Paleo Double Chocolate Pie

 Ok, so no sugar and no carbs... 4 weeks in and I'm not gonna lie, but I am craving something sweet... like chocolate. This has been one of the few cravings I have had on this Low Carb, High Fat eating plan (LCHF). And besides, we all know how irrevocable and insatiable chocolate is. My problem was to find a recipe without sugar.. So naturally, I started googling.
Wow, the amount of recipes out there for sugar free desserts and biscuits and pastries.. the mind boggles. But all in good time.. focus Pinky.. we're looking for CHOCOLATE.
I stumbled upon a "White Chocolate Paleo Pie" from one of the food blogs I follow (The Spunky Coconut) and attempted the recipe. Well.. success! But I wanted something a little more... I adjusted the crust, as I found the original to crumbly, and decided to double up on the chocolate filling (you're seeing this trend of chocolate right?) by adding the ganache. I-found-heaven-on-a-spoon-in-my-mouth.

Paleo Double Chocolate Pie

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

for the crust 
 1 cup Almond Flour 
1/2 cup Almonds (Raw) 
1/2 cup Macadamia (Raw) 
8 pitted dates
4 tbsp melted butter 

 
 for the pie
250g sugar free chocolate (I used Canderel's SugarFree Milk Chocolate)
1 Can Full cream coconut milk
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp (sachet) gelatin

for the ganache filling 
250g sugar free chocolate (I used Canderel's SugarFree Milk Chocolate)
1 cup full cream 


Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180°
Add the nuts to the food processor fitted with the S blade, and blitz until a rough texture. Now add the dates and almond flour and blits until combined. Add the melted butter and combine.
Firmly press the crust into a standard springform cake tin and bake blind for 8-10 minutes.  Set it aside to cool.
 Note: I placed a sheet of baking paper at the bottom and then "closed" the tin over it. (The baking paper sticks out) This helps prevent the chocolate mixture from leaking out... I found this out the hard way :-(. If your cake tin closes tightly, then just grease the tin.

 

Bring the coconut milk to a simmer in a saucepan and slowly whisk in the gelatin, until it is completely dissolved. (This may take several minutes.)
Add the honey and vanilla to the coconut milk mixture. Set aside and let cool. 

 Place the chocolate (for the filling) in a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. The water level should be a few inches below the bottom of the bowl. As soon as the chocolate is melted remove it from the heat, add it to the coconut mixture. Transfer this all into the food processor and blend completely together.
Note: The vent is crucial so that the heat can escape while pureeing.
Puree until smooth, then pour over the crust.
























Refrigerate until set (at least a few hours).












 
Now for the ganache...
Bring a pot with the cream to medium0high heat. Add the chocolate and let the chocolate melt and combine with the cream. Stir continuously.
Once combined, leave to cool (an hour or so)

Once the pie has set in the fridge, pour the ganache over and spread evenly.

Refrigerate until required. 

To serve the pie heat a chefs knife in hot water, then run the knife between the pie and the wall of the pan. Remove the wall and reheat the knife to slice. Best eaten room temperature.

 (I decorated the top with more crushed Almonds and Macadamia nuts. You could grate chocolate over too. :-))

Roast Chicken & Mushroom Lasagna

This dish is super easy and quick (if you have already made the pasta, or have store bought) and is really delicious. For me, the roast chicken gives the dish more depth and flavour. If you don't want to use carb-free pasta, you can use regular pasta. Your cooking time may vary and I'd then suggest you cover the dish with foil. I didn't with the carb free pasta as I knew it would cook very quickly.
See separate recipe for Carb-free pasta.

 

 

 

roast chicken & mushroom lasagna

Cook time: 1 Hr

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 roast chicken (I used a Woolworths roast chicken) Roughly chopped and bones removed.
1 packet of button mushrooms (sliced)
1 onion (finely chopped) 
1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
250 ml cream
1 chicken stock (Knorr Stock)
1/2 white wine
fresh thyme
butter (a few knobs)

S&P to taste 
Freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions: 

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Fry the onions in a little olive oil and butter until softened. Add the garlic and fresh thyme. 

Now add the mushrooms and white wine. Cook for about 1 minute. 

Add the chicken stock, chicken and cream. Stir and cook for 3 minutes or so. 

You may need to add a little water.

Adjust your seasoning now.

In a deep casserole dish, spoon some of the chicken and mushroom mixture on the bottom. Add a layer of the carb-free pasta and continue to layer. Top off with the freshly grated Parmesan. 

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes (or until cheese is melted) 

Finish off by turning the grill on and grill until cheese is golden. 

 

Serve. 

Carb-Free Pasta

Simple and quick, this recipe (thanks to The Real-Meal-Revolution) is the perfect pasta alternative to make when following a low-carb, high fat diet and it is super-easy!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
125g cream cheese
½ cup psyllium husks

In a food processor, blend all the ingredients and leave the mixture to thicken for 10 minutes.
Using coconut flour for dusting, roll the pasta into sheets and set aside. They can be frozen between greaseproof paper or cooked immediately.
Cook as you would normal pasta, by boiling it in salt water (be careful, they cook quickly).

Watch the video to see how simple. Carb Free Pasta

Colin's famous "cheaky" livers

For years we would have Colin's chicken livers at our monthly meetings. This became a tradition. It was more exciting knowing that on the upcoming Monday, we would be getting the famous chicken livers than actually attending our meeting. I finally managed to wriggle out the recipe from him.. and since then I have made these on numerous occasions. I have served it to number of friends, who do not usually eat chicken livers, but will continue to devour a bowl of these if they're placed in front of them. Great as a snack before a lunch or dinner. So if you don't like chicken livers, I'd say - try this, it's YUM!

 

 

 

colin's famous cheaky livers

Cook time: 1 1/2 Hrs

Serves: 8-12 for a starter / snack

Ingredients:

2-3 large onions, finely chopped

2 large red peppers, finely chopped

2 cans chopped tomatoes

2 small cans tomato paste

garlic, minced (as much as you like) - I usually do 2-3 cloves

chili (as much as you like) 

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp curry power, hot

sweet chili sauce 

salt & pepper

3 large tubs of livers (fresh / frozen) 

Instructions: 

Fry the onions and peppers in some olive oil and butter until they are tender

Add the garlic, chili, paprika and curry powder. stir and cook for a minute. 

Add the tinned tomatoes and the paste

Now cook for approx 1 hour uncovered. Stir occasionally and add some water if necessary. You want to let this thicken.

Now add the sweet chili sauce (add a little at a time until you are happy with the taste. 

Adjust the seasoning - add more chili if desired. 

 Rinse and trim the livers and add whole to the sauce. Cook very well (approx 30 minutes). You may need to add some water, but not too much as you want to retain thickness. 

Now you can decide if you want to serve the livers whole, or you can scoop them out and chop and then return to the sauce (I usually do this as it disguises the liver and adds more texture to the sauce)

Serve.

 

Cinnamon Almond Cake

 

 

 

When I think of Christmas, I think of warm, rich aromas. What could be more "Christmasy" than cinnamon and almond together.  A rather plain cake, but small cinnamon-almond slices are enough.

 

 

cinnamon almond cake

Cook time: 20 prep + 30-40 min cook

Serves:8-10

recipe courtesy of Nigella

Ingredients:

8 egg whites 

150g castor sugar 

few drops of almond essence

zest of 1 orange

125ml mild olive oil 

150g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

100g flaked almonds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

icing sugar, to decorate

1 22cm springform cake tin

   Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, and grease the springform cake tin (or use a special baking spray) and line the base with baking parchment.
2. In a clean, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are opaque and start to hold their shape, then slowly add the sugar, whisking until it’s all incorporated and the mixture is thick and shiny. Add the almond essence and the orange zest. Then, in about 3 goes each, alternately whisk in the oil and the ground almonds (mixed with the baking powder) until they are both smoothly incorporated into the meringue.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, then mix together the flaked almonds and cinnamon and sprinkle them over the top of the cake.
   Bake for 35-40 minutes (though start checking at 30), by which time the top should have risen and be set and the almonds become golden, and a cake tester should come out clean, barring the odd almondy crumb.
4. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its tin on a wire rack. Once it is no longer hot, spring open the sides of the tin, but don’t try to remove the cake from the base until properly cool.
   When you are ready to serve, push the icing sugar through a sieve and over the cake to create a snowy effect, and take to the table.

Strawberry & rhubarb crumble with crunchy macadamia topping

  For someone who loves experimenting and trying new foods, it's quite strange that I have never had the opportunity to try rhubarb. A friend of mine, Janette, started growing rhubarb a while back. Needless to say, I have been patiently waiting... 

Knowing rhubarb is quite sour or tart, I knew I was going to like it. I thought the addition of sweet strawberries, rather than traditional apple, would complement the tartness of the rhubarb. Result - YUM! 

(This recipe is straight from taste.com.au)

 

 

strawberry & rhubarb crumble with crunchy macadamia topping

Cook time: 15 prep + 30 min cook

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 bunch rhubarb, ends trimmed, washed, cut into 5cm lengths
2 x 250g punnets strawberries, hulled, washed, halved
2 tbs caster sugar
1 tbs finely grated orange rind
Double cream or vanilla ice-cream, to serve

crunchy macadamia topping

115g (3/4 cup) plain flour
80g chilled butter, chopped
1 x 100g pkt macadamia nuts
50g (1/2 cup) oats
55g (1/4 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar

 Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and orange rind in a 5cm deep x 20cm (base measurement) square ovenproof dish.
2. Step 2
   To make the macadamia topping, place the flour in a large bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the macadamias, oats and sugar and stir until well combined.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Step 3
   Scatter the macadamia topping over the rhubarb mixture. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and heated though. Spoon the crumble among serving bowls and serve with cream or ice-cream.

Lemon & Lime drizzle cake

 It's summer, and what could be more refreshing than a little slice of lemon cake on a chilled Sunday afternoon. Perfectly light and fresh with a sweet sour icing. Mmm. 

 

 

lemon & lime drizzle cake

Cook time: Prep time 20 minutes, bake 1 hour.

Serves:8

Ingredients:

for the cake

2 large free range eggs
225g castor sugar
230g double thick cream
zest 1 lemon
1/4 tsp lemon extract / essence
200g self raising flour

for the syrup and topping
juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon
extra lemon juice for the topping
100g granulated sugar
150g icing sugar
lemon & lime zest to decorate



 Instructions:
Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Butter a 23cm cake tin.
Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick.
Stir the cream until smooth and mix with a pinch of salt, then gently stir the into the eggs with the lemon zest and extract.
Sift the flour, fold in gently, spoon into the tin and bake for approx 50 minutes until the cake is golden and firm. (Cover with foil if it browns to quickly)
Cool. 

Make the syrup by mixing the lemon and lime juices with the granulated sugar.
Prick the cake all over with a skewer; pour the syrup over. The sugar will form a crunchy topping and the juice will sink into the cake.

Decorate with glacé icing by mixing some icing sugar and a little lemon juice, then sprinkle with the zest.