Lemon Birthday Cake

My mum's very favourite cake is lemon drizzle, and so for her birthday I cooked up a Mary Berry special! I love making lemon drizzle cakes, the lemony smell coming from the oven always makes my mouth water.

Ingredients
4oz butter
4oz sugar
2 eggs
4oz self-raising, gluten-free flour
1oz ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
2 tablespoons milk
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
for the crunchy topping
3oz demerera sugar
juice of 1 lemon
finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Butterscotch Cookies

These cookies are just the right combination of sweetness and crunchiness. The butterscotch chips can be replaced with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or raisins if you prefer.

Ingredients (to make approx. 16)
100g butter
100g light brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
150g gluten-free plain flour, plus extra for dusting (or you can use regular wheat flour)
50g butterscotch chips

N is for... Naughty Chocolate Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday to me! Yesterday I turned the grand old age of 25, no longer can I claim to be 'early-twenties'...that being said I don't feel any different - I still love cake for starters! Many people might find it sad to make their own birthday cake, however not me. The treat of having a day off work meant I had time to bake - a nice leisurely bake (unlike the high pressure Great British Bake-off - I could not cope there!)

Although it's a special day, I'm afraid the low-carb diet stops for nothing and no one. I found a recipe in GoodFood 101 Cakes & Bakes for 'Seriously Rich Chocolate Cake' and I low-carbed it up while keeping it delicious, hence the naughty - it's full of full-fat butter and chocolate!

You don't have to be 25 to enjoy this cake

They didn't have any '1's left

Ingredients
50g butter
75g good quality, very dark chocolate (I used 85% cocoa solids)
3 eggs, separated
70g ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
40g xylitol

M is for... Macaroons

My Baking the Alphabet challenge continues. These little coconut macaroons went perfectly with the stewed rhubarb I made for my Sunday roast dessert, and could be cooked at the same temperature as the lamb. I've made regular macaroons before – here. This time I went for a low-carb version, they are simple to make, sugar-free and tasty!

Ingredients

2 egg whites

a pinch of salt

55g (2oz) ground almonds

55g (2oz) unsweetened desiccated coconut

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (optional)

½ sachet stevia

Sugar-free Brownies

My quest to make delicious chocolate brownies without refined sugar continues. However, this recipe leaves me wanting to admit defeat. They seemed to work fine, but any resemblance to a brownie ended at the chocolate colour. As they came out quite dry they work well as a dessert with custard. I found the recipe here.

Ingredients
6 packets stevia

¼ cup natural yogurt 

1 tablespoon egg whites (this works out as about ½ an egg white, reserve the rest for the custard)  

½ teaspoon vanilla extract 

½ cup gluten-free flour (or regular)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder 

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons mixed chopped nuts (optional)

Apple Spiced Nut Cookies

My mum discovered this recipe when she was searching for sugar-free recipes she could bake for me. The original recipe uses dates which I can't eat, although recommends using stevia in its place. The recipe comes from a blog called Kat's Health Corner, it's a great blog full of alternative recipes - and so perfect for me! I based my recipe on the one here.

Ingredients (makes 7)
¼ cup walnuts
¼ cup mixed nuts (use almonds, pecans or even more walnuts)
⅓ cup porridge oats
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 packets stevia (equivalent to 4 teaspoons sugar)
1 eating apple
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sunflower spread

Little Nutty Cupcakes

These little cupcakes have complimenting textures of the nut butter and the ground almonds with cocoa and dark chocolate pieces to add flavour. If you want a crunchier texture use chunky peanut butter instead of the smoother almond nut butter. They are quick to prepare and brilliant for satisfying a sweet craving. They don't have much fat (in my book fat from nuts is good for you and so doesn't count!), they are sugar-free and low carb so you can eat away without feeling guilty.

Ingredients
¾oz butter
1½ tablespoons almond nut butter
1 egg, beaten
½ teaspoon baking powder
2oz ground almonds
2 teaspoons cocoa
1½ teaspoons stevia or other sweetener
2 tablespoons whole milk
¾oz dark, sugar-free chocolate (Sainsbury's do one which is good for baking with)

J is for... Jumbles

Jumble time! I'd never heard of these biscuits but I really struggled to find any recipes beginning with J! So here you go - Jumbles - the Mary Berry way (sort of). The traditional shape is an 's' but I made them for my family so I used their initials.

Ingredients
75g butter, softened
75g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small egg, beaten
175g plain gluten-free flour
clear honey, for glazing
demerera sugar, for dusting

Almond and Lemon Cupcakes

These low-carb cupcakes have a lovely texture, as the ground almonds makes them light and moist. Even though they don't contain sugar they have a great cakey texture. The best fake cakes yet I think! Plus they are very quick and easy to make, you can easily whip up a batch if you have a sweet craving.

Ingredients (to make 6)
1oz butter, softened
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 egg
finely grated rind of ½ lemon
2¼oz ground almonds
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Stevia or other sweetener

Chocolate Courgette Cupcakes

Courgette is a great vegetable to put into cakes as it is bland in taste but moist in texture and helps make cakes light and airy. I made my cupcakes dairy-free, gluten-free and sugar-free. This may sound like all you're left with is an egg but read on...

Ingredients
3 tablespoons sunflower spread
¾ cup courgette, peeled and grated
½ banana mashed
6g Stevia (if you can't get hold of Stevia use a different sweetener such as xylitol) 1g of Stevia is equivalent to 2 teaspoons of regular sugar 
1 egg, beaten
1 cup ground almonds
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
⅓ cup mixed chopped nuts

Chocolate Fakes

Nope it's not a typo...these are fake cakes. They could be called cakes, but they aren't full of sugar or fat (and don't taste as good) so I have decided to call them Fakes...

To make about 8 Chocolate Fakes you will need:
1oz butter, softened
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon fruit puree (I used the pots for babies, Apple and Blueberry)
3oz ground almonds
2 teaspoons cocoa
½ teaspoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons stevia or xylitol (or sugar to taste if you can have it)
½oz mixed chopped nuts

Rhubarb Cobbler

This is a Rose Elliot crumble recipe, however it doesn't have the same consistency as crumble, and is much more like a cobbler.

Crumbles are far from an exact science, they aren't like cakes where measurements are crucial (as they don't have eggs) and can be changed according to taste. Try adding rolled oats to your topping, or mix some cooking apples (chopped into small pieces), with the simmering rhubarb.

Ingredients

350g rhubarb, sweetened to taste

85g ground almonds

25g butter

pinch of cinnamon

I is for... Iced Lemon Biscuits

It's week 9 in Baking the Alphabet, and did you know there aren't many recipes beginning with 'I'? Tiny, little confession: I have made iced lemon biscuits before, and blogged about them here. BUT I have never put soft cheese in biscuits and I was intrigued to see how they would taste. Plus I wanted to try out a recipe from this brand new book Great British Bake Off: How to Bake, it is published by Ebury (where I work) and is beautiful! I didn't quite follow the recipe to the letter so you'd better go and buy the book if you want to...

Iced Lemon Biscuits

Ingredients (to make 20)
80g unsalted butter, softened
50g caster sugar
finely grated zest of ½ lemon (save the juice)
40g light soft cheese
150g gluten-free flour
pinch of salt
pinch baking powder
50g icing sugar

Cheese Scones

I would say these are more 'alternative' cheese scones as they don't have the same ingredients, however they do tasty sconey. The original recipe makes a loaf of bread so I was expecting bread rolls, but these are tasty!

Ingredients (to serve 4)
100g ground almonds
⅓ teaspoon baking powder
20g butter, softened
1 egg
50g Cheddar cheese, grated

Victoria Sponge Cupcakes

I love Victoria Sponge, sweet light cake with a generous layer of strawberry jam and cream in the middle. I saw a picture of mini victoria sponges a while ago (I can't remember where) so I gave them a go myself. I made them for my sisters who aren't fans of cream so I just put jam in the middle of mine. If you do like cream, whip up a couple of tablespoons until it holds its shape and spread it on after the jam.

Ingredients
4oz (125g) butter, softened
4oz (125g) sugar
2 eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4oz (125g) plain gluten-free flour, sifted
1 level teaspoon baking powder
approx. 2 tablespoons strawberry jam

Chocolate and Coconut Brownies

Happy Saturday! Today is the perfect day for baking, I have plenty of time, it's a bit rainy outside and I just spent £20 on ingredients (whoops...).

If you regularly read my blog you might have noticed that I often omit certain ingredients for a little while, I've done sugar-free, low-fibre, wheat-free, gluten- free, dairy-free, egg-free, even apple-free! This constant changing is as a result of long-term health problems which I won't bore you with. My current situation is low-carb (i.e. no sugar or flour), this also rules out most fruits as they are high in natural sugar.  However, I must bake!

I have been looking to Rose Elliot for help, and she had a great recipe for low-carb brownies. But they needed sweeter (artificial or Stevia), which I didn't have. So after doing a bit of research and some imaginative thinking I came up with these brownies. The 'sweetness' comes from coconut virgin oil (available from health-food shops), dark chocolate and double cream.

H is for... Halloumi and Vegetable Herbed Kebabs

I'm well aware that barbecued food doesn't really fall into the 'baked' genre. BUT it's hot outside and I don't feel like baking. So, my slightly cheating, 'H' in Baking the Alphabet is halloumi and vegetable herbed kebabs. The perfect barbecue vegetarian alternative to burgers or sausages. My friend tells me that a barbecue is called a Braai in South Africa, and they have them a lot, although apparently they are full of meat so I'm not sure where my kebabs would fit in...

Ingredients
1 pack light halloumi (225g)
1 green pepper, deseeded
½ aubergine
10 cherry tomatoes
3 mushrooms, sliced in half

for the herbed marinade

juice of ½ lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

a handful of chopped herbs, I used thyme, rosemary, coriander and mint (use whatever you have to hand)

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon olive paste (optional)

Blueberry and Lemon Baked Cheesecake

The Great British/American Bake Off: Part 2
It's been a while since my last bake-off with Jess from Baking in Brooklyn, and so here we are back with part 2. The theme this time is...JAM. You can find Jess's rival Jam post HERE.

Now I was all set to roll out some jam tarts or a jam rolly-polly, when Jess let slip that she's going to make the jam first. As my friends will vouch I am a teeny bit competitive (I did nearly break my arm in a tense game of rounders when my competitive streak won out...) So I decided to rise to the challenge! I made Blueberry Jam, check out the recipe HERE.

Today the second part of the bake-off commenced. What to make with the jam? I opted for cheesecake, which I adapted from a Rose Eliot recipe for Baked Lemon Cheesecake.

Blueberry and Lemon Baked Cheesecake

Ingredients
100g ground almonds
15g butter, softened
400g soft cheese (2 tubs)
2 eggs
150ml double cream
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 tbsp Roxanne's Blueberry Jam

Courgette 'Lasagne'

This is a recipe that I made up. It is similar to a parmigiana but uses courgette slices instead of aubergine, and is like a lasagne, but instead of making a cheese sauce I topped it with Mozzarella slices. It's a brand new thing!

Ingredients
1 large courgette, sliced into 1cm thick pieces
1 teaspoon sunflower oil
1 large stick celery, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
50g Quorn mince
a small handful of watercress
10g basil, finely chopped
1 Mozzarella ball, sliced
1 tablespoon single cream

Low-Carb Bread Rolls

These are great for a light breakfast and take hardly anytime to make or bake!

Ingredients
75g ground almonds
pinch of salt
¼ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 egg, beaten.