Sweet potato muffins
Vegan chocolate cake
Apple and blackberry oat muffins
Chocolate, rum and almond cake
Alcohol and chocolate have long been combined in desserts, the alcohol accentuating and offsetting the rich, fruity flavour of dark chocolate. It also shows how versatile chocolate can be: often associated with sweet cakes and dishes for children, here it is elegant and sophisticated, perfect for a dinner party. This will keep for 4–5 days and, as it contains no flour, has the advantage of being gluten free. For an extra impressive finishing touch why not decorate with chocolate squares instead of the blanched almonds?
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 38–45 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour 45 minutes
Serves: 8–10
225g (8oz) dark chocolate, in drops or broken into pieces
225g (8oz) ground almonds
250g (9oz) caster sugar
150g (5oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
6 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp rum
8 blanched almonds, to decorate
Softly whipped cream or crème fraîche, to serve
For the glaze
75ml (3fl oz) double or regular cream
125g (4½oz) dark chocolate, in drops or broken into pieces
2 tbsp rum
20cm (8in) diameter spring-form cake tin with 6cm (2½ in) side
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, then butter the sides of the cake tin and line the base with a disc of baking parchment. Make sure the base of the tin is upside down, so there’s no lip and the cake can slide off easily when cooked.
Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave just until melted, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Place the ground almonds, sugar and butter in a food processor and whiz until well mixed. Add the eggs, rum and melted chocolate and whiz until blended.
Tip the cake mixture into the prepared tin and cook for 38–45 minutes or until puffed up and slightly cracked on the surface but still quite moist in the centre – a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake will still be slightly sticky.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then loosen the sides using a small, sharp knife and carefully remove the cake from the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool down fully.
While the cake is baking, or while it’s cooling, make the glaze. Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then take off the heat, add the chocolate, stirring to melt, and mix in the rum.
Transfer the cooled cake to a serving plate and pour over the chocolate glaze (reheating if necessary), then decorate with the blanched almonds by placing these in an evenly spaced circle, with the nuts pointing inwards, around the edge of the cake. Serve in slices with softly whipped cream or crème fraîche.
Variations
I’ve used rum in this recipe, but you could just as easily use brandy, whiskey or even orange liqueur. The flavours will all be slightly different, but the effect will be much the same.
Agave syrup is made from the agave plant, grown primarily in Mexico. The syrup is extracted from the plant and produced in concentrated form. Sticky and slightly sweeter than sugar, it’s considered healthier as it has a lower Gl (glycaemic index), and releases energy more steadily than pure sugar. In this recipe the agave combines with the natural sweetness of bananas for a gorgeously healthy take on banana bread. I love to eat this straight from the oven, but it keeps well for a good few days. A slice or two would be perfect for a picnic.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 55–65 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour 45 minutes
Serves: 6–10
125g (4½oz) plain flour
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
150g (5oz) wholemeal flour
350g (12oz) mashed bananas (about 4 bananas)
3 eggs
100ml (3½fl oz) agave syrup
75ml (3fl oz) sunflower or extra-virgin olive oil
50ml (2fl oz) natural yoghurt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
900g (2lb) loaf tin
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, and line the base and sides of the loaf tin with baking parchment, with the paper coming above the sides of the tin to enable the cake to be lifted out easily.
Sift the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl, then mix in the wholemeal flour. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
Add this mixture to the dry ingredients, folding together to combine. Tip the batter into the prepared loaf tin, then bake for 55–65 minutes or until the top is just turning golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Carefully lift the cake out of the tin using the baking parchment, then peel away the paper and leave on a wire rack to finish cooling.
30-day bran and pumpkin seed muffins
These are called ‘30-day muffins’ because the batter will keep happily in the fridge for a month! They’re sugar free and you can easily make them dairy free too by using rice or soya milk. The pumpkin seeds are
