Tag: coconut

Coconut Ice Cream

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Coconut Ice Cream

Making ice cream has always been one of my favourite things to do in the kitchen. It also holds a special place in my memory – when I was 15 a family friend tasted my chocolate ice cream and was so impressed she suggested that I go to chef school! It hadn’t even occurred to me, so that experience was what inspired me to attend chef school.

When I started cutting out dairy and refined sugar I knew that ice cream would be first on my list of things to reinvent. This ice cream is a perfect replacement for traditional vanilla ice cream. It can be eaten on its own or served with something like my Raw Chocolate Tart. It can also be used as a base for other flavours. Omit the coconut flakes and try adding cacao nibs and a few drops of peppermint essential oil, fresh raspberries, or finely chopped dates and nuts. The options are endless – use your imagination!

Ingredients (makes about 600ml)

400ml coconut cream
45ml organic virgin coconut oil
a pinch of Oryx Desert Salt
a pinch of vanilla powder
1/4 tsp stevia leaf powder
45ml raw honey
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/2 cup organic coconut flakes

Method

Place the coconut cream, coconut oil, salt, vanilla, stevia, honey and egg into a high speed blender and blend for about 4 or 5 minutes, until the mixture has heated through, thereby cooking the egg.

If you don’t have a high speed blender, simply blend the mixture until smooth or even use a whisk to combine. Then transfer to a saucepan on a very gentle heat. Stir continuously to prevent the egg from scrambling. There should be steam coming off the custard but it must never boil. To check if the egg is cooked, dip the back of a spoon into the custard and then draw a line across the back of the spoon with your finger. Hold it horizontally and if the custard doesn’t drip it is cooked. With experience you can also taste when it is done. Traditionally ice cream was made with raw egg, so as long as you have good hygiene practices in the kitchen it’s not paramount that the egg be fully cooked. However, cooking the egg does thicken the custard thereby giving a creamier texture to the ice cream.

Place the coconut flakes in a frying pan and lightly toast them over a medium heat. Keep your eye on it and toss regularly as it can burn quite quickly. Turn out onto a chopping board and use a knife to chop into smaller pieces. Add to the custard.

If you have an ice cream machine, simply pour the custard into your prepared machine and churn until done, then transfer to a suitable container and store in a freezer.

If you don’t have an ice cream machine, pour the custard into a sealable container and place in the freezer. Use a whisk to stir the mixture every 20 to 30 minutes. By breaking up the ice crystals regularly as it freezes you achieve a smoother texture. You should do this for at least 2 – 3 hours, until the mixture starts to freeze into a smooth ice cream. At this point you can just leave it in the freezer to freeze completely.

Remember to remove the ice cream from the freezer 5 – 10 minutes before serving, to allow it to soften.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Overnight Oats with Mulberries

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Overnight Oats Mulberries

It’s Vitamin K central round my house! As you have probably gathered from my recent posts, I am upping my natural intake of vitamin K in the last eight weeks of pregnancy to prevent having to give my baby the injection after birth. Mulberries are the highest natural source of Vitamin K so I’m stocking up! And what better way to have mulberries than in their natural form, to sweeten up my overnight oats. This was a really delicious breakfast bowl, I’m stuffed! And so satisfied.

Ingredients

1 cup gluten free, organic, rolled oats
2 cups almond milk
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp maple syrup (optional)

Toppings:
Handful of dried white mulberries
1 banana, chopped
A sprinkle of desiccated coconut

Method

Simply put the ingredients (excluding the toppings) in a bowl, mix well, cover, and leave in the fridge overnight. You don’t need to add the maple syrup, just depends how sweet you like it.

When you’re ready to eat it, add the toppings. Simples!

Enjoy,

Love,
Lauren

Raw Grasshopper Pie

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Grasshopper Pie

Grasshopper Pie is an American favourite, using Oreo cookies for the crust with a mint cream filling. While I’ve never had the original version I’ve always liked the sound of it so I came up with this raw recipe.
Not only is it free of all the bad stuff like refined sugar and flour, it’s packed full of nutritious goodness in the form of avo, coconut and almonds. My son loves it and I love watching him eat something so healthy and yummy!

I’ve used agar (also called agar agar) to set the filling. It is made from a Japanese seaweed and is a very strong setting agent, so be sure to be precise with your measurements. Also be aware that agar powder and agar flakes require different measurements, so you would have to convert if using flakes (1tsp powder is equal to 1tbsp flakes.)

Ingredients

For the crust:

2 cups raw almonds, soaked for four hours, rinsed and layed out to dry (while this step is not necessary for the recipe to work, it’s always good to soak your almonds to release the digestion-inhibiting enzymes)
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 tsp Oryx Desert Salt
150g fresh medjool dates (about 8 dates)
2 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil

For the filling:

400ml organic coconut milk
2ml agar powder
200g avo flesh (ie. weighed without skin or pip) this is about 1 1/2 Avon
40g organic virgin coconut oil
pinch of Oryx Desert Salt
120g raw honey
8 drops organic peppermint essential oil
1/2 tsp spirulina or wheatgrass powder (this is optional – it simply gives you a more intense green colour for your filling)
15g raw chocolate

Method:

Place the almonds, cacao powder, salt and 2 tbsp coconut oil in a food processor. Remove the pips from the dates and roughly chop them. Add to the food processor. Process until you have a fine crumb which sticks together when pressed. Turn the mixture into a loose-bottomed pie dish or a pretty glass serving dish and press to about 5mm thickness. Refrigerate.

Place the coconut milk in a saucepan and sprinkle the agar powder over the top. Whisk thoroughly. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for 3 minutes exactly. Agar needs to boiled to be activated, but its setting properties are destroyed if it is brought to too high a temperature, so use a timer! Allow to cool to room temperature.

Place all the ingredients for the filling, except the chocolate, into a blender and blend until completely smooth. Taste to see if you are happy with the sweetness and the mint flavour, which you can adjust if you like. Pour into the crust. Grate the chocolate over the top, and refrigerate until set (at least 4 hours.)

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Chocolate & Coconut Puffed Rice Cakes

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Coconut Puffed Rice Cakes 2

I had some Kallo organic gluten free puffed rice from my breakfast cupboard, and some coconut cream left over from some previous baking so I thought I’d try a variation on my chocolate puffed quinoa cakes. I really love coconut – coconut cream, coconut milk, coconut water, coconut oil, desiccated coconut; anything coconut! – and these really turned out yummy. Sticky and moreish and delicious as they should be 🙂

Ingredients

2 cups organic puffed rice
3 tbsp coconut cream
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp organic maple syrup
4 tbsp desiccated coconut
1 x chocolate sauce recipe (optional)

Method

Put the coconut oil, coconut cream, vanilla and maple in a saucepan and heat gently.

At the same time, make your chocolate sauce in another saucepan and heat that gently too.

Once the coconut sauce is all melted, add in the puffed rice, enough so that it doesn’t look like there is excess sauce, then add in the desiccated coconut and mix well. Turn the heat off and scoop a generous amount into individual muffin cases within a cupcake baking tray.

Once they are all in and the chocolate is ready, take a teaspoon and literally drizzle the chocolate all over the cakes, as much or as little as you want. I had some extra chocolate sauce left so I mixed that in with some more puffed rice to make normal chocolate ones so that it didn’t go to waste.

Put in the freezer for an hour. You can eat them straight away but you can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Coconut Puffed Rice Cakes 1

Blueberry Chia Pudding with Coconut Cream

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Blueberry Chia Pudding Coconut Cream

Antioxidants, fibre, protein, omega 3, all plant-based and easy to make. This recipe needs no further introduction!

Ingredients

Chia Pudding
250ml almond milk
Handful frozen blueberries
1 ripe banana
1 tsp maple
1 acai berry capsule
1 tsp maca powder
1 tbsp almond or peanut butter
4 tbsp chia seeds

Coconut Cream
1 mini tub of coconut cream or the cream from the top of one can of coconut milk, chilled in fridge overnight
1 tsp maple syrup

Toppings
I used granola and blueberries, you can choose whatever you like!

Method

Put all the chia pudding ingredients apart from the chia seeds into the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a tall cup and mix in the chia seeds. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight. At this time you can put the coconut cream in the fridge also.

The next morning, take the coconut cream out the fridge, scoop it into a bowl and whisk for 3-5 minutes until stiff. Add in the maple and stir gently.

Stir the chia pudding in its glass, then pour however much you want into a bowl, mason jar or glass, top with the coconut cream and toppings.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Fig, Berry and Coconut Cake

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IMG_0938

I love fresh figs, and they’re even better roasted with a bit of honey. This cake is very simple and quick to make, as well as being wheat-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free. Perfect for afternoon tea 🙂

Ingredients

60ml raw honey, plus a little extra
60ml organic coconut blossom sugar
125ml organic virgin coconut oil
2 free-range eggs
1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Oryx Desert Salt
2 tbsp acaì powder
2 tbsp tapioca starch
1 cup organic or homemade coconut flour
1 tsp aluminium-free baking powder
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
2 large fresh figs

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Cream the honey, sugar and coconut oil with an electric beater. Add the eggs one at a time while beating. Add the vanilla, salt, acaì powder and tapioca starch and beat well. Add the coconut flour and baking powder, and lastly stir in the berries.

Spread the batter into a 20cm cake tin lined with baking paper or a silicon liner. Cut the figs into quarters lengthways and push them into the batter in a neat circle, with the inside of the fig facing upwards. Drizzle a little honey over the figs.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden, the figs caramelised and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool before turning out.

Health and happiness!

Love,
Raine

Lemon, Coconut & Baobab Bliss Balls

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Lemon Coconut Baobab Bliss Balls

I fancied having something in my fridge that is sweet but refreshing at the same time, and healthy of course, and I haven’t made any form of bliss balls for a while so I just made these. All the ingredients are natural, organic and raw and the Baobab adds extra superfood goodness for added energy and an immune boost.

Ingredients

1 cup organic medjool dates
Half cup hazelnuts
Half cup almonds
Juice of 2 lemons (I like it quite lemony but you can reduce if you like)
1 tsp baobab
About half a cup desiccated coconut, give or take

Method

First soak the nuts for at least 4 hours (you can soak them together in a bowl with purified water)

Add all the ingredients, including 4 tbsp of the coconut to the food processor and process until the nuts are totally ground into a butter and everything is well incorporated and soft.

Take about a spoonful out with your hands and roll into a ball and place on a large plate. Continue this until you have finished the mixture, leaving a gap in the middle of the plate. You may need to add a tiny bit of water to your hands to help roll the balls if they are too sticky.

Once they are all on the plate, sprinkle the rest of the coconut in a heap onto the middle of the plate and coat each one individually with the coconut.

Once they are ready you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for about a month.

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Homemade Coconut Yoghurt

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Coconut Yoghurt

When I first started cutting out dairy, yoghurt was the hardest thing to give up… in fact I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do it! I’ve spent a lot of time working on my coconut yoghurt recipe and have finally come up with the perfect one. I normally make my own coconut milk from fresh coconut but you can also use an organic tinned coconut milk or cream. No dairy, sugar, artificial colours or flavours, but still thick, creamy and delicious 🙂 Need I say more?

Ingredients

160g fresh mature coconut flesh
350ml hot water (or replace the coconut and water with 420ml organic coconut milk or cream)
1/3 tsp agar agar powder (flakes require different measurements so make sure you are using powder)
1/4 tsp himalayan salt
1/4 tsp organic stevia leaf powder or 1 tbsp organic maple or raw honey
20ml baobab powder
1 tbsp of a high quality liquid probiotic, or the contents of 2 probiotic capsules
A glass jar, a piece of netting or breathable cloth, and an elastic

A note on making yoghurt

Two things are very important when making yoghurt: Firstly, the quality of the probiotic you use and secondly, hygiene. If you do not have a good quality probiotic it will not culture into yoghurt and you will merely have a nice tasting coconut cream. On the other hand, if you don’t sterilise the glass jar and wash your hands properly, you may end up culturing other bacteria. This won’t taste good and may even make you sick!

I’ve tried a few different probiotics and have found the best result with a liquid probiotic. I use Sambiotica or Nature’s Choice Ultimate Probiotic, available at Dischem.  Alternatively you can use Biogen Pre- & Probiotic capsules also available at Dischem. If you’re not in South Africa, you may need to experiment a bit to find the one that works best.

Probiotic Probiotic2 Probiotic3

Method

Firstly make sure you have a sterilised glass jar for fermenting the yoghurt. The easiest is to put it in a dishwasher, otherwise you can boil it for 2 minutes. Turn it upside down on a rack to dry. Also make sure that your hands are thoroughly clean!

Blend the coconut and hot water for 30 to 60 seconds in a high speed blender and then strain through a nut milk bag or muslin. Place the resulting cream in a saucepan. Sprinkle the agar over the cream and use a whisk to thoroughly combine. Bring up to a gentle simmer, and simmer for 3 minutes exactly. Agar needs to be heated to activate it, but over heating will destroy it and it will not thicken. Remove from the heat.

Once the coconut cream has cooled down to body temperature, whisk in the remaining ingredients. If you add the probiotic while it is too hot, you will kill the cultures. Remember that bacteria are living things so treat them as such… they like to be warm and fed 🙂 Cover the jar with a cloth that breathes and use an elastic to secure it.

Coconut Yoghurt 2

Leave the jar in a warm place for about 24 hours. If it is particularly hot, 18 hours may be enough. If it’s very cold, gently warm your oven, turn it OFF and then place the jar inside. After a day the cream will have cultured into yoghurt and you can refrigerate it. In the fridge it may culture and thicken further. You should eat it within about a 10 days, if it lasts that long!

Health & happiness.

Love,
Raine

Chocolate Birthday Cake with Berry Chia Jam & Chocolate Mousse Icing

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Chocolate Birthday Cake

For my son’s first birthday I made a cake without refined sugar but still used stoneground wheat flour and organic butter. Last year for his second birthday I was determined to come up with a completely clean cake recipe, so I began The Cake Trials (which you may have seen if you followed my old Instagram account @unsinfully_divine.) I must have baked about 10 cakes in the month leading up to his birthday, and finally came up with the perfect recipe!
This cake was so good I made it again this year for his third birthday. You would never guess that it is so healthy… it’s rich, moist and has a good crumb (very hard to do with gluten-free baking!) Berry chia jam and my awesome Chocolate Mousse Icing finish it perfectly.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
70g raw cacao paste
150g pitted fresh dates
180ml boiling water
150ml organic maple syrup
200g organic virgin coconut oil
4 eggs
1/2 tsp organic vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of himalayan salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup almond flour
60ml raw cacao powder

For the Chocolate Mousse Icing:

320g mature coconut flesh and 1 1/2 cups hot water, OR 2 cups organic coconut cream
80ml raw honey
pinch of himalayan salt
1/4 tsp organic vanilla powder or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5ml agar agar powder (not flakes – they require different measurements)
40ml organic virgin coconut oil
90ml raw cacao powder

For the Berry Chia Jam:

1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 tbsp raw honey
1ml organic vanilla powder
small pinch of himalayan salt
2 tbsp chia seeds

METHOD

Set aside the frozen berries to allow them to defrost.

Firstly make the icing. If using fresh coconut to make your own cream, blend the coconut and hot water in a high speed blender for 30 to 60 seconds. Strain through a nut milk bag. Allow it to cool slightly before squeezing so that you don’t burn your hands! Return the coconut cream to the blender, along with the honey, salt, vanilla, agar agar and coconut oil. Blend until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer for three minutes exactly and then remove from the heat. Boiling activates the agar agar, allowing it to set, but over boiling will destroy it, so use a timer. Refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 160 C. Line two 20cm cake tins with baking paper or silicone liners.

In a clean, dry blender, grind the oats until you have a fine flour. Sift together with the almond flour and 60ml cacao powder. Set aside.

Place the cacao paste, dates, boiling water and maple syrup in the blender. Blend until completely smooth. Add the coconut oil, vanilla and salt, and the eggs one at a time. Blend until the mixture is smooth, thick and glossy. Add the bicarb and blend just to disperse it thoroughly. Pour the mixture onto the sifted dry ingredients and fold them together. Pour into the cake tins, dividing the mixture evenly, and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

While the cake bakes, make the jam. Blend the berries with the honey, vanilla and salt. You can make it smooth or leave it chunky, as you prefer. Pour into a bowl and stir in the chia seeds. Refrigerate until needed.

Once the icing has set, blend it again with the 90ml cacao powder. Agar sets much firmer in comparison to gelatine, but blending it breaks up that glassy texture, giving you a smooth and creamy end result. Refrigerate again to firm up.

Once the cakes have cooled, turn them out. Use the berry jam to sandwich them together and then top with the icing.

My son asked for a Maleficent cake. I made two 20cm cakes and two 10cm cakes, and sandwiched them together with the jam. I then used coloured cardboard and ribbon to decorate, rather than using fondant icing which is full of refined sugar and chemical colours which are so bad for kids! Once the cardboard was on, I carefully piped the icing ontop, and placed a Maleficent figurine we got from the toyshop on the top of the cake.

Maleficent Cake

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Mango Coconut Ice Cream

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mango coconut ice cream

The last few mornings in Joburg have been quite chilly and I’m not at all happy to admit that autumn is definitely on its way. Use the last of our beautiful tropical summer fruit to make this quick and easy ice cream – no dairy or sugar! I’ve frozen it in lolly molds to make it fun for my son, but you could also freeze it as regular ice cream to be scooped on its own or to accompany a dessert.

Ingredients:

650g fresh mango flesh (about 2 mangoes)
1 tin (400ml) organic coconut milk
60ml organic virgin coconut oil
30ml raw honey
1/4 tsp himalayan salt
1/4 tsp organic vanilla powder or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp organic stevia leaf powder

Method:

Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Pour into lolly moulds and freeze, or process in an ice cream machine. If you don’t have an ice cream machine, freeze until almost set, then blend again to break up the crystals and return to the freezer.

mango coconut ice cream 2

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine