The Recipe Room

These delicious,  deep-fried onion “flowers” make for a very visually impressive appetiser with which to astound your friends!  The best thing about them is that although they look very impressive and hard to make, they’re actually very easy and will be ready in less than 30 minutes! Serve them with a side of mustard sauce for dipping.

I also recommend these aloo bonda snacks, which are deep-fried potato balls.

This home-made dried fruit and nut muesli makes a great breakfast cereal or can even just be eaten by hand as a snack.  It also works well for making a base or crispy topping for baked fruit desserts like this apple crisp recipe.  I like to put a handful or two in a small plastic bag or container and take it with me to snack on at work or in the car.

You Need:

DRY INGREDIENTS:

• 500g gluten-free rolled oats
• 250g unsweetened coconut flakes
• 65g sunflower seeds
• 60g almond slices
• 65g pumpkin seeds
• 60g walnuts or pecans
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt

LIQUID INGREDIENTS:

• 125ml honey
• 65ml very hot water
• 65ml canola oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS:

• 125g whole almonds
• 65g dried bananas
• 65g raisins
• 65g finely chopped dried apricots

Steps:

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 150ºC.
2. Line a baking sheet (not non-stick) with baking parchment paper or lightly coat it with cooking spray or canola oil.
3. Place the dry ingredients in a very large bowl and toss them well to thoroughly combine.
4. Combine the liquid ingredients in a small bowl and stir until the honey is dissolved.
5. Pour the liquid mixture over top of the dry ingredients and toss with a spatula to thoroughly combine. The mixture should be fairly wet.
6. Place the muesli on the prepared baking sheet and spread out to form a thin layer.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes and then stir. Bake another 15 minutes and stir again.
8. Continue baking in 10-minute increments until the muesli is browned to the desired degree. Keep a very close eye on it in the final stages as it can go from lightly browned to burnt in a matter of seconds!
9. Cool the muesli on the pan for 20 minutes on a wire rack.
10. Stir the dried fruits and nuts into the baked mixture.
11. The muesli will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Ready In:  60 minutes

Serves:  4-5

Difficulty:   2 out of 5

This raisin bread recipe may take a bit of work to get right, but it’ll make your morning breakfast oh-so-much better! If you are looking for something crispier, this Biscotti di Prato recipe might also do the trick.

Toast and butter it for best results.

You Need:

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 250ml warm (45°C) milk
• 55g dark brown sugar
• White rice flour for dusting
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 435g potato starch
• 90g sorghum flour
• 90g cornflour
• 70g tapioca flour
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 85ml canola oil
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 170g raisins tossed with 1 teaspoon of potato starch

Steps:

1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, warm milk, and 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar. Set aside to foam 5 minutes.
2. Generously grease a non-stick loaf pan. Dust the bottom and sides of the pan lightly with white rice flour.
3. In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat eggs until light and frothy, about 30 seconds. Add the potato starch, sorghum flour, cornflour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, oil, vinegar, and remaining brown sugar and beat on low speed until blended.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
4.  Increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds, or until dough thickens slightly. Stir in the raisins. Dough will be slightly softer than most yeast breads.
5. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula.
6. Cover the dough lightly with foil and let rise in a warm place (about 25ºC) until the dough is level with the top of the pan.
7. Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
8. With a sharp knife, make three diagonal slashes (1/3cm deep) in the  loaf so steam can escape during baking.
9. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes or until temperature reaches 205°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into centre of loaf. Do not under bake. Cover with foil tent after 20 minutes of baking to reduce overbrowning.
10. Remove from the oven and cool in pan the 10 minutes on a wire rack.
11. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on the wire rack.

Ready In:  150 minutes

Serves:  6

Difficulty:   4 out of 5

These lemon blueberry muffins are mouth-wateringly delicious and make a great snack or only slightly decadent breakfast.  The crispy lemon and sugar topping is the icing on the cake, or in this case, the muffin!  If you manage to not eat them all in one sitting, they will keep in the refrigerator for up to ten days. (I would also recommend these raspberry and cinnamon muffins.)

You Need:

LIQUID INGREDIENTS

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 185ml milk
• 125ml canola oil
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DRY INGREDIENTS

• 180g + 25g sorghum flour
• 180g + 20g cornflour
• 140g + 15g tapioca flour
• 150g granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 175g (1 cup) fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry

TOPPING

• Cooking spray
• 100g granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Steps:

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 190ºC.
2. Generously grease the cups of a standard 12-cup non-stick muffin pan, or line with paper liners coated with cooking spray.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer on low speed until light yellow and frothy, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the milk, oil, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat just until blended.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients except the blueberries. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients until the batter is smooth and slightly thickened.
6. Gently stir in the blueberries.
7. Divide the batter evenly in the muffin pan.
8. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the muffin tops are firm and the edges start to pull away from the pan.
9. Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack.
10. Spray the tops with cooking spray.
11. Make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest.
12. Dip each muffin top into the sugar mixture and let stand on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
13.  Serve warm.

Ready In:  60 minutes

Serves:  10-12

Difficulty:   3 out of 5

This sugar-free gingerbread is just as rich and delicious as the one Grandma used to make, but without the guilt!  I recommend using agave nectar as a sweetener, but if you can’t find it, you can go ahead and use any other fruit sweetener, or even regular sugar if you prefer, although it obviously won’t be sugar-free then.  The gingerbread freezes very well, so you can double or triple the recipe if you like and freeze the rest for another occasion. (Also try this spicy pumpkin cake.)

You Need:

• 250g  pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
• 250ml  agave nectar
• 65ml canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 375g brown rice flour or sorghum flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 250ml unsweetened applesauce

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC.
2. Spray a 23cm square pan with a non-stick spray and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the agave nectar or fruit sweetener and the oil.
4. Beat with an electric blender on high speed until thoroughly blended.
5. After you have mixed the oil and the sweetener, add the eggs, one at a time. Make sure to beat well between additions.
6. Add the orange rind and the vanilla extract and continue to blend together for another minute. Set aside.
7. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon.
8. Add the nuts to the sifted dry ingredients.
9. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, a little at a time, alternately with the applesauce, blending well after each addition.
10. Continue until you have added all the ingredients.
11. Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre of the gingerbread comes out clean.  Alternatively you can press lightly on the centre of the gingerbread. If it leaves a dent, it’s not done.  If it springs back after touching, it’s done and you can move it to a cooling rack.
12. When cooled, slice and serve.

Ready In:  30 minutes

Serves:  8-10

Difficulty:   2 out of 5