Apple Berry Pops

on

appleberrypopsIMG_8571wm

Like all my pop recipes, this is incredibly easy to make. Just juice the apples and add as much or as little raspberries as you wish.

It’s a healthy, raw, delicious dairy free snack, dessert or even breakfast for kids (or adults).

 

YOU NEED

organic apples

organic raspberries to taste

 

YOU DO

Juice the apples and blend as many or little raspberries as you would like through the apple juice.

Pour the mixture into small cupcake baking cups. Place the cups onto a tray and put them into the freezer. Once they are half frozen place icy pole sticks into them and leave them to finish setting.

 

Time: 5 minutes plus freezing time.

Notes: Juicing apples are a more economical way to purchase organic apples for recipes like this.

 

Add a few raspberries at a time and taste the mixture as you go. The more raspberries you add, the more tart the mixture will become. You want to end up with a nice balance of sweet and tart.

Choc Banana Soft Serve

on

chocbananaIMG_8249wm

Gorgeous snack, sweet treat or even breakfast for kids of all ages. I always have over ripe frozen bananas in my freezer these days and this is why.

 

YOU NEED

1 large ripe banana

2 teaspoons of raw cacao

 

YOU DO

Peel the banana, cut it into chunky slices, place it in a plastic container and put it in the freezer.

Once it’s frozen, blend with the cacao until it’s smooth.

Serve immediately.

 

Yields: 1 serve

Time: 5 minutes. Plus the freezing time.

Citrus Scented Date Rolls

on

IMG_5244compr

I keep seeing these at my grocers & the supermarket, so I decided to give them a go and they are SO easy.

They would be perfect in school lunch boxes or for a quick easy mid morning snack at work or home. They would even be a lovely sweet finish at a dinner party, served along with coffee.

I used medjool dates so they blended beautifully and they blended in seconds. I never pass up a chance to add a bit of citrus zing to a dish though too so added some orange zest. This is completely optional.

 

YOU NEED

1 large organic orange

1 cup of pitted medjool dates

¼ cup of desiccated coconut

 

YOU DO

Grate the peel of the orange with a citrus zester.  Put the rest of the orange aside for another use.

Blend the dates & zest together until you get your desired texture. I blended mine until it was smooth.

Get a tablespoon of mixture and roll it into a ball and then into a log shape. Repeat until all the mixture has been shaped.

Once all the date mixture is shaped into logs, roll the logs in the coconut.

Serve straight away or refrigerate in an air tight container in the fridge.

 

Yields: 16 small date rolls

Time: 10 minutes.

Notes: My medjool dates were organic and so soft and caramel like. If you use dates that are not quite as pliable and soft you may need to add a small amount of water to get them to blend.

Lemon zest instead of orange zest would be a gorgeous addition too. You could also roll them in sesame seeds, pistachios or any other nut instead of coconut. Just make sure any rolled in nuts don’t go into lunch boxes as schools tend to be nut free zones these days:)

IMG_5240compre

Apricot & Filo Tart with Pistachios & a Mandarin Glaze

on

 

YOU NEED

I sheet of filo pastry, cut into 4 squares that measure approximately 15cm by 15cm oil to brush the pastry with (I used rice bran oil) 1 tablespoon of brown sugar

¼ cup of unsalted, roughly chopped pistachios

1 cup of apricots, halved and the stones removed

1 tablespoon of mandarin marmalade

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

1 teaspoon of white sugar

squeeze of lemon juice

 

YOU DO

Preheat your oven to 175c.

Grease a single serve pie dish and set aside.

Lay one of your filo squares onto the bench and brush it with a little rice bran oil. Then sprinkle some brown sugar and pistachios evenly across the top. Lay the next square directly on top so the 2 squares fit together perfectly and also brush it with a little oil. Cover with a sprinkle of brown sugar and pistachios. Repeat this until you have done all 4 filo sheets, then place them into your pie dish to form a pastry shell and set it aside

Place the apricots, marmalade, lemon juice and vanilla essence into a bowl and mix well to combine. Place all ingredients into your pie dish and into the oven for about 20 – 25 minutes.

After about 15 minutes gently remove the pie from the pie dish and place it back in the oven so the underneath and sides of the pasty can colour.

Near the end of the cooking time, sprinkle the sugar over the apricots and increase the oven temp to 200c for 5 minutes or so to caramelise the top of the apricots.

Serve with your favourite dairy free ice-cream and another sprinkle of crushed pistachios too if you wish.

 

Serves: Serves 1 but there is plenty for 2!

Time: About 30-35 minutes. The cooking time will vary depending on your oven.

Notes: I happened to have some “thick filo” in the freezer so used that up for this but I usually use Borgs brand filo which is available in Coles and is dairy and palm oil free.

I use mandarin marmalade, but if you don’t have mandarin just use what you do have.

Chocolate Mandarin Pudding

on

I’m a bit into mandarins at the moment so purchased a massive bag of them the other day to play with some recipe ideas. Here is my 1st effort! It turned out just as I had imagined so I am thrilled:)

…………It is incredibly simple. So simple in fact that I was tempted to keep playing with it, but sometimes “less is best” and this is a perfect example of that old adage. I didn’t use a lot of mandarin but its notes still shine through in the pudding.

And it’s **full** of flavour.

 

YOU NEED

1 x 300gram pack of silken tofu (I use Blue Lotus organic silken tofu)

2 x mandarins

4 tablespoons of cocoa (a really good quality one will make a difference such as Dutch Cocoa but if you don’t have that don’t stress and just use what you have)

3 tablespoons agave syrup (if you do not have agave syrup use icing sugar to taste)

 

YOU DO

##GENTLY## grate the skin of the mandarins with a citrus zester (I highly recommend investing in one of these if you like a lot of recipes that use fruit zest. I have never had the same results with a normal grater for jobs like this. I end up with large chunks and pith which is not pleasant. Doing this with a zester will impart the flavour of the mandarin without chunks.)

Blend the zest and the rest of the ingredients together till smooth.

Refrigerate for a few hours

 

Servings: 2 -3

Time: Takes me about 5 minutes to make this one.

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Barley Cupcakes w/ Lemon Icing

on

I really like how these cupcakes turned out. They have a similar texture to banana cake. Using the barley flour and the almond milk gave them a really moist, earthy flavour and texture.

YOU NEED

1 tablespoon of white vinegar

1 1/2 cups of dairy free milk. (I used almond milk)

2 cups of organic brown sugar

2 1/4 cups of barley flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 a cup of rice bran oil

 

YOU DO

Throw all the ingredients into a large bowl. Stir to combine and whisk.

Pour into cupcake paper lined muffin trays.

Bake on 180c for approximately 20 mins. (This may be slightly less or more depending on the strength of your oven)

Cool on wire racks. (This is important as they need to cool properly).

Ice with icing sugar. # I didn’t measure the icing. I just started with a tablespoon of *fresh* lemon juice and added icing sugar until I achieved a thick but still soft texture.

 

Servings: 12

Time: 35 minutes

Freezing: I have not frozen these but someone made them and reported back that they are great to freeze so give it a shot!)

Chai Spiced Poached Pears

on

YOU NEED (for the poached pears)

4 small pears, peeled. I leave the core in and stem on. 200 grams of brown sugar (I actually used an organic coconut sugar but brown sugar is fine) 1.5 litres of water 3 cardamom pods 1 cinnamon stick 4 cloves 3 star anise

 

YOU DO

Put all the ingredients into a small pot except for the pears and bring to the boil. Once boiled turn the temperature down so that the mixture is barely simmering. It should look like there is no movement in the water.

Place the pears in the pot. Cover with a cartouche or be lazy like I was and just carefully balance the top from another smaller pot on top of the pears to keep them submerged in the liquid.

Poach until the pears are cooked through. Test by using a bamboo skewer. You are looking for next to no resistance from the pear when you pierce it with the skewer.

YOU NEED (for the syrup)

200 grams of  brown sugar 200ml of water 3 cardamom pods 1 cinnamon stick 4 cloves 3 star anise

YOU DO

Place all ingredients in a small pot, stir to combine, bring to the boil then turn down the heat till a slow simmer for approx 5-10 mins.

Once all the sugar has dissolved, the mixture no longer looks watery, takes on a gloss and looks syrupy. Turn the heat off.

Place syrup and pears onto serving plates and serve immediately.

*Be lovely with coconut yoghurt.

 

Servings:  4

Time:  Approximately 20 minutes

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Notes: Instead of sugar you can use pure maple syrup or agave

Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse

on

 

This is the perfect snack…… or perfect for dessert!

You absolutely cannot tell that there is avocado in this. It’s rich, chocolate velvet and is absolutely delicious.

It’s a dessert I made for my 3 year old every sometimes. As long as he doesn’t see the avocado go in, all is fine.

 

YOU NEED

1/2 a large avocado

1/4 cup of pure maple natural syrup

1 tablespoon of peanut butter (I use an organic peanut butter that contains only peanuts. No oil, salt and sugar)

1-2 teaspoons of dairy free cocoa (Just add this slowly until you get a lovely rich colour ..enough to forget that you are eating avocado)

 

YOU DO

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth.

Sieve some good quality cocoa over the top

 

Servings:  2 children or 1 adult

Time:  5 minutes

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Notes: Instead of sugar you can use pure maple syrup or agave

Dark Chocolate & Almond Petit Fours

on

As an apprentice chef I had to make thousands of petit fours at the restaurant I trained in. I remember dreaming about petit fours, I made so many. We used ganache as a base for many of them but it was cream based, so I have been keen ever since to see if I can do a plant based version.

I’m really happy with the outcome of these. I will play with other quantities and flavours though and share the results as I do.

 

YOU NEED

80 ml of plant milk (I used Bonsoy because of its creamy texture but plan to use almond milk next time for these for the same reason and also to enrich the almond flavour)

200 grams of Whittaker’s “Dark Almond” (You can get Whittaker’s at Safeway and BIG W)

200 grams of Whittaker’s brand “Dark Ghana”(Also found at the supermarket. You often find it on special at 2 for $5 which is when I buy it)

dairy free cocoa for dusting

 

YOU DO

Roughly chop the Dark Ghana chocolate. Place it in a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave 30 secs at a time, stirring each time, until melted. Put bowl aside.

Roughly chop the Dark Almond chocolate into really small pieces.

Place the milk in a small pan or pot and bring to the boil. Turn off the flame.

Immediately add the Dark Almond chocolate pieces to the milk and stir till completely melted and combined. Once melted place into a bowl and put into the fridge and allow it to cool.

Once cooled take small spoonfuls of chocolate out of the bowl and roll in the palm of your hand into a ball until you have 15 balls the same size. Place balls on a plate and place back in the fridge to chill.

Once chilled, place a sheet of baking paper on a tray. Using a spoon dip each ball, 1 at a time into the melted chocolate. Using the spoon, turn the ball till covered and place carefully onto the baking paper.

Once all balls are coated in chocolate, place them in the fridge till set hard.

Once set, shake a sieve with cocoa over the chocolates and serve.

Enjoy.

 

Servings:  Makes 15 balls

Time:  Takes about 15 minutes to make and about 20 minutes of chilling time.

Freezing: I have never frozen these.

Notes:  Once they are ready, they are best to leave to get to room temperature. That way the inside is soft.

If you use different milk or chocolate you may get a different result.

Pine Lime Granita

on

YOU NEED

350ml of fresh pineapple juice

50ml of fresh lime juice

4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup

 

YOU DO

Whisk all ingredients together.

Pour the mixture into a chilled tray and place it into the freezer onto a flat surface

After an hour, use a fork to scrape the edges of the mixture that have started icing up and push it into the centre of the tray. Continue doing this every 20-30 minutes until all the mixture is completely flaked.

Serve in chilled glasses.

 

Serves: Serves 2

Time: Prep time is only about 10 minutes. Then simply allow for the freezing process.

Freeze: YUP

Notes: If you are not serving your granita straight away just place it into an air tight container in your freezer until you want to use it.