CHEESY CAULIFLOWER PIZZA BASE

So I first read about this pizza a base when a fellow tweeter (thanks Tami)  sent me a link to the recipe knowing my family eats gluten-free. Once reading the recipe I thought how weird but could potentially be yummy and then filed it at the back of my mind for another time.
Then one evening I had a cauliflower in the fridge that needed to be used and I thought why not try

MOIST CARROT CAKE WITH LEMON CREAM CHEESE ICING

I found this recipe on Nook eatery's website and immediately after changing some things and making it I wanted to share it with everyone. But I have a no stealing recipes policy and so I immediately emailed Jessica from Nook Eatery and said to her I wanted to write a blog post and share my version of the recipe (gluten-free and other tweaks). Jessica was very kind and said sure :) she is lovely, isn't she?
So thanks to Nook Eatery and Jessica for allowing me to take their recipe, turn it upside down and make it my own and share it with you. Some bloggers would argue that I had changed it enough that it could be my recipe now but I got the idea from reading their website and from their recipe - so give credit where credit is due. The bones of the recipe is definitely theirs - but when serving it to family and friends I will claim I made it (baked it) so I get the credit ;)

This carrot cake is incredibly moist and was still moist 4 - 5 days later, so its a great cake for a party or dessert that you can make ahead and keep (especially if you have lots to prepare - the more you can get done in advance the better)
Even though I made the sugar less in this recipe next time I will add even less as I thought it was still to sweet.

Enjoy

INGREDIENTS
225ml Buckwheat flour
400ml Gluten-free Flour (brand of your choice)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarb
2 generous teaspoons cinnamon
3-4 large carrots peeled and then grated (when grated filled up a measuring jug to 500ml pressed down)
4 eggs
1 and a half cups brown sugar (organic if possible)
350ml sunflower oil (or oil of your choice)
zest/ grated skin of 2 small oranges
a handful of pecans (roughly chopped)
a handful of raisins(optional)

METHOD
Place the flours, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon and grated carrot into a large bowl and stir to mix.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs and brown sugar until pale then add the sunflower oil and beat until incorporated
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until mixed through
Now carefully zest/ grate on fine the rinds/skins of your oranges into the mixture then add the pecans and raisins (if using)
Mix all together and pour into a well buttered and floured tins (i think mine are about 18cm)

Bake in the oven @170 degrees celcius for +/- 40 minutes or the edges start to pull away from the cake tin and is nice and brown on top

Remove from tins and allow to cool
Top and fill with lemon cream cheese icing 

Enjoy the carrot cake :) let me know how it turns out :) 

 

added to Bloom designs link party

APPLESAUCE JELLY SWEETS

So I made these as a healthy "sweets" for my daughter as she can't have any gluten or corn (most sweets contain corn syrup or glucose syrup which is often made from corn). Go ahead read the sweet packaging - you'll find corn, maize, corn syrup, glucose syrup or wheat in almost EVERYTHING! *sigh*

Anyway I had seen this idea around the web last year. Bloggers were using cooked fruit and gelatine to make jelly fruit squares. I have not used anyone's recipe but storing this idea at the back of my head but never really using the idea until now. I just tried to make them how i thought the recipe should go and did not use anybodies recipe as a guide. So this isn't copied or stolen but the original idea isn't mine.
These aren't like sweets so much as they are like cooked sweetened apples in jelly form. Easy to put in lunch boxes and healthy. A nice snack.


INGREDIENTS
apples - 3
pears - 2
vanilla pod
water
2 -3 Tablespoons Agave Syrup (you could use sugar instead)
1 Tablespoon Honey
a sprinkle of cinnamon
2 - 3 teaspoons agar agar
1/4 cup of water
a small amount of coconut oil
sugar

METHOD
Make sure you buy organic fruit - wash and place all of them in a pot that they can lay in a single layer in the pot. I removed the stems from the apples and pears and cut out any spot or blemishes. Then add water till about 3 cm high in the pot.
Split open the vanilla pod with a knife and scrape out the seeds into the pot and place the empty pod in the water too.
Turn on the stove and allow to come to a slow simmer with the lid on.
Simmer for 20 minutes then take the lid off and allow the fruit to continue to simmer slowly turn the apples and pears so that the hardest parts are moved into the water and whatever is soft and fleshy is above the water.
Squish down with a back of a large spoon every now and then.
After another 30 minutes start to check that the mixture isn't starting to stock or  burn at the bottom. Watch as the fruit becomes really soft and almost all of the water has evaporated.
Turn off the stove and allow to cool.
Push all the fruit through a sieve into a clean pot and discard the seeds and bits that won't go through the sieve and the vanilla pod.
Pour in the agave and the honey - sweeten to taste as it depends how tart your apples are and how sweet you would like it to be. You can use sugar if you prefer. (I wanted the sweets to be as healthy as possible)
Add a sprinkle of cinnamon to taste. 
Stir and add 2 teaspoons of agar agar and a quarter cup of water.
Stirring slowly bring the heat up and keep stirring
After a few minutes of thick bubbling liquid place a saucer in the freezer and put a teaspoon of the mixture on it and leave there for a bit. Check to see if the mix has set by pushing it around the saucer with your finger - if it isn't squishy and hard add another teaspoon of agar agar to the pot and stir and boil for another 5 minutes. Continue this process every 5 - 10 minutes adding more agar agar and testing in the freezer until your mixture sets nicely. (if you add to much agar agar it will go very hard! but is still edible)

Grease a dish with coconut oil or oil of your choice
Allow you mixture to cool a bit and pour into your dish
Leave to set in the fridge and then slice with a knife

*optional roll in powdered/icing Sugar or granulated sugar and serve immediately

Can be kept in the fridge for up to a week covered

CHOCOLATE AND COCONUT TRUFFLES

 

I originally posted this recipe on my blog when SPAR Cape Quarter asked me to write some recipes and blog about it - They paid me in yummy vouchers to buy all the ingredients in their store. (to read the original POST go here).

With Easter coming up soon I thought I would re-post it.
These truffles are beautiful and sweet but healthier than your regular chocolate truffles (especially if you swop out the glace cherries for some soft dried fruit). They do contain chocolate and the higher percentage of cocoa in the chocolate you purchase - the healthier they will be. So don't go buy a regular milk chocolate but a dark 70% or 85% cocoa bar.
My understanding of how it works is, if you buy a 100gram bar of 85% cocoa chocolate then 85 grams out of the 100 gram bar is cocoa leaving only 15% for sugar and cocoa butter etc... Yes it will be more bitter as there is less sugar in the bar but I assure you I have added beautiful sweet dates and dessicated coconut and raw sweet almonds to sweeten it up naturally. With no bad sweeteners but healthy natural ingredients. You could always add a dash of honey if it really isn't sweet enough for you.

Adding the maraschino cherries in the middle or the glace cherries to the mix is not healthy at all so if you go that route - then it is only for a very special treat and the truffles won't be healthy (just FYI)

INGREDIENTS
50grams Raw almonds
7 fresh Dates (pips removed)
a generous handful of Glace Cherries (roughly 17) +/- 100grams (I now would opt to have soft dried fruit like PEARS or APRICOTS instead)
50g 70% dark Chocolate (I used Lindt) (roughly chopped)
1/2 cup fine coconut
70- 100grams dark chocolate (or chocolate of your choice)
2 teaspoons sunflower oil
OPTIONAL a few marachino cherries on stalks

METHOD
Grind the almonds until fine in a blender and then take out and set aside.
Place dates in the blender and blend slightly and then add the glace cherries OR soft dried fruit. (much better option).  Blend a bit more and then add the dark chocolate and blend until  very well mixed, chopped and kind of smooth. Add the ground almonds and mix again. Now add the coconut little by little until you reach a pliable consistency. Then roll into balls or mold around marachino cherries---> OPTIONAL and not as healthy!
Melt the chocolate and oil in a baine marie or a glass bowl balanced on top of a pot with a little water boiling below (the glass bowl mustn't touch the water below). Stir until melted. Dip the rolled cherry and coconut balls in the chocolate and spoon over more melted chocolate with a spoon and then place on waxed paper to set. There will be a little melted chocolate left over but if you use less you wan't be able to spoon the chocolate over the balls - so spread the left over chocolate on a separate piece of wax paper and sprinkle with cherries, almonds or raisins or water you fancy in your chocolate and leave to set - break into pieces and enjoy.

Enjoy your lovely Chocolate and coconut truffles or wrap up and package in a pretty box to make a beautiful and delicious gift.

LATKES {POTATO PANCAKES} GLUTEN-FREE LATKES

 

I made these for the first time last night and I wonder where I have been living all this time! I will be making HUGE piles of these gorgeous Jewish delights for years to come.
They are:
1) easy
2) keep well in the oven
3) taste good cold
4) make great lunch box snacks
5) taste delicious

Seriously I was just  wanting something quick to make for supper and thought I will make some eggy omelette things with potato in them... Quick google potato pancakes / Latkes. I had read of them before but never made them and thought oh well lets try... and boy am I glad that I did!
This is one of those recipes where you don't have to be exact - you just take the ingredients and throw them together and fry and waalaa you have delicious-ness.
Perfect for making into canapes with dollops of cream cheese on top. this little potato pancake has no end to it uses.
*On a side note I think I will add more onion next time.

INGREDIENTS
4 medium to large Potatoes
2 medium onions
2 eggs
1 and a half cups GLUTEN FREE Flour (roughly) - you can use whatever flour you like
salt  and pepper to taste

METHOD
Peel your potatoes and then grate them on the long side of the potato to give you long strips (large side of the grater).
Place them in a sieve, over a bowl and place a plate on top to help squeeze out the potatoes water/juices.
On a separate plate peel and then grate the onion.
Keep pressing down the potatoes every now and then to get more juices out. It is important to get as much of the juices out as possible. You can also put the potato in a muslin cloth and turn to squeeze the juices out. I eventually squeezed my out in the palms of my hands.
Then mix in the grated onion.
Mix in the egg and salt and pepper.
Add the flour a bit at a time until you have a nice thick batter coating the potato strips
Heat up a frying pan nice and hot with a good quality olive oil
Spoon dollops of potato batter in the pan and flatten out a bit into rounds
Fry in batches until nice and crisp.
Place on plates and eat immediately or place in the oven at a low heat to keep warm

Enjoy

ps people will want seconds

ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE & HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

So yesterday was my daughters 8th Birthday and Saturday will be her party!
Hence I am up to the eye balls with party boxes, garlands, baking,sticking things etc...
BUT today is Valentines day, the day filled with red, pink and hearts. So I thought I'd sneak in a quick recipe filled with red... sorry no heart baked good this year.
This recipe is a guide line and you can vary it according to what you have in your fridge and herb garden or pantry - of course you have to have tomatoes. The variety of tomatoes doesn't matter but a lovely bunch of deep red, sun kissed and preferable organic will make a very delicious sauce which can be used on anything!
I use mine in pasta, on gnocchi, on pizzas and for dipping for chips etc...
As with most recipes - the better the ingredients the better the dish.


ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE
a bunch or two of tomatoes
an onion or two
olive oil
a teaspoon or 2 of  brown sugar
salt
pepper
basil
oregano
thyme

METHOD
Wash and cut your tomatoes in half. Place them in an oven dish with the cut side facing up.
Finely dice your onion and sprinkle on top.
Sprinkle over your olive oil - just a glug.
Season with a nice handful of herbs (washed and broken up)
season with salt and pepper and some brown sugar.
Place in the oven at 180 degrees celcius and roast until soft and mushy (stirring occasionally).
Take out then you have soft and sagging tomatoes that yield to your thumb and the surrounding liquid is thick.
Allow to cool slightly and place in a blender and pulse/ blend until desired consistency.

*hint* for a creamy tomato pasta sauce add some cream when blending

Can be bottled and kept in the fridge for a few days

enjoy

VANILLA CAKE GLUTEN FREE

Here is the typed out version from the recipe: Vanilla cake in my you tube video. A big thank you to all who have viewed it. I hope it keeps spreading and being viewed - YAY!

It really is a VERY easy and Yummy cake :) Its one of those cakes that you can make in 1 bowl and whip up and place in the oven while supper is being prepared. It is THAT easy!

Scroll to the end of the post to see how yummy is is all finished and filled with cream.

 INGREDIENTS
100 grams Brown sugar
2 eggs
120 grams Gluten Free flour (you can use regular flour - just use a bit less)
1 and a half teaspoons baking powder
1 vanilla pod or a generous teaspoon of vanilla essence
1/4 - half a cup of milk

VANILLA SPONGE CAKE - GLUTEN FREE & ON YOUTUBE

 After Many hours I finally have a recipe video on You Tube - hooray!

Enjoy the EASY and Gluten Free Vanilla Sponge cake. Feel Free to share this video - go nuts and tell everyone - even your grandma. She'll love it to!...

To go directly to the link and to see it in a much bigger screen go here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbt0pfH1_ZM

Thank you to my 2 egg actors who were super cute and very willing to try anything ;)

A BIG THANK YOU to Matthew Mole for allowing me to use his cute and fun snappy song. You can down load his music for free here

And for my husbands patience I owe him another cake ;)

GNOCCHI GLUTEN FREE

 

I have been eating very little meat for the last 2- 3 months. Reserving to eat meat for special occasions or a treat. Doing this I find that I have so much more energy and feel more awake. Weird cause I didnt feel asleep before.
Anyway when eating out I find it hard to find something on the menu that I like that is meat-free and wheat free. *I don't eat sea food either.
Even though Gnocchi isn't wheat free I decided that because it has quite a lot of potato in it I'd give it a try as I was tired of eating lettuce filled salads at restaurants.
After enjoying a few I decided I needed to give it a try myself

I read through some recipes and I found this one to be the most comprehensive and helpful here on www.finecooking.com

I converted my recipe to gluten free and just used a rough read through of the recipe to make my own version.

INGREDIENTS
6 medium potatoes
Gluten Free Flour +/- 1 and a half - 2 cups (i just added until i had the right consistency)
1 egg
a generous pinch of Salt

METHOD
wash your potatoes and place in a pot of boiling water so that potatoes are covered by the water and turn down to a simmer.
Simmer until soft. I tested by inserting a knife and it went in easily.
Turn off and throw off the water and allow the potatoes to cool down until warm.
Peel the potatoes by hand and roughly cube.
Mash the potatoes WELL! you want it to be lump free and smooth.
Let the mash potato cool then add 1 egg and a generous pinch or 2 of salt and stir in thoroughly.
Now add flour a bit at a time until you feel you have reached a soft dough consistency - not super sticky but not to stiff either. Mix with your hands. DO NOT work with it to much - just enough to mix all the flour in. I felt the success is not over working your dough.
Wash and dry your hands.
Flour your work surface.
Break off fist sized balls of dough 1 at a time and roll into a sausage.
Use a sharp knife and cut into pieces about as wide as your thumb.
Lay the pieces on a baking tray covered with wax paper.
Keep working until you have rolled and cut up all your dough.
Using a large pot bring water to the boil and sprinkle in a little salt. Turn down to a simmer.
Place roughly 10 gnocchi pieces in at a time and when they float remove with a slotted spoon.
If you put to many gnocchi in at once you will end up with a goopy mess.
Place a sauce of your choice on your plate or bowl and place gnocchi on top.
Sprinkle with freshly grated cheese
Serve immediately

 

PS this was a huge hit with my family :) 

EASY NECTARINE & YOGHURT DESSERT

I always hope to give my family healthy food. Delicious... but healthy. This is one of those times it really works. Fresh fruit full of vitamins and Greek yoghurt filled with dairy. There is a little brown sugar in there but I did mention it was a little.
Lying below the layer of yoghurt could be any fruit your fancy - Adapt this recipe with fruits like fresh soft plums, peaches, cherries or even bananas.
The time that the bowls sit in the fridge allows for the sugar and fruit to make a small amount of syrupy juice that gives it an extra yumminess. (could make a nice breakfast too)

INGREDIENTS
Nectarines (organic if you can get) OR Fruit of your choice
Greek Yoghurt
Organic Brown Sugar

METHOD
Wash your nectarines and then slice up into thin-ish slices. Take ramekins or teacups and line the bottom of the dish with slices of the fruit until you have a nice layer in each.
Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on the fruit.
Cover with the Yoghurt until you can't see any fruit peeking through. *all the fruit must be covered*
Sprinkle a thin layer of brown sugar on top of the yoghurt and place in the fridge for an hour or 2 for the sugar to turn to syrup.

Serve


*if the yoghurt doesn't cover ALL the fruit then the air may cause your fruit to brown

ROASTED BUTTERNUT RAVIOLI - GLUTEN FREE

I found this really nice recipe for gluten free pasta/ravioli on Gluten Free Girl & The Chef.
I made it quite a long time ago and made up my own filling for the little ravioli pockets. And even though it been a long time since I made them my daughter has been asking for it again.

I need to make them again soon. They do take a little work and time to make - but its sooo worth it!

I did a roast butternut filling and in others I did a tomato mince filling. 

Start by making the Ravioli (I found this recipe on Gluten Free Girl & the Chef)

RAVIOLI 

DOUGH INGREDIENTS

2-1/2 cups gluten free flour (I used Health connection Gluten Free Flour Mix)
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
5 eggs
1 egg yolk

METHOD

Place the flour in a bowl.
Add salt, oil and eggs.
Mix until you have a dough.
Then place on a lightly floured surface.
Knead dough by folding over and turning over and kneading for a few minutes, until the right consistency appears (somewhat like bread dough). If the dough is too dry and crumbly, add remaining egg white
Place the dough in a bowl and cover.
Allow dough to rest for at least 20 minutes


ROASTED BUTTERNUT FILLING

FILLING INGREDIENTS
1 medium butternut peeled
1 small onion peeled
1 Tablespoon olive oil (or oil of choice)
salt
1 garlic clove skin still on
a few Tablespoons fresh cream

METHOD
Chop your butternut into chunks (the smaller they are the quicker they'll cook)
Place in a medium to large oven roasting dish.
Dice the onion finely and sprinkle on the butternut
Drizzle with olive oil (or oil of choice)
Take 1 clove of garlic with the skin on and crush under a knife or heavy object to just break the skin so flavors can release.
Place in the middle of the butternut tray. 
Sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt
Bake at 180 degrees Celsius until golden brown and tender. (stir occasionally)
Take out the oven
Remove the garlic clove
Take your ingredients and place in a food processor/blender and blitz until smooth adding a tablespoon of cream at a time. You want a consistency of mashed banana or heavy cream (not to runny).
If you don't have a blender you can mash butternut with a potato masher or a fork but you won't get as smooth a filling.

COMPILING THE RAVIOLI

METHOD
If you have a pasta machine put the dough through it a few times and then cut into squares.
If you don't have a pasta machine - not to worry. Just roll out the dough with your rolling pin until nice and thin and then cut into squares. You can decide if your want small, medium or large ravioli - just make sure your squares that you place on top of each other are the same size. I made ours roughly 5 cm x 5cm.
Once you have decided on the size of your squares and cut them up. Place a spoonful of the butternut filling in the middle and dab water all along the edge and then place another square on top to seal. I then used a fork to press down lightly on long the edge to make sure they were well sealed. (not sure if this is necessary) I also liked the pattern.

Put water in a pot and bring to a rolling boil and then place a few in at a time.
Once they rise to the top take out and place on a plate with season with salt, pepper and a little sprinkled cheese if desired or a nice sauce - like a cheese sauce or whatever you fancy. I think if would go well with a cream cheese and bacon crumbled on top.

You can see I served it with a mince sauce in the pic above. Use this recipe minus the spaghetti for the mince sauce.


Enjoy

Smooth Banana Ice Cream

I love this treat/snack SO much as it is one of the EASIEST things to make, so very cheap on ingredients and easy to adapt to your taste!

I have seen this blogged about as the 1 ingredient ice cream. ... and I suppose it can be called that. I just adore it because it can be given to babies all the way through to adults. AND IT DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY. Think easy for kids on a hot summers day. No need to buy ice cream and fill them with preservatives and glucose syrup when this tastes just as delicious and is twice as healthy. Great for kids parties - especially toddlers. You also can add chocolate chips or peanut butter or nuts and cherries to make it an even more special treat.

INGREDIENTS

1 and a half bananas per person

2 Tablespoons cream per person (optional) - don't add if giving to babies

extras: chocolate, peanut butter, cherries, nuts etc... 

METHOD

Peel your bananas and slice into 1cm chunks.

Place in a glass (freezer proof) bowl or jar and freeze until hard (I freeze mine over night) but I'm guessing 3 hours should be fine.

Then place in a blender jug and blend until smooth - adding cream if you so wish to make it even more decadent and ice cream like but not necessary. 

Once smooth you can stir in any goodies if you wish .. chocolate, nuts etc..

Enjoy straight away or place in the freezer to keep cool until needed

so creamy and delicious - you can also use mangoes instead of bananas :)

enjoy

ORANGE AND HONEY CREME BRULEE

You know when you mean to make something but you end up making something else? Do you? I keep having one of those moments where I go to make my regular vanilla creme brulee (which is very delicious) but every time while making it I think awww just add the honey and orange juice, you can make plain vanilla next time. I have been doing this so much lately I've come to realise that

CREAM OF ROASTED TOMATO SOUP

 INGREDIENTS
a bag or 2 of tomatoes (1kg or more)
a handful of fresh basil leaves
1 large onion (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
pinch or 2 of Salt
olive oil
a dash of balsamic vinegar (if you like)
1 tub (250ml) fresh cream

METHOD

Wash your tomatoes and then slice in half or if very large in quarters. Place them in a large roasting dish/ one they can comfortably fit in. Drizzle with olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle over your chopped up onion, basil and then your sugar and salt. Place in the oven on the middle rack and roast at 180 degrees Celsius stirring occasionally until nicely soft and roasted through and your roasting dish is brown and sticky.
Place all of the contents of the roasting dish in a nice sized pot and blend with a blender stick adding a little hot water to the dish from the oven and then pouring it into the pot. Blend some more until smooth. Add almost the whole tub of cream (keep a tiny bit for garnishing). Stir in the cream and warm on the stove top until hot and steaming. Pour into bowls and accompany with toast or fresh bread.

Garnish with a drizzle of cream and a fresh basil leaf or some grated cheese. Serve and enjoy.

CHEESE CAKE AND CHERRY, COCONUT TRUFFLES AND SPAR CAPE QUARTER

The SPAR challenge - So I was contacted by SPAR Cape Quarter and they asked me if I would like to do a recipe bake-off of some kind. All I had to do was come up with a recipe or two and they would supply the ingredients. Mmmm now this could be interesting...
The deal was I had to get ALL the ingredients from the Cape Quarter SPAR. Darn it! - there goes Peruvian dark chocolate truffles and any other exotic thing I could think of. Well boy was I wrong! The owners of this particular SPAR decided they needed to have a large variety of imported chocolates *drool* and I decided my husband had to see all this deliciousness with me ;)

So I had to take (drag) him along on a Saturday when he and our daughter could both accompany me. Also I wanted to bounce recipe ideas off the husband (as the recipes were driving me crazy running around my head). Much to his delight - NOT! He kept asking me on the drive there - why is that you need me with again? Its a Saturday you know... Can't you shop on another day? like by yourself? I politely told him I needed him to be with and I just got back blank stares.

AT CAPE QUARTER SPAR....
Walking up and down the many aisles I reached the chocolate aisle - or should I say area. and that was the end of me - blank stare, *drool*.
Husband: Are you talking to yourself?
Me: ignoring husband - you are a pretty chocolate...mmm.
Eventually the husband literally dragged me to another aisle filled with wine and olive oil and shook me...
Me: Yes babe?
Husband: you can't invent a whole recipe out of chocolate you know.
Me: Oh really? watch me!
Husband: you need other things too - like this, this... randomly looking for things, um olive oil!!! (ok he didn't pick olive oil - but he did seem to look at me in a crazy way)


More shopping and aisle walking - clip clop, clip clop..
Husband: why am I here again?
Me: to help me - remember... what do you think? this awesomely huge chocolate - where I take these slabs and just melt them into this giant chocolate so it will "seem" like a recipe? or this other silly recipe of... um milk tart (trying to make it sound yuk and uninteresting)?

The poor man, if you have seen the variety of interesting things they stock - like marmalades from Great Britain and olive oils from various places in the world - you understand how I drove him crazy that day. and so the shopping proceeded:
Me: look babe at the this Marmalade it's from Great Britain.
Husband: Yes honey
Me: and this olive oil it's from Spain
and so the shopping trip went...
Me: look at this.. and that ..and this..
Husband: Yes sweetie (blank stare)
But near the end of the shopping trip when I had eventually talked myself (with the husbands help) out of getting 10 slabs of imported chocolate at R37 a slab -the husband just couldn't understand that spending R370 on 600grams of chocolate (yes they are only 60grams a slab) wasn't decadent AT ALL!!!
I did buy him a cheese cake from the bakery and some camembert cheese and biscuits. He walked out of there a happy man - and my shopping was complete. And Yes I did get some chocolate ;)

*And just so you know - they do stock local ingredients too but clearly I LOVE chocolate!

Lemon Zest Baked Cheese Cake

 

I got the base from the Planet Organic Cookbook by Renee Elliott and Eric Treuille. Cheese cake filling is all mine :)


INGREDIENTS FOR BASE:
150grams Almonds (blend in a processor/electric blender until fine-ish like course sugar)
4 rounded Tablespoons butter at room Temperature
4 Tablespoons Brown organic Sugar (you can use whatever sugar you have - just not icing sugar)
tiny bit of salt

METHOD FOR BASE:
Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix with an electric mixer (or by hand) until nicely combined.  Press into a buttered and double lined cake tin and bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celcius for 10 -15 minutes. Or until very pale brown. Take out and let stand while you prepare the filling.

INGREDIENTS FOR CHEESE CAKE FILLING:
2 x 250gram cream cheese
250ml cream
4 eggs
1-2 Lemons = of which you will need 4 Tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Bulgarian Yoghurt

METHOD FOR CHEESE CAKE FILLING

Beat together the cream cheese and cream until smooth. Scrap down the sides of the bowl every now and then to incorporate. Beating slowly add one egg at a time on slow. Add the Lemon juice and lemon zest and beat in. Add the sugar and beat again. Now add the yoghurt and beat in. Pour onto the prepared base and place on the center shelf of a preheated oven at 180 degrees celcius. Bake for +/- 50 min until the edges have puffed up and started to golden and the center is still a little wobbly. Open the oven and take the cheese cake out and let some heat escape for a minute then place the cheese cake to cool in the oven with the door closed for 30 - 40min. Then place the cheese cake in the fridge for 3 hours or over night.
Garnish as you desire and serve. Best cut with a wet sharp knife.

Cherry and Coconut Truffles

INGREDIENTS
50grams Raw almonds
7 fresh Dates (pips removed)
a generous handful of Glace Cherries (roughly 17) +/- 100grams
50g 70% dark Chocolate (I used Lindt) (roughly chopped)
1/2 cup fine coconut
70- 100grams dark chocolate (or chocolate of your choice)
2 teaspoons sunflower oil
OPTIONAL a few marachino cherries on stalks

METHOD
Grind the almonds until fine in a blender and then take out and set aside.
Place dates in the blender and blend slightly and then add the glace cherries. Blend a bit more and then add the dark chocolate and blend until  very well mixed, chopped and kind of smooth. Add the ground almonds and mix again. Now add the coconut little by little until you reach a pliable consistency. Then roll into balls or mold around marachino cherries.
Melt the chocolate and oil in a baine marie or a glass bowl balanced on top of a pot with a little water boiling below (the glass bowl mustn't touch the water below). Stir until melted. Dip the rolled cherry and coconut balls in the chocolate and spoon over more melted chocolate with a spoon and then place on waxed paper to set. There will be a little melted chocolate left over but if you use less you wan't be able to spoon the chocolate over the balls - so spread the left over chocolate on a separate piece of wax paper and sprinkle with cherries, almonds or raisins or water you fancy in your chocolate and leave to set - break into pieces and enjoy.

Enjoy your lovely cherry and coconut truffles or wrap up and package in a pretty box to make a beautiful and delicious gift.

 
 
p.s placed in the Friday Link up at http://www.whipperberry.com/