Healthier chocolate fudge cake!

So exams are a week away and here I am, calmly munching on my porridge, ready for a Max Fitness cardio session at the gym in a bit. For some reason, the stress and exam period 'craziness' hasn't kicked in this time round. It is crazy and somewhat scary to think about the fact that these will be my last ever exams at University. The three years of studying for my undergraduate degree have gone by way too quickly, I still remember my first day in Manchester, carrying my two massive suitcases up to my tiny room in halls with my mum!, discovering all the great eateries and meeting people from all over the world! These have definitely been the best years so far and although it is quite sad that my adventures as a student are coming to an end, I am so excited to start this new chapter of my working life and what better place to kick start my career than in Manchester itself!

Anyways, enough rambling on and now to the recipe! When exams approach and it is time to get serious with revision, everything else around us happens to seem way more interesting and most students manage to procrastinate in some way or another! For me, there isn't a more appropriate time to bake! For some reason I just start thinking about so many flavour combinations, twists on recipes and get such urges to get to the kitchen! So as the baking cravings started to kick in, Facebook notified me about our gym instructor's birthday, what better excuse to try and make a healthy chocolate birthday cake! I played around with what I had in the kitchen, I used half whole wheat and half white flour but I would definitely try to use a substitute such as oat/ coconut flour next time round. The texture of the cake is very soft and gooey in the middle and I think that the layered strawberries helps to take away from the 'dense-ness' of the cake.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

• 120 g flour of choice: I used half whole-wheat, half plain flour
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 large ripe banana
• 20 g cocoa
• 50 g honey or any sweetener
• 1 egg
• 35 g coconut oil or olive oil
• About 40 ml of milk

1. Mash up the banana until smooth. Add in the sweetener of choice, egg and oil.
2. Fold in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa until the batter is smooth  and lump-free. Slowly incorporate in the milk until you obtain a smooth 'cake batter' texture. 
3. Pour the mixture into prepared cake tins (greased and floured), I used 3 mini loaf pans so if using one big pan, adjust baking time respectively.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for roughly 20 minutes until well risen and a toothpick comes out clean.

FUDGE FILLING & TOPPING

• Roughly 120 g pitted dates
• 1.5 tsp coconut oil 
• 2 heaped tsp cocoa
• Pinch of salt 

1. Soak the dates in a little warm water for a couple of minutes until softened.
2. Drain the dates, keeping the water aside to use later on.
3. Add the cocoa, salt and coconut oil to the dates and blend up. 
4. Slowly add in a little of the date water as you blend it up to create a smooth textured filling. I used about 6 teaspoons of the water.

Assemble the cake as desired. I used two layers of cake with some sliced strawberries and date filling in between them. For the top I covered the cake in a thick layer of the date topping followed by a layer of fresh berries and nuts. And to top it off, I drizzled on a little white chocolate.

Xx

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Protein banana bread

Here's to another protein packed delicious baked treat! Of all the baking that I've done with protein powders, I can confidently say that this banana bread has been the tastiest so far! I used to always keep away from protein powders whilst baking because using them often leads to dry and tough baked goods.

However, as long as you stick to three main rules, you should be fine. Firstly, make sure to never have a batter with more than about a 1/3 protein powder, secondly partly use some sort of other 'flour' such as oats, ground almonds or whole wheat flour in the mix and lastly add in some moderately fatty binder such as eggs or avocado, you will end up with a tasty low-carb treat.

I know that many of you, especially women, are probably slightly weary of protein powders, being scared of the fact that 'they make you big and bulky'. However, this couldn't be any further from the truth. As long as you opt for a 100% protein powder, with no added bulkers etc, then protein powders are the perfect supplement to a healthy lifestyle, especially if you tend to exercise regularly. When exercising, you are essentially wearing and tearing muscles down which then tend to be repaired and rebuilt through proper nutrition. Good sources of protein ensure that this process is effective and contributes to your overall feeling of wellbeing. Obviously, there are so many natural sources of protein through beans, tofu, meat and so on, but protein powders are just a great and easy way to increase your protein intake and are great substitutes to conventional flour in baking.

PROTEIN PACKED BANANA BREAD

• 1 large overripe banana/ 2 medium sized
• 30g sweetener of choice, I used honey
• 1 egg
• 75 ml of non fat milk/non-dairy milk
• 50 g of finely ground up oats
• 1 large scoop (about 50 g) of protein powder (vanilla or chocolate should work well)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp oil: coconut or olive oil
• dark chocolate chips and broken nuts: optional

1. In a large bowl, mash up the banana until smooth. Mix in the honey, oil and egg until you obtain a consistent batter.
2. Fold in the flour of choice, protein powder, cinnamon and baking powder. Slowly pour in enough milk to make a smooth batter, making sure not to overmix. 
3. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts if using. Pour the batter into a greased and floured or a silicon cake mold.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius until golden brown making sure not to overbake! I used 2 mini loaf molds and baked mine for 18 minutes. Baking time will vary according to the size of your mold.

I also made a quick and healthy beef moussaka yesterday that shall be posted soon along with my chicken curry that I have been meaning to post for quite a while, sadly revision has got the best of me at the moment.

Also, protein truffles have come in handy recently, perfect little revision snack!
Xx

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Chocolate protein cookies

So it's that time of the year again, exams are approaching and the revision frenzy begins! Revision time to me just means less hours sat in lectures and more hours experimenting away in the kitchen!

I have decided to get serious with my eating plan, cutting down on carbs and loading up on protein (haha not too sure how long I'll last this time!). In my attempt to create an easy protein packed snack, I decided to make 2 versions of cookies, a chocolate oatmeal cookie and a vanilla cinnamon cookie. The vanilla one completely failed and looked like some dried up fruit, whoops! But the chocolate one turned out surprisingly good- they aren't very sweet because I didn't add any type of sweetener but you could definitely add in some honey, agave etc if you want to. These cookies have about 5g of protein in each of them and are even nicer sliced open and stuffed with peanut butter.

CHOCOLATE PROTEIN COOKIES
Makes 12

• 60g protein powder (I used phd vanilla flavour)
• 5-10g cocoa powder: optional if using vanilla flavoured protein
• 25g coconut flour, can substitute with whole wheat
• 30g oats 
• 1 large or  about 1.5 regular eggs
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• 65 ml non fat milk
• 30g dark chocolate chips: optional 
• 30g chopped nuts, I used Brazil nuts, optional
• 1-2 tbsp honey: optional

1. Combine the protein powder, cocoa, flour, oats and baking soda together.
2. Mix in the egg and enough milk to form a sticky dough. Fold in the chopped nuts and chocolate chips.
3. On a non stick baking tray, form 12 balls with your hands and flatten down with the back of a spoon.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for 10-12 minutes (mine were in for about 13, slightly over cooked :( ).Make sure that you don't overcook these as protein powder baked goods can easily go very dry.

Enjoy and back to my dissertation it is!

Xx

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Healthy chocolate mousse tart

Happy belated Easter! I hope you all had a lovely time and didn't get too carried away with the chocolates! In the UK, we had a 4 day long weekend, perfect excuse for a break from revision to go sightseeing in London. I also managed to squeeze in a quick catch up with my sister in Bournemouth. We had a lovely picnic in the sunshine in New Forest surrounded by wild horses and donkeys, went to the beach and caught up on some sister bonding time! We popped round to my aunt's place where she had prepared some lovely Mauritian food: faratas, chicken curry and boulettes!

It has recently been pointed out that I've had a somewhat incomplete childhood, having not watched most classic animations! (whoops!). So as I planned to snuggle in bed to Shrek the other night, I decided that a chocolate treat was necessary! Something rich and creamy with a nice crunch. Played around with what I had in the kitchen and there you have it, a sort of deconstructed chocolate mousse pie, healthified. :) I made two types of bases, one chocolate and one coffee flavoured one, the coffee one is slightly bitter and would appeal to adults mainly. Amounts specified are for individual pies so alter according to your pie dish.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE PIE

Choc base per individual pie

• 2 tbsp oats, grounded up
• 2.5 tbsp ground almond, or any other nut meal
• 0.5 tbsp honey or brown sugar
• 0.5 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
  
  Coffee base
• 2 tbsp oats, grounded up
• 2.5 tbsp ground almond 
• 0.5 tsp instant coffee
• 0.5 tbsp honey or brown sugar
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
  
  1. For any of the bases, mix together the dry ingredients. Add in the coconut oil and mix until it just comes together.
  2. Press the mix into a silicone cake mould or in a metal pan lined with baking paper.
  3. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes and allow to cool fully.

Chocolate mousse

I've already posted this recipe before, it is the magical avocado chocolate mousse. You only need three ingredients and quantities depend on how sweet and how 'chocolatey' you want your mousse to be, so vary quantities accordingly. If you think that the avocado mousse is too rich (which it might be for children), it is really nice to lighten it up which some banana.

• Ripe avocados
• Sweetener- I use honey
• Cocoa powder

1. Blend everything together until smooth and creamy.
2. Spoon over the cooled biscuit base and refrigerate till set. You could also freeze for a couple of minutes for a cool semi feddo style dessert. 

The refrigerated version will still be quite soft so if this is for a dinner party, individual ramekins full of this would be ideal! Decorate with fruit and enjoy!

Here are some Easter cupcakes that I made: carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and coffee cupcakes with white chocolate ganache centre, peanut butter frosting and peanut brittle.

Xx

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Healthy pecan pie!

Hello! So once again, it feels like such a long time since I have updated this blog, but it was all due to some exciting news. After months of applications, interviews, assessment centres and so on, I have finally secured a graduate job! I am going to be an associate in the Audit department of one of the Big 4 accountancy firms, studying for the ACA qualification. I start in September and cannot wait to start this exciting journey. Adding on to this great news, I have also booked my holiday back to Mauritius in June and just can't wait to have a relaxing holiday without any university stress! To mark the end of the term and the beginning of Easter holidays, a couple of us went to Steve Aoki's concert which was amazing with lots of cake throwing, crowd surfing etc.

On to the recipe! A friend of mine is the biggest pecan pie lover and although I had never made one before, I thought that it'd be a great recipe to try out. I made a normal full fat version as well as a healthy alternative to compare results. Both turned out great and I will definitely be making these mini healthy ones again. I only made 3 mini cupcake sized pies, so increase the quantities according to how many you'd like to make.

HEALTHY MINI PECAN PIES
Base:

• 3 tbsp group almond
• 2 tbsp oat flour (ground up oats)
• 0.5 tbsp honey or brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cocoa (optional for chocolatey base)
• About 1 tbsp coconut oil to bring it all together

1. Thoroughly mix together the ground almond, oat flour and cocoa. Stir in the sweetener and oil, varying the amounts until the mixture just starts coming together.
2. Press the base into greased or silicone cupcake cases and set aside whilst you make the filling.

Filling:

• 15 dates, soaked for 5 minutes in warm water to soften
• 1 egg
• Cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp honey
• About 50 g broken pecans

1. Drain the dates, blend until smooth along with the egg. Stir in the vanilla, cinnamon and honey, varying quantities according to your preferences. Fold in the pecan nuts.
2. Pour the mixture on top of the prepared bases.
3. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes or until the mixture looks set.

I recently attended the Cake and Bake show 2014 in Manchester which was amazing! I was able to see live demonstrations by Eric Lanlard (my idol!), Rosemary Shrager and many of the Great British Bake off contestants! The cakes on display were amazing. This year's show hosted the Jungle theme and we were greeted by a huge elephant made of cake, chocolate and intricate sugar work. I think the pictures speak for themselves!

I've also been slightly cupcake obsessed. Cupcakes are so versatile, easy to carry around and make the perfect present for any occasion. Here are a few of my creations: dark chocolate cupcake stuffed with chocolate filling and topped with peanut butter frosting and peanut brittle, carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting and coffee cupcakes with caramel frosting. 

I'll soon be posting a great yellow Thai curry and a chocolate mousse and almond pie.

Have a great weekend!

Xx

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The best tomato sauce ever

Finally, this long day is coming to an end as I cuddle up in my duvet (yes it is still so cold and wet here, I miss Mauritius!). I've just finished my demography coursework and food prep for my long day at university tomorrow. It has also just hit me that I only have one week of lectures left, ever! This is quite a scary thought but I am excited and can only hope that good and exciting things await!

This recipe is definitely one of the simplest ones on this blog. However, it is also probably one of the tastiest things you'll make! I remember when I used to work at a local cafe, the head chef Jaimie would also give me tips passed down from his mother! He always went on about how the secret to a good tomato sauce is to add in carrots and celery and to allow for the sauce to slowly simmer. I took on his tips, and I was definitely not dissapointed. I skipped out the celery because I made this in a rush, but definitely use it if you have it in stock. I also used canned tomatoes because they are already slightly cooked down but you could swap this for fresh tomatoes, cooking for sauce for longer. This sauce could be used for a variety of things, use as is with pasta or couscous or add in some cooked tofu, chicken, veggies etc. Use it in lasagnas or even to stuffed and roast some butternut, the options are endless.

EASY TOMATO BASE SAUCE

•  2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Half a large onion, finely chopped
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 1 medium sized carrot, grated 
• 1 tsp of fresh or dried herbs: basil, thyme or oregano
• Salt
• Olive oil

1. In a saucepan on low heat, pour in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add in the garlic and onion and let this good for a good 5-10 minutes until lightly browned.
2. Add in the grated carrot and let this cook down for a further couple of minutes. Add in the herbs.
3. Pour in the can of tomatoes, breaking them up. Let the sauce simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes, storing occasionally and adding water if it dries up.
4. At this point, you can add in any cooked meat or vegetables. I added some vegetarian mock meat and some grilled courgette slices.
5. Season and enjoy.

Healthy take on pecan pie coming up soon!

Xx

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Indulgent brownies

Hello! I hope that you all managed to have a great weekend no matter where and what you got up to. After an intense Max Fitness class yesterday morning, it was time for some weekend baking. I decided to make some gooey indulgent chocolate brownies for a house party that night and then went on to making more brownies later on during a baking session with a friend. To me, my weekends are never complete without a little fun in the kitchen:)!
Although these brownies are 100% unhealthy, I do believe that a little indulgence now and then is necessary for one's sanity! I remember bringing these into work as an intern and they were an instant hit! These brownies are guaranteed to put smiles on faces wherever you take them. If you do want to healthy version, try my aubergine brownies for rich gooey ones or my sweet potato ones for a lighter, more cake- like one.

INDULGENT BROWNIES

• 185 g dark chocolate, broken up
• 185 g butter
• 3 eggs
• 275 g sugar
• 85 g plain flour
• 40 g cocoa

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
2. If you are using a microwave, melt the butter in a large bowl and remove from the microwave. Add in the chocolate pieces and stir around. The residual heat should be enough to melt the chocolate. Alternatively, you can use a double boiler to melt the butter and chocolate together. Once combined, set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until light, fluffy and doubled in volume. This is (muchh!) quicker with an electric mixer and can take between 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the frothy egg mixture, making sure not to over mix.
5. Sieve the flour and cocoa into the batter, folding until the flour is just incorporated, once again, not over-mixing as this would deflate and reverse all the hard work put into beating those eggs!
6. Line a baking tray with some grease proof paper, pour in the brownie batter and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, the edges should look crusty and when you shake the pan, the middle should have a slight wobble but still look quite firm. If it is still very wobbly, leave for a couple more minutes before checking again. The trick is not to overcook these as they will continue cooking for a little while out of the oven. Leave to cool before slicing up.

You could jazz these up with some melted white/ milk chocolate, crushed nuts, coconut etc.

Here are a few recent 'foodie moments'. The top two are from this week's vegan dinner party. I definitely do not regret starting this weekly vegan affair. Although it does require a little extra thought and planning, it is great discovering all these new and delicious dishes that I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise! Dessert was this amazing avocado chocolate pie. Bottom left is this simple but delicious tomato sauce I recently made, which will be posted soon and to it's right is a carrot cake I made for my friend's 21st recently.
Enjoy!

Xx

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