Little lemon cakes
I have had a hankering to make little cakes since Christmas, when I was lucky enough to receive, as a gift, a mini fluted Bundt cake pan. You might ask what took me so long, and to be fair, that is a reasonable question and …
Tag: baking
Very simple banana loaf
Ingredients Method When is a mouldering banana a welcome sight? When you need to bake something, that’s when. Banana-based baking is the ultimate transformation from yuck to yum. Very ripe, very brown bananas might be a bit nasty to look at but think of the …
Gluten free lemon, coconut and blueberry muffins
Ingredients:
- 1 cup gluten free flour
- 3/4 cup dried coconut
- 1/4 cup ground almonds
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup plain yoghurt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Juice and zest of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease a 12 cup muffin tray
- Place all dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk to combine and break up any sugar lumps
- In a medium sized bowl or jug, mix the yoghurt, milk, oil, egg, lemon juice and zest together until well combined
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients two to three batches, stirring only briefly after each addition. Mix gently until just combined- do not over mix or your muffins will be tough!
- Pour the muffin batter into the greased tins. Distribute the blueberries into each muffin, dropping a few blueberries into each individual muffin. I do it this way so that the batter stays nice and yellow and the blueberries stay reasonably whole (no problem with adding them in when you combine all ingredients together if you prefer your berries more blended).
- Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for ten minutes and then loosen each muffin using a knife or spatula and turn it sideways in its individual cup to continue cooling.
About this recipe
I know gluten free baking can seem like a faff but honestly, if you can bear to fork out for some gluten-free flour then you have a lot of options without much effort. Many ingredients that are simply superb in baking of any kind really come into their own when they form a substantial part of a gluten free bake. In this one, coconut and ground almonds give the muffins some heft and texture that quickly cancel out any thoughts that the texture is lacking gluten. Yoghurt and oil provide richness, and lemon juice and zest give a bit of zing. My final hint for gluten-free goodness is cornstarch – a tablespoon of cornstarch in gluten-free baking adds some fluffiness to the finished product. This recipe only takes two bowls and a muffin tray so along with all of that flavour, you get off lightly on the washing up, so very easy to whip up on work night for morning tea with gluten-free work pals the next day.
Carrot cake
Cake ingredients: Icing ingredients: Method: ‘Carrot’ might not be first up when you think ‘I fancy something sweet’ but they are undeniably delicious and we have their sweetness to thank for carrot cake. Carrot cake in some form or other has been enjoyed for quite …
Plum and apple crumble
Ingredients: Plum and apple mixture: Crumble topping: Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Place the apples, plums, cinnamon vanilla and 2 tablespoons of water into a pot – the water should be covering the base of the pan. Depending on how juicy the …
Home made crackers
Ingredients
- 1 & a half cups of masa harina (I use this brand)
- 2 tablespoons each of flaxseeds, sesame seeds and chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 2 & a half tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 & a half cups of boiling water
- Sea salt flakes
Method
Heat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line two 20 x 30cm baking trays with baking paper
In a medium bowl, mix together masa flour, seeds and the teaspoon of sea salt.
Add the olive oil and boiling water. Mix together until all dry ingredients are incorporated.
Turn out the mixture onto the baking trays. Using wet hands and/or a spatula, press out the mixture to be as thin as you can make it across the trays. Scatter a pinch of sea salt flakes over the top.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown around the corners. Remove and allow to cool, then break into cracker-sized pieces. Store in an air tight container if not using straight away.
About this recipe
It took me some time to give home made crackers a go because I always worried they would be fiddly and difficult. I imagined rolling and kneading with bits of dough sticking to the rolling pin and myself becoming more flustered and sweary. No doubt you can make this variety of cracker and I bet it’s delicious, but if you don’t care too much about your crackers looking perfect then I say, give this recipe a try.
It’s very simple – only one bowl to clean at the end! – and the seed-flecked crackers look pretty on any cheese board or nibbles tray. They are made with masa harina, a corn-based flour that forms the basis of much Latin American cuisine, including tamales, tacos and tostadas. Masa marina is the secret weapon that ensures these crackers are a cinch to make – it becomes pliable on the addition of boiling water and provides a robust, grainy texture and no faffing about with rolling pins is required. It’s even gluten-free!
Orange and apple muffins
Ingredients Method About this recipe Comparing apples with oranges was the name of the game for my fruit bowl for a while there, thanks to Wonky Box. It got me thinking – oranges are lovely in baking, but I haven’t come across many recipes where …
Mandarin cake
Ingredients: Method: I’ve recently subscribed to Wonky Box – what a delight! It gives me a nice little pick-me-up throughout my week – make no mistake, I am exactly the kind of geek who finds vegetable-related updates exciting. Tuesday’s announcement of which goodies to expect …
Peach and almond upside down cake
Ingredients:
- 55 grams cream cheese
- 115 grams butter
- 1 & 1/2 cups caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup peach juice (reserved from tinned peaches)
- 1 teaspoon almond essence
- 2 & 1/2 cups plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 x 400g tin of sliced peaches in juice (drained, reserve 1/2 cup of juice)
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
Method:
- Grease a 20cm cake tin and preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- Cream the cream cheese, butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the peach juice and beat until just combined. Add the eggs one by one, beating after each egg. Finally, add the almond essence and beat until just combined.
- Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together into a medium bowl. Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter and eggs mixture and stir to combine, then add a third of the milk and stir to combine. Alternate the remaining two thirds of the flour mixture and the milk, stirring to combine after each addition. Finally, add the almonds to the batter and mix in.
- Prepare the topping: spread the melted butter across the base of the prepared cake tin and distribute the brown sugar across the base evenly. Lay the drained peach slices across the base in any form that takes your fancy. Spoon the cake batter into the tin, on top of the peaches.
- Place into the oven and bake 45 – 55 minutes, until the cake is pulling away from the edges of the tin and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen then turn out onto a plate. Place right-side up on a baking rack and allow to cool.
About this recipe
My peach and almond upside down cake is dense and hearty with a buttery topping of sweet sliced fruit. Inspired by the retro delight of a pineapple upside down cake, this version is comforting and appropriate for winter, with a sweet memory of summery tinned peaches on the top. It’s very sturdy – you can pick it up with one hand for generous bites – and the almonds add some toasty texture throughout.
I really do enjoy a good upside down cake. They look so pretty and make a pleasing centre piece for pudding, but are really very simple and unfussy to make with low risk of disaster in my experience. And many other people have thought so throughout history – although upside down cakes came to prominence in the 1920s and 30s, when tinned fruit was the new thing, the concept dates back to the Middle Ages. Upside down cakes throughout the years have been topped with nuts and fruit, and some were baked in an iron skillet over a hot fire. That version in particular must have been a real winter warmer.
Cashew butter cookies – vegan + gluten free
Ingredients Method About this recipe Struggling to come up with vegan and gluten free baking ideas? Then let cashew butter be your friend. My lovely Fix and Fogg jar of cashew butter was a gift and gosh I love it. It’s creamy and rich and …