No Bake Healthy Chocolate Protein Balls

Need an indulgent protein balls recipe?

Look no further. What could be better than a healthy snack recipe - that tastes all fruity and chocolatey! No guilt - just pleasure. And these no-bake protein balls are super easy to make!

The Mean Muesli Recipe!

This is a kind of a mix between muesli and granola - purely because I like a bit more crunch and texture in my breakfast than a pile of dusty old oats! And with this recipe, you can pretty much do what you like with it and put in your favourite ingredients. And you can use this recipe in so many different ways - with milk, grated apple, yoghurt, banana - there are so many options. Breakfast will never be boring again!

Christmas Cake Recipe

I love a bit of Christmas Cake but does anyone actually eat it anymore? Most recipes nowadays seem to be for something light and fluffy. I'm not interested in a light and fluffy Christmas Cake, I want a dark, fruity, rich and gooey cake.

When I was heavily pregnant with my first son (I was due on December 28th), I decided it would be a great idea to make everyone a hamper for Christmas. So after making a lot of onion marmalade, fudge and chocolates, I thought it would be great to make individual Christmas Cakes for everyone. Whilst ignoring my swelling ankles and aching hips, I set about making nine Christmas Cakes. After icing them and making them look gorgeous, only four made it as presents. I ended up eating the rest. I don't know if it was the booze or it was the only thing keeping me regular! Maybe it was the energy I needed for the impending 82 hour labour. Merry Christmas!

You won't find any mixed peel in this recipe- purely because I don't like it. And you certainly won't find any glacé cherries either - never! You can omit the booze - but I'd always add more if I can. To speed up the cooking process, the fruit is lightly simmered with the all the wet ingredients. This makes the fruit all lovely and plump.

Ingredients

Dry Mix

200g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon fresh nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

100g ground almonds

Wet Mix

200g raisins

175g currants

175g sultanas

250g ready to eat prunes, chopped

100ml orange juice

50ml brandy

175g butter

200g light muscovado sugar

1 tablespoon black treacle

grated rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon

3 eggs

HOW TO MAKE

Preheat oven to 140ºC.

 

Put all the wet ingredients into a big pan and simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved and the fruit is looking lovely and plump. Leave to cool for 30 minutes.

While the wet mix is cooling, grease and double line a 20cm/8 inch round tin or 18cm/7 inch square tin with greaseproof baking parchment. 

Next, sieve the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl  and stir in the wet mix and eggs. Spoon into prepared tin and tap on work surface to get rid of any air bubbles. Place a square of double greaseproof baking parchment on top of the cake mixture with a hole the size of a fifty pence piece. Place on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for a minimum of 2 hours. When the cake is ready, test with a skewer. Poke it into the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean - the cake is done. Leave to cool completely before icing.

 Music to listen to whilst making this: Frank Sinantra's Jingle Bells

 

Hugh's Christmas Bread Recipe Broke My Magimix!

I can't believe it. My beloved Magimix is broken and it's all down to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Christmas Bread Recipe. And what's worse is the fact I've lost my receipt for the Magimix, so I can't get it fixed under my 3 year guarantee. Absolutely gutted. But I will persist with making this bread because it looks lovely. If you missed it - here's the recipe!

I'll let you know if I make it successfully!

Ingredients
75g raisins
125g sultanas
50g dried apple, roughly chopped
2-3 tbsp apple brandy
500g strong white flour
150ml warm milk
100g butter, softened
100g golden caster sugar
2 medium eggs
7g dried yeast
1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
2 tsp mixed peel
1 tsp preserved stem ginger
Zest ½ orange

Method
Put the raisins, sultanas and dried apple in a mixing bowl, pour over the brandy and leave to steep overnight. Put the flour, milk, butter, sugar, eggs, yeast, salt, spices and vanilla into a mixing bowl. Combine everything together and knead for 10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and elastic. Leave the dough in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. 

Once the dough has risen, knock back and place the dough on a work surface and pat out flat. Sprinkle the fruit, nuts, mixed peel, ginger and orange zest over the dough and roll up. Gently knead the dough to incorporate the fruit and nuts.

Divide the dough into seven pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls into a buttered and flour-dusted 20cm cake tin. Loosely cover with cling and leave to prove in a warm place for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 2½ and bake the bread for 45-60 minutes.

Apple, Prune and Raisin Compote

I like nothing more than food that is free, and when my son's teacher at nursery school asked if we wanted any left over fruit before half term, my shopping bag was out in a flash. So, what to do with nearly a kilo of little apples? Make it in to a yummy fruit compote!

This will keep in the fridge for over a week and is delicious with ice cream, yoghurt, a slice of almond cake and breakfast. This morning I had a particularly tasty mix of Dorset Cereals' Organic Fruit, Nut and Seeds Mix Muesli, Activia Vanilla Pouring Yoghurt and this cheeky compote - yum!

Ingredients
800g eating apples, peeled, cored and diced
250g ready to eat prunes - sliced
70g raisins
75g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
juice of half a lemon
juice of 1 orange

HOW TO MAKE
Put all the ingredients in a pan and cook down on a low heat for 30 minutes. If it looks too dry add a splash of water.