Following the Weight Watchers program really underscored my weaknesses: Cake, chocolate, cookies. Dense, moist, chewy, gooey, calorie-packed, carbohydrate-embracing yummy stuff. Sometimes I would overcome my cravings by allowing myself to have just a little bit everyday, other days I would experiment making Weight Watchers versions of sweets, but they never quite hit the spot. Until this recipe. Each serving of this banana loaf is only 4 Weight Watchers points plus – fantastic! I can eat three satisfying meals, and have my cake too! Only two tablespoons of butter! I will stop using exclamation marks now. But even if you’re not on Weight Watchers or watching your weight, this Nutella banana loaf is utterly delicious. Decadent, moist, and it even seems to improve in flavour after a day or two – if it lasts that long. This banana bread is on the moist side, as op There was not one person […]
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No-bake chocolate, macadamia and fig slices
No-bake chocolate, macadamia and fig slices
Sometimes I want something a bit fudgey, dense, with a lot of bite. A cookie won’t do, a brownie is much too sweet. Cake, too fluffy. Something where I can taste the cocoa and the dark chocolate and really let the flavours develop long after I’ve swallowed. These chocolate, macadamia and fig slices fit the bill; they’re the perfect treat to have alongside a steaming cup of coffee when you want something small that will satisfy your sweet tooth. They’re small but the flavour packs a huge punch. And they’re a really elegant dessert to serve to guests when they show up unexpectedly. I always have some cookies on hand, but I hate it when they’re only my kids’ Oreos. I got this recipe from a great book called “Fireside Feasts & Snow Day Treats” (Ryland Peters & Small) but I played around with the ingredients a little bit to […]
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Easy peasy Devil’s chocolate pumpkin puree cupcakes
Easy peasy Devil’s chocolate pumpkin puree cupcakes
This is going to be a short post because the ingredient list is short too: cake mix and pumpkin puree. Look, I know cake mix is not ideal. But sometimes, I need to make cupcakes quickly and I need a quick chocolate fix. So when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I thought I’d try it. I have no recipe to link to, so pay attention ok? Dump the cake mix in a bowl, then dump 15 oz of pumpkin puree into the same bowl. Mix. Pour into the prepared cupcake tin and follow the baking instructions on the cake mix box. Now, if you want the tops to be smooth, these won’t smooth out by themselves in the oven as you would except. You’ll need to pat them down with a small spatula or spoon. As you can see in the pic, I didn’t do that, and the tops […]
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Welcome baby girl cupcakes
Welcome baby girl cupcakes
You might have noticed I have had a sudden flurry of blogs. There are a few reasons for this: my eldest is in kindergarten now so I have a few hours (okay 2) where I am only dealing with one kid; the holidays are fast approaching and baking is synonymous with the holiday season in my mind; I will be returning to work soon and I don’t want my blog posts to pile up even more than they have now. With my maternity leave coming to an end, I am reminded that a dear friend’s maternity leave is also coming to an end. We were pregnant together and I was thrilled to make some cupcakes for her welcome baby party several months ago. She is one of my nearest and dearest friends; I’ve known her since we were 6 and I hope our kids will grow up together too! I […]
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Homemade chocolate peanut butter cups with fleur de sel
Homemade chocolate peanut butter cups with fleur de sel
If you don’t like Reese’s peanut butter cups, well, there’s not much more for me to say to you except, you might want to surf around on my older posts and come back later… If you’re still reading, apologies for the pic. It’s from my smartphone. I really should have taken a better pic with my DSLR but these mini morsels were gone before I had a chance. Yup, that good. To give you an idea of the size of these mini morsels, the saucer they are sitting on for an espresso cup. So they’re teeny but back enough of a punch that just one will satisfy you if you’re watching your weight (and, aren’t we all?) And if you have any family or friends who are on a gluten-free diet – BONUS, they’re gluten free too! These are perfect to have laying around, or to give as hostess gifts, […]
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Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie pie
Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie pie
I’m seriously kicking myself right now because I just tossed the last bit of pumpkin puree I had in my refrigerator because I have zero energy to cook or bake anything right now. And then I found this old blog post I’d been meaning to write up…. Indeed, ’tis the season for my ever-recurring bronchitis to return, hence the lack of energy, and unfortunately this coincides with pumpkin season too. Nonetheless, there is no reason for you not to make this recipe in my place. Not quite pumpkin pie, not quite chocolate chip cookie, just call it pumpkin chocolate chip cookie pie. Heck, once you take a bite you’ll forget about the whole name thing and you’ll ask for some ice cream. You can find the recipe here… And before you forget to do so, I’m going to suggest you Pin this, bookmark it, whatever you need to do to […]
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