Degustabox February Box

 February is full of promise. The spring flowers are already out, our garden looks pretty with snowdrops and crocuses bringing a new hope of warmer days to come.

Degustabox is a monthly food and drink subscription box. It's an excellent way of discovering new products which have only just appeared in the shops, or those which have been around for a while, but you haven't had a chance to try them yet.

Thanks to Degustabox, I have found new favourites to add to our shopping list, including some products which I otherwise wouldn't have tried.

Each time a monthly box arrives, its contents are a total surprise. You get a good selection of foods and drinks.

If you haven't tried Degustabox subscription box yet, and would like to have a go, I have a £3off discount from your first box (and you can unsubscribe any time), just use code DKRLN when placing an order. 

What did we get in February Box Degustabox?

We start with Bisto Smooth Peppercorn Sauce (£2.95) a new product from the well-known and much loved range. 

Like many British families, we buy Bisto gravy granules for a quick and easy gravy. Last month we tried Bisto cheese sauce, and enjoyed it, so we were quite curious to try the new product.

Simply add 4 level tbsp of Bisto instant pepper sauce to 250ml boiling water and give it a quick stir until the sauce thickens.

It's perfect for lamb chops or poured over steak. For a vegetarian dish, use the granules to cook a veggie Bolognese.

Each tub contains 19 individual servings. 

Typical values: 42kcal and 0.41g of salt per 50ml portion as prepared; no artificial colours or preservatives.

Available in the major supermarket chains.

Wagamama Firecracker/ or Coconut +Lemongrass Curry sauce (£2.75)

You will receive one variety in the box. We got Firecracker curry sauce, which is a sweet and spicy sauce with sriracha and chilli. The label promises a bang to every bowl (and I'm taking their word for it. I haven't used this sauce, and will most likely pass it on a friend who enjoys extra spicy food).

The image of three peppers indicates a high level of spiciness. Recreate restaurant dishes at home, like prawn, chicken and tofu firecracker curry.

Nutritional values: 82kcal and 14g of sugar per 100g.

Available in Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Ocado.

Truly Nuts! Brazil Nuts (£3.99) are sustainably-sourced Amazon-harvested nuts, available plain or coated in rich Belgian chocolate, combining high selenium and healthy fats.

You will receive one variety of three. We got Buck Naked Whole & Raw Brazil nuts, unflavoured, unroasted and unsalted.

I have chuckled on seeing a pack of brazil nuts in the box, as I was talking to my Mum just the other day, and she said they were her favourites. I told her I wish I could give her the pack. Most likely, I will chop the brazils and use as an ingredient in baking cookies or muffins.

Nutritional values: 690kcal and 14g or protein per 100g.; high fibre, source of selenium, vegan friendly, gluten free and non-GMO. Packed in the UK with brazil nuts from Peru, Brazil and Bolivia.

Available in TG Jones (former WHSmith).

Snyder's of Havover Pretzel Pieces - Honey, Mustard & Onion (£2) are American-style snacks.

These pretzel pieces come in big crunchy chunks. The flavour is bold, very mustardy. Other varieties come in such flavours as Hot Buffalo Wings, Cheddar Cheese and Jalapeño.

I'm not sure what the final verdict is. they are not bad, but I do prefer small thin pretzels. Perhaps we need to try different favours to find out our favourite. I imagine this snack would be great with a glass of cold beer.

Nutritional values; 532kcal and 7.4g of sugar per 100g.

Available in Amazon, Ocado and quality convenience stores.

Tuk in Foods Lime Pickle Bombay Trail Mix (£1.50 for 40g) is a flavourful snack, which offers a combination of cashew nuts, roasted corn, Bombay mix, almonds, mustard seeds and plenty of spice.

The resulting mix promises to boost your energy levels, and is packed with nutrients.

Nutritional values: 222kcal and 0.26g of salt per 40g pouch; 7g protein, high in fibre, source of magnesium and vitamin E.

Available in independent retailers.

I was super excited to see three bottles of Filippo Berio squeezable olive oil (£7.99) in the box. I have seen the new products on Insta and did think they looked fab.

You would only receive one variety in the box (as a regular blogger I got all three flavours to try).

This is the same quality olive oil you expect from Filippo Berio, only coming in a squeezable bottle format for easier drizzling and finishing touches.With an easy-pour cap you can dispense oil without a mess. Great for so many dishes.

There is a Classico olive oil, composed of refined olive oils and virgin olive oils, great for cooking meat or vegetables.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced from extra virgin olive oils from Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Excellent for finishing and dressing salads or pasta.

And Chilli flavoured olive oil, hot and fiery, will enhance any pizza or add a dash of heat to a pasta sauce.

Available at www.filippoberio.co.uk or on Amazon.

As a subscriber, you will receive extra goodies to those shown above.

What product did you find the most delicious?

Grilled tuna and courgette salad

It's been a very hot day today. I was sweltering in a jacket on a school run. Our run is literally a sprint, as I grab Eddie by hand and we hurry home in time for Sash to arrive on a school bus.
Saturday, on the other hand, was completely miserable, cold-ish and rainy. As we were walking into town to do some grocery shopping, we met a friend who asked us if we were heading to a food festival. Drat and double drat, I have totally forgotten about it, and didn't have my camera with me. My iphone is of a geriatric generation, with a very basic camera, so I didn't bother to take many pictures with it. We did go to the festival which was held in and around St Mary's Church, under a persistent rain.

The crowds seemed not that bothered by the rain, and there were long queues for any freebies, especially at the gin stall. That's called devotion - to queue in the rain to get a shot of free gin.
Eddie and I ran into the church, trying to escape the rain.
There was an impressive array of foods and drinks, especially the preserves and flavoured oils.
I didn't buy much, just a jar of local honey and strawberry jam - both from Holmes Made, a tin of Ariana natural spice blend from GoSpice, a small bottle of redcurrant syrup (non-alcoholic) and a chunk of pancetta from The Cotswold Curer.

I would have liked to spend more time, looking at the foods, but Eddie was quite bored and kept asking when we were going home.
The most magnificent displays of cakes were created by Aston Pottery. Alas, they didn't sell the cakes, only shared the printed leaflets about themselves. I wonder what they did with all those glorious goodies after the festival ended.

When it's a hot day, I prefer to have simple salad dinners. Tuna is a versatile ingredient for many kinds of salads.
To make a very simple grilled tuna and courgette salad you will need:

2 Tuna steaks
2tbsp mirin rice wine
2tbsp dark soy sauce
juice of 1/2 lime
2tbsp olive oil
1 courgette
a good drizzle of chilli-flavoured oil
mixed salad with pea shoots, a handful
green olives
for dressing:
1tbsp runny honey
juice of 1/2 lime
2tbsp toasted sunflower seeds

Slice each steak into four strips and marinade in a deep bowl in a mix of mirin, dark soy sauce, lime juice and sea salt for about an hour.
Drizzle the olive oil over the grill pan and heat it up. Cut the courgette into 3 pieces, then slice each one into "chips". Drizzle the courgette with a chilli-flavoured olive oil, and cook on grill for about 5 minutes, turning over once or twice.
Cook the tuna on grill for about 5 minutes, turning over.
Assemble the salad by layering the salad leaves, then courgette and tuna. Scatter the olives and sunflower seeds and drizzle a simple dressing of lime juice and honey.

Since I used a bit of chilli-flavoured olive oil (from a Filippo Berio olive oil hamper that I won before Christmas) and the remains of a bag of sunflower seeds, I'm adding this recipe to #KitchenClearout linky hosted by Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews.

Red kidney beans, peas and ham hock salad

There are days when I don''t feel like cooking anything elaborate. I can just about throw some ingredients together in a semblance of a meal. Salads are very forgiving in a sense that you can layer them up with whatever you have in the kitchen, mixing fresh ingredients with tinned foods and other staples that you might find in the cupboard. In my case, I had some ham hock in the fridge, the remains of lentil sprout mix and half a bag of salad. It could have easily turned out differently - ham hock could be replaced by tinned tuna, lentil sprout mix by tinned chick peas etc.

Red kidney beans, peas and ham hock salad (serves 2)
Ingredients:
1 tin of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (240g drained weight)
80g frozen peas, cooked
3tbsp lentil sprouts mix
1/2 bag of mixed salad leaves with beetrout
50g shredded ham hock
3 cherry tomatoes, halved
1tsp English mustard
2tbsp olive oil
2tbsp cider vinegar
1tsp maple syrup

Open a tin of red kidney beans and rinse them in a colander under a running cold water. Drain well.
In a medium mixing bowl toss together beans, cooked peas, lentil sprouts mix, halved tomatoes and ham hock.
Divide the salad between two plates and arrange the bean-ham mix on top. Prepare a simple dressing from English mustard, olive oil, vinegar and maple syrup and drizzle it over the salad. Season with a little bit of salt, if you like.
Serve with bread.

And just because I used some odds and ends of packets in the fridge, I'm adding this recipe suggestion to #KitchenClearout linky hosted by Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews.

Beef stew with sweet pepper and carrot #ReadCookEat

Reading Donna Leon's bestselling Commissario Brunetti's novels, you can't escape the culinary descriptions and references. Food plays an important part both in Brunetti's life and in the series. I have bookmarked many a tempting recipe mentioned in the novels, with beef stew being one of them.
It appears in "A sea of troubles"

"He finished his lasagne and looked across at Paola. "Is there any more? It's delicious", he added.
"What else is there, Mamma?" Chiara demanded, appetite overcoming Raffi's warning.
"Beef stew with peppers", Paola asked.
"The one with potatoes? Raffi asked, his voice rich with feigned enthusiasm.
"Yes", Paola said, getting to her feet and starting to stack the plates.
The lasagne, to Brunetti's disappointment, proved to be much like the Messiah: there was no second coming...
... as he ate, his attention drifted from the chunks of stewed beef to the cubes of carrot, the small slices of onion. When he paused, Brunetti looked across at Paola and asked, "Did you put Barbera in this?"
She nodded, and he smiled, pleased he'd got it right".

So, what do we have here: beef, carrots, onion and red wine.
The Brunettis clearly have very good appetities, if they can eat stew after lasagne.

I have checked a few books on Italian cuisine, trying to find a recipe for any special Venetian beef stew.
I also have a book "A Taste of Venice/ At Table with Brunetti" by Donna Leon and Roberta Pianaro. There is a recipe for beef stew with pepper, onion and carrot, however, I was a bit confused. The recipe uses minced beef, and the final result sounds more like ragu than a stew. A stew is usually made with chunks of meat, though don't quote me on that.
I have adapted the recipe, deciding to try to cook the stew with minced beef, though serve it not with potatoes but with pasta, like tagliatelle, especially that the recipe ends with "This is a superb sauce for pasta", while the Brunettis have it with potatoes. You see, it is confusing, isn't it?!

Beef stew with sweet pepper and carrot
Ingredients:
3tbsp chilli-flavoured olive oil + 3tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 big white onion, finely chopped
 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped, about 300g
400g minced beef (I used Hereford beef mince, 10% fat)
a bottle of tomato passata (540g)
250ml red wine
2 sweet peppers (orange or yellow)
a pinch of sugar, sea salt

In a deep frying pan heat up the olive oil, add the chopped onion and carrots, cook stirring for 10-15 minutes. In a separate frying pan, fry the beef mince with finely chopped shallots in chilli flavoured olive oil, until the mince is browned on all sides.
Put the beef in the frying pan with the carrots and onion, mix together, add the passata, red wine and chopped peppers. Season with salt and a pinch of sugar. Bring to boil, then lower the heat and cook simmering for an hour and a half, covered with the lid.
Serve with freshly cooked tagliatelle. You could also serve it with mashed potatoes or polenta.
It is a delicious beef ragu/stew, flavourful and moreish.
This amount of ragu will be enough to feed a big family. You can also freeze it in plastic containers.

In this recipe I used La Classica Passata from Cirio. This is an authentic Italian tomato product made with ripe luscious tomatoes, and it's a perfect base for any tomato sauce.

I used chilli flavoured olive oil from Filippo Berio. If you don't have it, just substitute with a standard olive oil, and add a bit of chilli paste, or fresh chopped chilli to add a nice kick to the dish.
I didn't have Barbera for the recipe, the red wine I added to the recipe was just average red wine which I think was part of dinner for £20 from M&S. In these deals they usually add a cheaper bottle of wine.

Have you read a book recently which inspired you to run to the kitchen and cook to your heart's content?

I hope you are inspired by books to join in the #ReadCookEat challenge.

The idea is to choose a book, either a world classic or modern fiction, or even memoirs and pick up a dish mentioned or described in that book and then recreate it in a recipe. Please say a few lines about your chosen book, and maybe even do a quote from the book.

If you decide to take part, please add the badge to your post and link up back to me, and either use a link-up tool or add the url of your post as a comment. Alternatively, email me with the link to your post (my email is sasha1703 at yahoo dot com).

I promise to Pin all blogs posts taking part in this challenge, as well as RT and Google+

Parsnip and wild mushrooms salad

Summer is almost over. The harvest is upon us. I love the local fruit and vegetable markets at this time of the year, with the luxurious displays of colourful produce. I have never grown my own parsnips but really love this humble vegetable for the sweetness and aroma. You can eat it raw, when it's young and not too woody, it's perfect in stews, but also lovely cooked in warm salads.

Parsnip and mushroom salad (serves 2)
Ingredients:
2 parsnips (150g)
100g wild mushrooms (chanterelle and other)
1tsp dried herbs
2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp fresh lemon juice
mini mozzarella (about 10 mini balls)
a handful of green olives (about 10)
2tbsp olive oil + 1tbsp balsamic vinegar (for dressing)
sea salt, pepper
Cut the skinned parsnips into batons and cook until al dente in slightly salted water. Drain once cooked. While the parsnips are cooking, tear the bigger mushrooms into pieces, leaving the small mushrooms intact. Give them a quick fry in a frying pan with the olive oil, dried herbs and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Assemble your salad on a big plate, first place the parsnips, ten scatter the fried mushrooms on top, add the mozzarella and green olives. Mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a simple dressing, and pour over your salad. Scatter the chopped parsley, season with salt and pepper.

I know that technically mozzarella is not a vegetarian cheese, but you can find some vegetarian versions of it.

I used Filippo Berio extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar in this recipe. My favourite brand for olive oil, it never disappoints and works as a great ingredient for dressings, marinades and glazes.

I have already mentioned Finest Wild mushrooms from Tesco on my blog. Tesco is the only supermarket which sells wild mushrooms on a regular basis. I usually order a pack or two in my weekly grocery shopping, and you never know which variety of mushrooms will arrive. Sometimes there are only chanterelles, sometimes they are mixed with girolles or other mushrooms). Fab for risottos, pasta dishes and with fried potatoes. For £1.50 a box it's a steal, as some of the online grocery companies sell their wild mushrooms at exorbitant prices.

In the last couple of weeks, I have been using a new herb mincer for chopping herbs.
OXO Good Grips Herb Mincer is a handy little gadget made of stainless steel. I love OXO Good Grips range, and have mentioned it several times on my blog. Herb Mincer has a non-slip soft grip. It is easy to use, four circle blades chop the herbs effortlessly.

 You can use the front edge to move the herbs together in a neat pile. To clean the blades, you open the gadget, it separates for easy cleaning. And to store it, just pop in a plastic top back for safety.

Disclosure: I received an OXO Good Grips Herb Mincer for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

If you liked this recipe, you might be interested in the following recipe:
Endive boats with candied walnuts

I'm entering this salad into Simple and in Season, created by Ren and hosted this month by Elizabeth.

Also linking with Extra Veg hosted by Sarah this month for Helen and Michelle. 

Endive boats with candied walnuts, Wensleydale and cranberries

Though the summer is on the wane now, and the school is just a few weeks away, we are enjoying a plethora of salads and light appetizers as nobody fancies anything too heavy. Endive boats are among my favourite appetizers for the ease of assembling and possible variations of ingredients, just add your preferred cubed cheese and nuts, drizzle with an olive oil & balsamic vinegar dressing, and enjoy.

Endive boats with candied walnuts, Wensleydale cheese and cranberries
Ingredients:
9 endive leaves
for candied walnuts (there will be plenty left):
150g walnuts
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1tsp golden syrup
1tbsp maple syrup
100g Wensleydale cheese with cranberries
a handful of dried sweetened cranberries like Craisins

Start by soaking the separated endive leaves in cold water, for at least an hour, to remove the bitterness and make them more crispy.
Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, golden syrup and maple syrup, and coat the walnuts well. Fry in a small pan for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Then spread the walnuts on a tray, covered with the foil, and put in the oven preheated to 180C for 10 minutes, until dry.

Remove the endive leaves from the water and pat dry them. Place a few candied walnut pieces in each endive boat, add the cubed cheese and dried cranberries.
Drizzle over with the dressing made of the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey.
Serve as an appetizer.

You can substitute the Wensleydale cheese with a blue cheese like Dolcelatte or Gorgonzola, or feta. Use different nuts too. I like to add toasted pine nuts to this dish.

In this recipe I used Filippo Berio olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Filippo Berio is one of my favourite brands, and I have written about their products in the past already. I love the history behind the range. The founder of the famous olive oil company was born in 1829 in Tuscany. The name of Berio is a gaurantee of the high quality. It is well known and much loved throughout the world, as well as in its native Italy.

Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil is available in all major supermarkets. It has a unique rich and fruity flavour, and is an excellent ingredient for many dishes from salads to baking.
It is perfect for all kinds of dressings and marinades. And of course, it is just lovely for dipping a chunk of bread in. If you've been to the Italian restaurants and cafes, you were most likely indulging in a plain but oh-so-delicious starter of breads offered with a dish of olive oil with a good balsamic vinegar. If you loved it, what stops you from recreating the experience at home?

Filippo Berio Balsamic Vinegar is an affordable yet tasty balsamic vinegar from Modena, it is tangy and sweet, quite smooth. It is made from specially selected Modena grapes and is aged in oak barrels.
This is another versatile ingredient for cooking, from marinades to dressings, from rich stews to roasts.

I have also been testing a new Little Salad Shaker from OXO (available from Lakeland). It is a cute little kitchen gadget, which allows you to make a dressing in a flash, just add your favourite ingredients, shake the bottle and pour the dressing. The top is easily removed to accommodate a range of ingredients. Made from Tritan, this dressing shaker is dishwasher safe and BPA-free. At 1 cup (250ml) capacity, you can make as much or as little of the dressing as you need. The seal is airtight and leakproof, so shake to your heart's content, then flip the tip, and pour.

Endive boats all disappeared very fast, and we all agreed that they were delicious.

Disclosure: I received two OXO products and two bottles of Filippo Berio products.

Baked omelette with wild mushrooms

Since going on a 5:2 diet this year, I have been rethinking some of the favourite recipes which will be suitable for all family and lower in calories as well. Last evening I fancied some omelette for dinner, and it made me think of the school lunches and the school cooks who handled huge trays of baked omelettes, which were cut into neat squares. This one of the few school lunches that I actually enjoyed. My recipe for Baked Omelette with Wild Mushrooms is a far cry from the humble school meals. But the idea is the same: to bake it rather than cook in the frying pan, with less fat and healthier.

Baked Omelette with Wild Mushrooms
Ingredients:
100g wild mushrooms
1tsp butter spread (with olive oil)
1/2tsp Italian herbs mix
3tbsp plain yogurt (I used Rachel's organic fat free Greek Style natural yogurt)
50g self-raising flour
250g semi-skimmed milk
4 eggs
80 g low fat hard cheese, grated (for example, Weight Watchers reduced fat cheese)
olive oil spray (for example, from Filippo Berio)

Slice the mushrooms (if you don't have wild mushrooms, use chestnut mushrooms for a stronger flavour). I buy wild mushrooms from Tesco, they vary each month. For the last few weeks it is Pied de Mouton from Portugal, meaty mushrooms which are relatively big in size, and are very tasty. Fry them with 1tsp butter spread (with olive oil) or just butter and half a teaspoon of Italian herb mix, for about 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat, add two heaped tablespoons of self-raising flour (50g), 3btsp of plain yogurt, grated cheese and mix well with a spatula to make a thick paste with mushrooms. Pour the milk and mix well again.
Separate the whites from yolks. Add the egg yolks to the mix, and combine together. Whisk the egg whites for a few minutes until all bubbly (it doesn't have to be stiff like when you are making the meringues). Carefully fold into the batter.
Take about 8 ramekins (mine are all mismatched) and spray with the olive oil (I use Filippo Berio, as it comes in a bottle with a dispenser, so it is very convenient to use). Pour the mix into the ramekins. Place the ramekins into a big tray, and fill it with warm water, half way up (be careful not to get any water into the ramekins). Place the tray in the oven preheated to 200C. Bake for about 15 minutes.

You can bake these individual omelette protions ahead of your meal, and reheat in the oven, just before you serve them. For a more substantial meal, serve with the multi-seeded bread sandwich with prosciutto and sliced apple (that's what my husband had for dinner).

I had it with a simple rocket salad, drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice. As you can see, it is a low calorie version, but it's absolutely perfect for all the family including those who are not on a diet.
If you don't count the calories, use any hard cheese you fancy like Cheddar (which is a whooping 402kcal per 100g), or parmesan (even higher calorie count at 431kcal).

For more egg-citing recipes using eggs, please visit Egg Recipes. Did you see my #ShortcutEggspert badge on the side panel? BritMums and the British Lion Eggs have challenged foodie bloggers to share their knowledge and recipes for tasty meals with eggs. I was very happy to be chosen as one of the Shortcut Eggsperts. Watch this space for more recipes, using eggs.

Disclosure: I received vouchers and an amusing gadget to make soldiers as a participant in this project. All recipe ideas and opinions are mine.

Honey and soy sauce glazed salmon

Honey and soy sauce glazed salmon
Ingredients:

2 big fillets of salmon (about 350g each)
1 lime (zest and juice)
3 tbsp soy sauce (I used Amoy Special Selection)
2 tbsp runny honey (for example, Clarks)
3tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 clove of garlic
1tbsp grated ginger (or frozen ginger flakes)
3 baby leeks

To make the glaze mix the following ingredients: the olive oil, honey, soy sauce, fish sauce, zest and juice of 1 lime, 1 finely chopped clove of garlic and some grated ginger (I confess I have a packet of ginger flakes in the freezer from Waitrose, very convenient for when you need just a small amount of ginger.) Don't worry about the amount of honey, 2tbsp might seem a lot for the fish, but as you add the juice and zest of 1 lime, it will counter-balance the flavours. But by all means, experiment yourself, this is not written in the Scriptures.
Slice the baby leeks.
Place the salmon fillets in a deep baking tray (the sauce will be splattering quite a bit, as you can see from the photo below). Scatter the leeks over the fish and leave it to marinade for at least half an hour before roasting/baking in the oven at 180C for about half an hour.
Serve hot with the rice.

The flavours are pretty amazing: the salmon is zingy and spicy, and very-very tasty. I had a medium piece left, and the next day made a potato salad with chopped potatoes, sliced apple and flaked fish (with the olive oil/lime dressing). It was lovely cold as well.

Many thanks to Darlene Schmidt for the inspiration. I have stumbled across her recipe for Salmon in Asian Soy, Honey & Ginger Sauce on About.com. I have adapted the recipe to suit the ingredients I had (I omitted the hoisin sauce and changed the quantities of the other ingredients etc but it was her recipe that inspired me. I have found quite a lot of soy and honey recipes for the salmon online, but this one was the most exciting).

Sweet potato cupcakes with yogurt frosting (reduced calorie recipe challenge)

Sweet potato cupcakes with yogurt frosting
Ingredients:
300g sweet potato, cooked and mashed
150g light brown sugar
2 eggs
170g fat free Greek style yogurt (I used Chobani raspberry yoghurt)
30g ground almonds
1tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
150g self-raising flour
1/2tsp cinnamon
90ml olive oil
icing sugar + plain Chobani fat free yogurt for frosting
freeze-dried strawberries for decoration
raspberries, blueberries (optional)

Cook the sweet potato in water (cut into quarters), once cooked, take it out of the pan, let it cool, then mash with a fork in a big mixing bowl with sugar and cinnamon. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, ground almonds, baking powder, yogurt and mix well, add the flour and olive oil, mix well again.
Pour the cake mixture into the cupcake/muffin paper cases and place the filled cases in the oven preheated to 180C on a tray. Bake for about 25 minutes, check with the wooden skewer that they are cooked through.
Take the cupcakes out and leave to cool.
Make the frosting by mixing the plain Greek style yogurt with the icing sugar (I have used the Chobani plain yoghurt).
Spread over the cupcakes with a spoon. Decorate with the berries of your choice or freeze-dried strawberries.


Typically I bake almost everything with butter and would have used the soured cream frosting. Using the oil and fat free yogurt in the cake batter as well as the fat free yogurt for frosting makes it a calorie reduced option. Plus using the sweet potato, I added less sugar than usual.

Eddie wanted to participate, so I let him mix the cake batter and also fill in some paper cases. I only had cheap muffin paper cases from Waitrose which won't hold anything, even when double-layered, so the cupcakes got rather wide in the middle.
They look funny but taste great. The yogurt in the batter makes them moist and flavourful, the sweet potato adds the sweetness, so that you can use less sugar.

Here is my mini-cook, eating one of the cupcakes while sitting on his haunches, without waiting for the icing to be added. Well, I suppose we had to try it before decorating, didn't we?

Adding my recipe to lovely Verily Victoria Vocalises blog linky #PoCoLo.