I just luuuuurve my naked tight nuts from the tiger nut company. I'm forever thinking up new ways to use them. I wanted to try and utilise them in a recipe in place of slivered almonds, but short of spending 48 hours finely chopping each individual tiger nut by hand with mathematical precision, I wasn't sure how to achieve this. The lightbulb moment came when I realised I could chuck them in the food processor using the fine slicer attachment. Result! Slivered tiger nuts. You can now expect an onslaught of recipes coming your way using these crunchy little gems. My first thought was to attempt to create some florentine biscuits. I wanted to ensure they had crisp edges, a nutty, chewy centre and a chocolatey coating over the back . After a couple of tries I nailed it, making a batch of 20. My husband ate half of them immediately so I took this as a sign of a successful recipe.

These are a great idea to make as a post dinner party treat or even for Christmas. Yes I mentioned Christmas in October, but us food intolerant folk always need to plan ahead. I have used carob in place of chocolate - a low fodmap amount per cookie. However if you are low FODMAP and not AIP you can use dark chocolate. I have also used dried cranberries - a low FODMAP amount per cookie. If the combination of the carob and cranberries is too much for your tolerance you could replace the cranberries with candied peel or dried blueberries. This recipe requires a certain level of accuracy as you do not want too much flour. I have posted some of the ingredient measurements in grams as opposed to my usual 'chuck it in a measuring cup' approach.

This mixture makes 20 florentines

Ingredients:

1 cup of soaked tiger nuts (Please see link below)
50 grams of coconut oil (See link below)
75g of maple syrup
35g of tiger nut powder
1 dessert spoon of arrowroot powder
50g of chopped dried cranberries (or sub with dried blueberries or candied peel)
Zest of half an orange

For the carob coating:

2 tablespoons of coconut oil
5 tablespoons of carob powder
1 tablepoon of maple syrup

Method:

Pre-heat an oven to 180 degrees (fan assisted) and line a large baking tray with baking parchment.

To create your slivered tiger nuts, use the thin slice attachment blade on a food processor and blitz the whole soaked tiger nuts. You will be left with fine slivers. Add these to a bowl with the tiger nut powder, dried fruit, orange zest and arrowroot. Mix thoroughly .

In a small pan over a low heat melt your coconut oil and maple syrup. Once melted add your dry mixture, stirring continously until fully combined and you have a thick sticky paste.

Take one teaspoon of the mixture at a time and place on the baking sheet. You want to press this down with your hands to form a small flat biscuit. Too thick and the mixture wont crisp up properly. Place the tray in the centre of your oven and bake for 12 minutes until golden brown. Depending on the size of your tray you will probably need to cook these in 2 batches. The biscuits will be crispy round the edges with a slightly softer chewy centre. Allow these to firm up a little as they cool.

To make your carob coating, create a double boiler by resting a bowl over a pan of boiling water. Add the coconut oil and let it melt completely before adding your carob powder and maple syrup. Keep stirring until this resembles chocolate sauce. Spoon about half a teaspoon onto the back of each biscuit and spread to the edges, covering the back of the biscuit completely.

You can leave these to set on the side or pop in the fridge for 15 minutes to set quickly - it depends how desperate you are to eat them.

These keep well in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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Autumn is officially here and it's sparked a baking frenzy in my house. It's also sparked a heated debate on the texture of gingerbread. I haven't had gingerbread for a long long time, but memory tells me that they were always slightly soft and chewy inside. My husband however insists that they are crunchy. Google tells me that this debate is not restricted to our household but it seems to be a contentious issue worldwide. Further digging informs me that traditional gingerbread is in fact soft and chewy. 1 point to me. However in the making of edible decorations and houses it should be firmer and crisper. So I guess we're even. I probably won't tell him that though.

To accommodate both our gingerbread needs, I have made some slightly softer chewy gingerbread leaves to welcome Autumn in. I am also in the process of creating a Christmas e-book of allergen free, AIP and low FODMAP recipes which will feature a festive gingerbread house made from a crunchier gingerbread.

In the meantime, enjoy these warming, spiced biscuits with a nice cuppa.

This makes quite a considerable amount of dough. I was able to make 17 leaves from my dough.

Ingredients:

2 cups tigernut powder plus two reserved tablespoons (see link below)
Half a cup of arrowroot powder plus extra for dusting.
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons of ground ginger
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground mace
A pinch of ground cloves
A pinch of salt
A teaspoon of vanilla powder
Half a cup of maple syrup
Half a cup of melted coconut oil (see link below for my favourite)
1 tablespoon of gelatin (see link below for my favourite)
2 tablespoons warm water

Equipment:

Baking paper
Gingerbread/cookie cutters
rolling pin
large oven tray
2 mixing bowls
Whisk

Method:

​Preheat your oven to 180 degrees for fan assisted.

In a mixing bowl sift together your tigernut flour and arrowroot. Add your ground spices, bicarbonate of soda, vanilla and salt. Mix throughly so the spices are incorporated evenly throughout the flour.

In a separate bowl add your maple syrup and melted coconut oil. Add two tablespoons of warm water and sprinkle your gelatin across the surface of the liquid. Whisk immediately to avoid the gelatin clumping together.

Slowly stir your liquids into your dry mix a little at a time until fully combined. You should have a firm dough  that does not stick to your hands. If your dough is too sticky, add some of the reserved tigernut flour to firm the dough up. Unlike regular gingerbread dough, you do not need to leave this to rest, you want to work fairly quickly.

Sprinkle arrowroot powder over your work surface to prevent your dough from sticking. Using a rolling pin, roll your dough out evenly to the thickness of a pound coin. Using your chosen cookie cutters, cut your gingerbread shapes from the dough and transfer to a large oven tray lined with baking paper. Leave an inch between biscuits to allow for them to expand a little during cooking.

Bake these towards the top of the oven for 10-12 minutes. They should be golden brown and firm to touch without being too hard. Leave these to cool then devour instantly.

This lovely little treat happened entirely by accident. I had over ambitiously set out to make flapjacks with a streusel topping. When it became apparent that my oat-less flapjack was going nowhere other than the bin, I whipped up a crumbly shortcake base to hold my jammy, streusel topping. There's nothing more satisfying than salvaging a baking disaster by creating something even more delicious.

Ingredients:

For the base
1 cup of tigernut flour (see link below)
2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder
3 tablepoons of melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons of maple syrup

Half a jar of my raspberry and blueberry jam

For the streusel topping
8 tablespoons of tigernut flour
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
A pinch of salt

Equipment:

You will need a loose bottom cake tin or baking tray. I used a round 15 inch tin.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees, 180 for fan assisted.

Method:

​To make your base sift the tigernut flour and arrowroot into a mixing bowl, add your melted coconut oil, syrup and mix to form a dough. Press your dough firmly into the base of your cake tin to form an even layer. This will be about1.5 cm thick.

Place this in the centre of you oven and let it bake for 15 minutes until it starts to turn golden brown. 

While the base is cooking you can make the topping. Place all the topping ingredients in a mixing bowl and run a fork through the mixture to combine the ingredients and create a crumb like texture. You don't want to break the pieces up too much, its nice to have some bigger chunks in there!

When your base is ready, remove it from the oven and spoon over a thick even layer of jam, covering the entire base. Crumble your streusal mixture over the top of this and return the tray to the oven for a further 20 minutes. When it is ready the crumble should be golden and your jam should be starting to bubble.

Leave this to cool entirely before removing from the tray. This allows the shortcake base to firm up.

All that remains is to get the kettle on and enjoy a slice.

For me, creating any kind of sweet treat that is both AIP compliant and low in FODMAP's is nothing short of a miracle. The fact that these actually came out of the oven tasting just like muffins stunned me so much I had to eat 7 of them immediately just to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

The natural sweetness of tigernut flour combines well with arrowroot powder to create a moist dense sponge while the blueberries add little explosions of flavour with every mouthful.

Makes 10 - 12 muffins

Ingredients:

Half a cup of arrowroot powder plus 1/2 tablespoon
1 and a half cups of finely ground tigernut flour plus 1 tablespoon (it is super important to use only the finely ground version - see link below)
1 teaspoon of vanilla powder (see below for the AIP compliant one I use)
1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
A quarter teaspoon of salt
A dessert spoon of lemon juice
1/2 cup of tigernut milk (or any lactose free milk you can tolerate)
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1 quarter cup of melted coconut oil plus a tablespoon
2 gelatin eggs - 2 tablespoons of powdered gelatin plus 9 tablespoons of warm water. (please see link for recommended gelatin below)
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries

Method:

Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees for fan assisted.

Line a cupcake tray with individual cake cases.

Sift all your dry ingredients - flour, arrowroot, bicarbonate of soda, vanilla and salt into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl add half of the tigernut milk, maple syrup, melted coconut oil and lemon juice.

In another bowl you will need to create your gelatin 'eggs'. Add 6 tablespoons of warm water to a bowl, followed by two tablespoons of gelatin. Whisk this immediately to ensure the gelatin dissolves and there are no lumps. Transfer the gelatin eggs to the bowl of liquids and whisk together.

Slowly pour your liquid mix into your dry mix stirring as you go, ensuring everything is fully incorporated. Your batter will be fairly thick and should not be runny. If your mixture is looking too stodgy however, you can add a little of the reserved tigernut milk. You want this to be of a similar consistency to regular muffin batter. Add in your fresh blueberries stirring them evenly throughout the mixture

Spoon your batter into your individual cake cases, place in the centre of your oven and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely so that they firm up.

These will keep well in an airtight container in a cool place for up to three days and still taste just as good!
​

I thought I would attempt a sticky toffee pudding for my husbands birthday. I had visions of turning out a perfect sponge, dense enough to hold up to copious amounts of sweet rich toffee, interspersed with chewy crystallised 'dates'. I can only assume I was being guided by some kind of mystical culinary gods because against all odds, thats exactly what I made. When I took my first mouthful I was close to tears. It's probably been a good 6 years since i've eaten a sticky toffee pudding. Although AIP, low FODMAP, gluten and dairy free, this is decadent. Yes, it contains superfoods such as tigernuts and coconut oil, but this is definitely one to reserve for special occasions. I know its definitely on my Christmas baking list.

Equipment:

I used a 15 inch bundt tin, but you could make this in a standard cake tin or smaller pudding moulds. I was just trying to be fancy.

Ingredients:

For the pudding 
 
1 cup of arrowroot powder
2 cups of tigernut flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla powder (see below for AIP compliant version I use)
1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
A pinch of salt
A dessert spoon of lemon juice
1/4 cup of melted coconut oil plus one tablespoon
1/4 cup of maple syrup
2 gelatin eggs
1 cup of tigernut milk

For the sticky toffee sauce

1/2  cup of maple syrup plus a tablespoon
1 and 1/2 cups of tigernut milk
A quarter cup of coconut oil
A pinch of salt

For the dates

If you are AIP only you will be able to add dates to the batter as you would a normal sticky toffee pudding. For this use 75g of chopped, pitted dates.

For a low FODMAP alternative you will need:
1 medium sweet potato peeled and diced into 1 cm thick discs (this is a low fodmap portion per slice - alternatively you could use a sweet squash)
2 dessert spoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees, 180 fan assisted

To make the low FODMAP 'dates'

Place your sweet potato discs onto an oven tray and drizzle with the maple syrup and coconut oil. Bake these in the centre of the oven for 35 minutes, turning frequently and ensuring the potatoes are coated in the oil and syrup. Once baked and caramelised remove from the oven and chop into small pieces - about 1/2 cm. Leave these to one side.

If you are using dates, place in a small saucepan over a medium/low heat. Cover with 75ml water and let the water come to a simmer. Cook until the dates are mushy and have absorbed all the water.

To make your sponge, sift all your dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and combine.

In a separate bowl add your lemon juice, coconut oil, maple syrup and milk.

In another bowl you need to make your gelatin eggs. Add 9 tablespoons of warm water and two tablespoons of gelatin powder (link below) Whisk immediately to ensure the gelatin does not clump together. Transfer the eggs to your wet ingredients and whisk thoroughly, incorporating all the liquids.

Gradually pour your wet ingredients in to the dry, gently folding the flour as you go. You should have a fairly thick pudding batter - not too runny, but not overly dense. Once you have fully combined all the sponge ingredients, stir through your dates or caramelised potatoes.

Spoon the batter into your cake tin and place this in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch. The most important thing now is that you can scrape any remaining uncooked batter out of the bowl and lick the spoon like you did when you were a kid. It tastes EXACTLY the same.

While your pudding is cooking you can make your toffee sauce.

Add your coconut oil, maple syrup, salt and half a cup of tigernut milk to a medium saucepan and whisk together throughly. Turn the heat to medium low. The mixture will start to warm and thicken. Keep whisking frequently for 15 minutes until you have a reduced, rich bubbling thick caramel. At this point add in the rest of the tigernut milk and turn the heat up. You want to keep it bubbling and keep whisking until it reduces down and turns a rich toffee colour. This should take around about 8 more minutes.

Once your cake is cooked through, remove from the oven to serve immediately with the hot toffee sauce. Alternatively, you can let the cake cool in the pan to serve later. If using later, re-heat your sponge by wrapping it in foil and warming through in the oven for 12 minutes. You can always reheat the toffee sauce over the hob. 

This pudding will keep for up to three days, but is best served warm.