Avocado & green tea muffins

Ok ok so it has been ages since I've posted anything food related on here! I knew that settling back in Manchester would be time consuming but didn't quite expect it to be as hectic as it has been!

Anyways finally got back to baking last night after being inspired by the array of multicoloured cakes at 'Home sweet home' and boy have I missed it!

It definitely is such a destresser for me and nothing quite beats the comforting smell of freshly baked goods!!

I didn't feel like following any recipe yesterday and as my fruit bowl seemed to be full of ripe avocados, I decided to make muffins out of them! Avocado is great in baking as it can easily be used to replace any butter/ fats you would normally need.

 I also used some matcha (green tea) powder that I had bought off eBay ages ago, but if you do not have any you could turn these into spiced avocado muffins by using cinnamon/ mixed spice instead! These make for nutty/ earthy tasting muffins, they are really filling and delicious topped with some peanut butter or light cream cheese.
To make these gluten free, substitute the whole wheat flour for rice flour (not glutinous type) and use gluten free baking powder.

AVOCADO & MATCHA MUFFINS

Makes 4 large/ 6 medium sized muffins

• 1/2 a small avocado (50 g), mashed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 2 tbsp coconut oil/ olive oil
• 3 tbsp of honey/ agave syrup 
• 40 g ground almond
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• 1 heaped tsp matcha / or 0.5 tsp cinnamon, mixed spiced etc
• 30 g whole wheat flour
• A few broken up walnuts (if desired)

1. Mix together the mashed avocado, egg, vanilla, oil and honey until smooth.

2. Fold in the almond meal, whole wheat flour, b.powder, b.soda, and matcha (or spice) until you obtain a smooth batter making sure not to over mix.

3. Fold in some broken walnut pieces if desired, spoon the batter into cupcake cases and bake for 12-15 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius until lightly browned.

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Sweet potato and prawn fritters

So finally here it is, my last day in Mauritius! Mixed feelings about leaving, sad to say good bye to everyone here and leaving this beautiful island, but also pretty excited to go back to everything that awaits in Manchester. I promised to cook a special dinner for my mum and a couple of  her friends before I left. Dinner set for Saturday evening, I foolishly went out Friday for a friend's birthday and ended up with the worse hangover over- after a lot of cellfood and panadols I luckily managed to pull through! The menu was set as follows:

1. Caramelized honey and sesame chicken Vietnamese spring rolls

2. Vietnamese sweet potato and prawn fritters

3. Oriental squid salad

4. Goji berry and dried scallop 'youth' soup

5. Garlic king prawns with fragrant rice

6. Adzuki bean and tapioca dessert

7. White chocolate mousse with raspberries & deep fried pistachio coated vanilla ice cream

8. Orange flavoured shortbreads with rustic chocolates

Most of the recipes are already on my blog but I thought that I would share the sweet potato & prawn fritter recipe because it is just so delicious, although this is not really a healthy dish as it is deep fried, I do believe that a little indulgence is good for the soul! These are traditionally served with large lettuce leaves and are wrapped around the fritter before eating them.

SWEET POTATO AND PRAWN FRITTER
Makes about 20 large fritters

• 75 g plain flour 
• 50 g rice flour
• 2 spring onion finely chopped
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 300 g peeled prawns, cut into chunks
• 200 g sweet potato, grated
• 200-250 ml water
• seasoning: salt & pepper

1. Combine the flours, baking powder, chopped spring onion, sugar and seasoning together.Slowly stir in the water, enough to make a pancake like batter and let this sit for about 10 minutes.
2. Fold through the prawns and sweet potato, Once the frying oil is hot (about 180 degrees Celsius), spoon in about a tablespoon of the batter at a time and deep fry for about 2 minutes turning them around a few times, until golden brown.
3. Serve warm with any dipping sauce of your choice. 

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Good for you cheesecakes!

Well, perhaps not 'good for you' but good for the soul! Since trying to eat all healthy, the one thing that I do miss the most is some good old cheesecake! Nothing beats a no-bake cold cheesecake with a rich crumbly base and a creamy and light topping! I've had previous attempts at healthy cheesecake which weren't that great- using mixtures of cottage cheese (urgh, the texture is disgusting!), yogurt, whole wheat flour etc, so I thought I'd keep it simple with this one. Also, peanut butter cheesecake?! First time trying this cheesecake flavour and I love itttt!

For the  base, I used a raw recipe using nuts and dates instead of the usual processed high calorie biscuits and butter. As long as you leave this to set, it'll taste great! It'll be hard enough to act as a base but also has a slight chew to it which works perfectly! I used pecan nuts as I find that the flavour isn't too overpowering and they also break down to a powder really easily but I suppose that you could also use almonds, walnuts or a mixture of different nuts.
For the topping, I simply used light cream cheese which only has around 130 calories per 100 g. Traditionally full fat cream cheese and double cream is used but using light cream cheese and peanut butter or yogurt cuts down the fat content dramatically, whilst still keeping a creamy texture.

PECAN NUT CRUST
For 6 mini cheesecakes

• 40 g pecan nuts, chopped
• 5 dates (soak in water for 5 minutes, then drain)
• 20 g oats (or desiccated coconut)

1. In a large dry frying pan on medium heat, pour in the nuts and oats and toast for a couple of minutes until fragrant (don't let it brown). Leave to cool.
2. Blend up the oats and nuts to a fine powder, add in the dates one at a time until it all comes together into a soft dough.
3. Separate the dough into 6 balls and press them down into 6 well greased muffin holes (I used a silicone muffin tray, no need for greasing & the cheesecakes can easily be 'popped' out! You can also just use individual ramekins if you don't want to worry about removing the cheesecakes).
4. Place the muffin tray in the freezer whilst you prepare the filling.

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

Enough for 2 mini cheesecakes

• 1.5 tsp peanut butter (sugar free & salt free)
• 1.5 tsp skimmed milk
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 4 tsp light cream cheese
• 1 tsp honey

1. In a small saucepan, heat up the peanut butter and milk and mix for a couple of minutes until it comes together nicely, transfer to a clean bowl to cool.
2. Add the cream cheese, vanilla and honey to the peanut butter mixture and lightly fold until a smooth filling is obtained.
3. Spoon the filling into two muffin holes and smooth the tops with the back of a spoon.
4. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, preferably over night. (I was impatient so I froze mine for 1 hour and refrigerated for 1 more hour, seemed to work!)
5. Optional: Top with some melted chocolate drizzled over, use a knife to loosen edges before pushing out the cheesecake.

PASSION-FRUIT FILLING

Enough for 2 mini cheesecakes

• 4 tsp light cream cheese
• 1 tsp yogurt
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp passion-fruit pulp (+ more to top the cheesecake)
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1. Mix everything together except for the passion-fruit until nicely incorporated. Lightly fold through the passion-fruit pulp to obtain a sort of marbled effect. It'll look so pretty when you cut into it. :)
2. Spoon the filling into 2 muffin holes, smoothing the tops and refrigerate until set. Top with some more passion-fruit pulp.

Xx

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Baked sweet potato custards

I'm now onto count down mode! Only 4 days left till I head off back to rainy Manchester! Although I can't believe how fast these past two years have gone by, I'm pretty excited to start my third and last year at University.

After 2 bloody hard HIIT sessions today, I was really craving for something filling & creamy but not full of calories and this hit the spot! The cinnamon and vanilla give this baked custard a lovely spiced taste and although this sounds very 'starchy and potato-ey', it tastes great!

BAKED SWEET POTATO CUSTARDS
For 4 mini ramekins

• 125 g sweet potato,peeled & cooked till soft
• 120 ml coconut milk (or other type of milk)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (and/or pod)
• 3 tsp honey (or more)
• 2 eggs
• 0.5 tsp cinnamon

1. Mash up the sweet potato to a smooth paste using the back of a fork. Mix in all the other ingredients, folding until you obtain a shiny and thick custard like batter. 
2. Pour into ramekins. Place the ramekins into a deep baking dish and pour some water around the ramekins. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before eating!:)

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Pumpkin & coconut cream muffins

So I've been wanting to make coconut muffins for quite a while but we sadly don't get coconut flour here! So I thought I would try using 'coconut cream powder' (as suggested by my mum's friend), obviously mixing it with some other flour due to the richness and creaminess of the coconut powder (basically dried coconut milk powder). These turned out to be really yummy! Much more moist than normal muffins but with a lovely coconut touch!

PUMPKIN & COCONUT CREAM MUFFINS

• 200 g pumpkin puree
• 6 dates soaked (or extra 2 tbsp honey)
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 25 g coconut cream powder
• 30 g honey
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• 75 g whole wheat flour

1. Blend the pumpkin, dates, oil, honey and egg together until smooth.
2. Sift in the coconut powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and fold until you obtain a thick batter. Spoon into muffin cases and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.

Xx

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White bean (haricot blanc) blondies

Blondies are basically brownies minus the chocolate! They are rich, sweet dessert bars which usually have slightly caramel undertones. Came across this healthier version on 'chocolate covered Katie's' blog, using beans makes these a protein packed treat! Crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside, yum!

WHITE BEAN BLONDIES

• 250 g/ 1 can, cooked white beans (haricot blanc), drained
• 65 g/ 2 heaped tbsp peanut butter (sugar free & salt free)
• 20 g oats
• 40 g honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• Couple of tbsp of dark chocolate chips (optional, definitely worth it!)

1. Using a hand blender, blend everything together (except the choc chips), until you obtain a smooth and creamy batter.
2. Fold in the chocolate chips, pour the batter into a well greased glass dish, bake at 180 degrees Celsius for around 30 minutes. These will harden slightly as they cool.

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Blogilates app

I know that I've mentioned this before but if you have a smartphone, download the Blogilates app! It's sooo useful! So much easier to load the videos and do them wherever you are! The app also has many recipes and forums where you can interact with and motivate other people from all around the world!

This video is awesomeeee! Enjoy Xx

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Caramelized banana upside down cake

Another one inspired from a dish at Ambre hotel, they served caramelized bananas with sorbet, which although sounds very simple, was to die for! I thought I would jazz it up a bit and turn this into a gluten free cake. Using almond meal really makes for a moist and mildly nutty tasting cake.

CARAMELIZED BANANA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
For 1 mini loaf cake

• 3 small bananas (2 mashed + 1sliced for the top)
• 3 tsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
• 4 tsp honey + 1 tsp for top
• 1 egg
• 30 ml coconut milk or dairy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Half a tsp of cinnamon
• 75 g ground almonds
• Half a tsp of baking powder
• Half a tsp of baking soda
• Pinch of salt

1. Grease and flour your loaf tin, slice a banana and create a design with the slices on the bottom of the tin, drizzle with 1 tsp of honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.
2. Mix together the almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Make a well at the centre of the dry ingredients, break in the egg and add the milk, 2 mashed bananas, vanilla, oil and honey.
3. Slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry mixture until you obtain a smooth batter. Pour this over the sliced bananas in your tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

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