Banana & Cinnamon Muffins

Here’s a gluten-free alternative to the Blueberry Spelt Flour Muffins. The original recipe uses almond butter but I had a very ripe avocado that needed using up so I substituted it in to make a nut free version. Generally an extra egg does the trick when substituting avocado for butter in baking (shown in the recipe below) but in my first experiment of this recipe I increased the amount of coconut oil and added a tbsp of honey instead of adding an egg.

I expect you could use dairy butter as a 1:1 substitute for nut butter if you’re not on a lactose free diet.

If your bananas are not very ripe then add a little honey or maple syrup if you prefer slightly sweeter muffins.

Banana & Cinnamon Muffins

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Modified paleogrubs.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12-16

Ingredients

• 4 bananas, mashed with a fork (the more ripe, the better)
• 5 eggs
• ½ cup avocado*
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup coconut flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a muffin tin with cups. In a large bowl, add bananas, eggs, almond butter*, coconut oil, and vanilla. Using a hand blender, blend to combine. (A stick blender or smoothie blender also works to mix the ingredients)
2. Add in the coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend into the wet mixture. Distribute the batter evenly into the lined muffin tins, filling each about two-thirds of the way full
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or store in the refrigerator in a resealable bag.

Notes

* For Banana Nut Muffins use almond/nut butter in place of the avocado, reduce the eggs to 4 the recipe and bake at 180°C. Also add chopped nuts to the mix or on top if you wish.

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Avocado Brownies

I’d never made brownies before trying these. They are now my favourite chocolate dessert. Rich and creamy from the avocado and full of protein, these treats will make you feel good. I use 90% chocolate which definitely pack a mighty kick. Blink and these babies are gone but don’t eat too many in one go if you want to sleep!

Chocolate also contains a chemical called theobromine, (from the Greek Theobromo) which, interestingly, is both a stimulant and a sedative. It provides mental and physical relaxation while also delivering an energy boost similar to the effect of caffeine.
www.gaiamtv.com/article/cacao-stimulant-or-superfood

I have a 9×9 inch pan so tend to use 3 avocados, an extra egg and a tad more honey and coconut flour without having to increase much else in the recipe. I prefer to melt my chocolate (with the coconut oil) in a bowl over hot water on the hob but you can melt it in the microwave by zapping for 20sec intervals and stirring in between.

Avocados need to be very ripe otherwise the brownie will have a bitter after taste. But don’t worry if you find an avocado is slightly underripe. You can use a little more of your chosen natural sweetener (honey or maple syrup) and 1-2 tsp of cinnamon to mask the under-ripeness. Alternatively, I found that 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper with a dash of ginger powder also does the trick!

Avocado Brownies

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: TGIPaleo.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 4 oz/ 110 g Baking Chocolate or Chocolate Chips
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 2 Large Avocados (1 cup puree give or take)
• ½ Cup Honey or Maple Syrup
• ¼ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (can be omitted)
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Flour
• 3 Eggs
• ½ tsp Baking Soda
• ½ tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Salt

Instructions

1. Melt the coconut oil and baking chocolate together in double broiler or a bowl/pan on simmering water on the hob.
2. Puree the avocados in a food processor until it is smooth and there are no lumps.
3. Fold the chocolate into the avocados in a large mixing bowl.
4. With an electric mixer, beat the remaining ingredients into the batter until smooth.
5. Grease an 8×8 pan, line with grease-proof paper and pour the batter, smoothing out the edges.
6. Bake at 180°C for 30 mins. Cool and serve.

Notes

To cool the cooked mixture in pan place the hot pan from the oven in ice-cold water for 5min. I use a shallow baking track filled with cold water. Then using the grease paper, turn out the brownie on a wire rack to cool further. Slice then serve. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days (although it will most likely be eaten within 2 days)

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Avocado Frosting

Like chocolate but intolerant to dairy? Fear not! No eggs or dairy milk required. There’s even a nut-free option. Use this spelt-flour, dairy-free recipe with or without the avocado frosting to make 14-16 cupcakes, one big cake or a 2-layer sandwich cake. Chocolate yumminess.

I originally found this as a vegan recipe where the sweetener was agave syrup but I don’t use that ingredient (and don’t know much about it other than it’s highly processed) so switched it to organic honey. For almond milk (or any nut milk for this recipe) I prefer to make my own but the shop-bought varieties also do the job. If you have a nut allergy then rice, hemp or coconut milk are alternatives. I’ve had success with both rice milk and coconut milk. I expect good old fashioned dairy cow’s milk would also work but you would probably need to reduce the honey (or other choice of sweetener) to account for the milk’s natural sweetness (lactose aka milk sugar).

I’ve used this recipe to make my very own chocolate sandwich birthday cake and it went down a treat. The cake version (made in 2 sandwich tins) takes around 40-50min to bake.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Avocado Frosting

 

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Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

18 mins

Total time

1 hour 3 mins

 

Author: loveandlemons.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 16

Ingredients

• cupcakes:
• 1¼ cups spelt flour (or blend of white/wheat)
• ¾ cup honey
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup almond* milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• frosting:
• 2 very ripe avocados
• ¼ cup chopped baking chocolate (around 65% cacao)
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup honey (originally agave syrup. Alt ⅛ cup coconut sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup almond* milk
• pinch of salt
• * For nut free use coconut or hemp milk

Instructions

1. Make the cupcakes: Mix the wet ingredients, mix the dry ingredients, mix together and bake for 15-18 minutes at 170°C. These are best if you under bake them slightly (since there's not very much oil in the recipe).
2. Make the frosting: Melt the baking chocolate in the microwave (careful not to burn it). Let it cool slightly. In a food processor mix all ingredients together. Taste and adjust. Let chill in the fridge for at least 15 or so minutes.

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Chocolate Avocado Mousse

This recipe was my initiation into using avocado as a butter alternative in desserts. I first came across the recipe by chance and it’s now one of my favourites. A blender (stick or jug) will give you a decent, creamy blend but it’s possible to get a satisfactory consistency with just a potato masher and/or fork.

I tried blending the the ingredients with my smoothie maker (Nutri Ninja, similar to Nutribullet) but didn’t get a very smooth finish, as you can see on the left, even though I added 1 Tbsp almond milk and used 3 Tbsp maple syrup instead of honey plus a dash of cinnamon.

There are several versions but I found this one, from raw-chocolate-avocado-mousse from theearthdiet.org, is the simplest. It can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days, assuming you don’t eat it all in one sitting.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

A simple yet delicious raw food dessert

Author: theearthdiet.org

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons of cacao (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
• 2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup

Instructions

1. Either blend all ingredients in a food processor and make it smooth and creamy OR mash the avocado with a fork in a bowl
2. Add cacao and honey. Taste it, add more cacao if you want it more chocolate and more honey if you want it sweeter!

Notes

Make sure to use very ripe avocados to avoid any bitter after taste. Hass avocados are ideal for this. A dash of cinnamon can help blend the flavour if your avo taste is hovering.

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1. Vegan chocolate mousse with banana from wholefoodsimply.com
2. Vegan milk chocolate mousse from mindbodygreen.com