Mint Chocolate Cupcakes...

Do you like After Eights? Yeah they're pretty good... This recipe tastes even better, combining rich dark chocolate cake and velvety mint icing to form the most delicious combination.. Best of all? It's grain free and packed with lots of ingredients that actually benefit your health rather than making you feel bloated, sluggish or just work against your health and fitness goals...

For the chocolate cupcakes: 

• 150g dark chocolate (minimum 81% cocoa solids)
• 6 eggs, separated
• 3 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 60g ground almonds
• 2 tsp GF baking powder

Preheat oven to 150d (fan). 

Start by melting the chocolate over a low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks with vanilla & honey until doubled in volume.

Fold in cocoa, ground almonds, baking powder and dark chocolate gently.

Whisk egg whites until they form stiff, opaque peaks.

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture gradually. Adding it in 3 parts makes it much easier to combine without knocking out all the air.

Pour the mixture into lined cupcake tray and bake for 12 minutes (it took exactly 12 minutes imy oven, but since oven temps vary significantly, keep an eye on the cupcakes to prevent burning).

Set aside to cool.

For the mint icing:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 100g mascarpone 
• 1 tbsp Irish honey
• 2 tsp natural mint extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 25g dark chocolate, melted

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. 

Pipe generous rosettes of icing onto each cupcake & drizzle with melted chocolate. 

Strawberry Sponge Cake...

Growing up in Wexford, one of the best parts of summer time (aside from school holidays) was the abundance of strawberries in our house. Wexford is the home of the strawberry, and even if you think the strawberries from the supermarket are nice... I can assure you that they are nothing like the real thing. Wexford strawberries are fresh, flavoursome and juice... they taste like summer. I've yet to taste an imported strawberry, or one that wasn't sold from a hut on the side of the road that tastes as good...

Strawberry sponge cakes made a regular appearance for dessert so I couldn't let summer pass without sharing a recipe for a GLBTK version of what is one of my favourites... 

For the cake: 

• 8 eggs, separated
• 4 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 150g ground almonds
• 2 tsp GF baking powder

Preheat fan oven to 150d (fan oven). Line 2 7" sandwich tins with baking parchment. 

Separate the eggs. 

Add the honey, vanilla and almond extract to the egg yolks. Whisk until doubled in volume and pale in colour. 

Fold the ground almonds and baking powder into the egg yolk mixture. 

In a clean, 100% grease free bowl, whisk the egg whites until holding stiff peaks & opaque. 

Lastly, using a large spoon fold in the egg whites (1/4 at a time), until well mixed in. 

Divide mixture evenly between the prepared sandwich tins. Bake for 17-20 minutes until well risen, pale golden and springy to touch. 

Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing. Set aside to cool on a wire rack. 

To assemble: 

• 300g strawberries, sliced
• 250g whipped cream with 1 tsp vanilla extract added for flavour
• 50g grated dark chocolate
• 25g dark chocolate, melted 

Sandwich the cakes together with sliced strawberries & whipped cream. 

Top with more sliced strawberries & finish with a coating of whipped cream and grated chocolate. 

Drizzle with melted dark chocolate. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

This is a great summer dessert as it's quite light and refreshing. If you can't get your hands on Wexford strawberries, please make sure you're buying Irish and supporting local producers.  

Pistachio Cake...

Believe it or not, some people don't like chocolate cake (I fondly refer to them as freaks)... So as much as I'd love to constantly post recipes for various chocolate treats, I think it's important that GLBTK caters for everyone. With that in mind, if you haven't already would you please wander over to Facebook to 'Like' and 'Share' the page... the more people following, the more people who will realise that eating clean, unprocessed food doesn't have to be boring, bland, time consuming or expensive...

I've baked pistachio cakes before, usually with chocolate ganache (which is awesome!), but in my opinion this cake is fantastic because of its simplicity. Sometimes even I lack the patience for carefully decorating a cake once it's cooled!

For the cake: 

• 5 eggs, separated 
• zest of 1 large orange
• 3 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 125ml walnut oil
• 125g ground almonds
• 200g unsalted pistachio nuts, ground to fine powder
• 2 tsp GF baking powder

Line an 8" round cake tin with baking parchment & preheat oven to 150d (fan). 

Start by whisking the egg yolks, zest, honey & vanilla together until pale, frothy & doubled in volume. Stir in the walnut oil gently. 

Fold in ground almonds, ground pistachios & baking powder gently. 

Whisk egg whites to form stiff, opaque peaks. 

Fold egg whites into the egg yolk mixture gently. Do this in stages to prevent over-mixing. 

Pour into prepared cake tin & bake for 20 minutes until well risen, golden & firm to touch. 

Remove from tin. 

For the topping: 

• 1 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 50g pistachio nuts, chopped

Warm the honey & orange zest together. Brush over the top of the warm cake. 

Sprinkle generously with chopped pistachio nuts. 

Set the cake aside to cool before serving. 

Lime Drizzle Cake...

If you like simple tray bake recipes, you're going to love this Lime Drizzle Cake. Fans of coconut & lime are in for a real treat with this light lime & coconut sponge topped with a tangy syrup. The dessicated coconut makes this recipe extra special... the cake has a slight bite from the coconut, and the addition of coconut to the lime drizzle leaves the topping crunchy... 

For the cake: 

• 4 eggs, separated 
• 40g butter, melted
• 3 tsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• zest & juice of 1 unwaxed lime
• 60g ground almonds 
• 40g dessicated coconut
• 1 1/2 tsp GF baking powder

Preheat oven to 150d (fan). Line a 7" square baking tin with baking parchment. 

Start by whisking eggs yolks, butter, honey, vanilla  & lime until frothy and doubled in volume.

Add ground almonds, dessicated coconut & GF baking powder and fold in gently. 

Next whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. 

Finally, fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture gradually. Adding them in 3 stages will make them a lot easier to incorporate into the mixture. 

Once well combined, place the mixture in the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes until cake is springy to touch, well risen & pale golden. 

For the lime drizzle:

• 1 tbsp lime zest
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tbsp unsweetened dessicated coconut

Add all the ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil until reduced and thickened to a syrupy consistency. 

Drizzle over the hot cake. 

Set aside to cool before cutting into squares. 

Mikado Cake...

I posted a recipe recently for Mikado biscuits... they were incredible!

Since they were so popular, I decided to bake a cake based on a Mikado! How does coconut sponge, berry jam, marshmallowy icing & toasted coconut sound? Amazing right?! I can't take credit for this idea... I think it was Donal Skehan who I first saw baking a a Mikado cake.... Of course my version has no grains or refined sugar so I'm bound to say it's so much better!!

For the cake: 

• 8 eggs, separated 
• 80g butter, melted
• 3 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 125g ground almonds 
• 80g dessicated coconut
• 2 tsp GF baking powder

Preheat oven to 160d (fan). Line 2 8" sandwich tins with parchment paper. 

Start by whisking eggs yolks, butter, honey & vanilla until frothy and doubled in volume.

Add ground almonds, dessicated coconut & GF baking powder and fold in gently. 

Next whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. 

Finally, fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture gradually. Adding them in 3 stages will make them a lot easier to incorporate into the mixture. 

Once well combined, divide the mixture between the prepared tins and bake for 25 minutes until cake is springy to touch, well rise & pale golden. Set aside to cool on a wire rack. 

For the berry jam: 

• 150g frozen berries of your choice
• 1 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Add the ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and allow to simmer over a low heat for approx 5 minutes to allow the jam to thicken. 

For the marshmallow icing: 

• 3 egg whites
• 2 tbsp Irish honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 sachet Gelatin powder
• 50g frozen raspberries
• 3 tbsp water

Place raspberries & water into the microwave for 20 seconds at a time. Stir and mash in between each 20 second burst until the raspberries are softened, broken up and the mixture is steaming.

Sprinkle the gelatin powder over the hot raspberry mixture and set aside to dissolve. It's really important to pour the gelatin onto the liquid and not the other way around or you'll end up with a hard lump. Also make sure the liquid is steaming hot (not boiling) before adding the gelatin or it won't dissolve fully.

Next add the egg whites, honey & vanilla to a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water.

Whisk the mixture constantly until it forms stiff glossy peaks. (If you don't whisk constantly, you'll end up with scrambled egg whites). This should take about 5 minutes.

At this stage, your gelatin should have dissolved, cooled and will be ready to use. It's important that both the gelatin mix & the egg white mixture are approx the same temperature, otherwise the gelatin will set too quickly and form strings... The egg white mixture will be warm, just make sure the gelatin has cooled sufficiently.. 

Add the gelatin mixture to the egg white gradually, whisking constantly. I recommend pouring the gelatin in a slow, steady stream. Once fully combined, you can stop whisking.

To assemble the cake: 

• 50g toasted dessicated coconut

Sandwich the cakes together with 3/4 of the cooled, homemade jam. 

Spread a generous coating of the marshmallow icing over the top and sides of the cake. 

Spoon the remaining 'jam' onto the top of the cake before piping rosettes of marshmallow around the edge of the cake. 

Coat the outside of the cake with toasted coconut. 

Store in the fridge until ready to serve.