#NicaBakes: Natural Cacao Nutty Brownies

We love donning our baking mitts at Nica HQ and testing out a new recipe, and all the more so when we’re creating a sweet treat that’s healthier than a slab of Death by Chocolate yet just as delicious!

So, armed with some of our favourite ingredients we hit the kitchen to test out some yummy cacao nutty brownies, and of course we wanted to share our delicious recipe with you.

Dry Ingredients

3/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cacao powder
1 level tsp baking powder

 

Wet Ingredients

4 eggs
3 tbsp (depending upon your taste) agave nectar /or/ raw honey /or/ pure golden syrup
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 melted bar 85% dark chocolate (we love @greenandblacks)
1/2 cup crushed nuts – Opt for mixed nuts or cashews which are a great substitute for  'white choc chip’ chunks.

*250 ml water

Ingredients for the Frosting
1 very ripe whipped Banana 

1/2 cup coconut cream
1/4 melted bar dark chocolate 

Finishing Touches
Sprinkle with fresh blackberries and crushed nuts

Directions:

- Pre-heat oven to gas mark 5 and pop the cake tin into oven.

- Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

- Separately mix wet ingredients *except water.

- Judge the consistency, it should be fairly thick so mix in a little bit of water at a time  

  until the mixture is able to run without being too watery.

- Combine wet and dry ingredients, making sure all are folded in together.

- Spoon into a cake tin (If you use a rubber one, there’s no need for greasing but a 

  traditional tin will probably need some grease proof paper).

- Make sure the cake mix is evenly spread and pop into the oven for 20 mins at gas 

  mark 5. (Check to see if it’s ready by pricking the middle with a knife, if the knife  

  comes out smooth without any mixture then set aside and leave to cool).

- Prepare frosting by whipping the ripe banana and mixing with half a cup of coconut
  cream and 1/4 of the melted bar of dark chocolate.

- Once cool, frost the brownie with frosting mix, and then top with blackberries and
  crushed nuts.

- Cut into brownie sized pieces and tuck in!

Et Voilà! A sweet treat that’s not even naughty as they’re created from natural ingredients. Why not try them out for yourselves? Or share your own great clean baking pics with us @nicahandbags on Instagram. 

#NicaBakeOff: An almost Healthy Sweet Treat - Pumpkin and Apple pie

This week, for our #NicaBakeOff, one of the team is sharing their own recipe for pumpkin and apple pie! Take a look at her recipe below, and  if you try it out for yourself, why not get in touch @Nica_Handbags on Twitter and let us know?

Ingredients 

1 cup of puréed pumpkin (made from approx. 1 small pumpkin)

1 cup of apple sauce (with no added sugar) 

3/4 cup of wholemeal rye flour

3/4 cup of plain white flour

2 eggs (to make a vegan version substitute eggs for flax seeds)

1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp of cinnamon

1/2 tsp of ginger (powder)

1/2tsp of freshly grated or powdered nutmeg

A pinch of salt

1/2 cup of organic bee friendly runny honey or agave nectar (dependant upon how sweet)

Toasted almonds to sprinkle

2 tsp of coconut oil for greasing (butter can be used as a substitute)

For the frosting (optional):

180g light cream cheese

2 1/2 tbsp of organic bee friendly runny honey or agave nectar (dependant upon how sweet)

Step by Step

For the pumpkin purée:

• Begin by chopping your pumpkin in half and scooping out the seeds*. 
• Stab the pumpkin several times on both sides to allow for steam to escape, and place in the microwave for approx 10 mins until soft (If you have extra time you may want to roast your pumpkin instead for a stronger flavour).
• Once the pumpkin is soft, scrape out of the skin and place into a food processor. Whizz this until a purée forms – Easy peasy!

For the cream cheese frosting (optional):

• Combine the tub of light cream cheese with the honey and stir until smooth, taste to see if you are happy with the sweetness. To  make it sweeter, simply add more honey. 

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to gas mark 5 and grease two cake tins with coconut oil, then, place in the oven.
• Begin by placing all of your dry ingredients into a bowl (sieved flour, spices, pinch of salt, baking powder & bicarbonate of soda) and mix together.;
• Combine all of your wet ingredients and mix (eggs, honey, pumpkin purée & apple sauce).
• Fold wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and stir to form a cake mixture – making sure all of the flour is mixed in.
• Pour mixture half and half into your two pre-heated cake tins and bake for approx 35 mins, then, test to check if it's cooked through the middle by prodding with a folk. If still clean when removed, then, the cake is ready. Leave to stand.
• Once cool, spread the cream cheese frosting onto the bottom base. Place the top cake onto the base as to form a sandwich effect. Add the rest of your frosting on top, smoothly decorating the top and sides.
• Once finished, dust by carefully sprinkling cinnamon through an icing sieve from a distance over the top of the cake, and finish by generously sprinkling toasted almonds on top. 

*(Save the seeds for a healthy snack or to sprinkle over salads by washing and soaking over night, then, spread evenly over a greaseproof paper lined baking tray and bake until golden brown. Season with a sprinkle of your choice of seasoning – My favourite is a pinch of salt and paprika) 

We’d love to see what you've been baking, so, why not tag us in your photos @nicahandbags on Instagram? 

#NicaBakeOff: Italian Style Pizza

For this week’s #NicaBakeOff, one of the team is sharing a family recipe with you, as she dons the oven mitts and creates some delicious Italian pizza! Why not try out her recipe for yourself and let us know how it goes by dropping us a comment below?

Ingredients: Pizza Base

500g white flour

1 regular sachet of yeast 

2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

Add as much warm water as needed

Ingredients: Toppings (Quantities as desired)

Mozzarella 

Chopped tomatoes

Step by Step

1) Vigorously mix together all of the required ingredients for the base until it forms a soft springy dough.

2) Place the pizza dough into a large bowl and cover with a wet cloth.

3) Allow the dough to rise by leaving in a warm place for anything from 30 mins to 2 hours. The longer it’s left, the better the flavour will be. Or, if you don't have a warm spot in your house, you could heat the oven to 150 degrees instead, then, turn off allowing to cool a little and place the bowl of dough inside the oven to rise.

4) Remove the raised dough from the oven and bowl.

5) Brush some olive oil onto a baking tray, and flatten the dough on top of it.

6) Add chosen toppings ( Mozzarella and chopped tomatoes) and bake at around 150 degrees 15-20 minutes.

7) Cut into slices and enjoy! 

It’s a simple recipe that doesn’t take very long to make either, and of course, it also tastes much better than any shop bought frozen versions too!

Are you getting into the Great British Bake Off spirit and baking this week? If so, why not get in touch and show us your bakes by tagging us @Nica_Handbags on Twitter or @nicahandbags on Instagram? 

#NicaBakeOff: Mary Berry Style Roulade!

This week, for our #NicaBakeOff challenge, we decided to test out one of Mary Berry’s very own recipes, as we opted for a delicious chocolate roulade. - And with great success, as it tasted delicious!

We followed the recipe from BBC Food, and here’s how you can make your own:

Ingredients

175g finely chopped dark chocolate

6 free-range eggs

175g caster sugar

2tbsp cocoa powder

300ml double cream

Sprinkle of icing sugar

Step by Step

1) Pre-heat oven to gas mark 6

2) Grease the inside of a 33cm by 23cm swiss roll tin and cover with some greaseproof paper.

 

3) Simmer some water in a pan, and place a bowl over the top without touching the water in which you melt the dark chocolate.

4) Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until stiff but not dry. If you turn the bowl upside down, they shouldn’t fall out!

 

5) In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and creamy.

 

6) Gently fold the melted chocolate into the whisked egg yolk mixture.

 

7) Gently stir 2 large spoonfuls of egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then, fold in the remaining egg whites with a metal spoon.

 

8) Sift the cocoa powder over the mixture and fold in.

 

9) Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until firm. 

10) When the cake is cool, lay down a piece of greaseproof paper on the table, dust slightly with icing sugar, and put the roulade on top.

11) Whip the cream until it holds shape and spread onto the cake leaving a 2cm boarder around the edges.

12) Roll up the cake to form the roulade shape. 

13) Finish with a gentle dusting of icing sugar. 

Then, all’s that's left to do, is sit down and enjoy a slice with a cup of tea! Have you been getting into the #GBBO spirit? 

If so, why not drop us a comment below and let us know what you’ve been baking? Or, why not share your baking photos with us @Nica_Handbags on Twitter or @nicahandbags on Instagram?

#NicaBakes: How To Make Healthy Peanut Butter Brownies

Imagining all of the unhealthy chocolate that we could scoff this Easter got us thinking that maybe it was about time that we pulled out our oven mitts once more, and whipped up a healthy yet sweet alternative!

So, after a quick peruse around some of our favourite blogs, we were hooked on Blogger Deliciously Ella’s healthy take upon our regular naughty brownies, which switch the flour for sweet potatoes instead. So, we used her recipe as a guide and infused it with a peanut butter twist! Here's what you need:

Ingredients

2 small sweet potatoes
1/3 cup of raw cocoa powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut cream
2 tablespoons raw honey
½ tsp salt
4 Tablespoons peanut butter
½ cup pitted dates 
½ tsp baking powder
Walnut oil to grease tray 

Instructions

1) Soak the dates in tepid water for ten minutes

2) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

3) Grease your baking tray with a little walnut oil

4) Peel and boil the sweet potatoes until they’re soft enough to mash

5) Place the soaked dates into a food processor and mix until they clump together in a small ball.

6) Add in all of the other ingredients, except the peanut butter and sea salt, and blend together until a smooth mixture forms.

7) Pour into the greased tray and cook for 20 minutes until the tip of a fork pulls clean.

8) Allow to cool before spreading on the peanut butter.

9) Finish with an optional sprinkle of sea salt and cut up into squares to serve. 

Et Voilà! Our delicious peanut brownies are a healthier take upon the traditional brownie, helping to make those naughty indulgences guilt free! 

Here at Nica, we love to try out new healthy recipes, so, please feel free to share your favourites with us and we may just try them out. Get in touch @Nica_Handbags on Twitter or @nicahandbags on Instagram.