat until you fill the bowl. Sift cocoa over the final layer and sprinkle with the remaining grated chocolate. Voila!!

The recipe suggests refrigerating for about 2 hours before serving, but the longer you leave it the better it seems to get. 

Tip: Make sure your guests don't eat it all, it makes a really good breakfast the next morning!