Healthy Natural Chocolate Protein Bar Recipe (with PB2)

Natural Chocolate Protein Bar Recipe

Pretty much every recipe I post seems to being with some variation of 'I love chocolate'. And it's true! It is definately the one thing I practically live on and can honestly say after going a year without it... I am so happy to be a chocolate addict again..! When people say 'chocolate', you'd be forgiven if the first pictures that come to mind were large bars of animal fat and sugar ridden Dairy Milk and Galaxy bars. Or sugary caramel and biscuit stuffed Twix or Mars bars. Cocoa in itself is actually healthy and contains antioxidants that are good for the body (and the soul!). I actually prefer dark chocolate (the darker the better..!), as it has a much richer cocoa taste and nicer texture in my opinion. Although I do indulge slightly in Cadbury's chocolate, I must limit my amount of sugary treats due to hypoglycemia.. therefore due to the much lower sugar content of dark chocolate it is also much nicer to your blood sugar!
 Whether you're trying to get healthier / fitter, lose weight or have blood sugar control issues, it doesn't mean you have to give up on delicious chocolatey treats. These protein flapjack bars are all natural (containing dry milk powder instead of protein powder), packed full of nutrition and taste (dare I say) even better than those store bought factory produced mass bars.
  Although I am trying to track my protein intake to help in building muscle mass at the moment, I do not take any protein supplements or powders for a number of reasons. One of these is that people do not seem to realise that they probably get enough protein in their diet already (protein comes in so many forms; meat, fish, dairy, nuts etc) but too much can actually be harmful to the liver. Therefore I have substituted a more natural way to get a protein boost through ingredients such as dried milk powders (which was initially suggested by my nutritionist). Also, pre-made protein bars (especially in the UK) seem to full of additives, sugars and artificial ingredients that just don't need to be there. (An exception that I do buy is Nakd's fruit, oat and nut bars which contain only natural ingredients and no powders, additives or added sugars but pack a good amount of protein!).

I'm a guilt-free treat.. believe it!

Makes : approx. 9 bars

Ingredients

Base:

35g Oat Flour (I made my own by grinding rolled oats until very fine)
20g Rolled Oats
1 Tsp Maple Syrup (or other liquid sweetener such as agave or honey)
1 Banana, mashed (approx. 75g to 85g)
1 Tbsp PB2 (alternatively, use any nut butter)
Optional; Dried Skimmed Milk Powder (depending on how much of a protein boost you want, I typically use between 5g to 15g).

Peanut Butter Layer:

2 Tbsp PB2 Chocolate (or PB2 or any nut butter)

Chocolate Layer:

5g to 7g Dark Chocolate (I used Lindt 85% Cocoa)
2 Tsp (approx. 8g) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 and 1/2 Tsp Maple Syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
1 Tsp Extract (Ones I have used; Orange, Vanilla, Peppermint, Caramel and Strawberry)

Method

• Preheat oven to 180C and line / grease a baking tray.
• In a bowl, mash banana until smooth and mix in the PB2 and syrup.
• Fold in oat flour and dried milk powder (if using) until well combined.
• Fold in the rolled oats and mix until well coated.
• Place base mixture onto tray and spread / press into a flat square (alternatively use a small square tin).
• Bake for approx. 15 - 20 min until golden brown.
• Allow to cool for approx. 10 min.
• Meanwhile, make up the PB2 (or nut butter) and spread layer on top of the base.
• For the chocolate layer, melt the dark chocolate for a few seconds in a microwave.
• Mix in the syrup and extract.
• Combine in the cocoa powder and mix until the mixture is a slightly thick / fudgy paste.
• Spread chocolate on top of the nut butter layer.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing into bars.
• Keep in a fridge.

Tips & Serving Ideas

• Use different extracts for different flavoured chocolate coating!
• Add in dried fruit and / or nuts into oat mixture.
• Sprinkle chopped nuts, chocolate chips or dessicated coconut on top of the chocolate layer.
• The milk powder is simply for an added boost of protein and can easily be omitted without any effect on the finished product. (You may also use your protein powder of choice)

 Cara X

Simple Winnie the Pooh Honey Cake Recipe

Winnie the Pooh Honey Cake Recipe

I like cake moulds. In fact, I love them. I have a growing collection that is filling up my baking cupboard faster than I can remember what I even have anymore. Upon such realization, I decided to take a look and remind myself of all the different moulds that had not seen the light of the oven in some time, and discovered many wonders that have now been queued for use. One such mould was my Disney Winnie the Pooh face cake mould that I received from the Disney's Cakes & Sweets magazine collection (a collection, I might add, that has provided me endless hours of entertainment, providing adorable recipes and even more adorable and good quality baking gifts!).

Look how happy he is to see you!

 I used to love Winnie the Pooh when I was growing up, and still own a vast collection of books and soft toys that I have kept in his honour (and could not bring myself to throw away!). I always loved his unfathomable happiness in his oh-so-simple life, and the endless curiosity and kindness he had for the most everyday things. Childish I know, but I believe there is something that adults especially can learn from such a basic lesson. One such thing he loved most of course, was honey!And so in honour of Winnie's love, I decided to make his cake a honey cake!

I may have filled it a little too much.. !

I did a bit of research into honey cake recipes as I had only attempted honey cupcakes before and although I could have easily adapted this for a bigger cake, I preferred to research into simple but delicious looking honey cake recipes that seemed appropriate for the mould. Another lesson I learned too however, was to not be lazy and overfill the mould.. because it will overflow drastically! (This did however provide a delicious little deformed splodge of a cake that served as a taste test!).

If you've never felt the excitment of pulling away a mould.. I highly suggest you change this.

An overflow of cake is normal and is actually better than not rising enough so don't worry if yours seems to be double the cake that you intended. With the additional cake, use a sharp knife to cut across the top of the mould, following the moulds edge, until you're left with a mould which is filled with cake but does not have any overflowing the edges.

And voila!

This recipe was adapted from NetMums' honey cake recipe, using only 8 everyday ingredients this produces a moist but dense cake packed full of sweet honey and cinnamon flavours!



Ingredients



For the Cake:
120g Butter
2 Tbsp Caster Sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp Honey (I used Spanish Forest)
2 Eggs (Beaten)
200g Self-Raising flour
1 to 1 and 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 to 2 Tbsp Water

For the Icing:
 60g Icing Sugar
1/2 Tbsp Honey
Water (as needed, approx. 1 to 2 Tsp)


Directions

•  Preheat an oven to 180C.
• Grease a Winnie the Pooh cake mould or your chosen cake tin. 
• In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar and honey.
• Beat in the eggs.
• Fold in the flour and cinnamon and mix, adding water as necessary until the mixture is smooth but not too liquid.
• Bake for approx. 30 to 40 mins (until golden and springy to the touch).
• To make the icing, place the icing sugar in a mug or small bowl and add water until it is slightly more liquid than a glaze icing.
• Mix in the honey until it is well combined and drizzle over the cake.

Tips & Serving Ideas

• Serve with cream or honeycomb ice cream. 
• Fold in some raisins or sultanas into the sponge, or place decoratively on top.
• Decorate with chopped honeycomb pieces, nuts, flaked almonds or try your hand at making some fondant bees!
• Sprinkle over some gold edible glitter.
• Alternatively, you could cover the cake in marzipan and/or fondant (be sure to add in his eyes and nose!).
  
  
   

Cara X 

Honey, Apple & Apricot Crumble

Apple & Apricot Crumble

Brrrr! The festive season may be over, but the weather is still a winter blizzard it seems. It would seem that all over the globe people have been complaining over the neverending cold, wet and windy weather, so here's a little recipe that is sure to comfort and warm you up for the hard cold nights ahead! This recipe is my sweet and sugary version of a traditional apple crumble recipe, so if you don't have a big sweet tooth (like me!) you may want to use a little less sugar. (Though we both know that's not going to happen..!)

Home cooking at it's best!

Ready in approx. 40minutes, this winter warmer is jam packed full of homely and comforting flavours that you and your friends and family are sure to love. 

You can just about smell the apples through the screen can't you...

Ingredients

4 to 5 Large Apples

20 Dried Apricots

55g Granulated Sugar (or caster)

30g brown demerara sugar (or any similar brown, such as muscovado)

50 to 60ml Water (boiled)

2 tsp Honey (I used Spanish Forest, though any honey will do!)

For the crumble:

115g Self-Raising Flour

110g Brown Demerara (or muscovado)

60 to 80g Butter

2 tsp Cinnamon

1 to 2 tsp Nutmeg

Directions

• Grease a baking tray and preheat an oven to 180
• Peel, core and chop apples into chunks.
• In a large saucepan, combine apples, water and both sugars, cooking over a low to medium heat (covered) for approx. 10 mins (until apples are soft and cooked).
• For the crumble, combine flour, sugar and butter in a large bowl.
• Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Rub in the cinnamon.
• When apples are near done, add in the honey and apricots and stir.
• Place apple mixture into a tray and spread evenly.
• Sprinkle the crumble over the apples evenly and press down until top is fairly even.
• Sprinkle the nutmeg on top, along with some cinnamon and brown sugar if you wish.
• Bake for approx. 25 to 30 mins (until browned on top).

Tips & Serving ideas

• This dish is best served hot with cream, ice cream or custard!
• Try adding fruits such as peaches, raisins and sultanas.
• Instead of honey, try golden, maple or agave syrup!

Cara X