Easy & Healthy GF Chocolate Pancakes

Gluten Free Chocolate Pancakes

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tiny pinch salt
• 1/4 cup oats

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.
2. Fry on a nonstick surface! (very very important that the pan is nonstick. My other pans couldn’t handle this batter)
3. Serve with a healthy drizzle (dousing) of chocolate ganache (1 tbs of chocolate chips melted in 2 tbs heavy whipping cream)!

On a side note, my camera is still broken :( Luckily I have this picture from before it broke. 

Lemon & Almond Ricotta Cake with Berries

Originally, my family’s Christmas eve plans included lasagna. My mom commissioned me to make it, and per my request went grocery shopping, buying noodles, tomatoes, and tubs of ricotta cheese among other ingredients.

The problem was, no one really wanted lasagna, and I didn’t especially want to make it either. I made a sample batch, and with homemade tomato sauce, it took me nearly three hours. I couldn’t really imagine repeating that process, especially in the midst of our Christmas dinner chaos.

So, instead we had fish tacos, shrimp, beans, rice, turkey, and mashed potatoes…a strange (but delicious) combination. Seeing this left me with two and a half tubs of ricotta cheese, I decided to make ricotta cake for dessert. I’m not a fan of cheese in dessert (though I’m learning to appreciate cream cheese frosting — cheesecake is still a nope), but the ricotta simply made this cake deliciously tender and moist.

Everyone loved it, so much so that I’ve made two batches to use up all the ricotta. I brought it to a gathering with friends, and every last crumb was devoured. My friends and family all loved it, so hopefully you’ll try it and love it just as much. 

Lemon & Almond Ricotta Cake with Berries

NOTE: The first time I made the recipe, I used a loaf pan. The second time (pictured) I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 13x18 in jelly roll pan.

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups oil
• 1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• lemon zest from 1 lemon (save the juice for a glaze - recipe below)
• 1 carton (~1 1/2 cups) blackberries/raspberries
• ~1/2 cup sliced almonds (i used the extra crushed almonds from a batch a macarons i made)

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Whisk together the oil, ricotta, and sugar in large bowl for several minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the extracts and lemon zest. 
3. Add the dry ingredients, and stir until most of the flour is incorporated.
4. Fold in the berries, continuing to stir until no streaks of flour remain.
5. Pour in a 9 inch loaf pan, sprinkle with almonds, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool on rack completely.

Lemon Glaze

• Juice from 1 lemon 
• 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar (depending on how much lemon juice))

1. There are two ways to use the lemon: for a glaze or for an ‘infuser’. 
2. To make a lemon glaze topping, combine the juice from the lemon and enough powdered sugar to form a thin glaze. Pour or spread over cooled cake.
3. To make a lemon ‘infuser,’ add enough powdered sugar to temper the sourness of the lemon juice. Poke the cake with a fork when still warm, then pour the sweetened lemon juice over it. The sauce will add additional moistness and flavor.
4. I can vouch that both work well for this cake! It’s a great way to use up the part of the lemon the cake doesn’t use. 

Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes (Gluten free)

These cupcakes are like eating a cloud of fluffy chocolate brownie cake frosted with the inside of Lindor truffles.

My dad has been sneaking into the kitchen and taking two at a time, and he usually only nibbles at the desserts I make. I can’t blame him though; I’ve lost count of how many I’ve eaten.

These cupcakes are super chocolatey, and not too sweet (though a extra quarter cup of sugar or a few drops of stevia can fix that if sweeter desserts float your boat) and the frosting tastes like the inside of lindor truffles. Really, it does! 

The cake is more creamy and dense than traditional chocolate cake and it reminds me somewhat of brownies, but that’s the only distinction I can make. There’s no bean taste whatsoever.

If you’re feeling particularly healthy, you could replace the eggs with egg whites and sugar with erythritol, but these aren’t bad as is. So relax, and eat a couple (or ten). 

Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup cooked black beans
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup sugar (increase to 3/4 cup if you like sweeter desserts)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor, blender, or with a hand emersion blender until smooth. The batter should be very creamy and thick — like chocolate pudding.
2. Divide into 30 mini cupcake liners.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
4. Frost, or eat plain!

Inside of Lindor Chocolate Truffles Frosting

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

1. Combine and microwave until melted.
2. Let sit at room temperature until spreadable, or speed up the process using an ice bath.
3. Frost the cupcakes!

Costa Rican Banana Cake

I’ve been to Costa Rica twice. 

The first time was in 2009, when a past Spanish teacher invited some of his other former students to join a group of his current students on a trip there. Most of former students (the people I knew) couldn’t go, which left just my friend Sonia and me.

By that point, even though I had taken Spanish for three years, I would still fumble during simple conversations. My parents allowed me to go on the conditions that I would speak solely in Spanish, but considering I was there with 20 other teens and a close friend, none of whom could speak much better than I, that didn’t happen.

Instead I spent close to a week making new friends (in English) and having fun, not a total waste I think! (Though, if you ask my mom and dad, they grumble and say, “Yeah, yeah.”)

Me and Sonia in Costa Rica! 

This summer, I lived with a Costa Rican family for three weeks. My days were divided between community service and Spanish lessons, with the occasional excursion on the weekends. 

Since I visited with my friend and her sister, I wasn’t completely immersed and did speak some English, but with twenty hours of Spanish classes a week, I definitely improved my conversational skills and learned a lot.

When I’m at home, I tend to cook most of my meals myself, mostly because I’m impatient and can’t bear the lag between asking for food and actually receiving it. 

In Costa Rica, my host mother generously set out plates of food for me three times a day, and for three weeks I happily ate black beans, flavored rice, cabbage salad, and vegetables, with the occasional caramel candy or slice of cake. 

During one of the excursions, I bought a Costa Rican cookbook from a giftshop, already dreading a life without homemade rice and beans at every meal. It’s filled with recipes for savory and sweet dishes, and all the recipes I’ve tried so far have been successes.

I’ll post recipes for rice and beans soon, but they were both devoured before I could take pictures. Luckily, I snapped some shots of this banana cake in time.

This cake is denser than most banana cakes I’ve had, and the recipe called for cloves and nutmeg rather than cinnamon, but it was still delicious.

Costa Rican Banana Cake [Queque de banano]

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground gloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 8 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup butter, melted & cooled
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (The cake was pretty sweet so next time I would reduce the sugar to 1 cup or 3/4 cup!)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and spices.
2. In another bowl mash the bananas.
3. Add the butter, sugar, eggs milk, and vanilla.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Bake in a greased 9x13 pan for about 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

Unless I’m baking for a particular reason (a present, a party, to try making a new dessert), I don’t usually follow recipes. There’s something liberating about blending ingredients without any idea of what the end result will be. It’s the ultimate trial and error method for learning how ingredients interact - and I’m a trial and error sort of person (did you know I once spent 2 days making vegetarian marshmallows 3 different ways). 

For a while I would just make simple cakes and biscuits, but lately I’ve been having more fun, working quinoa and beans and oatmeal into the baked goods I make. I just throw ingredients together and scribble down in what quantities, and usually, the end result is fine! 

An example “recipe”

This method is how I somehow ended up with this gluten free pumpkin bread (which I’m pretty excited about, not gonna lie).

It wassuper easy to make, and it’s not dry NOR gummy like many gluten free baked goods tend to be. I’m already thinking about all the possible variations: chocolate cake, banana cake, carrot cake, everything cake. Yum~

I topped it with this cream cheese frosting, but I’m sure most anything would taste good.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal
• 1/4 cup gluten free protein powder
• 1/4 cup potato starch (I’m willing to bet tapioca starch would work too - and it’s easier to buy think.)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 6 ounces plain greek yogurt*
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 2 tbs syrup (maple, honey, or pancake syrup)
• 2 tbs oil
• 1 egg

*The final bread had a bit of tanginess from the yogurt. I liked it, but will probably replace with applesauce in the future.

1. In a food processor, blend the oatmeal until powdery. Add the protein powder, potato starch, baking powder, salt, and sugar, and pulse a couple times until combined. 
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, pumpkin, syrup, oil, and egg.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ones. Whisk about 30 seconds.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for around 30 minutes in a greased 8x8 pan, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
5. Top with frosting, and serve.