Raw Chocolate Mousse

If you were too look at me - you'd not say I was fat. But when I look at me, I say OVER WEIGHT. Now let me put that in perspective! If I could lose 5 kilos, I would be in seventh heaven. So I'm just trying to aim for one kilo at the moment. Just one kilo - now don't you think that that would be easy? 
Do I have to give up all chocolate, alcohol and pasta to achieve this? I don't think so!

I've attempted to dig through my recipes and find something that's decadent, delicious but low calorie. I needed something for dessert that I could share with a friend, but not with too much sugar.  I never tire of the taste of Chocolate Mousse, just tire of the calories and the expanding waistline. 
So here's a vegan/healthy alternative. Tastes amazingly creamy and you will be totally blown away by how easy this is to make. Great for your vegan friends and those that love chocolate. Eating some of this may just help with that kilo weight loss! or maybe not!

RAW CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

INGREDIENTS - Serves 2 people - so increase the quantity for more servings.

1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
1 ripe avocado
2 tsp water
2 heaped tablespoons of raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons agave syrup, more or less to suit taste


1. Melt the coconut oil and when it cools add this to the avocado flesh, cacao powder, and water in a food processor. Add a little more water if the mixture looks too dry.

2. When this is all smooth and shiny, tip into a bowl and add agave syrup to taste.

3. Place covered in the fridge for at one hour and serve with fruit and yoghurt. Or just by itself!

Chocolate from Tasmania

My friend Luke has been working in Tasmania and was lucky enough to fall upon Anvers Chocolates. Anvers are based in Devonport, at the top end of Tasmania. Their reputation for producing chocolate is second to none.

So I was very pleased when Luke offered me some Fortunato No. 4 chocolate. This is something special, really special. This is made from a strain of cacao, recently found in Peru, which was thought to be extinct. So this is truly something rare.

'This is a very complex, powerful chocolate … it's like no other,'' says Van Gerwen, owner and chief chocolatier at the House of Anvers, in Latrobe, Tasmania.

My only problem is that the chocolate looks so pretty that I really don't want to eat it. I keep salivating at the thought of a box of rich chocolate sitting in my kitchen cupboard but then I go look at it and I can't bring myself to open it. Have you ever had that experience? How can I tell you how good it is if I don't open it?

Take a look at this - see what I mean. It looks amazing and I don't want to open the packaging.

OK you have convinced me!

I have taken a small bite - it's very smooth, it's very rich and it's very dark. Add a cup of coffee and I believe it is the most beautiful combination of flavours.

Thank you Luke, and thanks to the House of Anvers. I can see a trip to Tasmania is imminent.

In line with my new eating regime, I will definitely be sharing this with a few good friends, but I might hold back one more tiny piece for myself.

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Pear and Chocolate Tart

Some enormous pears appeared in my Aussie Farmer's fruit box last week and I could think of nothing better than to make this delicious tart.

Pears are so versatile. Often used in savoury as well as sweet dishes, available all year round and very nutritious.  Pears are very high in fibre and half of the pear's total dietary fibre as well as its antioxidant and anti inflammatory phytonutrients are found in the skin, so it's best not to peel them. Because they contain less acid than apples, dentists seem to prefer you to eat these because they do less damage to your teeth.

You can find pear varieties in many colours from green through to red, gold and brown and each variety has its own properties and qualities.

Pears are another member of the rose family and lets face it aren't roses good for just about any occasion!

It was very coincidental that I had just bought a book called 'Australian Pears', which contains delicious recipes from some of Australia's finest chefs.

I decided to try  Guy Grossi's Chocolate and Pear Tart because I really wanted a show stopper and I felt the need to compliment my beautiful pears. However, I did change the recipe ever so slightly and I would now possibly cut down on some of the cocoa in the pastry just a little, to better fit with my palette. 

This is how I interpreted the recipe and the changes I made. It was delicious! I will certainly be trying more pear recipes from this book and I have my eye on an Upside Down Pear Pudding. I will let you know how it goes.

 Guy Grossi's Chocolate and Pear Tart

Pastry

100g butter

200g flour

60g cocoa (I would use 40g next time)

2 eggs (I actually only used 1 very large egg)
100g caster sugar

Place flour and butter into a bowl and rub in to resemble breadcrumbs. Sift in the cocoa powder and add sugar.

Lightly beat egg and add enough to bind the dry ingredients together. Turn onto bench and knead very slightly. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.

Filling

4 pears (I used Packham's)

200g dark chocolate 70%

100g butter

4 eggs separated (I used 3 large)

200g caster sugar (I changed it to 150g)

2 tablespoons of marmalade (This was omitted from the original recipe)

Take a deep flan ring 28cm and grease it. Roll out the pastry to 5mm thickness and line the flan ring by pressing into the flutes. If it starts to break a little, don't worry, just press it together and ease it into the ring. Brush the pastry with marmalade. I used a slightly bitter orange marmalade. Once cooked the marmalade tasted as though I had added a liqueur.

Cut the pears into quarters and remove the cores. (I had to peel mine this time, but you can leave the skin on if you prefer) Arrange on the base of the flan.

Pre-heat oven to 180º.

Melt chocolate and butter together over a low heat. Set aside to cool slightly. Beat egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy. Fold in cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk egg whites until stiff and fold into the mixture. Pour this over the pears and bake for approximately 40 minutes until nice and crispy.

Let Them Eat Cake!

I am mad about chocolate and I could eat it at any time of day or night. As long as it is unopened I am safe, but once the packet is ripped or the box is open, look out! Very fitting then that I introduce you to a Chocolate Hazelnut Cake or Torta Cioccolato for a final Italian recipe. (Don't worry we will be back later in the year).

My new year resolution is to keep on with the 5:2 Intermittent Fasting which I started last year. I still have 5 kilos to lose, which is going to be the hardest to shift, especially if I keep making this delicious food. However, 5:2 allows me to fast for 2 days per week and eat normally on the other 5 days. It isn't supposed to include large amounts of chocolate, but the odd piece is fine. 

It has been a fantastically easy way for me to lose 11 kilos already and I have been able to stick to it for a fair time. Here is a  link if you would like to learn more. http://thefastdiet.co.uk/. I wont harp on about it because if you want more information you can check out the link.

So onwards with the 'Torta'. This is elegantly crisp and chocolatey and teems wonderfully with a hot  'espresso macchiato'. I wont tell you how many calories it has because it is very naughty.

Definitely not to be eaten on a fasting day!

Italian Chocolate Torta

Ingredients - Oven temperature 180 fan forced

40g Hazelnuts
100g Butter
110g Dark chocolate, chopped
2 tbls Cocoa powder
3 eggs separated
60g Sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
20g Plain flour
Icing sugar to decorate

• Butter and flour a fluted cake tin with removable bottom. I use a fluted flan dish because the cake is quite flat. 
• Toast the hazelnuts until brown in a dry pan and roughly chop.
• Melt butter in a pan on a low heat, add the chocolate and cocoa and when the chocolate has melted remove from the heat and leave it to cool.
• Beat egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Then, stir in the chocolate mixture.
• Whisk in the flour, nuts and add a pinch of salt.
• Whip egg whites until peaks form and then gently fold into the egg yolk mixture retain as much air as possible.
• Tip the mixture into your prepared pan and bake in the middle of a preheated oven for approx 20 -30 minutes. Don't overcook.
• Cool in the tin and turn out to serve with a dusting of icing sugar.