Sugar and dairy free muffins with frosting

Makes 6 jumbo and 12 mini

For the frosting:
1 270ml can of coconut cream (it has to be 100% natural with no gums or stabilizers)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the muffins:
5 ripe bananas or 10 small bananas (I prefer the small ones as they're sweeter)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted at room temperature
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
3/4 cup oat flour (make your own by grinding oats to a fine powder, then measure 3/4 cup)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A pinch of nutmeg
A pinch of ground cloves

1. Prepare a day in advance the can of coconut cream and place it in the fridge overnight. Do not shake the can!

2. The next day..... Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

3. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas and add the unsweetened applesauce, coconut oil and vanilla extract.

4. Add the baking soda and mix well with a whisk.

5. Sift in the wholemeal and oat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves into the banana mixture.

6. Mix with a fork lightly but don't over mix. Scrape the sides with a spatula too.

7. Line the muffin tray with liners or grease with some coconut oil and bake for 20-25 minutes till a skewer comes out clean. This could take longer for the jumbo sized ones.

8. Let them cool completely before removing from the tray to frost.

9. Place a mixing bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. Take the coconut cream can from the fridge and turn it upside down. Use a can opener to open the bottom. You'll find there's a layer of coconut water. Pour it out into a cup and you can use this for smoothies! You only want the cream that's left behind. Scrape the cream into the frozen mixing bowl and beat it with an electric mixer till it's like whipped cream. Add about 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and beat again.

10. With a offset spatula or butter knife, frost the cooled cupcakes. And decorate as you wish!

Baked these for my baby's first birthday and also whenever I have leftover bananas. He absolutely loves them as a snack without the frosting too. This recipe was adapted from fitmamarealfood.

Sweet and salty chocolate peanut butter pie

Serves 6-8

For the crust:

125g digestive biscuits, finely ground
5 tablespoons caster sugar
85g salted butter, melted

For the filling:

1 cup chunky peanut butter (I use a good quality one with no other ingredients except for a bit of salt)
85g Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons icing sugar *
* Add as much as you like to your own taste. As I used a good quality peanut butter, I had to use about 2-3 tablespoons to sweeten - if you're using brands like Skippy, you may not need that much as it's pretty sweet already

For the topping:

230g (8 ounces) good quality semisweet chocolate, chopped or broken into pieces
1 cup/300ml heavy cream
1/4 cup salted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the crust:

1) Preheat the oven to 190C.

2) In a food processor, blitz the biscuit, sugar and butter. (You can crush the biscuits by hand too)

3) Press it out onto a greased 9 inch tart pan with removable base, and bake for 7 minutes. Leave to cool. (You can also leave it in the fridge or freezer to chill, but I prefer to bake).

For the filling:

4) Mix all the ingredients for the filling. I used the food processor but you can do it by hand too. Spread it on the cooled crust. Mine was a bit doughy so it was easy to press out with my fingers.

For the topping:

5) Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan till it's simmering, and pour it over the chocolate. ( I sweetened my chocolate with a bit of icing sugar but if yours is sweet enough then there's no need) Mix till it's combined.

6) Pour the chocolate over the filling and sprinkle the chopped peanuts on the top.

7) Chill in the fridge, uncovered for at least 3 hours. Then remove the rim and base of the tart pan carefully with a palette knife.

8) Serve chilled.

Quick & easy bacon and broccoli quiche

Serves 4 - 6

For the filling:

4 rashers bacon

1 cup broccoli

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper

pinch of ground nutmeg

pinch of cayenne pepper

For the crust:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 ice water

1) Cut the broccoli into florets and steam or boil them for about 5 minutes till it's tender but not fully cooked.

2) While it's steaming, fry the bacon till it's just cooked but not crispy.

3) In a bowl, combine the bacon, broccoli, cheese, milk, cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne pepper.

4) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

5) In a separate bowl, measure one cup of flour and mix in 1/2 teaspoon of salt with a fork.

6) Pour 1/4 cup of olive oil in a measuring cup and another 1/4 cup of ice water into the same measuring cup. Beat with a whisk till it's thick. 

7) Pour in the oil and water mixture into the flour and mix till it forms a dough.

8) Press it out onto a 9 inch pie pan and pour in the filling.

9) Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until the egg mixture is cooked (skewer or knife should come out clean)

10) Serve hot or cold. 

Home made paneer

Makes about 450g of paneer

3 litres of full fat milk
300ml of cooking cream
120ml white vinegar (plus a bit more, depending on the acidity of your vinegar)
ice cubes
salt and water (for storage)

Equipment:
kitchen thermometer
Cheese or muslin cloth
A colander with a flat base
Some weights

1. Combine the milk and cream in a big pot and boil, stirring occasionally till the temperature reaches 85 - 87 degrees celsius.

2. Get ready the ice cubes next to you.

3. Line another pot with a wet cheesecloth.

4. Once the milk and cream reach the right temperature, slowly pour in the vinegar, stirring slowly. If you can't see the yellow/green liquid (the whey), you probably need a bit more vinegar.

5. Quickly add in the ice cubes to bring the temperature down.

6. Pour the curdled milk into the pot lined with the cheesecloth.

7. It's hot, but try to squeeze as much liquid out as you can, and twist the cloth into a ball.

8. Keep the cloth twisted and place in the colander with a bowl underneath to catch any remaining water. Place about 2kg weight on top of the cheese. You can use a pot or a plate to make the top flat so as to distribute the weight evenly. (I used pebbles from my garden in a pot)

9. After 2 hours, your paneer is ready! Slice and or cube as you like.

10. You must store it in water, completely submerged. This will last you about a week. I added salt in my water so the paneer tastes slightly salty. I believe you can add the salt at the beginning when the milk is boiling too.

This recipe is from Chef Harpal Singh. Check out the video here!