‘Twelve Days’ day 9: Mincemeat fruit loaf

I’m on a bit of a mincemeat kick!

Yes, I know I could freeze part of the batch I made a few days ago but I wanted to make it into as many things as possible right now!...plus I can always make more if I need to as it’s so simple.

I’ve never been a fan of traditional fruit cake as it’s so dense and rich and I’m not a lover of candied peel.  However I do like the idea of a fruit cake as a semi-sweet filling mid afternoon snack served warm with some vegan butter or yoghurt.  So as with all things… I set about creating my own version. This loaf is a lot lighter than a traditional loaf cake and I used a food processor to blend the mincemeat into the mixture so that the pieces were much smaller with a delicate crumb to the cake, (great for people who proclaim not to like fruit cake because of the bits!) but instead of blending you could simply fold the mincemeat through by hand if you would prefer to retain more of a texture to the fruit.

The basis of this recipe was inspired by this cake as it had a lovely light delicate sponge, although I have ended up modifying it quite a lot.

I can barely believe we’ve reached ‘Day 9’ already…..this time next week Christmas day will be upon us! 

Ok- now I’m starting to get really excited…the final countdown has begun and there are still 3 more recipes to squeeze in this week…. 

So, put you Christmas tunes on, get your tinsel out and dance around the room like a crazy person. It’s Christmas so anything goes…plus after all that dancing you’ll need a rest and refuel with a little piece of cake!

Recipe: Mincemeat fruit loaf

Ingredients 

150g wholemeal spelt flour

50g almond meal

50g potato starch

1tsp flax seed mixed with 1tbs hot water

3tsp baking powder 

1tbs bicarbonate of soda

2tsp cinnamon

70g rapadura

¼ tsp stevia

100ml melted coconut butter

50ml soy yoghurt

100ml orange juice (more if needed)

1tsp vanilla extract

200g mincemeat (ideally homemade)

Whole blanched almonds for decoration

Fills one 8 inch loaf tin

Method

Blend all liquids in food processor and melt coconut oil separately then mix in. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl then pour into the wet ingredients and beat well to get a very smooth mixture. Add the mincemeat last and either blend in or fold in by hand. Add a little more orange juice if necessary to ensure a smooth batter.

Pour into greased and lined  8” loaf tin. Place/scatter a handful of blanched almonds over the top of the loaf. Bake for approx. 40 mins at 180C. If the top of the loaf begins to brown before the centre is fully cooked, lightly cover with foil for the last few minutes of baking time.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

‘Twelve Days’ day 5: Stollen

Marzipan...marzipan...marzipan...!

When I was younger I didn't like the traditional Christmassy dried fruit extravaganza- Christmas cake, mince pies and Christmas pudding were all out for me as I was simply not a fan of raisins and currants.  My dad on the other hand loves the cake but doesn't like marzipan and so every Christmas as soon as the Christmas cake made its appearance from the tin I would make a beeline for his plate ready to 'help out' with the layer of marzipan and icing as it was peeled away from the top of his cake!

These days things are different. I like the fruit too!

But... I don't want to ignore the marzipan either so in the spirit of trying new things I thought I would put together a couple of marzipan recipes to get you going.

Obviously this could be no ordinary marzipan, it had to be a refined sugar free healthy marzipan!

So, first up is today’s recipe...Stollen.

Stollen is a traditional German spiced loaf and strangely enough I have never actually eaten it before. I was keen to make my own healthy version this year with a generous layer of marzipan running through its centre. The fruit I used was also a bit of a twist on tradition allowing for my personal favourites- dried apricot, sultanas and cranberries, they also add a lovely colour to the loaf but feel free to vary these fruits as you wish.

The stollen takes a while to make- but most of this is rising time (approx. 3 hours rising time in total) so as long as you plan ahead you can get on with other things, the actual method itself is pretty simple and the ‘active’ time spent is probably only 20-30 minutes.

The recipes for both the stollen and the marzipan are below. The marzipan recipe makes more than is needed for the cake...so there will be left overs for  the ‘Day 6’ little treats.... oh just wait until you see them, I'm excited just thinking about them!

Recipe: Stollen

Ingredients

75g each of three dried fruits- I used sultanas, cranberries and apricots (chop up the apricots)

75g ground almonds

Zest of one lemon

½ tsp each of nutmeg and cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (or an extra tsp vanilla)

-----------------

375g mix of wholemeal and white flours as preferred (I used 175g wholemeal and 200g white spelt)

1 sachet dried yeast (7g)

50g rapadura

1 tbs ground flax and 2 tbs hot water (mixed together and set aside for 5 minutes to gel)

70g coconut oil

150ml warm soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)

-----------------

200g marzipan- see below for homemade version

Icing sugar for final dusting- optional

Method

Mix together the fruits, nuts, spices and extracts in a medium bowl. Once well mixed cover and set aside.

In another bowl (I used my Thermomix) mix together the flours, yeast, rapadura, flax mixture, coconut oil and soy milk. Mix to form dough and knead well (I used the TM dough setting for approx. 5 minutes) by hand for approx. 10 mins to ensure it binds together well. Place dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film, leave to rise in a warm place for approx.. 90 minutes until it is roughly double in size.

Once risen, knead the fruit mix into the dough making sure it is well mixed through. If the dough becomes very sticky add a little more flour (I added another 25g). Cover and leave to rise for another 30  minutes.

Whilst you are waiting for the dough to rise make the marzipan following the recipe below. Shape 2/3 of the marzipan into a log roughly 25cm long. Set aside the rest of the marzipan for ‘Day 6’  treats (or just roll into balls for nibbles).

Once the dough risen for the second time, knead briefly and roll out in a rectangle approx. 15mm thick. Place the marzipan log towards one edge running lengthways along the dough making sure it is slightly shorter than the length of the dough. Roll up the dough around the marzipan tucking into the ends as you go.

Place the stolen roll on a parchment lined baking sheet with the seam side down. Cover and leave to rise for approx. 1 more hour (we are nearly there I promise!!)

Preheat oven to 180C and bake stolen for approx. 40 minutes. If the surface strats to brown to early, loosely cover with tinfoil, test with a skewer when to check when done. Dust with icing sugar to serve if preferred.

Recipe: Marzipan

Ingredients

100g ground almonds

100g white coloured ‘healthy flour’ e.g spelt or other GF flour (I used a combination of buckwheat and tapioca flour)

100g coconut butter

50g agave (tiny pinch stevia)

1 tsp almond extract (more if needed to taste)

Method

Blitz all ingredients in food processor until a sticky powdery ‘dough’. Press the dough into a small shallow tin to then slice into cubes, press into shaped silicone moulds or roll into balls etc. Leave to chill in fridge. If you are making Stollen use approx. 2/3 of the mixture to form a log for the centre of the stolen loaf.

Note: you will probably find the dough feels oily as you mould it, this is just the oils from the coconut in the warmth of your hands. When cool the marzipan will not be oily.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Pumpkin scones

I keep my promises…

…and as promised here is my pumpkin scone recipe to share with you all. It's late at night and my bed is calling but I was determined to post this recipe on Halloween itself- and I made it with 5 minutes to spare!

I took the entire batch of scones to work today to share with my colleagues as an afternoon snack. Everyone had a taste and there were many ‘noises’ of approval around the room. Maybe they were just being nice… well, why not find out for yourself!  Actually I’ll save you the guess work- they were very yummy indeed! Warming and delicately spicy just the way you would imagine a thick cut wedge of moist ochre coloured tea bread.

If autumn were a food she would definitely be a pumpkin scone!

We ate the scones warmed from the oven split open and spread with butter and drizzled with a little syrup (well, they did and I had a dollop of soy yoghurt). They are perfectly moist and moreish all on their on but a topping always finishes it off nicely- nut butter could also work well!

I have to admit I feel as though I somewhat cheated a little. I had planned on buying a pumpkin and preparing the puree from scratch, but all the ones I saw in the shops were huge pumpkins ready to be carved. Then I remembered I had a bottle of pure organic pumpkin puree already tucked away in my baking box. Teamed up with some pumpkin seeds sprinkled across the top and you have your perfect recipe for all year round. I imagine the pumpkin could just as easily be substituted for squash or even sweet potato!

Recipe: pumpkin scones

Makes approx. 12 wedges

Ingredients

1/3 cup rapadura plus ¼ tsp stevia

3 ½ cups mix of white and wholemeal spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

3 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt

½ cup coconut butter

2 cups pureed pumpkin

Handful of pumpkin seeds

Method

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Mix through partially melted coconut butter to achieve a crumb consistency to the mixture. Add pureed pumpkin and combine well until a dough is formed. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times, pushing it into a large circle a (generous) inch thick. Sprinkle the top with pumpkin seeds and press lightly into surface. Place dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and score the dough into 12 (or 8 larger) triangular pieces. It is easiest to do this once the dough is on the baking sheets ready to go straight into the oven as it may be hard to transfer to the baking sheet once cut. Don’t worry if the dough is sticky and difficult to cut all the way through, the segments should just serves as a guide and can be cut fully once cooked. Bake at 200C degrees for approx. 15 minutes until golden. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.