Yoghurt Fairy cakes

I am moving so am setting down these recipes for future write-up.

Carrot cake

I am moving so want to catalogue some recipes and chuck the paper copy.

Here is a lovely, moist carrot cake.

Lemon or lime cakes or cupcakes

120g sugar

Zest of lime or lemon

130g plain flour

110g whole flour

1egg

1tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp salt

200ml yoghurt (1cup)

1/2 lime, juice

6 tbsp oil

Today's recipe! Beautilicious Blueberry Muffins!

My Mum once made a version of these muffins for the children and they were devoured.  I have played around with the recipe so that there is more fibre from wholemeal flour, some flaxseed (can be omitted) and less sugar.  Adding dried blueberries means that the muffins don't go soggy.  Dried fruit has a higher sugar content than fresh fruit; this means that the brown sugar can be reduced as far as possible.  Anyway, enough about the relative 'health' value of these muffins.  Let me know what you think?  I think they taste pretty good...

Makes 12 large, 24 small and (I don't know...) 48 (?!?!) mini muffins

170g plain flour

140g wholemeal flour

1 tbsp baking powder

80g brown sugar

4 tbsps linwoods seeds (flax or a mixture - available in supermarkets)

2 eggs

220ml whole milk

100ml sunflower oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

100g dried blueberries

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1.  Measure out and gently mix dry and wet ingredients in 2 different bowls.  Leave blueberries on one side.

2.  Fold the ingredients together and add the blueberries.

3.  Spoon into muffin cases and bake in an oven at 180oc for 20-30 minutes or until golden.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

The deliciously coloured beetroot is on the shelves.  Why not make a cake with it on a cold day or a salad of beetroot, orange and carrot on a warmer one!

When you slice into this cake you will be taken back by the most luscious deep pink colour.  It sounds very root like, but tastes absolutely delicious in my view.

120 ml sunflower or olive oil (or any type of oil you like)

120g (4oz) softened unsalted butter

120g (4oz) brown sugar (unrefined best)

3 eggs

70ml milk

4 raw beetroots, scrubbed and grated


300g (10.5oz) wholemeal flour (or 100g plain flour and 200g wholemeal flour)
2 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp cocoa powder

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1.  Cream the butter, oil and sugars

2.  Add the whisked eggs and milk

3.  Add the dry ingredients and beetroots and mix.

4.  Bake in a round or square tin at 190 Oc.

Perfect Pancakes

We eat pancakes at any time of the day, especially at breakfast with lemon juice and (shh!) a sprinkle of icing sugar.  They taste nice with a warm topping of maple syrup and blueberries heated up until the berries fall apart.  Yummy!!  Inspired by Nigella to make up the dry ingredients in a storage container.

To make a large kilner jar of pancake mix

400g (11oz) wholemeal flour

200g (7oz) self raising flour

2 tbsps baking powder

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

20g (1tbsp) soft brown sugar (unrefined) 

To make 4 large pancakes

150g (5oz) pancake mix 

1 egg

250ml whole milk

large knob of butter

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1.  Melt the butter in a large frying pan on a medium high heat.

2.  In the meantime, mix the milk, egg and pancake mix together.

3.  Whisk in the melted butter.

4.  Let the mixture sit for a few minutes (to make the rising agents start working).

5.  Pour 1/4 mixture into frying pan and cook a few minutes each side or until golden brown.

6.  You can make in advance, separate with kitchen roll, store in the fridge and then heat up later.

Blackberry and Apple Crumble

Have you been 'blackberrying' yet?  We have had three or four crumbles the past few weeks with our successful foraging trips.

Everyone has a crumble recipe but I am inspired by Nigella and my Mum (2 wonderful women) to make this delicious recipe.  The crumble topping can be frozen and then whipped out at the last minute; I have stuffed the most nutritious balance of flours into the crumble that I can manage.  So, good stuff all round.  There's no added sugar in here; just honey and fruit juice.

Makes one crumble in a large serving dish

Crumble topping

50g (2oz) butter (cold)

100g (4oz) wholemeal flour

2 tbsp Linwoods seeds (optional - just bumps up the nutrition)

30g (1oz) porridge oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp honey

Fruit

400g (14oz) (or however much you like) frozen fruit /blackberries and apple

(add chopped fresh fruit to make the fruit mix more gloopy)

splash of fruit juice (I like tropical fruit juice)

2 tbsp cornflour 

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1.  Whizz up the butter and flour in a processor (I often triple this recipe and put 2/3 in the freezer).

2.  Add the seeds, oats, cinnamon and honey and mix in.

3.  In your crumble dish, mix the fruit and cornflour.  Then add the juice.

4.  Assemble the crumble and bake for around 40 minutes in a medium (180 degrees C) oven, or until brown.

(Picture shows crumbless crumble - it looks prettier!)

Great Granola

I don't make granola very often but it is always popular.  It can be eaten as pudding, breakfast or as a snack.  

First ingredient set

400g (14oz) rolled oats (or any porridge oats, actually)

100g (3.5oz) sunflower seeds

80g (3oz) white sesame seeds

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

50g (2oz) soft brown sugar

250g (9oz) whole natural almonds

a little salt

Second ingredient set

2 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil

4 tbsp honey

4 tbsp syrup (rice or golden)

175g (6oz) stewed apple (this is the best, I think) or apple sauce or apple juice

Last little bit

300g (10oz) raisins

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1.  Mix the first ingredient set into a big bowl (the bigger the better).

2.  Add the wet ingredients and get stuck in with your hands to mix it up.

3.  Cook in a pre-heated oven (180 degrees C) for 40-50 minutes, or until browned.

4.  Add the last little bit, cool, and store in a sealed container.  It seems to last for the same amount of time as a packet of cereal.

Jelly in a Jiffy

I really like this jelly that I first read about in a Nigella book.  Using the frozen fruit cuts down the setting time so it can be made in the afternoon for an evening meal.  It also looks stunning, so can suit children and adults alike.  The addition of fruit means that serving it from a mould is tricky, but just glooping it out of a bowl is satisfying enough.  Serve with icecream and I'm transported to my childhood!

1 pack of jelly (I use the stuff without artificial sugars)

1/2 (270ml) pint of boiling water

a handful or more of frozen fruit (any type of fruit; I always buy summer fruits)

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1.  As per instructions, dissolve the jelly in 1/2 pint of boiling water.

2.  Add enough frozen fruit to take the amount to 1 pint.

3.  Add 50-100ml water and transfer to a container.

4.  Set in the fridge.

Oat, raisin & cinnamon buns

On a colder day, why not make a cinnamon bun?  I love the smell of cinnamon wafting around the house.

There are so many ways of making delicious muffins.  This one has a great cinnamon flavour; this makes it stand out from the crowd.

This recipe makes 12 buns.

200g (7oz) self raising flour (or half and half wholemeal/self raising)

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

125g (2.5oz) light brown sugar (unrefined)

30g (1oz) raisins

30g (1oz) oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 banana, mashed

3 eggs

110g (3.8oz) butter, melted

75ml milk

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1.  Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C and prepare muffin cases.

2.  Mix the dry ingredients together.  You could whiz up the flour in a mixer to introduce some air before adding the other ingredients.

3.  Add the banana and mix.

4.  Mix the wet ingredients separately.

5.  Finally, mix the dry and wet ingredients together lightly (lots of mixing so perfect for kids!).

6.  Spoon into muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden and risen.

(Inspired by the 'Cupcake book for girls' Igloo publishing)

Apple custard slice

Super easy and full of nutrition.  Especially easy for toddlers to eat and a great way of introducing cinnamon to the family diet.



2 large apples, stripped naked and sliced
4 eggs

300g (10oz) approx natural or greek yoghurt

60g (2oz) brown unrefined sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

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1.  Grease a pie dish and arrange apple slices.

2.  Mix the other ingredients and pour over apple.

3.  Cook at 180 oc for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Mister and Miss Red Nose Day Cake Jars

I love this super fun way of presenting cakes (used to send homebaking to armed forces, just have to be careful with food hygiene).  I made a vanilla sponge and condensed milk icing (yum and not at all nutritious).  I need about 50g worth of the butter/sugar for each jar and filled with no more than half (1/3 better) to leave room for the icing..  By the way, the jar takes ages to cool down so don't make it last thing at night.

Chocolate (Shh... Courgette) Gateau

This cake is a great way of using the tail end of the summer glut of courgettes! Thanks to Riverford for the base recipe.


120g (4oz) softened unsalted butter
125 ml sunflower oil
70ml honey
90g (3oz) soft brown sugar

3 eggs
130ml milk

350g (12oz) plain flour (or mix with some whole)
2 tsps baking powder
4 tbsps cocoa powder

400-450g courgettes (about 3 or 4 medium courgettes) grated
1 tsp vanilla extract

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1.  Cream butter, oil and sugars.

2.  Add eggs and a little milk.

3.  Add all dry ingredients, then courgettes and vanilla extract.

4.  Bake in round or square tin for 45-50 minutes at 190C.

Biscuits for 'Bach' time

No, these biscuits are not for the bath (but could be fun to try and watch a biscuit get sloppy in the water), but they are the super-quick crumbly, versatile cookies for my girls to eat before a piano lesson.  The car doesn't thank them, but their tummies do!  Inspired by all the biscuit recipes I have ever followed.  I make up the mixer in a food processor, cover it the mixer bowl and plonk in the fridge.  When I am ready to bake (normally just before school pick-up), I take out, make up and the biccies are still warm when I get to school.  The car smells nice too.

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100g (3.5oz) unsalted butter

60g (2oz) soft or dark brown sugar

1 egg

150g (5oz) flour (I use half plain and half whole)

1/2tsp baking powder, no more.

A handful of one or more of the following: chocolate of any sort, dried fruits (eg cranberries), nuts, pumpkin seeds (or slightly random, I added a packet of 'brunch mix' of seeds etc last week, given the thumbs up).

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1. Cream the butter and sugar

2.  Add the egg (with a bit of the flour) and mix

3.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix

4.  Leave in fridge for 30 mins or so

5.  Roll into balls, squish down and bake on greased baking tray for 8-10 minutes at 180C.  Don't overdo.

A valentine 'date' cake

I love, love, love this cake, almost as much as my husband.  No, not really, a cake only comes close.  In honour of 14 February and 'St Valentin', je propose this yummy cake, perfect for a date.  Ice with anything you like; I used a sprig of mint on lime icing.


220g (7.7oz) dates (pitted and already chopped to save time)
1/2 pint soya milk

90g (3oz) sunflower spread
115g (4oz) raisins or sultanas

1/2 tsp cinnamon
230g (8oz) wholemeal flour or a mixture of whole and plain
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg or mixed spice

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1.  Boil dates in soya milk until nice and mushy.

2.  Add the spread and sultanas and mix off the heat until spread melted.

3.  Fold in remaining ingredients.

4.  Bake in loaf or circular tin for about 30 minutes at 190C.

Nostalgia Carrot Cake

Whenever I smell the delicious scent of this cake rising in the oven, I think about our first family home in Pimlico, London.  I remember meeting our lovely friends in St George's Square, exploring London with a baby and the privilege of my first six months learning to be a mother in a wonderful city.  Thanks to 'a moveable feast' community organisation who taught me how to cook this cake at a community event for new parents.


75ml sunflower or olive oil (or any type of oil you like)
90g (3oz) brown sugar (unrefined as possible)
2 eggs
2 mashed bananas
2 tsp cinnamon
150g grated carrot (or 4 medium carrots)
200g (7oz) wholemeal flour (or 100g plain flour and 100g wholemeal flour)
1 tsp baking powder

optional: 8-10 tbsp whole live yoghurt, 30-40g chopped walnuts

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1.  Mix all ingredients except flour and baking powder, then add these ingredients.

2.  Place mixture in a lined cake tin.

3.  Bake at 180 degrees for 45-50 minutes

4.  If desired, ice when cool with an fresh orange/lemon juice and icing sugar mixture (you could add cream cheese too).  I added strawberries as it is the height of the summer season.

Pizza, pizza!

Click on the link below to cook this with children!

I am cataloging this recipe because it is one of the best I have made in a long time.  This recipe made three large pizzas.  I know the wholemeal flour is not very authentic, but it adds some nutrition and actually makes the pizza crispy and easier to roll.

Make extra and create more meals: tomato sauce with pasta & bread dough for bread rolls.

Add the following to a breadmaker in this order:

1 tsp dried yeast
150g (5oz) strong white flour
150g (5oz) strong wholemeal flour
1 tsp sugar
15ml (3 tbsps) olive oil
1 tbsp skimmed milk powder
1 tsp table salt
170ml water (slightly warm)

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1. Leave the dough in the maker once the cycle has finished.

2. When you are ready, knead the dough, split into three and roll out.

3. Oil three baking trays and place rolled out dough onto trays.

4. Stretch cling film over each tray and place in airing cupboard an hour or more (to rise).

5. Whenever convenient, bake the dough for 4/5 minutes.

In terms of tomato sauce I suggest an onion/garlic base to tinned chopped tomatoes, beef stock cube and some water, grated carrot, seasoning AND roasted squash (if any left over from pumpkin cake or other cooking).  The squash made the sauce really stick together and gave it some flavour.  I have added grated courgette in the past but this has left a yukky, slightly acidic taste to the sauce.  The carrot, however, provides some hidden nutrition.  

Free download! Do you want to cook this recipe with your children? Click here to download a recipe sheet especially designed for children to read and have fun with cooking.

Pumpkin Loaf (otherwise known as James' cake)

Dedicated to James Dwyer!

I played around with this pumpkin loaf recipe and presented it as 'sugar cake' to my eldest vegephobic child.  A white lie that left her munching 2 slices of cake.  I admit that it is not 100% healthy, but it is the best I could do with pumpkin to make it scrumptious.  Lots of nutrition in the pumpkin and whole flour.


85g (3oz) soft butter or margarine
55g (2oz) unrefined brown sugar
55g (2oz) golden syrup or honey
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
225g (8oz) cooked pumpkin or squash (nearly all of a medium squash)
3 tbsp water
80g (3oz) raisins (depending on taste)

250g (9oz) wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon (level)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp mixed spice or nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt (or less)

optional icing: 2 tbsp icing sugar and juice of half an orange (what about elderflower cordial and icing sugar!)
decoration: orange segments

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1. First, roast the pumpkin (whole, just give it a wash) for 1-2 hours.

2. Heat the oven to 180oc and grease/line a loaf tin.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, syrup and vanilla.  Then beat in eggs.  Stir in pumpkin and raisins.

4. In another bowl, measure the dry ingredients, then mix it all together into a nice gloopy cakey mixture (the squash can make the mixture a bit liquid; make sure that it is a firm enough texture by omitting the water or adding a little more flour if necessary).

5. Bake for around 1 hour or until done.  Cool in tin and turn onto rack.

6. For a treat, add the orange glaze.  It is really yummy when it melts into the warm cake.  Don't expect too much cake left.

(thanks to Riverford for basic proportions)

Wholemeal Bread for Bread Machine

We love 'grandpa's bread'.  Thank you, Dad, for introducing is to this great bread.  The girls devour it.  I have kept the metric measurements for accuracy.  Let me know if I should write out the imperial.


1 tsp dried yeast
400g strong wholemeal flour
100g strong white flour
3/4 tbsp caster sugar (or less)
1 tbsp milk powder
1 and a bit tsp salt
1/4 tsp vitamin C powder (source from pharmacists or health food shops)
25 ml sunflower oil
360ml water

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After measuring out ingredients in the order listed above into the bread maker pan, set the bread machine to wholemeal and large loaf.  I often put it on timer overnight.

Carrot flapjacks

Bake an alternative treat to sweet flapjacks and play around with the ingredients. I'm going to try out some beetroot and also add some Lynwoods seeds next time. The littlest one had these as a

snack lunch today and devoured them.

.150g rolled oats
 175g grated carrot (about 3 medium size carrots)
 175g grated cheese (a small block) I used medium cheddar
 1 egg beaten
 pinch of mixed herbs
 knobs of butter according to taste


 Mix all ingredients together apart from butter. Line and grease any sort of (20cm) baking tray. Press into tray and add knobs of butter to the top.  Bake for 20-30 minutes.  The butter melts deliciously into the flapjack. How about that for superfood oats, protein filled cheese and much needed energy on a cold winter's day. We loved it. (I humbly acknowledge Riverford for the base recipe)