BAKING
I often think the art of baking has been lost. Baking should be a labour of love, another
opportunity to nourish your child with nutrient dense delicious food. Baking need not be an
unhealthy addition to the diet, if done properly your child will enjoy wholesome, health giving food
and a soul nurturing experience.
These recipes are loaded with nutrient dense wholefoods and you can consider substituting
ingredients to suit your children’s health requirements. If sugar is an issue then use none or less
of what the recipe suggests or consider using whole fruit puree to add needed sweetness to a
recipe.
Enjoy cooking gorgeous and healthy treats with quality whole-food ingredients and remember the
value of ingredients like quality fats to your child’s health. In moderation there is nothing wrong
with a little whole-food sugar in the diet so don’t deprive your child or yourself of the joy of
eating nurturing food.
NANA’S PUMPKIN FRUIT CAKE – THE NEW AGE WAY
This is an old favourite that I have stolen from the family archives and revamped to be more
nutritious and possibly even more delicious. This is such a great way to incorporate health giving
pumpkin into a delicious indulgence your child will happily enjoy.
250gm butter
1/2 cup Rapadura or muscovada sugar (you can use less or more if desired)
2 cups unbleached spelt flour (or ½ unbleached ½ wholemeal)
2 tsp aluminium free baking powder
Pinch of real salt
1 tsp dulse flakes – the nutrition booster
500gm cold mashed pumpkin
500gm mixed dried fruit, I can assure you that any combination works
2 eggs
1 tbsp golden syrup or other syrup on hand, golden has a richer result
1 ½ tsp dried spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger or cardamom
Cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs one at a time mixing well between. Add fruit, spices
and honey and combine well. Mix in flour and golden syrup and pour mix into a lined baking tray
and bake in a moderate oven, this differs with each oven but about 135C/275F, for about 2 – 2 ½
hours, until skewer inserted comes out clean. This keeps as well as a Christmas cake and a little
goes a long way.
THE ENTERTAINING CAKE
This cake is just delicious and can be adapted for any entertaining engagement. There is loads of
icing on this cake to ensure that there is plenty to go around because it is simply delicious. Mix
berry juice through the icing or even whole berries to give it a lovely colour and taste.
250gm spelt flour (I usually use wholemeal and give it an extra blitz before use to make it lighter)
1 heaped tsp aluminium free baking powder
125gm butter chopped and slightly soft
3/4 cup Rapadura or golden caster sugar
60ml olive or almond oil
2 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of 2 oranges
½ cup yoghurt
2 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
Icing: sugar laden so only for the very rare treat!
200gm organic icing sugar
100gm softened butter (unsalted is best)
Zest and juice of 2 oranges, lemons or limes, or juice from blueberries for purple icing, mixed berries
for pink icing or spinach for green icing
A handful of berries or 1-2 tbsp citrus zest (optional)
Preheat and oven to 180C/350F and line a round baking pan. Cream butter, sugar, oil, vanilla and
zest until pale then add eggs one at a time until thoroughly mixed. Add remaining ingredients until
just combined and pour into tin and bake for 40-50 minutes until cooked. Cool completely before
spreading with the icing which has been whipped completely. This will keep for a number of days
if there happens to be any left!
THE GRAIN FREE ENTERTAINING CAKE – COCONUT AT ITS BEST HERE!
You will not believe how spectacularly good this cake is and the most exciting part is that it is
entirely grain free and suitable for one big cake or made into cupcakes. Add some berry or spinach
juice to the icing and your next child's party will be a real healthy winner! I recently made a frog
birthday cake and added liquid chlorophyll to the icing for a bright green result, the kids just
loved it.
1 dozen eggs
2 cups coconut milk or 1 cup coconut milk and 1 of coconut cream
3/4 cup honey
2 generous teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminium free baking powder
coconut oil, for greasing the cake tins
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Beat the eggs, coconut milk and honey with the vanilla until
smooth and creamy. Place the coconut flour, baking powder and salt into the egg mix, and continue
to beat until a smooth batter forms.
Grease and flour two 20cm cake tins. Pour the cake batter into the greased and floured tins,
shaking them to even out the batter and smoothing it with the back of a spoon or with a rubber
spatula.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the cake separates from the sides of the tin and a skewer
inserted into the cake’s centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing
from the tin and frosting with the coconut frosting below, cream cheese icing and butter icing
are also incredible with this cake.
COCONUT ICING – OOOOH SO YUMMY!
2 cups coconut spread (available on the internet or in some health food stores) raw dried coconut
that is blitzed until incredibly fine is just as delicious, just a little more coarse
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
Pinch of real salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat all ingredients together until thoroughly combined.
Refrigerate the frosting for five to ten minutes so that it hardens slightly then remove and beat
for about 60 seconds until really smooth and creamy. Frost your cake and see if you can wait!
ANOTHER SPECIAL OCCASION CAKE – GRAIN FREE
This cake is loaded with flavour and fabulous nutrition. This really doesn’t need to be saved for a
special occasion, why not consider life as an occasion to be celebrated and enjoy treating your
taste buds and sense of satisfaction.
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250gm almond meal
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125gm butter
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125ml olive oil
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6 large eggs
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1/4 tsp real salt
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1 tsp aluminium free baking powder (leave this out if following GAPS)
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1/2 cup rapadura sugar or 1/2 cup honey (for GAPS protocol)
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1 tbsp vanilla
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zest of a whole orange
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1 cup raspberries, blueberries, cherries or mix (last time I made this I rehydrated dried
cherries with chocolate liquor)
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1/2 cup of finely diced dark chocolate is optional
Line a baking tin (springform) and preheat oven to 160C fan forced or 180C conventional. Cream
butter, oil, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy then add eggs one at a time until well combined.
Add remaining ingredients except the fruit until a consistent batter is formed then gently fold
in 1/2 the fruit and choccy if using it. Pour the batter into the lined pan and smooth the top, then
place the remaining fruit on top. Cook until golden and springy in the middle, a tooth pick inserted
should come out clean. If it colours too quickly then cover with foil and keep baking until ready.
Cool completely before serving with custard or yoghurt. Ooooooh so yummy!
HEALING DESSERTS (JELLY & PUDDING) – GLAMOROUS LUNCH BOX ADDITIONS
If you turn your nose up at the thought of gelatin, you are not alone. Typical gelatin is the byproduct of a sick slaughter industry. But quality gelatin has long been known for its healing
potential and therapeutic effect, it is widely considered to be a powerful anti-aging ally. Quality
gelatin is derived from pasture raised, kosher and organic sources and can be a valuable addition
to your child’s diet. The dishes that can be created with quality gelatin are always crowd pleasers
and ensure your kids are sourcing valuable health supporting nutrients happily.
Consider making jelly with the puree of fresh fruit, sweetened with a little honey (1-2 tablespoons
per batch is more than enough with the sweetness of the fruit) and gelatin, it’s as easy as that.
Simply follow the directions on the container of gelatin, it is usually 1 tablespoon of gelatin to
make 500ml of liquid set.
Harder jellies can be made into shapes, eg fun moulds, by adding 3-4 times as much gelatin and
these can be used as “lolly” alternatives and kept indefinitely in the fridge. These can be used for
compliance (bribery) in getting your kids to try new things.
I have included gelatin as an optional ingredient in the ice-cream recipe a little further on and
this makes the best chocolate pudding, just divide the mix into individual serves and send your
child to school with a pot. Use your imagination to create dishes your kids will love, the yoghurt
based dessert next is always a hit.
YOGHURT PANACOTTA
I love to make custards and panacotta style desserts for kids using quality gelatin.
Gelatin has a long history for its therapeutic impact on the body so ther is no reason why
it can’t be part of your child’s regular mealtimes. The quality of the gelatin is the key
here, I am not talking about gelatin from the local supermarket, source the brands
suggested below.
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600ml organic full cream yoghurt, plain
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150ml pure cream, raw if possible
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1 tbsp organic vanilla essence or vanilla past
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Bernard Jensen’s or Great Lakes gelatin powder or other equivalent quality (available online
or contact [email protected])
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1-2 tbsp local raw honey to taste
Follow the directions on the gelatin pack for dissolving the required quantity for the
liquid being used. In the mean time warm the cream until just before simmering, and mix
with the yoghurt, honey and vanilla. Take some of that mix and whisk into the dissolved
gelatin to reduce the temperature. Add the gelatin mix to the yoghurt mix slowly and
whisking well as you go. Pour into moulds and refrigerate until fully set, 2-3 hours usually.
This can be served as is or with grilled or fresh fruit.
GRAIN FREE BANANA CUPCAKES
These cupcakes are absolutely divine and will be a winner with kids and adults alike. These can
even be used as a great breakfast option and freeze really well.
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3 large very ripe bananas
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6 large free range organic eggs
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1 tbsp honey
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1 tsp to 1 tbsp of vanilla depending on taste
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3/4 cup coconut flour
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1/2 cup almond meal
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1/3 cup raw milk, yoghurt, kefir or buttermilk
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150gm soft butter
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2 very heaped tsp aluminium free baking powder
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grind of real salt
Blitz all the ingredients together until smooth and very well combined then pour into greased
muffin tray or patty pans and bake at 160-170C for 20 minutes or more until golden and springy
to the touch in the centre. Cool and ice or serve as is.
GRAIN FREE CHOCOLATE BROWNIE
Who doesn’t love a brownie? This version is loaded with quality fats and protein for growing bodies
and real cellular health, this will keep your kids satisfied thanks to its nutrient dense nature.
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3/4 cup coconut flour
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1 cup cacao powder
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9 eggs
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1 cup melted butter
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½-3/4 cup honey or rapadura sugar
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1 tbsp vanilla extract/essence
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1/2 tsp real salt
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1/4 tsp mint essence optional
Combine all wet ingredients and salt. Slowly add in the coconut flour to ensure the lumps get
smoothed out then do the same with the cacao. Pour into a prepared baking dish and bake at 170C
for 20 minutes and check to see if done by inserting a tooth pick into the middle. It may need
another 10 or so minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into squares and serving with thick cream
or home-made vanilla ice cream.
VEGGIE MUFFIN DELIGHT – USE SWEET POTATO OR PUMPKIN FOR A PHYTONUTRIENT
IMMUNE BOOST
These are really sweet and tasty and the kids will love them, you can reduce the amount of sugar
used to 1-2 tablespoons depending on the ingredients that you use. I sometimes think that sweet
potato is well and truly sweet enough and doesn’t need the added sugar.
1 ¾ cups of spelt flour (mix unbleached and wholemeal or just use all of either one)
1/4 cup Rapadura sugar
2 tsp aluminium free baking powder
1 cup mashed sweet potato or pumpkin
Pinch of real salt
½ cup crumbled or diced feta, just make sure it is not too moist
½ cup finely diced veggies of choice or anything else you choose
1 tsp spice, I like to use nutmeg, but can use a herb such as basil or oregano or even garlic and herb
salt
1 egg lightly beaten
½ cup milk or yoghurt
¼ cup oil (olive is ok here) or butter
Parmesan or cheddar for sprinkling on top
The flour can be combined with the yoghurt and left to rest covered in a bowl at room temperature
overnight for a more gut supportive result.
Preheat oven to 180C/350F and grease your muffin tray or arrange paper trays. Blitz or blend all
ingredients together and spoon into tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden and
springs back when pressed in the centre. Allow to cool a little and enjoy nice and warm.
GINGERBREAD CAKE (G LUTEN FREE)– MUST BE EATEN WITH BUTTER ....
Another gluten and grain free option that is truly worth making. I have made this with cardamon
as the spice and it is a delicious alternative to the ginger. This can be eaten as is or toasted, I
have even used slices and made bread and butter pudding with it using the custard recipe and
whatever dried fruit I could find.
1 cup almond or coconut flour (a mix is fine)
¼ tsp real salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp organic ginger powder
1 tsp organic cinnamon
3 eggs
½ cup coconut cream or milk
4 tbsp honey or maple syrup
4 tbsp coconut oil or butter
1 tsp aluminium free baking powder
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Warm coconut oil to melt. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and in
another bowl mix together all wet ingredients. Pour wet onto dry and mix, then pour into a greased
and lined loaf tin. Bake for 35 minutes and check to see if firm to the touch or a skewer inserted
comes out clean. Allow to cool and then enjoy spread with organic butter.
SWEET PASTRY FOR ALL OCCASIONS – MAKE A PIE OR FREE -FORM PASTRY
This pastry is absolutely divine and useful for all sorts of occasions. Make little individual tarts
or one big one and this works really well as a free-form pie filled with tinned or fresh stone fruit.
150gm butter
200gm flour - I use a combination of mostly unbleached spelt with some wholemeal spelt but you can
use all unbleached
100gm almond meal or flour
-100gm rapadura sugar
2 egg yolks
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
Cream butter and sugar, add all other ingredients and bring together to combine completely. Form
into 2 rounds, and refrigerate until cool enough to work with. Roll into desired shape and either
blind bake or if using as a free-form pie simply place ingredients into the middle, fold in edges
leaving a gap in the middle. Brush with egg yolk or milk and bake at 180C/350F in a fan forced
oven until golden. Serve with custard.
STUNNING SHORTBREAD – GRAIN FREE
This recipe is suitable for babies through to adults and is loaded with protein and healthy fats
to support healthy cellular development and function. The only sweetener is honey, a well
digested sugar that is a fabulous healthy alternative to refined and processed sugars but still to
be enjoyed in moderation.
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2 cups of almond meal/flour (coconut works just as well if there is a nut issue just increase
the butter to 120-150gm)
90 gm organic butter
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
2 good tbsp raw local honey
Blitz all ingredients together until well combined, it will be quite moist. Press the mix into a lined
or greased baking tray, aim for about 1 1/2 – 2cm thickness. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C
for 15-20 minutes. Allow it to cool mostly before cutting into squares or wedges. Enjoy just cool
enough to handle! They will keep well in an air tight container and can even be frozen.
NO BAKE PASTRY FILLED WITH FRUIT – BORING NAME FOR A SPECTACULAR DESSERT
FOR ALL SEASONS .
Kids love this dessert and it is extremely simple and incredibly nutritious. It is simple to whip up
in a really short space of time making it ideal for those last minute dessert options that can even
fool dinner guests.
2 ½ cups of nuts of your choice, walnuts or macadamias are my favourites
1 ½ cups of pitted organic dates
3 apples or peaches sliced at the last minute before cooking to prevent discolouration
1 tbsp butter
't go wrong with cinnamon of
course
2 tbsp honey
½ cup of raisins
Blitz the nuts, dates and salt until a coarse crumb is achieved and then press into a pie dish and
refrigerate until cold. Slice fruit and place immediately into a pot on the stove with butter and
raisins and cook until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer to a bowl to cool and
add the spice and honey. In the same pot add the remaining ingredients and simmer until liquid is
syrupy. Mix half into the fruit and spoon into cooled pie shell. Brush the remaining liquid onto the
fruit and refrigerate until well cooled. Serve with a creamy yoghurt or custard.
GRAIN FREE PUMPKIN PIE – GLORIOUSLY LOW IN SUGAR
This is a truly healthy dessert that provides an abundance of nutrition for your kids and indeed
the whole family to benefit from. The pumpkin is perfect as it lends such a sweetness that means
the amount of sugar you actually use is minimal. I think this can even be the perfect breakfast
the next day with a dollop of yoghurt instead of cream.
2 cups of pecans or walnuts
1 ¾ cups cooked mashed pumpkin that is cooled
1/4 cup Rapadura sugar
1 cup coconut cream or milk
2 ½ tbsp melted coconut oil
1/4 tsp real salt
Preheat oven to 180C/350F and prepare a tart or pie tin with either baking paper or grease with
extra coconut oil or butter. Blitz the nuts until fine then add the coconut oil to form a paste.
Press this mix into the pie shell over the bottom and up the sides as far and as even as you can
go. Blitz remaining ingredients and carefully pour into the base of the pie until the sides are not
quite covered. Bake for 40-50 minutes until set in the middle. Cool completely and serve with thick
cream or yoghurt.
DELICIOUS SAVOURY PASTRY – QUICHE STYLE OR MAKE A SAUSAGE ROLL VERSION
(GLUTEN FREE)
I love to use this to make a savoury custard/quiche filled tart. Kids love the creamy cheesy filling
and the pastry is tasty and flaky. A popular weekend favourite is making our own filling and rolling
the pastry around it to make irregular shaped pastries which are always delicious with home-made
sauce for dunking.
1 ½ cups of besan flour (can use half besan and half wholemeal spelt or even coconut)
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup cold water, but you may not use that much
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Place flour and salt into a food processor and slowly add olive oil until
you achieve a bread crumb like consistency. Add enough water to make a dough that is slightly
sticky. Remove dough and place between two sheets of baking paper to roll to desired thickness
and blind bake having pierced the pastry and placed a sheet of baking paper inside and filled with
weights. Bake for 10-15 minutes then remove from the oven. Take out the weights and return to
oven until slightly golden but not too much because it gets cooked again with filling. If using to
make a sausage roll there is no need to blind bake simply fill, roll and bake until golden.
A BUTTER SHORTCRUST SAVOURY PASTRY
This makes the loveliest pie crust and is an absolute winner with leftover red meat stew or spinach
and feta filling. This pastry is really lovely cold so consider making these and using them for
picnics instead of serving warm.
150gm unsalted organic butter
2 cups wholemeal spelt flour, unbleached can be used for a lighter texture, but I suggest getting
your kids used to wholemeal
120ml of iced water and another 50ml as needed
Blitz the butter and flour together and add the water gradually to make a dough. Use the extra
water if needed, you will know if the mixture seems too crumbly and doesn't come together easily.
No need to over work the dough, simply bring together until smooth and form into a ball.
Refrigerate until slightly cool and use to create a pie or sausage roll style pastries baked in a
moderate oven.
THE BEST CUSTARD EVER – FREEZE TO MAKE ICE -CREAM!
This is such a satisfying dessert and it can be used to fill pastry shells and refrigerated to become
more solid or served warm over fruit or just by itself. This is a great convalescing food and you
can easily freeze this for ice-cream. It can even be stirred through pureed fruit and poured into
ice-cream moulds for a treat the kids will surely love without ALL the nasties a typical ice-cream
treat contains.
6 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
70gm rapadura sugar
250gm full cream milk
250gm cream
1 tbsp of quality gelatin to make set custard (optional)
Cacao to make it chocolatey (optional)
Beat all together extremely well then stir over low to medium heat until spoon coats easily and
desired consistency is reached. This is just so good and you can add other flavours like orange or
lime zest or even cacao for a chocolate custard. I know mums who make this and send a little
container of it to school with their kids.
CUPCAKES – GLUTEN FREE AND GORGEOUS
This is such a fabulous grain free alternative for gluten free families and tastes just as good as
those made with wheat based flour. I encourage you to try this with your child as a healthy
alternative that can be enjoyed more often than a special occasion.
1/2 cup coconut flour
5 eggs
1 extra egg yolk
½ tsp real salt
400gm tin of cannellini beans
½ cup coconut milk or cream may be need to moisten mixture
½ cup Rapadura sugar
100gm butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp aluminium free baking powder
Line muffin tin with patty pans and preheat oven to 175C/350F. Drain and rinse beans then blitz
them with eggs, vanilla and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and add
to bean mix. Add remaining ingredients and beat until fluffy. Add additional coconut milk or cream
if needed at this point. Spoon the mix into patty pans and bake for 25 minutes until springy to
touch. Allow to cool and leave in an airtight container overnight for the best flavour. Then ice
with zesty cream cheese icing, add a teaspoon of Vital Greens to the icing for a nutrient dense
green finish that kids love. Call them something funny that your kids will appreciate like little
“monster” cakes.
ZESTY DECADENT CHEESECAKE – GRAIN FREE AND SPECTACULAR
Who doesn’t love creamy and rich cheesecake? This recipe is balanced in every way and is an
excellent entertaining dessert that the kids can absolutely be part of. How nice to know that
cheesecake is back on the menu.
1 cup of walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup coconut or almond flour
2 fresh organic eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup Rapadura sugar plus 2 tbsp for the base
1 ½ cups cooked and cooled mashed pumpkin
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp finely grated zest of lime or orange
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp real salt
650gm cream cheese (organic if you can find it), or make your own version by straining organic
plain/Greek yoghurt through muslin overnight, even better for health particularly digestion
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
Line a spring form baking pan with paper and preheat oven to 180C/350F. Blitz the nuts, flour,
butter, 1 egg yolk and 2 tbsp sugar to make the base. Press evenly into the base of the prepared
tin and bake for 10 minutes then allow to cool. Blend the cream cheese and maple syrup until
smooth and creamy then add eggs one at a time followed by the remaining ingredients until well
combined.
Pour the batter onto the cooled base and bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes or until the
middle is set. Cool completely and top with your favourite fruit and yoghurt. Simply divine!