Chocolate Icing

Dairy-free, sugar-free/low, low carb, paleo, vegetarian, vegan too.

I have been reading Mike Sisson's(with Jennifer Meier) "The Primal Blueprint Cookbook".  This is a beautiful book and full of wonderful recipes and ideas.  Technically it is a Paleo diet cookbook and so free from grain, uses natural sugars, meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, coconut and good oils like coconut, olive. 
I happened upon a recipe for chocolate truffles which I altered to being a sugar-free recipe and then thought that with a little more adapting it would make a wonderful chocolate butter-cream style icing or frosting which is dairy-free and would be perfect for cakes.
As with all my recipes feel free to substitute maple syrup or agave nectar for Joseph's sugar free syrup if you are OK with sugars.
I use Joseph's maltitol syrup because it tastes good to me, has a low impact on blood sugar and I can buy it in the UK,

You will need:

Food Processor
Saucepan
Bowl


Ingredients:

200g of 90% or for totally sugar-free 100% dark chocolate - I use 2 x 100g bars of Lindt 90% dark chocolate

2 x 160ml cans coconut cream - I use Waitrose Cooks' Ingredients Organic coconut cream because it is very smooth and creamy

one heaped teaspoon coconut oil - I use Biona organic coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt - ground pink himalayan rock salt is just wonderful

2-3 tablespoons (or a little more to taste if using 100% chocolate) Joseph's sugar free syrup - either the plain version or the maple syrup flavour as both work well.

Method:

Roughly break up the chocolate bars into their squares and put in the food processor. Blitz until the chocolate looks like crumbs.

Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan.
Add the coconut oil.











Bring to a simmer.  Stir.
Remove from the heat.
Add the salt and vanilla extract.
Start the food processor running and then pour the hot coconut mixture over the crumbled chocolate.  Run for about 10-15 seconds.

Leave the mixture for 30 seconds to allow the chocolate to melt then run the food processor again for another 10-15 seconds.  The mixture should be completely smooth.
Run the food processor again adding the Joseph's maltitol syrup.  Taste the mixture to see if it is sweet enough for you!

If it is then either pour the chocolate mixture over cupcakes - Ok to do as they have the cupcake case to catch the liquid icing - or into a bowl with a lid or non-pvc clingfilm over the top and place that in the fridge to allow the mixture to thicken.  It takes about 1 1/2 -2 hours.





The mixture is then ready for use just like butter-icing or frosting.

Bon apetite!

Very Gooey and Yummy Dark Chocolate Cake <3

Gluten-free, dairy-free,  soya-free, low carb, yeast free,  sugar -free, vegetarian, paleo, diabetic friendly, coeliac friendly

You will need:

 One Jug
One Bowl - large enough for all wet ingredients
Measuring cups preferably as so easy
Bamix or equivalent handheld wand mixer
Food Processor









One non-stick swiss roll tin measuring
 13 inches(33cm) x 9 inches(23cm) x 2(6cm) inches
 Non-stick Baking Parchment cut or torn to extend slightly over the sides of the tin

Preheat the oven to 165C Fan

Dry ingredients:

1 cup (100g) ground almonds - buy this at local Asian store

3/4 cup (75g) ground pecans - best bought at a Health Food store, if raw tend to bake in the oven at 150C for 20 minutes for an improved flavour, brings out the sweetness

3/4 cup(75g) cocoa powder - I like organic Green and Blacks or M&S organic and Fairtrade

2 teaspoons baking powder - gluten free

1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt -I use Himalayan pink rock salt cyrstals which are ground



Wet ingredients


1 1/2 (450g) cups Joseph's sugar free syrup - either the maple flavoured one or the plain ( I buy this online and in bulk from Lowcarbmegastore and it is available from other online sites in the Uk too)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup (216g) coconut milk - warmed so that all lumps are dissoved either on the hob or in the microwave on Low at 10 second intervals, stirring in between each 10 seconds.

1/3 cup coconut oil - melted, which can do either on the hob or in the microwave on low in 10 second increments and stir as above

melted coconut oil

I buy the coconut oil at the local Asian store.

Method

Mix the dry ingredients in a Food Processor

Using the bowl and Bamix handheld mixer beat the eggs

Add the warm coconut milk - be careful that it is not hot as it will cook and scramble the egg if so - sugar-free syrup, vanilla extract.

Add the warm melted coconut oil

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the food processor and mix well - around 10 seconds, scrape down and  pulse for another 10 seconds.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes.  To test if the cake is cooked either use a Bundt cake thermometer which will glow bright red when the cake is cooked or a metal skewer which you insert and should come out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes.  It is quite a fragile cake because it is so gooey. When it is cold I cut it in half, lift it off the baking parchment then ice it and  put one half on top of the other.

You could also leave it flat and ice it as for a swiss roll and then very carefully roll the cake using the parchment to do so.  You could then make a Yule Log -  slice part of the roll off on the diagonal  and place it at a jaunty angle to the main roll just like a branch, ice with chocolate icing, swirl the icing to make bark-like markings and decorate with christmas pine cones,,,,,,,,,,,,and imagination!

Rosewater Cake

You will need:

Food processor
Measuring cups for ease
or scales
one large bowl
cake thermometer or toothpick style tester
Cake tin measuring 10inches(26cm) x 10 inches (26cm) x 3inches(7cm) deep
which has been roughly lined with baking parchment and then oiled

Preheat the oven to 160CFan

NB  Make the apple sauce first and allow it to cool or make it the day before.

Ingredients:

1 cup olive oil - organic if possible
1 cup Josephs sugar free syrup
30g (3/4 of 1/4cup) Tagatesse
4 large organic happy eggs
1 3/4 cup ( 170g) ground almonds
1 3/4 cup (190g) rice flour
3 heaped teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 cup almond milk (unsweetened) -I use Eomil
1/3 cup apple sauce - see below as make first
3 tablespoons rosewater - or more to taste reducing  the almond milk accordingly!
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoons salt, I use himalayan pink, ground

Using 3 tablespoon of Rosewater produces a delicate scent to the cake and very light flavour therfore do adjust to taste.

To make the apple sauce take 2 eating apples, peel and chop as shown then place in a pan with 2 tablespoons of water and gently simmer on a low heat until very soft, about 20 minutes.  You could also use a Bramley cooking apple and do the same with that as they soften and fluff up wonderfully.  When soft I used the Bamix handheld mixer to puree the apple into a sauce.

Method

Cream the oil, Josephs sugar free syrup and Tagatesse in the Food Processor for around 30 seconds until pale yellow and frothy.

In a large bowl mix the ground almonds, rice flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt

Add one cup of flour to the oil/syrup/tagatesse mix and mix for about 10 seconds, next add an egg and mix in then alternate one cup of flour with each egg until all are mixed in.


Add the vanilla extract, rosewater and applesauce to the mixture in the food processor and blitz until mixed, a few seconds should do the trick

Pour the cake mix into the lined cake tin.
Bake at 160Cfan for 40 minutes but test after 35 minutes to see if cooked.

Do not worry if the cake sinks a little after it comes out of the oven!

Chocolate nut refrigerator cake/bars

Paleo, gluten-free, wheat-free, sugar-free, yeast-free, soya-free, coeliac-friendly, diabetic-friendly


I just adore refrigerator cake, the type one used to make as a child - crush the digestive biscuits, melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup, throw in some dried fruit and mix well then press into a tin and refrigerate until set and ready to slice, the anticipation!
Nowadays that would make me feel awful, all that sugar, the carb loading, wheat, butter, no, no, no!  Doing without, no, no, no!
Here's my re-worked version.
You will need:


Cup measures for ease or scales
Tablespoon
Food processor

Either one rectangular tray or 2 smaller ones
I have used 2 smaller ones as wish to give to different friends!
Mine measure 10inches (26cm) long x 6 inches(16cm) wide x 2inches (5.5cm) deep







Ingredients:

I use roasted and salted nuts because they are less likely to contain moulds or fungi.  If using raw nuts I would place the nuts on a baking tray in the oven at 150C for around 20 minutes remembering to turn the nuts after 10 minutes.  I find that this improves the flavour and may even kill off any spores.
If using unsalted nuts I suggest adding about 1/2 teaspoon of ground rock salt - my favourite is Himalayan Pink rock salt - as chocolate and salt taste wonderful together.
I buy Joseph's sugar free syrup on-line.  I have seen it on various sites such as avidlite and lowcarbmegastore.  It comes in a plain flavour and a maple syrup flavour, both are great.  The sweetener is maltitol which is a naturally derived polyalcohol.  To my palate it has the best taste of all the polyalcohol sweeteners to date and I have tried Splenda, Tagatesse, Erythritol.  It is 90% as sweet as sugar.  I have also tried Stevia and Xylitol but just did not like the taste of either. 
If sugar is not an issue for you replace the Joseph's sugar-free syrup with maple syrup or agave nectar, you may need less as both are sweeter.

The local asian store is a good source for nuts in many shapes and forms as well as coconut oil and coconut milk.

Dry
1 cup (140g) roasted salted almonds
1 1/2 cups (140g) roasted salted pecans
1/2 cup (70g) roasted salted macadamias
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2/3 cup (80g) ground almonds
2/3 cup (40g) shredded coconut

Wet
85g dark chocolate, melted - I use 90% cocoa chocolate by Lindt
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
4 tablespoons Joseph's sugar free syrup - either plain or maple syrup flavoured (if using real maple syrup use to taste and in region of 2-3 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

Put all the dry ingredients in the food processor
Pulse until the whole nuts are crushed but not smooth.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 40% for 1 1/2 mins then shake, microwave for another 1 1/2 minutes at the same power and stir, do the same again  and stir.(or until melted and lump free)

Add the coconut oil and microwave for 40 seconds on the same power and stir well, the oil will continue to melt in the warm chocolate.(also until lump free)

Add the Joseph's sugar free syrup and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients in the food processor.

Add the melted chocolate and coconut oil.

Pulse until everything is well mixed and starts to cling together.

At this stage if you want to add for example dried fruit such as dried cherries, apricots, figs, raisins then do.  I have not because of the added sugar content that dried fruit contains.

Pour into a lined (roughly will do fine) tray or rectangular container.  Press down firmly with the back of a metal spoon. 

Refigerate for about 2 hours then cut into the size you wish each piece to be.  Then leave for another 2 hours to harden.

Enjoy knowing that not only is this sweet and chocolatey but also nutritious.

Nut "Porridge" Grain Free

Serves 2

You will need:

one saucepan
one wooden spoon
cup measures
Bamix and attachment grinder

Ingredients:


1/4 cup ground almonds - bought ready ground

1/4 cup chopped nuts eg pecans, macadamia, almonds, brazils - my preference is salted rather than raw as less likely to contain any mould or yeast

1/2 cup liquid eg almond milk, or other nut milk preferably for flavour

pinch of cinnamon

Maltitol syrup to taste -I use Joseph's Sugar free Maple Syrup or their plain sugar free syrup, about a tablespoon works well or 1/2 mashed banana if Ok with more fruit, carbs and sugars

1/2 grated apple

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Measure out your ingredients and put everything ready for use.
Put the whole nuts in the Bamix grinder and blitz for a couple of seconds - it really is that quick - so that the nuts are chopped and not ground.

Put the ground almonds in the saucepan with the ground cinnamon (if using), add your liquid of choice, mine is Ecomil's sugar free almond milk.
Place over a low heat until warmed through.
Add your sweetener of choice, mine is Joseph's Sugar Free Maple syrup and the vanilla extract and mix.

If you wanted to use banana to sweeten or another fruit puree now is the time to add it as an alternative to the grated apple.

Alternatively grate the apple and add it to the warm

 "porridge".

Lastly sprinkle the chopped nuts - my preference is to use pecans as I find that their flavour marries well with the mock maple syrup, add more syrup to taste in a drizzle and enjoy.

When feeling cold this makes a nutritious meal with which to start the day.

Nuts are calorific but also rich in good fats and minerals and you may think that the portion is small but it is filling and calorie dense.