Gluten Free Banana Bread

I had some leftover ripe bananas sitting in my fruit bowl today. Not wanting them to go to waste nor put them in the freezer since I often forget about the things I put in there, I decided to make banana bread. Since I'm trying to cut out wheat and refined sugars from my diet at the moment, I made a gluten-free version. This banana bread is much lighter in texture and healthier to eat. It's also very simple to make and very tasty. Making this at the start of the week means I now have something healthy to snack on for morning or afternoon tea. Especially since I still enjoy eating desserts :)

Recipe adapted from Teresa Cutter's The 80/20 Diet recipe book

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup coconut oil
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups almond meal
2 teaspoons chia seeds
chopped walnuts, to decorate (optional)
1 extra banana, sliced, to decorate (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease base and sides of a 7cm deep, 11cm x 21cm (base) loaf pan. Line with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends. 
2. Combine the mashed banana, eggs, rice malt syrup, vanilla extract, coconut oil, cinnamon, baking soda and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the almond meal and chia seeds. Mix well until combined. 
4. Pour batter into loaf pan. Decorate the top of banana bread with sliced banana or a handful of chopped walnuts. 
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 10 even slices.

Notes & Tips

• Cover the top of the cake with foil if over-browning
• Keeps in the fridge covered for up to one week

Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

Ingredients

12 frozen sweet tart cases

Lemon Curd Filling

½ cup lemon juice

100g unsalted butter

½ cup caster sugar

1 egg

3 egg yolks

Meringue Topping

3 egg whites

3 tablespoons caster sugar

pinch of cream of tartar

Method

To make lemon curd filling: heat lemon juice and butter in a small saucepan and simmer until butter has melted. Add sugar, egg and yolks and cook, whisking continuously until mixture becomes thick and glossy. Transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until cooled completely (approx. 30mins - 1hr).

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place the tart cases on a baking tray. Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until brown.

Meanwhile, make meringue topping: use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add cream of tartar and sugar, a tablespoonful at a time, beating until sugar has dissolved between each addition. Continue beating until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick and glossy. Spoon meringue mixture into a piping bag.

Spoon the lemon mixture evenly among the tart cases, being careful to not overfill (approx.1 tablespoon per tart). Pipe a swirl of meringue mixture on top of each tart or use the back of a spoon to create peaks.

Place under heated grill for 60-90 seconds until meringue is lightly golden brown or run a kitchen blowtorch over the meringue. Stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot or cold with cream or ice cream.

Strawberry Mousse Chocolate Cake

This is a revised recipe of my strawberry mousse cake. I first made this cake for my mum's birthday and have since made it again for a Christmas family gathering. 

Ingredients

A) 1x 20cm chocolate sponge cake, cut into 2 even layers

B) 300g strawberry, cleaned and hulled
     ¼ cup caster sugar
     1 tablespoon water
     1 teaspoon strawberry essence

C)  300ml cream
     3 tablespoons icing sugar
     ½ teaspoon pink food colouring (optional)

D) 1 tablespoon gelatine powder 
     50ml warm water 

E)  Extra strawberries sliced and cubed (I used approx 1/3cup)

F)  100ml thickened cream

     1 tablespoon icing sugar, extra

G)  Sugar syrup glaze (optional)

H)  6 even sized strawberries, halved for garnish 

Method

1. Set aside 6 even sized strawberries for the garnish on top of the cake.
2. Dice approx. 1/3 cup strawberries and set aside.
3. Clean and hull the remaining strawberries. Add ¼ cup caster sugar and let it sit for 5 minutes. Purée them in a blender together with 1 tablespoon of water and 1 teaspoon strawberry essence then put it through a strainer. You should get about 400ml strawberry purée. Discard the strawberry seeds. Reserve 1½ tablespoons of the purée for the swirl effect on top of the cake.
4. In a chilled bowl, whip 300ml cream with 3 tablespoons icing sugar till mousse state.
5. Dissolve 1 tablespoon gelatine in 50ml warm water, whisk with a fork, let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk the gelatine again then strain it into the strawberry purée. Stir until combined. 
6. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture. Add pink food colouring, if using. Pour into a measuring jug if your bowl doesn't having a pouring lip.
7. Line the inner circumference of a 23cm spring form cake pan with plastic cake tape. Place a slice of the chocolate sponge cake at the base, cut side up and top it with approx. 1 cup of the mousse. Add in the strawberry pieces (leave a 2cm border around the cake). Press the fruits down gently if needed. Top it with some mousse just enough to cover the strawberry pieces.
8. Top it with another layer of chocolate sponge cake and pour the rest of the mousse evenly over on it.
9. Spoon teaspoonfuls of the reserved purée onto the surface of the mousse on desired positions and swirl it with a toothpick to create the swirls. I put a few teaspoons on the middle of the cake and the rest at clock position of 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.
10. Cover the cake pan with cling wrap (twice). Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
11. Make the sugar syrup, then brush the reserved halved strawberries with sugar syrup. Set aside.
12. Use an electric beater to beat 100ml thickened cream and 1 tablespoon icing sugar in a medium bowl until firm peaks form. 
13. Place the cream in a piping bag fitted with a 1cm fluted nozzle and pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake. Arrange some glazed strawberries around the cake between the cream rosettes. 
14. Cut the cake into wedges to serve. 

To make sugar syrup:

50ml (1/4 cup) water

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon unflavoured gelatine powder

1. Pour water, sugar and gelatine powder into a small sauce pan.
2. Stir the ingredients to combine over medium heat until the sugar and gelatine dissolves and the water begins to simmer.
3. Remove the pan from heat and set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Brush the glaze over fruit while slightly warm.

Notes & Tips

• I lined the inner circumference of my spring form cake pan with plastic cake tape.
• You can make your own plastic cake tape using clear acetate sheets bought from an arts & craft store. Start by measuring the height of the cake pan (approx 2.5 inches) and cut a long rectangular strip out of the acetate sheet (length of the strip is the circumference of the cake + 2 cm extra).
• You could also decorate this cake with a patterned white chocolate collar if you wish
• If you can't find acetate sheets, you can use baking paper instead
• I placed my cake into a larger spring form cake pan- approx. 23cm. This way the mousse will cover the whole cake and you don’t need to cream the cake. If you don't have a larger spring form cake pan, you can trim your cake smaller.
• If you notice that you have not completely covered the cake with the mousse, you could do a bit of patchwork by using up the left over cream for the rosettes- add  ¼ tsp pink food coloring to the cream and spread/fill in the spaces and smooth it out using a cake scraper. 
• If you don't have strawberry essence, you could use strawberry flavoured gelatine powder instead
• You'll need approx. 2 punnets of strawberries for this recipe.

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

Recipe adapted from Australian Good Taste magazine, January 1997, page 12

Makes 12 slices

Ingredients

1 lemon
100g butter, room temperature
150g caster sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup yoghurt
175g self-raising flour, sifted
icing sugar, to dust

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm square cake pan with the melted butter or margarine.
2. Finely grate the lemon rind, then juice the fruit. 
3. Use electric beaters to beat butter and the sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add yoghurt, reserved rind and juice. Beat until combined.
5. Gently fold in the sifted flour with a large metal spoon until combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan and smooth the surface. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out dean. Remove from oven and place cake pan on a wire rack to cool.
6. To serve, turn the cake onto a serving plate and remove the cake pan. 
7. Dust with icing sugar when cake has cooled

Chilled Mango Cheesecake

Ingredients: 
Base: 
170g Nice biscuits 
60g unsalted butter, melted
 
Filling: 

250g light cream cheese (softened at room temperature) 
60g caster sugar (sifted) 
1 tablespoon lemon juice 
1 teaspoon mango essence (optional) 
350g mango purée (strained)
1 tablespoon gelatin powder 
3 tablespoons boiling water 
200ml thickened cream + 2 tablespoons icing sugar 
1 mango, diced- 2cm cubes (optional)

Topping: 
200g mango purée (strained) 
2 teaspoons gelatine powder
2 tablespoons boiling water

Decoration:
100ml thickened cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
Mango strips

Method:

1. Line base of 20cm/8" spring form cake pan with baking paper.
2. To make the base, crush biscuits in a food processor. Add the melted butter and process to combine. 
3. Using the back of a metal spoon press biscuit mixture down firmly onto base of cake pan. Chill in the fridge for use later- approx. 30 minutes.
4. Whip thickened cream with 2 tablespoons icing sugar till about 70% stiff or mousse state. Cover and keep chilled.
5. Dissolve gelatine powder in 3 tablespoons boiling water. Keep warm but not hot for use later.
6. Cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and mango essence together till smooth and creamy.
7. Add the warm gelatine solution to mango purée and mix well.
8. Add mango mixture into cheese mixture and combine till well mixed. Fold in the whipped cream. Stir in the cubed mango pieces (optional).
9. Pour cheese mixture onto cake base. Cover and chill for at least two hours.
10. Dissolve gelatin powder with boiling water and stir this into mango purée. Pour gently onto chilled cheesecake. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours before serving (best overnight to allow it to set better).

Notes & Tips 

You will need approx. 3 very ripe large Kensington mangoes for this recipe 

Strawberry Mousse

Strawberries are back in season, so time to make a light, fluffy and creamy strawberry mousse for dessert.

Ingredients

2 x 250g punnets strawberries, hulled, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon strawberry essence (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup pure icing sugar
2 tablespoons hot water
1 tablespoon gelatine
200ml thickened cream
1-2 drops red food colouring (optional)
3 egg whites

To decorate/serve:
Extra strawberries, halved or quartered (depends how big they are)
100ml thickened cream
2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
a few sprigs mint leaves

Method

1. In a food processor or blender, combine strawberries, strawberry essence, lemon juice and icing sugar and process until smooth. Strain into a large bowl and discard seeds. 
2. Meanwhile, whip the cream until slightly thickened/soft peaks form. Set aside. 
3. Combine water and gelatine in a small heatproof jug. Whisk until gelatine dissolves and liquid becomes clear. Add to strawberry mixture. Stir through well.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of cream to strawberry mixture. Whisk gently until well combined. Fold through remaining cream. Add a few drops red food colouring if desired.
5. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Fold through strawberry mixture until well combined. 
6. Wet moulds with water. Spoon mousse into 6 x ½ cup capacity glasses or ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours, or until set.
7. To decorate the mousse: Use an electric mixer to beat cream and icing sugar in a medium bowl until firm peaks form. 
8. Place the cream in a piping bag fitted with a 1cm fluted nozzle and pipe on top of the mousse. Arrange a strawberry and some mint leaves next to the cream.

Banana Cake

Ingredients

Melted butter, to grease
125g butter, at room temperature
315g (1 cup) caster sugar
1¼ cups mashed overripe banana (about 2 large bananas)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence
100ml buttermilk
225g (1½ cups) self-raising flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 banana, extra, to decorate 

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon powder, to decorate
Fresh lemon juice, to brush

Ingredients – Cream cheese frosting

250g cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup icing sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a round 20cm (base measurement) cake pan with melted butter to grease. Line the base and side of the pan with non-stick baking paper.
2. Place the butter, sugar, banana, eggs and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor, and process for 2 minutes or until well combined. Add the buttermilk and process until combined.
3. Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda, and process until just combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Shake the pan to settle the mixture. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside in the pan for 10 minutes to cool slightly, before transferring the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, to make the cream cheese frosting, place the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
5. Place the cake on a serving plate. Spread the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake.
6. Lightly dust the cake with sifted ground cinnamon powder.
7. Peel and thinly slice the extra banana. Lightly brush 1 side of each slice of banana with lemon juice. Arrange the banana slices, lemon juice side up, around the edge of the frosting to serve.

Notes & Tips

Buttermilk substitute: Place a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into 1 cup regular milk. Let stand for five to ten minutes. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

Blueberry Cheesecake

I made this blueberry cheesecake as part of a dessert for EPIC youth camp a few weeks ago. 

Ingredients

Base:

200g biscuit crumbs

50g unsalted butter, melted

Filling: 

200ml thickened cream + 1 tablespoon icing sugar

1 tablespoon gelatine powder 
3 tablespoon boiling water 

500g light cream cheese (softened at room temperature) 
60g caster sugar (sifted) 
1 tablespoon lemon juice 
250g blueberry puree (strained) 

Topping: 

4-5 tablespoons blueberry jam 

Method

Line base of 20cm/8" spring form cake pan with cling wrap or baking paper. Toss biscuit crumbs into melted butter and press firmly onto base of cake pan. Chill in the fridge 30 minutes.

Whip cream with icing sugar until firm peaks. Cover and keep chilled.

Place the boiling water in a heatproof bowl. Sprinkle with gelatine and use a fork to stir until the gelatine dissolves. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool.

Meanwhile cream cheese, caster sugar and lemon juice together until smooth and creamy.

Add the warm gelatine solution to blueberry purée and mix well.

Add blueberry mixture into cheese mixture and combine till well mixed. Fold in the whipped cream.

Pour cheese mixture onto cake base and chill for about 4 hours or overnight.

Spread the blueberry jam over the top of the cheesecake 45 minutes before serving.

Citrus Semolina Syrup Cake

 Recipe from Super Food Ideas magazine, November 2003 issue, page 50

Ingredients

2 oranges 

3 lemons

250g unsalted butter, softened

2¼ cups caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
5 eggs
2 cups semolina
2 teaspoons baking powder
200g ground almonds
¼ cup orange juice or Grand Marnier (see note)



Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease a 2 litre-capacity, 26cm (top) gugelhopf (ring) pan.
2. Finely grate rind of 1 orange and 2 lemons. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, 1¼ cups of sugar, rinds and vanilla together until light and creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add semolina, baking powder and almonds. Mix gently to combine.
3. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. Shred rind from remaining orange and lemon. Juice fruit. Combine juice, remaining sugar and Grand Marnier or orange juice in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until syrup comes to the boil. Reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced by half.
5. Using a skewer, pierce holes in surface of warm cake. Pour three-quarters of syrup over cake. Add shredded rind to remaining syrup. Stand cake in pan for 15 minutes before turning onto a plate. Spoon over remaining syrup, serve the cake in slices with a dollop of crème fraiche.

Notes & Tips

Semolina is coarsely ground durum wheat. You'll find it in the health food section of your supermarket.

Grand Marnier is an orange-flavoured liqueur. Substitute with orange juice for a non alcoholic version

Choc Chip Banana Muffins

Recipe from Fresh Living Magazine, September 2004 issue, page 7

Makes 12

Ingredients

60g unsalted butter
2 cups self-raising flour
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup milk
2 eggs, room temperature
2 ripe bananas, mashed (approx. 1½ cups)
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a medium muffin tray (12 sections) with paper cases. Melt butter in a small saucepan or heat-proof bowl in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Sift flour into a mixing bowl. Stir in sugar. Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients. 
3. Using a whisk, lightly beat milk, eggs and butter in a jug. Add to dry ingredients, along with mashed banana. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Don't beat the mixture or the muffins will be tough. 
4. Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until firm on top when lightly touched. Leave in the tray for 5 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.

Cannoli with ricotta, chocolate and orange

This simple dessert tastes sensational, yet it is quick and easy to prepare.

Recipe from Australian Good Taste Magazine, April 2007 issue, page 58

Serves 4

Ingredients 

250g fresh ricotta
100g caster sugar
¼ cup grated dark chocolate
2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
8 cannoli shells
Icing sugar mixture, to dust

Method

Place the ricotta, sugar, chocolate, orange rind and vanilla in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to mix until well combined. 

Spoon the ricotta mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm diameter fluted nozzle. Pipe the ricotta mixture evenly into the cannoli shells.

Arrange 2 cannoli on each serving plate. Dust evenly with icing sugar and serve immediately (otherwise shells will become soggy)

Notes & Tips

Cannoli shells are from Italian delis and gourmet food shops. If unavailable, use the ricotta mixture to fill waffle baskets or waffle ice-cream cones.

Filling can be made ahead up to 24hours prior to filling the shells. Keep covered and refrigerated.

Fresh ricotta cheese is drier than tub ricotta and will give the correct consistency in this recipe. Ricotta cheese is the main ingredient in the filling and should always be dry. If the cheese is not dry, place it in a colander which is placed in a large bowl. Cover this with a moist cloth and place it overnight in the refrigerator so that all the moisture drains out. Make sure that the cheese is dry or else the filling will not turn out thick and soft, ruining the cannoli and your efforts.

Using an electric mixer to combine the ingredients will make it nice and fluffy

Mango Pancake

Makes 8


Part 1- Pancake Batter


Ingredients

70g     Cake flour
10g     Corn flour
40g     Caster sugar
250g   Milk
15g     Butter
2         Egg yolks
Red and yellow food colouring


Method


1. Combine cake flour and corn flour in a bowl.
2. Add in half quantity of milk needed bit by bit as you incorporate it into the flour with a whisk. Keep whisking until a smooth batter is obtained. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar with the remaining milk.
4. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk to combine. Continue to gradually add the egg mixture until all the flour is incorporated and a thin batter forms.
5. Add in melted butter, food colouring if desired and mix till well combined.
6. Sieve mixture into a bowl.
7. Cover with cling wrap and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. After resting, the batter should be the consistency of thin cream
8. Heat a non-stick 20cm frying/crepe pan with medium high heat.
9. Once the pan is throughly heated, reduce heat to medium low. Brush with a little melted butter or oil
10. Pour 1/4 cup pancake batter thinly onto the frying pan.
11. Once the pancake starts to "bubble" and the top surface of the pancake starts to firm up, remove immediately from heat. There's no need to fry the other side of the pancake.
12. Place pancake on a clean flat plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, greasing pan between each batch.
13. While stacking pancakes, make sure you separate each layer with greaseproof paper to make sure they don't stick together. Allow pancakes to cool prior to adding the filling.

Part II: Filling 

½ cup  Double cream

2         Ripe mangoes

Peel the mangoes with a sharp knife, then cut the flesh of the mangoes lengthwise


Part III: Assembling

1. Place smooth side of the pancake facing downwards.
2. Then top the pancake with some cream followed by mango slices.
3. Fold pancake edges in then roll it up
4. Place the pancake seam side down on the plate so it doesn't open. 
5. Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour prior to serving.

Tropical Fruit Salad

Just the other day, hubby and I had a real craving for fruit so we headed to our local fruit shop, picked up a stack of fresh fruits and made ourselves a refreshing fruit salad. All in all, we included 10 different types of fruit in this salad! See if you can spot them all!

The possibilities for fruit salad recipes are endless as you can use any combination of fruits. One of the best things about warmer weather is that many tropical fruits are more readily available, so mix and match to whatever suits your palette.

Ingredients

½ pineapple, peeled, chopped
800g seedless watermelon, chopped
½ honeydew, peeled, chopped
2 mangoes, peeled, chopped
2 oranges, peeled, chopped
3 kiwifruit, peeled, chopped
3 nectarines, halved, stone removed, cut into wedges
250g strawberries, hulled, quartered
x2 punnet blueberries
200g blackberries
200g raspberries

Method

Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve chilled

Notes & Tips

When making a fruit salad use fruits that are in season
Fruit salad is best eaten the day it's made otherwise it will become soggy and the fruit will lose its sweetness.

Apple Crumble

Apple crumble- it's a delicious, fruity and an old-style dessert that is real comfort food on a cold Winter's night. Apart from using apples, other fruit (or canned fillings) can be used such as rhubarb, cherry or peaches to make this crumble.

Ingredients

4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 8 wedges or 800g tinned apples
¼ cup, white sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plain flour
½ cup, firmly packed brown sugar
100g chilled butter, chopped into small cubes
¼ cup rolled oats
Vanilla ice-cream, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Place the apples into a lightly greased 1.5L (6-cup) capacity oven-proof dish. Combine the white sugar and cinnamon powder in a bowl and mix until well blended. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apple slices in the baking dish and combine well.

Combine the flour, brown sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse briefly, or rub with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles very coarse breadcrumbs. Put this mixture in the freezer for 10 minutes, or if making ahead, in the fridge until you're ready to bake (this step improves the texture of the crumble topping, feel free to omit this step if you're pressed for time).

Scatter the crumble mixture evenly over the apples. Sprinkle with oats if using.

Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until apples are tender when poked and the topping is golden brown. Spoon the apple crumble into serving bowls. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Notes & Tips

Have fun experimenting with different ingredients in your Apple Crumble. Try these ideas:

Add frozen blueberries or raspberries to the apple.
Replace the apple with fresh in-season fruits or drained canned fruits.
Use 800g can baker's apple if fresh apples unavailable
Try adding nuts such as pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts, in the crumble.
Try adding dessicated coconut