Super Simple Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies

Two weeks in a row... not bad going, right? ;-)

These brownies are lovely, rich and chocolatey, and with a few cheeky ingredients swaps, not as bad for you as you might think!!

It seems to have become a recent habit of mine to find a recipe, decide to try it, and then change it around a bit in the process of making it. This particular recipe started it's life as a 37-calorie brownie recipe, which Joy posted to the Cake'n'Bake club Facebook wall. My version is about 64 calories, as I used sugar instead of sweetener, and added some chocolate chips. They went down well in my office! (Note - the calorie content will change depending on the brands you use... I make no promises!) I'd also recommend using milk chocolate chips, as I found these injected a bit of sweetness into the rich chocolate brownie which just MADE them.

Ingredients:
50g rolled oats
175g low-fat natural yogurt (I actually used a soy yogurt which worked just as well)
50ml milk
70g cocoa
30g caster sugar
1 medium egg
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
50g milk chocolate chips

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 12-15 minutes
Makes 16 brownies

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a square brownie tin.
2. Pop your oats into a blender and whizz to a fine flour - don't worry if there are a couple of bigger bits, as long and it's mostly ground.
3. Tip all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix together to form a thick batter. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 12-15 minutes, until springy to touch.
4. Allow the brownies to cool in the pan before turning out onto a chopping board and slicing into 16 squares.
5. Enjoy with a cup of tea, completely guilt free!!

Happy Thoughts
x

Banana Breakfast Pancakes

Well folks, today is Friday, which means tomorrow is Saturday, so I decided to share my current favourite Saturday breakfast recipe with you. Easy-peasy yet scrumdiddlyumptious banana pancakes. And they only have 3 ingredients...

This recipe started life a a 2 ingredient pancake recipe, but I just wasn't brave enough to try eating eggy mashed banana, so I tweaked it a little. Pretty sure the fitness fanatics aren't going to go ape for this one, but it's certainly good enough for me!

Ingredients:
1 large banana, or two small ones
1 medium egg
20g self raising flour
A little oil, butter, or frylite for greasing

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Serves: 1 hungry person, or two not-so-hungry people (it makes 4 pancakes)

1. Break your banana into a bowl and then mash it up with a fork - try to get rid of all the big lumps.
2. Add the egg to the mashed banana and whisk with the fork until combined.
3. Tip in your flour and fold in until just mixed.
4. Heat a little oil/butter/frylite in a pan. When hot, spoon 2tbsp of the pancake batter into the pan and spread into a circle shape with the back on your spoon. Let the pancake cook side for 30-45 seconds, until the edges are cooked and bubble start to form in the centre, then flip the pancake over and cook the other side for 30-45 seconds.
5. Repeat until you've used all the batter, then enjoy your yummy, fairly healthy banana breakfast pancakes!

Happy Thoughts
x

Feeling sheepish...

Well, that all went a bit wrong, didn't it. Honestly, I had every intention of blogging recipes regularly again in December... I really did. But then life happened, and the recipes did not find their way onto the blog.

I had talked to my friends about this, and potentially "retiring" this blog, but Craig said something which made a lot of sense, so that's what I'm going with. What did he say, you ask? It's my hobby, so I should just do it when I feel like it, rather than feel I have to post every week. Sensible, huh?

At any rate... I am going to try my utmost best to keep this blog alive, because I really do love The Princess and the Cake, but I may not always be able to post weekly. I think that's OK. So, watch this space, and you may well see something you like.

Happy Thoughts
x