Healthy Chocolate!

I love chocolate.  A lot.  But, all the stuff in the store has yucky stuff in it.  So, now I make my own!  Want to know the best part about it?!  It's healthy!  That's right!  I can feel good about eating my daily chocolate.  Ha!

Chocolate:

1 Cup cocoa powder (organic is best)
1 cup organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/4 - 1/2 cup raw honey
A smidge of gluten free vanilla
5 drops of peppermint essential oil (optional if you want a delicious minty freshness to it)

- Melt 1/2 the coconut oil on low in a pan & let it cool slightly. 
- Place remaining 1/2 cup of solid coconut oil, the coca powered, honey, (and other ingredients if desired) in the food processer.  Add melted oil and blend. 
- Pulse the food processer a few times until the mixture is smooth.  Do not over mix or ingredients will separate. 
- Line a glass casserole pan with parchment paper. 
- Pour fudge over parchment paper.
- Place in fridge until solid (about a 1/2 an hour).
- Gently remove parchment paper from glass pan, place on cutting board or counter, and gently cut the hardened chocolate into squares.
- Store in the refrigerator or freezer in a tightly sealed container. 

The Best Coffee Cake

This is a crowd pleaser!  My family begs for this every now & then, but I try to only make it on special occasions.  It's not a "low sugar" breakfast, so I try to make it a special treat.  Enjoy this special recipe that I adapted from a recipe passed down from my mom.



INGREDIENTS:

-2 1/2 cups gluten free flour*
-1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
-2 cups brown sugar or coconut sugar
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or butter (I use Earth Balance)

DIRECTIONS:

mix til crumbly
take out 1/2 cup of mixture & set aside
To what's left over, add:

REMAINING INGREDIENTS:

-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 baking soda
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 cup curdled milk substitute (coconut milk or sub with 1 tbsp of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar - let it set for 5 minutes)
-2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water.  Mix & let gel for a few minutes.)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix remaning ingredients.  Beat at medium high speed for 1-2 minutes or until light & fluffy.
2. Prepare a 9x11 pan.  Spread mixture out evenly.  Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.  Next, take cake out of oven & sprinkle the 1/2 cup crumbly mixture over the top.  Bake for 10-15 more minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


* For a LIGHTER flour blend, use 1 cup sweet white rice flour, 1 cup tapioca starch, and 1/2 cup sorghum flour.
For a HEALTHIER flour blend, use 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup sorghum flour, 1/2 cup millet flour.

Caramel - Yummmmmmmmmmm!

I made the most amazing "Turtles" for my family this Valentines Day.  I really wanted to make a special treat and Silas has been DYING for caramel.  It just didn't seem fair that he couldn't eat it, so I thought I would investigate and see if I could figure out a way to make it allergy friendly.  It still contains sugar, but no corn syrup, no dairy, no gluten, etc.  It turned out beautifully, as did the turtles!






Allergy Friendly Method:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy free earth balance butter (I used nutiva organic extra virgin coconut oil for part of my butter)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut cream 

Cook over medium heat in a heavy 1 1/2 quart saucepan, stirring constantly until around 240 - 245 degrees or when you get the texture of caramel you want with the drop test (drop some of the mixture in ice cold water & see if it hardens to your liking). When you take the mixture off the stove, add a tsp or so of gluten free vanilla & stir it in. The texture of this caramel will be a little sugary when it dries, but my goal was to NOT use corn syrup. If you use corn syrup you won't have this issue.


If you want to make caramel with corn syrup & dairy, here is the non-allergy friendly method.  LOL!

Ingredients:
2 cups Sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup light corn syrup

Use the same instructions as above, except use a 3 quart saucepan.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!

Today is my baby girl's first birthday!  In honor of her, I am going to post my cake and frosting recipes that I used.  I decided to go with a gluten, dairy, soy free chocolate cake so we could all eat it.  I used duck egg in the recipe, so it isn't egg free but it is chicken egg free (which Silas can't have). 

Delicious Frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic extra virgin coconut oil (palm shortening, or softened earth balance butter or a mixture of all three)
16oz powdered sugar
2-4 T coconut milk (rice, soy, almond milk)
1-2 tsp gluten free vanilla
*1/4 cup cocoa powder (plus add a little more liquid or mixture will be too dry)
Add more milk (or water) or powdered sugar if your mixture is too dry or wet.  My whole family LOVES this frosting & it is creamy enough that the vanilla version can be used on carrot cake.

*leave cocoa powder out for vanilla frosting (or you can add another flavor to spice it up)


Chocolate Cake

I adapted my recipe for cake from food.com.  It is called "One Bowl Gluten Free Chocolate Cake."

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 c gluten free flour (I have used 1/2 c sorghum flour, 1/2 c white rice flour, 1/2 cup tapioca starch AND 2/3 cup white rice flour, 1/3 cup potato starch, 1/2 cup tapioca starch - I liked the second mix best)
1/2 c cocoa
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (I used xanthan gum)
5 T cooking oil (I used olive oil)
1 tsp gluten free vanilla
1 egg (or 1 tbsp of ground flaxseed & 3 tbsp hot water combined)
1 c water

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl
Add all liquid ingredients and mix well (I mixed for about 2 minutes on medium speed.)
Bake in a greased and floured (I used organic extra virgin coconut oil and dusted it with white rice powder) 9" square pan (or lined with waxed paper), at 350 degrees, for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.


I can't wait to watch my baby girl dig in!  :o)  The cake smells wonderful, it is springy and it looks like a winner!  Happy birthday, Micaiah!!!!