Have you decided on pudding for Christmas Dinner yet? It should definitely feature IceDelight!

I'm in my local Real Foods store in Edinburgh on a regular basis and a few weeks ago they asked if I would like to do another product review for them (I did one back in June which you can see here).  It was such fun last time I was delighted to have another go.  Boy am I glad I said yes! Would I review IceDelight for them?  Yes of course!

I went along to the store to collect my IceDelight which comes in tiny little 100ml tubs and larger 500mls.  I was expecting some little ones....what I got was the selection you see here and wow we have had fun trying out all sorts of things with these yummy treats.

IceDelight is made at Belhaven Fruit Farm by the lovely Mark Rennie who I had the pleasure of meeting several years ago at one of the food festivals in Edinburgh.  Belhaven Fruit Farm is just down the coast from us here in Edinburgh, near Dunbar where they grow fabulous fruits for pick your own, and sell their yummy treats in the shop.  (I can highly recommend them for strawberry picking next year!)

IceDelight itself is dairy free, egg free, gluten free and fat free, and made without artificial colours or flavours.  They taste great and even count towards your 5 a day! The five flavours are Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackcurrant, Gooseberry & Elderflower and Lemon.  In various taste tests with the family we had no outright winner.  I love the Raspberry for its straightforward flavour, Mr Robb liked the Gooseberry and Elderflower which we hadn't tasted before, our eldest enjoys Strawberry or Blackcurrant the most, and surprisingly the littlest loves the lemon, although couldn't make up her mind on her favourite.

We went a little bit Ice Delight wild here and I added it to puddings such as apple crumble, we had straightforward cones, dairy free knickerbocker glories, strawberry daiquiris, IceDelight tarts, ice cream cakes and more.

Brown sugar mini cupcakes (vegan) topped with Strawberry, Raspberry and Lemon flavour IceDelight

So what will we be having for pudding for Christmas Dinner this year? I still don't know, but it will feature a healthy helping of IceDelight!

Cheers! An awesome Strawberry daiquiri made with Rum and Strawberry IceDelight!

Apple Crumble (vegan, gluten free and nut free)

At this time of year my thoughts turn to comfort foods, and the use of seasonal staples such as apples and pears.

Apple Crumble and some amazing Raspberry IceDelight
(no colourings here - just naturally pink from the fresh raspberries!)

This week I've been playing with a wonderful selection of IceDelight flavours and I have plenty of other delights for you in the next few days along with a review of IceDelight for Real Foods. However, today I've been making Apple Crumble, one of the simplest and most comforting of desserts. I make mine completely plain, but you can add cinnamon for a bit of an apple pie style or any other autumnal fruit to boost the flavour.

I used wheat flour to make mine this time, but I have in the past used a plain gluten free flour mix and it has worked beautifully well, as it makes the topping lovely and short and light. I also didn't have enough Bramley apples so I used a selection of five from the fruit bowl today and no-one complained!

Apple Crumble

Ingredients

100g Solid Dairy Free Margarine (I use block Stork)
75g   Golden Sugar
175g Plain Flour (Wheat flour or Gluten Free)

3 to 4 cooking apples such as Bramley (or 5 eating apples)
Another teaspoon or two of sugar depending on how tat the apples are

Method

1. Put the margarine, sugar and flour in a Classic Batter Bowl.

2. Using a Pastry Blender, or your fingers, mix together until you have a sandy, fine textured crumb.

3. Peel and slice the apples and place in the bottom of a Mini Baker with a sprinkle of sugar.

4. Cover the apples with the crumble mix and give the surface some texture to give more crunch once baked.

5. Bake at 180°C for 40-50 mins until golden brown and crisp.

6. Serve with your favourite ice cream style dessert.  Our favourite at the moment is IceDelight from a farm just along the road at Belhaven in Dunbar. It complements the flavour of the apples beautifully and lifts the pudding into something really special.

Vegan hot dog rolls! (egg free, dairy free, nut free, soya free)

I've been meaning to try these little guys for ages having seen them on pinterest ages ago. The original idea came from Taste of Japan's blog and so I had a crack at it for the @sundaybakeclub on twitter whose theme this week is animals.




The recipe is super easy and I used a very basic bread mix:

225g bread flour
1 1/8 tsp yeast
3/4tsp salt
140 mls water

Raisins for eyes / nose
Olive oil for brushing

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and knead for ten minutes until you have a smooth dough. Or be lazy like me and chuck it in a mixer with a dough hook or the pizza dough setting in a bread maker.

2. Divide into six equal parts and roll each one into an oval.

3. Place on a flat baking stone such as the Rectangle stone to rise for around 20 mins covered with oiled clingfilm.

4. After 20 minutes, cut a slice at each side to create the ears and smooth them to a rounded tip. Add raisins for the eyes and nose (push these well into the dough as they pop out again as it bakes).

Is it me, or does this little guy look like Droopy Dawg?

5. Brush with olive oil using the silicone basting brush and bake at 200°C for 15 - 20 mins until golden.

Serve with hot dogs or anything else you fancy!

Apple Crumble cupcakes (Gluten free, egg free, dairy free, nut free, soya free and vegan!)

These cupcakes were created as an entry for a Pampered Chef competition for their consultants. The challenge was to make a cupcake that could be cooked for Party Hour which is a super quick show and allows guests and host to enjoy a Pampered Chef show even if they are pushed for time.  I went for an allergy free cupcake as I feel that the recipe should be available to as many people as possible, and just because you have an allergy doesn't mean you shouldn't have a cupcake!

Don't be put off by the list of ingredients. It may seem a lot but it is just a bit of repetition in the crumble topping, and dairy free, egg free cooking needs a bit of extra oomph sometimes!

 Crumble Topping

¾ cup Gluten free self raising flour

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegan margarine, melted

Cupcakes

1 ½ cups Gluten free self raising flour

½ cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

½ cup rice milk

½ cup vegetable oil

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 apples

100g Jar Apple Sauce, divided into 2 tbsp and 12 tsp

Icing

4 tbsp icing sugar

1 tbsp water

Ready rolled white icing

1.   Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Place cupcake cases in the 12-cup Muffin Pan.  Into the 2L Stainless Mixing Bowl, measure out the Crumble topping ingredients using an Easy Read Measuring Cup and the Adjustable Measuring Spoon teaspoon.  Mix together with two forks until the topping is crumbly and has small lumps in it. Set aside.

2.   Into the 4L Stainless Mixing Bowl measure out the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a Small Batter Bowl whisk together the milk, oil, vinegar, 2 tbsp apple sauce, and vanilla using a Stainless Whisk, until frothy.

3.   Wedge the apples with the Apple Wedger and then chop into fine chunks with a FoodChopper. Add to the flour mix.

4.   Pour the wet mix into the dry flour mixture and mix until just together with a Mix N Scraper.  Quickly Scoop into the paper cases using a Large Scoop.

Sprinkle the crumble topping over the cupcakes and press down slightly to make it stick.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. 

5.   Meanwhile prepare the icing by mixing the icing and water together and scooping into a Decorator Bottle with the round nozzle attached.  Use the apple cutter from the Creative Cutter Set stamp out 12 apple shapes from the ready rolled icing.

6.   Remove cupcakes from the oven and leave to sit for a few minutes before removing from the stone.

7.   Carefully remove the cupcakes from the stone (see chef’s tip) and place on Stackable Cooling Rack.  While the cupcakes are still warm you can drizzle icing over in random patterns, add a teaspoon of apple sauce to the top of each one and place an apple shape on the top.

Chef’s Tip: Use a micro scraper to ease the cupcakes out of the wells without spilling too much crumble topping everywhere.

If you don't want to top with the apple shape then simply add the drizzled icing and stop there.

Raspberry Mallow Crispies (egg, dairy, gluten, soya and nut free)

These yummy Mallow Crispies make a great allergy friendly party food.

I love this recipe - it is the ultimate in children's party food for those with allergies as you can make it free of the big four and no-one is any the wiser.  I came across it as I was wading through many different recipe books at the beginning of my allergy mum journey, and I fixed on it as simple and easy and fitting our requirements of no egg, dairy or wheat at the time.  I had almost forgotten about it in the experimentation with cakes and biscuits, but I came across some marshmallows at the back of my cupboard yesterday and I suddenly remembered about it.

The recipe comes from Alice Sherwood's Allergy-Free Cookbook, which covers a multitude of allergies but always annoys me in the difficulty of having to swap in different things depending on the allergy, as I have to do at least two and it gets complicated!  However, don't let that put you off, as some of the recipes are great.

If you are making it gluten free, make sure your crispies are free from barley, as Kellogg's are not, and are therefore not gluten free.  Try something like these ones from Kallo.

The recipe is nearly identical to the original recipe you may remember from your childhood for rice krispies treats, but this has a wee added extra of some raspberry jam to pep it up!  If you don't fancy that then omit it and you'll have original flavour ones.

Check the marshmallows - some contain egg!  And if you want to make this vegan use veggy marshmallows, a near impossible feat in the UK without spending a fortune, but it can be done.

I like to decorate mine with a little dairy free chocolate and I love Moo Free, although its not guaranteed nut or soya free, so you may want to give it a pass.

Raspberry Mallow Crispies
Egg free, dairy free, gluten free and nut free

Ingredients

115g    marshmallows
55g      vegan margarine  I use Pure Spread Sunflower
4 tbsp   raspberry jam
140g    puffed rice cereal

Dairy free chocolate for drizzling if you fancy - watch out for nuts and soya in the chocolate though.

Method

Oil your Square Baker or Medium Bar Pan lightly to start with, with a nut free oil. (Or any baking tin about 23x23 cm)

1.  Put the marshmallows, vegan margarine and jam in a large saucepan and heat gently.  Stir constantly with a mix 'n scraper so it doesn't catch on the bottom and burn.

2.  Once everything has melted, bring to the boil for one minute, stirring all the time.

3.  Stir in the crispies and stir quickly until everything is well coated.

4.  Scrape the mix out of the pan and into the square baker, or medium bar pan for a shallower crispie.  Press down firmly with the back of the mix 'n scraper, wetted slightly to stop it sticking if you need to.

5.  Mark out your squares (I get 16 from the square baker and 24 from the medium bar pan).

6.  Leave to cool and place in the fridge for two hours to set.  Drizzle with a little dairy free chocolate if you wish, and cut into the squares with a nice sharp knife such as our Santoku knife.

7.  This stores well for three days in an airtight container.  I'm not sure about any longer as its always all eaten by then!

Review for Real Foods: Raspberry Maca Kale Chips

Yes you read that right!  Raspberry Maca Raw Dehydrated KALE Chips!

Real Foods, the wonderfully friendly people who help to fill my kitchen cupboards, fridge and freezer with egg and dairy free treats, invited me to do a review of one of their new products.  Of course, everyone loves a freebie, and I rather liked the idea of being a tasting guru, so I said yes.  Apparently I have talented taste buds!  (Could this be a new career?)

Having been truly fabulous and checked all of the allergies we have in the household, Real Foods invited me into the Broughton Street store to collect our tasting product.  I took my littlest person with me, as anything I taste, the family will probably want a bit too.  She is allergic to eggs and dairy, and the reason my blog is peppered with recipes without these ingredients.

We spent half an hour in the store wandering around and picking up goodies she could eat.  So, not only did we come home with our interesting Kale Chips, but we also came home with Wot No Dairy Cherry flavour pudding to try, Willie's Colombian Black Cacao, Iced Delight (Blackcurrant flavour), Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour, Moo Free Chocolate, Biona fruity teddy bears, Sheese Strong Cheddar style, and Real Foods own brand, raw Cocoa butter. That was some haul!

So, the Kale chips you ask?

Well they are really rather good!  Kale is everywhere at the moment.  I've been reading about it on Dreena Burton's Plant Powered Kitchen recently as well as in Veg News this month. And most of the recipes are savoury not sweet, but this works as a taste sensation!

The Raspberry Maca Kale Chips are made by inSpiral and are Raw, Vegan, Dairy free, Wheat Free, Soya Free, Low GI and have no added nuts (but the packaging does note it is produced in a nutty environment).  As you can see the ingredients are Kale, Raspberries, Raw Cacao Butter, Coconut Palm Sugar and Maca.

I had to go and look up Maca as I'd never heard of it before!  Apparently its related to radishes and can be used as a dietary supplement to help with all sorts of physical ailments.  Kale is rich in antioxidants, calcium and vitamin A, a big plus for my little people.

The tastings began when we got home and I cracked open the package for everyone to have a piece.  The verdict from the littlest person (age 4) was two thumbs up!  The older one (age 6) needed very little persuasion to try it, I think enticed by the raspberry seeds, and she came back for more.  Hubby likes the "green-ness" of the taste and preferred the bigger bits so he got more of the kale aftertaste, while me, with my sweet tooth, I enjoyed the smaller pieces that had a more raspberry taste to them.  There is an interesting texture, perhaps provided by the cacao which gives a smooth feel with the crispiness at the same time.

Friends visited, and I pounced on them with my little pot of kale.  What did they think?  Another six year old came back for more, and her mum liked it too, although she did make an observation that was my one negative too.  It makes you feel like you need to floss!

All in all successful, and we don't have much left now.  I wouldn't sit and eat a huge amount at one time, but as an accompaniment to other snacks it works well.  Raw veg and hummus, maybe with a side of Kale Chips? Crackers and cheese/sheese with grapes and a few Kale Chips? Hubby suggested it as a topper for ice cream! Or just something to nibble on when you want something tasty and different that fits with just about any healthy eating or diet regime I can think of.

The kids just couldn't leave it alone!

Coming soon.......to a blog near you!

I'm excited by the fun I've had this week doing a wee taste test for Real Foods one of my local Healthfood shops in Edinburgh.  They were kind enough to give me a new product to try.  Hear about my adventures soon....

They can be found online if you are not in the Edinburgh area: http://www.realfoods.co.uk/

Stoneware Farmhouse Loaf

I have been meaning to post this recipe for quite some time and its been sitting in my drafts folder awaiting a photo.  I always forget to take a photo of it and it gets eaten too quickly!  However, having been asked for the recipe I paid attention today and got a picture.  So here is my basic white loaf, egg and dairy free and vegan too.

You'll notice I use olive oil in this recipe.  It is my favourite oil to use in bread as it gives a very subtle flavour, and a good structure to the bread.  Many recipes ask for butter and milk powder in them.  I ignore the milk powder - dreadful stuff full of preservatives and things for a start! And I simply substitute any butter with my favourite olive oil.

Farmhouse Loaf - Perfect for the Stoneware loaf pan!

Ingredients
475g Strong White Bread Flour
1 1/4 tsp fast action yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
275ml warm water

Method
1. Put the flour in a classic batter bowl. Add salt, sugar, yeast and stir.

2. Add the oil and then the water gradually to make a soft dough.

3. Knead well on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic (or bung it in a mixer with a dough hook if you have one - just watch it doesn't march across the work surface!)

4. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with lightly oiled cling film (or put on the lid) for 45 mins or until double the size.

5. Heat the oven to 200°C.

6. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead for a minute.

7. Grease the sides of the loaf pan lightly with a little veg oil (for the first few times you use it) and put the dough in.

8. Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise for up to 30 mins.

9. Bake for about 30 mins till golden brown and makes a hollow sound when tapped on top.

10. Leave to cool in the loaf pan for about 5 mins then remove to a cooling rack using oven gloves.

Watch out because the loaf pan retains lots of heat for ages and can still give you a nasty burn after the five minutes cooling.

Toffee Apple Tart (egg and dairy free, vegan)

I first tried this recipe back in the Autumn of 2011, and on reflection it probably is quite appropriate for that time of year, however I had guests last week and was looking for an easy make ahead tart.  Plus, I had masses of apples!

The original recipe came from the lovely Ruth Clemens at The Pink Whisk and can be found here. As we don't do dairy and eggs I adapted the pastry and used my Mum's tried and tasted recipe for my very favourite shortcrust pastry.  I also added a little more cinnamon as I love the warmth of the flavour coming through the apples.

My guests for lunch were my fabulous brother and his gorgeous partner.  My brother happens to be a professional photographer and he insisted on taking a photo for me. (It does look so much more professional than mine, but I'm learning!)  So thank you Hamish for some amazing photos and lovely company while we ate. You can see more of Hamish's work at HCampbell Photography.

Ingredients

Pastry

150g plain flour

85g non dairy margarine (I used block Stork)

1 tbsp sugar

2-3 tbsp water, as much as the dough requires to come together

Filling

70g fresh breadcrumbs (2 slices of bread)

1 tsp cinnamon

3 apples - I used a mix of bramley and braeburn but most tart apples will do!

200g demerara sugar

50ml water

10g non dairy margarine

1tsp vinegar

1 tbsps golden syrup

I used an 8 inch tart pan, which I greased a little before putting in the pastry, but I reckon this would translate brilliantly into mini tarts in the new Mini tart pans.

Method

1.  In a food processor, pulse the flour and margarine together until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. (You can do this the old fashioned way with your hands or a pastry blender if need be).

2.  Add the sugar and pulse to blend it in.

3.  Remove the mixture from the processor and add to a classic batter bowl.  Mix in 2 tbsp of cold water and mix to bring the dough together.  If it is still crumbly add another tablespoon of water. Squeeze the dough into a lump of dough and allow to rest. Put it in the fridge in the batter bowl if it is warm in the kitchen.

4. Make the breadcrumbs by adding the bread to the processor and pulsing (a little of the crust isn't going to do any harm mixed in!).  Once finely chopped, add the tsp of cinnamon and pulse again to combine.

5. Pre heat the oven to 180°C.  Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface (I love the flexible cutting mats for this.)

6.  Lift the pastry gently on the rolling pin, and lift it over the tart pan.  Push the pastry into the sides and down into the bottom.  If it tears just use a little from the extra at the edges to patch it up.  Trim the edges off cleanly.

7.  Line the tart case with baking parchment and dried rice or baking beans.  Bake for 15 mins, then remove the beans and paper (pour them onto a tray to cool, not back in their pot straight away!) and put the tart case back in the oven or around 5 mins till its a light golden brown and firm on the base.

8.  While the tart cools a little peel your apples and then use an apple wedger to core and wedge them.  Then cut them into small chunks as illustrated in the pictures.

9.  Pour the breadcrumbs into the tart case  and spread them out evenly, then add the apple chunks on top.

10. Place the demerara sugar, water, margarine, vinegar and golden syrup in a pan and gently heat it to melt everything together.  Cook until the sugar dissolves and there are no grainy bits obvious, stirring all the time.

11. Pour the sauce over the apples, covering them all.

12. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the apples are beginning to brown lightly. Then remove and cool on a stackable cooling rack.

I served it naked with no accompaniments, but ice-cream or any kind of cream would go down very well!

Toffee Apple Tart - a teaser.....

I've been feeding people again.  It seems that is what I'm good at! I fed them Toffee Apple Tart today.  Recipe coming soon....

Caravan Biscuits for the holidays! (Dairy free, egg free, vegan and can be gluten free)

This recipe is the result of my mum clipping recipes in the 1970's.  She is pretty sure this one originally came from the fabulous people at Good Housekeeping, and its served us well over the years!  (We don't know why they are called Caravan biscuits though! Any ideas, please let me know?)

These biscuits, or cookies if you prefer, are slightly crunchy, chewy in the middle and full of knobbly oaty bits.  Naturally vegan with the use of vegan margarine, they can also be gluten free if you use gluten free flour and add a 1/4 tsp xanthan gum.

Chuck a few handfuls of raisins or chopped cherries in and you have fruity, oaty biscuits, and boy are they good!

Caravan Biscuits 

Makes 20

Ingredients

120g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
large pinch salt
large pinch cream of tartar
120g vegan margarine (I use Pure Spread Sunflower)
120g sugar
120g rolled oats
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 tsp hot water
2 tablespoons syrup


Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cream of tartar together and set aside.

2. Beat the margarine to soften in a classic batter bowl and add the sugar. Beat in.

3. Add the oats and stir to combine.

4. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the hot water in a pinch bowl.

5. Warm the syrup slightly then measure it out using a measure all cup.

6. Add to the margarine and sugar mix. Beat in.

7. Add the flour and mix until well combined.

8. If the mixture is very solid you can warm it slightly in the microwave to make it easier to handle, and then form small balls. If too warm leave it to cool slightly before you handle it.

9. Place on flat stoneware (I used my rectangle stone, and my medium stone) and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.

10. Bake at 180°C for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. Don't let them get too dark of they will be bitter!

11. Allow to cool slightly on the trays before removing to a cooling rack.

Garlic pizza bread (egg / dairy free and vegan)

I often have left over pizza dough when I make pizzas with my pizza base recipe and have been making this garlic bread to accompany the meal as a way to use up the dough.  Plus its a really lovely addition to the table.
I cook my pizzas and bread on Pampered Chef Stoneware as the bases are crispy and the food is cooked beautifully evenly.  Plus the stoneware keeps the pizza and bread warm right to the last slice! And its crispy not soggy.

Make up your pizza dough recipe and then divide in three.  Use two balls to make pizza bases and the other to make a the garlic bread below.

Ingredients

1/3 portion of pizza dough
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Mixed dried herbs, or chopped fresh herbs if you have them
Rock salt

Method

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Roll the dough out on a Medium round stone with a baker's roller until nice and thin.

2.  Crush the garlic into a pinch bowl using the garlic press (the beauty of our garlic press is no peeling needed!).  Add the olive oil and herbs with the adjustable measuring spoons and stir well.

3.  Pour over the dough and spread it out with the back of a spoon to cover the whole dough up to 1/2 cm from the edges.

4.  Sprinkle with rock salt.

Dough all slashed and oiled up and ready to go.

5.  Make slashes in the dough with a sharp knife and place in the oven for 8-10 mins till golden brown.  Leave on the stone to keep warm as you eat, and cut with the pizza cutter.

Don't go kissing too many people afterwards unless they shared this with you!

Happy Valentines Day!

Just a quick post to say Happy Valentines Day!

I made these today in my Pampered Chef square brownie pan - I love it sooo much.

I used my basic cake mix with blueberries added (I just chucked in a few handfuls I had in the fridge) and then made a buttercream icing with some mashed up blueberries added.

I cut out the centre of the top cake using the heart cutter from the creative cutters set and then added some icing between two cakes and in the heart shaped hole. Yum!

Happy Valentines Day! Blueberry cakes in the square brownie tin.

Pita Breads (Egg free/Dairy free and Vegan)

I've got myself a new camera, and I've spent the last month playing with it rather than blogging!  However, I'm now ready to rock and roll as I've managed to get the hang of the camera and I've read my way through a tonne of info including the wonderful Plate to Pixel by Helene Dujardin.  I also have benefited from some short and sweet photography lessons from my wonderful photographer brother Hamish Campbell.

This is the first of my posts with the new photos and I think you really can tell the difference.

So here we go.....

The Pita Bread recipe I used is pretty basic and I was so excited to see it work - I can't believe it does!  How does it do that puffy thing?  I can't understand it, but I love it.

I've got a brand new Rectangle Stone that I was desperate to try out too, so this was the first recipe I did on it.  I gave it a little rub down with a bit of vegetable oil first before using it, and it worked perfectly.  The stone gives a lovely even heat and the breads stayed warm for ages while we had our soup and went back for another!

Ingredients

1 tsp dried yeast
350g strong bread flour
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
210ml water

Extra flour for sprinkling
Oiled clingfilm to cover

Method

1.  If you have a bread maker then bung in all of the ingredients and put the machine on a pizza dough or basic dough setting.  Or use a mixer with a dough hook if you have one.  If not, mix all the ingredients in a Classic batter bowl until they form a dough, and get kneading for about 10 mins on a lightly floured surface.  The dough should be smooth and elastic at this point.

2.  If using the mixer/machine now place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide it into ten pieces.  Roll each piece into a smooth ball.

3.  Cover the balls of dough with lightly oiled clingfilm and leave to rise for about 10 minutes.

4.  Preheat the oven to 220°C.

5.  Place the dough onto the rectangle stone or other flat stone such as the medium round stone, and flatten slightly.

6.  Roll each one out using the baker's roller into a slightly oval shape.  Sprinkle with a little flour.

7.  Leave to rest for a further 10 minutes, or if you are like me just bung them in the oven because you can't wait!

8.  Bake for around 10-14 minutes - mine took 12 minutes for the ones on the top shelf and 13 for the middle shelf! They should be lightly browned and puffed up.

9.  You can leave them on the stones or remove to a stackable cooling rack to cool.

I enjoyed mine with a fabulous sweet potato and lentil soup.  It warmed me right to my toes on a cold winter day!

These Pitas keep for about 2 days in a sealed container and toast up nicely, or you can freeze them too.

One year on......

I launched this blog a year ago as a way of documenting some of my kitchen experiments with my Pampered Chef kit and  putting some of my discoveries out there.  I have had views from all over the World in the last year and a whole lot of folks visiting from Pinterest, facebook and allergyuk.  Thanks for visiting!  It makes me feel like I'm not just talking away to myself here!  The comments people have left have been great and its nice to hear from you too.

Most of my recipes are egg and dairy free due to my youngest daughter's allergies and I've been asked so many times by people when they eat my food, in particular the cakes, "How do you do it without eggs?".  So here is a quick guide to what to use in place of eggs in baking and cooking:

I have to say I am not keen on egg replacers and very seldom use them - they really are just a mix of extra bicarbonate of soda and some other bulkers such as potato starch to make everything stick together.  I bought one box of it three and a half years ago when we first discovered that eggs were a no go area in our house, and I only ever used about a quarter of it!

So if you have a favourite eggy recipe and want to convert it to an egg free version, try the egg replacer powder if you like, but it may not work (I had several disappointments which put me right off).  You might have to play with your favourite recipes and try adding other things...

1 egg can be replaced by:

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce - babyfood jars are great for this - in cookies and biscuits.  Such as these choc chip cookies.

Choc chip cookies with baby apple sauce!

(I've also found I can just grate apple straight into the mix if I'm being lazy!  For example in my fruit cake.)

Mrs Mac's Fruitcake, made with apple, not egg!

1/2 mashed banana in cakes, although this does flavour it.

Chocolate and Banana Zebra bread - no egg here either, just banana!

1 tablespoon ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of water and left to go gloopy for cakes too.

2 tablespoons water + 1 tablespoon oil + 2 tsp baking powder for cakes that need a rise.


1/2 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar replaces about 2 eggs in cakes and makes them rise beautifully! See this chocolate cake for example. The taste of the vinegar disappears with the chemical reaction that takes place to create the bubbles and make the cake rise.

Chocolate cake with vinegar!  You don't taste it honest!

Its often trial and error and I've had loads of disasters, but always have found better alternatives to the egg replacer.  Have fun trying!

Apple and Ginger Rolls (can be dairy free/egg free, vegan)

January is always difficult isn't it?  I try to be good, but weather, work and general blah after the holidays always seem to conspire against me.

Here is a recipe thats a little bit of nice, but not too naughty, especially if you serve it with something like fat free frozen yoghurt or IceDelight my favourite dairy free frozen treat!

I made mine dairy free by using vegan pastry dough (Jus-Rol Filo is vegan) and using Pure Spread not butter for the final brush.  I also used soya based cream cheese Tofutti instead of the Philadelphia.

Don't be put off by the complicated sounding rolling bit!  Its just like filling a fajita!  I should have taken blow by blow photos really; I promise some soon!

Ingredients

2.5cm piece peeled fresh ginger
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
60g reduced-fat cream cheese (Philadelphia) softened
10 sheets (9 x 14 in./23 x 35 cm) thawed frozen Filo pastry
Oil to moisten the dough
1 tbsp butter, melted
Icing sugar (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grate ginger using Microplane® Adjustable Fine Grater to measure 2 tsp.

2. Use the apple wedger to core and wedge the apples. Coarsely chop apples with Food Chopper.

3. Combine ginger, apples, granulated sugar, cornflour and cinnamon in Classic Batter Bowl; mix well using Small Mix ‘N Scraper®.

4. Microwave on HIGH for 3-–4 minutes or until thickened and bubbly; stir. Cool for 5 minutes. Add cream cheese and mix well.

5. Lay one sheet of the filo on Cutting Board and brush with silicone basting brush with oil or use a Kitchen Spritzer filled with your choice of oil to spray the dough. Fold filo in half crosswise. Cut folded sheet in half lengthwise, leaving folded edge intact. Spoon a rounded 1 tbsp of the filling to within 2.5 cm of folded edge of filo using Adjustable Measuring Spoon, leaving a 2.5 cm border on each side. Lift folded edge of filo up over filling, tucking filo tightly around filling. Fold sides of filo in toward center; gently roll up.
Repeat with remaining filo and filling.

6. Place rolls, seam sides down, onto Medium Bar Pan or other flat stone; lightly brush with melted butter using Chef's Silicone Basting Brush. Bake for 12–-14 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Remove from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack. Sprinkle with icing sugar, if desired.

Yield: 10 servings of 2 rolls

Nutrients per serving:

Calories 100, Total Fat 2.5 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Carbohydrate 19 g, Protein 2 g, Sodium 80 mg, Fiber 1 g


Cook's Tips:

Keep filo sheets covered with cling film while working on recipes to keep them from drying out. Wrap any leftover filo tightly with cling film and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.