Popcorn bars!

Do you want a super easy snack that's ready in 10 minutes? If your in the mood for pocorn, these bars are for you! Taking the humble snack and combining it with chocolate and marshmallows makes for a super delicious bar option that in my opinion elevates popcorn. To my bars I love to add puffed rice cereal and cranberries to provide a combination of both chewy and crunchy textures. In this recipe I have listed to use dark chocolate as it is not as sweet as other chocolates, complementing the bar well as well as additionally adding other sweet ingredients like mini eggs to further sweeten the popcorn.

If you did want to use milk chocolate, it would work but it will be a little sweeter so it depends on your preferences. You can sub the cranberries for raisins to, and of course you don't have to use mini eggs, you could use a range of other choclate - just make sure its gluten free. You could use: cream eggs, chocolate eggs, chocolate buttons, chopped chocolate, white chocolate eggs etc.

These bars are a great snack and are super easy to make with friends or family for a fun movie night snack to as it takes a common snack of popcorn and elevates it by adding chocolate and rice cereal for extra flavour and crunchy texture along with the chewy cranberries and marshmallows to! They are also super easy to change depending on what you have in the house and your preferences. Theres a variety of changes that you could make, they include: the chocolate can be changed to milk chocolate, you could try a variety of chopped nuts instead of the cereal, the mini eggs can be changed for any of your favourite chocolate crushed or chopped up.

I prefer to use mini marshmallows for this recipe as they are easier to use than large ones and take less preparation however you could chop up the large ones into smaller pieces if that's easier for you!

Any brand of chocolate should work for this, but if you're looking to cut the cost a supermarket own brand cooking chocolate will work great as branded chocolate can be expensive especially when using it in a large quantity. So looking to use up some of that leftover popcorn and easter treats? Then this recipe is for you, super easy just mix it all together and let it set in the fridge for a few hours and you've got a delicious snack!

As far as a vegan or dairy free version goes, the choclate, butter and choclate addition would need to be dairy free alternatives as well as checking the marshmallow and rice cereal ingredients to! To make it vegan the dairy free alternatives would be required as well as a substitution for the marshmallow which could be a vegan marshmallow or homemade marshmallows.

If you have any other questions head over to my blog @rubysgfkitchen and let me know on there or use the contact me section of this page.

So here's the recipe...

Ingredients

350g Dark chocolate

140g Butter

4tbsp Golden syrup

60g Popped salted popcorn

50g Mini marshmallows

160g Mini eggs

100g Dried cranberries

50g Gluten free puffed rice cereal

Method

1- Melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup together in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water until all the chocolate pieces have melted.

2- Once melted separate 100g of the mixture and leave to one side, add the rest to a large mixing bowl.

3- In a plastic bag bash 80g of the mini eggs with a wooden spoon but make sure not to bash then to fine! ( simarly you could do this in a bowl, however it may take you a little bit longer!)

4- To the large mixing bowl containing the chocolate mixture add the marshmallows, popcorn, cranberries, 80g of the mini eggs you just broke up and the puffed rice cereal and stir to combine.

5- Line a large tin with baking parchment (I use a brownie tin and a cake tin) and add in the mixture!

6- Smooth out the top and add the remaining 100g of chocolate mix. Crush the remaining 80g of mini eggs and add these to the top ( you could even add a few extra marshmallows) and place in the fridge for a few hours to set!

7- Once set, cut into squares and enjoy!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy making this recipe - if you do make it take a photo and tag me on instagram @rubysgfkitchen so that I can see your creations!

Happy baking,

Ruby x

Choclate easter traybake

Do you want a super easy chocolate cake but have no circular tins? This chocolate traybake is super simple, with minimal ingredients and a really easy method its a great one to do over easter, and a really easy one to do with kids! Pack on the easter chocolate and glorious chocolate buttercream and your cake is ready to go!

No need for elaborate decoration to make this one look good! Of course you can make this in a circular tin too if you want to, the cooking time may vary from the recipe so keep checking it.

You want a well risen fluffy cake, so make sure when you're spreading out the cake mix onto the tray you don't push down too hard or for too long. In addition to this when mixing the cake you don't want to beet it for too long, only until it's just combined as any unnecessary mixing will destroy air bubbles and could result in a dry cake.

This Is an adapted recipe from my triple chocolate cake recipe which you can find on my blog under sweet recipes so if you want all 3 chocolates in one cake go check it out after this one!

When finding your optional easter goodies for the top make sure that they are gluten free, and celiac safe if required. Some of my favourites for bakes like this are cadburys mini eggs, cream eggs, KitKat Santas or bunnies, chocolate buttons, white chocolate, chocolate chips or you could choose to decorate your cake with sprinkles to! To use the chocolate I bashed the mini eggs with a rolling pin in a sealable plastic bag, cut the chocolate buttons in half and roughly chopped the cream eggs in half to!

All you need is some simple ingredients and a bit of spare time and your ready to go! Here are the brands I use and substitutes you can make:

- Gluten free self raising flour- I use the dove farms blend but you can use any you have in the cupboard or even experimenting by making your own!

- Butter- Its really important that this soft before you start baking so leave it of the fridge overnight or heat in the microwave for 20 seconds and you'll be ready!

- Eggs- Not only do they help to bind the ingredients in the cake but they also help the cake to rise, I use large eggs but medium should be fine to!

- Cocoa powder- I use bournvil as I find that this gives a super chocolatey flavour without being bitter!

- Caster sugar- Combined with the butter sugar helps to give the cake its exterior wall as well as forming a crumb and providing a sweet flavour to!

- Milk - Giving the batter a little bit more movement which allows us to easily spread it out, if you don't have any milk you should be okay to do this recipe without!

- Zanthem gum- Although its not completely necessary I use this in most my bakes to ensure the product stays together and doesn't crumble!

- Baking powder- Make sure that you get a gluten free version as there can be some that are not gluten free and its a key raising agent in this recipe!

- Vanilla extract- So this ones not necessary if you don't have it or can't find any but is really helpful if you want to balance out the chocolate flavour between the cake and buttercream!

- Dark chocolate- Obviously it not only adds a luxurious chocolate flavour but allows for the smooth and silky texture of the buttercream and cake mix (you could experiment with milk chocolate to but your cake may be a little sweeter)!

- Icing sugar- Its really important that you sift this otherwise your icing will be lumpy!

- Chocolate topping- I use 2 packets of mini eggs as well as some chocolate buttons and four cream eggs but the toppings are entirely your choice, just make sure there gluten free!

And those are all the ingredients that you will need to make this cake as well as possible substitutions that you could make and other ingredients you could use instead.

Now as far as a vegan or dairy free option goes here are the ingredients that you would need to replace for a dairy free substitute:

- Butter- A hard dairy free butter would be preferred but you could try a margarine!

- Milk - A dairy free milk would be needed such as almond, oat, hazelnut, cashew, coconut etc.

- Dark chocolate- You will need to replace the chocolate for a dairy free dark chocolate to!

- Chocolate toppings- The toppings you use will also need to be dairy free, you could use no mo or buttermilk etc

- Cocoa powder - Make sure your cocoa powder is dairy free to!

If your making the cake vegan make sure to make these dairy substitutes as well as substituting the egg for a replacement such as a chia or flaxseed egg! (I have not tried these substitutions, they are only recommendations so results may vary).

Anyway, here's the recipe for my easter tray bake, why not try it over easter weekend for a dessert or Sunday treat? If you do try it take a photo and tag me on instagram @rubysgfkitchen as I'd love to see your creations!

Ingredients

110g gluten free self raising flour

175g butter, softned

2 eggs

55g cocoa powder

175g caster sugar

1 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp Zan them gum

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

50g dark chocolate, melted

Buttercream

110g dark chocolate melted

55g cocoa powder, sifted

185g icing sugar, sifted

250g butter, softened

Toppings

Easter chocolate! (I used two packets of mini eggs, chocolate buttons and 4 cream eggs all cut up)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 fan and grease and line one large traybake tin

2. Cream together the butter and the sugar using a stand mixer or handheld electric one until all the sugar is mixed in and the mixture is light and fluffy ( you can do this with a wooden spoon, it might just take a little bit longer!)

3. Add the vanilla, milk and one egg to the batter and beat this in using a whisk or hand held electric whisk until smooth ( if doing this in a standing mixer make sure to stir the mixture to incorporate all of the ingredients while it is mixing) and then mix in the second egg

4. In a separate bowl Sieve the flour, baking powder, zanthem gum and cocoa powder and mix to combine

5. Pour the melted chocolate into your wet mixture and whisk in until combined.

6. Using a spatula fold the dry ingredients into your wet mixture ( it is very important that this is folded into the mixture, do not whisk in the dry ingredients!).

7. Once your mixture is thoroughly combined pour into your tin, and smooth out the top of the cake so that they are level (make sure not to press down too hard as you still want them to rise)

8. Bake the cakes in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean

9. leave the cake in the tin to cool for 10 minutes and then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely

10. To make the buttercream: beat together the butter and sifted icing sugar using an electric or standing mixer, once combined beat in the sifted cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth. Lastly add in the melted chocolate and mix until combined.

11. Spread the icing on to the cake and sprinkle over your chosen toppings, slice and enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed reading my recepie and give it a go over easter! To see notifications for when I upload on here as well as product reviews and weekly posts head over to my instagram page @rubysgfkitchen!

Happy baking,

Ruby x

The BEST Banana bread!

Looking for an easy breakfast idea that's quick and healthy?? This gluten free banana bread is the bake for you!

The nutty crunch from the walnuts combined with the smooth rich dark chocolate makes for the most delicious combo - its re-heatable- so heat it in the microwave and enjoy it warm. You could even add cream or ice cream as a delicious dessert option to!

If you don't enjoy walnuts or dark chocolate you can always substitute them out for a different variation for example milk chocolate and hazelnuts.

Get creative with your combinations, post a photo and tag me on instagram so I can see your awesome creations.

As well as being gluten free this recipe is also refined sugar free and flour free to so there's no need to buy special gluten free flour to bake this beauty.

Here are some answers to common questions you might have:

Can you use green bananas for this recepie?

Ummm, you could but the banana bread would not have such an iconic banana flavour, ideally the bananas will be yellow with a large amount of brown or black on them - this also makes them easier to mash and provides us with a super sweet banana flavour.

Is this recipe refined sugar free?

Yes! This recipe uses no added sugar and uses natural honey as the sweetener instead.

Can I make this recipe dairy free?

I have never tried it dairy free - if you can find a yogurt substitute then give it a go and let me know how it turns out.

Is this recipe vegan?

In short no, there's honey, eggs and yogurt in this recipe but like with the dairy free if you can find substitutes let me know how it turns out over on my instagram.

What tin can I use if I don't have a loaf tin?

Personally I have never not used a loaf tin for banana bread but you could use a muffin tin and make muffins or use a small brownie tin just be aware that your results may vary from my own and cooking time will be significantly less.

If you want to cook the bread a little quicker than the time on the recipe you could use a brownie tin or bake it into muffins as this would significantly decrease the baking time.

Do I need any special equipment for this recipe?

Yes! you will need a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients as this is far more accurate, however if you do not have one of these you can cover the measurements in to cups however your results may vary from my own.

Steps to take to make the ultimate banana bread...

Recipe:

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas peeled

4 tbsp honey

2 large eggs

140g plain greek yogurt

250g ground almonds

1tsp baking powder

1tsp zanthem gum

100g walnuts, roughly chopped

100g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks (sugar free if needed) (optional)

a knob of coconut oil to grease tin

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 fan and line a loaf tin with baking parchment and grease with coconut oil.

2. Mash the bananas with the honey in a bowl and using an electric whisk, whisk in the eggs, and then the yogurt whisking for a few minutes until fully incorporated.

3. Fold in the almounds, baking powder and zanthem gum, mixing with a spatula until fully incorporated.

4. Lastly fold in the walnuts and chocolate before pouring the mix into the tin and baking for 45-50 minutes or when a knife comes out clean from the middle. (keep an eye on the bread and if it starts to burn but is still raw cover with tin foil to continue baking).

5. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes until turning out onto a wire rack, to cool completely.

If you do make this bread tag me on instagram @rubysgfkitchen so I can see your amazing bakes.

Hope you enjoyed reading,

Ruby xx