Nutella Day Recipe: Healthy-ish Peanut Butter & Nutty Nutella Balls

This recipe really needs no introduction. Not only do these little chocolate balls of goodness taste good, they are also healthy - would you believe it? These are the answer to having a healthy yet naughty snack during the day, an after dinner treat and they are a great alternative to snacking on certain things throughout the day like hmmm, I don't know...mint slice biscuits! Not only are these treats yummy and healthy-ish, they are a snack to make. This recipe makes 10 and should only take you 5 mins to make plus around an hour to set in the fridge. 

Ingredients 

1tbs Chia seeds – white or black, either are fine.

3tbs Oat Meal

5tbs Sunflower Kernals

1tbs Nutella

1tbs Whipped Peanut Butter – Normal peanut butter will work too

How to

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and then add in the Nutella and peanut butter. 

Combine until it makes an even sticky consistency that can be rolled into balls. 

Once your balls are done, you can either leave them plain (although they tend to be a little sticky) or you can roll them in toppings. I rolled mine: Oat Meal, Chia Seeds, Desiccated Coconut (my fav) and Sesame Seeds. 

Then just chuck them in the fridge for an hour to set.

Another good idea for kids is to use sprinkles or a mix of both the sprinkles and chia seeds.

See? What did I tell you - Simple! You wouldn't even guess but looking at them that they are full of healthy nuts and grains.

If you give this recipe a go, let us know! As always you can send me pics on instagram - just hashtag #eatthecatwalk and tag me @jessimalouf. You can send me a message on twitter or tumblr (@jessimalouf) or just comment below! If you have links to your Nutella recipes on your blog, post the link below & I'll check it out.

One more decadent recipe coming soon!

Till next time, stay sweet! 

Xx Jess

Nutella Day Recipe: Banana Cake with Nutella Buttercream

Growing up my Nan would always have a gorgeous banana cake waiting for all us grandkids whenever we arrived at my Nan & Pop's place. I remember the days I would spend in the kitchen with her making the cakes, licking the spoon and watching them bake whilst sipping on our Tea's (I was only 5 or 6 at the time!) From a young age I believed that no-ones banana cake could beat my Nan's but what I didn't realise was that putting Nutella Buttercream on a simple banana cake changes everything! So, while technically it is still my Nan's Banana Cake recipe, I have put my own twist on it just for Nutella Day - and added a few healthier options to the recipe to counteract the large amount of sugar sitting atop the cake!

Ingredients

0.5 cup butter

0.5 cup caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 eggs

2 large bananas (that have gone brown and spotty)

1 tsp bicarb soda

50 mL oat milk

1 cup self-raising flour

0.5 cup wholemeal flour (optional, if not using just replace with self-raising flour)

Note: Regular full cream cows milk will work perfectly fine, I just decided to use oat milk for a change & it works perfectly.

How to

In a large bowl cream the butter, then once creamed add the sugar and vanilla essence.

Combine ingredients well before adding the eggs one at a time - mixing one in completely before adding the second one. Mix well.

Mash up both of your banana's and on medium speed combine into mixture. 

Dissolve the bicarb soda into the oat milk (or plain milk) and slowly start to pour the liquid into the cake mixture while mixing on a low - medium speed. Alternate between adding milk and flour to create the perfect consistency. 

Pour into a large greased or lined cake tin and place in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 180°C

I personally never take the cooking time too seriously as every oven cooks at a different speed. The best way to a perfectly cooked cake is to use a baking skewer (typically metal) and insert it into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is perfectly cooked or overcooked/dry and if it comes out with cake on it then it's undercooked. The only way to ensure it's perfectly cooked and not overcooked is to check every 5 or so minutes when the cake has been cooking for around 80% of the estimated time, that way you can figure out if it's perfectly cooked before its overcooked and take it out to cool. 

Leave out to cool for around an hour or two before icing with my Fluffy Nutella Buttercream Frosting. Sometimes I even like to put the cake into the freezer for 20 mins to cool it down faster (because I am impatient - I just want to ice it and eat it!) and it also helps to make the cake just a little more moist. 

(I always struggle with recipes and over/under mixing - so here is a handy little guide for you).

Electric mixer settings

Creaming butter - high (1-2 min)

Adding sugar & vanilla - medium (0.5-1 min)

Adding eggs – low (1-2 min)

Adding banana's – medium (2-3 min)

Adding bicarb, milk & flour - low - medium (2-3 min)

This recipe also works great as muffins! You can also freeze these cakes but just make sure you freeze them before frosting them. 

If you give this recipe a go, let us know! As always you can send me pics on instagram - just hashtag #eatthecatwalk and tag me @jessimalouf. You can send me a message on twitter or tumblr (@jessimalouf) or just comment below! If you have links to your Nutella recipes on your blog, post the link below & I'll check it out.

Another few recipes coming soon!

Till next time, stay sweet! 

Xx Jess

Nutella Day Recipe: My Fluffy Nutella Buttercream Frosting

If by any chance you were living under a rock yesterday, it was World Nutella Day! So basically the best day in the entire year as you can feel absolutely guilt free about eating anything and everything Nutella because you know everyone else is doing it too....At least I think that's how it works? I sure thought so! Whether right or wrong, I set out yesterday with that theory in mind and baked away to my heart (and thighs) content incorporating Nutella in anyway possible. I should probably add that it was my last day to use the kitchen before I move house (in 5 days, ahhhhh) so I wanted to cook as much as I could - I do normally have a life other than cooking all day long...just so you know! 

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am a massive sweet tooth and that I love me a yummy buttercream. Since learning how to make a good one - I cant seem to stop myself making it. So, naturally I thought World Nutella Day would need to have a buttercream for me to add to every other sugar filled baking creation I make! This is my foolproof buttercream recipe and I say foolproof because I have followed so many recipes and made countless batches of curdled, gross looking and oily buttercreams that just didn't work out at all before I figured out how to actually get it right. So here it is and let me tell you, it's super simple! This recipe goes scrumptiously with my Moist Banana Cake!

Ingredients

200g butter (at room temperature, do not melt the butter in the microwave)

500g icing sugar

1tsp cocoa powder

3tbs Nutella (at room temp)

6tbs Cream (This works best if the cream is not cold to touch but just cooler than room temperature. I generally leave it out for an hour or two before cooking depending on the weather).

How to:

Place softened butter in electric mixer and beat it until it becomes soft and creamy.

Add in the Nutella and mix until completely blended with the butter.

Then on a low mix speed add the sifted cocoa powder and icing sugar whilst continuing to mix. The mixture should start to get quite clumpy looking but don't worry, this will all change when the cream is added.

Once the icing sugar has been well combined, add tablespoon at a time of cream, making sure to combine each tablespoon of cream before adding the next.

Mix it on medium for around a minute or so just to make sure it's all combined and fluffy – then you're all done.

(I always struggle with recipes and over/under mixing - so here is a handy little guide for you).

Electric mixer settings

Creaming butter - high (1-2 min)

Adding Nutella - medium (0.5 min)

Adding icing sugar & cocoa – low (2-5min)

Adding cream – medium (2-3 min)

End combining mix - medium (1 min)

Note: If you want a stiffer buttercream for piping onto cupcakes or cakes, I suggest adding an extra 250-500g of icing sugar during the mixing stage or if you don’t want to use the extra icing sugar, you can just add the cream tablespoon at a time until it reaches the consistency you’re after.

This mixture will generously ice one large cake, sides and all or 24 cupcakes. And there is always enough for an indulgent spoonful or two…. or three….

So if you were one of those awesome people - like me -  who wasn't living under a rock yesterday and ate Nutella like crazy (not like me at all..nope, never!), let me know what you made or ate - or made & ate! You can send me pics on instagram - just hashtag #eatthecatwalk and tag me @jessimalouf. You can send me a message on twitter or tumblr (@jessimalouf) or just comment below! If you have links to your Nutella recipes on your blog, post the link below & I'll check it out.

More recipes coming soon!

Till next time, stay sweet! 

Xx Jess