Perfect day for a picnic

     

     

Today we decided to visit one of my favourite gardens in the Lake District and we were blessed with glorious spring sunshine.  Everywhere you looked there were new signs of life.  We packed a picnic and found a bench overlooking the lakes and fells.  Blissful!

We didn't have anything particularly fancy in our picnic but I did make a couple of variations on a 'Picnic Slice' recipe earlier in the week.  I originally called it 'Cupboard Cake' as I threw together some bits and pieces left over in my cupboard.  You could make your own variation using different fruit, nut and seed combinations.  Just try to balance the sweeter, high carb, dried fruits with some lower carb dried fruit, fresh fruit or vegetables (grated carrot might work).

Hope you're enjoying some sunshine too.

Fig, Apple and Pecan Picnic Slice (Gluten free and low sugar)

 

Ingredients - makes 9 generous squares (or more if you cut them smaller!)

• 85g dried figs, snipped into small pieces (dried dates would work just as well, if not better)
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 45ml of just boiled water
• 3 tbsp agave syrup / about 60g
• 85g butter (or lower fat alternative)
• 1 medium eating apple, peeled and chopped / about 85g prepared fruit
• 140g gluten free porridge oats
• 60g ground almonds
• 30g pecan nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Place the snipped fig pieces into a small bowl with the bicarbonate of soda and pour over the just boiled water.  Stir then allow to cool, ideally for around half an hour.
2. Mash the softened figs with a fork to make a rough puree or use a food processor or hand blender to blitz if you have them.
3. Preheat the oven to 170C / Gas 3.  Grease and base line a shallow 20cm square cake tin.
4. Melt the butter in a large pan over a low heat then stir in the agave syrup.
5. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, including the fig puree, and press into the prepared tin.
6. Bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes.  Mark into 9 squares and turn onto a wire rack until completely cool.

I calculated that each piece contains roughly 20g carbs.  This is for a pretty generous piece and you could make your portions smaller.

 Chocolate, Apricot and Coconut Picnic Slice (Gluten free and low sugar)

Ingredients - makes 9 generous squares (or more if you cut them smaller!)

• 85g gluten free plain dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 3 tbsp agave syrup / about 60g
• 85g butter (or lower fat alternative)
• 85g dried apricots, chopped or snipped into small pieces
• 140g gluten free porridge oats
• 45g ground almonds
• 45g dessiccated coconut
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Place the chocolate into a small bowl and microwave on high power for a few seconds until melted.  This can also be done by placing the bowl over a pan of just simmering hot water.  Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 170C / Gas 3.  Grease and base line a shallow 20cm square cake tin.
3. Melt the butter in a large pan over a low heat then stir in the agave syrup.
4. Mix in the rest of the ingedients, including the melted chocolate, and press into the prepared tin.
5. Bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes.  Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes.  Mark into 9 squares and turn onto a wire rack until completely cool.

This time I estimated the carbohydrates to be roughly 22g per piece.  This is a bit higher than I would like, so next time I would put in less chocolate and more dried apricots.  I would also reduce the portion size.

Muffins - Take two

 

This week I brought home a couple of limes in my supermarket shop, not knowing quite what I was going to do with them, but tempted by their Spring green colour.  According to my husband limes belong only in cheesecakes, but having seen a number of recipes with the coconut and lime combination I was tempted to try a gluten free, lower sugar version.  The recipe below is my second attempt.  My first batch were a bit of a disaster and I was beginning to think my husband was right, but I reduced the lime flavour of the muffin mix and added a cream cheese topping (almost cheesecake) and got that sought after family 'thumbs-up'.  As with all muffins they are really best eaten fresh.  I have discovered that if you put day old muffins (without toppings) in the microwave for a few seconds, until just warm, they regain some of that just baked softness.  
 

Coconut and lime muffins (Gluten free and low sugar)

 

 

  Ingredients - makes 6 to10 muffins

• 125g gluten free self-raising flour (I used Doves Farm)
• 25g ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
• 16g Truvia sweetener
• 1 egg, beaten
• 100ml coconut milk
• grated zest of 1 lime
• 50ml sunflower oil or rapeseed oil
• 25g desiccated coconut

To decorate (optional but better with than without)

• 75g cream cheese (I used Philadelphia light)
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 dessertspoonful agave nectar (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp deciccated coconut, lightly toasted, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 200C / Gas 6 and grease or line a muffin tray.
2. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl then add the Truvia and ground almonds, breaking up any lumps.
3. In a separate bowl mix the egg, coconut milk, lime zest, oil and desiccated coconut then pour into the dry ingredients.
4. Stir together until just combined but do not over mix, then spoon into your muffin cases.
5. Bake for around 20 minutes until risen and golden.  Allow to cool in the tray for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
6. For the topping, beat together the cream cheese, lime juice and agave nectar until smooth and creamy.  Spread over the top of you muffins and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.

The amount of carbohydrates per muffin will depend on how many you make.  I made 8 and roughly estimated my carbohydrates to be 16g per muffin.

One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, four!

Potatoes in an apple cake?  I came across an unlikely sounding recipe for Pratie Cake this week which I couldn't resist trying.  It is an old Irish recipe, hence the potatoes, and seemed appropriate as it was St Patrick's Day earlier in the week.  Yes I know I'm a little late with my Irish theme.  The recipe uses potatoes as an alternative pie crust surrounding a juicy appley centre.  It only needed a little fiddling to make it gluten free and low in added sugar.  I was worried that the potato dough would be difficult to handle but actually it was easier than my usual gluten free pastry.

The results were deliciously different, like a soft apple pie, and strangely there was very little taste of potato.  The rest of the family loved it and there was enough to reheat for second helpings the following evening.  I am now wondering how I could ring the changes with some different fillings.  Sorry about the poor photos with this one, but we were in a hurry to try to try the cake and didn't have time for anything arty!

 

Pratie Cake (Gluten free and low sugar)

 

Ingredients - makes an 18cm / 7in cake

• 450g potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 50g butter / margarine, melted
• 4 tbsp gluten free plain flour (approx 40g)
• 1/2 xanthan gum
• 1/2 ground ginger (optional)
• 1 large or 2 small cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 tbsp demerara or light soft brown sugar or sugar substitute (I used 1 tbsp 'Tate & Lyle Light at Heart' which is a brown sugar and stevia blend) 
• a little extra butter / margarine
• demerara sugar or caster sugar or 'Light at heart' for dredging

1. Preheat the oven to 190C / Gas 5.  Lightly grease a baking tray.
2. Mix together the mashed potatoes, salt and butter.
3. Sieve in the flour, xanthan gum and ground ginger.  Mix in to make a soft dough.
4. Knead lightly on a floured surface and divide into two portions.  Roll each portion out into a round of about 18cm / 7in across.
5. Place one round on the baking tray and pile on the apple in the centre.  Sprinkle with the sugar or sugar substitute.  
6. Dampen the edges of the dough with a little milk and lay the other round on top.  Press the edges together well and patch up any gaps which appear in your dough.
7. Bake for 45-60 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from the oven, spread with a little butter and sprinkle with sugar to your taste.  Serve hot.

My cake made 8 portions and I calculated that each portion had roughly 18-20g carbohydrates.

Orange and chocolate, a match made in heaven

There seems to have been extra things to worry about this week, as 'big school' and the 'big wide world' loom for my daughter.  I'm sure she'll cope fine, but I may be grey haired by Christmas!  Anyway in order to take my mind off such things I have been experimenting again with mixed results.

I tried out a couple of recipes with my oranges before finding something we all really liked.  The first one got an "okay" which translates to "nothing to write home about", whereas this one got the official thumbs up and requests for more.  The topping was an experiment as I've seen other soft cheese used to decorate cakes and ricotta seems to work very well too.  Don't forget to store the cake in the fridge in a sealed plastic box.

 

Chocolate and orange loaf  (Gluten free and lower sugar, though not sugar free)

 

Ingredients:  (makes around 8 slices)

• 50g spreadable butter
• 80g gluten free self raising flour
• 1 tsp gluten free baking powder
• 20g Truvia sweetener
• 50g ground almonds
• 3 medium eggs, separated
• zest of 1 small orange
• juice of 1 small orange - around 4 tbsp
• 25g gluten free dark chocolate, grated
• 25g gluten free dark chocolate chips   

To decorate:  (optional)

• 100g ricotta cheese
• 25g dark chocolate, melted
• 1 dessert spoonful agave nectar (or to taste)
• Gluten free sprinkles or decorations of your choice

1. Preheat the oven to 220C / Gas 7 (Don't be alarmed by this oven temperature, you turn it down once the cake is in - seems to work).  Lightly grease and line a 1lb (450g) loaf tin.
2. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, then add the butter, sweetener, ground almonds, egg yolks, grated orange zest and juice.  Beat together for 1-2 minutes until smooth (I used an electric hand mixer for this).
3. Fold in the grated chocolate and the chocolate chips.
4. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.  Fold half into the rest of the cake mixture, taking care not to beat out the air you have whisked in.  Then fold in the second half in the same way.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and level the surface.
6. Place in the preheated oven but then immediately reduce the temperature to 170C / Gas 3.  Bake for about half an hour or until a cake testing skewer comes out clean.  Leave to cool for around 10 minutes in the tin, before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack.
7. For the decoration place the chocolate in a small bowl and microwave for a few seconds until melted (this can also be done over a pan of hot water).  Leave to cool slightly then beat into the ricotta cheese until smooth.  Add the agave nectar to taste - I found just one dessert spoonful was enough.  Spread over the top of your cake and sprinkle over decorations of your choice.

My very rough estimate of carbohydrates per slice was 16g but this will depend on the ingredients used.  I used a very dark chocolate with only 33g of carbohydrate per 100g.

Oranges and lemons, starting with the lemons.

Post pancake day I seemed to be left with a couple of odd lemons to use up so I decided to make some post pancake day pancakes.  I have seen a few recipes for pancakes involving ricotta cheese and was curious to try them.  Whilst making these I did wonder whether it would be worth all the extra effort, but we all agreed it was, as the lemony ricotta in the middle of each pancake was delicious (reminded me of cheesecake) and the whisked egg whites made the pancakes puff up. Definitely making these again!

Lemon ricotta pancakes (Gluten free and low sugar version)

Ingredients - makes around 12 pancakes

• 250ml ricotta cheese
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• 2 tbsp ground almonds
• 120g gluten free self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 whole eggs
• 375ml milk
• 2 egg whites

1. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, lemon zest, agave nectar and ground almonds.
2. In another bowl sieve together the flours and bicarbonate of soda, then whisk in the whole eggs and milk to form a smooth batter with the consistency of thick cream.  
3. In a third bowl whisk the egg whites until they reach the firm peaks stage, then fold carefully into the batter so as not to lose the air you have whisked in.
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan, wiping it with a little oil between pancakes.  Add two dessert spoonfuls of batter to the hot pan spreading slightly with the back of the spoon to make a pancake around 10cm / 4 inches across.   Then working quickly add a dessert spoonful of ricotta mix to the centre of the pancake, flatten slightly, then add another spoonful of batter over the top of the ricotta to cover,
5. Cook for around 2 minutes until the underside of the pancake is a pale brown colour then flip over and cook for another 2 minutes on the other side.
6. Keep the pancakes wrapped in a teatowel to keep warm, whilst you use up the rest of the batter and ricotta mix.
7. Serve as they are or with a squeeze of lemon and a very light dusting of icing sugar.

My rough estimate of carbohydrates is 12g per pancake, assuming you get around 12 pancakes from your mix.

Variations on a Rhubarb theme

Last year we planted a new rhubarb plant and I have been waiting patiently for this years stems to be big enough to harvest.  They are such a beautiful colour and there is something very satisfying about just popping out to the garden for your ingredients.  The rhubarb is now ready to eat so I tried out a few variations on rhubarb recipes this weekend until I found one I was happy with.  Rhubarb is such a tart fruit and I began by pushing the 'low sugar' element of my recipe too far.  We liked the cake pictured below the best, as the rhubarb and orange combination seemed to work well.  It was even warm enough to sit outside to eat it with a cup of tea.  

Rhubarb crumble and orange loaf (Low sugar and gluten free)

 

 Ingredients - makes 1 small 1lb (450g) loaf

• 100g rhubarb, sliced into half a centimetre pieces (or thereabouts)
• juice of 1 small orange (grate the zest first for use in the sponge)

For the crumble topping

• 15g gluten free plain flour (I used Doves Farm)
• 15g ground almonds
• 15g gluten free oats
• 15g butter / margarine (I used a lower fat spreadable butter)
• 3g Truvia sweetener

For the sponge

• 50g softened butter / margarine (I used a lower fat spreadable butter)
• 60g gluten free self-raising flour (I used Doves Farm)
• 25g ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
• 15g Truvia sweetener
• 1 egg, beaten
• finely grated zest of 1 small orange
• 2 tbsp orange juice (from the drained rhubarb - see method)

1. Grate the zest of your orange onto a plate and set aside.
2. Place your chopped rhubarb into a small bowl and pour over the freshly squeezed orange juice.  Leave to soak, stirring occasionally, whilst you prepare the rest of the cake.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas 4.  Lightly grease and base line a 1lb (450g) loaf tin.
4. To make the crumble topping place flour, ground almonds and oats into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sweetener and set aside.
5. Next measure all the sponge ingredients into a large bowl.  You will need to drain the rhubarb at this stage to get your 2 tbsp of orange juice.  Beat the sponge ingredients together until well mixed (I used an electric hand mixer for this).  Spoon into your prepared tin and level the surface.
6. Scatter the drained rhubarb pieces over the top of the sponge mix and finally sprinkle over the crumble.
7. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes until risen and golden brown.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before turning out carefully on to a cooling rack. 

I cut our cake into 6 slices and my very rough estimate of carbohydrates per slice is 15g.

Spring is in the air....I think!

St David's day treats

Yesterday, March 1st, was officially the first day of spring and I'm sure the birds were singing a little louder though they still had their woolly hats on.  It was also St David's day, the patron saint of Wales, so I thought we should have some Welsh themed treats and what could be more Welsh than Welsh cakes?  I have tried to reduce the carb content in my recipe though they are still fairly high in fat especially if you butter them before eating, which I recommend.

Welsh Cakes (Gluten free and low sugar)

 

Ingredients

• 170g gluten free self raising flour (I used Doves Farm)
• 55g ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 110g butter or margarine (I used a reduced fat, spreadable butter)
• 15g Truvia sweetener
• 60g currants
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Sift the flour, mixed spice and xanthan gum into a bowl.  
2. Mix in the ground almonds then rub in the butter or margarine until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  
3. Stir in the Truvia and currants.
4. Add the egg, then bring the mixture together with your hands.  You should have a soft but not sticky dough.  Add a little extra flour if necessary to form a dough you can roll out.
5. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 0.5cm thick then cut into rounds with a plain or fluted cutter (6-8cm).
6. Heat a lightly greased griddle or heavy frying pan.  Cook the cakes for about 3 minutes on each side, over a low to medium heat, until golden brown.
7. Serve buttered.

Makes about 16 and I calculated that each cake has roughly 12g of carbs.

Pastry made nuttier

Continuing the whole "Welsh" theme we had a Leek Quiche for tea.  I quite often make a quiche but writing this blog has really made me think about how I cook and I wondered if I could make a lower carb version of my normal pastry.  I have seen recipes for Walnut pastry but as I'm not keen on walnuts I though I'd give hazelnuts a try instead.  We really liked this alternative and I will always make it this way from now on.  I guess I really should have used Caerphilly cheese but Wensleydale was a tasty alternative.  It's also good with Cheddar.

Please note this recipe does not involve blind baking the pastry.  It always seems to turn out fine though and I'm a great fan of anything that saves a bit of time.

Finally, gluten free pastry can be difficult to handle.  But I find that if you use an egg to bind the dough and cut your rolled out pastry into smaller pieces before transferring to your dish, it makes it easier.

Leek and Wensleydale quiche with a hazelnut pastry (Gluten free)

Ingredients
For the pastry:

• 35g hazelnuts, ground (using a food processor or hand grinder)
• 100 gluten free plain flour (I find Juvela gluten free Harvest White Mix the best for pastry.  This is available on prescription in the UK)
• 50g butter or margarine
• 1 egg, beaten

I used roughly 1 quarter hazelnuts to three quarters flour for my pastry.  This quantity is enough for a 22cm flan dish.

For the filling:

• 40g butter
• 300g leeks, trimmed, washed and finely chopped
• 20g gluten free plain flour
• 200ml milk
• 75g Wensleydale cheese, grated
• 2 eggs, beaten
• salt and pepper
• grated nutmeg (optional)

1. Sieve the flour into a bowl and add the ground hazelnuts.  Rub in the butter or margarine until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Stir in the beaten egg then bring together into a ball.  If it is too sticky add a little more flour to make a soft dough.  If you have time, wrap in clingfilm and chill.
3. Roll out the pastry to a circle big enough to fit your flan dish.  Cut your circle into four quarters then use a fish slice to lift into your dish.  Overlap the edges of your quarters, then use your fingers to press down and seal the overlap.  Neaten the pastry at the edge of your dish.
4. Preheat the oven to 190C / 375F / Gas 5.
5. To make your filling, melt the butter in a pan, add the leeks, cover and cook gently for 20 minutes until soft and golden.
6. Stir the flour into the cooked leeks, then add the milk and continue stirring until thickened.  Stir in the grated cheese, grated nutmeg and seasoning to taste.  Take off the heat and stir in the beaten egg.
7. Pour the mixture into the pastry case then bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.  Leave to cool for a few minutes before cutting.

Makes 5 generous portions.  My rough estimate of carbs per portion is 22g.