Nutella Cheesecake

We don't know anyone who doesn't like Nutella. Nutella on toast, Nutella on cake, Nutella straight out of the jar! It goes with and on everything so well. We decided to combine two of life's most indulgent foods. Nutella and Cheesecake to create our Nutella Cheesecake. Its not difficult to make and it serves a whole family with some to spare if you're lucky.

The Ingredients:
220g Digestive Biscuit
90g Butter (Melted)
3tbsp Ground Almonds (optional)
(We make our own from MyProtein® whole almonds blitzed in the NutriBullet)
400g Nutella (about 1 Jar)
400g Cream Cheese
70g Icing Sugar
1tbsp Vanilla Extract / Paste

Recommended Equipment:
Pyrex Mixing Bowl
Spatula
Rolling Pin

The How-To:

Lightly grease a 8-10 inch loose bottomed cake tin. Trust us this makes removing the cheese cake so much easier later.

In a large bowl use the end of a rolling pin to crush the digestive biscuits.

Mix through the ground almonds. We highly suggest you grind your own almonds as the flavour is far superior. If you have a NutriBullet you can use the grinding blade to do this.

Mix in the melted butter ensuring this is evenly and completely combined with the crushed biscuits.

Pour this biscuit mixture into the bottom of the cake tin. Use the bottom of a tumbler glass to push the biscuit base down and around the edges neatly. This really helps compress the base and gives you a more solid slice later.

Place this in the fridge while we continue on with the rest of the steps.

In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and icing sugar together until light and fluffy.

Beat in the Nutella.

Beat everything together until the Nutella evenly combines with the cream cheese mixture.

Beat in the vanilla extract / paste.

Pour the cheesecake mixture over the chilled base. Smooth out and cover with cling film or wrap and place in the fridge.

Allow to chill for 4 hours or more before removing to serve. Keep covered in the fridge for 2-3 days. 

But we don't think you'll be able to resist its temptation for that long.

You're Done!

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Guilt-Free Banana Pancakes

This year Pancake Tuesday really got us in the mood for pancakes. We're massive fans of pancakes all year round anyway. We decided to create some guilt free pancakes using the fab ingredients from MyProtein. These are so simple to make in a food processor, blender or as we used our trusty NutriBullet. These are great for morning guilt free treats. And the washing up after is extremely minimal. If you don't use all the batter simply put in a container or screw on a top of your NutriBullet and pop in the fridge. It will be ok for 1-2 days.

The Ingredients:

4 Eggs

2 Bananas

80-100g MyProtein® Rolled Oats

3tbsp MyProtein® Peanut Butter

1tsp Vanilla Extract / Paste

1tbsp Honey

0.5tsp Ground Cinnamon (optional)

0.5tsp Ground Nutmeg (optional)

Higher Nature Coconut Butter (for greasing)

Recommended Equiptment:

NutriBullet

Frying Pan or Crepe Pan

The How-To:

This really couldn't be simpler. 

Add all the ingredients to the NutriBullet / Food Processor / Blender.

Blend for 1-2 mins until you see a smooth even consistency. Time will vary slightly depending on how good your machine is.

Lightly grease a frying pan or crepe pan with coconut butter or fry-light spray.

On a medium heat pour some of the pancake batter into the pan. Once you see bubbles forming and popping on the surface they are ready to turn.

Flip and cook on both sides until golden.

Great served with honey and berries.

Mothers Day Gift Guide 2015

Each year we put together seasonal gift guides to help you in those difficult decisions. At BakingBar we take these guides very seriously, only recommending the best products we have tried and would happily purchase ourselves as gifts. This is our Mother's Day 2015 gift guide and we will soon publish our much larger Easter 2015 Gift Guide so keep posted.

Whittard of Chelsea

We love Whittard of Chelsea’s illustrious and long history as one of the most prestigious suppliers of tea and coffee products. We have selected three of our favourite products which are also in their Mother's Day Gift section this year. We absolutely love this Chelsea Glass Teapot with built in infuser. A beautiful timeless design which is also extremely functional. This would grace any kitchen or dining room. If you want to add something sweet into your gift to your mother we would suggest the Milk Chocolate and Caramel Coated Marshmallows. Delicious! 

Marks and Spencer's

Marks and Spencers never fail to come up with great gifts at Mother's Day and this year has been no exception. There are simply so many incredible items in this years selection from Marks and Spencer's we have chosen just a few to share with you to give you an idea. You can find a full selection in all stores right now. We love the Mint Chocolate Box which is part of the range available all year round. A good selection of chocolates to please everyone. Keeping on the mint these the Peppermint Creams are delicious and traditional. We know a lot of Mother's will love to wake up to these on Mother's Day! The Luxury Fudge cylinder, Pink Marc de Champagne Truffles and Caramel Coulis Truffles are all incredible and need to be tried to be believed. The Marc du Champagne Truffles are coated in freeze dried strawberries adding to decadence and wonderful intense flavour. 

We love the Honey Selection, a box filled with a variety of honey filled chocolates. The tin of Lemon Shortbread is certain to please and the tin is of course reusable in your kitchen. A new item this year is the Nutty Fudge Box which is exactly as it says, a selection of chocolates with various nut inclusions. Incredibly tasty! The last item we choose to include was the Rose and Violet Creams. These we must say are our favourite. Each with a delicate but utterly delicious flavour, these incredibly moorish chocolates will have your mouth watering upon first bite.

Waitrose

Waitrose always have a fine selection of gifts available. They take a lot of pride in selecting to sell only the best products. So you can always be sure that your gift will please. This Mother's Day we recommend the Emma Bridgewater Mother's Day Jug which is designed exclusively for Waitrose by Emma Bridgewater this jug comes beautifully presented with a selection of flowers. If your Mother isn't quite into flowers or you don't want to stick to the typical gift we would recommend this wonderful Sparking Tea Time Hamper which comes pack with goodies including Prosecco, English Chocolate and Raspberry Biscuits, Macarons and lots lots more.

Artisan du Chocolat

Artisan du Chocolat believes in creating “luxury through individuality, innovation and exceptional craftsmanship”. This is evident from their reputation for being one of the leading chocolatiers in the UK. Gerard Coleman, founder and artisan chocolatier sources the finest cocoa beans from around the world and transforms them into wonderful artisan chocolates and chocolate treats. This process is done in-house in the UK unlike many chocolatiers who simply import the readymade chocolate. This love and dedication to providing the very best quality by making it himself is the key to Artisan du Chocolat’s continued success. Artisan du Chocolat always has something innovative and appealing for every occasion and this Mother's Day is no different. For a bouquet with a difference we suggest the Lillies Bouquet which consists of couture ganaches, shimmering hearts filled with fruit coulis, rose scented dragees, chocolate pearls, salted caramels and moreish coconut and milk chocolate coated macadamias.

Sodastream

We know that not all Mother's are the same. Some dislike getting the same chocolates and flowers every year and prefer something they can use all year and something they perhaps need. This is why we have included the Sodastream in this years gift guide. We love the lines and design of the Sodastream. It is wonderfully retro and unlike so many kitchen appliances this is one which you would want to keep on display at all times. We recommend this wonderful Red Sodastream. There is also an incredible selection of flavours available to add to your fizzy water creations. There simply so many you'll never get bored. We love this idea of an alternative gift for Mother's Day and know some Mum's out there will too.