-
Banana Milkshake Cake
Take a banana malt milkshake with a side of cookies, then convert that into a cake.
-
Christmas Fruit Parcels
These Christmas Fruit Parcels are a lighter alternative to cakes and puddings and have no suet and very little fat, no eggs and can be prepared quickly. They can easily be adapted for vegans too.
-
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…
-
Apple Crumble
Pork and apples go so well together but I often find it’s a bit too much of a stretch to get the kids to eat apple sauce with their pork chops. Because apples contain so much citric acid and pectin, they cut through fatty meals very well so if you have a heavy dinner, apple crumble with a little low-fat yoghurt is a great way to finish a meal. I don’t know about you but having a nice pudding or “puddy” as it’s called in our house (thanks Dad) is handy for bribing kids to eat their meal. I love that this is fruit based. When I was 5 our…
-
Raspberry Curd
What is curd? Sweet curd is made with 4 main ingredients. 3 of which are always butter, sugar, and eggs. The 4th ingredient is normally a tart or citrus flavour. Once made properly it sets to a dropping consistency. This is because both the butter and the egg yolks play a part in the setting process. You’ve probably heard of lemon curd. It is extremely easy to make – in fact, if you want to see me make it, plus get the recipe you can head on over to my lemon curd recipe by clicking the image below.
-
Sugar-Free Fruit Jelly
And so my quest for sugar-free treats continues. I went into the supermarket the other day to take a look at jelly. I don’t mean the super-sweet bag of sweets, I mean the jelly that you make up yourself. The kids and I like it for a sweet treat on occasion. First up, the block of jelly that you cut into cubes then dissolve in hot water. That contains a lot of sugar. Instantly that got crossed off my list. Next, the powdered jelly in sachets that you dissolve in hot water. They’re marked sugar-free. Hooray I thought, only when I had a good look at the ingredients list I…
-
A Lighter October
I’ve lost 17lbs since the start of September. This is a lighter October than last year or the year before. I’ll rewind to a point last Summer where I watched “Fat Sick and Nearly Dead“; at the time I thought it was a great film (it’s available on Netflix) but I didn’t connect Joe Cross’ lifestyle to mine. After all, I’m “Wholesome” and I eat healthy food; why would I need to watch what I eat more closely? Then we went to the Aran Islands and I struggled with the climb up to Dun Aonghusa. I was out of breath, and then when I looked at photos we’d taken up…
-
Raspberry Poke Cake
Don’t worry, this raspberry poke cake isn’t a technical bake, it’s more of a crumbly gooey fun cake to make and enjoy. It won’t take you too long, and the most arduous part of this cake is the fact that you have to wait until it’s completely cool to enjoy it.
-
Orange Crisps
These are blood orange crisps, but this recipe isn’t just limited to blood oranges, it’s just I had blood oranges and they look so pretty when they’re preserved. If you want to make an incredibly easy gift that looks amazing in jar, like you paid loads of money to buy then keep on reading. They can also be used to decorate cakes, or hung on ribbons in the house.
-
Gur Cake
I mentioned on Saturday that I was making gur cake. I really didn’t expect the response I would get on all my social media channels from Dubs (people from Dublin), Corkonians (who call it chester cake) and Deise natives (from Waterford, who call it donkey gudge cake apparently). This is a cake that has huge heritage, and yet comes from a very humble beginning.
-
Lemon And Lime Cake
Baking in this house requires organisation because the 2 year old understands when I’ve something baking. He likes to sit in front of the oven and demand instant results. His naps are beginning to shorten too so if I want to bake I need to be able to lash a cake batter together rapidly and have it cooked and cooling by the time he wakes up.
-
Blueberry Slice
I buy fresh berries in bulk and then freeze them to use over the winter. Berries go into smoothies, baking, jellies, salads and sometimes into something that is so decadent you won’t want to share. In fact you’ll want to eat this blueberry slice right out of the baking tray.