Coconut Flour Carrot Loaf Cakes

These cakes are very tasty and contain healthy ingredients like butter, eggs, carrots, coconut flour and raisins and no refined grains or sugars. They are wheat and gluten free and contain coconut flour but if you don't like coconut don't worry - they don't taste of coconut at all!

Ingredients (makes 6 loaf cakes or 8 muffins)

·         50g butter, melted

·         3 tbsp coconut milk

·         3 medium free range eggs beaten

·         3 tbsp honey (raw is best)

·         Zest of one large orange

·         1 tsp ground cinnamon

·         ½ tsp nutmeg (freshly grated for best flavour)

·         35g coconut flour

·         Pinch Salt

·         1 tsp gluten free baking powder

·         2 medium carrots, grated

·         50g raisins (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (adjust accordingly for fan oven)

Blend together the butter, coconut milk, eggs, honey and orange zest

Combine together the coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until there are no lumps

Add the grated carrot and raisins and mix in well

Bake for 15 minutes on the middle shelf

Coconut Flour Chocolate Muffins

 Note: if you don't like the taste of coconut please don't worry - these really don't taste of coconut at all! They are light and moist and taste heavenly!

Ingredients (makes about 8 muffins)

·         50g butter (or coconut oil for dairy free cakes) melted

·         2 tablespoons coconut milk

·         3 medium free range eggs beaten

·         1 tsp vanilla essence

·         3 tbsp honey (raw is best)

·         20g coconut flour

·         20g organic cocoa powder

·         Pinch salt

·         1 tsp gluten free baking powder

·         50g dark chocolate (70% solids or above) chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade

Blend together melted butter, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla essence and honey 

Combine together the coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder
 
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until there are no lumps

Add the chopped chocolate (or good quality chocolate chips)

Pour batter into 8 muffin cases (silicone is good as its non-stick)

Bake for 12 mins on the middle shelf 

Coconut Flour Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins

These muffins are really light and moist and make a great treat with a cup of tea!

Ingredients (makes about 8 muffins)

50g butter (or coconut oil for dairy free cakes) melted
2 tablespoons coconut milk
3 medium free range eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp honey (raw is best)
Juice and zest of one large organic lemon
30g coconut flour
Pinch salt
1 tsp gluten free baking powder

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade
Blend together melted butter, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla essence, honey and juice and zest of the lemon
Combine together the coconut flour, salt and baking powder
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until there are no lumps
Pour batter into 8 muffin cases (silicone is good as its non-stick)
Bake for 12 mins on the middle shelf

Note: if you don't like the taste of coconut please don't worry - these really don't taste of coconut at all!

Grain free breakfast muffins

I made these to take out shopping with me on Saturday with my daughter as I knew tea and cake would come into the equation somewhere and I wanted to be prepared. They are really nice and very nutritious. You could add other healthy fruits or nuts or even some grated carrot or sweet potato. I used butter but you can make these dairy free by using coconut oil.

You will need:

30 g coconut flour
30 g butter (or coconut oil for dairy free)
4 tbsp coconut milk
3 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
1 tbsp coconut sugar (also called coconut nectar)
30 g raisins
30 g shredded coconut
30 g chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
30 g sunflower seeds

Blend together eggs, butter, coconut milk, vanilla essence.

In another bowl mix coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, raisins, nuts, coconut and sunflower seeds.

Pour wet ingredients into dry and blend well until there are no lumps.

Spoon into muffin cases and bake at 170 degrees C for 15 minutes.

Dairy and Grain Free fruit and nut muffins

I made these cakes for a new client last week to illustrate that you can still enjoy a cake now and again whilst sticking with a grain and dairy free diet. They are packed full of nourishing healthy ingredients and taste very good with a cup of black or green tea.

You will need:

30g coconut oil melted

3 tablespoons coconut milk

3 medium eggs beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

 30g coconut flour (tiana do a good one)

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

1 1/2 tablespoons coconut sugar (again tiana do a good one)

25g raisins or dried cranberries

25g chopped mixed nuts (or any combination, I use walnuts)

¼ teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Handful sunflower seeds

Method

Mix together the coconut oil, coconut milk, eggs and vanilla essence 

In another bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, coconut sugar, chopped nuts, raisins and sunflower seeds.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Spoon into cake cases and bake for approx 12 minutes  at 170 degrees C or until firm to the touch.

Cool on a wire rack.

Carrot and sunflower seed muffins

These muffins are so light and moist and packed full of nutritionally dense ingredients such as carrots, seeds, coconut oil and coconut flour. They are gluten and wheat free - a sweet treat for those who want to try and cut grains from their diet.

You will need:

50 g coconut nectar (I used Tiana from Holland and Barrett)
70 g coconut oil
30g coconut flour (also Tiana from Holland and Barrett)
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
40g sunflower seeds
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs beaten
110g grated carrots (about 2 medium sized carrots)
50g raisins (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees (170 fan oven)

Mix the coconut sugar and coconut oil together until well combined

Add the eggs and beat well until eggs are mixed in. Add vanilla essence.

Mix together the coconut flour, baking powder, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, mixed spice, raisins (if using) and salt.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

Mix in the grated carrots.

Spoon mixture into cake cases or muffin cases and bake for 15 minutes for cakes and 20 minutes for muffins or until a skewer comes out clean.

Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins

These muffins are very tasty and satisfying. They make a great snack or even a meal replacement if you are in a rush. They are a great on the go breakfast option. 

200g almond flour (ground almonds)
1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp runny honey (raw organic is best)
Juice and zest of one large organic unwaxed lemon
60ml good oil (olive oil, macadamia nut oil or avocado oil)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp poppy seeds

Method

Heat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan oven)

In a large bowl mix almond flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sea salt 

In another bowl mix honey, lemon juice, oil, eggs and vanilla essence

Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well

Add poppy seeds and lemon zest and mix well

Spoon into muffin cases

Bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

All these ingredients can be bought from the mainstream supermarkets in the UK. Ground almonds are usually found with the nuts. Avocado oil is in some supermarkets and macadamia nut oil can be found online.

Healthy (and yummy) chocolate muffins

How to get your kids to eat healthy food? It's the age old problem and one that is particularly important to me as a nutritional advisor who eats mainly paleo style and would like to pass the benefits on to my kids (who are twins of nearly eleven). Dinners are not too difficult, meat and veggies and some carbs are staples and good sources of proteins and fats, vitamins and minerals. However it's the snacks that are so difficult, shop bought biscuits and cakes often contain undesirable fats such as corn oil and always contain refined flour and sugar and worst of all artificial colours and sweeteners which can be toxic to the body over time. So I decided to try and find a cake recipe that they would like, contains healthy ingredients and would be packed full of good nutrition and this is it!
I have adapted my recipe from this one http://www.thehealthychef.com/2012/02/flourless-chocolate-cupcakes/, I just added some dark choc chips and some melted dark chocolate on the top to add to the chocolate experience. I didn't tell the kids that these were 'paleo' cakes, just waited until they tried them and said how lovely they were and then let them in in the secret! Now when I put a cake in their lunchbox I don't feel so guilty!

You will need:

150g ground almonds
21g cocoa powder (I used green and blacks)
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
2 free range eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp honey
60ml avocado oil, macadamia nut oil or good olive oil
60ml milk, either dairy, coconut or unsweetened almond
50g dark chocolate chips
50g dark chocolate, melted

Method:

Mix the ground almonds, cocoa powder, chocolate chips and baking powder together 
Mix the eggs, vanilla essence, milk, oil and honey and add to the dry ingredients
Spoon into 12 cup cake cases or 8 muffin cases
Bake for approximately 20 minutes on 180 degrees C (160 fan oven)
Allow the cakes to cool
Melt the dark chocolate in a pan over a saucepan of hot water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water)
Spread the melted chocolate over the cakes and allow to set 
Enjoy!

Apple, cinnamon and raisin muffins

I made these muffins last week and they were really tasty. Almond flour is a gluten free, low carbohydrate nutritious alternative to wheat flour with all the health benefits of eating whole almonds.

I didn't take any photos of these cakes but take it from me, they looked good and tasted even better!

You will need:

200g almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp cinnamon

60g butter, melted

3 tbsp honey (raw is best)

2 eggs beaten

1 medium apple peeled, cored and diced

1 tsp vanilla extract

50g raisins

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (170 fan oven).

In a bowl mix together the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon.

Mix the honey into the melted butter and add the beaten eggs, vanilla, diced apple and raisins.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and spoon mixture into muffin cases.

Bake for 15 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven.

ENJOY!

Banana, sweet potato and walnut muffins

As I am doing a 30 day sugar free challenge I wanted to make some cakes that were completely sugar/honey/syrup/sweetener free. I came up with the idea of using sweet potato and banana to create the sweetness, and cinnamon and all spice to add some flavour. The texture was quite spongy but they tasted nice and made ideal nutritious afternoon snacks. They would also make a great on the go breakfast, I made mine quite small as my silicone cases are smallish, but you could make them more like a muffin size if you were using them as a  meal on the run.

You will need:

30g coconut flour (tiana do a good one)

30g butter or coconut oil melted

2 tablespoons coconut milk

3 medium eggs beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

3 tablespoons cooked, mashed sweet potato

1 small banana, mashed

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 small (or half a large) carrot, grated

25g walnuts

¼ teaspoon salt

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees (180 for fan oven)

Blend together the eggs, coconut oil/butter, coconut milk, vanilla essence, sweet potato, banana, walnuts, grated carrot and salt

Combine baking powder, cinnamon and mixed spice with the coconut flour and whisk into the batter until there are no more lumps

Pour batter into greased muffin tin or muffin cases (silicone are good)

Bake for 15 minutes



Nut and Raisin Muffins

You will need:

30g coconut flour (tiana do a good one)

30g butter or coconut oil melted

2 tablespoons coconut milk

3 medium eggs beaten

¼ teaspoon vanilla essence

¼ teaspoon gluten free baking powder

3 tablespoons honey

25g raisins

25g chopped mixed nuts

¼ teaspoon salt

Handful sunflower seeds

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees (180 for fan oven)

Blend together the eggs, honey, coconut oil/butter, coconut milk, vanilla essence, raisins, walnuts and salt

Combine baking powder with the coconut flour and whisk into the batter until there are no lumps

Pour batter into greased muffin tin or muffin cases (silicone are good)

Sprinkle with sunflower seeds

Bake for 15 minutes