Favourite recipes from the SMH

Take a look at some of my favourite recipes that I have collected from the SMH over the last few years...

Raw chocolate orange milkshake

I am obsessed with milkshakes at the moment so I thought I would create a chocolate one for the Recipe Redux’s February theme of “Chocolate Love Is In The Air”.

Instead of using chocolate or cocoa, I have used cacao for this milkshake. Cacao (pronounced ka-kow) beans are the source of all chocolate and cocoa products. While cocoa powder is usually extracted at very high heats (approx 150C), often with the use of solvents, cacao powder is obtained using lower levels of heat (approx 40C) which means the heat sensitive vitamins and antioxidants in the cacao bean remain intact. Cacao powder is pure raw chocolate without the sugar, milk or added fats so it’s suitable for vegan and gluten free diets. It’s called raw chocolate because it is not cooked as per above and can be used for making desserts, smoothies and other chocolate goodies.

I use Ecuadorian Organic Cacao Powder by Power Super Foods, which has a nice flavour and smooth texture. Here is the nutritional information from the back of the pack. As you can see, the magnesium content is pretty high. Magnesium is great for muscle relaxation and stress relief –a perfect excuse to drink this milkshake!

I make my milkshake with whole unhomogenised milk (my excuse is I need the calories during the third trimester but really I just love whole milk), however you can make a lower fat milkshake using soy or low fat milk. You can also make a vegan milkshake using almond or soy milk and swapping the honey for maple or agave syrup.

What you will need for one milkshake

• 150 ml of your choice of milk
• 1 small frozen banana
• 1 heaped tbsp of cacao powder
• 2 heaped tsp peanut butter
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tsp orange blossom water (optional)

Blend together and serve immediately. Yum!

See below for other delicious chocolate recipes by my fellow Recipe Reduxers…

Beetroot and walnut tea cake

My friend Kate was coming round for afternoon tea on Wednesday (because thats what mature students do during summer holidays) so I thought I would experiment on her with a beetroot tea cake. I had a large beetroot sitting in my fridge that wasn't going to get used so this was the perfect home for it.

This tea cake is really light because there is absolutely no oil or butter in the recipe. It has a consistency between cake and bread and is nice and airy due to the addition of whipped egg whites. Its perfect eaten warm out of the oven or thickly sliced, toasted and covered in butter (or Flora or whatever spread you choose) - the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea.

With no added butter or oil, this cake is obviously low in saturated fat and the addition of LSA (ground linseeds, sunflower seeds and almond meal) and walnuts adds a good dose of plant omega 3s to the cake. Meanwhile, the inclusion of grated beetroot means you get some veggies with your cup of tea which is pretty unusual. With four eggs and wholemeal flour, this tea cake is not a bad source of protein either. I wish Foodworks would make a Mac friendly version so I could analyse the recipe and give you a full breakdown of nutrients per serve...

Anyhow, this recipe is adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Pumpkin and Raisin Tea Loaf from his brilliant River Cottage Veg cookbook.





What you will need:

4 large eggs separated
200 g brown sugar
200g of wholemeal self raising flour
200 g of grated raw beetroot
Grated zest and juice of one lemon
75 g walnuts
100g of LSA
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 170C and grease and line a loaf tin. Beat the egg yolks and the sugar until creamy and pale - you can do this with an electric whisk - and then carefully stir in the grated beetroot, lemon juice and zest, walnuts, LSA and salt. Sift the flour and the spices and fold into the mixture. In another large bowl, use an electric whisk to whip the egg whites until they are foamy and hold soft peaks, then fold into the cake mixture as lightly as possible. Pour the concoction into the loaf tin and bake for an hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tin for ten minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Almond and apricot tart

This tart might not be overly healthy but its delicious, its home made and unlike shop bought dessert, you know exactly what it contains. Everyone deserves a treat now and then, just remember to exercise portion control!

The inspiration for this dessert came from a delicious Apricot tart I had at a friends house one Friday night in December. Apricots are still in season so they are ripe and beautifully coloured. As we move out of summer, you could also use plums, which are cheap and in all the supermarkets right now.  You can also make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free flour.

Almond meal or ground almonds are used in the place of flour in this tart which reduces the glycaemic index (GI) of the dessert and also provides more fibre, protein and calcium than flour. Remember that almond meal is much higher in fat than flour and while this is mainly in the form of unsaturated “good” fats, you should bear this in mind. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recommends total fat should make up 20-35% of energy per day and that no more than 10% of this range be made up of saturated and trans fats. Fat, in particular, unsaturated fat, is essential in the diet but per gram it is higher in kJ than both carbohydrate and protein. It is therefore important to watch your fat intake to ensure you do not over-consume energy relative to your needs. Dietary modelling has also shown that diets with fat intakes exceeding 35% of energy usually involve a high intake of saturated fat (like the fats in butter). Saturated fat has been shown to increase LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol in the blood and thus the risk of Coronary Heart Disease. See the NHMRC’s information on Macronutrient balance for more information.

Yes, this recipe contains butter which means it contains saturated fat, but for people who are healthy and eat a balanced diet, this should not be a problem if eaten in moderation.

This tart is adapted from the Raspberry Tart recipe in the brilliant Leon cookbook I received as a birthday gift from my brother and sister in law in London.

Pastry

• 70 g butter
• 45 g caster sugar
• 1 egg, whisked
• 135 g spelt flour 

Filling

• 150 g butter
• 150 g caster sugar
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 150 g almond meal
• 3 tbsp of spelt flour
• zest of 1 lemon
• 200 g of apricots, stone removed and quartered  

You can make the pastry in a mixer or with a wooden spoon - cream together the butter and sugar until smooth then slowly add the whisked egg while mixing. Mix in the spelt flour until combined, then cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for half an hour.

While the pastry is chilling, heat the oven to 180C.  Once again, cream the butter and sugar until smooth, then slowly add the egg while mixing. I do this with an electric whisk to prevent the mixture from separating. Add the almond meal, spelt flour and the lemon zest and mix until just combined.

Roll out the pastry and line a 24 cm greased tart case (I use one with a removable base). Prick the base of the pastry case and blind bake at 180C until firm and just about fully cooked. You can use beans or pastry weights to prevent the pastry from rising.

Scatter the base with three quarters of the apricots and then pour in the almond meal mixture. Dot the surface with the remainder of the apricots in a pretty design of your choosing and bake at 160C for 50 minutes or until golden and cooked.