Chocolate Pots de Creme (dairy free and date sweetened)

My foray into non-Whole 30 foods didn't go quite as well as I previously reported.  A few days after my "cheating" I had a few break outs and gained back a little weight.  I felt even worse after tasting frosting (very little) I made for potluck cupcakes, obviously a dumb idea.  Feeling fuzzy-headed and sluggish were my main complaints. I detoxed by eating tons of raw vegetables for a few days and that has made me feel much better. I just need to figure out what starchy/sweet foods agree with me and which ones don't.  It's all a big crazy experiment anyway since I really don't have any confidence that anyone knows what we should eat.  Sometimes I think about all the people that seem to be thriving on fast food and vending machine fodder and wonder what in the world is the difference between me and them.  Is body chemistry, self control, portion sizes, nurture, nature...?

Anyway, it's Valentine's Day and I knew I would never get through the whole day without something chocolate.  I let Alex stay up late last night because he was thoroughly engrossed in a book, Mousenet, and Penny had fallen asleep super early so I was wasting time reading blogs.  I came across a recipe for Pots de Creme on Pioneer Woman. I usually read her blog only for the photography and homeschooling ideas because the delicious-looking real butter and cheese in her food torture me; but something made me check out this recipe.  I was thrilled to find out that it was already dairy free and so simple!

The amount of sugar in the original recipe is relatively low, coming only from the semi-sweet chocolate, but I wanted to try and make these a little more nutritionally dense.  I took inspiration from the white chocolate both my children love from Organic Nectars.  They use cashews in place of milk powder so I used some cashews to lighten my unsweetened chocolate.  I added my favorite natural sweetener, dates, and changed the flavorings to suit my mood.  Probably these should now have a different name but I have had the real thing and these are better than quite a few that bore that name honestly with real cream.  Be sure to take your time and fully blend the mixture so you get the creamiest texture possible with your blender.  And don't be surprised if you want to eat them all at room temperature once you take a taste.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pots de Creme
Based on Pioneer Woman's Pots de Creme a L'orange recipe
Makes 6-8 servings, halves easily but requires more scraping while blending

6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
3 oz (1/2 cup) raw cashews
6 oz dates or date paste, (~1 cup packed, pitted dates)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup very hot water

-Add the chocolate, cashews, dates, eggs, salt and vanilla to a blender and blend until everything is combined and the cashews and dates are mostly smooth.  You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times to get everything together.
-With the blender running, slowly add the hot water through the hole in the lid.  After all the water is added, stop the blender and scrape down the sides.  Blend again until very smooth, scraping more as needed.
-Spoon into cups or jars.  Serve either right away because it is pudding-like warm from the blender or chill and eat cold, chilled it is very rich and almost like frosting.

Variations:
You could replace the hot water with hot coffee and/or replace the vanilla extract with Grand Marnier, Chambord or other liquor

After nearly 10 years of product loyalty, I gave up using Paint Shop Pro last fall and have been slowly learning my way around Adobe Photo Shop.  I figured I was finally ready to try using some actions.  Here is Penny with PW's Old West action.  You can download her action sets here.  

Enjoying some Enjoy Life Freebies

If you are a parent of a food allergic kid it is unlikely you haven't heard of the brand Enjoy Life.  For us their chocolate chips have long been an essential staple.  They have been especially helpful since we have mostly eliminated soy this year and soy-free chocolate is very hard to find.  When we heard the news of their new Mega Chunks, we ran out to buy some as soon as our local co-op had them.  So I gladly accepted some free goodies and in exchange I'm mentioning them here.  We received a package of the Mega Chunks and something new for us, their Double Chocolate Crunch Granola.

The Mega Chunks don't disappoint.  They are the same chocolate as their mini chips in a useful bigger chunk size.  While I'd personally love it if they came out with a bittersweet version with less sugar I can't deny that my kids think their chocolate is great.  The granola however isn't something I think we'd buy.  Penny kinda liked it but Alex and I thought it was too hard.  It reminded me of Grape Nuts in texture and had a floury rice flavor.  We aren't granola eaters to begin with so take that into consideration.  I will come clean and recommend their new Crunchy Sugar Crisp Cookies.  I know, I know-- I rail against store bought cookies!  But these are really good tasting basic sugar cookies and they beat out the gluten-free sugar cookies I've so far tried to make.  Everyone has to eat their words sometimes, including me, not that I won't keep trying to top them ;)

Here is Alex sharing his own taste test of the Mega Chunks:
 

And Penny with some granola

We received these products free of charge but this is our honest review of them.
See more about Enjoy Life at: The Enjoy Life website, Enjoy Life blog and of course on Facebook

DB Candylicious! (Honey-sweetened Confections)

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

Tempering chocolate is something I can't quite master but when the Daring Bakers ask I have to give it a whole-hearted try.  This month we were given the task of making candies and one at least had to be a chocolate confection.  So I attempted to recreate a favorite in our house, Heavenly Organics Honey Mint Patties.  Made with raw honey and unsweetened chocolate they are fantastic, and dairy and gluten free to boot!  Though I didn't do a perfect job tempering, the homemade version was fairly easy and just as tasty.  I also am submitting some delicious brittle I've been making for a travel snack lately.  The whole family is ecstatic when we have this in the house.  Thanks for the challenge Lisa and Mandy! 

Honey Sunflower Brittle
Inspired by Greek Pasteli. Roasting your own sunflower seeds makes all the difference!
Makes about a pound and a half of candy

3 cups raw sunflower seeds
1 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
flaky sea salt or kosher salt

-Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
-Spread your sunflower seeds in an even layer on a large baking sheet.  Roast in the preheated oven checking and stiring the seeds every 5 minutes until dark golden brown and nutty.  This should take 15-20 minutes.
-Set the seeds aside and line the baking sheet with parchment paper or grease well with oil.
-In a saucepan, heat the honey to soft crack stage, ~290 degrees F.  Be careful to watch for scorching and stir to prevent.  Don't be like me and walk away from cooking sugar, it will always bite you in the rear if you do!
-When the honey has reached the correct temperature add the baking soda and stir to mix.  Then dump in all the sunflower seeds and mix well to coat.  If your seeds have cooled a lot you may need some low heat to get the honey to distribute evenly.
-Spread the brittle mixture on your prepared baking sheet in as even a layer as possible.  Sprinkle on salt to taste.
-Allow the brittle to cool and then snap into serving pieces.  Store in an airtight container, ideally in between layers of parchment paper to keep the pieces from sticking together. 

Honey Mint Dominoes
My homemade version of the Heavenly Organics Honey Mint Patties
Make as much as you'd like

Unsweetened chocolate (aka baking chocolate, see links for my source)
Honey, ideally a thick raw honey with a light flavor
Peppermint oil
Shallow chocolate mold

-Temper your chocolate, directions here, and line your molds.  Chill.
-Mix your honey and peppermint oil to taste.  Fill the chilled molds and chill again.
-Top the filled molds and chill once more.
-Pop out and enjoy!  They are very good eaten right from in the freezer. 

Links:
-The challenge candy recipes can be found on this download pdf or visit our hosts Lisa at Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive or Mandy at What the Fruitcake?!.
-I buy my unsweetened chocolate from Santa Barbara Chocolate Co. Their Pure Cacao Medallions are perfect for chopping up as a chocolate chip replacement or melting to drizzle/coat things.
-I used Champion Hill Farm star thistle honey in the brittle and tupelo honey from the Savannah Bee Company in the dominoes.
-Find more candy creations submitted for this challenge by browsing the sites listed in the Daring Baker Blogroll.

And now back to the garden harvest

DB Chocolate Marquise (done dairy-free and honey sweetened)

 The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

This month I've been far too busy to do much blogging.  There has been gardening, Alex's school, houseguests and trips downstate, 15 new birds (9 new ducks and 6 chickens), lots of poking around outside looking for morels-- plus I seem to be terribly accident prone this month.  I usually rack up a number of burns, cuts and bruises but this month I've added a smashed shower door, a sunburn and a punctured foot to my list.   Let's hope I piled all of this into May and will have a pleasently uneventful, productive and relaxing summer.

Somehow I did manage to whip up this month's Daring Baker challenge.  Looking at the recipe I initally was annoyed and frustrated.  Recipes for mousse are so tough to do dairy-free, especially if you are also mostly soy-free as well like us and don't have the option of using silken tofu.  Then I went through a pouty phase where I complained in my head that the hosts chose a recipe that didn't even have a mandatory baked item.  It's supposed to be Daring *Bakers* not Daring Desserts!  But eventually I came up with a game plan and forged ahead.  I've been eating almost no refined sugar since the beginning of the year so the first change I made was to use honey to sweeten all the components.  I also substituted unsweetened baking chocolate for the bittersweet and swapped carob powder for the cocoa.  For that tricky heavy cream I gave extra chilled coconut cream a try and I spiced my mousse and nuts with ginger and black pepper.

The changes ended up being fairly simple and the result was pretty decent.   The ginger and pepper went well with the honey flavor and yet dark chocolate was still the star.  The mousse texture was a little grainy when still hard but smoothed nicely when I let the squares warm up a little more.  With all the egg and yolks they still were light and creamy.  But the best part was the nuts--they are fantastic!!  I'll be making batches (and batches and batches) of them again.  So thanks for the challenge Emma and Jenny, as always I'm happy to be a Daring Baker and give something I would never try to make a chance.

Here are my altered ingredient lists. All of these are scaled to make 1/4 of the original recipes or 6 servings each with 1 (2"x2") cube of marquise.  Instructions and original ingredient lists found here on the Daring Kitchen.
Chocolate Marquise
3 large egg yolks at room temperature
1 large egg
3 tablespoons honey
Chocolate Base, barely warm (ingredients follow)
½ cup coconut cream*
½ cup carob powder (for rolling or dusting)
*By coconut cream I mean I took can of coconut milk and placed it in the fridge unopened overnight. I then scooped out only the thick cream and left the watery liquid to be used in another application. I chilled the measured amount of cream in the fridge and whipped it like heavy cream using chilled beaters and a chilled bowl. It doesn't get the volume of heavy cream but does get fluffier. I then combined the whipped coconut cream with the chocolate base before folding it into the egg/yolk mixture.  This is the opposite of the instructions which have you mix the base with teh yolk mix first.  This way the egg mixture is able to transfer as much volume and air as possible to the finished dish.

Chocolate Base
3 oz (85 grams/ 6 tablespoons) unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons coconut cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon tequila
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon carob powder
1/4 oz (1/2 tablespoon/8 grams) coconut oil, softened

Torched Meringue
3 large egg whites
3 tablespoons honey
Splash of apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Honeyed Spiced Pecans
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 large egg white
1/2 cup pecans, ideally soaked and dehydrated first

Links:
-For the instructions to go with my ingredient lists, or the original recipes, visit our hosts Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt.  Or see the complete recipe here on the Daring Kitchen site.
-Emma and Jenny learned how to make this marquise dessert when they worked together at a Seattle restaurant. The recipe is adapted from one developed by Bennie Sata, a Seattle-area pastry chef who introduced the city to one of its iconic chocolate desserts. They also included vegan recipes which were created by Ashlae of Ladycakes.
-Visit the Daring Kitchen to see the baker blogroll and other treats made this month.

My favorite Instagram shot from this month

Alex and Penny drawing together

Penny sitting in a patch of ramps.  She was stealing cooked ramp greens from my plate just yesterday.

I'm adding this to Simply Sugar and Gluten Free's Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays

DB Mets la main à la pâte (meringue coffecake, done gluten-free)

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake. 

For this month's Daring Baker challenge we were given a recipe for a meringue coffee cake.  Ugh--I thought, this will be my first non-mix attempt at a gluten-free yeasted bread and it has to rolled, formed into a ring and filled with meringue!!  Seeing that I really could live the rest of my life without ever having another taste of coffee cake I should have known better and just made a wheat flour version and given it away.  But then that wouldn't be "daring" enough would it?

I began researching gluten-free brioche dough online.  I really wanted to try a coconut flour version but my searches found a very popular gluten-free brioche recipe from Jeff Hertzberg MD and Zoe Francois, of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day fame.  I own that book and loved playing with the recipes in it (all with wheat flour) but I hadn't tried any recipes from their follow up book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  Apparently there is a gluten-free section that had just the recipe I was looking for and it was available online.

The recipe online is already dairy-free, which was a plus, but I think I was tackling too big of a project to try a full sized coffee cake on my first try.  The dough was sticky and lacking the familiar structure that gluten provides.  I managed to wrangle it into a ring-like blob with the meringue and filling sorta sandwiched inside but there wasn't any need to score the dough because it was splitting apart everywhere!  It browned nicely in the oven but only barely rose and remained quite dense.

In the end I think the chocolate saved this from being a complete disaster.  Yeasty dough and chocolate are hard to resist, even with a pitiful shape and without the flavor of wheat flour.  It was super sweet to me and I'm not sure how I would easily alter the recipe to remedy that.  If I were going to try this again I would make individual cinnamon roll style buns and not try to form a large ring.  I don't really think I like the meringue part and because it adds a lot of sweetness I would probably not use it again.  Chocolate chips in my cinnamon rolls might be a new fad though.

I had a third of the dough left over and fermented it further in the fridge.  After a few days I baked it plain in a mini loaf pan with only a simple egg wash on top.  I thought it was really delicious but Alex thought there was a winy taste, not the sour yeasty flavor he wanted, and he didn't like it.  I should be ashamed to say I threw the half a mini loaf out for the birds so I wouldn't be tempted by it but right now I'm down a little over five pounds and quite happy about it. 

Links:
-For my dough, I made the gluten-free brioche found on Wasabimon!. The recipe is from the book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg MD and Zoe Francois.  For my filling, I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips, the meringue and cinnamon sugar but I left out the nuts.  I made the 2 egg sized batch and then used two thirds of the dough for my ring.  For the filling amounts I used only one egg white and scaled down the chocolate and cinnamon sugar to match.
-To see what this cake was supposed to look like and find the original recipe take a look at the Chocolate Meringue Coffee Cake recipe on the blogs of our hosts, Ria's Collection and Life's a Feast.
-When I get over my baking trama, I want to try making this Gluten-free Sourdough Boule for Alex.  
-To see a dairy-free baker who truly enjoyed this month's challenge visit The Crafts of Mommyhood.  She made 5 different flavors!!
-Visit the Daring Kitchen to join up and do some of your own daring baking.  And don't forget to look at the Daring Baker Blogroll for the other delicious baked goods made this month.  I'm betting 90% are way better looking than my blob. 

A slice of my gluten-free chocolate meringue coffee cake

Mint Coconut Milk Ice Cream and Gluten-free Chocolate Cones

Despite our lack of Irish blood, Alex seems to think St Patrick's Day is the holiday that can't be beat.  He has been full of requests for a Shamrock shake like this one from last year.  However we've tried to make "improvements" in our diet that made that version obsolete.  So I got up early, was sneaky with the vegetables and while our corned beef was boiling away fulfilled a desire to make chocolate ice cream cones too.  Alex flipped head over heels over both and declared it a definite "happy day"-- even if he did still have to do spelling.  Oh and you really can't taste the spinach, really.

Chocolate Ice Cream Cones (gluten-free)
Based on the decor paste recipe from accro
Makes  ~10 cones

57g coconut oil
57g  maple sugar (or substitute standard powdered sugar)
2 egg whites
48g tapioca starch/flour
17g cocoa powder
pinch of salt

-Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a couple of baking pans with parchment paper.
-If you don't own cream horn molds, and really how many people do, make a couple of paper cones slightly smaller than a standard ice cream cone.  Cardstock works the best and I recommend taping them with masking tape because it is less likely to loosen with the absorbed grease from the cookies.
-In a stand mixer, cream the coconut oil and sugar until light in color and smooth.  Add the egg whites and beat until smooth.
-Add the tapioca starch, cocoa and salt and beat until a smooth batter forms, you will probably need to scrape down the bowl a few times.
-On one half of a prepped baking sheet, take a heaping tablespoon of batter and spread it evenly with an offset spatula into a 6 inch diameter circle about 1/4 inch thick, repeat on the other side of the baking sheet.  If you don't feel confident about this step you can trace a circle in pencil on the reverse side of your parchment paper to use as a guide or you can make a circle stencil out of thin cardboard (think cereal box) and then spread the batter just inside the template.
-Bake for 5-6 minutes until just set, bake only 2 cookies at a time (unless you are crazy fast, or just crazy.)  Immediately after removing from the oven wrap the hot cookie around your cone mold and place seam side down to cool.
-Repeat with the remaining batter.  Be sure to cool off your cookie sheet before adding fresh batter because a warm cookie sheet will throw off your baking time. 

Mint Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Inspired by An Opera Singer in the Kitchen and this recipe for Coffee Ice Dream 
Makes a little over a pint

2 cups full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup light (grade A) maple syrup or more to taste, I used some of my 9 Bean Rows maple syrup
1/4 cup cool water
1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin, or 1/2 teaspoon agar powder
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips

-Place the water in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top.  Set aside to bloom (absorb water) for about 5 minutes.
-In the meantime, blend the coconut milk, spinach, and syrup together until the spinach is fully blended and no flakes remain.  If your blender isn't powerful enough then strain the mixture.
-Add about half of your coconut milk mixture to a small saucepan with the bloomed gelatin.  Warm gently until the gelatin dissolves, do not boil!
-Add the remaining coconut milk mixture and your flavorings and salt.  Taste and adjust to add more sweetener or peppermint to suit your taste.  Chill the mixture for at least 2 hours.
-Follow your ice cream maker's instructions to freeze.  After the mixture is soft serve consistency, stir in the chocolate chips and spoon into a container.  Wrap or seal well and store in freezer until use.

Alex went to a new art class today and made this "Ancient Tree" painting

For some festive tunes, check out our friend Frank.  He blogs about electronics, here.

Maple Oat Cookies with White Chocolate

These cookies are the definition of serendipity.  I had no well thought out plan, no research or high hopes when I made these this morning.  The only reason they were created was Alex was out of cookies and has been begging for white chocolate all week.  Oh, and I have maple sugar on the brain-- I'm tapping some trees for the first time this year and boiling down sap today.  I just used what was on hand and what I thought would taste good and they turned out so much better than expected.  They are seriously addictive and for me reminiscent of Oatmeal Scotchies.

Maple Oat Cookies with White Chocolate
Makes ~2 1/2 dozen small cookies

3 ounces (~6 tablespoons) coconut oil
1/2 cup maple sugar*
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons golden flax seed meal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup whole almond meal
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
6 tablespoons Scottish Oatmeal*
3/4 cup white chocolate chips*

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment.
-In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the coconut oil and maple sugar until there are no lumps.
-Add the egg and vanilla and beat until creamy and lighter in color. Add the flax seed meal and beat to incorporate.
-In a separate bowl measure and whisk together the rice flour, almond meal, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum.  Add to the egg mixture and mix to combine well. 
-Add the oats and white chocolate chips and mix to distribute evenly.
-Scoop or spoon single tablespoons onto your lined baking sheets, leaving at least an inch between each cookie.
-Bake for 7-9 minutes until light golden brown on edges.  Cool slightly before removing from the baking sheet.

*Ingredient Notes:
-I get my maple sugar from our local co-op which carries U.P. Sugar Shack sugar.  You can also purchase maple sugar online at Marx Foods.
-I use Bob's Red Mill Organic Scottish Oatmeal but you could substitute other oats for more texture or give some regular rolled oats a quick whizz in the food processor.   Think of creating a slightly shredded meal and not oat flour, this should only take a few pulses.
-I get my dairy-free white chocolate from Chocolate Emporium.

We were out monitoring our sap buckets and soaking up the sun yesterday.

Perfect was doing her best Arctic fox impression, trying to catch mice tunneling under the snow.

DB Maple Florentine Cookies and Coconut Panna Cotta

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Another month gone by and I continued my wheat free experiment.  I also spent most of this past month going fairly low carb and nearly zero sugar so I needed to make quite a few alterations to this month's recipes.  For the panna cotta, I used coconut milk and gelatin without any sweetener at all.  The raspberry gelee on top, made from frozen berries, got just a scant teaspoon of honey to cut the tartness.  They were delicious together and plenty sweet enough for me. 

I ended up spending more time on the Florentine cookie recipe.  I remembered how one of my Christmas cookie experiments with maple sugar produced a lacy cookie so I thought I could adapt this recipe to lessen the refined sugar.  I cut the amount of sugar, replaced it with maple sugar and replaced the wheat flour with gluten-free flours.  My first batch ended up too chewy but were so well received by Alex that I made a second batch to work on a better texture.  I'm quite happy with this lower sugar, maple flavored version. 

Maple Florentine Cookies
My dairy-free, gluten-free, less refined sugar version of these Nestle Florentine Cookies.  If possible weigh your ingredients, the cup measurements are not as exact.
Makes ~2 dozen cookie sandwiches

2/3 cup (150g) coconut oil
2 cups (160g) oatmeal, I used regular oats
2/3 cup (110g) maple sugar
~1/4 cup (35g) almond meal
~1/4 cup (30g) tapioca starch
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons milk, I used unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
pinch of fine sea salt
1 cup (170g) dark chocolate

-Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line a couple of cookie sheets with parchement paper.
-Melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan.  Remove from heat and stir in all the ingredients, mix very well.
-Spoon or scoop on tablespoons of the dough three inches apart.
-Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown.  Cool fully on the paper before moving. You can carefully slide the paper with the cooling cookies off your baking sheets onto your counter. Then you can cool the baking pans off with cold water and use another piece of paper to keep the production going.  Or take your time. 
-Repeat to use all the dough.
-Melt your chocolate (double boiler or microwave) and spread a small amount between each cookie before sandwiching.  Baked tops shoudl be facing outside.

Links:
-For the unaltered challenge recipes see our host Mallory's site, A Sofa in the Kitchen.
-Mallory used Giada De Laurentiis' Panna Cotta recipe and the Florentine recipe came from Nestle Classic Recipes which can also be found on the Nestle Kitchen website.
-I get my maple sugar from our local co-op which carries U.P. Sugar Shack sugar.  You can also purchase maple sugar online at Marx Foods. 
-Ready to take on a monthly baking challenge?  Visit the Daring Kitchen and don't forget to look at the Daring Baker Blogroll for other cookie/gel combos.

My first batch of Florentines was made with rice and tapioca flours.  They came with some gluten-free chocolate cutout cookies (raspberry frosted) to a Valentine's Day get together.  Unfortunately, I committed the cardinal sin of forgetting that there were kids there with diets even more restricted than Alex's.  I know from experience that it sucks when there are treats he can't have but just didn't think it through. 

Carob Fruit and Nut Bark

Though I'm still full of my typical end of winter griping about dark days and slippery roads, I am noticing that February has been flying by. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I'm still trying to lay off sugar and wheat and grains in general. But that's a topic for another post, which I'm too scatterbrained to write at the moment, so here's a recipe I've been working on.

John and I have been upping the ante with our chocolate lately. I've long been a fan of the dark stuff and look for at least 70% cocoa (the bare minimum) but with my current dietary changes I'm even finding things like these brownies too sweet. So we search for darker chocolate for snacking and that results in eventually even liking unsweetened chocolate, if combined with fruit and nuts. The trouble is that chocolate has caffeine and though my tolerance is way higher than John's a little too much snacking ends with me up all night.

So John suggested carob (yes honey, I'm actually giving you credit) and at first I scoffed. Have you ever had those carob covered nuts from the bulk section? Or a carob bar? They are so insipid and gross with a weird chewy quality but John likes them anyway. I remembered seeing carob powder, also called carob flour, at the co-op so I agreed to give that a try. I had some cocoa butter around to try and make homemade dairy-free white chocolate and thought, "Hey I could make carob chocolate and it wouldn't be an oxymoron!"

For my first attempt I went completely sugar free and it was wonderful! Of course you have to be used to eating very low sugar/high cocoa chocolate but if you are the kind of person who can snack on cocoa nibs than you might really love this and it won't keep you up at night. Plus, carob may have other health benefits and it's much less bitter and therefore requires less sweetness to be delicious. I've played with the recipe further, added a little dried fruit for a smidgen more sweetness and a little coconut oil so that I don't have to worry about tempering the cocoa butter. The variations are endless but I like this Chunky bar homage with raisins and almonds.

Carob Fruit and Nut Bark
This is for super low sugar chocolate lovers. If you can't handle nibbling on cocoa nibs or 90% chocolate then either use a higher percentage of dried fruit or try adding a little stevia. 
Makes about a pound

3 oz (~3/4 cup) cacao butter*
2 oz (7 tablespoons) roasted carob powder*
8 oz (2 cups) almonds, ideally soaked/dehydrated*
3 oz (3/4 cup) raisins*
1/4 ounce (~1 1/2 teaspoons) coconut oil
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

-Melt the cacao butter in a double boiler add the carob powder and coconut oil and whisk until smooth.  You could also melt the cacao butter in the microwave but it seems to take forever so I prefer a double boiler for this.  Of course a double boiler does not have to mean anything more than a heat proof bowl that fits on a saucepan with a little water in the saucepan.
-Add the almonds and raisins and stir to coat.  Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.
-Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes and then remove and break apart.

*Ingredient notes:  Cacao butter is the same thing as cocoa butter but be sure not to skimp on this. I've found cheaper stuff that has off flavors and tastes like soap and it's awful!  Carob powder is also called carob flour.  Of course any combination of nuts with/without any combination of dried fruit would be good. 

**Other notes:  I think a variation with some spice would be excellent and there is an interesting Cinnamon Spiced Coconut Bark on Diet, Dessert and Dogs.  Also, I'd love to try some filled chocolates with this carob chocolate mixture and plan on using this recipe for Double Chocolate Hazelnut Candies as inspiration.

***Note to mom: Hey, check out the Russell Stovers Elvis box, that thing has really gotten a lot of reuse!

Flaxseed Brownies

Alex has been snacking on lots of soaked/dried almonds this week, as well as corn chips and salsa and rice krispie/marshmallow bowls.  But I thought he needed a homebaked treat and "chewy" brownies were his request.  I sent him out in the snow this morning and made a batch of flax seed brownies and hot cocoa.  They turned out so good!!   Really moist, on that edge between chewy and almost gooey and though they were super sweet for me since I'm not eating sugar all week they aren't sickeningly sweet.  After Alex nibbled on another two this evening I stashed them in the freezer so that he can have all the rest without them tempting me.  He loves gnawing on frozen baked goods and they'd be perfect rewarmed in the microwave and served hot with ice cream!

Update: I couldn't resist making a second batch sweetened with honey.  I used 1/4 cup of honey in place of the brown sugar and left out the water.  They needed to be baked a little longer (28-30 minutes) but were wonderful.   Ideally, I'll try these in the future using unsweetened chocolate and with a little more honey to make them completely refined sugar free. -Maggie (1-30-11)

Flaxseed Brownies
Based on a recipe I made ages ago and can't find online anymore and these brownies, which are made with buckwheat and sweetened with honey. I would love to try this recipe with honey.  When I do I plan on trying it with only 1/4 cup of honey in place of the 1/3 cup brown sugar. Maybe next week...
Makes one 9-inch square pan (9-12 brownies)

3 ounces (~6 tablespoons) coconut oil
4 ounces (~2/3 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup almond meal
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper (or grease and dust the pan with almond meal.)
-Microwave the coconut oil and chocolate together for 30 second increments (1:30 usually does it) until the chocolate is melted.  Or you could get out a double boiler and melt the two together that way.  Mix the oil and chocolate together and set aside to cool slightly.
-Mix together the flax meal, almond meal, cocoa, salt, and baking soda, a whisk is the best tool for this job.  Set aside.
-Add the brown sugar to the oil/chocolate and whisk in.  Add in the eggs one at a time and mix well.  Add the vanilla and hot water and whisk until smooth.
-Add your dry ingredients to your wet and stir until combined.  Pour into the prepped pan.
-Bake for 22-28, until a toothpick test gives you just a few crumbs clinging.
-Cool 10 minutes, slice and serve.




 

DB Entremets with Patterned Biscuit Joconde

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

This month's Daring Baker challenge was an exceptionally fun one.  I've wanted to try making patterned joconde, almond sponge cake, since I saw this Love Cake last year.  How cool is it to decorate a cake, WITH cake!  Alas with the wheat free restriction I put myself on for this month and the fact that I was generally steering clear of all grains and sugars, I couldn't revel in the challenge as much as I'd like.

To not tempt myself too much, I made a third of a batch for just a few small individual entremets.  There is so little wheat flour in both the decor paste and the joconde especially in proportion to the amount of eggs involved so I didn't worry too much about the type of flour I replaced it with.  For the joconde I used 2/3 tapioca starch and 1/3 sweet rice flour and I used all tapioca starch for the decor paste.  In place of the melted butter, I used a little Earth Balance margarine. Otherwise these recipes didn't need to be messed with.  To make my pattern I cut a few notches in a piece of cardboard and used it to create diagonal stripes.  I ended up with enough decor paste to prep two sheet pans but only enough joconde batter for one pan.  Well, it turns the decor paste out is pretty much the same as tuile batter so I baked off the second pan to make cookie sticks for decoration.  Both the joconde and the tuile sticks needed significantly less time than the recipe calls for, ~ 5 minutes for the joconde and a little less for the tuiles.  I think I spread it thinner than it was supposed to be and that would account for my altered baking time.

For my fillings, I wanted to go as nutrient dense as possible to not completely blow my plan for the month.  I made this avocado pudding and combined it with soaked cashew creme sweetened with maple syrup. For some texture I soaked/dehydrated/toasted pecans and coated them in chocolate.  I couldn't quite sell Alex on the pudding, though Penny liked it.  So I filled one of the entremets with Alex's new favorite ice cream and a couple of layers of chocolate coated pecans.

In all, this was a fun technique to try out.  Even though I felt a little heady from the sugar in the joconde it was a very tasty cake and so easy to work with.  The possiblities for decorating full sized cakes and making little entremets are endless!  And Alex especially liked the chocolate tuile sticks I made from the decor paste-- perhaps some chocolate ice cream cones should be in his future.  Thanks for the great challenge Astheroshe!
 
Links:
-Check out our host Astheroshe on her blog, accro.  She has the complete recipe along with her spumoni inspired fillings, HERE.  See above for my wheat-free/dairy-free adaptations.
-I filled my entremets with this avocado pudding from Jenn, The Leftover Queen. 
-I didn't use a recipe for the cashew creme.  I just took well soaked cashews and blended them with a little water and a touch of maple syrup and vanilla extract until they were whipped.
-For a fun example of this technique see Gesine Bullock-Prado's Love Cake.  I really loved her book, Confections of a Closet Master Baker.  It's a must read for food lit lovers of the baking persuasion.  And she has a new cookbook called Sugar Baby due out in April, which looks very cool.

-As always, if you'd like to join in the baking fun visit the Daring Kitchen and look to the Daring Baker Blogroll for other examples of this technique.

The decor paste, decor covered in joconde batter, baked patterned joconde before flipping to reveil the pattern and after

Patterned joconde lined molds

Alex's ice cream filled entremet

His new favorite ice cream, Almond Dream Praline Crunch

DB Swiss Roll Ice Cream Bombe

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

This month's Daring Baker challenge was a layered, Swiss roll covered, ice cream bombe.  Not only was it a fantastic idea to have a baking challenge that included ice cream for the summer but I loved that our host Sunita took a "semi-homemade" recipe and challenged all of us to make it 100% homemade.  Our task included the Swiss roll cake, the cake's filling, two ice creams and a fudge filling.  All were to be made from scratch.

This combination ended up as the biggest smash hit any Daring Baker challenge has ever made with my son!  He flipped over the idea of a rolled up cake, loved the marshmallow frosting I filled it with, and then thought he'd died and gone to heaven when I told him that I was going to add ice cream to this already delicious combination.  Ice cream, whether the homemade kind, from a mix, raw, or Tofutti, is one of his major food groups.

To keep the size of the finished bombe manageable I made the Swiss roll several days earlier then served some of it to friends over for dinner.  It was delicious on it's own and I had to fight off Alex to keep enough of the rest safe to make the bombe.  Over the next few days I sliced and froze the remaining roll and made the two ice creams and fudge.   For the cake I followed Sunita's recipe using half black cocoa, which I will admit to being addicted to.  Since her cake filling was whipped cream based, I replaced it with my own marshmallow frosting.  The cake was chocolaty, spongy and easy to roll without cracking. 

For one of my ice creams I chose to make a strawberry one based on Jen the Leftover Queen's Fruits and Nuts of the Forest Kefir Ice Cream.  I hoped to come up with a probiotic packed version of ice cream that my son would like.  I used So Delicious coconut milk kefir (a favorite in our house for smoothies), a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil + more kefir in place of the cream, only a tablespoon of booze (vodka), strawberries and sugar in place of maple syrup.  I tasted and adjusted the sweetness until I liked the result but after freezing it was fairly hard, more like sorbet.  My son Alex wasn't impressed.  Even with the real sugar, it wasn't rich enough for him.  I'll be making a batch with the nuts, Frangelico and maple syrup next time.  And I won't be sharing!!

For the other ice cream I tried out the "The World's Easiest Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Vanilla Ice Cream" from Speedbump Kitchen.  It definitely lives up to it's name-- melt marshmallows and creamer, cool, freeze-- that's it!  I replaced the soy creamer with So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer in French Vanilla.  I had my doubts because this creamer's flavor has disappointed me in the past.  But combined with the marshmallow flavor it was pretty good, though a bit too sweet for me personally.  Alex thought it was frozen manna from heaven and would have consumed the whole batch by himself had I let him.

Finally, I attempted to adapt my favorite dairy-free fudge topping to get the perfect sticky, gooey texture like in the ice cream cakes of my youth.  I added a little corn syrup to keep it gooey but then cooked it a bit too long. The result was tasty but more reminiscent of a Good Humor candy center, something I should have played off as intentional.   The fudge layer along with the stiffer strawberry-kefir ice cream made the bombe a pain to cut.  A plate was broken, hilarity ensued, and somehow the bombe survived and was served to the guests at my recent food blogger get together.  Add another notch to my Daring Baker bedpost.  

Marshmallow Frosting (Swiss Roll Filling)
Makes ~2 cups, enough to fill one 10 1/2" x 15 1/1 cake generously

4 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar, super fine is best (or whiz regular sugar in a food processor)
seeds from 1 vanilla bean
5 oz coconut oil, liquid
pinch of salt

-Prepare a double boiler with a large bowl.
-Add the egg whites, sugar and vanilla bean seeds to the bowl and beat for 4-5 minutes until smooth, fluffy and hot to the touch.  This is best done with a hand held electric mixer but it can be done by hand, just be prepared to have your forearms aching.
-Remove the hot meringue from the heat and continue to beat until cool, ~5-7 minutes.  Add salt and then the coconut oil a spoon at a time while beating.
-Beat until very smooth and use fairly soon.  There isn't enough fat to keep the marshmallow completely pliable once it starts to set.

Links:
-For the complete original recipes for the challenge visit our host at Sunita’s world- life and food
-Sunita's from scratch recipes where inspired by the Swiss swirl ice cream cake from the Taste of Home website.
-The two ice creams I made were:  Jen the Leftover Queen's Fruits and Nuts of the Forest Kefir Ice Cream and the "The World's Easiest Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Vanilla Ice Cream" from Speedbump Kitchen (click to see all her other ice cream flavors.)
-I replaced the soy creamer with So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer in French Vanilla.
-Visit the Daring Kitchen and see other bombes made this month by browsing the Daring Baker Blogroll. 

A bombe slice

Rolled up cake cooling in a clean sugared dish towel

Unrolled cake

Frosted cake before rolling

*These Amazon links give me a monetary kick back if you buy through them.  They are products I own, use and like.  My endless mentions of So Delicious brand are completely uncompensated. Hey, Turtle Mountain how 'bout some love for this volunteer product tester?

DB Chocolate Pavlovas with Michigan Strawberries

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard

I dub these the pavlovas not meant to be.  One batch I over baked into rock hard pucks.  One batch I over mixed into flattened, rubbery pancakes.  And my final attempt today was the above lumpy, sad blobs.  With my final batch I did obtain the chewy/crispy contrast of a true pavlova with good chocolate flavor which went well with the fresh Michigan strawberries.  But without being artfully piped they resemble the dog bombs in the yard more than something delicious.  Oh well...I do enjoy whipping and playing with eggs and want to thank Dawn Nyman from Doable and Delicious for this month's challenge. 

Links:
-See the complete chocolate pavlova recipe at Dawn's site, Doable and Delicious.
-My other foray into pavlova making, Michigan berry sorbets in mini pavlovas.
-The whipped topping on the pavlova is Soyatoo.
-Visit the Daring Kitchen and see other pavlovas made this month by browsing the Daring Baker Blogroll.

And now for some new Penny pictures!!

The doll baby shot

She was so happy after getting her hand stuck in her sleeve and having a new texture to chew on.

Bionicle Cake #2

Let me heave a sigh a relief for another June birthday, Father's Day, graduation party mayhem over with.  Somehow I managed to satisfy Alex's desire for yet another Bionicle themed cake.  This time I attempted a Takanuva mask, cake #1 was a Bohrok.  I made vanilla cake and chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting made with Earth Balance, covered in homemade fondant, brushed with luster dust--all pulled together Sunday morning in a hotel room.  Oh and some raw chocolate cake for John. 

The Takanuva Bionicle mask cake

Happy Birthday Alex! (Almond Lemon Meringue Cupcakes)

On Tuesday my son Alex turned 8 years old.  To celebrate we went with a few of his friends to a local arcade to play laser tag.  Since he's hoping for a Bionicle cake for his family birthday party (dear me, I'm so screwed! this cake was a challenge and I had my own kitchen to bake in--I'm going to be downstate 5 hours from my kitchen!!)  I thought I'd keep this first run simple with cupcakes.  I made our perennial favorite cocoa cake with seven minute frosting, minus the corn syrup for a corn allergic guest.  Then because my husband John is *trying* to go grain free/paleo I also made the Lemon Meringue Cupcakes from Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried.

I've had this recipe bookmarked for ages.  I love that everything in it is sweetened only with honey.  It's easy to find baked goods recipes using agave or flavored with honey but with sugar as well but rarely do you find honey only recipes.  For my honey I used local star thistle honey from Sleeping Bear Farms.  The cakes are almond flour based filled with lemon curd and topped with honey meringue.   I find all lemon curd tremendously addictive and this one was no exception though the cake turned out to be the bigger hit.  John loved them unfrosted and I can see myself making the cakes again and topping them with a dark chocolate ganache.

Here are my American adaptations/interpretations to the recipe so I can remember them:  3 large tsp of nut butter = 3 rounded teaspoons; 2 dessert spoons of mild honey = 2 tablespoons; 50 ml vegetable oil = 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (or rather 3T + guesstimate a third of a tablespoon); 160C fan assisted = 325 degrees F convection. The recipe as written made 16 mini cupcakes in nut cup papers baked for 11-13 minutes.  Coconut oil works well in place of the butter in the lemon curd and you don't need to add it slowly, just whisk well.  It will make the curd grainy cold but be smooth at room temperature.  Thanks Naomi for the great recipe!

The mini cupcake brigade

Double Dark Chocolate Cookies (vegan)

Don't all diets need a little chocolate?  I'm busy working to fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans but just can't live without a little chocolate now and then...or rather nearly every day.  The question that remains is how to administer said chocolate.  Some of my chocolate cravings are satisfied by very good chocolate from TCHO, a new favorite, but I'm also itching to get back into my baking groove and had cookies in mind.

I started with a basic recipe from Martha Stewart.  I knew it could be tweaked to make a just as satisfying and yet much more nutritionally valuable cookie.  I did have my diet in mind but there also was the soon-to-be 8!! year-old monster, my son Alex, that needed to be kept happy.  It would be cruel to make batches of cookies that were too "healthy" to appeal to his taste buds.  So I tested and tried combinations until I arrived at this recipe.

This dairy-free, egg-free, low-soy, whole wheat, lower sugar version of the double chocolate cookie really satisfies my chocolate cravings and yet still manages to stay kid friendly.  They exemplify my ideal cookie texture: crispy on the outside, chewy inside with melty chocolate bits throughout.  And if you just so happen to be counting points with Weight Watchers you can have one for 2 points or two for 3 1/2.  They fit in perfectly with my dieting modus operandi: filling up on vegetables seasoned with good quality protein and skipping the bread/pasta/rice so I can indulge in a sweet--that is if I can get to them before Alex does!

Double Dark Chocolate Cookies
My adaptation of the Double Chocolate Cookie recipe  from Martha Stewart
Makes 3 bakers dozen cookies (39 cookies)

Ingredients:
4 oz (~1/2 cup) unrefined coconut oil*
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
8 oz (~1 1/3 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
3 tablespoons golden flax seed meal
6 tablespoons warm water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder**
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredient notes:
*Lately I've been using Tree of Life brand coconut oil which has very mild coconut flavor and is acceptable to Alex's palate.  If you or those you are baking for don't object to coconut then by all means use a more coconutty oil.
**Any baking cocoa you have will work but if you want the darkest cookies use half regular cocoa and half black cocoa (like this one from King Arthur Flour).   You would then be using 1/4 cup of each type of cocoa.

Directions:
-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.  Line your baking sheet pans with parchment paper.
-If your coconut oil is liquid it's best to chill it until just firm.  Add your solid coconut oil and brown sugar to a stand mixer and beat until well combined.  Note: this will not cream and become fluffy like margarine or butter.
-Melt half of the chocolate (4 oz) in a double boiler or microwave and set aside.  Mix the flax seed meal and water together and allow to gel.
-Add the gelled flax and the vanilla extract to the coconut oil mixture and beat until combined, at least one minute.  Add the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated, you will need to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.
-Stir or sift together the flour, cocoa(s), baking soda and salt.  Add to the coconut oil mixture and beat until smooth, scraping the sides several times.
-Add in the remaining chocolate (4oz).  The dough will be thick and gummy at this point and you will have to work to get the chips even throughout.
-Scoop tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the lined cookie sheets leaving at least 1 1/2 inches between each cookie.  To make this easier use a 1 tablespoon disher, see link at the end for an example.
-Bake for 11-12 minutes until puffy.  Remove and allow to cool on the baking sheets.
**These freeze very well as baked cookies.  You can bring them to room temperature or gnaw on them frozen.

Trying something new...
I'm an avid fan of Amazon.com so I'm testing the Amazon Associates function in Blogger. For full disclosure these are links that would give me a kick back if you purchased the item through them.  They are however things I actually do use and like a lot.

DB Tiramisu

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

This month I opted to go ahead and indulge myself and make the dairy version of tiramisu. I enjoyed making both the mascarpone cheese and ladyfingers from scratch since both were new to me. I added some almond extract to both my zabalione and my pastry cream and made both without dairy, using almond milk in the pastry cream. Then I used the ladyfingers that survived my son Alex's nibbling to make a 2/3 version of this dessert with dairy. Two ladyfingers went into a tiny demi tasse dairy-free version, where I replaced the mascarpone with Tofutti cream cheese and the whipped cream with Soyatoo soy whipped topping. The dairy version was wonderful but Alex couldn't get past the coffee flavor in his dairy-free version. Our favorite part by far was the ladyfingers, I'll have to come up with a dairy-free summer trifle and make them again.

Links:
-Our hosts this month are Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking
-The original recipes for this month included: Vera’s recipe (Baking Obsession) for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese, Savoiardi/ Ladyfinger Biscuits recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home and Carminantonio's Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007
-For my dairy-free version I used Soyatoo a dairy-free, soy whipped topping
-My homemade mascarpone was made with local Shetler Dairy heavy cream
-Visit the Daring Kitchen and see all the other tiramisu made this month by browsing the Daring Baker Blogroll.

My completed tiramisu with cow's milk mascarpone
Alex's mini dairy-free tiramisu
Piped ladyfingers
For those not in the loop, I do have an excuse for not blogging.
I'm due to pop out a little something to fill this up at the end of the month.
In other Dog Hill news, we finally got a pilated woodpecker to try out our suet feeder this weekend. He's been back twice since!