Tag Archives: Chocolate

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake pots

4 Replies

Layers of hazelnut, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie crumb, brownie bits and cream. An incredibly delicious dessert.

These are the perfect, “make in advance dessert”, almost like mini triffles. You can make these in cute little (mason) jars or glasses, perfect for a dinner party or to take along as a gift. Since they can be made ahead, there is no last minute fiddling about when you have guests over. Maybe serve these chocolate hazelnut cheesecake pots for your Thanksgiving dinner.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 chocolate chip cookies
  • 3/4 cup/180 ml. full fat natural unsweetened Greek yoghurt
  • 6.7 oz. / 200 ml natural cream cheese
  • 1 cup/240 ml. Whipping cream
  • 5 oz. /140 gr. Dark chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tbsp./ 30 ml. rice syrup or sugar
  • 2 tsp./10 ml. Instant gelatine powder
  • 2 tsp./10 ml. vanilla paste or 1 tsp extract
  • 2 tbsp. 30 gr. hazelnuts chopped
  • 2 squares of brownie, store bought or homemade
  • 4 x drizzle of caramel, from a bottle

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place four glasses or jars on your kitchen counter, divide the chocolate chip cookies over the glasses by breaking them in pieces. Drizzle in a little caramel over the cookies in each glas.

Chop chocolate into very small pieces. Heat a small saucepan over low heat and add three tablespoons of the whipping cream, heat up but do not let it boil over low/medium heat. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let sit, covered for five minutes, then gently stir to combine.

Make sure your yoghurt and cream cheese are at room temperature. Place yoghurt and cream cheese in a bowl and add the one tablespoon of rice syrup or sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat by hand until smooth and combined well.

Pour the melted chocolate into the yoghurt very slowly and mixing constantly with a whisk until very well combined, set aside.

Beat the whipping cream with the remaining rice syrup or sugar and vanilla. Beat until stiff and add gelatin powder and set aside.

Now you can layer your pots. On top of the cookies and caramel start layering chocolate cream cheese mixture, brownie pieces, whipped cream, drizzle of caramel and chopped hazelnuts. Repeat with another layer and ending with some cream. Then decorate with some extra chopped chocolate or brownie pieces. Cover and chill for at least two hours. These can be made a day in advance. Enjoy!

Advertisement

Homemade Chocolate Pudding Pops

Leave a reply

We are very excited about these Chocolate Pudding pops, and I already know that they will be on repeat the whole Summer. What an easy recipe, so creamy and chocolatey, and smooth. With that perfect snap when you bite into them, yum! I love the fact that you can control the amount of sugar or sweetener you use, making this a healthier choice and the perfect cold treat without the guilt trip. You could skip all the sugar and add only stevia, although I love how rice syrup adds a certain chewiness to the pops, just like it does to my gluten-free chocolate brownies. Syrup also prevents crystallization and keeps the chocolate pudding pop creamy.  Next time I’ll be making creamy vanilla white chocolate pops, so stay tuned.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 a bag of chocolate pudding mix (28 grs)
175 ml. milk (I used barista Oat milk)
75 gr creamy almond butter
30 ml. / 2 tbsp. Rice syrup or maple syrup
200 gr dark chocolate* see note below 
15 ml. / 1 tbsp. Natural oil
A handful of mini chocolate chips
Ice cream molds

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine the pudding mix with 75 ml of the milk in a jug and stir until everything is dissolved.
Bring the remaining 100 ml of milk to a simmer in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  Once the milk has reached a simmer, lower the heat and add the pudding mixture  to the saucepan,  stirring constantly for about two minutes. 
Remove from heat, add the almond butter and syrup and stir to dissolve and combine.
Let cool a little then fill ice cream molds halfway,  divide some chocolate chips over the pudding and top with the remaining mixture. Insert the sticks and cover the molds.
Place in the freezer for at least 6-8 hours.
Melt the chocolate and oil in a microwave safe bowl, in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Pour chocolate into a tall glass, so you can dip the whole chocolate pudding pop into the chocolate.
Remove the chocolate pudding pops from the freezer and take them out of the molds.
Dip each chocolate pudding pop into the melted chocolate and then hold in an upright position for 30 seconds until the chocolate sets. Place each pop on a parchment lined board or plate and put back in the freezer until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

More yummy desserts?

*There will be chocolate left over, but you need the initial 200 grams so you can immerse the entire pop in one go. Leftover chocolate can be poured into a plastic container and kept in the refrigerator or freezer for another time.

Gluten free Brownies

6 Replies

Brownies are probably the most comforting dessert I can think of and what’s even more comforting is how easy and uncomplicated they are.
I served these at my last minute birthday party and they were gone in ten minutes,  no joke.
(I was hoping for leftovers,  but not a chance)
The gluten free flour blend is home made but I imagine this Gluten free Brownies recipe will work with store bought gluten free flour as well. Below is my own flour mix which doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum.

INGREDIENTS:

200 gr butter
200 gr dark chocolate
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp instant coffee
200 gr rice syrup
115 gr gluten free flour blend *see note
40 gr cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 – 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Line a baking tin of 20 x 20 cm approximately with parchment paper and spray with oil or pam.
Pre heat oven to 180C/350 F.
Melt butter and chocolate in a non stick saucepan on low heat until smooth stirring with a rubber spatula, add the coffee and vanilla and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile in a large bowl mix together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda, whisk to combine.
Once the chocolate has cooled,  stir in the rice syrup.  In a large bowl whisk the eggs and add the melted chocolate slowly and mix to combine well.
Stir in the flour and mix with rubber spatula until combined. 
Add the chocolate chips if using and pour in to baking pan.
Place in the middle of the oven and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. It should still a a bit of a wobble in the center when you tap the baking tin.
Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares.
Enjoy!

GLUTEN FREE FLOUR BLEND
200 gr brown rice flour
200 gr white rice flour
100 gr corn flour
50 gr tapioca
4 tbsp. Psyllium husk powder
2 tbsp flax flour

Mix all these thoroughly and keep in a jar for all recipes like bread,  buns, pancakes and brownies.
Note that there is a lot of psyllium powder in here, this is to bind the flours during cooking instead of xanthan gum or  guar gum. You may need a little extra fluid in your recipe.

Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread, gluten free

Leave a reply

This vegan chocolate zucchini bread is a game-changer. It’s perfectly sweet, and dare I say it…moist (ughh, I just can’t with this word) and has a rich chocolate flavor. It’s soft and bouncy, tender and just everything you want from a banana bread.

Morning, noon or as a dessert, it’s always good and just perfectly delicious.

I wanted to create a Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Banana bread that would have all the characteristics of a regular Banana bread, but without is either falling apart or being too dense, which can be a challenge since it is gluten-free too. Guess what?…nailed it…LOL.

The trick is the combo of flax flour and Psyllium husk powder, it’s like magic. I use in my gluten-free breads too and honestly, it works every time. A great plus about this recipe is that you can skip squeezing out the zucchini altogether, there’s no point in removing liquid first and then adding it back in later. Also, a waste of perfectly healthy zucchini “juice”.

For this recipe I created my own gluten-free flour blend and I haven’t tested it with any other ready-made GF blend, but I imagine it would work too. You may need to add a little more or less liquid, depending on the flour you use. As for the chocolate chips, (I feel like I’m confessing to a crime…but) I didn’t use any, I opted for cocoa nibs instead but feel free to throw in a handful of real chocolate chips if that’s your game.

GLUTEN FREE FLOUR BLEND*:

  • 1/2 cup Corn flour (not starch)
  • 1/2 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/2 cup oat flour
  • 1/2 cup tapioca four
  • 1/2 cup corn starch

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cup grated zucchini (280 gr. / 10 oz. ) about 1 medium/large
  • 1 cup bananas mashed, about 2 large or 3 medium
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/3 cup rice syrup
  • 1 tsp. plain vinegar
  • 2 cups gluten free flour blend
  • 1/3 cup cocoa
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 tsp. psyllium husk powder
  • 2 tsp. flax flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa nibs or 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a buttered loaf tin 22 cm/9″ with parchment paper.

Start by grating the zucchini with a medium grater into a large bowl. Set aside for a minute.

In a blender add bananas, apple sauce, olive oil, vanilla, syrup and vinegar, blend until smooth.

Pour over the zucchini and mix thoroughly so that you don’t get zucchini clumps.

In another bowl mix the flour with the (sifted) cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, flax flour and psyllium husk powder. Mix by stirring with a whisk.

Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to combine without over mixing.

Sprinkle in the cocoa nibs or chocolate chips and mix gently into the batter.

Pour batter into prepared loaf tin, smooth out the top of the batter with a small spatula and place in the middle of the oven.

Bake for about 60 minutes, insert wooden skewer to check, if it comes out dry it’s done.

Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for about 10 minutes. Remove from loaf tin, leaving on the parchment paper and let cool completely before cutting.

This loaf will keep for 3 to 4 days, or you can slice and freeze individual portions.

Enjoy!

NOTES :

*you will have a little flour left over. Alternatively make a double batch and use for gluten free pancakes or any other baked goods.

** You don’t need extra liquid in this recipe, the zucchini, apple sauce and oil are enough.