Healthier Chocolate Pear Muffins

Ever since I saw this on Better Homes and Gardens, I've wanted to try this Chocolate Pear Muffin recipe. It looked pretty easy and yummy, and it was already egg- and dairy-free, so I didn't need to make any substitutions.

So I bought the magazine, planning to make these yummy muffins. That was in November last year! I have to say though, it was worth the wait. This recipe is fairly easy and it is delicious as well as fairly healthy.

As for no substitutions, well, I did have to make a couple of little ones as I (yet again) didn't have all the ingredients! Luckily, this recipe was forgiving of my last-minute switches.

Healthier Chocolate Pear Muffins
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Makes 12

Ingredients
250g wholemeal self-raising flour
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
125g golden syrup (I had to substitute half this with treacle)
2 large pears, peeled, cored, grated
100g raisins, chopped (or use sultanas or currants)
100g extra virgin olive oil
185mL non-dairy milk
Extra 1/2 pear, finely sliced

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C (fan-forced 160C)
2. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases
3. Sift flour, cocoa and cinnamon into a bowl.
4. Combine syrup, pear, raisin, oil and milk in a separate bowl. Beat into flour mixture.
5. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and top with extra pear (the cases will be almost full to the top if you make 12).
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Notes

• 28 April '12: I originally posted that ordinary cocoa powder is fine. I substituted Nestle baking cocoa for the dark cocoa powder as that's what we currently have in the pantry. As Jappy pointed out, it may contain traces of milk. If you need to strictly avoid milk, then please use dark cocoa powder and always check the ingredient list on your purchases.

Gluten-Free Five Cup Loaf

I went to visit a friend whose boy is on an elimination diet. So I modified the Five Cup Loaf recipe to try and fit with their current restrictions: gluten-free, soy-free, additive-free. So I substituted gluten-free flour, rice milk and fresh apple and frozen berries.

How did it go? Well, it worked out kind of ok, but it was completely flat. It also needed a lot more cooking, about another half hour. Next time I might try adding some xantham gum, something I've avoided buying so far. At least it tasted good!

Here's the recipe again, with the substitutions.

Gluten-free Five Cup Loaf
Ingredients
1 cup gluten-free self-raising flour (or ordinary gluten-free flour + 2 tsp baking powder)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup frozen berries
1 cup rice milk

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Line a loaf tin with baking paper and set aside.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. A spoon will do.
3. Pour into lined loaf tin.
4. Bake for 60-90 mins until cake springs back when lightly touched in the centre.

Five Cup Loaf

Ever looking for things to buy, recently renewed my long-forgotten membership of Simple Savings. Ironic, perhaps?* Still being in a splurge mode, I bought a copy of the $21 Challenge book, even though I figured a lot of the recipes would not be egg or dairy free.

Inside was a recipe for Five Cup Loaf***. It doesn't have any eggs and I realised the recipe could be easily modified for non-dairy milk. It's a nice, easy recipe, something I really like!

Five Cup Loaf
Ingredients
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup sultanas (or any dried fruit, I used a mix of currants & orange peel)
1 cup oat milk (or other non-dairy milk)

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Line a loaf tin with baking paper and set aside.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. A spoon will do.
3. Pour into lined loaf tin.
4. Bake for 40-45 mins until cake springs back when lightly touched in the centre.

Notes

• Don't leave the mixture to stand too long, I left mine for a bit and the currants all ended up on the bottom
• I used a large loaf tin, but I think you could do this in a small loaf tin and not cook it for as long, as it doesn't rise that much. The $21 challenge book says 25 min, but this wasn't the case for me.

* Simple Savings is a website devoted to teaching you how to save money. It can actually be very helpful, but initially you do have to fork out some dough!**
** Or just sign up for the free newsletter.
*** I've since found this recipe is quite common elsewhere. OK, that's probably enough with the asterisks now!

Egg free and (mostly) dairy free lasagne

I was missing lasagne a lot, so I decided to make some at last. I am not really sure if goat cheese counts as dairy-free, but it's not cow's milk cheese anyway. If you don't have goat cheese, you can leave it out as it only adds a little bit of extra taste. Or try tofu! I am tempted to try one of the tofu substitutions I've read, the next time I make lasagne.

Egg-free and cow-milk free lasagne
Instant lasagne sheets
Goat cheese

Tomato Sauce
600g Mince meat
1 large Onion
2 cloves Garlic
1Tbsp. Tomato paste
Dairy-free chicken stock
Salt to taste
half large bottle Passata

Bechamel Sauce
4 Tbsp. dairy free margarine
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups dairy free soy, oat or rice milk
salt and pepper to taste
pinch nutmeg

Method
Tomato Sauce
This is a pretty rough guide, I am sure everyone has their own bolognaise sauce recipe or a vegetable sauce recipe

1. Sweat off the onions & garlic
2. Brown the mince. I think it's important to make sure all the liquid has evaporated.
3. Add tomato paste & cook for a minute
4. Add passata, stock and salt to taste. Simmer for an hour or until sauce has reduced sufficiently. (You can use canned tomato instead of passata)

Bechamel Sauce

1. Melt dairy-free margarine on low in a saucepan.
2. Add the flour to saucepan and whisk mixture until flour is incorporated and not lumpy, about 1 minute or so.
3. Slowly add the dairy-free milk, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Whisk constantly for about 5-10 minutes on medium or until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Layering

1. Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan force
2. Ladle tomato sauce on bottom of oven-proof dish
3. Cover with lasagne sheet
4. Spread some of the bechamel on top
5. Top with tomato sauce
6. Repeat layering of lasagne sheets, bechamel and tomato sauce until used up
7. Top with goat cheese
8. Cover dish with foil or lid and bake for 45 minutes
9. Remove foil/lid and bake for further 15 minutes until top is nice and golden. Remove from oven, cool for a little and then cut and enjoy!