Coconut & "Nut" Macaroon Torte...and Kubb

Last night we had Rebecca, Hans, and Destiny over for dinner. Andrew and I really enjoy spending time with them. There is no drama and while we have many things in common, we have enough not in common that it's fun learning from each other. 


Speaking of learning from each other...We also learned a new yard game from Rebecca and Hans called Kubb.  It's a Swedish game with blocks you knock down with sticks and then you knock down the "King" in the middle.  I wasn't very good but it was a lot of fun.  We're hoping they can bring it to Dylan's birthday party.


Rebecca and I aren't really eating wheat so I wanted to try a new recipe for dessert. I made the Coconut & Almond Macaroon Torte recipe from Molly Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest.  Of course I can never leave well enough alone though.  I decided because my other friend, Rebecca, had given me some pecan meal when I was down in Georgia that I would use that instead of the almonds.  I also didn't have chocolate chips so I used a couple Rice Dream chocolate bars for the topping.  Turned out well enough I'm telling you about it here today :)


Coconut & "Nut" Macaroon Torte


The Cake
6 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 c finely ground almonds (or pecans)
1 c shredded coconut ( I use unsweetened)
1/2 tsp orange rind (I used almond extract)


The Filling and Topping
1/2 c raspberry jam
2 T butter (I used coconut oil)
1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips (I used two Rice Dream chocolate bars...probably quite a bit more than 1/4 c)
1 T cocoa
1 T powdered sugar (I didn't use this at all)
1/4 tsp orange rind (didn't use either)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan.


Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff in a large bowl.


In a different large bowl, without worrying about washing the beaters, beat the egg yolks, gradually adding brown sugar and salt.  When all is added, beat 2 minutes on high.


Stir the ground nuts and coconut into the yolk mixture.  Add the orange rind/extract.  Mix well.


Fold the egg whites into the mixture - carefully and quickly.  Transfer to the prepared pan.  Bake undisturbed for 30 minutes.  Cool the cake completely in the pan.


Once the cake is completely cool, remove from the pan, and cut in half, using a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion.  Spread the bottom half with the raspberry jam.  Replace the top half.


In a pan on low heat, met together the butter (coconut oil) and chocolate chips.  Stir in the cocoa and powdered sugar and orange rind (if using).  Spread this mixture, while still warm, across the top.  Put in the refrigerator to firm up.  


Tastes great served on a warm summer evening, on the deck, with decaf hazelnut coffee!

Energy Balls

My friend posted a link to a page about making healthy energy balls.  I tried them tonight and they came out great...especially if you don't eat many sweets.  Andrew didn't think they were sweet enough.  Go figure!

Energy Balls

10 dried dates - pour boiling water over the top for about 3 minutes

1 tsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 c walnuts

Optional: additional cocoa powder or unsweetened coconut for rolling

In a Vitamix or food processor, chop the nuts until they are a fine meal but not butter.  Add the cocoa and salt.  Mix.  Drain the dates (save the liquid for cooking with later) and add.  Process until the mixture holds together.  Roll into small balls (bite sized) and roll in cocoa powder (if you like them dark) and/or unsweetened coconut. 

Find more @ Slightly Indulgent Tuesday and Pennywise Platter Thursday!

Variations on a Theme...Chocolate Drop Cookies

I've had fun adapting another couple of recipes to come up with this one.  They are quick and easy.   Just be patient with them though and don't let your butter get too soft or they will spread.  But, they eat either way!

Chocolate Drop Cookies

1/2 c butter

3/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c honey

1 T vanilla

1 tsp hazelnut extract

1 T finely, finely ground decaf coffee beans(or go for the full monty and use caffeinated)

1 3/4 c easy gluten-free flour blend

1/4 c cocoa

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 -1/2 tsp salt (smoked salt is good if you have it)

2 T sugar for rolling the cookies in

Blend butter, sugar and honey.  Scrap it down and make sure the honey is fully incorporated.  Add the vanilla, hazelnut extract, and coffee beans.  Mix well.  Add flour, cocoa, soda and salt.  Blend until everything comes together. Scoop into balls (approx. 1 T) and roll in sugar.  Put on greased cookie sheet, leaving some space between them in case they spread.  Cook at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.  Let cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then finish cooling them on a wire rack.  Watch them disappear.  Makes between 18 and 24 depending on size and how much of the dough you eat!

Find more at Slightly Indulgent Tuesday! 

Additional variation (March 10, 2012)

Chocolate Drop Cookies

1/2 c shortening

1 c white sugar
1 egg

1 T hazelnut extract

1 T finely, finely ground decaf coffee beans(or go for the full monty and use caffeinated)

1 3/4 c easy gluten-free flour blend

1/4 c cocoa

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 -1/2 tsp salt (smoked salt is good if you have it)

Basically, mix and bake as directed above.

Mocha Cookies or Brownies - One Recipe Two Treats

I was craving chocolate yesterday...okay let's be honest.  I'm always craving chocolate so when I saw a post for Delicious Mocha Cookies on another blog I had to try them.  I made them gluten free and that worked out pretty well.  As cookies, they really want to spread.  If I was lazy or in a hurry I would do them as brownies.  Either way they are sure to delight.  My co-workers seemed to enjoy them and they don't care if they have wheat or not :)

Mocha Cookies or Brownies

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
1/2 c. easy gluten-free flour blend
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
4 eggs
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 T coffee ground extra fine (I used decaf and it was still great...might be better than using this much of regular)
1 T vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, melt the unsweetened chocolate, 1½ cups of the chocolate chips, and the butter, stirring until the mixture is smooth, then remove the bowl from the heat.  This took about 2-3x at 40 seconds each.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a larger bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is thick and pale, then beat in the coffee and the vanilla. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture; fold in the flour mixture, then stir in the remaining chocolate chips. Let the batter stand for 15 minutes in the fridge.  The colder the better.

3. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or coated with cooking spray and bake for about 10 minutes, or until puffed, shiny, and cracked on top. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets.  They will spread a bit and if you get to greedy and try to put too many on the pan, they run into each other :)

If you want to cook them as brownies, use a 9x13 or 8x11 and don't worry so much about keeping the dough cold.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until they pull away from the edge a bit and the center is not jiggly.

See more great ideas at Vegetarian Foodie Fridays!

Chocolate Honey Beet Cake (GF)

This is the year to conquer some of those harder to eat vegetables in our community supported agriculture (CSA) box.  And, by harder to eat, I mean those that I can't stand like swiss chard (will cover in another post) and beets.  The fennel still hasn't been conquered.  Now, it's probably not too kosher to cover up taste with chocolate but hey, it worked!  This cake is moist and yummy and I can't taste the beets.  Better than putting them in the compost.  Since we have a bit of honey around here I adapted it to use that in place of sugar (original recipe).  Andrew didn't think it was sweet enough.  I liked it.  A compromise would be frosting or a glaze instead of just the powered sugar.  

Chocolate Honey Beet Cake

3/4 c. butter, divided (or use melted coconut oil if you want it dairy-free)

1 c. honey (spray the measuring cup with a little non-stick, makes it a lot easier to pour out) (or 1 1/2 c brown sugar + 2 T water)

3 eggs

3 oz. baking chocolate (or 1/2 cocoa + 3 T butter/coconut oil)

5 medium beets (2 c. pureed)

1 T vanilla

2 c. gluten-free flour blend (mine was 3 c. white rice flour, 1.5 c. tapioca flour, 3/4 c. cornstarch, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 T xanthan gum)

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

powdered sugar for dusting

To make beet puree, trim stems and roots off beets and quarter them.  Place in heavy sauce pan filled with water.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 50 mins or until the beets are tender.  Drain off remaining liquid and rinse beets in cold water as they’ll be too hot to handle otherwise.  Slide skins off and place beets in blender.  Process until a smooth puree forms.  Let cool slightly before using in cake.  

In a mixing bowl, mix 1/2 c. butter and honey (this is where you use 1/2 c coconut oil plus the brown sugar and water if you don't use the butter and/or don't have the honey). Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Melt chocolate with remaining butter in the microwave on high in 20 second intervals, stirring each time until smooth. (Or use the melted butter/coconut oil and cocoa powder here).  Cool slightly. Blend chocolate mixture, beets and vanilla into the creamed mixture.  

Combine flour, baking soda , salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; add to the above mixture and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes  or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cool completely and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Chocolate Honey Peanut Butter Cups

Megan Telpner has a great perspective on life and posts quite interesting recipes at her blog Making Love in the Kitchen.  A couple of days ago she posted a recipe for "Chocolate Instead of Love Cups" or basically Hazelnut Butter Cups.  I have a similar type of recipe linked here for Yummy Mounds so I figured I'd like these.  However, I was too lazy to make hazelnut butter so I used peanut butter and I like stuff a little sweeter so I added more honey to the chocolate part.  Andrew thought they were a hit so I thought I'd share them here.  Be sure and check Megan's website out too!

Chocolate Honey Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate

1/3 c cocoa powder

1/3 c melted coconut oil

6 T honey (start at 4 and see what you think; with everything put together I wish I had used 4 T...the peanut butter is sweet as well)

Filling

1/4 c peanut butter

2 T unsweetened coconut

1 T honey

In a small bowl mix the filling together.  In a separate bowl, pour melted coconut, cocoa and honey.  Mix until well combined.  Heat more if it isn't mixing together well.

Using small muffins silicone forms (or what any muffin or ice cube trays with pop-out bottoms; the silicone peels back easy), spoon 1 tsp of chocolate (enough to cover the bottom).  Place in freezer 5-10 minutes or until solid. 

Remove from freezer.  Spoon 1/2 tsp (or half of what you put in as chocolate) into each form.  Using fingers slightly moistened in cold water, spread the filling out evenly.  Spoon another 1 tsp of chocolate over the top and put into freezer again for 5-10 minutes.  Enjoy!

NOTE: I used mini silicone muffin forms I purchased at WorldMarket for $2.99.  They don't list them on their website but they look a lot like these on Amazon -just for cheaper! I had 12 but 16 would have been perfect.  Not sure how many you would get of the normal sized muffin forms.

Check out more yummy ideas at Pennywise Platter Thursday!

Oh Shit Chocolate Cake...or How I Gained Two Lbs This Weekend!

This recipe is one of those that you just cannot make that often...because it goes straight to your...well you know! My mother designed it originally and now I've made it gluten-free. I think I have a bit of refining to do yet but it's good enough I thought I'd go ahead and share it today. It's not slightly indulgent...it's totally indulgent. And, just fair warning, don't eat four pieces in the course of a weekend or you really will gain at least 2 pounds. As my husband, Andrew, says..."It's gluten-free not glutton free!"

Oh Shit Chocolate Cake (as in oh shit that's good, and oh shit I ate too much!)

Sift together:
3/4 c millet flour
1/2 c corn starch
1/2 c tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Add:
2 eggs
1 c milk
1/2 c oil
1 T vanilla

Mix well at medium speed for 2 minutes and then add 2/3 c boiling water (coffee would work well here too.) Pour into well greased and floured bundt pan.

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 c sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 c chocolate chips (I like dark or semi-sweet)

Mix first four ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop filling in center of pan all of the way around. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes on a rack, then remove from pan and let cool completely. Top with cream cheese frosting and chill.


Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 c butter (at room temperature)
8 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 2/3 c powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Mix well.

It's that time of year again...

If you planted a zucchini you have a lot! Well, have I got the recipe for you. I adapted this recipe, that another blogger adapted, and included some spices similar to a recipe my great grandma would make when I was a kid. Her cake was the first time I would even consider eating zucchini cake. Try it...I guarantee you'll love it!

Chocolate Spice Zucchini Cake (GF/CF) (adapted from this page)

Mix together in large bowl, set aside:
3 eggs
1 1/4 c sugar ( I've updated this...and will try 1 c next time (was 2 c in the original recipe, everyone at work seemed just fine with 1 1/4 c!)
3/4 c milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
3/4 c oil
1 T vanilla

Sift together, then add to wet ingredients:
1 tsp salt
1.5 c gluten-free flour blend (ingredients can be found at the link above, works great)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 c cocoa
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

2 c zucchini, shredded give or take a bit (I usually use 2 medium zukes)

Once the dry ingredients are mixed in well with the wet ingredients (get rid of those cocoa lumps!), add the zucchini. Pour into greased 13x9 pan and cook at 350 for at least 20 minutes or until done. Take out and cool on a rack. Unlike many gluten-free baked goods, because of the zucchini, this cake will not dry out...it gets moister with age. I actually like it better after a day or two!

Optional: Sprinkle chopped pecans/walnuts, cocoa nibs/chocolate chips on top before baking.