A Favorite Thermomix Chocolate Cake

raspberries are the perfect flavor compliment

I love my cake transporter

Thermomix weighs and mills the chocolate and almonds

Thermomix mixes the batter perfectly

tea time couldn't get better

Birthday set up

next to our favorite top-allergen free classic cookie pie

ready for the simplest 2-ingredient ganache

ingredient list: gluten free and refined sugar-free

Birthday Celebrations with Thermomix: Chocolate Pie

Every year for my Birthday my family makes me a requested pie. I usually leave them all alone for a few hours while they bake for me.  Thermomix chops the nuts, seeds and coconut for the crust, heats the chocolate with coconut cream for the filling and whips the coconut cream into the whipped topping.  Don't you just love how everything happens in the Thermomix bowl?  The ease of preparation pairs with the ease of clean-up. Just add soap and water and mix to clean-up all the chocolate.  Better yet, go for no waste: add some milk for a latte or smoothie beforehand. My boys have grown up with Thermomix and homemade food.  I feel that the Thermomix stimulates their interest and participation in the kitchen. This chocolate pie recipe has been adapted to fit the Thermomix. This pie is a family favorite.  It's so simple to make, try it for your next celebration!

Cupcake Love

I once read that empathy is when head, heart and hands come together and act in alignment.  These vanilla and chocolate cupcakes for our end of the year class party are a metaphor of empathy, loving care and kindness.  A mom, a friend, allowed our allergic children to join in and enjoy a treat with the whole group.  What joy to be included!  I will always remember how I felt when she told me what she was planning for dessert.  I will always remember my child eating this cupcake with his class.  Thank you! These cupcakes are from Jodycakes.  My friend requested the cupcakes be made according to the same recipe Jody uses when we order.

froze leftovers for future parties

Vegan Double Chocolate Sunflower Brownie Cake

cake ready for oven

A good friend of mine often sends me interesting recipes with all the right ingredients. This vegan double chocolate brownie recipe came at the perfect time since Big Brother recently asked, in anticipation of his 7 1/2 Birthday, for a double chocolate cake. For special moments, I usually make our signature chocolate chip cookie pie out of garbanzo beans since we all love it. Today, we decided to try this recipe and turn the classic brownie idea into a round cake using a springform pan.  It is a tradition of ours to celebrate the Boy's half Birthdays with half a cake.  This works out nicely since we eat half the cake and freeze the other for the following month-Birthdays are just two months apart. This afternoon, anticipating a big rain storm and while Papi was out strolling little brother for afternoon nap, Big Brother and enjoyed time together baking.  He helped with each step of the baking process.  His commentary while adding the flour back into to TM bowl full of chocolate batter: "It's like a snowy mountain in the middle of a chocolate lake".  Isn't it great to be in the kitchen with children?


What you need: 

6 tablespoons rice flour, Whole Foods long grain brown rice
4 tablespoons oat flour, Bob's Redmill gluten free rolled oats
1/2 cup + 4 tablespoons (74 grams) Trader Joe's coco powder
2 cups (280 grams)Trader Joe's unsalted sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon real salt
1 cup maple syrup
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup, plus 4 tablespoons water
1/2 cup Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips

What to do: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Line springform cake pan with baking paper. 

Rub coconut oil over baking paper and up around sides of pan.

Add rice and oats to TM bowl and grind to flour: speed 9 for 1 minute.

Put flour aside in a bowl to add back in later.

Add sunflower seeds to TM bowl and blen to a flour is formed: speed 7-8 for 30 seconds.

Add the cocoa powder, baking powder and salt to TM bowl and mix: speed 3 for 20 seconds.

Add the maple syrup, vanilla and water to TM bowl and mix: speed 6 for 1 minute.

Scrape down sides and blend until smooth.

Add the rice and oat flours back to the TM bowl and mix: speed 6 for 20 seconds. The batter will be thick and smooth.

Add the chocolate chops to the TM bowl and mix: reverse blade, speed 3 for 10 seconds.

Pour the batter into springform pan with the helpful spatula.  Check out my new one

Bake for 35 minutes.  See the original recipe for more information on how the cake should come out and how to decide if it needs 5 more minutes.  Note: I found the brownies a bit more crumbly one hour after pulling from oven than I had expected. I wonder what I can do next time for the fudge consistency I like.  Perhaps I shouldn't have doubled the recipe for the first go? 

rice and oat flour made in Thermomix

sunflower seed flour

Big Brother adding flour

"it's like a snowy mountain in the middle of a chocolate lake"

Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips

does adding rice and oat flour to chips help them not sink like regular flour?

he is so delighted with cake batter

learning how to spread batter.  he called this "swirling"

boys pleased with cake

took out with us for dessert

Baby Brother's Birthday Cakes

We celebrated Baby Brother's First Birthday twice.  The Chocolate Layer Cake, as seen in my previous post, turned out so much better this time around.  I now really like this chocolate cake and will make for our Birthday celebrations.  I was so happy to share this cake today friends with dairy-free and gluten-free diets.  Below is the topping recipe I tweaked today from Quirky Cooking.  This is a dairy free topping, but includes honey so it not ok for vegan guests.  I wonder how it would turn out with maple syrup instead of honey?  Would it be less sweet?  More runny?  Do you have a go-to icing or frosting you really like?  

Coconut Topping
Stir in Thermomix, speed 3 until combined:

300-350 g cream from can of  two coconut milk (put in fridge overnight and scrape the cream from top!)
3-4 tsp or orange juice 
1 tsp of vanilla paste, I used this one. 
60 grams local, raw honey


Click here for original recipe. 

Yum!

We tried another cake last week with sweet potato frosting.  This is a baby-friendly Birthday cake.  Our Baby still not ready for it though.  So he had a roasted and stuffed squash with pears.  

This cake is from this Nutrition/Cookbook.  We drizzled some maple syrup on top for some added sweetness. The texture turned out dense, and a bit more like a scone.  Here is the recipe:

What you need: 
4 cups  all purpose gluten-free flour, I used King Arthur
2 tbs  baking powder
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/ tsp nutmeg
1 cup vanilla milk.  I used coconut milk
1 cup apple juice or pear juice
1/2 sunflower oil.  I used coconut oil instead
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins (soaked in hot water and drained)
1/2 cup walnuts or sunflower seeds, chopped.  I left these out!

What to do: 
Combine dry ingredients in large bowl

Combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl

Add dry to wet, then stir in raisins

Pour batter into two coconut oil-greased 9-inch baking pans.  Bake at 350 degrres for 30 minutes, or unitl toothpick comes out dry.  Cool on rack and then frost with sweet potato icing below.  

Sweet Potato Icing:
4 medium sweet potatoes. baked cooled and smoothed out in food processor or Thermomix
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp maple syrup

Eggless Blueberry Boy Bait

This recipe is on my to-bake list.  Here is the link in case you get to it before I do:
http://umaskitchenexperiments.blogspot.com/2011/12/eggless-bluberry-boy-bait-eggless.html

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

This could be my new favorite go-to dessert recipe. For now it is still an experiment.  I will see what my non-allergic friends, and their friends have to say about it tomorrow morning. And what will the toddlers think?  I really like that this dessert is full of protein from the garbanzo beans, has no dairy, nuts or eggs. I think that parents will appreciate the hidden nutrition instead of the standard chocolate chip cookie.  Oh, and it is vegan (Enjoylife chocolate chips are vegan) and gluten-free(notice that quick oats, not flour is used) to boot! So, this treat should work for everyone, even for kosher families serving a meat meal.  Did I mention that it is really simple to make?  A food processor or Thermomix blends all the ingredients into a smooth mixture in seconds. Allergen remember, if there is a peanut allergy involved, double check with families/host if chickpeas are a problem as well.


I am entering this post just after taking the cookie pie out the oven.  It looks nice and smells good, I wonder what it tastes like.  Not that I'm not already famous for tricking my dad with an old favorite: orange chickpea loaf cake.  It happens to be loaded with eggs and hasn't been made in my kitchen for quite some time now.  This chocolate chip cookie pie has the same goodness of my old garbanzo bean cake but without the eggs and added chocolate chips.  Maybe I should have been adding chocolate chips to the loaf cake, what a good idea!  For original recipe, go to: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/05/31/deep-dish-cookie-pie/       


*****THOUGHTS AFTER TRYING:  Super!  Great flavor and texture.  This recipe is a keeper and I am sure I will be making it and sharing it often. I think that you could even cut 1/4 cup of sugar, I will cut back a little since I don't like my treats overly sweet.  I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this.  I thought that I was going to just like it, not really like it.  Even with all the garbanzo beans, the chocolate is the most noted flavor for me.  I warmed my piece up a little so that the chocolate would get gooey again.  I froze a few pieces for later in the week.

                                                
What you need:
500 grams (2 cans) canned chickpeas or white beans, rinsed and drained. 
1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 T canola oil                                                        
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (I use Wholesome Sweeteners).  I decided not to cut back on the sugar in this recipe.
1 cup chocolate chips (I use Enjoylife brand)


What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add all the ingredients, except chocolate chips, to food processor or Thermomix. Blend into smooth mixture.  Mix in chocolate chips and pour into oiled 10 inch spring-form pan.  Bake for about 35 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before removing from pan.  You can make a deeper dish version by using a smaller pan.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

hot out of the oven

I grew up eating chocolate pudding cake.  I would always beg my grandmother to make it for me. She must have agreed because it is simple to prepare, Grandma does not like to be in the kitchen! Her recipe calls for store-bought prepackaged ingredients: just pour chocolate pudding in baking dish and top with box of devil's food cake crumbled with butter.  Her chocolate pudding cake recipe was the first one in my personal collection and I used to make it when I had nostalgic cravings.  This recipe is from www.bakersbites.com and was exactly what I was looking for: no eggs and and I can ensure both quality of ingredients and allergy-safe ingredients.  I am happy to have this recipe in my collection, and I will save it for special occasions and when I really need to eat it. I will also save it for after introducing chocolate to my toddler. You will enjoy reading the description of the website's original recipe plus valuable facts and information about how to bake without eggs. 


Next time I make this, I will change things up a bit.  Coconut milk and some shredded coconut instead of half the amount of sugar.  I also wonder how the taste and texture would turn out with some pureed avocado or sweet potato/pumpkin.  And if I used some maple syrup instead of sugar? Would some barley flour be a nice change?
  


What you need:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar (I use Wholesome Sweetener's, I have used as little as 6 tablespoons)
1/2 cup cocoa powder, divided (check out www.vermontnutfree.com/)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk (I used skim milk since that was what I had in the fridge)
3 tbsp canola oil
2/3 cup brown sugar (I use Wholesome Sweetener's)
1/4 cup mini-chocolate chips (Enjoylife chocolate chips are perfect!)
1 tsp alcohol-free vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups hot water


What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees


Combine flour, sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt in an 8 inch square baking pan and stir with a fork to combine. Mix in milk and oil until batter is uniform.


Sprinkle brown sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa and chocolate chips evenly over batter. Add vanilla to the hot water and pour over everything. Do not mix.

Place pan in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until surface of the cake looks dry. The pudding will be bubbling around the edges. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. You can reheat before serving if you want to serve warm.

dig in, and remember to
share!

AND CHECK OUT THIS RECIPE TOO: 
http://thechiclife.com/2011/11/chocolate-depression-cake-minis-recipe.html

Gingerbread Spice Cake

This recipe is an adaptation of several gingerbread and spice cakes.  My goal was to incorporate leftover sweet potato or canned pumpkin, two ingredients I often have in the refrigerator.  I also like that this recipe also uses kefir, an ingredient I always have a lot of.  The cake comes out of the oven making you wonder if you actually baked a chocolate cake.




what you need:
1 cup whole-wheat flour (I have used spelt instead)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1-2 teaspoons freshly ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed (I use Wholesome Sweeteners)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg or EnerG egg replacer (what would happen with applesauce instead?)
1 1/2 cup sweet potato mash or puree (I am sure applesauce could be mixed in here)
1/2 cup yogurt or kefir
1/4 cup organic unsulfured molasses (I use Wholesome Sweeteners)
2 teaspoons alcohol-free vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated orange zest


what to do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  butter or oil loaf pan


In one bowl, mix in flours, baking soda, spices and salt


In another large bowl, and using an electric mixture, beat the sugar, oil and egg/egg replacer until smooth.  Incorporate the sweet potato puree, yogurt, molasses, vanilla and zest.  Slowly add the flour to the wet mixture.


Pour the batter into the pan.  Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about one hour.
Incorporate

Pumpkin Trains or Trencitos

Pumpkin bread is one of my favorite treats.  I used to make a breakfast version with egg, and without much sugar, every weekend.  When I discovered that my son was allergic to eggs, I was instantly nervous that I wasn't going to find an eggless pumpkin bread recipe as good as my original. Bakin' Without Eggs had the perfect recipe.  No eggs needed, this loaf bread is delicious and moist.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!  The recipe below calls for a standard loaf pan.  I also like to make little trains, we call them trencitos, for my toddler to take to parties.  This past fall, I used them to make his birthday cake.  I include a recipe for the frosting and link to the train mold below:

what you need:
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I play around with flour mix)
1 1/3 cups sugar (I often use 1 cup dark brown sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (I sometimes use allspice)
1 cup canned plain pumpkin filling (Great with roasted pumpkin!)
1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt/kefir
*I find that batter often needs more liquid/moisture so I eyeball and add applesauce and or more yogurt

what to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly butter loaf pan

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add pumpkin, vanilla, oil and buttermilk one at a time.  Stir until well combined, no need to over-mix.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
With an electric mixer, beat 4 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (we use Wholesome Sweeteners).  You can add some orange or lemon zest for flavor.  Mix until smooth and creamy.  


Train Mold by NordicWare: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/railway-train-cake-pan/
         ** The kitchen shop on upper level at Toronto's St. Lawrence market sells the mold.

My Favorite Apple Cake

This apple cake is decadent.  It is very moist, sweet and bursting with apple flavor. Everyone asks me for the recipe.   My feeling is that no one misses the missing egg in this apple cake.  


I make this cake in my grandmother's Bundt pan, that makes it even more special.  
(Note: I cleaned the Bundt pan repeatedly to ensure it was clean of egg residue)


The original recipe is from Bakin' Without Eggs.  This cookbook is a must for any family with an egg allergy!  I changed up very little in this recipe.  Play around with the amount of sugar, 2 cups of sugar is normally a lot for me.  I follow this recipe, both sugar and white flour, I usually do not.  I feel like this is a great treat and wonderful for special occasions.


If your child's name begins with "O" or "S", The cake is particularly great for them.  You can make an "S" by cutting circle in half and connecting the 2 semi-circles to make an "S".  


What you need:
1/2 cup canola oil

chopped apples with Thermomix

2 cups sugar (I use Wholesome Sweeteners)
1 cup applesauce (I use unsweetened)
2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 2/12 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
dash of nutmeg (go with your comfort level with nutmeg, lots of questions about this ingredient)
2 teaspoons alcohol-free vanilla
3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (you'll get the perfect consistency using Thermomix)


What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and lightly flour a 1-cup Bundt pan.  Tap out excess flour


In a large bowl, stir in one at a time: oil, sugar, applesauce,flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Then fold in apples until completely mixed.  Batter is thick.


Spoon out batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.  Bake for about 1 hour or until browned on top and toothpick comes out clean.


Remove from oven and let cool.  When the cake has cooled down, turn out onto plate. Please let this cake cool before attempting to turn out onto plate. 


For more apple vegan dessert inspiration, visit:http://www.chompsoflife.com/post/16710389946