Baking
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Jellybean Rainbow Cake
This cake looks like it was lifted straight from Willy Wonka’s factory, however it is incredibly easy to make. You don’t need to be an experienced baker, all you need is patience. You may have come across this recipe when I shared it before the Irish Constitutional Referendum a number of years ago; I believe in equality for all families in all their wonderful shapes and sizes. I’ve also shared this recipe to celebrate #PRIDE because I believe that for too long people who do not conform to the norm have not been treated equally, and continue to be discriminated against. We can do better. Pride is an opportunity to…
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Energy Cookies
These energy cookies are one of my boys' favourite lunchbox treats!
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Banana Milkshake Cake
Take a banana malt milkshake with a side of cookies, then convert that into a cake.
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Make Ahead Cookies
These malted milk treats have a beautiful fudgy flavour thanks to the malted milk powder that I use in the baking process. There are a couple of brand names if you’re looking to pick it up for yourself. The ones that are easiest to find in the supermarket are Ovaltine & Horlicks. Allegedly, the malted milk that I like is used in a large Irish diner-style chain of restaurants for their malted milkshake. Ever wanted to make one yourself at home? Simply add a couple of tablespoons to some quality partially melted vanilla ice cream. The first thing you could do with the malted milk is to include them in…
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Caitriona Redmond’s Christmas Cake Recipe
It’s not too late to make my Christmas Cake Recipe! Simply because it’s designed to be frosted or iced traditionally. It’s not quite as heavy as old-style cakes, nor as sweet, because the shot of espresso adds balance to the flavours. This is a firm family favourite in my house. Since I iced our cake last week the kids have been begging me to slice it early because they love fruit cake so much! Some of you may have spotted this Christmas Cake Recipe in Lidl Ireland stores in 2018. I’ve had many requests to put the recipe on the blog and here you go!
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Impossible Brownies Recipe
This recipe is called impossible brownies because it shouldn’t work. It really shouldn’t! Brownies are traditionally made with butter, eggs, flour, and refined sugar, but these brownies have none of this stuff and instead are packed full of fibre and vegetable protein. The beetroot and chickpeas give the brownies a squishy texture even after they’ve been baked, and because there is no dairy or eggs, they will keep for up to 5 days in a dry sealed container. Let’s not fool ourselves here though, they’re not going to last that long.
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Accidental Lower Fat Brownie Recipe
I’ve had to test a lot of brownies in the past few weeks as I tried to refine some new recipes. To cut a long story short I ended up making a lower fat brownie mixture by accident. Little did I know how much of a hit the lower fat brownie would be! I don’t know what it is but the cold weather we’ve been having lately has brought on the urge to bake up sweet treats. It helps when I have fantastic ingredients to work with. Just before Christmas Lily O’Brien’s got in touch and asked would I like to try out baking with their chocolate buttons which come…
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Chewy Chocolate Cookies Recipe
We have a healthy eating policy on our school which normally means that chocolate is banned from the school grounds in any form. No matter how healthy it might be, it’s still banned from the school. It’s easier than to ban the lot than to police all the variants in the lunchboxes and I completely agree with this. There’s one exception to the chocolate ban however, and that’s on bake sale days. Bake sales happen at least once a school year in the school. They’re an essential way for the school to fundraise for items they might need. I realise that the term might give parents a little bit of…
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Banana Pecan Cake
Once again I found myself with a surplus of rapidly blackening bananas and a need to bake. Actually that’s not quite true. I’ve gotten into the habit of peeling bananas and then popping them into a box in the freezer as soon as they are past their best. Which is working very well in terms of the ripe bananas in the kitchen. However, the box has to be managed so that it doesn’t take over the freezer. I need space for other items like berries. Gooseberries top and tail marvellously directly from the freezer so there is a wonderful bounty waiting for me to have the time on the right…
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Open Apple Pie Recipe
By special request, I’ve collated some of my best apple recipes, along with a new recipe for an open apple pie, in the one spot. This will make it easy for that somebody who has a glut and there are a couple of savoury options as well as sweet. My big secret with apples is that I use them instead of a sweetener such as sugar or even honey in recipes. They boost the flavour in a sauce or a soup and I even use the peel to make my jams and marmalades set. It’s no wonder they are one of my favourite seasonal and Irish fruits! *Cough* It is…
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Blueberry Muffins Recipe
As the elder lemon in the family (who is studying for her Leaving Cert this year) started back to school over a week ago, it doesn’t feel like the 1st of September at all. It feels like we are already hurtling through the school year towards Hallowe’en! Still today marked the start of term for many Irish students and I’m back with a recipe for blueberry muffins that all my family love. Wholemeal flour gives these blueberry muffins a lovely crunchy texture. The blueberries, paired with the crumbly oats on top make for snack perfection. Don’t be limited by blueberries though, use whatever fresh or frozen fruit you have to…
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Homemade Brown Bread
I used to bake soda bread about once a fortnight but we did buy a lot of sliced pans. My hubby was partial to a slice of batch and while I didn’t always eat it, we’d buy about 2 loaves of bread a week. The boys would have sandwiches, and then there was toast with melted butter, which is of course the stuff that food dreams are made of. I was playing around with Mam’s brown bread recipe (it’s very reliable and you can find it in my cookbook which can be ordered here) and came up with a version which literally takes 5 minutes to throw into a bowl,…
