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South African Peppermint Crisp Pie

Peppermint Crisp Pie

Peppermint Crisp Pie is an old favourite for me. It is rich and creamy and comforting, a little reminder of a once-was-home, of my mother, and of many a dinner party, barbeque or braai where it’s been consumed with gusto. The main problem with this recipe however, is that most of it’s parts are – originally – Nestle products, and we are Nestle boycotters, so for many years I stopped making it.Peppermint Crisp Pie

 

These days, however, I’ve found some pretty decent substitutes and I’m happy making it again. This recipe is very forgiving. If you get the amounts slightly wrong, it won’t matter too much. While you can serve and enjoy Peppermint Crisp Pie immediately, making it the day before is ideal as it allows the moisture to soak into the biscuits and gives you more of a firm pudding. Either way, it’s moreish.

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Peppermint Crisp Pie
Recipe Type: Desert, Pudding, Sweet
Cuisine: South African
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1 pack [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003N7QNU8/tag=diaofafirchi-21″ target=”_blank”]Tennis Biscuits [/url]
  • 2 cups/ 500g fresh cream
  • 1x 397g tin of Caramel (or Condensed Milk)
  • 200g mint chocolate (traditionally[url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003N7USJA/tag=diaofafirchi-21″ target=”_blank”] this one[/url], but I prefer [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00E5XI6T0/tag=diaofafirchi-21″ target=”_blank”]Green & Blacks[/url] from an ethical point of view
Instructions
  1. If you’re not using caramel, place the condensed milk in a pot of water and boil for three hours. Allow to cool completely (preferably overnight. If you use hot caramel the whole desert will be ruined.)
Thermomix Instructions
  1. Break the chocolate into blocks and place in the Thermomix bowl. Speed 7/10 seconds
  2. Wash & dry the bowl and add the butterfly and then the cream
  3. Whisk the cream for 1 – 3 minutes, depending on how fresh it is. Keep an eye on it as you don’t want butter. Speed 4/ 1 – 3 minutes.
  4. Add the caramel and two-thirds of the chocolate and mix speed 1/ 30 seconds – just enough to mix but not to whisk again.
  5. Add a layer of biscuits to the base of a glass dish.
  6. Add about a quarter of the cream mixture above the biscuits and spread it evenly.
  7. Add another layer of biscuits
  8. Add another layer of cream, and repeat until it’s all finished.
  9. End on a layer of cream, and sprinkle the remaining chocolate
  10. Cover and refrigerate till it’s ready to be eaten.
Regular Instructions
  1. Grate the chocolate
  2. Place the biscuits in a shallow glass dish
  3. Beat the double cream till it is stiff, then add most of the grated chocolate and caramel and stir in gently. If you beat it again, the cream will fall flat and won’t set properly.
  4. Spoon a layer of the cream mixture on to the biscuits, then add another layer of biscuits, topped again with the cream. Repeat the process 3 or 4 times, depending on the depth of your dish.
  5. Finish with the cream mixture and sprinkle with chocolate.
  6. Place in the fridge for an hour to set, and keep refrigerated.

 

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Raw Ferrero Bliss Balls Recipe

Ferrero Bliss Balls

I discovered these hazelnut and chocolate beauties quite by accident. I was trying to make hazelnut flour but left the nuts going in the food processor for too long and ended up with hazelnut butter. I added cocoa powder and coconut oil and came up with a beautiful chocolate spread alternative, which has lasted for over a month in the fridge without going off.

Ferrero Bliss BallsThese are so delicious, popped in a jar with a ribbon on, they’re easily made into gifts too.

You can find this and 20 more recipes in Bliss Balls For Beginners, available here for $3.50/£2.99.

Raw “Ferrero” Bliss Balls Recipe
Recipe Type: Raw, Sweets
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 20 bliss balls
Our version of Ferrero Rocher, but raw and healthy. These keep well in cool weather for up to a month, so make perfect special occasion gifts.
Ingredients
  • Ingredients
  • For the hazelnut chocolate “sauce”:
  • 75g hazelnuts
  • 5g cocoa(feel free to adjust this for a more or less chocolatey result)
  • 20g coconut oil
  • For the Bliss Balls:
  • 100g hazelnuts
  • 150g dates
  • 45g oats
Instructions
Thermomix Instructions
  1. Blend the first set of hazelnuts to a fine crumb speed 4, 5 seconds
  2. Add the cocoa and coconut oil and mix on speed 9, 90 seconds
  3. Add the remaining hazelnuts, dates, and oats.
  4. Mix well about speed 4/ 20 seconds.
  5. The mixture looks like loose crumbs when you’re done. Take a small handful, and press it together, then roll into a ball.
  6. You can eat it right away, but put it aside to allow the coconut oil to hold it all together, and it’ll be nicer cold too.

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Good For You Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

No bake chocolate macarroonsNo bake chocolate macarroons

I love chocolate way more than I should and a lot more than I wish I did. I’m always looking for ways to indulge the craving for cocoa without piling on the sugar, largely because when I do, my kids do and the whole harmony of the home kind of falls apart.

This recipe is originally from Oh She Glows|, but I’ve been playing with it to both adapt it to our tastes, and change the recipe for the Thermomix, meaning it’s in grams rather than cups, which makes it easier for me and my Thermie friends to use.

No bake chocolate macarroonsNo bake chocolate macarroons

I’m pretty sure you could be really flexible on it too – we made something similar from a cook book I had as a child, which used boiled sugar and tasted amazing, but added oats. You could probably add raisins quite successfully too, or other dried fruit. the options are rather endless. I imagine candied orange peel would make a perfect Christmassy – slash -winterry treat too.

Just remember that it’s held together by coconut oil, which means if it gets warm it’ll start disintegrating. They recommend freezing it over on Oh She Glows, but popping it in the fridge or in a lunch box with an ice block seems to work just fine for us.

No bake chocolate macarroons

Since this is no cook, no bake it’s perfect for kids to help with too.

Good For You Chocolate Macaroons
Recipe Type: Snacks, Sweets
Cuisine: Thermomix, Paleo
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 15 – 24
This recipe is an adaptation from another, and I’ve made a few changes to it. The recipe below includes the ingredients from the original recipe as optional extras. It’s delicious, but a little too much banana in my chocolate fix, though I do tend to make it that way for the children.
Ingredients
  • 50g Coconut Oil (1/4 cup)
  • 70g honey or syrup (1/4 cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 30 – 50g cocoa powder (1/3 cup) (Cacao for Paleo)
  • pinch of fine sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
  • 150g shredded unsweetened coconut (1.5 cups)
  • (optional) banana
  • (optional) tablespoon chia seeds
Instructions
Regular Instructions
  1. Melt the coconut oil in a pot – this requires 37C, i.e. body heat, and is still considered raw, or uncooked.
  2. Add the honey or syrup and stir till it’s all mixed and liquid and remove from heat
  3. Add the vanilla extract
  4. (If using banana, mash it and add to the mix)
  5. Add 30g cocoa first then add the coconut
  6. (Add chia seeds if using)
  7. Stir till it’s all combined
  8. Taste the mix too see if it’s the right amount of chocolatey. If you want it ‘darker’ add more cocoa powder till it’s right for you. Mix again.
  9. Scoop out onto a tray, or into moulds and refrigerate until it hardens.
  10. Keep cool as it will fall apart if the coconut oil gets too warm.
Thermomix Instructions
  1. Put the coconut oil in the bowl, and melt 37C/Speed 1/ 20 Seconds
  2. Add the honey or syrup and mix 37C/Speed 1/ 30 Seconds.
  3. Add the vanilla extract
  4. (If using banana, add it now in three pieces, speed 5/10 seconds – make sure to put the MC in place!)
  5. Add 30g cocoa first then add the coconut
  6. (Add chia seeds if using)
  7. Mix speed 2/ 15 seconds
  8. Taste the mix too see if it’s the right amount of chocolatey. If you want it ‘darker’ add more cocoa powder till it’s right for you. Mix again speed 2/15 seconds.
  9. Scoop out onto a tray, or into moulds and refrigerate until it hardens.
  10. Keep cool as it will fall apart if the coconut oil gets too warm.

 

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Six Minute Soft Centered Chocolate Pudding Recipe

chocolate puddingIt’s yet another rainy afternoon here on the Hampshire/Surrey border and I am feeling whimsical. I’m remembering a time in our lives where we travelled a lot, and thinking about the future, all at the same time. I want to indulge my senses and my tastebuds and all I can think of is…. soft centred chocolate puddings.

This is an old Ainsley Harriot recipe I’ve made a hundred times. It’s perfect for dinner parties – we used to have those a lot too, once – as you can mix the batter and put them in ramekins and in the fridge. When your guests arrive, take them out of the fridge so they return to room temperature, and when dinner is done, put them in the oven for just six minutes and serve. It is always a talking-point desert. I don’t normally top them with chocolate swirls like in the picture, but you can, or a dollop of cream – whatever takes your fancy. They are pretty awesome.

Six Minute Soft Centered Chocolate Pudding Recipe
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
If you butter the moulds or ramekins before you pour the batter in, you should be able to turn them out onto a plate. I tend to serve them in the ramekins. It’s pretty enough.
Ingredients
  • 90g dark chocolate
  • 90g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 extra egg yolks
  • 40g brown sugar
  • 15g self raising flour
  • (optional) cocoa powder to dust
  • (optional) cream and chopped hazelnuts to decorate
Instructions
Regular Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/Gas 8.
  2. Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the butter and leave to melt.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar until thickened. Mix in the melted chocolate mixture, then sprinkle over the flour and quickly fold in .
  4. Divide the mixture between six moulds or ramekins.
  5. Make sure the oven is fully heated.
  6. Bake the pudding for 6 minutes until the outside is set but the centre is still soft.
  7. You may be tempted to leave it for longer than six minutes. It will make a nice enough chocolate cake, but you really need to take it out immediately and give it a few minutes to ‘rest’ before serving.
  8. Turn each pudding on to a plate, then gently lift off the moulds. Place a spoonful of cream on top of each pudding, sprinkle with nuts and dust with cocoa. Serve immediately.
Thermomix Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/Gas 8.
  2. If you have two bowls, melt the chocolate and butter in one and do the rest in the other. If you only have one bowl, melt the chocolate and butter as above – in a glass bowl over a pan of water.
  3. Put the butterfly in the Thermomix and add the eggs, extra yolks and sugar. Whisk on Speed 4 for 90 seconds.
  4. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the bowl and add the flour. Whisk at speed 2 for 20 seconds.
  5. Pour the mixture between six moulds or ramekins.
  6. Make sure the oven is fully heated.
  7. Bake the pudding for 6 minutes until the outside is set but the centre is still soft.
  8. You may be tempted to leave it for longer than six minutes. It will make a nice enough chocolate cake, but you really need to take it out immediately and give it a few minutes to ‘rest’ before serving.
  9. Turn each pudding on to a plate, then gently lift off the moulds. Place a spoonful of cream on top of each pudding, sprinkle with nuts and dust with cocoa. Serve immediately.

 

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Fruity Chocolate Chunks Recipe

Fruit Chocolate ChunksI’m not really sure why I feel like I should apologise for loving the Disney Cakes and Sweets series? Is it because it’s Disney? Or because it’s sugary cakes and sweets? Who knows, but what I do know is that I’m not even sorry. I’ve been slotting our new arrivals into the accompanied binder today, and I am excited, not only to bake and make with my four year old, the way we used to before her sister was born, but also to develop and grow my own baking – and more specifically decorating – skills.

The first recipe we made from Cakes and Sweets were Minnie’s fruity chocolate chunks. We pretty much changed everything in the recipe, but hear me out. It was so good, we made it again and again.

The original recipe calls for white chocolate (yuk! sorry, but no). It also called for freeze-dried raspberries which we didn’t have on hand, so we used mixed peel instead, and it called for pistachio nuts, which again, I didn’t have, so we used hazelnuts instead. I’m sure their version would be fine, but ours was awesome!

We’ll be putting some of these in jars with a ribbon or two for Christmas gifts. I reckon it beats a box of bought chocolates hands down. This is also a brilliant recipe for children to help with too.

Fruity Chocolate Chunks
Recipe Type: Disney Cakes and Sweets
Cuisine: Confectionary
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 300g
Originally from Disney Cakes and Sweets, this recipe has been adapted to our personal tastes.
Ingredients
  • 225g (8oz) good quality dark chocolate
  • 40g orange peel
  • 40g hazelnuts
Instructions
For the Thermomix:
  1. Lightly crush hazelnuts at speed 5/10 seconds
  2. Temper the chocolate to a perfect 37 degrees Celsius
  3. Sprinkle orange peel and hazelnut over a silicone pan. Pour the chocolate over it.
  4. Set aside for an hour to cool, then roughly crack into chunks. (Or if you have a chocolate bar mould you can use that instead.
Without a Thermomix
  1. Temper the chocolate in a double boiler, or in a glass bowl over boiling water.
  2. While it is melting, crush the hazelnuts lightly.
  3. Sprinkle orange peel over the hazelnuts and mixed them together in a silicone tray before pouring the perfectly tempered chocolate over it.
  4. Set aside to cool, then crack and enjoy.

Issue 1 also contains Giant Mickey Mouse cookies with a cutter, Honey cupcakes, marshmallow pillows, 101 Dalmations cake, passionfruit tarts, and part one of how to build a fairytale castle. 

I’m all about the healthy. We experiment with raw food, drink water kefir, and cook from scratch. I even make my own butter. But to be great 80% of the time, we allow ourselves a break 20% of the time. For the next while, we’ll share recipes from the Disney Cakes and Sweets magazine series. They are not  healthy. The name kind of gives it away. But that’s okay. Sometimes we adjust the recipes a little to fit in better with our style, and sometimes I use a Thermomix instead of following the directions.  As part of a balanced diet, we hope you ‘ll join us. We’ll have fun!
(If you prefer completely raw, healthy, but still delicious snacks, have a look at Bliss Balls For Beginners)

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Thermomix Brioche

Chocolate BriocheYesterday I shared the traditional French Brioche recipe from Brioche Pasquier with you. I told you about how they’re made in the factory, and showed you some photos from our masterclass in Brioche making from the professionals themselves.

I came home from the event and decided I had to make another batch as fast as I could, so that I would remember how it was done. Of course I had to tweak it a little for the Thermie, but it sure turned out beautiful!

Here’s pretty much the same recipe, but with some Thermomix tweaks for you.

Thermomix Briochettes
Recipe Type: Baked, Bread
Cuisine: French
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
A lovely, light brioche recipe perfect for the Thermomix. Normally I wouldn’t knead more than a few minutes in the Thermomix, but this recipe needs the dough to be silky and stretchy and around 7 minutes works really well.
Ingredients
  • 120g Sugar
  • 500g Strong White Flour
  • 40g Bread Yeast
  • 10g Salt
  • 90g Water
  • 3 Free Range Eggs
  • 125g Unsalted Butter
  • 250g [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=beyond+dark+chocolate&rh=n%3A340834031%2Ck%3Abeyond+dark+chocolate” target=”_blank”]Chocolate Chips[/url]
  • Milk for Milk Wash
Instructions
  1. Place the sugar in the bowl and pulse for a few seconds to make it into caster sugar. Remove half (60g) and put it aside.
  2. To the bowl, add the flour, bread yeast, and salt and pulse a few seconds to mix.
  3. Add the water, egg and butter and knead on the dough setting for about 5 minutes. Add the extra sugar and knead for a further 2 minutes.The dough will look silky and smooth.
  4. Add your chocolate chips and stir on speed 2 for 20 seconds.
  5. Divide the dough into about 12 even sized portions and role them as round as you can.
  6. Leave aside to rise for about 2 hours.
  7. Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6.
  8. Brush milk over the dough to glaze.
  9. Bake for 10 minutes.

 

 

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Healthy Chocolate Date Balls

There’s a brand of ‘chocolate’ bar that we love around here, but it’s pretty expensive. They put the ingredients and roughly the amounts on the back of the packaging though, so we’ve been trying to make them the same. I think we need some kind of cold pressing equipment to make them stick together as bars, but they work pretty well rolled into balls or made in a brownie pan.

chocolate date balls

The reason I love these for my children is that apart from the cocoa – and you can substitute it for cacao – there’s only fruit and breakfast oats in it. When my daughter refuses to have breakfast, she’ll have these, and I’m just fine with that on occasion.

Another bonus of  date balls, is that they are pretty versatile. Just add the basics, and the rest is up to you.

Put them on a pretty plate, and wrap a ribbon around, and you’ve got a lovely gift too.

For twenty more date ball ideas, check out Bliss Balls For Beginners.

Chocolate Date Balls
Recipe Type: Snack,Treat, Healthy
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Total time:
These originated from Nakd bars, which I couldn’t afford to keep buying. Looking at the ingredients on the back, we came up with an earlier version of these. They are delicious!
Ingredients
  • 1 cup dates
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup oats
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • Something wet: a 1/4 cup apple juice or 2 tablespoons peanut butter, just enough to hold the batter together.
  • [u]Optional extras:[/u]
  • You can add a variety of things – nuts, dried fruit, berries
Instructions
  1. Mix everything together in a food processor or blender.
  2. You want it well mixed, but not smooth.
  3. Either roll the batter into balls, then around a plate of coconut and place in the fridge.
  4. Alternatively spread it out on a baking sheet and refridgerate.
  5. Once set, cut into squares and enjoy.

Reposted from Diary of a First Child

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Vegan Chocolate Cake

The best ever chocolate cake, that happens to be Vegan too. Remember if you’re making this for Vegans, most regular sprinkles aren’t actually Vegan due to the food colouring used in them. You can also make it without the glaze and decorate with a regular butter cream icing. Made with coconut oil, however, the glaze is so tasty, we have trouble stopping at one slice!
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Recipe Type: Cake, Sweet, Vegan
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
The best ever chocolate cake, that happens to be Vegan too. Remember if you’re making this for Vegans, most regular sprinkles aren’t actually Vegan due to the food colouring used in them. You can also make it without the glaze and decorate with a regular butter cream icing. Made with coconut oil, however, the glaze is so tasty, we have trouble stopping at one slice!
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups plain flour (170g)
  • 1 cup sugar (200g)
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (50g)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup warm water (250g)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil (70g)
  • 1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar
  • Chocolate Glaze
  • ½ cup sugar (101g)
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil (or margarine)
  • 2 tbsp soy milk/almond milk/rice milk
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Regular Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180C)
  2. Mix together the ingredients for the cake and blend well.
  3. Pour it into your baking dish or shaped silicone mould.
  4. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick popped in the middle comes out clean.
  5. Take out and allow to cool totally.
  6. For the glaze, in a small saucepan, bring sugar, coconut oil (or margarine), milk, and cocoa to a boil. Stir frequently; then reduce heat to a simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. It’ll look gloppy, but it’s just the bubbles!
  7. Remove from heat and stir vigorously.
  8. Add vanilla, stir, and immediately pour onto cake.
  9. The glaze dries really quickly, so spread it immediately and add any sprinkles now.
  10. Leave aside to cool thoroughly, about an hour.
  11. Enjoy!
Thermomix Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180C)
  2. Add all the ingredients for the cake to the Thermomix bowl (NOT the glaze)
  3. Mix speed 5/ 30 seconds
  4. Pour into an oven proof dish.
  5. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick popped in the middle comes out clean.
  6. Take out and allow to cool totally.
  7. When the cake is cooled, bring sugar, coconut oil (or margarine), milk, and cocoa to a boil, Speed 4/ 3 mins/100C
  8. Reduce the heat speed 4/ 2 mins/ 80C
  9. Remove from heat quickly – if you take too long it’ll crystalise.
  10. Add vanilla, stir, and immediately pour onto cake.
  11. The glaze dries really quickly, so spread it immediately and add any sprinkles now.
  12. Leave aside to cool thoroughly, about an hour.
  13. Enjoy!