Coconut, Lime and Courgette Cakes

These light summery cakes are packed full of zesty lime and cooling coconut flavours… I have made a cream cheese icing but you could use icing sugar and lime zest or coconut icing instead.

2 free range eggs
2 floz / 1/4 cup of maple syrup (you could use honey, agave nectar or 100g of sugar)
zest of 1 small lime
200g finely grated courgette (zucchini)
150g white spelt flour (you could use rice flour or plain flour)
50g desiccated coconut
2tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the Icing:
150g cream cheese (you could use ricotta)
juice of half a lime
2 tbs honey
3 tbsp desiccated coconut

Whisk the eggs until they are light and fluffy and doubled in size, then whisk  in the maple syrup, followed by the courgette and lime.

Next fold in the flour, coconut, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Once all combined transfer into muffin or cupcake tins and bake at 180c for 25-30mins.

(I used muffin cases when I made these, but because the mixture is low in fat it tends to stick to the paper cases… I would recommend putting them straight into greased tins)

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Chocolate Chip (& Carrot) Muffins

These gluten and dairy free cakes are packed full of chocolate chunks and have a sweet and light texture thanks to the addition of grated carrot.

3 eggs
160g demerara sugar
250g finely grated carrot
2tbs coffee
120g rice flour
50g ground almonds
40g cocoa powder
2tsp baking powder
100g chopped dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180c and line a 12 muffin tray with paper cases.

Using an electric whisk, beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until really pale and fluffy. You want the mixture to be voluminous and airy (try and beat them for about 5mins)

Next whisk in the finely grated carrot, coffee, ground almonds, cocoa powder and baking powder until well combined. Next fold in the chocolate chunks.

Spoon the mixture into 12 muffin cases and place the tray in the oven for around 25-30mins.

 

Chilled Carrot and Coconut Cake

This cake is really light and refreshing as well as being made from totally wholesome ingredients. It is best served chilled because of the coconut icing. The sugar is replaced by maple syrup, plain flour by spelt flour and the butter by coconut oil.

The biggest difference with this cake is the icing…. made purely from coconut milk and a little honey. You will need to purchase a full fat variety of coconut milk and ensure that the can has been chilled for at least a couple of hours in the fridge so that the milk separates. It is this solid part (that floats to the top of the tin) that is used for the icing.

1/2 cup (4 floz) of coconut oil (melted)
5/8 cup (5 floz) of maple syrup
3 eggs
140g raw carrots grated (the texture of the cake will be lighter if the carrot is crated on the finest setting)
175g white spelt flour (I used this one)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

2 tins of full fat coconut milk (chilled and separated)
1 tablespoon of honey

In a bowl whisk the coconut oil and maple syrup until you have a thick mixture that looks like caramel. Add the eggs and whisk a little more. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the centre and add your liquid mixture – folding gently until combined.

Pour mixture (it will be quite sloppy!) into a baking dish – I used a Pyrex lasagna dish. Place in the oven for at 180c for around 30 – 40 mins. The cake will be ready when a knife comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely.

Meanwhile take the coconut milk out of the fridge. You want to use the hard solid part of the milk that should be floating on top (you can use the left over liquid as a refreshing drink or use it in curries or to cook rice in) Whisk the solid coconut milk until it is smooth and add the honey. Then pour this mixture over the cake. Keep the cake in the fridge and serve chilled.

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

This cake makes a lovely breakfast treat. It tastes more like a scone than a cake, it is made from wholemeal flour and is not too sweet…

300g wholemeal pastry flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
80g brown sugar
2 eggs
250ml (1 cup) buttermilk
60g melted coconut oil (or you can use melted butter)
150g blueberries
a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar

Grease and flour a baking tin (I used a lasagna dish which works well) Preheat the oven to 180c.

Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs until they are pale and fluffy then add the buttermilk and butter. Pour these into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Try not to over mix, it will look more like a bread dough as supposed to a normal sponge mix.

Place into tin and lightly push to the edges. Scatter the blueberries over the top of the mix and then sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bake in the oven for around 25mins or until a knife comes out clean.

Jammy Shortbread Biscuits

Valentine's Day shortbread

100g butter
100g caster sugar
200g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
a few drops of vanilla extract
approx 200g strawberry jam

Preheat the oven to 180c then line and grease a baking tin (I used a 30 x 20cm one)

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the flour and baking powder and bring together then add the egg and vanilla extract. Knead the mixture together until you get a smooth dough, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for around 30mins.

Divide the dough in half and roll out one half to the size of the baking sheet (it will be quite thin, probably around 3mm) Place it in the tray and spread the jam over the surface. Then roll out the other half and place over the top.

Bake in the oven for around 15-20mins until it starts to go golden around the edges. Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 5mins. You can use pastry cutters to cut out shapes or use a knife to cut it into squares. They make sweet Valentine’s Day presents too!

These keep well in a biscuit tin for 3-4 days.

Apricot Sweets

 

These are really easy to make, they are healthy and they look pretty too. All the sweetness comes from the dried apricots but if you want you can add a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar to the mixture to make them that little bit sweeter. I also made a batch using organic apricots too – they are not quite so pretty but taste just as yummy.

200g dried apricots
50g desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
rind of 1 lemon

Blitz the apricots in a blender or food processor until you have a smooth paste. Transfer this to a small bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Once combined roll into small balls (about the size of walnuts) and cover in more desiccated coconut. Then keep in fridge and served chilled.

 

Apricot sweets using organic dried apricots