Banana, Date & Blueberry Loaf

Sorry for not posting much on here for some time. I started out with good intentions, but the reality is a little different. You know how life goes....

Winter (yes the pic shows you how cold it's been lately!!) and a few over-ripe bananas sitting in the fruit bowl inspired me to start looking for some Gluten Free Banana Loaf recipes for something yummy and nutritious in Miss 4's lunch box. After a quick google I came across Nearly Nigellas Banana Bread Comp and was inspired by the huge range of variations on the idea.  Combined with a sneak peak at the forum brought me across Zebraa's recently posted recipe which looks scrumptious, and a favourite recipe passed down from a good friend, I was inspired to make up my own variation.  So it's in the oven now smells divine!!!  Lets hope Miss 4 likes it....

Banana, Date & Blueberry Loaf

100g of dates

65g of butter

120g of sugar
2 eggs

3 over ripe bananas (chopped or broken roughly)

250g gluten free plain flour (I used the Orgran brand)

2 tsp of guar gum

2 1/2 tsp of gluten free baking powder (from the EDC)

pinch salt.

75g of frozen blueberries (or berries of choice)

1. Pre-heat oven (fan forced) to 150C and grease a loaf tin.
2. Add dates to TMX bowl and chop on speed 7 for 10 seconds. Set aside.
3. Cream butter & sugar for 30 seconds on speed 3
4. Add all other ingredient (except berries) and mix on speed 4-5 for 1 minute. Stopping and scraping down if required.
5. Quickly and gently stir in the blueberries using the spatula only.
6. Pour into loaf tin.
7. Cook for 45 minutes or until cooked through and golden.

Just had a slice of this warm out of the oven with a little homemade butter and it's wonderful!! Nice and light and spongy and not at all heavy.

This recipe could be so easily varied for some thing a little different:

• 
  
  Try some brown sugar
• 
  
  Add some spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg
• 
  
  Add some chopped apple
• 
  
  Add some chopped dried apricots
• 
  
  Add some chopped nuts
• 
  
  Try adding some honey and rolled oats

The possibilities are endless. Just make sure you savour some while it's still warm!!

As I was slicing this I found another 3 bananas needing something done with them... so that'll be tomorrow nights adventure!

GLUTEN FREE DOUBLE CHOC CHIP COOKIES

It's been a while since I've posted a new recipe here. Not by intention, but as we all know, life gets busy as these things sometimes just slip by quietly forgotten...

So in a desperate effort to find a home made and GF alternative to the biscuits DD was being offered at Day Care (says me as I just begin to munch on the second one while dinner is cooking...) I found this recipe in Sue Sheppards 'Gluten-free Cooking' Cookbook. This and her next cookbook called 'The Gluten-free Kitchen' are just beautiful books.  So here is my version of these & of course converted to Thermomix!

Ingredients:

110g white rice

45g raw or rapadura sugar

120g unsalted butter - room temp.

45g brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp of vanilla extract

75g corn starch/corn flour (GF)

3 tablespoons soy flour

1/2 tsp bicarb-soda

40g cocoa powder

200-250g of chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 170C. Line baking trays with silpats or baking paper.

Into the Thermomix bowl add the rice and mill for 2 minutes on Speed 9. Set aside.

Add castor sugar and grind for 10 seconds on Speed 9.
Add butter & brown sugar and cream on Speed 4 for 40 seconds. Scrape down and repeat if necessary.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat again on Speed 4 for 1 minute.

Add flours, bicarb soda and cocoa powder to the butter mixture and beat on Speed 6 for 1 minute.

Add Choc Chips and mix on Speed 4, Reverse for 40 seconds.

Place large spoonfools of mixture on teh baking trays and bake for 8-10 minutes or until "golden brown" - being brown this is a bit difficult to judge so go with a nice crust evenly over the biscuits.
Leave on the trays for 5 munites and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These are the best fresh but are still nice a few days later, a little crumbly but fantastic still!

You could also use white chocolate chips, some craisons etc to vary this recipe a bit.

Hope you enjoy this and I hope to post some more recipes soon.

Happy Thermomixing xoxo

P.S. Using the Bimby Chocolate Cake Recipe that I have on here (actually just realised its not posted on the blog, so will add soon) and on the forum (look for Bimby Chocolate Cake), I substituted the flour for GF flour to make DD's 4th Birthday cake....

Sweet Misery - A Poisoned World

This is a must see! Even just to learn a little more about what we consume.

Sweet Misery - A Poisoned World

Hi - Just a quick note to say sorry for not updating this for a while now. My laptop broke down and it took nearly a month to get a quote. So now as I'm sorting out files etc on a new PC, I do plan to post something for you soon, I haven't forgotten about this I promise.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and all the best for the New Year!

Get into that Christmas Spirit!

We've been having fun experimenting with Gingerbread decorations at our place. I have an adapted Gingerbread recipe which doesn't rise as much as the recipe in the Festive Recipe - making it pefect to keep it's shape for decorations.

Ingredients:
450g Plain Flour

165g Brown Sugar
1 tbsp ground Ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground clove
185g Butter, chopped coursly
200g Golden Syrup
1 Egg

Royal Icing
1 egg white
200g sugar

Stained Glass Windows
Boiled Lollies – sorted by colours

Method
Pre heat oven to 180ºC.
Place all ingredients into TM bowl except the egg white and mix for12 seconds on speed 6.
Set dial to closed lid position and knead for 50 seconds on Interval setting.
Tip gingerbread mixture onto lightly floured Silpat baking mat and knead into a smooth ball.
Place the mixture into a covered bowl and put in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Between two pieces of baking paper roll out the gingerbread mixture to approximately 4mm in thickness.
Remove top layer of paper and cut the gingerbread into desired shapes, e.g. gingerbread men, stars, hearts etc.
Place onto lined baking tray and bake for approximately 10 minutes, depending on size and shape. Place on cooling tray when cooked.

Ginger Bread Christmas Tree

Make Gingerbread recipe as above.

For each tree, you will need 2-3 each of 5 different sized star shapes cut out of ginger bread (3cm, 5cm, 6cm, 7cm and 9cm or there abouts).
Bake stars (smaller ones only require 10 minutes, larger ones require 12 minutes). Meanwhile make Royal Icing.
To assemble, join the 9cm stars with Royal icing, then the 7cm stars, then the 6 cm stars and so on (refer to picture). Decorate trees by joining cachous to stars with tiny dots of royal icing.
Dust with icing sugar.

Royal Icing
Add egg white to a clean and dry TMX bowl and beat on speed 4 until stiff peaks form. Add icing mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time until all added in.

Stained Glass Gingerbread Decorations
Crush each colour of boiled lollies seperatly. Place in Thermomix and crush on speed 9 for 5 seconds. Remove to a smaller bowl.

Follow directions as per Gingerbread recipe above.

Cut Christmas Tree Shapes using a larger cutter, then using a smaller cutter, cut out small Christmas Tree shape or use small star shapes. Using a skewer or a sharp knife, remove dough from the smaller shape.
Using the blunt end of a skewer place a hole in the top of the biscuit to use to thread ribbon later.
Bake in oven as per instructions above for 7 minutes. Remove and fill windows with crushed boiled lollies of chosen colour and return to the oven for another 3-4 minutes. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring.
When cooled, thread with ribbon to decorate a Christmas Tree.

Other ideas:
You could use any Christmas shape for this, such as an angel with a heart cut out and filled with red candy.

General Tips

If using the gingerbread for decorating your Christmas tree use a drinking straw to punch a hole in an appropriate place before baking so a ribbon can be threaded through for hanging. Reform holes with straw while hot if needed.

Nan's Boiled Salad Dressing

In the pursit of finding all things low fat for a little longer, I dug up Nans Boiled Salad Dressing recipe which she uses pretty much as a replacement for mayo. Nan uses it in her coleslaw, through chopped egg and lettuce, and anywhere you'd use a dressing or mayo. And it's not full of oil! So here it is:

Ingredients:
200g sugar (feel free to cut this back)
1 desertspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 heaped desertspoons plain flour *
1-3 egg (in Nan's words "your choice!" - I used 2)
2 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup white vinegar

Method:
Place all ingredients into TMX bowl and cook for 8 minutes, 90C on speed 4. Refridgerate once cooked and use a an alternative to mayo or coleslaw dressing.

* Apparently corn flour isn't strong enough to hold in the dressing and will end up going runny.  I'm keen to hear if any gluten free cooks out there have a suggested alternative??

Fat, Egg & Dairy Free Fruit Cake

OK, well this isn't a Thermomix recipe, but had to share it anyway. I've had to seriously cut all dairy and fat from my diet for a little while and had trouble finding something as a bit of a treat, until I stumbled across this recipe from a gorgeous lady I used to work with (Hi Val!!).

Fat, Egg & Dairy Free Fruit Cake
1 cup dried Paw Paw
1 cup dried Pineapple
1 cup dried Apricots (roughly chopped - can pulse a couple of times in the TMX)
1 pkt mixed dried fruit
3/4 cup peacan nuts or walnuts
3/4 cup almonds (roughly chopped - can pulse a couple of times in the TMX)
2 cups fruit juice
3/4 cup coconut
2 cups SR Flour

Soak fruit and nuts in juice over night.
The next day add coconut and SR flour. Mix well and place mixture into greased and lined square cake tin. Cover with foil. Bake in a slow oven (150C) for about 2hours or until cooked. Removing foil for the last 1/2 hour.
Note: Place a tray of water in the bottom of the oven to keep the cake moist. Next time I'll also add a can of crushed pineapple to increase the moisture.

This is a rather heavy cake, but either way I am thankful to have an alternative!!!