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Gluten Free Coconut Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Ganache Filling and Coconut Whipped Cream

Annie Kochneva — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 18:06:00 +0000

I don't know how long it's been since I made cake, but this is an extremely quick and delicious recipe for a gluten-free cake that you shouldn't miss. In general I don't like coconut, but the smell of the coconut flour is out of this world. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients:

For the cake
1/2 cup butter
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup sifted coconut flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

( 1/2 cup chocolate chips)

For the filling:
1/2 packet cream cheese
1 cup Nutella

For the topping:
fresh fruit ( in this case strawberries)
1 can of coconut milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar

1. Chill the coconut milk in the can in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F and melt the chocolate and butter together.
3. Sift the coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together.
4. In a mixer beat the eggs, the sugar and the vanilla.
5. Mix the dry and wet ingredients, then stir in the melted chocolate/butter mixture and fold in the chocolate chips , then pour into two 8 inch cake pans.
6. Bake on 350F for 30 min ( or until done).
7. Let the cake cool and prepare the filling and topping.

* When you leave the cake in the fridge, the cream cheese ganache will thicken. My kids couldn't wait, so we cut it right away and you can tell the ganache is soft in the picture. But if you can wait, let it stay an hour or so before you cut.

8. In a mixer bowl beat the cream cheese and Nutella. Spread it between the two layers.
9.Then open the coconut milk can and scoop only the creamy part. Save the water for something else. Beat the coconut milk until it resembles whipped cream.
10. Assemble the cake with the filling, spread the topping on top and add the fruit. You can use fruit glaze to preserve the fruit better.

Bon appetite!

Digitally Drawn Romantic Valenties Day Cards For the Love of Your Life

Annie Kochneva — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 08:12:00 +0000

I love my drawing tablet! Have I said that before?More than a couple of hundred times?That's what I thought. What can I say, I cannot get enough of it!
So, I have 9 Valentine's Day cards that I hope will make the list of things you want to give to your better half this year.
Which one is your favorite?

Buy this design here

Buy this design here

Buy this design now

Buy this design here

Buy this design here

Buy this design here

Buy this design here

Buy this design here

Buy this design here

Easy Homemade Sushi

Annie Kochneva — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 20:12:00 +0000

I have posted previously the basic recipe how to make maki sushi so I won't re-post again but feel free to check it out. In any case, I wanted to try some new variations and they came out pretty neat. For example, I always made rolls that were with sushi nori on the outside. This time, I tried making the sushi with rice on the outside, some with black sesame seeds, some with avocado on the outside, some with smoked salmon etc.
They came out much better than expected.

I have to say I need sharper knives though. I really had a tough time slicing the avocado properly for the lineup on on top.

On a different note,I did finally get a bamboo mat so making sushi this time was a bit different. In my honest opinion, I had tougher time making the rolls as tight as I used to make them without the mat. I am thinking I will probably watch some more videos on how to do it with the mat. A lot of sushi chefs praise the use of the mat for rolling and I have the suspicion that I might be doing it wrong, that is why I am having a harder time rolling them with it.

Talking about new ingredients, I never used cream cheese in sushi before. I simply got one package and cut 2 stripes out of it, it looked almost as imitation crab. In combination with the salmon, it was amazingly delicious! Of course, one other reason to use cream cheese was that my little one doesn't like fish and I needed to make something that she likes, so that pushed things in that direction as well.
In any case, sushi is much easier to make than most people thing and if you haven't tried it before, I highly recommend doing it. It's really interesting to test out all of the combinations one can make with 5-10 different ingredients.

For these sushi rolls I used :
- Smoked salmon
- Shrimp
- Crab rolls
- Cream cheese
- Cucumber
- Avocado
- Carrots
- White sesame seeds
- Black sesame seeds
- Sushi nori seaweed sheets
- Sushi rice
- Rice vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt

* I love sushi with raw fish, but I don't use raw fish at home because I don't trust the sources where I can buy it from. However, if you have a good supplier, by all means, include raw fish.

As garnish I used ready made pickled ginger, sweet soy sauce dipping sauce, spicy mayo, wasabi. Most of these you can find in any big grocery store in the Asian food section.
Considering I made the traditional for many Japanese restaurants ginger salad and miso soup, the experience was much like going out to our favorite sushi place.

Enjoy!

The Best Gluten Free Tapioca Flour Crepes Recipe Ever

Annie Kochneva — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 14:21:00 +0000

I don't usually do video and today was completely unplanned but I was so excited to share this amazing recipe! I did publish the Coconut crepes recipe before and it is indeed a delicious one, but this is so much closer to texture and taste to the real crepes, that I can absolutely honestly say, it's the best crepes that I've had. I am not saying that about gluten free crepes only, I actually like that recipe better than the regular gluten crepes. The texture is so delicate and the taste is amazing!

Of course, part of the reason I made the spur of the moment video is to demonstrate how easy it is to make them, because a lot of people are intimidated that it's very difficult, and in fact it's not. I was thinking of editing the video out because I dropped the phone at one point when I was recording, but then I thought, what the heck, it makes it that more authentic, right?
As Julia Child would say " What happens in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen" LoL :-)

The Best Gluten Free Crepes with Tapioca Flour

Ingredients :

1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup gluten free cornstarch

3 eggs
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup coconut milk ( you can also use regular too)
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Coconut oil ( for greasing your pan)

Preparation:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, then mix the rest ( except the coconut oil) in a blender until well belended.
2. Gradually add the dry ingredients and blend well.
3. In a greased with coconut oil pan over medium heat pour enough to cover the bottom of the pan ( about 1/4 cup, it depends on the size of your pan of course)
4. Flip the crepe and when done place on a piece of a parchment paper ( the first pancake only, the rest you can place on top of each other).

Of course, watch the video and you will see exactly how I do them too.

I would be very happy to hear your comments when you try this recipe, so don't be shy..:-)
Enjoy!

Gluten Free Crepes With Coconut Flour

Annie Kochneva — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 18:41:00 +0000

I love crepes and I was really bummed that I couldn't find a good gluten free recipe. I tied many different ones, but after a bit of experimenting, I think this is the best, easiest and most delicious recipe I've tried. The subtle coconut flavor makes it that much better.

By the way, the taste and texture are different than regular crepes. The gluten free ones are much more richer, fuller, if I might say so. Have in mind that while they are warm, they are much more delicate than regular crepes. Bake on lower temperature so they don't fall apart when you are trying to flip them. The process is MUCH different than making regular crepes and it might take a few tries to get them right, but the taste is totally worth it.

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1/2 tsp of sugar ( you can substitute with anything you use as a sweetener)
1 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp coconut oil ( or regular butter)
4 tbsp coconut flour
pinch of salt

Makes about 7 crepes

Preparation:

1. In a stand up mixer beat the eggs first on slow, then gradually increase to high. Beat until the egg mixture is doubled in size.

2. Gradually add the sugar, milk and oil.

3. Sift the flour and the salt, then gradually add it to the eggs mixture.

4. When done, let the mixture stand for 15-20 minutes, then beat with the mixture again.

5. Grease ( with olive oil or coconut oil for more flavor) then heat a non-stick pan on medium to low. When heated, pour with a ladle from the mixture and cook for a minute or so, then flip the crepe.

6. Garnish with Nutella, fresh fruit, whipped cream, honey, nuts, chocolate- you choose.
Bon appetite!