Couscous Cake - Lemon and Blueberry

 
Couscous Cake Low Syn.jpg
 

There is never a dull moment with Slimming World, and the variety of food we can eat while staying on plan always inspires me. I saw a couscous cake while browsing on Pinterest recently and thought - this is a free food on slimming world, there must be a way to make this low syn! So, I've made a fresh and tasty version adding Lemon, Blueberry and Poppy Seeds and using low syn and free ingredients. Enjoy enjoy a few with a cuppa and still have syns left over for the day.
If you are dubious, worry not - sweet couscous is not what we are used to in the UK and Ireland but it's quite normal for some cultures. You'll soon be won over by the gorgeous aromas filling your house, it smells exactly like a blueberry muffin.
In terms of texture, I was pleasantly surprised - there is no graininess to it so long as it is cooked to the instructions and mixxed well with other ingredients. Definitely something I'll do again.

Note: Since this is not the intended use of couscous, it is considered a "tweak". To account for this we add a further syn per slice, bringing the syn value to 1.5 syns per slice.

8 Servings
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Ingredients:

  • 100g couscous, cooked as per instructions
  • 3 medium eggs
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Half tbsp poppy seeds (1 syn)
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 3 tbsp sweetener (1.5 syns)
  • 2-3 tbsp Fat Free Greek Yoghurt/Quark
  • 100g Frozen Blueberries (2 syns)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 190 C.
  2. Cook the couscous as per instructions. Add lemon juice and leave to cool
  3. Whisk the eggs, and add the cinnamon, yoghurt and sweetener
  4. Add the poppy seeds and cooled cous cous and mix well
  5. Line a cake tray with parchment paper or spray with a non-fat cooking spray
  6. Pour gently into the tray, and place blueberries evenly into the mixture
  7. Cook for 25-30 minutes
  8. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing into 8

A couple of tips:

  • Make sure the fruit is well frozen to retain its shape. Fresh fruit will spread a lot more!

  • You can mess around with flavourings, such as vanilla essence or nutmeg if you’re not a fan of cinnamon and lemon.

  • This mix works very well for muffins too.

  • The seeds are completely optional.

Have you tried any variation of the couscous cake? What should we try next? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook or on Instagram!

Low Syn Mince Pies

Did you even have a Christmas if you haven't had a mince pie? They can be high in syns though, with most mince pies setting you back 15-20 syns. If you make your own with a few clever swaps, you will save many syns for the many other Christmas indulgences. 

There are many recipes out there for low syn mince pies, coming in at 1 or 2 syns each. However, they are often tiny! These ones are closer to the real deal.

TIPS! Mincemeat is hard to come by, but you can save time by ordering online. Why not try the family favourite: Robertsons Classic Mincemeat.

You can save 8 syns from the recipe (or 1 syn per pie) by choosing to make a baked apple and mincemeat filling. (225g baked apple & 1 level tbsp of mincemeat for healthy B) 

Makes 16 Pies (7 syns each)
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Ingredients

  • Frylight (preferably butter flavour)
  • 225g Plain Flour
  • 110g Margarine
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 16 tbsp Mincemeat
  • 1 level tbsp icing sugar, to dust

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. Lightly spray some bun tins with low calorie cooking spray.
  2. Make the pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the fat and gently rub it in with your fingertips.
  3. Add sufficient cold water to mix to a ball that leaves the sides of the bowl clean. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  4. Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface. Cut out 32 rounds with a 7.5cm/3 inch fluted cutter. Use to line the prepared bun tins.
  5. Divide the mincemeat between the pastry cases. Roll out the remaining pastry trimmings and make some little stars with a star cutter. Use to decorate the tops of the tarts.
  6. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and lightly coloured. Cool on a wire rack and dust lightly with the icing sugar.