Keto almond brownie

If you are craving for brownie and thinking keto, this recipe is it. You only need a food processor to speed things up. 

The brownie is almost fudgy but not dense to the palate. I think I have hit a golden brownie formula.

Credits, with minor adjustments: thebigmansworld fudgy brownie #thebigmansworld 

Ingredients:

100g unsalted butter

1/2 cup baking choc chips ( no added sugar type)

1 cup almond meal

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of Himalayan pink salt

1/2 cup monk fruit sugar (Crystal type)

3 eggs

Method:

Preheat an oven to 180C. Prepare an aluminum tray, 8 by 8 inch. Greasing is not needed if aluminum tray is used.

In a pot, over gentle or the lowest heat, melt butter and choc chips. 

Turn off the heat when butter is 1/2 melted. Cover. The residual heat will melt the butter and choc chips nicely. 

In a bowl, combine almond, cocoa, baking powder, salt, sugar.

In a food processor, process eggs. The eggs do not froth, which is fine.

Add the butter-choc mix in a steady stream over the eggs. Whisk.

Add the dry mix. Mix until it is homogeneous.

Pour the batter into the tray. Smoothen the surface to allow even baking.

Bake the brownie in the preheated oven at 180C for 14 minutes.

Leave the brownie in the oven, door closed. The residual heat will continue to firm up the center part of the tray of brownie without overcooking it.

Cool. Cut to size.

Brownie is said to keep for 7 days in the fridge or frozen. I did not manage to proof this because it was eaten by the 2nd day.

 

Keto (almost) chocolate bar

 

Sensory overload here: crispy, sweet, rich, bitter

This is not totally a keto bar, considering the dried fruits. To make it fully keto, use 3 cups of whatever nuts (best toasted) you fancy.

I am rather surprised at the richness of each small bite. The teeth sinks easily into the chocolate and the nuts gives a delightful crunch. Stay with crispy and light nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, almond slivers; avoid dense nuts.

Due to the high fat content, the choc does not travel well. Next time I will omit the coconut butter to give it a dryer mixture so that it does not melt in my hands. For this decadent batch, I am eating the pieces with a pair of chopsticks.

Credits: Adapted from  thebigmansworld

Ingredients:

1.5 cups unsweetened baking chocolate. I chose the one with the highest fat content in the store.

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 cup peanut butter (I had a regular sweetened peanut butter, which is not ideal)

1 cup toasted pecans

1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

3/4 cup almond meal

1/4 cup dried cranberries

3 sachets of monkfruit sugar

1/8 tbsp salt

Method:

Prepare a lined pan.

Combine chocolate, oil, butter in a pan.

Heat over low heat until mixture is fluid and combined.

Stir in nuts, almond meal, fruits, sugar, salt.

Pour the mixture on the lined pan. Leave to cool.

Firm the chocolate in the freezer.

Cut to small pieces when chocolate has hardened. 

Chocolate has high fat content and melts easily. Keep the remainder in the freezer.

Coconut flour pancakes

Waffles as toast, minus the wheat flour

This recipe was made using a waffle maker because it is non stick and does away with the frying pan that I hate to use.

It turns out pretty well, considering that there isn’t a speck of wheat flour to hold it together. The eggs are the binder and the waffle tastes gorgeously eggy to the last bite.

Adapted from here

Ingredients:

WET:

8 eggs

2 cups coconut milk (I use the trim Ayam brand suntan)

1 Tbsp coconut oil/butter

DRY:

4 Tbsp coconut sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp himalayan salt

1 cup coconut flour

Preheat a waffle maker.

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and wet ingredients in a bigger bowl.

Add the dry ingredients into the bowl with wet ingredients and stir. The flours does not look like much but thickens considerably when it gets stirred.

Using a measuring cup with spout, pour the batter onto the waffle iron.

Cook uncovered until waffle surface starts to dry/cook.

Cover the waffle iron. Cook until waffle browns.

Use a skewer and lift the waffle out of the waffle maker. I put them on racks so that the waffles continue to ‘dry out’

Eat it fresh or freeze it to lock in the freshness.

Gluten Free brownie (Almond meal)

I did not realise that extra dark cocoa (which is what I have) is charcoal black. It's weird but brownie does not seem quite appropriate in this case. But browned butter changes everything and I have forgiven myself for calling this black yummy thing a brownie.

This is the first baked treat since I started going gluten free. The recipe is so quick and simple if all the ingredients are prepared beforehand. I did the brownie in between a TV commercial break; whisk and bake.

Needless to say, I felt like a domestic goddess after that.

Makes 1 8x8 tray.

Credits: adapted from here.

Ingredients:

Prepare in this order:

90g browned butter

3 medium eggs

200g coconut sugar

20g extra dark cocoa

140g almond meal

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170C.

Prepare a lined tin, 8x8 inches, lined. Alternatively, use a disposable Al tray with same dimension.

In a pot, melt 90g of butter. Loosely cover the pot with a kitchen towel in between cover and pot, leaving a tiny gap for steam. The towel absorbs the moisture and prevents a royal mess on the stove. 

When butter turns brown, remove it from the heat. Let cool completely.

Prepare dry ingredients. Combine cocoa, almond meal, baking powder, salt.

In a mixer, whisk eggs until fluffy and frothy.

Pour in butter down the side of the mixer. Whisk to combine.

Whisk in coconut sugar.

Whisk in mixed flours, in 3 batches.

Transfer the batter to the prepared tray.

Bake at 170C for 35mins. 

Remove the tray and cool it on a rack.

Cut to size. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Keeps well chilled or frozen.

Gluten free pizza

My gf pizza base journey was not an easy one. I hung up my usual fail proof pizza when my gut became sick . In its place are recipes for gluten free ones. I met  a series of failures, with crunchy biscuit pizza that was the most baffling and hard to troubleshoot.

Now I realise 2 things; have enough xanthan gum and knead until the dough looks like whipped cream. It is very counterintuitive because with bread flour, you knead until it all comes together.

Now I am 3rd time lucky. No more grouchy “what the pizza” moment. It tastes like bread (though the kitchen doesn’t smell so strongly of it) with a robust but soft texture like good old fashioned pizza.

I think I am on the right track on my gluten free baking journey.

Credits: glutenfreeonashoestring with modifications.

Ingredients (Base):

420g gf all purpose flour

2 ¼ tsp xanthum gum

11g instant yeast

6g fine sugar

9g salt

1 ⅛ cup warm water

65g olive oil

Cooked pizza topping of your choice (I have mushroom, ham with ricotta, mozzarella, brie)

Method:

Combine flour, gum, yeast, sugar, salt,water, oil.

Knead until it looks like whipped cream. Scrap sides and fold to ensure even kneading, about 3 mins.

Let rise on the counter to 50% more in bulk. It took me 2 hrs.

Flour the worktop. Transfer the dough.

Dust, roll flat to slightly more than the size of pizza pan. 

Transfer the dough to the pan,

Trim edges.

Preheat oven to 200C while dough rests.

Slather with pesto paste.

Bake in the oven for 9 mins or until sides is firm and sauce bubbly.

Cool a little.

Add mozzarella, mushroom ham toppings, brie, ricotta in this order.

Bake for another 10 mins.

Remove to cool.

Cut to wedges. Serve warm.