Category Archives: Treats

Our favourite Whole Food treats recipes (including baking and deserts)

Gluten Free Gingerbread cookies

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These cookies use only 3 ingredients and depending on your preference (and how long you cook them) can be soft and moorish, or crunchy gingerbreads. This recipe makes about 12 cookies, and while they seldom last longer than a couple of days, they could be stored longer in an air tight container if you can resist them that long.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cashews or almonds
  • 1 cup dates (cheap dried dates is fine)
  • 1 Tbsp ginger powder

Directions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
  2. Place the nuts in a food processor with the knife attachment. Blend until the nuts are finely chopped
  3. Add the dates and ginger powder to the food processor and blend until the mixture balls up. If it doesn’t ball up then add a little water. I usually don’t have to add any more than 30-50ml of water, so add a really small amount at a time – you don’t want it too wet, you just want to add enough that it combines the ingredients and balls up the mixture.
  4. Grease a baking tray or the base of a metal oven dish.
  5. Roll the mixture into balls 20-30mm in diameter. Flatten the balls into cookie shapes with your fingers
  6. Cook the cookies in the oven for 10-15 minutes (length of time depends on how wet the mixture is) until the cookies start to harden and go golden (they will also give off a delicious smell). Cool on a wire rack.

Gluten Free Apple Crumble

Treats

A little winter warmer for nights we need a little extra after dinner.

Ingredients

  • 4 apples
  • 1 Tbsp Honey
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • Handful of Almonds
  • Handful of Cashew Nuts
  • 50g butter
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon

Directions

  1. Heat an oven to 180 degrees celsius.
  2. Peel, core and slice the apples.
  3. Add the sliced apples, honey and 1 tsp of cinnamon to a saucepan. Add 75ml water. Cover and allow the water to boil over a moderate heat. Cook for around 10 minutes until the apples are soft but not yet mushy.
  4. Place the almonds, cashews and 1 tsp of the cinnamon in a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely chopped and almost powdery – there should be still some pieces that are not fully powdered yet.
  5. Slice the butter into small pieces and add to the nut mixture. Process further. As the butter warms up from the processing the mixture will ball up.
  6. Place the apples in a pie dish. Crumble the nut mixture over the top. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes until the crumble is golden brown
  7. Serve with coconut or other yoghurt and if you like it a little sweeter, a little maple syrup.

 

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Vegan Chocolate Biscotti

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Chocolate, pistachio, cardamon biscotti

Biscotti are twice cooked Italian biscuits. You cook them first as a log, and they come out of the oven a soft cookie texture. After cutting them into slices you cook them a second time. This time they end up dry and crunchy, and perfect for dunking into a coffee or hot chocolate.

This version of the recipe uses almond and coconut flour to make them gluten free, maple syrup to avoid refined sugars, and no eggs to make them Vegan and Vegetarian. Despite being a significant variation on the traditional recipe they are a delicious, crunchy Biscotti that are no shame to the original recipe. The almond flour gives them a lovely richness that makes them feel more sinful than they are!

Unfortunately our son has just sneaked half the batch while we were out so we have to make a second batch already…

Ingredients

  • 100g blanched almonds (or 1 cup almond flour)
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp cardamon powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup pistachio nuts
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Directions

  1. Pre-warm the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degree Fahrenheit)
  2. Blend the almonds in a food processor with a metal blade (preferably the mini food processor attachment or a chopper accessory on a blender) until they are a fine powder (alternatively use almond flour
  3. Add the ground almonds, coconut flour, cocoa powder, cardamon powder, baking soda, and sea salt to a food processor. Process to combine all of the ingredients
  4. Add the maple syrup and process to combine all of the ingredients. (Note: If you prefer sweet biscuits you might like to increase the amount of maple syrup to 1/2 a cup. This is not a particularly sweet biscuit recipe.)
  5. The mixture should start to form into a ball. Let it rest for 5 minutes for the coconut flour to absorb the maple syrup.
  6. Remove the mixture and place it on a piece of greaseproof paper. Knead in the pistachio nuts and chocolate to mix it through the mixture evenly
  7. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on a baking tray and place the mixture in the middle of the tray. Shape the mixture to form a block about 20cm long, 10 cm wide, and 2 cm thick.
  8. Cook the biscotti in the oven for 15 minutes.
  9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool (approximately 1 hour)
  10. Slice the log into 1cm wide biscuits using a bread knife. It is important that they are even in width as you are going to cook them again.
  11. Spread the slices of biscuit evenly on a baking tray lined with greaseproof baking paper
  12. Cook again for 15 minutes until the biscotti are crisp and crunchy but not hard
  13. Allow to cool and serve alongside coffee or hot chocolate

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Carbon Handshake – A Dive Right

Dairy Free Ice-Cream

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Dairy Free Ice-Cream

The summer has well and truly heated up in Singapore! We are sitting in 35 degrees and high humidity. While I am not usually big on deserts, this evening we went out to dinner for sushi and my son was looking longingly at the ice-creams at the back of the menu. Matcha Green Tea and Chocolate ice-creams. One he won’t end up eating (but liked the idea of) and the other one I wasn’t so keen on him eating. 

So I decided to make our own ice-cream instead. I had put some bananas in the freezer to try out making my own dairy free ice-cream a couple of days ago, so whipping this up was pretty quick. I have to say, that with these ingredients, I won’t be so worried about skipping desert to be healthy anymore 🙂

Ingredients

  • 2 bananas
  • 50g frozen raspberries or other fruit of your choice
  • 10 pistachios, finely chopped

Directions

  1. Place 2 ripe bananas in the freezer over night (or longer if you like)
  2. Carefully peel the bananas using a sharp knife
  3. Slice the bananas into 0.5cm wide slices with a sharp knife
  4. Place the bananas and frozen fruit into a food processor with the metal knife blade (you could also use a blender, but it is a bit trickier to get it evenly blended without melting)
  5. Pulse the fruit several times until it has broken up into small grains of fruit.
  6. Turn the foodprocessor dial onto a medium setting to churn the frozen fruit into a creamy texture. You will need to stop it quite a few times and wipe the mixture down the side of the bowl in order to get an even texture.
  7. Watch it closely and stop it as soon as it has turned into an evenly blended ice-cream.
  8. Serve immediately topped with finely chopped pistachios to garnish

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Hozier – Hozier (Deluxe)

Espresso Chocolate Cake / Brownies

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Chocolate Gateau Cake

Somehow I seem to have become obsessed with making the perfect gluten free, dairy free, sugar free chocolate cake. One that actually tastes good! And with this recipe I think I have gotten pretty close. If I didn’t tell you all of the above, you would have no clue! So I tried it on a colleague this week, and he really liked it, and couldn’t believe it was gluten free. Mission accomplished – now go make it yourself, what are you waiting for?

Ingredients

  • 50g dark chocolate (check the ingredients list to avoid high sugar contents)
  • 50g good quality cocoa powder (sifted)
  • 100ml freshly brewed espresso (two double espressos) (long black)
  • 100g ground almonds or almond flour
  • 50g rice or tapioca flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 150ml olive oil or coconut oil (not extra virgin olive oil, it tastes too strong)
  • 100ml honey or maple syrup
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 banana, mashed
  • 100g dates or figs, chopped (you can use cheap dates here, no need for the gourmet ones from the fridge)
  • 100g frozen cranberries, blackcurrants, raspberries or blackberries
  • 50g chopped cashews nuts (optional – if you want to turn it into brownies in a rectangular tin)

Directions

  1. Heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
  2. Break the dark chocolate into a metal bowl. Place over a bowl of hot boiled water to melt.
  3. Sift the cocoa into a bowl. Add the freshly brewed espresso and melted dark chocolate. Stir well to make a smooth paste. You may need to add 2-4Tbsp of hot boiled water to get a smoothe paste. This depends on your cocoa and the exact measurement of the coffee. Put aside to cool down while you prepare the rest
  4. If you are using almonds, then grind them in a blender to make a fine powder (I use a grinding attachment, you may have a small bowl for your foodprocessor that could do the same job instead). Alternatively, measure the almond flour into a separate bowl. Add the rice flour. Add the bicarbonate of soda and salt and set aside.
  5. In the bowl of a food processor or mixer, add the oil, honey and eggs. Mix for about 2 minutes until well aerated.
  6. Add the chocolate mixture to the mixture in the foodprocessor or mixer. Mix thoroughly.
  7. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla to the foodprocessor or mixer. Mix quickly.
  8. Add the flour mixture to the foodprocessor or mixer. Mix thoroughly.
  9. Prepare a round cake tin of 25cm in diameter, or a rectangular slice tin of 20cm in length with a base lining of baking paper. Oil the sides of the tin with a little coconut or olive oil.
  10. Pour the mixture into the tin.
  11. Scatter the dates/figs and frozen berries over the mixture to make sure they are spread evenly through the cake. Sprinkle over the cashew nuts if you are adding them. Pat them into the mixture using the back of a wooden spoon until they are covered by the mixture.
  12. Cook the brownies for 30 minutes in the oven or until it is cooked through. Prick with a skewer to check if it is cooked through. The skewer should be clean when you pull it back out.
  13. Serve warm or cooled down.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Balthazar – Thin Walls

Dairy Free Rice Pudding

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Dairy free rice pudding

It is many years since I have made a rice pudding, but it brings back memories of childhood. It is something my mother used to make when we were small. To make this one dairy free I have substituted the milk and cream for coconut milk and cream, and added cardamon to the cinnamon stick to add a fragrant flavour.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white rice (uncooked)
  • 3 cardamon pods
  • 200ml coconut cream
  • 100ml coconut milk
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • pinch of salt
  • 4 Tbsp honey
  • A little ground cinnamon to garnish
  • Fruit to garnish (berries or mango)

Directions

  1. Put the rice in a pot. Add the cardamon pods. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and cook for approximately 15 minutes until cooked through (you might need to cook quicker or longer depending on the exact type of rice that you are using. Short grain pudding rice is a good choice, but Basmati or other long grain rices you might have in house are also OK).
  2. Ensure that there is no water left in the rice through draining or boiling dry dependent on the type of rice.
  3. Add the coconut cream, coconut milk, salt and cinnamon stick to the pot. Turn the heat down to a very low temperature. Boil the rice gently for around 5 minutes.
  4. Add the honey. Boil for another 5 minutes stirring often to avoid the rice pudding sticking.
  5. Remove from the heat when the pudding is a thick consistency and the rice has softened.
  6. Serve in small serving bowls and garnish with a little cinnamon powder. Serve with fruit (mango, berries or spiced apple are all good choices)
  7. Serves 5-6

Variations: you could also stir a handful of frozen cranberries or sultanas through the rice pudding when you add the cinnamon stick.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Emily Rice – Find me here

Vegan Chocolate Orange Mousse

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 Vegan Chocolate Mousse

When I was staying at Villa Flow in Bali they made me an avocado based chocolate mousse, and I have recreated it at home, but with some added orange. Orange chocolate has always been my favourite. Do make sure that your avocados are ripe before you make this. Unripe avocado is not a welcome flavour in a dessert. 

Ingredients

  • 150 g dairy-free dark chocolate, plus extra for garnishing (I used “Lindt Excellence 90% cacao” pure chocolate. It is worth checking the label to make sure you don’t get one with sugar as the first ingredient)
  • 2 large ripe avocados
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • seeds of 1 vanilla pod (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup almond milk or coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp orange peel

Directions

  1. Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the base doesn’t touch the water. Break the chocolate into the bowl and allow it to melt, then set aside to cool slightly.
  2. Halve and stone the avocados. Scoop out the flesh of the avocados with a desert spoon. Add into a food processor bowl, discarding the skins.
  3. Using the finest grater you have, rasp off the peel of an orange or mandarin.
  4. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla, maple syrup, and almond/coconut milk to the food processor and blend for a few seconds. Scrape down the sides with a spatula, then blend again to ensure that it is well combined.
  5. Pour in the cooled chocolate, then blend a final time until creamy and smooth.
  6. Divide the mixture between six small bowls, and refridgerate for at least 30 minutes.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Lower Dens – Escape from Evil

 

Lemon Cupcakes

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 Lemon Cupcakes

These Lemon Cupcakes have a strong lemony flavour, and don’t need any sweetening. They are gluten, dairy, and sugar free and I am struggling not to eat all of them before they cool off!

Ingredients

  • 2-3 ripe bananas
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 Tbsp ghee
  • juice and rind of a lemon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • seeds of 1 vanilla pod
  • 1/4 cup sifted coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup sweet potato flour

Directions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
  2. Add eggs and ghee and mix well
  3. Add the rind of 2 lemons, the juice of 2 lemons, and the seeds of 1 vanilla bean, mix well
  4. Add the baking soda and salt and stir gently into the mixture. It should rise as the baking soda activates.
  5. Add the coconut and sweet potato flour and stir gently to combine into the mixture.
  6. Cook in the hot oven for 35 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean when pricked into the cupcake.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Wild Beasts – Present Tense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Butternut and Zucchini Loaf

Lunch and Light Meals, Treats, , , , , , , , , ,

Butternut and Zucchini loaf

Bread is a bit of a challenge when you are gluten, sugar and dairy free. This loaf is naturally sweetened by dates and pumpkin, and given structure through the coconut flour and zucchini. It is delicious, healthy, and sneaks a few extra veggies into your lunch.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 a large zucchini, or 1 whole small zucchini (courgette), finely grated, squeezed
  • 350 g butternut squash (butternut pumpkin), cubed, cooked for 10 minutes and mashed
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 Tbsp ghee
  • 1 heaped tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • large pinch of sea salt
  • 2cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • handful chopped cashews, toasted with 1 tsp coconut oil and a pinch of sea salt
  • 5 dates, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • sea salt for sprinkling on top
  • 2/3 cup of coconut flour

Directions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
  2. Boil the butternut squash (butternut pumpkin) for 10 minutes in boiling water until it is cooked through. Drain and let it cool a little so that it will not cook the eggs when you add them to the squash mixture. Mash to a smooth consistency.
  3. Add the eggs and ghee and mix well.
  4. Grate the zucchini. Place the grated zucchini into a tea towel and squeeze it firmly to remove all of the liquid. You may need to use a fair bit of pressure.
  5. In another bowl, add the zucchini with the baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, ginger, rosemary, and dates. Mix well.
  6. Add the zucchini mixture to the squash mixture and stir well to combine.
  7. Add the coconut flour, and fold into the mixture. You should have a thick mixture with little moisture. Depending on how moist your zucchini was still, you might need to add a little more coconut flour. The coconut flour will absorb the moisture.
  8. Toast the cashew nuts in a hot pan together with a pinch of salt and 1 tsp of coconut oil until they are golden in colour.
  9. Add the toasted cashew nuts to the mix and stir through.
  10. Line a bread loaf tin with baking paper. Transfer the mixture into the bread loaf tin.
  11. Cook at 180 degrees celcius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 45 minutes until golden brown and a fork inserted into it comes out clean.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Future Islands – Singles

 

Dried Fig and Cranberry Almond Loaf

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 Fig and cranberry loaf

There is nothing quite like the smell of bread baking in the oven. This loaf uses ground almonds to be gluten free, and fruit and honey to sweeten it and avoid processed sugars.

Ingredients

      • 2 cups ground almonds (or almond flour)
      • 5 free range eggs
      • 1/2 cup dried figs, chopped (could be substituted with dates)
      • 1 cup frozen cranberries
      • 1 ripe banana
      • 2 Tbsp honey
      • 1 Tbsp coconut oil or ghee
      • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
      • 1 tsp baking soda
      • pinch of sea salt

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320 degrees Fahrenheit) and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
  2. Add all of the ingredients except for the raisins in to a food processor. Process until smooth. Fold in the raisins.
  3. Pour the batter in to the prepared loaf tin, and smooth out evenly.
  4. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted.
  5. Leave to cool in the tin. Slice in to thick pieces, and enjoy with your favorite topping.
  6. Makes 8-10 slices, keeps for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Regan Perry – Maui