Chocolate – Harriet's Hamper

Gluten Free, Low Sugar Choc Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I hate to admit it, but I’m an emotional eater. Even the slightest bit of stress triggers my sugar cravings. This is one of the main reasons behind experimenting with sugar-free or low-sugar treats – so I don’t have to punish myself or feel incredibly guilty if I do give into the cravings.

I never used to like peanut butter – I mean I still wouldn’t eat it out of the jar – but I’ve used it a lot in Asian-style cooking and decided to try baking with it too. The majority of commercial peanut butters contain a lot of crap – high in sugar, fat and oil. I decided to try a healthier, low sugar option and I found that Mayver’s Smooth Peanut Butter ticked all the boxes. It’s all-natural with no added sugar (only 0.8g of sugar per 1 tablespoon) and dairy, gluten and cholesterol free. PLUS it was the same price as most of the standard peanut butters so it just made sense!

With my low-sugar or sugar-free recipes I replace the sugar with granulated natural sweetener (Natvia is my current preference). I feel that artificial sweeteners are a) too sweet and b) full of weird and wonderful chemicals that I would just rather steer clear of ( I also think they may be linked to many of my stomach issues in the past but we’ll leave that for another day!)

These cookies are super easy to make and bake in around 12-15 minutes. They will come out feeling way too soft, but harden up as they cool.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 Cup Granulated Nativa (or any granulated sweetener)
1/2 Cup Butter (Melted)
3/4 Cup Peanut Butter (Room Temperature)
1 Egg (Beaten)
1 1/2 Cups Gluten Free Self-Raising Flour Mix (I used Orgran)
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder (I used McKenzie’s)
Handful Choc Chips

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line baking tray with baking paper.
2. Add melted butter, beaten egg, vanilla essence and Natvia into a bowl and combine.
3. Add in the peanut butter and combine.
4. Sprinkle in the choc chips and mix throughout.
5. Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well to form a soft dough.
6. Measure out a tablespoon of the dough and roll into a ball.
7. Place the ball onto the baking tray and press down lightly on top.
8. Repeat above until all the dough has been used – placing balls around 3cm apart.
9. Bake in the middle of the oven for around 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
10. Allow to cool before enjoying!

Are you a fan of low-sugar or sugar-free baking? Do you feel it has helped you to manage your sugar cravings? I’d love to hear from you!

Happy baking! 🙂

Gluten Free Vanilla Choc Chip Muffins

Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s wedding crept up on me out of nowhere and I realised I just had to celebrate somehow! Even here in Australia we haven’t been able to escape the mass media coverage of this global event (and all its dramas) but it seems the celebrations are a little less sought after on the southern side of the equator.

So, a less extravagant way to celebrate is by baking of course! And who doesn’t like choc chip muffins? I decide on plain vanilla muffins with the choc chips as I wanted to top with some colourful icing, so I didn’t want the muffins to be too sweet (but not too plain either!)

The result after baking (a bit browner than I’d like!)

This recipe should make 10-12 smallish muffins (or large cupcakes) however it depends on how generous you are with the portions and how much of the batter you eat during the baking process (oops).

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 Cups Self-Raising Gluten Free Flour (I used Coles brand)
1/2 Cup Almond Meal/Ground Almonds
3/4 Cup Caster Sugar (you can replace with natural granulated sweetener)
180g Butter (softened)
1 tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Handful of Chocolate Chips, dark, milk or white (I used Coles brand milk chocolate buttons)

TIPS:
Always check the ingredients when buying for gluten free recipes. Make sure they are 100% gluten free as you don’t want to poison yourself or others!

METHOD:
1) Cream together the softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract.
2) Combine the eggs one at a time.
3) Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients, adding the chocolate chips in last.
4) If you’re using a muffin tray, line the tray with a bit of butter or light cooking oil. Otherwise spoon your mixture into muffin or large cupcake cases.
5) Bake in the middle of the oven for around 12-15 minutes at 180°C.

TOP TIPS:
1) I always taste my batter. No, I don’t recommend that you do this since we are now encouraged to steer away from raw eggs, however I think it helps when you’re unsure if you’ve missed something or added in too much/too little of something.
2) Gluten free cake batter needs to be more moist than your standard cake batter. This is to ensure the cakes aren’t too dry and crumbly after baking. If your batter feels too thick, loosen it with a bit of milk. It should be a slightly thick batter but not too dry.
3) Fill your muffin/cupcake cases/trays to just over half-way if you’re planning on decorating your muffins. Filling to half way will ensure an even rise with a relatively flat top, perfect for icing!
4) Don’t add too much baking powder as the muffins may over-rise!
5) Bake in the middle of the oven. I find that even in fan ovens the top of the oven gets way hotter than the bottom. Cook in the middle and keep an eye on your muffins to make sure you don’t over-bake them (I always get distracted!)

TO DECORATE:
The main reason I didn’t make these muffins sugar-free was because I wanted to decorate them with icing and I haven’t quite mastered the sugar-free icing yet (to be honest I haven’t mastered the standard one either!)

INGREDIENTS:
2-3 Cups Icing Sugar
1/3 Cup Butter
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Drop of Natural Food Dye (I used blue and red)
Splash of Milk (if icing is too thick)

METHOD:
1) Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl and combine with butter and vanilla extract.
2) Separate the icing into separate bowls and add food dye (I had a bowl of the basic white icing, a bowl of blue and a bowl of red).
3) Add the nozzle into your piping bag, then add your different coloured icing into sections, depending on how you want your icing to look. I did a stripe of white, stripe of blue and stripe of red (trying to keep the white in the middle to avoid purple!)
NOTE: You want your icing to be quite stiff to hold its shape!
4) Make sure your muffins are completely cooled then decorate your muffins as desired!

I made my icing way too soft so it didn’t hold its shape well at all! Try and make your icing quite hard if you want it to stay in shape on top of your muffins. Otherwise, the end result wasn’t too shabby and they tasted delicious!

Hope you all enjoyed watching the Royal Wedding! We certainly did 🙂

If you’ve got any top icing tips I’d love to hear them in the comments below!

Happy baking! 🙂

Trekking at Lake Wivenhoe

Determined to make the most of the weekends, I’ve been on a quest to find interesting treks and places to visit just outside of Brisbane city. This weekend, we decided to trek around Lake Wivenhoe and discover the nearby historic town of Esk.

Esk is a small countryside town north-west of Brisbane city, on the edge of the rather grand Lake Wivenhoe. Known for its charming cafes and antique stores, Esk reminisces of a by-gone era. Driving from Brisbane, we took the M2 then A17, the latter providing incredible views of Lake Wivenhoe as we made our way to Esk.

We decided to stop in Esk for breakfast before heading back to our trek (which we’d already driven past). We stumbled across Nash Gallery and Cafe, drawn in by its historic colonial architecture.

The cafe had a few gluten free options on the menu but I got distracted by the mouth-watering fresh gluten-free cakes on display at the counter.

I opted for a flourless, gluten-free chocolate cake and a chai latte with almond milk since I wasn’t overly hungry. The flourless cake was decadent, chocolately and moist just as it should be. They also had gluten-free chocolate brownies and a pear and pistachio cake amongst others!

Delicious flourless gluten-free chocolate cake

We then headed south to Lake Winvehoe for the Wivenhoe Hill trek. The trek consists of 4 trails: black, blue, red and white. We decided that a 9km trek would be sufficient for the day, so we started on the blue trail, planning to make our way back to the car park via the black trail.

Map of the Wivenhoe Hill trails (taken at the end of the Blue Trail)

The beginning of the Blue Trail was a little odd – a seemingly abandoned tarmac road that eventually looped back on itself – turning into a dead end. We then realised that the trail continued up and away from the road and into dense bushland.

Beginning of the Blue Trail from the car park

This is where the Blue Trail got a bit more difficult. You could definitely tell that the trail we really designed for people on horses more than people on foot but it made for an interesting trek all the same.

Overgrown trails, an array of wild birds and a challenging route proved for an interesting trek on the Blue Trail. The only disappointment was the lack of views over Lake Wivenhoe. The trail got so close to the waters edge and yet the views of the lake were constantly hidden by foliage. If you’re looking for picturesque views of the lake, this trek isn’t for you!

The only view of Lake Wivenhoe from the trail

The Black Trail returned to the abandoned tarmac road which made for a rather hot return journey. Although the majority of the Blue Trail was under the cover of the trees, the Black Trail was open to the elements and the harsh heat of the midday sun – remember your hat, sunscreen and water!

Driving over the dam at Lake Wivenhoe – finally, views of the lake!

If you’re looking for a challenging and quiet trek, the Wivenhoe Hill trails are a good start, with an array of different trails and distances to mix and match. Just bear in mind the lack of facilities and the difficult nature of some of the trails. If you’re simply after an enjoyable day out not too far from Brisbane city, we highly recommend visiting Esk and Lake Wivenhoe, even if its just for the views.

Have you recently been on any other treks around Lake Wivenhoe? I’d love to hear any recommendations!

Happy reading! 🙂

A day out at Bradgate Park

Bradgate Park is one of those places we visited often as kids and fills me full of nostalgia every time I visit. Located in the heart of the Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, just 20 minutes from our family home, Bradgate Park makes for a great day out especially during the warmth of summer, although we often braved the cold and visited on Boxing Day as a family tradition.

The park itself is thought to date back to the 11th century where it was first mentioned as a deer park, covering around 850 acres of countryside in the Charnwood Forest. The vast open spaces made it ideal for hunting deer and the park was eventually enclosed with wooden fences and ditches in around the 12th-13th century. Today, the majority of the park is designed for deer to roam freely, although they tend to steer clear of the more traversed areas.

Throughout its history, Bradgate Park was acquired by several noble families and houses, the most famous of which was the Grey family who retained the park for around 500 years. The Grey family constructed Bradgate House as a private residence inside the park, whose construction was thought to be completed in the 1500s and whose ruins can still be seen today. Bradgate House was thought to be the home or at the least the birth place of Lady Jane Grey during the Grey family’s acquisition. The great grand-daughter of Henry VIII, Lady Jane Grey and was famously known as the ‘Nine Days Queen’ – quickly deposed of her rule and subsequently executed for treason in 1554 by the Roman Catholic Queen Mary.

Bradgate Park is a fine example of historic English countryside with vast open spaces covered in dense fern and bracken in the summer, surrounded by pockets of woodland, scrub, rocky hills and outcrops with the River Lin gently flowing through. Some of the twisted and eerie oak trees are thought to date back almost 500 years, although some have unfortunately suffered from recent fires and have been left blackened and charred. If you’re lucky enough, you may spot some of the park’s famous deer. Known for being shy creatures, the deer are often spotted in herds peacefully grazing away at a distance from the visiting crowds.

My last visit to Bradgate Park was in March of this year, just after the first round of snow from the ‘Beast from the East’. Desperate to get out of the house, we headed to Bradgate Park on a fine but brisk sunny day. Since we visited mid-week, we missed the usual crowds of visitors and enjoyed a tranquil stroll before the freezing winds took hold.

We decided to grab a spot of lunch in the surrounding village of Newtown Linford at a charming country pub aptly named The Bradgate. With its cosy decor and smoky open fires (not lit when we visited), The Bradgate creates a delightful atmosphere fitting with the history of the park and surrounding areas.

Luckily for me, their lunch menu consisted of an array of gluten-free options. Already on a break from my somewhat healthy Australian diet, I opted for a gluten-free chicken burger with a side of skinny fries and a glass of my favourite Riesling (why not). Dad opted for a classic beef burger which he was pretty impressed with – a good sign since he’s usually somewhat of a food critic! The gluten-free chicken burger was delicious and the bun held together for the most part. The crispy fries came in a generous portion and were the perfect accompaniment.

The Bradgate: Gluten-free chicken burger and fries

An avid fan of ale, Dad ordered a pint of Tiger Copper Ale which is brewed locally by Everards of Leicestershire (you learn something knew everyday!) Unfortunately the ale is not gluten-free, though perhaps they will add an option to their range soon.

Tiger Copper Ale brewed right here in Leicestershire

The great thing about The Bradgate is it celebrates local produce, even listing where it sources some of its ingredients on a large display in the dining area. They have an open stone-baked pizza oven for fresh pizza cooked right before your eyes (and yes they do gluten-free pizza bases!) Continuing with the indulgent theme, we ordered desserts to share – one chocolate mousse cake and one chocolate chip ice-cream sundae (ensure you specify gluten-free when ordering). The chocolate chip sundae was to die for and although the mousse on the cake was creamy and delicious the base was a bit too nutty and bitter for my liking.

The Bradgate: Indulgent Gluten-free Desserts

Overall, we had a splendid day out enjoying the very best the Leicestershire countryside has to offer.

If you’re planning on visiting Bradgate Park, be sure to check out opening times and park announcements here.

Happy reading! 🙂

Valentine’s Gluten Free Chocolate Trifle

Instead of going out for a fancy meal this Valentine’s Day, we decided to make one for ourselves. Dessert consisted of a delicious chocolate trifle with some added fruit to cut through the richness of the chocolate and cream. The recipe below can be adapted to an easier version by simply buying pre-made gluten free shortbread and cake. However, if you have the time, making your own is much more satisfying.

INGREDIENTS:
For the chocolate cake (cupcakes):
15g gluten free self-raising flour (I use Doves Farm)
15g cocoa powder
30g caster sugar
30g butter or margarine
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 tbsp milk (if the mixture is too thick)

For the shortbread (optional):
175g plain flour
75g caster sugar
175g butter
75g polenta
2 tbsp milk (optional)

For the layers:
1/2 tin of nectarines in syrup
2-3 ripe strawberries
75g melted chocolate
100g soft cream cheese
150ml double cream

METHOD:
1) Preheat the oven to 180C. Make the cupcakes by combining the ingredients together to make a thick cake batter. Pour into individual cupcake cases and bake in the oven at 180C for around 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack or plate to cool.
2) Turn the oven down to 150C. Make the shortbread by combining the ingredients (except the milk) in a bowl and rubbing together with your fingers to form a crumb. If the mixture does not combine to form a ball of dough, add a couple of tablespoons of milk until the dough is just wet enough to form a ball. Grease a round cake tin and press the dough into the tin. Bake in the oven for around 25-30 minutes at 150C until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3) Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water or microwave on a low heat until just melted. Stir the melted chocolate into the cream cheese and set aside. Whip the double cream until it forms soft peaks (best achieved with an electric mixer).
4) Start to layer your trifle. You can either layer into individual glasses (I got mine for 99p from a charity shop!) or you can use a larger glass dish to showcase the different layers.
Here’s how I layered mine:
– Slice the cupcakes in half horizontally and place at the bottom
– Add a layer of nectarines and some of the juices (or add a tablespoon of orange juice)
– Add a layer of the chocolatey cream cheese
– Add a layer of sliced strawberries
– Another layer of cupcake
– Another layer of nectarines
– More chocolate cream cheese
– Top with a layer of whipped double cream and crumbed shortbread with a heart-shaped strawberry slice.

This recipe made 3 glasses of trifle but could’ve stretched to 4 by adding more thinner layers.

Best served chilled by candlelight!