Frosted Jam Donut Cupcakes (Gluten Free and low in fat!)

Is it Doughnut or donut?  
doooo nut or doughy sugary heaven fried nut? meh.
you say tomato and i say tomato...

  

What was supposed to be just an ordinary innocent vanilla cupcake... became so much more...

 It looks like a fancy cupcake (due to over generous frosting sprinkles) but when you bite into it, it tastes like a delicious naughty jammy doughnut, only it has next to none of those bad fats.... aaaand its gluten free. its magic, I swear.

 

 If the police force got a whiff of this donut goings on, and spied this recipe, They'd get their s.w.o.t team  in on the double to swoop in on this batch of healthified doughnut cakey goods. They taste so good it should be criminal. So arrest me, but don't confiscate my baked goods. please. any thing but that.

 

I burrowed in to the sponge, filled up each cake with jam and popped their hats back on...

 Recipe + Ingredients

• 1/2c oat flour [ground in a blender from oat groats or steel cut oats]
• 1/2c rice flour
• 3T coconut flour
• 1/3csuger substitute like spender granulated sweetener.
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup fat free vanilla / plain yoghurt
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1/2t salt
• 1t baking powder

 Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180*C +line muffin tin with papers.
2. In a medium sized bowl mix together the oat flour, sweet rice flour, coconut flour, sweetener, salt + baking powder.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and yoghurt.
4. Stir wet into dry, until combined.  Do not over stir.  It will look slightly lumpy.
5. pour or spoon the batter to your pan leaving a little room at the top.
6. Bake for 18-22min.
7. Test with a toothpick for doneness doughyness.  You want a slightly moist toothpick.  Not gooey but not bone dry.  The tops of the donut should be golden brown and it will spring back when you press it lightly.
8. Let them cool in the pan for 5min then turn out onto a cooling rack.
9. when cooled, using a knife cut out the center of the cupcake and spoon in a teaspoon of jam and or butter cream. place 'lid' back on and pipe on swirls vanilla frosting.

For the frosting i use this recipe!

• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of no fat cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp non-fat milk

 ohhhh I really want a donut pan now!

Ginger nut & dark chocolate chip cookies (GF + vegan)

My latest obsession is ginger, i have been throwing candid chunks and ground spice in everything, the firery kick seems to suit all that i know and love, like chocolate and dark chocolate and nuts ermmm and chocolate.oh  Im also reeeeally enjoying slavering peanut butter and ginger preserve all over my toast... its a pretty tight combo...
...Im just filling this post with jibber jabber, My minds gone blank, because i'm eating this very cookie as i type, and its too darn good, its turning my noggin into a chocolatey chewy mush and making it tricky to think/write about things right now. so ill post a picture of bobbin to compensate for lack of reading material...

Aaaaaanyway i digress, whilst i pull myself together, here us my recipe for my healthy chocolate chip cookie but with a ginger edition... There too good to be true a chewy, crisp chocolatey cookie with a delightful warming spice hint..oh and 40 calories per cookie... Enjoy! I most certainly am.

Healthy Ginger nut & choc chip cookie!

 makes 10-12 cookies

• 1/2 cup oat flour (ground rolled oats!)
• 1/4 cup chestnut flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp bicarb of soda (not baking powder)
• 1 tsp ground ginger spice
• 2T to 1/3 cup chocolate chips, depending on your preference
• 2 tsp candid ginger pieces
• 2T brown sugar
• 2tsp sweetner or more depending on your sweet tooth.
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1T coconut oil or pre-melted margarine
• 1T plus 2tsp nondairy milk (feel free to switch proportions of milk and oil) (25g)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix your dry ingredients, then add in wet. Form cookies into discs using your palms on a baking sheet, and bake 6-8 minutes. Take out when still underdone–they’ll continue to cook while cooling, taking them out early this way, means they remain chewy!

GLUTEN FREE Apple and Blackberry healthy muffinz

 ohhhh what to do with my bumper crop of berries!!?! There were so many recipes these juicy sweet berries would've made special, but recently I have been finding myself needing a portable yummy snack for my break times in the school staff room.

Whilst All my colleages dunk their biscuits in the tea and coffees after a testing morning of educating little'uns, I sit there nibbling my fruit ( not that fruits bad! fruits good for you kids, eat it!) ... but treats just satisfy that 11o'clock sweet tooth snack attack sooo much more. And in any case this is a muffin that healthy and jam packed full to the brim with goodness.

Made from soya yoghurt instead of any fat these muffins are moist and packed full of a deliously sweet berry flavour, whole blackberries and chunks of cooking apple add texture and an extra tart hit in every bite.

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE MUFFINS
MAKES 6 (large)
86 CALORIES
Ingrediants
1 pot of Alpro Blackberry soya yogurt
1/4 cup Splenda/ granulated sweetener
1 cup blackberries
1 egg white/ 1 tsp flax seed
1 medium cooking apples cooked and pureed
1 medium apple finely chopped
1 tsp vanilla flavouring
1/4 cup oats
1/2 cup gluten-free flour mix
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg)
3/4 tsp salt


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C.
2. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
3. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients...  flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine the following ingredients... pureed apple, Alpro yogurt pot, sweetener, vanilla extract, and egg.  

5. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold the mixture.  DO NOT OVERMIX. 
6. Add the berries and chuncks of apple and fold gently.
7. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners.
8. Place the muffins in the oven for 16-18 minutes.

Healthy Gluten Free + Vegan Funfetti Party Pancakes

 

 Every day should start with sprinkles. Its like a having a party for breakfast.

 

These little flecks of fun can turn any frown upside down especially if i have gotten out of the wrong side of bed in the morning. They make me instantly happy and breakfast feel like a special occasion ... I really wanted stick a candle on this pancake tower and pretend its my birthday. but that's just going to far right?

 

After sprinkling sprinkles on my shake yesterday, I took it one step further today and dumped a whole load of confetti into some pancake batter. Not any pancake batter though, a healthy gluten friendly one.

 Healthy Fat free + Low calorie Gluten free Funfetti Pancakes

 makes 6 pancakes (serves 2)
150 Calories per serving.

Ingrediants

 1/4 cup gluten free flour mix
2tbsp coconut flour
1/2 a  banana pureed
1/4 cup skim or non dairy milk
1 egg white or 1 tbsp flaxseed
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp granulated sweetener

1 tsp vanilla extract
SPRINKLES

 

Choice of syrup or fruit toppings.

I used a icing mix of (1tbsp icing sugar, 1tsp arrow root + 50mls non fat milk)

1. Mix together your choice of milk, pureed Banana, egg white and Vanilla extract  in a small mixing bowl or jug. 
2. In another bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, sugar and salt.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until blended but down over work the mix.
4. Then add sprinkles into mix and stir some more.
5. Lightly grease a  pan with some coconut oil or spray. 
6. Spoon pancake batter into pan and cook until bottoms are lightly browned. Flip pancakes and continue to cook until the other side is brown and pancakes are cooked through. 
7. Serve with my icing, fresh fruit and maple syrup or honey and more sprinklessss.

 

I'm not a morning person... but times are a changing and I cant wait to set my alarm so I can get my frying pan heated up tomorrow morning... for my un-birthday party part 2. 

 Are you a morning person? Whats your favourite breakfast or way to start the day?

 * tomorrow I may add some extra banana protein powder to up the nutritional value of these puppies.

Nutritional info!

Beanie Brownies!

One of the comments on my Chick Pea Blondie recipe inquired about using a different kinda bean/ legume for the base mix... This got the cogs turning and me thinking about the possible yummy variations ...so I took my Blondie recipe and made it even more decadent and chocolaty by using a tin of black beans and adding 2 tsp of good quality cocoa powder to the mix .... Still healthy, but taste oh so more indulgent! ....aaaand gluten free!

CHOCOLATE BLACK BEAN BROWNIES
1 tin of Black beans
1 banana
1 egg
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup sweetener
2 tbsp peanut butter
chocolate chips
Chopped nuts
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract 

Follow the same directions for the blondies! I also made some chocolate icing to drizzle because my sweet tooth was in overdrive.

 

Nutritional into here!

Blueberry Pie (Gluten free pastry)

 

 Since finishing University I have found my self feeling liberated and able to bake with out a guilty "i shouldn't be icing this cupcake i should be studying'' conscious. I can breathe a sigh of relief and get down to what i ultimately love most, baking and Beebz. Bobbin has been getting lots of extra walks and attention and my kitchen has been a hive of activity.

 

My mind has been racing with lots of recipes I want to try out or convert to gluten free. This afternoon I took on pastry... This was a first attempt and I'm gonna keep dabbling with quantities but here's my very healthy GF recipe for

BLUEBERRY PIE.

  

Gluten free sweet short crust pastry

1 cup sifted gluten-free flour mixture (I used doves white flour mixture)
1 tbsp granulated sweetener
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup applesauce (orrrr 2 tsp butter)
2 tablespoons ice-cold water
1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum
around 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar (dusting/ for rolling)

    1.    In a medium bowl, sift together the flour mixture, sugar, and salt.
    2.    In a small bowl, combine the oil, water, and vanilla.
    3.    Pour the liquid mixture into the center of the flour mixture. With a rubber spatula, stir the dough well until it holds together.
    4.    With your hands, knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball.
    5.    With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an 11-inch circle.
    6.    lift pastry and press in to greased 8' pie dish.
    7.    with remaining dough roll out and cut into strips for the pie top.

 Blueberry pie filling
1 cup Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
4 dates finely chopped
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tsp water

    1.    In a saucepan add all ingredients and simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes or until mixture is thick and dates are soft.
    2.    pour blueberry filling in to pie crust and basket weave the strips of remaining pastry, brush with egg and sprinkle with a little caster sugar.
    3.    bake ya pie at 185/350 for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden.... allow to cool and slice it up.

  Enjoy on its own but I shoveled my slice down my pie hole with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. mmmmhmmmm.

 I have to say the gluten free and mostly fat free pastry was quite crispy on top, and a little chewy when still hot, but once it had cooled completely this pie was awesome. I think its the sweet fruity filling that makes it.
 One day i will make buttery flakey pastry but something inside me yearns to find and invent healthy alternative recipes...probably because when, like me and my sweetooth, you have 3 servings of pudding type meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner and pudding) something like butter has gotta give....but some times i have to admit the original is best. So if its special occasion or you just want an super amazing crust i would substitute the applesauce for 2tbsp of chilled butter. 

 

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What I Ate Wednesday.

I photographed everything i ate today, wednesday. Can't wait for my studies to be over so I can post some proper recipes and blog to my hearts content. so here is... W.I.A.W.

 Breakfast.

 

Homemade oaty appley protein bar. recipe to come ;)

 Bobbin assissted in helping me sort out some University work.

 

Then we ate Lunch

A sort of luxurious student's lunch of Smoked Salmon a top of scrambled egg whites and the M&S gluten free bread I purchased yesterday.Bobbin looked longingly on as a chowed down. The bread roll weighed a ton! It was dense and very dry, but toasting it halved, and a good slavering of 'I can't believe its not butter.' sorted it out.

 

Obligitory Diet cola

 On research, The internet reliably informs me that all of the American candy stash i have if GF! Waaaahey... snacks ahoy.
Banana and mini mallow cup consumed...

 Dinner Time!
Curried butternut squash with roasted chick peas and aload of veggies.

Sippin' on hot cocoa and cuddling up this is creature now.