Tag: Chocolate

Best of Both Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns

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If the thought of making hot cross buns with chocolate and orange is too exotic for you, why not try my Best of Both Apple and Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns which are more traditional. But for anyone who isn’t put off by the thoughts of an unconventional hot cross bun, you’re in the right place!

My Best of Both Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns are the perfect combination of sweet, fruity and spiced goodness. They’re also best of both as they use wholemeal flour to help add extra fibre to the buns, meaning each serving provides you with over 5g of fibre, helping you achieve the daily recommendation of 30g.

Makes 9 buns

Ingredients

For the buns

  • 175g strong wholemeal flour
  • 150g strong white flour
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 30g caster sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground mixed spice
  • 7g fast action yeast
  • 50g butter, melted
  • Zest of 2 large oranges
  • Juice of 2 large oranges (175ml juice with a little of the pulp, made up with water if needed)
  • 1 egg
  • 60g sultanas
  • 60g mixed peel
  • 60g dark chocolate chips

For the crosses

  • 10g butter
  • 40g strong white flour
  • 45ml water

For the glaze

  • 50g marmalade
  • 40ml water

Method

  • Add all the dried ingredients for the buns, except the dried fruit and chocolate, into a stand mixer. Add the butter, egg and orange zest and juice. Mix on a low speed for 10 minutes – the dough should be just sticky. After 10 minutes add the dried fruit and chocolate and mix for a further 2 minutes till incorporated. Form into a ball, cover, and allow to rise till doubled in size for around 1.5 hours.
  • Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back and divide the ball into 9 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a tight ball without any fruit sticking out the top as these will burn. Place the balls in a 3×3 formation in a baking tin roughly 20cmx20cm lined with baking parchment. Cover and allow to prove for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
  • Melt the butter for the crosses and then whisk in the flour and water to make a thick pipe-able paste. Transfer into a piping bag and snip the end to make a small hole. Pipe crosses (or whatever you fancy) across the tops of the buns. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes till golden brown.
  • Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the water and marmalade to make the glaze.
  • Once the buns are cooker, immediately brush with the glaze.
  • Transfer to a wire rack, remove the baking parchment and allow to cool.

Per bun: 328kcal/ 9.6g fat/ 5.4g saturated fat/ 50.0g carbohydrates/ 5.4g fibre/ 7.9g protein

Easter Chocolate Nests

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With Easter approaching, here is an easy way to add a little extra goodness to chocolate with a fun twist. Perfect for entertaining the kids over the holidays whilst getting a little added fibre into the diet.

Makes 12

Ingredients

  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 80g dried fruits (I’ve used dried cherries)
  • 225g bran cereal sticks
  • 12 mini eggs

Method

  • Melt the dark chocolate over a bain-marie. Add the olive oil, dried fruits and bran cereal and mix till evenly distributed.
  • Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions in cupcake cases. Add a mini egg on the top of each nest.
  • Allow to set completely (option to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes if you can’t wait) before enjoying.

Per nest: 203kcal/ 11g fat/ 4.5g saturated fat/ 21g carbohydrates/ 3.8g fibre/ 3.1g protein

Chocolate Orange Ricotta Pancakes

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We often think of fluffy buttermilk pancakes, but sometimes I struggle to find buttermilk in the shops. However, these ricotta pancakes are just as fluffy and oh-so delicious!

At this time of year, oranges are in season, including these gorgeous blood oranges with their vibrant red flesh. They’re extra sweet too, so for me they work perfectly as a little drizzle over the top of the pancakes just before serving, helping to enhance the lovely orange flavour of the pancakes.

I love these served with Greek yoghurt and extra orange segments, but if you have an extra sweet tooth you could serve them with some maple syrup.

I’ve used wholemeal flour in this recipe, which adds an extra 3g of fibre per serving in comparison to plain white flour. That’s an easy add of 10% of your daily recommendation of fibre with minimal effort! Plus you won’t be able to tell the difference with the end product.

Serves 5

Ingredients

  • 250g plain wholemeal flour
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of Soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 250g ricotta
  • 250ml milk
  • 1 orange, zest and juice
  • 120g 70% dark chocolate

To serve

  • 5 tablespoons of greek yoghurt
  • 2-3 oranges, segmented, and the remaining juice squeezed out

Method

  • In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarb and salt together.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, ricotta and milk together. Add the orange zest and 50ml orange juice.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together before adding the chocolate – don’t over mix the batter, keep some lumps of flour to ensure you get really lovely and fluffy pancakes.
  • Heat a pan over a low heat and brush with a little oil. Place 1 ladle spoon of batter into the centre of the pan and allow it to cook for 3 minutes (the pancake will spread out slightly so if cooking more than one in a pan at a time ensure there is sufficient gaps between them), watching for little bubbles to appear on the surface and the edges to start to darken before flipping and cooking for 2 minutes on the second side.
  • Repeat with the remaining batter, keeping the cooked pancakes covered and warm (option to keep the oven on at 50°C). You should make around 10 pancakes with the batter.
  • Serve warm with a spoonful of yoghurt, some orange segments and a drizzle of orange juice.
Chocolate Orange Ricotta Pancakes

Per serving: 763kcal/ 37g fat/ 20g saturated fat/ 67g carbohydrates/ 9.4g fibre/ 35g protein

Microwave Cocoa and Banana Cake

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The easiest (and quickest) way to use up some brown Fairtrade bananas from the bottom of your fruit bowl. These little cakes make the perfect pudding in a hurry. There’s also no added sugar thanks to the natural sweetness of the extra ripe bananas, and the addition of a date.

Each cake provides you with 4 different plant points for your weekly tally. If you can resist eating it straight out of the ramekin (be careful as it’s super hot!!) you can turn it out onto a plate and serve it with your choice of toppings. It’s the perfect brunch served with plain yoghurt and berries, but you could always opt for something more indulgent such as custard or ice cream if eating it for dessert.

Sourcing both Fairtrade bananas and cocoa means that those working in the food chain will get a fair wage; from the farmers who grow the produce, to those who process it into the final product so they can have a better standard of living. Fairtrade Fortnight 2021 runs from 22nd February to 7th March. Look out for the Fairtrade logo on popular items such as bananas, chocolate, coffee, tea, flowers and clothing.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 60g butter
  • 2 very ripe Fairtrade bananas (total weight 175-200g)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Medjool date, finely chopped or 20g chopped dates
  • 60g self-raising flour
  • 15g Fairtrade cocoa powder

To serve (optional)

  • Yoghurt
  • Defrosted frozen berries

Method

  • Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds till very soft. Add the bananas and mash into a lumpy paste.
  • Mix in the egg and chopped date.
  • Add the flour and cocoa powder and mix till just combined.
  • Pour into 2 large ramekins. Cook each cake for 90-100 seconds in the microwave (900 W) till puffed up and cooked. If you still have raw batter keep microwaving 10 seconds at a time till cooked.
  • Leave to cool for 30 seconds before turning out onto a plate and serving with yoghurt and berries.

Per serving: 499kcal/ 29.1g fat/ 18.0g saturated fat/ 31.9g carbohydrates/ 6.3g fibre/ 9.2g protein

Chocolate, Cherry and Coconut Granola

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Granola is king in our house. We eat loads of it for breakfast, as a quick snack and sometimes even as a substitute for pudding! But shop bought granola sometimes isn’t the healthiest breakfast cereal to turn to. Often it is high in sugar, loaded with fats and has a few basic ingredients in it such as oats and sweetened dried fruits. Additionally, so many brands put 0.5% hazelnuts into the mix (why?!?!) which renders me out of the equation due to a nut allergy.

Homemade granola means I can add what I want

So I endeavoured to make my own range, which is either reduced or no added sugar, uses healthy fats, has a diverse range of fibre sources, uses unsweetened fruit wherever possible, and only has ingredients in there that I can eat, so feel free to swap anything out to fit in with your dietary requirements.

I developed this particular recipe for my chocoholic sister-in-law who loves sweet treats. Although not a sugar free granola, it’s definitely not as sweet as the generic shop bought granola, and packs in much more nutritious value, and as a bonus is also vegan!

I hope you enjoy making this recipe. Feel free to alter the fruits used, add alternative nuts if you aren’t allergic, or even change the chocolate if you’re not looking to make a vegan granola (I’m thinking white chocolate and raspberry!!!).

Making this granola is really easy, but takes a little time. Adding water and maple syrup allows some of the starch in the oats to come out and helps make clusters traditionally achieved by using high sugar and harder fats such as palm oil. Sometimes I even let the wet oats sit before adding in further ingredients so that the clusters really form. Then I add the fat: extra virgin olive oil! Packed full of polyphenols and phytochemicals which have been shown to be beneficial for heart, brain and even gut health.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

You can use whatever seeds you have to hand, but try to get a good variety in there. This recipe will help you achieve 10 of your 30 different plant foods for the week, which we know is beneficial to overall health. I also hand chop whole almonds so that you get really large chunks of the nuts. This gives a really nice crunch, but we also know from research on almond consumption, eating roasted chopped almonds can increase some strains of butyrate-producing gut bacteria, which is thought to be beneficial for health. Additionally, in a recent review of studies investigating almond consumption, there were beneficial outcomes on cardiometabolic markers such as lowering total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels in comparison to non-almond consuming groups.

Roughly chop the almonds to keep them in large chunks

Finally, a slow bake means you get lovely crunchy granola, I tried to speed things up in one of my recipe testing sessions. Sadly you get a slightly burnt toasted flavour which wasn’t to my liking, but some of my testers did actually enjoy they taste!

I love this granola with either dairy free milk, or a dairy free yoghurt such as a coconut yoghurt – just make sure you check the nutritional information to make sure it isn’t loaded with hidden sugar! Check out my previous post for a recent UK publication looking at the sugar reduction in yoghurts over the past few years.

Delicious served with creamy coconut yoghurt and fresh cherries

Recipe

  • 150g rolled oats
  • 150g jumbo oats
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • 50g desiccated coconut
  • 25g chia seeds
  • 25g pumpkin seeds
  • 25g sunflower seeds
  • 25g linseeds (flax)
  • 50g maple syrup
  • 80g almonds, roughly chopped
  • 60g extra virgin olive oil
  • 50g coconut flakes
  • 90g dried cherries
  • 100g dark chocolate chips of choice
Granola ingredients

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 130°C/125°C Fan/ ​1⁄2 GM
  • Add the oats, cocoa powder, desiccated coconut, almonds, seeds, maple syrup and water to a large bowl and mix together. Let large clumps form.
  • Add the olive oil and mix
  • Spread out onto a tray, pushing the mixture down to help form more clumps
  • Bake in the oven for 90 minutes, gently turning the mixture at 30, 50, and 70 minutes
  • Add the coconut flakes to the tray at 70 minutes to gently toast for the last 20 minutes
  • After 90 minutes of cooking, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely
  • Add the cherries and chocolate to the granola and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks
Cherry, chocolate and coconut granola

Per 50g serving 226kcal/ 10g fat/ 5.4g saturated fat/ 21.3g carbohydrates/ 4.7g fibre/ 5.8g protein