Continuing my chocolatey theme I thought today I’d leap in with my current favourite chocolate treat. I’ve shared this delight before but not in it’s chocolate form! This stuff is amazing and such a blessing for anyone trying to avoid dairy (for whatever reason) but still wanting something yoghurt/mousse-like in their diet.
It’s Coyo! the raw chocolate variety 🙂 It’s basically just coconut milk and raw chocolate! It’s great on it’s own or really good with some fresh berries 🙂
It’s “Chocolate week” this week apparently! Hurrah I hear you cry! 🙂
So in order to celebrate one of my favourite things I wanted to share some chocolatey goodness with you all. Sadly my kitchen is still in a state of disarray (tile dramas!) so I haven’t been able to create anything new but it offers the perfect chance to go back to some old favourites. So here, just for you all, are a few of my favourite chocolate creations:
These are naughty, but not too naughty…. They’re best served hot so the chocolate oozes out of them…. hmmmmmm
Chunky Cherry Chocolate Loaves 
This has to come a close second. It was originally featured on the fab Pure Form Fitness Kitchen blog and it’s the Ultimate Chocolate Dessert. The spelt chocolate brownies (which are also used for the valentine Brownie Love Bites) are, in my humble opinion, out of this world, especially with the sauce on it (which you can make thicker and as more of an icing if you choose….)
You can’t beat a bit of simplicity and these Raw Chilli Chocolates certainly fit the bill. They’re so easy and quick to make, full of antioxidants and simply divine!
Another recipe featured on Pure Form Fitness Kitchen, is my Chocolate Treat Bar. These are fab – full of goodness, full of chocolate but still healthy! These are my go to bar if I’ve had a big work out day or if I’m just having a chocolate craving! 100 times better than any pre-packaged cereal bar and you can use whatever seeds (or nuts) and dried fruit you like in them.
I’m going to leave it at that for now, before we all pass out from a chocolate induced high! But as it’s chocolate week ALL week I’m going to keep on posting a few more chocolatey delights as the week goes on so watch this space! 🙂
Although I’m definitely a fan of making my own cakes sometimes it’s just not possible, so if you’re out and about and need a cake then I think I’ve found the perfect solution.
Honeybuns are a Dorset-based company that specialise in gluten-free (and some dairy-free) cakes, cookies, brownies and a whole range of other baked goods. I love this company – it’s what I aspire to become! The founder, Emma Goss-Custard, started off cycling around town delivering her home-made cakes to local deli’s and cafés. Now it’s a thriving small-scale business, but still makes its cakes by hand using locally sourced ingredients where possible.
They very kindly sent me some samples to try so I thought I’d let you know what I thought of them.
I got to try:
Almond moon
Milk chocolate brownie
Snowy hills
Amondi
Sconeybun
Gosh, where to start! Think I’ll just make a cuppa…… 😉
Almond Moon
This is a polenta, cranberry and almond slice and oh my it’s good! As I’ve said before on here I am a massive fan of almond-based cakes so this was always going to be a winner with me! It’s lovely and moist with just the right amount of crunch in the base. The fruit is perfect and offsets the sweetness of the cake brilliantly. The texture is lovely too!
Milk Chocolate Brownie
This is possibly the best gluten-free, bought, brownie I’ve ever had. Too often they are overly sweet and too moist but this is just perfect. It’s dense but not too dense, moist but not too gooey and it tastes divine. It contains real coffee so there is a delicious hint of coffee flavour throughout which I love and naturally it goes brilliantly with a cup of the black stuff!
Snowy Hills
Wow, they just get better and better! This is a ginger and polenta shortbread with a lemon sponge topping and it is seriously good. The shortbread is lovely and crispy with hint of ginger but it’s not overpowering. The sponge is fantastic – sweet, moist and just lemony enough! This is really really good!
Amondi
Another almond treat! This is like a macaroon but denser and moister and really very very nice indeed! It’s not light like an almond macaroon but I like that – you really feel like you’re getting plenty of cake for your money! It’s crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside just like it should be and it tastes fab! It’s also dairy free as well as gluten free.
Sconeybun
This is probably my least favourite of the 5 to be honest, but then it would be hard to follow all those wonderful flavours! The sconeybun is basically a cross between a bun and a scone and this one is dairy free as well as gluten free. It does what it says on the tin! It’s basically a dense, cakey bun. It’s nice but after the other 4 cakes I felt it was lacking flavour a bit, but then again I think toasted with some jam it would be just perfect! Plus if you’re looking for something a little less sweet then this is definitely for you!
The best thing about all of these cakes is that you wouldn’t know they were gluten free (or dairy free) at all – they taste simply amazing and just like “normal” cakes.
So which is my favourite? hmmmm I’m not sure…it’s so hard to decide! I think if I had to choose it would probably be the Snowy Hills lemon cake or maybe the Almond Moon… or maybe the brownie …. oh I can’t decide – they’re all just too good!
Do check them out – they’re available at various cafe’s and shops but they also do an online mail order service too – just take a look at their website 🙂
Ok, I think I’ve found the perfect way to eat my Indonesian Inspired Pineapple Bites.. with this!
It’s divine! Creamy and delicious and totally dairy free! Only 193 kcals for a pot too!
It was so good I’d eaten half before I remembered to take a photo! 🙂
You can get the yoghurt at your local health food store (check here for more info)
I’m off back to Indonesia for 2 months soon so I thought I’d get in the mood with some Indonesian inspired flavour combinations! The pineapple- peanut butter-tamarind combo is a classic sweet/sour flavour explosion in Asia and I just love it! I used a dehydrator for these but you can use your oven. I like them cooked or dehydrated for a long time so they go all chewy, but they are also delicious cooked for only 20 mins and served warm and juicy over yoghurt or booja booja ice cream… 🙂
300 g Fresh Pineapple (approx half a big pineapple)
4 tbsp Peanut butter (smooth works best)
2 tsp Tamarind paste
2 tbsp Almond oil (or other neutral oil)
Cut the pineapple in to thing rings and then slice into small pieces. In a separate bowl mix the other ingredients. Stir well until it forms a runny paste. You may need to add a little more oil if the paste is too thick. Pour over the pineapple and ensure all the pineapple is coated. Place on a baking tray in the oven or arrange on your dehydrator rack and dehydrate for 3 – 4 hours or until it’s as chewy as you want it. If you want juicy, warm pieces to put on top of ice cream then oven bake at 190 C for about 20 minutes. If you are dehydrating it in the oven just leave it in longer at a lower heat.
Once ready either put on yoghurt or ice cream, or if it’s the chewy stuff pop it in a pot and snack on it to your heart’s delight! 🙂
I’m back on the Pure Form Fitness Ultimate Fat Loss Programme so have cut out gluten, dairy and sweetners for the last 2 weeks (amongst other stuff!). It’s going great – I feel good and have lost body fat and kg already! You should definitely check it out 🙂 Whilst I’ve been on the programme I’ve been trying out a few healthy snack options and these two turned out pretty well so I thought I’d share!
Lime, apricot and pistachio balls
100g Pistachios
185g Dried apricots
1 tbsp freshly squeezed Lime juice
A few more pistachios and some dessicated coconut to roll them in
Finely chop the pistachios for rolling the balls in and mix with the coconut and place to one side. Put the apricots and lime juice in a processor and blend until it forms a smooth-ish paste. Add the nuts and pulse to combine. I like to leave the nuts so they’re not pulverised too much! Once mixed use damp hands to roll them into balls and then roll them in the pistachio-coconut mix. Can be eaten immediatley or place in the fridge to chill.
Cherry-almond fig balls
125g Almonds
125g Dried figs
40g dried Cherries
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp freshly squeezed Orange juice
a few Almonds and some dessicated coconut to roll them in
Finely chop the almonds for rolling the balls in and mix with the coconut and place to one side. Put the 125g almonds and cinnamon in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Add the figs and orange juice and blitz again until the mixture forms a sticky dough. Add the cherries and pulse until mixed. Once mixed use damp hands to roll them into balls and then roll them in the almond-coconut mix. Can be eaten immediatley or place in the fridge to chill.
They shouldn’t need it but if you REALLY wanted to you could add a squirt of sweet freedom or agave to the mix.
I had the pleasure of meeting a new friend last week and I’d like to introduce him to you all. Many of you will know him, he’s been all over the world and he’s a very friendly type so is always keen to meet new people…
His name is Herman, the German!
Baby Herman
He is a sourdough starter 🙂 Basically you keep him warm (well room temp), feed him and then after 10 days you make a cake (or bread) with him and you give some baby hermans away to your friends so they can do the same. Think chain letter in baking form!
For more info on him check out this site all about Herman and how you can start your own and spread the love to your friends too 🙂
So I’ve spent the last 10 days nurturing Herman and yesterday he finally grew up and look what he became!
This is a modified version of the herman friendship cake recipe. I used soya milk, unrefined raw sugar and spelt flour to feed Herman and for the cake included apples and blackberries 🙂 I did use eggs in the recipe but will try substituting them out next time.
The recipe is as follows:
1 cup Unrefined raw sugar
1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt
2 cups Spelt flour
2/3 cup of Almond/ Olive oil
2 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla essence
2 cooking Apples
1 cup of Blackberries
2 heaped tsp Cinnamon
2 heaped tsp Baking powder
Mix all the ingredients into Herman once you get to Day 10 (detailed instructions are here) and then bake in the oven at 180 C for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean 🙂
Can be frozen 🙂
Nine years ago today my dad passed away. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think about him, miss him and wish he was still here. It may seem a little odd but I like to do something “nice” to remember him on this day and since baking is something I love (and the results are something he loved!) I baked a ginger cake this weekend in his honour! Ginger cake was one of his favourites, though being a bit odd 😉 whenever he was offered a slice he would usually tell us he couldn’t possibly have it then and that he’d save it and have it for breakfast.. and he did! 🙂 We always used to take the mickey out of him for it and it still makes me chuckle to think about it. This cake is sticky and gooey and just gets better the longer you leave it in the tin (IF you can leave it alone that is!)
So, Dad, this cake’s for you! I’m sure you’d love it 🙂
1/2 cup Almond oil
1 cup Coconut sugar / unrefined raw sugar
1/2 cup Molasses
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
2 cups Spelt flour or gluten free flour mix
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp ground Ginger
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
2/3 cup boiling Water
6 tbsp pureed Apple
1/4 – 1/2 cup Crystallised ginger
Preheat the oven to 170 C and line a small cake tin with greaseproof paper (I used a square brownie tray approx 8 inch square).
Mix the sugar and oil together in a large bowl. Add the molasses, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in to the mix and stir well. Sieve the flour with the baking powder and ginger into a large bowl and leave to one side. Put the bicarbonate of soda into a wet measuring cup and add the boiling water then immediately pour the mixture into the sugar/oil/molasses mix and stir to combine. Add the flour gradually and stir well until there are no lumps.
Add the apple and mix well. Finally stir in the crystallised ginger. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 40 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes then turn out on to a wire rack to cool. Then enjoy!
I couldn’t decide if I wanted a savoury or sweet snack this afternoon so I made both!
These are super quick and make great snacks to munch on while watching a movie on a rainy bank holiday afternoon…. 🙂
Sugar and Spice Almonds
1/3 cup Whole almonds
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground Ginger
pinch ground Nutmeg
Squirt of Sweet Freedom or Agave
Heat a small frying pan over a high heat for a few minutes. Throw in the almonds (don’t use any oil), and keep tossing them to avoid buring. After a few minutes squirt in the sweet freedom/agave and sprinkle the spices. Remove from the heat and stir to coat the nuts. Once coated remove to a plate or greaseproof paper and allow to cool.
Spicy seeds
1 egg white (I’m yet to work out what I could use as a substitute here)
2 tsp Chinese five spice (a mix of cinnamon, fennel, star anise, ginger and clove)
1 tsp ground anniseed
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of ginger
More cinnamon (if you like your cinnamon!)
85g Sunflower seeds
85g Pumpkin seeds
This makes a lot so reduce the quantities if needed! I found it hard to get a decent spicy flavour and I still don’t think I’ve cracked it but it’s getting closer! You may want to experiment with the spice quantities. Preheat oven to 150 C. Whisk the egg white lightly, add the spices and then add in the seeds. Make sure they’re well coated, then spread out on a baking sheet covered with lightly oiled baking parchment. Place in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes. Allow to cool then break up and eat!
Now you just need a good movie to enjoy while you munch on these 🙂
The Easter bunny was a bit late getting to my house this weekend but thankfully he did finally make it .. and look what he brought!
These are super easy and quick.
50g cacao butter
40g cacao powder
1 – 2 tbsp sweet freedom/ Agave (to taste)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
Melt the cacao butter and then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Pour into a silicone chocolate mould and leave in the fridge to set. For the eggs you need to do each half separately then use a bit of melted mixture to glue the set halves together. These chocs don’t do well at warm temperatures so store them in the fridge until ready to eat!
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