This cheesecake has no refined sugar and obviously no diary products. Also the curst is gluten free which is great from those who are on a gluten free diet. I’m not. But having a gluten free dessert is not bad at all.

If I haven’t tempted you enough yet. Let me say that this cake is easy to make and almost fool proof. So what are you waiting for? Give it a go and you won’t regret it.

A detailed video recipe in English is here:

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 7 pitted dates
• 2 tbs coconut oil
• dash of salt

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 cup soaked raw cashews
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbs vanilla essence
• 1 cup frozen blueberries

Tips:

• Make sure all the nuts you are using are not salted or toasted
• The cashews need to be soaked for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight to make sure you’ll get the creamy texture at the end.
• You can adjust how many dates you are using depending on the variety and size of them. I used medium sized ones.
• You can adjust how much maple syrup you want to add depending on how sweet you like it.
• You can use fresh berries if you want. But be mindful of its water content so as not to ruin the thickness of your filling.
• You can use other kind of berries if you wish to.
• The cheesecake should be placed in the freezer for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight so that it will firm nicely.
• You need to take the cheesecake out and leave it for half an hour at room temperature before serving it.
• You can serve the cake frozen, half frozen or even thawed.
• You can put the remaining cake back in the freezer or in the fridge if you don’t want a frozen texture.

I used almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts and pistachios. And I’ve used dates, dried apricots, sultanas and raisins roughly chopped. And for spices I used cinnamon, caraway seeds and cloves all grounded.

This bread is very moist. You can have it for breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea. It is just perfect.
To know how to make it please watch the video:

Ingredients:

medium sized pumpkin to get 1 cup of cooked pumpkin

• 1 3/4 cups A/P flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mixed nuts roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup mixed dried fruits roughly chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds grounded
• 1/8 tsp cloves grounded
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

For garnish “optional”

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3 tbsp milk or as needed
• pappita seeds.

Tips:

• Cook pumpkin in a  preheated oven at 180 C for 45 – 60 mins or until it is cooked.
• We only need 1 cup of the pumpkin. The rest can be kept in the freezer for future recipes.
• You can use canned cooked pumpkin. But the fresh option is a better option.
• You can use which ever nuts, dried fruits or spices you like.
• Bake the bread in a preheated oven at 180 C for 3-45 mins or until it is done.
• Leave the bread to cool before icing it.
• Add the milk gradually to the icing sugar to get the right consistency.
• You can garnish the bread as you wish.

To know how to make them watch the video:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups AP Flour
• 1 and 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 3/4 cup yoghurt
• 1100 grams melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsps lemon juice
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• pinch of salt

Tips:

• The butter needs to be soft and at room temperature.
• Don’t overwork the batter as it will make the muffins dense.
• Preferably use yoghurt  and eggs at room temperature.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 15-20 mins or until golden.
• Keep the leftover muffins in an air tight container.

To make the star shapes is quite easy as you’ll see in the video. And you can use any kind of seeds to top these loaves. Or you can even leave them out.

To know how to make this bread please watch the video:

Ingredients:

• 500 grams whole wheat flour
• 500 grams A/P flour
• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 4 tsps instant yeast
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Tips:

• Water should be around 40 C.
• Make sure that you knead the dough for enough time at least 10-15 mins.
• Leave the dough to prove in a warm place until it double in size. That will take 1 – 2 hours.
• After shaping the loaves leave them to prove again in a warm place for an hour.
• You can use sesame seeds, nigella seeds or any other seeds you like to sprinkle on top of the loaves.
• Bake the loaves in a preheated oven at 220 C for 15-20 mins or until they are golden.

You can present them as one large tart, or individual portions of small tartlets. Either ways these delicious tarts are easy to make and it will impress your guests.

To know how to make these tarts please watch the video:

Ingredients:

Custard

• 1 liter full cream milk
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 Vanilla pod or 1 tbsp vanilla extract or essence

Pastry “These are double the amount mentioned in the video as I ended up having to make another batch to use ai all my custard filling”

• 400 grams A/P flour
• 200 grams cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp icy cold water

Topping

• Mixed berries of your choice, frozen or fresh
• berries jam “optional”

Tips:

• The amount of custard I made in the video is enough to fill 12 medium size tartlets AND 1 big tart. So I had to make another batch of the dought for that. Alternatively you can cut the custard ingredients by half.
• When making the dough make sure that everything is really cold; butter, egg and water.
• Don’t overwork the dough as this will stop the dough becoming short and melt-in-your-mouth.
• Leave the dough to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before rolling it.
• Bake the pie in a preheated oven at 180C for 10-15 mins or until the edges of the tart becomes golden.
• When adding the milk  to the beaten eggs be careful to do it slowly while whisking all the time or else you might have scrambled eggs.
• When the custard is ready cover its surface with plastic wrap so as it doesn’t form a crust. Leave it to cool completely in the fridge before using.
• It is better to assemble the tarts before serving and make sure that the tart and custard are completely cold.
• You can use any mix of berries you wish whether frozen or fresh. If frozen use as, no need to thaw it.

To decorate I got several ideas crossing my mind until I felt inspired by the orange in the cake and decided to use dried orange zest. But then I thought why not add lemon and lime zest in there too. Not only they will look great but they will add subtle flavors that will marry everything well together.

You should try this recipe out and share it with your loved ones. I hope every one will enjoy it.
To know how to make this recipe please watch my video here:

Ingredients:

• 1 orange cake based on my recipe which you’ll find here.
• 225 grams dark chocolate
• 225 unsalted butter cut into cubes
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• dried orange, lime and lemon zest

Tips:

• Start by baking the cake. You want it to be completely cool before frosting it.
• When melting the chocolate and butter you can either do that in the microwave in 30 sec. intervals or you can melt them in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan with simmering water.
• You should leave the frosting to cool in the fridge for an hour. If it is still too runny leave it for longer and if it is too hard then leave it at room temperature until it becomes spreadable.
• You can dry the citrus zest in different ways: either in an oven at 100 C until they dry, or after you finish baking your cake wait 30 mins then place them there to dry with the residue heat or dry them the day before by leave them out at room temperature.
• The cake should be kept covered and in the fridge. Take it out half an hour before serving so that the frosting is not too solid.

Today I made mine using rosemary and rock salt but you can use the dough and customize the toppings as you like.
To know how to make this focaccia bread please watch the video:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups A/P flour
• 1 and 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp dried instant yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp table salt
• rock salt
• rosemary

Tips:

• Make sure you knead the dough long enough, nothing less than 10 mins.
• The dough should stay sticky but if you feel it is too sticky you can add a bit of flour.
• Leave the dough to rest in a warm place until it double in size, around 1 hour.
• After shaping the focaccia leave to rest again for another 1 hour.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 200 C for 20 mins or until golden to your liking.

Despite it’s elaborate looks this torte is easy to make though it takes a bit of time. I can guarantee that it will impress whom ever you are sharing it with.
So to make this torte please watch the following video:

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs
• Vanilla essence

For the apple layers:

• 5 apples
• 1 and 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• squeeze of lemon
• 4 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 cup water

Topping

• 250 ml thickened cream
• icing sugar to taste

Tips:

• You can use A/P flour instead of self raising. Just add 1 tsp Baking powder to the mix.
• Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 20 mins or until the cake is done.
• Leave the cake to cool before adding the other layers.
• Cook the apples for 10 mins until they are done and not mushy.
• Leave the apples to cool completely before layering it on top of the cake.
• Put the cake back in the spring form pan so that when adding the custard to holds the shape.
• When making the apple custard make sure to stir constantly as you don’t want the mixture to stick to the bottom of your an.
• After pouring the custard on top of the cake leave it to set and cool for at least 2 hours before de-molding it from the pan.
• You can decorate the torte as you wish using any cream or buttercream and in any design you want. Be creative.
• The cake should be placed in the fridge and take it half an hour before serving.

To know how to make this bread at home please watch the video:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 225 grams or 2 medium sized potato cubed and boiled
• 2 tsp instant dried yeast
• 1/2 tsp crushed caraway seeds
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp or 25 grams butter
• 2/3 cups water from boiling potato
• extra water if needed

Tips:

• Make sure the potato has cooled down before adding it to the dough
• The potato has to be mashed very well with no lumps. So it is better to sieve it after mashing it with a fork or a masher.
• Make sure that you knead the dough long enough 10-15 mins.
• If the dough is dry you can add a little bit of water until it comes together and be a bit sticky.
• The dough need to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size between 1-2 hours.
• After shaping the dough leave to rest again for 30 mins to 1 hour in  a warm place.
• Use a sharp knife to cut slits on the surface of the loaf.
• Bake the loaf in a preheated oven at 200 C for 30-35 mins or until golden.

There are two key points to keep in mind when making the perfect pie. First, you have to pick the right kind of apples. You should be looking for hard apples with a bit of tart to them Granny Smiths are the most perfect ones. But you can also use Pink Lady or Royal Gala. Second important point is the pastry. It has to be short for and that you need to use cold butter and water. And you have to use as little water as you can get away with. And you shouldn’t over work the dough as we don’t want those gluten strands to over develop.

To make my pie even more extra special I add crushed walnuts to the mix and use brown sugar to give a caramel taste to the filling. Of course you can choose not to do so if you wish.

To know how to make apple pie my way please watch the following video:

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 7 apples
• 1/2 up brown sugar
• 45 grams butter
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts (optional)

Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 215 grams cold butter cubed
• pinch of salt
• 1 cold egg
• Around 100 ml chilled water

Tips:

• It’s better to use hard apples as they will hold their shape after cooking and baking and not turn into a mush.
• You can use white sugar instead of brown sugar in the filling
• You can add any kind of nuts you want like walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts. You can also use any kind of spices you want like cinnamon or cloves.
• When making the dough make sure that everything is really cold; butter, egg and water.
• Don’t overwork the dough as this will stop the dough becoming short and melt-in-your-mouth.
• Leave the dough to rest int he fridge before rolling it.
• Before baking you can brush the pie with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake the pie in a preheated oven at 180C for 45 mins or until the pie becomes golden.
• You can eat apple pie warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.