Category Archives: comfort pudding

Almond Caramel N’ice Cream – quick, healthy and delicious

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You can never have too much n’ice cream! Dairy, gluten and added sugar free – this is guilt free loveliness. I think this may be my favourite flavour yet! This is really scrummy and tastes divine. It doesn’t need any extra sugar as the bananas and date caramel give it tonnes of rich sweetness and creaminess. It’s also pretty quick to make. I usually make up a big batch of the date caramel so I can use it for other stuff (or just eat it by the spoonful!).


You will need:

8 – 10 Medjool dates (this will create extra caramel so reduce if you don’t want any spare)

1 tbsp Almond butter

1 tbsp hot Water

4 frozen bananas

Handful almonds

Drizzle of coconut, maple or date syrup

It’s best if you peel and slice your bananas for freezing as it makes it easier for the blender to handle so make sure your bananas are well frozen first.

First caramelise the almonds. Pop the almonds into a dry frying pan, add a good drizzle of maple, coconut or date syrup and heat. You need to keep an eye on this – you want it to start to bubble and thicken but not burn. Keep stirring so they don’t catch. Once the syrup is reduced down and they’re well coated tip them out in to some baking paper and allow to cool. You can break them apart once cool.

  

Then make the caramel. Chop the dates and pop in to a high speed blender together with the almond butter. Depending on how dry your dates are you may not need all the water so start with half. Process well, adding the rest of the water if necessary, until you have a smooth caramel. Remove this from the blender (don’t worry about getting every last bit out and there’s no need to clean the blender).

Pop your frozen bananas in to the blender and pulse to blend the banana. Once it’s almost smooth add a tablespoon or so of the caramel back in to the blender with the bananas (add as much as you want – to taste). Blend well and then serve with the almonds sprinkled in top. If you want to serve it later freeze in small portions (plastic food bags or ice cube trays work best) and reblend briefly before serving to remove any large ice crystals.


Coconut and Apple Cake – gluten and dairy free

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This is a wonderful combination of squidgy, moist and dry and crumbly cake which makes it super moreish. It’s also full of goodness and, if you add the protein, is also full of extra protein too. It can be made completely vegan if you want it to be (see below), or you can use eggs if you’re not fussed.

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This is especially good if served with the topping I’ve whipped up too and even better with a big dollop of Soya yoghurt or ice cream 🙂

I’ve used the Bali Nutra Coconut Syrup in this recipe which I absolutely love – it’s so tasty!

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I’ve recorded a little video of this recipe here too :

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You will need:

1 cup of flour – you can use any flour you like here – spelt, almond, coconut. I used Almond flour

1/2 cup Ground Almonds

1/2  cup Vanilla Protein Powder (I use this one) – or if not then just add more flour

1/2 cup Desiccated Coconut

1 cup Coconut Syrup (from Bali Nutra)

1/2 cup Coconut Oil (melted)

3 eggs (or 3 tbsp Chia seeds soaked in 9 tbsp water)

2 heaped tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Cardamom (or 1 drop of cardamom extract)

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1 – 2 Bramley apples (depends how big they are!) (plus lemon juice to squeeze over them once cut if you want)

Optional – if your batter is too dry (it will depend on the flour you use) then you may need to add a small amount of any non-dairy milk (I splashed a bit of coconut milk in mine)

A sprinkle of coconut sugar and some coconut flakes to decorate.

I also made a little topping to go with it for this you will need:

4 tbsp Coconut milk (use the 65 – 70% extract milk and see here for instructions on how to get the thick creamy part)

2 tbsp Coconut oil (melted)

2 – 3 tbsp Coconut syrup (adjust to taste)

2 tsp ground Cinnamon (adjust to taste)

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Preheat the oven to 180 C and grease and line a baking tin (I used a large loaf tin and three small ones as I had some extra batter but you could any tin you like – a 20 – 25cm round tin would work).

Put all the dry ingredients (flours, protein powder, spices etc) into a large mixing bowl and stir well. Peel and dice the apples. Set the apples aside and if you don’t want them to go brown add a squeeze of lemon juice while you wait to add them. Put all the wet ingredients in another bowl and mix well. Add the wet to the dry and combine. The batter will be thick but if you have used coconut flour and the chia seeds then you may find your batter is far too dry. In which case add a little milk to loosen it up. Fold in the apple.

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Spoon the batter in to your tin, sprinkle a little coconut sugar and coconut flakes over the top for decoration if you fancy, and pop in the oven. If like me you have too much batter then make some small cakes too! Depending on the size of your tin it will take 25 – 40 mins to cook but just keep checking it and when a skewer comes out clean it’s done! As it cooks you may find the top starts to brown too much so just pop some foil over it if so.

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This is best eaten warm with a dollop of the topping – combine the topping ingredients together and serve!

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Super quick chocolate n’ice cream 

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The weather is finally warm! Woohoo!

That makes me want ice cream so I thought I’d whip up a quick batch of chocolate ice cream. It took minutes to make and has all the taste of lovely creamy ice cream with none of the bad stuff!

Only two ingredients: Frozen bananas and raw cocoa powder!

I used about two bananas which I chopped and froze yesterday but they don’t take long to freeze so whack some in now and you can make it in a couple of hours! I popped these into my Vitamix (any high speed blender will work) and added 2 tbsp of cocoa powder – whizzed it all together and voila! You can add a little more or less cocoa according to taste if you want.

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You could eat straight away or pop in to ice lolly moulds for later 🙂

Mint Chocolate Mousse and N’ice cream layered dessert – dairy and gluten free

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Does anyone else remember those mint chocolate swirled mousse/ice cream dessert things we used to have as children? They came in a little pot, they were mostly sugar and air but they tasted amazing! I’m such a massive mint choc fan and was feeling a little nostalgic so thought I’d see if I could recreate something similar but a little more classy.

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This would make a great dinner party pud – it looks fab and tastes amazing. You can prepare the mousse and the n’ice cream in advance and then put it together in a few mins. It’s also a great healthy, high protein treat for you or the kids on summer evenings.

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This also gave me a chance to use the yummy choc shot I was sent my the lovely people over at sweet freedom for something other than pouring liberally over my porridge and soya yoghurt 🙂  The mousse recipe is based on Colette’s recipe from The Pure Form Fitness Kitchen and the n’ice cream is my recipe from the other day (here) which I’ll re-post below for ease.

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This will make approx 2 large layered desserts.

For the mousse you will need:

1 packet of Silken tofu

2 tbsp Cocoa powder

2 tbsp sweet freedom Choc Shot (you may want to add a little extra if you want it sweeter)

Natural peppermint extract (to taste)

Pop all the ingredients except the peppermint extract in to your blender/processor and mix well until combined. Have a little taste and add a little more choc shot if you feel you need it. Then add the peppermint extract to taste and mix. Store the mousse in the fridge until you’re ready to prepare the dessert (it will last up to a week – it may separate a little but just stir it before you use it).

For the n’ice cream you will need:

Frozen bananas – I used 4 medium bananas

Handful of spinach (adjust according to how green you want it!)

Couple of tbsp Cacao nibs (or you can use any dark chocolate – sugar free or not – your choice)

Natural peppermint extract (to taste) (or fresh mint leaves if you happen to have some)

Pop the bananas in to a high speed blender – I use my trusty vitamix but any blender that can handle ice will do, and blitz it to start to break up the bananas. Once they start to smoosh up (technical term 😉 ) add the spinach a little at a time. Then add a few drops of peppermint extract – the amount will depend on how minty you like it! You don’t want it tasting like mouthwash though so go easy to start with! Keep blitzing it and stirring it in until the spinach is combined and the colour you want. Remove from the blender and stir the cacao nibs/chopped chocolate through it.

It melts fast so if you’re making it just before you serve it then that’s fab, but if not then you can refreeze it – ideally refreeze in ice cube trays (or small portions) and then when are ready to put the dessert together pop the cubes in to the blender and give it a very quick blitz!

Assemble the pud

Add a layer of mousse, then a layer of n’ice cream and top with another layer of mousse in a glass, sundae dish or bowl. Top with a sprig of fresh mint and enjoy!

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Mint choc chip N’ice cream – dairy, gluten and sugar-free!

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Now it’s getting warmer I’m craving ice cream and I absolutely love mint choc chip ice cream so I thought I’d whip up a batch of a slightly less naughty version!

This is as good, if not better, than the traditional stuff and only has four ingredients!

The ingredients below made about 5-6 generous scoops but it will depend on the size of the bananas so you may need to adjust quantities a bit. Don’t be scared about the spinach – you really can’t taste it at all and it gives not only a great nutrient boost but a lovely green colour 🙂

I always have frozen bananas in my freezer for smoothies, banana bread etc. I don’t like over ripe bananas so if they ever start to get too ripe I chop them up and pop them in freezer bags. Then they’re ready to use any time! So first things first – freeze some bananas!

You will need:

Frozen bananas – I used 4 medium bananas

Handful of spinach (adjust according to how green you want it!)

Couple of tbsp Cacao nibs (or you can use any dark chocolate – sugar free or not – your choice)

Natural peppermint extract (to taste) (or fresh mint leaves if you happen to have some)

Pop the bananas in to a high speed blender – I use my trusty vitamix but any blender that can handle ice will do, and blitz it to start to break up the bananas. Once they start to smoosh up (technical term 😉 ) add the spinach a little at a time. Then add a few drops of peppermint extract – the amount will depend on how minty you like it! You don’t want it tasting like mouthwash though so go easy to start with! Keep blitzing it and stirring it in until the spinach is combined and the colour you want. Remove from the blender and stir the cacao nibs/chopped chocolate through it and serve!

It melts fast so get in quick! You can refreeze it – ideally refreeze in ice cube trays and then when you want to eat it pop the cubes in to the blender and give it a very quick blitz!

How easy was that? 🙂

A wonderful bowl of love! Chia pudding :)

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I thought I’d treat myself with this gorgeous bowl of love!

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Mixed berry chia pudding swirled with chocolate coconut pudding, topped with cacao nibs, desiccated coconut and berries.

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For the berry pudding you will need:

2 tbsp Chia seeds
1 cup mixed Berries
1/2 cup Almond or soya milk
Liquid sweetener to taste (I used coconut syrup)

For the chocolate coconut pudding you will need:

2 tbsp Chia seeds
1 tbsp Cocoa powder
1/2 cup Coconut milk
1 tbsp desiccated Coconut
1 tsp Lucuma (or vanilla powder if you don’t have this, or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
Sweetener to taste ( I used a drizzle of coconut syrup)

For the topping:
Cacao nibs
Desiccated coconut
Berries

For both puddings mix the dry ingredients together well then add the wet ingredients. Mix really well and then allow to sit in the fridge for at least an hour before checking. Adjust the amount of liquid to suit – add more if it’s too thick or if too think you can add some more chia seeds. Let it sit for at least another hour.

Spoon the berry pudding into a bowl, add a couple of spoonfuls of chocolate pudding and then swirl through the berry pudding. Sprinkle with cacao nibs and desiccated coconut and add berries. Serve! 🙂

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Chia Threesome! Chocolate, Vanilla Caramel Cinnamon and Berry Pud

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I thought I would have a little fun with some chia puds yesterday and what better, given it’s nearly Valentine’s day, than a decadent looking and tasting, yet totally healthy threesome pud!

I can almost feel the love! 😉

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This is super easy to make. Of course you don’t have to make three flavours – you can make two, or one! whatever you like! If you don’t have lacuma you can leave this out of the chocolate pud, and for the caramel one you can use maca instead (though go easy and keep tasting to get the taste you want, or use vanilla instead).

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For the Chocolate chia pud you will need:

5 tbsp Chia seeds

1 1/2 cups of Almond or coconut milk (or soya milk if you prefer)

1 tsp liquid sweetener (to taste) – you can use coconut syrup, maple syrup, agave, rice malt syrup – your choice

1 tbsp Raw cacao powder

1 heaped tsp Lacuma

 

For the Vanilla caramel cinnamon pud you will need:

5 tbsp Chia seeds

1 1/2 cups Coconut or almond milk (or soya milk if you prefer)

1 heaped tsp Lacuma

1 tbsp Mequite powder

1 tsp Cinnamon (to taste)

2 tsp liquid sweetener (to taste)

 

For the Berry chia pud you will need:

4 tbsp Chia seeds

1 1/2 cups of berries – I used blackberries, blueberries and strawberries

1 cup Almond or Coconut milk (or soya)

1 heaped tsp of Vanilla powder (if you don’t have this then use 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)

Liquid sweetener – to taste (I didn’t bother using any as I like my berries tart 🙂 )

For each of the puds pop the chia seeds into a bowl (one bowl for each flavour), mix the dry ingredients in and then add the milk and liquid sweetener and mix really well with a fork. For the berry pud I pureed the fruits in a blender – blitzing them for a few seconds, then poured that straight over the seeds.

Make sure you mix really well and then cover and leave in the fridge to set for a few hours (at least). Check after an hour and give another stir. If you prefer a thicker texture add a little more chia at this point. If you want it a bit more liquid add a little milk.

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Once set remove from the fridge and layer in to your bowl or jar. Sprinkle some desiccated coconut on top and a couple of berries to decorate and enjoy!

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Pancakes! Super quick dairy and gluten free pancake recipe

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I’d been having cravings for pancakes for weeks so the other weekend I whipped up a quick batch of these lovely gluten-free, dairy free fluffy pancakes!

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I used rice flour because it’s what I had in the cupboard but you could use buckwheat, coconut flour, spelt flour (if you’re not fussed about gluten) etc – just adjust the amount of milk if needed (with coconut flour you will need more).

You can serve these with anything you like – I went for berries, coconut syrup and banana ‘nice’ cream (frozen bananas blitzed in my vitamix). They’re also lovely with banana, chia jam and lemon curd – yum yum!

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You will need:

1 1/4 cup rice flour
1 tbsp Coconut sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
1 1/4 cup Soya/almond/coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp Almond oil (or another light oil)
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients in another and then add to the wet mixture. Stir well.
Heat a frying pan with a little oil – drop a good dollop of batter in, allow to cook, turning so both sides are done.

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Almost raw gooey lemon cheesecake pudding – dairy and gluten free

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I’ve been dying to create something new with my lemon curd for a while now. I’m a massive fan of lemon meringue pie so I was thinking along the lines of a healthy meringue pie but wanted something more “puddingy”.  So I decided to create a cheesecake-inspired layered pud instead and lo and behold this squishy, goey, sweet, lemony jar of goodness was created!

Not only do these taste heavenly but they’re full of goodness and I think they look pretty cool too! They’d make fab individual desserts for a dinner or lunch party.

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It passed the test of my chief taster and lemon curd fiend Colette and even managed to please my friend Dee who’s a self-confessed full fat, full sugar cheesecake addict!

Here’s the proof – Colette savouring the lemony goodness 😉

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There are three parts to this pud: the base, the filling and the topping. It does require a little preparation in advance (for the filling and topping) but it’s super quick to put together after that.

Now depending how much you want to make you can adjust the quantities below. I tend to make big batches of all 3 components and then put together a few puds but also eat the various components on their own too! It will also depend how large your pud containers are. All of these components can be made in advance – the curd will last several weeks in the fridge, the base will be fine for 1-2 weeks and the topping will last a week in the fridge. So you can always prepare all the bits a few days in advance and then pop it all together on the day! The puds themselves will last a good few days in the fridge (if you can resist eating them!).

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For the topping:

You will be making a cashew cream (basic recipe here) – for this one though I leave out the sweetener. So you will need:

1-2 cups raw Cashews (depends how much you want to make)

Water (enough to cover them and then another cup or so)

(You will also need a few tbsp of lemon curd for the final construction)

First things first soak the cashews overnight (or for as long as you can) in water (so that they are well covered).

Drain and rinse them and then pop them in to the blender. Start by adding about half as much water as cashews to the blender and give it a blitz. Continue adding water until the cashews are smooth and you have the consistence of cream that you want – less water, thicker cream! You want it quite thick for this recipe. At this point you can pop it in the fridge while you do other bits.

For the filling:
You will need to make a batch of curd for the filling! I always have a jar in my fridge (I get palpitations when I start to run low 😉 ) so this is always on standby for me. The recipe has been posted before (here) but here it is again for ease.

You will need:

1 1/4 cups of Lemon juice (I used 6 very large lemons)

Zest of half of the lemons used (freeze the rest of the zest for use later)

1/2 cup of Cold water

1 3/4 cups unrefined raw Sugar (adjust to taste)

5 tbsp Cornflour (corn starch)

2 tbsp non-dairy margarine

6 tbsp Almond milk (you could also use soya or coconut milk)

Juice and zest your lemons. You only need the zest from half of the lemons but it’s worth zesting them all and keeping the remaining zest in the freezer to use in other recipes later.

Place the lemon juice and water in a cold saucepan. Add the cornstarch and whisk to dissolve. Add the sugar and turn on the heat. Continue to whisk as you bring the mixture to a boil slowly. Once boiling allow it to boil gently for one minute without stirring.

Add the rest of the ingredients, whisking the whole time, and cook for 3 minutes.  Have a little taste – if it’s not sweet enough for you then stir in some more sugar. Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl or jars and allow to cool. Place in the fridge once cooled.

For the base:

You can adjust the quantities and types of fruit and nut to taste or depending on what you have to hand. You want to end up with a sticky consistency though so the dates are important. I used:

1/2 cup raw Cashews

1/2 cup raw Almonds

1/4 cup of Pecans

1/4 cup Raisins

1/3 cup of dates (if using dried dates then soak in warm water for 5-10 mins, keep the water to one side once soaked)

A good pinch or two of Lemon zest

Pop all of this lot into a food processor and pulse until blended and well combined. It will come together to form a sticky dough. If it’s not sticky enough add some more fruit and a little of the water from the dates. If it’s too sticky you can add some more nuts. Adjust the amount of lemon zest to taste.

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Construction of the pud!

You will need some jars, glasses, ramekins, or whatever you fancy serving this in.

First take a few spoonfuls of the base mixture and press well into the base of your chosen jar. I like to have a depth of 2-3 cm, but obviously you can add more or less as you like.

Then add a generous layer of lemon curd – this curd is beautifully tart so you don’t need a huge amount – I used about 1-2 cm.

Finally take your topping and stir 2 – 4 tbsp lemon curd through it (adjust to taste) and then layer on the top – as thick as you want!

Finish with some lemon zest. Keep in the fridge until you’re ready to devour it!

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You can even supersize this and make a massive one – for sharing… (Or not 😉 )

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Chocolate Cherry Brownies – gluten and dairy free

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My hubby and I had a rare evening out last night with some very good friends to go and watch “Dirty Dancing” at the open air cinema. Tasked with providing dessert I decided I’d go for some good old chocolately goodness and whip up a new version of my brownies for us to munch on whilst watching the film… They’re almost as tasty as Patrick Swayze 😉

The sweet-sour of the cherries works so well to balance out the rich chocolate in these and they’re brilliant served with berries and some cashew cream (recipe here) for a decadent (but not too bad for you) dessert.

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You will need:

1/4 cup Rice flour

1/2 cup Ground almonds

1 cup unrefined Raw sugar (golden caster sugar, coconut sugar etc)

1/2 cup almond oil (or coconut oil)

1/4 cup raw Cacoa powder

2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 6 tbsp water

1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt

1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp Vanilla extract

100g dried Cherries

Dairy free chocolate (I use Willie’s cacao drops) – about a handful (approx 100g)

For Icing

100g Dairy free chocolate (again I use Willie’s cacao drops)

100 – 200g Unrefined icing sugar (adjust quantity to depending how runny you want your icing)

Freeze dried Cherries to decorate

Preheat the oven to 170C and grease a 20 x 20cm square baking pan with parchment paper.

Mix the ground almonds, flour, cacao powder, sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda together in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl soak the chia seeds in the water. Once the chia seeds have absorbed all the water add them to the mix along with the vanilla extract, and oil. Whisk together using a hand mixer until well mixed. It should be thick and glossy when mixed.

Stir in the chocolate and cherries (cut them in half if they are large). Pour in to the baking tin and place in the oven for 25 – 30 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack

Then prepare the icing. Melt the chocolate and then stir in the icing sugar a little at a time until you get the consistency you want. Spread quickly on to the brownies and sprinkle the freeze dried cherries and any other decorations you want to use on to the top!

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Then enjoy (preferably with a side helping of Patrick Swayze 😉 )

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