Tag Archives: maple syrup

Jewelled Maple, Cranberry and Coconut Granola

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Jewelled Maple Syrup and Coconut Granola with Cranberries and ApricotsFor most of my life, my maternal grandparents have lived up the road from me. It’s been utterly wonderful to be able to walk to their place for a chat, a cup of tea, a hug, and/or a game of 500 or Cribbage.

However, I also experienced many magical times with my grandparents before they moved to Canberra. I could talk for hours about my school holiday visits to their place in Sydney but, instead, I’d like to tell you about the breakfasts I enjoyed while visiting. There were two (breakfasts, that is); one made by my grandpa, and one by my grandma.

Maple and Coconut Apricot and Cranberry GranolaSome mornings, I would wake up and rush to the kitchen to find my grandpa pottering around with a cup of tea. I would clamber onto one of the chairs at the kitchen bench, then watch as he pulled two piping hot slices of white toast from the toaster before buttering them for me, lavishly, lavishly. Grandpa would then cut the slices of hot buttered toast into square quarters (not triangles! Never triangles!), and place them on a plate patterned with green-and-gold flowers. I still remember nibbling the crusts first (to keep my hair curly), pulling off the toasted butterless base of the bread to eat next, and then, lastly, savouring the crispy buttery top of the toast in all its salty glory.

It was bliss.

Hannah and GrandpaSometimes, however, breakfast would come courtesy of Grandma, whose special secret muesli recipe never failed to make my heart skip a beat as she poured me a bowl. I had no idea what was in the muesli. I only knew that it was more delicious than any boxed cereal at home, and that one of the ingredients was most certainly my grandma’s pixie dust (it’s a positive must).

Last weekend, with my grandparents both finally home from hospital, I suddenly decided to make my grandma’s muesli for her (she hasn’t had the time to make it for herself in a long while). I secretly got my hands on the recipe, but found I had to adapt it substantially to make it safe for her to eat (no wheat germ, honey, raisins, or milk powder allowed).

Jewelled maple syrup cranberry apricot coconut granola muesliI’m utterly delighted to say that this Jewelled Maple, Cranberry and Coconut Muesli (or Granola), despite being rather different to my grandma’s original recipe, is utterly exquisite. The smell of it toasting in the oven caused me to dance around the kitchen, and I’m proud to say that I received a text from my grandma, the morning after I delivered it to her, thanking me and saying it was delicious.

But go on… try it for yourself. It might just make you dance too.

Jewelled Maple and Coconut Granola

  • 3 cups (270g) rolled oats
  • 1 cup (100g) oat bran
  • 1 1/3 cups (100g) desiccated coconut
  • 3/4 cup (heaping; 100g) sesame seeds
  • 3/4 cup (heaping; 90g) sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup canola/sunflower/coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar, which I would very much like to try one day)
  • 3/4 – 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 3/4 – 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
  1. Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F).
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, oat bran, coconut, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds.
  3. In a small saucepan, stir the maple syrup, oil, and brown sugar together over a low heat until the sugar is mostly dissolved (or completely dissolved; my point is don’t stress about it) and the mixture is combined.
  4. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and stir to combine, trying not to faint over how magical the aroma is. (Or, if you faint, make sure someone is there to catch you when you fall.)
  5. Spread the granola mixture between two large baking trays and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
  6. Stir in the dried cranberries and apricots, then bake for another 10 minutes, until the granola is starting to turn golden but isn’t burnt. Leave to cool, and then enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, again trying not to faint over how magical the taste is.

I’m submitting this recipe to Ricki’s Wellness Weekend and SOS Kitchen Challenge: Cranberries.

Mixed Berry and Maple Syrup Muffins

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Mixed Berry Maple Syrup MuffinsHave you entered my giveaway for a Baked and Delicious Magazine subscription yet? The magazine comes with silicone bakeware and four subscriber gifts (just for you), so you probably want to enter, don’t you? Yes you do, yes you do… *in a sing-song cajoling voice*

What you see before you is the muffins I hinted at in the above giveaway post: my Mixed Berry and Maple Syrup Muffins. Studded with a myriad of jewel-like berries melting into a softly maple-scented crumb, these muffins are perfect for breaking up seemingly-endless workdays, for delivering to your Tasmanian aunt who has arrived to assist your grandparents upon their return from hospital, and as a reminder that grey days won’t last forever.

Maple Syrup Berry MuffinsAt this very precise exact moment in time, I would very much like to be packing these muffins into a picnic basket adorned with glitter glue, googly eyes, and gold stars. I would like to be picking up that picnic basket and setting it before me on my chestnut-coloured horse (I shall call him Aristaeus, because who wouldn’t want their horse to be the god of bee-keeping and cheese-making?).

I would like to be tugging down my polka-dot gingham dress because I Am A Lady even when riding bareback, and I would like to be meeting up with several of my favourite friends for an afternoon of sipping home-made lemonade spiked with ginger (a bit like the ginger-water that Ma sent to Laura and Pa in the fields in The Long Winter, so they could drink as much as they wanted in the heat without getting sick), nibbling on these muffins, lying on the grass with the sun on our faces, and having absolutely no anxieties pressing down, ever, on our throats as we talked.

Mixed Berry Maple Syrup MuffinsBut, for the minute, I’ll have to settle for simply eating these muffins. Or muffins like them. Because I gave all twelve of these delights away to worthier folk, and oh! I do so hope they liked them.

Mixed Berry Maple Syrup Muffins

  • 1 3/4 cups plain flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 90g butter, melted
  • 1 cup frozen mixed berries (mine included blueberries, red currant boysenberries, and raspberries)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease or line 12 muffin cups (if you’re using silicone muffin cases from Baked and Delicious, you can skip the greasing/lining).

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, maple syrup, milk and melted butter. Add this to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined (remember, as is always the case with muffins, leaving the batter a bit lumpy is good). Fold in the frozen berries.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes (check at the 20 minute mark, if not before. The extent of the frozen-ness of your berries can impact substantially on the baking time).

5. Embrace the beauty that is maple syrup. Forever and ever amen.

Question Time: What are you daydreaming about today?

Raw Vegan Carob Maple Brownies To Make You Swoon

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Raw Vegan Carob Maple Syrup Brownies

There’s an old saying that you may have heard of:

When you’re wearing rubber boots, you’d best not stroke a pumpkin.

Wait, no. That’s not right. I meant:

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Yes. That’s more like it.

Raw Vegan Carob Maple BrowniesIn keeping with that [second] quote, you might be wondering why I took the most popular recipe on my blog, my Raw Brownies with Chocolate Icing of Pure Amazingness, and adapted it.

If you are so wondering, I shall answer you with something Aristotle once said (according to Plato, I suppose):

Change in all things is sweet.

Bravo, Aristotle/Plato. Changing dessert recipes is certainly sweet, and I must say that I very possibly quite exactly yes indeedy do like this version of my raw vegan brownies even better than the original.

Raw Vegan Carob Maple Syrup Brownies

Why do I like these better, I hear you ask? (You’re asking a lot of things today, aren’t you?)

Well, I replaced the walnuts with a mixture of pecans and almonds, and everyone who’s anyone knows that pecans and almonds are far more magnificent than walnuts.

I also switched out the cocoa for carob, but if you aren’t a fan of carob’s uniquely nutty and malty flavour, I recommend sticking to cocoa in the recipe below.

Mostly, though, the reason that these raw vegan brownies with carob maple icing are potentially more wonderful than what you’ve seen and tasted before is that I swapped the honey for maple syrup. After all, as they say:

Maple syrup is the most delicious of all the syrups.

Enjoy, my fabulous shimmering friends! I can’t express enough the utter scrumdiddlyumptiousness of this here creation. The nutty, rich, caroby-chocolatey, caramel-esque, maple-swooning, tinglingly-smoothly-silky-on-top, dense-yet-succumbingly-sweet-below, fills-your-senses-with-glee flavour of this raw vegan brownie with carob maple avocado icing is simply the best. Better than all the rest. Better than anyone, anyone I ever met. (Wait, where was I?)

Raw Vegan Carob Maple Brownies

Raw Vegan Carob Brownies with Maple Syrup Avocado Icing

Adapted from my Raw Brownies with Chocolate Icing of Pure Amazingness

  • 2/3 cup (70g) pecans
  • 1/3 cup (40g) almonds
  • 1 cup (150g) medjool dates, pitted
  • 1/3 cup (30g) carob powder (or cocoa)
  • 1 avocado (mine was equal to 140g avocado flesh)
  • 40ml (2 tb) maple syrup
  • 30ml (16g) carob powder (or cocoa)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Combine pecans, almonds, dates, and the 1/3 cup of carob powder in a food processor and process until the mixture is finely chopped and well combined (or “looks like potting soil”). Pat this into an 20cm (8inch) square pan. (To be honest, mine only took up about 3/4 of the tin. Just pat it out to the thickness you want.)

2. Clean the food processor to ensure no stray nut fragments get in your icing. Then scoop in your avocado, maple syrup, the 30ml extra of carob powder, pinch of salt, and cinnamon. Process until smooth, thick, and luscious. Adjust to taste with more maple syrup or carob, if needed (this may depend on how big your avocado is).

3. Spread the icing over the brownie base, then put in the freezer for about an hour to set before cutting into squares. Store in the freezer, but try to take each brownie out of the freezer for about 15 minutes before you eat it. The flavours come through best when the brownie (and icing) have been able to thaw a bit. And you want the best, don’t you? Better than all the rest? Better than anyone… (Wait, where was I?)

I’m submitting this to Ricki’s Wellness Weekend and the Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love Event this week!

Maple Macadamia Butter of Goodliness

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I’m back from my whirlwind Magnificent Melbourne Holiday Weekend. (Yes, that sound you hear is me sighing dramatically in a woebegone fashion.) I have decided to let my other Melbourne adventures and memories percolate for a day or so, but rest assured I’ll be reliving Melbourne here on this blog in coming weeks.

Also, I simply had to interrupt the Melbourne stories to share something I made before my holiday with you. Behold!

Maple Macadamia Butter

I know, I know. This doesn’t look like much. In fact, it looks a bit like dry hummus, and hummus doesn’t often necessitate “Behold!” as an introduction.

It’s not hummus, though. It’s so much better than that. Those of you who read in a linear fashion would already know what this is, because I kinda gave the game away in the post’s title.

But for those of you who read in more of a wiggly-wiggly fashion…. Behold! Homemade Maple Macadamia Butter!

Maple Macadamia Butter

This stuff is the shiz. I’m sure you all know about my addiction to peanut butter, as I mention that glorious substance here on a regular basis. What you may not know is that I equally love all nut butters, but a) Australia doesn’t provide access to a wide variety of non-peanut nut butters, and b) nuts are expensive, and I am a PhD student.

So when my mother offered me 500g of fresh macadamias, I cast away my inner picky “macadamias are one of my least favourite nuts” child and hastily grabbed the bag close to my heart. I knew straightaway that I would be using the macadamias to make, for the first time in my life, homemade nut butter.

Maple Macadamia Butter

Hot diggity dog, this stuff is the shiz. Did I say that already? To make this, all I did was give the macadamias a quick roast in the oven (you could easily skip this step if you prefer your nut butters raw), and then throw them in the food processor for some blenderising (shhh, spellcheck. I’m pretending that’s a real word).

I can’t give you an exact time for how long this takes to come together, but I’d estimate mine took about 4 minutes, though if you like your nut butters super smooth you could do it for longer.

I then added a pinch of salt and only a smidgen of maple syrup, as with this first batch I wanted the flavour to be all about the macadamias. If you want this to be a “true” flavoured nut butter, you’ll want to up the amount of maple syrup. I, however, was aiming for the rich, creamy, buttery flavour of macadamias to hold centre court.

It worked. The maple functions as a background note of sweetness ramping up the natural richness of the macadamias, and you know what the bonus of this is? The simple, natural, just-a-touch-of-complexity flavour of this nut butter makes it taste heavenly on top of some Lindt 85% dark chocolate. Behold!

Maple Macadamia Butter on Lindt 85% Dark Chocolate

Maple Macadamia Butter of Goodliness

  • 2 cups (200g/7oz) raw macadamias, preferably generously given to you for free by your mother.
  • pinch of salt (yes, I’m going to snobbishly say “a flaky, delicate sea salt” here but, really, use whatever you have on hand)
  • 2 tsp maple syrup (the real stuff), or more to taste for a stronger flavour
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F) and roast macadamias on a baking tray for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool.
  2. Place macadamias in a food processor and process at a med-high level for about 4-5 minutes, until the nut butter has reached your desired consistency.
  3. Add the pinch of salt and maple syrup, and process again briefly so that the flavours meld.
  4. Normally I’d dare you to try resisting eating a third of this straightaway with a spoon, but it really is super rich. The nut butter is quite soft when you first make it, but firms up in the refrigerator and keeps for what I’d assume is a long time. I’ve been eating mine too quickly to be able to tell you quite how long it will last for…

Question Time: This is a rather self-serving question, to be honest. *ahem* What flavours would you put with a homemade macadamia butter if, say, you hypothetically had 300g of macadamias left in your cupboard?

Single-Serving Maple Cornmeal Cake For My Blogiversary

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Single-serving maple cornmeal pudding cake

It’s my blog’s first anniversary today.

And for the past few hours, I’ve been trying to work out what to say.

The thing is, I know there are more blogs than I could ever conceive of that have already celebrated their first, second, third, and even eighth anniversaries, and that it’s therefore silly of me to think it’s a big deal that I’ve managed a mere 12 months.

But I never expected this blog to become such a part of me, and I never imagined I’d write it for this long. When my mum first nagged me to – I mean, suggested nicely that I – start a blog with which to record my four months of solo travel between December 2009 and April 2010, I thought this blog would simply be a place my immediate family and friends could come to check I was still alive.

Single-serving maple cornmeal pudding cake

The strange thing is, this blog has saved me.

Yes, that’s hyperbolic, but it also feels true. I don’t want to get too teary-eyed-nitty-gritty on you, but to adequately explain how very much it has meant to me that you – yes, you -  are out there supporting me by reading this (and commenting, for those of you who comment), I have to mention one or two things. You see,  I’ve spent a lot of years lately not liking myself very much, and so it’s been a wonder for me to discover that by being myself, and by writing the way that I love to write, I’ve gained many lovely readers and friends who have brightened my life immeasurably.

Throughout the past year, I’ve [re-]learnt that I love to write, that I love desserts, that I love to travel, that I love my fellow bloggers and all of you who come here (silently or not), and that I’m okay.

Single-serving maple cornmeal pudding cake

I’ve also learnt, through this blog, that it’s entirely possible to have soul-sisters and BFFs across the world, who grew up with the same books, have the same sense of humour, offer amazing advice, and who make me laugh and feel better about everything. I’ve discovered that there are more chocoholics in the world than I’d imagined, but that non-chocoholics can be awesome people too.

This blog has taught me to be positive even when I feel like crying and to turn scary experiences on public transport into entertaining tales. This blog even led me to an experience after which I understood, for the first time in my 23 years*, why so many people write poetry and sing about broken hearts (yeah… I didn’t post about that. Sometimes, some things, sometimes, have to stay quiet).

Most of all, this blog has taught me to be grateful to each and every one of you who has ever stopped by here. Because without you, I wouldn’t still be writing, and without you, I never would have thought to try adapting one of my favourite childhood desserts into a single-serving blogiversary cake.

So I want to thank you all, very much. For being here. This Single-Serving Maple Cornmeal Pudding Cake? It’s for you.

Single-serving maple cornmeal pudding cake

Single-Serving Maple Cornmeal Pudding Cake

Serves one. It’s also vegan and dairy-free, with a gluten-free option.

I’m inordinately proud of this recipe. I took a beloved recipe for Indian Corn Pudding that my mum used to make, and tried adapting it into a cute celebratory dessert for one. And lo and behold, it worked the first time around! The only thing to note is that while I’ve called it a Maple cake because the original recipe uses maple syrup, I myself only had molasses on hand, which is why the cake in the pictures is so dark. Please use your syrup of choice. And please, enjoy!

  • 2 tsp Nuttelex (or butter), plus extra to grease
  • 3 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp ground flax, mixed with 3 tsp water and left for a few minutes (or a quarter of an egg, if you can be bothered figuring that out…)
  • 15g (25ml) self-raising flour (gluten-free self-raising flour works here – my mum even used to make it with rye flour)
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cornmeal
  • 25ml soymilk (or normal milk)
  • 2 tsp maple syrup (or molasses, golden syrup, honey, agave… whatever you like! Jam could even work, I think)
  1. Mix Nuttelex, sugar, flax and water mixture, flour, baking powder, and cornmeal together well, then stir in the soymilk to form a smooth batter.
  2. Grease a small microwave-safe bowl, and add your 2 tsp of syrup to the bottom of the bowl.
  3. Pour the cornmeal batter into the bowl, then cover the bowl loosely with gladwrap. Microwave on medium-low (I used a power setting of 4 out of 10) for around 4 minutes, until pudding springs back when you touch it lightly. (Remember that all microwaves work differently, so you might want to fiddle around a bit with your timing. I’m going to experiment with the cooking times myself. 4min 30 was a bit too long for me, and I might try 3min 30 next.)
  4. Leave the pudding to rest for about 2 minutes, then turn out onto a pretty plate so that you can look at it and go “awww”. A nice touch, particularly if you’re using something like maple or golden syrup, is to drizzle more syrup over the pudding-cake just prior to eating. As molasses is fairly intense, I forwent this step. Usually, though, more syrup equals more tastiness.
  5. Enjoy! The original recipe was one of my favourite desserts of all time, and now I can make it just for me. I’m one happy blogiversary-celebrating girl tonight.

* Yes, I’m definitely not one of those girls who started dating when she was 14.