Little Charley Bear Cake

'Mummy, can I have a bear cake this year? Pleeeeeeese?'

It's s not just my kids who start planning their birthday cake months ahead of time, is it?

While the whining can be annoying, the benefit is I have months of time to think about how to make a bear cake!

Mr 5 received a Little Charley Bear for his first birthday and it has been his constant companion ever since. He's only spent one night apart from him, and that was when he accidentally left him at daycare and I didn't even know he'd taken him there. We survived the night. Just. But it's not an experience I would care to repeat.

So when he asked for a bear cake for his 6th birthday, I knew I would have to make it a Little Charley Bear cake. How could I not?

I always make my kids birthday cakes even though cake decorating is not my strength, and of course these days we avoid artificial colours and flavours like the plague which makes the more brightly coloured cakes a bit of a challenge.

Good thing bears are brown!

How to make a Little Charley Bear cake

First thing was to find an image I could use as a template. There are surprisingly few Little Charley Bear colouring pages online, which is basically what you are after. What I found was a still from a You Tube video called 'How to draw Little Charley Bear.' Perfect.

I saved the image, cropped off the bears on the sides and pasted it into PowerPoint.

My cake tin measured 33cm long so that was the maximum size for the image.

Enlarge the image to 33cm, then copy it onto 2 slides - one with the top half and one with the bottom half. Then print out both slides and tape them together to form one 33cm high image.

Lay a sheet of baking paper over the top and trace the outline and details with a sharpie.

Cut out the image.

Lay the template over your cake and using a sharp knife at 90 degrees, carefully cut around the edge, holding it with one hand to prevent it slipping.

Carefully slide your cake onto a prepared cake board and you are ready to decorate!

Wholefood Chocolate Sheet Cake

400g white spelt flour
100g raw cacao powder
2 tbs baking powder
250g unsalted butter, softened
1/4 ts fine sea salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
500g rice malt syrup
250ml water
1 ts vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius / 150 degrees fan-forced.

Grease a 23 x 33cm tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.

Place all ingredients into a large bowl and using electric beaters, beat together at low speed until combined, then on high speed for 2 minutes until smooth and glossy.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for approx 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cover with a tea towel to stop it drying out.

Cream Cheese Icing
500g cream cheese (in blocks)
250g butter
150g coconut sugar
2 ts vanilla extract
30g raw cacao
2 charcoal capsules

Beat together the cream cheese, butter, coconut sugar and vanilla together until smooth.

Remove about 1/4 of the icing and set aside in a small bowl. This is for all the light coloured parts on the tummy and eyebrow.

Remove 1 tablespoon of this icing and place into another small bowl, this will be for the brown inside the ears.

Add the cacao to the rest of the mixture and mix until smooth and completely combined.

Place 2 tablespoons of this mixture into a small bowl and add the contents of the charcoal capsules - mix until well combined. You should have a strong black icing.

Take a small amount of the black icing and add it to the tablespoon of light icing set aside - add little by little until you get a darkish grey-brown. This is for inside the ears.

To decorate

Prepare your template and cut out the cake as per instructions above.

Place the cake onto your prepared board. I use a large cake board covered with wrapping paper.

Cut strips of baking paper and slip them under the edges of the cake. This keeps the board clean while you ice the cake. Just pull them away when you are finished for nice crisp edges and a clean board!

Cover the whole cake, top and sides, with a thin coat of the chocolate icing. This is the crumb coat and it seals in all the crumbs and gives a better finish. Place the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes for the icing to firm up before moving on to the next step.

Now you need to cut out each element from the template.

Starting by cutting out the light colour tummy. Lay it on the iced cake and using a skewer trace around the edge. Fill in with light coloured icing. Repeat with the smaller pawprints on the tummy and fill in with chocolate icing.

Repeat for paw and ears, and use black icing for the nose and eyes.

Serve immediately or if you need to put the cake in the fridge, bring it out an hour beforehand to warm up.

Use a skewer to draw the outlines of his arms (don't be like me and forget to outline the outstretched arm!)

So there you go.

If I can make a Little Charley Bear cake, anyone can!

And free from refined sugar and artificial colours.

Happy Birthday Mr 6!

Sage and Apple Fritters (SRC)

There are some food combinations that just work - think peanut butter and chocolate, tomato and basil, lemon and blueberries to name just a few.

Well, you can now officially add sage, apple and maple syrup to that list.

Because WOW. So yummy!

This isn't my invention, though. Credit must go to Helen from Casa Costello, whose blog I was assigned for this month's Secret Recipe Club.

Helen had my blog back in May and made my Thumbprint cookies, and I remember then flicking through her recipes and looking forward to getting her blog sometime.

Helen is from the UK and mum to 3 girls. She is a self-described 'massive foodie' and has been working with food and cakes since she was since 16.

Speaking of cakes, Helen is also a fantastic cake decorator and shares lots of her creations on her #BakeoftheWeek challenge. My boys particularly liked this Police Car Cake. Gorgeous isn't it?

When it came to choosing a recipe I took ages to decide, but I knew I wanted something pretty simple and of course, it had to be gluten and dairy free (or easy to convert). I loved the sound of Helen's Walnut and honey granola and Scrambled eggs with style. And this Lemon Frangipane Pie looks fabulous.

In the end though these Apple fritters with sage were calling my name. I've never used sage in this way before. Typically I only use it in stuffing at Christmas time. Which probably explains why it was so hard to find at the shops right now, no one else uses it much either!

My husband eventually found a little pot of sage that Mr 7 immediately took outside and replanted into a bigger pot. It's still very young but we got enough off it for this recipe and 2 perfect little leaves for garnish.

I've always loved fritters, especially tuna and corn fritters, but the rest of family doesn't share my same level of enthusiasm.

That may have changed with this recipe!

Apple, sage and maple syrup are a match made in heaven.

I made only a few changes to the recipe to suit our way of eating - using gluten free flour, non-dairy milk and frying in coconut oil. I also reduced the sugar and am glad I did because between the apples and maple syrup I found them very sweet!

All 3 of my boys loved these and were literally licking their plates clean. Mr fussy-5 even ate an extra sage leaf (covered with maple syrup) and declared it 'really yummy.' So huge for him to eat something green voluntarily even if he did have to smother it in syrup!

These would be perfect for a weekend brunch and will definitely be on the menu at our place again.

Sage and Apple Fritters
Adapted from Apple fritters with and without sage

2 large red apples
125g gluten free plain flour
1 ts baking powder
1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts cinnamon
2 ts rapadura sugar (or sweetener of choice)
150ml rice milk
1 large egg
6 sage leaves
coconut oil for frying

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar.

Peel the apples and chop into very small pieces. Add them to the dry ingredients and toss to combine.

In a small jug beat together the milk and egg together then pour into the flour and apples and mix well. Finely chop the sage leaves and stir through.

Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a large heavy-based frypan over medium heat.

Dollop in spoonfuls of mixture and flatten out into pancake shapes.

Cook until gold brown then flip and cook on the other side until cooked through.

Remove and place on a rack while you cook the remaining fritters.

Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Makes 10 fritters.

Thanks for a great recipe Helen! I will definitely be making these again.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce (Gluten and Dairy Free)

I definitely have a tendency to procrastinate.

If it seems too hard or it will take too long, it slips right to the bottom of my to-do list (possibly never to be seen again!)

Anything I've read about procrastination says that you need to do the hard stuff first.

Basically, if there is anything you're avoiding, just get up and do it first thing - it will be over and done with and set you up to have a really productive day.

Take this post for example.

I made this Sticky Date Pudding for our Christmas in July party. Yep July. And it's now the middle of October.

I'm not sure why it's been so hard to post lately but today I am taking my own advice and I'm just gonna do it!

So, sticky date pudding. A bit of a classic and a little retro. But things are a classic for a reason and a dessert that tastes this good never really goes out of style.

Sweet, sticky, decadent, and packed with warming spices and a good splash of brandy. Perfect for cold weather (it was just a pity the cold snap had ended and it was 28 degrees that day in July!).

Often when you go gluten and dairy free you can feel like you're missing out. Ingredients can't always be substituted one-for-one and I can tell you, I've had some spectacular failures. Think pizza bases as hard as cement or muffins that taste like cardboard. It's so frustrating! Not to mention a big waste of ingredients and money.

This sticky date pudding is definitely special occasion fare - and for a special occasion you want something that works.

I actually made 2 different versions of sticky date pudding, baking one in the oven (this one pictured) and steaming one in a pudding bowl in the slow cooker. I wasn't sure which technique would work the best, but in the end, they both did!

So I will be keeping that in mind and I have a feeling the steamed version will make an appearance at our Christmas Eve dinner along with some cinnamon coconut ice cream. My mouth is watering already!

Ok yes, there is a LOT of sugar here, but for Christmas (or Christmas in July) I have no problem with it. In saying that though, I am planning on experimenting a bit more and seeing how it goes with most or even all of the sugar taken out and with just the dates for sweetness.

Gluten and Dairy Free Sticky Date Pudding

200g pitted dried dates
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup very hot water
2 ts bicarb soda
2/3 cup coconut sugar
60g coconut oil, melted
3 eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
170g gluten free flour
2 1/2 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts ground ginger

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 160 degrees fan-forced.

Grease and line a loaf pan with baking paper and set aside (I used a pyrex loaf pan).

Roughly chop the dates and place in a heatproof bowl. Add the brandy and the hot water and leave to stand for 10 minutes or until the dates have softened. Once soft, mash the dates and water together and stir in the bicarb soda.

To this mixture, add the coconut oil, eggs and vanilla and mix together until very well combined.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger with a whisk.

Pour the date and egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until the top springs back and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Suitable for freezing.

Serve with butterscotch sauce for an indulgent dessert.

This sauce was truly a revelation. I admit it's been many years since I had a real butterscotch sauce but this dairy free version was amazing. So rich and creamy. It would be perfect over coconut ice cream with a sprinkle of crushed nuts. Yum!

Dairy-free Butterscotch Sauce

1/2 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
2 ts vanilla extract
1/4 ts sea salt
1/2 ts cream of tartar

Place all ingredients except cream of tartar into a medium pot and bring to the boil. Add the cream of tartar and stir until completely dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil for 5 minutes or until it reaches 110 degrees Celsius / 230 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Pour immediately into a clear glass jar. Allow to cool to luke warm before serving (it is like molten lava once it is cooked so don't lick the spoon or stick your finger in for a taste - it will burn you!!!)

Pour over warm pudding just before serving.

Are you a procrastinator like me? 

Coconut Flour Pancakes (SRC)

It's Secret Recipe Club time!

For those who don't know, each month SRC members are assigned a blog in secret from which to choose and prepare a recipe. Then we all post on the same day and have fun working out who had who!

This month I was assigned the blog Dessert Before Dinner by Stephanie. Stephanie recently moved to LA with her husband and cat and she loves making bread and ice cream. Just like me she used to make lots of desserts but after she got married she focussed more on main meals and 'real food.' Stephanie had my blog for SRC last month so it was fun to have a look around her site this month!

Here are just a few of her recipes that caught my eye:

Lemon Caper Quinoa Patties, Coconut Flour Pancakes, Apple Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Coconut Milk Kanten, Coconut Flour Cake with Fudge Frosting, and Cinnamon Lime Panna Cotta just to name a few!

Given that I am off both gluten and dairy at the moment, and have a pantry full of coconut products, I had to go with Stephanie's coconut flour pancakes.

I make pancakes at least once a week for the kids, and sometimes for my lunch as a treat while I'm studying. I have made coconut flour pancakes before but this recipe was a little different, using dried coconut and some spices.

Stephanie says the recipe serves 2 for breakfast, but I got just 4 perfect little pancakes from the mixture which would be a hearty serve for 1 around here!

These were reminiscent of the oatmeal pancakes I've made for brunch previously, with the shredded coconut giving a similar chewy texture to the oats. So if you are newly off gluten and want something substantial for breakfast, these pancakes not only taste great they will keep you full until lunchtime.

Coconut Flour Pancakes
Recipe from: Dessert Before Dinner

2 eggs
2 tbs milk (almond or coconut would be good)
1 ts honey
2 tbs coconut flour
2 tbs shredded coconut
1/8 ts bicarb soda
1/8 ts cinnamon
1/8 ts nutmeg

Heat up a frypan over medium heat.

In a small bowl mix together the eggs, milk, honey, bicarb and spices. Add the coconut flour and shredded coconut and mix until just combined.

Grease the pan with a little coconut oil and dollop in 4 spoonfuls of mixture, flattening each out into a pancake.

Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Serve with maple syrup and strawberries.

Thanks for a great recipe Stephanie!

An InLinkz Link-up

What I learnt about self-care this Winter ...

So things have been a little quiet on the blog front this past month or so.

I haven't spoken about it much but my health hasn't been great this Winter - I've been really run down and catching every bug going around. When you add that onto looking after 3 kids and studying well, things have definitely gotten on top of me.

I may have mentioned before that I've also been having some thyroid problems. Now I never had even an inkling of a thyroid issue until after having baby number 3. Post-partum thyroiditis is apparently really common but it's been tricky for me to manage.

I've been absolutely freezing this Winter (feeling cold is one of the symptoms) and have piled on about 6kg which is incredibly frustrating as I'm eating well and haven't had to think about my weight at all for a couple of years.

Hypothyroidism (or underactive thyroid) which is what I have, can also greatly impact on mood and anxiety levels so on top of feeling cold and fat I've also been feeling pretty down. Sounds like fun hey?

After hibernating for a while, I decided I had to make some changes.

Clearly what I was doing wasn't working.

And isn't that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

You may have heard the phrase 'self-care' bandied about a lot recently. For me it used to conjure up images of going to a spa for a massage or lighting candles. All good things but nothing I have the time for. Nothing that lights me up, so to speak.

A few months ago I stumbled across a book by Doreen Virtue called 'Don't Let Anything Dull Your Sparkle' and I read it, captivated. Because that is exactly what I have lost - sparkle. I have been feeling dulled down, tired, overwhelmed and uninspired. No wonder my health has been slowly going down the toilet.

Reading that book made me aware of all the drama I was allowing in my life. So getting rid of that was the first step I took.

1. Drama detox

Now anyone who knows me might be surprised that I consider myself addicted to drama. Outwardly I'm a pretty calm and quiet person. But my god, the drama that goes on in my head sometimes!

After taking a good hard look at just where my energy goes I could instantly see how much time and energy I was wasting on drama - the shows I watched on TV were full of crime, violence and stressful situations, reading the news online, getting caught up in the rush and busy-ness of life and allowing all of that to affect my mood and my sleep.

What I did - switched off the TV, removed all the programs I had set to record on the DVR, removed the bookmarks to news sites on my laptop, removed Facebook from my phone, found a classical music station on the car radio.

How I felt - removing all these stressful influences has had a major impact on my mood. I feel lighter and happier and, bonus, I have so much more time. Extra bonus the kids have been really enjoying listening to classical music!

2. Meditation

I've always been so resistant to meditation. But as they say, the things we resist the most, are usually the things we need the most. And so it was here too.

Meditation has been absolutely the greatest gift to myself these past few months. Setting aside just a little bit of time each day to relax, be still and clear my mind. Forget sitting cross-legged on the side of a mountain and chanting - meditation can be as simple as closing your eyes and focusing on your breath for a few seconds ... and instantly reaping the benefits.

My favourite tool for meditation is the Insight Timer app. It is completely free and gives you access to thousands of guided meditations. You can also meditate to music or just choose some background music and set the timer. Try a few and you will find the style that suits you best. I do a quick 5-minute meditation as soon as I wake up to set the tone for the day and then as soon as Mr 2 goes down for his nap in the middle of the day, I lie down too and take 20 minutes for myself. And no matter how tempting it is to rush around and get a few things done as soon as he goes to bed, I've learnt from experience that if I don't take the time straight away, it may not happen.

What I did - committed to least 5 minutes of meditation every day

How I felt - AMAZING. I now crave that peace and stillness and I can draw on those feelings when things get crazy. Which, with 3 young kids, is pretty often!

3. Diet

Ok so I can't talk about improving my health without talking about diet.

As you know I am all about whole foods so I didn't have to cut out any junk, I just had to become more mindful with my eating and do some experimenting.

Some big triggers for thyroid health seem to be gluten, dairy and sugar. Which makes sense as they are all inflammatory and can impact on gut health.

The dairy and sugar were easy (ish) to remove but after 6 weeks now without gluten, I can say with absolute certainty that it's helping. I actually felt positive changes within a few days - more energy, less brain fog, less bloating.

So while I don't have celiac (I've had both blood tests and a biopsy to rule it out) it seems my body simply works better without gluten. I will be writing a post about going gluten free soon so I won't go into too much detail here.

The other side to diet is mindfulness - actually listening to what your body needs and then thinking about what to eat.

What I did - eating 3 proper meals each day rather than grazing or finishing the kids leftovers. Increasing the amount of veggies, especially greens. Sticking to 2 pieces of fruit per day. Drinking lots of water and herbal tea throughout the day.

How I felt - unsurprisingly I am feeling a bit better!

4. Sleep

I am not someone who functions well without sleep. Luckily I was blessed with kids that are good sleepers (please don't hate me!) and we are well past the baby stage anyway.

I need 8 hours sleep every night without fail. The easiest way to work out the right bedtime is to simply count back 8 hours from when your alarm goes off. Mine goes off at 5.30am which means lights out at 9.30pm.

The next thing is to think about how you are spending that last hour before bed and avoiding screen time if you can.

My night time ritual always includes a cup of tea, washing my face and putting on some beautiful smelling moisturiser and reading in bed for about half an hour before I turn out the light. If I do all these things then it is much easier to fall asleep and I don't feel like a total zombie the next day.

What I did - committed to a night time ritual and a set bedtime.

How I felt - While I still have some days when I need a nap in the afternoon (fatigue goes hand in hand with a dodgy thyroid), getting enough sleep at night makes everything feel easier.

5. Personal growth

Removing some negative stressful influences in my life has freed up some time and some space - which I have filled with books, music and podcasts. I am completely addicted to podcasts!

My favourites at the moment are:

• Happy Mama with Amy Taylor-Kabbaz
• How She Really Does It with Koren Motekaitis
• Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert

My favourite times to listen to podcasts and audio books are when I'm cleaning, or stacking the dishwasher or parked waiting to pick up the kids from school. Basically anytime I have a few minutes. I've subscribed to them through the podcasts app on my ipad so they are loaded up and always ready to go.

What I did - filled my free time with positive, informative and uplifting books, music and podcasts.

How I felt - inspired to do more, learn more, create more and connect more

So after all that, what did I learn about self-care this Winter?

It's essential. It makes a massive difference. And there's no one right way to do it.

What does self-care mean to you?

~ Susan

Peanut Butter Loaf (SRC)

It's Secret Recipe Club time again! Is it just me or does it seem like each month is going by faster and faster these days? For those counting there are only 4 more SRC reveals until Christmas!!

Anyway, for those who are new here, every month SRC members are assigned a blog in secret to choose a recipe from, then we all post on the same day. Today is reveal day for group C.

This month I was assigned Our Eating Habits by Jamie - a Disney-obsessed, Christmas-loving mother of 3 from Calgary. Jamie actually had my blog last month so it was extra fun looking through hers this month. Jamie also homeschools her kids which I find so fascinating because that's pretty rare here in Australia. She has also posted loads of restaurant reviews which I had a look through even though I am on the other side of the world!

Jamie has so many recipes to choose from that she has divided her recipe index into 2 categories - cooking and baking. I started making a list of possible recipes but it got a little out of hand so I will share just a few that caught my eye.

Firstly, my kids would go crazy for Spaghetti Tacos, this Sweet Shepherd's Pie is a great twist on a classic, I'm always looking for interesting vegetable side dishes and the Broccoli with Asian Garlic Sauce and Cumin Honey Carrots sound delicious, and lastly Kung Pao Chicken which I've never seen on a menu here but it always seems to feature on American TV shows for some reason.

I moved over to the baking section and bookmarked these Molasses Muffins. Then I noticed Jamie has not one, but two recipes for peanut butter loaf - Amish Peanut Butter Loaf and Peanut Butter Loaf. I've never heard of this before but we love our peanut butter around here so I had to give it a try!

Basically this is exactly what it sounds like, a loaf cake made with peanut butter. If you love peanuts and peanut butter, this loaf is for you!

I'm still doing my gluten-free experiment so I made it gluten free and swapped out the sugar for rice malt syrup as well. I also added a scattering of peanuts over the the top for some extra crunch.

This was a huge hit with my boys! Seriously, my husband missed out completely because it was completely devoured for afternoon tea before he got home. I used my own blend of gluten free flour and it made a moist, chewy loaf with a crispy crust. So delicious! I was imagining it would be amazing toasted but it didn't last long enough for me to find out! Guess I will just have to make it again.

We usually buy freshly ground natural peanut butter but we only had peanuts in the pantry so I made my own peanut butter for this recipe. I used the Thermomix but any high powered blender or food processor will work. If you are using regular peanut butter you might want to adjust the amount of sugar or salt you use in the loaf.

Homemade Peanut Butter

160g roasted natural peanuts
15g coconut oil

Place the peanuts into the Thermomix bowl and chop 15 seconds / SP 8. Scrape down the sides, add the coconut oil and process for 6 seconds / SP 6. Makes exactly 2/3 cup needed for this recipe.

Peanut Butter Loaf - Gluten, Dairy and Fructose Free
Adapted from here and here

2/3 cup natural peanut butter
110g rice malt syrup
1 cup rice milk
2 cups gluten free plain flour
1 tbs gluten free baking powder
1/4 ts sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees F. Grease and line a standard loaf pan with baking paper and set aside.

Beat together the peanut butter, syrup and milk until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and fold through until well combined.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 50 minutes, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack before serving sliced with strawberry jam.

Thank you for a great recipe, Jamie - this one is a keeper!

An InLinkz Link-up

Dairy-free Strawberry Ice Cream

We're having a public holiday here today in honour of the Ekka, otherwise known as the Royal Queensland Show. Gotta love a day off in the middle of the week!

I have such fond memories of going to the Ekka as a child - catching the train in with huge crowds of people, feeding the animals, climbing into the rickety stands to watch the dog show, eating a dagwood dog and a strawberry sundae.

We've never actually taken the kids to the Ekka and we're not going this year either. Mr 2 still has a daytime sleep and also broke his arm a few weeks ago so has a sling on. It all seems too hard. Next year the boys will be 8, 6 and 3 which I think will be perfect for them to handle a full day out and enjoy all the different activities.

I have to say, ice cream has always been my weakness. Back when I was a bit of a sugar addict I would easily eat a tub a week (if not more). Terrible right? Well it's now been almost 3 years since I ate commercial ice cream. And I'm totally ok with that.

The ice cream they use for the strawberry sundaes at the Ekka is actually great quality, so perhaps next year my kids will experience the joy of having one.

Until then though my dairy-free strawberry ice cream will definitely satisfy everyone.

I made this ice cream a little differently than I have in the past. I know from past experience that adding strawberries can really water down the mixture making it very icy, or leave you with pebbles of rock hard frozen strawberry that will break your teeth.

This time I was careful to make the custard base extra thick and creamy and use very ripe strawberries for maximum flavour.

The result?

Just divine. Smooth and creamy ice cream with big strawberry flavour. The kids declared it to be 'the best ice cream ever' (although they do have short memories because my chocolate ice cream formerly held that lofty honour).

This really was so simple to make.

If you don't have a Thermomix, I would recommend beating the eggs, syrup and arrowroot together in a large bowl until smooth. Warm the coconut milk and vanilla in a medium pot then pour over the egg mixture and whisk together well, then pour the mixture back into the pot and stir over medium heat until the custard has thickened. The follow the instructions below for adding the strawberries, churning and freezing.

Dairy-free Strawberry Ice Cream

500g strawberries (washed, stems removed, halved)
150g rice malt syrup, divided
500ml coconut milk (full fat, from a tin)
4 egg yolks
60g arrowroot powder
2 ts vanilla extract

Place the strawberries and 40g of rice malt syrup into the mixing bowl and blend for 10 seconds / SP 5. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

Without washing the bowl, add all remaining ingredients and cook for 7 minutes / 90 degrees / SP 4. It will be very thick and creamy.

Remove the lid and leave to cool for 20 minutes. Add the strawberry puree and blend for 5 seconds / SP 4.

Place into the fridge to cool completely (several hours).

Pour into ice cream maker and churn as per manufacturer's instructions - about 20 minutes.

Enjoy straight away as soft serve or pour into a glass container and freeze for a few hours until firm enough to scoop.

Linked up to Thriving on Thursdays.

Do you have a favourite food memory from your childhood?

Peanut Butter and Coconut Dhal

I am so much more of a cold-weather girl. I love hot tea, fluffy doonas, boots and striped scarves. I live in jeans pretty much year round anyway but in winter it's actually justified!

Of course the other thing to love about cold-weather is food that feels like a big warm hug. Unlike Summer when it gets so hot you lose your appetite and can't be bothered to cook. Ugh.

My top 3 comfort foods (in no particular order) would have to be mashed potato dripping with butter, steamed pudding with custard and a good curry. I'm slightly devastated that my husband and kids haven't got the same love for mashed potato as I do - perhaps I overdid the mash when the kids were little! They of course love pudding though and luckily we all love curry, which is why we have one at least once a week.

This coconut and peanut butter dhal was born of the desire to cut back on the meat a little and to broaden our curry horizons. Chicken korma, beef madras and curried sausages all feature regularly so it was time for a change.

This is truly one of the most delicious things you can eat in Winter - warmly spiced, creamy and hearty even on the coldest days. Lentils are incredibly cheap and a great source of protein and fibre and they soak up curry flavours like nothing else.

This was a huge hit as-is with the kids, but if you like it spicy you could definitely add some chili to taste. The dhal is quite soupy first made but turns into more of a mashed potato consistency the next day and it reheats beautifully with just a little coconut milk added.

So in honour of Meat-free Monday, or just anytime you feel like a curry, why not give this one a go!

My Coconut and Peanut Butter Dhal

1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
20g ginger
2 tbs coconut oil
1 ts salt
500mlvegetable stock
400ml coconut cream
250g red lentils
1 tbs turmeric
2 ts cumin
2 ts coriander
2 heaped tbs peanut butter

To serve:
roasted peanuts, rice and fresh coriander

Thermomix - place the onion, garlic and ginger into the mixing bowl and chop 4 seconds / SP 7. Add the coconut oil and salt and cook for 8 minutes / VAROMA / SP 1. Add all remaining ingredients and cook for 30 minutes / 100 degrees / SP 1.

No Thermomix? Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger then saute in a large pot over medium heat in the coconut oil until translucent. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through and the dhal has thickened.

Serve with rice and greens, topped with roasted peanuts and some chopped fresh coriander. Delicious!

Serves 4-6

What's your ultimate Winter comfort food?

Superfood Bliss Balls

What a week! I don't normally post on a Saturday but after attempting to write up this post for days now is my first chance! Mr 2 has been home from daycare this week with some sort of virus that caused conjunctivitis and just as it started to clear he broke out in spots. Before having children I had no idea there were so many illnesses that caused spots! Being the third child we didn't even take him to the doctor (he's completely fine now by the way).

Anyway between having a clingy and sick 2 year old hanging off me, and trying to complete two whole subjects before the September school holidays,  I haven't had a whole lot of spare time.

So this week, yet again, bliss balls saved my life.

I have made a ton of different bliss balls over the past few years, but it was actually only once I had my third baby that I really appreciated them. When Mr 2 was very little I used to make a batch of bliss balls every week and had them stashed in the freezer for a quick breakfast, a mid-afternoon pick me up or a late night snack while feeding.

This week there quite a few times when I was hungry but didn't want to make anything from scratch, so I grabbed 2 of these from the freezer and was completely satisfied.

These ones are a little different in that I have specifically chosen ingredients to suit my health at the moment. There is no gluten, nuts or refined sugar and they have an extra boost of superfoods. Think antioxidants from the raw cacao, zinc from the pumpkin seeds, calcium from the tahini, fibre and essential minerals from the dates, good fat from the coconut, along with the amino acids, minerals and hormone balancing properties of maca.

Oh, and they're totally delicious!

As with anything containing chia seeds, make sure you check your teeth before venturing out in public!

Superfood Bliss Balls
Recipe by me

2 tbs (20 g) raw cacao
1 tbs (15 g) maca powder
1/4 cup (40g) chia seeds
1 cup (150g) pumpkin seeds
1 cup (65g) desiccated coconut
40 g tahini
1/4 tsp sea salt
80 g semi-dried dates
30 g coconut oil
zest of one orange

Place all ingredients into the food processor and blitz until the mixture clumps together (Thermomix 20 seconds / speed 6).

With damp hands, roll spoonfuls of mixture into balls.

Makes about 20

Store in the fridge or freezer.

What's your go-to snack?

Coconut Oil and Sea Salt Brownie Cookies (SRC)

And just like that it's Secret Recipe Club time again! Each month members are assigned a blog in secret to peruse and choose a recipe from, then we all reveal our posts at the same time. It's a lot of fun and I always look forward to reveal day.

This has been an interesting month for me, in terms of food, as I have decided to cut out gluten for at least 4 weeks to see if it helps my energy levels and thyroid symptoms. After just the first few days I noticed my brain-fog lifting and I'm nowhere near as tired as I have been, so it seems like the experiment is working. On the one hand, yay! On the other hand, no more decent bread?? :(

Anyway, being temporarily gluten-free meant I had to look more closely at the recipes on my chosen blog for the month, which is Our Table for Seven by Erin.

As you can tell by the name of her blog, Erin has a lot of mouths to feed! Erin says she only really got into cooking and baking when her eldest son developed some picky eating habits and she wanted to make the foods he would eat a bit healthier. Erin, I hear you! I have the same issues with my Mr 5.

I decided I wanted something sweet and simple this month and found loads of recipes to choose from that I could easily adapt to gluten and dairy free. Like this Flourless Chocolate Cake that looks so rich and decadent, these Walnut and Maple Syrup muffins and this Simple Homemade Caramel Corn which I am planning on taking to a Christmas in July party next weekend!

But when I saw these Coconut Oil and Sea Salt Brownie Cookies the search was over. We love our coconut oil in this house (in fact we love it so much I buy it in huge 5kg tubs!). It tastes amazing and it's a brilliant substitute for butter in baking.

So these cookies were in a word, AMAZING. The mixture was so rich and chocolatey and I couldn't stop sneaking little tastes as it rested in the fridge. Once they came out of the oven my boys were hovering and couldn't wait to try them. They were fascinated by the salt on top (which according to Heston Blumenthal helps balance out the bitterness in dark chocolate in case you were wondering).

I made very minor changes to the recipe, swapping out the flour for gluten free varieties, reducing the sugar slightly and using chopped dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips.

I've only included the Thermomix instructions here but it can easily be converted to stove top (you really just need to melt the coconut oil in a saucepan then mix everything else together) or just check the original recipe for Erin's instructions.

Coconut Oil and Sea Salt Brownie Cookies
Gluten and Dairy free
Adapted from Our Table for Seven

1/2 cup (100g) coconut oil
2/3 cup (130g) coconut sugar
3/4 cup (120g) buckwheat flour
1/4 cup (40g) gluten-free plain flour
3/4 cup (80g) raw cacao powder
1 ts vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 ts sea salt (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
1 ts bicarb soda (baking soda)
1 tbs very hot water
150g dairy-free dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Lindt 85%)
 
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.

Melt the coconut oil (TMX 2 minutes / 50 degrees / SP 2). Add the coconut sugar and beat for 20 seconds / SP 4. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again for 20 seconds / SP 4. Mix the bicarb soda and hot water together and add to the mixture (4 secs / SP ).

In a small bowl whisk together the flours, cacao and salt.

Add to the egg mixture and mix for 10 seconds / SP 4.

Add the chopped chocolate and mix for 6 secs / REVERSE / SP 3.

Place the bowl into the fridge for 15 minutes to allow the mixture to firm up.

Roll spoonfuls of mixture into balls and place on the prepared trays. Flatten the tops very slightly then sprinkle with extra salt.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Leave on the trays to cool for 5 minutes before carefully placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 24


Thank you for a wonderful month, Erin! I so enjoyed getting to know you and your family :)

An InLinkz Link-up

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?