Orange & Date Dessert Cake

Winter time is the time for slow cooked meals, meat melting in your mouth, soups and crusty bread, deliciously warm and sweet desserts slathered in warm custard finished off with a warming pot of tea.

That's winter in a nut shell for me.... food wise anyway! It's also the season for pumpkins and citrus fruits which may sound like a strange combination but go together beautifully in this cake I created this past week.

The pumpkin isn't the real star in this cake... it's the orange. The pumpkin is just needed for it's "moistness" and "colour" properties and is forgotten otherwise (Don't tell the pumpkin that)... BUT it's still important all the same.

Back to our dear friend orange - yes the orange is the STAR attraction in this delicious dessert cake! It cuts through the sweetness of the dates with it's acidity and the zestiness compliments the spices nicely.

How I come up with this recipe was due to my constant need to "healthify" things lately. You see our family is on a sort of a "health" type kick - trying to cook and bake things that will be better for us (and our waist lines) There are members who are trying to lose weight and I didn't want to thwart there hard work with a calorie laden dessert.

The original recipe for this dessert called for something like 2 cups of sugar and 250g of butter and that was just in the cake... there was a sweet sauce poured over it as well which included cream and sugar! To "healthifiy" it I swapped the sugar for honey and dates, the butter for pureed pumpkin and used wholemeal and spelt flour over white flour to improve the GI rating. Now I am not against baking the aforementioned dessert with it's sugar and butter because it probably tastes absolutely devine it just didn't suit what I needed to make at the time!

Orange & Date Dessert Cake

{Download & Print Recipe}

Ingredients:


Dry:

2 Cups Wholemeal Self Raising Flour
½ Cup Wholemeal Spelt Flour
1 Tsp Bicarb Soda
½ Tsp Mixed Spice
1/8 Tsp Nutmeg
½ Cup Walnuts
2 Tbsp Pumpkin Seeds, For topping


Wet:

½ Cup Honey, Warmed
½ Cup Fresh Dates, Chopped Finely
¾ Cup Pureed Pumpkin
Juice of 2 Oranges
Zest of 2 Oranges
½ Cup Milk
2 x Eggs, lightly beaten

Glaze:
1 Tbsp Apricot Jam, (or Marmalade)

Method:

1.    Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line a 20cm cake pan with baking paper.
2.    In a bowl sift flours, Bicarb soda, spices, walnuts and zest, set aside.
3.    In a saucepan add chopped dates and orange juice to the pan and simmer for 5 min until reduced and dates are soft and mushy. Add pumpkin puree, milk and eggs and combine.
4.    Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix to combine thoroughly.
5.    Place mixture into prepared cake tin and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, cook for 35-45 min until golden brown.
6.    Cool cake for 15-20 min, warm apricot jam in microwave for 10-15 sec until runny. Using a pastry brush, brush mixture over the top of the cake.




Serve with warm homemade or bought custard!

Simply Tea Recommendation:

If your wanting to pair this cake with a good cup of tea for a simply delicious afternoon tea I would recommend serving our Ceylon Orange Pekoe:

The leaves are long, wirey, and beautiful  giving an exquisite taste, almost oaky, with body and strength. 

Order Today....

You may think by it's name that it has and "orange" flavour but they use this term Oraange Pekoe to describe a basic, medium-grade black tea consisting of many whole tea leaves of a specific size. This tea is a "good" black tea, simple in flavour yet robust and tasteful!

You can purchase 100g Pouches of our Ceylon Orange Pekoe for $7.00 or 10g Sample Bags for $2.00.

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Choc Berry Macaroon Muffin

I had a stressful day last week and I knew I needed to bake and create something, anything even on that particular day!. Baking for me is a great reliever of stress because it's in the measuring of ingredients, sifting, weighing, beating and beater licking that I find some relief and a sense of rightness (if that's a word) again!

Even if I can't solve the problems of the day or make them go away at least I have a window of time that I can concentrate on making something delicious, that looks great, its healthy and gives me a sense of purpose - even for 45 minutes!

I was initally inspired to create something "chocolate" that could also be quite healthy in terms of a cake anyway - from Healthy Pursuits.... Rich Chocolate Quinoa Cake. I didn't have a lot of the ingredients that were called for in this recipe so I decided to make my own "chocolate" muffin recipe that was white sugar and flour free, dairy free and delicious! I started off with a chocolate & berry theme which I thought would work well together.

My next inspiration was coconut and use it as a macaroon topping on the muffin to give it a nice crunchy topping. So born was the Choc Berry Macaroon Muffin. I know I seem to do an awful lot of muffins and cupcakes - but any of these recipes could be easily turned into a cake or slice by simply placing them in a different sized cake tin/slice tin and cooking for a longer period of time.

Choc Berry Macaroon Muffin

{Download & Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

Dry:
2 Cups Wholemeal Self Raising Flour
¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Baking Powder
½ Tsp Bicarb Soda

Wet:
½ Cup Milk
3 Egg, (1 egg white separated from these)
½ Cup Golden Syrup (or Honey), warmed until runny
1tsp Vanilla Essence
1 Cup Mixed Frozen Berries
1 Tbsp Oil
½ Cup Apple Puree
*Optional: ¼ Cup 70% Dark Chocolate, Chopped

Macaroon Topping:
½ - ¾ Cups Desiccated Coconut
1 Egg White (From Above), Lightly Beaten
2 Tbsp Golden Syrup or Honey, warmed until runny

Method:

1.    Preheat oven to 175 Degrees. Line muffin pan with muffin papers.
2.    In a bowl add 2 whole eggs and left over yolk and beat until frothy. (About 2 min), add warmed golden syrup and beat for another 2 min.
3.    Add sifted dry ingredients and mix briefly and add remaining wet ingredients and mix until combined.
4.    Fold berries into the mixture and spoon into muffin papers.
5.    Combine macaroon ingredients in a bowl (Start with ½ cup of coconut and add more if required for good fluffy consistency) Spoon over the top of the muffins and bake in oven for 15-20 min or until skewer comes our clean.

What do you do when you've had a stressful day to relax?

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Upside Down Apple Cake....... Which is good for you!

I love a good crunchy, sweet apple especially as part of my daily ritual feeding my 3 O'clock munchies. A perfect apple to me must have that loud "crunch", juicy enough to drip off your chin and sweet enough to take away the sugar cravings..... my whole afternoon is a disaster if I bite into one of those floury, dry and rotten apples that are around! I am most disappointed and dissatisfied! My favourite types are the good ole Red Delicious, Pink Ladies, Gala's & Fuji's.... ! Anyway i probably don't need to bore you with the merits of a good apple!

I was able to pick some of these gorgeous Red Delicious apples up at our local farmer's markets this weekend and knew exactly what i wanted to do with them. It was forecasted to be a wet & miserable weekend... which turned out to be half true and wanted to make something warming, spicy and good for you. I was inspired by Healthful Pursuits "Upside Down Apple Pinwheel Cake" and knew i wanted to try something similar with these delightfully delicious apples.

Upside Down Spicy Apple Cake

Free from: Refined White Sugar, White Flour, Dairy

{Download & Print Recipe}

This delicous cake is free from dairy, refined white sugar, white flour and you can change it up and make it gluten free if you wish. It's surprisingly moist, syrupy, sweet  - but not sickly and perfect for an afternoon snack and best of all it is surprisingly "healthy" compared to other Upside Down Cakes recipes which call for a massive 2 1/4 Cups of Sugar and 300g of Butter! I know which one I would rather eat. The protein powder beefs up the cake adding some great health benefits but not comprimising flavour, physllium husks add fibre and the apples are the crowning glory full of goodness! 

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Base:
2 Medium Red Delicious Apples, cored, sliced – Do not peel!
2 Tbsp Sunflower or Rice Bran Oil
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
½ Tsp Cinnamon
¼ Tsp Ground Ginger

Dry:
¾ Cup Wholemeal SR Flour
¼ Cup Chickpea Flour
¼ Cup Palm Sugar (Or Brown Sugar)
1 Tbsp Psyllium Husks (or Flaxseed)
2 Tbsp Protein Powder (I used pea protein isolate – this is optional)
¾ tsp Baking powder
½ Tsp Cinnamon, ground
¼ Tsp Ginger, ground
¼ Tsp Mixed Spice
1/8 Tsp Nutmeg
1/8 Tsp Salt

Wet:
¼ - ½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk* See note
1 Large Egg
½ Cup Apple Puree (Bottles is fine)
1 Tbsp Sunflower or Rice Bran Oil
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
*Start with ¼ cup of Milk and slowly work your way up until a smooth and silk batter is formed. It shouldn’t be stiff.

Method:

1.    Preheat the oven to 175 Degrees and line the bottom of a spring form cake pan.
2.    Sprinkle the brown sugar and spices evenly over the bottom of the pan and drizzle oil over the top.
3.    Place one of the sliced apples in a fan shape over the spice and sugar mixture on the bottom of the pan. Set remaining apple aside.
4.    In a bowl add dry ingredients, set aside. In a separate bowl add wet ingredients and combine and add to dry ingredients stirring until mixed through.
5.    Add half of the mixture over the top of the fanned apples. Place remaining sliced apple in a fan shape over the mixture and place remaining cake batter on the apples. Smooth the top.
6.    Bake for 40-45 Min, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
7.    Allow to cool for 10-15 min before removing from pan. Invert onto a serving plate.

This cake would make a great dessert served with custard and or ice cream.

Again I implore you to not look at the ingredients list and go...ewww no thanks! Be bold and try something new and know that what your whipping up your body and your families bodies will benefit from. Obviously it shouldn't be eaten regularly but as a treat!

I know my husband was a little unsure of what I was whipping up when I made this cake and was even more disturbed when I started listing off the ingredients in it. But I think I surprised him with how good it really tasted..... (or so he says :-) )

 
 

So be daring and give it a go!

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Guilt Free Carrot Cake

I have found a new blog LOVE.... Healthful Pursuits! You must go over and visit and say hi.

I found this blog by pure chance when I was on the hunt for some healthy baking alternatives. Ever since reading Emily Rose's cook book - "Have your cake" I was inspired to try and bake more thoughtfully creating things without added processed sugars, white flours, saturated fats etc. This blog is packed full of heaps of health tips, product information and HEAPS of great healthy recipes.

The author, Leanne Vogel is a Holistic Nutritionist, yogi, athlete, recipe creator, and substitution nerd. She loves remaking recipes so that people with allergies and dietary restrictions can enjoy them and in doing so, she makes the meals better for your health. She have a passion for preparing food, sharing it with friends, and best of all, educating others on the role it plays in their life. 

She believes that Food is such a key aspect of our lives, something that took her years of food deprivation and sickness to figure out. She is here to share with everyone that our relationship with food CAN be healthy, fun, and exciting.

Leanne started Healthful Pursuit to connect and learn from people,  share her story, insight, and possibly inspire those looking to make healthful changes in their lives.

When reading the her recipes don't be put off by the ingredients such as Chia seeds, Chickpea flour, Quiona flakes or Coconut Oil. These ingredients can be easily found in your health food shop or even in the "health food" section in your local supermarket. Don't be afraid to try something new and different - you may be pleasantly surprised.

So with Leanna's recipe inspirations I came up with a Guilt Free Carrot Cake... no butter, no processed sugar and no white flour! Enjoy.

P.s. Please excuse the poor photography in these photo's - it was late at night and I didn't really have a lot to work with at the time! :-)

Guilt Free Carrot Cake

with Date & Almond Icing.

This recipe was inspired from Leanne's Pumpkin Raspberry Buckwheat Bake.

{Download & Print Carrot Cake Recipe}

Ingredients:

Wet:
1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used rice milk)
1 Large Egg
½ Cup Pumpkin Puree
3 Tbsp Raw Honey or Maple Syrup
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Large grated carrot

Dry:
1 Cup Atta Flour (or Wholemeal Flour)
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Ginger
½ tsp All Spice
¼ Cup Walnuts, Chopped

Date & Almond Icing:
1 Cup Almonds
8 Fresh Dates
¼ - 1/3 Cup Non-Dairy Milk (I used rice milk)
2 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 Tbsp Raw Honey or Maple Syrup

Method:
1.    Preheat oven to 175 degrees and grease a 20cm cake tin, set aside.
2.    In a bowl whisk wet ingredients. Once incorporated mix in dry ingredients. Stir well until combined.
3.    Pour mixture into greased cake tin and smooth out.
4.    Bake for 35-45 min until a skewer comes out clean.
5.    Allow to cool.
6.    For the icing place all ingredients in a blender and blend until a smooth paste is formed. You may need more or less rice milk to get the desired consistency.

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Jam Surprise Muffins & Emily Rose Cookbook......

I love to read cookbooks. It may seem strange to some people but it is a favourite past time of mine. I love reading new recipes and getting inspiration from these books. I have my favourites and I love it when a new recipe book comes along that  really jumps out at me. One that grabs me by the hand and leads me on a journey of discovery and new ideas.

I discovered this particular book on a browsing excursion in my local book store. I always gravitate to the "cook book" section to see all the lovely new cookbooks. I picked this one up by chance and the title simply read "Have your cake". I thought mmmm yes please and continued to read on..... "No butter, No white flour & No added sugar - a healthy and simply way of baking".

Now that line is something that grabbed me. I am always trying to make baked items which are "somewhat" healthier than the original version and this book sang out to me. I leafed through the book and was excited by the recipes that I saw, muffin, biscuits, cakes with a healthy alternative! I took note of the books title and planned to find it online. (Generally cheaper than the local bookstore).

I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across the Author's website and Facebook page which I promptly became a fan of.

The author of the book "Have your Cake" is Emily Rose and here is a little about why she wrote this book.....

After constant searching for healthy treats for my family, reading labels on the back of packages of food full of additives, preservatives and lots of sugar, I realised that the best way to ensure that my children were eating foods full of goodness was to bake them myself.

However, I didn't want to just make healthy snacks that looked healthy and tasted healthy. I wanted my children to be able to enjoy treats that tasted like 'normal' biscuits, cakes and desserts, but were made from healthy ingredients. 

Two years ago, after visiting a health retreat in Australia and hearing once again about the negative effects of sugar in our bodies and how white flour turns into sugar once our bodies digest it, I returned and began experimenting to make healthy treats without the use of added sugar, artificial sweeteners, butter, margarine or white flour.

My challenge was that I wanted the biscuits, cakes and desserts to taste as good as the alternative sugared products. 

I began with a choc chip cookie, using 70% dark chocolate and to my surprise they looked and tasted delicious. A year ago, after I had made approximately 10 recipes for my family and friends, I decided that I would like to share them with others, so I set out to write a cookbook.

My kitchen became my laboratory as I began concocting and testing new recipes. I continued remaking each recipe until all my test tasters (my family and friends) said that the recipe tasted amazing. If they said, "it was just nice", then I wasn't satisfied. I kept reworking my recipes until they were delicious. 

My cookbook, 'Have Your Cake', isn't about weight loss and counting calories or aimed at any specific health problem. It is about putting healthy ingredients into our bodies, feeling good about what we are eating and still being able to enjoy delicious foods, even sweets.

The recipes are easy to make and most take only 10 minutes to prepare. I'm often making cookies after I've put the kids to bed. 

Baking and tasting new foods has been a wonderful experience that my children and I have enjoyed together. I hope you, your family and your friends enjoy my recipes as much as we have.

Emily Rose

 I can totally relate to wanting to create and bake something nice that is preservative & additive free and with less processed ingredients such as sugar and white flours. Society is becoming more aware of what we are putting into our bodies and I believe this cookbook is an excellent start toward baking your way into a "healthier" lifestyle.
You can purchase this wonderful cookbook from her website: Emily Rose Recipes for $14.95. Make sure you check it out.

Jam Surprise Muffins

Copy & Print Recipe Here

I knew I just had to whip up a batch of one of these muffins when I found the recipe on Emily Rose's facebook page. Emily's explanation of this muffin is: "This recipe is as close as it’s going to get to a jam doughnut. A delicious treat."

Boy oh boy is she ever right.... and less calories as well!

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup (150g) honey
1/2 cup (125ml) rice bran oil
1 1/2 cups (240g) wholemeal self-raising flour
1/2 cup (50g) coconut
2/3 cup (165ml) milk
1/4 cup (95g) 100% strawberry jam
cinnamon for dusting

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees fan-forced.
Beat eggs, honey and oil together. Add flour and coconut. Mix in milk.
Grease each muffin tin with oil and using a sieve dust each one with cinnamon.
Fill each muffin tin 1/3 with mixture. Then scoop 1 teaspoon of 100% strawberry jam into the centre of the mixture of each muffin. Add the remaining mixture filling each one 2/3 full. Dust over the top with cinnamon.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Makes 12

* I found that it is extremely important to not overfill the muffins cases when baking this recipe.

Simply Tea Selection

What better tea to complement a delectable treat such as these would have to be our Strawberries & Cream Tea. It is a light blend of China and Ceylon teas enriched with dried strawberries giving a taste of smooth strawberries & cream. Enjoy it hot or serve it iced. This will match perfectly with the cinnamon and strawberry flavours of the muffin. You can purchase our 100g Pouch of our Strawberries & Cream Tea for $12.00 or a sample pack for $2.00.

Order Now

 All photography is copyright of Simply Tea.

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Triple Citrus & Poppy Seed Muffins......

It's been a while since I posted any recipes and it seems that the weeks just fly by without me realizing it. I got around to baking this weekend as I found i had some spare time to indulge myself with a bit of baking and photography.

Lemons from our lemon tree!

Citrus season is coming into full swing in our Orchard (if you can call it that). We have an assortment of citrus trees in our orchard dripping in fruit. There are lemons, limes, oranges, lemonade, and cumquat's (I think). I thought I would take advantage of this abundance of fruits and whip up some sore of deliciously citrus delight

.

I had an idea in my head of creating some sort of citrus muffin as they always come up a treat. Poppy seeds always compliment citrus well in baking so i thought lets go with a citrus poppy seed muffin. I added a bit of bang by combining the zest of lime, orange and lemon to create these Triple Citrus & Poppy seed Muffins.

Triple Citrus & Poppy Seed Muffins

{Download & Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

125g Butter
2 Tsp Lemon Zest
2 Tsp Lime Zest
2 Tsp Orange Zest
2/3 Cup Castor Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Cups Self Raising Flour
½ Cup Milk
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
2 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

Icing:
2 -2 ½ Cups Icing Sugar
3 Tbsp Butter
Juice of ½ Lemon
Juice of ½ Orange
Water

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 180 Degrees.
2. In a bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla essence, beat until combined.
3. Add sifted flour and add milk, zests and poppy seeds. Beat on medium speed until combined.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin papers and bake in oven for 15-20 min or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
5. Icing: In a bowl sift the icing sugar and add the juice of the lemon & orange. Stir to combine. Add the butter and whip with a whisk if needed to combine until smooth. Add water if the icing needs to be thinner or add more icing sugar if it needs thickening. Garnish with shredded coconut or a sprinkle of poppy seeds.

These are great to pop in lunch boxes for school lunches or even your own lunch box for work!

They are super zesty and very refreshing with a cuppa tea....... 

Simply Tea Selection

Early Grey - one of our classic tea's would be the perfect pairing with one of these Triple Citrus & Poppy Seed Muffins. Our Earl Grey is classically scented with natural Bergamot oil which gives a refreshing, lightly citrus flavour.

Order Now

Our Earl Grey tea is available in 100g Natural Pouches ($9.00) or 10g Sample Bags ($2.00).

Enjoy......

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~

Mini Apple Strudel's

I love the smell of freshly baked things especially in the morning. I use to work in a bakery and the smell of freshly baked breads and pastries was overwhelmingly delicious sometimes when i worked the morning shift! I did get use to the smells which was a bit sad as it didn't have the same appeal after a while as most things do.

I have many fond memories of working in the bakery and many fond memories of all the wonderful things i indulged in from the leftovers of the day.... Lamingtons, pies, mini pizza's, foccacia's, custard tarts, apple turnovers .... oh the list could go on and on! I can't believe I never turned into a house! Oh well the metabolism of a teenager gotta love it! One of the favourites of many people was the good old apple turnover... especially with cream!

My husband requested some Mini Apple Strudels one weekend and i thought i would try and whip a batch up as i never had made them before. This is how they turned out.....

They are very versatile and are perfect for brunch, afternoon tea or with custard as a dessert and why not whip them up this weekend for Mother's Day?? Make sure you check out our Mother's Day special at the end of this post!!

{Download & Print Recipe}

Mini Apple Strudel

Makes approx 9  Mini Strudels

Ingredients:

2 Sheets Puff Pastry
2  Granny Smith Apples, finely sliced
¼ cup Almond Meal
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Sultana
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg
Milk, for brushing
Raw Sugar, for sprinkling

Method:
1.    Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2.    Place 1 sheet of puff pastry on workbench. Cut sheet into 3 even strips. Repeat with other sheets. Cut each strip into 3 to create mini squares. Lightly brush edges of pastry with milk.
3.     Combine apple, almond meal, sugar, sultanas, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Spread one-quarter of the apple mixture over 1 pastry square, allowing a 3cm border at the edges.
4.    Place a square of pastry on top and crimp edges with a fork. Slash tops of pastry and brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar Repeat with remaining pastry and apple mixture.
5.    Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until pastry is crisp and golden.

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Mother's Day Specials

Yep it's that time of year again.... time to spoil the precious mum's and wives of this world!

Simply Tea has 20% off our Gift Packs to help you spoil your nearest and dearest. We have a range of packs to suit all tastes and budgets!

Check them out today.....

If that doesn't pick your fancy what about picking up a 100g Pouch of Tea?

It's healthy, great tasting and it doesn't break the bank.

We have 10% off our 100g Chai Tea & Simply Tea blends.

Oh and remember to whip up a batch of these strudels to spoil your loved ones with!

Visit Us At: The Simply Tea Shop ~ "For The Love Of Tea" ~