Homemade Skinny Frappucino (Dairy Free)

I love frappucinos, especially when it's hot outside, and I decided to make my own dairy free version at home. I chose to do this because I have lots of unsweetened almond milk which needed using up. After a bit of trial and error, I've got the recipe pretty much as I want it, and I thought I'd share it here.

Ingredients:

4 Large Ice Cubes

1/2 Teaspoon Instant Espresso (I used Nescafe)

1 Mug Boiling Water

200ml Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/2 Teaspoon Truvia

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Coffee Syrup (I used Monin, not sugar free)

Method:

First, prep the chilled coffee. Add the 1/2 teaspoon of espresso to a small mug of boiling water and chill in the fridge.

Put the ice cubes into a jug blender, followed by the chilled coffee and the unsweetened almond milk. Next, add 1/2 a teaspoon of truvia and a teaspoon of the coffee syrup (I used vanilla, but other flavours work just as well).

Blend for about a minute, then serve. If you want to, top with whipped cream and sauce,

This has about 45 cals per serving versus 95 in a Costa or Starbucks skinny frappucino.

Lemon And Raspberry Swirl Loaf Cake

This lemon and raspberry swirl cake is perfect for a summer picnic (if summer ever actually appears!). It's really easy to make, and you can substitute the raspberry for blueberry. I've done both versions and it's delicious. This cake is also suitable for freezing.

Ingredients
175 g (6 oz) Butter, softened
175 g (6 oz) Caster Sugar 
3 Eggs 
200 g (7 oz) Self-Raising Flour 
25 g (1 oz) Ground Almonds
Grated Zest of 1 Unwaxed Lemon
100g Rapsberries (fresh, tinned or frozen) 
3 tbsp Raspberry Jam

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan oven 160°C), gas mark 4.

Line a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin or a 20 cm (8 inch) round cake tin with non-stick baking parchment.

Place all the ingredients except the raspberries and jam into a mixing bowl and using a hand-held mixer  or spoon, blend the ingredients together until smooth.

Gently fold the raspberries into the mixture.

Spoon into the prepared tin and level with the back of a spoon. Place the raspberry jam into a piping bag and snip off the end. Pipe swirls of jam on the top of the cake. Bake on the centre shelf in the preheated oven for about 40–50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean from the centre.