Chia Waffles with Smashed Avocado, Grilled Corn and Fried Eggs

Weekends were made for waffles, yes?



Chia Waffles with Smashed Avocado, Grilled Corn and Fried Eggs
Makes 4

For the Waffles:
1½ cups plain flour
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 egg
1½ cups buttermilk

To Serve:
2 avocados
2 ears of corn, grilled until slightly charred in places
4 fried eggs with runny yolks
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground back pepper
Chopped coriander leaves
Lime juice fot the avocados and some wedges to serve
Hot Sauce

Make the Waffles:
Preheat your waffle iron.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, poppy seeds
baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and buttermilk together.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix until just combined.

Scoop ¼ cup portions into the waffle iron.  Cook until golden brown and crisp.  Continue until all the batter is used.  You should get 4 generous waffles.

To Serve:
Put one waffle on four serving plates.

Take the flesh out of the avocados, mash them in a bowl with a squeeze of lime juice and some salt. Divide smashed avo and pile onto the waffles.

Cut the kernels of the cobs of corn and divide them among the plates.

Top each loaded waffle with a fried egg, season with salt and pepper and scatter with coriander leaves. Spritz with lime juice and sprinkle with hot sauce.

Vegan Wholemeal Pancakes with Plum Compote

School holidays are the perfect time to indulge in lazy, late breakfasts.  It's when you can stay up late and watch the episodes of Sons of Anarchy you missed due to school nights.  You can sleep in a little longer because there's no school bus to catch.  You can hangout at home for hours without the need to get to appointments.  You can take your time over morning coffee without chugging forgotten cups of lukewarm lattes as you rush out the door.  If there was ever a time to throw together a batch of pancakes for breakfast, now's that time.  Not that I'm using the kids being home as an excuse to watch copious amounts of TV, go to bed late, get up late, sit around the house for hours in my PJ's drinking coffee and eating pancakes... or anything like that.

Vegan Wholemeal Pancakes with Plum Compote

slightly adapted from here

Makes 6 pancakes

For the Compote:
3 plums, deseeded and halved or quartered

½ cup maple syrup

1 star anise

For the Pancakes:
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal mixed with 2½ tablespoon water (makes 1 flax egg)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

Pinch sea salt

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

¼ cup wholemeal flour (I use Atta flour)

3/4 cup spelt flour

2 tablespoons oat bran
Vegan butter for serving

Make the Compote:
Put the plums, maple syrup and star anise into a small saucepan.  Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook until the plums soften and start to release their juices.  Set aside and keep warm.

Make the Pancakes:
Put the flax egg, olive oil, maple syrup, baking soda, baking powder, salt in a mixing bowl and whisk to mix.  Add the almond milk and whisk again.

Add both flours and the oat bran and mix until just combined.  Leave the batter to rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and lightly spray it with cooking oil spray and pour ¼ cup of the batter into the pan.  It's read to turn when small bubbles appear on the surface.  Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on the other side and remove to a warm plate.  Continue with the rest of the batter until you have 6 light and fluffy pancakes. Serve with vegan butter and plum compote.

Baked Matcha Latte Glazed Doughnuts

When your breakfast doughnut is green, it's got to be good for you, right?




Baked Matcha Latte Glazed Doughnuts
slightly adapted from here
Makes 6

For the Doughnuts:
125ml carbonated lemonade
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
335g plain flour
75g caster sugar
1 sachet (7g or 2 teaspoons) dried yeast
4 egg yolks
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
60ml thickened cream

For the Glaze:
80ml whole milk
1 tablespoon matcha powder, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
400g icing sugar, sifted
30g unsalted butter, melted

Make the Doughnuts:
Put the lemonade and vanilla in a small saucepan and place over a medium heat.  Heat until just warm, remove from the heat and set aside.

Put the flour, sugar and yeast into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and add the warm lemonade mixture and the egg yolks and mix on medium speed  until combined.  Add the butter and cream and mix on low speed for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth.

Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and set aside in a warm spot for about 1½ hours, or until doubled in size.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured board until it is 1½cm thick.  Use a doughnut cutter (or two cookie cutters- one about 8cm round for the doughnut, another about 30cm round for the hole) to cut
six doughnuts (I kept the holes to bake as well... Because, why wouldn't 1?)

Place the doughnuts (and holes if keeping) onto a baking paper lined tray, allowing enough room for them to spread during proofing and baking.  Set them aside for 30 minutes to become puffy.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake for 8 - 10 minutes.  Remove them from the oven and place the on a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Glaze:
Put the milk, matcha powder and vanilla into a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the matcha has dissolved.

Put the icing suagr, melted butter and the matcha mixture into a bowl and whisk until smooth.

Dip the tops of the cooled doughnuts into the glaze and dust with extra matcha powder.

Sourdough Crumpets

If you have a sourdough starter, you have to make these... trust me.

Sourdough Crumpets

Makes 8

slightly adapted from here

2 cups active sourdough starter

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together.  The batter will be light and airy.

Heat a frying pan over low heat and spray it and 4 egg rings with cooking oil spray.  Put the egg rings in the pan and pour the batter into the rings, to about ¾ full.  Don't overfill, as the batter will puff up while cooking.  Cook until the tops are covered with tiny holes, this can take 5 minutes or so. Remove the rings, flip the crumpets and cook on the other side for 1 - 2 minutes until golden.

You can serve them hot, straight out of the pan or let them cool and toast them when your ready to serve.

Blackberry Breakfast Cake

Cake for breakfast.  What a great idea.  Get the recipe for this Blackberry Breakfast Cake at Bakelife and eat cake for breakfast like I did.

Baked Citrus Doughnuts

You can get the recipe for, and check out more photos of, these Baked Citrus Doughnuts at Bakelife.  You can have your doughnuts (and eat them too), without all the drama of a deep fat nightmare.

Egg, Bacon and Cheese on Homemade English Muffins

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I'm just a lil bit obsessed with breakfast.  I go to bed dreaming of what's for breakfast.  Then, once I've finished breakfast, I start thinking of what I'm going to have for second breakfast breakfast on the days that follow.  This condition is known to many as gluttony.

Egg, Bacon and Cheese on Homemade English Muffins

adapted from here

Makes 8

For the Muffins:

1 sachet (7g) dried yeast

1 teaspoon caster sugar

300ml lukewarm whole milk

55g butter, melted

450g baker's flour

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Polenta for dusting

Butter for frying

For the Filling:

Butter for spreading

8 eggs

8 rashers good quality bacon

8 slices cheddar cheese

Make the Muffins:

Put the yeast, sugar, milk and butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Mix briefly to combine.  Add the flour and salt and mix on low for 5 minutes.  The mixture will come together in a smooth ball around the hook.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a nice warm spot for about an hour, until doubled in size.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and dust the paper with polenta.  Set aside.

Dust a work surface with polenta, turn the dough out on to it and roll it out until it is 2cm thick.  Use an 8cm cookie/scone cutter to cut circles out.  Lay the circles, polenta side up on the tray.  This means you will have a good coating of polenta on both sides of the muffins.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it back in a warm spot for 30 minutes, to become puffy.

Heat a large frying pan to medium heat and add a good knob of butter.  Once the butter starts to foam, add as many muffins as you can fit comfortably to the pan and fry on both sides until golden, about 5 minutes per side,  Continue until all the muffins are cooked, wiping the pan clean with kitchen paper between batches.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Assembly:

Fry the bacon in a large frying pan until crisp, remove and keep warm.  Cook your eggs in the same pan, using the bacon grease.  I like to cook mine so that the yolk is still runny and oozes down my chin and all the way down my arms to my elbows as I take a bite... but it's your life, cook them how you like them.  You can also cook them together in the same pan if you prefer and if you've got a big enough pan.

Split the muffins using a fork to prise them in half.  Using a fork gives you a nice rough surface. Butter both halves of the muffins. Place a slice of cheese on the bottom half, then put it cheese-side down in the frying pan and heat until the cheese starts to melt.  Remove from the pan using an egg slice and turn it melted-cheese-side up.  Place the crispy bacon and an egg on top and finish with the muffin top.

These muffins are also divine split and toasted with your favourite topping/s.

Buckwheat Granola - Gluten Free Vegan

Looking for something toasty and crunchy for breakfast, that isn't toast?  Something on the sweet side, but isn't sweet?  Something wholesome, yet feels like a treat?  Something to eat in clusters out of a jar, or dress up with fruit and yoghurt?  Something that just happens to be gluten free and vegan? This is something to get your teeth into.

NOTE: I like to make small batches, as it is a wet mix and will only stay fresh and crunchy for a few days in an airtight container.

Buckwheat Granola - Gluten Free Vegan

adapted from here
Serves 4

1/2 cup raw buckwheat
1/2 cup natural almonds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
Juice 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons black chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Pinch sea salt
30ml strong coffee (1 shot espresso)

Put the buckwheat, almonds, pumpkin seeds and lemon juice into a mixing bowl, cover with cold water, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to soak in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, rinse and drain the soaked mixture, add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Preheat the oven to 150C.

Line a large, shallow, rimmed baking tray with baking paper.  Spread the mixture evenly over the tray and toast in the oven for 1 hour.  Turn the oven off and leave the mixture to dry out in the oven for a couple of hours.  After a couple of hours, take the tray out of the oven and break the granola up.  Eat it straight away or store it in an airtight container for a few days.

Speculaas Morning Buns

I must have had more practice making buns out of pastry than making buns out of hair, because the bun I wear on my head in the mornings could only be described as messy at best.

Speculaas Morning Buns

Makes 6

adapted from here

For the Starter:

140g baker's flour

1/8 teaspoon dried yeast

130g lukewarm water

For the Butter Mash:

140g cold unsalted butter

25g plain flour

For the Dough:

160g baker's flour

40g dark muscovado sugar

1 teaspoon dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

80g lukewarm milk

For the Filling:

1/2 cup Speculaas spread

Make the Starter:

Put all the starter ingredients into a bowl, mix to a shaggy consistency and set aside for 30 minutes.

Make the Butter Mash:

Put the butter and flour into a wide, shallow bowl and mash it together with a fork.  It will be hard at first, but will get softer as you mash.  Once it's a smooth consistency, set aside for 30 minutes.

Make the Dough:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the starter, flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Mix to combine, then add the lukewarm milk and mix on low for 10 minutes.  You should end up with a smooth, slightly sticky dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to a 12cm x 60cm rectangle, keeping the edges as straight as you can.  Evenly dollop teaspoons of the butter mash all over the dough, then use a palette knife to spread it evenly.  Take the short edge and fold the dough over itself from one end to the other five times.  Pinch the open ends together to seal the butter mash in, turn the dough 90 degrees and use a skewer to poke a few holes in it.  Roll the dough again, this time to a 12cm x 50cm rectangle and roll from end to end four times.  Every time you fold, you are creating those lovely flaky layers.  Put the neat rectangle of dough onto a floured baking tray, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

Lightly spray a 6 hole muffin pan with cooking oil spray and set aside.

Put the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to a 20cm x 40cm rectangle.  Spread with the Speculaas spread, then roll it using a long edge, into a log shape.  Trim of the messy edges and cut the log into 6 even potions and pop them, cut side up into the prepared muffin pan.  Set aside in a warm spot for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or until risen and puffy.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Bake the buns for 15 - 20 minutes.  Serve warm.