Tag Archives: chocolat

Guilt-free Chocolate cake (with beetroot!)

Posted on by
2

You can’t beat a good chocolate cake and this is definitely a good chocolate cake! It’s totally vegan and totally yummy! This was inspired by a delicious cake my friend Vicky made so I thought I’d have a go at veganising and gluten-freeing it! 🙂

2014-06-07 21.18.06-1

You will need:

250g cooked Beetroot

250g unrefined Raw sugar (coconut palm sugar etc)

190g self-raising gluten free Flour

60g raw Cacao powder

1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

3 tbsp Chia seeds soaked in 9 tbsp water

180 ml Almond oil (or other non flavoured oil)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 tsp Chocolate extract (or extra Vanilla if you don’t have this)

2014-06-07 21.18.34

Preheat the oven to 170 C. Lightly grease a 23 cm diameter cake tine.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cacoa and bicarbonate of soda. Then stir in the sugar.  Pop the cooked beetroot in to a food processor and blend until smooth. Place this in to a sieve over another bowl and push out any juices with the back of a spoon. You don’t need the juice for this recipe but don’t bin it – you can throw it in to a smoothie 🙂

Put the beetroot pulp back in to the processor and then turn on the motor and add the soaked chia seeds, vanilla and chocolate extract (if using) and then slowly pour in the oil.

Mix until well blended. Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and add the beetroot mixture. Gently fold together with a large spoon. Pour the mixture in to the cake tin and place in the oven for 35 -40 mins (or until a skewer comes out clean). Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 – 10 mins in the tin, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

Then enjoy with a cup of tea (and maybe a cat)! 🙂

2014-06-07 21.22.39

Fruity Raw Chocs

Posted on by
4

As you’ll know from my recent raw choc recipes (see here and here) I’ve been having loads of fun playing around with my raw choc and raw white choc recipes, and my collection of freeze-dried fruit powders. The results were awesome!

The fruit powders work brilliantly with both the dark and white raw choc and they add an amazing tartness and freshness to the chocs. They also make the white chocs look very pretty 🙂 (I get my fruit powders online from here)

2014-05-11 09.26.12

You can make solid chocs of one flavour or you can use the flavoured white chocolate to add colour and patterns to dark chocs. They come out looking amazing! If you are very clever (and more patient than I am 😉 ) you can add different colours to different parts of your mould to highlight certain details 🙂 The world is your chocolate box! Warning though – if you’re anything like me your entire kitchen will be covered in raw choc when you’re done! Is it wrong that I considered licking it up to clean it….. (don’t judge me 😉 )

2014-05-11 09.29.44

2014-05-11 09.35.362014-05-10 20.01.45

Now I couldn’t decide which of my freeze-dried fruit powders to use so I used them all (separately!). I think my favourite were raspberry, passion fruit and cranberry – I love the tartness of them 🙂

2014-06-11 16.25.33

So all you need for the dark chocs is:

1 cup Cacao butter (melted)

1 cup Raw Cocoa powder

1/3 Cup Maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)

Freeze-dried fruit powder of your choice – approx 1 tsp – adjust to taste

2014-05-11 09.31.54

For the white choc you need:

1/4 cup melted Cacao butter

1 tbsp Cashew butter

1 tsp dry dairy-free milk powder – rice, coconut or soya milk powder (This is optional but it makes the chocolate creamier so is worth it if you can find it)

1 tbsp unrefined raw Icing sugar (adjust to taste)

1/4 tsp Vanilla extract

Freeze-dried fruit powder of your choice – approx 1 tsp – adjust to taste

The method is the same for both – melt the cacao butter and then stir in all the other ingredients. Mix well.

2014-05-10 20.01.34

Now for the fun! and mess…. You can do whatever you like! I made a load of small quantities of chocolate of various flavours. Then I filled some moulds full of that flavour which worked well.   Then I had some fun….. either carefully dribbling one flavour in to the mould or liberally splashing it around to create a beautiful marble effect. Splash one flavour at a time, then pop in the fridge to set before doing the next.

2014-05-10 20.01.51

Place in the fridge between each one until you’re finished. Allow to set properly in the fridge and store in there until you want to eat them!

2014-05-11 09.29.50

2014-05-11 09.31.23

 

Dairy Free Raw White Chocolate!

Posted on by
1

I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for a while now. White chocolate is one thing that’s pretty hard to come by if you’re trying to avoid dairy so I wanted to come up with an easy to make alternative and I think I’ve found it!

2014-05-05 17.05.21

I made some plain white choc ones, some mixed with dark raw choc and for some I added some freeze-dried raspberry powder to give a yummy raspberry choc!

If you have some interesting chocolate or ice moulds you can have some fun with a mix of white and dark raw chocolate (see recipe for raw chocolate here)

2014-05-05 17.02.56

You will need:

1/4 cup melted Cacao butter

1 tbsp Cashew butter

1 tsp dry dairy-free milk powder – rice, coconut or soya milk powder (This is optional but it makes the chocolate creamier so is worth it if you can find it)

1 tbsp unrefined raw Icing sugar (adjust to taste)

1/4 tsp Vanilla extract

Optional – (Freeze-dried raspberry powder – approx 1 tsp – adjust to taste)

Melt the Cacao butter and then stir in all the other ingredients. Mix well and then pour in to moulds. Pop in the fridge until set. Enjoy!

2014-05-05 16.59.52

 

2014-05-05 17.06.20

 

Chocolate Coconut Treats

Posted on by
1

This is a super simple Easter recipe for some yummy little melt in the mouth coconut chocolate bites. In fact it’s not really a recipe at all it’s so simple! 🙂

2014-04-18 19.27.21

All you need is some of this wonderful stuff – Artisana Cacao Bliss. It’s just chocolate coconut butter, made from coconut flesh (not the coconut oil).

2014-04-12 17.07.38

If you can’t find this then you can use the normal Artisana Coconut Butter and just add raw cocoa powder to it (to taste).

2014-04-12 17.07.29

 

All you need to do is melt the coconut butter in a pan on a very low heat. I like this just the way it is but if it isn’t sweet enough for you then you can add some maple syrup to taste. Once it’s melted all you need to do is pour in to moulds – egg shaped or otherwise! Pop in the fridge for 20 mins to set. If you’re doing eggs remove from the fridge and mould. Warm the back of the eggs using a hair dryer or a warmed spoon just to melt it slightly, then press 2 halves together. Place back in the fridge for a few mins.

Enjoy!

Raw Chocolate filled eggs and fruity eggs

Posted on by
3

Well… it is Easter… and I happen to know someone who loves raw chocolate so it gave me the perfect excuse to  whip up a batch of raw chocolate eggs.

2014-04-13 16.19.24

2014-04-13 16.29.29

I fancied having a bit of a play with all the exciting things in my cupboard – peanut butter, pecan butter, coconut butter, freeze dried passion fruit powder, freeze dried cherry powder, freeze dried cherries, freeze dried raspberries so decided I’d make a batch of medium filled eggs and some little mini fruity eggs!

2014-04-12 16.19.12-2

You will need:

1 cup Cacao butter (melted)

1 cup Raw Cocoa powder

1/3 Cup Maple syrup (or other liquid sweetner)

A selection of fun things to fill or flavour them with! Your choice – nut butters, coconut butter (this isn’t the same as coconut oil – I use the Artisana brand – available online), freeze dried fruits etc.

Egg moulds (or any other shape!)

Filled eggs

Mix the cacao butter, cocoa and maple syrup together and ensure there are no lumps. Pour a small amount in to the egg mould – you are filling your eggs so don’t fill the mould – probably aim for a third of the mould. You will probably find that it settles at the bottom leaving the sides with only a very thing layer. This is ok – just pop it in the fridge for now. After about 5 mins check it and as it’s beginning to solidify just swirl the mould around so the chocolate coats the sides too. Place back in the fridge until set hard (15 mins should do it).

Add your filling

If you’re using nut butter then add a tsp or two and you can then sprinkle in some freeze dried fruit if you fancy it (raspberries work well with peanut butter).  Remember to do an even number of each filling (unless you want eggs half one flavour, half another).

If you’re using the coconut butter use a whole coconut flesh butter, rather than coconut oil. I used the Artisana brand.

2014-04-12 17.07.29

It’s easier to work with if you melt it very gently in a pan – just until it’s runny and then just pour it in to the eggs and pop straight in to the fridge.

2014-04-12 17.25.20

Once the filling has set, cover with a layer of chocolate. You don’t have to do this but it makes it much easier to join halves later in a relatively neat way!

Allow to set in the fridge until really well set (at least 15 mins).

Put your halves together!

Pop your eggs out the mould and then you can either use a small amount of melted raw chocolate to sandwich them together, or you can use a hair dryer on a low heat to very gently melt the back of the eggs (be super careful as raw choc has a very low melting point so handle the eggs as little as poss and be gentle with the hair dryer). Once melted press the halves together and pop back in the fridge!

Then eat!

2014-04-13 16.32.26

 

Fruity eggs

Take your raw choc mix and stir in to it your freeze dried fruit or fruit powder of choice. I split my mixture and in one half I added 1 tbsp freeze dried cherry powder and a handful of crushed freeze dried cherry slices. In the other half I added 1 tbsp freeze dried passion fruit powder and a handful of freeze dried mango pieces. Mix well and then pour in to your egg or whatever shape moulds.

If you want you can add a little powdered or crushed freeze dried fruit to the mould before you add the chocolate  – it makes the eggs look pretty 🙂

2014-04-13 16.27.55

Pop in the fridge for at least 15 mins. Remove and stick the halves together with a little melted raw choc or using a hair dryer to melt the backs a little as before.

Enjoy! 🙂

 

Raspberry Raw Chocs

Posted on by
Reply

These beautiful raw chocolates are fantastically easy to make and taste delicious. They’d make a perfect gift too (if you don’t eat them all first 😉 ).

2014-03-23 14.22.27

You can flavour them with anything you like but I’m a big fan of raspberry and chocolate and when I found the freeze-dried raspberries online (Amazon sell them) and thought they’d be a great addition to these chocs.

2014-03-23 14.26.57

You will need (makes approx 15 chocs):

1 cup Cacao butter (melted)

1 cup Raw Cacao powder

1/3 cup Maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)

1 cup Freeze-dried raspberries

2- 3 tbsps Freeze-dried raspberry powder (you can buy them powdered or you can simply grind up the whole raspberries)

Melt the cacao butter and mix it with the cacao powder and maple syrup. Use a small whisk or fork to mix the ingredients well. Add in the raspberry powder and mix well. Lightly crush the whole raspberries into smaller pieces and then stir them in.

Pour in to chocolate moulds and leave in the freezer to set. Enjoy! 🙂

2014-03-23 14.24.25

 

 

Peppermint Triple Chocolate Candy Cane Brownies – gluten and dairy-free

Posted on by
Reply

I’m a bit late posting this but hey, what can I say – it’s been christmas and all that 😉

I actually re-made this over this weekend so thought it was about time I posted the recipe.

This was a birthday creation for myself, to be shared with my favourite cake-eating friend 🙂 We are both fans of chocolate and peppermint so what better than this delicious minty chocolatey combo! The crunch of the peppermint candy canes on top really make this something special (you can use any hard mint candy for this).

3648

01ed1c23089e903956a29203b04989f148abd8ec5b

You will need:

1/4 cup Rice flour

1/2 cup Ground almonds

1 cup unrefined Raw sugar (golden caster sugar, coconut sugar etc)

1/2 cup almond oil (or coconut oil)

1/4 cup raw Cacoa powder

2 eggs (or 2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 6 tbsp water)

1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt

1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1/8 Tsp Pure peppermint extract

Milk, white and dark chocolate chunks (optional)

For Icing

100g Dairy free chocolate

200 – 300g Unrefined icing sugar (adjust quantity to depending how runny you want your icing)

drop of Pure peppermint extract

a dash of warm water

Hard mints or candy canes, silver balls, any other decorations

photo 1

Preheat the oven to 170C and grease a 20 x 20cm square baking pan with parchment paper.

Mix the ground almonds, flour, cacao powder, sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda together in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl beat the eggs (or if using chia seeds instead then soak them in the water). Make a well in the center and add the beaten egg (or soaked chia seeds), vanilla extract, peppermint extract and oil. Whisk together using a hand mixer until well mixed. It should be thick and glossy when mixed.

If you are the chocolate chunks stir them in now. Pour in to the baking tin and place in the oven for 20 – 25 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack

Take the hard mints (or candy cane) and bash with a rolling pin in to small pieces.

Then prepare the icing. Melt the chocolate and then stir in the icing sugar and peppermint extract.

Use enough icing sugar to get the consistency of icing you want (if it’s too thick add a little water). Spread quickly on to the brownies and sprinkle the crushed mint and any other decorations you want to use on to the top! Then enjoy (with a big old candle if it’s your birthday 😉 )

017a036669e0ee6626053c99677bb8d2b2e6ec2f8e
and in case you’re wondering if they taste good… well this is all that’s left of this weekend’s creation!
photo 2

Chocolate, Nut and Chia Cookies – dairy and gluten free

Posted on by
4

Do you love chocolate? I do! rather too much sadly! So I’m always on the look out for chocolate goodies that will hit the chocolate spot but are a little bit better for me! These cookies are awesome – they’re chocolatey, they’re healthy and they’re full of omega-3’s and good protein and fat. They’re also dairy, gluten and unrefined sugar free! Whoop!

photo 1

You will need:

1/2 cup Buckwheat flour (you can also use quinoa or rice flour)
1 cup Almonds
1 cup Hazelnuts
1/4 cup Medjool dates (approx 2 – 3 chopped)
1/3 cup Maple syrup
2 tbsp Coconut oil (melted)
3 tbsp Raw cacao powder
3 tbsp Chia seeds
1/4 cup Water
Cinnamon chocolate chilli sugar – for dusting

For the cinnamon chocolate chilli sugar you can buy pre-mixed sugar, but I prefer to make my own. It’s easy! Just mix 100g coconut sugar with 10g of cocoa powder, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp chilli powder (or more if you want it hotter!). Adjust the amounts depending how much you need but keep them in those ratios. Make up a batch and keep it in an airtight jar. Just shake before use as the sugar tends to sink to the bottom, leaving the lighter cocoa etc at the top.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

First pop the nuts into a food processor and blend until they are really well ground (almost to a flour). Add in all the other ingredients and process again. It will form a sticky dough.

Take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Then place on a lined baking tray and flatten until very thin.Sprinkle with the cinnamon chocolate chilli sugar and then pop in the oven. Bake for 12 – 15 mins until firm and starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Then eat! 🙂

photo 5

Spice up your summer! Chocolate chilli cookies (dairy free, low/no gluten)

Posted on by
Reply

Chocolate and chilli – what better combination can there be?

I recently baked up another batch of these to welcome home a lovely friend from a trip away and they seemed to go down well so I thought I’d share! They were inspired by a chocolate cookie recipe I found years ago and modified but I can’t now find the original link – when I do I’ll add it! They’re quick and easy to make and taste divine! Oh, and a warning, they smell so good when cooking that it’s pretty hard not to eat them all right there and then!

Makes about 20 (depending how big you make them!)

You will need:

1 and 2/3 cups of white Spelt flour or a gluten-free blend
1/2 raw Cacao powder
1/2 cup Almond oil
1 cup Raw coconut sugar or other raw sugar
1/4 cup Maple syrup (the best quality you can get)
3 tbsp Almond milk (you could use soya or coconut milk too)
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp hot Chilli powder (I used dried chillies, ground up – and they are hot!)
1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp Himalayan rock salt
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Chocolate extract (optional – available from whole food stores, online, or Waitrose for those in the UK)

You will also need some cinnamon chocolate chilli sugar to coat them in 🙂 You can buy pre-mixed sugar, but I prefer to make my own. It’s easy! Just mix 100g sugar with 10g of cocoa powder, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp chilli powder (or more if you want it hotter!). Adjust the amounts depending how much you need but keep them in those ratios. Make up a batch and keep it in an airtight jar. Just shake before use as the sugar tends to sink to the bottom, leaving the lighter cocoa etc at the top.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease and line a baking tray (or 2!).

Put the oil, sugar, maple syrup and milk in a bowl and mix together using a fork. Add in the vanilla extract and mix well. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and sieve in to the wet ingredients. Mix until you have a dough. The dough will be quite moist and sticky.

Put the cinnamon chocolate chilli sugar on a plate. Take small, walnut sized, balls of the dough and pat into the topping sugar to make discs about 2 inches across. Make sure they are well covered in sugar. Put them on to the baking tray with the sugar facing up. Cook for 10 – 12 minutes until they are crackly on the top and have spread a little. Allow to cool on the baking tray for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy! :)

Chunky Chilli Chocolate Cherry mini fingers and loaves

Posted on by
Reply

I thought I’d mix things up a bit with a modified version of my yummy chunky cherry loaves. These have a delicious hit of chilli and a sneaky bit of cinnamon too. I happened to get a new mini mini loaf tin so made some chunky chilli chocolate cherry fingers as well as loaves!

1582

I used some chilli and chocolate infused sugar for this recipe. You can buy this ready mixed or you could easily make it yourself  – it’s simply a mix of sugar, cocoa powder, chilli powder and cinnamon. Mix 100g sugar with 10g of cocoa powder, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp chilli powder (or more if you want it hotter!). Adjust the amounts depending how much you need but keep them in those ratios 🙂

For the loaves/fingers you will need:

1/2 cup Apple puree

1/4 cup Almond butter

1/3 cup Cocoa powder

1/3 cup Almond milk/soya milk/any non-dairy milk

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp boiling water

3/4 cup Chilli and chocolate infused sugar (plus extra to sprinkle on the top)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 tsp Chocolate extract (if you don’t have this then use another tsp vanilla extract)

1/8 tsp Almond extract

1 1/2 cups Gluten-free flour mix (or spelt flour if you’re not worried about gluten-free)

3/4 tsp Bicarbonate soda

3/4 tsp Himalayan rock salt

1 tsp chilli flakes (adjust to taste)

4 oz Chocolate chopped into chunks (I used Willie’s chocolate for this)

1 cup chopped Sweet cherries

1570

Preheat oven to 175 C and boil the kettle (no, not for tea – though that wouldn’t hurt!).

Put the apple, almond butter, milk and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. Add 1/3 cup boiling water and mix quickly with a fork to make a thick chocolate sauce. Add the sugar and extracts and mix well. Sieve half the flour, bicarbonate soda and salt into the mix and mix gently. Add 1 tbsp boiling water and mix again. Add the rest of the flour mixture and another tbsp boiling water and stir until smooth. Go gently – don’t over mix. Add the chilli flakes and adjust to taste – if you want it with a bit more of a hit add more! Finally add the chocolate chunks and cherries and fold in to the mixture.

Pour into the tins  (this recipe will give approx 8 – 9 tins) or if you have a mini mini loaf/finger tin then use that. Put in the oven for 10 – 25 mins (if making fingers you will need to start checking them after 10 mins as they’re so much smaller).

Check they’re done by sticking a skewer in the centre, if it comes out clean they’re done (bear in mind you may hit a cherry or chocolate when you do this so you’re looking for a lack of cake dough on the skewer – chocolate or cherry juice is fine!). Allow to cool in the tins for 10 mins then take out of the tins and cool on a wire rack. They really need to be eaten warm so the chocolate is all melty! :) Yum Yum Yum! :) 1567