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~ The ”Yummy” soft center CHocOlate cake ~

Let me share with you a simple dessert today !! It’s been so long since I haven’t made this recipe yet it is so simple and delicious.

I made  it for Valentine last week and we were all awww over it !!

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What you will need:

~ 4 squares of dark chocolate

~3 eggs

~ 2 egg yokes

~ 4 tablespoons of cane sugar

~ 1/3 cup of spelt flour

Here we go…

~ Butter 4 ramekins.

~ Beat the eggs with 3 tsp. of sugar until the volume doubles.

~ Melt the chocolate in a bain marie.

~ Pour the melted chocolate into the beaten eggs mixture.

~ Add 1/3 cup flour, and mix delicately until you obtain a smooth texture.

~ Pour into the buttered ramekins.

~ Put into the oven for 12 minutes at 3750 degrees.

{ note: The center of the cake must be ”soft” , don’t overcook  !! }

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~Humm…chocolate while melting in the bain marie …at this point it’s hard to resist tasting…but it’s worth it, be strong my friends !!

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~ Starting to blend everything together ~

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 ~ Ta Da-a-a-a !!!!!!!!!!!!

There you go …it’s now time for my favorite part…Enjoy your chocolate cake !!

~Julie

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No Sugar Carob Fudge

What a chalenge to find a great little ” sugary tasting”  treat for you and your family ! Well lately a friend of mine introduced me to  this special caroub fudge and what a suprise for me to find that it is Deliiiiciouuss !! I thought that  sharing this  with you would be a great idea… it is a creative recipe and soOoo easy to make !!

 

 

What you will need:

~ 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil

~ 2 cups of unsweetened carob chips

~2/3 cup of peanut butter

~1/2 cup of coconut

~1/3 cup of walnuts

~1/2 cup of dry raisins

~1 tsp. of vanilla

 

 

Place the carob, peanut butter and oil in a pan at  low temperature, stirring constantly just until smooth. This will give you a great “chocolate” color…it already looks delicious !!
Then add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Spread out in a greased  8 x 8 square pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hrs. Then cut in squares or as you desire.
Keep them in the refrigerator or you could also freeze the balance for unexpected sweet cravings…
**  I do find that the fudge is hard to cut in perfect square…but it is still as good 🙂 **
Note:  With the basic recipe (carob, peanut butter and oil) you can create so many different variations of this recipe…why not use your favorite nuts, some popped quinoa, cranberry or even some spices..the sky is the limit 🙂
Enjoy !!!!
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Gluten Free Popovers

When my daughter went on a trial gluten-free diet for three months, I baked more during that time than I had in all the years prior since she was born. The gluten-free diet was a hassle when we traveled, but at home, she thought she had a good deal. I boiled and baked bagels, whipped up muffins to send to school, and spent a lot of time experimenting with various sweet and savory concoctions.

I perused a number of cookbooks, but ended up cooking and baking almost exclusively from a cookbook I found called Gluten Free On a Shoestring, by Nicole Hunn. (The link goes to the blog.) The first recipe I made was for popovers. Contrary to my expectations, they were light, they were puffy… in other words, the recipe worked. Bolstered by that confidence, I went on to work my way through the cookbook, and started visiting Nicole’s blog on a regular basis.

My daughter is no longer gluten-free, but I have a number of friends and family members who are both gluten and dairy free. I want them to enjoy coming to my house, so I continue to cook for them. Disclaimer: These friends and family don’t have celiac disease, and have assured me that I may use my regular utensils. If you wish to cook for gluten-free friends, check with them first to find out the extent of their gluten sensitivities.

Nicole Hunn’s popovers are always a success when I make them (recipe is included with the link). I’ve made them  successfully with diary ingredients as well as dairy alternatives. I bake at sea-level, so those who cook at high altitudes may have to make adjustments. I include this link about  “high altitude popovers” the event it’s of use.

Farida Dowler lives in Seattle, Washington, and sews wool felt dolls for the Etsy shop Alkelda Dolls. While her dinners are typically one-pot meals to accommodate the crafting/writing life, she makes exceptions for sushi rolls and spankopita.

 

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Strawberry Cream Cheese Scones Sweetened With Honey

My first few experiences with scones were dry and dense and left me begging for something to wash it down with. That is until  this past winter when a friend made cranberry scones when my girls and I came over for a visit. They were so soft and sweet and pillowy! Since then I’ve tried so many different scone recipes, had a few failures that were reminiscent of those first tastes that turned me off to begin with. But most were wonderful. By far these were our favorites. The little creamy pockets of cream cheese really set them off and made them irresistible.
But when we decided to cut most refined sugar from our diet it left us missing our sweet breakfast breads. So I decided to try it out with honey instead. My friend had made those original cranberry scones with honey, so why not? I also wanted to try them with strawberries instead of blueberries. (Note; we also use dairy free cream cheese and rice milk and you can’t tell any difference.) And while I forgot to use both in this particular batch photographed, you can also use half whole wheat flour. They turned out perfectly! We didn’t miss the sugar at all and loved  the strawberries (and a bit of lemon) and my daughter told me that she wanted them on her birthday instead of birthday cake. What higher praise could there be?!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Scones Sweetened With Honey

1/3 cup butter, cut in pieces

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup raw honey

1 lemon zested and juice squeezed and set aside

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup frozen or fresh strawberries, thawed, rinsed, drained and coated in a couple of tablespoons of honey

2 ounces cream cheese, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine butter, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and cut with a pastry blender or two butter knives until crumbly.

Stir milk and honey into softened cream cheese, then stir in egg until well-combined. Add the lemon zest and juice. Stir cream cheese mixture into flour mixture until dough forms a ball.

Gently push strawberries and cream cheese pieces into the dough to incorporate evenly. Be careful not to crush the berries or mash the cream cheese pieces.

Coat work surface and your hand with flour. Pull off half of the dough and coat with flour. The dough will be very sticky. Add flour as needed to keep it from sticking to your hands or work surface. Gently pat it out into a circle and, using a knife or pizza  cutter, cut into eight sections. I prefer to separate the wedges before placing on the baking sheets so that the edges get nice and brown, too. Do the same with the second half of dough.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden. Makes 16 scones.

 

 
Julie Hunter is a wife and mama, raising 3 spirited girls, two babydoll sheep, angora rabbits and a gaggle of chickens and ducks in the North Carolina Foothills. She spends her days at home, crafting with her children, homeschooling, taking long gathering walks in the woods and knitting Waldorf-inspired toys. You can find her blogging and keeping shop at This Cosy Life.

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The Spinach Cupcake

I love Pinterest and have used to find great recipes like the one  you will see here. For more great recipes check out my FAB FOOD board.

My boys are in Scouts and sadly they have been missing out on the snacks because of all the food coloring and unhealthy treats. Yes I am one of those moms who make my kids say, “ no thank you” to un-healthy snacks every time. Once I heard about them missing out I made it my mission to show the Pack that snacks can be healthy and still feel like a treat. Here is my variation on the recipe linked to above.

What you will need:
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (homemade if you make it)
1 1/2 cups of organic sugar
1large bag of spinach, you need 1 cup puree (you can use frozen)
3/4 cup of veg. oil of your choose
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:
Your favorite icing
Veggie based sanding sugar

Directions:
Steam or cook spinach. Puree spinach it should look like baby food. Let cool.
Beat together eggs and sugar, oil, lemon juice and 1 cup pureed spinach.
In a separate bowl mixture together dry ingredients. Pour into cupcake papers.
Bake at 350 for about 20 and 30 minutes check with toothpick. Let cool then add toppings.

Option: use any 1 cup of veggie or fruit puree to change these cupcakes up.

Looking for natural sanding sugar? I buy mine for Realistic Mermaid on Etsy.

Beccijo Neff is a toymaker, storyteller, and award winning Artist from Pennsylvania. She homeschools 4 children and is happily married. You can find more about her life and her work at her blog . To see her enchanting toys stop at her shop, it will brighten and delight you eyes to see all the magical things she creates.



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The Winning Recipe

The winner in the Irish Soda Bread recipe competition is recipe number I. The family agreed that the healthy version wasn’t their favorite, to say the least. In fact they downright hated it. Now I am wondering if they would have liked it better if I had used regular yoghurt? Or maybe they were disappointed about the lack of sweetness since there wasn’t any sugar. There was no fat in that second recipe either.

I thought it looked yummy and the crust was nice on it.

I guess I will have to eat both of the little loaves all by myself. I had some for lunch with pieces of Irish cheese on it. I kind of liked it but since I was surrounded by a lot of negative comments it was hard to enjoy.

If you find a different healthy recipe for Irish soda bread, please let me know. I am game to try again despite the grief that was given to me yesterday.

 

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Irish Soda Bread II – Whole Wheat

I stumbled upon this recipe a few months ago on Etsy. Supposedly the famed artist Georgia O’Keeffe made this type of bread every single day. She must have been eating a lot of bread. This version looked a lot simpler. Yet when making it I found it wasn’t. For one thing: I don’t think using Greek Yoghurt was a good idea. It’s healthier than buttermild for sure. But I had to add tons of milk just to get my dough to stick together. Now my two little loaves are in the oven baking and I’m wondering what the results will be. Got 25 minutes left  on the clock…

  •  4 cups of whole wheat flour
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1 teaspoon soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cup yoghurt

Just as in last week’s recipe you are supposed to mix all the dry ingredients together. Since there is no butter involved it’s even easier.

Then mix in the wet ingredients stirring them in gradually to form dough. Next time around I will try with regular yoghurt.

Make two flattened loaves. Slash them on top and bake your little cute loaves in two oiled pie pans at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes.

This is what they looked like when I put them in the oven just now:

 

I’ll report back this afternoon…

Ulla Seckler is a dollmaker who was born and raised in Germany. She lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and two kids. You can find her Notes by a German Dollmaker on her blog where she shares some great German recipes, pictures of her sweet dolls, and life lessons learned. Don’t forget to stop by her Etsyshop and take a peek at her wonderful doll creations.

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Autumn Apple Skillet Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

apple season  …  the apples have been picked and they are beautifully rosy, red .. naturally … now its time to make some naturally sweet and warming …

 Apple Skillet Cake

Apples

  • 2 or 3 medium tart apples (such as Mac), cored/ sliced
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice or apple cider
  • generous sprinkling of your favorite combination of sweet spices(cinnamon, nutmrg, cloves, cardamon, ginger, etc)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cake

  • 1 1/3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup warm milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 6 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 ½” to 10″ (2″ deep) cast-iron skillet; or a 9″ square cake pan. 
2) Combine the apples with the brown sugar, orange juice/ cider, spices, and salt. Set aside.  
3) Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 
4) Mix the warm milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture, stirring to combine. Pour into the prepared skillet. 5) Arrange the apple at the bottom of the skillet in single layer pattern. Over medium head for 10 to 15 minutes let apple mixture caramelize and brown 


6) Pour the batter on top and bake the cake for about 40 to 55 minutes until it is a light golden

 

7) Remove from the oven, and cool for about 5 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake from the pan, and place a large plate on top of skillet, turn over and serve. 
 ….this apple cake recipe was adapted from a recipe found here.
Enjoy!

reprinted from original post by prettydreamer  from “whither will i wander

 

prettdreamer

Hello, I am Pamela of Prettydreamer.   I am mama to a lovely prettydreamer  of my own.  I am still in love with toys,  storybooks and fairy tales of all kind.  In love with trees, rocks, maps and unknown places. And love stumbling upon ideas turned upside-down, folk hands  and honest traditions that run deep. and all the other friendly playful things that function or are simply made to bring joy


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Apple and Orange Muffin Recipe

My son’s birthday was on Sunday. So with the help of my older children I made these delicious Apple and Orange Muffins for breakfast. They’re vegan and have lots of nutrients, protein, and omega-6 from the hazelnuts. I have found these muffins also to be a wonderful mid-day snack with tea. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 large peeled tart apples, cut in small cubes
3 plums, halved, pitted and each half cut into 4 slices
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 cups organic all purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix the flour with chopped hazelnuts,  brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, a pinch of salt, and cinnamon.

Whisk together orange juice, orange zest, and melted coconut oil until blended.
Add the juice mixture to the flour mix, stirring just until all the ingredients are no longer dry. Stir in a little more orange juice if necessary. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Fold the apples into the mixture. Fill the batter into the muffin cups, not more than three-quarters full. Put a slice of a plum on the top of each muffin and bake them for about 40 minutes. Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes.

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Blueberry Scones

I love scones, they often have less sugar than a muffin, taste great by themselves or with jam, and with my new scone pan I can make 16 of them so they are a nice small treat, and so much fun to make on a snow day or a weekend morning.

For these blueberry scones you will need

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour (you can substitute 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat)
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 cup sugar (white or brown)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice
  • 1/2 stick butter, chilled unsalted
  • 3/4 cup milk or low fat buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • coarse sugar for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray your scone pan and place on cookie sheet, set aside.
2. In bowl combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, sugar, and salt and spices.

3. Cut in butter and transfer to a food processor. Pulse to combine until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer back to bowl.

4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the milk (I use buttermilk if I have it). Mix until an elastic dough forms. Add blueberries and gently fold, do not over mix.
5. If you have a scone pan, take portions of dough and fill the sections of the pan. If not, turn out dough on a lightly floured surface, gently spread out and with a cookie cutter (a simple round shape is best) cut the dough and place rounds onto greased baking sheet.

6. Add a dash of cinnamon on each scone and if you have it some coarse sprinkling sugar on each one. A cinnamon sugar mix will work too (I just mix my own so I can make sure there is more cinnamon than sugar).

7. Bake scones until they turn a golden brown, and rise. About 10-14 min, depending on your oven.

8. Serve right from the oven, with fresh butter, or just as they are. A perfect snow day treat!