Maca Bowls

This is what we are eating for desert at the moment - And if there is any left over in the back of the fridge (read I hid some from my family) then I have a small bowl for breakfast.
It is cool and smooth with a little bit of chia texture. I find it comforting and sweet (cause we don't eat refined sugars and our taste buds have adjusted) - yay. small victories right?

PEPPERMINT AND DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT ICE CREAM

So browsing the internet for amazing food you don't expect to find this! eeeek!
Clearly Im not the super adventurous type when it comes to food.... Are you?

BUTTERNUT PIE AND THANKSGIVING

 

I've never had pumpkin pie before in my life so I'm really not sure if what I created is anything close to what its supposed to be like. I really wanted to try and make it... so I read loads of recipes and the common thread was pumpkin, sugar, eggs and milk plus cinnamon, spices and a pie crust (duh)!---BUT I wanted it to be minus the dairy and mounds of sugar And I really like butternut so I subbed that for pumpkin. So in the end I think I really created a vegan, dairy free variation of "a kind of pumpkin pie?"...  I suppose it could maybe be called South African Butternut "thanks giving" pie

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE LOAF CAKE

Kind of moist, kind of mousey, a little bit cakey.... low in sugar... what more could you ask for in a cake?

STRAWBERRY FROZEN YOGHURT

How bright and luscious are these strawberries?


I like my frozen yoghurt to taste more like the flavour its supposed to be and less like yoghurt.
So my fruit to yoghurt ratio is around 2 parts fruit to 1 part yoghurt.

COCONUT RICE PUDDING

My husband being British loves rice pudding. I never new what is was before my life with him.
So one night when I was making a new oriental dish and decided to try make some coconut rice to go with it which we ate and placed the remains in the fridge. To my discovery it was even more yummy  the following day. I then thought the heated coconut rice would make a lovely

CHOCOLATE CREME BRULEE

Anyone who knows me or even follows me on facebook or twitter will know that I love 2 things: Coffee and Chocolate!!


So a few weeks ago I received this very cool parcel in the post... I mean who doesn't like receiving parcels (mail is so cool) and when my parcel happened to be a box filled with chocolate I just knew my year was off to a GREAT start!!!

CHRISTMAS COLD AND FRUITY "PUDDING" ICE CREAMS

With the craziness that comes at this time of year - we all need all the help we can get. Every little thing that helps me have a smooth and stress free Christmas is worth having or doing as far as Im concerned :) 

So here is my idea for an easy, prepared, Christmas dessert that can be tailored to your tastes.

THE BEST BAKED APPLES

The Best Baked Apples recipe on www.bettybake.co.za

I know saying the BEST of anything is a tall claim. You see I'm not a baked fruit kind of person. I am more of a cold desserts kind of girl - you know anything containing chocolate, cold and custardy, or mousse, or creme brulee or anything creamy.
The husband is the reason I make anything baked for pudding - like this baked plums or baked cookie dough apple pie.
But this time its all me!  
I keep making these and actually loving them... usually baked fruit is eaten by me slowly and its ok! but not anymore - this dish keeps being made over and over and I just can't stop!
I think I may take some left over baked apples and try to make a baked apple ice cream!!! (but thats if there is any over!)

INGREDIENTS
4-6 organic apples (or as many as you need - 1 per person)
1 large orange (organic so you can use the skin)
ground cinnamon
2 - 4 Tablespoons Jaggery or brown sugar
a handful of Raisins

METHOD
Wash you apples and make sure they can all fit in a baking dish that has a fitting lid.
Core the apples (take out the centers while leaving the rest of the apple whole)
Make a small slit/ incision all the way around the middle of the skin - just piercing the skin (imagine the apple is hoola hooping)
Place all the apples in the dish you are using and stuff raisins down the necks/ center of the apples until 3 quarters fill.
Wash your orange and grate orange rind on the small side of your grater over the apples - let a little go down neck/ center of each apple.
Sprinkle the Jaggery or brown sugar down the necks/center of each apple.
Cut your orange in half and squeeze the juice over all the apples.
Sprinkle cinnamon over each apple
Place the lid on the dish and bake in a moderate oven 180 degrees celcius until soft and juicy
Roughly +/- 30 - 40 min
Enjoy with a drizzle of cream or served with vanilla ice cream

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE ICE CREAM RECIPE

Chocolate Ice cream recipe found on www.bettybake.co.za


We have cut down considerably on dairy but this week I had an incredible dessert craving...
something smooth and chocolatey. I wanted chocolate mousse or pudding or cold chocolate-something!

I have been using coconut milk and frozen bananas as a substitute in baking for milk and dairy but this time I just couldn't do it! I had to have cream and chocolate! So I started by making a chocolate pudding of sorts and then decided to freeze some of it in individual little cups for dessert. It was so yummy that the remainder that was in the fridge had to be turned into ice cream.

BUT I worried that if I put the mix in the ice cream maker that I wouldn't be able to share the ice cream that came out as  the amount was a little and SO YUMMY! (I wanted to gobble it ALL up) So I added a cup of milk and mixed it all together before putting it into the ice cream maker:) It was now a little less chocolatey but still so delicious. So its your choice whether you want a stronger chocolate taste or a bigger batch of ice cream. You could also not add the extra milk and leave it in the fridge - it sets to a gorgeous velvety pudding! soooo good!

INGREDIENTS
250ml cream (1 tub)
300 milk + 200ml later (optional)
1 vanilla pod
3 eggs
100g GREAT TASTING dark chocolate (the best you can afford)
2 tablespoons jaggery / brown sugar
2 tablespoons agave syrup / honey / brown suagr
2 tablespoons xylitol / brown sugar



METHOD
Place the cream and 300ml of milk in a small pot on the stove with a vanilla pod -score and scrape out the seeds into the milk and then place the whole empty pod into the milk as well.
Heat on medium until just before boiling point then take off the stove and stir through. Allow to cool quite a bit till warm (this will allow the vanilla to infuse into the milk)
In a small bowl or a jug beat/mix the eggs with the a whisk (i use a fork) till the yellows are broken and combined with the whites. Add the sweeteners (brown sugar, jaggery, xylitol) and mix.
Slowly add some of the milk to the egg/sweetener mix and stir.
Add all of the egg mix back into to the pot stirring continuously so that the egg doesn't scramble.
Place the pot on a low heat and continue to stir until slightly thickened. It won't be to thicker - just slightly and won't taste like raw egg any more. Turn off and continue to stir.
Remove the vanilla pod.
Break up and place all the chocolate into the milk mix and stir until it is melted and one uniform chocolatey colour.
CHOICE 1) place into individual small bowls and place in the fridge for chocolate puddings or the freezer for tiny ice cream mousse puddings

CHOICE 2) add the additional 200ml milk and place in an ice cream machine and make into ice cream. If you don't have an ice cream machine then place in a metal dish and place in the freezer and take out and beat to break up ice crystals every hour for 3 or 4 times.

Serve and enjoy
YUM

PASSION FRUIT MILK ICE

My Aunt gave me a packet full of passion fruit picked straight from her vines. I couldn't resist making something yummy from these beautiful plump fruit...although eating straight out their shells was delicious too. They sat on my counter for a few days. Then on Saturday afternoon while preparing a potato bake to take off to Brazen's house I thought why not mix up some of the passion fruit juices with some pineapple juice and quickly place it in my ice cream machine for a quick-ish sorbet. 

So what started out being a sorbet - then I threw in some milk at the last minute to make it go further, (which means its no longer a sorbet as sorbet contains no dairy). I'm guessing this is milk ice as it DOESN'T have a custard base so I can't call it ice cream... YIP Milk Ice it is. And its DELICIOUS!

INGREDIENTS
anything between 6 - 18 Passion fruit (Granadillas)
1 & a half cups Pineapple or Apple juice
2 tablespoons honey (vary to taste)
1 cup of milk
2 egg whites (organic if possible) BEATEN to medium peaks

METHOD
Dissolve the honey in a tiny bit of the pineapple or apple juice by heating it slightly in a small saucepan on the stove and stirring until the honey has dissolved. Then place this little bit on the freezer to cool down.
Cut open your passion fruit and scoop out with a spoon into a bowl. If you don't want any pips in your Milk ice then sieve them out now or leave them in its up to you (I left about 2 passion fruts worth of pips in and sieved out the rest)
Now stir it in with the remaining juice and add the juice from the freezer once it has cooled a bit.
Stir in your cold milk from the fridge.
Freeze and mix in your ice cream machine or in a low dish in your freezer.
Add the all ready beaten egg whites.
Stir and freeze or serve immediately
Freezes well in a sealed container (I use CONSOL glass jars - preserving/ Mason jars) for roughly 6 weeks.

*if you don't have an ice cream machine and are freezing it in a dish = then beat the mixture and return to the freezer twice before adding egg whites

Beautiful for this heat we've been having

VANILLA CAKE GLUTEN FREE

Here is the typed out version from the recipe: Vanilla cake in my you tube video. A big thank you to all who have viewed it. I hope it keeps spreading and being viewed - YAY!

It really is a VERY easy and Yummy cake :) Its one of those cakes that you can make in 1 bowl and whip up and place in the oven while supper is being prepared. It is THAT easy!

Scroll to the end of the post to see how yummy is is all finished and filled with cream.

 INGREDIENTS
100 grams Brown sugar
2 eggs
120 grams Gluten Free flour (you can use regular flour - just use a bit less)
1 and a half teaspoons baking powder
1 vanilla pod or a generous teaspoon of vanilla essence
1/4 - half a cup of milk

DOUBLE HONEY ALMOND TRUFFLES

INGREDIENTS
100grams Raw Almonds
6 Tablespoons Honey
2 Tablespoons water
pinch of salt
125ml cream
100grams 85% Dark Chocolate (eg Lindt or other good quality chocolate)
2 tablespoons cocoa for dusting

METHOD
Grill/ roast the almonds in the oven until light golden brown (watch it or they will burn). You can store them in an airtight container for a day or 2 or carry on with the recipe.
Transfer the almonds to a frying pan with 3 - 4 tablespoons of honey, water and a tiny pinch of salt. Simmer and stir and leave on low till nice and thick and darker golden brown. Make sure that you don't burn the honey!
Have a tray ready with buttered foil or  buttered wax paper!
Spoon the honey almond mix onto the buttered foil/paper and allow to cool and go brittle.
In a Bain Marie (eg glass bowl over a pot of simmering water) place cream and chocolate.
Stir until melted and smooth.
Stir in 2 Tablespoons honey
Cut/crush the brittle honeyed almonds with a sharp knife until you have course crumbs and stir into the melted chocolate mixture.

Place in the fridge for a few hours to firm up.
Once firm (I left mine over night but think 2 hours should be fine) scoop out a rounded teaspoon at a time and roll very lightly in your hands and the place in sifted cocoa.
Shake off lightly and place on tray or place and place back in the fridge to firm up
I managed to make 20 small truffles

They were moreish!
Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY SORBET - COOL & HEALTHY

It is beach weather in Cape Town at the moment. REALLY HOT! Get-a-tan-and-burnt-in-20-minutes-flat-kinda-weather. You know the kind where the sea glistens and the beach babes play volley ball and your skin smells of coconut sunblock.
Well I'm not falling for it! I may live 2 minutes walk from the beach but I am opting to sit in the shade of my garden and watch my daughter play in the sprinkler (under the shade of a tree).
Im going to kick back my shoes and eat some sorbet. It maybe less fashionable but I'll have just as much fun with out the sand being in my shoes and every piece of clothing I wore to the beach ;)
BONUS: This Sorbet will be even more delicious (and healthy) than ice cream bought from the kiosk at the beach.

This recipe is so much easier than you think and is filled with fresh fruit (vitamins) :) Its a win-win summer treat!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup fresh apple juice
1 generous cups strawberries (trimmed and cut up)
4 tablespoons honey
1 small lemon
2 x eggs whites beaten (soft to medium peaks)


METHOD
Dissolve the honey in the apple juice by heating it slightly in a small saucepan on the stove.
Puree your strawberries in a blender and then pass through a sieve into the apple juice. This is to get rid of the tiny little seeds.
Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the mixture - tasting as you go. Don't make it to sour.
Freeze and mix in your ice cream machine or in a low dish in your freezer.
Add the all ready beaten egg whites.
Stir and freeze or serve immediately
Freezes well in a sealed container (I use CONSOL glass jars - preserving/ Mason jars) for roughly 6 weeks.

*if you don't have an ice cream machine and are freezing it in a dish = then beat the mixture and return to the freezer twice before adding egg whites

EASY NECTARINE & YOGHURT DESSERT

I always hope to give my family healthy food. Delicious... but healthy. This is one of those times it really works. Fresh fruit full of vitamins and Greek yoghurt filled with dairy. There is a little brown sugar in there but I did mention it was a little.
Lying below the layer of yoghurt could be any fruit your fancy - Adapt this recipe with fruits like fresh soft plums, peaches, cherries or even bananas.
The time that the bowls sit in the fridge allows for the sugar and fruit to make a small amount of syrupy juice that gives it an extra yumminess. (could make a nice breakfast too)

INGREDIENTS
Nectarines (organic if you can get) OR Fruit of your choice
Greek Yoghurt
Organic Brown Sugar

METHOD
Wash your nectarines and then slice up into thin-ish slices. Take ramekins or teacups and line the bottom of the dish with slices of the fruit until you have a nice layer in each.
Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on the fruit.
Cover with the Yoghurt until you can't see any fruit peeking through. *all the fruit must be covered*
Sprinkle a thin layer of brown sugar on top of the yoghurt and place in the fridge for an hour or 2 for the sugar to turn to syrup.

Serve


*if the yoghurt doesn't cover ALL the fruit then the air may cause your fruit to brown

BANANA TARTIN & CREAMY RISOTTO WITH BACON AND JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES

For those of you who remember when I did the READY,STEADY, COOK at The Earthfair Market in Tokai a while back... OK quite a while back. Well I had so much fun and chef Ian and I won (YAY!) Here are the winning recipes so you can make the delicious food at home. I remember it being really delicious  and have made the Risotto several times since then - so you should really try it! I know the Banana Tartin isn't wheat free but you could always leave off the pastry.
 
These recipes are compliments of chef Ian Cawkwell - Thanks Ian.

RISOTTO

INGREDIENTS
100 grams risotto rice 

1 onion chopped 

2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 pack streaky smoked bacon

20 grams sun dried tomatoes 

50 grams Jerusalem artichokes peeled and sliced 

500ml cream
250ml white wine (roughly a glass)
Stock (not sure exactly how much)

100 grams Parmisan cheese (we used pecora sheeps cheese)

METHOD

In a pan sweat off  the onion's, garlic and peeled Jerusalem artichoke.
Chop and add the bacon and continue till cooked. 

Add rice and white wine,keep adding stock until rice is cooked 

Add cream and sun dried tomatoes and reduce for 5 mins 

Now add the cheese 

Dish and serve with a crunchy salad

BANANA TARTIN

INGREDIENTS

50 grms melted butter 

100 grms sugar
3 Bananas
Brandy/Whiskey (optional)
1 Roll ready made Puff Pastry

METHOD

melt together until golden brown add small tot of brandy/whiskey ect 

add 3 sliced bananas 

cover with puff pastry and bake in a preheated oven of 180 degrees celcius for about ten minutes

Turn out and slice
Serve topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream 

Smooth Banana Ice Cream

I love this treat/snack SO much as it is one of the EASIEST things to make, so very cheap on ingredients and easy to adapt to your taste!

I have seen this blogged about as the 1 ingredient ice cream. ... and I suppose it can be called that. I just adore it because it can be given to babies all the way through to adults. AND IT DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY. Think easy for kids on a hot summers day. No need to buy ice cream and fill them with preservatives and glucose syrup when this tastes just as delicious and is twice as healthy. Great for kids parties - especially toddlers. You also can add chocolate chips or peanut butter or nuts and cherries to make it an even more special treat.

INGREDIENTS

1 and a half bananas per person

2 Tablespoons cream per person (optional) - don't add if giving to babies

extras: chocolate, peanut butter, cherries, nuts etc... 

METHOD

Peel your bananas and slice into 1cm chunks.

Place in a glass (freezer proof) bowl or jar and freeze until hard (I freeze mine over night) but I'm guessing 3 hours should be fine.

Then place in a blender jug and blend until smooth - adding cream if you so wish to make it even more decadent and ice cream like but not necessary. 

Once smooth you can stir in any goodies if you wish .. chocolate, nuts etc..

Enjoy straight away or place in the freezer to keep cool until needed

so creamy and delicious - you can also use mangoes instead of bananas :)

enjoy

ORANGE AND HONEY CREME BRULEE

You know when you mean to make something but you end up making something else? Do you? I keep having one of those moments where I go to make my regular vanilla creme brulee (which is very delicious) but every time while making it I think awww just add the honey and orange juice, you can make plain vanilla next time. I have been doing this so much lately I've come to realise that

CHEESE CAKE AND CHERRY, COCONUT TRUFFLES AND SPAR CAPE QUARTER

The SPAR challenge - So I was contacted by SPAR Cape Quarter and they asked me if I would like to do a recipe bake-off of some kind. All I had to do was come up with a recipe or two and they would supply the ingredients. Mmmm now this could be interesting...
The deal was I had to get ALL the ingredients from the Cape Quarter SPAR. Darn it! - there goes Peruvian dark chocolate truffles and any other exotic thing I could think of. Well boy was I wrong! The owners of this particular SPAR decided they needed to have a large variety of imported chocolates *drool* and I decided my husband had to see all this deliciousness with me ;)

So I had to take (drag) him along on a Saturday when he and our daughter could both accompany me. Also I wanted to bounce recipe ideas off the husband (as the recipes were driving me crazy running around my head). Much to his delight - NOT! He kept asking me on the drive there - why is that you need me with again? Its a Saturday you know... Can't you shop on another day? like by yourself? I politely told him I needed him to be with and I just got back blank stares.

AT CAPE QUARTER SPAR....
Walking up and down the many aisles I reached the chocolate aisle - or should I say area. and that was the end of me - blank stare, *drool*.
Husband: Are you talking to yourself?
Me: ignoring husband - you are a pretty chocolate...mmm.
Eventually the husband literally dragged me to another aisle filled with wine and olive oil and shook me...
Me: Yes babe?
Husband: you can't invent a whole recipe out of chocolate you know.
Me: Oh really? watch me!
Husband: you need other things too - like this, this... randomly looking for things, um olive oil!!! (ok he didn't pick olive oil - but he did seem to look at me in a crazy way)


More shopping and aisle walking - clip clop, clip clop..
Husband: why am I here again?
Me: to help me - remember... what do you think? this awesomely huge chocolate - where I take these slabs and just melt them into this giant chocolate so it will "seem" like a recipe? or this other silly recipe of... um milk tart (trying to make it sound yuk and uninteresting)?

The poor man, if you have seen the variety of interesting things they stock - like marmalades from Great Britain and olive oils from various places in the world - you understand how I drove him crazy that day. and so the shopping proceeded:
Me: look babe at the this Marmalade it's from Great Britain.
Husband: Yes honey
Me: and this olive oil it's from Spain
and so the shopping trip went...
Me: look at this.. and that ..and this..
Husband: Yes sweetie (blank stare)
But near the end of the shopping trip when I had eventually talked myself (with the husbands help) out of getting 10 slabs of imported chocolate at R37 a slab -the husband just couldn't understand that spending R370 on 600grams of chocolate (yes they are only 60grams a slab) wasn't decadent AT ALL!!!
I did buy him a cheese cake from the bakery and some camembert cheese and biscuits. He walked out of there a happy man - and my shopping was complete. And Yes I did get some chocolate ;)

*And just so you know - they do stock local ingredients too but clearly I LOVE chocolate!

Lemon Zest Baked Cheese Cake

 

I got the base from the Planet Organic Cookbook by Renee Elliott and Eric Treuille. Cheese cake filling is all mine :)


INGREDIENTS FOR BASE:
150grams Almonds (blend in a processor/electric blender until fine-ish like course sugar)
4 rounded Tablespoons butter at room Temperature
4 Tablespoons Brown organic Sugar (you can use whatever sugar you have - just not icing sugar)
tiny bit of salt

METHOD FOR BASE:
Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix with an electric mixer (or by hand) until nicely combined.  Press into a buttered and double lined cake tin and bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celcius for 10 -15 minutes. Or until very pale brown. Take out and let stand while you prepare the filling.

INGREDIENTS FOR CHEESE CAKE FILLING:
2 x 250gram cream cheese
250ml cream
4 eggs
1-2 Lemons = of which you will need 4 Tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Bulgarian Yoghurt

METHOD FOR CHEESE CAKE FILLING

Beat together the cream cheese and cream until smooth. Scrap down the sides of the bowl every now and then to incorporate. Beating slowly add one egg at a time on slow. Add the Lemon juice and lemon zest and beat in. Add the sugar and beat again. Now add the yoghurt and beat in. Pour onto the prepared base and place on the center shelf of a preheated oven at 180 degrees celcius. Bake for +/- 50 min until the edges have puffed up and started to golden and the center is still a little wobbly. Open the oven and take the cheese cake out and let some heat escape for a minute then place the cheese cake to cool in the oven with the door closed for 30 - 40min. Then place the cheese cake in the fridge for 3 hours or over night.
Garnish as you desire and serve. Best cut with a wet sharp knife.

Cherry and Coconut Truffles

INGREDIENTS
50grams Raw almonds
7 fresh Dates (pips removed)
a generous handful of Glace Cherries (roughly 17) +/- 100grams
50g 70% dark Chocolate (I used Lindt) (roughly chopped)
1/2 cup fine coconut
70- 100grams dark chocolate (or chocolate of your choice)
2 teaspoons sunflower oil
OPTIONAL a few marachino cherries on stalks

METHOD
Grind the almonds until fine in a blender and then take out and set aside.
Place dates in the blender and blend slightly and then add the glace cherries. Blend a bit more and then add the dark chocolate and blend until  very well mixed, chopped and kind of smooth. Add the ground almonds and mix again. Now add the coconut little by little until you reach a pliable consistency. Then roll into balls or mold around marachino cherries.
Melt the chocolate and oil in a baine marie or a glass bowl balanced on top of a pot with a little water boiling below (the glass bowl mustn't touch the water below). Stir until melted. Dip the rolled cherry and coconut balls in the chocolate and spoon over more melted chocolate with a spoon and then place on waxed paper to set. There will be a little melted chocolate left over but if you use less you wan't be able to spoon the chocolate over the balls - so spread the left over chocolate on a separate piece of wax paper and sprinkle with cherries, almonds or raisins or water you fancy in your chocolate and leave to set - break into pieces and enjoy.

Enjoy your lovely cherry and coconut truffles or wrap up and package in a pretty box to make a beautiful and delicious gift.

 
 
p.s placed in the Friday Link up at http://www.whipperberry.com/