Muffins and hot cross buns recipe list

Muffins

Allergy free honey carrot muffins recipe

Allergy free apple muffins recipe

Allergy free pumpkin and blood orange muffins recipe

Allergy free banana, honey and cinnamon muffins recipe

Allergy free mixed berry and ginger muffins

Allergy free passionfruit muffins recipe

Allergy free honey quinoa breakfast muffins recipe

Allergy free banana muffins recipe

Allergy free pumpkin chocolate chip muffins recipe

Hot Cross Buns

Allergy free strawberry glazed hor cross buns recipe (baked in a muffin tin)

Allergy free apricot hot cross buns recipe (baked in a muffin tin)

Allergy free hot cross bun recipe for baking in a muffin tin

Allergy free maple pumpkin hot cross scones recipe

Allergy free chocolate experiment #6: cream filled Easter eggs recipe

Look just like the previous egg experiment? Ah, but there's two surprises. First is, the chocolate is coconut rough. The second is, there's rum cream in one and lime in the other.

This time around I had an idea.

For most cream fillings you need milk, butter, cream or condensed milk which leaves those with dairy allergies without a cream to use when filling their eggs. 

So here's what I used for the cream.

Cream ingredients and method:

• The initial ingredients are 150gms plain goat's cheese, beaten until soft, 1-2 cups icing sugar (to taste), 1/2-1 tsp vanilla essence.
• Beat these together until soft and blended.
• Divide into 2-3 tsp portions per egg.
• To each portion add your choice of other essences: rum, peppermint, lime, lemon, strawberry etc, and 1/3-1/2 drop of food colouring: green and red (if acceptable).
• Blend together and refrigerate each portion.

Chocolate egg construction:

• For these I made the coconut rough chocolate (Chocolate Experiment #5) and moulded it into egg halves. Temporing is near impossible for coconut rough so don't bother.
• Of the initial ground cacao beans I reserved some for painting the two halves of each egg together. If doing this you have to keep this batch warm the whole way through the setting process of the coconut rough chocolate.
• Once the chocolate egg halves have set, pop them out of their moulds onto a clean tea towel (handle them through the tea towel so they don't melt with the heat of your hands).
• Spoon in the cream fillings, making sure you add the filling to the correct halves and leave some room so it doesn't slop over the side as soon as you tip them.
• Do the following steps to each egg in turn: paint the still warm extra chocolate around the top of the egg halves.
• Quickly close each egg, using the tea towels to keep the chocolate from melting, and hold them firmly together for a second or two.
• Pat the edges to squish down the excess painting chocolate but don't worry too much about looks (it'll only be eaten anyway).
• Refrigerate immediately so the painting chocolate can set.

Easter eggs decorated as fictional characters

neatorama.com

weheartit.com

weheartit.com

coolgizmotoys.com

smosh.com

italy.gadgetmug.com

forevergeek.com

forevergeek.com

Allergy free chocolate experiment #5: Easter coconut rough recipe

Today's chocolate experiment (two already eaten by my husband and myself).

Ingredients

6 tbsp cacao nibs, ground into a liquid paste

150 mls powdered sugar

Pinch of cardamom

1/2 tsp mixed spice

1/8 tsp vanilla

60 mls finely powdered coconut milk

1 tbsp honey (instead of soy lecithin)

2-3 tbsp cocoa butter

I had a few stops and starts along the way as I'd intended a different sort of chocolate, I broke my pestle and I was feeling all-round grumpy. Breaking your favourite pestle does that. But all that amounted to nothing as I didn't ruin the chocolate and ended up with a rich and probably addictive chocolate. I'm definitely making this again.

Now just to sort out how to make the chocolate I was intending in the first place...

Allergy free chocolate experiment #3

I'm no longer following directions. Now I'm starting to experiment on my own. In this one I added goat's milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cacao butter and cacao liquor.

I also ground the nibs for longer and kept the mortar and pestle warm for longer. Then I tempered and poured into some moulds I have.

The quantity, as you may have guess, is more again. This time I got a tray of shaped chocolates (rocket, flower, heart, squares etc) and a small block.

And it tastes better again. So happy!
Easter chocolate is possible now. Though my arm is again about to drop off...

I used a different arrangement of mortar and pestle after grinding in the grinder so that I had a greater surface area to work with.

When the chocolate became more liquid switched over to this arrangement so I could keep my hands clean (otherwise the chocolate would be all over my hands and not in being ground at all).

I added goat's milk and mixed it in until smooth (those are bubbles).

Tampering. The photo is a bit dodgy as my arm is shaking...

Poured. Just waiting for it to set in the fridge. The less milk the quicker to set so for this one I need to wait. Tastes great even at this stage though.

Basic allergy free chocolate recipe

As per the instructions given by John Scharffenberger in Make Chocolate At Home, I did the following:

Ingredients

• Cacao beans, roasted and shelled, or cacao nibs (I used Loving Earth cacao nibs)
• Sugar (6 cacao nibs: 4 sugar for 60% etc.)
• Small pinch chilli
• Pinch cardamom (tiny bit more than chilli)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Method

• Add cacao the sugar to the spice or coffee grinder. 
• Grind for 2-3 minutes, opening the grinder and scrape down sides every minute or so.
• 2-3 minutes for icing mix.
• 3-5 minutes for the cacao to become almost liquid
• Open grinder and add spices.
• Grind for 30-60 seconds more.
• Add mix to warmed mortar and pestle. 
• Grind by hand until liquid it is edible.

Initial mistakes

• I reversed the order of chilli and cardamom. Luckily I love chilli.
• I took the cacao out of the spice grinder too soon. But putting it back in for a little more grinding worked with no ill effects.

Taste test

• Pretty strong on the chilli but like I said, I love chilli so that's all fine by me. 
• Taste of chocolate is very strong otherwise. Even though there is little gain produced from 6 tsp nibs and 4 tsp sugar I do believe it will take me a day or so to eat it. (I see why it is 'watered' down for general consumption and sold as milk chocolate - it would be easier to handle and people would eat more without rather than saying they were fine with just two little squares).
• There is some graininess to the chocolate that isn't present in industrially made chocolate, simply because home grinders do not match in efficiency to industrial grinders.

Variation from John Scharffenberger's guidelines

• I put the chocolate I didn't immediately eat into a mini cup cake mould (one of those silcone ones) and put it in the fridge to set.
• Chilli amount.

Result

• Awesome. I was impressed with this and although it isn't store bought smooth it was very nice. It also worked extremely well when melted for chocolate milks, coconut milks or sauces.
• I shall be doing this again.