Hey guys, it’s been a hot minute! But, I’ve got a good one for you. Lemon olive oil Cookies! So, it was the end of the week and I didn’t have that many ingredients left but I still wanted to bake something sweet and easy. Then it hit me, I’ve been seeing olive oil cookies all over my for you page and I finally decided to give them a try. They always looked so good, soft on the inside with a crinkle outside and they’re dairy free. But these cookies have a twist, they’re not only dairy free, they are also gluten and sugar free. I also added lemon because it pairs great and really enhances the flavour. If you want you can drizzle them with icing or sprinkle on some white sugar. I went with flaky sea salt, my go-to for all my cookies, because I like the added kick of salt. So, let’s get into it.
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg
1 cup gluten free flour (I used freee gluten free flour)
2 tbsp sugar free brown sugar (I used Truvia soft brown sugar)
3tbsp sugar free white sugar (I used Truvia’s white sugar)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp flaky salt
lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
Directions
Add the olive oil and sugar to a bowl and whisk until well combined.
Add the lemon juice and zest and give it a quick mix.
Sift in the flour and baking powder. This is an important step to get rid of any lumps and avoid over-mixing.
Use a spatula to fold in the flour gently.
Line a tray with baking paper, scoop out the dough evenly into balls and flatten them slightly on the lined tray.
Bake at 160ºC (with fan) for 20 mins.
Allow to cool and sprinkle with some flaky salt.
There you have it! If you try these out, let me know what you think down in the comments. This is a great recipe to try out because you most likely already have these ingredients in your kitchen. I hope you enjoy this one and come back for more gluten and dairy free recipes, xoxo.
Hey guys, welcome back to the blog! Today’s recipe is a play on a traditional artisan style loaf bread. Have you ever walked by a bakery with all kinds of breads lined up? Unfortunately, if you can’t have gluten like me, you walk past them. Before I became gluten free, I used to enjoy all kinds of loaf bread, but since cutting gluten out of my diet, I’ve missed it. Since I had a bag of Bob’s red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (the red bag) laying around, I thought I’d try to make an artisan style loaf bread. This gluten free flour has a heavy garbanzo bean flour base or chickpea flour with a mix of fava bean and sorghum flour. These types of flours aren’t ideal for cookies and cakes but they work great in bread recipes. Here is how you can use them.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour ( I used Bob’s Red Mill)
2 tbsp arrowroot powder (starch)
1 cup warm plant-based milk
2 tbsp yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp white vinegar
Instructions
Preheat your oven at 180ºC
Combine your dry ingredients together in one bowl. I used instant active dry yeast so I simply mixed it into the flour but if you need to activate your yeast, mix it in the warm milk with the sugar and let it sit for 5 mins before adding it in the bread dough.
Add the olive oil, milk and vinegar to the dry ingredients. It’s easier to combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and use your hand or spatula to knead the dough together after combining them with the flour.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 45mins-1hr in a warm place.
Bake at 180ºC in a lined baking pan. I used a cake pan lined with baking paper.
Let it cool down before storing in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Red velvet cakes were always a mystery to me, I naively thought they were just a chocolate cake with red food colouring, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. A red velvet cake is a traditionally red, brownish red, or crimson coloured cake. The original recipe created a natural red hue due to a reaction between cacao and vinegar, however most red velvet cake recipes today include red food colouring. A red velvet cake is a soft, moist, crumbly cake with a combination of vanilla and cacao. It usually includes vinegar, buttermilk, and baking soda to create a light, fluffy texture and a slight tangy flavour.
I never had a desire to learn how to make a red velvet cake, let alone a gluten free one, however my mom (who is allergic to gluten) had been wanting to try a red velvet cake for a while, so I decided to attempt it. I baked a two tier red velvet cake, layered with buttercream frosting and fresh strawberries, so here’s what you need to know.
Which flour should I use?
For this type of red velvet cake, I’d recommend using a gluten free self-raising flower (I like freee’s self-raising) or you can use an all purpose gluten free flour blend. Simply be aware that most gluten free flours are quite dense so you might want to balance out your blend with another flour such as almond flour.
Is this recipe dairy free?
No, this recipe is not dairy free since it includes butter, however it is without buttermilk. The reason I can add butter to my baking is that it is relatively low in lactose, but if you are completely dairy free then a vegan butter should work as well. To replace buttermilk, I used a plant-based milk with a tablespoon of vinegar. You can use almond milk or coconut milk (avoid canned coconut milk).
What food colouring should I use?
For this recipe, I used liquid food colouring because it was the only one I could find (I also couldn’t find a red one so I opted for pink). If you’re using gel food colouring replace the tablespoon measurements with one teaspoon.
Ingredients
For the Cake (this makes one 10″ layer cake)
1/2 cup butter
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup plant-based milk
1 tbsp vinegar
3 cups gf flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp red food colouring
For the Buttercream
50g cup softened butter
100-150g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
a bunch of strawberries
Directions
Preheat your oven at 180ºC and ensure all your ingredients are at room temperature.
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until well combined.
Add in your eggs one at a time and mix until you get a smooth mixture. Add in the vanilla extract.
In another bowl, sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cacao (Keep in mind I used salted butter in this recipe so if you’re using unsalted butter, add 1/2 tsp of salt to your dry ingredients).
In a measuring cup, add your plant-based milk and vinegar, stir and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
To your egg mixture, add your milk and flour in increments. I like to use a hand mixture to get a smooth batter, but you can also use a standing mixer.
Add the food colouring to your batter and mix until well incorporated.
Grease the sides of your baking tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Pour in your batter and bake for 35-40 mins.
Allow your cake to cool for 5 mins in the pan before removing and allowing to cool on a rack.
For the icing, cream softened room temp butter, icing sugar, plant-based milk and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Make sure your cake has completely cooled down before icing.
Optional: slice up some strawberries to decorate your cake. I find the strawberries complement all the flavours really well.
Extra Tip
If you want an extra moist cake, I’d recommend soaking the cake layers in simple syrup before decorating. To make the syrup simply boil equal parts water and sugar, allow it to cool before drizzling over the levelled cakes.
Lately, I’ve been into no-bake desserts, they’re quick and easy and store well for quick snacks on the go. Although, I never thought of using rice cakes, I always thought they tasted like Styrofoam, until they started trending on TikTok recently, forcing me to see them in a different light. After countless of videos on rice cake snacks, I decided to put my own twist on them and make no-bake chocolate rice cake bars. These are gluten and dairy free and are so decadent with a drizzle of almond butter, you won’t want to miss them. So grab that bag of rice cakes in the back of your pantry and let’s get into it.
What kind of rice cakes do I need?
Any kind of rice cake should work with this recipe, I used Kallo’s rice cakes. However, if you are really against rice cakes you can opt for corn cakes instead, simply make sure they’re the thick ones as the thin ones can be more crunchy than soft.
Is this recipe vegan?
Yes! This recipe is vegan. Normally, my no-bake desserts include honey, however in this case the dairy-free chocolate chips I used were sweetened with xylitol (making the recipe refined-sugar free as well). If your chocolate chips aren’t sweetened, you could always add 1-2 tbsp liquid sweetener of choice.
Ingredients
6-8 rice cakes
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup dairy free chocolate chips – I used Neofoods, but you can also used a bar of chocolate.
1 tbsp plant-based milk – I used almond
1/4 cup toppings – I used almond flakes and shredded coconut. You can also add dried fruit, walnuts or any toppings you’d like.
2 tbsp almond butter (optional)
1/2 tsp flaky salt – I find that a little sprinkle of salt really enhances them.
Steps
In a bowl, crush your rice cakes into small pieces.
In a heatproof bowl, add your chocolate, coconut oil and milk and place over a double boiler until melted.
Allow the chocolate to cool down completely (this is important otherwise you’ll end up with soggy bars) before adding to the crushed rice cakes.
Use a spatula to mix until all the rice cakes are coated in chocolate.
Add your toppings and press the mixture into a lined baking tin. Drizzle with some nut butter and sprinkle some sea salt.
Refrigerate until hardened before cutting into bars.
You can store these in the fridge for up to a week or freeze them for longer. This has been my go-to no-bake snack for a couple of weeks now and I can’t get enough of it. I hope you try these out and let me know what you think of them down in the comments. Please like and follow for more quick recipes like this one, xoxo.
No bake energy bites or snacks are probably one of my favourites recipes out there, they’re quick and easy to make and you can change their flavour combinations every time. You can also make these almond energy balls ahead of time and store for a quick snack. Most recipes I’ve found contain dates, peanuts or cashews and require a blender or food processor. So I decided to make my own version of no bake bites, using almonds and coconut, that tastes like actual cookie dough! All you need are a few simple ingredients and a spatula to stir, here is how you can make them.
Ingredients
1 cup Almond flour – I like to use almond flour because it doesn’t require any baking. But if you don’t have almond flour you can also use gluten free fine oats or rolled oats (you can also toast them if you don’t like the taste of raw oats).
1/4 cup almond butter or any nut butter – this helps combine the ingredients and adds a great nutty flavour.
2 tbsp honey – for some sweetness and to help the ingredients stick together. You can choose any liquid sweetener you like.
2 tbsp chia seeds- for more fibre and honestly I just really like chia seeds.
1-2 tbsp plant-based milk – depending on how dry you dough is you might need to add a few tablespoons of milk. If the texture is too crumbly try adding a tablespoon of plant-based milk (I used almond milk).
Optional: 1/4 chocolate chips or raisins or any toppings you’d like.
1/4 cup shredded coconut – to coat the energy balls.
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Steps
In a bowl, add the almond flour, chia seeds, cinnamon and toppings.
Add in your liquid ingredients; almond butter, honey, and vanilla and combine until you form a dough.
If the texture is too dry or crumbly add in a tablespoon of milk.
Refrigerated for 5-10 mins before scooping and rolling into balls. I usually wet my hands for this step to prevent the mixture from sticking to my hands.
In a plate, sprinkle some shredded coconut and coat each energy ball.
You can store these energy bites in the fridge for up to two weeks.
There you have it! Easy, no-bake almond, coconut bites. If you want to try different flavours some of my favourites are double chocolate (simply add a tablespoon of cacao powder to the recipe) and coffee (add a teaspoon of instant coffee to your milk). Feel free to mix up the flavours and let me know your favourites down in the comments. I hope you enjoyed this recipe and please like and follow for more, thank you for reading, xoxo.
More recipes like this one…
Best Almond chocolate oat cookies (find the recipe here)
Cinnamon raisin bread is a flavored bread usually made with white flour and a cinnamon sugar swirl in the middle. This gluten free version is a loaf bread, sweetened with coconut sugar. It’s a play on my favorite raisin pastry as a child and it’s a must try recipe. This gluten free bread is soft and fluffy, with a buttery cinnamon flavor. Here’s how you can make it…
Which flours work best?
For this recipe you don’t need any complex flour blends, any all purpose gluten free flour should work well. I’ve tried it with multiple all purpose flours and they all work well, but it’s best to opt for one with xanthum gum. Also try to avoid blends that are heavy with bean flours because I find it adds an aftertaste to bread and pastries.
Add in the eggs, milk, water, vinegar, butter and oil and mix until well incorporated. I used a hand mixer for this to ensure no lumps remained.
Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and fold in the raisins.
Transfer the dough into a lined baking pan and allow to rise in a warm place for 45mins to 1hr.
Bake at 200ºC for 45 mins until the top turns golden brown.
Allow to cool before slicing. Best served warm with a drizzle of almond butter.
Thank you for joining on today’s post, I hope you try out the recipe and let me know what you think. Please like and follow for more gluten free recipes like this one, xoxo.
If you’ve never tried brioche, you haven’t lived. When I was a kid, it was one of the things I looked forward to most when going grocery shopping. My parent’s would always buy a fresh brioche bun from the bakery, it was sweet and pillowy with a golden, sticky crust. Brioche is a French bread, traditionally loaded with eggs and butter, making it rich, light and fluffy. The best way to describe it is a pastry-like bread. Unfortunately, if you’re gluten free like I am, finding a gluten free brioche is tough. Gluten is what helps dough rise in pastry, which means that gluten free pastries are usually more dense.
When I was buying a traditional brioche for my family the other day, I finally decided I had to attempt make a gluten free one. But, because I felt this would be hard enough to achieve, I decided not to make this recipe dairy free. So, this recipe uses traditional butter, but you can always try vegan butter if you cannot have any dairy. I can use butter in my recipes because it’s low in lactose, using vegan butter should work fine although keep in mind it may change the taste of your brioche bun.
Types of Brioches
Brioches come in all shapes and sizes as well as different flavours. They can be plain or have sweet or savoury fillings. They can be made into a loaf, individual buns, or one big bun. Traditionally, they contain flour, eggs, butter, milk or cream, yeast, salt, and sugar. Some of my favourite types of brioches are chocolate brioches, coconut-filled brioche buns, and the raisin filled loaf. However, in this recipe I chose to make a plain sweet loaf, but you can easily add any filling you like to the dough.
Why this recipe?
The best thing about this recipe is that it is quick and very easy to make compared to most brioche recipes. It’s perfect for someone who has never even tried a hand at pastry making or bread making. The ingredients are also simple and easy to find, but a fair warning, you will want to make it more than once! Here is how you can make your own brioche bread…
Ingredients
4 eggs (+1 for the egg wash)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup coconut sugar or xylitol
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup almond or oat milk
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
1 pinch of salt (if butter is unsalted)
Directions
Pre-heat your oven at 150ºC, you will want a warm place for you dough to rise. I like to warm up the oven, then turn it off, and leave the dough to rise for 1-2 hrs.
If you’re using active dry yeast, you may need to activate it; warm up 2/3 cup milk, milk in 1 tbsp of sugar, and spread the yeast on top. Let it sit for 10 mins before mixing. You should get a frothy mixture.
If you’re using instant yeast like I did, you can simply add it to your flour, mix in the salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and butter together.
Mix in the sugar and slowly fold in the flour (Incorporate the yeast mixture at this point if you’re using active dry yeast)
Ensure you do not overman the dough, just well enough that you don’t have any dry flour.
Lightly dust your surface and scoop out the dough.
Dust the top of your dough so that you are able to handle it. You don’t want to knead it, but you want to be able to fold it over 3-4 times.
Divide the dough into two halves, form it into two lengths so that you can twist and lace them into shape. You can also opt for a 3 strand plait or simply shape the loaf as a whole. The dough should be thick enough to handle but soft and moist enough that it easily moulds into shape.
Place your loaf into an oiled silicone loaf tin or one lined with parchment paper.
Allow to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
Beat one egg to brush over the top of the dough, I did two layers, one before baking and one 20 mins after.
Bake for 30-40 mins at 200ºC. Allow to cool before slicing.
A note from the author
Thank you for joining us on this recipe post, I hope you enjoyed it. If you’ve reached the end, or even better, decided to attempt the recipe, please like and follow for more recipes like this one. There’s a lot more in store.. xoxo.
Hey guys, welcome back to the blog! Today’s recipe is a matcha coconut cookie with almonds. I’ve been on a matcha craze lately so I thought why not add it to my cookies. I chose to pair the flavour of matcha with coconut which balanced it perfectly. These cookies ended up being thick and moist with a lightly sweet flavour. You might think matcha doesn’t belong in cookies but you’ll find its flavour works great in baked goods and even if you hate matcha, I’m pretty sure you’re going to love these matcha cookies.
What is Matcha?
Matcha is simply grounded green tea leaves that have been used most commonly in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies. It’s popularity on social media has risen considerably in recent years for its health benefits and also for its aesthetic. But, there is more to matcha than just its pretty green colour, it has a number of health benefits, including improving your metabolism, calming the body, lowering blood sugar, and it is packed with antioxidants. If you want to know how to get the best out of matcha, check out my matcha latte recipe here.
Baking With Matcha
Matcha is a versatile superfood and it’s fun to incorporate it in different ways. When baking with matcha, it’s best to use fine grade matcha for that earthy flavour and vibrant colour. To incorporate it better, you can choose to sift the matcha powder into your dry ingredients. Since matcha is slightly bitter, it needs sweetness to balance it out. It’s used in many recipes, from matcha brownies to matcha bread. Here is what you’ll need to make the best matcha cookies.
Ingredients
1/4 cup xylitol or coconut sugar
2 tbsp coconut oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (or any flavour extract)
1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup gf all purpose flour
1 tbsp matcha
1/4 cup shredded coconut + 1 tbsp
1/4 cup flaked almonds + 1 tbsp
1 tbsp almond milk (or any plant-based milk)
Step 1: Whisk the coconut oil and sugar together until well incorporated. Mix in the flavour extract and eggs, ensuring the sugar is dissolved. It’s best to allow all your ingredients to come to room temperature.
Step 2: Fold in the different flours, matcha, salt, and baking powder until you get a smooth thick cookie batter, add a tablespoon of milk if the dough is too dry. Mix in the coconut and almond flakes.
Step 3: Chill the cookie dough for 10-15mins, then scoop out the cookie dough onto a lined baking tray. Sprinkle with more coconut and almond flakes before baking at 180ºC for 20-25 mins or until slightly browned on the edges.
They are best served warm and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for longer storage. It’s taken some time to perfect baking with matcha but this recipe definitely makes it worth it. I hope you try it out and like and follow for more recipes, xoxo.
Hey guys, welcome back to the blog! Today’s recipe is a gluten and dairy free milk cake. This cake is a play on a tres leches cake, but it is a much simplified version. It is light and decadent, with a slightly sweet coconut flavour. Tres leches cake (three milk cake) is a Spanish dessert consisting of a sponge cake soaked in three types of milk; evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. The sponge cake is meant to have a light and airy texture. Despite being soaked in milk, it’s supposed to retain its texture without being soggy. There are several varieties of the milk cake, but in this version I’ve opted for soaking in one layer of milk for a healthier option. The cake is not overly sweet, usually with a cinnamon flavour, but for the dairy-free option, I’ve chosen coconut milk and coconut flavours throughout the different layers.
I used my gluten free sponge cake for this recipe, with a few alterations. You can find the original recipe here. I opted for an almond sponge with a shredded coconut layer on top. The cake is supposed to be refrigerated and unlike many gluten free cakes, this one stays moist and soft even when cold. I made this recipe for a family lunch and everyone absolutely loved it and I’m sure you will too. If you want to keep it closer to the original tres leches cake, I’d suggest using a layer of coconut whipping cream on top. You can also top it with different nuts such as pistachios, but since I’m allergic to them, I went for sliced almonds and pumpkin seeds for a the green colour. Now, let’s get into it.
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
6 eggs
1/2 cup xylitol or erythritol (or regular white sugar if not sugar free)
1 tsp almond extract
1 1/4 cup gf flour blend
3/4 cup almond flour
3 tbsp almond or oat milk
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup shredded coconut
Milk Layer + topping
1 can of coconut milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cardamom seeds or cardamom powder (optional)
2 tbsp pumkin seeds (optional)
2 tbsp almond flakes (optional)
Instructions: Baking the Sponge
Separate your egg yolks from the egg whites.
In one bowl, whist the egg yolks and sugar together.
Over a double boiler, whisk the egg yolks until light and runny for one minute.
Add in the almond extract and coconut oil.
In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until white and fluffy.
Fold in one scoop of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture before incorporating all of the egg whites.
Sift in the flours and baking powder, pour in the milk and fold in gently. Avoid over-mixing the batter.
Pour the batter into a lined baking tin and top it with shredded coconut.
Bake the cake at 180ºC for 30-35 mins.
Instructions: Assembling the cake
While you cake is baking you can make your milk to soak it in. Heat up one can of coconut milk in a saucepan over low heat with the sugar and cardamom.
Once the sugar has melted, remove it from the heat and set aside.
Once the cake has cooled slightly, use a skewer to poke holes all over it. This to allow the milk to soak through. You can also cut the edges of the cake off to allow milk to soak in all around. I sliced of the sides of the cake to make it a bit cleaner.
Pour 1/3 of the milk mixture over the cake. You will want to let it soak up before pouring over the other batches of milk.
Once you have poured in all of the milk, sprinkle your toppings and let the cake set in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
There you have it! My simple and delicious version of a three milk cake. I loved this dessert because I enjoy coconut, but if you don’t particularly like coconut you can opt out of the coconut layer and replace the coconut milk with a thicker oat milk. I haven’t tried this yet, but I imagine the barista oat milk creamers would work well to soak a cake. I hope you enjoyed this recipe, please like and follow if you did, and I hope to see you back next time, thank you for reading, xoxo.
The fluffiest healthy muffins you will ever make! These double chocolate banana muffins are an easy, guilt-free treat you can make for any occasion. Gluten and dairy free muffins can be tricky to make but this recipe makes a soft and delicious muffin. I like altering the toppings every time I bake muffins but in this recipe I went with a classic double chocolate chip combo. Other great flavours that work well with the banana oats recipe are blueberry or coffee streusel muffins.
It’s been a month since I’ve been on summer break, unfortunately, I’m spending mine in winter. But, nothing cheers me up more than warm, gooey chocolate muffins on a winter night. Lately, I’ve been trying to focus on blogging and investing more time into the blog. I think this recipe is the perfect kickstart to this new phase and I’m excited for it!
Ingredients
3 eggs
3 bananas
1/4 cup xylitol or coconut sugar (sugar substitute)
1 cup gf flour
1 cup fine oats
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder
1/4 cup unsweetened, dairy free chocolate chips
For this recipe, you can use fresh bananas or you can heat up some frozen bananas like I did. I found that it didn’t affect the taste or the consistency of the muffins, plus it makes the recipe much easier to use bananas you might already have lying in the freezer.
I get a lot of questions on the type of dairy free chocolate chips I use, I get mine from a local grocery store that sources them from Madagascar. The chocolate chips are dairy free and sweetened with xylitol which makes it sugar-free friendly.
Directions
Mash the bananas until smooth and mix in the eggs, coconut oil, and xylitol.
Fold in the oats, gf flour, baking powder, cacao and chocolate chips until we’ll incorporated.
Pour into two greased muffin tins. Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins at 180°C or until darker in color.
A Few Helpful Tips
These muffins are best served warm, heat them up in the microwave for 20 secs.
They store well in the fridge for up to 5-6 days.
Using fine oats adds a nice texture to the muffins but you can blend your oats if you find them too coarse.
Thank you for reading this recipe, I’ll have a few more coming out soon. I hope you’ll stay and follow for more recipes and to support the blog, xoxo.
Health Boss 