Simple uncooked cheesecake

 Base: bake half quantities of Clementine Gluten-free cake, divided into two 8 inch sandwich tins. Freeze one cake for another time.

Filling: whip 150ml cream until stiff. Separately, whip 200g cream cheese with 1 large tablespoon icing sugar (more if wished). The cream cheese will become thinner at first and then thicken up. When stiff, fold in the cream, 1 dessertspoon or more lemon zest and at least 3 large tablespoons of lemon curd.

Spread filling on base, drizzle with lemon curd, leave to set overnight in fridge.

An additional tweak: could add sour cream and lemon juice to make it more tangy.

Coconut and potato curry

• 1 tbsp Essential Vegetable Oil
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 2 clove/s garlic, finely chopped
• 700g Waitrose British Maris Piper Potaoes, peeled and cut into 2-3 chunks
• 1 medium cauliflower (about 800g), in small florets
• 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon cumin seed
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 200g frozen Essential Garden Peas
• 160ml can Essential Coconut Cream
• Coriander leaves, sliced green chilli and lime wedges, to serve (optional)

 

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic then fry for 2-3 minutes until starting to soften. Meanwhile, rinse the cut potatoes well, shuffling them in a bowl of cold water to release as much starch as possible; set aside.
• Add the spices and salt to the onions and fry for 1 minute more, then add the potatoes, turning to coat in the spices. Add 250ml cold water, bring to the boil then lower to a brisk simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly to make sure the potatoes cook evenly.
• Stir in the peas and coconut cream then simmer for 3-4 minutes more. Serve with the coriander, green chilli and lime wedges, if using. Some flatbreads or steamed rice would go nicely, too.

 

 

Anzac biscuits

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup self-raising flour

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup soft brown sugar

1/4 cup golden syrup or treacle and syrup mixed. (if using treacle, use white sugar, not brown)

125 g butter

2 tbsp boiling water

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda or 1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 160°C fanbake and line 2 oven trays with baking paper for easy clean-up.

Combine rolled oats, flour, coconut and sugar in a large bowl.

Heat together butter, golden syrup and water until butter melts.

Stir in baking soda, then mix into dry ingredients until well combined.

 

Roll mixture into balls slightly smaller than a golf ball and place on trays, allowing room for spreading.

For crunchy biscuits with a chewy centre, lightly flatten with a fork and bake 15 minutes.

Allow to cool on the trays (they will harden on cooling).

 

They will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.

From Annabel Langbein 

Microwave Christmas Pudding - easiest and best ever.

    

Ingredients

• 1 x 500g bag mixed dried fruit
• 1 x 330ml bottle orange juice
• 3 tsp ground mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 75g plain flour
• 100g suet or butter
• 100g dark brown soft sugar
• 50g breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp medium sweet sherry
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• icing sugar, for dusting

GET AHEAD

Prepare up to the end of step 2 a few hours ahead

1. Put the dried fruit into a pan with the orange juice. Bubble for 5 minutes until the fruit has absorbed almost all the liquid and plumped up.
2. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients, except the icing sugar, in a large bowl. Stir in the hot dried fruit. Pour into a lightly greased 2-litre glass (microwave-proof) bowl, base lined with a circle of nonstick baking paper. Cover with a microwave-proof plate.
3. Microwave at 600W for 10 minutes. Remove from the microwave and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Invert the pudding on to a serving plate. Dust with icing sugar and serve with brandy butter, rum sauce or Chantilly cream.

 

French apple cake

 

• 4 large apples
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling)
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Instructions

1. Peel and thinly slice apples.
2. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
3. Lightly oil an 8” round cake pan or pie pan
4. Whisk flours and baking powder together in a large bowl.
5. In a separate small bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and salt together; whisk until foamy. Add yogurt and vanilla, mixing until evenly combined. Stir in melted coconut oil.
6. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture, stirring until combined.
7. Fold apples into batter until thoroughly coated; pour batter into prepared pan, using a rubber spatula to spread the batter evenly.
8. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.
9. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cake should be golden brown on top.
10. Remove cake from oven and cool on a wire rack

https://www.attainable-sustainable.net/moist-apple-cake/

Lemon curd cake with oil

 

Ingredients

For the cake layers

• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 150 g white granulated sugar
• 40 g canola oil
• 60 ml lemon juice juice of one medium lemon
• Zest of one lemon
• 170 g all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the lemon curd

• 3 egg yolks can be cold
• 55 g granulated sugar
• 55 ml lemon juice
• Zest of one medium lemon
• 5 g cornstarch
• 55 g unsalted butter

For the frosting

• 750 g cream cheese cold
• 110 g powdered sugar
• 100 g heavy whipping cream cold

Instructions

For the cake layers

• Preheat the oven to 170С (338F) and line the bottom of the 7 by 4 inch deep (18cm by 10cm deep) cake pan with parchment paper. Leave the sides of the pan untouched.
• Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the eggs and sugar. Whip on medium-high for 8-10 minutes until the mixture has tripled in volume and is pale. If you use a hand mixer, it can take 12-15 minutes of whipping. If you lift the whisk, the mixture should slowly run down and leave a ribbon on the surface that slowly disappears into the mixture.
• Sift in the dry ingredients in three parts, folding each part with a rubber spatula before adding the next one. Try not to deflate the egg mixture too much.
• Combine the oil, lemon juice, and zest in a bowl. Add in two tablespoons of the batter and whisk to combine until homogenous in consistency.
• Pour the oil mixture into the batter and fold again just until incorporated.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake right away for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and the toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and let cool down for 30 minutes in the cake pan.
• When just warm to touch, run the knife along the wall of the pan, pressing tight against it to release the sponge cake. Place the cake onto the cooling rack to cool down.
• Slice it into 3 layers. Each layer should be around 1" or 2-2.5cm. If you’re planning to assemble the cake the next day, keep the sponge cake wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge.

For the lemon curd

• In a saucepan, add all the ingredients except the butter.
• Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously until the mixture starts simmering and thickens.
• Remove from the heat and add the butter. Mix until it has melted and been incorporated.
• Then, cover with plastic wrap (making sure it touches the mixture) and refrigerate until cold.

For the frosting

• Place all the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or you can use a hand mixer) and mix on low until no dry powdered sugar is left. Then, beat on medium until reaching a homogenous consistency. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on high until thick and fluffy.
• Mix the frosting with a rubber spatula to remove air bubbles. Then, place the mixture in a piping bag before assembling the cake. No need for a nozzle: just cut off the tip of the bag wide enough to pipe out the cream.

Assembling the cake

• Place the first layer of the cake on a serving plate, and spread an even layer of the frosting on top.
• Pipe a thick border along the edges of the cake, creating a dam that will hold the lemon curd inside the cake. Place half of the lemon curd in the middle and spread evenly. Then, place the second layer of the cake on top and repeat the process.
• Crumb coat the cake with a little bit of frosting and place it in the fridge for an hour. Place the piping bag with the rest of the frosting into the fridge too.
• Remove cake from the fridge and frost. Decorate with fresh blueberries and refrigerate for several hours or better overnight before serving.

Hummus

 

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (NOT drained)
• 2-4 cloves garlic (depending on how garlicky you prefer it)
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 3/4-1 tsp sea salt (depending on how salty you prefer it)
• 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

• Microwave undrained chickpeas and whole garlic cloves in a mixing bowl for 4-5 minutes.
• NOTE: Reserve 1/2 of the chickpea liquid to add in as needed while blending. Add the other 1/2 of the chickpea liquid with the chickpeas and garlic to a blender or food processor and process with lemon juice, salt and tahini. Stream in olive oil while mixing.
• Process until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides as needed. Add more of the reserved chickpea liquid as needed for creamier texture. 
• Taste and adjust seasonings as you prefer. I found 3/4 tsp of salt to be the perfect amount (amount as original recipe is written // refer to the lower end of range if altering batch size).
• Garnish with a little more olive oil and paprika, and serve with veggies, crackers and pita. Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or more. It tastes even better refrigerated, as it has time to thicken up and develop in flavor.

From minimalist baker