Banoffee Pie

I had some bananas to use up and I'm a bit sick of eating and making banana cake.

The banoffee pie was lush and really easy to make.

Ingredients

• 10 reduced fat digestive biscuits, finely crushed
• 5 level tbsp low fat spread
• 2 x 12g sachets powdered gelatine
• 250g quark
• 3 x 175g pots Müllerlight Toffee Yogurt
• 3-4 tbsp sweetener
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 medium egg whites*
• 2 bananas, thinly sliced

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas 5. Line a 20cm spring-form cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Place the biscuits in a polythene bag, finely crush with a rolling pin and place in a bowl. Melt the spread and add to the biscuits. Stir to mix well and spoon this mixture into the base of the prepared tin and press evenly over the base. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then set aside to cool.
3. Dissolve the gelatine in 5 tablespoons of boiling water.
4. Whisk the quark in a bowl until smooth and stir in the yogurt, sweetener and vanilla.
5. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the quark mixture with the gelatine liquid. Spoon over the prepared biscuit base, smoothing the top with a palette knife and chill for around 5 hours or until set.
6. Remove the pie from the tin and place on a serving plate. Slice the bananas and arrange neatly on top of the pie. An optional finishing touch is to drizzle a little melted dark chocolate over the pie (1½ Syns per level teaspoon).

Tip: *The government advises that because of a very slight risk of salmonella, vulnerable people such as the elderly, babies and pregnant women should not eat raw eggs.

paella

I added mussels to this but it's easy to make and yum.

Ingredients

• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 570ml chicken stock
• 225g tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 350g long grain rice, dried
• A few strands of saffron or ½ tsp powdered saffron
• 110g raw tiger prawns
• 60g thin green beans, trimmed and halved
• 110g cooked chicken, skinned and diced
• 175g mussels
• 1 red pepper
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Method

1. Put the onion, garlic and 275ml of the stock in a heavy, deep frying pan. Cover, bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes. Simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes, until the onions are tender and golden. Stir in the tomatoes and rice and cook gently for 2-3 minutes.
2. Bring the remaining stock to the boil and add to the pan with the saffron. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fluffy and tender. Ten minutes before the end of cooking time, add the prawns, green beans and chicken.
3. Meanwhile, scrub the mussels under running water, discarding any that are cracked or open. Pop them into a pan with a little boiling water, cover with a lid and cook over a high heat, shaking occasionally, until the mussels open. Throw away any that fail to open.
4. Grill the red pepper under a preheated grill until charred, then remove the skin and seeds. Cut the flesh into thin strips. Season the paella with salt and pepper to taste and serve garnished with the mussels and red pepper strips, sprinkled with parsley.

spicy apple cake

Loved this cake, it's easy to make and yummy.

Ingredients

• 3 eating apples
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Finely zested rind of 1 lemon
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 60g caster sugar
• 110g self raising flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 level tbsp reduced sugar apricot jam

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line a 18cm round spring-form cake tin. Halve the apples, remove the cores and slice thinly. Place in a bowl along with the lemon juice and rind and toss together. Set aside.
2. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar and egg yolks and whisk until thick and creamy. Sieve in the flour and cinnamon and gently fold in using a large metal spoon taking care to retain as much air as possible.
3. Spoon half of the cake mixture into the tin and gently press in half of the apple slices, add the remaining mixture and then the remaining apple, arranging a few slices on the top.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown, risen and firm - or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool, then release and place on a serving plate.
5. Mash down the apricot jam using a fork, brush over the top of the cake, cut into 8 portions and serve.

Tip: This cake is also delicious served warm as a pudding.

Houmous

Made this so I had something to snack on while watching tv. Its lush and healthy. It's also free on slimming world.

Ingredients

• 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
• Low calorie cooking spray
• 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 20-50ml water
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Place the sliced red pepper on a baking tray sprayed with low calorie cooking spray and roast until softened.
2. Once the pepper is cooked and cooled, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend, adding more water if necessary to create a smooth paste.
3. Add salt to taste and serve with lots of delicious Speed crudités to make this perfect for SP days

Spanish Orange Cake

Ok,it didn't rise for me but it still tasted good. My boyfriend said that it tasted a bit like a jaffa cake with out chocolate.

IngredientsFor the cake

• Low calorie cooking spray
• 4 eggs, separated
• 50g golden caster sugar
• 5 tbsp sweetener
• 2 tbsp finely grated orange zest and the juice of 2 oranges, plus orange segments to decorate
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1 level tsp baking powder

For the syrup

• Pared zest of 1 orange and 120ml of freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tbsp arrowroot
• 1 tbsp artificial sweetener
• 1 level tsp caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Line a 20cm loosebottomed
   sandwich tin with non-stick baking parchment and spray with a little low calorie cooking spray. 
2. Put the egg yolks, sugar, sweetener and grated orange zest and juice in a bowl and whisk until thick and pale.
3. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form then
   fold into the egg yolk mixture. Sieve the flour and baking powder into
   another bowl then tip into the eggs and stir in very gently. Spoon this mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cake has risen and is firm to the touch. Set aside to cool.
4. Meanwhile, put the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil, whisking constantly. When it starts to thicken, remove from the heat and cool slightly.
5. Decorate the cake with orange segments, drizzle over the sauce and
   cut into slices to serve.