Biscotti

This is such a simple recipe... do give it a go, the ingredients you'll need are -

90g Plain Flour (we used Dove's Farm gluten free)
50g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder (we used Dr Oetker gluten free)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
40g pistachio nuts
25g dark chocolate chips/chunks

We mixed the first three ingredients together in a bowl. 

Next, the egg was lightly beaten and the vanilla extract was added to it.  This egg mix was then poured into the dry ingredients and thoroughly combined by hand. (just use one hand to 'squish' it together, it will form a dough after a while - if it's over dry, just add a little water a couple of drops at a time)

Once it was formed into a dough, it was time to add the nuts and chocolate chips.

Finally the dough was placed on a silicone sheet on a baking tray and placed in a pre-heated (160ºC fan oven) for 10 minutes.  We checked it at this point and, as it was still soft in the thickest part, returned it to the oven for a few more minutes before checking and removing to cool.

Having allowed the biscotti dough to cool for about 15 minutes, it was moved to a chopping board and sliced (using a sharp knife) into 1cm thick slices.

The slices we returned to the baking sheet and cooked for a second time in the oven... after about 5 minutes, we turned the oven off and allowed the biscotti to dry using the oven's residual heat.  (take care not to burn your biscotti - set a timer to remind you!)

Beware - the Biscotti are very more-ish and are great with a coffee or a cuppa.  Enjoy.

Simple, surprising, Chocolate Mousse

Having spotted a recipe of Lorraine Pascale's that looked interesting, we decided to give it a go.

As is usual for us, we didn't have *quite* the right ingredients so made a couple of minor tweaks.  However the recipe remains gluten free, dairy free, added sugar free and egg free.  Plus, it's a one pot 'whiz up' mix which is an added bonus!

The ingredients we used were -

One ripe banana, peeled
One ripe avocado, peeled and stone removed
62g dates, with stones removed
42g unsweetened cocoa powder

(this made enough for three quite large servings)

The banana and dates were put in a food processor, they were whizzed to combine and then the avocado was also added.

Finally, the cocoa powder was added and mixed until all ingredients thoroughly combined.

Splitting the mousse between three serving dishes, they were then cooled until it was time to eat them.  Having a smooth texture, they were very chocolatey and not too rich.  A lovely end to our meal.  Really simple to make and not as bad for you as other chocolate puddings!

Sous Chef J has suggested adding coffee to them the next time we make them - the finely ground instant coffee beans type - and we think the addition of a teaspoon of this will create a lovely rich mocha dessert.

Coconut and Blueberry Cake

Spotting a tasty sounding cake recipe that made use of coconut flour and was also dairy free, we took a look and decided it was something we had to try.

The ingredients we used were -

4 medium eggs

125g caster sugar

100g Lucy Bee Coconut oil, melted

50g coconut flour, sifted

1 tsp gluten free baking powder (we used Dr Oetker)

50g desiccated coconut

150g blueberries

Quite a simple to make cake.  The eggs and sugar were whisked together using the electric hand mixer until they'd doubled in volume.  

The melted coconut oil was then slowly drizzled into the egg/sugar mix to combine.

Next, the dry ingredients were folded through to incorporate fully.

Finally the blueberries were added and stirred into the cake mix.

Pouring the cake mix into a lined, round 7" cake tin, the cake was then baked in a 160º fan oven for 30 minutes... after this time the oven temperature was reduced to 150º and the timer set for 20 minutes.  We checked the cake when the timer went off and saw that a knife blade came out clean so removed the cake from the oven.

Placing the cake on a wire rack to cool in its tin for 10 minutes, we allowed it to cool a little before turning it out of the tin and leaving

it to cool fully.

Dusting the top of the cake with icing sugar, we sliced it and served with fresh strawberries and cream (obviously leave out the cream if your aim is a
dairy free cake/dessert).

It was a lovely moist cake and, surprisingly, the texture was airy and light.

Marshmallow Making

We've been intending to make marshmallows for ages so when we were offered the chance to try out Sainsbury's Marshmallow Making Kit we were keen to give it a go.









Having checked the ingredients in the kit, we were delighted to find they were the same as those that are used in the recipes we had seen online.  This is the recipe we were going to use if we'd cooked them without the kit.

There are quite a few steps, detailed well on the box, and we took lots of pictures. 

Following the instructions, we placed the contents of the sugar sachet in a pan, added 175ml cold water, mixed it well and then put it on the hob to boil.  Once boiling, the heat was reduced and the solution was left to simmer for 10 minutes.

Whilst the sugar was simmering, the 21cm by 21cm tray was lined with clingfilm.  Next, the sides and bottom were dusted with half of the icing sugar mix sachet.

Following the directions, we added the gelatine to a bowl, topped with 100ml boiling water and left it for 5 minutes.  After this time, it was whisked on high until it was frothy.

As soon as the gelatine mix was frothy, the sugar solution was VERY carefully added...

... and whisked for 10 minutes.  We draped a tea towel over the hand mixer and bowl to minimist the risk of splishes and splashes of the "INCREDIBLY hot sugary stuff."



After ten minutes of whisking, the mix was white and had cooled well, we poured it into the clingfilm lined tin.  Adding a dusting of the icing sugar mix to the top, before we placed some more clingfilm on top before chilling in the fridge.

The next day we removed the marshmallow from the tin and then marked the surface ready for cutting.  Sainsbury's packet says the kit makes 12 squares but we made 36!

Dusting the knife with icing sugar, we carefully cut the marshmallow slab up and rolled each strip in icing sugar to stop stickiness.  The slices were then cut, again, into bite-sized chunks which were also dusted in more icing sugar.

We had poured a small portion of the mallow mix onto another clingfilmed and dusted tray and we cut this into Seasonal shapes.

Sous Chef J had fun working out which cutters to use and particularly enjoyed the 'cooks reward' of the leftover marshmallow bits!





We bagged up some of the marshmallows in cellophane bags which will be given as gifts.

This was a fun activity (but the sugar solution does get very hot, so we'd recommend an adult does this part) and the marshmallows are delicious.  We'll definitely make these again and liked that the kit provided the ingredients we needed "without faffing about with measuring stuff out."

Disclosure - we were sent a marshmallow making kit by Sainsbury's but were not required to write a positive blog post about it.  All views are our own.

Coconut Traybake

This is a recipe from the Dove's Farm website - we tweaked it a little by turning it into a traybake, using raspberry jam and also slightly changing the method!

Following our usual style, we collected the ingredients together and weighed out the quantities required.


We lined a 7" by 11" baking tray (not the 8"x8" tin the recipe used)


and combined the dry ingredients together.




Next, the wet ingredients were beaten using a hand mixer until the foam on the top remained when the beaters were removed.




The method in the recipe says to add dry to wet ingredients so we did this, even though it seemed the wrong way round.

Having mixed the newly combined ingredients together, the cake batter was poured into the lined tray.

Placing the tray into a pre-heated fan oven at 180ºC, the timer was set for 35 minutes.  After this time, we moved the tray to a lower shelf and set the timer for a further 10 minutes.

A skewer was inserted into the cake to see if it came out clean (which would indicate a cooked cake mix) and when it did, the tray was removed from the oven and left on a wire rack to cool.







In a change from the Dove's Farm method, we then spread our raspberry jam over the cooling cake in a thin layer.


Once the cake was fully cooled, it was cut up and served with coconut milk custard.

The cake was very much thinner and less cake-like than is shown in the picture on the Dove's Farm site.  However, it was happily eaten by Sous Chef J who requested seconds.  We think it's more of a coconut bar than a cake... but a tasty treat, whatever it's called!

Disclosure - we were sent some Dove's Farm speciality flours to try and chose to use the tapioca flour in this recipe.  The views are our own and we were not required to blog about the products.