Posts Tagged ‘chocolate’
Make These Chocolate Covered Figs with Almond Paste
These chocolate covered figs have become a favorite holiday recipe of mine. I just recently posted the recipe over on Foodie Underground and I thought I would share it here too. If you’re willing to spend some time in front of a bowl of melted chocolate dipping in dried figs, then making your own decadent holiday treats is totally doable. Don’t have figs? This recipe is also good with dried apricots.
Chocolate Covered Figs with Almond Paste
Ingredients:
About 50 dried figs (I prefer Black Mission figs)
7 ounces (200 grams) bittersweet dark chocolate
Turbinado sugar for garnish
For the almond paste:
1 cup raw almonds, blanched
1/4 cup (1.75 ounces, 50 grams) natural cane sugar
1 tablespoon whiskey (optional)
Other:
Parchment paper
Preparation:
Begin by preparing the almond paste. To blanch the almonds, place them in a bowl and cover them with hot/boiling water. Let sit for a few minutes until you can put your hand in the water. The skins should be loose and you should be easily able to pop the almonds out of them. Place the skins in one bowl and the blanched almonds in another.
Compost the almond skins and pour off any water that is in the bowl of blanched almonds. Place the blanched almonds in a food processor with the sugar and whiskey and mix until well blended. The mixture should be sticky and moldable.
Lay out a piece of parchment paper on your countertop. Take a small amount of almond paste and mold it around the bottom two thirds of each fig (approximately). They will look like this – complete with terrible lighting if you make these at night like I did!
Melt the chocolate by placing it in a heat-proof bowl inside of a saucepan with hot water. Dip the figs covered in almond paste into the melted chocolate, so that the chocolate covers the almond paste, and place on the parchment paper.
Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and leave to dry until the chocolate has hardened.
Store in an airtight container, out of direct sunlight (for example, in a cupboard). If you want to give some away – if you manage not to eat them all yourself that is – a nice way to gift them is to place them in a sealable glass jar.
Read the full post on Foodie Underground
Make These Orange Chili Chocolate Tarts
Pretty proud of this recipe I just did over on Foodie Underground. A vegan chocolate ganache filling, spiced up with chili and dried orange peel, and poured into a gluten-free almond crust.
And yes, you can make them in the form of hearts. If you’re into that kind of thing, or if you need a fun Valentine’s Day recipe that isn’t full of processed ingredients and tons of sugar.
Get the recipe: Orange Chili Chocolate Tarts
Recipe: Flourless Hazelnut and Chocolate Coffee Cookies
Last week I played around with hazelnuts, cocoa powder and coffee. The result was… addictive. The recipe is now over on Sprudge, so hop on over and bake away. Because who doesn’t like cooking with coffee??
Recipe: Flourless Olive Oil and Sesame Seed Brownies
With all this running lately, I have been craving anything loaded with protein. I can’t get enough of raw nuts and seeds. So it only made sense to make some brownies with them, right?
Gluten Free Mini Chocolate Hazelnut Cakes
Made with olive oil and a blend of almonds and hazelnuts, you can fill these mini cakes with a bit of Nutella (homemade of course!) or jam or whatever else you fancy.
Recipe: Salted Cherry Cardamom Chocolate Bark
You’re having a chocolate craving. Resist the urge to down a box of cherry cordials and make this elegant yet simple chocolate bark instead. With dried cherries, a dash of sea salt, and some lemon zest, it’s the perfect after dinner treat.
If you’re the kind of person that really loves dark, bitter chocolate, you can even make this with 100% cocoa baking chocolate, which I discovered by accident. Note to self: always read the package before baking. Just be sure to sprinkle a little bit of organic cane sugar over the top before you put it in the fridge to cool to add just a touch of sweetness.
Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream
When I came across one-ingredient ice cream on Food52, it seemed too good to be true. But it’s not.
The beauty is in bananas, which when frozen and put in the food processor, turn into a fluffy mass of goodness. And it’s raw. And it’s vegan.
I was so excited about the discovery I immediately sent it to fellow food connoisseur Aylin Erman, who promptly responded with “Girl, you need to make this ASAP. It changed my life.”
Recipe: The Best Birthday Cake Ever
Who ever said it was sad to make your own birthday cake was wrong.
Here’s the thing about baking your own birthday cake: it ensures that you are in full control of what you are eating to celebrate your day. No crumbly cupcakes because your friend forgot that you actually hate cupcakes, no overly sweet processed frosting because your neighbor only had time to go to the bakery department of the chain grocery store and no half-eaten chocolate mint ice cream cake left in your freezer for the next six months.
Recipe: Coconut Chia Pudding with Raspberries and Chocolate
I have a chia seed obsession. I have been known to put them in smoothies, and mixed with water and a little lemon juice, it’s they make for a great wake up drink. But using them in a dessert? Even better.
Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Mousse with Sea Salt
Sometimes you need a decadent recipe that you can make in less than twenty minutes. This one is it.
As we all know, there is no better combination than dark chocolate and sea salt. Made with avocados, the mousse is also vegan, but serve it to your non vegan friends and they’ll be so sold on the creamy chocolatey goodness that they’ll never notice the difference. You’ll get points for a posh dessert and no one will ever know that you made it in the frazzled half an hour that you had between your last work meeting and your dinner party.
