Flourless almond brownie slice

This is from the recipe for Grain-Free Brownie Bites at http://detoxinista.com/2012/03/grain-free-brownie-bites. The only changes I have made are substituting the honey in the original recipe for rice malt syrup to make it low-fructose, and baking it in a rectangular pan instead of mini-muffin cups. Also, the original recipe suggests flax "eggs". I have made this several times using hens' eggs, but last time I used chia gel "eggs", and it tasted great. However, it went really soft and stuck to the serving platter after I had it out of the fridge for a while. I will have to test it again to see whether it is the chia gel that caused this. It is rather fantastic straight out of the freezer though, and holds its shape that way!

To make chia or flax "egg" as a substitute for one lightly beaten egg, soak 1 Tbs chia or freshly ground flax seeds in 1/4 cup (60ml, or 3 tablespoons) of water for 15 minutes. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. You can ground the chia seeds first if you prefer, as they are (just) visible and do give a very slight crunch, but I quite like them (and couldn't be bothered to grind them!). They look much like fig seeds in this brownie. Chia seeds are quite the super-food (packed with protein, omega-3, fibre and antioxidants), and can be used in lots of different ways, if you want to google them!

Flourless almond brownie slice

• 1 cup blanched almond flour (almond meal)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Van Houten brand)
• 1/2 cup rice malt syrup (original recipe used honey)
• 125g (1/2 cup) melted butter (or coconut oil, but so far I have only tried butter)
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten (or 3 flax eggs or 3 chia eggs)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F), and grease and line a 15 x 20cm lamington tin.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except walnuts and mix until a gooey, thick batter forms.
3. Spoon the batter into the pan and place walnuts on top, if using. (Note: Walnuts make this brownie difficult to cut through!)
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. (I had to bake in my slow oven for 25min at 200C.)
5. Allow to cool in pan before slicing.

These brownies should last a few days stored at room temperature, or you can store them in the freezer for a longer shelf-life. (They're yummy when eaten straight from the freezer, too!)

Vanilla ice cream with homemade condensed milk

Have you ever made that ice-cream sandwich slice where you mix together condensed milk, whipped cream and a crushed chocolate bar, and sandwich it between two layers of malt biscuits? I love it every time, despite the fatty layer it leaves on the roof of your mouth. :D This is that recipe, with a homemade fructose-free condensed milk... minus the chocolate bar and biscuits, but still with the roof-of-the-mouth coating. If you give this a try, hopefully you'll agree with me that it proves it's not just the chocolate and biscuits that make it so good. 

Make condensed milk:

• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 1/3 cups dry milk powder (unsweetened. Maybe double-check that yours is gluten-free if you need that. My Coles brand milk powder lists only milk and soy emulsifier in the ingredients.)
• 2/3 cup dextrose (NOTE: I have updated this from 3/4 cup to 2/3 cup as it was very sweet.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Stir milk into cold water.

Microwave on high 45 seconds to 1 minute until steaming, then stir in dextrose & vanilla.

Refrigerate till cool before using.

You can use this condensed milk for other recipes, but I haven't tried it yet myself. It does seem much thinner than the canned stuff. 

After chilling, add

600ml thickened cream

Whip cream and condensed milk together until thick, then transfer to sealed container (at least 1.5L) and freeze. 

Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes

Adapted from http://www.glorioustreats.com/2010/04/recipe-perfectly-chocolate-cupcakes.html, which is from a Hershey's recipe.

Makes approximately 24 standard sized cupcakes

2 1/4 cups dextrose
1 3/4 cups plain (all purpose) flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used Nestle baking cocoa)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cooking oil (I use coconut oil or extra light olive oil)
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup boiling water

1. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 180C.
2. In a large mixer bowl, stir together dry ingredients (dextrose, flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt).
3. Add milk, oil, rice malt syrup, vanilla and eggs. Beat on medium speed for one minute. 
4. Stir in boiling water. (Don't worry if the batter seems extremely thin – this is right.)
5. Fill liners 2/3 full with batter, leaving approximately a 1cm gap from the top of the liners. The easiest way to do this is to put the batter into a large measuring cup/jug with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.
6. Bake cupcakes for approximately 18-24 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean. 
7. Cool completely on wire rack before icing. My favourites are Whipped Chocolate Cream Icing and Raspberry Cream Cheese Icing - see below.

The cupcakes photographed here actually have chocolate cream cheese icing, which I had several attempts at but never really liked. My first attempt (following the recipe linked to above) was way too sickly-sweet for me. When I reduced the sweetening it was a bit sour-chocolate-yoghurt, which is not usually what I'm after for a chocolate treat. ;-P You could make a chocolate buttercream icing, but I'm not a buttercream fan... probably overdosed as a kid! I find the cupcakes go perfectly piped with these:


Raspberry Cream Cheese Icing

This is enough for more than 12 cupcakes but not enough for all 24 cupcakes if you are extravagant when piping!

250g cream cheese (I use the spreadable version in the tub)
100g unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup – 1 cup dextrose (I used 7/8 cup – ie ¾ cup + extra 1/8 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs (60ml or ¼ cup) thawed, mashed frozen raspberries (or fresh raspberries, or try substituting other berries)

Whip together. Add dextrose to taste. Transfer to piping bag and pipe on to cupcakes (or dollop/spread). Keep refrigerated!

Berry cream cheese icing
(blackberries, blueberries & raspberries)

Whipped Chocolate Cream Icing

This is enough icing for about 12 cupcakes – double if icing all 24 cupcakes

200ml thickened cream
2 tsp cocoa (I used Van Houten dutch processed cocoa powder, as it gives a darker colour)
1 ½ tablespoons dextrose
½ tsp vanilla extract

Whip together. Add extra dextrose or cocoa powder to taste. Transfer to piping bag and pipe on to 12 cupcakes (or dollop/spread). Keep refrigerated! This icing will not hold its shape for long out of the fridge.