Banana bread breakfast 'cupcake​'

This is a very last minute post.... by that I mean, the idea for this banana bread breakfast cupcake came to me whilst I was walking back from my gym class and within 10 minutes of getting home I had made this little gem and was happily sitting down to a yummy post gym brunch munch. 

Within the hour the photos had been edited, text written (erm...as I speak) and here we go. Why the rush?  Well apparently it's National Cupcake Week, and whilst usually these foodie 'events' totally pass me by I actually became aware of this a couple of days ago and the idea popped into my cake for a twist on the 'cupcake' format itself, I love banana bread and it's always a crowd pleaser, so why not make a single serve banana bread cupcake!  I've managed to sneak this in before the week was out- winner!! It's still a cup cake of sorts ok...maybe just not in quite the usual sense.

This is a perfect two-minute breakfast treat and I used a collection of very healthy breakfasty ingredients.... oats, seeds, banana, berries, fruit juice.... everything you might have for breakfast, just smooshed up in a mug (cup)!

It's sugar free if you use stevia as I haven't even used any of my beloved dates in this creation! Plus if you use gluten free oat flour it's gluten feee (other GF flours may also work here). You could add extra spices or different fruits to add your own twist. I also dolloped a blob of soy yogurt and a tiny blob of sugar free jam on top to make it more like dessert. Cheeky! 

So there you have it... a moist, dense and cakey banana bread breakfast cupcake with toppings! 

For all my other single serve recipes...you'll find them here! 

This is also a classic 'Bressert' recipe... Bressert? A cross between breakfast and dessert. It's my favourite combo and I have a whole heap of bressert recipes here too!

Enjoy :-)   P.s tag me if you make it- i'd love to see!

Recipe: Banana Bread Breakfast Cupcake

Ingredients: 

• 1 small banana- mashed

• 3 tbs oat flour

• 3 tbs LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seed, almond) you could just sub ground almonds here.

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 3 tbs fruit juice of choice

• 4 drops pure stevia liquid (or 1-2 tsp syrup of choice to taste)

• handful of berries- for topping

• optional: spices, yoghurt, drizzle, toppings...

Method: 

Mash the banana in a small bowl and add all remaining ingredients to it. Mix well to form a smooth thick batter and spoon into a microwaveable cup or mug. Lightly press the berries into the top last.

Microwave on high for 1 minute, the top should be firm to touch but it should be soft, moist and cakey at the bottom. Add extra toppings if desired and serve directly in the cup. 

---

Want to check out more refined sugar free healthy recipes all in one place!  Have a look at my 'Sugar Free Satisfaction' Recipe Ebook. The perfect companion to a lifestyle free of refined sugar with 30 incredible recipes and top tips for sugar-free living day to day.

---

Chocolate baked pear pudding

I had another post scheduled for today..... but that's now been moved aside even though it was also amazing... this was just a little bit more amazinger! ;-)

Drop. whatever. you. are. doing. and. make. this. now!

You won't regret it!!

This takes just a couple of minutes to prep and then 10 minutes in the oven.... (twiddling thumbs waiting impatiently!) You can easily multiply the recipe to make lots more pots if you are serving as a dessert to guests. 

I got the original idea from Quirky Cooking when I saw an image Jo had posted on her Instagram feed of a poached pear cake. She used multiple pears in a single sponge cake, but because I was impatient and because I wanted a single-serve of a softer dessert-like variety, I put my own twist on the concept and voila.... a simple (ridiculously heathy) chocolate baked pear pudding.  Soooo so good!  

I've used oat flour as I ate this as brunch or a 'bressert' to be more precise ;-) and so wanted a oaty kick to sustain me, you could use buckwheat flour or your favourite GF flour combo.  The main thing is that the pudding is only baked until the pear turns golden and begins to wrinkle, the mixture at the base of the ramekin will still be fairly gooey and not fully cooked through like a sponge cake would be.... that makes it all the better!

I added a carob drizzle which tasted amazing too, the pear and carob combo was fab and when I make this dish again I will try subbing the cocoa for carob powder... so feel free to try either.  You could serve the pudding with chocolate sauce, vegan cream or ice-cream as you wish.

I imagine this could work with other stone fruits... If you try it another way please let me know how you get on! Unleash your creativity ;-)

For more single serving recipes ...check them out here. 

For more 'bresserts' (my favourite breakfast-dessert combo)...check them out here! 

Recipe: Chocolate baked pear pudding

serves 1

ingredients:

• 2 tbs oat flour (ground oats)

• 1 tbs cocoa (or carob flour)

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1/3 cup apple puree (or vegan yoghurt or other fruit puree)

• 2 tsp syrup of choice or a pinch stevia (to taste) 

• 1 tsp oil

• approx. 1 tbs liquid (only if needed to make a smoother batter)

-----------

• 1 small-medium pear

• sauce for drizzle

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients to small bowl and add the wet ingredients and mix well. The mixture should be thick and fairly smooth (how smooth it is depends on the type of flour used my oat flour gave more texture).

Spoon the mix into a large ramekin (or small deep sides dish- there should be min. 1cm space beneath the rim once the pear is pushed in! to allow for a slight rise in the mixture).  Push the pear gently into the centre of the ramekin so that is at least half submerged.

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 180C until the pear is golden and the mixture is very lightly browned.

Serve with a drizzle or carob,chocolate, yoghurt, cream as desired.

P.s It was hard to get a good shot of the centre of pudding...down in the depth of the ramekin. These photos simply don't do it justice....! 

Chocolate raspberry cream cake - birthday cake for one!

Hello, I’m all excitable…today is my birthday!

I’m still allowed to get excited on my birthday…even if I am 29, that’s not grown up right?

Who wants to be grown up anyway? ‘Grown up’ often seems to imply being sensible, owning lots of credit cards, not being spontaneous, not giggling uncontrollably and not licking the plate clean when no-one’s watching…that kinda thing.

So I’m certainly not grown up. Well certainly not for a lot of the time.

So back to my birthday! It’s been a random kind of day. A fairly normal start (my Friday Pilates class), with a spot of helping a friend move house in the middle and lots of birthday relating baking goings on in between. So all is good! Tomorrow is where it’s at as I’ll be having a get together with family and going out for a meal to a tapas bar. Last weekend I also went out for a meal with friends to a thai restaurant…so it’s all about food really!  

This is how today shaped up on the food front:

Raspberry and almond breakfast cookie (with green smoothie just peeking in the corner) before my Pilates class, followed by a ridiculously indulgent- it ended up being quite a bit larger than I’d anticipated- chocolate cream cake for a brunchy snack (I was very full after that ooops!), followed by pesto cabbage and chickpea soup for a late lunch before meeting my friend, and then for dinner a carrot craving resulted in these carrot burgers with lemon tahini sauce….

Recipes to come…patience, patience.  But to start, I’ll share my chocolate cream cake as that’s the most birthdayish recipe after all and I like my little candle. Is it a bit silly to make your own birthday cake? Well I wanted a candle to blow out…you can’t be ‘grown up’ if you still blow out candles right?

This chocolate raspberry cream cake is super rich and indulgent. The sponge itself isn’t so much as I cut the oil since I was going for a cashew cream in the middle and so was more than happy to go for an oil-less textured sponge (I couldn’t tell the difference from my usual chocolate mug cake recipe anyway). The jam I used was sugar-free (fruit sugar only) and the cream is simply a thick plain cashew cream …but put all that together and you have a pretty crazy cake!

Perfect for a special occasion.

Recipe: Chocolate raspberry cream cake

Serves 1 (or two!)

Ingredients- sponge

• 3 tbs wholewheat spelt flour (or GF combo)
• 1 tbs agave and a few grains of stevia (or increase agave slightly)
• Tiny pinch salt
• 1 tbs cocoa powder (or cacao or carob)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2tbs soy yoghurt or apple puree
• Approx. 3 tbs soy milk

Ingredients- filling

• Cashew cream
• (approx. 2 tbs)
• Sugar-free fruit conserve
• A few fresh berries- optional

Method

To make the sponge, mix the dry ingredients together and then add the wet and mix to form a smooth thick batter. Spoon two equal sized dollops on a large greased/lined microwavable plate and microwave for 1 minute. Alternatively bake the sponge in the oven on a baking sheet for approx. 10 minutes (note I have not tested this method.)

Meanwhile make up the cashew cream (or use an alternative cream/yoghurt) and also get the fruit conserve/berries ready to go.

Once cooked, the sponge should form two small flat cakes. Place one, flat side up, on your serving plate and layer up with cream, jam, fruit before placing the top sponge layer on top. Add extra cream/fruit to the top as desired…add a candle if you like!

It all just splodged out the sides as soon as I sank my spoon into it! Yummy.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Red velvet carob cake

This was another one of my carob experiments, and yes it is also another single serving mini cake. It also happens to be an opportunity to test out a few other more unusual ingredients- namely teff flour and red palm oil.  I haven’t had much experience of either, but after reading lots of good stuff about their nutritional value I was keen to give them a try.

I will warn you now, red palm oil is bright orangey-red and it stains if you get in anywhere you don’t want it to be….wear an apron…you have been warned!

Red palm oil is strong in flavour when compared to the coconut oil I more typically use, the natural red pigment is due to the unrefined nature of the oil and the oil itself is full of vitamins and antioxidants, most significantly vitamin E , betacarotenes and co-enzyme Q10.

This recipe uses the dominant flavours of the carob and raspberry to carry the red  palm oil so that it does not dominate the sweet cake with its slightly savoury taste, you won’t notice it in this recipe. I would advise using strong flavours in conjunction with red palm oil, unless you are opting for a savoury dish where you want the natural flavour of the palm oil to come through.

By the way, you can quite easily sub the red palm oil for coconut oil in this recipe, and the teff flour for another GF grain, it should still work just fine! (I was trialling teff for a brand I am working with). 

The ‘red velvet’ title was generated by the use of the red palm oil along with raspberries, however the photos give the impression of a much more ‘brown’ chocolatey cake…oh well the thought was there.  

Either way, I promise you this little light and fruity dessert with a chocolately twang is worth it, and with just a couple of minutes of your time...how could you resist?  I used my silicone egg poach again…I’m having so much fun playing with it, and also added a ‘surprise’ sweet berry centre, but again that’s optional.  

I also got a little bit more carried away and with few small tweaks to the recipe I made red velvet carob pancakes…you can find the recipe for those in my guest post here! P.s I had some help to eat the pancakes…I’m not quite that greedy.

Recipe: Red velvet carob cake 

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 2 tbs teff flour
• 2 tsp carob
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Tiny pinch salt
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs pureed raspberries (I used frozen)
• 1 tbs red palm oil
• 1 tsp agave syrup
• Up to 2 tbs soy milk/juice
• 2 tsp sugar free jam- optional for centre and for glaze

Method

Mix together well in a small bowl. In another greased/lined small microwaveable dish (or use a silicone egg poach!) spoon half of the mixture, add a dollop of jam to the centre and then spoon the remaining batter on the top.

Microwave for 1 minute at full power. Test gently with the tip of your finger and if the sponge springs back you’re done!

Serve with a little extra sugar free jam and vegan cream or yoghurt of desired.

 ...and for the pancake version..... find it here!

This recipe has been linked with Allergy Free Wednesdays.

Sticky orange and ginger cake

You know how much I love a super simple two-minute cake, right?

Well, can you imagine how excited I was a week or so ago whilst wandering through the bakeware section of the supermarket, when these caught my eye….

That’s right, they are silicone ‘pods’ for poaching eggs… ah, but I don’t eat eggs. Confused?

…can you see where my thoughts are going yet?

They are the perfect way to create a perfectly domed single serving ‘mug cake’ that can easily be removed for serving on a little dish.  So much prettier than eating straight out of a mug (though nothing wrong with that either!), and so much simpler than trying the line a mug with clingfilm (as I did with my carrot cake) so that the cake can be removed.

Go on treat yourself!

I’ve already tried a few flavour combo’s out…and I have another recipe for another time, but for now how about a bit of sticky orange and ginger cake?

The magic ingredient in this cake is sugar free orange and ginger jam (you could easily use sugar free marmalade and add your own ginger). I use these ‘jams’ for all sorts of things… and they come in loads of flavours (I’d just run out of my blueberry). Great as a glaze, or as a juicy surprise centre like in these coconut tarts.  They are sweetened with fruit only.

So onto the recipe itself, I have used white spelt flour but you could easily sub a GF mix (my usual one is equal measures of ground almonds, buckwheat flour and tapioca starch). Some of the jam is mixed through the batter or used as a surprise melty centre and the rest is melted over the top of the freshly cooked cake as a glaze. You will need very  little extra sweetener (if any) so go sparingly!

This sweet and citrusy dessert was the perfect pick me up for my Friday afternoon…and I certainly needed it after I’d given blood in the morning and then without heeding the nurses order of ‘rest and no strenuous activity’ for the rest of the day…I spent it on my feet for 5 hours in the kitchen, and as you know that is often a very strenuous activity. Ooops!

Resting with some cake now. All is better in the world.

Recipe: Sticky orange and ginger cake

Serves 1 (or double up for a sharing portion!)

Ingredients

• 3 tbs white spelt flour (or GF mix)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Tiny pinch salt
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbs melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp orange jam (for centre or mixed through) plus extra for glaze
• 1 tsp agave syrup (if needed to taste)
• Up to 2tbs  orange juice

Method

Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix well.  You can either add the jam to the mixture or reserve it to add as a melty centre.

In another greased/lined small microwaveable dish (or use a silicone egg poach!) spoon half of the mixture, add a dollop of jam to the centre (if preferred) and then spoon the remaining batter on the top.

Microwave for 40 seconds on full power. Test with a finger and if the sponge springs back you’re done. Cook for another 20 seconds if necessary.

Serve cake on a plate and spread a little more jam to glaze whilst the sponge is still hot. Decorate with mango or orange pieces, soy yoghurt/cream and a dusting of ginger.

(look at the gooooey melty centre peeping out at you....!)

Coconut cakes…with a twist!

I have so much coconut!!

I ordered a 25kg sack load of organic coconut flakes some months back as it was such a good deal at that size…however I am trying to get through it before it begins to dry out.

I use a lot of desiccated coconut flakes for making coconut butter …it’s so cost effective that way, however there is a limit to how much coconut one person can eat! So recently I’ve been using lots of extra coconut in my granola bars, in my smoosh bars, and of course in this chocolate slice and in this coconut ice too.

You may see a few more coconut inspired treats coming along in the next few weeks!

So, today I thought a coconut cake was in order. This cake also uses coconut flour which I also have in my regular baking supplies (just not in such vast quantities), it’s something I actually don’t use that often, often forgetting it’s there or simply using the coconut flakes instead.

It’s a really great but strange flour. Great because it has a delicate flavour and texture, is gluten free and high in fibre. But strange in that it is very ‘drying’ and absorbs liquid so you’ll find that the proportions of liquid in a recipe and the consistency of the batter are different to the norm. Don’t let that put you off- it’s fun to try new things!

This cake has a really delicate crumb, and is light and moist probably helped by the extra coconut and banana. I kept the sweetness fairly low so that it did not overpower and took on more of a ‘teabread’ type sweetness with the raspberry preserve adding an extra sweet kick. Feel free to increase the agave or add some stevia if you like. The coconut-raspberry combo was inspired by these tarts…oh they were so good and so I just had to get the combo going again. The coconut ‘bombe’ also worked really well with the warm gooey raspberry centre.

 coconut 'bombe'

coconut cake with raspberry drizzle

Recipe: coconut cake with raspberry delight

1 x 21cm loaf tin (or smaller tin plus one small microwave cake see below)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup each coconut flour, tapioca starch, buckwheat flour
• ¼ cup dessicated coconut flakes (plus more for topping)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 1 small banana- mashed
• 1 tsp ground chia mixed with 2 tbs water
• 1/3 cup orange juice (or pineapple juice/non-dairy milk)
• 3 tbs agave syrup (more to taste)
• 1 tsp rum extract
• Sugar free raspberry jam- for glaze

Method (for loaf)

Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and then add wet ingredients. Mix together gently but well.

Note the coconut flour is very ‘drying’ so the batter will not be as runny as normal cake batter. It will probably be very light and airy.

Spoon the batter into a loaf tin (or a smaller loaf tin plus small round microwavable bowl-see below). Smooth the top of the batter and cover with a fairly generous layer of desiccated coconut flakes, gently press them into the batter 180C for approx. 30 mins until the top is golden and toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes away clean. Note- I loosely covered the loaf with tin foil after being in the oven for 10 minutes to ensure to coconut flakes did not burn.

Allow to cool slightly in the loaf tin before lifting out. Drizzle with raspberry jam whilst still warm and allow to cool fully before serving.

Method (for mini ‘bombe’)

serves 2

Keep aside approx. ½ cup of cake batter. Lightly oil a small microwavable round bowl (approx. 10 cm diameter rim). Sprinkle 1tbs of desiccated coconut flakes in the bottom and then carefully top this will ¼ cup cake batter. Spread the batter evenly across the bottom of the bowl. Dollop 1 generous tsp of raspberry jam into the centre of the batter before covering with the remaining  ¼ cup of batter. Smooth evenly ensuring all the jam is fully covered.

Cook in the microwave for 90 seconds. Lightly touch centre to check if cooked and if still wet cook for another 30-60 seconds as necessary.

Mint choc brownie (single serve)

Happy St. Patricks Day…wherever you may be celebrating!

I thought I’d do my bit by going down the green themed route with a mint choc brownie. I still had some lovely thick cashew cream in the fridge so though it would work perfectly with my little single serve brownie… a drop (literally) of food colouring, plus a tiny bit of agave is all it took. If I’d had some spirulina (or other greens powder) I would definitely have given that a go for an alternative way of making ‘green’.

I had another chaotic day of cooking and baking to prepare my various snacks for the week plus snacks for others too. So, a little single serving dessert was the perfect fit after a plate of veggies and dip for lunch.

I made this gluten free by using buckwheat and ground almonds but other GF flour combos or spelt (if not GF) would work here also. I had a couple of attempts at this as I felt the first ‘brownie’ was more cake-like that I’d have liked so I increased the yoghurt to two tablespoons and the result was much more gooey and brownie-like.

To be honest, I wasn’t the hugest fan of this cake…and for ages I couldn’t figure out why!

Then I realised… I’m simply not a big lover of mint and chocolate when it comes to cakes (or ice-cream for that matter!) hence why I’ve never created a mint choc combo on my blog before. Give me a little bit of choc orange and I’m well away…now that combo you do see a lot of… here, here and here for starters. But hey, it was ok and I’m sure many of you will give out the mint choc love on my behalf…. but that’s all good as I’m pleased I still gave the green salute.

Cheers!

Recipe: Mint choc brownie

One brownie

Ingredients

• 2 tbs buckwheat flour
• 1 tbs ground almonds
• 1 tbs cocoa powder
• 1 tbs ground chia/flax
• 2 tsp agave
• A pinch of baking soda
• A pinch of salt
• 2 tbs soy yoghurt (or regular yoghurt for non vegan)
• ½ tsp peppermint extract
• cacoa nibs for decoration- optional

Method

Mix everything together in a small bowl. Spoon into a ramekin lined with plastic wrap so that it can be removed (or simple eat it out of the remekin). Cook in the microwave for approx. 40 seconds depending upon your microwave setting, check after 30 seconds to see if the top feels done.

Serve with a dollop of cream/yoghurt or cashew cream (the cashew cream shown here is much much thicker than in the link as I added much less water) as I did here.

I flavoured the cream with couple of drops of peppermint extract along with the green food colouring.

 First attempt- more cake like

 Second attempt- more gooey!

Raspberry cheesecake single serve ‘rame-cake’

It was a busy morning for me. First stop swimming followed by pilates. I enjoy swimming as it is one of the only times I am able to truly switch off, maybe it’s the rhythmical pace gliding up and down the lanes or maybe it’s the submersion and notion of feeling ‘in your own little bubble’. It is also the time when I often feel most creative, my mind is quiet and thoughts come flooding in….

…. It can also be the most frustrating time to be creative, inspired thoughts in the middle of a pool with no way to write anything down is, well, rather annoying at times!

After my swim and a quick sauna, the pilates session is a nice compliment to round off the morning’s activities. I’m a bit of a pilates newbie but I’m finding I actually quite enjoy it. My usual activities involve more hard core cardio or flinging myself about- i.e around a squash court or a pole… (I teach pole dance classes), I was recently advised to take up pilates as I have had problems with my hips due to the fact my joints are hypermobile, and actually I think it may be helping. It also gives me an opportunity to sloooow down, something which I am notoriously very bad at! Thus, my Friday mornings have become a time to revive my mind and set me up for a productive weekend.

Once home I was in need of food and lots of it.…. The mug cakes were calling!!

The recipe for my first ever chocolate mug cake post was based on one large mug or two ramekins. Whilst that’s great for sharing (or if you are in need of a major cake hit!), I often simply want a little treat just for me, and a mug is too much. So here I have reworked the recipe amounts to create a ‘single serving ramekin’ aka the ‘rame-cake’ and believe me this is more than enough to hit the spot!

In putting together this recipe I was also keen to experiment with a GF version... um, so then one 'ramecake' became two... shhhh!  I have noted my GF alterations below, and in my opinion this version was perfectly yummy with barely a hint of any graininess so often typical with GF flours.  I did notice a slight difference in texture as I sampled each cake one after the other, but had this not been the case then I don't think I would have 'noticed' I was eating a GF sponge. 

 Recipe: Raspberry cheesecake single serve ‘rame-cake’

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs white spelt flour
• (see GF version below)
• 2 tsp rapadura 
• Tiny pinch salt
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• (increase to a heaped 1/4 tsp for GF)
• 2 tbs soy milk
• (add 1 extra tsp for GF)
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp yoghurt
• Few drops vanilla extract
• Small handful of frozen raspberries broken up (I use frozen as they are easier to break, don’t colour the batter and are available all year round)
• 1 tsp vegan cream cheese, 1tsp soy milk, tiny amount of agave (or any liquid sweetener) to make the ‘cheesecake’ (omit this if you just want a fruity sponge!)

Method:

Mix the ‘cheesecake’ ingredients- cream cheese, soy milk and agave together and set aside. Place coconut oil, vanilla and soy milk up in a small bowl and melt together until the coconut is melted.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix and keep mixing until there are no lumps or dry patches of unmixed flour. Lightly mix through the raspberry pieces and spoon the batter into a ramekin or mini bowl. Top the batter with the ‘cheesecake’ mix and mix in slightly with a toothpick if desired.

Cook on full power (based on 900W) in microwave for 30 seconds. Check with a cocktail stick until it comes out almost clean. Cook for up 20 seconds more if necessary until cooked.

NOTE: For the GF version I used GF flours to the equivalent of 2 tbs.  I used 1 tbs of Doves Farm GF mix (this is a UK brand consisting of rice, potato, tapicoca and buckwheat flours) plus 2 tsp almond meal.  I think the addition of nut meal really helps to prevent the sponge from becoming grainy or dry. I imagine any type of GF flour mix would be quite flexible for those that have their favourite combos.  Also note the slight increase to baking powder as I found that with a level 1/4 tsp the cake did not rise to the same degree as the spelt version so was a little more dense. I also added slightly more soy milk as in my experience GF flours are dryer.

Please let me know how you get on and any changes you make!

 P.S The pics are of the spelt version.

---

Why not sign up for my newsletter in my sidebar where you get blog post round ups plus other goodies (such as special offers, challenges and collaborations) right there in your inbox!

Day to day you can always find me hanging out in these places:

Instagram   -   Facebook   -   Twitter   -   Pinterest