Apple muffins

*** Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free ***

Really moist buns

*** Ingredients ***

125ml golden syrup
80ml milk (any alternative milk)
60ml flavourless oil (sunflower oil, vegetable oil, rapeseed oil)
125ml yogurt (I use koko yogurt)
180g self raising flour (I use gluten free self raising flour)
1 tsp baking powder

1 medium cooking apple

** Method **

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Whisk the golden syrup, milk, oil and yogurt together.
Add to the flour and baking powder.
Mix well.
Slice/finely chop the apple and fold into mixture
Put in bun cases and bake for 18/20 minutes. The recipe makes 10 muffins.

These freeze well and an easy snack.

Golden syrup

A question regularly asked is what is golden syrup? The following information is taken directly from Wikipedia.

Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to honey and is often used as a substitute where honey is unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

It is not to be confused with amber corn syrup or amber refined sugar. Regular molasses, or dark treacle, has both a richer colour and a strong, distinctive flavour.

A common brand used is Lyle Golden Syrup.

Caramel slices

** Dairy free and gluten free caramel slices **
These are also soya free and egg free

These taste great.

* Shortbread Base *
100g gluten free plain flour
100g cornflour
1 tbsp/15ml warm water
160g dairy free butter
80g icing sugar

* Caramel layer *
A can of condensed milk or condensed milk made with 1 can of coconut milk (400g)
90g caster sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup/golden syrup
125g dairy free butter

* Chocolate layer *
150g dairy free and soya chocolate
1 tbsp coconut oil (optional) – this makes it easier to spread on top

*Shortbread*

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Mix the butter and sugar together
Sieve in the flour and mix well into butter and sugar mix.
Add water and bring mix together. Don’t over mix.
Press into lined tin (8cm Square tin) and bake for 25/30 minutes.
Remove from oven, put aside to cool.

*Caramel*

Put the condensed milk, caster sugar, syrup and butter into a saucepan.
Stir constantly over a low heat until sugar melt. Stir constantly to prevent burning. this will take approximately 15 minutes.
The mixture will thicken as the sugar and syrup melts.
Continue stirring over heat until colour changes to a ‘caramel’. watch carefully as it can easily burn.
Leave a side to cool. Make sure it’s fully cool before putting on the shortbread. Spread across shortbread.

*Chocolate*

Melt chocolate (and coconut oil)
Ensure caramel is completely cold before spreading across it.

Leave to cool and harder before cutting.

The Caramel layer can be made without condensed milk but is more temperature sensitive

* Caramel layer *
400g canned coconut milk
260g caster sugar
30ml water
130g dairy free butter

Place tin of coconut milk in fridge over. This will allow the cream to rise to the top of tin.
Put sugar in saucepan and add water.
Mix until sugar is wet.
Heat over medium heat and boil to a caramel colour.
Do not mix as it will crystallise but shake saucepan to ensure that all the sugar melts.
Be careful not to burn but you need to bring it to a high temperature, otherwise it won’t set.
Take off heat and mix in coconut cream (you will be left with water in tin).
Stir quickly as you don’t want it to thicken too quickly.
Continue to stir until milk dissolves.
Stir in butter while still hot. Make sure butter melts fully.
Leave a side to cool. Make sure it’s fully cool before putting on the shortbread. Spread across shortbread.

Nutty banana bread

*** Nutty banana bread ***
Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free.

Easily made free of added sugar

Ingredients

2 ripen bananas well mashed
200g self raising flour (I use Aldi gf self raising)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey (optional)
50g chopped nuts
70g dairy free butter (I use Stork margarine)
30g nut butter

** Method **

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius
Sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together.
Mix in the mashed bananas
Add the chopped nuts and honey
Melt the butters and add. Mix well.
Place in loaf tin and bake for 40/45 minutes.

Basic Savoury muffins

*** Basic muffin recipe***

Add any flavour
Dairy free, egg free and gluten free

*** can be made sugar free***

Ingredients

150g self raising flour
(If gluten free replace the flour with 150g of any gluten free plain flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum, 2 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp bicarbonate soda (baking soda))

1 pinch of salt
60g dairy free butter melted or 60ml oil
60g of any pureed vegetables or fruit
60ml milk (I use rice milk but any milk will work)
15ml lemon juice

15 ml maple/golden syrup (optional)
1 cup of grated carrot/parsnip (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Mix all the dry ingredients together.
Mix the melted butter/milk/pouch/lemon juice and syrup together.
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Fold in the grated carrot, don’t over mix.
Bake in the oven for 18/20 minutes, they didn’t colour but don’t over cook as they’ll go hard.

They freeze well so handy for lunch box.

Coconut cupcakes

*** Coconut muffins ***
Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free

Ingredients

200ml coconut milk
20ml cider vinegar
160g self raising flour
40g coconut flour
30g desiccated coconut
1 tsp baking powder
Half tsp bicarbonate soda
Pinch of salt
150g caster sugar
40g brown sugar
80ml melted coconut oil

Method

Preheat oven to 180C/355F
Mix the milk and cider together and set a side.
Sieve the flours and add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well.
Add the oil to the milk and cider mixture and whisk.
Immediated spoon into bun cases (should make 12 muffins).
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

(If using gluten free plain flour then use a half teaspoon of xanthan gum or teaspoon of cornflour and an extra teaspoon of baking powder with the gluten free plain flour)

My go to Birthday Cake

*** Dairy free, soya free, egg free, nut free and gluten free ***

Chocolate cake

Ingredients

200g/2 cups gluten free self raising flour
50g/half a cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
100g/half a cup sugar
60ml/4 tblsp flavourless oil (sunflower/vegetable/rapeseed oil)
200ml/1 cup milk (any alternative milk)
20ml/1 tblsp/30g golden syrup or maple syrup or honey

Method

Preheat fan oven to 180C/355F.
Sieve flour, cocoa powder and baking soda together. Add the sugar.
In another bowl whisk the milk, oil and syrup together.
Add the liquid to dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour into lined or greases tin – 8 inch circular
Bake for 30 minutes.

If you double the quantities, you can make a sandwich cake. Put buttercream in the middle. Dairy free Butter cream

Or use a ganache to decorate Vegan Ganache

Alternatives

If you are using Plain gluten free flour, add 2 additional teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of bicarbonated soda and half of teaspoon of xanthan gum
Half teaspoon of xanthan gum can be replaced with a teaspoon of cornflour/cornstarch or potato starch.
Rice milk is best milk for vegan baking as it holds air better than other milks.
Recipe can be used for muffins. Bake for 18 minutes.

Dairy free Butter cream

***Dairy free, soya free, egg free, wheat/gluten free ***

Ingredients
250g df butter (soft stork margarine in gold foil).
500g icing sugar
1-2 tablespoons warm water

1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Method

Beat the margarine.
Sieve half the icing sugar in to the margarine and add water.
Beat well.
Add remaining sieved icing sugar and beat well.
Add a little more water if it’s too stiff.
Add vanilla essence or food colouring as required.
For chocolate buttercream, add a tablespoon of cocoa powder when sieving the icing sugar.

Carrot and Courgette muffins

** Carrott and courgette muffins ***

Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free

*** Sugar free ***

High in omega 3

Ingredients

5 oz self raising flour (I use Aldi self raising gluten free flour)

1oz milled flaxseed

A pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon mixed spice

50 ml rapeseed oil

1 carrot (finely grated)

1 courgette (finely grated)

2 well ripe bananas

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Put all ingredients except bananas into a bowl and mix well.
Mash bananas into other ingredients and completely combine.
Put in bun cases.
Bake for 15/18 minutes.

Alternatives

If not gluten free, this recipe works well with half wholemeal flour/half white flour
Add a handful of well chopped spinach

Banana bread

*** Dairy free, soya free, egg free and wheat/gluten free ***

*** Banana bread ***
Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free

Ingredients

8oz flour (I use gluten free plain flour but any flour mix will work)
A pinch of salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
4oz sugar
80 ml favourless oil (sunflower, vegetable, rapeseed etc)
3 well ripe bananas (well mashed)

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius
Mix all ingredients except bananas together.
Add the bananas into other ingredients and mix well.
I sprinkled some sugar on top
Bake for 50 minutes.

Alternatives

If not gluten free, this recipe works well with half wholemeal flour/half white flour
Add 50g raisins
Add 50g grated apples
Add 50g chopped nuts
Add 50g chocolate chips
Swap 30g of flour with cocoa powder