Author: cozebakes

Hidden Heart Cake – Standard and Gluten Free Options

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Soooo I’ve been looking at this cake for over a year now and really wanted to make it. The problem I had is the person I wanted to make it for is coeliac so I had to find a recipe that was gluten free and would work in holding up the style of cake. After a couple of attempts, I found a good one and it worked! I was so pleased with how it turned out that I sort of glowed happily for a while 😉

heart cake, hidden heart cake, gluten free heart cake, gluten free cake, sponge cake, gluten free sponge cake, valentines cake, heart cake, coeliac friendly bakingWith this cake, it’s not particularly difficult but it does take time. If you want, you can make it over two days. The issue is that each cake takes 65 – 75 mins to bake and can’t be made at the same time so plan ahead for this but otherwise, it’s so simple that it’s definitely worth trying to impress your loved ones.

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Chocolate Digestive Biscuits

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Homemade digestive biscuits are so rustic, so tasty and practically healthy with their wholemeal flour, oats and wheat germ, that having one or two with your cup of tea seems almost a good thing! There is very little sugar added to this recipe so really, compared to the shop bought, very sweet digestive biscuit, these soar way above and are most definitely worth making. They don’t have that very sweet taste the processed ones tend to which is refreshing!

I used milk chocolate to cover mine but if you prefer dark chocolate, then by all means go ahead and use that. I made a batch and they were gone in quick time. Try them …. go on …

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Low Fat Banana & Blueberry Muffins

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A great recipe for a low in fat muffin that tastes great with the bursts of fresh blueberries in each bite and the sweetness of very ripe bananas.

You can use regular self raising flour but for a higher fibre, more healthy option, you can completely replace with self raising wholemeal flour (or wholemeal spelt as I did) or go half and half. I replaced the muscovado sugar with a sugar substitute and instead of buttermilk, I used 0% fat free yoghurt.

The original recipe called for olive oil but living in Ireland we have fantastic Rapeseed oil grown here and readily available and it’s a healthier option.

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Gluten Free & Dairy Free Healthy Banana Loaf

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~ cozebakes ~ 2 Comments

Talk about throw it all in the bowl and go …. this recipe is exactly that! Crazy how quick it all comes together and it’s in the oven before you know it!

You can use honey or maple syrup but I replaced these with agave instead and again you can choose walnuts or pecans, whichever you like best … or both!

As there’s no flour in the recipe, only ground almonds, I would be careful about adding dried fruits as there’s a good chance they will sink to the bottom. Let the bananas do the talking! Originally 2 bananas were called for but I added in another half to help bind it together and then sliced the remainer and placed on top. I sprinkled a teeny bit of raw can sugar on the slices just to finish them off.

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Healthy Low Sugar Flapjacks – Can be made Gluten Free

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These are a healthier version of the traditional Flapjack and nowhere near as sweet as them. Using bananas and apple to bind the mixture, it straightaway cuts down on the amount of sugar used. I made a more adult version which replaces the peanut butter with tahini and I added dried cranberries to make up for the lack of sweetness from removing the peanut butter.

Organic honey, apricots, raisins and oats all add to a really great snack on the run and if you add in a good handful of mixed seeds, you have a great “power snack”.

I’ll give both options in the list of ingredients so you can choose which will suit you and your family best.

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Oaty Apple Crumble – Can be Gluten Free

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We love a crumble in our house and even though we add different things at different times, there’s nothing like the original, not messed with version to just put an “aaahhhh” in your belly! I make this gluten free for the coeliacs in my house by using gluten free flour and oats.

I’ve adapted the ingredients so they are perfect for 4 people and used a dish measuring approx. 20cm x 16cm. I’ve also reduced the original sugar content by over half. There won’t be any leftovers from this! It’s so easy to make, takes 10 mins to put together and 35 mins in the oven. Show everyone in the house how to make this and then let their creative juices flow.

Just double up for a bigger group to feed.

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Coconut & Raspberry Loaf – Dairy Free

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I’ve had this recipe in my virtual back pocket for a while now just waiting for the right time to make it. Everything about it just smacks of nostalgia, tea time, quaint vintage vibes and I didn’t want it to go to waste.

So when I joined a new group of lovely crochet loving ladies, I knew immediately what to bring along and it was perfect! The recipe yields a 2lb loaf size and it’s quite dense hence the loaf in the title and not cake. It calls for frozen raspberries which I always have in the freezer and I think the next one will be made using the bag of frozen mixed berries I have. It needs nothing more than a light dusting of icing sugar and that’s really only for a bit of extra flourish and why not!

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Gluten Free Apple Cake

~ cozebakes ~ 1 Comment

This recipe originates from Jo Wheatley of Great British Bake Off fame. It’s a family favourite passed down from her aunt. As I live with a coeliac who loves anything with apple in it, I wanted to adapt this one so everyone could enjoy it. It worked out really well and is a very easy, straightforward and delicious cake. It’s crying out to be served with some custard or cream (your preference) and could be dressed up to make it a little bit special by adding a caramel topping.

There is another Apple Cake recipe on cozebakes if you prefer to make that, just search for Apple Cake and it will show up 🙂

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Nutella Cookies – Gluten Free

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We were given some shop bought cookies that are gluten free and I was so disappointed at the taste. It’s a pity this is what’s available to coeliacs as a treat. So I found this recipe and they are just the bomb. They really taste great and you won’t buy biscuits again after making these.

The mention of the word Nutella seems to send lots of people into raptures of how they eat it, how they love it and how delicious it is. All this is very true. Nutella is a jar of sheer luxury, decadence and total indulgence!

This is a quick and simple recipe for gluten free cookies using Nutella as the main ingredient. Adding an egg with an egg white gives them a touch of lightness that adds to their appeal.

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Mint Crisp Big Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I was shopping and saw there was a special offer on Cadbury’s Chocolate Mint Crisp bars and figured I could do something with them. The vote was between cookies or brownies and the cookies won plus they are great for gifting too.

I found this recipe which uses eggs and egg yolk and gives them a nice chewy texture with crispy edges and knew the mint crisp pieces would be perfect in every bite.

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Orange & Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

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A simple and make ahead recipe that results in delicious shortbread cookies. They are melt in the mouth, buttery with the delicious addition of zesty orange and cranberry pieces.

The trick for perfect shortbread is not to overbake them. Take them out before they look “done” and you will have the perfect shortbread cookie. The other great thing about Shortbread is that it requires no eggs so if you have an allergy, then this recipe is for you.

Originally the recipe was coated in caster sugar before baking but I changed it to Golden Caster Sugar just to give them a slight golden hue and an added flavor burst.

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