Tag: star: toddy

Coconut and Chocolate Birthday Cake | HAPPY B-DAY TO US | 2 years!

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This is a very special month for us, as you can see; our channel is turning 2! Yep, two years of amazing recipes.

And to celebrate with you – who else, right? – we’ve decided to make one of my favouriteĀ cakes: Coconut and Chocolate Birthday Cake. In Brazil this is a very popular cake, usually calledĀ PrestĆ­gio cake, same name as a famous chocolate bar (similar to Boost).

Of course, I’ve managed to create it in a guilty-free version. šŸ˜€ Amazing, I know!

The cake and coconut filling are gluten free, nut free and dairy free, with a minimum of honey to give it just a bit of sweetness. ForĀ the frosting, I got better results using pure cream, but this is totally replaceableĀ with coconut cream for a dairy free version.

So, how about you making it for your next birthday too? Your guests will love it, for sure!

Ingredients
  • Cake
    • 6 medium eggs
    • Ā½ cup of coconut oil, melted
    • ā…“ cup of honey (or any sweetener you like)
    • ā…” cup of sesame seeds (or sesame seed flour)
    • ā…“ cup of coconut flour
    • Ā¼ cup of cocoa powder
    • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon of psyllium husks
    • A pinch of salt
  • Coconut filling
    • 1 cup of coconut milk (or any milk you like)
    • Ā½ cup of coconut flakes, unsweetened
    • Ā¼ cup of honey (or any sweetener you like)
  • Chocolate Ganache frosting
    • 340 grams of 85% dark chocolate
    • 1 cup of pure cream
Directions
  1. Cake
    1. In a food processor add eggs, coconut oil, and honey. Mix them for about 5 minutes.
    2. Next, add the sesame seeds and mix for more 4 minutes.
    3. Then, add the coconut flour, baking powder, psyllium husks, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix just enough to incorporate all ingredients.
    4. Grease a cake tin (I’m using one with 16cm of diameter) with coconut oil and cover it with a baking sheet. Then, add in the batter.
    5. Preheat oven at 180C (350F) and bake it for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
    6. Reserve, letting it cool completely before assembling the cake.
  2. Coconut filling
    1. Add all ingredients in a saucepan and cook it in low heat, stirring always until it gets a thicker consistency.
    2. Reserve and let it cool completely before filling the cake.
  3. Chocolate Ganache frosting
    1. Pour the pure cream in a saucepan and heat it until small bubbles start to form around the pan.
    2. Turn off the heat, add the chocolate and honey. Let it rest for 1 minute.
    3. Mix well until the chocolate melts and you have a smooth mixture.
    4. Pop into the fridge and let it there until is completely cool.
    5. Once cooled, whip up using a stand mixer and reserve.
  4. Assembling the cake
    1. Slice the cake into 3 layers.
    2. Put the bottom layer in a serving dish and spread over it half of the coconut filling.
    3. Next, put the second layer of cake on top of them and spread the other half of filling. Finish by topping with the third layer of cake.
    4. Now, spread the chocolate ganache all over the cake. Here I wanted to create something fancier so I used my piping bag, but you can simply spread everything using a spatula.
    5. Itā€™s done!

Hot Cross buns (grain free) | Easter

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Hot Cross bunsĀ are made especiallyĀ to celebrate Easter. Yep, Easter is not only about chocolate, you know? They are somewhat spicy and can be made using dried fruit or chocolate chips. I love them served warm with a bit of butter and jam.

In case you don’t celebrate Easter, no dramas my friend, just make them as a delicious snack and be happy!

Ingredients
  • Bun
    • Ā½ cup of coconut flour
    • 5 tablespoons of psyllium husk
    • Ā½ cup of raisins
    • 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
    • 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
    • 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
    • 1 Ā½ teaspoons of baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon of salt
    • 2 Ā½ teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
    • 2 tablespoons of honey (or any sweetener you like)
    • 4 eggs
    • 7/8 cup (a little less than a full cup) of boiling water
  • Cross paste
    • 2 tablespoons of coconut flour
    • 5 tablespoons of water
    • 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
Directions
  1. Cross Paste
    1. In a small bowl mix all ingredients until well combined.
    2. Pour the mixture in a plastic or piping bag and reserve. The plastic bag will help to shape the cross, but you can use a spoon instead.
  2. Bun
    1. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients making sure to mix them well.
    2. Then, add in the eggs, vinegar, raisins and mix them until you have a thick dough.
    3. Now it’s time to add the boiling water and mix everything until nicely combined and there is a dough consistency.
    4. Split the dough into 8 small buns and place them in a baking tray covered with parchment paper.
    5. If you are not using a piping bag: get the plastic bag with the paste mixture and cut a small piece of its edge.
    6. Next, draw a cross at the top of each bun.
    7. Bake the buns in a preheated oven at 180C for 30 minutes.
    8. It’s done! They are perfect when served warm and with butter or jam.

The best gluten free brownies EVER | VALENTINE’S DAY

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šŸŽ¶ … love is in the air… ā¤ļø

Hi! This is the perfect recipe to surprise someone special this Valentineā€™s day. Trust me, you can’t go wrong with this recipe.Ā TheseĀ sweet potato and gluten free browniesĀ are not only healthyĀ but also extremely delicious, much better than many ā€œtraditional browniesā€ out there.

I’ve made them several times and everybody loved, even my picky friends when the topic is real food and healthy recipes. According to them: “this is so delicious, I would never tell it’s healthy too!”. I’m telling you, this recipe is definitely a winner and your loved ones will feel extremely special after having a bite.

After cooking, you can share it fresh from the oven or how about going fancy, placing in a beautiful box and give it as a present?

Ingredients
  • 1 Ā½ cups (390 grams) of purple sweet potato, mashed (about 4 small units)
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut flour
  • Ā½ cup of coconut oil
  • Ā½ cup of cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • 1 large egg
  • Ā¼ cup of honey (or any sweetener you like)
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
Directions
  1. First, you must use purple sweet potato, ok? The gold one will not give you the same result. Get about 4 small units, wrap them in aluminium foil and preheat oven to 160C (320F). Roast them for 1 hour or until tender.
  2. Later, peel and mash the potatoes. We will use 1 Ā½ cups only – approximately 400 grams.
  3. In a food processor add all ingredients and mix until very well combined. In case you want to add some nuts, mix all ingredients first, then add Ā½ cup of the nut you would like and mix a little bit more.
  4. Place a baking paper sheet in a cake tin and pour the mixture in.
  5. Preheat oven to 170C (338F) and bake it for 40 minutes.
  6. It’s done! Now put it in a beautiful box and your Valentineā€™s Day present is ready to go.

Tip: you can also add Ā½ cup of pecans (or any other nut you happen to have). I decided to make a nut free version this time. šŸ™‚

Gluten Free Tim Tam | AUSTRALIA DAY

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Gā€™day, mates! To celebrate Australia day this year, I’ve decided to surprise you with this ripper recipe: Gluten Free Tim Tam. That’s right! Itā€™s real and you will learn how to make them now!

In case you’ve been living under a rockĀ and never heard about Tim Tams, they are a crunchy and chocolaty Australian cookieĀ loved by the entire country. It’s the first thing people would say you should try while visiting Australia. Anyways, as the world is not a perfect place, although Tim Tams are, yes, very tasty, they are also packed with sugars,Ā other nasty ingredients, and not gluten-free.

So, as we are celebrating here this special date, I’ve come up with this Gluten Free Tim Tam recipe, which is not onlyĀ extremely crunchy and chocolaty as a Tim Tam should be, but also gluten-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, grain-free, and if you choose your chocolate wisely it can also be dairy-free! Yep, this is real life, my friend. šŸ™‚

Also, it has only half of the total carbs a regular Tim Tam would have. Winner, uh?

I really hope you enjoy this recipe as we did here at home. Just remember that although being a healthy recipe when compared to the original cookies, it is still a treat and you should eat it in moderation. šŸ™‚

Ingredients
  • Ganache filling
    • Ā½ cup (75 grams) of 80% dark chocolate, chopped
    • Ā½ cup of coconut cream
  • Cookies
    • 1 egg
    • Ā½ cup of tahini
    • 3 tablespoons of coconut flour
    • 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar (or any sweetener you like)
    • 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
    • Ā½ teaspoon of baking soda
    • 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
    • A pinch of salt
  • Chocolate coat
    • 1 cup (150 grams) of 80% dark chocolate, chopped
    • ā…“ cup of coconut oil
Directions
  1. Ganache filling
    1. Using a saucepan heat coconut creamĀ until you see small bubbles forming at the bottom of the pan.
    2. Turn off the heat, add the dark chocolate and put the lid on.
    3. Wait 5 minutes, then stir well until all the chocolate melts.
    4. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and cover it with cling wrap.
    5. Pop into the fridge for at least 3 hours to set.
    6. Reserve.
  2. Cookies
    1. Add all ingredients into a large bowl and gently work them together using your hands until you have a nice ball of dough. Remember to not overwork the dough, especially on a hot day, as the tahini will release its oils and you will end up with a very greasy dough.
    2. Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper and using a rolling pin (a bottle or can will work fine as well) carefully roll it out, turning it around every so often, until itā€™s about 0.5 cm thick.
    3. Using a sharp knife, cut the cookies into equally sized small rectangles. Exactly like a Tim Tam would be. Iā€™ve managed to make 30 cookies from this recipe.
    4. Preheat oven at 180C (356F) and bake it for 15 minutes. Let it cool down completely before using. This is important to ensure your cookies will be very crunchy and crispy.
    5. Reserve.
  3. Chocolate coat
    1. In aĀ double boiler, melt chocolate and coconut oil together. Remember to keep stirring the ingredients all the time.
    2. Reserve
  4. Assembling
    1. Now it’s time to assemble these gorgeous cookies.
    2. First, get 8 cookies (already cooled) and then spread over them a thin layer of chocolate ganache (already set).
    3. Next, top each one of them with another cookie, sandwiching them together.
    4. Pop into the fridge for 30 minutes.
    5. Later, dip each cookie sandwich in the chocolate coat and place on the baking paper. Return to the fridge to set before serving.
    6. It’s done! Enjoy in moderation – if you can šŸ˜› – this special treat. šŸ™‚

Important note:Ā for a dairy-free/paleo version, just pick a dark chocolate without dairy. In case this is not sweet enough for your taste, add more of your favourite sweetener to the cookies or use a 70% dark chocolate for the ganache and chocolate coat.

Christmas Berries Cheesecake | Special recipe

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Ho Ho Ho šŸŽ…šŸ»! As we’re all on Santa’s nice list this year, I’ve decided to treat us with a delicious Christmas Berries Cheesecake.

This recipe is ridiculously simple to whip up and will impress every guest you might have (I would have it only for me though :P). They will never guess this is gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and much lower in carbs when compared to aĀ regular recipe.

In case you don’t celebrate Christmas, no worries! Have it to welcome the new year, or any other special date you would like to celebrate by having something totally guilty free as dessert.Ā šŸ™‚

Ingredients
  • Half of our famous šŸ™‚ sweet pastry crust recipe
  • 460 grams of cream cheese at room temperature
  • 200 grams of ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup of coconut sugar (or any sweetener you like)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 1 cup of berries jam
  • 100 grams of fresh berries to garnish
Directions
  1. First get your sweet pastry crust done and cooled before use. We’ve already shown you how to make sweet pastry crust.
  2. Now onto the filling preparation, use a stand mixer and beat together the cream cheese and ricotta.
  3. Once everything is well combined, add the eggs and mix well.
  4. Add coconut sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract and mix again.
  5. Finally, stop the stand mixer and pour the creamy mixture over the baked crust.
  6. Preheat oven to 180C and bake it for 40 minutes.
  7. Let it cool in the fridge before serving at least for 4 hours. Overnight is better.