A winter dessert (or breakfast!): Pear, Ginger and Macadamia Crumble Pots

Come winter, I’m a bit of a crumble fiend. Especially with dollop cream. In the past, I couldn’t often be bothered to make it, because I found the process of rubbing butter into flour too involved and messy. I have this irrational idea that if I have to get the flour out of the pantry, it’s all going to be too much effort.

An earlier round of the IQS program introduced an apple crumble which used a combination of almond meal and oats in the topping, and it has revolutionised my crumble-making. Plus, the addition of oats makes it breakfast-friendly, in my book. 😉 Rani from You Totally Got This also uses this topping in her baked apple crumble – check it out, it’s an easy and delicious family sized dessert.

These pear, ginger and macadamia crumble pots use no added sweetener at all – I feel that pears are sweet enough already. They are simple and quick to make, requiring very few ingredients. I opt for individual servings so I don’t over-indulge. (That’s a lie: it’s actually so my husband doesn’t eat more than his fair share!) Plus, you could double the recipe and make a couple of extra pots, to store in the fridge for breakfast. Continue reading →

Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake Mascarpone Tarts

Don’t be fooled. This is not a healthy recipe. Although it has no added sugar, it is very rich and indulgent, thanks to the butter, creamy cheese and refined flour! However, I find that because they aren’t overly ‘sweet’, one is enough to satisfy. My husband disagrees.

I had planned to share this recipe a few weeks ago – to the point where I had made my ‘final’ batch one Sunday afternoon, after a series of test-batches over many weeks, in order to take some photos before we ate them for afternoon tea, pop them on here and publish the post that evening. Unfortunately I had a DREADFUL photo-shoot. Just as I was putting the final touches on the tarts, a dark, dismal storm suddenly appeared over my house, and took all the nice daylight with it. I tried to take some photos anyway, but they were blurry and hideous. It could not be done. I also had three hungry males impatiently waiting for their afternoon tea, so I gave up, feeling pretty sorry for myself (first world problems, hey!?). I shouldn’t complain really – eating strawberry tarts while having a cup of tea on a stormy Sunday afternoon at home is a pretty good situation to be in!

Naturally, the sun came out again as I took my last bite.

But no matter, here we are! Just in time for the end of season strawberries – though feel free to use your favourite fruit – peaches, nectarines, raspberries and sliced banana would be delicious too. Continue reading →

Christmas Berry Trifles with Orange Custard (Sugar-free and Paleo)

I love Christmas, and my enthusiasm has been further invigorated by having a three-year old who wakes up every morning and asks; ‘Is Santa coming TODAY?’ For me, Christmas is mostly all about the food. In the past this has meant indulging in a lot of over-processed sweets, so I’m genuinely excited about my first sugar-free, real food Christmas. A Christmas about good food with lots of flavour.

This Christmas is all the more exciting because my husband will be home – as a shift-worker in emergency services he’s worked every Christmas since we had our first son. Mr 3 is right at that age where he is very caught up in the magic of it all, and it’s our littlest baby’s first Christmas too – so I’m very happy that their dad will be home to enjoy it!

I made these individual trifles to have when my Mum came over for lunch, on the day we put up the Christmas tree. I always have a very romantic notion of ‘putting up the Christmas tree’, and the reality is always far more chaotic, with this year being no exception. But these trifles are fructose-friendly, and by happy coincidence also grain, gluten and dairy-free, so they are also suitable for those living a paleo lifestyle. They are also very adaptable, so take or leave or change whichever layers you want to! 🙂 For vegetarians, the jelly could possibly be substituted with a berry chia pudding – noting that I haven’t tried this. Continue reading →