Apology for my absence but a fantastic cake to make up for it :))

I must apologise for my absence, in July, on my birthday actually; I took my grandmother to the hospital for some tests results to find out that she has terminal cancer and was only given two to three months to live...pretty heartbreaking, but two months on and she's still here although she is fading fast! These last two months have been spent with her and also making the most of the holidays with my son and he really has taken my mind off of it while we have been doing a million and one activities! Baking has taken a bit of a back seat but every so often I have managed to make my way to the kitchen to prepare something new or try something completely different...don't worry I'm still cooking all the time just not as experimental as I normally am! I have been updating my facebook page a little bit more (sorry blog) so I will try and catch up with myself so my first recipe has to be something that came to me from a wonderful trip to the pick your own with my son. We have been many times and we have so much fun especially when we get to make something with all the great fruit and veg we pick. As courgettes are now coming into season what perfect way to use them than to make a cake (I hear you all cheer) I love courgettes and as like carrots they bring a fantastic moist quality to cakes. I decided to not go down the chocolate and courgette cake route and opted for something that I had come up with and not heard of before, whether that would work, time would tell and thank goodness it did :))! This really is one of the best cakes I've made and the taste is fantastic and with a slice adding up to one of your five a day who can argue hehehehe :))

Courgette, Coconut and Macadamia Nut Cake with a Coconut and mascarpone Icing

Cake

100ml coconut oil

150ml vegetable oil

200g caster sugar

3 eggs

200g self raising flour

75g dessicated coconut

100g macadamia nuts toasted

250g cougette coarsely grated 

Coconut Icing 

50g cream cheese (Philadelphia)

200g mascarpone

4 tbsp icing sugar

40g dessicated coconut

Pre heat the oven to 180/170c fan.

Grease and flour 2 x 8" cake tins and set aside 

Into a bowl add the oil, sugar and mix well, add the eggs and beat until well incorporated

In a separate bowl add the flour and coconut and slowly add this to the egg mixture and fold in gently.

Add the courgette and macadamia nuts and fold them in gently.

Pour evenly into the cake tins and pop into the oven for 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean (springs back when you touch the top centre of the cake)

Allow to cool and then remove from the tins and place into cooling racks

Mix the cream cheese, mascarpone and icing sugar in a bowl and stir through the coconut

Place one of the cakes onto a cake stand. Smooth the icing over the top of the cake and place the other cake on top

Enjoy :))

Strawberry, Almond and Coconut Crumble

I love a traditional pudding, I would happily say that the crumble is my favourite but I also love Bakewell, cheesecake, bread and butter pudding, well pretty much any pudding...yet I always find something so comforting with a crumble. The only downfall is I would happily eat a several portions, or the whole thing if i had the chance...not like I've ever done that before (well maybe once hehe)

Apple is always the traditional option for a crumble and yes I love that but then I discovered strawberry crumble and that was it....love at first taste! I could happily eat this dessert morning, lunch and dinner, now wouldn't that be fantastic..well as long as my waist line didn't get bigger haha!

To add a little something to an already wonderful crumble I decided to add some tasty coconut (one of my favourites, there's probably not many recipes I don't add this too) and now I truly have died and gone to heaven, it gives this dessert so much depth and extra flavour! If you find yourself with some strawberries lurking in the back of the fridge, I promise you you won't be disappointed 

Strawberry, almond and Coconut Crumble

Filling

600g strawberries, hulled and quartered

20g caster sugar

25g ground almonds

25g dessicated coconut

3 tsp vanilla extract

Crumble

300g plain flour

170g Demerara sugar

200g butter chilled and cut into cubes 

20g ground almonds

85g flaked almonds

100g dessicated coconut

In a deep dish add the strawberries and then add the sugar, ground almonds, dessicated coconut and vanilla extract and stir round

Crumble

In a bowl add the flour and sugar.

Add the butter to the flour and sugar and rub with your fingers to until you get a bread crumb like consistency

Add the ground almonds, flaked almonds and dessicated coconut and stir through

Pour the crumble topping on top of the strawberries and pop into the fridge

Pre heat the oven to 190c/180c fan 

Place the crumble into the oven for around 35 minutes until golden on top

Serve with some double cream or ice cream :))

Perfect summer treat

Chocolate and Coconut Soda Bread

The last month or so has been pretty busy with this and that and with my cold that I can't seem to shift, I woke up this morning craving something a little sweet, I wasn't in the mood to make a cake, or muffins, so I started to look at making some cookies but I just couldn't decide so then it came to me...a sweet bread :))! I decided on a sweet soda bread, I hadn't tried it before and wasn't even sure it would work but the thought of chocolate and coconut was calling me so off to the kitchen I went and just threw all the ingredients in together and luckily the outcome was wonderful....exactly what I needed and my goodness was it tasty, I even managed to eat half of it before even had time to cool down and trust me the other half tasted just as good once it had cooled down haha...oops :/ 

So here it is, my recipe for Chocolate and Coconut Soda bread. This is like your normal soda bread, obviously because it is sweet but also the fact that it is a little softer once baked, also I used milk chocolate as that is all I had in my cupboards but feel free to use dark chocolate as I am sure that would work fantastic as well especially with the coconut.

Chocolate and Coconut Soda Bread

240g self raising flour

50g dessicated coconut

50g plain whole meal flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp honey

80g chocolate chunks

250ml coconut buttermilk (250ml coconut milk with 1tbsp lemon juice added and set aside for 20 minutes)

Pre heat the oven to 200/190c fan

Add the flours, dessicated coconut, honey, salt, bicarb of soda and chocolate chunks into a bowl.

Add the coconut buttermilk to the dry ingredients and mix (you may need some more flour if it appears too sticky and wet, depending on your flour so add more self raising flour if needed)

Mix to form a dough and turn out into a lightly floured worktop and knead gently. Form into a round ball and pop onto a lined baking tray and score a cross on the top

Pop into the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden in colour and cooked inside... And enjoy :))

Healthy Courgette, Banana, and Coconut Oat Loaf

I'm on a bit of a health kick at the moment, I've taken up swimming and I've been going 4 times a week and honestly at first I thought I would have to be dragged out the pool after about 2 lengths but I quite surprised myself and now after 4 weeks I'm on 64 lengths (1 mile)...with that and eating healthy even though I don't eat rubbish anyway, I thought it was about time to develop some sweet healthy recipes. I must say I'm always disappointed at results that come up when you search for healthy recipes as some of the ingredients are good foods, ie fruit or veg but then add in the large amount of sugar and it can't really be constituted as healthy, so I was on a mission! I had seen a recipe a while ago that sounded great so off to my kitchen I went to develop my own version and it was a huge success, tasty, healthy and without the guilt...no sugar! Hard to believe I know but honestly these mini loafs (or loaf) really do taste fantastic and you would never know that you didn't have the sugar piled into them! These are perfect for kids as well as loads of good foods packed into them and as long as you get gluten free oats, they are perfect for gluten free diet as well as there is no flour :)) 

Healthy Courgette, Banana and Coconut Oat Loaf

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/2 cup oats (not instant)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 tbsp honey

1 banana mashed (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup courgette grated

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1/3-1/2 cup pistachio nuts (crushed)

Pre heat the oven to 180/170c fan

Add the ground almonds, oats, baking soda and cinnamon to a bowl and mix

In a jug add the eggs, vanilla extract, oil and honey and whisk until incorporated

Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and then add the mashed banana, the grated courgette, desiccated coconut and pistachios and mix well.

Pour into either a lightly oiled loaf tin or lightly oiled mini loaf tins (I used 4 mini ones)

Pop into the pre heated oven and bake for around 15-18 minutes, until golden in colour and a skewer comes out clean

Butternut Squash and Coconut Pancakes

It's amazing how far one butternut squash can go and finally after four days I managed to use it all :) I did a wonderful butternut squash, feta, rocket and pine nut barley salad, pasta with butternut squash, pancetta, goats cheese and pine nuts and a butternut squash and goats cheese salad and finally today I knew I had to come up with something different...so while I was driving back from a play session with my son it came to me...Butternut Squash and Coconut Pancakes. Okay this may sound unusual but these are some of my favourite flavours and decided that why not combine them, the end result was wonderful. The taste is lovely and just the right amount of sweetness but perfect to go with a meat dish as well as some lovely goats cheese...honestly give them a try 

Butternut Squash and Coconut Pancakes

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

3 heaped tbsp dessicated Coconut

1 egg

300ml Coconut Milk

170g butternut squash cut into small cubes and cooked in oil and ground cinnamon

In a bowl add the flour, baking powder, coconut and salt and mix

In a jug add the coconut milk and egg and whisk

Mash up the cooked butternut squash 

Pour the milk mixture in with the dry ingredients and then add the butternut squash and whisk until fully incorporated

Heat a little oil in a frying pan on a medium high heat

Pour out any excess oil and spoon some of the batter into your pan

Cook until golden underneath and turn over and cook on the other side

Once cooked remove from the pan and continue with the rest of the batter

I served mine with a goats cheese salad with some honey and maple BBQ pork steaks

Coconut and Cinnamon Crispy Chicken

The other night I was pretty pushed for time as me and my son had busy all day and I had some chicken thighs marinating in some buttermilk but hadn't actually decided what I was going to coat them in until we bought some flavoured popcorn and it gave me a brainwave...I know strange ehh it comes to me in the strangest ways hehe! Anyway this was a caramel, cinnamon and coconut flavour popcorn and while I was eating it I thought that (without the caramel) it would taste pretty darn good on some chicken so off I went home to the kitchen and made a coconut and cinnamon breadcrumb for my chicken and it was fantastic...just enough coconut and cinnamon flavour to make our dinner something different and flavoursome :)) it even got a huge thumbs up from my son...mission accomplished! The secret to moist and tender breaded chicken whether its fried or oven cooked is to marinate it in buttermilk...honestly it's works wonders :)

Coconut and Cinnamon Crispy Chicken

4 chicken thighs

250ml buttermilk or 250ml milk and 1 tbsp lemon juice

2 -3 slices of bread

5 tbsp desiccated coconut 

3/4 tsp cinnamon (ground)

Salt and pepper

Plain flour

1 egg (beaten)

Pour the buttermilk into a deep bowl (or add the milk and lemon juice and allow to stand for 10 minutes) 

Add the chicken thighs and cover with cling film for at least 3 hours, overnight is good too

Pre heat the oven to 190/180c fan

Place the bread in a food processor and blitz to form breadcrumbs. Add the desiccated coconut and the ground cinnamon and salt and pepper and blitz again until fully incorporated. Pour this on to a plate.

Pour a little flour onto a plate and the beaten egg on another

Lift the chicken out of the buttermilk and place in the flour bowl. Coat with flour and add the chicken to the egg bowl and cover with the egg. Then finally add the chicken to the coconut/cinnamon breadcrumbs and coat fully.

Place on a lined baking tray and repeat with the remaining chicken thighs

Spray a little olive oil finely over the chicken

Pop into the oven for around. 30-40 minutes until golden in colour and the chicken is cooked

I served mine with garlic and cinnamon roasted veg and chips

Coconut crazy :))

I told you I had gone coconut crazy...this time with a coconut bread! I had seen the recipe on smitten kitchens website so I knew I had to make it! It's a really nice sweet bread, a great alternative to banana bread

Coconut Bread

2 large eggs

295 ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups (315 grams) plain flour

1/4 tsp salt 

2 tsp  baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup (200 grams) caster sugar

140 grams) dessicated coconut 

85 grams butter, melted or melted and browned, if desired

Heat oven to 180/170c fan degrees. In a jug, whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla extract 

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add sugar and coconut, and stir to mix. Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture, then stir until just combined. Add melted butter, and stir until just smooth — be careful not to overmix.

Butter and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan, Pour batter in pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, anywhere from 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool in the pan for five minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Cut into thick slices with a nice bit of butter or even some lovely lemon curd :))

Adapted from a recipe from smitten kitchen

Coconut and Blueberry Muffins

It's pretty safe to say I love nuts, I could eat them all day and coconut is no exception so I have taken it upon myself to cook with it as much as I can haha...firstly was the chickpea and spinach coconut curry with coconut rice a little while ago and I'm following on with a sweet coconut recipe...Coconut and Blueberry Muffins :) I enjoy a good muffin but these are amazing...moist, soft, flavoursome! I wanted to find a way of making sure I captured a good coconut flavour so I actually use both dessicated coconut and coconut cream in the recipe and it works brilliantly. These muffins are so easy to make and taste wonderful. I've already received comments on my Facebook page from people who have made them saying how good they taste :))

Coconut and blueberry muffins

300g self-raising flour

150g caster sugar

40g  desiccated coconut

100ml oil

125ml coconut cream

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, lightly whisked

100g blueberries

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a muffin tin with muffin cases.

Combine the flour, sugar and coconut and salt in a bowl. Add the blueberries and stir through.

Add the oil, coconut cream and egg to a jug and whisk until slightly frothy. 

Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined, no more than 10 stirs. 

Spoon into the muffin cases.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Allow to cool