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Three ingredient chocolate mug cake

What is it about mugs that make them cosy? Some of my favourite things are served from a mug: coffee, tomato soup, hot toddy…and now this cake!!!! I made a cake, in 3 minutes, with three ingredients. This is one of those total potluck moments, I wanted to have a little experiment and the cake angels made that experiment pay off. The other thing is that this cake contains an egg & everyone says that you should eat eggs for breakfast so I say you should eat this cake for breakfast!

I wasn’t going to post a recipe today but I had to share this one because its too fun not to try. Its deliciously soft and fluffy. Not quite a cake texture, not quite a pudding. I would imagine it is similar to a souffle…but I have to admit to never having tried one. Its just a yummy little chocolatey moment. You could add in a splash of coffee, top with blueberry chia jam, add in grated apple. Have fun & get your mug on x

Ingredients
1 egg
1 banana
2 tsp cocoa

Method
Place the three ingredients into a blender
Mix quickly and then pour into a mug leaving a little room at the top for expansion
Microwave for 3 minutes checking every minute
Dust with cocoa & enjoy

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Baked celeriac

I love the audacity of a single ingredient meal. The fact that one product can, with a little love, provide total nourishment.

Ive thrown my back out again, I think it’s emotional. The baby turned one, the husband turned a corner, the family returned home after a blissful weekend. I haven’t had the energy or desire to cook properly but I also know that my soul needed something good even if my belly wasn’t sure. I needed something that didn’t need me. Nothing that required measuring or stirring. No weighing. No checking.

This baked celeriac simply needed a clean, then a good glug of olive oil and then to be parceled up with some rosemary & a couple of garlic cloves, salt & pepper.I put the oven on, I forgot about it. As with most root roasts, the longer & slower the better. I gave this one a good 90minutes.

This is as comforting as a jacket potato. The outside is slightly taught & crispy, the inside perfectly fluffy. You simply dive in, mix in a little of the roasted garlic & a knob of butter. If you have any good bread to hand then spread some of the fluffy celeriac on, add a sprinkle of tangy sheep cheese & a extra grind of pepper.

This is comfort food. This is food that says it doesn’t matter that your back hurts, that the baby’s teeth are annoying or that the husband let the summer pass him by. This is food that warms your belly & gives you a little hug from the inside.

One ingredient, pure comfort.

Ingredients
1 cleaned & trimmed celeriac

2 – 4 cloves garlic

2 tbsp olive/rapeseed oil

Salt & pepper

2 sprigs rosemary

Method
Preheat your oven to 160C

Place the cleaned celeriac onto a piece of tinfoil

Rub with olive oil & season

Add the garlic & rosemary to the foil and then wrap up into a parcel

Place into the oven & bake for approx 90mins

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No churn chocolate and almond icecream

Today I came to the conclusion that I do like almond butter, as long as it is mixed with dates, chocolate & coconut milk and then frozen. Basically I like it if it is turned into icecream!
I’ve never been able to get on the almond butter train till now, or the peanut butter train…and whilst I’m confessing I also don’t like avocados or plain coconut water or bullet proof coffee. I know they are all “superfoods” but in my mind, if they aren’t super for me, then they aren’t a super food.
Almond butter has, despite my aversion, often found its way into recipes. It works wonders in a dressing for Asian inspired salads or noodle dishes and it’s great in cookie dough as it yields a chewy consistency. I thought about trying it as an icecream ingredient because it’s high natural fat content makes it ideal for freezing as it will set but not rock solid.
This simple 7 ingredient ice cream is vegan, refined sugar free & also no churn, (because who needs another piece of kitchen equipment). I used almond butter and cacao but you could use peanut butter or maybe even seed butter if you are a nut free kitchen, you can even leave the nut butter out totally & sub in another milk. Instead of cocoa you could add in espresso and you can add in things too like cacao nibs or chocolate chips or freeze dried berries and chopped nuts.

We just put decking down in the garden and it’s been blissful to sit outside in the evening sun & eat icecream. It’s also surprising what a huge difference it makes to have icecream cones!!! Seriously an icecream at home game changer.

Next on the list is definitely homemade icecream cones….maybe with buckwheat flour? But I’m also currently obsessed with baked donuts so who knows what will be next out the kitchen

Ingredients
2 cans coconut milk chilled in the fridge overnight
16 dates pitted
80g raw/unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
40ml unsweetened almond milk
4 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp cinnamon

Method
Place the dates into hot water & leave to soak for 10mins until soft
Drain & then place into a food processor
Process until you have finely chopped dates then add in warm water until a thick paste forms
Open the coconut milk & with a spoon remove the solid top “cream” and place into a mixing bowl
Add in the rest of the ingredients including the date paste
Blend or mix well until all ingredients are well combined (easier with an electric blender)
Pour into a shallow dish & place into the freezer
Freeze overnight
Remove 15 mins before serving

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Healthy magnums

There are times when I just want to be in the kitchen experimenting & last week was one of them. It felt like the cover of every food magazine was plastered with beautiful images of gelato & ice creams and all I wanted to do was try my hand at making my own.

I ordered various moulds online & as they arrived I got to work. These moulds were obviously designed for nothing less that home made magnums, in fact it would have been rude not to make homemade magnums in them.

Do you like magnums? They are certainly the husbands ice cream of choice but he eats them in the most specific/anti social way. He eats all the chocolate off the outside & then the ice cream centre. There is no way of sharing that…which is probably his intention!

Do you have certain ways of eating things? I prefer eating apples if they are sliced & also prefer peeling them & eating the “flesh” and peel separately. I don’t like cold milk in coffee, I drink tea black & really weak. My dad doesn’t eat sauces, not even ketchup or gravy and always says “good food doesn’t need sauce”. My mum only likes cold toast & never drinks the last dregs of her coffee but my favourite is that our neighbour carries a mini pepper grinder on his key ring to garnish anything he eats.

These magnums are light & creamy & delicious. They are rich & decadent but they are also refined sugar free, high in protein & packed with antioxidants. You can make these with greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt as both work well. They are a treat as they taste great but they are also great for your body, surely what a treat should be. There are lots more ice creams coming your way so I hope you enjoy these & are ready for more! Happy summer!

Ingredients (makes 4)
1 tub Greek or coconut yoghurt (170g)
1 tbsp maple syrup
Seeds from 1 vanilla pod (optional)
100g raw or 80% chocolate

Method
Mix the yoghurt, vanilla & maple syrup together & spoon into your ice Molly molds
Allow to freeze (6 hours or overnight)
Melt the chocolate
Remove the ice lollies from the moulds & cover in chocolate using a spoon (hold the ice lolly over the pan of chocolate & spoon chocolate over it)
You can also sprinkle on nuts or toppings but you have to act really quickly as the chocolate freezes almost instantly
Place the lollies onto a piece of baking paper & place back into the freezer for 1 hour
Remove 5 mins before enjoying

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