Fudgy Chocolate Cake

Are you after a chocolate overload? This cake is for you. It was part of a thank-you dinner for Dan's boss and his wife. You can top it with any fruit you like- but I would definitely recommend it as the fruit makes a nice relief from the choc!

Ingredients- for the cake
125g 100% chocolate
1 tbsp port
1 tbsp black coffee (espresso is best)
100g butter, softened
1/2 cup agave (I used dark agave but either is fine)
3/4 cup almond meal
3 eggs
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder

Ingredients- for the chocolate cream topping
60g 100% chocolate
50g agave
1 tsp vanilla
150g thickened cream, whipped
Raspberries (or another type of fruit)

Method

...For the cake
Grease and line the bottom of a 25cm springform baking tin.
Melt chocolate with port and coffee in a double boiler.
Meanwhile beat together butter and agave. Add melted chocolate mixture to butter mixture mixing all the while. When completely combined add all the other ingredients.
Spoon into prepared tin (it'll be quite thick and sticky) and smooth down.
Bake in low oven (160 degrees) for around 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

...For the chocolate cream topping
In a double boiler melt chocolate together with agave and vanilla. When melted pour bit by bit into whipped cream stirring gently as you go. When completely combined allow to set in fridge. Spread chocolate cream topping over the cake with a knife. It looks good if it's pretty textured. Top with raspberries or another type of fruit.

All this can be prepared the day before and kept in the fridge. But the topping is best put on the cake not too long before serving so that they are still two distinct layers.

Lemon almond cake

Our friends Alice and Josqui who were coming over for dinner on the weekend and as it was recently Josqui's birthday- so I just had to whip up an appropriate wheat and sugar free cake! Take no notice of Josqui's sceptical look in this photo- it really was delicious. It's intensely lemon-y and it's dense texture is half way toward a baked cheesecake. The additional of passionfruit to this recipe complements the tartness of the lemon perfectly.

Ingredients
2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup rice flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup agave
5 eggs
100g butter, softened
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Lemon zest from 2 lemon
Juice from 2 lemons
2 passionfruit (optional)

Method
Grease a 25cm springform tin. Line the bottom with paper.

In a blender combine butter and agave until light in colour. Add yogurt and eggs and dry ingredients. Once batter is formed add lemon juice and lemon zest.

It should be a fairly runny mixture. Pour into prepared tin. An optional addition is to then drizzle passionfruit pulp over the top at this point.

Place in a low oven (about 160-degrees) for around 45 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean). Allow to cool slightly before running a knife around the edges and turning out.

I might try scattering a hand ful of rasberries over the top next time rather than the passionfruit.

Chocolate Semifreddo

Decadent desserts are not the usual thing that springs to mind when embarking on a sugar-free diet. I've adapted a fairly standard semi fredo recipe to come up with this chocolate delight (shown here with a kiwifruit semifreddo). I tested this recipe on my parents and husband along with a few different flavours I had developed- but it was the chocolate they were raving about.

Ingredients

150g of 100% chocolate, finely chopped*
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp thickened cream

6 egg yolks
4 tbsp honey
1 cup thickened cream, whipped
3 tbsp unsalted nuts of your choice, chopped

＊ Note: 100％ chocolate is intensely bitter as it has no sugar.

Method

Make at least 4 hours prior.

Line a loaf tin with clingwrap- leaving excess to hang over the sides.

Place chocolate and honey in a heatproof bowl. Half-fill a saucepan with water and place the bowl in the water. Bring the water to a light simmer. When melted remove from saucepan and stir through cream. Leave to cool.

Beat egg yolks and honey together using beaters until thick and light in colour. It should almost double in volume. Fold in cream.

Add still warm chocolate mixture to cream mixture folding in constantly. As you combine some of the chocolate will solidify forming chocolate chips.

Pour into lined loaf tin. Freeze for 1-2 hours until beginning to firm. Add nuts gently stirring in. Adding the nuts to the slightly frozen mixture ensures they all don't sink to the bottom.

Freeze for at least another 2 hours.

Before serving place in refrigerator for 10 minutes so it's lovely and soft around the edges.

Turn our onto a serving platter. You may want to decorate with fruit or nuts.

Note: A more casual approach is to simply freeze the mixture in a plastic tub and scoop out like icecream. That's what I did.

Hand Rolled Rice Noodles

Tonight my lovely husband is cooking and I'm observing and blogging. He's making rice noodles from one of our new cookbook purchases Beyond the Great Wall (by Jeffery Alford and Naomi Duguid) and inventing his own stir-fry to fit. Here's what he's up to...

Ingredients

For the noodles
2 cups rice flour
1/2 tsp salt
Scant 1 cut boiling water
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for surfaces

Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are combined. It will look lumpy at this time but you haven't failed! Keep mixing into a smooth paste with you hands.

Pinch off small pieces and roll with the palm of you hands (see picture) until all mixture is used.

Boil for five minutes in a large saucepan. Add a tiny amount of oil and store. You can store them overnight and use the next day if you wish.

For the stir-fry
250g beef fillet (we used scotch but oyster blade would work), cut into thin strips
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion
1 capsicum
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

Combine the beef and honey in a bowl. In a wok heat oil and add beef/honey mixture. When beef is almost all cooked (a minutes or so only). Remove and set aside.

In the oily liquid left from scotch fillet frying add onion. Cook until beginning to become translucent. Add capsicum and cook for a minute.

Add beef, sweet chilli sauce and pre-prepared rice noodles. Stir through until just until all ingredients are combined.

We were so impressed with these noodles we will definitely make them again. They have a lovely texture- firm and slippery. Stay tuned for additional ways to use these noodles.

Cauliflower Salad

This is a yummy alternative to a tired old potato salad.


Ingredients
1 Cauliflower, cut into florets
2 Carrots, quartered
4 tbsp olive oil

2 slices gluten free bread, made into breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic

2 handfuls of roquette
salt/pepper to taste

Method
Toss cauliflower, carrots and olive oil in a roasting tray. Make sure oil is well tossed to cover vegetables. Roast in 180c oven for 40 minutes.

While the vegetables are roasting heat a frying pan with olive oil to medium. Add breadcrumbs and garlic. Keep stiring until browned (about 5 minutes).

Combine roast vegetables, roquette and arrange in a bowl. Sprinkle bread mixture and season.

Wonton Wrapper Ravioli

This is my first posting on my new blog. This blog is going to be a recipe diary of my wheat and sugar free cooking explorations. I hope you enjoy!

I've been on this wheat-free/sugar-free thing for a while now. One thing that has really got to me is the quality of gluten free pasta. The texture is too slippery and it doesn't hold sauce. So I am embarking on a pursuit of the perfect pasta.

Won Ton Ravioli

For the pasta
Wonton wrappers (used for soup wontons)
250g Ricotta cheese
1-2 Shallots, finely diced
1 bunch of spinach, lightly steamed

For the sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 clove garlic
200g of mixed cherry tomatoes
1 bunch of basil
cheese to serve

Ravioli preparation (begin night before).
Squeeze any remaining water out of the steamed spinach. Combine spinach, shallots and ricotta cheese in a bowl.
Put a small teaspoon of mixture onto wonton wrapper, touch the outside edge with a wet pastry brush and fold in half. Repeat process until all ricotta mixture is finished. Freeze overnight ensuring ravioli do not stick together (lay them out on baking paper). The ravioli are best boiled when they are frozen as they will hold their shape better.

Sauce preparation (on the night) Add oil and onion to frying pan, cook onion until just beginning to brown. Add garlic and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until some of the tomatoes have mushed up. I used yellow pear tomatoes and standard red cherry tomatoes and the yellow ones tended to loose their form first- making a nice yellow sauce highlighted with glossy red cherry toms.

In a large pot of salted boiling water put the ravioli for 5 minutes. Depending on size they might need less so keep your eye on them.

Combine and serve topped with basil and cheese of your liking.