Vegan Oatmeal Banana & Craisin Muffins With Applesauce

I've been experimenting way too much with baking and muffins seem to be my new thing. They're easy to make so I have snacks enough to last me for the week at uni. You could easily freeze these too :) What really surprised me was the fact that these held together without any eggs!

These ones were even better than the sweet potato muffins I made last time! Which in comparison, had waaaay too much stevia... I should probably fix that recipe haha. The applesauce keeps these muffins moist and the banana gives it that tiny bit of banana flavour reminiscent of banana bread :) And cinnamon pairs so well with apples so I couldn't resist sprinkling some in. I love me a bit of spice! And the great news is they really don't need any added sugar. The riper your bananas, the sweeter your muffins will be - naturally! Well, the craisins have a fair bit of sugar but I took that into account when adding in stevia. I do love the sweet bursts from the craisins though. The best thing about these muffins are they are so easy to take on the go - just nuke them in the microwave for 20 seconds so that they are warm (and don't stick to the paper!) and you have yourself a yummy breakfast :)

Oatmeal Banana & Craisin Muffins With Applesauce
Makes 12

Ingredients

Dry
1 1/2 cups (200g) spelt flour (If you want to use whole wheat flour instead of spelt, remember 200g of spelt = 1 1/3 cup wheat flour)
3/4 cup (70g) rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp chia seeds

Wet
1/3 cup (90g) mashed very very ripe banana (the more spots the better!)
2/3 cup (190g) applesauce (I used Three Threes apple sauce which is sweetened)
1 tsp coconut oil
2 packets (4g) Natvia stevia
3/4 cup (200mL) oat milk (I used oat milk because of its thicker in consistency than normal milk. You could possibly use greek yogurt or maybe even skim/almond/soy milk but I can't vouch for the results)
2/3 cup craisins (or raisins, or any other fruit you like!)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190C or 375F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with liners and coat the inside of them with cooking spray or oil.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and chia seeds - leave it aside.

3. In a medium bowl combine mashed banana, applesauce, melted coconut oil, stevia, and oat milk. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix! The batter will be slightly lumpy, and that’s okay! Gently fold in the craisins.

4. Bake muffins for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Muffins are best served warm. Pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds before eating for a tasty snack!

Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins

In our every day lives, who reaches for a muffin without second thought of what is actually in them? Yes, they are an easy breakfast food that you can take on the go but there are so many carbs, so much sugar and fat in them that any idea of having a nutritious breakfast goes straight down the drain. I've been on a bit of a baking craze lately and after a fail attempt at making a healthy chocolate cake using rice syrup (don't use rice malt syrup in baking unles you are making bars - it gives everything a chewy texture), I decided to have another go. And what resulted was a delectably spiced muffin that's perfect for the holiday season (who am I kidding, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia). And best of all, it's an awesome guilt-free muffin that is wheat free, low in sugar, and low fat! Yep, you heard me, no added oil or butter! Now you can all have muffins all day, every day ;)

Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins
Makes 8 

Ingredients

Dry
1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
2/3 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp ginger
1/3 tsp nutmeg
1/3 tsp all spice
1/2 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
1/2 cup choc chips or dried fruit or whatever you want (optional) I personally didn't add anything and thought they turned out great :)

Wet
2 egg whites
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup sweet potato (or pumpkin!)
1/8-1/4 cup stevia / granulated sweetener depending on taste (I found 1/4 cup too sweet so I will tone it down next time to less than 1/4 of a cup)
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C and line 8 muffin cups with paper cups or spray with nonstick spray. If you use muffin cups, make sure to spray the inside of the cups.
  
2. In a large bowl mix flour, oats, pumpkin pie spice baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chia seeds together. In a separate bowl combine sweet potato, stevia, almond milk, egg whites and applesauce. Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine. Gently fold in choc chips/dried fruit/anything you want

3. Divide batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle a tiny bit of oatmeal over each top of the muffins. Place into the oven and bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean. Muffins are best served warm. Reheat in the microwave for 20 seconds and spread with topping of your choice!

Banana Bread

Funny thing is when I was young, I used to hate bananas. And when I say hate, I mean absolutely despise them. While I love my grandpa to bits, he used to always try to get me to eat the weirdly textured, awful tasting fruit trying to enlighten me about the great nutrients it has. He never really did convince me to eat them.

Fast forward a decade and now I eat bananas most days strangely enough. Amusing how things turn out don't they? On the other hand, my boyfriend sees bananas at the enemy (don't worry, you don't have to eat this banana bread!) but that's not a problem - more for me!

This banana bread is awesome fresh out of the oven. Cut through the crunchy top and you will be rewarded with a soft fluffy crumb that will have you coming back for more. The best thing is that banana bread recipes require old bananas that are spotty so you can get rid of them before they go bad!

A question I have for you, dear reader, is have you ever thought about why banana bread is categorised as 'bread'? I think it's to trick us into thinking we aren't devouring cake when in actual fact, we really are ;)

Banana Bread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

3 medium-large bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.

3. Beat in sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir in.

4. Add the flour and mix until thoroughly incorporated.

5. Pour batter into a greased 10 x 20cm loaf pan.

6. Bake for 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

7. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve. Eat!

Nutino Brownies With Peanut Butter Swirls

Have you ever decided that you wanted some Nutella on a cold Winter's day only to open the jar and discover that the consistency of your Nutella is well, hard? And not to mention completely unspreadable on bread? Well one day, a friend of mine introduced me to Nutino. It's like Nutella only it doesn't become a strange texture on cold days! Not to mention it's also cheaper! Do I need to convince anyone anymore?

A while back when Nutino was half price, we bought a few jars and this last particular jar had been sitting in our pantry shelf for quite some time. My sister was craving brownies so a batch of brownies were going to be made! (aren't I the nicest sister?)

These brownies are awesome. Gooey just out of the oven, and wonderfully chewy if left to cool. The Nutino taste isn't too prominent, but it seems to help make the brownies richer. If that wasn't enough, I decided to swirl some peanut butter into half the mixture to see how that fared too. It was nice, but I think classic chocolate will always win! The brownies were all gone by the end of the day of the day.

Nutino Brownies With Peanut Butter Swirls
An original recipe by Crystal Noir

Makes one batch using a 26 x 17cm pan

Ingredients

For Nutino Brownie
1/2 cup light Olive Spread (you can substitute margarine or butter)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Nutino
1/2 cup baking cocoa
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup milk

For Peanut Butter Swirl
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp plain flour

Method

Preheat oven to 180C and line your tray with baking paper.

To make the brownies
1. Add Olive Spread, sugar, eggs, vanilla essence, salt and Nutino to a large bowl and beat until combined.

2. Mix in baking cocoa and flour until just combined.

3. If the mixture looks a bit too thick, add in desired amount of milk. I ended up using a quarter of a cup of milk.

4. Pour/spoon batter into baking pan.

To make peanut butter swirl
1. Combine all the ingredients. It should resemble a thick paste.

2.Drop little blobs of the peanut butter paste on top of the brownie batter.

3. Using a skewer/chopstick/knife, swirl the blobs together until you are satisfied with how it looks.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cut and then eat!

The peanut butter flavour wasn't too prominent as you can see from my first photo. The peanut butter only sits at the top. So if you are a fan of peanut butter and want a more prominent flavour, I would suggest pouring in half your brownie batter, spoon some blobs of peanut butter, then cover it with the rest of your brownie batter, top it with the remaining peanut butter paste, and then swirl.

Pink Gradient Cake

I have been wanting to make a gradient/ombre cake for quite some time and since it is now the holidays, what better time than now? I was really inspired by this recipe but I wanted to go for pink! Well, I lied. I had no choice really because the only food colouring I have in my house is red. So pink it was! And it really did look lovely in the end. My iPhone seemed to have taken photos of a different shade of pink compared to my camera... I wasn't sure which one I liked better so I put up both!

What I love about this cake is the element of surprise underneath that layer of white icing. Who would've thought that there was layers of different coloured pink inside? I know my sister was pleasantly surprised when I asked her if she wanted a slice of cake and there was an ombre of pink when I took the slice of cake out!

Vanilla Cake
Makes one round 12cm 4-layer cake
From Call Me Cupcake

1 3/4 cups flour1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
66g butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup ice water
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 egg whites beaten stiff
Red food colour (I used Queen's red food colouring)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 12cm round cake tin (I had two so I baked my cake in two batches).

2. Line the base of the tins with baking paper.

3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt until well combined

4. Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat sugar and butter in a large bowl until incorporated. Increase speed to high and beat until pale and creamy (2 minutes or so). Reduce speed to medium low, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Alternately add ice water and flavourings to the flour mixture, beating thoroughly after eat addition.

6. Fold in beaten egg whites.

7. Separate batter into 4 bowls. Gradually add colouring to each bowl and gently fold it into the mixture, adding slightly more colouring as you do each bowl so that the 4 bowls give you a even gradient of colour.

8. Pour batter into prepared tins and bake for around 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the outside is golden.

8. Leave to cool in tin for 5 minutes before flipping out onto a wire rack to cool.


Swiss Meringue Frosting
From Call Me Cupcake

2 large egg whites
80g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Put egg whites and sugar in a heat-proff bowl in a double boiler (the water in the saucepan should be simmering over low heat)

2. Whisk with a hand whisk continuously until the mixture reaches 65C. Remove from heat.

3. Start whipping the egg whites with a stand or hand mixture until they become fluffy and white and the bowl is cool (may take up to 10 minutes or so)


To Assemble Cake

1. Make sure layers are level by trimming tops off.

2. Spread frosting on top of each layer and stack on top of one another with the lightest at the bottom and darkest at the top.

3. Crumb coat cake and chill in fridge for 15 minutes.

4. Cover cake with more frosting and smooth over with a spatula.

5. Serve cake at room temperature or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

6. Enjoy!

Super Healthy Spelt Banana Pancakes

Sometimes I feel like nothing but pancakes for breakfast. But often, there's quite a bit of sugar and butter that goes into it. But not these pancakes! This version is dairy, egg and wheat free! Generally, I do try to eat lactose, wheat, peanut, soy, and egg-white free as I am intolerant to these things and my body flares up when I eat too much of these along with processed foods. I definitely should not be only trying to avoid these, but eliminate them from my diet, however I think I am in love with a lot of these things just a little too much so I just try to minimise excess amounts in my diet.

These pancakes albeit are a bit a little bit dense and doughy like banana bread and they taste exactly like it after the maple syrup is poured on top! The pancakes themselves have no sugar added to them as we're using fantastic, 100% maple syrup, so what is the point of adding sugar to the batter? And not to mention the addition of sweet ripened banana as well! If you do like your actual pancakes a little bit sweeter, or if you don't like using any syrup afterwards, by all means add sugar to your batter to taste. But I'm telling you the maple syrup will make them awesome!

The only oil used in this recipe is when you grease the pan to prevent sticking so there really is no excuse to make these pancakes. Healthy pancakes for breakfast anyone?

Spelt Banana Pancakes
Serves 1 (6 pancakes)

Ingredients

Dry
3/4 cup (100g) spelt flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon chia seeds

Wet
1 medium, very ripe banana, peeled
1/2 cup oat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Extra banana slices and maple syrup to serve

Method
1. Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well incorporated

2. In a separate bowl, mash the banana with a fork until almost smooth. Add oat milk and vanilla extract and still with the fork until mixture is blended.

3. Pour the wet banana mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix gently with a rubber spatula until the batter is just incorporated. Do not overmix! Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes so that the chia seeds will bind the mixture together and the baking powder has time to develop.

4. Put a saucepan over medium heat until hot. To test if the pan is hot enough, flick a drop of water onto it and if it evaporates almost immediate, it is ready. Pour a tablespoon of rice bran oil and make sure the surface of the pan is evenly coated.

5. Drop the batter by 2 tablespoons onto the pan, making sure there is ample space in between each pancake. Cook until a few bubbles form on top of each pancake and the underside is golden brown, about a couple of minutes. Slide your spatula underneath each pancake and flip it over. Cook for another couple of minutes so that the bottom is also golden brown.

6. Transfer the pancakes onto a serving plate, top with sliced bananas, maple syrup and serve!

Lightened up muesli

Summer is slowly coming back into our lives and that would mean lots of cold breakfasts like yogurt, fruit and cereal. What I love about having breakfasts like these is the fact that I could sprinkle some muesli on top to give it a wonderful crunch!

What I don't like about store bought muesli is the excess oil and that they can often be sickenly sweet. This crunchy version has been given a little makeover so that it is has no oil and is only lightly sweetened making it the perfect accompaniment to your breakfasts during summer without feeling like you're adding to your waistline! Especially since bikini season is coming up and I know we all want to look our best for that ;)

Before going into oven!

Lightened up muesli
Makes around 2 cups

Ingredients

Dry
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup peanuts (or any nuts of choice)
1 tbsp pepitas
1 tbsp sultanas
1 tbsp dried pineapple

Wet
1 heaped tbsp applesauce
1/4 cup honey
1 packet Natvia (3g) or sweetener of choice
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170C.

2. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. If you want to add other dried fruits, do feel free to do so! Mix it up according to your taste buds. In a separate small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients except for the vanilla essence. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until mixture is like a liquid. Stir the vanilla essence into the liquid mixture.

3. Add wet ingredients slowly to dry ingredients while mixing until everything is well incorporated. Spoon onto baking sheet.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Stir through the mixture halfway through to ensure even baking.

5. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before pouring into an air-tight jar. It should keep for about 1-2 months.

Asian-style peanut noodle salad

After my workout this morning, I was feeling quite hungry and wanted to make something filling. We had a little bit of peanut butter left in the jar and I decided it'd be good to use it all up!

To make these noodles, I used Japanese konnyaku/shirataki noodles. They are made from the natural plant fibres of konjac yam plant and have close to zero calories and carbs! That's right, you heard me, ALMOST ZERO! So fantastic for those of you who want to diet yet still want meals that will fill you up. Check out the nutritional information below!

What you will notice about these noodles when you open them up is the pungent fishy smell of the solution they use to soak the noodles in (otherwise the noodles will disintegrate as they are made from natural plant fibres) so I would really recommend really rinsing these noodles out for a few minutes at least until that smell is gone or else you WILL taste it in your dish! I also let it sit in boiling water after I rinsed it to warm up the noodles and also to ensure that smell is no longer there. These noodles on their own however don't have much of a taste so it's great for using to soak up the flavours of the sauce that you will use. I really enjoy the chewy texture of these noodles as well! Personally, I absolutely love these noodles!

This recipe really is quite flexible and you can add any vegetables or meat that you like! I love the wonderful colours that sit so prettily in the bowl and makes it quite reminiscent of the Korean rice dish bibimbap. It is also really quick to prepare so who's hungry?

Asian-style peanut noodle salad
An original recipe by Crystal Noir

Dressing sauce for the vegetables
2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
Chilli oil to taste (depending on how spicy you want it!)

Peanut sauce for the noodles
1 teaspoons Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Chilli oil to taste

Tuna and noodle salad
1 can tuna (I used springwater and can easily be subbed for mushrooms or edamame beans for you vegetarians/vegans out there! Personally though, I think some pieces of marinated chicken would taste better than tuna.)
100 grams noodles of choice
Cucumber, cut into a thin julienne
Carrots, cut into a thin julienne
Spring onion/scallions, chopped
Roasted peanuts, chopped
A GOOGY EGG WOULD ALSO BE FANTASTIC WITH THIS!

Make the dipping sauce
Whisk ingredients in a small serving bowl, making sure to dissolve the sugar. Pour equal amounts into the carrots and cucumber and let it pickle slightly for at least 15 minutes.

Make the peanut dressing
In a blender or small food processor, puree all ingredients to a smooth sauce, about the thickness of heavy cream. Pour into a serving bowl. OR you could just do what I did which was mix it all in the jar that the peanut butter came in until all incorporated!

For the noodles
Rinse under a running tap for a few minutes in a colander and then drain. Move the noodles into a separate bowl and cover with boiling water, letting it sit for about 5 minutes or so.

To serve
If you make this in larger amounts, you could just put all the vegetables in separate bowls and let everyone choose and decorate their own portion. If you're making it yourself, toss the noodles with the peanut sauce until well incorporated (don't be shy about adding a bit of extra water to help it mix better).

Add the vegetables and tuna on top of each bowl and scatter with chopped peanuts and spring onion. Serve!

Coconut cherry swirl loaf

For the rest of the year, I have really made it my goal to exercise at least 3 times a week despite all the work load that the university semester will bring. This is really a short term goal as I plan on exercising regularly from now on - it WILL be incorporated into my lifestyle! I do not really like exercising first thing in the morning on an empty stomach as I always feel queasy afterwards and if I eat breakfast first, I will feel the oncomings of a runner's nightmare - a stitch. So I normally go for a run mid-afternoon or at night!

My grandparents had bought an excess of cherries and once again, my dad was fretting about them going bad. As well as that 2kg tub of yogurt he bought. So once again, I was stuck with the duty to finish off all these things. I picked out the good ones to bring to uni as a snack (yay!) and this seemed like a wonderful way to use up the cherries! I decided to use this jam in a yogurt cake after the success of the lemon version.

The swirl within the cake is quite simple to do. Pour in half the cake batter, spoon on some cherry jam, pour on remaining batter, spoon on remaining jam, use a skewer and swirl!

I put this in the oven as I went for my run.

I don't know if it was because I knew that this was waiting for me when I got home, but I swear I ran extra fast today!

And what greeted me after that long and strenuous run was this.

This loaf was moist and not too sweet - definitely the perfect post workout snack. Especially when fresh from the oven!

Mmm, look at that wonderful crumb from the yogurt. The top browned quite quickly despite the middle of the cake not being cooked yet. I would probably lower the temperature to 160C next time and cook it for longer, maybe 75 minutes?


Coconut cherry swirl loaf
an original recipe by Crystal Noir

Coconut cake
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup whole milk plain unsweetened natural yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt

Cherry jam
2 cups pitted cherries, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon corn flour
1 tablespoon caster  sugar

Method
1. You can either prepare the cherry jam or just use about 3/4-1 cup jam of choice. Add pitted cherries, sugar and corn flour into a food processor. Process until it is chunky or to a texture of your liking.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the sides of a 23x12cm loaf pan with oil and line the bottom and sides with baking paper.

3. Spread coconut on a separate tray and toast until golden brown. Remove from oven.

4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil and sugar. Beat the 3 eggs in a separate bowl and pour into the large mixing bowl, whisking until combined. Stir in toasted coconut until combined.

5. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together, right over the yogurt mix and stir with a spoon until just combined (make sure not to overmix!)

6. Pour half the batter into the prepared cake pan and spoon on cherry jam. Pour on the remaining batter and top with the remaining cherry jam. Swirl the jam with a skewer - be careful not to overswirl! Bake for 60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover loaf with foil if it browns before it is completely cooked.

7. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let it stand for 10 minutes. Transfer the cake onto a plate. When cool, cut and serve. Yum!

Lemon yogurt cake

Sometimes, you don't need a special occassion to make cake. This yogurt cake is definitely an everyday cake that you cake imagine eating whilst drinking coffee and reading the newspaper (or these days, reading food blogs online on your computer!).

I first learned about yogurt cakes over a couple of years ago as I first ventured into the world of baking, where I would cut out recipes from the weekend newspaper. This idea of using yogurt in cakes immediately caught my eye and I dove head first into it. But it was not meant to be. I wasn't sure whether it was because I was still a horrible baker, or whether the recipe just wasn't up to standard, but I ended up with a cake that was very sticky, had the consistency of a rock and definitely was not pleasant in the mouth! My ever so loving family ate them with gusto and told me that I had done a wonderful job (I know they didn't want to hurt my feelings, bless their souls). I however, knew of my failure and have avoided cake recipes with yogurt in it like the plague.

It wasn't until I stumbled across Smitten Kitchen's version that my interest with this particular ingredient once again peaked. Not to mention that my dad had bought a 2kg tub of natural yogurt from the weekend farmer's market because he didn't know that we already had 1kg of yogurt sitting in the fridge! As yogurt goes off quickly, I decided to once again have a go at making yogurt cakes. And the result? A wonderfully light, soft and springy cake with hints of lemon coming through. Of course, you could always add a glaze or some lemon icing but it definitely is not needed. I think my faith in yogurt cakes has been renewed.

This cake is absolutely lovely, the citrus flavours reminiscent of Spring and definitely brightens up this bleak Winter weather. Eat it for breakfast with some more yogurt. Dust some powdered sugar on top and drink with some freshly brewed tea as an afternoon snack. And you have no excuse not to make it as it is such a simple cake to bake!

Lemon yogurt cake
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk plain unsweetened natural yogurt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the sides of a 23x12cm loaf pan with oil and line the bottom with baking paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil, sugar, lemon zest and juice. Beat the 2 eggs in a separate bowl and pour into the large mixing bowl, whisking until combined.

3. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together, right over the yogurt mix and stir with a spoon until just combined (make sure not to overmix!)

4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let stand for 10 minutes. Flip the cake onto a plate. When cool, cut and serve. Eat and feel yourself float around in a heavenly lemon daze.

Yogurt love

I spent the day with the boy today which was definitely nice and relaxing as I don't have the chance to hang with him as much as I'd like to. He drove over to my place and I made him sunbake with me outside as the weather was so nice! I was craving baked eggs so that was what I made for lunch and it went beautifully with bread.

After lunch, we hit up Westfield Burwood where I had to buy a few things, namely oats and some sugar-free drinking chocolate. I managed to score a box of Lindt's Swiss Gold Dark Chocolate Pralines for $5, saving $10!! I was ecstatic. I don't understand why it was so cheap though... Is it because people aren't into dark chocolate as much as milk or white? Well, I definitely am not complaining because they taste amazing.

And what day is complete without frozen yogurt? Noggi is like my second home.

I love their blood orange flavour! I know you guys have probably heard me rave about Noggi's blood orange frozen yogurt many times but it tastes sooo good. And I was super happy they still had to flavour there from last week so it was a definite order along with our usual biscotti. And no frozen yogurt is complete without toppings! You can only see pineapple there but there was mochi and almonds underneath the mound of pineapple. A combination of chewy, crunchy, and juicy. Bliss.

Baked Eggs
an original recipe by Crystal Noir

Serves 2

This is the type of recipe that you need to keep safe for a cold Winter's day. It really is so simple to make, and it will warm you right up. Just serve with some buttered toast or you can even make some garlic bread to mop up the flavoursome sauce.

Ingredients

1 large tomato, cut into chunks
4-6 tablespoons tomato paste or your choice of sauce (I used Leggo's tomato and mozzarella oven bake)
50g frozen corn, defrosted
50g mozzarella cheese or your choice of cheese
2 eggs
salt and pepper
Spring onion to garnish
Bread to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Divide the tomato paste between the two ramekins. Top with tomato chunks, corn, and any other vegetables of your preference (you can add in as many vegetables as you want or as much as your ramekin can fit! You could add mushroom, peas, etc. The possibilities are endless. I even added a tablespoon of leftover fried rice here! And I'm sure you meatlovers out there might want to add in some bacon, ham or even some chorizo). Add shredded cheese and break an egg on top. Season liberally with salt and pepper and sprinkle spring onion on top. Bake in the oven for 10-20 minutes or until egg is cooked through. Serve with char grilled bread.