Chunky Coconut Granola (Clean)

How is it already Saturday? I was so looking forward to using this October break productively. I was going to finish all my college essays and come up with a Math IA topic and finish my Extended Essay and study for my upcoming math integration test and my psychology socio-cultural level of analysis test and get started on writing my psych IA and oh god I’ve done nothing. Well, then again, I didn’t do nothing. I mean, I did watch more movies than I’d normally watch in half a year, and I finished a book. Oh – and I ate a lot of food. That counts for something, right?

I just read my first Lee Child book – Killing Floor. It’s the first book in the Jack Reacher series and I have to admit that I was mildly disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe the book just wasn’t as good as it’s hyped up to be. I watched the movie afterwards, which was based on a different book in the series, and I feel like I could pretty much predict aspects of every story in the series. Always has to be a damsel in distress (or any hostage really), a betrayal, a car being tailed, and Reacher shoving his thumbs in someone’s eyes. Has anyone read the whole series? Am I close?

Oops I haven’t even told you anything about this recipe yet. I’m tired and cold. Forgive me.

Now, I have a lot of granola recipes, but this one is definitely a favourite. I’m not usually the biggest fan of coconut-flavored things, but this is seriously amazing. The granola is suuper chunky. You know granola’s gonna be chunky when the whole sheet of it just sticks together and you can break it into chunks as big as you’d like. Check this out (warning – bad quality phone pictures incoming):

“Is that what I think it is?” YES. It’s a giant sheet of granola. You could’ve broken it in half and called it reaaally chunky granola.

Point is, this granola gives you the clusters of your dreams, and is infused with such an aromatic and sweet coconut flavour that you will not be able to resist.

Chunky Coconut Granola

Adapted from Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (135g) old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup (40g) toasted and salted coconut flakes
• 3/4 cup (80g) raw almonds, chopped
• 1/4 cup (25g) raw pecans, chopped
• 1 tablespoon (12g) coconut sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons (45ml) coconut oil
• 1/3 cup (80ml) maple syrup or honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius or 325 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, coconut flakes, almonds, pecans, coconut sugar, and salt
3. In a small saucepan, heat the coconut oil and maple syrup over low heat and whisk until fully combined. Add in the vanilla sugar and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the coconut oil mixture over the dry ingredients and stir together until the dry ingredients are thoroughly coated in the coconut oil mixture
5. Spread the granola mixture evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet and bake for approximately 20 minutes. At 20 minutes, turn the pan around so that the granola bakes evenly, and bake for another 5-7 minutes. Granola has a tendency to be a little unpredictable in the oven, so keep and eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
6. When the granola is golden brown, remove from oven and allow it to cool completely before breaking it into chunks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!

My 17th Birthday Cake (Cheat)

~5-layer midnight cake with cheesecake filling, covered with a generous layer of pink buttercream, glossy chocolate ganache, and topped with whipped cream and Oreos~

Guess who’s 17 years old!

I have a love-hate relationship with birthdays. I love everything about them, except the fact that I’m another year older. I prefer other people’s birthdays, with all the celebrations and games and cakes and gift-opening, but without me being consciously aware of my ageing.

It’s weird, isn’t it? The way that day by day, hour by hour, we age, but it’s only once a year for 24 hours that we actually acknowledge it. Then again, acknowledging our constant ageing would take some of the fun out of birthdays.

I don’t understand why people want to get older. A pessimistic way of putting is is that every year, you’re a year closer to death. You become more likely to get sick. You have more responsibilities. Then again, an optimistic way of seeing is is that every year, you are faced with new opportunities. You’ll graduate and start a new chapter of your life. You might get a job. You might meet “the one”. You might get married. You might have kids. Who knows? In the end, the best way to predict your future is to live it the way you want. Sometime’s it’s just easier to be passive to all that happens around you, so that when things go wrong, you can blame the world and carry on, but wow, that must get boring. The happiest people are those who take control of their lives and steer it the way they want to go. When things go wrong, they acknowledge their mistakes and learn from them, and when things go right, they’re living Heaven on Earth. You pick (hint: I’d go with the second one).

I always seem to get really reflective on my birthday. Is it just me?

But let’s focus on the real reason you’re here: CAKE!

Another reason why I always get excited about birthdays – cake. This year, I decided to bake myself a 5-layer midnight cake with cheesecake filling, covered with a generous layer of pink buttercream, glossy chocolate ganache, and topped with whipped cream and Oreos. Helll yes.

To be honest, the cake is pretty much just a chocolate cake with black food colouring added. I used to not like chocolate cake. I thought that it was too rich. I’d always opt for vanilla or red velvet. Chocolate cake just wasn’t my thing, but alas, times have changed. Maybe I’d been deprived of chocolate cake for too long, but this chocolate cake was the bomb. Even before I baked the cake, the cake batter was waving chocolatey scents at me, trying to get me to give in and admit that chocolate cake is one of the best kinds of cake. While I was trimming the cakes, I nibbled on some of the cake crumbs and I was in awe, trying to understand how I had ever disliked chocolate cake. This chocolate cake is velvety. It’s suuper moist and it’s perfectly sweet. It has a wonderful cocoa flavour that isn’t overwhelming, and it pairs beautifully with all the other flavours going on in this cake.

Speaking of other flavours…THE CHEESECAKE FILLING. I don’t know how many times I’ve said it, but cream cheese frostings are magical. Maybe that’s a biased opinion because they’re my favourite, but tbh I’ve never met anyone who dislikes cream cheese frosting. The cheesecake filling tastes pretty much just like cream cheese frosting, but there isn’t as much butter. The butter’s replaced with whipped cream, which is just folded in at the end, so that you end up with filling that’s extra fluffy and light, but definitely is not missing any flavour.

I don’t want to be writing an essay here, so I’m just going to tell you that the buttercream, chocolate ganache, whipping cream, and Oreos are perfect. Simply, utterly, perfect.

5-Layer Midnight Cake with Cheesecake Filling and Pink Buttercream

Adapted from various sources (linked below)

Ingredients

For the cake

• 2 1/4 cups (285 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 cups (450 g) superfine sugar
• 1 cup (120 g) “black” unsweetened cocoa powder (or regular cocoa powder with 1 teaspoon black gel food colouring)
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 cup (240 ml) hot coffee
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 eggs, room temperature

For the cheesecake filling

• 500g cream cheese, softened
• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 200g freshly whipped cream
• 200g icing sugar, sifted

For the pink buttercream

• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
• 4 cups (500g) powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pink food colouring

For the chocolate ganache

• 5 ounces (150 g) best-quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt)
• 3/4 cup (90 g) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey

For the whipping cream

• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar, to taste

• Oreos, for topping

Method

I’ve included generic bad-quality, unedited photos that I took while I was assembling the cake for reference. Let me know if you have any questions!

1. For the cake, preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, sugar, black cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
3. In a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, coffee, oil, and vanilla, and then mix in eggs
4. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide batter equally among the three lined and greased 8-inch cake pans or weigh for accuracy. Each pan should weigh about 600 grams
5. Bake the first two layers until a wooden pick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then turn onto rack to cool completely. Repeat with the final cake layer. When ready to assemble the cake, wrap the layers in plastic wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
6. For the cheesecake filling, use an electric mixer to whip cream cheese, butter, and icing sugar until pale and fluffy. Fold in whipped cream until combined
7. For the pink buttercream, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Add in the icing sugar, vanilla extract, food colouring, and 1 tablespoon of whipping cream and beat until combined
8. To assemble the cake, trim the cake layers, and then halve them so that each cake becomes two layers.
9. Place approximately 1/2 tablespoon of the cheesecake filling (or buttercream) on the center of a cake board, and place your bottom cake layer onto the cake board. Add about 1/2-3/4 cup of cheesecake filling onto the top of the cake, and using a small offset spatula, spread the filling so that it covers the top of the cake. It’s okay to let a little bit of filling go over the side. Add the next cake layer and repeat until you’ve reached your final cake layer
10. Cover the cake with a thin layer of the cheesecake filling (or buttercream), also known as crumb coating it, and chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes
11. Cover the cake in pink buttercream and chill in fridge for at least 15 minutes
12. In the meantime, make the chocolate ganache. In a small bowl, melt the chocolate, butter, corn syrup and salt in the microwave, about 50 seconds, and stir until smooth. Let cool until it thickens slightly, about 15 minutes
13. For the whipping cream, use a whisk or electric hand mixer to whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Whisk in the powdered sugar. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tip
14. (Assembling, continued) Remove the cake from the fridge and spoon the chocolate glaze to the edges of the cake, gently pushing some over the side and letting it dribble down. When you’ve finished putting chocolate glaze on the edges of the cake, spoon chocolate glaze into the centre until covered
15. When the chocolate has set slightly, pipe the whipped cream around the edges of the cake and top each swirl with half an Oreo
16. Serve!

Fruity Rainbow Fro-Yo Popsicles (Clean)

Expect lots of ice cream recipes these days, ’cause my freezer it literally full of it right now.

Also – I figured out a problem to that Photoshop problem. I had a bunch of recipes with unedited photos, but my laptop died and my brother’s laptop doesn’t have Photoshop. My solution – using a 7-day trial. Hell yes.

So instead of working on my college apps and my math IA, I’ll gladly spend these next 6 days editing all the photos I had procrastinated.

These fruity popsicles are perfect for the killer heat this summer. I haven’t left my house for the past week until today, when I took my dog for a walk. I had only been outside for about 5 minutes before I started sweating and my dog was panting like crazy. Needless to say, it was a short walk. When I got home, the first thing I went to grab was one of these popsicles. I gave my dog her water, which she lapped up, but then she just stared at me longingly as I enjoyed my cold popsicle. Poor puppy.

Feel free to sub in whatever fruit you want, depending on what you have on hand. Oh, and no – blueberries do not make a blue layer, but you could experiment around with spirulina powder to get a turqoise-colored layer.

Fruity Rainbow Fro-Yo Popsicles

Ingredients

• 3 cups greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup cherries or raspberries
• 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
• 1/2 cup chopped kiwi
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 tablespoon açai powder
• Honey, to taste

Method

1. Distribute the yogurt evenly among 5 bowls
2. In a food processor, blend each fruit separately and set aside. Start off with the lightest colors and gradually use darker ones to avoid washing your food processor/blender every time (pineapple -> kiwi -> cherries/raspberries -> blueberries
3. Stir the pineapple, kiwi, and cherry/raspberry fruit purees into the bowls of yogurt. For the two distinct layers of purple, stir about a tablespoon of blueberry puree in one, and the rest into the other. Add the açai powder to the yogurt with more blueberry.
4. Stir in half a teaspoon or so of honey into each bowl, if desired.
5. Layer the yogurt into popsicle moulds. If your yogurt is runny, it may be easier to freeze the yogurt in between layers
6. Freeze for 4-6 hours

4-Ingredient Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (Clean)

I’ve been making cookies a lot these days, and I’ll admit that I’ve been eating a lot of the raw cookie dough as well (*gasp* salmonella!), but hey – I’m not sick yet!

Anyways, you can stop making excuses for eating the raw cookie dough (“I’m making sure the cookies will taste good…”). Instead – you may as well just make an entire batch of safe-to-eat cookie dough. Wait, no…sorry, I meant an entire batch of safe-to-eat healthy cookie dough!

I swear, this healthy cookie dough is healthier than any baked-cookie dough you’ve ever had, but it tastes just as good. It has the same sweetness and flavor and texture and it’s studded with plenty of chocolate chips. Except, with this one, you don’t need to worry about raw eggs or raw flour or any other bad stuff.

All you need is to grab 3 ingredients, throw them all into a food processor, throw on some chocolate chips, grab a spoon, and dig in!

4-Ingredient Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Ingredients

• 1 (400g) can white beans or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
• 2 tbsp honey (can sub with any liquid sweetener of choice)
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method

1. In a food processor, process the beans, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla extract until fully combined and smooth
2. Stir in the chocolate chips
3. Eat! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

Silky Chocolate Truffles (Cheat)

You know those reallllyyy good Japanese chocolate truffles? I’ve figured out how to make them at home.

I still remember the batch of chocolate truffles that made me fall in love with chocolate truffles. To be honest, it was only a year or two ago, and I don’t mean Lindt chocolate truffles, I mean pure, silky, squares of chocolate that literally just melt in your mouth. My friend had just gotten back from Japan and he gave me a box of Royce Nama Chocolate.

My life changed.

The box of truffles was gone within a day.

Luckily for me, I always manage to get my hands on more Royce Nama Chocolate, but even then, the chocolates don’t last very long (I mean in terms of storage, although true, I do end up finishing them all in a very short period of time), so I needed to figure out a way to make them myself.

I used very few, simple ingredients for this. I didn’t want anything to overpower or affect the pure flavor of chocolate. Thus, the truffles are mostly made from high-quality chocolate, along with cream, butter, and a bit of liquid sweetener to give it that irresistible silky texture.

Not to mention, this recipe is super easy to make. It literally takes like 10 minutes to throw together, and you just wait a bit for it to set and voila – you have a perfect Mother’s Day gift. I’m being totally serious when I say that these taste way better than any store-brought version. Plus, it saves you the trouble of running around looking for gifts, and of course, homemade goods are always so much better gifts that store-brought ones.

Notes: The recipe can easily be doubled if you want a larger batch of chocolate truffles, which I recommend (because c’mon…12 truffles is not enough 😉 )

Silky Chocolate Truffles

Makes 12 truffles

Ingredients

• 250g high quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 200g heavy cream
• 20g light corn syrup or honey
• 60g unsalted butter, cubed
• 50g cocoa powder, for dusting

Method

1. Add the chopped chocolate into a food processor
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the heavy cream and corn syrup/honey, and heat over medium heat
3. When the heavy cream mixture is almost boiling, turn on the food processor to process the chocolate
4. With the food processor on or off, add the heavy cream mixture to the chocolate and process until it just comes together
5. Add in the butter and process to combine until no butter streaks remain
6. Pour the mixture into a baking pan lined with parchment paper or plastic wrap and spread evenly
7. Allow the mixture to cool for a few hours, until set, before placing it into the refrigerator for 20 minutes
8. Remove the ganache from the baking pan and remove the parchment or plastic wrap. Cut into cubes and roll in cocoa powder
9. Serve truffles at room temperature

Blueberry Almond Granola (Clean)

YAY FOR MORE BREAKFAST FOODS!

I know that I recently posted breakfast cookies, but c’mon you can’t get enough of breakfast foods, right? I would totally be up for having breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but that’s not really likely to happen. Well, it might. Come to think of it, that should be something on my (nonexistent) bucket list – eat breakfast all day. Hell yes. I’ll make a mental note to do that for my birthday. Just kidding, my birthday’s on a Monday. I just googled (or Yahoo-ed, because my VPN is being a b****) National Breakfast Day and apparently that’s sometime in early March. Seriously? Okay, you know what – I’ll add that to my baking bucket list. I know, it doesn’t really count, but shhh…

Alright – back to the reason you’re here: granola.

Lemme tell you a little story. One day I came home to find this a bunch of packages of food on our dining room table, and I was so excited. Unshelled macadamias – so good! I just sat there for a good half hour or so breaking apart macadamias, feeling especially proud whenever I broke off the shell and was left with a full, gorgeous, sweet, and aromatic macadamia. Sorry jk that’s irrelevant, but as I was saying, there were a bunch of packages of food, including unshelled nuts and nougats and – dried blueberries. There was this pretty big package and inside it were these perfect snack-sized packages of dried blueberries. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of eating dried fruit. If it’s in a salad or in granola, I love it, but by itself? Nah.

So, eventually we (mostly my mom and grandma) finished off the little packages of dried blueberries, and my mom decided to order another package online. Somehow, she managed to order 5 packages – each with like, 20 mini-packages inside. Okay, that’s a lot of dried blueberries. But then, as a baker, I was like, I CAN BAKE THIS INTO STUFF! I usually don’t bake with dried blueberries because they’re slightly costly and we don’t usually have them around, but now we had a good bunch of dried blueberries, so I went hunting on the web before facepalming and thinking – duh, granola.

And now we’re here.

Here, with this aromatic almond granola that’s studded with sweet, sweet dried blueberries. Cases like these – dried fruit tastes so darn good.

I don’t know why I haven’t tried this combo before. I’ve done lots of blueberry-white chocolate, but never blueberry-almond. That’s about to change. This is seriously such a good combo. I’ve been throwing handfuls of this granola into all my nana ice creams and onto my smoothies (after I take a photo, of course, because otherwise you wouldn’t be able to see the ice cream/smoothie underneath. Yes, I do put on that much granola).

Blueberry Almond Granola

Adapted from Recipe Runner

Ingredients

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup silvered almonds
• 1/2 cup whole almonds, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius or 300 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, almonds, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar until fully combined
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, honey, almond extract, and vanilla extract
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir together until well combined
5. Spread the granola onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
6. Bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown, making sure to remove the granola from the oven and stirring it to ensure that it bakes evenly
7. After the granola is done, stir in the dried blueberries and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Chocolate and Walnut Breakfast Cookies (Clean)

I usually try to keep things from being repetitive on this blog, and by that, I mean I never post two muffin recipes without at least 4 other types of recipes in between. Yeah….that’s changed. It’ll probably be a one-time thing, but nonetheless, I’m guilty.

Two posts ago was the recipe for these AMAZING cranberry and dark chocolate oatmeal cookies. In that post, I told you guys that my new favorite go-to snack were cookies, and I still stand by that. I am literally eating one of these cookies as I type.

These cookies have the classic chewy texture of any other oatmeal cookie, with a slightly crispy exterior, especially when you re-heat them in the oven. When heated, they get so aromatic thanks to the walnuts, and the chocolate chunks melt and go all gooey and you will find yourself eating more cookies than you planned, but that’s okay, cause they’re pretty damn good for you.

Chocolate and Walnut Breakfast Cookies

Adapted from Half-Baked Harvest

Makes 25 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter or almond butter
• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, flaxseed, baking soda, and salt
3. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the coconut oil and peanut butter together for 30 seconds, then whisk to combine. Add in the mashed bananas, egg, honey, and vanilla extract and whisk until combined
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until the dough comes together. Fold in the dark chocolate and walnuts until well combined
5. Scoop out a heaped tablespoon of the cookie dough and roll into a ball. Place onto a greased or lined baking sheet and flatten into your desired shape. They will not spread while baking. Repeat this for all of the dough
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes

Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (Clean)

Healthy oatmeal cookies are my life right now! My old go-to snack were healthy muffins, but now, cookies have undoubtedly taken first place (sorry, muffins, I still love you).

Where do I start with these cookies?

They’re gluten-free, and aren’t insanely sweet like your average cookie, which means that you can eat two (or three!) without feeling sickly full. Nevertheless, they’ve definitely got that comforting oatmeal flavor, which pairs beautifully with the subtle, fruity flavor of cranberries and the undeniable richness of the dark chocolate chunks.

Gotta say – the dark chocolate chunks are probably my favorite part. Chocolate chunks in any recipe will be my favorite part.When it comes to chocoholics like me, it’s inevitable, and when I say chocoholic, I mean chocoholic. I can’t (okay, rarely) go a day without eating chocolate. I just indulged in a decent bunch of chocolate truffles, the ones with the crispy little pieces inside. They’re so good, and apparently each one is over 100kcal but that didn’t stop me from eating 5. You see where I’m going with this? If I ever decided to do a calorie-restricting diet (FYI: never happening), I’d insist that chocolate doesn’t count towards my daily calorie count. How could it? Chocolate is a joy in life that must not be denied.

But moving on from the chocolate, these cookies are seriously the perfect snack. They’re filling, and satisfy your sweet tooth. I actually like to stick them into my nana ice creams, mostly because aesthetics, but I’m always incorporating these cookies into my nana ice creams and it’s become an obsession. I can’t get enough. I’ve been luxuriating in nana ice cream with cookies and the weather’s still hanging around the negatives. See? I’ve been willing to sacrifice my scarce warmth for the sake of nana ice cream with these amazing oatmeal cookies. I hope you’re convinced – these cookies are the s**t.

Oh, and LEO WON AN OSCAARRR!

Fun fact: He’s a vegetarian

One last side note – be gentle when chopping up cranberries. They do not go down without a fight. As I was chopping them up, I had to gently squish them with the knife. If I dared to get aggressive, they would too, shooting out streaks of deep red juice, leaving every object within a 2-meter radius (including me) covered in red dots. Lesson learned: cranberries like to die a slow, gentle death.

(Update Mar 8. 2016:  I made another batch of those cranberry and dark chocolate oatmeal cookies three days ago, and now there’s only one left. They’re that good. That’s like, 5 cookies a day. I have no regrets.)

Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from Amy’s Healthy Baking

Ingredients

• 1 cup (100g) quick-cooking/instant oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
• ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons (28g) coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup (120mL) maple syrup or honey
• ½ cup (55g) cranberries, chopped*
• 3 tablespoons (42g) chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips

*You can also use frozen cranberries that have been thawed

Method

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Fold in the flour mixture until just combined, before folding in the cranberries and 2 tablespoons of the dark chocolate
3. Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit or 160 degrees Celsius
4. Place the cookie dough in 12-15 rounded scoops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten them into desired thickness and size. The cookies won’t spread much or change shape as they bake. Press on the remaining chocolate pieces on top and bake for 9-12 minutes
5. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks

Katherine Sabbath Inspired 4-Layer Meringue Birthday Cake (Cheat)

Happy birthday to me! I’m finally 16!

I’m one of the youngest in my grade, and although I liked being the only one in my classes who was 15 while others were 16, it feels pretty good to be 16. 16. 16! The sweet sixteen.

This year, my brother turned 18 (what!) and I turned 16. I’m hoping that this year will go well, overlooking the fact that my brother started his first year in university and I’m starting my first year of the IB, of course.

I wish that along with the study of chemicals and human behavior and history and language, there was a study of time. Maybe it exists somewhere out there, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s not a course in the IB. If it were, I’d be taking it as a higher level for sure.

Time is – to put it simply – absolutely amazing, and absolutely mind-f***ing.

The brain takes a fraction of a second to process information, so everything that’s happening around you is technically already in the past. And the stars that you gaze up at, including the sun. The light from those stars take seconds and minutes to travel from far away into your eyes, so you’re seeing those in the past. If a star went out, you’d still see it shining for a little while longer, because your eyes no longer view the present. Then there’s also that physics theory, where time isn’t always relevant. The theory states that if you’re next to something of an exceptionally large mass, or traveling at an exceptionally high speed, time slows down. I guess that’s a physics thing, but still.

Then again, time isn’t just about the unmatched human perception of time, it’s also about how much can change in either a millisecond, or over the course of a lifetime. Take this quote from DJ McHale: “A second is nothing. A tick on the clock. Seconds pass all the time and we never think about any one of them. But a second can be an eternity.” (I know, I already shared that quote on my last birthday cake post, but it was worth sharing again).

Tragedy happens at the same time as miracles do. I remember, a couple years back, I was on vacation in Europe. It was nighttime. Dark and rainy. My family and I didn’t have any rain protection, and we were frantically running to find our way back to our hotel. At that moment, I was absolutely miserable, and then I started to think. Someone out there in the world is having the best moment of their life. Perhaps getting married, or a couple welcoming their child into the world, yet I’m here, drenched, dripping, and shivering. Ever since then, I’ve always thought similarly at times of low, and it cheers me up to know that someone out there is having the best time of his/her life. Vice versa. When I’m happy and grateful for all the goodness around me, I take a moment to think about someone across the world who may be rushing through thunder and lightning, desperate for shelter, and although it may not help, I close my eyes and send out my condolences.

Anyways, enough about time.

I celebrated my birthday with my friends a couple of weeks before my actual birthday. It was a shared birthday party that I celebrated with my best friend, who turned 16 on August 24.

I found out that she, along with most of my friend group, hadn’t ever gone and properly done karaoke. I was stunned. We were in China, in Beijing! I’d done karaoke countless times, karaoke places are like a second home to me. During my childhood, when I lived in Beijing, I’d say that there were only 3 places people ever celebrated birthdays, child or adult: At home, laser tag, or karaoke.

Naturally, I insisted that we went and did karaoke, and then went back to my house to have dinner and cake and to chill, so that’s what we did. We truly had such an amazing time, and my friends got me the best gifts I could’ve asked for. I went to bed that night feeling loved. I was so happy to have received a dessert journal and Bobby Singer’s Journal and the Enchanted Garden coloring book and a cookie cookbook and a fountain pen and stickers and candy roses and etcetera etcetera. Plus, seeing everyone’s reaction to this cake was pretty memorable, but seeing my best friend’s reaction to finding out that she got a Polaroid? Priceless.

I won’t post any of the birthday party photos for the sake of my friends’ confidentiality, but I’ll post my “birthday in photos” here on my photography page tomorrow.

I’ve always wanted to make a Katherine Sabbath cake. A couple months ago, I started planning cakes for all my family’s birthdays this year. I made my brother a Funfetti Layer Cake, my dad a Classic Tiramisu, and I knew that I had to make a Katherine Sabbath inspired cake (mom’s birthday is still coming up!).

There was one night a few days before I started making this cake where I got so excited about the cake that I couldn’t sleep ’til 3am. Granted, I spent a few hours looking at cakes, but still, I couldn’t stop thinking about cake!

In the end, all was worth it. See how this is an 8-inch, 4-layer birthday cake? In just one night, a little group of girls consumed pretty much the entire thing. Two or three slices were taken home on paper plates, and my mom and I decided to save one slice for the next day, but the rest of it? Gone. Utterly gone.

Normally, there’s cake left over. Cake’s too sweet. They’re too full. Yada yada. None of that happened with this one. The cake layers were perfect. They weren’t dense and overwhelmingly sweet, but were fluffy, light, just the right amount of flavor. The frosting, though! I have to admit, the frosting is my favorite part of this cake. No surprise there, of course. I used the queen’s recipe. Katherine Sabbath’s, that is. I’ve always loved cream cheese frosting, but the fact that freshly whipped cream is folded into this one makes it so incredibly fluffy. It’s not diabetes-sweet and rich like most buttercreams, but is light and beautiful and tangy and has a hint of sweetness that balances perfectly with the crisp meringues.

I absolutely adore making layered cakes. If you do make this recipe, you’ll know what I mean. It took quite a bit of time, but I seriously loved making it, especially the part where I got to dribble chocolate over the cake. That was fun. My layered cakes don’t always look as beautiful as the ones from around the web, and this one surely doesn’t compare to anything by Katherine Sabbath, but I did my best.

Katherine Sabbath Inspired 4-Layer Meringue Birthday Cake

Adapted from recipes linked below

Makes 1 8-inch, 4-layer cake

Ingredients:

• You’ll need a recipe for 4 cakes: 2 chocolate and 2 vanilla. You could also bake a chocolate mud cake and a white chocolate/vanilla mud cake, and slice them in half to create 4 layers. These need to be fully cooled and preferably trimmed before assembling

For the meringues

• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) superfine sugar
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Food coloring (preferably powdered)*

For the cheesecake filling

• 500g cream cheese, softened
• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 200g freshly whipped cream
• 200g icing sugar, sifted
• 2-4 drops blue food coloring

For the chocolate glaze

• 5 ounces (150 g) best-quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt)
• 3/4 cup (90 g) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey

*I don’t have access to powdered food coloring, so I used water-based food coloring for the blue/green, and used beetroot powder for the pink one. The beetroot powder worked quite well. Meringues call for preferably powdered food coloring, as it keeps them dry, but as long as you keep them in an airtight container in the fridge, you should be fine.

Method:

1. For the meringues, preheat oven to 90 degrees Celsius or 200 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until you get soft peaks. Add in the sugar a tablespoon at a time, and then turn the mixer to the highest speed and whip until meringue is stiff and glossy. This should take a few minutes. Beat in vanilla extract.
3. Divide the meringue into bowls and tint them using food coloring of your choice. Transfer into a piping bag with a star or round tip of your choice and pipe onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake both trays until crisp, but not browned. This can take anywhere from 1-1.5 hours depending on the size and humidity. You should be able to remove the meringues from the parchment paper without them sticking. Store in an airtight container in the fridge
5. For the cheesecake filling, use an electric mixer to whip cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, rose water and food colouring until pale and fluffy. Fold in whipped cream until combined
6. To assemble, place approximately 1/2 tablespoon of the frosting on the center of a cake board, and place your bottom cake layer onto the cake board. Add about 1/2-3/4 cup frosting onto the top of the cake, and using a small offset spatula, spread the frosting so that it covers the top of the cake. It’s okay to let a little bit of frosting go over the side. At this point, you may sprinkle on some crushed meringues if you wish (making sure to save the pretty ones for decorating!). Add the next cake layer (different flavor) and repeat until you’ve reached your final cake layer
7. Cover the cake with a thin layer of frosting, also known as crumb coating it, and chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes
8. Cover the cake in a final layer of frosting, and chill in fridge for at least 15 minutes
9. For the chocolate glaze, in a small bowl, melt the chocolate, butter, corn syrup and salt in the microwave, about 50 seconds, and stir until smooth. Let cool until it thickens slightly, about 15 minutes.
10. (Assembling, continued) Remove the cake from the fridge and spoon the chocolate glaze to the edges of the cake, gently pushing some over the side and letting it dribble down. When you’ve finished putting chocolate glaze on the edges of the cake, spoon chocolate glaze into the center until covered. Decorate the cake immediately with meringues and other desirable decorations/sprinkles
11. Serve!

Mini Blueberry and Chocolate Tart (Clean)

I’m in awe. This tart tastes just like any other tart would, except it’s good for you. Yeah, I’m saying that the crust and the custard are both refined sugar free, and just refined-free overall.

I’m seriously so in love with this recipe, though. It was gone within minutes. Then again, it was a mini tart and I split it among four people, but I could’ve easily eaten it alone, but I wanted everyone to try this tart. My mom was pretty surprised to find out that the whole thing was healthy. She could tell that the majority of the crust was made from buckwheat flour, but everything just works together so well.

I did try to layer the custard with thin layers of chocolate, which kinda worked. I was a little impatient with it, but I’m sure that if you have plenty of time on your hands, this little tart could turn out to be even more of a masterpiece than it already is.

Oh, and feel free to use any type of berries you desire. I just used blueberries because it was blueberry season and I practically had boxes of fresh blueberries begging to be eaten before they went bad, so that’s what I went with. Raspberries would be lovely, or maybe banana coins?

Oh, and I almost forgot. In case you missed my post on Instagram, I was recently featured as this week’s Cooking Superstar at Cut Out + Keep! If you click here, I’ve featured some of my favorite recipes on the website and there’s a little interview there, too, so if you checked that out, that’d be amazing 🙂

Notes: 

*If you want a vegan version of the custard, you can go back to where I got the original recipe from here and there’ll be a vegan custard recipe.

**You don’t have to layer the custard and chocolate the way I did. You can simply use most of the chocolate to cover the crust, allow to harden, pour in all of the custard, and then swirl the remaining chocolate on top.

Mini Blueberry and Chocolate Tart

Adapted from The Smoothie Lover

Ingredients

Crust

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, solid
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or sweetener of choice
• 1 1/2 tablespoon cold water

Custard*

• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup or sweetener of choice
• 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 40g dark chocolate, melted
• Handful of fresh berries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius or 390 degrees Fahrenheit
2. For the crust, whisk together the rice flour, buckwheat flour, and salt in a medium bowl
3. Using your fingers or a fork, mix in the cold coconut oil until well combined and resembles coarse sand. Add in maple syrup and cold water and stir until a dough forms
4. Press the dough into a greased, small spring form baking dish
5. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is browning slightly. Let cool completely before placing into the fridge
6. For the custard, whisk all the custard ingredients together in a medium saucepan until smooth
7. Heat the saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Let it boil, whisking constantly, until the bubbles become big and the mixture thickens. Transfer the custard onto a place and let cool completely
8. To assemble**, place about a third of the melted chocolate onto the chilled crust, smoothing it out to cover the bottom and sides in an even layer. Allow to harden
9. Add half of the custard and another third of the melted chocolate. Place in freezer until the chocolate has hardened. Add the remaining custard and swirl the remaining chocolate and freeze until chocolate has set (5-10 minutes)
10. Top with fresh berries and serve

Rustic Blueberry Tart with an Oat Crust (Clean)

When I say that it’s blueberry season, I mean hell yeah it’s blueberry season!

Throughout the entire year, during my hundreds of unnecessary visits to the grocery store, I always stop to check the prices of a) avocados, and b) berries. In the past week, blueberries have been on sale – the best kind of sale there is when it comes to fruit, and is usually nonexistent – buy one get one free! Guess who stocked up?

Being a berry-lover, I couldn’t resist the temptation, and ended up buying tons of blueberries. Being a baker, I couldn’t resist the temptation of turning at least half of them into baked goods and desserts.

The filling of this blueberry tart is pretty standard. A solid amount of blueberries with starch and sweetener. The crust is something special. It’s a healthy crust, without any refined white flour or butter. Thus, it’s also gluten-free and vegan.

While a regular slice of blueberry tart could get you feeling full and slightly guilty, and two slices would most certainly make you a little uneasy and guilty, that’s not the case with this one. The crust is light and crumbly, while still able to hold it’s pretty tart shape.

Rustic Blueberry Tart

Adapted from Bakerita

Makes one 8-inch tart

Ingredients

Blueberry filling

• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons tapioca or corn starch

Crust

• 1 cup almond flour
• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons coconut oil, solid
• 2 tablespoons chopped pecans

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a medium bowl, toss the blueberries, honey/maple syrup, and starch together until the blueberries are evenly coated in the mixture
3. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, oats, honey/maple syrup, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add the coconut oil and crumble it in with your hands or a fork until there no large clumps remain, and the mixture holds together when pressed
4. Remove a heaping 1/2 cup of the crust dough for the topping and set aside. Press the rest of the dough in a loose bottom 8 or 9 inch tart pan
5. Add the blueberry mixture onto the crust, leaving any extra liquid from the blueberries in the bowl
6. Add the chopped pecans to the remaining crumble dough that you set aside earlier, and sprinkle on top of the blueberry mixture
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the blueberries are bubbling and the crust is starting to brown
8. Let cool completely before serving

Mocha Chocolate Granola (Clean)

~ Aromatic mocha chocolate granola – Easy, crunchy, and healthier granola with melt-in-your mouth chocolate chips and a hint of mocha ~

Let’s say you were checking out my recipe index, and you demanded, “Pick one oat recipe to eat for the rest of your life.”

I’d point at this one without question.

By the way, excuse all the weird angles with these photos. I was playing around with angles and it wasn’t until I finished editing them all that I realized that less than half of them are straight.

Anyways, let’s talk granola. Granola is one of my favorite things to make, since I get to make up the recipe as I go. They’re so insanely diverse and customizable, and they taste so good. I always have at least two different types of granola in my kitchen. Some of them are much better than others. Those are the ones I post.

Such as this one.

It usually takes me the first bite to determine whether the granola is good or not, but I fell in love with this recipe from the moment the batch came out of the oven. It was the aroma of mocha/coffee that got me. Then I stirred in the chocolate chips when the granola was barely warm. The temperature was perfect, as the chocolate chips warmed, but didn’t melt, and then cooled down with the rest of the granola. This resulted in chocolate chips that weren’t messy and melty, they could still hold their shape, and most importantly, they literally melt in your mouth.

And obviously, alongside the chocolate, there’s the hint of unsweetened coffee, which isn’t noticeably bitter, and pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the chocolate.

I know that this is a ‘clean’ recipe, so there isn’t supposed to be any white or brown sugar. This recipe does call for brown sugar, though you could substitute a liquid sweetener of choice if you wish, so it’s not mandatory. However, I do suggest using brown sugar in this particular recipe, because it caramelizes beautifully and the flavor just works better with the mocha and chocolate and almonds.

Mocha Chocolate Granola

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey, though brown sugar is recommended)
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder or espresso powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg white, whisked lightly until foamy
• 1/3-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius, or 325 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together oats, almonds, flax seeds, brown sugar, coffee/espresso powder, and salt
3. Stir in the olive oil, vanilla extract, and egg white, until fully combined
4. Transfer the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the surface is golden brown
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool for approximately 10 minutes before stirring in chocolate chips, and then allowing to cool fully before breaking into pieces. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Black Forest Baked Oatmeal (Clean)

~ Black forest baked oatmeal. A healthy, dessert-like breakfast oatmeal, with cocoa, cherries, and cream. ~

Black forest is one of my ultimate favorite flavor combinations. Thus far, I’ve posted three black forest recipes. There’s black forest pancakes, black forest cupcakes, and black forest nice cream. All of the black forest recipes have been healthy ones, and this one is no exception.

Although they are both forms of “oatmeal”, baked oatmeal and regularly cooked oatmeal have quite different textures. Cooked oatmeal is generally creamy, while baked oatmeal has a cake-like texture. I usually prefer regular oatmeal on weekdays, as they’re much quicker, but every other weekend or so, I’ll treat myself to baked oatmeal.

 

Black Forest Baked Oatmeal

Makes 1 serving

Ingredient

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• 1/2 tsp espresso powder/instant coffee granules
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp maple syrup/honey, or 1 tsp powdered stevia
• 1/4 cup sweet, dark cherries, pitted and chopped (about 4 cherries)
• 1/4 cup milk of choice
• Whipped cream/whipped coconut cream, to top
• Cherries, to top

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius, or 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a small bowl*, stir together the oats, baking powder, cacao powder, espresso/coffee powder, and salt
3. Stir in the vanilla extract, sweetener, and chopped cherries
4. Stir in the 1/4 cup of milk
5. Transfer the mixture into a greased ramekin or ovenproof dish and bake for 16-18 minutes, until the top is baked
6. Remove from oven and top with cream and cherries

Easy Cinnamon Banana Nut Granola (Clean)

I haven’t posted anything in the last week. I know. I’ve been in Singapore. I had an insanely awesome time there. We had three upgrades. We got a seat upgrade in the plane, an upgrade at Four Seasons, and most importantly, we got randomly upgraded from some 700SGD hotel room at Marina Bay Sands to a freaking 6000SGD suite that David Beckham stayed in. The suite has a gym, massage room, karaoke room, an insane view, and even a grand piano?!?! It was insane.

Anyways, I’m home now, and it’s back to baking.

As you might already know, granola is very important to me. It’s always a pantry essential to have at home. I’ve stopped buying granola ever since I discovered how incredibly easy it is to make homemade granola. You throw in a bunch of ingredients into two bowls that you don’t really have to measure too precisely, add the wet stuff to the dry, mix, and then you spread the whole lot on a baking sheet and bake it. It’s too simple, really.

Another good thing about granola is that it lasts forever – even the homemade stuff. It’s perfect to store at home for an easy, healthy snack paired with fresh fruit, or for when you come home from vacation and your fridge is empty but for a couple of apples.

Easy Cinnamon Banana Nut Granola

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup raw honey or agave syrup
• 1 small banana, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius or 340 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oats, walnuts/pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt
3. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the melted coconut oil, honey, mashed banana, and vanilla extract
4. Add the banana mixture into the oat mixture and mix until fully combined
5. Spread the mixture evenly on a lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until browned (and until your kitchen smells like cinnamon). Remove from oven and allow to cool fully before breaking into chunks. Store in an airtight container.

4-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles (Clean)

Someone take movies away from me, I beg you. It’s been a week of summer vacation, and I’ve watched too many movies already. 7, to be exact. In no particular order: Pitch Perfect 2, Whatever It Takes, Knocked Up, The Boy Next Door, The Loft, Jurassic World, Inception. I’ve got Jurassic Park sitting in my “to-watch” movies folder now, so that’ll make 8 by the end of today. I’m no movie critic, but 2 of the 7 have me going crazy with thoughts (guess which ones?) while 1 of the 7 has me fangirling over Chris Pratt (guess which one?).

Anyways, these lil’ truffles have been a perfect movie snack. They’re the ultimate food to cure hunger and cravings at the same time.

I have a small list of favorite snacks. They’ve gotta be small; easy to grab and go. They’ve gotta curb hunger. They should have chocolate. They should taste good.

These chocolate chip cookie dough truffles meet all the requirements, kinda like these skinny fudgy-cakey beetroot brownie bites.

And obviously, you can’t beat a recipe that only requires 4 ingredients.

4-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Ingredients

• 1 (400g) can white beans or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
• 2 tbsp honey or agave syrup
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method

1. In a food processor, process the beans, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla extract until fully combined and smooth
2. Stir in the chocolate chips
3. Roll about 1 heaped teaspoon (you can make them smaller/larger if you want) of the dough into a ball. Eat them! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

Chocolate Caramel Coconut Breakfast Quinoa (Clean)

Chocolate Caramel Coconut. Damn, that’s a mouthful (Ha. Get it?).

True, more flavors don’t necessarily result in better tastes, but in this case, it definitely does. How could you possible go wrong with chocolate and caramel and coconut?

I’m not gonna lie and say that I didn’t have a foodgasm when I took my first bite of this. I can not stress how well all the flavors worked together and how super creamy the quinoa is. Normally, quinoa is cooked at a ratio of 1 part quinoa and 2 parts liquid (water), but guess what I had here? I had 1/2 cup quinoa to 1 1/2 cup water, and then I added another cup of coconut milk, which resulted in a creaminess similar to creamy oatmeal recipes. If you want a creamy breakfast quinoa where coconut is the star of the bowl, then be sure to check out this nutty coconut quinoa!

The caramel taste comes from this 2-ingredient easy date caramel, which I’ve been adding to everything recently. I know it seems like a lot of work to make a recipe in order to make a recipe, but as you can see from the title, the caramel only requires 2 ingredients, and it takes about 5 minutes to make. Plus, it’s multi-purpose (see the post).

And where do I get started on the toppings? The chopped chocolate goes slightly melty when it comes into contact with the steaming hot quinoa, so that it quite literally melts in your mouth. The texture of the chocolate contrasts with the crunch from the nuts and cacao nibs and OMG YUM.

Notes: The honey/agave nectar is kinda optional, depending on how sweet you want your quinoa. Feel free to replace it with your favorite sweetener, to increase it, or even to omit it altogether. Also, you don’t have to use the same toppings as me, but I highly recommend you at least use nuts, cacao nibs, and chopped chocolate.

Chocolate Caramel Coconut Breakfast Quinoa

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp raw cacao powder
• 2 tsp raw honey/agave syrup
• 2 tsp date caramel
• Pinch of salt
• Toppings (I used chopped pecans, chopped chocolate unsweetened shredded coconut, almond flakes, cacao nibs)

Method

1. In a large pot, combine the uncooked quinoa and water and set the pot over medium-high heat until the water is boiling. Lower temperature to low heat and allow to cook until all the water has absorbed, stirring occasionally (approximately 10-15 minutes)
2. Stir the coconut milk, cacao powder, date caramel, and salt into the pot and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the quinoa has reached your desired consistency
3. Transfer into bowls and serve immediately with your desired toppings. Store leftovers in refrigerator for up to 5 days

Crunchy Oat-less Granola (Clean)

I adore oats in all forms. Whether it’s in the form of granola, regular breakfast oatmeal, overnight oats, classic oatmeal cookies, sugar-free blueberry pecan oatmeal muffins, or even just using oat flour, I’ll have it all.

Then again, I know that some people don’t eat oats, which I couldn’t do, but if they did make that decision, then I get it. I’m sure there’s ways around using oats. I know that oat-less oatmeal exists, an oat-less granola probably already exists, but I decided to make a recipe for it anyways. I didn’t expect it to be that great, honestly. I thought that I’d miss the oats, but quite frankly, I didn’t that much. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my oats, but the absence of them in this recipe is hardly noticeable.

And perhaps the disappearance of the oats lets the crunch of the puffed brown rice and nuts to shine through, which are really what make this recipe so wonderful.

*As with all granola recipes, feel free to substitute the nuts/seeds for the nuts/seeds of your choice, as long as you keep the quantities the same

Crunchy Oat-Less Granola

Ingredients:

• 3 cups brown rice puffs (I used Nature’s Path)
• 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup applesauce

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the rice puffs, chopped pecans, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and salt until fully mixed
3. Pour in the coconut oil, honey, and applesauce, and stir in until everything is fully mixed
4. Spread the mixture on a lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes
5. Allow to cool before consuming. Store in an air-tight container.

Black Bean Chocolate Lava Cake (Clean) + Free Cookbook!

BREAKING NEWS, YOU GUYS!

I wrote a cookbook.

What? I know, I barely did any pre-publishing advertising, but anyways, you can download it for free here!

I shouldn’t be blogging right now. I should be doing homework because I just got back home late from my MYP Celebration. I’m sorta done with the MYP (bring it on, IB), which means that I’ve done the Personal Project.

Anyways there’s this thing called the Personal Project, where students must identify something that they’re passionate about, and they’ll plan, research, and then create a product in the area. Obviously, I did mine on clean eating and baking. Therefore, I created a cookbook consisting of healthy chocolate-based recipes, as well as information on what it means to be “healthy”. Maybe you already know about how I began this journey if you’ve read my About Me page, but I’ve always loved to bake, and I’ve got to dedicate a lot of it to SORTED Food. However, most baked goods are full of sugar and butter and whatnot, which sucked, until I discovered that it’s possible to eat clean and bake delicious goods at the same time. That’s what inspired me to make my cookbook. Healthy chocolate? Could it be? Absolutely.

I have acknowledgements at the end of my cookbook, but I’d like to give a special shoutout to my InstaFriends who I “interviewed” about why they ate the way they did. Ning, Chelsea, Hillary, Marie, and Sarah, I love you guys and thanks so much for your help x ❤

Sorry for all the writing, I’m just really excited about this. Here’s a preview to my cookbook. I decided to share the recipe that’s on the cover of my cookbook. It’s a chocolate lava cake! Healthified? No way! (Yes way!) It’s made with black beans, which are preettyy healthy. There is dark chocolate required in the recipe, but the sugars don’t have such a negative effect on the human body (read about it in my cookbook).

I was so delighted to discover that I got that gooey, melty, chocolate center surrounded by such a soft, flavorful cake. I promise that you can’t taste the black beans.

Once again, please please please go download my cookbook. It’s free for all and I’d really appreciate if you guys could just go look through it and maybe it could inspire you guys. I love you all x

Notes: 

Black Bean Chocolate Lava Cake

Taken from my free cookbook, Health-ified Chocolate

Makes 4 lava cakes

Ingredients

• 1 15oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup cacao powder
• 1/4 cup almond meal, or ground almonds
• 1 tbsp dry stevia
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 25g dark chocolate, broken into 4 pieces

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a food processor, process the black beans until very smooth
3. Add in the honey, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, egg, vanilla extract, and sea salt, and pulse to combine
4. Transfer the mixture into a medium bowl
5. Fold in the cacao powder, almond meal, stevia, and baking powder
6. Grease 4 ramekins or lava cake moulds
7. Place a few tablespoons of the mixture into each ramekin/mould, and place one piece of chocolate in the center of each one. You should use about half the mixture for this step
8. Use the remaining mixture to fill the ramekins/moulds and shake gently so that the mixture spreads out evenly
9. Bake for 25 minutes, and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the ramekins/moulds
10. Serve warm

Honey Almond Quinola (Clean)

Oh the relief of Spring Break.

It’s timed perfectly this year. Beijing’s at that point where it’s generally 10-20 degrees, except this period will last less than a week. Spring and Autumn are practically non-existent in Beijing, which is hella depressing, especially since they’re my favorite seasons.

Naturally, I decided to make a batch of granola. This time, I used uncooked quinoa as well as oats. I’ll admit, I was pretty skeptical about it at first, but it turns out that it adds a different texture. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll understand once you’ve tried it. I’m calling it quinola. I’m so creative.

 

Throw on some vanilla soy milk ❤ (Pour on the Goodness!)

Notes: Granola is one of the most customizable recipes ever, so you could use pecans instead of almonds, you could omit the spices and chia seeds, etc.

Honey Almond Quinola

Adapted from Pastry Affair

Makes 5-6 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (180 grams) old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup (170 grams) quinoa, uncooked
• 1 cup (120 grams) sliced almonds
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/3 cup (78 ml) coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup (170 grams) honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg white, whisked lightly until foamy (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius, or 325 degrees fahrenheit
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, quinoa, almonds, chia seeds, cinnamon, and nutmeg
3. In another bowl, mix the coconut oil, honey, vanilla, salt, and egg white
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until everything is well mixed
5. Spread the mixture onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes
6. Store in an airtight container

Vegan Cherry-Coconut Cream Tarts For Two (Clean)

So…here’s how to make small-batch cherry-coconut cream tarts for two.

Or, um, one.

I’M SORRY NOBODY ELSE WAS HOME AND I COULDN’T HELP IT. 

These little guys are so easy to make, and you really just need five ingredients.

Five.

Essentially, you could go with four.

…Four.

For this amazing little tart! Plus, they’re no-bake.

Are you excited yet? I’m excited.

Essentially, you could pair any fruit with the coconut in these tarts. I chose cherries because I think the flavor pairs well, and maybe because I have 5 kilos of cherries at home right now…

^It took me 3 minutes to finish the first tart. I kid you not. I checked the time stamps on my photos.

Notes: Feel free to use any fruit you want, and to add more/less sweetener to taste. Also, if you don’t have almonds on hand, you could use pecans or walnuts. Lastly, for the coconut milk/cream thing, if you don’t have coconut cream, simply refrigerate a can of full-fat coconut milk overnight and scoop out the thick, white part that separates from the watery part. Use the thick, white part as coconut cream.

Cherry-Coconut Cream Tarts For Two

Makes 2 small tarts

Ingredients:

• 10 medjool dates, pitted (approx. 1/3 cup or 75 grams, unpitted)
• 1/4 cup (50g) almonds
• 1 can coconut cream (approx. 300ml), or 1 can coconut milk (approx. 500ml, see notes)
• 5 cherries, pitted and roughly chopped (plus more for topping)
• 1 tbsp honey or 1 tsp powdered stevia (more/less, to taste)

Method:

1. Process the dates and almonds in a food processor until they are thoroughly mixed and there are no large chunks
2. Line two small cupcake/tart tins with parchment paper
3. Divide the date/almond mixture and press into the the cupcake/tart tin to act as a base
4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whip the coconut cream with the honey/stevia using a hand or stand mixer for about 3 minutes
5. Add in the chopped cherries and whip for another minute
6. Spoon the coconut mixture into the tarts and garnish with cherries and grated chocolate
7. Refrigerate for 20 minutes (optional. If your coconut filling is thick, then skip this step)
8. Serve