Raw Almond Chocolate Fudge

There are times where chocolate just hits a good spot. There are some pantry staples that I always stock up. The are almond butter, coconut oil, nuts and definitely chocolate.

An offer came up recently with Mayver's super spread nut butter. It's a mix of peanut, chia and almond. There were going for half price! What a treat. So I grabbed 2 bottles to give treats a go.

Mixing them up with some coconut oil and more nuts plus cacao powder, I placed it in the fridge and tadah, a protein enriched chocolate treat that is refined sugar free and good for us. They are freezer friendly as well which gives it a gorgeous crunch when you are ready to bite into them.

Raw Almond Chocolate Fudge (24 small pieces)
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/2 cup of nut butter
1/3 cup of cacao powder
1 tsp of vanilla paste
1 tablespoon of honey
1/3 cup of silvered almonds

Beat or mix oil and butter together. Mix through vanilla, honey and cacao powder till smooth. Lastly add nuts. Pour into a lined brownie tray and freeze it for 2 hours. Slice and eat!

Chocolate Vanilla Slice

I have my bad and good days. Some days, I really really miss my grandmother. Grief is a throbbing pain in your heart that doesn't seem to go away. It becomes slightly duller but it aches. The image of her smiling face, the twinkle in her eyes and her old fashioned styled hair with heaps of hair spray stays with me.

Last year this time, there was so much excitement. I was heavily pregnant. My family was planning their big trip to stay with us for 12 weeks. An pending new arrival to the family brought a buzz. Who would have thought the past year would be filled with so many memories- both happy, troubled, happy and sad?

We are planning Asher's first birthday and then it hit me that granny won't be here physically to celebrate with us. I'm holding on though, to the memories of our family waking up together and looking forward to seeing Asher in those early days when he arrived. The laughs during his full month celebration and cooking lessons that grandmother gave me (yam cake and chill). The precious cuddles they shared.

Of course, we had our trips back where grandmother spent mornings and days seeing Asher play at my parents flat, or helped entertained Asher while I do a quick workout at the exercise park.

And the worrying times where Gran rebelled against death and came back from heart failure and her stint at ICU in February.

The sadder times when we lost her.

I was browsing photos of treats and bakes I made when this caught my eye again. This was made for a family gathering. At that lunch, we spoke about grandmother's likes and dislikes, and how the whole family became closer together (extended family included) this year. That is what my grandmother would have love to know. She would have love to take an adventurous bite of these small chocolate vanilla slices and give me her two cents about how it's not sweet enough, or it's too hard, or that it's "ok".  But she would eat it with a smile anyway.

Chocolate Vanilla Slice (makes 24 mini ones) Adapted from Spunky Coconut.
Base
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 tablespoons of linseed meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup of almond butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of vanilla paste

"Vanilla"
1 cup of coconut butter
1/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tsp of vanilla paste

Chocolate Ganache
100 grams of dark chocolate
1/2 cup of coconut milk

Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a 8x8 square dish.

To make the base- mix the wet ingredients using a mixer. Then fold in dry ingredients. Press it to the pan and bake for 30 minutes or so. Cool.

To make the Vanilla- Mix everything in a mixer. Spread frosting over the base.

Chocolate Ganache- In a saucepan, melt chocolate in coconut milk. Pour ganache over the frosting. Fridge it over night.

Cut into small pieces and enjoy.

Walnut Chocolate Brownies

They say friendships change when you become a parent. For me, its an opportunity to meet more new friends who are parents. Asher have been attending gymbaroo since he was around 8 weeks young. From there, I met a few other mums whom I click with. One of them is also from Singapore and her husband is from Malaysia!

Our sons are only born 2 weeks apart. We started meeting fortnightly for play dates and hosting lunches at respective homes. It's so cute to see the boys watching one another and playing with toys. Of course, they are not at an age where they would play with each other but they appeared to be curious about each other's presence.

I made Elana's Pantry's Walnut Chocolate Brownies for this lovely mother. By the way, she cooks such nourishing lunches for me after knowing how I eat (think pan fried salmon with asparagus with corn, pumpkin soup, and a grilled chicken tenderloin with a side pumpkin and goats cheese salad). That said, she said these brownies were a hit with her family and can't believe it has no gluten and minimal refined sugar in it.

Walnut Chocolate Brownies (I cut it to 24 small bites)
100 grams of dark chocolate chopped roughly (I used lindt)
1/4 cup of coconut flour
2 eggs
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup of coconut oil
2 tablespoon of honey
1/3 cup of crushed walnuts
handful of chopped dark chocolate

Preheat Oven to 180C. Line a brownie tray with baking paper.
Using a food processor, pulsed dark chocolate. Add in all other dry ingredients first. Pulse till it is well mixed. Then add in all other wet ingredients except the walnuts and handful of dark chocolate.
Pour mixture into pan. Sprinkle crushed walnuts and chocolate over the mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Chocolate Almond Coconut Slab Cake

If you come to my house any given day, open my fridge and you will find that I have been baking and experimenting with slices and muffins. I whipped this slice quickly the other day as we were going to a friend's house for lunch. I thought, better to give it away than to store it in our fridge! Hubby never mind though as that means he can just grab and go with whatever he fancies to work. He also said he could eat without the guilt that it is not nourishing his body.

Friends asked me how do I control myself given that I have baked goods in my fridge frequently? I was puzzled by that question. I never see that as a self control thing. Rather, it's a "what does my body feel like having". Most of the time, it's water or yogurt with some of my granola. When I bake, I bake to share and to make sure my husband, family and friends eat well. I do tastes my bakes, but I rarely finished everything by myself. I guess I taste and I'm satisfied by it.

This recipe comes from Elana Pantry. I think I didn't do it justice because I changed the ingredients amounts. Hence it became more cake and slice like rather than the chewy texture that Elana posted on her blog. Nevertheless, we enjoyed this little cake and it's good for a weekend afternoon treat with coffee.

Chocolate Almond Coconut Slab Cake 
4 eggs
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup of almond meal
1/2 cup of coconut flour
3 tablespoon of honey
pinch of salt
1 tsp of bicarb soda
1/2 cup of shredded coconut + extra
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking slice tray with baking paper.
In a jug, whisk coconut milk, honey and eggs together. Then put almond meal, flour, salt, bicarb, coconut and some chocolate chips in a bowl. Pour wet to dry and fold. Spoon into tray and top it with the remaining choc chips and shredded coconut. Bake for 30 minutes.

Mocha Coconut Slab Cake

It only took me a few years, but I'm really excited when friends and family finally understands why I eat the way we believe in. It's not a fad, it's not a diet. I'm no longer wanting to lose weight. All I want is to be strong and healthy. Man, I'm not even looking at being an athlete or look like I have muscles bulging out. Being slim, toned and moving functionally is good for me.

As I persists on, people do not try to talk me out of eating the way I do anymore. In fact, I often think it's strange that we have grown to rely on sugar and processed food over the years and think of that as normal. Why is it not ok to eat food that comes from farms and not factories?

How do I know? We get invited to lunches over at friends and they cook clean for us! We receive invites from our lovely friends and families saying that they want us to eat clean and healthy in their kitchen too. In some ways, I felt a little bad that people are bending over backwards to serve us food that we love. But in other ways, I realised... hey, that's healthy food for them too! It's fuelling their bodies better. We had a lovely salad with green goddness dressing and the hosts tried their hands in making spelt pizza (still not completely clean BUT better than dominos), and then we were invited to another place where I had grilled chicken tenderloins with a pumpkin and feta salad. Oh, how about another lunch where we had grilled chicken winglets, meat balls, kebabs, and beetroot salad to boot. Seriously. They all tastes fantastic and we had a great time.

I'm in awe of people like OMGPaleo, or TheSpunkyCoconut. They make real food tastes even better. I adapted these little babies from Spunky Coconut to bring to my friends of course. They are more like mocha cakes- I wouldn't call them brownies at all. But still a good little treat.

Mocha Coconut Slab Cake 
1 cup of Almond Butter
1/2 cup of nepresso coffee
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut flour
3 tablespoon of cacao powder
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tsp of vanilla paste
1 tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt
Handful of shredded coconut

Pre heat oven to 180C

Put everything in the mixer. Whisk it. Then spoon into lined 8by8 baking pan! Sprinkle coconut on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Done!

Salted Coconut Chocolate Bark

This must be one of the most addictive chocolate snacks ever! I certainly do love my chocolate- I have a weakness for dark varieties. Pairing it with coconut butter though, it create this creamy chocolate chips that I have to will myself to stop eating. 

I mentioned before that I generally follow the paleo way of eating. PaleoOMG is probably one of my favourite bloggers who posts such gorgeous treats that I'm tempted all the time. She posted this for Christmas and I knew I had to make it.

And I'm not sure if it was the best thing to do or was it a mistake. I had to ration portions and give them away as gifts together with some of my bliss balls. I placed peppermint essence to the coconut butter instead of chocolate as I find that it seizes the chocolate a little.

Oh well, at least they are clean. ;)

Salted Coconut Chocolate Bark
1 cup of coconut butter
100 grams of dark chocolate
pinch of salt
2 tsp of peppermint essence

Melt coconut butter and add peppermint essence. In a separate jug, melt chocolate too. Line baking paper on a cookie tray, spread coconut butter on the tray. Drizzle and spread dark chocolate on it, swirling along. Sprinkle salt to it.

Coconut Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Fudge

I can't believe I saved this in my folder but forgot to publish. This actually went into my little goodie packs for Christmas in 2013! Having said that,  it was also a very nice refreshing little treat to have in our freezer/fridge on hot summer days.

There is never a time when it is too hot for chocolate right?

I did this after I realised that coconut milk and chocolate goes SO well together. In all honesty, I think I need to experiment with this a little more because it becomes really soft in the heat. I believe I did not add enough chocolate for it to harden. In the freezer though, it becomes like a bite size chocolate crunch ice-cream.

That works for me too. ;)

Coconut Chocolate Pistacho Cranberry Fudge (around 16)
400 ml coconut cream
300 grams dark chocolate

1/4 cup of cranberries
1/4 cup of shelled pistachios

Simmer coconut cream till it becomes warm. Melt chocolate in it. Stir till it thickens- this will take around 20 minutes. Cool and place in moulds sprinkle pistachios and cranberries in it. Cool in fridge or freezer.

A Different Sort of Chocolate Cake

So recently we had our first family holiday. A coupon deal came up and we grabbed a one night stay at a 4.5 star hotel at The Sebel in Mandurah, Perth. To many West Australians, Mandurah is a sleepy little place just on border of metro Western Australia. To us though, it was where we sneaked out for dates when we were in University and when hubby popped the question at the jetty 4.5 years ago. It seems fitting that we bring Asher there for his first night out of home.

Truth be told, it's because we are "testing out" the waters of bringing Asher out overnight. We thought an hour away means we are far enough to do the testing, but close enough to return home if we get desperate. Thankfully, Asher adapted pretty well. I learned a few things in this short trip.

- It's ok to bring more diapers. In this case, less is not more!
- I would choose to have Asher's things in a separate bag next time if we are going for longer trips.
- Collect samples. I brought the samples on the trip for nappy cream, body wash, moisturiser and it worked a treat!
- Bring my baby carrier. I'm beginning to value my baby carrier more and more....
- Hubby and I had dinner at 6pm which is usually the start of Asher's sleep routine, to counter a very cranky baby in a fancy restaurant, I feed him and managed to put him down for a nap.
- If we really want to have dinner out, make it 6pm and not later! Poor Ash was clearly tired at 7:30 even though he had a nap.

No doubt there will be more thoughts as we begin planning our travel back to SG/KL end of January. Any tips from experienced travellers?

I'm a big fan of Teresa Cutter. It's my go-to place for treats and other healthy meal ideas. She made healthy food looks AMAZING and so delicious. In fact, I don't think I have ever had a bad batch of baking from her recipes before. This different sort of chocolate cake is not something I have not made before. Her one- bowl cake is delicious and really, I adapted her recipe to suit us but it's basically the same.

What I think it's different in this cake, is the Coconut Chocolate Ganache. Yup. It's ganache made of coconut cream instead of normal cream. It makes so much sense actually to replace normal cream with coconut.  So handy as I almost always forget to buy cream but I usually have coconut milk or cream in my pantry. First it adds flavour, and 2nd it doesn't leave me with the "I ate too much ganache" feeling. The 2nd point is dangerous though because it is tempting to polish off a bowl of the ganache. It's still a treat and it still has chocolate in it. Best of all, my parents in law who does not like dairy loved it!

If you are looking for a christmas treat, this could be an idea!

A Different Sort of Cake with Coconut Chocolate Ganache. (serves 25)
3 cups almond meal
1/2 cup of cacao powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
125ml olive oil or coconut oil
125 ml of almond milk
1 tablespoon of raw honey

Preheat fan forced oven to 150C. Whisk eggs, oil, milk,vanilla and honey together. Pour wet over dry ingredients and fold. Pour into prepared lined baking tin and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Coconut Chocolate Ganache
250ml Coconut Cream
200grams dark chocolate

Heat cream gently. Break chocolate into cream and gently fold till it melts and turn glossy. Cool before placing on cake.

Dark Chocolate Rocky Road

I have not been making sweets for some time. One reason is because we have been eating clean, hence these fall into the treats category of course. I made this for Christmas as well and I actually found myself really liking the process. It's really easy as well- and a hit with our nephews and nieces (and my MIL!).

Picking up some turkish delight from our local deli store, I can't help but pop a few in my mouth. so sweet! I love the jelly like texture though. That's what rocky road is about to me, all different texture coming together. The crunch of pistachios, the softness of mash mellows and jelly like turkish delight.

I chose dark chocolate- because I like dark chocolate best. The other reason though, is that the slight bitterness will offset the sweetness from the turkish delight and mash mellows.

It's a slab of chocolate mess but that's what I love about it. It is meant to be messy. I don't have to worry about chopping it in straight lines (Which i can never do for anything) or making it pretty. It is pretty, the way it is.

Dark Chocolate Rocky Road
300 grams of dark chocolate (Lindt)
6 of your favourite turkish delight pieces chopped
1/2 cup of pistachios and walnuts chopped and toasted
1 cup of mash mellows chopped

Line a brownie tray with baking paper.

Melt dark chocolate in microwave in 20 seconds burst x 3-4 times. Remember to use a very clean bowl if not the chocolate will seize. There will probably be some chocolate in the middle that is not melted. Using a wooden spoon, stir it.. the residue heat will melt the rest.

Then pop all the ingredients in the melted chocolate. Toss and turn. Then spoon the gooey mess into the baking paper. Fridge it overnight. Cut and serve.

Date and Chocolate Slice

What does a girl do when she craves chocolate....? She makes chocolate slice.  Better still, a slice that does not need baking.

I have been distracted lately. We moved to our new home and is finally feeling more settled in after.... 3 months. It has been a challenging year for hubby and I- it just seem that every month, there is a curveball thrown at us. Individual work situations, family,friends, house, business,  It's life after all, and if it is all smooth sailing, it would have been too boring.

As Christians, we believe that God is testing us. Our faith, our commitment. Gosh, even our marriage. And there are moments that we falter, but mostly we stay strong and continue to march forward.

What do we do to keep ourselves sane?
We..
- cut back on our commitments and decide to stay grounded. Back to basics. Prayers, time together, simple dinners, routine.
- Precious alone time at the gym. The natural endorphins is much needed.
- For him, some alone time but getting involved in projects that he used to do but neglected to as we get busier.
- For me, a short trip to see my family. Grandma just had a knee re construction and it was very calming  and re assuring, just to see her. And on that note, she rocked. Totally. Strongest grandmother ever- walked after the 2nd day after the operation. My hero.
- For us, chats. and more chats.
- Surround ourselves with the positives. Be it friends, family or professionals.
- Chocolate.
- A dessert high in protein, low in sugar, filling and delicious.

No Bake- Date and Chocolate Slice 
5 Merdjool dates-pitted and chopped
1/4 cup of almond butter- make your own or cheat like me..from a jar.
2 tablespoon of dark cocoa or cacao powder
Chopped pieces of roasted cashews

Mix it all up. Press onto brownie tray. Freeze for 30 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.

Mini Flourless Chocolate Cake

Elana's Pantry  is a good source of inspiration for me when it comes to healthy day to day recipes. This one caught my eye early one, but I never had the chance to make it till recently.

I'm not sure if this is my ultimate favourite chocolate cake- but I love the dense and rich flavour. It's simple and quick to whip up. Perfect for a quick chocolate cake fix.

Mini Flourless Chocolate Cake  (Makes around 7 mini cakes)
150 grams of dark chocolate melted (I used a combination of lindt 70% dark choc and passionfruit)
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs
2 tsp of espresso coffee

1/2 cup of almond flour
2 tablespoon of coconut flour
2 tsp of coconut sugar (or honey)
1/4 tsp sea salt


Preheat Oven 180C.

Met chocolate in 2x30 seconds bursts in the microwave. Stir and add coconut oil. Whisk vanilla essence, coffee and eggs.

In another bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, salt, coconut sugar or honey. Mix Well.

Spoon in grease or lined 9 by 9 tray or use mini loaf tray like me.

Chocolate Bliss Balls

Yummy chocolate that is good for you. Well, chocolate is good for you too anyway isn't it? ;) I'm totally in love with these little snacks. Health food shops and this, this and this totally inspire me to make some.

It's packed with amino acids, and healthy fats. Cacao is great for increasing blood flow and anti-inflammatory. Seriously, what not to love!

In the process, I discovered how easy it is to make our own nut butter. Maybe it is a good incidental accident. I blitzed almonds for around 5-10 minutes and slowly and surely, it released its oil and become this lovely butter. I experimented a little and the below version is made up of cashew, almonds and brazil nuts. I can't wait to try it with hazelnuts and cocoa to make a version of Nutella perhaps or maybe with walnuts!

So I made two versions so far. I have to confess that the first time I made it, I used a canned nut butter jar. The second time, I blitz up different nuts and it tasted even more amazing. And I was very surprised  that I actually liked the version with coconut. Seriously, what is wrong with me!! this coconut thing is growing on me.


Best of all, it's low in sugar. Hey, one more in my mouth won't hurt. :)

Chocolate Bliss Balls
1/2 cup of brazil nuts
1 to 1.5 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of cashew
1 tsp of coconut butter
1 scoop of your favourite protein Vanilla Powder.
2 tsp of cinnamon

2 tablespoon of Cacao powder/or dutch cocoa powder if you like
2 tsp of honey or 2 tsp of organic coconut sugar

Blitz all the nuts in the processor till it becomes a paste. If it gets too wet, then add some almond meal. Add the cacao powder, protein powder, cinnamon and some honey. Blitz together till it becomes a soft dough. Roll teaspoons into a ball and roll into some cacao or coconut or even sesame seeds! Chill to firm.