Easy Peasy Fruity Nut Cake Recipe- Vegan & Gluten Free

This is my go to low fat, vegan and gluten free cake recipe. And as far as cakes go, I think it’s a pretty healthy one too! You get the goodness of fruits and nuts, with only a minimal amount of sugar and fat. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients, and use less sugar than suggested for example. The fruits make this cake already quite nice, gooey and sweet! The winner is: you can use the base of dry ingredients (oat flour, almond meal, etc.) and exchange the nuts and fruits to your liking. For example if you don’t like walnuts, use almonds or pecans, etc. And for the fruits you can simply just use one mono-fruit, like just apples or just plums. I used a mixture of apples, plums, apricots, pears and peaches (all dried). But you can also mix in sultanas, raisins or goji-berries, for example. This cake works as well with fresh fruit instead of dried fruit, so go ahead, be creative, and enjoy!

ayurveda

Feeling Vata: this cake is for you, simply enjoy!

Feeling Pitta: skip the walnuts and use soaked, then roasted almonds instead.

Feeling Kapha: use fresh, astringent apples instead of dried. Choose any of these foods: dried figs, dried or fresh apricots, dried limes, dried peaches, prunes and or raisins. Best to avoid the nuts alltogether and just add in more fruit. Or simply use soaked then roasted almonds or try with charoli nuts. You also do well by adding a thumb-sized knob of ginger (minced) to the cake mix for added fire.

Weekly Recipe

Easy Peasy Fruity Nut Cake Recipe- Vegan & Gluten Free

Yield: 1 x Ø 26 cm cake tin

Easy Peasy Fruity Nut Cake - Gluten Free & Vegan

Easy Peasy Fruity Nut Cake - Gluten Free & Vegan

This is my go to low fat, vegan and gluten free cake recipe. And as far as cakes go, I think it's a pretty healthy one too! You get the goodness of fruits and nuts, with only a minimal amount of sugar and fat. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients, and use less sugar than suggested for example. The fruits make this cake already quite nice, gooey and sweet! The winner is: you can use the base of dry ingredients (oat flour, almond meal, etc.) and exchange the nuts and fruits to your liking. For example if you don't like walnuts, use almonds or pecans, etc. And for the fruits you can simply just use one mono-fruit, like just apples or just plums. I used a mixture of apples, plums, apricots, pears and peaches (all dried). But you can also mix in sultanas, raisins or goji-berries, for example. This cake works as well with fresh fruit instead of dried fruit, so go ahead, be creative, and enjoy!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 x cake springform (I used one with a diameter of 26 cm)
  • 1 cup of roasted walnuts, roughly chopped (or nuts of your choice, pecans and almonds work well also)
  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 2 x tablespoons psyllium husks (or you can use ground flaxseed instead)
  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 2 x teaspoons cinnamon powder
  • 2 x teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 x teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 x teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 and a 1/2 cups plant milk (I find oat milk works best)
  • 2 x tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 x teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 300g dried fruits containing apples, pears, apricots, peaches and plums - roughly chopped (or use fresh fruit instead, mix it up as you like and with the fruits that you love). 

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven at 180˚C fan bake. Line the base of a spring-form baking tin with baking paper and lightly grease the sides with olive oil.
  2. Sift all dry ingredients (apart from the walnuts and chopped fruits) into a mixing bowl and stir well.
  3. Add plant milk of your choice, olive oil and vanilla extract, fold through, but make sure you don't over mix.
  4. Add toasted walnuts and chopped dried fruits, fold through and transfer to the prepared cake tin.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes, then open up the oven and cover the cake with foil if needed, bake a further 10-15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean (total cooking time of 35-40 minutes).
  6. Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from the cake tin and serving.
  7. Dust with icing sugar or make a nice vegan frosting!

Notes

  • Make your own oat flour: as its not always easy to get gluten free oat flour in the shop, I always have plenty of gluten free oats at home that I order in bulk online. Then when I'm baking I simply put a cup or two in my food processor, blend on high for a few minutes, and voila: gluten free oat flour at the ready! If you don't agree with oats, buckwheat flour is a good alternative.
  • Try adding sultanas, raisins, goji berries or make a fresh berry cake or apple cake!
  • Avoid over-mixing the batter to prevent the cake from not rising well.


Gooey Apple and Cinnamon Cupcakes

Sometimes you just need something that satisfies you.
Something that is sweet, tasty, and if possible, has that gooey, tasty sensation to it.
Something that, when you put in your mouth, reminds you of autumn, of your mum’s home baked apple cake,
of gardens and of late summer blooms.
Something that when you eat it, gives you that warm fuzzy feeling,
that peaceful feeling that everything is ok.

And what better way to give into this craving, than with these pretty much guilt free, goeey apple and cinnamon cupcakes?!
Low in sugar, fat, gluten free and vegan, and plenty of apples for your 5 a day. What’s not to like?

Of course I have added plenty of spice again:
cardamom and cinnamon to help you stabilize your blood sugars, to calm you and to nourish you, every little ‘gooey’ bite at a time.

Enjoy!

Yield: 12

Gooey Apple & Cinnamon Cupcakes

Gooey Apple & Cinnamon Cupcakes

Delicious and gooey apple and cinnamon cupcakes, vegan & gluten free

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 oat milk ( or other plant milk of your choice)
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinnegar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 8 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 and 1/2 cup ground almonds
  • 2 cups gluten free flour blend (I use Bob's red mill)
  • 2 heaped tsp gluten free baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate soda)
  • 3 tbsp apple sauce home made or store bought
  • 3 medium size apples, diced and cored
  • 1 tbsp flax egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius .
  2. Make the flax egg: add 1 tablespoon flaxseeds to a small bowl and add 3 tbsp warm water. Mix well. Put to one side.
  3. Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan.
  4. Once melted, mix the oil, the milk, the vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, ground almonds and apple sauce together in a mixing bowl.
  5. Add the flax egg and mix well.
  6. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
  7. Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
  8. Add the apples and carefully stir in.
  9. Transfer the mixture between muffin cases in a muffin tin.
  10. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
  11. The cupcakes should still have a very soft and gooey consistency. I usually eat one fresh and warm (mhmmm, so good) and place the rest in the fridge, they will harden a bit more and keep for up to a week.

Notes

Dust off the Cupcakes with some icing sugar or top with a nice vegan frosting.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

12 cupcakes

Amount Per Serving Calories 212Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 25mgSodium 19mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 4gSugar 24gProtein 1g

Please note that nutrition information is based on averages and can therefor not always be accurate.


Healing & Nourishing Asian Style Broth

This is my go-to soup recipee when I simply need something warming, nourishing, and simply healing:
when you had a stressfull day, when you are feeling run down or when your boss has just simply driven you up the wall:
This broth will pick you up, give you a hug and will fill you with a
warm feeling telling you that everything, really, is ok.

Particularly good for people with digestive issues
and sensitive bellies (bloating, gas, etc.), this recipe is a winner.
Fennel and anissed will soothe your digestion and flush out toxins,
garlic will help to clear your mucus membranes and kill of any pathogens,
and plenty of greens assist in moving foods through your sensitive digestive tract.
You can replace the vegetables used in this recipee with anything you might prefer.
Choose any leafy greens of your choice, and along the zuchini,
try it with added carrots, sweet potatoes or any other root vegetable.

This soup always works in any combo!

Picture credit: Mae Mu 

Weekly Recipe

Asian Style Healing Broth

Yield: 1 Pot of Broth

Healing & Nourishing Asian Style Broth

Healing & Nourishing Asian Style Broth

This is my go-to soup recipee when I simply need something warming, nourishing, and simply healing:when you had a stressfull day, when you are feeling run down or when your boss has just simply driven you up the wall:This broth will pick you up, give you a hug and will fill you with a warm feeling telling you that everything, really, is ok. Particularly good for peope with digestive issues and sensitive bellies (bloating, gas, etc.), this recipe is a winner. Fennel and anissed will soothe your digestion and flush out toxins, garlic will help to clear your mucus membranes and kill of any pathogens, and plenty of greens assist in moving foods through your sensitive digestive tract.You can replace the vegetables used in this recipee with anything you might prefer. Choose any leafy greens of your choice, and along the zuchini, try it with added carrots, sweet potatoes or any other root vegetable.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil (leave out if on a cleanse, or ok for the evening meal).
  • 3 shallots diced (or use half a red onion instead)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 1.5 litre vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp aniseeds (grind in pestle and mortar)
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds (grind in a pestle and mortar)
  • 4 x tablespoons cocos aminos (or lupin sauce or both).
  • 2 tsbp miso (I use soya free miso made from lupins)
  • 1.5 heads bok choi OR kale OR chard OR substitue any other green leaf of your choice
  • 1 zuchini, chopped
  • juice of half a lemon
  • half a fennel bulb, sliced
  • 1 pack of rice noodles
  • sesame flakes for topping
  • red pepper flakes for topping

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive in a large stockpot over medium heat.
  2. To the oil, add the diced shallots and mix well.
  3. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the shallots turn translucent and turn to soften. Stir often.
  4. Add the minced garlic and minced ginger to the shallots and mix. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes or until garlic and ginger are fragrant.
  5. Add the ground anise and fennel seeds to the onion mix, stir and cook until lightly toasted (1-2 minutes)
  6. Then add the chopped fennel and coat the fennel pieces evenly in the onion and ginger mix.
  7. Then add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Add the cocos aminos and the miso, and stirr everything well to combine, then add the chopped courgette.
  8. Cover and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
  9. Afterward add the bok choi (or other leafy green) and the rice noodles. Cook everything for a further 5-8 minutes (until the vegetables are tender and the noodles are cooked through). Add the juice of half the lemon, stirr in, then turn off the heat and leave for 1-2 minutes to sit before you serve.
  10. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  11. Divide soup between bowls and season with toasted sesame seeds and red pepper flakes if you wish.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Amount Per Serving Saturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0g

Please note that nutrition information is based on averages and can therefor not always be accurate.


Cardamomy Nutty Choc Chip Cookies – vegan, gluten free – YUM!

Ok, I have to admit… I have an addiction… it’s a bad one, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop:

I confess: I am addicted to cookies.
Yes, you heard right: C O O K I E S!
There’s just nothing better than sitting down in the afternoon,
after you’ve done most of your day’s work, making yourself a
big milky chai tea and dipping a fat big
choc chip cookie into it, while you sit back and R E L A X!

As I love incorportating herbs and spices into my foods for healing purposes,
and simply because it makes everything taste just so much better,
these little munchkins here (see recipe below)
are spiked with delicious cardamom and satisfying cinnamon goodness.

Get baking and enjoy!

Picture credit: SJ Baren

Weekly Recipe

Yield: 14

Cardamomy Nutty Choc Chip Cookies- vegan, gluten free

Cardamomy Nutty Choc Chip Cookies- vegan, gluten free

Delicious nutty cardamomy choc chip cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 2 cups glutenfree oat flour
  • 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup dairy free chocolate chips
  • 2 tsbp plant milk of your choice, I used oat milk
  • 3 tsbp plant oil, I used olive oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180 C degrees.
  2. Combine all the dry ingredients plus spices in a bowl and mix well.
  3. Stir in the wet ingredients and form a dough. It'll probably be quite dry at first, so keep stirring (or kneeding with your hands) until a dough is formed. If the dough is too crumbly, add a little bit extra of the milk, until you have a nice smooth and sticky cookie dough consistency.
  4. Once the dough is nice and sticky, form dough balls. You should get about 12 - 14 cookies out of this mixture, or less if you form bigger cookies.
  5. Cover a baking tray with parchment paper and place the cookies with tray in the oven. Bake for about 20 min.
  6. The cookies will still seem a little soft when you take them out. Let them cool for a least 10 minutes on the tray before you touch them.
  7. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information


Amount Per Serving Trans Fat 0g

Please note that nutrition information is based on averages and can therefor not always be accurate.