Looks and tastes amazing! and convenient too! 🙂
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Author Archives: Dr Nancy P
Brownie Love Bites
I was asked recently if I had a recipe for vegan brownies… well I do… and so I thought I’d re-post it to make it a little easier to find! 🙂 These were originally made for Valentine’s day, hence the heart shapes, but I kinda like them like this anyway! 🙂
Enjoy!
Brownie love bites
165g Silken tofu
100g white spelt flour
65g Whole-wheat spelt flour
70g Cocoa powder
6 tbsp Water
8 tbsp Agave syrup AND 2 tbsp Date syrup
200g unrefined raw sugar/ coconut palm sugar
A handful of chopped pecans and dried cherries
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp Ground brown linseed
1.5 tbsp Hot water
1/4 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Salt
Mix the ground linseeds with the 1 1/2 tablespoons of hot water and set aside to thicken. Preheat the oven to 180 C and then line an 8-inch x 8-inch x 2-inch baking tin with greaseproof paper and lightly oil.
Blend the tofu, water, agave syrup, date syrup, cocoa powder, linseed mixture, and vanilla extract until completely smooth. Place the remaining ingredients, except the pecans and cherries, in a mixing bowl and stir until they are well combined. Then pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir well. Finally, gently fold in the pecans and cherries. Pour the mix into the tin and place in the oven for 30 mins, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then cool on a wire rack. Whilst still warm use a small heart cutter (2 – 3 cm) to cut out heart shaped brownie bites. You should get 12 – 15 out of one tray of brownie (and you get to eat all the little off cuts!) 
Nothing says homemade like…. homemade dairy free shortbread hearts!
Home is where the heart is and it’s certainly where these little hearts are going to stay!
A very dear and thoughtful friend gave me some lovely biscuit cutters for christmas and I’ve been dying to try them out so I thought I’d have a go at a shortbread-type of biccie. My dairy free, spelt shortbread won’t work for this as it’s not “rollable” so I’ve had to come up with something else. I usually try to avoid dairy-free margarine but in this case I’ve compromised and used it… just this once! 🙂 These are not too sweet so if you have a very sweet tooth then you may want to add a bit more sugar, but I like them just as they are 🙂
This makes LOADS so you may want to halve the recipe!
4 cups Spelt flour or gluten-free flour mix
2 cups Unrefined Icing sugar
12 oz Dairy-free Margarine (get the best quality you can)
Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Put the margarine in a large mixing bowl, sieve the flour and icing sugar in and cream it together. Try not to over mix but make sure the margarine is properly mixed with the dry ingredients. Once it’s formed a dough wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins. If you find the dough is too sticky then add some more flour. Once chilled, roll out and use a biscuit cutter to cut whatever shape you have. Place on a greased baking tray and bake for 8 – 10 mins, or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray. Enjoy!
Super smooth(ie)!
This is the first time I’ve managed to use my new vitamix! And what better for it’s first use than a yummy, healthy smoothie for breakfast!
I based it on this smoothie recipe which is divine! For this morning I used coconut milk, banana, ice, a little hazelnut butter, a handful of raspberries and blueberries, two Pure Form acai berry plus capsules and and Pure Protein Powder.
Sooooooo good! 🙂
2012 in review – pretty cool! Thank you :)
These end of year stats are pretty cool. Thank you so much to everyone that’s visited this blog over it’s first year 🙂 I can’t wait to post more yummy recipes in 2013. I hope you all have a very happy and healthy new year! 🙂
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 9,900 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 17 years to get that many views.
Exciting times ahead :)
I hope you all had a lovely christmas! I had a brilliant day – just chilled and with loved ones – couldn’t ask for more 🙂
Santa was super generous this year and as well as a funky new rolling pin, sone awesome mini cupcake trays and some other cool kitchen bits I also got one of these….
…a vitamix! To say I’m excited would be a major understatement! I just cannot wait to try this out! So watch this space for lots of exciting creations 🙂 yipppeeee! 🙂
BAKE! That’s an order ;)
This was a birthday gift from a wonderful friend. She clearly knows me well! 😉
I think this should be an order for everyone for the new year 😉 BAKE! 😉
Merry Christmas everyone 🙂
xx
Raw chocolate covered marzipan snowballs!
I had some left over marzipan and wanted to create a little treat for after dinner on christmas day so I thought I’d make some raw choc covered marzipan snowballs 🙂
I used this marzipan recipe from my christmas cake post and for the chocolate you need:
35g Cacao butter
25g Raw Cacao powder
Sweet freedom to sweeten (up to 1/2 tbsp)
Extra raw cacao powder and dessicated coconut for decoration. Maybe some edible glitter too 🙂
Grate the cacao butter into a small bowl and then place over a saucepan of water (bain marie). Heat the water gently and allow the butter to melt. Once melted whisk the cacao powder in with a small balloon whisk or fork. When thoroughly combined remove from the heat and stir in the sweet freedom. I like my chocolate quite bitter for this recipe so I only added a small squirt but add as much as you need 🙂
Put some raw cacao powder in a small bowl and the dessicated coconut in another bowl.
Roll the marzipan in to small balls and line up your bowls of chocolate, cacao powder and dessicated coconut. Drop the marzipan into the choc and used a fork to gently move around until covered. Then, if you’re using it, drop the ball into the bowl of cacao powder or dessicated coconut and gently shake it around to cover it. Remove and place on greaseproof paper. When they’re all covered pop in the fridge to set. This choc has a very low melting point so keep in the fridge until you want to serve. Enjoy! 🙂
I just love these – great alternative to ‘traditional’ mincepies 🙂
Cranberry and Apple Meringue pie! oh my!
Hands up if you love Lemon Meringue Pie! I do! And yes I know, meringue contains eggs, so I’m very sorry to my vegan friends (although you can use a commercial egg replacer for meringue so all is not lost!), but this festive meringue pie is gluten and dairy free 🙂 It’s a nice change to the usual festive fair!
Pastry
100g Ground almonds
100g Flaked almonds
75g Spelt or Rice flour(or other gluten free flour)
25g Golden raw Caster sugar
50ml Almond oil
3 -4 tbsp cold almond or other non dairy milk
Pinch of Himalayan rock salt
Filling
4-5 Bramley apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced
250g frozen or fresh Cranberries
juice of 1 clementine
75g Dried cranberries
1 tablespoon Corn flour
Raw unrefined sugar (if required)
Meringue
3 Large egg whites (or egg replacer)
150g Golden raw Caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Put the ground and almonds into a bowl with the flour and salt and stir to combine. Keep stirring and add in the olive oil gradually. Add 2 tablespoons of almond milk and keep stirring. The mixture should hold together when pressed, if it doesn’t then add some more almond milk, stirring all the time, until it does. At this point have a taste. If you want a sweeter pastry then add some more sugar until you get the desired flavour. Press it into a 20 cm pie or fluted flan dish. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until set and barely golden.
Remove from the oven and brush the almond pastry with a little almond oil and return to the oven for a few minutes to set then set aside to cool.
Now for the filling! First you need to cook the cranberries. Place the frozen or fresh cranberries in a pan with the juice of 1 clementine (or half an orange if that’s easier!). Cook for 5 mins until the cranberries start to soften and burst. Taste – if too tart for you then add a little raw sugar. Put the apples, cooked cranberries and dried cranberries in a saucepan with 75ml water and bring to the boil. Simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
Mix the corn flour with a tbsp of cold water till smooth then stir into fruit mixture. Boil for 1 minute then pour into the pastry case.
If using them then whisk the egg whites until stiff, then beat in the sugar, a third at a time, to form a thick meringue. Spoon over the fruit and bake 20-25 minutes until golden.
Leave to cool for a few minutes then transfer to a plate to cool.
Pure and Simple Bakes 