Healthy snack: Energy Bomb

Today I came up with an idea for a healthy snack and I called it Energy Bomb. I just had it with lemon tea and it was delicious! It is really easy to make and keeps your energy level up for much longer than a piece of cake or a banana would have done.

Here is how to make an Energy Bomb:
In a small cooking pot, mix together semi-skimmed milk, porridge oats and any seeds and nuts you have available. You can add a little honey to it. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes dense.

Smear a little olive oil in a little cup and pour the mixture in it. Let it cool down. Put the cup upside down on a little plate, it will come out of the cup easily. Decorate it with a little home made jam (I used my homemade plum jam) and a few almond flakes. Your Energy Bomb is ready:

Serve with a cup of good tea of coffee. The Energy Bomb is a very satisfying and healthy snack.

Enjoy!
Yolanta

Healthy snack: Energy Bomb

Baking Goat's Cheese, Pistachio and Prune Cake by Rachel Khoo

From the BBC website: "Croydon born cook and food writer Rachel Khoo bakes a mouth-watering savoury cake with unusual ingredients. Her Parisian kitchen may be small, but even the tiniest oven doesn’t stop Rachel from inventing remarkable recipes."

I must say I missed her programs on TV, but never mind, somehow I discovered her this week and watched some of her programs on-line. I find Rachel Khoo a very inspiring person. Her tiny kitchen is sweet and colorful. I like her shabby chic mixing bowl and tiny oven. You do not have to have a posh kitchen to be a great cook.

I decided to give one of her recipes a try. I substituted spelt flour for wheat flour. The rest of the ingredients are the same.

 Goat's Cheese, Pistachio and Prune Cake - Ingredients:

• 250g flour
• 50g baking powder
• soft goat's cheese (about 180g)
• prunes
• pistachios
• 4 eggs
• 150 ml olive oil
• 50g yogurt
• salt and pepper
• olives (optional)

Beat 4 eggs until nice and fluffy. Continue beating, while adding olive oil, milk and yogurt. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir baking powder into the flour and add to the mix.

Cut the goat's cheese into small pieces. Stir into the mix. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the baking tin. Put in the preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.

Check if the cake is baked by inserting a thin wooden stick into it. When it comes out clean, the cake is ready.

This savory cake is really delicious and quick to prepare. It makes a perfect picnic food. You can have it for lunch or dinner with a side salad.

Bon appetit!

Baking Goat's Cheese, Pistachio and Prune Cake by Rachel Khoo

Baking Flourless Chocolate and Apricot Cake

I made this cake for my husband's birthday a few days ago and it was really delicious. He loved it, as did his friends at work, when he shared it with them the next day. The cake has a delicate flavor of apricots, with an added bite of cinnamon and the satisfying intensity of dark chocolate.

This cake was made without any flour or butter (I just used a little to butter the cake tin), so it is a good choice for someone watching the calories or someone on a wheat-free diet, like myself. If you prefer even a lighter version, you can make it without the chocolate frosting and it will still be delicious.

The ingredients for making 1x 20cm cake:

The cake
- 225g succulent dried apricots
- 1 x 7cm stick of cinnamon
- juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
- 6 medium eggs
- 200g ground almonds
- 25g sifted cocoa
- 200g golden caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon sifted baking powder
- a little butter for the cake tin

The frosting
- 200g dark chocolate (50% or more cocoa solids)
- 200g soured cream

Place the apricots, cinnamon and lemon juice and zest in a small pan and add 200ml water. Bring to the boil, then simmer over a low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the apricots are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove the cinnamon stick and purée the apricots with a blender. Transfer the purée to the bowl and leave to cool.

Butter the 20cm cake tin. Preheat the oven to 190C/ 170C with fan/ gas 5.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until pale and foamy, then fold in the ground almonds, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and the apricot purée.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes, until deep golden brown on top. Insert a thin stick in the center of the cake, it should come out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Run a knife around the edge, leave the cake to cool, then ease out of the tin.

To make the frosting: Break the chocolate into pieces and melt gently in a small pan set over a bigger pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the soured cream.

Using the long wide knife, coat the cake with the icing. Set aside in a cool place to set for a few hours.

The cake should keep in an airtight container for several days.

Happy baking :)
Yolanta

Baking Flourless Chocolate and Apricot Cake

Making Plum, Spelt & Oat crumble - Wheat Free baking

The plum frenzy continues... Taking advantage of the abundance of our plum tree, I have made a Plum, Spelt and Oat Crumble. It was really delicious so I am sharing the recipe with you. This recipe is wheat free so even if you have a wheat intolerance (like myself) you can also enjoy it. Of course you can substitute wheat flour for the spelt flour if you like.

For a serving for 6 people you will need:

Fruit part
•  700g plums halved and stoned
•  1 tablespoon lemon juice
•  1 tablespoon spelt flower
•  50g muscovado sugar

Crumble part:
•  100g spelt flour
•  half teaspoon cinnamon
•  100g muscovado sugar
•  100g butter or margarine
•  75g rolled oats

To serve:
thick Greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut the plums in half and remove the stones. Place in the baking dish and sprinkle with 1 tbsp lemon juice.

Add 1 tbsp spelt flour and 50g muscovado sugar and toss the plums in them.

Prepare the crumble: Place the flour, cinnamon, sugar, butter and oats in a bowl and mix it with your fingers until the crumble forms. It should not be allowed to form a ball, but be quite loose.

Sprinkle the crumble on top of the plums and put in the preheated oven.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crumble is a nice golden color.

Serve hot with a thick Greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

Happy baking:)
Yolanta

Making Plum, Spelt & Oat crumble - Wheat Free baking