Smash Cakes

Chocolate Beetroot cake. Gluten free

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:25:11 -0400

Some things just go together, beetroot and chocolate is one of those things. It is seriously delicious, fudgy, rich and an amazing color (goodbye red velvet cake and your whole bottle of coloring!)

Head on over to Mamasstyle blog to get my recipe!

Photo

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:19:13 -0400

Neighborhood Apples

Flower Shower

Daily Bounty: Radish, feijoas, figs, tomatoes and persimmon

Hot Chocolate powder. Gluten free

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:31:18 -0400

Oh Auckland weather you can be so fickle!

All of a sudden winter is here, we have had a glorious summer and now it is time to get out your winter coats, start wearing that extra layer and make yourself some hot cocoa mix to get you thru the cooler months.

I love the cooler months, rugging up before stepping out on a wild wet day, wholesome winter foods, sleeping to the sound of rain. I love it all.

This recipe is simple, dark chocolate, cocoa, sugar, vanilla powder and corn starch. Have you ever read what goes in to some commercial hot chocolate powders? Thickeners, loads of sugars and sweeteners, hydrogenated coconut oil, palm oil, gelatin, artificial flavors (?), sodium…..I do not want a hot cup of that!

The full recipe is below

125 grams dark chocolate chips

1 cup cocoa powder

1 cup raw sugar

3/4 cup caster sugar

2 Tbsp vanilla powder

1 Tbsp corn starch

Place all the ingredients into a food processor, pulse until combined and all the chocolate chips are blended thru.

Place the hot chocolate powder into a air tight container, store in a dark cupboard for 1 month.

Place 1 Tbsp of the powder into a cup, pour over boiling water and some milk.

My marshmallow thief!

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts. Gluten free

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 04:45:02 -0400

A while back I posted a hole (pun) heap of doughnut recipes for some test baking I did for a friend.

There was chocolate hazelnut, honey and pistachio, espresso and dark chocolate all of them baked not fried (kinda healthy?). The last doughnuts were cinnamon sugar, fried.

Cinnamon sugar doughnuts are the one thing that torment me (and most other coeliac’s) the most, they are not readily available in stores, at every market or fair or car boot sale or (even) farmers market their cinnamon sugar scent wafts past me. Its distressing.

So I decided to do something about it, the result, amazing!

This post is a part of ‘Our growing edge’ a monthly blogging event created by Bunny. Eats. Design, check out the info here.

This month is hosted by ‘Keeping up with the Holsby’s’ head over to check it out!

The recipe is below! X

Cinnamon sugar doughnuts

Adapted from Sweetsugarbean

2 Eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 tapioca starch
1/2 cup potato flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
3 heaped tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon

1.5 lt canola oil for frying.

In a large bowl beat the eggs, sugar, cream and milk.
In a separate bowl sift the remaining dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, using a wooden spoon fold the ingredients together to form a soft dough.
Pat the dough onto a floured board and roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into doughnut shapes.
In a large pot, pour the oil, heat to 370F.
Drop the doughnuts into the oil carefully, about 3 at a time. CAREFULLY! Flip the doughnuts after a few minutes or when golden.
Place on a paper towel on a baking tray, toss the doughnuts you want to eat in cinnamon and sugar.
These freeze really well, don’t sugar coat the ones your freezing!

Almond apricot biscotti. Gluten free

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 01:11:19 -0400

New post up on Mama’s style blog, almond apricot biscotti.

This is more than a little moreish, we devoured the whole lot in a matter of days! I love how versatile this recipe is too, swap out the ingredients as you like, cranberry and pistachio, triple chocolate, mixed fruit and cinnamon? The world is your oyster!

one egg chocolate cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Gluten free

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:59:54 -0400

The Edmonds cookbook, a staple in every New Zealand kitchen. First published in 1907 it boasted 50 pages of ‘economical everyday recipes and cooking hints’.

Photo credit: Kete Christchurch

Over the last month or so I’ve been adapting some recipes. I’m not about to go on some crazy mission to adapt the whole book, just the ones that I like, the ones that evoke a childhood memory and take me back in time.

This chocolate cake was super easy, one pot one spoon, gotta love those basic recipes. At the last minute I threw in some thread coconut to add a bit of texture and then iced it with chocolate cream cheese frosting. The secret hint is to ice the cake while hot, the cake absorbs some if the frosting (which tastes like moose, it’s so good)!

The recipe is below, enjoy! X

One egg chocolate cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting

50g butter
1 Tbsp golden syrup
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 Tbsp potato starch
1/8 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup thread coconut

Preheat your oven to 180C, prepare a bundt tin by spraying with cooking oil and coating with rice flour.

Melt the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan. Take off the heat and add the sugar and sifted cocoa powder, beat in the egg.
In a separate bowl sift the flours and baking powder together.
In a small bowl dissolve the baking soda into the milk.
Fold the flour mixture followed by the milk mixture into the egg mixture.
Lastly fold in the coconut and stir until just combined.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.

Frosting

25g dark cooking chocolate
50g cream cheese
1/2 icing sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
milk (approx 2 Tbsp)

Melt the chocolate (I use the double boiler technique).
Place the melted chocolate and the cream cheese into the bowl of your stand mixer, beat on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides.
Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder together.
Add the sugar mixture to the cream cheese, add enough milk to get the right consistency. The frosting should be spreadable not runny.

Once the cake is removed from the oven allow it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Using a skewer, poke holes along the top of the cake before spreading the icing on top.

Rocky Road. Gluten free

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 19:11:22 -0400

Strawberry marshmallow and pistachio rocky road.

Oh how many uses for homemade strawberry marshmallow are there?

I made this sweet little treat last week and there’s NONE left, it was so yummy! It was also a since to make.

Simple melt 500 grams of dark chocolate over a double boiler, add your chosen extras (I had 1 1/2 cup of chopped up marshmallow and 100 grams of salted pistachio nuts), stir to combine then pour into a baking tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle over coconut (optional). Place the tray in a cool area until set, chop once set.

Banana cake with cream cheese frosting, blueberries and coconut. Gluten free

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 02:54:12 -0400

Another recipe up on the fabulous mamas style blog!

This is a old classic, the banana cake, this time with cream cheese frosting, blueberries and coconut. I used orange zest and juice in the frosting, it was amazing!

You can find the recipe HERE!

Strawberry Marshmallow

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 20:33:04 -0400

Do you remember my valentines post?

I made these, Strawberry marshmallow smores! And they were delicious, I never did share the marshmallow recipe so i thought I’d share it now. I know I still have one more doughnut recipe to share, but to be honest im a little over doughnuts(!)

This marshmallow is light and sweet, my favorite thing about it is the recipe calls for REAL marshmallow, no artificial color or flavor here!

Head over to Best Friends for Frosting for the recipe

Baked chocolate espresso doughnuts. Gluten free

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:20:12 -0500

Baked chocolate espresso doughnuts.

This is going to be a short and sweet post. I’m rushing out the door to cuddle a friends new baby…….New baby cuddles beats blog post any day!

Recipe is below! X

Baked espresso doughnuts

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup corn flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 Tablespoon potato starch
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon espresso powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Heat oven to 180C, coat a doughnut tray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl whisk the first 8 ingredients (the dry ingredients) together.
In a small bowl whisk the remaining ingredients together.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry and whisk until smooth.
Spoon the batter into a piping bag with a large round nozzle attached, squeeze the batter into the doughnut pan filling 2/3 full. (This can be done with a ziplock bag with a corner cut off or with two teaspoons)
Bake for 10-12 minutes for large doughnuts and 8-10 for small.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling tray.

Glaze

1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 tablespoon hot water
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
1-2 Tablespoons milk

Dissolve the espresso powder in the hot water. Add the icing sugar and stir until smooth. Add milk to get the right consistently.
Dip cooled doughnuts in the glaze, allow to set on a cooling tray.

Chocolate hazelnut doughnuts. Gluten free

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 03:58:00 -0500

Gluten free Chocolate hazelnut doughnuts. Wait for it…only three ingredients! Yes three! Head over to mamas style blog to get the recipe.

These babies will blow your mind!

Buckwheat Honey doughnuts with honey glaze and pistachios. Gluten free

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:36:00 -0500

Buckwheat Honey doughnuts with honey glaze and pistachios.

I was meaning to post these recipes much earlier but life got in the way, its been a busy month!
Gluten free of course and not lacking in flavor one bit, I chose to use a rice/buckwheat flour blend for these. I thought the earthyness of buckwheat would be softened by the sweet honey, it turned out to be right!

My toddler LOVED the bite sized doughnuts, the perfect size for his itty bitty hands. As I ended up with a mountain of doughnuts I froze the minis as lunch box snacks, they’ve been a life saver this week!

Oh also these are baked not fried!

The recipe is below, enjoy!

Buckwheat Honey and Pistachio Donuts

1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 Tablespoons potato starch
2 Tablespoons corn flour
6 Tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons honey
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 Tablespoon melted butter

Pre-heat your oven to 180 C. Spray your doughnut tray with rice bran oil.
In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients, whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until just combined.
Use a piping bag with a large hole tip, fill the bag with the batter and pipe into your doughnut tray.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until doughnuts spring back when lightly touched.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.
You can glaze the doughnuts while a little warm or cold.

Honey glaze
1 Tablespoon melted honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
1-11/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all the ingredients, stir to combine. You may need extra liquid or powder to get the right consistency.
Dip the doughnuts in the glaze then into chopped pistachios.

Holy Moly........let this gluten free doughnut feast begin!

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 18:36:08 -0500

It’s amazing that I’m not the size of a house, especially after the doughnut filled week I have had!

It all started last week when a friend of mine asked me to do some test baking for a cafe he’s re-branding/designing/taking over. Its a really exciting project that I feel quite close to, and am lucky enough to get some involvement in (I’m learning loads) so I was more than happy to jump on board…….Plus it meant I got to bake and eat doughnuts…..

I think he was only expecting one or two flavors, but I (as per usual) got really excited about all the flavor combinations. So I ended up making four! Three of which were baked and one was fried.

First there’s the classic cinnamon and sugar

Next to that there’s chocolate with espresso glaze

Honey and pistachio

And last but not least chocolate hazelnut

All the doughs were completely different so I learnt a lot about doughnut making and flour combinations, it was a lot of fun!

Over the next week I’ll post the different recipes, I rarely get more than 10 minutes at my laptop at a time so your going to have to wait!

Holy moly….I’m in gluten free doughnut...

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:22:04 -0500

Holy moly….I’m in gluten free doughnut heaven!
Chocolate hazelnut, honey and pistachio, dark chocolate and espresso and good old cinnamon sugar…….recipes will be up soon!

Valentines day cookies. Gluten free.

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 02:23:00 -0500

Fluffy strawberry marshmallow, sandwiched between dark chocolate and almond shortbread.

We don’t ‘do’ valentines per say, but this year I couldn’t help myself. For the first time I was inspired to make something pink and pretty, and I will be the first to admit that I LOVED it!

AND they were delicious, the marshmallow was amazing, I used real strawberries to get the colour and the flavor.

The recipe for the shortbread is below, as for the marshmallow you will have to wait a few weeks as I’ll be posting it on Best Friends For Frosting.

Recipe adapted from the sweet adventures of sugarbelle

Almond sugar cookies

225g (2 sticks) of butter
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
1 egg
3 Teaspoons almond essence
2 cups gluten free flour blend
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Cream the butter and sugar together, add the beaten egg and essence, mix to combine.
In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt, add the almond meal and stir to combine.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 1 Tablespoon at a time.
You can tell when the dough is ready as it will form a ‘ball’ around the paddle.
You may need a little extra flour or a dash of water to get the right texture.

Place the dough in a airtight container and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide the dough in half.
Roll out the dough (1cm thick) between two sheets of baking paper. Place into the refrigerator for half an hour.
Cut the dough into desired shapes and bake at 180 for 10 minutes.

Tip: I find the cookies cook better if they are place in the freezer for 20 minutes before baking. This freezes the butter, so when it hits the hot oven the butter molecules react quickly releasing air, and THAT my friends is how you get buttery light shortbread.

Tip: If you don’t have almond meal, try coconut flour!

Chocolate blueberry mud cake with marscapone cream frosting. Gluten free.

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:30:00 -0500

Be careful, this cake will defeat you. I pride myself in the fact that when it comes to cake, for a skinny girl I cant out eat ANYONE!

Then about half way thru my slice I needed a break and a big glass of water!

The cake is moist and rich, the frosting is sweet and smooth and the blueberries give a perfect tough of tart freshness.

So go make the most of the last of the summer berries, we are nearly in Autumn!!

Inspired by: Call me cupcake

Cake recipe adapted from: A cooks book of decadence

Chocolate mud cake

250 g butter, cubed

250 g dark chocolate, chopped

¾ cup boiling water

2 ½ cups flour

½ cup cocoa powder

¾ tsp baking soda

2 ¼ cups brown sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp oil

½ cup yogurt

Preheat your oven to 160 C(315 F)

Prepare two 22cm cake tins by lining with baking paper.

Place the butter, chocolate and water into a saucepan over a low heat, stir until melted, take off the heat.

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda into a large bowl. Stir into the sugar.

Add the combined egg, oil and yogurt, slowly stir in the melted butter mixture. Stir until smooth.

Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for 1 hr 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the over when cooked, Leave in the tin until completely cool, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Mascarpone cream frosting

250g Mascarpone cheese

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 cup heavy cream

Whip the mascarpone, cocoa and powdered sugar until creamy. Slowly add the heavy cream and whip until desired consistency.

Decorate with berries

Orange and almond plum cake. Gluten free.

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:54:45 -0500

Last week my family and I had a lovely time house sitting on the east coast of New Zealand for my good friend Delissimon, we had a great little holiday, being lazy and catching up on family time!

One of my high lights was raiding the plum ad citrus trees for this delicious cake. I got the recipe from Delissimon’s cookbook-made with love, I used orange instead of lemons and turned it into a upside down fruit cake. Between 2.5 of us, it was gone in 15 hours…….

You can find the recipe here on mamas style blog (I guest post over there once a fought-night, check it out!)

Granola bars re visited. Gluten free. Dairy free.

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:27:08 -0500

This recipe was one of my first blog posts, Peanut butter granola bars. It one of those staple recipes every house should have and its my go to recipe when baking for friends that have just had a baby, these are protein filled and great for breast feeding mums!

So when we went to visit Mike, Lucy and 2 week old Ollie I knew what to take!

I’ve refined the recipe a fair bit, simplified the ingredients.

The recipe is below! X

Peanut butter granola bars

1 cup of gluten free oats

½ cup buckwheat grits

½ cup quinoa flakes

½ cup salted peanuts

½ cup chopped hazelnuts

½ cup pumpkin seeds

½ cup coconut

¼ cup chopped prunes

¼ cup chopped dried apricots

½ cup sultanas

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup honey

1 Tablespoon golden syrup

¾ cup peanut butter

Preheat your oven to 180 C

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Combine the first 10 ingredients into a large bow and stir to combine.

Place the sugar and the honey into a saucepan, stir over a medium heat until the honey melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the peanut butter until smooth.

Pour the peanut butter mix over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Firmly press the mixture into the pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Allow the slice to cool in the tin before removing and slicing.

Katikati Junk store finds, 3 enamel bowls, citrus juicer, ice...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:05:09 -0500

Katikati Junk store finds, 3 enamel bowls, citrus juicer, ice block molds, ‘fluffy cup and saucer’ 2 bamboo spoons, cream serving platter AND a green fruit bowl! Grand total of $8!!!

Lemon Coconut cakes

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:15:33 -0500

Hey guys, guess what? I have another recipe on the Best Friends for Frosting website! There little babies have everything! Tart lemon, sweet coconut and topped off with crystalized lavender! Click here for the recipe!