Apricot, almond and basil tart tatin (vegan and GF)

I haven't posted in ages. I have been studying and travelling and exploring and studying some more. I'm back in France for the summer and since gorgeous, juicy summer fruits are in season, I thought I would whip up a nice Tarte Tatin. An apricot and almond Tarte Tatin. I mean look at these beauties I got from the farmers market! Also, there is nothing easier than this recipe! The only difficult thing is that if you want to make your puff pastry YOURSELF. There are endless recipes on Google or YouTube, vegan or not, gluten free or not, take your pic. Mine was organic, vegan and gluten free. A shortcrust would work fine too. Every time I eat this tart, I feel like I'm on a holiday in Provence, in the South of France, at a sunny terrace, listening to the gentle breeze and singing cicadas. So give it a try and let me know how you liked it :-)

Ingredients for 6 people :

1 organic GF puff pastry
7 ripe apricots
2  big TBS almond meal
1 big TBS vegan butter
2 TBS brown sugar or demerara sugar
For the decoration:
1 handful of sliced almonds
A few basil leaves

Method:

Preheat the oven at 180° C. In your tart tin, spread the vegan butter and sprinkle the sugar on top. This will create a bit of a syrup. Sprinkle the almond meal over it. Take your apricots halves and place them in the tin rounded side down.

Roll out your puff pastry and place it gently over your apricots. Press down on the sides.

Bake until it is puffed and a nice shade of golden brown. Mine took about 20 minutes.

When golden brown, let cool for a couple of minutes. Put a plate or dish tightly over it and invert so that your tart and syrup fall onto the dish.
Sprinkle the sliced almonds and basil leaves on top. You can serve cold or warm with some vegan ice cream (will post a recipe soon). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

No-bake choconut balls

Last week I talked about the lovely coconut balls I made that could easily replace your standard truffles. This week, I want to talk about another version that I've made with hazelnuts. And they are the BOMB! They ressemble the Ferrero Rochers that I used to loooove but can't have anymore *sigh* because of endo. These are dairy/soy/palm oil and gluten free! What else do you want? 

(I made it again today with hazelnuts and almonds and it was gorgeous)

INGREDIENTS:

(for about 20 mini balls)

1 cup of hazelnuts

2 Tablespoons of hazelnut oil

1 Tablespoon of organic pure raw cocoa powder

3 Tablespoons of maple syrup

2 Tablespoons of coconut cream

1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to180° C (360° F)

Arrange the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Stir them every four minutes or so. Let them cool for another 10 minutes.

You will need to skin them. I usually transfer them into a bowl, put a plate over it and shake energically.

Separate the hazelnuts from their skin and transfer them into a food processor. Grind them until finely chopped. Scoop out 1/4 cup of the nuts onto a plate and save for later.

Back to your food processor, add the oil, the cocoa powder, the vanilla, the syrup and the coconut cream to the rest of the nuts. Pulse until you get some sort of paste (you might want to scrape down the sides a couple of times).

With a teaspoon take some of the mixture (the size of a small walnut) and press firmly in your palm to start shaping a small ball then roll it into the remaining chopped hazelnuts. 

Put them on a plate or tray and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. Enjoy!

No-bake vegan choc' coco balls

With Christmas coming up, let's talk about chocolate truffles. Yes they are lovely and very chocolatey but they are also high in fat and can quickly become sickening. As an Endogirl, I can't have dairy or refined sugar so these are an UH-mazing alternative!

Today I made these beautiful vegan, gluten-free and most importantly guilt-free chocolate and coconut truffles. They are yummy and light and perfect for a quick dessert or just a chocolate craving. I mean just look at' em beauties!

INGREDIENTS:

(for about 10 small balls)

1 1/2 mug of shredded coconut

2 Tablespoons of coconut cream

1 Tablespoon of raw unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tablespoons of melted coconut oil

3 Tablespoons of maple syrup

1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 pinch of Himalayan or Guerande salt

METHOD:

In a food processor, mix 1 mug of shredded coconut (keep the rest for later), the melted coconut oil and the cocoa powder until well combined. You may want to scrape down the sides a couple of times.

Add the coconut cream, vanilla extract, maple syrup and salt. Mix again until you get a paste.

Place the remaining shredded coconut on a plate, shape the paste into small balls and roll them into the coconut.

Refrigerate for one hour minimum. They will be perfect after a few hours in the fridge. Enjoy!

Vegan and Gluten Free waffles

When I had to cut out gluten from my diet, it was very hard at first. I realized I would have to stop eating a lot of things I liked. Good things like pizza, bread, pasta.... oh, and waffles!! I couldn't say good bye to waffles!
It took me a couple of tries to get these babies exactly the way I wanted them to be: Crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. I am so happy to say that these waffles are absolutely delicious. And the batter takes less than ten minutes to make! I hope you get a chance to make them and enjoy them. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

INGREDIENTS: 

(for a dozen of small round Belgian style waffles)

1 mug of chickpea flour (buckwheat works great too)

1/2 mug of rice flour

2 tablespoons of raw cane sugar

1 mug of warm almond milk 

3 tablespoons of melted vegan butter (or coconut oil)

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

METHOD:

Whisk together the flours, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the melted butter then the lukewarm milk and vanilla extract. Stir well until combined.

Preheat your waffle maker and cook as directed in the manual.

Enjoy with maple syrup, raw honey or fruit and marmelade. Bon appetit!
(If there are any left (which is NEVER with me) you can easily pop them in the toaster to heat them up)