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Best Grain-Free Carrot Cake EVER!

12/21/2014

Best Grain-Free Carrot Cake EVER!
Author: Life Made Full (Pinterest) and modified by Robyn Graber

This is one of the best carrot cakes I have ever had! It’s grain free, easy to make and a real crowd pleaser. The texture is perfect and it has just the right sweetness so don’t cut down on the sugar as I have already done that.
Prepare to WOW!

Ingredients:

4 large Organic Eggs
3/4 cup Walnut oil or Virgin Coconut Oil, melted and cooled
1 cup Coconut Sugar
¼ cup pure Maple Syrup
2 tsp pure Vanilla Extract
2.5 cups Blanched Almond Flour (I like Wellbees or Honeyville)
2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
3 cups grated Carrots
3 cups chopped Walnuts (optional but much better with!)

For the cream cheese frosting:

24 oz Organic Cream Cheese
¼ cup pure Maple Syrup
1Tbsp pure Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cut out a circular piece of parchment paper to put on the bottom of two 8 inch or 9inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl or stand mixer with whisk attachment beat together the eggs, then sugar, then oil, maple syrup and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, stir together the almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and then add to the egg-sugar-oil mixture. I like to sift it as well but not necessary.
Stir in carrots and 2 cups of the chopped nuts.
Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for about 20 minutes before gently running a spatula along the side and turning over upside-down onto wire rack to cool completely.

Make frosting:

Beat together the cream cheese, syrup and vanilla until smooth.
Once cakes are cooled, place one cake on serving platter, then frost.
Place the second cake on top and frost the remaining cake.
Sprinkle with more nuts and coat the sides with the remaining nuts.

Cake tastes great at room temperature, but tastes even better chilled!

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Raw Chocolate Pomegranate Bark

12/20/2014

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Raw Chocolate Pomegranate Bark

These are so good and good for you. Super easy to make, it's great for parties or to satisfy your chocolate cravings.

Ingredients:

1 cup Raw Cacao Paste or 3/4 Cup Cacao Butter
1/2-1/3 cup Maple Syrup or Honey
1 teaspoon Virgin Coconut Oil
6 tablespoons Raw Cacao Powder
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Pomegranate, flesh removed

Instructions:
1.     Prepare a small baking dish by lining the bottom with parchment paper.
2.     Remove seeds from Pomegranate:
         a.     An easy way to do this is to first cut the Pomegranate in ½
         b.     Holding the cut-side face down over a bowl, smack the flesh with a                      hard spoon to dislodge the seeds
         c.     Repeat for the other 1/2
         d.     Clean out any fleshy papers that may fall in
3.     Using a double boiler, melt the Cacao Paste or Cacao Butter with Maple Syrup or Honey and Coconut Oil.
4.     Mix in the Cacao Powder once everything is melted.
5.     Pour into baking dish and spread evenly.
6.     Top with Pomegranate Seeds and sprinkle the Sea Salt.
7.     Place in fridge for an hour to set.
8.     Remove and break up into smaller pieces.
9.     Store in fridge if you live in a warm climate.

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Mocha Almond Flour Biscotti

12/20/2014

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Mocha Almond-Flour Biscotti

I absolutely love Biscotti and these beauties are quickly becoming my favorite cookie. They taste amazing, are grain free, low in sugar, have a wonderful texture and are so easy to make. You can always make them sweeter by adding more Maple Syrup or using semi-sweet chocolate instead of dark.
Yields: 8 large Biscotti or 16 smaller cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups Blanched Almond Flour (I like Wellbee's Superfine Almond Flour or Honeyville Almond Flour. Both can be purchased from Amazonsmile.com)
1/3 cup of Arrowroot Starch
1 Organic Egg Yolk
1/4 teaspoon of Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon of Baking Soda
3 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons brewed Espresso Coffee (I use Nespresso Decaffinato Intensio)
1/4 cup of Dark Chocolate Chips (I like Equal Exchange Organic Bittersweet 70%)
1 ½ - 2 ounces of White and/or Dark Chocolate for drizzling on top (I use Trader Joes, Swiss 72% Dark Chocolate bar and Green & Blacks Organic White Chocolate bar)

Instructions:

Combine the almond flour, arrowroot flour, salt, baking soda in a food processor and pulse until combined.
Add in the Egg Yolk and pulse.
Add in the Maple Syrup and extracts and pulse more until combined.
Add in ¼ cup of the chocolate chips and quick pulse to just combine.
Turn dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat lining.
Form the dough into a 5 ½” x 10” rectangle with your hands or with a rolling pin. (You may need to wet your hands or the rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking).
Bake at 350F for 15 minutes turning pan once.
Let cool for 15-30 minutes and cut out 8 bars. You can cut again down the middle to make 16 smaller cookies. Place back onto the lined baking sheet.
Set the oven to 300F and re-bake for 15-17 minutes until lightly golden brown.
Let cookies cool for another 30 minutes, preferably over an hour.
Melt the dark and white chocolate separately using a double boiler.
Using a spoon or small spatula, drizzle the chocolate over the cookies or dip the biscotti partially into the melted chocolate.

Great plain, dunked in tea or coffee!

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Cauliflower Soup with Bacon

12/20/2014

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Cauliflower Soup with Bacon
This is quickly becoming one of my favorite soups. It's really easy and to make, delicious and surprisingly filling. We frequently have it for dinner. I have made this with veggie broth and turkey bacon but it is truly better when you use chicken broth, regular bacon and butter! Try to use organic chicken broth, nitrate-free organic bacon, organic pastured butter and sea salt whenever possible. The quality of your ingredients will always lend itself to the taste and health benefits in everything you eat.

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, chopped
1 head cauliflower, cut in pieces
2 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp pasture butter or refined coconut oil
1-2 cloves garlic (2 cloves if you love garlic)
sea salt (Celtic, Himalayan) to taste
8 slices of bacon (nitrate free, sugar free)
Caramelized onions to garnish - Optional

Cook the bacon in the oven at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cut or break into 1/4" to 1/2" inch pieces. Optional: Slice an onion or two and saute in butter and or olive oil on a low heat until onions caramelize. Set aside
While the bacon is cooking, put the cauliflower, onions, and broth into a large pot with a lid. Cook on medium high until the broth comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
When the veggies are done, put the mixture into the blender. Add garlic, butter, and sea salt to taste. Blend until smooth.
Serve soup with bacon pieces. Top with caramelized onions.

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Best Grain-Free Carrot Cake EVER!

Raw Chocolate Pomegranate Bark

Mocha Almond Flour Biscotti

Cauliflower Soup with Bacon

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