Date filled oats peanut butter bites

I love apple pear crumble and they taste divine when had freshly baked. I haven't shared that recipe yet but this time round I made this date filled bites. I got dates in my kitchen and no one at home wanted to touch them. So I tried using them for all the sweetness in the recipe . This recipe can be tried with many variations but for now I kept in simple using handful of ingredients.

They are your on the go energy bars minus the empty calories and sugar. Also doubles up as a dessert! 

Ingredients:

2 cup rolled oats 

1 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 tablespoons cinnamon powder

1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1 cup dates (de seeded)

1/3 cup water

1 tablespoons brown sugar

Recipe:

We will prepare date filling first as that needs to be cooled down to use. Chop the dates finely. Hear water in a pan and add dates. Cook for about 5 minutes as they turn soft. Keep mashing with spoon while they ate hot so we wonr need to grind them. It will become like a paste but not very thin.

Let it cool , meanwhile cut butter into small pieces and add flour, oats, cinnamon powder, baking powder to it. Using hands crumble it together to mix everything together. It should be like crumble mixture now , so will add peanut butter. It will help to bind oats together and it will not fall apart after baking. Preheat oven to 180C . Brush oil on a square baking pan. Size of the pan should be as big as you can use to cover its bottom with 2 layers of oat mixture . 

I used 8x9 inches glass one and it was perfect for the above quantities. Divide the crumble mix into 2 parts. Spread first half onto pan and press using gamds or back of a spoon. Now spread the date filling evenly on top. Again top with another layer of oats mixture. Press lightly. This is important as otherwise we wont be able cut them later if its too loose. Bake for 25-30 minutes as top crust turns golden.

Let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Leave to cool for some more time before taking out pieces.

Serve warm !

Beetroot chocolate cake with avacado frosting

Yes you heard me right. So whenever I think about a cake what comes in my mind is white flour, butter, egg and cream. This definitely puts me off from indulging into an otherwise delectable piece of this awesome dessert. This time round I got rid of most of these ingredients and tried to substitute them without compromising with the richness and flavor of a conventional chocolate cake.

I had a ripe avocado on my kitchen counter and  for a change I didn't want to make guacamole . I had tried avocado cookies earlier once so had my hopes pinned on using this avocado for making some dessert , that's how I ended up baking this beetroot oat cake to use the chocolate avocado as frosting. Avocado, also known as butter fruit provides the perfect frosting when combined with some sugar and dark chocolate. As for the cake I used my all time favorite canola oil with oats and beet. Since I started using canola oil for baking I have bid good bye to the butter and never feel any difference in taste and texture of the baked product.

So this recipe essentially has only two baddies - chocolate (of only you consider it bad, I don't if its dark) and condensed milk.  But this is by far the most amazing guilt free recipe. You can grab a bite and let yourself indulge in the rich chocolate taste  without worrying too much! I avoid using any artificial colors and flavors so didn't add any but you can add vanilla extract to enhance the frosting.
I only had essence and not natural extract so skipped it completely.

Here  goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup oats flour (grind rolled oats)
3/4 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup pureed beetroot(boiled and pureed with little water)
 1/2 tablespoon baking powder

For frosting:
50 grams dark choclate
1 small avacado
2 table spoon icing sugar

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 180 C, blend the oil, condensed milk, beet puree together in a bowl.
Add the dry ingredients a separate bowl - oat flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix . Using a wooden spatula mix everything together.
Pour in greased cake pan dusted with flour. Bake for 40 minutes . Check using a tootpick when its done, it should come out clean .

Let it cool, once cooled down cut horizontally in middle. Cool it completely before applying icing.
To make the frosting, blend the avocado, melted chocolate and sugar together till it gets a nice smooth consistency without any lumps.

Spread the icing on first layer and place the top layer on it. Cover with icing and enjoy!