Category: Desserts

Categories
Desserts Gluten-Free Vegan

Healthier apple pie bars

I’ve swapped out the usual all purpose flour with oat flour, as well as butter with coconut oil, and last but not least the white sugar with natural honey or maple syrup. To create the illusion of a decedent dessert this recipe includes a peanut butter caramel layer, this can easily be subbed out if not desired.

1 cup (120g) oat flour

½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

3 tbsp of coconut flour

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp (30g) coconut oil

3 tbsp pure maple syrup

¼ cup yogurt

  1. In a large bowl whisk together oat flour, coconut flour, salt, and baking soda. Add yogurt, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla, stir until fully combined.
  2. Line a 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, and then press short crust dough into the pan. Set aside while making fillings.


Peanut Butter Caramel

½ cup (120g) of peanut butter

¼ cup (80g) of honey

2 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp of vanilla 

Pinch of salt 

  1. In a small saucepan combine peanut butter, honey, and oil. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes stirring constantly until the edges have formed bubbles.
  2. Let cool for 5 minutes then pour and spread evenly across the shortcrust base.Set aside while making apple filling.


Apple Pie Filling

3 medium granny smith apples sliced (400g)

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger 

½ tsp nutmeg 

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp cornstarch 

1 tbsp honey 

2 tbsp lemon juice

  1. In a large bowl combine sliced apples, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and cornstarch. Add honey, and lemon juice and toss until evenly coated.
  2. Spread apples evenly across the layered shortbread and caramel, and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. After the first 15 minutes cover and bake for another 20 minutes until apples are soft
  3. Let cool at room temperature and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days 

Categories
Desserts

Swedish Princess cake

A Princess Cake is a fancy layered cake common and founded in Sweden. The dessert begins with a light sponge layer, vanilla custard, another sponge, raspberry jam, a chantilly cream dome, as well as one last layer of sponge for extra structure, and all finished off with a thin topping of marzipan.

Custard Layer

2 egg yolks

½  tbsp sugar

2 ½ tbsp cornstarch

1 ¾  (385g) cup milk

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks. Once combined slowly whisk in milk
  2. Place pan over medium/low heat and cook stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla
  3. Let cool to room temperature before pouring into a plastic wrap lined 8 inch baking pan. Place in fridge until assembly

Sponge

1 cup flour (145g) flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp cornstarch

5 eggs

¾ + 2tbsp (160g) sugar

4 tbsp (60g) butter (melted and cooled

  1. In a large bowl beat together eggs, and sugar until lighter in color (5 mins) Then add vanilla and mix until incorporated
  2. In a small bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, and cornstarch. Add to egg mixture and fold together until smooth
  3. Add melted butter and mix until combined ( Be careful not to over mix)
  4. Preheat oven to 350 and line a 9 inch baking pan with parchment ( As well as lightly coat with oil). Pour sponge batter into cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cake is golden and springy to the touch. Immediately remove from pan and let cool until assembly

Chantilly Cream

1 pint of heavy cream

2 tbsp water

2 tsp gelatin

⅓ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

  1. In a small microwave safe bowl whisk together water and gelatin. Place in the microwave for 10 seconds until the gelatin is dissolved. Set aside
  2. In a large bowl whip heavy cream until soft peaks are formed, add powder sugar, vanilla, and gelatin mixture. Continue beating until stiff peaks are formed. Cover and place in fridge until assembly 

Marzipan

2 cups (215) almond meal

1 ½ cup (190g) powdered sugar

2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

1 egg white

  1. In a bowl of a food processor combine almond meal, powdered sugar, and salt. Once combined add egg white, almond extract and vanilla. Pulse until dough like
  2. Form marzipan into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Store at room temperature until assembly

Assembly

⅔ Raspberry jam (300g)

1 recipe of Genoise Cake

1 recipe of Chantilly cream

1 recipe of Marzipan

4 Ounces of melted dark chocolate (optional)

  1. Begin by slicing the cake into three layers.
  2. Place Custard layer on top and add another sponge layer
  3. Evenly spread raspberry jam across the cake, and then add the whipped cream. Shape the whipped cream layer into a dome shape, and then space in the fridge for at least an hour
  4. Next sprinkle powdered sugar onto a clean surface and begin to roll out marzipan. Roll until roughly ¼ inch thick and 18 inches thick
  5. Remove cake from the fridge and place rolled marzipan on top. Smooth the marzipan around the cake to form a dome shape. Once again place in the fridge for at least an hour

Note: I decorated the cake by piping melted dark chocolate in loose swirls as well as placing a fondant rose on top

Categories
Desserts

Lemon Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

Lemon shortbread cookies filled with a vanilla icing and strawberry jam! These cookies are great at a potluck or picnic. If you aren’t a big fan of strawberry, there is always the option to substitute any other jam. Blueberry would be a tasty alternative, or even omitting the jam entirely would work great!

Shortbread

¾ cup butter softened

⅓ cup +1 tbsp (65g) powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 packed tbsp lemon zest

1 ½ (215g) cup all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

Filling

1 ½ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 Tablespoons of water

½ Strawberry jam

Shortbread: Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl combine butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, beat until light and fluffy.
  2. Add all purpose flour and combine until a thick and stiff dough is formed. Cover dough with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour 
  3. Once dough is chilled roll out to roughly ½ inch thick on a lightly flour coated surface
  4. Using a round cookie cutter roughly 4 inches wide cut out 16 cookies and 8 place on a parchment lined baking sheet
  5. Using a smaller cookie cutter roughly 1 inch wide, cut out a circle from the center of the remaining 8 cookies and set onto the baking sheet. Place cookies in fridge for at least 30 minutes
  6. Preheat oven to 350, then bake shortbread for 10-15 minutes until edges are lightly browned 

Filling: Instructions

  1. In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and water. Whisk until smooth and thick (Add either more water or powdered sugar depending on thickness, the consistency should be thin enough to pipe yet thick enough to prevent running)
  2. Pipe a border of icing on edges of the cookies without holes. Then fill with 2 tsps of raspberry jam. Place the cookies with the holes in the middle and on top of iced cookies
  3. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator for up to a week

Notes: The recipe makes 16, 4 inch cookies.

Categories
Desserts Gluten-Free

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I mean could chocolate chip cookies get any better? The answer is yes! Instead of baked in small balls like traditional cookies, these bars are baked in a pan which gives them a delicious and gooey texture. Basically they are like the center of regular chocolate chip cookies. Made with oat flour, and coconut oil this recipe is gluten free, dairy free, and nut free!

  • 2 large egg
  • ½ coconut sugar or brown sugar
  • ¾(160g) cup coconut oil
  • 3 ½ cups (340g)of oats
  • 1/14 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp of salt
  • 1 (160g) cup dark chocolate chips
  • ⅓ cup walnuts 
  1. In the bowl of a food processor blend oats until the texture of flour (Roughly 3 minutes). Pour oats into a bowl and whisk together with salt, and baking soda
  1.  In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, coconut oil, and sugar for until smooth and lighter in color (2-3 minutes)
  1. Add oat flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix together until smooth. Cover and chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes
  1. Once chilled fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour mixture into a 10 x 10 baking pan lined with parchment and bake for roughly 15 minutes at 350. Serve immediately or store in fridge for up to 5 days
Categories
Desserts

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are not those crunchy cookies that only taste good with milk, or the fluffy type which are essentially cup cakes without shells. The texture of these cookies are thick and dense, with a crunchy outside yet soft and goey middle. Alongside a killer texture these cookies also have a distinctive nutty and caramel flavor due to the browned butter.

  • 2 cups (265g) all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 ½ cups (250g) brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 ½ sticks butter
  • 11/4 cup (200g) chocolate chips
  1. Cook butter in a saucepan on low heat until a deep caramel color, and smells distinctly nutty (Roughly 10 minutes). Set aside to cool to room temperature 
  2. One cooled add brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Then add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla, whisk until smooth and lighter in color
  3. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda. 
  4. Add flour mixture into wet ingredients, and mix until fully combined. Then fold in chocolate chips
  5. With a ¼ cup ice cream scoop, portion out roughly 14 balls of cookie dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in freezer for at least 30 minutes 
  6. Preheat the oven to 350, and bake cookies for roughly 10 minutes. Leave on baking sheet and let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving

Categories
Desserts

Fudgy Sweet potato brownies

Who doesn’t love a dark chocolate fudgy brownie, if you don’t you are definitely looking at the wrong recipe (No shade). But sometimes you might get a bit of a health kick and want to incorporate more veggies into your diet. This is exactly what these brownies are meant for, packed with over a full sweet potato this brownies will help you reach your 5 a day goal! I’ve also included a chocolate sweet potato frosting, and topped it with roasted peanuts. The frosting also works great as a vegan frosting for any other recipes.

  • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate(melted)
  • 1(280g) cup peanut butter
  • 11/3(550g)cup sweet potato puree
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 cup(180g)cup coconut sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 1/2(50g) cup cocoa powder
  • ⅓ (60g)tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment. In a large bowl mix combine eggs and coconut sugar, whisk until lighter in color. Then add the melted chocolate, coconut oil and vanilla . Mix until smooth. In a separate bowl combine the cocoa powder, flour, and salt, and fold into wet ingredients until smooth
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread out evenly. Bake 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Sweet potato frosting 

  • 113 (550g) cup sweet potato puree
  • 5 ounces semi chocolate
  • 1 tbs cocoa powder
  • Melt chocolate, and into sweet potato along with cocoa powder. Place in fridge until chilled. Once chilled whip on high until fluffy. Spread the frosting onto the cooled brownies and top with desired toppings. Enjoy now, or refrigerate for up to 5 days