Sweet Potato Chocolate Brownie Dessert

This is a brownie that's best munched as a pudding, it's very soft . . . and has a sort of fresh taste to it, I think it has something to do with the sweet potato and coconut oil - maybe you'll get what I mean when you try it.

When it comes out the oven it's super soft.

And it's incredibly moist, very pudding-y.

1 3/4 cups peeled, cooked & mashed sweet potatoes (I steam mine for about 25 minutes)
1/4 cup greek yoghurt
egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs
2 vanilla powder or pure vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut blossom sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 tbs coconut flour

•  in a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well
• grease a glass dish with some coconut oil, pour mixture in and bake at 175C for 30 minutes - it should be firm but it will be very soft to the touch, and gooey inside
• allow to cool and serve - dish up with a spoon, you'll have to eat this brownie dessert with a fork, it's that soft

You can also refrigerate it for a few hours until it firms up a little more - I left it in over night, then cut into squares and serve - you'll probably still need to munch it with a fork though:

Peppermint Crisp Tart

Ok, time for another naughty but nice dessert.  :)  Peppermint crisp tart is one of my faves.

It makes about 6 reasonable sized portions.

1 packet tennis biscuits (or some kind of flat coconut cookies if you don't have tennis biscuits)
1 can caramel
250ml fresh cream
1 small slab of peppermint crisp chocolate (I like using Cadbury's 100g peppermint slab - you don't need THAT much chocolate but I like left overs)

• pour caramel into a bowl and beat with an electric beater to get it smooth & soft
• pour cream into another bowl and beat until slightly firm - add to caramel and hand-mix until just combined
• place 1 layer of cookies in bottom of a glass dish (about 20cm x 2ocm) - no need to grease the dish
• snack on a few of the cookies - there'll be a few to spare
• pour over half of the caramel mixture, then grate some chocolate over
• repeat the layers one more time and place in fridge to set, at least an hour
• eat the rest of the chocolate

Gluten-free Single Serve Chocolate Cake

This is an adaptation of a 5 min microwave cake someone showed me long ago, and I finally decided to make a second attempt at a healthier and gluten-free version (my first attempt turned out horrid), and it turned out surprisingly GOOD!  I'm not a pro at adapting recipes and actually have them turn out good in the end.
This one takes a little longer than 5 minutes to do though.  Unless you have superman's speedy powers.

It really doesn't look impressive as far as cakes go, but the taste makes up for it.
And this version actually turned out more moist and gooey-fudgy than the original, so it's delicious!

2 tbs coconut flour
2 tbs gluten-free flour mix
3 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs
3 tbs greek yoghurt
3 tbs coconut oil (liquid)
3 tbs agave nectar

• combine flours, cocoa powder & baking powder in a coffee mug & mix with a fork
• add egg replacer & greek yoghurt and mix well to combine fully
• add coconut oil & mix
• add agave and mix well to combine, and make sure there's no dry flour in the bottom of the mug
• microwave for 3 mins

Coconut Vanilla Pudding

I used a vanilla cake box mix to make this pudding, and it turned out so yum. :)

It's a cake mix but I made a pudding out of it.  I used a gluten-free vanilla mix and added my own wet ingredients in place of what the box said, and I'm impressed. :D  Here goes:

1 Orgran vanilla cake box mix (available at Dischem)
1 can coconut milk (400ml)
2/3 cup desiccated coconut
15ml veggie oil

• pour coconut milk into mixing bowl, add cake mix & mix with a fork to combine
• add desiccated coconut & oil, beat with electric beater on low speed for 1 min
• beat with electric beater on high speed for 4 mins
• pour into baking dish (I used a glass dish) and bake for 30 mins at 180 degree C

The vegan instruction on the box say to add 250ml water & 15ml oil.  I added more coconut milk because I thought maybe I need to do so because I added desiccated coconut.  It turned out really moist and you could taste the coconut - I really like it.

And then I decided to spice it up for some difference, and then it became EVEN BETTER!

I poured a little raspberry preserve over the cake and then poured some cream around it and turned it into a double-yummy dessert. :D

Banana Ice-Cream with Banana Whipped Cream

It's Aidan's 1st b'day next month and I've been searching for a healthy birthday cake idea for him.  I haven't introduced any sugar to him yet and am trying to give him the healthiest meals I can.

Well, I just couldn't find a cake that met my criteria - either they had sugar in them, or I tried to substitute the sugar for something else healthier and it didn't work out, or I tried a sugar-free cake and it didn't turn out good, so I was disappointed that I couldn't find a healthy b'day cake!

Then I found someone online who made banana ice-cream - I tried it and it turned out really well. :D  And then elsewhere I found another recipe for banana cream - all I changed here was to sub stevia for sugar and leave out vanilla essence because I didn't have one without some nasty ingredients in it, and it's so tasty. :)

So here's my practice round for Aidan's b'day "cake" . . .

How cute is that? :D

All you do is freeze a ripe banana - just don't use an overly ripe one whose skin has already gone black - the ice-cream will taste bitter (I used such a banana 'cause I was so impatient to try out this ice-cream to see if it works, that I used the only banana I had on hand).  The recipe also said not to use a green banana, because it will make for a "green" tasting ice-cream.

• peel banana, chop banana into bite size chunks (I used 1 1/2 banana for this single size serving)
• freeze for 2 hours
• put in a food processor and blend until it turns creamy

When you start blending it will look all crumbly, but eventually (less than a minute) it suddenly turns creamy and ice-cream texture-y.  If it sticks to the sides of the food processor, just scrape it down back onto the blades and keep blending.

Then it's basically ready to eat!  It's so creamy, and really good actually.  This must be one of the healthiest ice-creams ever!

I put the ice-cream into a mini silicone mould though, 'cause I wanted something that looks more like a "cake" with some shape instead of a bowl of ice-cream, so I froze it for another few hours - I accidentally forgot about it and so don't know how long it was in the freezer for, but I froze it until it was quite hard.

To get it out I loosened the edges of the mould and ran the bottom of the mould under warm water to get it loose, and it came out easily.

Next time I'll just make sure to press the ice-cream down nicely into the mould, but it doesn't matter, it's getting covered by cream. :)

As for the cream, here's what you need (this is WAYYY more than you need for a little baby dessert, so use less if you don't like to eat the cream throughout the day). :)

1 cup fresh cream
15 drops liquid stevia
1/2 banana, mashed REALLY well until it's almost liquid with no chunks in it (add more banana if you want it more banana-y)

• add stevia and whip until stiff - make it as stiff as you like it
• mix in banana by hand, or for just 1 second mix it with your blender - you don't want to over-whip the cream
• scoop into ice-cream

Serve immediately.  Hope it turns out this good on his b'day!

A cute little "cake" that baby can make a yummy mess with. :)  You'll probably have to feed the ice-cream to him with a spoon though.

Pineapple & Coconut Pudding

This tastes more like a pineapple cake and I can't really taste any coconut, maybe one could add some desiccated coconut next time.  But it's sooooo tasty, especially served with cream poured all over. :)

The recipe is actually a cake, but I used a glass dish and baked it like a dessert, 'cause cake tins can't be put into the dishwasher. ;)

Ingredients:
175g cake flour (I used wholewheat normal flour and it worked perfectly)
10ml baking powder
150g castor sugar
95ml sunflower oil
75ml coconut milk
2 eggs, separated
1 lemon's grated zest
1 can crushed pineapple pieces, drained and juice reserved

Method:

• mix flour, baking powder and sugar into mixing bowl.  Mix oil and coconut milk in a separate bowl
• add egg yolks and lemon zest to coconut mixture.  Fold into dry ingredients and add pineapple pieces
• beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cake batter.  Pour into baking tin (or glass dish) and bake for 40 mins, or until skewer comes out clean.

Sauce:

• 30ml pineapple juice
• 30ml golden syrup
• 125ml coconut milk

          Mix together and heat to luke warm.  Pour over cake when you take it out of oven.

Serve hot or cold.

Yum yum yum!

Cinnamon Cake

The original name of this cake as I found it is Cinnamon Cinnabon cake, but it's not cinnabon-y enough to be classified as such, in my opinion, so to me it's just a cinnamon cake!

It was the yummiest the same day I made it - it was crunchy on top, but the next day the crunch was gone already.
But it's a tasty cake!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (I used wholewheat) + 2 tbsp separately
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbs baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup butter softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbs ground cinnamon

Instructions:

• preheat oven to 180 degree C (350 degree F), and grease 2 8inch cake pans and line the bottoms with wax paper
• in a mixer, blend 3 cups flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk eggs, vanilla and 1/4 cup butter.  Divide batter evenly between 2 cake pans
• in another mixing bowl, beat 1 cup butter with brown sugar, 2 tbsp flour and cinnamon.  Beat until fully blended and fluffy (about 3 mins).  Using 2 tablespoons, drop blobs of butter mixture onto cake batter and then use a knife to swirl
• bake for about 25-30 mins

 

Best munched on the day it's made!  I didn't have any on hand, but I think this would have been yummy with cream poured all over it. :D

Mocha Cream Tart

This is similar to a peppermint crisp tart, except without the mint and with a coffee flavour.  It's an easy dessert to make when you need something simple and sweet. :D

1 can caramel (about 360g)
250 ml cream
1 cup coffee
2 packets Tennis biscuits

• whip cream until stiff, then fold in caramel (I couldn't get it smooth so there were little lumps of caramel in the mix, but that's ok, it's like getting a little extra sweet surprise now and then hehe)
• dip the cookies in coffee and lay on bottom of glass dish, then cover with caramel mixture - repeat this 2 or 3 times depending on the size of your dish - finish off with a layer of caramel mixture
• refrigerate for a few hours before serving, and try to share with others. :) 

Yummmmm........

 

Malva Pudding

This is EASILY one of my most favourite desserts in the whole world (if not THE favourite), I LOVE malva pudding!  It's so sweet and so moist and so tasty.  :)  And it's so sinful with all the sugar, hehe.

 For the pudding:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs apricot jam
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp bicarb of soda
• generous pinch of salt
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 cup milk

For the sauce:

• 1 cup cream
• 125 g butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup hot water

1. Beat the egg and sugar well with an electric beater.  Add the jam.
2. In a separate bowl mix together flour, bicarb and salt
3. Melt butter and add vinegar - add liquids to the egg mixture alternatively with the flour mixture - beat mixture well
4. Bake in a greased glass dish at 180 degree C (350 degree F) for 45 minutes to an hour
5. Sauce - melt together all ingredients and pour over the pudding as soon as it comes out of the oven - you may have to do this slowly to give the liquids chance to soak into the pudding so that it doesn't overflow if you don't have a high baking dish

I don't think I'd ever make this dessert for when we have guests, 'cause I'm too stingy to share THIS one. :)

I dunno if you can see it, but it's SOOOOO moist.

Mmmmm.....served with cream....Although I'm one of those people who like to have some dessert with my cream, I actually enjoy this pudding more without cream - weird, I know....but that's how good it is. :D

Creamy Trifle

I can't think of anything better to call this trifle than a creamy trifle.  :D  It was much yummier than I anticipated!  Well...you have to try really hard to make an un-yummy trifle, but this one was just better than I thought it would be.

Warning - contains a LOT of cream - this dessert is not for the cream-faint-of-heart.  ;)

It looks pretty plain, but I can't get enough of it! :D

Here's what you'll need:
2 small vanilla swiss rolls
1 can of sweet cherries in syrup (or whatever cherries you want to use)
small handful of crushed raw almonds
A box of custard
500ml cream
Raspberry dessert sauce (raspberry jam would do too)
A small cup of coffee (no sugar or milk added - allowed to cool a bit)
2-3 level teaspoons of castor sugar (or you can use liquid stevia, I actually forgot to...)

As you can see I didn't really measure anything, I just slapped some ingredients together how I like it, and here's how I made mine:

1.  Slice a swiss roll into 1 1/2 - 2cm thick slices and layer at the bottom of your dish
2.  Spoon over some of the pre-made coffee, just enough to cover the slices but not soak them so that they go all mushy
3.  Pour over a generous layer of custard and spread out evenly
4. Remove some cherries from the syrup, cut them in half and place some on top of the custard - put as few or as many as you like
5.  Sprinkle over some of the chopped almonds - as much as you like 
6.  Add 2-3 tsp of the sugar to the cream (depending on how sweet you like it) and whip until stiff.  Add a thick layer of cream (ie half the cream) over the custard and cherries and spread out evenly
7. Add another layer of sliced swiss roll, and this time spread on a thin layer of raspberry dessert sauce (or raspberry jam)
8. Pour over a thin layer of custard, and add the rest of the cream on top and even out.

If you want to be fancy you can grate some chocolate over the top or add some more cherries, but I didn't want to ruin the cream with any of that this time, hehe.

Let set in the fridge for a couple of hours. 

It looks like a bowl of mush, probably thanks to all the cream I used. :D  But don't let it be underestimated!  I'm definitely  making this one again.  :)

Rice Pudding

This rice pudding uses coconut milk instead of evaporated milk, and it's soooooo good. :D

I had to add a whole lot more milk than the recipe called for though, but I'll put that bit in brackets:

250 ml rice (any rice it says, so I used basmati rice)
400 ml coconut milk
300 ml full cream milk (I ended up using 5 3/4 cups in total)
125 ml sugar
2 star anise pods
1 stick cinnamon
5 cardamom pods

• place rice, coconut milk, milk and sugar in pot and bring to the boil
• add star anise, cinnamon & cardamom
• turn down heat and simmer until rice is cooked, stirring occasionally

I couldn't find star anise pods ANYWHERE, so I had to do without.  Boo.

Since I had no idea how long to cook this for, I set the timer for 5 minute intervals and checked up on it and stirred it.  When I saw the rice got too dry and it was still not cooked, I kept adding 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup milk.  I cooked it in total for 75 minutes! (on medium heat).  Adding all that extra milk actually made it taste much better . . . before that the sugar was too overpowering.

Yum yum yummmmm.  :D

Only thing is, it's not as soft & "poury" as I thought it should be, so when I had some rice later after it had cooled down, I added a little bit of milk to it before I heated it up in the microwave, and it was perfect.

Oh yes, sprinkle with some cinnamon powder before serving...and be generous, it's yummy when mixed in, and it's healthy too! (I ended up  adding a lot more cinnamon after the pic was taken).  :)

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Oh my goodness....this cake is SOOOO good. :D  Not only the taste (which is realllly chocolatey), but it's so soft and so moist, and what I really like about it too is that it's vegan, so I can enjoy this guilt-free! (well....except for the sugar, still feel a little guilty there, but oh well).  This one definitely ranks as one of the best cakes I've ever had. :)

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white & 1/2 cup whole wheat)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup white & 1/2 cup light brown)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup cold water or brewed coffee (I used coffee)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbs vinegar

• Preheat oven to 180 C / 375 F
• Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda & sugar in a mixing bowl
• Mix oil water or coffe and vanilla in a small bowl, then pour into dry ingredients and mix well with fork or whisk until combined
• Once the batter is smooth, add vinegar and stir quickly until fully combined and pale swirls (created by reaction between vinegar & baking soda) have been mixed in evenly
• Pour into a single greased cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes (I did mine for 25)

Once the cake is cooled, try to save some for the guests or other members of your family. :)

 The cake doesn't rise that much, so it won't work for a double layer cake IMO.

It's so tasty that I don't even both to make an icing / frosting for it.  But if I were to find a yummy and easy vegan icing, I'd try it out.

Peanut Butter Rice Crispie Squares

Obviously this isn't a healthy treat, but it's healthier than the usual rice crispie squares because there's no white sugar in it!  No marshmallows are used, which also means that it's vegan. :)

These were so tasty, but they tended to fall apart quite easily (especially once they started warming up once taken out of the fridge)...not sure why...maybe it has something to do with the fact that when I was watching the recipe show on tv, she didn't let us know how much peanut butter to put in!  So I had to take a guess from what I saw how much she added.  Either way, they turned out pretty good!

I also used organic sugar-free peanut butter which I think is a good move in making this recipe just a tad better for you.

6 cups rice crispies
1/2 cup honey (the poury kind)
1/2 cup peanut butter (my guess)
2/3 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped (she used dried cherries but this is what I used)

• Add honey & peanut butter to a pot on the stove and warm them up (just need to warm it up slightly so that they become soft and mix together, no cooking needed).  Stir to combine.
• Add rice crispies and mix until rice crispies are all coated with honey mixture.
• Add cranberries and stir to combine.
• Place into greased baking or glass dish and press down to even out the top.  The layer should be about 1 inch thick (I wouldn't go thinner otherwise I think they'll break apart very easily).
• Set in fridge for about 1 hour.

And that's it!  This was so easy and really quick to make...JUST my kinda recipe... :D

Sugar Spice Cookies

These are one of my favourite cookies EVER. 

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs cream

• mix together 1 cup flour, baking powde, salt & all the spices.
• cream butter, beat in sugar.  Beat in egg, vanilla & cream.
• stir in flour mixture, then add enough of the remaining 1 cup flour to make the dough stiff enough to roll.
• wrap in plastic wrap and chill several hours.  
• preheat oven to 180 degree C / 375 degree F.
• place dough on adequately floured surface (lightly floured didn't work for me...) and roll to about 1/8" thickness - these cookies must be quite thin.  Cut into shapes, placed on ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes. (mine came out perfect at 10 mins) (Note: when I used an ungreased sheet as suggested, my cookies stuck to it and broke! So I greased it with spray on grease and that worked much better)

As you can see, I last made these at Xmas time. :)

Tapioca Pudding with Pineapple & Cream

I didn't know exactly what tapioca was made from myself, so I google it quick: Tapioca is made from the cassava root and does contain some nutrients and fiber, however the processed tapioca bought in store seems to have virtually no nutrients left and so all it contains at that stage is mainly starch.

 Tapioca cooked on it's own has virtually no flavour at all, so I suppose it's used mainly as a base ingredient and then everything else is added to add a flavour.

Anyway, all I use tapioca for is this pudding. :)  Because you have to soak the tapioca before you use it, you need to begin this recipe the night before you want to cook it.

500g uncooked tapioca
1 cup sugar
1 can crushed pineapple (undrained) (+- 400g can)
 250ml cream

Makes a big pot of pudding - many servings!

• Before you go to bed, place tapioca in a pot and cover completely with water and cover with the lid.  Let soak until the next morning.  Before I started cooking it, I topped it up with more water to cover the tapioca again.  Cook on low to medium heat until the tapioca becomes clear (this may take up to an hour or so), stirring frequently so as to prevent it from burning and sticking to the pot.  I added little bits of water throughout every now and then when it started sticking to the pot - the water is absorbed quickly by the tapioca.  The tapioca is done when most of them have turned clear, like this:

•  Add the sugar (I only added 1/2 cup sugar because that's fine for my liking), pineapple with juice and mix until well combined.  Let cool a bit.
• Then add the cream.  You can add more cream if you'd like it more creamy

It's a nice subtle-tasting pudding and I love it. It's quite filling too.  It's yummy while still warm, or chilled.  Should be kept in fridge after cooking so that it keeps longer.

By the way, I read that tapioca flour can be used as a substitute for other flours, it's gluten-free and apparently a healthier option compared even to whole wheat flour.

Vegan Carrot Cake with Apple & Coconut

This is my first attempt at a carrot cake and it was delicious! :D  With truly yummy vegan options like these, there's really no reason to go back the dairy-cakes way! :)

The original recipe called for some kind of boxed egg replacer and canned crushed pineapple, but I didn't have either, so I used freshly grated apple instead of the pineapple (my guess is my option is healthier anyway!), and I use my personal favourite egg replacer - ground flax seeds mixed with water.

What made me decide to try a carrot cake was because I had lots of left over carrot "pulp" from the carrot juice I made, and I always hate to just throw that away....what a waste!  So obviously the natural thing to do was make a carrot cake.  :)

2 1/4 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin spice or allspice (I used the latter)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tbs ground flax seed mixed with 6 tbs water - let stand for 5 mins before using
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sunflower oil
2 cups finaly grated carrot
2 cups finely chopped apples (i peeled, cored and put them in food processor for few seconds)
1 cup desiccated coconut
nuts & raisins, optional

I didn't add raisin because I wasn't sure how I'd like it in a carrot cake, but after tasting the cake, I think raisins will got perfectly, so I'll add some next time, as well as chopped walnuts (I didn't have any of these on hand).

1.  preheat oven to 175 degrees C / 375 degrees F.
2.  in a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, spices, baking powder & salt
3.  in a large bowl mix sugars and flax seed mixture with a spoon until well combined.  Then add vanilla and mix.  Lastly add oil.
4.  add dry ingredients to wet ingrediets and mix well until combined.  Stir in carrots, apple & coconut.  Add nuts & raisins if using.
5.  Grease a cake tin and pour mixture in.  Smooth batter and bake for 40-45 minutes or until tester stick comes out clean.

Note: I baked the cake on one of the higher racks in the oven for the full 45 minutes, but the cake was nonetheless a little underbaked in the centre (even though my tester stick came out pretty much clean)....which wasn't a big problem since there are no raw eggs or things in there, so it was still good (not gooey either - you can see from the photo it's not so bad), but I'd bake it just a teeny bit longer next time, maybe on a lower shelf? just to try and get the centre a little more cooked.  The rest of the cake was perfect and moist.

And I won't even bother trying it with pineapple next time, the apple in there was perfect and I think healthier than any canned item anyway. :)

I also didn't bother with the icing / frosting - it really doesn't need it at all, it's sweet and delicious enough just as is.

5 Minute Chocolate Cake

This is really not a healthy delight, but it is a delight nonetheless, and is perfectly suitable for those late night (or any other time really) chocolate cake craving emergencies.  I'm so glad someone gave me this recipe.  It's no gourmet cake, but it really is tasty and chocolate-y...IMHO.  :)

It makes a good-sized single serving:

4 tbs cake flour
4 tbs sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
1 egg
3 tbs sunflower oil
3 tbs milk
vanilla essence (optional)

1.   Add dry ingredients into a coffee mug and mix.
2.   Add all other ingredients and mix well until well combined
3.   Microwave on high for 3 minutes.  It will rise a bit but won't "overflow"

Grab a spoon and munch!  (oh, but for goodness' sake let it cool a bit first - a very impatient task when the cake is just sitting there....staring at you....waiting to be munched....teasing your nostrils with chocolate-y cake aromas....)

I use 3 tbs sugar & 3 tbs cocoa powder instead though and it's still just as delicious - must cut out some sugar where we can!  ;)

Linked up at these tasty blogs:

Rook No. 17          .

Gluten-Free Banana Honey Oat Muffins

These muffins are so delicious and so sweet - as well as gluten-free & white sugar-free. 

3 very ripe bananas, mushed
3/4 cup honey
2 tbs ground flaxseeds mixed with 4 tbs water & left to stand for +- 5 mins before adding
1/3 cup apple sauce (or oil if you wish)
1/3 cup plain greek yoghurt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup buckwheat flour
3/4 cup uncooked oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1.   Preheat oven to 180 C / 375 F and grease muffin tins.
2.   Combine bananas, honey, apple sauce, yoghurt, vanilla & flaxseed mixture
3.   In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder & baking soda.  Pour banana mixture into dry ingredients and stir to just combine.
4.   Stir in pecans and divide among muffin tin.  Bake for about 15-18 minutes or until tester stick comes out nearly clean.

I used mini bread loaf tins because my muffin tins were occupied by cinnamon sweet potato muffins, so I baked it for 18 mins and they came out perfect, so you may have to bake them for a slightly shorter time if using a muffin tin.

These sticky, moist & soft muffins would make for a great dessert served with cream. :)

Linked up at these tasty blogs:

Sweet as Sugar Cookies   It's a Blog Party
Craft-O-Maniac               C.R.A.F.T.
Keeping it Simple             The DIY ShowOff

Strawberries & Stevia-Sweetened Cream

I like to sweeten my cream a little when I eat it with strawberries, and I sweeten it with stevia extract (I use the liquid form here).

1/2 cup cream
5 drops liquid stevia extract

Add stevia and beat the cream as usual until it's thick.  Serve and enjoy. :)  You can add more drops of stevia depending on how sweet you like your cream.

Not only is stevia calorie-free, but it also has a host of other benefits as well, so you can enjoy your strawberries and cream with less guilt now!  ;)