Triple nut brownies

Lovely and gooey, perfect warm with some Booja Booja vanilla ice cream!

You will need:
21cm square tin
225g 85% dark chocolate
225g cashew nut butter
200g coconut palm sugar
2 tsp good vanilla essence
3 large eggs
150g ground almonds
100g chopped pecans
16 raspberries

Prepare your tin and heat oven to 170 degrees C.
Gently melt chocolate and nut butter over a low heat then turn off the heat and stir in the sugar and essence.
Beat in the eggs and then the ground almonds and chopped pecans.
Pour into your tin. Evenly place the raps erries in the middle of what will be each brownie.  Bake for 25-35 min until the top is set but the main part is still gooey. Leave to cool slightly in the tin on a wire rack then cut into 16 squares.
Serve immediately with ice cream or they are equally delicious one their own. If you are going to store them, leave to cool completely then store in an airtight container.

Blueberry and Cinnamon Porridge

The weather in Devon has been pretty miserable of late, and I was craving something a bit more substantial and comforting than my usual smoothie in the morning. I went out and got some organic gluten free oats and the next day made a wonderful bowl of the best porridge I have ever tasted. I added all my toppings BEFORE I started cooking. I recently started doing this after making buckwheat porridge. This ensures that the flavours really melt into the oats as it cooks and you are rewarded with a very tasty bowl of warming breakfast. I love to add cinnamon and blueberries as these two flavours are perfect together. The recipe below calls for a banana too but I have done it with half a shredded apple or some freshly grated lemon zest instead of the cinnamon which is also very yummy. Sprinkle whatever nuts, seeds or other berries you have to hand to serve. This is made with almond milk which I love, but you can easily substitute with any other milk or just water. I sometimes stir in a teaspoon of almond butter for a little extra boost. Sweeten with honey if you need to but the blueberries burst as you cook and stir so they tend to add enough sweetness for me. 

You will need (for 1):

1/2 cup oats (I used gluten free)

1 cup almond milk (or any other milk/water)

1 level tsp cinnamon

large handful of blueberries

1 small banana, chopped into small-ish chunks

extra nuts, seeds, berries for the topping

Into a saucepan add your oats, milk, cinnamon, berries and banana. Stir and transfer to a moderate heat and stir occasionally for about 10-15 minutes until the porridge is at the right consistency. You may need to add a little extra liquid as you go, depending on how you like your oats!

Spoon into your favourite bowl and stir through any nuts or seeds etc. The blueberries will start to burst and their delicious juice will run streaks of deep purple through the oats. 

Caveman Paleo Bread

Before I gave up gluten I would gorge myself on bread. I loved bread. And still do. Luckily I have always been a big fan of rye bread and this Caveman Paleo Bread is as close to that as possible. It is dense, crumbly and oh so nutty. Just perfect with avocado, smoked salmon and poached eggs! I always have a slice or two with soup and it is great with a spread of almond butter on top. Cut it thinly and toast to enjoy it at its best. I have made this with half olive oil and half coconut oil and it came out just as perfectly. Fell free to mix up the nut/seed mix but make sure it all adds up to the same weight. 

You will need:

1 loaf tin - lined with baking parchment

Large mixing bowl

Hand whisk or free-standing mixer

100g pumpkin seeds

100g sunflower seeds

100g almonds

100g hazelnuts

100g linseed

50g chia seeds

50g flaxseed

5 eggs

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

pinch of sea salt

1/2 mashed banana

Heat your oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Put all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir to mix altogether. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and oil together. Pour this into the dry and keep mixing with the hand mixer for 30 seconds. 

Pour into your loaf tine and bake for 40-45 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before lifting it out with the edges of the parchment. Leave to cool completely. The bread normally lasts well for 8-9 days in a sealed tin or bag. 

Gluten free macadamia nut and triple chocolate brownies

I have recently converted to a gluten free diet and I must say it is making me feel a whole lot better. There are a lot of substitutes in the shops now and a generous range to choose from, such as Udi's gluten free granola and bagels or Nairn's biscuits, both savoury and sweet, to Heinz pasta...the list goes on.

As you know, my passion lies with baking and I wasn't going to let a gluten intolerance stop me! Here is my version of gluten free brownies, made with half Dove's farm gluten free flour and half ground almonds. I have added macadamia nuts but you could either replace these with any other nut or extra white chocolate chunks. Do leave feedback if you try them out, I would like to know your suggestions to make them even more delicious!


You will need:
 14in x8in cake tin greased and lined
100g dark chocolate
100g milk chocolate
200g organic butter
175g light muscavado sugar
3 large free range eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp coco powder
50g gluten free flour
60g ground almonds
75g white chocolate
75g macadamia nuts



Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees c for fan assisted. Grease and line your tin. Roughly chop your milk and dark chocolate. Cut your butter into cubes and place the butter an chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Do not let the water touch he bowl or the chocolate will overheat.

Whiz together the sugar and eggs with an electric hand whisk until pale and frothy. Add the chocolate and butter mixture, then sift in the flour, baking powder and coco, followed by the ground almonds.



Roughly chop the nuts and white chocolate and fold into the mixture. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 18-20 minutes. They want to have some give so that they stay nice and gooey in the middle.
Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares. Serve cold or warm with a dusting of icing sugar. Rory had vanilla ice cream with his and I had some vanilla frozen yoghurt. They are also delicious served with raspberries and Greek yoghurt. Enjoy x