Drop scones (scotch pancakes)

These are like scotch pancakes; yummy! DD enjoyed them stacked up with lemon juice and agave syrup, while DH liked them spread with chocolate icing. I always thought it was women who were chocoholics; but not in this house it would seem...

Drop Scones

Ingredients

• 8oz plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• pinch salt
• 1 tbsp fructose
• 2 small eggs
• around 1/4 pint milk

Method

• Mix all the dry ingredients together
• Beat in the 2 eggs and enough milk to make a smooth batter
• Drop tablespoons of the mix onto a hot frying pan
• When bubbles appear on the one side, flip them over and cook the other side

We decided these would benefit from some lemon rind and raisins too and they were really nice served warm with butter and strawberry jam.

This is what they look like just before you flip them over:

Sugar free Lemon fairy cakes with chocolate icing

As something a bit lighter to fudgy chocolate Birthday cake last week, I also made lemon fairy cakes and experimented with some icing. I've found it quite hard to make icing in the past without sugar in it.

I think it's safe to say I have surpassed myself this time as DH asked me four times whether I had written this down and could replicate it in the future! He seemed quite sad when he licked the final offering from the bowl!. It doesn't look the prettiest thing in the world, but then neither does anything once it hits your stomach ;)

Lemon fairy cakes with chocolate icing

Ingredients

• 150g butter
• 100g fructose
• 2 large eggs
• 150g plain flour
• 72g rice or cornflour
• 17g baking powder
• grated rind of 2 lemons
• enough milk to make a dropping consistency
• For the icing: 100g soft butter
• 100g set honey
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 200g cream cheese

Method

• Cream the butter and fructose
• Add the eggs and beat well
• Add the flours, baking powder, lemon rind and mix well
• Add enough milk to make a dropping consistency
• Divide the mix into fairy cake cases - makes about 20
• Bake at 180 for 12 minutes (in my fan oven)
• Cool on a rack
• To make the icing: beat all the ingredients together and spread on the cakes

The icing can seem quite runny, but it gradually dries out and becomes firmer. If it's a hot day, put the icing in the 'fridge for a while before attempting to spread on the cakes otherwise it's more like a sauce!

Sugar free chocolate fudge cake recipe

There's been a Birthday girl in the house his week! And she requested chocolate Birthday cake. This couldn't be simpler really; it's just a Victoria sponge with cocoa powder and I made the icing from Holex sugar free chocolate as follows:
Ingredients

• For the cake: 6oz soft butter
• 4 1/2 oz fructose
• 3 beaten eggs
• 6 oz Self Raising flour
• 1 oz cocoa powder
• For the icing: 100gm bar sugar free chocolate
• 100mls double cream
• 2oz butter (optional)
  

Method

• Cream together the fructose and butter until creamy
• Whisk in the beaten eggs until you have a batter-type consistency
• Stir in the flour and cocoa powder and mix well
  
• Put into two round greased tins and bake for 22 minutes (that's in my fan oven) until risen
• Remove from oven, leave to cool for a while and turn onto a cooling rack
• Once the cake is cold make the icing:
• In a bain marie (a bowl over a pan of simmering water to me and you) melt the bar of sugar free chocolate (I find Plamil sugar free is the most successful, but didn't have any in the house so used Holex) with the double cream and add butter to stabilise it if you're worried the chocolate will separate.
• The secret is to let is SLOWLY melt; keep it over a gentle heat and be patient!
• Spread between the layers and over the top
• Make it a day or two in advance and by the time you eat it, it will be deliciously rich and fudgy.

Custard creams

One of DD's favourite shop bought biscuits is custard creams. So I tried to find a recipe to make my own. Yes the photo looks like a cake, but I promise you it's a biscuit!

I have to admit, these were really fiddly, a bit too fiddly for my liking and as DD didn't rave about them, I won't make them again.

However, you might like them and be prepared to be a little more Nigella Lawson than I, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you!

I did discover how to make butter icing using fructose, so I'm really pleased about that. The first lot I ever made never set properly; it went all oily, but this was perfect and I've since used it in a Victoria sandwich.

Sugar free custard creams (makes 12)

Ingredients

Ingredients for biscuits

• 40gms fructose
• 150gms butter
• 2 tbsp custard powder
• 165 gms flour

Ingredients for butter icing

• 80gms butter
• 60gms fructose - powdered in a blender
• 2 tbsp custard powder
  

Method

• Make the biscuit dough first:
  Cream together the butter and fructose until blended and soft
• Add the custard powder and flour and mix into a dough
• Roll out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 24 identical shapes
  
• Bake at 170 for 15 minutes until golden

Make the icing sugar

• Soften the butter with a fork
• Blend the fructose in a blender or mortar and pestle until fine - it won't get as fine as icing sugar, but make it as fine as you can.
• Add the custard powder and mix everything together with a fork until blended and with a 'butter icing' consistency.

Once the biscuits are completely cooled, spread with icing sugar and sandwich them together to make 12 biscuits. The biscuits are pretty crumbly so you need to be gentle! I also found there was too much icing, so you might have some left over.

Lavender biscuits

I've been asked for this recipe several times. I've got an octogenarian friend who loves these and I make them every Christmas for her as a special treat. They remind her of her childhood when her Mum used to make anything and everything with lavender.

This biscuit recipe is fab - it uses minimal and frugal ingredients and is adaptable to your favourite flavour. You can substitute the lavender for grated lemon peel, spices, chocolate chips, vanilla - you name it, if you can dream it up, then try it!

I've listed the recipe using fructose, because that is what we use at home, but if you want to use regular sugar instead, use 2 oz caster sugar.

Ingredients

• 4 oz butter
• 1 - 1 1/2 oz fructose
• 6 0z plain flour
• 1 tbsp dried lavender
  

Method

• Cream the butter and fructose
• Stir in the flour and lavender and keep mixing until it forms a dough (You might need to use your hands for the last bit)
• Knead for a moment then roll the dough into a ball and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes
• Preheat oven to 200
• Roll out and cut into shapes
• Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until just beginning to brown.
  

Chocolate crunch / chocolate concrete / chocolate tarmac

I mentioned chocolate crunch on Facebook last week and had lots of people writing to me for the recipe.

Depending on which area of the country you come from, you'll have heard this as either chocolate crunch, chocolate concrete or chocolate tarmac!

Chocolate crunch takes me back to my school days where it was served with bright pink custard; like Tellytubby custard ...

When I worked at the bank, chocolate crunch was back on the menu again; this time with a more grown up chocolate sauce.
Now I know why institutions serve it up - it's amazingly easy and quick to make and the ingredients are pretty frugal.

I discovered 'by accident' that you can also make chocolate goo: depending on your preference, you can bake this long and slow for a crunchier texture or give it a blast for 15 minutes, where you will end up with a crispy coating and a gooey interior. My two prefer the latter so this is what I now do.

Chocolate crunch

Ingredients

• 7 oz butter
• 5 oz fructose
• 10 oz self raising flour
• 1 oz cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
  

Method

• Preheat oven - 150 for a crunchy texture or 180 for gooey.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
• Meanwhile, weigh out the rest of the ingredients.
• Take the butter off the heat once melted and mix in the other dry ingredients - bung it all in the saucepan; I'm one for making the washing up easy!
• Add the eggs and beat all the ingredients well together.
• You don't need to be too fussy with this recipe; just beat it up and don't worry about lumps of cocoa or bits of flour that are not mixed in properly.
• Put in a greased oven proof tray; I use a brownie tin. Choose the size of tin dependant on the texture you want - it you want it crunchy, choose a larger tin and spread the mixture thinner. If you want fudgy goo, keep the tin small so the mixture is thicker - play around and have some fun experimenting.
  
• Bake for 30 minutes at 150 for a crunchy texture or 180 for 15 minutes for a gooey inside.

Lemon drizzle cake

This is a delicious lemony cake. Both DD and DH love this one and I feel good about it because the lemon is chock full of vitamin C - just the thing to slave off winter colds, coughs and flu!

Both lemons and limes contain unique flavonoid compounds that have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. They also have antibiotic properties.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Ingredients

• 6 oz butter
• 4 oz fructose
• Rind of 2 lemons
• 2 eggs
• 6 oz wholemeal SR flour

For the lemon drizzle

• juice from the 2 lemons
• 2oz fructose
  

Method

• Preheat oven to 180
• Gently heat the butter and fructose in a saucepan, until the fructose is dissolved
• Take off the heat and stir in the lemon rind, whisk in the eggs
• Fold in the flour and pour the mixture into a greased baking tin (I used a brownie tin but you could use any shape you like)
• Bake for 25 minutes until golden
• Squeeze the juice from the lemons into a saucepan with the fructose and heat gently until the fructose dissolves
• Poke holes in the cake and pour the drizzle syrup all over to soak in.
  

Blackberry sponge pudding

I think this is the last of the blackberry recipes for this season! We scoured the hedgerows this week and didn't find much.

I've had 200gms of blackberries sitting in the 'fridge for a few days and knew I needed to use them up quickly. As time and energy were short, I made a simple sponge pudding - warming, satisfying but quick and easy to make.

Blackberry sponge

Ingredients

• 200gms blackberries (no need to be exact, just use whatever you have)
• 1 tbsp agave syrup (optional; the fruit might be sweet enough)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
  
• 4 oz butter
• 3 oz fructose
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp backing powder
• 4 oz plain flour
  

Method

• put the blackberries in a pan with the cinnamon and agave syrup if using and simmer with a lid on until the fruit is tender.
• Meanwhile make the sponge topping:
• Cream together the butter and fructose
• Add the 2 eggs and mix well until you get a batter - don't worry about lumps!
• Add the baking powder and flour and mix well until you get a stiff dropping consistency.
• Put the stewed fruit into the bottom of an oven proof dish and cover with the topping
• Bake at 180 for around 20-25 minutes until the top is risen and golden

This recipe is so simple and you can use any stewed fruit you like to make an instant comfort pudding. DH was praising the sponge saying it was really light and fluffy; that's the first time I've made anything 'light' with fructose; it tends to make things heavier, probably because it is wetter than refined sugar.
I'm not really sure what I did right, but perhaps the mix of ingredients was just right ;)

Blackberry regal cake

I normally shy away from recipes that have 'parts' to them. I'm more of a 'chuck it in and mix it around' chef.

But after our fourth blackberry hunt this morning, which resulted in a bumper crop, I decided to do a slightly more posh recipe for Sunday pudding. It was originally called blackberry and coconut cake, but hubby decided it looked like a Royal Crown so renamed it to Blackberry Regal Cake

This recipe has 4 parts to it and is adapted from the fab Veg box recipes site for blackberry and coconut slice:

1. Prepare the blackberries
2. Make the base
3. Make the topping
4. Assemble the cake and bake
   

Blackberry regal cake

Ingredients

For the base

• 150 gm butter
• 50 gm fructose
• 1 egg
• 200 gm plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 70-100mls milk
  

For the blackberry layer

• 500gm blackberries
• 40 gms fructose
  

For the topping

• 100 gm butter
• 50 gm fructose
• 2 eggs
• 50 gm plain flour
• 200 gm dessicated coconut
  

Method

Make the blackberry layer

• Put the blackberries and the 40 gms fructose into a saucepan.
• Bring to the boil slowly, then put a lid on and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Take the lid off and allow to thicken (I simply drained off the excess juice into a cup because I needed the oven for Sunday Lunch and chucked a bit of cornflour in there to thicken it)

Make the base

• Preheat the oven to 180.
• While the blackberries are cooking make the base.
• Cream together the butter and fructose
• Beat in 1 egg until you get a smooth batter
• Add the flour, baking powder and a little of the milk at a time until you get a thick, dropping consistency batter.
• Put this into the bottom of a greased deep cake tin and smooth over

Make the topping

• While the blackberries are still cooking make the topping.
• Cream together the butter and fructose
• Add the eggs and beat until you get a smooth batter
• Add the flour and coconut and mix well into a very stiff 'paste'

Assemble the cake

• Over the base of the cake, smooth the cooked blackberries
• Very carefully put the topping on. The topping is very stiff, so try and smooth it over with a knife but be gentle otherwise it will squash into the blackberries!

Bake the cake

• Bake at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes until golden on the top.
• We served it warm with custard and will eat it cold with creme fraiche tomorrow!
  

Verdict:
8 1/2 out of 10. I love it Mummy, the cake is yummy, the blackberries are delicious. I love the crunchy coconut. It's a bit filling though and a tiny bit too sweet.

Ginger biscuits

My daughter has been asking me to make her some ginger biscuits for ages. Ginger isn't something I use other than in curries because DH isn't keen on it.

I have to admit, after baking these I started to feel enthusiastic about Christmas! The kitchen smelled gorgeous. I baked two types of ginger biscuits, followed by an apple and spice cake to help use up a glut of cooking apples. I felt proud too; these biscuits looked great when they came out of the oven - a gorgeous golden colour which looked just like the ginger nuts you buy in the shop.

Ginger is a great spice with many beneficial properties. It's used as a treatment for morning sickness because it has a soothing and calming effect on the stomach.

Ginger has anti inflammatory properties, which makes it really useful for people with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

In addition, ginger is a great ingredient for the first aid kit. Ginger helps to promote sweating during colds and flu. Maybe one of these ginger biscuits would be a good way to encourage poorly children to get better soon!

Ginger biscuits (makes about 18)

Ingredients

• 2 oz butter
• 4 tbsp agave syrup
• 2 tbsp fructose
• 5 oz self raising flour
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger

Method

• Pre heat oven to 180.
• Melt the butter, syrup and sugar until just melted. Don't allow to boil or leave for too long otherwise some of the ingredients can evaporate and alter the balance.
• Allow to cool a little, then mix in all the other ingredients until you have a smooth dough.
• The dough should be quite dry; if it is too wet, add some more flour, a little at a time until you get the right consistency.
• Using a teaspoon, drop spoons of the mix onto two greased baking trays. Allow a little room for expansion between each biscuit
• Bake for 10 minutes until golden

Verdict: 10/10 Just the right amount of ginger anybody would want and a really nice texture.

Blackberry and chocolate brownies

We've been blackberry picking three times this year. The first time we made blackberry muffins, which we are huge hit. Last time we made a traditional blackberry and apple pie (recipe to follow) and this time my daughter suggested that blackberry and chocolate brownies would be a good idea.

Here's what I came up with. This recipe is delicious and moist, as you can see from one of the photos. It has a lovely purpley brown colour and the blackberries and chocolate work surprisingly well. They would look lovely with the addition of some white chocolate chips! I just loved the colour left in my bowl after crushing the blackberries; they look so cheery; just the thing for adding some warmth to the feelings of autumn already in the air.

A successful brownie has a slight crust with a soggy inside which goes fudgy as they cool down.

Blackberries contain high levels of antioxidants and can help protect against cancer; so go to the hedgerows and grab a handful of these cute berries and pop them in your mouth!

Blackberry and chocolate brownies

Ingredients

• 250-500gms fresh blackberries, lightly mashed with a fork
• 6 oz plain flour
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• 3 oz fructose
• 140 mls melted butter (about 4oz before melting)
• 125 mls milk
• 2 beaten eggs

Method

• Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and fructose in a large bowl
• Add the melted butter, milk and eggs and mix briefly; don't worry if it's a bit lumpy
• Stir in the mashed blackberries
• Put into a greased brownie tin and smooth the top
  
• Bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 180 until just set on the top

Verdict
9/10 Mmmmmmm, delicious Mummy. I knew they would work!

banana and brazil brownies

I made these brownies after finding some brazil nuts in the cupboard which no one was eating. Rather than wasting them I decided to add them to a recipe.

I found a recipe for banana and brazil brownies on Recipe Zaar which started life as a vegan, gluten free version.
As we don't need to worry about gluten and are not vegans, I adapted it and came up with my own version.

Next time, after hearing the verdict from my daughter, I will increase the brazil nuts to 3 - 4 ounces, reduce the fructose by an ounce and add another tablespoon of cocoa. They are filling and 'robust' as my husband calls them, with a lovely, fudgey texture.

They freeze well too, so make a glut and freeze them for later use.

Brazil nuts are one of the best sources of selnium, which is drastically depleted in our soil due to over farming. Selenium is vital for fertility in both sexes, helps to balance thyroid function and is a powerful antioxidant. Studies have shown that brazil nuts can help prevent breast cancer.

Just three brazil nuts a day will provide your daily recommended amount of selenium, but this is much nicer way of eating them!

Banana and brazil nut brownies

Ingredients

* 2 very ripe bananas
* 6 ounces flour
* 2 tablespoons cocoa
* 3 ounces of fructose
* 140 ml melted butter
* 125 ml milk
* 1 egg
* 2 ounces brazil nuts, crushed

Method

• Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl.
• Sieve in the flour and cocoa.
• Add the fructose, butter and milk
• Mix in the egg
• Mix well then stir in the crushed brazil nuts.
• Put the mixture in a greased brownie tin and bake for 40 minutes at 180.
  

Verdict: 8/10 perfect texture; nice and chewy.
It smells of chips (??!!), don't put so much fruit in next time and not so much fructose; it's a bit sweet.
Could you put more chocolate in next time; they're not very chocolatey?

banana and walnut loaf

This recipe received a huge thumbs up from both my daughter and husband! Even the cat was hanging around by the oven door as I took it out.

I set myself a challenge this week to use up things in my kitchen cupboards instead of buying new. I wanted to try and find yummy recipes for the things I have bought that none of us have used.

Enter left stage: a packet of walnuts.

They've been sitting in the cupboard looking at me for several months. I bought them for DD as she really got into nuts at one stage. Like all kids though, she knew what she liked and she only liked pistachios.

I bought walnuts because they are power houses of nutrition. They are a hard nut to follow and provide huge amounts of omega 3s which helps to support heart function, the brain and all manner of things.

Walnuts are also high in antioxidants, manganese (brain function) and copper (anemia, hair loss, dry skin).

Then I went to the farm shop and was asked if I made banana cake because bananas were going brown and were half price today. Aha! Banana and walnut cake here we come.

Banana and walnut loaf; adapted from Kate Ford's "Compassion in farming" recipe

Ingredients

• 3oz butter
• 1/4 cup fructose
• 1 egg
• 1 mashed banana
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp crushed walnuts (I put them in a bag and battered them with a rolling pin)
• 1/3 cup natural yogurt
• pinch salt
• 1 1/4 cups self raising flour
  

Method

• Preheat oven to 180
• Cream together the butter and fructose
• Mix in the beaten egg until you get a smooth batter
• Add the banana and lemon juice and mix well
• Add the remaining ingredients and put in a greased loaf tin
• Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden

Verdict: 10/10

This didn't rise as much as I though it would, but my daughter shoved a massive piece into her mouth and went skipping down the garden with it; giving me a thumbs up sign as she went. She spent most of the night raving about it and asking for more.

Hubby, who isn't really into such things loved it too; so I think it's safe to call it a family favourite AND it means I will eventually get through the packet of walnuts! I think you could up the amount of walnuts easily; the original recipe called for 2 tablespoons, but I doubled it and now I know my two liked it, I'll add more next time.

Blackberry muffins

This week we went blackberrying! We managed to get 250gms of juicy, ripe berries; just enough for 24 fairy cakes (or fewer muffins if you prefer)

Blackberry muffins / fairy cakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup natural yogurt
• 3/4 cup fructose
• 1 cup melted butter or oil or a mix of butter and milk
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups self raising flour
• 250 gms blackberries
• grated rind of 1 orange

Method

• preheat oven to 180
• Mix together the following in a large bowl: yogurt, fructose, eggs and oil / butter and whisk until combined.
  
• Tip in the flour, blackberries and orange rind and combine.
• Don't overwork the mix; it's ok for it to be lumpy
• Pour into muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes until golden.

What I loved about these was the beautiful colour - they look like art on a plate. They aren't light, like fairy cakes; the fruit makes them heavier, but very moist and soft.

Verdict: 10/10 nice mix of sour and sweet and the cakes are really soft.

Jammy buns!

I love the name of these; jammy buns - it just makes me laugh and I couldn't wait to make them.

I found the recipe over on the lovely "Diary of a Frugal Family" website. What I loved about making this is that it is SO easy. Children can handle the dough easily and it's super quick to make. Definitely a recipe for a beginner.

My daughter always eyes up the jammy dodger biscuits in the shops, and of course those are loaded with sugar (and goodness knows what else), so these will make a great alternative for her. There is even REAL fruit in the jam, so a tiny bit of nutritional value. Ok, I know that's stretching it a bit, but at least there aren't any nasties in there!

Jammy Buns

Ingredients:

• 8oz self raising flour
• 3oz butter
• 3oz fructose
• Few tablespoons of milk
• few teaspoons of St Dalfour strawberry jam (or sugar free jam of your choice)
  

Method:

• preheat oven to 180
• Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs
• Stir in the sugar
• Add milk, a desertspoon at a time until you have a soft dough (I needed 8 desertspoons to give you an idea of quantity needed).
• Get your hands in the bowl and divide the mix into little balls. I made 20 ping pong sized balls.
• Place balls onto a greased baking sheet
• Made an indentation into each ball and drop 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each
• Bake until golden - it took 12 minutes in my fan oven.
  

Now here is my confession

I was in such a rush I FORGOT the fructose LOL! So I'll be serving them up for pudding today and we'll see how they are received. To be honest, I don't think DD will worry about it; anything that taste remotely like biscuits or pastry she loves. I'll slap a bit of creme fraiche with them and see what happens.

It will be interesting to see and if she doesn't say anything, then they are even more frugal than I thought!

I've just figured that you could probably use these as a savoury dish as well if you omit the sugar. I think I might experiment and see what I can come up - the easiest vol-au-vents in the world probably!
Verdict

10/10 "I think next time there is no need to put the jam in them because they are fine as they'd be fine without it."
Well there is clearly no accounting for taste! This is probably the most frugal thing I could ever make!