Flourless Chocolate Cake With Avocado Icing

Ingredients

• 200g butter

• 200g 70% dark chocolate bar

• 6 eggs

• 200ml maple syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 200g ground almonds

   For the Icing:

• 2 avocados, mashed

• 3 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 3 tbsp cacao powder

   To decorate:

• Berries

• Edible flowers

Method

1. Grease and line an 8” springform tin.

2. Preheat oven to 180c/160c fan

3. Melt the chocolate & the butter together over a bain-marie until smooth.

4. Keep one egg whole & separate the other 5 eggs. Whisk the whole egg together with 5 egg yolks, maple syrup & vanilla extract.

5. Add the ground almonds and stir to combine.

6. Whisk the 5 egg whites until soft peaks for. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate batter.

7. Tip the cake batter into the prepared tin and transfer to preheated oven to bake for 45 mins.

8. Remove cake from oven and a allow to cool in the tin on a wire rack.

9. Whilst the cake is cooling prepare the icing. Whisk together the mashed avocado, maple syrup, vanilla extract and cacao powder until smooth and silky.

10. Once the cake has cooled spread the icing over the top of the cake and decorate as you like with a mix of fresh berries and edible flowers.

Kombucha float

Did anyone else grow up loving coke floats? They were my absolute favourite & I would ask for it every time I was given a chance. This is my slightly more grown up version of that old favourite with healthier ingredients. I've used two Irish products; Lemon dairy free ice-cream by Nobo  & a Raspberry & Rosehip kombucha by Synerchi but you could always substitute in any of your favourite flavours here. 

Ingredients

• 250ml kombucha
• 3 scoops dairy-free ice cream

Method

1. Pour the kombucha into a tall, wide glass.
2. Scoop one scoop of ice-cream at a time on top of the kombucha, space out the scoops so it doesn't froth over too much.
3. Enjoy straight away, foam, bubbles & all (with the aid of a spoon).

Upside-down Spelt Pear Cake

I haven't posted in a while but happy New year & I hope you're 2017 is going great so far. To start off my year of recipes this is a sticky, comforting kind of cake, perfect for a January day. I love a good upside down cake as they tend to range from being really moist to being a gooey mess, which is pretty much my kind of cake! This cake uses spelt flour which is easy on digestion than wheat & coconut sugar which is much less refined than run of the mill plain white flour. You can play around with how you lay your pears, overlapping they whole way around looks great too. You could also try using different fruit like apples or quince or throwing in a few seasonal berries.

Ingredients:

• 115g butter, plus 2 tbsp for bottom of the pan
• 200g coconut sugar, plus 2 tbsp for the bottom of the pan
• 3-4 ripe pears, peeled, cored and sliced into quarters
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea-salt
• 125g spelt flour, sifted
• 1/4 tsp bread soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 100ml almond milk, or milk of your choice

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180ºC/350ºC/Gas 4. Melt 2 tbsp butter with 2 tbsp coconut sugar in the bottom of an ovenproof frying pan, over a low heat. Add the coconut sugar to the pan and stir until the sugar has melted.

2. Arrange the pear slices on top of this and remove from the heat.

3. Beat together the rest of the butter and coconut sugar. Add the eggs one at a time beating between each addition. Add the sea-salt and vanilla extract and mix through.

4. Fold in the spelt flour, bread soda, cinnamon and ginger. Lastly add the almond milk and bring together. Pour the cake batter over the pears in the pan, transfer to preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until cooked through.

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

I'm hanging on to the end of Summer here in Ireland with this gorgeous pink dessert. It's perfectly creamy & delicious without too many heavy ingredients. It's also dairy and gluten free so a good bet when catering for people with intolerances. Once the 'cheesecake' mix has chilled in the fridge for 4 hours top it with fresh edible flowers or berries, cut into thin slivers and enjoy. Keep it stored in the fridge once you have cut your quota of slices, this is because it does not contain any added gelling agents that would keep it firmer for longer.

Serves 16

Ingredients:

Crust

• 100g pecan nuts
• 140g almonds
• 4 medjool dates
• Pinch of sea-salt

Filling

• 330g cashew nuts
• 100ml agave syrup
• 120l water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 350g strawberries
• 180ml coconut oil

Method:

1.  To prepare the crust place the pecans, almonds, medjool dates and sea-salt into a food processor and pulse for a couple of minutes.

2.  Press the mix into the base of the cake tin, transfer to fridge to harden while you prepare the filling.

3.  Place the cashew nuts, maple syrup, water, vanilla extract, strawberries and coconut oil into a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy.

4.  Pour the creamy mix over the base in the cake tin.

5.  Place the cheesecake into the fridge to set for at least 4 hours.

6.  Top with some berries or edible flowers and serve.

Raspberry Mousse

This is a perfect dessert for a hot Summers day. It's also quick and easy to prepare and dairy and gluten free for those with intolerances. Irish raspberries are still available so grab them while you can for far superior flavour than those that need to sit in cold storage for days. Conroy's raspberries is one such place that sells gorgeous raspberries in Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow. They are just up the hill from the Avoca store in Kilmacanogue & close to the Sugar Loaf Mountain too, in case you fancy making a day of it.

Ingredients:

• 100g cashew nuts
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 200g coconut milk (full fat)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp agave syrup 
• 200g frozen raspberries

Method:

1. Blend the cashew nuts, coconut oil, coconut milk, vanilla extract, agave syrup together in a blender until smooth and creamy.

2. Add the frozen berries and continue to blend until creamy.

3. Top with some berries, rose petals or any healthy toppings of your choice.

Chocolate Cupcakes With Avocado Chocolate Frosting

I know the sound of avocado as an icing ingredient does not sound immediately appetising but it honestly works perfectly in this glossy chocolate recipe & lends a rich creaminess to the icing. These cupcakes are fully gluten & dairy-free so a great one to make for parties & special occasions if you have people with any food intolerances attending. You could stick some candles in the top for a birthday cupcake display or top with fresh fruit or berries. I've gone for a mix of dried rose petals, bee pollen and dried cornflowers. You can pick these toppings up in speciality food stores and health food shops, the dried petals definitely hold up better than fresh petals would & well they look pretty too :) Enjoy!

Makes 8 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 40g cocoa powder
• 340g ground almonds
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bread soda
• Pinch of sea-salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 75ml almond milk (or milk of your choice)
• 125ml coconut oil, melted

Chocolate Icing:

• 2 ripe avocados, mashed
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Toppings:

• Dried rose petals
• Bee pollen
• Dried cornflower petals

Method:

1. Line a muffin tray with 8 paper cases. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4.

2. Place the cocoa powder, ground almonds, baking powder, bread soda and sea-salt into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, vanilla extract, maple syrup, almond milk and coconut oil. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

3. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases. Transfer the muffin tray to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

4. To prepare the icing, whisk the avocados, cocoa powder, maple syrup and vanilla extract together until glossy and smooth.

5. Once the cupcakes have cooled, spread the icing over the top of the cupcakes and sprinkle with your choice of natural toppings.