Wholefood Banana Custard Slice (Gluten and Dairy Free)

Baking desserts has always been one of my favourite things - not only because I get to eat what I make, but also because bringing out a special dessert to the table always lights people up. I love it when people love my food!

Not too many years ago I was baking regularly and going through a staggering amount of sugar. Rather than beat myself up about that I choose to see that just by making it myself I was avoiding all the artificial additives you find in processed versions of desserts.

After quitting sugar and when food intolerances became an issue for the boys and me, I was worried  I wouldn't be able to bake anymore, or at least not anything that other people would enjoy. While I've had quite a few flops I am now at a point where I can quite easily convert a recipe to be free of wheat or gluten, dairy and refined sugar without any drama.

And the results can be spectacular!

You know how you always have a soft spot for the sweets from your childhood? For me it's custard - think vanilla slice, custard tart or just plain custard with sliced bananas. So with that in mind I decided to create my own version - something that would be free of gluten, dairy and refined sugar, something that would be sweet and luscious and feel a bit special.

I had the opportunity to bake it when we had family over for morning tea during the school holidays and I had some time to play in the kitchen. I find a slice is always a crowd-pleaser and it's certainly easy to do a big tray of something and slice it up to feed everyone.

We all LOVED this slice. Perfect for morning or afternoon tea, but special enough for dessert.

Wholefood Banana Custard Slice (Gluten and Dairy Free)

Base:

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tbs coconut sugar
150g coconut oil

Custard:

400ml coconut cream
300ml rice milk
4 egg yolks
2 tbs arrowroot flour
125g rice malt syrup
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (save the bean for something else)
2 tbs gelatine (I use Great Lakes - the red one)

Topping:

3 bananas, thinly sliced
1/2 lemon, juiced
fresh nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 20 x 30 cm slice tray with baking paper and set aside.

To make the base, mix all ingredients together (TMX - 6 secs / SP 4), then tip into the prepared tin and press in firmly with your hands or the back of a large spoon.

Bake for 15-20 minutes - when done it will be  evenly golden brown and still a little soft, it will firm up as it cools.

Remove from the oven and place the tin on a wire rack to cool completely.

While the base is cooking, start to prepare the custard.

If you're using the Thermomix, place all custard ingredients into the bowl and cook for 9 minutes / 90 degrees / SP 4.

No thermomix? Place the coconut cream, milk and vanilla into a medium pan over medium heat until it starts to steam. Meanwhile, use a whisk to beat together the egg yolks, arrowroot and syrup until smooth. When the milk is steaming pour it over the egg mixture and whisk together. Place a few tablespoons of the mixture into a small bowl, sprinkle over the gelatine and stir to dissolve. Pour all the custard mixture back into the pan, add the gelatine mixture and cook over low heat until it starts to thicken, stirring constantly with a large spoon or spatula. This could take 20 minutes so be patient!

Leave the custard to cool for 10 minutes before pouring over the cooked base, then place in the fridge to chill until set (at least 4-6 hours or overnight).

Just before serving, slice the bananas into thin rounds and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle over the lemon juice and toss gently to combine, making sure all the banana gets the juice. The lemon stops the banana going brown but also adds a lovely flavour.

Using the baking paper on each side as a handle, carefully lift the slice out of the tin and place onto a serving board. Gently slide the paper off and discard.

Layer on the banana pieces and dust the top generously with nutmeg.

Cut into 12-16 pieces and enjoy!

What was your favourite childhood sweet treat?

Healthier ANZAC Slice

It just wouldn't be Anzac Day without Anzac Biscuits. I did a round-up of healthy Anzac biscuits on Friday and then posted on Facebook yesterday that I also made some Really Healthy Anzac Biscuits. But I couldn't just leave it at that!

We had friends around for breakfast today and I wanted to make something sweet to finish our meal. A quick search found lots of different recipes for Anzac Slice and I chose one to tweak. This is still very sweet and definitely a sometimes food but overall far healthier than the regular white flour and golden syrup varieties.

It went down a treat - this recipe is a keeper!

Healthier Anzac Slice
Adapted from Cooking in the Chaos

130g white spelt flour
90g rolled oats
65g shredded coconut
150g butter
120g rice malt syrup
40g coconut sugar
1/2 ts bicarb soda

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 160 degrees fan-forced.

Grease a slice pan (mine was 15 x 23 cm) and line with baking paper.

Mix together the flour, oats, coconut and coconut sugar in a large bowl.

Place the butter and syrup into a small pan and melt over medium heat. Add the bicarb and stir as it bubbles and froths. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well.

Tip the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for approx 20 minutes or until golden brown and pulling away from the sides. Leave to cool in the pan before slicing into squares (12) or bars (16).

This is a really forgiving recipe and you can easily swap out the flour or sweeteners for whatever you happen to have.

Enjoy!

Healthy Peanut Butter Slice

 

One of my all time favourite things is peanut butter and chocolate. For many years I've made Nigella's Peanut Butter Squares every Christmas and I always get requests for it. But seeing we're nowhere near Christmas and I'm baking a little healthier these days I thought it was time I tweaked the recipe and came up with my own peanut butter slice.

I had all of these ingredients in the pantry and it took probably 10 minutes to whip up which I love. It is gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar free but certainly not flavour free and be warned, it is VERY rich so a little goes a long way!

Healthy Peanut Butter Slice

Crust:
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup dried pitted dates
2 tbs raw cacao
2 tbs coconut oil (solid)
pinch salt

Filling:
200g natural peanut butter
1 tbs coconut oil
2 tbs rice malt syrup
pinch salt

Topping:
1/3 cup raw cacao
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 tbs rice malt syrup

Grease and line an 8 inch square brownie pan and set aside.

Place all crust ingredients in your food processor and blitz until sticky and well combined. Press into the base of the prepared tin and place in the fridge.

Wipe out the bowl then add all filling ingredients and blitz until smooth. Taste and add another pinch of salt if desired. Pour mixture over the top of the chilled base and smooth with a spatula. Place back in the fridge.

Place the topping ingredients in a small saucepan over low-medium heat and stir until smooth and well combined (TMX 3 mins/50 degrees/SP 2). Pour over the peanut butter filling and smooth with a spatula.

Place in the freezer until set. Delicious frozen but for best results remove from the freezer about 10 minutes for slicing into squares and serving.

Makes 16 pieces (or more if cut smaller squares!)

'Apple' Crumble Slice

 

This may be the most amazingly sneaky recipe I've ever made. I mean I've done lots of hidden veggies recipes before but this really takes the cake. I called it an apple crumble slice and my kids went nuts for it. But let me tell you a secret ... there isn't any apple in it.

So do you want to take a guess as to exactly what is cooking in this pan?

It's zucchini!!!

Seriously.

I found this recipe for Zucchini Pie Bars on Crazy for Crust and I was immediately intrigued but quite dubious. How on earth would zucchinis taste like apples? Especially as I wouldn't be smothering it in ice cream and caramel sauce like the original recipe. But I'm always up for a challenge so I gave it a go.

The slice consists of a pastry base which you bake until golden brown. Then the filling is diced zucchini sauteed in butter, cinnamon and sugar until just soft and then drained. Next there is a buttery crumble topping.

There was absolutely no discernible taste of zucchini. For all intents and purposes it was an apple slice, although perhaps a little less sweet than normal. The crust and crumble were crisp and buttery and the filling was soft and lightly spiced with cinnamon and lemon. My boys absolutely devoured it, asking for seconds and thirds.

So do I feel a little guilty about the deception? Not even a little bit. It is totally delicious and my extremely fussy 4 year old actually ate a serve of vegetables. Win!

'Apple' Crumble Slice
Adapted from Crazy for Crust

For the Crust:
125g softened butter
1 1/2 cups white spelt flour
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 ts salt

For the Filling:
3 large zucchini, peeled and diced
2 tbs butter
2 tbs coconut sugar
1 ts cinnamon
zest 1/2 lemon

For the Topping:
125 softened butter
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 cup white spelt flour
1/2 ts cinnamon
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 ts salt

Line a 20x30cm slice pan with baking paper. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

To prepare the crust, place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. It may look dry but if it sticks together when you squeeze a handful it is ready. Press the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 13 minutes.

To make the filling, melt the butter and sugar together in a frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the zucchini, cinnamon and lemon zest and cook, stirring often, for approximately 5 minutes or until the zucchini is just starting to soften. Remove from the heat and drain until ready to use.

While the zucchini is cooking prepare the topping. Place all ingredients into the food processor and pulse until crumbly.

Remove the hot crust from the oven and scatter the cooked zucchini carefully over the top before sprinkling the topping evenly over the top. Bake for around 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool completely in the pan before slicing into bars and serving. Can be stored in the fridge for 3 days in an airtight container or up to 1 month in the freezer.

Carrot Cake Slice

Well, here we are in December already. How did that happen??  Luckily Christmas is my favourite time of the year so I have no problem being on a count down to Christmas (23 days). School and kindy are winding down, there are cards to write, presents to buy and lots of functions to attend.

A few weekends ago we took the kids into Southbank to the Queensland Symphony Orchestra's Symphonic Santa concert. It was hosted by Jay from Play School and featured lots of children's songs, Christmas carols and of course Santa. We got into early and took a picnic lunch, the boys had a play and the show itself was great.

In addition to the sandwiches and fruit for our picnic I wanted to take something special for morning tea. The kids all have swimming on a Saturday morning and even with an early lunch I knew they would be starving. I had some carrots to use up but I was after something more portable and quicker to cook than a cake. A quick search on Natural New Age Mum and I found this Carrot Cake Slice. All the best bits of a carrot cake but quicker, easier and healthier.

This slice is perfect for all those take-a-plate occasions that pop up in the holidays. It is sweet, moist, lightly spiced and completely delicious. The entire tray disappeared in 24 hours.

This is a Thermomix recipe but you could easily make it a food processor, it will just take a little longer to process in each step. Or simply grate the carrots and mix with the other ingredients.

With the rice malt syrup and sultanas we found it sweet enough but if you are new to a low-sugar way of eating you might want to experiment with the sweetness.

Carrot Cake Slice
Slightly Adapted from Natural New Age Mum

150g (1 cup) carrot
5 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup tapioca/arrowroot flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 ts mixed spice
1/4 cup rice malt syrup (or honey, maple syrup etc)
1/4 cup dried fruit (I used sultanas and craisins)

Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Lightly grease a slice tray with baking paper and set aside.

Peel and roughly chop the carrots, add them to the Thermomix bowl and process for 4 secs/speed 5.

Scrape down the sides and add in all the other ingredients except the dried fruit. Process for 5 secs/speed 5.  Scrape down again, add the sultanas and mix for 5 sec/speed 4/reverse.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tray and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through and golden.

Cool in the tray for 10 minutes before turning out oton a wire rack. Slice into squares to serve.

Applesauce Oatmeal Bars (Secret Recipe Club)

Yay, Secret Recipe Club time! This month I was assigned A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures by Christie and I spent many hours perusing her blog trying to narrow down what to make. Christie pretty much grew up in the kitchen and describes it as her zen place. Her recipes are fun and creative with a healthy twist, which suits me perfectly!

I was in the mood for something sweet this month, and luckily Christie's blog didn't disappoint. She has tons of amazing recipes including some seriously impressive macarons with classic flavour combinations like Pistachio and Salted Caramel as well as some a little more out there. Anyone for a Pepperoni Pizza Macaron?!

In the end I was really tempted by her Cranberry Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies (and I have bookmarked them to try later), but I went with the Applesauce Oatmeal Bars. I love a good apple slice and have made something similar before using apple pieces. This version intrigued me because it used pureed apples instead and even better, I had everything on hand to make it immediately.

I made a few small changes like making my own apple sauce, replacing the butter with coconut oil to make it dairy free and using dextrose and rice malt syrup to lower the fructose content.

And how did they taste? Delicious! Like all the best bits of an apple crumble but in bar form.They disappeared in record time, and in fact I was lucky to get a photo! My boys loved it for afternoon tea and then breakfast the next morning, but it would actually work beautifully as a dessert, served warm with lots of custard.

Applesauce Oatmeal Bars
Slightly adapted from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

3 cups apple puree (see note)
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups wholemeal plain flour
170 g liquid coconut oil
1/2 cup dextrose
2 tbs rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Line the base and sides of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with baking paper and set aside.

Combine oats, flour, rice malt syrup, vanilla extract, spices, bicarb soda, salt and butter. Use a fork to combine the mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. It will appear quite dry but it should clump together when sqeezed.

Press 2/3 of the mix unto the bottom of the prepared tray. Spread on the apple puree then sprinkle the walnuts and top with the remaining 1/3 oat mixture.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before carefully lifting out of the tin using the baking paper. It will be easier to slice when completely cool.

* Note - Christie used bought apple sauce in her recipe and includes instructions for draining it. I made my own apple puree by peeling, coring and slicing 6 large granny smith apples, and steaming them until tender. Then puree in a blender or food processor until smooth and allow to cool before using.

An InLinkz Link-up

No-Bake Lemon Slice

I love a good slice and it's such a shame that they're a bit hard to find. Everyone seems to have jumped on the cupcake, whoopie pie and macaron bandwagon. Not that there's anything wrong with those but they don't have that nostalgia of childhood and simpler times like a slice does. The thought just occurred to me though that maybe my kids will yearn for cupcakes, whoopies and macarons when they're older!

This is now my second no-bake recipe for the month which I think just shows what a busy month it has been. Between the flu, chest infections and my bad back there hasn't been a whole lot of spare time for baking.

So when I needed something to take for a morning tea the next day I immediately thought of this easy lemon slice which I saw on Around Here. Basic pantry ingredients and no need for the oven. Perfect!

Lemon Slice
(Very) Slightly Adapted from Around Here

1/2 cup (162g) condensed skim milk
100g butter
200g Granita biscuits
1 cup dessicated coconut
Grated rind of 1 lemon
2 cups icing sugar
40g melted butter
2 tbs lemon juice

Lightly grease a slice tray (approx 15 x 25cm), line with non-stick paper and set aside.

Place the condensed milk and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter is melted.

Crush the biscuits to fine crumbs and add to a large bowl along with the coconut and lemon rind. Pour in the condensed milk and butter and mix until well combined. Press firmly into the prepared tray and refrigerate until firm.

Once the slice is firm, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the butter and lemon juice. Mix until smooth and spread onto the chilled slice. Refrigerate again until set. Slice into squares and serve.

This was a real hit with kids and adults alike at our morning tea. Sweet and lemony and very easy to eat!

This post is linked to Crazy Sweet Tuesdays:

Sunday Baking - Chocolate and Coconut Slice

Another childhood favourite this week! This slice brings back memories of school fairs, fancy morning teas and Grandma's house. With a crunchy chocolate base covered with smooth chocolate icing, it will disappear pretty quickly. This is such an easy and yummy treat to make. In fact, you will probably have all the ingredients in the pantry right now. So get baking!

Chocolate and Coconut Slice

Recipe slightly adapted from Taste.com.au

3 weetbix or similar

85g dessicated coconut

100g raw sugar

150g self-raising flour

150g melted butter

2 tbs cocoa

1 ts vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar

1 tbs cocoa extra

20g soft butter

1-2 tbs hot water

Preheat the oven to 180 /160 fan-forced degrees celsius. Lightly grease a slice pan (20 x 30cm approx) and line with baking paper. 

Crush the weetbix into a large mixing bowl. Add the coconut, sugar, flour and cocoa and stir well. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla and mix well to combine. Tip the mixture into the pan and smooth out to make level, then press down with the back of a spoon (if you don't press it down at this stage it may be too crumbly when cooked). Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and ice while hot. 

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Add the softened butter and start to mix through. Add 1 tablespoon of hot water and stir well to combine. If it is too thick add a little extra water. Pour over the hot slice and smooth into the corners. Allow to cool completely before slicing in the pan. 

Makes 24 pieces.

Sunday Baking - Apple Streusel Slice

This slice combines all the best parts of an apple teacake, a coffee cake and apple crumble. Could it get any better??

I took this to an Easter morning tea while it was still warm and it was fabulous. Luckily it also freezes and thaws really well and a quick zap in the microwave brings back some of that fresh apple taste. A real treat for morning tea or a lovely dessert served warm from the oven with a big scoop of vanilla icecream and some caramel sauce.

Apple Streusel Slice
Recipe very slightly adapted from Taste.com.au

Base
180g softened butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 ts baking powder
1 ts ground cinnamon
2 large granny smith apples (peeled, cored and diced)

Streusel topping
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
1 ts ground cinnamon
30g softened butter

Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a deep 18cm x 28cm slab pan and line with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon over butter mixture and fold together using a large metal spoon. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Top with apple.

To make the streusel topping, combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Rub the butter into flour mixture with your fingertips until it clumps together. Crumble the streusel mixture evenly over the apple.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. It will also start to pull away from the edge of the pan. Allow to cool in pan. Cut slice into squares and serve.

Sunday Baking - Hummingbird Slice

I've had Hummingbird Cake and Hummingbird Muffins but I've never had Hummingbird Slice. That's reason enough to get baking!

This is a Donna Hay recipe and I have to admit in the past I've found her food to be really hit and miss. Always visually stunning but often lacking in flavour or with wildly inaccurate cooking times or techniques. No complaints about this one though, it was easy to bake and really tasty.

Normally I like cream cheese icing with these but in the interest of saving a few calories and making them freezer-friendly I've left them plain. Perfect for morning tea, or just anytime really!

Hummingbird Slice

Recipe slightly adapted from Donna Hay

140g brown sugar

125ml oil (I used extra light olive oil)

2 eggs
1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
1 banana, mashed
1 cup grated carrot (about 2 carrots)
115g self-raising flour

1/2 ts bicarbonate of soda
1/3 cup sultanas

2 ts cinnamon
20g dessicated coconut
30g chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 160°C.

Sift together the flour and bicarb soda and then add the cinnamon, coconut and pecans.

Place the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl and whisk well. Add the pineapple, banana and carrot and stir together. Add the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.

Spoon into a greased and lined 20cm x 30cm tin. Bake for approx 40-45 minutes or until it springs back when touched in the centre and starting to pull away from the sides of the tin. Allow to cool in the tin before slicing.

Donna suggest serving this slice with honey but with brown sugar and all that fruit no extra sweetness is needed. They are moist and packed with flavour and just as good, if not better, the next day.

A great treat for the kids' (or husband's) lunchboxes so get baking!

TWD BWJ - Hungarian Shortbread

Is anyone else amazed that it's May already?? Can't believe how fast this year is going by. 

I also can't believe how much butter was in this Hungarian Shortbread so I made just 1/4 of the recipe! Luckily for me it was easy to do with full cups of ingredients and 4 egg yolks to start with so no messy calculations. My 1/4 batch fit perfectly into an 6" square pan and baked in 30 minutes.

Given that I forgot what day it was there was no way I could make rhubarb jam though it sounds fantastic and is now on my 'to-do' list. I used about 1/3 cup of my favourite English breakfast marmalade and was really happy with how it turned out.

The taste test ...

 I absolutely loved this one! The shortbread was crisp around the edges, moist and chewy in the middle and offset perfectly by the tartness in the marmalade, so I think it was a great substitute for the rhubarb jam. I cut 16 little squares and froze most of them, but not before having a few with a cup of tea. Just wonderful!

While it tasted amazing I think my favourite part of this recipe was freezing and then grating the dough into the pan. It worked brilliantly and gave a fantastic result.

I will definitely be making this again and playing with different flavours. 

Lynette of 1 Small Kitchen and Cher from The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler will have the recipe up for Hungarian Shortbread on their blogs under today's date. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Gingerbread

I've been thinking a lot about traditions lately. Lots of my Christmas memories involve food so with each new recipe that I try, particularly as we get closer to Christmas, I wonder whether it will be something that Oscar remembers from his childhood.

I found the recipe for this White Chocolate Gingerbread in a free Christmas magazine from Coles (one of our major supermarkets). While there were lots of yummy things this one leapt off the page. White chocolate. Gingerbread. Need I say more?

White Chocolate & Gingerbread Slice
Recipe from Coles Christmas 2009 Magazine, p37

100g unsalted butter
3/4 cup golden syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup milk
2 cups plain flour
180g white chocolate, chopped
icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350F). Grease and line a 19cm x 29cm slice pan with non-stick baking powder.

Place butter, golden syrup, sugar, ginger and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Stir on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until butter has melted and mixture is smooth.. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the eggs and milk and mix well.

Sift flour into a large bowl. Add the chocolate. Fold through the egg mixture and mix until combined.

Fill prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until firm. Cool completely in pan. Dust with icing sugar and cut into fingers to serve. Makes 18 pieces.

The verdict?

While very tasty I found it a little solid. Next time I would add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to lighten it up a little, and maybe also some crystallised ginger for some extra spice. Otherwise this is a lovely morning or afternoon tea slice, perfect for this time of year!

Scrummy Six Layer Slice

My MIL mentioned this recipe a few weeks ago and I have been keen to give it a go. There's nothing particularly special about the ingredients, rather it is the method that is unique - nothing is mixed! You simply pour each ingredient into your baking pan, cook and somehow it transforms into a tasty slice.

The only change I would make for next time would be to add some dried fruit - maybe apricots or cranberries just to cut through the sweetness.

I baked the full recipe yesterday and sent most of it off to work with N this morning. Definitely don't want something this yummy sitting around at home with me all day!