Tag: honey

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

Healthy Honey Cake

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Honey Cake

This is a healthy take on my mum’s original Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) honey cake and it really is just as delicious as the original.

When I ran this blog with Raine, she added a gorgeous touch by adding rose water and cardamoms. I’ve left it as optional in the ingredients so you can decide if you want to use it or not.

Shanah Tova to all my Jewish followers – may you have a sweet AND healthy year!

 

Ingredients

225g clear runny honey
2 large eggs
110g coconut palm sugar
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp applesauce (optional, for added moistness)
250g ground almonds
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
150ml warm water
2 tsp rose water (optional)
1/2 tsp ground cardamoms (optional, if using rose water)

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Grease and line a 25cm square cake tin.

Warm the honey in a thick-based saucepan until it thins.

Beat together the eggs and sugar until thick and creamy and stir in the oil and honey (and applesauce if using).

Mix together the ground almonds, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the warm water.

Fold the dry ingredients and water alternately into the beaten mixture.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in centre of oven for about 1 ¼ hours but check after 45 mins as all ovens will bake this differently. It will be treacle-like.

Leave the cake in the tin for 10 mins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. The cake can be served plain or brushed with honey and sprinkled with flaked almonds.

Happy new year!

Lauren

Goji and Baobab Bars

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Goji & Baobab Bars

For those of you who have been saying that some of our recipes are a bit intimidating, here’s the perfect place to start. These energy bars are so simple to make, all you need is a food processor, no other techniques required!

Ingredients

1 cup goji berries
1/2 cup raw brazil nuts
6 – 8 fresh medjool dates (about 125g)
2 tbsp baobab powder
1/2 tsp Oryx Desert Salt
4 tbsp ground flax
1/3 cup organic virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp raw honey

Method

Place the goji berries and brazil nuts in a food processor and process into a rough crumb. Add the dates, making sure to remove the pips and process again. Add the baobab powder, salt, and ground flax and process to combine. Finally add the coconut oil and honey and process until everything is well combined and sticky but with a rough texture.

Spread evenly in a loaf tin lined with clingfilm (for easy removal) and refrigerate until set. Cut into bars and keep refrigerated.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Roasted Lemon Ice Cream

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Roasted Lemon Ice Cream

My new favourite thing to do with lemons is to roast them. The natural sugar in the lemons caramelises, giving it a beautiful flavour somewhat similar to preserved lemons. This egg-based (but dairy-free) ice cream is packed full of an intense lemon flavour, the slight bitterness of which is off set by the honey. It pairs beautifully with my Raw Chocolate Tart, or just some shavings of raw chocolate.

Ingredients

380g whole lemons (about 3)
125ml raw honey
125ml organic virgin coconut oil
250ml almond or coconut milk
1/2 tsp organic stevia leaf powder
1/2 tsp organic vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of himalayan salt
4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Cut the knobbly end off the lemons and slice into quarters lengthways. Cut off the pithy white membrane which runs through the middle of the lemon and remove all pips.

Lemon Ice Cream 2

Place the lemons in an ovenproof dish and roast for about 1 hour, until the lemons are soft and slightly caramelised. Double check that there are no pips as adding these to the blender could ruin the flavour.

Place all the ingredients in the blender, adding the eggs last so that they don’t start to cook when they come into contact with the hot lemons. Blend until completely smooth. Ice cream is traditionally made with raw eggs, but if you’re put off by the thought of raw egg, continue blending until the mixture heats up to 65 C. You can measure this with a thermometer if you’re really worried, but basically if there is steam coming off the mixture the egg is cooked. You can also taste the difference when the egg is cooked.

Place the mixture in the fridge until cooled, and then put it into an ice cream machine to churn until frozen. If you don’t have an ice cream machine you can simply put it in the freezer and mix with a whisk every 30 minutes to break up crystals, until almost frozen, at which point you can leave it to freeze till set.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine