SRC: No Bake Healthy Fudge

It's Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day again. My group (Group D) had a holiday during December so it's been 2 months since my last Secret Recipe post. A quick reminder if you are unfamiliar with this challenge - each blog is assigned another blog in secret and the idea is that you choose a recipe to make from your secret blog and reveal it on the same day. It's a great way to discover other blogs and it's undoubtedly one of my favourite blog challenges.

This month my assignment is The Wimpy Vegetarian. It's a lovely blog written by Susan who lives in San Francisco. She enrolled in culinary school after many years in business and has a passion for vegetarian food. She is currently writing a cookbook that focuses on recipes for vegetarians and omnivores so you don't have to cook two separate meals which is what she did initially with her carnivorous husband.  

She has a wide variety of recipes but of course I headed straight for the dessert section. I bookmarked a few to try but ultimately I decided to make her No Bake Healthy Fudge. I made this early in January when everyone was still recovering from the excess of the festive season. Almost everyone was on a diet of some sort but they still wanted treats albeit healthy ones. I was also quite busy and did not have a lot of time to bake so this recipe was absolutely perfect. It's my first time using coconut oil and it certainly won't be my last. I don't like coconut but this does not taste of coconut at all and it's a much healthier option. The fudge was absolutely delicious. I had numerous requests for the recipe and it's a great recipe for parties as it's healthy, no bake, gluten free, vegan and it can be prepared in advance. 

I also bookmarked a few other recipes which I can't wait to try such as Rustic Zucchini Bread with Brown Rice, salted peanut butter cookies with chocolate nuggets, strawberry cream cheesecake tians and blueberry buttermilk corncake. Do head on over to Susan's blog and say hello! 

I will be taking a general blog holiday in February so will be back with another SRC recipe on the last Monday of March.

 honey, peanut butter, cocoa powder, coconut oil and homemade vanilla extract 

 place in the fridge to set 

 slice and sprinkle some sea salt on top 

Recipe from the Wimpy Vegetarian

250g/1cup  peanut butter

200g/1 cup coconut oil

64g/1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 - 5 tablespoons honey (adjust to taste) 

4  teaspoons vanilla extract

sea salt for sprinkling (optional) 

• Place all the ingredients in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
• Stir until melted.
• Pour into a square tin and place in the fridge for a few hours but preferably overnight until set.
• Turn out and cut into slices.
• Sprinkle sea salt flakes on top before serving. 

Chocolate and Polenta Cake and a review

I was really excited to receive my review copy of World's Best Cakes by Roger Pizey, published by Jacqui Small having had a sneak preview earlier in the year.  It's a large hardback book with 304 pages including index and acknowledgements. Roger is a celebrated baker and patissier and founded Peyton & Byrne bakery. He has also appeared on television in Hell's Kitchen and Willie's Chocolate Factory. 

The first thing that catches my eye on flicking through the pages are the stunning photographs. They are bright, vibrant and there's lots of them which I like. There's at least one photograph per recipe which I love. The book is beautifully presented and each recipe does not exceed 1 page in length. There's a brief introduction which includes the history, culture or origin of the recipe. 

Each chapter contains a cake travel guide "Where to eat cake...(city)" and I'm pleased to see that I've tried some of them already! There are also recipes from guest chefs including Mark Hix and Marco Pierre White dotted throughout the book. 

The book is divided into the following chapters (I've included a few recipes per chapter to give you a flavour of the book) 

Foreword - written by Marco Pierre White 

Introduction 

Basic techniques - Handy picture step by step guide which covers all the basic techniques

Sponges & Layer Cakes - Kasutera, Tres Leche Cake, Bolo de Fuba, Dobos Cake, Thierry Busset's Ten Layer Coffee Chocolate Cake (guest chef)

Loaves and Pound Cakes - Pain d'Epices, Sobaos Pasiegos, Mark Hix's Oyster Ale Cake (guest chef), Sugee Cake, 

Fruit, Nut & Seed Cakes - Mandarin, Polenta and Macadamia Cake, Turkish Tahini Cake, Rachel Allen's Lime Yoghurt Cake with Rosewater and Pistachios (guest chef), Nusskuchen

Tray Bakes - Panforte di Siena, Swiss Roll, Basbousa, Brownies

Cheesecakes - Chocolate Cheesecake, Vanilla Cheesecake, Banana Cheesecake

Small Cakes - Madeleines, Macarons, Mustikkapiiraat, Singing Hinnies, Sfenz, Sonhos, Shannon Bennett's Lamingtons (guest chef) 

Leavened Cakes - Brioche, Kolache, Cinnamon Bear Claws, Rum Baba, Chocolate Kugelhopf

Pastries - Macanese egg tarts, Millefeuille, Kateifi, Baklava, Eclairs

Tarts - Tarte Tatin, Gateau Basque, Linzer Torte, Oliver Peyton's Strawberry and Marjoram Cream Tart (guest chef), Far Breton

Celebration Cakes - Simnel Cake, Mooncakes, Tarta de Santiago, Pandoro, Croquembouche, Kransekaka

Baking Basics - recipes for creams, syrups, glazes and icings

Essential equipments

Index

Acknowledgements 

So what did I decide to make? To be honest, I felt like baking almost everything as everything looked so tempting. I was also intrigued to learn about different cakes from around the world and the history/tradition behind it. In the end, I chose this chocolate and polenta cake as it's something I've not tried before and I needed a gluten free cake to bring to a party. In Roman times, polenta was the staple of the Roman legions who would eat it in a porridge or baked hard into a 'cake'. The polenta produces a really crumbly and grainy texture and was absolutely delicious. I'm sure I'll be baking a lot more from this book so keep an eye out for more recipes in the future.

My verdict - A perfect gift for yourself or anyone who enjoys baking. The book is beautifully presented with a nice, clear layout. The pictures are stunning and there's at least one per recipe - sometimes there's a picture of a cross section as well as the whole bake. I particularly like the guest chef recipes and the where to eat cake travel guide.

 ready to go in the oven 

 fresh from the oven 

 I used chocolate decorations as some sprinkles contain gluten 

 You can see the crumbly, grainy texture here 

Recipe extracted from World's Best Cakes by Roger Pizey, published by Jacqui Small
www.jacquismallpub.com
- re produced with permission

320g butter, softened
320g caster sugar
30g cocoa powder, sifted
300g ground almonds
160g fine polenta or cornmeal
5g baking powder
4 eggs, beaten
100ml full fat milk
1 teaspoon almond essence
200g chocolate buttercream - I made my own with butter, icing sugar and melted chocolate
20g cocoa nibs, for decoration - I used chocolate stars

• Preheat the oven to 160C and grease a deep 21cm (8in) square cake tin. 
• Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Stir in the sifted cocoa powder, ground almonds, polenta and baking powder. 
• Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down after each addition until well combined then fold in the milk and almond essence.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then turn out onto a wire rack.
• Meanwhile make the chocolate buttercream.
• Once completely cool, spread the buttercream evenly over the top of the cake and sprinkle with cocoa nibs (or something similar). 

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Pistachio and Pomegranate Pitstops

I have a confession to make. I am addicted to cookbooks. This time, I'm going to blame Choclette over at Chocolate Log Blog. She wrote an excellent review on Honeybuns gluten-free baking and I just had to buy one! Her custard creams alone were enough to win me over :) 

I was browsing through the book and with this month's blog challenges in mind, I stopped at these pistachio pitstops.  They are really easy to make and they are gluten free and dairy free! Perfect for the recipient I had in mind. I modified the recipe slightly to include pomegranates (the recipe suggested freeze-dried raspberries) Mine don't look anything like the picture in the book but they were absolutely delicious! This is my first time using fresh pomegranate and I had real trouble getting the fruit out. Does anyone have any tips? I love the bright colour of the pomegranate seeds and will be looking for recipes featuring pomegranate in the future.  

I'm entering this to AlphaBakes, a month blogging challenge that I co-host with Caroline from Caroline Makes who is the host for September. The letter is "P" so this is perfect. 

I'm also entering it to Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior where the idea is to cook from scratch using fresh ingredients. 

I've also discovered that pomegranates are in season from September to February in the Northern Hemisphere so I'm entering them to Simple and in Season.  This fabulous challenge was created by Ren from Fabulicious Food and hosted this month by Katie from Feeding Boys and a Firefighter.

 pistachio, fresh pomegranate, honey 

 blitz the pistachios, sugar, salt and honey 

 my mixture was a little crumbly but there were a few reasonable looking ones 

 how cute do they look? 

100g pistachios, toasted

20g light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-4 teaspoon honey

Fresh pomegranate seeds 

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Toast the pistachio nuts - approximately 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
• Blitz the toasted pistachios, sugar, salt and honey until they resemble fine crumbs. 
• Scoop out the mixture into balls using a small ice cream scoop. Flatten the mixture slightly before baking.
• Bake for 5-6 minutes until golden.
• Immediately sprinkle fresh pomegranate seeds on top of each cookie, pressing them on gently. 

Secret recipe club - Peanut butter chip pillows

I'm very excited to present to you my first secret recipe post. The secret recipe club was started by Amanda from Amanda's Cookin' Essentially the idea is that you get assigned a blog which you keep secret hence the name and make a recipe from that blog. Someone else will have your blog too. All posts are revealed at the same time on a set date.  As Amanda says, its a fun way to discover new blogs, make new friends and step outside of our comfort zones.

I have been assigned bakingbad as my secret blog. It's a great blog with a variety of foods and bakes which are very helpfully listed in the recipe index. Please do hop over and visit if you haven't already.  I spent a few happy hours perusing her blog and bookmarked a few recipes to try. However, I went back again and saw these mint chocolate chip pillows which were posted recently.  I have been wanting to try something similar but never got round to it so this is as good a chance as any.
I've substituted peanut butter chips for mint chips as if you know me or read my blog enough you will know that I love peanut butter. This is a great gluten free recipe. It's a baked meringue with chocolate and peanut butter flavours. Mine are probably slightly underdone as I like it soft and chewy but with a crisp exterior. You can definitely taste the chocolate and peanut butter combination. They are so light and airy, you can easily eat the whole lot in one go (no I have not, honest!) I can see why they are aptly named pillows. 

 light fluffy chocolate meringue

 adding the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips

 ready to go in the oven 

 yummy 'pillows' 

 you can see the peanut butter chip and the soft, chewy interior

Recipe adapted from bakingbad

4 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

95g sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

100g dark chocolate chips

100g peanut butter chips 

• Preheat oven to 150C/300F. 
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
• Continue beating whilst adding in the sugar a little at a time.
• Add in the vanilla extract.
• Then add the sifted cocoa powder and finally fold in the chips (you can subsitute for any flavour you like - chocolate, mint, butterscotch etc)
• Using a small ice cream scoop, place  heaped scoops of batter on the tray spaced apart. 
• Bake for 35-45 minutes until they are dry.
• Allow to cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store in a an airtight container at room temperature. Should keep for a week but I won't know as mine will all be gone before then! 

Popcorn, chocolate and nut slice

I made these months ago but have not had a chance to blog about it until now. It's such a simple and effective recipe, I've like to share it with all of you. I went to a friend's party many years ago and the co-host is a chef. Most of her friends are chefs and I had the best food at this party. The thing I was most impressed with however was a chocolate biscuit slice. Essentially it's like a fridge cake and you can put whatever ingredients that take your fancy. I asked the co-host for the recipe and she kindly shared it with me. I'm sure she was probably expecting me to ask for the recipes of all the other delicious and amazing food there but I just wanted this one. It's simple, no bake and tastes absolutely amazing.
Now, each time I make this, everyone asks me for the recipe! My favourite combination is rich tea biscuits and dried cranberries which I have given in the recipe below.
However,  for this occasion, I had to make it gluten free for my colleague and was looking around my kitchen and spied some popcorn (I still had a box leftover after making popcorn cake ages ago), cherries from my pineapple upside down cake and flaked almonds from my plum and almond crumble slice. Result - good use of my leftovers and a gluten free delicious dessert.

Makes enough for about 30 small slices

150g good quality dark chocolate
50g good quality milk chocolate
75g golden syrup
125g unsalted butter
100g Rich Tea biscuits crumbled into chunks, not powder
100g dried cranberries or raisins
icing sugar for decoration (optional)
(You can also substitute or add nuts, marshmallows, etc but total weight of 'extras' should not exceed 200g)
Note: the exception to this is popcorn which takes up volume but not much weight. For this recipe I had to judge how much popcorn could be covered with my chocolate mixture

• Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together in the microwave in 30 second increments until almost melted.
• Stir to melt fully (be careful not to let the mixture get too hot).
• Allow to cool a little then stir in the biscuits and cranberries or other 'extras'.
• Pour into a small rectangular or square tin lined with parchment paper. 
• Chill in the fridge overnight. 
• Sprinkle with icing sugar (if required) and cut into small squares. 

Flourless Almond Cake with raspberries

I was talking to a colleague recently and found out she is intolerant of flour. That explains why she politely declines all my baked goods. So I decided to make a flourless cake so she could join in the indulgence! I've made a few flourless cakes previously, usually of the chocolate variety and decided to do something a little different this time. This is a really simple recipe with fantastic results. Its the first recipe I'm trying from a book I bought a while back called Home Bake by Eric Lanlard. He has a cafe-patisserie, Cake Boy in London which another colleague has told me about but I've never had a chance to try it. Has anyone been?
The book is full of lovely pictures, great recipes and tips and I'll definitely be baking from here again. I made some madeleines following the success of this recipe but that's for another day :)
I decided to jazz up this simple cake with some raspberries and homemade raspberry sauce. The verdict - everyone really enjoyed it especially the intended recipient. I've made another one tonight as the first one disappeared so quickly, not everyone had a chance to try it!

100g unsalted butter, melted
200g golden caster sugar
4 large eggs
200g ground almonds
1 teaspoon almond essence

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Grease and line a 20cm sponge tin.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and eggs together at medium-high speed until they double in volume. 
• Whisk in the melted butter and then the ground almonds and almond essence. 
• Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 30-45 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown and the cake is shrinking away from the side of the tin.
• Allow to stand for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• I served mine with fresh raspberries on top and a homemade raspberry sauce (blitz 150g raspberries with a few drops of lemon juice (to taste) and a few teaspoons of icing sugar (to taste) )

Popcorn cake

Sorry for the long absence, I've been so busy I've not even had time to bake! Gasp!! Yes I know such a sad state of affairs. I still have a few things to blog about that I've baked in the past few weeks to months so all is not lost. I made this for a colleague Ruthie's leaving do. I was out that night so didn't have time to whip up a proper cake but made a "cheat's" cake instead with this popcorn cake. She loved it though :) I ended up making two cakes as I bought way too much popcorn! I put jelly babies (Ruthie's favourite) and smarties in hers along with pretzels and marshmallows.  I used mint M&M'S for the second one, which my lovely friend Lisa brought all the way from Sydney for me - thank you Lisa! 

Everyone at work really enjoyed this cake. I have to say this is my least favourite cake/dessert that I've ever made mainly because I'm not a fan of the main ingredients - popcorn and marshmallow. This was actually my first time popping popcorn in the microwave! It was fun watching the bag expand and the smell of freshly popped corn is amazing! 

Don't let me put you off as it's super easy to make (no baking required) and will most definitely be a hit with parties and children. Check out the post that inspired this cake. 

 2 boxes of popcorn which was 1 box too many. I didn't realise there are 3 packets in one box. Looks like I'll be making a lot more of these unless anyone has any other recipes for popcorn? 

 Ingredients 

 fresh, buttered popcorn - I really love the smell of popcorn :) 

 cake 1 - jelly babies, smarties, pretzels

 cake 2 - mint m&ms, peanut m&m's, pretzels 

 leave to set in bundt pan

 I ran out of white marshmallow so I used coloured ones which turned out quite orange! 

 slice of cake 1

 cake 2 

For 1 'cake'

1 bag of popcorn 

2 cups of candy - smarties, m&m's, jelly babies, etc

1.5 cups broken pretzel sticks

113g butter

450g mini marshmallows

1 bundt pan

• Grease bundt pan with butter or cooking spray.
• Pop the popcorn in the microwave as per instructions on the box. 
• Pick out the kernels that didn't pop.
• Mix in the candy and pretzel sticks or whatever you want to use. 
• Melt butter over a low heat in a large saucepan.
• Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. 
• Remove from heat and pour over popcorn mixture.
• Stir until combined and press into the prepared bundt pan. 
• Cover with foil and let your cake set for at least an hour - I put mine in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Slice and enjoy. 

Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Yet another flourless version of cookies. This time with chocolate :) I was a little sceptical at first but as I bit into my second and then my third cookie, I thought this is actually really nice. It's got a lovely, chewy texture to it. You can definitely taste the walnut and chocolate flavours. Might try it with a different nut next time - almonds or maybe pecans.

Finely chop walnuts and roast in oven until fragrant

Mix sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl

Stir in walnuts

Add egg whites and vanilla extract

Spoon batter onto baking sheets

Delicious, chewy cookies :)

Ingredients
300g walnuts
250g icing sugar
60g cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Finely chop walnuts and bake in preheated oven until fragrant (approximately 10mins)
• Mix sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a large bowl.
• Stir in walnuts.
• Add the egg whites and vanilla extract.
• Beat until just moistened - do not overbeat or batter will stiffen
• Drop teaspoonfuls of batter onto a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until tops are lightly cracked and glossy.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

The cookie binge continues... this time with a slight twist. Flourless versions for someone with specific dietary requirements. These are really simple to make and if you love peanut butter like me, you'll definitely love these! I made them in a hurry and should have taken more care to make them prettier but they tasted good which is what counts! Just about remembered to take a photo of it in the end :)

Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
just under 1/4 cup white sugar (omit if you prefer cookies less sweet)
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
• Mix peanut butter and sugars until well combined.
• Add in the egg and baking powder if using.
• Shape into little balls or if you're lazy like me, just drop spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.