Banana Blueberry Pikelets

This afternoon I was looking to make a quick, relatively healthy, snack for my boys that incorporated some bananas that had seen better days. These pikelets are the result.  They have a really subtle banana flavour with the blueberries bursting in your mouth as you eat them. I have used Stevia to sweeten these, although you could substitute this with equal parts caster sugar.

Banana Blueberry Pikelets

Ingredients
1 ripe banana
1 cup SR flour (regular or wholemeal)
1/4 cup stevia
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Roughly half a cup frozen blueberries

Method
Add all ingredients except blueberries to Thermomix bowl. Mix on speed 5 for 15 seconds or until just combined. Do not over mix.

*If you aren't using a Thermomix, simply mash the banana roughly with a fork. Then add all other ingredients except blueberries and mix with a spoon until combined. Lumps are ok.

Pour batter into pikelet shapes in a frypan on low heat. Immediately sprinkle each pikelet with a few frozen blueberries. Once the bubbles appearing in the batter begin to pop, flip pikelet over. Remove from pan after a few minutes and they are cooked through.

Sticky Date Hot Cross Buns

I know its a bit late for a HCB recipe, but I only whipped these up for the first time last night and they were so good I just had to share. The proving process for these buns happens overnight and it is well worth taking the time to allow this to happen, as the texture is amazing.

No need to dirty a piping bag to make the crosses. Just fill a ziplock bag and cut the corner off, that way you can just throw it all away when you're done.

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/baking-sweet-recipes/sticky-date-hot-cross-buns/145566

Sesame Bagels

Good bagels are so hard to come by in Perth. They are often really dense with an almost stale taste to them. These Thermomix ones, however, are easy to make and perfectly light and fluffy in the middle. I served these for Easter with smoked salmon and a lemon chive cream cheese. 

Sesame Bagels

Ingredients

360ml water

20 grams sugar

10 grams salt

10ml vegetable oil

10 grams dry yeast (roughly 1.5 packets)

600 grams plain flour

Sesame Seeds

Method

Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Add water, sugar, salt, oil and yeast to Thermomix bowl. Mix 5 seconds speed 5. Add flour and mix 6 seconds speed 7. Knead for 2 mins on interval setting. Break dough into 10  equal portions and roll into balls. Allow to rest for 20 mins.

Once rested, poke your finger right through the middle of the ball, making a bagel/doughnut shape. Allow bagels to rest again for 20 mins.

Bring an inch of water to the boil in a frypan. Boil bagels for a minute on each side, then flip and boil for another minute. You can do 3-4 at a time, depending on the size of your pan. When removing bagels from water, place on a tea towel to dry them slightly. Then place bagels on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle the bagels with sesame seeds and bake 10 mins. Flip bagels and bake for another 10 mins.

Lemon Chive Cream Cheese

Ingredients

1 tub cream cheese

Zest of one lemon

1-2 tablespoons chopped chives

Salt to taste

Method

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve with smoked salmon and bagels.