Kinda Healthy Homemade Bounty Bars

VG, GF, Raw

Sometimes in life you just want something a bit yummy. Tonight is the very last night of my daughter being 9 so I thought we'd have a little farewell to single digits dinner.  I found this recipe on my new roots and made a few tweaks to suit what I had in the pantry. We all enjoyed these after dinner and they were a huge hit. They'd make a lovely dessert with some ice cream too!

Ingredients:

For the filling:

1/4 C coconut oil, melted
2 Tbsp coconut butter *
1 Tbsp maple syrup
pinch salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 C desiccated coconut
1 Tbsp water

For the raw chocolate:

1/4 C coconut oil
2 Tbsp nutella or equivalent - we have a GF version low in sugar (or you can make your own)
1/3 C raw cacao powder
1/4 C raw honey
two pinches salt, to taste

In a double boiler melt the coconut oil and coconut butter together. Add the maple syrup, salt & vanilla. Remove from the heat and add the coconut and water. Mix together well.

Line a square baking tin with cling film and add the coconut mix. Press down firmly and pop in the freezer for at least 30 mins to set hard.

To make the chocolate put the coconut oil and nutella in a double boiler and melt together over a gentle heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the raw cacao powder and honey then add the salt. Taste and adjust the sweet/salt if needed.

Get a baking rack and place it over a piece of baking paper. Make sure it's a rack that will fit in your freezer and that you have space to pop it in.

Take the coconut filling out of the freezer and turn out onto a board. Cut into bars or squares then dip in the chocolate. When covered remove with a fork then place onto the rack.

When you've done all of your pieces put the rack in the freezer and leave for a minimum of 30 mins.

Allow them to rest for about 5 mins before eating. They can be stored in a plastic container in the freezer for up to two months.

* Not to be confused with coconut oil, coconut butter is a thick white pure form of coconut fats that can be used to make coconut milk by adding water. I used it here because I have it in the pantry but if you don't have it, you could use normal butter or more maple syrup. Coconut butter is lovely and versatile in whole food baking, but she ain't cheap. The one I bought was close to $10 for a jar. It does give baking a rich coconut flavour though.

Vegan Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Scones

VG, GF, Grain free

This afternoon I needed something nice and simple for afternoon tea so I thought I'd research some scone recipes. I've made scones using pumpkin or sweet potato before but today I felt like something sweet. This vegan GF lemon blueberry recipe hit the spot.

Ingredients:

2C almond meal
1C coconut flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 tsp mixed spice
1 teabag of herbal tea (the original recipe suggests chamomile, I used ginger and lemon)
1 heaped Tbsp coconut oil (solid, not melted)
1/2C brown sugar
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 1/3C unsweetened milk of your choice (we used almond)
3/4C frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 205 degrees C or 400 degrees F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

In a food processor combine almond meal, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice and tea. Whiz a few times until combined. Add the coconut oil and pulse until it has a crumbly texture.

In a separate bowl mix brown sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice then add to the flour mix. Combine well.

Add the milk and pulse until a dough comes together.  Carefully fold in the blueberries. Form into whatever shape you like and place on the tray. Bake for 19 - 22 minutes (mine took 22).

Here's a photo of the dough before it's cooked. I always find it useful to see the before photos of GF baking because sometimes it's difficult to believe that it really does work into a manageable dough. Here's the proof:

These are nice and crispy on the top and soft in the centre. The coconut flour does have quite a strong taste and if I make these again I'd consider substituting it for 1/2 C coconut flour and 1/2 C brown rice flour or tapioca starch. As usual with GF baking they're quite crumbly to eat - but yummy. Enjoy.

The original recipe came from www.thekitchn.com and I have made some changes which are reflected in the ingredients list above.

Gluten Free Vegan Brownies

GF, VG, NF (optional)

The other day I was tempted by a gluten free brownie recipe that popped up on my Facebook newsfeed. It was for peppermint chocolate brownies and since my husband loves a mint and chocolate combo I thought I'd give it a try. Until I looked at the recipe that is. It had no less that three mini recipes in one, and each one required a long list of ingredients. I have a pretty good set up of raw ingredients here including the weird ones like xanthem gum and buckwheat flour but I would still need to spend around $50 to make that brownie. Isn't that ridiculous?

This brownie recipe is so simple, everything is made in a food processor and it has simple ingredients. It's even pretty healthy due to it's secret ingredient... black beans. I know - a bit strange, but if you think about it - they're neutral in taste and they give you that moist binding action that you're missing without eggs and gluten.

Here we go!

Ingredients

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 flax seed eggs (2.5 Tbsp flaxseed meal and 6 Tbsp water)
3 Tbsp coconut oil or other neutral oil like canola if you can't use coconut
3/4 C cocoa powder - use raw cacao if you can, the higher the quality the better
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C sugar - I used raw
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Nuts (optional) - I used pecans

Method

Preheat an oven to 175 degrees C or 350 degrees F. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin (not mini muffins, the standard size).

In a food processor add the flaxseed meal and the water and leave to sit for a few minutes to gel. You can use either whole flaxseeds and grind them or you can use ready ground meal.

Add the other ingredients except for the nuts and blend until smooth. Check the consistency and add more water if you need to - it should be thick, but not dry.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin and sprinkle with nuts. Cook for 20 minutes, the brownies should be pulling away from the sides of the pans. They will still be fudgey in the centre, which is just how I like them!

Enjoy!

Thanks to Minimalist Baker for the recipe, it's a great site by the way - vegan gluten free recipes without the long list of ingredients!

Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Applesauce Muffins

GF, VG, EF, DF, NF

I had a request for this recipe so I'm posting it now, but the photo above isn't mine. It's taken from yummly.com and it's of the muffins that I used as my starting point. The original recipe is far far too long for me to bother with. I need quick simple recipes that are easy to remember so I've taken bits out and made it much less work. I'll try and make these this weekend so I can post you a photo of the real thing, they look pretty similar.

The first step is to make some applesauce. You can buy it of course, but it's so cheap and simple to make and you can store it in the freezer for months. I use applesauce like you would use an egg in baking, it's so adaptable too - porridge, desserts, cakes, muffins, pancakes... you can use applesauce just about everywhere.

To make the sauce I de-stalk then chop up as many apples as I have on hand. I don't peel them or deseed them, I just make sure they're washed well. I try to only get organic apples but if they're not then I will add some white vinegar (about 1/4C) to a sink full of water and let the apples soak in there for about 30 mins before cooking with them.

Once they're chopped up into chunks I put them into my pressure cooker and add 2 tsp of cinnamon and 1 C of water. Then I cook on medium pressure for 10 minutes. I allow them to cool a little and then I blend everything up using a stick blender.  That's it - couldn't be simpler. I do this when apples are in season and defrost a container of it as I need it.

If you don't have a pressure cooker then boiling them up in a big stock pot would work, a slow cooker would be just as good too.

Now on to the muffins!

Ingredients:

1 C GF flour (I tend to use 1/2 C brown rice flour, 1/4 C buckwheat and 1/4 C tapioca starch but you can use a store bought blend).

1/2 C cane sugar or maple syrup

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

1 C grated carrot

1/2 C applesauce

1/2 C non dairy milk such as rice or soy milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, mixed spice and carrot in a bowl. Add the applesauce then add the milk slowly. Depending on your flour you may need more or less milk so add it slowly and stop when it reaches a good thick batter consistency. If you like you can add raisins or nuts at this stage.  Spoon into a greased muffin pan and bake at 180 degrees C for around 20 mins but keep checking as it will depend on your oven and muffin pan.

Although I don't really like baking in silicone pans I do use one for GF muffins. They never stick and it's easy to get any kind of muffin out of the pan. If you use a metal pan make sure it's very well greased or use muffin papers. I get 8 big muffins or 12 smaller ones from this mix.

Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

GF, VG, DF, EF, NF
(Photos will be added this weekend!)

This is my never fail cookie recipe. It's an adaptation of an Apricot Thumbprint recipe from Flying Apron and I have added all sorts of things to it - mixed spice, cacao powder, jam topping, nuts and chocolate chips.


Ingredients

1 2/3 C brown rice flour
3/4 chickpea or garbanzo flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
small pinch sea salt
1/2 C vegan chocolate chips (dark chocolate is often dairy free, otherwise there are specialty allergy brands like Sweet William)
1/2 C canola oil or other neutral oil
1/2 C cane sugar
1/2 C rice, soy or almond milk

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C or 375 degrees F.

Combine the brown rice flour, chickpea flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a bowl with a whisk.

In another bowl combine the oil, sugar and milk and stir until everything is mixed well and thick.

Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix well, then add the chocolate chips.

Form small balls and bake on a tray lined with baking paper for about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get too dark.

Makes about 20 cookies.

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Gluten Free Anzac Biscuits

GF, DF (option), VG (option), EF

Everyone down this end of the world loves an Anzac right? There's no reason why those of us on gluten, egg or dairy free diets should miss out. Here's an easy and delicious recipe for allergy friendly Anzac biscuits.

Ingredients:

125g ghee (or use a DF margarine for a DF option)
1C GF flour (use your favourite baking blend, or try 1/2C buckwheat and 1/2C brown rice flour)
1C quinoa flakes
1C desiccated coconut
2/3C raw or brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp boiling water
2 Tbsp golden syrup or maple syrup

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Mix flour, quinoa flakes, coconut and sugar in a large bowl.

Melt ghee or margarine and syrup in a pan on medium heat.

Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add to melted butter and syrup mixture.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix well. Make sure that when you press a spoon to the side of the bowl that the mixture sticks together and is not too crumbly.

Grease and line a baking tray. Using a tablespoon, form flat shaped balls and place on tray.

Cook for 16 - 20 mins (depending on whether you like a darker, chewier Anzac or a golden soft Anzac)

Makes approximately 15 medium sized biscuits.

Enjoy!

Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Cashew Cream - Bob's Red Mill Review

GF, EF, DF, VG

When your child is on a restricted diet I think it's important to try to normalise food as best you can. There are so many social activities centred around food - birthday parties, shared lunches, Christmas, Easter and eating out to name a few.  I may not be able to make those things completely normal for Ben (separate Tupperware container full of food anyone?) but I can make food a normal part of life at home.

All kids love baking with mum or dad. Gluten free, egg free baking can be tricky to do with kids because precise measurements are usually required - but it's still worth having a go. Today I used a Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Cake mix to make a lovely moist chocolate cake with jam and cashew cream in the middle. Ben did almost all of it himself and was so proud to serve it to his "guests".

Bob's Red Mill products are great quality and don't have a lot of the fillers and starches that cheaper GF products contain. The ingredients in this packet are: Evaporated cane juice sugar, unsweetened cocoa, chickpea flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, whole grain white sorghum flour, broad bean flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, sea salt, cream of tartar. There's nothing too ominous in there at all and it can be handy to have a packet cake on hand when little people are in the mood to bake.

Bob's Red Mill products are pricey in Australia, but there are ways to get a good deal. The website and app Grocery Run has regular Gluten Free days where you can buy 2 Bob's products for the price of one. I wait until Gluten Free day appears and then stock up for a month or two. By doing it this way I get a cake mix like this for around $4.50 each, which isn't bad for gluten free.

In addition to the cake mix we added:

1/4 C canola oil and 1/4 C vegan margarine (recipe suggests 1/2 C butter or margarine)

1 C Bonsoy soy milk

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed in 6 Tbsp water (left to stand for 2 mins to gel) - this is a replacement for 2 eggs

1/3 C hot water

2 tsp good quality vanilla extract

The mix came together really easily with no lumps. It has a nice smooth rich consistency too.

The cake went into the oven at 190 degrees C or 375 degrees F for around 45 mins. I tested the centre with a bamboo skewer before taking it out.

While we waited for it to cool down Ben got to lick the spoon! Such a simple childhood pleasure that I remember well from baking with my own mum - but something that can be hard for an allergy kid to experience. 

Once it was cool we sliced the cake in half so we had two thinner pieces. Then we spread some nice allergy friendly raspberry jam. We wanted cream, but we're not doing dairy at the moment so we made a cashew cream by blending up 3/4C raw cashews and 3/4C water until smooth. After spreading the cream on top of the jam we popped the top portion of the cake on and sprinkled some icing sugar on top.

The nicest thing about this cake is the texture. It can be hard to get a good crumb on a GF cake and without eggs you run the risk of it being dry. This cake was moist and chocolatey - just like a good choccie cake should be!

I'd definitely use Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Cake again - I think it would be great for a special occasion or for when non allergy guests come for dinner. I'm convinced that no-one would know this cake is GF. 

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Vegan Lemon Coconut Cake

GF, EF, DF


Yesterday some gluten free guests from Sydney visited so I thought I'd try out a new recipe. This lemon coconut cake is moist and delicious with a subtle lemon flavour. It's gluten, egg and dairy free and easy to make.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

1 C desiccated coconut
1 C gluten free flour blend (I used 1/4C buckwheat, 1/2C brown rice flour and 1/4C almond meal)
3/4 C raw organic sugar*
2 tsp GF baking powder

1 C coconut cream**
1/2 C soy or rice milk
Juice of two small lemons
Zest of one lemon


* You could use less sugar if you wanted to or replace with 1/2C maple syrup

**The coconut cream I use is the thickened fat that sits on the top, not the water underneath. To help your coconut cream separate in the tin place it in the fridge first.

Mix all dry ingredients together and combine with a whisk. Add the coconut cream, milk, lemon juice and zest and mix well until smooth.

Place in a greased and lined loaf tin and bake for 50 - 60 minutes until cake springs back in the centre.

Enjoy!

My Bombproof Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

GF, VG.

I've made this cake for years and she's never let me down. It's simple to make and has no gluten, dairy, egg or nuts. It also has a moist consistency and a really chocolatey flavour. Add some icing and GF sprinkles and you have yourself a birthday cake.

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees centigrade.

190g gluten free flour - I use a blend of 100g brown rice flour, 50g sorghum, and 40g tapioca starch

200g raw sugar

20g raw cacao powder or cocoa powder

5g baking soda (bicarb)

3g salt

Whisk all dry ingredients together.

In another bowl mix together:

80ml neutral oil

5ml white vinegar

235ml warm water

Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into a greased and lined tin and bake for 45 mins or until the cake springs back.