Dairy Free Chocolate Dessert

Dairy Free Chocolate Treat

When I was young I never really understood all the fuss about Christmas food.  Mince pies were OK but the pudding and cake were awful.  I didn't like the dried fruit, the funny spices, the thick, sickly icing or the cream.  To me Christmas dinner was one big roast dinner with the unwanted addition of smelly, mini-cabbage and dodgy looking beige gloop on the side.  Don't even get me started on trifle!  

Then one day my Mum bought Delia Smith's Christmas cook book and my outlook on Christmas changed forever.  Interesting starters appeared and on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day there was chocolate puddings.  First up was the Squidgy Chocolate Log and then there was the Chocolate Truffle Torte.  Oh my goodness, I was in utter heaven.  Best of all there were leftovers for days.

Fast forward a few year and it slowly dawns on me that the reason I grew up not likely anything with milk in was because milk disagrees with me.  However my Mum was not having me grow up with rickets and growing old with brittle bones.  Close on two decades of compulsory dairy products has left me with a learnt love of cream teas and a deep, psychological need to always have cheese in the fridge.

Sure, truffle torte made my stomach sound like a bubbling kettle but it was worth it for the shear heavenly taste.  Then I had kids and it is very obvious that they seem to be having issues with milk too.  I can't play fast and loose with their digestion and so I needed a dairy free alternative to my favourite Christmas treat and I needed it fast.  This is the result, a mix of chocolate, coconut and rum.  It doesn't have the depth as the Delia recipe but give me time and a few more tries and I will manage it.  In the meantime, please try this recipe and let me know how it goes, I think it is very nice indeed, if a little rich.

Recipe

200g dark chocolate (I use the really cheap, supermarket versions, feel free to be more generous)
100g creamed coconut block,
80 g boiling water
1 dessert spoon of run (or other favourite alcohol.  Or use a teaspoon of flavouring)
1 grated orange rind.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over boiling water
Finely chopped the creamed coconut
Mix the creamed coconut with the boiling water and stir well until you get a creamy paste
Stir in the orange rind and the flavouring (if using)
Stir the cocnut mix into the chocolate, mix well
Pour or spoon into a a suitable container.  You can use just about any heat proof container for this.
Leave to too and then pop in the fridge to finish off

This cools to quite a solid dessert.  I am experimenting with using a little more water each time, an extra 10g, until I get a more creamy finish to the dessert.  At the moment it is like a chocolate bar left in a warm room.

Dairy Free Fish Pate

Hello, it's been awhile since I posted anything here, the time just seems to get away from me at the moment.  Anyway, this is more of a record for me but below is a rough recipe for dairy free fish pate.

My little boy can't really eat much dairy and lately I have been looking at ways of getting more fish into our diet.  Like a lot of English people I really am not that confident at cooking with fish.  I can take a large salmon, stuff with ginger and butter etc and produce a very nice dinner indeed.

In fact this general recipe of fish, stuffing, cover in pastry or wrap in paper and heat in some way is a good, basic recipe for a lot of fish I suspect.  However for those days when I don't want to spend most of the weekly shopping budget on one meal, I needed some new ideas.

So here it is:

1 tin of cooked butter beans
2 fillets of smoked fish (the kind you get vac-packed in the supermarket)
lemon juice
black pepper
olive oil or other oil

Blitz in the food processor.

That is really it.  I fond that I needed about 2 tablespoons of oil because the beans are so dry.  Be generous with the lemon and black pepper as well but leave them out if your family don't like them.

Spread on toast or stuff into pitta bread with some sliced cucumber and off you go.

Original recipe

1 small tub of soft cheese
smoked fish
black pepper
lemon juice

Blitze in food processor.

Both versions are delicious but the cheese based one is really creamy.

The bean based version is a bit lower in fat, dairy free and probably has a longer shelf life if stored in the fridge.

No photos today but the Cheese ones looks a pale cream colour and the bean based version looks a lot like humus.  It isn't very photogenic but my family just ate a lot of it.

Try adding your favourite combination of herbs to change the flavour.

Crumpets

Introduction

This evening I am making crumpets.  Two reasons really, I need some pictures to advertise a course I am running that features, you guessed it, crumpets and also because sometime soon I am going to have a go at a gluten free version.  If anyone has made gluten free crumpets and would like to save me the effort of working out if it is possible, then please do get in touch.  What this blog is sadly lacking is links to other people.  A lone voice is never that effective.

So anyway, crumpets!  I love them.  Writing this has made me question exactly they I like them so much and I think the answer is because they are the bread that gives maximum honey absorption.  Scones are good for cream and jam.  The thickness of the dough and low sugar and fat content makes them a perfect partner for the calorie laden topping.  Honey though just drips off most things.  It is only the wonderful crumpet with all its holes that allows the honey to really shine.  Crumpets also contain no added fat and only a tiny pinch of sugar to start the yeast.  They are all white flour and milk.  If you made them with wholemeal flour they would be down right healthy.

Recipe to make 8 crumpets

100g white bread flour

100g plain white flour

200ml warmed milk (I used oat milk in these pictures because some of my family can't digest cow milk, still makes great crumpets)

1 tsp dried, instant yeast

1 large pinch sugar

150 ml tepid water

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

Cooking oil

4 crumpet rings (I like the ones from Wilkinson, non stick and affordable)

Mix the two flours together in a bowl

Mix the yeast and sugar into the warm milk and stir well.

Until you have a nice, smooth dough.  Warning, it takes a lot of hard work to stir this dough.  You really need to persevere to make sure the gluten is well developed.  Dare I say it, but a mixer of some sort would be useful for people who find stirring a struggle.

Cover with cling film and leave to rise for about 1 hour or until it is well risen.  If it shows signs of deflating again then so much the better.

Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda into the terpid water. 

You might not need to use it all so make sure that the bicarb isn't all at the bottom.

Slowly add and stir until you have a thick pouring batter.  

Leave the batter again, this time for about 20 minutes.

As you can see from the picture below, it has gone all bubbly.  This is what we are looking for.  At this stage you want to get going as the bicarb will only last so long.

Grease a griddle pan or large frying pan and also lightly grease some crumpet rings.  I find that 4 is about all my large griddle can take.

Heat up but only to a low setting.  Crumpets are better cooked slowly.

Spoon crumpet mix into each one.  Only fill them about half full. As you can see from the next two pictures,  as the bubbles develop, the mix rises up and expands.

Also, slightly thinner crumpets are easier to cook through.

The crumpets are cooked then the top is very nearly set and the bubbles stay open.  It can take quite a few minutes to reach this stage.  If all has gone well then by now (the top one in the picture below) you should be able to gently slide the crumpet around and also remove the ring (with tongs!)

Remove the ring and flip over the crumpet. 

They benefit from cooking for another minute or two on the other side.

You can either eat them straight away or reheat them by popping them under the grill.

Home made crumpets will taste slightly crispy on the outside while being softer and fluffier on the inside.  Enjoy and let me know if you try to make them.