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EASY CRUSTY ITALIAN BREAD

The original recipe can be found on Life as a strawberry.com.

This super crusty and airy light bread that is ready in just a few hours – no overnight rise needed.

What you need to know about this crusty bread:

1. It’s ready in under three hours. No overnight rise necessary!
2. It’s ultra-forgiving. Read through ALL of our recipe notes for best results!
3. No Dutch oven? You can still make great bread –  I use a large copper soup pot but it must have a lid.
4. It works for gluten free bread wonderfully.
5. You can easily triple the ingredients to make several loaves.
6. YOU CAN MAKE THIS BREAD ⬇⬇⬇. I PROMISE.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (9 grams)
• I Packet Pasta madre con lieveto
• 1 teaspoon sugar (4 grams) (use honey if you prefer)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (300 grams)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (10 grams) kosher salt
• 2 Tbl spoons olive oil.
•  3 to 31/2 cups All-Purpose Flour (360 grams) plus extra for dusting  the ratio of flours I use is 1 cup intergrale(wholemeal), 1 cup double zero flour, 1 strong white.
• For gluten free version 1 1/2 cups of Conad gluten free pane mix, 1/2 cup potato flour, 1/2 cup millet flour, 1/2 chickpea flour.
• For seeded loaf 1/4 to 1/3 cup of seed and nuts of your choice. Note: the more seeds used the longer the rise time.

Instructions

MIX THE DOUGH & FIRST RISE (1 HOUR):

1. Combine yeast, sugar, and warm water in a bowl.
2. Let the yeast proof for about 5 – 10 minutes, until the mixture is foamy.
3. In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add kosher salt, flour, Pasta Madre mix to bowl be sure to keep salt and yeast mix on opposite side of the bowl. then make a well in the middle of flour and add the olive oil.
4. Slowly pour the water and yeast mix into bowl starting at the opposite side from the salt. Mix with your hands or a sturdy spatula, or mix on low speed with your stand mixer until all flour is incorporated and dough has just started to pull away from the sides of the bowl. For best results, mix until no dry bits of flour remain. Please note: This is a relatively slack (wet) dough for both regular and gluten free, so it may seem a bit shaggy and sticky at this point. Don’t worry – it will become more smooth and elastic as we go!
5. Lightly flour all sides of your dough (don’t mix the flour in – it’s just to keep the dough from sticking!) and turn it over inside the mixing bowl to coat with flour on all sides. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise on the counter for about 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.

SHAPE THE DOUGH & FINAL RISE (30 MIN):

1. When dough has risen, lightly flour a large cutting board.
2. Tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the cutting board. DO NOT PUNCH THE DOUGH DOWN – you want to keep all those nice air bubbles intact so you have an airy, delicious loaf of bread. (Note: If the dough is sticking to the bowl a little bit, wet your hand with a bit of cold water and gently separate the dough from the bowl to get it all out).
3. Sprinkle a bit of flour across the top of the dough, then begin shaping it into a round loaf. Pull each corner of the dough in towards the center (like you’re folding an envelope) and repeat until the dough feels tight and begins to resist your folds. Flip the dough over and tap it into a round loaf. 
4. Flour a proofing basket or colander and place your loaf into it seam-side down. Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 45 minutes or so while you preheat the oven.When dough has risen, lightly flour a large cutting board.
5. Tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the cutting board. DO NOT PUNCH THE DOUGH DOWN – you want to keep all those nice air bubbles intact so you have an airy, delicious loaf of bread. (Note: If the dough is sticking to the bowl a little bit, wet your hand with a bit of cold water and gently separate the dough from the bowl to get it all out).
6. Sprinkle a bit of flour across the top of the dough, then begin shaping it into a round loaf. Pull each corner of the dough in towards the center (like you’re folding an envelope) and repeat until the dough feels tight and begins to resist your folds. Flip the dough over and tap it into a round loaf. Watch the video(s) above to see exactly how we do this!
7. Flour a proofing basket or a medium bowl and place your loaf into it seam-side down. Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 30 minutes or so while you preheat the oven.

HEAT THE OVEN :

1. While bread is rising, place an empty dutch oven (with the lid on) in your oven and heat to 460F/220C degrees.

Bake!

1. When the oven is hot, you’re ready to go! Use oven mitts to pull the dutch oven out and remove the lid.
2. Lay a piece of parchment paper down on your counter or cutting board (optional – it makes transferring the bread easier!)
3. Tip your bread dough gently out of the proofing basket onto the parchment paper. Make sure the seam side is up this time – this is what will create those beautiful cracks on top of the bread!
4. VERY CAREFULLY (without burning yourself!) use the sides of the parchment to lift the bread up and place it into the hot Dutch oven.
5. Put your oven mitts back on, place the dutch oven lid back on the pot, and slide the whole thing back into your hot oven.
6. Cook bread for 30 minutes.
7. After 30 minutes, remove the lid from your dutch oven. The bread should be taller, crusty, and very lightly browned. Continue cooking the bread, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes more until the bread has deepened in color and you have a beautiful brown crust.
8. When bread is done, use oven mitts to pull the pot out of your oven.
9. Use a long spatula or the corners of your parchment paper to lift the bread out of the dutch oven and onto a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it.
10. Slice, slather with butter, and enjoy!

SUPER DELICIOUS CORN BREAD

The original recipe can be found on Apollonia Poilâne Teaches Bread Baking a masterclass series.

This is a deliciously scrumptious vegan gluten-free savoury loaf, that is great for breakfast or on the picnic table.

Ingredients

• 32 g (3 tbsp) whole flax seeds
• 400 ml oat milk, divided
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, skinned and toasted (optional)
• 1/4 cup smashed pumpkins seeds (optional)
• Neutral oil, such as sunflower oil or canola oil, for greasing pan
• 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey
• 240 g (2 cups) corn flour (not cornmeal or cornstarch), such as Bob’s Red Mill corn flour
• 9 g (scant tbsp) instant yeast
• 6 g (1 tbsp) fine sea salt

Instructions

1. One hour before you plan to bake, prepare the flax seeds. In a deep mortar, pound flax seeds with a pestle until they resemble coarsely ground flour, about 2 minutes. (If you don’t have access to a mortar and pestle, you can use a small blender or coffee grinder.)
2. In a small bowl, combine the ground flax seeds with 160 ml oat milk and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. The mixture should develop a goopy texture, similar to an egg white.
3. Add yeast and sugar or honey to a small bowl then the remaining oat milk (must be warm) allow yeast to activate approx 5 mins.
4. Crush the hazelnuts or pumpkin seeds in a food processor or on a cutting board using the flat handle of a knife. The result can be coarse or fine, but avoid processing it into a nutmeal.
5. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat a 23 x 13–cm metal loaf pan with oil.
6. Place the corn flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the flax seed mixture, yeast, hazelnuts and remaining 240 ml of oat milk with activated yeast.
7. Use a rubber spatula to mix until all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated and there are no pockets of corn flour. The texture should be pourable, like cake batter.
8. Pour the dough into the prepared loaf pan. Measure how far away from the top of the pan the dough is and write it down. (Finger width is a good measurement system here.)
9. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise at room temperature (20°C to 25°C/68°F to 77°F) until it has risen by about 1¼ cm (1 finger wide), about 2 hours. Avoid overproofing – if the dough has risen at all, you’re ready to bake. If you lightly touch the top of the dough, it should feel very delicate and airy.
10. Position a rack in the lower third position and preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F.
11. Very carefully transfer the loaf to the oven to prevent it from collapsing. Bake until the loaf is a deep golden mustard colour throughout and is starting to brown on the edges, about 40 to 60 minutes. If the loaf looks underdone (lighter in colour), bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
12. Once the loaf is done baking, unmold it and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.
13. Wrap the bread in a cloth or place it in a paper bag and store it at room temperature for up to 2 to 3 days.

RUSTIC SEEDED CRAKERS

The original recipe can be found on FEASTING AT HOME.COM.

Light and crisp, these Rustic Seed Crackers are keto, gluten-free and vegan.  This recipe is incredibly easy, flexible, adaptable and full of toasty rich flavor.  They are the perfect snack by themselves, and pair with most toppings.

This recipe is most forgiving and changeable so you can adjust the seeds to what you have on hand.  Influence them with savory or sweet components.  Use coconut oil instead of olive, add 1/2 cup coconut flakes, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (optional!).  Or try adding 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon tamari (adjust salt by 1/2), 1/4 cup dulse seaweed flakes, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. You can just go wild with these delicious crackers.

Ingredients

• ½ cup almond flour(substitute millet flour, whole wheat flour, rice flour, chickpea flour)
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup sesame seeds
• ¼ cup ground flax, can also use whole seeds (see notes)
• ¼ cup chia seeds
• ¼ cup hemp seeds
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or walnut, sesame, macadamia and coconut oil.
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300F/160C degrees.
2. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix.  It will be quite soupy.
3. Let sit 10 minutes, just until it starts to bind together, if it sits too long it can be a bit challenging to spread on the pan.
4. After it has thickened, give the mixture a few more stirs and dump onto a non-stick baking mat (or oiled parchment paper) that has been placed on an 18 x 13-inch baking sheet.
5. Spread out the cracker mixture with a rubber spatula getting it as evenly distributed on the pan as you can.  Then take an offset metal spatula dipped in water and smooth the mixture, working it to the edges of the pan, keep dipping your spatula in water- this makes all the difference!  Try to get the thickness even, it should fill the entire sheet pan and the crackers will be slightly less than ¼-inch thick.  Once smooth and even, score the crackers with the spatula or a straight edge dough scraper.  ( Alternatively, you could leave unscored, and break apart after baking.) It is important that you just gently press down to imprint through the cracker and then lifting up to the next spot rather than drag your edge through the dough.
6. Put the sheet pan in the oven on a middle rack.  Bake for 50 min- 1 hour (they will start to brown around the edges and smell toasty).  Remove from oven.  Break up the crackers when just cool enough to handle and turn the crackers over on the cookie sheet.  Slide back into the oven with oven temp turned off.  Leave crackers in the cooling oven for another 15-20 minutes or until crisp through.  They will crisp more as they cool.

ONE POT CHICKEN/FISH/VEG CURRY

Original recipe was sourced from Food52.com.

This dish is the most versatile and easy curry or stew. It is reminiscent of Indian madras chicken curry but the wonderful thing is that you can easily change it to a Thai or Sri Lanken style curry, it can be chicken or fish or simply vegetables. Because it’s so easy and versatile it has become a go-to recipe when I need a low-effort dish that is still very satisfying. This requires very little work compared to a traditional curry and because of the minimal hands-on time, it’s easy to double or triple to feed larger crowds. 

Adding fresh herbs such as cilantro or basil gives this dish a lift also if you can’t find curry leaves, you can use bay leaves. For a more substantial one-pot meal, I like to add in canned chickpeas and sweet potato halfway during the cooking process. 

A few other things to note: 
– Some curry powders may contain salt, so be careful not to add too much salt at the beginning. It’s best to taste and adjust after the halfway mark once the coconut milk has been added. 
– Use bone-in chicken with the skin on for best results. 
– Avoid adding red chillies at the beginning of the process if your spice tolerance is low. You can adjust the amount of heat by adding chopped fresh chillies towards the end, if you need it. 
– I often add a small splash of vinegar, lime juice or a small amount of tamarind paste at the end if the dish needs more acidity to balance flavors. 

The other wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can simply make a rub from all the spices for chicken, fish or meat, add lime and lemon zest and juice let it marinate for a few hours then throw it on the grill for a delicious Indian/thai style summer BBQ.

Ingredients

• 8 chicken, legs or thighs or whole chicken quartered
• Or for fish version 4 fillets of a meaty white fish like cod or similar.
• 2 handfuls cherry tomatoes
• 1 handful curry leaves or bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cardamom pods
• 10 garlic cloves
• 1 Red onion, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp ginger finely grated
• 2 tables paprika
• 4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground fennel
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 4 tsp ground coriander
• 3 teaspoons curry powder
• ¹/₂ teaspoon red chili powder
• 1-2 fresh red chillies
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 1/2 cup of veg stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt, to taste
• ³/₄ cup thick unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 can chickpeas (optional), drained
• 1 sweet potato diced (optional)
• 1 handful cilantro (optional), chopped

Instructions

1. Combine all dry spices together with 1/2 the garlic and ginger then rub into chicken and let rest in the fridge for 30mins to an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. 
3. On stove top heat oil in large oven proof pot or Dutch oven add cardamon pods and cinnamon stick for one minute.
4. Add onion and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until pieces are golden.
5. Add remaining garlic and ginger, cook for a another minute.
6. Mix in the tomato puree, cherry tomatoes and sweet potato(if using) cook for five minutes.
7. Then add in the chicken making sure to coat with the spices and pushing the tomatoes underneath. Add the stock and place in the oven and let cook for 1 hour.
8. After an hour, add the coconut milk and chickpeas (if using) to the pot. Give everything a gentle stir and place back in the oven for another 30 minutes to an hour, until the chicken is cooked through and nearly falling off the bone. 
9. Remove from oven. Adjust salt and sprinkle with cilantro, if using. 
10. Serve hot with rice.

FISH VERSION

1. Combine all dry spices together with 1/2 the garlic and ginger then rub into fish and let rest in the fridge for 30mins to an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
3. On stove top heat oil in large oven proof pot or Dutch oven add cardamon pods and cinnamon stick for one minute.
4. Add onion and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until pieces are golden.
5. Add remaining garlic and ginger, cook for a another minute.
6. Mix in the tomato puree, cherry tomatoes and sweet potato(if using) cook for about 30 minutes.
7. After add the coconut milk and chickpeas (if using) to the pot. Give everything a gentle stir and cook for another 20 minutes.
8. Then add in the fish making sure to coat with the spices and sauce submerging the fillet. Add the stock and place in the oven and let cook 20 -30 mins or until fish has become opaque.
9. Remove from oven. Adjust salt and sprinkle with cilantro, if using. 
10. Serve hot with rice.

POTATO, CAULIFLOWER & PEA CURRY

Aloo dum is traditionally a potato and pea curry which is possibly the most common vegetable curry in India but I like to make it with cauliflower.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• large piece ginger, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp curry powder, or to taste
• 227g can chopped tomatoes
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup of peas
• 1 small green chilli, halved lengthways
• squeeze lemon juice
• handful coriander, roughly chopped, to serve

Instructions

• STEP 1 Heat the oil in a saucepan. Cook the onion for 10 mins until soft, then add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin and curry powder. Cook for 1 min more. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar. Add the cauliflower, potatoes and split chilli, seasoning to taste. Cover with a lid and gently cook for a good 30 mins, then add peas stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender – add a drop of water if you need to, but it is meant to be a dry curry.
• STEP 2 When the vegetables are cooked, remove the chilli, if you like, stir in a squeeze of lemon juice and scatter with coriander. 

GLUTEN FREE WHOLE ORANGE CAKE

This gluten free orange cake is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made! Moist, delectable crumb, full-on orange flavor (from a whole orange), and a sweet and sticky glaze makes it a winner, all around!

The original recipe is from Christina’s cucina.com.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 c (250g) sugar
• 1 c (200g) gluten free Conad baking flour per dolce
• 1/2 c (75 g) almond meal
• 3 tsp baking powder (or 1 packet Italian Paneangeli vanilla baking powder)
• 1/3 c (100g) olive oil
• 1/3 c (100g) non dairy plain yogurt
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 juniper seeds or cardamon pods
• 1 large organic orange, about (300g), washed and steeped in boiling water then cut into pieces (with the rind, but remove the seeds)

Glaze

• juice of one organic orange
• 1/3 c (100g) sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)

Make the cake

1. Prepare an 8″ springform pan by spraying with oil (or butter) and lining in parchment paper (sides optional, if you want really clean sides), then spray the paper, too.
2. in a medium pot place cinnamon stich and juniper/cardamon pods together with washed orange top with water and bring to a boil then lower the heat and allow orange to simmer for about 10 mins or until you can leave a dent in the skin, then set aside to cool.
3. Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
4. Add olive oil slowly as you continue to mix
5. Mix the gluten free flour with the almond meal, Paneangeli powder (or baking powder). Add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time. Continue to mix until completely blended, then mix in the non dairy or regular yogurt
6. In a food processor, process the whole orange until it is almost pureed.
7. Add this orange to the cake mixture and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin.
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a cake tester or skewer to make sure the orange cake is done before removing from the oven. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the side of the springform pan.
9. Pour orange glaze on top of cooled cake.

For Glaze

Add ingredients to a small pot and bring to boil then simmer until it becomes viscose. Other fruits to use for the glaze are passionfruit, raspberries or apricot.

Notes

The amazing thing about this cake it can be made with any citrus fruit, however if you would like to make it with lemon or lime just use the zest and juice of 1 lemon or 2 limes as using whole fruit tends to leave a bitter after taste.

This recipe is most forgiving and versatile you can make it with almost any poached fruit just replace the orange with a cup of fruit of your choice.

RICK STIENS LAMB ROGAN JOSH

Original recipe is on The Happy Foodie.com or can be found in Rick Stein’s search for the perfect curry-cook book.

Rogan Josh is a rich, highly spiced curry with lamb as the star. Rick Stein’s homage to the classic recipe is packed with flavour, combining Kashmiri chillies, garam masala and green cardamom pods.The dish originally comes from Persia where rogan means ‘oil’ and josh means ‘hot’. In other words, this dish is cooked with intense heat. But rogan can also mean ‘red’, and above all this dish is red and satisfyingly spicy from Kashmiri chillies.

As this is my partners favourite go to Indian dish, I thought it best to try to master it. I’d have to say it did turn out very well with just some minor tweaks here and there.

Ingredients

• 40g ghee
• 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
• 3 dried Kashmiri chillies if you can’t fine them I used Calabrian pepperincino, torn into pieces
• 6 green cardamom pods, lightly bruised with a rolling pin
• 4 cloves
• 1 large onion, minced in food processor with a splash of cold water.
• 15g / 3 cloves garlic, finely crushed
• 15g / 3cm ginger, finely grated
• 2 tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp ground mace or nutmeg
• 1 tsp garam masala, plus 1 tsp extra to finish
• 1 tsp toasted ground fennel seeds, plus ¼ tsp extra to finish
• 4 tbsp tomato purée
• 750g boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 3cm cubes
• 1 tsp salt
• 300ml water
• 125g natural yogurt/soya yogurt
• A handful of coriander or parsley leaves, roughly chopped, to finish

Instructions

Put the ghee in a large, sturdy casserole over a medium heat. When hot, add the whole spices and fry for 1 minute, then add the onion and fry for 10 minutes until softened and golden. Stir in the garlic and ginger, fry for 1 minute, then add the ground spices (reserving the extra garam masala and ground fennel) and fry for 30 seconds.

Stir in the tomato puree, then add the lamb and salt and stir to make sure the lamb is well coated in the other ingredients. Pour in the water, bring to a simmer, then cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the lamb is tender. Stir in the yoghurt, then season with the extra garam masala and ground fennel. Scatter with the fresh coriander and serve with rice.

This dish is perfect with cucumber salad, simply cut cucumber into thick slices for crunch, thinly slice red onion and 1/4 cup of white vinegar, teaspoon of white sugar and salt and let marinate in the fridge while lamb cooks.

WHOLE ROASTED TERIYAKI BRANZINO.

Original recipe can be found on My Recipes.com.

Once I overcame my fear of whole fish I fully embraced it and here in Italy there is a wonderful array of fish to cook from Bronzino, Orata or snapper to Trota Salmonata and spigola all of which make for easy roasting or grilling. Plus, the bones keep the meat tender and flavorful. Leave gutting and scaling to the fishmonger. To serve the cooked fish, peel back the skin, and starting at the backbone, lift the top fillet from the bone with a metal spatula. Then discard the skeleton, freeing the second fillet.

If you’re still weary of whole fish you can just brush the teriyaki on a fillet it’s just as delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 (3- to 3 1/2-lb.) WHOLE FISH, cleaned, with head and tail intact 
• Parchment paper 
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 large bunch fresh basil, stems and leaves separated 
• 2 limes, thinly sliced 
• 4 green onions, sliced 
• I fennel bulb thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of pitted green olives
• ¼ cup olive oil 
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce

Instructions

• Step 1-Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Cut 3 diagonal slits, 1 1/2 inches apart, on each side of fish. Place fish in a parchment paper-lined jelly-roll pan. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Sprinkle salt and pepper over fish and in cavity. Place sliced fennel on tray and place fish on top. Then add basil stems, half of lime slices, and half of green onions in cavity. Sprinkle a handfull of green pitted olives around fish. Drizzle olive oil over fish.
• Step 2-Bake at 400° for 35 to 40 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Step 3-Transfer fish to a serving platter; drizzle 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce over fish. Top with basil leaves and remaining lime slices and green onions. Serve with remaining teriyaki sauce.

HOMEMADE TERIYAKI SAUCE

The wonderful thing about about teriyaki sauce is that you can marinate almost any protein with it or use it to add flavour to a stir fried.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 5 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup GLUTEN FREE soy sauce
• 1–2 tablespoons honey
• 1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1/4 cup of cold water

Instructions

1. Combine the 1 cup water, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic and ginger in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat.
2. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the 1/4 cup water and whisk until dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan.
3. Heat the sauce until it thickens to your desired thickness. If the sauce becomes too thick, add more water to thin it out.

OLIVE OIL ALMOND CHOCOLATE CAKE

This dense, tender, and sophisticated, gluten-free almond chocolate cake gets a flavour kick from fruity olive oil. Top with a dairy free gauche for a truly decadent treat or simply deck out a slice with whipped cream and seasonal fruit, or enjoy plain with a cup of coffee. But be warned one slice is never enough.

The original recipe can be sourced at The Bojorn Gourmet.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup (120g) almond flour or meal (or whole almonds ground with the rice flour until powder-fine).
• 2 tablespoons (20 g) sweet rice flour or GF AP flour (use cassava flour for a paleo option). • 1 teaspoon baking powder.
• 3 ounces (70g) bittersweet chocolate with 65-72% cacao mass, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup of amaro polvere dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) flavorful olive oil
• Shot of espresso
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided use (use coconut or maple sugar)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• For serving (optional): cocoa powder, unsweetened whipped cream / coconut cream / yogurt, seasonal fruit, olive oil
• Or top with dairy free ganache

Instructions

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 380°F/190°C.

Rub an 8- or 9-inch round springform pan with a bit of olive oil.
• Place the chocolate, oil, salt and shot of espresso in a large, metal bowl. Place the bowl in a skillet filled with 2 inches of barely simmering water, and stir frequently until the chocolate is melted.
• Remove the bowl from the skillet and whisk in 1/4 cup of the sugar, the almond flour, the sweet rice flour and baking powder. Whisk in the egg yolks. If the mixture gets cold, it may start to “seize” or look grainy. In this case, place the bowl back into the warm water and stir until it loosens up again.
• Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until foamy, then gradually pour in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, whipping the whites until they hold soft peaks (i.e., when you pull the whisk out and hold it upside down, the peaks of white flop over).
• Without delay, use a rubber spatula to stir 1/3 of the whipped whites into the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites until the batter is just combined and no streaks remain.
• Immediately scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, 30-40 minutes. Let the cake cool completely, then remove the sides of the pan. Dust with cocoa powder just before serving if you wish, then use a large chef’s knife wiped clean after each cut to slice the cake.

Dairy free granché

Ingredients
• 1 cup soy milk (unsweetened plain)
• 2 1/2 cups dark chocolate
• In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the soy milk and chocolate.
• Stirring frequently, cook until the mixture is well combined and the chocolate has a glossy finish. Remove the ganache from the heat. Use while warm or slightly cooled.