Category: Recipes

When I got back from my holiday I found waiting for me a parcel from Orgran, containing two boxes of their Buckwheat pancake mix for me to try.

Buckwheat flour, despite the name, is wheat and gluten free, is actually a seed, and a member of the rhubarb family, so good for anyone with coeliacs or people who avoid wheat or gluten (or if you want to stop being so reliant on wheat). The mix contains rice flour as well as buckwheat flour, plus raising agents, so all you have to do is add liquid and egg. You can make these pancakes with eggs, milk and water, or make them vegan by using egg replacer and dairy free milk, and instructions for both ways are on the packet.

Last weekend I tried them with eggs and almond milk and they cooked so well. I kept the batter thick for smaller american style pancakes, and had them with some watermelon, peanut butter and cherry jam (and I think a little maple syrup – looks like it in the picture!). They were delicious and so easy to make- I was so impressed.

This morning after my run I tried the vegan version- I have their egg replacer in my cupboard anyway (for if I have not been given eggs from my Mum for a while) so I used that, and Alpro light soya milk. I made the batter more runny, and so ended up making bigger almost crepe style pancakes. I served them with a nectarine that I cooked in a little coconut oil and with some coconut sugar. Amazing. I am still working through the first box, but I can see these becoming a weekend staple for me. I can’t decide which way I prefer, although they are the easiest big pancakes I have ever made- they flipped so easily.

I was also sent some liquid Better Stevia. They also sent me a recipe for peanut butter cookies, but unfortunately it needed powdered stevia and not liquid, and although I looked on the internet I was not 100% sure how to sub them (many sites warned at how sweet it was- 300x sweeter than sugar!) so I found this recipe for chocolate pb cookies instead. Now, I have had a few things containing stevia before, although not on purpose. When I was in America a few years ago I bought some iced tea which turned out to have stevia in there, and I found it had a really weird after taste, sort of metallic or something. But then last year I was given some chocolate sweetened with Stevia for my birthday (from the lovely Lucy) and it was really good- I wonder if the US products I tried had just too much in there?

The recipe I had chosen looked simple enough (peanut butter, eggs, cocoa powder, coconut, coconut sugar, a few tbs flour and a few other add ins), and only needed 12 drops of the stevia so I was hoping they would not be too sweet.

I shared one with Andy (I am taking the rest to work, but wanted to check they tasted OK first)- they were good, although I could not taste the coconut very much so if I make them again I could add more, or maybe sprinkle some on the top.

Finally I have sliced up the cake ready for Sunday tea- this is the Cherry, Almond and Marzipan cake, with slivered almonds sprinkled on the top for some crunch, plus a dusting of icing sugar to add to the prettiness.

I am also pretty excited as the Sainsbury’s blogger community sent me some tickets to the Cake and Bake show, so next Sunday I am heading there with some friends to marvel at all the cake and baking accessories.

Have you tried buckwheat or Stevia before? What did you think? Also, what else can I do with the liquid Stevia?

I have been having a bit of an obsession with cherries and almonds recently. First up I have been loving making a cherry cake and amping it up by adding almond extract, flaked almonds and little bits of marzipan on the top.

I used this recipe and added some flaked almonds to make it even better!

The other day I bought a packet of cherries from Sainsbury’s, and after using some of them in some cherry and almond scones, I decided the rest of them would go in some cookies. I thought an oatmeal raisin base would be the best one to go for, so I looked up in the trusty Hummingbird book for ideas.

This recipe made about 16 huge cookies.

Ingredients:

135g butter/ pure spread

80g caster sugar

80g soft brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract

150g plain flour

85g oats

1/2 tsp bicarb

85g dried cherries

30g flaked almonds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170C and line two large trays with baking paper.

Cream together the butter and sugars. Beat the egg and add this in, along with the almond extract.

Stir in the flour, oats and bicarb, and finally add in the cherries and almonds.

Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto the baking trays- they will spread when you bake them to leave big gaps.

(That is two cookies on a saucer, just to show the size of them- huge!)

Bake for around 12 minutes- you want them to be browned at the edges but pale in the centre as they will continue to firm up on the tray once they are out of the oven. Leave to harden on the baking tray for 10 mins before removing them and putting them on a wire rack to cool.

Took the cookies along with the little nutella cookies around to Andy’s parents. 

I am thinking I should try a bakewell tart at some point- I never liked them when I was younger, I think I found the almond flavour too overpowering (even though I have always loved marzipan), plus I don’t really like pastry, but the cherry and almond combination is a winner for me at the moment!

Do you find you like certain flavours at different times of the year? When I was out for tea with a friend there was a cinnamon flavour tea and she said that cinnamon belonged in the autumn and winter time, which I suppose is true.