Category: Baking

Diwali date rolls

Date rolls
Date rolls

My earliest memories of Diwali are preparing the trays of biscuits and sweetmeats to be sent out to friends and family. My mom would spend the week leading up to Diwali baking up a storm so that there would be an abundance of sweet treats to go around.

Since moving away from home I have tried to keep up the tradition of baking at least 1 treat for us, keeping in mind there are only the 2 of us who are also trying to stay away from sugary foods.

This year I attempted to make my mom’s famous date rolls. This, along with her scone recipe, is her most requested recipe. The cherry on the top is that it so simple to make!

Let’s get cooking…

Start by blending room temperature butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and almonds, mix together.

Then sift in the flour and corn flour and gently mix to combine and form a soft dough.

Once the dough is ready take a tablespoon amount and flatten it, place a cylinder of date in the centre and roll the dough around it to form a biscuit.

Dip in milk and then roll in coconut. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes until golden. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

Diwali date rolls

Servings

20

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

  • 250g butter

  • 1/3 cup icing sugar

  • ½ granulated sugar

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • 2 tblsp nibbed almonds

  • 2 cups cake flour

  • ½ cup corn flour

  • ½ cup coconut

  • 3 tblsp milk

  • ½ cup dates, cut and rolled into 1 cm logs

Directions

  • Blend butter and sugars until light and fluffy
  • Add vanilla and almonds, mix together
  • Then sift in the flour and corn flour and gently mix to combine and form a soft dough
  • Once the dough is ready take a tablespoon amount and flatten it, place a cylinder of date in the centre and roll the dough around it
  • Dip in milk and then roll in coconut
  • Bake at 180C for 20 minutes until golden

Simplebutsplendid

Fluffy pancakes

Light fluffy pancakes
Light fluffy pancakes

Weekends are made for easy delicious brunches, pancakes provide a great sweet alternative to eggs and sausages, which as delicious as it is, can become a little boring.

The best pancakes should be easy to throw together with minimal ingredients and should not have you running out to get groceries on a lazy morning in.

Enter these light, fluffy and super easy pancakes that will have serving brunch in minutes!

Let’s get cooking…

Mix together the dry ingredients, then add in the liquids starting with the milk and yoghurt. Stir everything together until just combined.

Ladles about 1/3 a cup of batter into a hot pan that’s been well greased. You can adjust the size according to your preference, I got 8 out of this batter

You can dot with blueberries or chocolate chips at this point. Once bubbles start forming on top it is ready to flip, cook for a further 1 minute then remove from the pan.

Serve warm with maple syrup and berries!

Fluffy pancakes

Servings

2

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of flour, I used gluten free

  • ½ cup of plain yoghurt

  • ¼ cup milk, plant based or dairy

  • 2 tblsp sugar

  • ½ tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • Pinch of salt

  • 1 egg

  • 2 tblsp unflavoured oil or melted butter

  • Oil or butter for the pan

Directions

  • Mix together the dry ingredients, then add in the liquids starting with the milk and yoghurt
  • Pour into a hot pan that’s been well greased. You can adjust the size according to your preference, I got 8 out of this batter
  • You can dot with blueberries or chocolate chips at this point.
  • Once bubbles start forming on top it is ready to flip, cook for a further 1 minute then remove from the pan
  • Serve with maple syrup and berries

Simplebutsplendid

Luxury granola

Luxury granola
Luxury granola

One of my favourite breakfasts is granola with yoghurt and fruit. It’s super easy to put together on a busy morning and is the perfect combination of sweet, crunchy and delicious.

There are many store bought brands that I love, however, as my journey into healing my insulin resistance has progressed I have quickly learned that even healthy granolas have a much higher sugar content that I should be consuming for my particular health goals. Following this I started researching quick, easy and flavourful options to create this breakfast staple at home.

After many attempts I have come up with a combination of ingredients that are super satisfying, high in protein and deliciously sweet without any artificial sweeteners.

Let’s get mixing…

Start off by preheating your oven to 180 degrees. Melt coconut oil and honey if it isn’t liquid already and allow to cool slightly. Chop up the large nuts and seeds if you prefer. Add all of your dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl, give everything a quick toss then add in the oil and honey.

Mix everything together, the mixture will be quite sticky but this is good! Bake for 20 mins at 180. Once the granola is done, allow to cool completely for clumps to form. If you are short on time you can pop the entire tray into the freezer to speed up the process. Transfer to an airtight container and enjoy as a snack or healthy breakfast.

Luxury granola

Servings

10

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups gluten free oats

  • ½ cup almonds

  • ¼ cup hemp seeds

  • ¼ cup pumpkin seeds

  • ¼ cup sunflower seeds

  • ¼ cup chia seeds

  • ½ cup coconut

  • Pinch salt

  • ¼ cup coconut oil

  • ¼ cup honey

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

  • Melt coconut oil and honey if it isn’t liquid already
  • Chop the larger nuts and seeds
  • Mix everything together and bake for 20 mins at 180
  • Allow to cool completely for clumps to form

Simplebutsplendid

Chocolate lamingtons

Lamingtons
Lamingtons

Buttery delicious vanilla sponge covered in a chocolaty syrup and rolled into coconut sounds like perfection to me. Lamingtons always bring back great memories for me as it is something my mom baked regularly and it brings with it the comfort of a great childhood.

There are many variations that I have tried over the years, strawberry, white chocolate and apricot dipped all just as delicious as the original but today I have made the traditional but delicious chocolate lamington.

Let’s get cooking…

Start off with a simple vanilla sponge batter. Mix together all of the wet ingredients for the cake until the sugar melts. Then sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, mix to combine then pour into a greased baking tin. Bake at 180 for 30 minutes.

Once the cake cools, cut into squares and dip each square into the hot syrup then toss in coconut to coat. I find it easier to dip individual squares of the sponge into the syrup using a pair of tongs.

Best served with a cup of tea.

Chocolate lamingtons

Servings

8

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

  • Cake

  • 3 eggs

  • ½ cup oil

  • ½ cup water

  • ½ cup yoghurt

  • Pinch of salt

  • 2 cups cake flour

  • 3 tsp baking powder

  • 2 tsp vanilla

  • 1 ½ cups sugar

  • Syrup

  • ½ cup icing sugar

  • ¼ cup cocoa

  • 1 cup boiling water

  • 100g desiccated Coconut

Directions

  • Mix together all of the wet ingredients until the sugar melts
  • Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, mix to combine then pour into a greased baking tin
  • Bake at 180 for 30 minutes
  • Once cake cools, cut into squares and dip each square into the hot syrup then toss in coconut to coat

Simplebutsplendid

Gluten free Pizza- Coconut and chia

Coconut and chia gluten free pizza base
Coconut and chia gluten free pizza base

As part of my gluten free journey I have tried to convert some of my favourite dishes into gluten free options. This has been largely successful, however, my most challenging task has been to convert bread-like dishes due to suit my satisfaction. Often using gluten free flour blends to bake bread rolls, pizza doughs and bread loves often result in dense, doughy, flavourless items.

But after many, many trials I have achieved success with this pizza dough recipe. I have used suggestions from multiple sources to get to a perfectly crisp thin pizza base. And the best part is that is a cinch to put together.

It is a long list of ingredients but many are pantry staples and can often be found in gluten free households.

Let’s get cooking…

Start off by blending the chia seeds and coconut until fine, the add in the rest of the ingredients and mix to form a soft dough.

Tip onto a lined baking sheet and form into the shape of a pizza base with your hands. You could try using a rolling pin but I find this works best.

Bake at 180 for 20 minutes until golden. Remove form the over, top with cheese and your favourite toppings and bake for another 20 minutes.

Lastly enjoy your pizza!

Gluten free Pizza- Coconut and chia

Servings

2

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 egg

  • 1/3 cup olive oil

  • 1/3 cup warm water

  • 1 cup tapioca flour (cassava)

  • 3 tblsp coconut flour

  • 3 tblsp flax or chia powder

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • ½ tsp garlic powder

  • ½ tsp Italian seasoning

  • Pinch salt

Directions

  • Blend the chia and coconut until fine, the add in the rest of the ingredients and forma soft dough
  • Tip onto a lined baking sheet and form into the shape of a pizza base
  • Bake at 180 for 20 minutes until golden
  • Top with cheese and toppings and bake for another 20 minutes
  • Enjoy

Simplebutsplendid

Vegetarian Savoury mince Pies

Vegetarian savoury mince pie
Vegetarian savoury mince pie

Some days meat free Mondays just needs to be simple and uncomplicated. For days like this i always have a roll of gluten free puff pastry ready in my freezer, ready to be transformed into something delicious!

This week there was actually very little cooking involved, I had a portion of already cooked spicy vegetarian mince in the freezer. A quick defrost of the pastry and mince and I had a batch of really delicious effortless savoury mince pies ready for the oven. The recipe for the mince couldn’t be simpler but if you’d like to steer away from soya than finely diced mushrooms or lentils would be great substitutes also.

Let’s get cooking…

Start by frying the onions in oil until soft. Add in turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder and curry powder and fry for a few seconds then add ginger and garlic paste and fry until fragrant. Add in tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, the oil should look like it is bubbling to the top, mash the tomatoes so that it forms a paste like consistency and stir in the mince with the garam masala and salt.

Allow to saute for 5-10 minutes then add in ½ cup water and handful of peas. Simmer on low-medium heat until almost all the water has dried up. Garnish with coriander and allow to cool.

Once the filling has cooled or been fully defrosted if it was already prepared, you can roll out the puff pastry and cut it into 12 equal rectangles.

Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling into the centre of each rectangle then fold the short edge over and crimp with a fork to seal. Bake at 180 until golden, approximately 30 minutes. Enjoy with a side of chillli sauce to dip into.

Vegetarian Savoury mince Pies

Servings

4

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

50

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 portion of plant based mince

  • ½ onion, finely sliced

  • 1 small tomato, pureed

  • 1 tsp ginger and garlic past, or you can crush ginger and garlic separately

  • ½ tsp garam masala

  • ¼ tsp turmeric

  • ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

  • 2 tsp curry powder, depends on heat preference

  • 2 tbsp oil, coconut or vegetable oil

  • Salt to taste

  • 1 tsp coriander, chopped

  • Handful of frozen peas

  • 1 sheet puff pastry

Directions

  • Fry onion in oil until soft
  • Add in turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder and curry powder and fry for a few seconds then add ginger and garlic paste and fry until fragrant
  • Add in tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, the oil should look like it bubbling to the top
  • Add in mince salt and garam masala and stir thoroughly
  • Allow to saute for 5-10 minutes then add in ½ cup water and peas.
  • Simmer on low-medium heat until water has evaporates.
  • Garnish with coriander, allow to cool
  • Once the filling has cooled or been fully defrosted if it was already prepared, you can roll out the puff pastry and cut it into 12 equal rectangles.
  • Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling into the centre of each rectangle then fold the short edge over and crimp with a fork to seal. Bake at 180 until golden, approximately 30 minutes. Enjoy with a side of chillli sauce to dip into.

Simplebutsplendid

Banana bread

Delicious homely banana bread
Banana bread

Banana bread is a firm favourite in any household. Growing up my mom was always on the hunt for a perfect banana bread recipe and she finally found this one. She swears by it and maintains that it is the warm milk and baking soda combo that makes this so light and fluffy. Although there are a few steps involved I have worked on making this as quick and easy as possible.

The recipe is extremely adaptable and I have swapped out normal flour for gluten free flour and dairy milk for plant based alternatives and the taste is pretty much spot on every time.

Let’s get cooking…

Start off by creaming the butter and sugar together until it is pale yellow and fluffy, add in the eggs individually and mix to incorporate well. Next add in the mashed bananas, I prefer to mash the bananas in the same bowl to reduce washing up but you can also do this separately and add it into the mixture.

Incorporate the sifted flour and baking powder but mix ever so gently, you don’t want to create a tough batter by over mixing and activating the gluten. Boil the milk in the microwave or on the stove top and add the bicarb to it while it still hot. The milk should begin to foam add it immediately into the cake batter, work quickly at this point to not lose any of this effervescence. Pour the batter into an already greased loaf tin and bake at 180 for 1 hour. A skewer or knife inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean when the cake is cooked.

Top with a spread of butter and drizzle over nut butter of choice. Enjoy while warm!

Banana bread
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Banana bread

Servings

6-8

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

  • 125g butter

  • ¾-1 cup sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 2 bananas, mashed

  • S tsp baking powder

  • ½ cup milk, boiled

  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Directions

  • Cream the butter and sugar
  • Add eggs to the mixture individually and mix in
  • Add mashed bananas to the mixture
  • Add flour and baking powder and mix well
  • Add bicarbonate of soda to the boiled milk and stir before adding into the cake batter
  • Mix well and pour into a greased loaf tin
  • Bake for 1 hour at 180 degrees

Simplebutsplendid