Thought I’d have a little fun and put together a collection of my year in bakes! 🙂
What a yummy year it’s been! 🙂 Happy New year! 🙂
A year in bakes!
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Monthly Archives: December 2013
Frangipane Mince Pie tarts
I know Christmas is over, but I never tire of mince meat! I did actually create these before the big day but didn’t get a chance to post the recipe until now. This was created on request from a special friend for her discerning hubby, and they seemed to go down well … in his words “this is the best thing you’ve ever baked”…! 🙂
So if you have some leftover mince meat then give this a go! These include a layer of marzipan which is optional but I think adds a fab extra almondy loveliness! Make your own (recipe here) or buy a block of plain marzipan – but do buy the good stuff (Neideregger is a great brand).
The frangipane does contain egg but I’ve also posted an egg-free version below too! 🙂
If you fancy making up a batch of mince meat specially then the recipe is here
For the pastry you will need:
4 oz Buckwheat flour
2 oz ground Almonds
5 tbsp Agave nectar
Up to 6 tbsp Water
For the frangipane you will need (this will be enough for 4 small tarts – 5 – 6cm diameter):
65g unrefined Raw sugar or Coconut palm sugar
100g Ground almonds
1 Egg
50 ml Almond oil (you can use mild Olive oil if you prefer)
1/8 tsp Vanilla extract
1/8 tsp Almond extract (if you have it)
Ground cinnamon (for dusting)
Flaked almonds (for decoration)
125g Marzipan (optional)
Make the pastry first. Put the buckwheat flour and ground almonds in a processor and add the agave. Pulse and gradually add the water until it forms a dough. You may find you need more or less water. If it is too wet add a little more flour. Once it is forming a firm dough remove, wrap in cling-film and place the mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.
Preheat the oven to 175 C.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out as thin as you can. Line mini tart cases (or one large flan/tart tin) with the pastry (you will probably have spare pastry left over). Brush with a little almond oil and then place in the oven to blind bake. They only need a few minutes – just until they start to brown very slightly at the edges.
Meanwhile make the frangipane. Pop the sugar and almond oil in a bowl and mix well together. Add the egg and extracts and mix again. Gently fold in the ground almonds until well mixed.
Once the pastry cases are starting to brown a little remove from the oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then spread a thin layer of mince meat (enough to cover the base). Thinly slice the marzipan and layer over the top.
Then cover with a generous layer of the frangipane.Sprinkle flaked almonds over the top and a dusting of cinnamon. Then place in the oven for 15 – 20 mins or until the frangipane is cooked and a lovely golden brown.
Delicious served with custard or soya yoghurt at any time of year! 🙂
Egg free frangipane recipe:
6 tbsp Coconut Oil (don’t melt it)
2/3 cup Coconut Palm Sugar / Unrefined Raw Sugar
1 and 1/4 cup Ground Almonds
2 tbsp Cornflour
pinch salt
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2/3 cup Almond Milk
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
Put the coconut oil, sugar, ground almonds, cornflour, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and pulse until well combined and all crumbly. Slowly add the almond milk, vanilla extract and almond extract whilst still pulsing the food processor until it forms a thick batter. This frangipane takes a bit more baking than the one above so keep an eye on the tarts and just remove when done.
Christmas Hats! Black Pepper, Coconut Cream and Strawberry Festive Fun!
I love dressing up (as my friends well know…) .. so much in fact that even my bakes are getting in the act this year….. 🙂
These are a fun little festive treat to make for parties over the Christmas season. The biscuits themselves are very light, and not too sweet and so they go nicely with the sweetness of the strawberry and the rich coconut cream – the pepper adds a bite and make these a perfect bit of adult fun. If you want something a bit sweeter for the kids you can use my basic biscuit recipe for the bases instead – recipe here
You will need:
150g Spelt, rice or gluten-free flour blend
50g Dairy free margarine
50g raw Coconut sugar / unrefined dark sugar
1 egg (if you want to go egg-free then use a little oil instead – 1/4 cup olive or almond oil but add less of the mixture in (see below)
2 tbsp Maple syrup (or agave or rice syrup, or honey)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper
1/8 tsp ground Cloves
1/8 tsp ground Nutmeg
A punnet strawberries
1 can of Coconut cream (milk – the canned milk, not the carton) (65 – 70% coconut extract – see below)
a little unrefined icing sugar (optional)
A few hours before you make these (or a day if you can) you need to set the coconut milk. I use this variety.
Pop the can in the fridge for a few hours or overnight and try not to move it. The coconut fat solidifies and separates at the top, leaving clear liquid at the bottom. When you are ready to make the cake remove the can carefully from the fridge and turn the can upside down in one move (i.e. no shaking!). Then open the can at the bottom – yes – trust me, open the bottom! You should find that the fat has solidified and you will see a few cm’s of clear liquid. Pour this off (don’t throw it away – you can pop it in a smoothie!) and then you are left with the coconut cream to use! 🙂
To make the biscuits:
Preheat the oven to 170 C.
Pop the flour, baking powder, spices and sugar in a food processor and blend briefly. Add the margarine and mix again for a minute or so.
While this is mixing break the egg in to a bowl and whisk the maple syrup in to it to form combine. Trickle a little of this mixture in to the processor bowl while it is running slowly. Keep adding until the mixture forms a firm dough (you may not need all of it).
Once it forms a dough use your hands to combine it and remove from the processor. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 3 – 5 mm thick and use a small round cutter to cut shapes. You will probably have more dough than you need but it can be wrapped in cling film and frozen for later 🙂
Pop the biscuits on to a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes or until they start to brown. Remove and allow to cool.
Coconut cream:
Take the solidified coconut cream and using electric or a hand whisk beat until fluffy. If you want a little sweetness add a little unrefined icing sugar in as you whip it.
Strawberries:
Remove the stem of the strawberries and cut the top off each to give a flat base.
Now you can assemble your biccies!
Pop the whipped coconut cream in to a piping bag. If you don’t have one (I don’t!) then put it in a plastic ziplock bag and just snip the corner of the bag off to use as a nozzle. Pipe a small amount of cream on to the centre of each biscuit. Pop a strawberry on top and then pipe around the base of the strawberry and add a little dot of cream to the top (for the bobble on the hat!). You could dust with a little icing sugar and a grind of black pepper if you wanted to. Serve as soon as possible. They will last overnight but the biscuits will go softer so wait to assemble until as close to serving time as possible. Any extra biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for a few days and they will stay crispy.
Have fun! 🙂
Persimmon Spiced Muffins
I have to confess that until a few weeks ago I’d never even heard of a persimmon fruit, let alone eaten one or cooked with it! I do like a challenge though and these little fruits are very popular at this time of year in the States so I thought I’d experiment.
The fruit itself is like a cross between and apple and a pear, and it’s lovely eaten on it’s own, or chopped and served in a salad. It’s also lovely to cook with. This recipe is for some yummy, healthy muffins which would make a perfect afternoon snack or even something you could grab for a brekkie on the go!
Before you start the first thing you need to do is make some oat flour. Simply take 4 cups of porridge oats (make sure they are gluten-free oats), pop them in a processor or blender and process until they form a flour. You will need 2 cups of actual flour for the recipe so you will have some extra to use later 🙂
You will need:
2 cups Oat flour
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 cup Persimmon flesh
3 tbsp Apple puree (recipe here)
1/2 cup Coconut oil (melted)
1 cup Coconut sugar
1 tbsp Chia seeds
1 cup of Raisins
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground Cloves
1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp sea salt
Makes approx 12 – 14 muffins
Preheat the oven to 180 C and line a muffin tray with paper liners (or just grease the tray).
Put the oat flour in to a mixing bowl, add the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and mix well and leave to one side.
Put all the other ingredients apart from the raisins in to a food processor and blend for a few minutes until well combined.
Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir gently. Finally fold in the raisins.
Take approximately 2 tbsps of mixture and add to each cake liner. Sprinkle with coconut sugar and pop in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the tops have browned and a skewer comes out clean. These are very moist muffins so they will seem quite loose.
These are divine whilst still warm from the oven! or allow to cool and enjoy later 🙂
Mince Pies! Gluten and Dairy Free!
It’s mince pie time again! whoop! This year I’m trying out some mini ones – almost as I type! 🙂 but for now I thought I’d post my recipe for mincemeat and gluten and dairy-free pastry in case you fancy making a batch this weekend 🙂
For the Pastry:
4 oz Buckwheat flour
2 oz ground Almonds
5 tbsp Agave nectar
Up to 6 tbsp Water
For the Mincemeat:
3 oz Bramley apples, cored and finely chopped
6 oz Mixed dried fruit (I prefer raisins, currants, cranberries and apricots)
1 oz Vegetable suet
2 oz Raw sugar (coconut palm or dark raw muscovado)
Juice and grated zest of half an Orange
1 level tsp of ground allspice
1 pinch ground Cinnamon
1 pinch ground Cloves
1 pinch grated / ground Nutmeg
1 small handful chopped Almonds
1 tbsp Date syrup
Make the pastry first. Put the buckwheat flour and ground almonds in a processor and add the agave. Pulse and gradually add the water until it forms a dough. You may find you need more or less water. If it is too wet add a little more flour. Once it is forming a firm dough remove, wrap in cling-film and place the mixture in the fridge.
Put all the ingredients for the mincemeat into a saucepan. Cook on a low heat, stirring frequently. Cook until the apple is soft and the mixture is thick – it may take some time. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180 C/ gas mark 6.
Lightly oil & flour a 12 muffin tin with almond, coconut or hazelnut oil. Remove pastry from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Roll it as thin as you can – a few mm. Use a round biscuit cutter to cut out 12 bases. Place them in the tin. Lightly brush with oil and use a fork to prick the base. Place in an oven to blind bake for 5–10 mins. Keep an eye on them – this pastry browns quite fast. Once the edges are brown and the middle is firm remove them. While the cases are in the oven take a smaller circular biscuit cutter to cut out the “lids” or you could use star shapes/ holly leaf shapes/lattice pattern – whatever takes your fancy 🙂
Place a generous helping of mincemeat in each of the cases and place your chosen “lid” on top. Lightly oil and sprinkle with a little cinnamon and raw sugar. Place the pies back in the oven and bake until golden (10–20 mins). Keep a careful eye on them. You want the tops to brown but be careful the bases don’t burn. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins, then remove and place on a wire cooling rack.
Pure and Simple Bakes 