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. :-))

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. 

Lindt Chocolate Torte

Lindt Chocolate torte. What!? You had me at Lindt. I'm hooked. 

This is by far one of my quickest and easiest AND fail-safe chocolate cake recipes I've ever found.

I also love the fact that this cake is so flexible when it come to flavouring. Simply choose your favourite Lindt Excellence chocolate (Intense Orange, Chilli, Caramel, Mint, Blueberry... ) and you have a completely different torte. 

I'm not gonna say too much more about it, just try it. It's heavenly. 

lindt chocolate torte

Cook time: ready in 1 hour

Serves: 10

Ingredients:

200g Lindt dark chocolate with mint
350g Blueberries
200g unsalted butter
4 large free range egss
200g castor sugar
icing sugar (for dusting)
250ml Cream (optional)

 Instructions:
1.
Heat oven to 180°C.
Grease and line a 23cm spring-clip cake tin.
Place chocolate and butter in a large bowl over a pot of simmering water until melted.

 
Meanwhile,  separate the eggs and whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar until pale and creamy.
In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually add the rest of the sugar until thick and glossy, like a meringue.

 
2.
Fold the melted chocolate into the egg yolk mixture, then gently fold this into the beaten egg whites. Pour into the cake tin, tap lightly to level the surface and bake for approx. 35-40 minutes.
Remove and leave to cool.

3.
 When the cake is cold, turn it out onto a plate and remove the paper.
Add the the berries and dust with icing sugar.
Serve.

In this particular torte I "iced" the top of the cake with fresh cream and added fresh blueberries to finish. 

Try the following:
Lindt Intense Orange with fresh raspberries.
Lindt Caramel with broken caramel chips on top.