I love to bake, so when Currys asked me if I’d like to take part in their blogger bake sale challenge I was most definitely up for it! You can read more about the challenge here, and check out the websites of the other fabulous bloggers. I was challenged to get creative with a brilliant new piece of kit, a Kenwood Multi Pro Food Processor which I really enjoyed using. As I don’t work somewhere with loads of staff, I decided to make mine a week long bake sale and take treats with me to family get togethers, into the office (only 3 of us work there!) and along to some of my community projects to raise money for my chosen charity, the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation as I really love what that charity stands for and promotes when it comes to food and nutrition, particularly for kids.
I wanted to make some great treats with a bit of a healthy twist. All of these are what I would call ‘crowd pleasers’. They have some healthier swaps, but still taste naughty enough for people that are maybe more used to high sugar processed foods. I think some of these are a great way to introduce sceptics of healthier swaps to try them out! I made 5 recipes in total, with most of them being based on one of my own recipes or a twist on another recipe I found. One recipe where I did stick to the original was these lovely Skinny Blueberry Banana Muffins from Sally’s Baking Addiction:
The recipe made a nice big batch and they turned out really well! Next up was some brownies. I’ve always wanted to try a black bean brownie recipe and thought this was a great opportunity to make some. Of course a food processor is a must for blending the black beans and creating a smoothie brownie batter:
I based my recipe on this one from Skinny Taste, but changing up the sugar for a healthier option and adding some mint extract:
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These were absolute winners! My little 5 year old nephew ate one of these no problem, as did fuss pot James who doesn’t even like beans! A really terrific recipe, which of course you can make without the added mint extract for some plain tasty brownies.
Later this week I started on another batch of recipes starting with these chocolate chip muffins:
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I based this recipe on an old vegan cupcake recipe I’d made a few years ago with a few tweaks, they also turned out very well indeed and proved to be extremely popular too. Next up I thought I’d make some yummy chocolate chip cookies!
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These aren’t soft cookies as they have a bit of crunch but are delicious all the same, definitely a winning recipe!
Last but not least I decided to try something a bit different. One of my colleagues has several intolerance’s and I wanted to ensure that she had something to enjoy as well. After looking at a lot of delicious raw dessert recipes last week, I thought I’d make some raw carrot cake bars as another recipe to test out the food processor as I had already created the cashew coconut butter I used as the frosting in it the week before:
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How good do they look! Completely gluten free and refined sugar free, the creamy cashew coconut butter really sets them off.
As you can see, it’s been a busy week in my kitchen! I still have the weekend and a few days next week when I hope to sell a few more treats but so far I’ve raised just under £50 which I don’t think is too bad considering the amount of people I’ve been able to reach.
Have you ever taken part in a bake sale? Do you have a go to recipe you know everyone will like?
The raw carrot cake slice look glorious – i want them right now! I have just discover how amazing cashew are for creating icings so I am putting frosting on EVERYTHING! Enjoy your ‘me’ day xx
Thanks Kezia! I’ve just ate a spare raw carrot slice, so delicious!
All those recipes look fab, although I must admit that even though I like black beans (in chilli or whatever) I just cannot imagine them in a brownie- I have seen so many recipes using them but have not ever tried them. One day, maybe!
The bake sale is such a great idea, and wonderful that you can choose your own charity too. I tend to raise money for a race that I do once a year, and choose a different charity each year- this year it is a local hospice. To encourage people at work to donate I normally bake brownies and make fudge, asking them to donate in return. But then a lot of the time I bake for them without asking for anything, so generally people are quite happy to support the charity.
I have to admit, those brownies were incredible. I expected them to have a bit of a ‘beany’ taste but theres no way you would have guessed they had them in. I think that’s a great way of raising money, definitely a downside of being self employed!
I think I want a food processor now haha (still haven’t got my blender!) – those raw carrot cake slices sound amazing!
Haha, you should treat yourself to one of them, you deserve it!
The carrot cake slice looks amazing!
Thanks Lauren!
All of these look bloody amazing Laura!! And I love your choice of charity, think I’d go for the same!
I’ve never done a bake sale but I always tend to make cookies for people these days…everyone loves a cookie! :)
Thanks Nicky :-) I agree, you can’t seem to go wrong with a cookie!
Ahhh I’m seriously craving chocolate and cookies now, and there’s nothing in the house. Grr!
Haha, my apologies, I wish I could somehow send you one virtually!
Those carrot cake slices sound awesome, I want now please!
They all look amazing- well done!
I can’t imagine beans in a cake, sounds interesting!
The only thing I’ve ever baked is banana bread, which turns out quite well usually!
Those brownies sound fantastic. In fact they all sound really good. Like the idea of using beans in the brownies – and from the sounds of it barely noticeable! I made that failed choc PB brownie last week for a bake sale and though it was a bit crunchy (hehe) it all got sold thankfully!
I want to eat all of them!! Especially the raw carrot cake slices, yum.
When I take treats in for kids at school I always struggle to find the balance between healthy and fun and these recipes are just what I need! Healthy enough to feel good about letting the kids enjoy them, but still naughty enough to act as treats and look great, so that the kids don’t know they’re ‘healthy versions’!