First world problems to the max.

So together we set to task and created this delectable cake and she assures me that this time the texture is “just right”. Phew!

I had planned on using dates but had run out (a rare thing in this house). Having seen a few recipes around using prunes, I was inspired to give it a go.

Verdict: Prunes and chocolate = match made in cake heaven

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Prunes
Bicarbonate of soda
Coconut or rapadura sugar
Spelt flour
Baking powder
Dark chocolate
Raw honey

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Hot Chocolate Cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup prunes deseeded
• 1 1/4 cups boiling water I used water from the kettle
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 60 grams butter chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut or rapadura sugar
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 100 grams dark chocolate chopped (I used 90% Lindt but you may like to go for 70% as it may be too intense if you're not used to it)
• thick cream
• raw honey

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 175 degrees
• Butter and line cake tin
• Pop prunes, hot water and bicarbonate of soda into a food processor with the lid on and let it stand for 5 minutes
• Add the butter and sugar and pulse until just combined
• Add flour and eggs and pulse again until just combined (careful not to over pulse)
• Add chopped chocolate and pulse a few more times
• Pour the mixture into the prepared bake tin and pop in the oven for approx 50 mins - 1 hour, test to see if it's is ready with a skewer after 50 minutes
• Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack
• While it's cooking stir together your cream with a teaspoon of raw honey (or to taste), with a spoon
• Serve cake warm with some honey cream and berries
• Eat the cake within 3 days or store in the freezer

Notes

These Thermomix and Gluten-Free Instructions were sent to me by my clever friend Sarah from CleverCook.
250g pitted prunes in 250g boiling water
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
Speed 1/no temp.
Add
60g butter
80g rapadura
100g dark chocolate
SP 4/30 secs, scrape down
Add
2 eggs
120g GF flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
SP 5/15 secs. Pour into lined muffin tins and cook 25-30 mins.
Thanks Brenda, they are lovely!

You can even turn these into muffins!

Please send me pictures on Instagram or Facebook if you make this cake, or leave a comment on this blog post to let me know how you go.

Here’s one by one of my lovely Facebook followers who told me it was “ohhh so delicious” and apparently her husband has claimed it his favourite cake recipe!

Woo hoo!

You might also like Cardamon Spice Cake and Double Chocolate Banana Slab Cake.

Bren x

With my ‘planning ahead’ hat on, I thought about all the ways we could get more than just a meal out of them that day. I didn’t really have to think that hard either! Because of their size, they are perfectly suited for the kids’ school lunchboxes. And because they’re ready to go, they save oodles of time in the morning helter skelter. Or, you could simply heat up some of your stash for a quick heat-it-up-dinner with a scrummy salad for the kids if you’ve made plans to be out with friends (as I did that week!).

After a long Sunday of work, chores and cooking, I was incredibly grateful when the kids eagerly jumped up to take over the cutting of the pastry rounds, scooping the meat into the pastry, glazing with the egg wash, and sprinkling with sesame seeds. I was even more relieved when they gave the finished product the double thumbs up! (I’m always a nervous wreck waiting for their ratings!)

Because the pies are so little, they are a little time consuming to make, so I highly recommend making them as a school holiday activity and getting the kids involved in helping out. There are so many benefits to getting the kids in the kitchen, and it’s such a lovely way to connect with them too. You could also just make them into the bigger sized pies for a heartier meal or I’ve been known just to pop some pastry into a dish, fill it up with the meat mixture, top it with pastry and shove it in the oven!

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Oregano
Cayenne pepper
Curry powder
Tomato paste
Tamari
Salt and pepper
Spelt flour
Milk
Sesame seeds

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Mini Meat Pies

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 brown onion finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot finely chopped
• 1 small zucchini finely chopped
• 5 mushrooms finely chopped
• 400 gms beef mince
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 heaped teaspoon curry powder
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon spelt flour
• 3 - 4 sheets butter puff pastry
• 1 egg
• splash of milk
• Sesame or poppy seeds

Instructions

• Gently cook onions in the butter in a large frying pan. Add garlic after a couple minutes and saute for a minute.
• Add the carrots and continue to cook until soft, then add zucchini and mushrooms and cook for a further couple of minutes.
• Add the beef and cook until it is well browned, then add the oregano, cayenne pepper and curry powder and saute for 1 minute.
• Stir through tomato paste, tamari, salt and pepper and then add the beef stock and simmer for a few minutes.
• Add the spelt flour, mixing well, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
• Grease 2 x 12 hole muffin tins.
• Whisk together the egg and splash of milk.
• Using a cookie cutter or empty glass jar, and while the pastry is still cold but malleable, cut out circles to fit into the muffin holes and for lids (noting I stretched out the pastry circles a little further with my hands for the bottom of the muffin holes).
• Spoon in approximately two tablespoons of mince mixture into each hole (be careful not to overfill) then top with the lid and press sides down gently to seal the pie.
• Brush the top of each pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.
• Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden.

Here’s my boy having fun helping out while my daughter continued cutting out rounds…then they swapped roles for the second batch.

Do you have any plans to cook with your kids these school holidays? What are you going to make? Check out the recipes on my blog for some easy and fun dishes you can create!

Enjoy!