Blueberry Oatmeal Yogurt Pancakes

Happy Pancake Day! Since it's the number one day of the year dedicated to pancakes, I've decided to created a pancake recipe for you all. This recipe is a healthier version of traditional pancakes since they can be full of sugar. So for any of you who are trying to stay healthy this new year, this recipe is perfect for you. This recipe makes enough for 2 people.

Ingredients...

200g oat flour

2 tsp baking powder

190g natural yoghurt

245g milk of your choice

1 tbsp runny honey

some fresh blueberries

Method...

1) In one large jug, mix all dry ingredients together

2) In a smaller one, whisk all wet ingredients together

3) Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients

4) Add more milk if it's too thick

5) Into a frying pan at medium heat, melt some butter or oil and pour some of the mixture onto it to create a pancake

6) Sprinkle a few blueberries on top and cover with a lid for about 3 minutes

7) Flip over the pancake and cover again for another 3 minutes

8) Carry on doing this until the mixture is all gone

I hope you liked this easy recipe, be sure to stick around for another blog post soon! :) 

Becky x

Simple Cookie Recipe

It's almost a tradition that me and Josh make two giant cookies at night and pile mountains of ice cream on top them, ready for a movie in bed. This definitely isn't a healthy habit but it sure is a yummy one and something I often look forward to. A bonus to these cookies is that they're egg free, meaning it's pretty safe to eat the cookie dough as well. 

So what you'll need for these marvellous creations is...

100g margarine

75g soft light brown sugar

2 tbsp syrup

175g self raising flour

100g chocolate chips

2tsp milk

Here are the (easiest ever) steps to make these...

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4.

Beat the margarine until soft, add sugar and cream together until light and fluffy.

Add syrup, flour and chocolate chips and mix together - it might take a while for them to combine.

If the mixture is too dry, then add the milk. 

Bake for 15 minutes.

Tips...

If you don't have any chocolate chips, then using a sharp knife you can cut chocolate bar squares into quarters. 

By using 2/3 of the mixture you can make two large cookies, perfect for topping with ice cream.

If you don't have any syrup, you could substitute it for honey, or you could leave it out as it doesn't make too much of a difference.

I hope you liked this easy recipe, be sure to stick around for another blog post soon! :) 

Becky x

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry

So recently I've been making my own dinners instead of my mum cooking them for me, partly because I'm trying to eat healthier and also to try out and get better at cooking different foods. Most of the meals I cook usually don't include meat either due to the fact that it no longer appeals to my taste-buds and it's generally better for the planet. Not only does this make my meal slightly better for me, but also I've found that cooking without meat is usually a quicker process. I've made this vegan curry a few times and find it super easy to make and really yummy. So here's the recipe!

 Ingredients...
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 red onion
- 1 green pepper
- 1 red chilli
- 2 gloves of garlic
- 1 lemon
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin of chickpeas
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- handful of spinach or kale (optional)

Method...
1) Begin by dicing your onion, pepper, squash, chilli and garlic cloves. 
2) Then, by using a pestle and mortar, grind all your spices together. 
3) Pop the chilli and garlic into a pan and fry for a few minutes until fragrant.
4) Add the spices and a dash of water to the pan and simmer for another few minutes. 
5) Stir in your diced onion and a little more water and simmer again for a few minutes. 
6) Pour in your 2 tins of tomatoes, the squash, green pepper and drained chickpeas.
7) Fill one of the tomato tins with water and add to the saucepan along with the juice of one lemon.
8) Bring to the boil and simmer for half and hour. 
9) If you're using spinach or kale, stir into the curry and serve with rice.

I used two smaller red onions because I didn't have one normal sized one. I also only used half a pepper because that's all that was in the fridge, so as you can see, you can change the recipe to whatever you have in your kitchen. You could even change the squash for pumpkin or sweet potato!

I couldn't find any ground turmeric or mustard seeds in the cupboard, however, the curry still tasted great without it! 

Depending if we have any spinach of kale in the fridge, I will stir in quite a lot of the stuff once the curry is done before plating it up. 

I served the curry with basmati rice and a small amount of quinoa. With the left overs, I poured it into a few containers and popped them into the freezer. Therefore if I'm ever in a rush, I can simply reheat the curry from frozen for an instant meal!

I hope you liked this recipe, be sure to stick around for another blog post next week! :) 

Becky x

Baking My Sister's Birthday Cake

Although my sister's birthday was a few days before Christmas, I've only just got round to posting this recipe after all of the festive posts I've done. This cakes involve three layers of brownie cakes which is what my sister requested, however, if you don;t like rich cakes then you won't like this. Also, if you're on a diet, look away now. 

Ingredients!

340g butter

170g dark chocolate

600g sugar

5 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

195g self raising flour

3/4 tsp salt

Method!

Melt the chocolate and butter. 

Stir in the sugar.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating each time.

Stir in the vanilla.

Stir in the flour. 

Pour into 3 greased round tins and bake at gas mark 4 for 30 minutes (depending on your oven).

Write out  message to put on your birthday cake on some paper, put it on a tray and then put baking paper on top of it.

Melt some chocolate.

Using a piping bag, go over the message with the chocolate and then pop into the fridge. I repeated this again with white chocolate on top but with a thinner line to make it stand out on the cake.

When they're done the brownies will be firm to touch. Leave them to cool in the time for 10 minutes, remove and put on a baking rack.

I used Betty Crocker Chocolate icing to stick the layers together and then covered the sides using a flat knife.

Using the Dr Oetker Chocolate Easy Swirl Icing I created lots of swirls on top the cake.

To finish with, I used sprinkles to decorate and popped the message onto the cake.

I hope you liked this baking post, be sure to stick around for another next week! :) 
Becky x

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes

Merry Christmas! So it's finally Christmas and therefore this is the last chance I can squeeze in another festive baking post for you all! This last Christmas post is a Gingerbread Latte Cupcake recipe.

The Ingredients for the cupcakes!

160g self raising flour

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

55g butter

100g brown sugar

160g treacle

1 large egg

125ml strong, hot coffee

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

The ingredients for the frosting!

160g icing sugar

90g soft butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp ground ginger

Sieve the flour and spices into a bowl.

Add the butter and sugar and beat until fluffy.

Pour the treacle and egg into the mix and beat together.

In a mug add the bicarbonate of soda and coffee and stir.

Stir this into the mixture.

Divide between the cases and bake at gas mark 4 for 25 minutes until firm to touch.

Sieve the icing into a bowl.

Mix all of the ingredients together.

Pipe onto the cakes and place gingerbread shapes on top to decorate. My gingerbread recipe can be found here.

I hope you liked this final christmas post, be sure to stick around for another post next week! :) 

Becky x