Decadent, hot and velvety creamy inside, this dessert is to die for!
It took me several days to get this recipe right! It is quite difficult to achieve the right consistency, when you make this kind of dessert without flour or caster sugar. However, the result it is simply superb!!
Yes, these wonderful lava cakes are gluten and refined sugar free (I added a little icing sugar on top, in order to take better pictures, but you don’t have to)… No one will know they are secretly healthy!
…But be careful, because the chocolate-chilli combination can be very addictive!
Dark chocolate lava cakes with a kick (gluten and refined sugar free)
Cooking time: 18-19 minutes
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
for 4 small cakes (4 servings)
80 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
40 g almonds (with skin)
2 medium eggs, plus 1 yolk
1 pinch of salt
10 g unsweetened cocoa powder (plus a little more to dust the cake moulds)
80 g butter
100 g acacia honey (or the honey of your choice)
2 small dried chilli peppers (or a pinch of chilli powder)
icing sugar to decorate (optional, don’t use it if you don’t want refined sugar in the cakes)
4 small disposable aluminium cake moulds
Method.
1. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. When the chocolate is completely melted, add the butter, let it melt and mix well; then remove from the heat.
2. Lightly toast the almonds in the oven at 170° C / 338° F (just for a few minutes). Let cool, then, using a food processor, grind the almonds with the cocoa powder and the dried chillies.
3. Separately, beat the eggs with honey with an electric beater, until the mixture is soft and fluffy.
4. Incorporate the melted chocolate and butter with egg mixture. Beat for a few more minutes, then add the cocoa with the ground almonds and chillies.
5. Grease 4 small cake moulds with butter, then dust with a little cocoa powder.
6. Bake at 160 ° C/ 320° F for 18-19 minutes.
7. Garnish with icing sugar (optional) and serve hot.
Note. The cakes should be cooked on the outside and slightly soft in the centre, make sure you don’t overcook them…One more minute can make a huge difference!
Tortini con cuore fondente al peperoncino (senza glutine)
80 g di cioccolato fondente al 70 %
40 g di mandorle (con la buccia)
2 uova medie, più un tuorlo
1 pizzico di sale
10 g di cacao amaro
80 g di burro
100 g di miele di acacia (oppure il miele che preferite)
due peperoncini secchi (oppure un po’ di peperoncino in polvere)
zucchero a velo per decorare (facoltativo, non usatelo se non volete lo zucchero nella ricetta)
4 stampini di alluminio (usa e getta)
Preparazione.
1. Fate sciogliere il cioccolato a bagnomaria. Quando il cioccolato sarà completamente sciolto, aggiungete il burro e mescolate bene.
2. Tostate leggermente le mandorle nel forno caldo per qualche minuti. Lasciate raffreddare, poi tritate molto finemente insieme al cacao e i peperoncini con un tritatutto (fate qualche pausa per non riscaldare troppo le lame).
3. A parte, sbattete le uova con il miele, fino ad ottenere un composto soffice e spumoso.
4. Incorporate il burro e il cioccolato sciolto alle uova. Sbattete ancora per qualche minuto, poi aggiungete il cacao con la farina di mandorle e il peperoncino. Mescolate bene.
5. Imburrate gli stampini in alluminio e ricoprite con una spolverata di cacao amaro.
6. Infornate a 160° C per 18-19 minuti (non di più perché i tortini rischiano di solidificarsi troppo, mentre al centro devono restare cremosi).
7. Decorate con zucchero a velo (facoltativo) e servite i tortini caldi.
This recipe is a tough one to get right and there is a reason for it…Hopefully, soon you’ll find out why! 🙂 I am currently at my fourth attempt!!
…A wonderful and spicy 2015!!!
Thank you so much for all your support and affection!! XX
Ok, I couldn’t help it! I had to make a mosaic with all the recipes from 2014!
A year of blogging, photography, gluten-free, new and traditional recipes…
And many more recipes are on the way! 🙂
Just click on the picture to view the recipe.
New and traditional recipes
Gluten-free recipes
How-to recipes
I’ve just updated my photography portfolio….
Visit the Food Photography page, to view the new gallery.
Thank you!
Low-fat and healthier than the real thing, oven-baked skinny “fries” can be even tastier than deep fried potatoes, if you add fresh herbs and garlic.
These skinny “fries” are super tasty and very crunchy!…None will know they are baked and not fried!!
Rosemary and garlic skinny “fries”.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-35 minutes
4 Servings
Ingredients
a bunch of fresh rosemary
8 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in halves
4 medium-large potatoes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
what you need
2 large rectangular baking trays
a big bowl
some baking paper
a knife
a kitchen cutting board
Method.
1. Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into sticks.
2. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and mix with 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Take 2 large baking trays, line them with baking paper and place the potatoes on the trays (not too many, otherwise they’ll stick together).
4. Top the potatoes with the rosemary and the garlic cloves, then bake for 30-35 minutes at 190°C (374° F).
5. Take the potatoes out of the oven, remove the garlic and rosemary and serve.
Patatine al forno con aglio e rosmarino.
Tempo di preparazione: 10 minuti
Tempo di cottura: 30-35 minuti
Per 4 persone
Ingredienti
un po’ di rosmarino fresco
8 spicchi d’aglio, puliti e tagliati a metà
4 patate medio-grandi
4 cucchiai di olio extra vergine d’oliva
sale e pepe q. b.
occorrono:
2 teglie grandi rettangolari
una ciotola grande
2 fogli di carta da forno
un coltello
un tagliere
Preparazione.
1. Lavate, sbucciate e tagliate le patate a bastoncini sottili.
2. Mettete le patate in una ciotola e mescolate con 4 cucchiai di olio extra vergine d’oliva, sale e pepe.
3. Prendete una teglia grande, ricoprite con carta da forno e posizionateci sopra le patate, lasciando un po’ di spazio tra un pezzo e l’altro (altrimenti si attaccano).
4. Aggiungete il rosmarino e gli spicchi d’aglio sopra le patate, poi infornate a 190 ° C per 30-35 minuti.
5. Levate le patate dal forno, poi togliete l’aglio e il rosmarino. Servite subito.
Plain but full of flavour, Pizza Margherita is one of the most appreciated pizzas in Italy! We use only fresh and the best quality ingredients, in order to get the right combination of flavours. It’s so simple but really delicious!
I often prepare this pizza with a sourdough starter and make a dough using mainly spelt flour, because I love it’s nutty flavour and crunchy texture. Here is my favourite sourdough recipe for the pizza base and the normal yeast version.
Pizza Margherita
Preparation time: 5 minutes + the time to make the dough
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Ingredients
For two large pizzas
2 pizza bases (use the dough you prefer)
Two good quality mozzarellas (if you want more flavour you can use buffalo mozzarella)
200 g good quality tomato sauce (sweet and not acidic)
2 tablespoons of chopped marjoram (fresh or dried)
Extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste ( I mix them with the tomato sauce and herbs)
Method.
1. Preheat the oven at the highest temperature and with the fan running (to dry out the excess water from the cheese). Place the pizza stone in the oven (the pizza stone has to heat up gradually, because otherwise it will break).
2. Once the pizza stone is hot, remove it from the oven and dust with some dried (quick cooking) polenta (the polenta will make the pizza crust crunchier).
3. Roll out the pizza dough on the stone, top with the ingredients and place to cook in the oven, with the fan running, for 30-40 minutes (depending on the temperature you are using).
Notes.
1. Use the best quality tomato sauce you can get ; if the tomato sauce is too acidic, you can add some sugar and make it sweeter.
2. Mozzarella is usually preserved in water, so you have to rinse it really well and squeeze it with your hands when you use it.
3. You can use different herbs to personalise your pizza; we often use oregano, basil or marjoram.
Pandolce is a wonderful Genoese Christmas cake, traditionally made with raisins, candied fruits and pine nuts; so simple but rich in flavours, because we use only the best quality ingredients.
For this Christmas I prepared (as usual) my own version, giving a foodfulife twist to the traditional recipe! I made a Pandolce packed with delicious cranberries, white chocolate and hazelnuts. This dessert is sweet bread (actually more like a cookie dough), perfect if you want to surprise your guests with something truly special for Christmas!
Believe me, it doesn’t get any better than this!
If you prefer something a little less rich but still delicious, you can try my Chocolate and hazelnut Pandolce, made with dark chocolate and with less sugar and a little less butter.
Cranberry and white chocolate Pandolce.
Preparation time: 15 minutes + the resting time
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
For 8-10 servings
220 g Manitoba flour (that you can replace with whole spelt flour, or any strong flour)
100 g unbleached all purpose flour
80 g soft butter
60 g milk
1 egg
1 and a half tablespoons of honey
70 g brown sugar
grated zest of 1 organic lemon
2 tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
a few drops of vanilla essence
150 g shelled and roasted hazelnuts (whole)
100 g white chocolate, cut into pieces and frozen (that you can replace with dark chocolate)
100 g dried cranberries
icing sugar to taste
tip. Freeze the white chocolate before making the cake, otherwise it will melt too much during the cooking time.
Method.
1. Mix the softened butter with the brown sugar and the egg, then add the honey and 60 g of milk. Add two tablespoons of rum, two drops of vanilla essence, then stir until the mixture is soft and creamy.
2. Separately, mix the two flours with the baking soda and the baking powder; then add the hazelnuts, the zest of a lemon, the white chocolate and the cranberries. Combine these ingredients with the creamy mixture.
3. Knead well, adding a little bit of flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
4. Line the base of an oven tray with baking paper, then place and shape the Pandolce on the tray.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 ° C/388°F (with the fan running) for 50 minutes.
Note. The oven door must remain slightly open during the entire cooking time to release the steam (you can do that by placing a metal object, like a padlock, between the door and the oven, in order to live a 1-2 cm gap).
6. Let the Pandolce cool completely, then dust with plenty of icing sugar.
Pandolce con mirtilli rossi e cioccolato bianco.
Preparazione: 15 minuti + il riposo
Cottura: 50 minuti
Ingredienti
Per 8-10 servings
220 g di manitoba (che potete sostituire con farina integrale di farro)
100 g di farina 00
80 g di burro morbido
60 g di latte
1 uovo
1 cucchiaio e mezzo di miele
70 g di zucchero di canna
la scorza grattugiata di un limone, non trattato
2 cucchiai di rum
1 cucchiaino di lievito per dolci
1 cucchiaino di bicarbonato
qualche goccia di essenza di vaniglia
150 g di nocciole tostate intere, senza buccia
100 g di cioccolato bianco, rotto in pezzi e surgelato (che potete sostituire con il cioccolato fondente)
100 g di mirtilli rossi essiccati (cranberries)
zucchero a velo q. b.
Nota.
Congelate il cioccolato bianco per evitare che si sciolga troppo durante la cottura.
Preparazione.
1. Amalgamate bene il burro con lo zucchero e l’uovo. Aggiungete 60 g di latte, il rum, l’essenza di vaniglia e un cucchiaio e mezzo di miele, poi mescolate fino ad ottenere un impasto cremoso.
2. Separatamente, mischiate le farine e poi aggiungete le nocciole, i mirtilli rossi, il cioccolato bianco (surgelato), la scorza di un limone, il bicarbonato e il lievito. Mescolate tutti gli ingredienti insieme, unendo l’impasto asciutto a quello cremoso.
3. Amalgamate bene, aggiungendo un po’ di farina per evitare che l’impasto si appiccichi alle mani, poi lasciate riposare nel frigorifero per 15 minuti.
4. Ricoprite la teglia con la carta da forno, poi mettete l’impasto sulla teglia e date la forma al Pandolce.
5. Infornate quindi a 170°C per 50 minuti (con la ventola in funzione).
Nota. La porta del forno deve restare socchiusa (con una fessura di 1 o 2 cm), in modo da far uscire il vapore (potete posizionare un oggetto di metallo, ad esempio un lucchetto, tra la porta e il forno).
6. Fate raffreddare completamente, poi decorate il Pandolce con abbondante zucchero a velo.
Foodfulife 