Nutella Torte

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nutellatorteIn my 20’s, long before I became a mom, wife, Ayurveda Wellness Counselor, or official Pacific Northwesterner, I was a serious wanderlust-er.  I traveled. I visited over 25 countries and tasted all of the foods I could.  But my first love of travel + food was in the back of a 16 passenger van on the way to Virginia when I was 18. (I know.  It’s not what you would expect from soon-to-be college kid in the back of a van, right?)

My  travel + food love affair began in the spring of 1997 with Nutella.  (If you’ve never had it, don’t eat it.  You won’t be able to put the spoon down.  Maybe ever.) I remember my first taste of the gooey chocolate hazelnut mixture; I was on a road trip with some friends to check out a college on the east coast during my senior year in high school.  My friend, Amy, pulled out a jar and a bag of pretzel sticks.  She passed it around the 16 passenger van.  My first taste was something akin to what I understand heroin addicts experience the first time they use.  It was a magical revelation.  It was transcendent.  It was a brand new food reality opening up before me.  I had no idea anything could taste that good.  I was hooked.

The spring of 1997 sparked a long love affair with Nutella  It spanned the course of three decades, four continents, and many life events in between.

  • Spoonfuls of Nutella straight from the jar during college to soothe a broken heart and pad the waistline with a few post break-up pounds.
  • Nutella crepes in Paris across from the Eiffel Tower on a spectacular summer evening.
  • Fresh Nutella croissants in Germany, Austria, Prague, and Venice to fuel my perpetual mid-20’s wanderlust.
  • A dusty, expensive jar hidden on the back of a shelf in a little shop in Victoria Falls, Zambia, (probably left over from British occupation), spread over hot, fresh chapati straight from the cooking fire.
  • And yes…comforting Nutella sandwiches on not-quite-stale bread eaten at the end of an exhausting remote clinic day in the highlands of Guatemala.

I guess you could say I have strong associations with food.

Well, today I’m trying to stay true to my low sugar in 2015 intention.  My husband is, too, so I wanted to make something familiar and delicious and decadent.  I wanted to  connect with where my life’s journey has taken and honor those travel + food experiences, even while I am in a definite season of staying close to home. But I wanted to do it all without sugar. Or flour. Or (very many) carbs. Or the inevitable self-loathing.

Behold, the Nutella Torte.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I’m going to warn you…this is not low-cal.  In fact, it’s high-cal.  You’re going to have to watch your portion control here, but that’s okay because you’ll want to savor every bite.  Remember good times.  Share a memory with your family.  Feel all the warm fuzzies that fill your heart as you fill your belly. Then put the damn thing away because it’s going to be tempting to eat it all in one day.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of finely ground hazelnut meal  (you can grind your own with a food processor, or buy it for a pretty penny from WF)*
  • 1 cup erythritol or 2/3 cup raw honey
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp melted butter or hazelnut oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 20 drops of liquid stevia (only if using erythritol)
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup of light cream or half & half
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • a pinch of salt
  • a prayer of gratitude that you can eat something tastes like Nutella again

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2) Lightly grease a 8″ springform or round cake pan
3) Combine wet ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously for about a few seconds
4) Combine dry ingredients and mix thoroughly
5) Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, and stir until fully incorporated
6) Pour into pan
7) Put pan into the oven for about 35 minutes, depending on your oven and altitude.

Let the torte cool quite a bit, for about one hour.  I know, it’s torture.  One whole hour.  And it’s just staring at you.  Waiting for you to top it with some fresh, home-made whipped cream sweetened only with a bit of vanilla extract and a few fresh raspberries and devour it’s warm hazelnutty-chocolatey goodness.

(*Please note that if you want to forgo hazelnut meal, you can easily substitute almond meal.  One of my very favorite variations is to add a little bit of almond extract and unsweetened dried tart cherries.  I also like to use unsweetened baking chocolate instead of the cocoa powder, melt it with the butter on my faux double-boiler, and add it to the wet ingredients.)

Do you have any favorite Nutella memories?  Please share.  You’re among friends.

Meyer Lemon Coconut Tartlet

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coconut lemon tartletThis time of year is always packed full of sweet treats and ridiculously tasty holiday food.  As a mama on a breast-feeding elimination diet, I find sticking to my eating plan particularly challenging during these winter months.  I wrote about it more in-depth over on The Leaky Boob, and gave a few tips for dealing with social gatherings while on an elimination diet.

I’ve also come up with elimination diet-friendly coconut tartlet, (unless you can’t eat coconut, then let me know and I’ll create something just for you), and handy little infographic that I’m considering printing out in miniature and passing out at holiday gatherings.  Okay.  I’m not seriously considering passing it out, but I’ve definitely daydreamed about it.  Feel free to add your own semi-ridiculous things to the list and share.  We can all have a good laugh over it.

Meyer Lemon Coconut Tartlet

Ingredients for Crust:
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg (optional, binds crust better)
1/4 cup coconut crystals

Directions for Crust:
1) Combine coconut, almond flour and coconut crystals
2) Add butter and mix well, then blend in egg
3) Press into individual tart dishes and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
4) Remove and allow to cool completely

Ingredients for Tart Filling
3 cans coconut milk, chilled in can (full fat, and use the separated cream only)
3-4 lemons, depending on size
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp raw honey
10 drops liquid stevia (optional)

Directions for Tart Filling:
1) Juice lemons by rolling them on the counter top with the heel of your hand, then squeeze juice. (I always put a fork in the halved lemon and squeeze and twist around it.)  Strain the juice to eliminate pulp and seeds.
2) Zest lemon skin into juice.  Organic lemons are best and recommended for this.
3) Take the cream from the cans of coconut and  whip into lemon juice and zest.
4) Scrape down sides of bowl, then add honey, stevia, and vanilla extract and blend well.
5) Scoop into fully cooled tart dishes, garnish with fresh raspberries, and serve!

*Note: One really great thing about this recipe is the tarts don’t need immediate refrigeration.  They are actually best at room temperature.  If you do refrigerate them, make sure to remove at least 30-40 minutes in advance so the coconut can warm up and be nice and creamy when you serve it.

 

Sunbutter Brownies

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Photo of Sunbutter BrowniesOne of my nieces, C, has a wicked peanut allergy.  It’s the epi-pen-everywhere-she-goes kind of peanut allergy.  She’s dealt with it all of her 11 years, long before it was the popular allergy to have. C was my first exposure to the reality of how profoundly devastating food allergies can be. I vividly remember my sister-in-law cleaning out their pantry and offering me a box full of nuts and nut products. The gentle reminders via email or phone call from my brother about their new nut-free home before weekend visits and family vacations in an effort keep C safe.

At the time, I didn’t grasp how drastically every social interaction changed for my brother’s family the moment C’s allergy necessitated an epi pen. It was a very serious condition for such a tiny human to deal with, and although I was fully committed to keeping her safe, I still forgot to leave the cashews in the car sometimes or check the label on her treats to make sure they weren’t made in a facility that processed peanuts. Luckily, my brother, sis-in-law, and oldest niece were vigilant and wouldn’t let anything that even hinted at peanuts to cross the threshold. (As it turns out, it was crazy hard to find toddler treats processed in a peanut-free facility 10 years ago. Now, it’s a bit easier because food allergies are so prevalent. ) I wish I could go back to 20-something year-old Carrie and give her a good shake about the reality of food allergies, and the sonic effect families with food allergies experience.

In spite of her challenges, C has always had a resilient and sunny attitude, even when it meant missing out on a special treat or experience with her friends or big sister.  C bounces along, continually looking for the silver lining, sharing her bright energy and outlook with the world. I wanted to create something especially for C, since nuts of all kinds are off limits now, and her family is trying to cut back on sugar. She’s a total chocoholic (it runs in the family!). Of course you can always sub a different seed or nut butter, but these are so yummy, there’s no need!

Ingredients:

  • 1 16 oz jar of smooth sunbutter
  • 2 eggs
  • 
1 avocado (yep, you read that right) or 1/4 cup coconut oil…but it won’t be as good as the avocado.
  • 1 cup coconut crystals
  • 
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
20 drops liquid stevia
  • 
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 bar of 90% dark chocolate, chopped
  • 
pinch of salt

Directions:

  1. Mash the avocado until totally smooth. You can put it in the food processor if you’d like.
  2. Add sunbutter, vanilla extract, stevia, eggs, and blend VERY WELL.
  3. Combine baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, and erythritol in a separate bowl, then add to sunbutter mixture, mixing well.
  4. Press mixture into 9×13 glass baking dish, and spread evenly. (A smaller dish is fine, too.)
  5. Sprinkle dark chocolate chunks over the top of the batter.
  6. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.
  7. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting.