Sunday's Recipe Share -- Grain/Gluten Free Chocolate Mousse Pie/Tart

This was another dessert that I made for Easter because I just had to have something chocolate.

Once again I forgot to take a picture before diving in!

I adapted this pie/tart from a couple of different recipes.  Here's what I came up with:

Chocolate Mousse Filling:

1 14 oz can full fat coconut milk
1/4 c pure maple syrup
1/4 c cocoa powder (I used fair trade dark chocolate)
pinch of salt
1/2 a carton of whipping cream

Topping
remaining 1/2 carton of whipping cream
1 T of honey or more to taste

In a medium saucepan, mix the coconut milk, maple syrup, cocoa powder and salt together.  Bring this to a boil then turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 15-25 minutes depending on your stove.  When ready, the mixture should coat the back of a wooden spoon.  It will thicken as it cools.  Transfer this into a medium to large bowl.  Place plastic wrap directly onto surface. Once it's cooled a bit, put in the fridge for at least 1 hour to overnight.

Put a small to medium sized bowl and beaters into the freezer.  While pudding cools, make crust.

Crust:

1 cup of almond meal
1/4 c. of melted butter

I didn't add any sweetener to the crust--if you want it sweeter, add a tablespoon or two of coconut sugar or honey to it.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine crust ingredients in a bowl, if it's too wet, add more almond meal.  Press into tart or pie pan.

Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Put aside to cool.

Place 1/2 of the whipping cream into the bowl that was in the freezer.  Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold this into the pudding.  Spoon this into the baked crust.  Refrigerate 1 hour to overnight.

After washing, put the same bowl and beaters back into the freezer.

When ready to make topping, place the rest of the whipping cream and whip it same as above.  Add the honey and whip again.  You can frost the entire top of the pie/tart or dollop it on like I did in the photo.

Sunday's Recipe Share -- Healthy Chocolate Pudding

Okay, there's no question, I am a chocoholic.  It is one thing that I will never give up.  Thankfully, dark chocolate isn't considered bad, it's even considered good for you.  YAY!!!  However some desserts that are made with this healthy ingredient have some other not so healthy ingredients added to them.

I recently pinned a link to 24 Decadent Valentine's Day Desserts (grain free)--you can follow me on Pinterest by going to the link on the left.  This recipe was one of those 24 desserts.

It is for Chocolate Avocado Pudding.  Yes, I didn't name it that in the title because I wanted you to keep reading.  It is gluten free, grain free and dairy free--I used fair trade baking cocoa and almond milk in the recipe I made.

Doesn't it look yummy?

I had all the ingredients, so I thought I'd give it a try.  The results were so much better than I expected.  Thanks to the healthy avocado, it had the creaminess and mouth feel of chocolate pudding that was cooked on the stove for what seems like hours.   This took just a matter of minutes in my magic bullet.   

 It doesn't make a whole lot--it says two servings--really I could have eaten the whole thing in one sitting.  The above picture shows all of it.  I spooned half of it into a cute glass and added some sliced strawberries to garnish.  It was rich and delicious.  I will definitely be making this again--but probably a double recipe.  :)  The link to the recipe is below the last picture.

Enjoy!!!

 Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Sunday's Recipe Share -- Food for the Big Game

It's Super Bowl Sunday--the second biggest eating day behind Thanksgiving.  What will you be serving?

I thought I'd share a couple of recipes here.

The first one is for zucchini mini quiches/fritters.  They are gluten and grain free are quite yummy and very easy to make.  I made these last week as a side, but they would make great finger food for the big game.  Mine were more quiche-like.  These could be made a bit ahead of time and served at room temperature.

Here's the recipe:

Makes 12

1 medium zucchini, grated
2 T. coconut flour
2 T. grated Parmesan
2 lg. eggs, beaten
1 t. lemon zest
1 t. garlic, minced
salt, pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375.  Grease a mini muffin pan with coconut oil.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, stirring well.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, pressing the mixture until it is well compacted.

Bake for 17-25 minutes (17 minutes will produce more quiche-like bites, longer will produce crispier, fritter-like bites).

Then, you've got to have chicken wings.  I just make a sauce with melted butter and Frank's hot sauce and marinate the wings in the sauce, then bake them and then pour more (not the marinate) sauce over the top.  Serve them with celery and carrot sticks and bleu cheese dressing of course.

I usually make a big pot of chili and corn dogs, but now that I'm following the paleo diet, I'm going to make my "corn" muffins in a mini pan and put a piece of hot dog in them.  Here's the recipe for the muffins:

Paleo Cornbread Muffins

Yield: 6-8 muffins

Ingredients

• (Double recipe if desired)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, butter or real lard, liquified
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 Tbs. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Tbs. raw honey
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line 6 muffin cups with liners. Mix together the coconut flour and oil until smooth, then beat in the eggs until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.
2. Divide between the prepared cups and bake about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.

I would use a greased mini muffin pan instead and bake for 10-15 minutes. Here's how they would look:

For dessert, I suggest chocolate "ice cream" shooters--also gluten/grain free.

I'd use the recipe for non-dairy chocolate "ice cream" but serve it in shot glasses and top with a bit of whipped cream.  Note--this has to be done at least 6-8 hours in advance so the "cream" can set up.

Here's a link to that recipe:  Dairy Free Ice Cream

Note--I don't use that much coffee when I make mine--I use maybe 1 Tbls and I really like coffee.  The first time I made it, I used the 3 Tbls. and it was too much.  And, make sure the coffee is really finely ground, or use a high powered blender or food processor to mix.  I use my nutri-bullet.

Here's how I would serve it (these are pumpkin pie shots, but you get the idea):

Sunday Recipe Share -- Gluten Free, Grain Free Chocolate Coconut Cake

I made this cake for Christmas Day so that I could have a yummy treat like everyone else!

The recipe is from Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations and man is it good!  This site is dedicated to sharing Paleo/Primal recipes. The "caveman's" name is George.  He also has a facebook page and can be followed on Twitter and Pinterest as well.

Gluten Free, Grain Free Chocolate Coconut Cake

It's moist and chocolatey and coconutty and just delicious!  I will be making this many, many more times!