SRC: Healthy Raspberry Bars

It's the 4th Monday of the month which can only mean one thing.... It's Secret Recipe Club Group D Reveal day! I love the Secret Recipe Club and look forward to reveal day every month. The concept is simple - 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 new blogs and exciting recipes. 

This month my assignment is Without Adornment written by Bean. Her favourite hobbies are baking/cooking and photography, both of which she showcases on her blog. She is gluten intolerant and loves to experiment with vegan baking so her blog is a treasure trove of gluten free/dairy free/vegan recipes. I know more and more people with gluten intolerance and food allergies so this was a good opportunity to experiment with recipes and to bake outside my comfort zone. 

I had a real nosey round her blog and I do encourage you to pop over and say hi. She writes a beautiful blog with lovely accompanying pictures. I shortlisted a few recipes to try and in the end went with this raspberry bar as it sounded good and I had some fresh raspberries to hand. Her recipe is a gluten and refined sugar free vegan bar. I've made some adjustments as I did not have all the ingredients to hand so mine is not quite gluten free but it's dairy free with minimal refined sugar. I was really pleased that mine turned out almost exactly the same as Bean's. It tastes like a crumble and the sweetened, spiced tart raspberries are the perfect filling. These would be great for lunch boxes or picnics.

Other recipes I shortlisted to try are banana coconut cream pie, Vegan GF strawberry banana loaf with walnuts, Health(ier) Peanut (Not Quite) Brittle and Vegan Polenta Pizza. 

 flour and oat mix 

 adding coconut oil 

 looks like a crumble mixture 

 mix the raspberries with honey and spices 

 press more than half of the flour mixture onto a traybake tin 

 add a layer of raspberries 

 top with the remaining flour mixture 

 delicious!

Recipe adapted from Without Adornment

55g ground almonds

80 g brown rice flour

100g oats

55g wholemeal flour

100g spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 

50g dark brown sugar

100g coconut oil

450g fresh raspberries

4 - 5 tablespoons honey (adjust to taste) 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• In a large bowl, mix the ground almonds, brown rice flour, oats, wholemeal flour, spelt flour, sugar and baking powder.
• Add the coconut oil and rub into the flour mixture with your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• In a separate bowl, mix the honey, spices and raspberries together. 
• Spray a traybake tin with non stick spray. Press more than half the flour mixture into the tin and smooth out the top with a spatula.
• Spoon the raspberry layer on top and finish with the remaining crumble mix.
• Bake for approximately 30 - 40 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing into squares.

An InLinkz Link-up

Apple, Pear and Raspberry Yoghurt Muffins

I created this recipe based on ingredients I had in my fridge/cupboard.  I tried to make this as healthy as possible by incorporating fruit, wholemeal and spelt flour and a minimal amount of sugar. I even left the skins on the fruit for added fibre!  The end result was quite tasty although it was slightly dense in texture, almost like a bread and butter pudding. The sprinkling of chocolate chips and mini cornish fudge balanced out the flavours well and were a delightful hidden treat if you got some in your muffin! I'm sure it would have tasted a lot better with butter but these are a reasonable substitute if you want to watch the calories. 

I'm entering this to AlphaBakes which is hosted by myself and Caroline from Caroline Makes. The letter this month is "Y". You can use the letter Y as the name of the bake/dish or as the main ingredient. The Y here is of course yoghurt. 

I'm also sending this to the No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. I created this recipe to use up the end of bags of flour, chocolate chips, mini cornish fudge and leftover fruit in my fruit bowl. 

And to Treat Petite hosted by Kat from the Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is "Free From".  This recipe is free from butter/oil/fat and plain flour. 

And to Four Seasons Food hosted by Louisa from Eat Your Veg and Anneli from Delicieux. The theme this month is Virtuous Food and eating this definitely makes me feel virtuous.

 

 wet ingredients, dry ingredients and fruit 

 love the colour of the fruit 

 ready to go in the oven 

 yum! 

An original recipe by  bakingaddict
Note - the quantities may seem odd as I used up what I had leftover but feel free to change it around or make substitutions.

Makes 12 muffins 
150g spelt flour
150g wholemeal flour
85g dark brown sugar
50g honey
2 eggs
165g fat free raspberry yoghurt x 2
70g fresh raspberries
1 apple - cored and chopped
1 pear - cored and chopped
20g mini cornish fudge
20g dark chocolate chips
50g milk chocolate chips
flaked almonds to decorate (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Sift the flours in a medium bowl and stir in brown sugar, mini cornish fudge pieces and chocolate chips.
• In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs and add yoghurt and honey and mix. 
• Pour the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients and finally stir in the fruit. 
• Spoon into muffin cases and sprinkle a handful of flaked almonds on top if using. 
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool in the tray for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary and Chocolate

This month's We Should Cocoa Challenge which is guest hosted by Linzi from Lancashire Food chose the theme 'new ingredient' ie a new ingredient paired with chocolate that you've not tried before. I've baked a lot with chocolate and have tried many combinations so my thoughts turned to herbs. I know rosemary and chocolate is a fairly common combination but it's not one I've tried previously so I was excited to try it out plus it would fit the challenge and quite a few other blog challenges too! 

A quick google search brought me to this delicious looking cake which I knew I had to try. It's a very unassuming cake. Not much to look at but it sure packs a punch in terms of flavour. Everyone who ate the cake said it was absolutely delicious. The rosemary flavour is strong but not overpowering. The little bits of chocolate complements the rosemary rather than opposing it. The cake itself tastes "healthy" especially with the wholemeal and spelt flour. Definitely a very successful recipe and one that I will be making again without a doubt. 

As mentioned, I'm entering this to We Should Cocoa hosted by Linzi from Lancashire Food who chose the theme 'New Ingredient'. We Should Cocoa is the brainchild of Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog. 

As it contains rosemary, I'm also entering it to Cooking With Herbs hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage.

I think this cake also fits the theme for this month's Four Seasons Food hosted by Louisa from Eat Your Veg and Anneli from Delicieux. The theme this month is Virtuous Food and eating this cake definitely makes you feel virtuous even though it's cake! 

As this cake is made from scratch, I'm sending it to Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior.

The One Ingredient Challenge hosted by Nazima from Franglais Kitchen and Laura from How to Cook Good Food has the theme of "Healthy Recipes" As far as cake goes, I think this is fairly healthy as it contains no butter and other healthier ingredients.

You know how much I love a multi blog challenge recipe so I'm going to send this to Tea Time Treats guest hosted by Jane from The HedgeCombers and run by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is eggs, eggs, eggs! This recipe contains 3 eggs and it's a perfect tea time treat.

 caster sugar, spelt flour, olive oil, wholemeal flour, milk, rosemary, eggs, dark chocolate 

 flour mixture on left, rosemary milk mixture on the right and chopped dark chocolate 

 ready to go in the ove

 It's a plain looking cake but it's really tasty 

 You can see the lovely crumb texture and the bits of hidden chocolate 

Recipe adapted slightly from local belle

120g spelt flour
230g wholemeal flour
170g caster sugar
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
2.5 tablespoons chopped rosemary
140g dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup milk
1 cup olive oil
3 eggs

• Preheat the oven to 170C
• Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and add in the olive oil, milk and rosemary. 
• Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
• Stir in the chopped chocolate.
• Pour the batter into a round cake tin or a loaf tin and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely. 

Banana, Cranberry, Pecan Oat Muffins

There is normally an abundance of healthier recipes on the blogopshere in January after the indulgence of Christmas and New Year. I will certainly be baking some healthier treats but a few naughty treats as well. In addition, I also want to use up any leftovers I have so there may still be a slight festive flair to the recipes this month. This recipe is one of those where I tried to use up whatever I had left in my kitchen and it worked beautifully. The muffins tasted 'healthy' with the wholemeal flour and oats and the combination of cranberry and pecans with a little mixed spice was heavenly. This recipe could be tweaked further, perhaps the addition of yoghurt or some chocolate chips if you are feeling indulgent. 

I'm sending this to the No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. I created this recipe to use up my old bananas and leftover fresh cranberries from Christmas, leftover pecan nuts from a previous bake and the end of a bag of oats and wholemeal flour. I also had a bit of honey left so I added that too. 

And to Treat Petite hosted by Kat from the Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is "Free From".  This recipe is free from butter and plain flour. 

And to Four Seasons Food hosted by Louisa from Eat Your Veg and Anneli from Delicieux. The theme this month is Virtuous Food and I think this certainly fits the bill. It's not quite salad leaves and fruit but it's tasty and healthier than shop bought muffins.

I'm also sneaking it into the Biscuit Barrel Challenge hosted by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... who has chosen the theme "Spices" The recipe does contain 1 teaspoon of mixed spice which is not a lot but it was certainly present so I hope Laura will accept this.

An original recipe by bakingaddict
Makes 15 muffins

The quantities are slightly made up as it was what I had in my cupboard but it worked well.

150g wholemeal flour
35g spelt flour
125g rolled oats
100g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
50g honey
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
125mls vegetable oil
~ 180g fresh cranberries
~100g pecan nuts

Dark brown sugar for sprinkling (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Mix the flours, oats, sugar, bicarb, baking powder and mixed spice in a large bowl.
• In a medium bowl, beat together the honey, eggs, mashed bananas and vegetable oil.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed - be careful not to overmix.
• Stir in the fresh cranberries and pecan nuts.
• Spoon into muffin cases and if desired, sprinkle approximately 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar on top of each muffin before baking. 
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Eat warm or allow to cool on a wire rack before storing and serving. 

Fennel and pistachio cookies

If you read my blog regularly, you'll know that I love creating recipes. Sometimes they work and other times they don't. I usually start with ingredients that I want to use and make it up as I go along. This month's AlphaBakes letter is F. One of the ideas I brainstormed was fennel so I started thinking about flavour combinations that would work. I had some pistachio nuts left over from making my first AlphaBakes entry so I knew I definitely wanted to use those. One of my colleagues at work can't eat sugar but is ok with honey or agave so I started thinking about a healthy-ish, no sugar recipe that incorporates fennel and pistachio and came up with this. There was a bit of experimenting in the kitchen but I think I finally got it right. 

It's quite a soft, crunchy cookie which seems a little dry when you first bite into it but the flavours slowly come alive in your mouth and you are left wanting more. The fennel complements the pistachio very well and the honey added a very subtle fragrance and pleasant sweetness. The wholemeal and spelt flour made it feel healthy with a satisfying crunch. 

As mentioned, I am entering this to AlphaBakes as F is for fennel. It's hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes this month and co-hosted by myself on alternate months. 

I'm also entering this to Made with love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior where the idea is to make everything from scratch. 

As fennel is a herb, I'm also entering it to Cooking with Herbs/Herbs on Saturday hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. 

 olive oil, fennel seeds, honey, wholemeal flour, pistachios

 blitz the pistachios briefly until it's coarsely ground. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. 

 top with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios

 

An original recipe by bakingaddict

Makes 26 cookies

200g wholemeal flour
50g spelt flour
80mls honey
60mls olive oil
1.5 tablespoons water
1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds
70g pistachios
1 egg

• Preheat the oven to 170C.
• Place the pistachios in a food processor and blitz in 10 second bursts until it's coarsely ground. 
• Set aside approximately 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top of cookies before baking.
• Add the remaining ingredients into the processor and blitz until you get a dough like consistency - the dough will be quite sticky. 
• Place a small scoopful of cookie dough spaced apart on a lined baking sheet. 
• Sprinkle some of the reserved chopped pistachios on top of each cookie and bake for approximately 8 - 10 minutes until it's golden brown at the edges. 
• Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.