Banana Doughnuts with Lemon Icing

What do you do with those bananas sitting in your fruit bowl when they are over-ripe, brown and spotty on the outside?

I freeze mine. They are great for baking or whipped up with coconut cream, and berries as ice cream or in a smoothy. Bananas are a treat for me as they are a bit sweet for me now as I have cut out so much sugary stuff from my diet. 

I've used bananas in these doughnuts for a sweet treat with friends coming over in the afternoon. I serve them with lemon icing. It makes 6 doughnuts.

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 35 minutes | Makes 6 doughnuts

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe bananas mashed
2 eggs beaten
2 tablespoon butter melted
1 tablespoon coconut milk
1/2 cup banana flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground dry ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 150ºC for 10 minutes.

2. In a mixing bowl, add mashed banana, beaten eggs, coconut milk, melted butter.

3. Add banana flour, almond flour, mix well.

4. Add baking powder, mix well.

5. Add spices, combine until a smooth batter.

6. Grease doughnut pan well, spoon in the mixture.

7. Cook on 150ºC for 35 minutes or until brown, and the doughnut springs back.

Smooth over lemon cream cheese icing, serve with a cup of black coffee.

If you would like to see these doughnuts at the cafe, send us an email and let us know. cafeesplanade@xtra.co.nz

Chewy Nutty Chocolate Cookies

I've never been a big cookie eater mostly due to the lack of good quality, healthy gluten-free biscuits. When I came across a delicious gluten-free cookie made by a Melbourne baker, Butterbing it was hard not to get addicted. They are the lightest mouthful of biscuity-deliciousness and were my inspiration to create a paleo, keto version.

I stick to a paleo, sugar-free, gluten-free diet which helps to keep the inflammation at bay. I've trialled a few recipes to find a low/no sugar alternative, this one is a winner - they are light, soft and chewy and super easy to make. The recipe is low carb and low in sugar. The smell of them fresh out of the oven makes them hard to resist.

It's tricky to find sugar free chocolate that doesn't have high fructose or artificial sweeteners. Any suggestions? 

For this recipe, I used Lindt 90% dark chocolate and it worked well to reduce the sugar and give the chocolate flavour a boost.

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes | Makes around 12-18 cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup nut butter of your choice (I used almond butter) 

2/3 cup powdered healthy natural sweetener (I use Natvia) 

2 tablespoons unsweetened cacao powder 

2 tablespoons almond flour

2 large eggs 

1 tablespoon melted salted butter 

2 tablespoons water 

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 cup sugar-free/low-sugar dark chocolate broken into chips (I used Lindt 90%) 

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with baking paper. 

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients starting with the nut butter, eggs, water, butter, and vanilla extract. Then fold in the dry ingredients: sweetener, cocoa powder, almond flour and baking soda. I mixed the ingredients by hand or you could use an electric mixer. Mix until all ingredients are well combined and form a thick batter. The final ingredient to add is the broken chocolate.

2. Form the cookie dough into small balls. Alter the size of the ball to adjust the number of cookies you want to produce.

3. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to allow the cookies to cool before eating. 

Eat alone or as a cookie sandwich with buttercream filling (as in the picture).

Enjoy!

Sugar-free Pavlova with Seasonal Fruit

This recipe was adapted from Natvia’s recipe. It’s a healthy alternative to a traditional pavlova. Serve with tummy-friendly seasonal fruit - it’s a winner.

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 1-hour at heat + 1-hour cooling oven

INGREDIENTS

4 egg whites

3 tablespoons Natvia (ground)

1 tablespoon tapioca flour

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Seasonal fruit

Cream or yoghurt

METHOD 

1. Preheat oven to 120ºC.

2. In a medium-large bowl, add egg whites, beat until stiff peaks form.

3. Gradually add in Natvia, tapioca, and vinegar. The mixture will be glossy with stiff peaks.

4. On a lined baking tray, gently spoon on the egg mixture. Tip: Use the outline of a side plate to guide the size.

5. Cook at 120 degrees for 1 hour. Turn the oven off then finish cooking as the oven cools, for approximately a further hour.

6. Serve with tummy-friendly, seasonal fruit, cream or yoghurt.

Tip: Use a food processor to blend Nativa into a castor sugar, powdery texture.