Healthy Easter: Low-Fat Hot Cross Buns

To close out the week of Healthy Easter Treats, I decided to have a crack at some Hot Cross Buns.  My standards of home-made HCBs are extremely high, considering both my mum and mother-in-law are exceptional Hot Cross Bun-makers.  They simply have their recipes down pat and are always generous in feeding us a constant supply in the lead-up to Easter.  Yes, I consider myself very fortunate!

So, I decided to give my own batch a crack for the first time in a few years.  My last attempt was pretty unsuccessful, but I've had a lot of practice using yeast since then, so I thought it couldn't be too hard.  I got this recipe from the Lose Baby Weight website.  I was happy with the recipe, but a bit disappointed with my buns, as I felt they didn't rise enough on the second go.  Compared with Shirley's, mine seemed small and dense :-(

However, the flavour was pretty good, plus they are low-calorie, so there is comfort in knowing that!

I've already booked myself in for a HCB workshop with my mums for next year, so hopefully then I can bring you another amazing recipe!

Makes around 15 buns with each bun being approx 110 calories

Ingredients
400g wholemeal flour
½ teaspoon mixed spice
50g reduced fat butter
40g mixed dried fruit
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon Natvia natural sweetener
200ml water

Crossed dough ingredients
3 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons water

Glaze
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons boiling water

Method
Preheat oven at 200 degrees.

Mix yeast and natvia with 150ml of water.

Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, mixed spice, dried fruit).

Make a well in the centre of your dough. Then pour in the yeast mixture, 50ml of water and the butter

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes and then cover it, leaving it to rise for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, cut the dough into balls and then leave them to rise for another 20 minutes or until the size doubles.

Whilst waiting for the dough to rise, prepare your crossed dough mixture in a mixing bowl and put it into a piping bag.

Then, pipe it onto the dough balls in a cross shape before you pop it in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Once it’s done, take it out of the oven and glaze it!

Healthy Easter: Chicken Eggs

Healthy Easter treats continue and this one is sure to be a hit with the kids!  It's so easy, super healthy and is a perfect addition to the Easter table.  These eggs were lovingly laid by our own family chickens, Princess Layer, Chewy & Vadar - see how bright the yolks are!?  Freshly laid, free range eggs really are the best!

If you don't have them roaming your backyard, you can always get them from Charlies!

Ingredients
6 eggs
1/4 carrot, thinly sliced
6 sultanas

Method
Hard boil the eggs in a saucepan of simmering water.  Allow to cool, then peel the shells away.

Slice a small section of white off each end (so it will sit flat on the plate), then slice each egg in half cross-ways.

Use the yolk as your chicken face and decorate with small triangles of carrot and sultanas.

Hope thought they were pretty good!

Healthy Easter: Raw Choc Coconut Balls

These raw little chocolate treats are pretty amazing.  Not only do they actually taste great, but they are also gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and egg-free.  Amazing!  Even my husband, who was pretty sceptical of the raw chocolate, really enjoyed these!

The chia seeds are a fantastic addition for crunch and for health benefits.  These are a wonderful Easter treat that are quick and easy to make, and won't give you the guilts!

Get your nuts & dried from Charlie's!

Ingredients
1 cup cashews
1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut, plus extra for rolling
1/4 cup chia seeds
4 tablespoons raw cocoa powder
3 tablespoons raw peanut butter
1/2 cup unsweetened dried fruit (eg apricots, dates, raisins)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon melted coconut oil
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup

Method
Place cashews in a food processor and process until finely chopped.  Add coconut, chia seeds and cocoa powder and pulse until combined.

Add remaining ingredients and process until combined.

Roll heaped teaspoons of mixture into balls and roll in extra coconut.  Refrigerate.

Healthy Easter: Rice Cake Scenes

To continue with the week of Healthy Easter Treats, I was thinking about how I could use my Easter biscuit cutters for good and not evil!  In the past, I've often made sugary, fatty biscuits, spread them with white chocolate and covered them with sprinkles - not one for the health-conscious!

So, I decided to do some cheese cut-outs, and these just evolved from there!  You can get as creative as you like.  The kids love it, whether they're involved in the decorating, or just the eating.  They are a bit fiddly, but less time-consuming than making and icing a batch of biscuits - and way healthier!

Ingredients
Rice cakes
Cheese from a block
Sliced ham
Sultanas
Dried apricots
Cucumber
Capsicum
Fresh parsley or coriander
Mayonnaise
(or anything else you have in the fridge/pantry!)

Method
Cut out Easter shapes from the cheese.  Cut ham with a scalloped round cutter, just smaller than the rice cake.

Layer ham and cheese on the rice cakes, then decorate as desired, using small dabs of mayonnaise to attach vegetables.

Healthy Easter: Guilt-Free Chocolate

Easter is just around the corner and it really is a time laden with sugar, fat and generally very unhealthy treats.  So this week, I'm endeavouring to bring you super-healthy Easter alternatives, to prove that you can celebrate this time of year without putting on 10kg!

To kick it off today, I'm sharing a recipe I based on one from Spark Recipes.  It is a paleo recipe, using raw ingredients.  The taste is not like your standard Easter egg - it is a bit more bitter and definitely not as sweet, but if you think of it as a twist on a Coconut Rough, it really is quite pleasant!  I also find it satisfies that sweet craving, but doesn't make you want to binge on it.

I like this recipe as it isn't full of really expensive, very "out-there" ingredients - most things you will probably have on hand.  My chocolate-loving kids ate these up, but my sweet-tooth husband wasn't so keen! Another note, I got my Easter chocolate molds from a $2 shop a couple of years ago - always handy to have!

You can also add some variety by putting in chopped nuts (like cashews or macadamias), or dried fruit (preferably something like dates with no added sugar).  Enjoy!

PS Did you know Charlie's Fruit Market sell nuts & dried fruit?!?

Ingredients
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 tablespoon raw peanut butter (optional)

Method
Mix the dry ingredients together.  Blend together coconut oil and maple syrup, then combine all until mixed well.

Press into chocolate moulds (or a silicone mini-muffin pan) and chill for 30 minutes.

Optional: put 1/2 teaspoon peanut butter in between layers of chocolate.

Caramel Easter Friands

You already know I love friands, so these delightful little Easter treats definitely caught my eye!  I found it on www.taste.com.au and it's slightly different to my recipe, but still delicious & something a little fancy.  I used melted butter instead of oil (I prefer the taste and texture) and may have used a few extra Easter eggs too :-)  Happy Easter!

Ingredients
1/2 cup rice or plain flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
3 egg whites
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup canola or light olive oil
1/3cup milk
6 small caramel Easter eggs

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease 9 friand pans. Combine 1/2 cup rice or plain flour, 1/2 cup ground almonds, 1/4 cup cocoa powder and 1 cup icing sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.


Pour in 1/3 cup canola or light olive oil and 1/3 cup milk. Stir until smooth. Use an electric beater to beat 3 egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into the almond mixture until just combined. Spoon into the friand pans.


Scatter over 6 small caramel Easter eggs, roughly chopped. Bake for 15-20 minutes until spongy to the touch. Cool in the pans. Remove and dust with extra icing sugar to serve.

Buttery Orange Cake

I wanted to share an Easter cake idea I saw recently - but I just can't remember where! It was a beautiful, moist Orange Cake, iced with a white chocolate ganache, and the top of the cake completely covered with mini white chocolate Easter Eggs - it looked incredible! So I thought instead of trying to re-create it, I would take the opportunity to share with you my friend Anita's Buttery Orange Cake. She got it from a Women's Weekly Cookbook and made it for a mums' get-together recently and it was soooo delicious! This one is definitely a crowd-pleaser, and if you make it this weekend, don't forget the white chocolate on top!

Ingredients
250g butter, softened
2 tablespoons finely grated orange rind
1 ½ cups (330g) caster sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ cups (225g) self-raising flour
½ cup (75g) plain flour
¾ cup (180ml) orange juice

Glace Icing
1 ½ cups (240g) icing sugar mixture
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons orange juice

Method
Preheat oven to moderately slow. Grease deep 22cm-round cake pan; line base and side with baking paper, extending paper 5 cm above edge of pan.

Beat butter, rind and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined between additions. Fold in flours and juice, in two batches.

Pour mixture into prepared pan; bake in moderately slow oven about 1 hour 10 minutes. Stand in pan 10 minutes; turn onto wire rack to cool.

Place cake, top-side up, on serving plate; spread cold cake with glace icing.

Glace Icing
Place icing sugar in small heatproof bowl; stir in butter and juice. Place bowl over small saucepan of simmering water; stir until icing is of a spreadable consistency. Spread over cold cake immediately.

Banana Caramel Easter Cupcakes

I picked up a recipe card from "Wheel & Barrow" the other day and decided to give these delicious-looking cupcakes a go!  They are an amazing mix of all my favourite flavours & look gorgeous as well!  The recipe uses a "cupcake surprise" baking pan, which has little spikes at the bottom of each cupcake hole, to hold the Easter egg, or whatever other surprise you wish to bake - what a great idea!  I don't have one though, so I just spooned out half of my mixture, popped the eggs in, then spooned the rest of the mixture on top.  I overfilled mine a bit, so the shape wasn't as nice as I would've liked, so just keep that in mind.  These are so indulgent and lots of fun to decorate!

Ingredients
190g flour
10g baking powder
Pinch salt
125g butter softened
220g sugar
3 eggs
75g natural yoghurt
50ml milk
2 ripe bananas mashed
1 pkt caramel filled easter eggs

For Chocolate Frosting
180g dark chocolate melted
250g butter softened
40ml milk
175g sifted pure icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Heat oven to 180°C. Whip together the butter and sugar until light & fluffy. 

Add eggs one at a time & continue whipping. Add milk, banana & yoghurt. Gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients. Do not over mix. 

Line the surprise pan with cupcake wrappers or spray lightly with cooking spray. Place a caramel egg on the spike. Spoon or squeeze in the cake batter & cover the surprise centre. Bake for 20 mins until golden and cooked. Allow to cool. Pipe with chocolate frosting & decorate.

Chocolate frosting: Whip butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy, add the milk, vanilla & melted chocolate and beat to combine. Pipe onto cakes and decorate.

PS - Do you like my Easter tree?!?

Easter Egg Caramel Slice

This slice is AMAZING!  There's not much too it, but boy is it good!  Well, not good for those who are calorie counting (again, I promise I haven't had any this year - but I can still remember the taste from when I made it a couple of years ago!).  I'm sure I originally got the recipe from www.taste.com.au, but I can't find it on there anymore - luckily I wrote it down in one of my recipe journals!

There's just something so right about putting whole Easter Eggs in a slice, especially when it also involves condensed milk...try this one, you won't regret it!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup caster sugar
80g butter, chopped
1 egg yolk
300g mini Easter eggs
1 cup shredded coconut
395g tin condensed milk

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Grease and line a slice tin.

Combine flour, sugar and butter in a food processor (or rub the butter into dry ingredients with fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs).  Add egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of cold water.  Press into pan and bake for 15 minutes until golden.

Unwrap Easter eggs and lay them over the base.  Sprinkle with coconut and drizzle with condensed milk.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool in tin, then slice into pieces.

Easter Biscuits

These Easter bikkies (from www.taste.com.au) are quick, easy, yummy AND perfect for kids who love to "help"!  Get creative with your decorating - as you can see by the picture, I had a toddler as my assistant who was very keen with the sprinkles!  I made the egg shape by squeezing a round cutter, but another great variation is to just use milk arrowroot biscuits and have lots of fun decorating!  

Ingredients
150g butter, cubed, chilled
300g (2 cups) plain flour, sifted
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg, lightly whisked
100g white chocolate, melted
Sprinkles and lollies, to decorate

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Rub butter into flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. 

Stir in the sugar, vanilla and egg. Press mixture together to form a dough. Roll dough out to 5mm thickness and cut out bunny shapes. 

Place on a lined baking tray and bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Spread with the melted chocolate and decorate.

Hot Cross Muffins

I have attempted authentic hot cross buns in the past, but haven't had a lot of success (think hot cross rocks!), so this is kind of the cheat's version!  Hot Cross Muffins are easy, tasty & look great.  I didn't have apricots, so I put choc-chips in instead - yum!  Another one from www.taste.com.au.

Ingredients
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
80g (1/2 cup, lightly packed) brown sugar
135g (3/4 cup) sultanas
85g (1/2 cup) dried apricots, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly whisked
185ml (3/4 cup) milk
100g unsalted butter, melted
80g (1/2 cup) icing sugar mixture
2 tsp water

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line twelve 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity muffin pans with paper cases. Sift the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, sultanas and apricot. Make a well in the centre. Combine the egg, milk and butter in a jug. Pour into the well. Use a large metal spoon to stir until just combined.

Divide the mixture among the prepared pans and smooth the surfaces. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Place the icing sugar in a small bowl. Gradually stir in the water to make a thick icing. Place in a small sealable plastic bag. Cut 1 corner off the bag to make a small hole. Pipe a cross onto each muffin and set aside until the icing is set.

Notes
Don't over-mix the muffin batter, or you can end up with tough-textured muffins.

Easter Nests

Easter is almost upon us - what a great excuse to whip on the apron and get into the kitchen! As I've been on a health kick for the past 8 weeks, I haven't done much baking lately...but I am loving getting into the sweet treats again (making them for other people of course!)

So, this first little Easter treat has to be the easiest one out there - it's no-bake, super quick and my taste-testers tell me they are delicious as well! I found the little speckled eggs at Big W. Oh and of course this recipe is from www.taste.com.au. Stay tuned this week - I have many more recipes coming your way!

Ingredients (makes 12-15)
125g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
35g (1 cup) Rice Bubbles
50g chocolate-coated honeycomb bar, finely chopped
45 small sugar-coated chocolate eggs

Method
Place the chocolate in a clean, dry microwave-safe bowl. Cook in microwave, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, on Medium/500watts/50% for 2 minutes or until the chocolate melts and is smooth.

Place the melted chocolate, Rice Bubbles and honeycomb bar in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place tablespoonfuls of Rice Bubble mixture on the trays. Flatten slightly in the centre. Press 3 eggs into the centre of each nest. Place in fridge for 2 hours or until set.

Notes
These can be made up to 1 week ahead. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge.