Sticky date cookies with caramel icing

Makes 20

Ingredients

½ cup tapioca flour

½ cup coconut flour

1 cup pitted medjool dates, about 10

½ cup of boiling water

¼ cup of coconut oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp of ground dried ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Method

Preheat oven to 180c

Soak the dates in the boiling water for a few minutes until softened. Then add your oil, baking soda and vanilla. Beat together, leave to cool for 5 minutes. In a bowl add your 2 flours, salt, spices, and then add your date mix. Beat and then add your eggs. Mix well then take tbsp spoonful’s of the mix and roll into a ball, place on a lined baking tray and flatten with your fingers. Make for 12-15 minutes until browned around the edges. When cool ice with caramel icing. 

This is ¼ cup of powdered coconut sugar, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tsp tapioca flour, mix well together, add a splash of water if need to make an icing consistency. You can make powdered coconut sugar in a spice grinder or thermie. You can still make it if it’s not powdered. The icing does not make much as it is sweet so I only use a little bit on each cookie.

Chocolate chia cherry berry pudding

This can be a snack, breakfast or dessert

Serves 4

Ingredients

¼ of a cup of chia seeds

1 tbsp cacao powder

¼ of a cup of shredded coconut blended with 1 ½ cups of boiling water-don’t strain

2 tsp coconut nectar, you can use honey or maple etc…

6-8 pitted cherries and 6-8 raspberries per person

Method

In a bowl mix your chia, sweetener, cacao, add your unstrained coconut milk, mix well and leave for 10 minutes or until liquid has absorbed. Get 4 serving containers and put 3-4 cherries and 3-4 berries on the bottom, top with your chia mix then put 3-4 cherries and 3-4 berries on top. Decorate with coconut flakes and extra coconut nectar if you like.

Chocolate oat slice

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups of shredded or desiccated coconut

1 ¾ cups of oats

¼ of a cup of coconut sugar

¼ of a cup of cacao powder

1 tsp baking powder

150g butter, melted

2 eggs

Icing

¼ of a cup of powdered coconut sugar- you can do this by using a spice grinder or thermie. If you have neither you can still make it but it will be a little gritty, still good though!

¼ of a cup of cacao powder

25g melted butter

1 tbsp water

Mix well and get all the lumps out.

Method

Preheat oven to 180c

Line a 18x 28cm baking tin, you can use a 20 x 20 cm one but it will be thicker in height and will take slightly longer to cook

In a food processor blitz the oats and coconut till mainly fine, add your cacao, baking powder and coconut sugar, pulse briefly. Add your butter and eggs and pulse again just until combined. Spoon into your lined tin, press down and make sure it is even and bake 10-12 minutes. When cool ice with chocolate icing and sprinkle with desiccated coconut, cut into squares or rectangles, keep in an airtight container.

Spelt Bread

Makes 8 buns

you can also make as one big loaf (as shown in the pic)- cook about 22-25 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup Hot Water

7g (2 tsp) Yeast

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp oil-olive/macadamia/avocado

3 cups Wholemeal Spelt Flour ( 3and a 1/4 cups if using White Spelt Flour)

1 teaspoon Salt

Extra flour for kneading

Optional – 1 egg (for glaze) and seeds for sprinkling on top.

Method

Place all ingredients into your bread mixing machine and set to the ‘knead dough’ setting (my particular machine mixes/kneads for a total of 25 minutes with 65 mins resting time – broken up). Or you can just knead by hand.

Once done, your dough will be very runny and sticky. Pour the dough out onto a well floured surface and started kneading by hand by folding it into itself over and over. You will find that you will need to keep adding quite a bit of flour as you proceed. Keep kneading and adding flour (approx 2-5mins) until your dough is no longer sticky and easy to handle.

Next shape the dough into a ball and slice in half so you have 2 even pieces. Then slice each into another 2 and then slice those into another 2 again – until you have a total of 8 even pieces of dough.

Shape into balls and place into a lined (baking paper) tray or dish. Mine is approximately 30 x 20 cms with 2 cms in height. Turn the kettle on and once boiled place the water in a saucepan in the bottom of the oven and place the tray of dough buns in the oven and allow to rise for approximately 20mins. Or place in a loaf tin

Place aside and cover with a tea towel whilst you heat the oven to 200c.

Optional – Whisk egg with a splash of water in a cup and brush over the buns. Sprinkle with your choice of seeds.

When the oven is hot enough – place buns in and cook for approximately 15-20mins. The buns will change to a golden colour on top when ready. Take out and let rest for a few minutes before devouring! 

Cherry ripe cake

Ingredients

1 cup of coconut flour

1/3 cup of cacao powder

1 tsp gf baking powder

1 tsp vanilla paste or extract

4 eggs

¼ of a cup of honey

¼ of a cup of coconut oil

2 cups of roughly chopped frozen cherries- you could use raspberries, strawberries or blueberries

1 cup of milk or milk alternative

Method

Preheat oven to 180c

Chuck everything except the cherries in a big bowl and beat well until well combined.  Then mix in the cherries. If the mix is too thick add a little more milk.

Bake in a lined 20 x 20 cm cake tin for 25-30 minutes, until firm to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then put on a cake rack to cool.

Ice when cool.  Icing is just ¼ of a cup of honey, ¼ of a cup of cacao powder, 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract and 2 tbsp coconut oil, mix well.