Tag: sweet

Banana bread with marzipan and chocolate chips

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

I don’t know how we can possibly continue to pretend that banana bread is a health food when it is clearly CAKE. And this is the purest expression of that. My other banana bread recipe has walnuts and cranberries so it pretends to be health-full. This one has chocolate chips and marzipan… No excuses

  • 180g plain flour
  • 2 heaped tbsp ground almonds
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda 
  • 2 heaped tbsp ground flax seed (see – health!)
  • ½ tsp salt 
  • 120 g dark chocolate chips – darkest possible to offset the sweetness of everything else
  • 120 g marzipan, cut into small cubes (easiest if it’s been in the fridge to harden a bit) 
  • 50 g sunflower seeds
  • 75g unsalted butter, at room temperature 
  • 175g caster sugar 
  • 2 eggs, beaten 
  • 2-3 brown bananas, mashed
  • ½ tsp almond extract
  • Flaked almonds, to sprinkle thickly over the top
  1. Preheat oven to 160C fan (180C)
  2. Line a loaf tin. Try scrunching up the baking paper and then smoothly it out again, it will be much easier to use
  3. Put the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarb, ground flax seed and salt into a bowl 
  4. Stir in the choc chips, marzipan and sunflower seeds
  5. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy
  6. Add one egg at a time and beat well as you go
  7. Stir in the mashed banana and almond extract (don’t beat or it will look unappetisingly split – although it doesn’t affect the final result)
  8. Tip in the flour mixture and stir together until just combined
  9. Coax into the loaf tin, make sure it gets into all the corners
  10. Smooth the top and sprinkle over flaked almonds
  11. Bake for 1 hour then use a skewer to check if its done – if you poke it into the middle of the loaf, it should come out clean. If it’s not, give it a further 15 mins or so

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then lift out using the baking paper and cool on a rack until completely cold. Wrap with foil and leave 24 hours before you eat it.

Biscotti

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

The absolute crunchiest!

  • 250g plain flour
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 50g shelled pistachio nuts
  • 100g whole almonds
  • 100g skinned hazelnuts
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan (180C)
  2. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and half of the beaten eggs
  3. Then add half of the remaining egg mixture until the sticky dough comes together (only add the remaining egg if needed)
  4. Mix in the nuts and lemon zest
  5. Divide the mixture into thirds and, with damp hands, roll into chunky sausage shapes
  6. Place each sausage on baking parchment on separate baking sheets (because they spread a lot) and slightly flatten them
  7. Bake for 30-40 mins until golden, then remove from the oven and leave on one side for 10 mins to cool and firm up
  8. Meanwhile, reduce the oven temperature to 130C fan (150C)
  9. With a serrated knife, cut the baked dough into 1 cm slices and lay them on their side back on the lined baking sheets
  10. Return the biscotti to the oven for 15 mins then flip them over and cook for a further 15-20 mins until golden brown
  11. Leave to cool and store in an airtight jar

Chocolate crispie squares

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Super-crunchy lunchbox specials. A chocolate-y treat which doesn’t actually contain much chocolate per serving

  • 100g milk chocolate
  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 75g rice crispies
  • 50g puffed quinoa
  • 3 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • Pinch salt
  1. Line an 8-inch square tin with parchment paper
  2. Melt the chocolate and put the rice crispies, quinoa, flaxseed and salt in a large bowl
  3. Pour the melted chocolate over the rice crispie mixture and stir gently together until it’s evenly coated
  4. Tip it into the lined tin, press it in evenly and smooth down the top with the back of a spoon
  5. Put in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours
  6. Cut into 16-20 squares and store in a big jar or a tin

The best ever rocky road

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Crunchy, creamy, sticky, salty and sweet. This is just the thing to make for the oops-I-forgot school fete, tween birthday party, or a rainy Saturday afternoon when no-one wants to do anything but everyone wants a treat.

  • 125g salted butter
  • 300g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 3 tbsp golden syrup
  • 120g malted milk biscuits
  • 60g maltesers
  • 60g salted pretzels
  • 100g mini marshmallows
  1. Put the butter, chocolate and golden syrup in a saucepan and melt together over a low heat then set aside to cool a bit
  2. While it’s melting, roughly crush the biscuits, pretzels and maltesers into a combination of crumbs and small pieces (easily to do this separately and then mix them due to different crumbling points!)
  3. Tip the biscuit combo into a bowl and pour over the melted chocolate mixture
  4. Stir together gently and then add the marshmallows and stir again
  5. Tip into a foil-lined tin and flatten out roughly with a spoon
  6. Put in the fridge for a couple of hours or until you want to serve it
  7. Cut into pieces and dust with icing sugar if you’re feeling extra

Hot honey

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Addictively spicy and sweet, this is gorgeous drizzled over cheese, preserved meat, grilled chicken. Or in fact just Greek yoghurt. Makes half a jar

  • 200g honey
  • 3 big red chillis
  • 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
  1. Put all the ingredients into a small saucepan
  2. Slowly bring to the boil – don’t let it erupt all over the stove – and simmer for 3 mins
  3. Pour into a jar, stick the lid on and leave it to cool
  4. Keep it in the fridge and use it on everything

After a week or so you can strain out the bits if you like. Or just leave them in for extra spiciness!

Banana oat muffins

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Perfectly soft and springy, moist and banana-y, not too sweet. The perfect breakfast!

  • 180g plain flour, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 80g rolled oats
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp ground flax seed
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 180ml milk
  • 80ml veg oil
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  1. Pre-heat oven to 190C fan (200C) and line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners
  2. Combine flour, oats, flax seed, sugar, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a medium bowl
  3. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, oil and vanilla, then stir in mashed bananas
  4. Add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined
  5. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cases, filling three quarters full. Sprinkle with some extra oats on each one
  6. Bake for 18-20 mins until golden and springy. Cool on a rack and then store in an airtight container

Chocolate brownies

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A magical concoction gifted by Katherine, whose recipe writing style is quite different from mine! But the results speak for themselves – brilliantly rich, chocolatey brownies – and super-simple to make.

  • 150g dark chocolate
  • 170g butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 150g soft light brown sugar
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Pinch of salt
  1. Pre-heat oven to 170C fan (190C) and line a baking tin
  2. Melt the chocolate and butter, stir together
  3. Whisk eggs for 2 mins until pale and fluffy
  4. Add the sugar and whisk for another 3 mins
  5. Fold in the ground almonds, vanilla, salt, melted butter and chocolate
  6. Scrape into the lined tin
  7. Bake for 40 mins until the top is cracked
  8. Cool in the tin, then turn out and cut into squares
  9. Store in the fridge if you’re not going to eat them straight away

Granola

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Crunchy clusters of oats, nuts and seeds. Not just for breakfast – for general scrunchy munching when you have a snacky moment

  • 200g jumbo rolled oats
  • 100g chopped hazelnuts
  • 50g flaked almond
  • 50g mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower)
  • 2 tbsp ground flax seed
  • 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • ½ tsp flaky salt
  • 120 ml maple syrup
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 large egg white
  • 150g raisins
  • 50g rice crispies
  1. Pre-heat oven to 140C fan (160C)
  2. Combine all ingredients except the egg white, raisins and rice crispies in a large bowl, tossing to coat evenly
  3. Whisk the egg white until frothy then stir into the granola mixture
  4. Spread it in a single layer on a lined baking sheet (not too spread out though, it all needs to be touching so it can form clumps)
  5. Bake for 30 mins and then use a large spatula to turn over sections of the granola carefully
  6. Rotate the pan and bake for a further 20 mins until golden
  7. Once it’s evenly browned and turn the oven off and leave it in there with the door ajar until it’s cool
  8. Once completely cool, break the granola up into spoon-sized pieces. Stir in the raisins and rice crispies
  9. Store in an airtight container

Gluten free chocolate fudge pudding

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A gluten free, slightly-adapted version of a dessert from the brilliant and incredibly talented Ravneet Gill. This has all the rich fudginess of a decadent pudding with none of the dry crumbliness that you often get with GF food. Feeds 2 generously

  • 30g soft light brown sugar
  • 50g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 2 eggs
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 50g greek yoghurt
  • 35ml veg oil
  • 80g gluten free plain flour (and of course with regular flour if you don’t need it to be gf)
  • 15g cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp bicarb
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • A pinch of salt
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan (180C) and stick the kettle on
  2. Mix the brown sugar and chocolate in a small bowl with 50ml boiling water
  3. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds to ensure the chocolate is melted and sugar is dissolved, stirring to combine
  4. Scrape this oozy mixture into the base of an enamel or ceramic baking dish
  5. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and caster sugar until pale and voluminous
  6. Add the yoghurt, oil and 3 tbsp water and continue to whisk until thick and smooth
  7. In a separate bowl, combine the gf flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, baking powder and salt
  8. Then just add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir together into a smooth batter
  9. Pour this gently and evenly over the sauce in your baking dish
  10. Seal the dish with foil and then place it into a larger roasting tin
  11. Pour boiling water into the large roasting tin around your pudding, until it’s about halfway up the side (possibly easier to do this while the double-tin situation is already sitting on the oven shelf)
  12. Transfer into the oven (very carefully!) and bake for 40 mins
  13. Remove from the water bath and leave to cool for 5 mins
  14. Serve with custard or vanilla ice cream. You’re going to be so happy you made this

Peanut, chocolate and date balls

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Once you’ve stopped sniggering about balls, I can confirm that these are lovely, snacky delights for when you want something sweet but wholesome – they are naturally sweet, gluten free and packed with slow release energy ingredients. Makes about 15, depending how chunky you make them

  • 100g dark chocolate
  • 4 tbsp rolled oats
  • 4 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts
  • 200g medjool dates, pitted
  • 3 tbsp natural peanut butter (no added salt or sugar
  • 1 heaped tbsp flax seed powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave – on high for 30 seconds at a time
  2. In a mini food processor, whizz up the oats and peanuts until the peanuts are nubbly and chopped, but not completely disintegrated. Tip into the melted chocolate
  3. Add the dates to the mini food processor and whizz them up too. Then laboriously scrape the resulting goo into the bowl to join the chocolate, oats and peanuts
  4. Add the peanut butter, flax seed powder and salt. Mix well
  5. Roll the thick mixture into 10p-sized balls using your fingers
  6. Put onto a plate and chill in the fridge for at least an hour
  7. Prise them off the plate (or maybe think ahead and line the plate with baking paper to avoid this) and pop them in a jar. Probably best to keep in the fridge to stop them going soft if it’s warm outside