Category: dessert

PB and J biscuits

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I saw the divine Reece Hignell and Jess Lemon (from Australia’s Masterchef ‘Back to Win’) share an epic 3 ingredient peanut butter biscuit recipe on Instagram.

So I thought, “let’s make it PB&J – but healthy?”

The original recipe is just 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of peanut butter and 1 egg, mixed together into balls and flattened with a fork, baked at 170*C for 12 minutes.

I changed mine up a little and used:

  • Baked at 170*C for about 15 minutes, then drizzled with Noshu low sugar white chocolate chips and served with a dollop of Natvia low sugar raspberry spread – bliss!

    • Quarantine baking: spiced banana bread / muffins

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    When life hands you mushy overripe spotty bananas – put them to good use!

    This recipe has no added sugar due to the overripe bananas being naturally very sweet, but if you’d prefer something sweeter, add 1/2 cup of brown sugar as well. 

    Ingredients 

    • 3 very overripe mushy bananas (the more spotty the better)
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 + 1/2 cups almond milk
    • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 + 1/2 cups self raising flour
    • 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp cardamom
    • 1/2 tsp ginger

    Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 180*C
    2. Mix the wet ingredients
    3. Add the dry ingredients
    4. Pour into loaf tin or muffin cases and bake until a skewer comes out clean (will take ~ 25 minutes for the muffins but about 45 minutes for the loaf; start checking with a skewer as soon as the top is browned).

    Hazelnut Cherry Cheesecake

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    This is not healthy in the slightest really BUT it is deceptively easy to make! To ease up on the calories (because every little bit counts), I use fat-reduced cream cheese and ricotta, and I don’t add any more sugar. It does produce a slightly more tart cheesecake though, so if you’re after something sweet, add 1/2 cup of caster sugar to the filling.

    Ingredients 

    • 250g block of cream cheese
    • 125g smooth ricotta
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 tbsp flour (can use gluten free plain flour if required)
    • 1/2 cup hazelnut spread
    • 200g chocolate biscuits (I used chocolate ripple, but substitute for whatever suits your diet)
    • 70g butter, melted
    • To decorate – cherries, chocolate lindt balls (+/- 200g chocolate with 2 tbsp cream for ganache).

    Method 

    1. Preheat the oven to 180*C. To create the layered look, I used three different sized cake tins but in reality, a single 24cm springform tin will suffice! Line the base and sides of the tins with baking paper.
    2. Crush the biscuits until fine crumbs, and mix with the butter until starting to form clumps. Spread onto the base of the lined tin/s and bake until starting to firm (about 10 minutes).
    3. Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, ricotta, eggs, hazelnut spread and flour until well combined. Pour into the lined cake tins and bake until firm (about 20 minutes but keep and eye on them!). Return to the fridge to cool as the mixture will reduce down and become much more firm.
    4. If using ganache as part of the decoration, melt the 200g chocolate and cream in a pot over a saucepan of boiling water until melted. Allow to cool slightly. Once the cake is firm, assemble the layers with toothpicks if you’ve used different tins. Then pipe or drizzle the ganache around the edges, then decorate with cherries and lindt balls (again, use tooth picks to hold them on!).

    Pavlamingtons

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    The Pavlamington is the glorious love child between a rich sweet lamington and a particularly frisky meringue. This recipe is a variation of my favourite pavlova recipe by Donna Hay, made all the more exciting with the addition of chocolate, coconut and strawberry jam.

    Ingredients 

    • 4 egg whites
    • 1 tsp raspberry vinegar (or white vinegar)
    • 1 cup caster sugar
    • 100g dark chocolate
    • 1 cup dessicated coconut
    • 1/2 cup strawberry jam
    • 1/2 cup thickened cream

    Method 

    1. Preheat the oven to 120*C and line a couple of trays with baking paper.
    2. With an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until peaks form, then add the sugar one teaspoon at a time until dissolved. Once glossy, add the vinegar and beat for another 2 minutes.
    3. Place the meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with a reasonably broad nozzle (or you can cut the corner off a plastic zip lock bag). Pipe the meringue into 50c piece sized discs onto the baking trays, and bake until firm (about 40-50 minutes). Set aside to cool.
    4. In a saucepan over medium heat, gently heat the chocolate and cream until melted and mixed through. Set aside to cool slightly.
    5. To assemble the Pavlamingtons, sandwich two of the meringue discs together with strawberry jam before dunking the side of the sandwich into the chocolate ganache. Roll the chocolate coated side in coconut and place in the fridge to set for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

    Note: if you find your meringues start to melt when you dip them in chocolate, place the meringues in the freezer for 5 minutes before dipping. Also place the ganache in a shallow dish to ensure it cools evenly (as in a deep bowl it may still be warm on the bottom).

    Gluten Free Cacao Banana Bread

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    All the taste of chocolate and banana bread without the nasty hidden sugar! Adapted from Sarah Wilson’s iQuitSugar gluten free banana bread recipe with the added deliciousness of cacao.

    Ingredients 

    • 1/2 cup coconut flour
    • 1/2 cup almond meal
    • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1/4 cup cacao powder
    • 1/8 cup olive oil
    • 2 large eggs
    • 2 very overripe bananas
    • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
    • 1/3 cup of yogurt (I used plain Chobani but coyo or flavoured greek yogurt also works)
    • 1/8 cup cacao nibs

    Method 

    1. Preheat the oven to 180*C and line a loaf pan with baking paper.
    2. Mash the banana together with the yogurt and the oil.
    3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the banana mixture and stir until well combined.
    4. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Eat while still warm with your favourite peanut butter on top!

    Healthy Fudge Brownies! 

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    They’re vegan, gluten and dairy free, with no added sugar, and they definitely help kill the cravings! 

    Ingredients (makes 16)

    • 4 medium bananas
    • 1/2 cup cacao or cocoa powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds
    • 1 small handful cacao nibs 

    Method 

    1. Blend the banana, cacao, baking soda and vanilla until smooth. 
    2. Stir in the chopped nuts. 
    3. Line a brownie tin with baking paper. Pour the mixture in and top with cacao nibs. 
    4. Bake for 15 minutes at 180*C until just cooked, then chill in the fridge until firm. 

    Healthy chocolatey heaven! 

    Recipe adapted from one by @lilsipper on Instagram