Recipe Tag: Chocolates and Custards

Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars

Gather all ingredients and equipment.

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).

In a large bowl, combine all of the bar ingredients (except the chocolate chips), mix well.

Line a 4in by 8in loaf pan with parchment paper. Make sure there is enough excess parchment paper to use to pick up the granola bars after baking.

Add the granola mixture to the loaf pan. Place another sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap over the mixture and press down with finger tips to spread out the granola mixture evenly. Remove this top covering and discard.

Put the loaf pan in the oven and bake until the edges get golden brown, about 12 minutes.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave at 20 second intervals until smooth, stirring between each interval.

Remove the loaf pan from the oven. While still hot, use a spoon to spread the melted chocolate evenly across the top of the bars. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing to allow the chocolate layer to harden.

Remove the bars from the loaf pan by lifting up the parchment paper. Place the bars on a cutting board. To cut, make seven 1 inch wide slices across the short length.

Strawberry Banana Chia Pudding

Add the strawberries and bananas to a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Add the warmed strawberries and banana, milk, vanilla extract, and salt to a high-speed blender.

Wait until the strawberries and bananas have cooled down for a minute or two before moving to the next step. This will prevent steam from building up while blending.

Once the mixture has cooled slightly, begin to blend – starting first on a low speed then gradually increasing to the highest speed. Blend for at least 1 full minute. The mixture should be very smooth and velvety with no clumps.

Pour the strawberry base into a large bowl.

Whisk in the chia seeds and stir until they are evenly floating in the strawberry mixture. If there are clumps of seeds or seeds sunk to the bottom of the bowl, continue to whisk and stir until well combined and there are no clumps of seeds.

Let the pudding cool completely, stirring occasionally, and then refrigerate until chilled. The chia seeds will cause the strawberry mixture to thicken and turn into a pudding-like consistency.

Serve chilled. You can top this chia pudding with the topping of your choice.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Melt the dark chocolate chips in a microwave or over a double boiler.

Heat bananas and avocado in microwave briefly (about 15 seconds).

Combine remaining ingredients in a food processor, add melted chocolate.

Blend until smooth and creamy.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Gather all ingredients and equipment.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

In a small blender, blend oats on high speed to create a fine powder.

Move the oats to a medium size bowl. Set aside.

In a microwave safe bowl, add chocolate chips and microwave for 30 seconds.

Remove and stir.

Microwave for another 30 seconds or until thoroughly melted.

Drain black beans in a colander and thoroughly rinse them off.

In a pitcher blender, combine chocolate, black beans, oil, syrup, baking powder, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Blend on high speed until very smooth.

Fold the oats and chocolate mixture together and transfer to a greased muffin pan.

Fill cups 3/4 of the way.

Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 8 to 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a brownie comes out mostly clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.

Eggless Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cupcake tray with liners.

Combine the flours, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine the banana, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.

Using a rubber spatula add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold, being careful not to over mix.

Portion batter into cupcake tin and bake for 20-25 min, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Chocolate Cheesecake

This recipe requires a 9 inch springform pan and 18 inch wide aluminum foil.

Remove the sides from the springform pan and place the bottom of the pan on top of two 18 inch square sheets of aluminum foil. Fold the edges of the foil into a loose cone shape so that the sides of the pan can be slipped down over the top. Close the sides of the pan and then press the foil against the inside of the pan. The end result will be the foil outside the pan on the bottom and inside the pan on the sides.

Place the chocolate wafers, graham crackers, 2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa, and 2 tablespoons allulose in a food processor and process until fine crumbs.

Slowly drizzle in the canola oil until it is well blended into the crumbs.

Place the crumb mixture in the springform pan and gently press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan.

Place the coffee granules and 2 tablespoons water in a double boiler over high heat (or a Pyrex® bowl set over a pot of boiling water).

Add the chocolate and stir while it melts slowly.

When the chocolate sauce is smooth, remove from the heat and place in food processor bowl fitted with a steel blade.

Add the sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, allulose, cocoa, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and salt.

Process until smooth.

In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

Gently fold in the batter from the food processor into the egg whites until well blended.

Pour the batter into the springform pan.

Place the pan in the oven and cook for one hour. Turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven for 2 hours as the oven cools.

Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Arroz con Leche

Place the water in a large stock pot over high heat.

Place the unopened can of evaporated milk in the pot and when the water boils, reduce the heat to a simmer.

Simmer for 5 hours. Add water as needed to keep the level well above the can (about a quart every hour).

Remove the can and let cool.

Place the 3 cups water in a sauce pan over high heat.

When the water boils, add the brown rice.

Reduce the heat and partially cover the rice.

Simmer for 35 to 40 minutes until the water has evaporated.

Add the evaporated milk, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir frequently and adjust the heat so the rice does not boil too fast.

After 20 minutes, add the raisins and cook for 5 minutes until the pudding is thick and creamy.

(If you like the rice to be more mushy, add 1/2 cup water at a time and cook for an additional 5 minutes each time until the rice is the consistency you like.)

Chill well before serving.