Spelt flour is packed with nutrients, vitamins, minerals and essential organic compounds which wheat does not contain. It is higher in fiber and protein than other wheat grains and contains less gluten than regular flour meaning it is easier for some to digest. Spelt is great for regulating the body’s metabolism, increasing circulation, building strong bones, boosting digestive function and lowering blood sugar levels. Last year I experimented a bit with the healthy hot cross bun alternatives out there and like all good chefs (ok im not really a chef lets rephrase…) like all good foodies I had some fails.
Ok, there’s not beating around the bush, this tart/flan was bloody awesome. The oaty crust was salty and crumbly and the two layers of apple goodness served hot with vanilla ice cream was just divine.
CRUNCHY NUT BAKED CHEESECAKE WITH LEMON CURD AND MERINGUE
Serves 8 – GF DF* P SF – 3 hours
BASE
1 cup oats or LSA mix
1 cup almonds or pistachios/hazelnuts (use another but other than almonds here if you used LSA above)
120gms coconut oil or butter
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 Tbs rice malt syrup
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon
CHEESECAKE FILLING
2 Tbs Greek yoghurt
4 Tbs Full fat coconut cream
1 cup cream cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 Lemon juiced and zest
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1 vanilla bean
LEMON CURD
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 whole eggs
6 egg yolks (save the whites)
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
3 Tbs rice malt syrup
1 tsp stevia
MERINGUE
6 egg whites
2 Tbs rice malt syrup
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Line or spray a deep pie / tart tin.
Place the ingredients for the crust in a food processor and process until combined. The more you blend the more the oils from the nuts are released. Add more butter or coconut oil if necessary. Take out and press into a lined cake or tart dish working your way up the sides. Remember it is not just a base but a crust for the filling so make it deep!
Place crust in the oven for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile combine the cheesecake ingredients in a clean food processor. Careful not too over process. You just want the lumps gone and watch out for any lemon pips whilst squeezing!
Pour the cheesecake filling into the cooled tart crust. Place in oven for 20-30 minutes until it bakes and goes hard or set like jelly. Don’t over cook!
For the lemon curd, melt the coconut oil on the stove. Add the rice malt and lemon juice/zest. Slowly add the eggs and yolks whilst whisking. Careful not to over boil the curd otherwise you will end up with lemon scrambled eggs! When it begins to thicken lift it off the heat and whisk in mid air. Add back to the heat if necessary. Leave to cool. Pour over the cheesecake layer and set aside.
For the final layer of this epic cake / pie / tart you need to make the meringue. Either with some good old elbow grease or electric beaters beat the egg whites and rice malt until it starts to go white and glossy. You want it to hold its form and make peaks. About 3-5 minutes. Slop the meringue mixture onto the lemon curd layer. When it is covered use the whisk or a spoon to create some peaks for aesthetic purposes.
Place the whole cake into the oven for 6-8 minutes until the meringue has browned at the tips. Careful not to burn or grill it! Just a light browning it will do.
Take out and place in fridge to set for 2 hours or overnight! When it’s time to eat it take it out and sprinkle with some matcha green tea powder if you have it!
Serve huge slabs of this beauty and enjoy! I couldn’t believe how amazingly yum and sweet this cake was. The perfect amount of savoury creamy lemony ricotta and tangy sweet curd, crunchy base and fluffy top ahhhhhhh just make it! You can even freeze any left over slices (left over… Is there such a thing?)
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (vegan or whey it doesn’t matter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil melted
1/2 cup cashew or almond butter
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons rice malt syrup
____________________________________________
Blend everything in a food processor.
Roll into golf ball size balls. If it’s too dry add a dash of water. Roll in extra coconut. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to set! 1-2 balls per serve ENJOY
2 cups almond meal 1/4 cup coconut flour 6 small mandarins peeled and de-pip if needed 1/2 cup coconut oil 4 eggs 1/2 cup honey or rice malt syrup 2 tsp baking powder sea salt 3 Tbs poppyseeds
METHOD Preheat oven to 180. Line cake tin. Blend the peeled and de pip mandarins with eggs, oil and honey. In a large bowl add the dry ingredients. Pour mandarin mix into dry bowl and stir. Pour into cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes. Leave for 10 minutes to cool. If you want to ice it (tastes great on its own) I make my simple greek yoghurt icing. 1 cup greek yoghurt, 2 Tbs coconut flour and 1 Tbs honey. Ice the cake and decorate with mandarins. Leave in fridge until ready to serve. ENJOY
I made this lemon coconut cake for Easter this year and it was absolutely divine. I love lemon and I love coconut so I was really happy with this creation.
LEMON COCONUT YOGHURT LOAF CAKE 2 lemons juiced and zested 3 eggs 1/2 cup coconut oil melted 1 cup greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt for dairy free option 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 and 1/4 cup oat or almond flour 1/2 cup natvia sweetener or honey 2 tsp baking powder
METHOD Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line loaf tin. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, honey, oil, vanilla and lemon juice. All yoghurt. Add wet to dry ingredients and stir. Pour into tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Can check the inside with a knife or skewer. Combine icing ingredients together. When cake is cooled, ice with yoghurt icing and leave in fridge until ready to serve. Happy baking K
I started off making almond protein balls and then thought if I made cookies I wouldn’t eat them as fast. WRONG! They are mourish. Try them!
VEGAN PROTEIN ALMOND COOKIES makes about 10 cookies
1/2 cup almond flour 1/4 cup desiccated coconut 2 TBS rice malt syrup or maple syrup 1/2 cup vegan protein powder. I use True Protein at the moment 2 TBS coconut oil melted 3 Tbs almond butter sea salt
METHOD: Preheat oven to 180c. Line baking tray. Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients separately. Add wet to dry and stir until combined into cookie dough. Roll into balls and flatten on baking tray. Bake for 12-14 minutes until browned. Leave for 5 mins to cool. ENJOY !
Berlin is an absolute MUST when it comes to European cities. The city exudes culture and history, which makes it an intriguing and engaging place to visit. Great foodie scene, plenty of markets, roof top bars and hipster suburbs with great coffee and local street art.
Klunkerkranich – great rooftop bar
TO STAY
We were lucky enough to stay at a friends apartment in the hipster area called Neukoelln. It was close to the Metro and found it a really nice part of the city, giving us an authentic ‘local’ experience in Berlin. If you are only going for 2-3 days it might be better to stay central in the Mitte.
Wombat Hostel; This was where Rob stayed when he visited Berlin twice. It is nice and central, above a great Aussie cafe and laundromat, full of travellers and good vibes.
TO EAT Katz Orange; we couldn’t get a table but I have heard some seriously amazing things. It is fancy, it is expensive but the building, ambience and food is incredible. Book ahead. Schnitzelei Mitte ; Amazing authentic schnitzel restaurant which is always busy. Book ahead. They also offer gluten free schnitzels and it was really yum. Shisho Burger; japanese burger place and honestly one of the best burgers I HAVE EVER HAD. Explosive flavours plus the edamame beans and sweet potato fries were divine.
Salmon burger and classic beef burger from Shisho Burgers
CAFES and COFFEE The BARN cafe; Aussie coffee and brunch Father Carpenter; Great cafe with great coffee. TINMAN Berlin; Another Aussie cafe, smashed avo, acai bowls and great coffee. Dots Cafe; Great coffee. Aussie barista who yells out your order ‘almond flatty, longy with oat milk’
Here is the list of places to eat and drink and dance until all hours that my friend gave to us. Split into the suburbs Neukolln, Kreuzberg and the Mitte area. TO EAT
EARLY Neukölln Roamers- fun little cafe, can be busy on weekends though! LeBon- delicious Holy Flat! – yummy healthy lunch No58 Speiserei Okay cafe
Kreuzberg Cafe Mugrabi – my favorite brunch, best hummus Dragon Bowl – healthy poke bowls & lunch spot Bonanza coffee- no food but trendy coffee spot Kaffeebar
Mitte/Prenzlaur Berg Commonground cafe Tinman
LATE Neukölln Sahara- a few all over, cult following! Amazing cheap falafel Con Tho- Asian infusion
Kreuzberg Zola- popular pizza place La Lucha- fab mexican next door to Zola Cocolo Ramen- also right by Zola
Mitte/Prenzlaur Berg Dudu – delicious Japanese a bit more pricy Shiso Burger – honestly just the most delicious sensory delight Toca Rouge – Asian infusion Thermoc – French, menu changes daily Cobbs – vegan fine dining
TO DRINK
Neukölln Klunkerkranich – great rooftop bar for sundowners. All down Weserstraße! Yuzu Bar – try the New York Sour, my favourite Kaduka- Owned by the most lovely people and will take good care of you! Nathanja & Henrich – local hipster vibes, nice and relaxed Twinpigs
Kreuzberg Cafe Luiza – super vibey love it Mano Cafe – always a great time and great cocktails Das Hotel
Mitte/Prenzlaur Berg Mein Haus am See (my house on the lake) Neue Odessa Bar
CLUBS Else (Sunday) Heideglühen (only every two weeks) Berghain Kater Blau Sisyphos Griessmüller
TO SEE Checkpoint Charlie Topography of Terror, Niederkirchnerstraße, Berlin Hitler’s Bunker, In den Ministergärten, Berlin Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Cora-Berliner-Straße, Berlin
East Side Gallery
Reichstag Building, Platz der Republik, Berlin Brandenburg Gate, Pariser Platz, Berlin Berliner Dom, Am Lustgarten, Berlin East Side Gallery – largest part of the Berlin Wall left standing. Amazing artwork painted along the wall
Map them all out and walk from one to the next. Great free walking tour. You can also meet at Brandenburg Gate for plenty of free walking tours that will give you information along the way if that is your thing. Here is a link to a map our friend sent us with lots of pinned locations and that walking tour above mapped out MAP HERE
OTHER;
Tattoo shops; we both got our first tattoo whilst in Berlin at a place called UniKat Black. Highly recommend. They were great artists. Our artist was called Salut Manu. An awesome French guy who actually learnt how to tattoo whilst living in Freo, Perth.
First tattoo – UniKat Black
MONEY: Germany uses the Euro so it is very easy to exchange or withdraw especially when travelling to other countries in the Euro.
Water: you can definitely drink from the tap in Berlin so grab your water bottle and fill it up before you head out on your tourist adventures.
The airport is also really close to the city of Berlin, so taxis and ubers are very handy. We got the international train into Berlin from Amsterdam and got an uber from the train station. CityMapper also works in Berlin and is a great app to use to get around on the transport. The underground metro is super easy and convenient to use.
Enjoy! We loved Berlin and would definitely go back! K
It’s that time of the year again where Poppy’s are blooming and people gather at dawn to show their respect for the diggers who fought for our country 100+ years ago Continue reading “ANZAC BISCUITS”→
This brownie recipe is easy, paleo and just FAB … plus turns out even true sugary brownie lovers love them. Full of healthy omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants, it’s a wholesome nutritious winner.
WALNUT CHOCOLATE PALEO BROWNIES makes 12
INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup almond butter 1/2 cup peanut butter (can use just 1 Cup total almond butter instead) 2 eggs 1/2 cup coconut oil 1/2 cup almond milk 3 Tbs cacao powder 3 Tbs coconut flour 1 cup pitted dates Handful walnuts vanilla extract salt 2 tsp baking powder 2 Tbs honey or maple to make it extra sweet if you like. The cacao can be bitter if you aren’t used to it
METHOD:
Blitz dates, melted coconut oil, almond milk, vanilla and honey in food processor into a paste. Add nut butters and eggs and whip. In a large bowl add cacao and flours. Make a well in the middle and pour the wet ingredients in. Mix. Add walnuts. Pour into lined brownie tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180 degrees. Careful not to overbake you want them gooey. Sit in pan for 10 mins before transferring to wire rack before slicing.
KATIE MORGAN 