Paleo Tiramisu

I love Tiramisu. It is one of my favourite dessert but it is not really Paleo, is it? 

There is the obvious choice to replace the Mascarpone to a custard made from coconut cream but I wanted to try something else. Something which is creamy and sweet itself like custard: the custard apple. 

It is a winter fruit - sorry, my Australian readers - and unless you have your own tree, it is quite expensive. However, you need one only. 

The best thing in this Tiramisu is that there is no added sugar in it. Not even a gram. 

Worth to try :)

Ingredients for the sponge cake

2 eggs

8 tbsp almond flour (almond meal from blanched almond)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda

zest of a lemon

Preheat the oven to 180 C.  Prepare a 20x20cm baking tin with baking paper.
Separate the eggs and whip the whites and the apple cider vinegar with an electric mixer for about 10 minutes. Mix the egg yolks and add them to the hard egg whites gently so you don't deflate the egg white mixture. Mix the almond flour, the zest of a lemon and bicarbonate soda, then add gently to the egg white mixture. 
Pour the mixture to the prepared tin and bake it for about 15 minutes or until it is golden brown. 

Ingredients for the cream

1 custard apple (approx. 350ml mashed custard apple without the seeds)
1 egg white
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp gelatin dissolved in 50ml hot water

Cut the custard apple in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Discard the seeds then make a puree of the flesh by a food processor. Pour the mash into a colander lined with cheese cloth and let it drain above a bowl while beating the egg whites.
Whip the egg white with the apple cider vinegar with an electric mixer for about 10 minutes. While beating, slowly add the dissolve gelatin to it. With a wooden spoon, mix the custard apple gently to the hard egg white.

Layering

150-200ml fresh espresso coffee or nescafé, cooled
splash of almond liqueur
sugar free cocoa powder, eg. Dutch cocoa

Cut the sponge cake to 15x100mm stripes. Lay half of them to a 12x12cm glass or ceramic dish.
Combine the coffee with the liqueur. With a spoon, pour some from the coffee mixture to the sponge cake.
Cover the sponge cake with half of the custard apple mixture. Repeat the layers one more, ending with the cream. Dust generously with cocoa then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Alternatively, you can use agar-agar or psyllium husk instead of gelatin. This case you have to add them to the custard apple instead of the egg whites.

Enjoy :)

Variations for wellbeing
Dairy intolerance: enjoy as is.
Gluten intolerance: enjoy as is.
Paleo: enjoy as is.

Homemade Margarine

... for people who believe that margarine can have a healthy version.

Yes, I am serious :)
There are people who have dairy intolerance, so cannot eat butter. 
It is easy to make at home and works just as the store bought version. 

Ingredients

40g coconut oil, melted
2 tbs olive oil or macadamia oil
4 tbs grapeseed oil
1 egg yolk
salt

Put all ingredients in a bowl. Blend them until they are well incorporated.
Place the bowl in the fridge for 5 minutes then blend the mixture again. It should be creamy, just like butter. 

You can keep it in the freezer for up to a month. 

Enjoy :)

Variations for wellbeing
Dairy intolerance: enjoy as is.
Gluten intolerance: enjoy as is.
Paleo: enjoy as is.

Chai Tea Spice Mix

Chai tea was new for me a few years ago despite of being quite known in Australia. 
You can find many variations in the shops (as many brands as many mixtures) but if you do it yourself, even better. It's very easy, actually. 
I'm already preparing the Christmas presents - almost all of them from the kitchen - and one of them will be the Chai Tea.

Ingredients for spice
2 part ground cinnamon
2 part ground ginger
2 part ground cardamom
1 part ground star anise
1 part ground clove
1/2 part vanilla powder (you can leave it out, if it's hard to get)

Those spices which are not ground, grind in a coffee grinder, then measure the quantity you need.
Mix all the spices thoroughly.

What can you do with it?
It's already a perfect gift as it is but you also can do a tea mixture.

Ingredients for the tea
80g black tea leaves (not infused)
3 tsp Chai Spice above

Place the tea in a seal-able container or jar, add the spice, close it and shake it. Shake it like you mean it :)
Keep it in a dark place for a week at least, so the tea leaves can infuse the fragrance from the spice. 

Instead of tea, you can use the spice mix also in cakes, biscuits, granola or hot milk. 

Enjoy :)

Variations for wellbeing
Dairy intolerance: enjoy as is.
Gluten intolerance: enjoy as is.
Paleo: enjoy as is.