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.

Vegan Chocolate Fudge Brownies

I think it is now quite obvious that I am a chocoholic. I use cacao in most things - smoothies, pancakes, baking, coyo and sometimes in stews. It is such a great taste and also extremely good for you. Bonus! These fudgy chocolate brownies are too good not to share. They are moist and gooey - exactly how I like my brownies. They are not fluffy and crumbly so if that's your thing stop right now and move on....They are made with sweet potatoes which gives the gooey texture and sweetened with dates and a little maple syrup. I added a little cinnamon but this is totally optional as are the nuts, which you could switch up with any other nuts you like. Macadamias work really well and my favourites are pecans as they give an extra caramel taste. These are great on their own or warmed up with some coyo and berries. I used a blend of buckwheat and ground almonds as the flour to bind everything. Contrary to the name, buckwheat is not a wheat and is actually related to the rhubarb family. It is a seed and sometimes called a pseudo-cereal - not a cereal but not quite a seed, so some Paleo followers call it a 'safe cheat'. I follow a Paleo diet 80% of the time so I do use buckwheat occasionally, safe in the knowledge that it is completely gluten free. However, if you are a coeliac, be cautious when using buckwheat as some have had similar reactions to this flour as with gluten. It seems to be different from person to person, so if you are not sure, use brown rice flour instead.

You will need:

Food processor

600g sweet potato (orange)

14 medjool dates - 180g

100g buckwheat flour

80g ground almonds

4 tbsp raw cacao powder

3 tbsp pure maple syrup

1-2 tbsp almond milk

1 tsp cinnamon

50g roughly chopped hazelnuts 

extra cacao for dusting, and your favourite toppings - coyo, berries, flaked almonds

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C for fan assisted. Line a roasting tin with baking parchment and lightly grease with a little melted coconut oil.

Peel the potatoes and cut off the ends. Chop into bite sized chunks and boil for 15-20 minutes until they are super soft. Place into a food processor with the pitted dates. Blend until smooth and creamy.

In a separate bowl add all the other ingredients and stir. Add the sweet potato and dates and stir again until fully combined. Place the mix into the prepared tin and bake for 20-30 minutes. Test with a fork and if it comes out clean, it is ready!

Leave to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares and removing to a wire rack. They are yummy warm or leave to cool completely and dust with cacao powder. They should last for 4-5 days in an airtight container. Serve with banana 'nice' cream or with coyo and berries - perfect! 

The ultimate carrot cake.

What has happened to the weather? This time last week we were basking in glorious sunshine and skipping through buttercups. Now it is cold again and I feel like putting the heating back on...In June! Grumble, grumble. Rant over.
Last weekend was beautiful in Devon. Perfect blue skies and a light breeze with bright sunshine. My lovely firend came down to Devon to visit her future in-laws with her new fiancee (hooray) and very sweetly popped over to see us for tea and cake on Sunday afternoon. I made my carrot cake which almost has the texture of a steamed pudding but tastes utterly perfect. It uses orange juice and zest, ground almonds and pecans as well as large quantities of grated carrots. If there is time, I like to make this the day before it is to be eaten so that all the juices and flavours can sink in and deepen. We had pots of tea and a slice (or two) each, then went to enjoy the yellow thing in the sky.

This is the best carrot cake you will ever eat. Yes, really. If I could give you a money back guarantee, I would. But I can't, so you'll just have to take my word for it and get baking.

For the cake you will need:
9 inch spring form cake tin, lined and greased
125g ground almonds
125g plain floor
375g caster sugar - preferable flavoured with vanilla pods
250g butter
150g chopped pecans
450g grated carrots
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
2 tsp bicarb of sods
1 teaspoon cinnamon
zest of 2 oranges
juice of 1 orange
15 pecan halves to decorate

For the frosting you will need:

225g mascapone cheese

65g unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

400g icing sugar

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees C for fan assissted and 200 for non-fan. Prepare all your ingredients before starting as it takes some time to grate the carrots and chop the nuts. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, sugar and zest until fluffy. Slowly add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each one.
Fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts, then the vanilla and orange juice. Sift in the flour, bicarb and cinnamon and fold in with the ground almonds.
Tip into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes. Check with a wooden skewer or knife and pop bak in if it is still very wet. This cake will be extremely moist so don't fret if the skewer comes out a bit moist even after another 10 minutes cooking time. Leave to cool on a wire rack and turn out after 30 minutes to cool completely.

To make the frosting, cream the cheese and butter together then add the sugar and vanilla. Spread about 2 thirds onto the top of the cake and the rest aroung the edges. Make sure it is evenly spread. Now decorate the top with the peacn halves. Place 3 in the middle and the rest around the edge.

Enjoy with a cup of tea! x