Paleo Style Trifle

Another Spring Break project that I am super late to write about.  Trifle.  I am British.  Born and raised (until I was 10).  I remember trifle, and I remember liking it, a lot. This trifle is not quite what I remember trifle to be, but after looking at all the different recipes, this is the one I thought I would try first.  It is missing Jelly (jello) which I always thought was in trifle, but maybe that is why the recipe used a jellyroll cake?
 

 
It wasn't a complicated recipe, (well maybe some parts of it are) but it does take some time to make each component and put it all together.  The custard was the tricky part.  I could not get it to work,  I had a runny custard and a lumpy custard.  Either way, they tasted nice.  I also added "whipped cream" to mine, because that is how I think I remember having it as a child!
 

 
Avery and I loved it.  It did not last very long in our house.  We ate it within the week of spring break.  I found the original recipe here!! - Paleo Mom has some really great recipes :-)
 
Ingredients (jellyroll filling):

• 1 ½ cup frozen organic strawberries I really think you could use any fruit
• 1 ½ cup fresh or frozen organic mango

1. Place berries and mango pieces in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat.
2. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, until juices are thick and mango is very soft. this took me a little longer than 20 minutes to get my mango soft
3. Blend with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth.
4. Cool completely before spreading on cake. it is still quite runny

 

Ingredients (jellyroll cake):

• 8 large eggs, separated
• 2/3 cup sugar/sucanat, divided - I used coconut sugar, it was all I had
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup coconut flour, sifted
• ½ cup blanched almond flour
• 1 cup jellyroll filling (see above)

1. Prepare a 12”x18” rimmed baking sheet by lining with wax paper and heavily greasing the wax paper with extra virgin coconut oil. Preheat oven to 350F. I used parchment paper and my pan was not quite the right size

2. In the large bowl of a standing mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 1/3 cup sugar gradually and continue to mix until stiff peaks form. this will take a few minutes

3. In a separate, small bowl, beat egg yolks with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla until thick. Whisk in coconut and almond flour.

4. Fold yolk mixture into egg mixture, being careful not to lose too much volume, until incorporated.

5. Spread batter out onto prepared baking sheet. Take the time to spread the surface evenly and into the corners.

6. Bake for 16-17 minutes, until top is just starting to turn golden brown. Meanwhile, lay out a piece of parchment paper (roughly the size of your baking sheet), cover with a large tea towel and another layer of parchment paper. have a nice big clear space for this (and the next step)

7. Remove cake from oven and immediately invert over parchment. Carefully peel off the wax paper. Starting from one of the shorter sides, roll the cake up in the parchment/tea towel. Let the rolled-up cake fully cool on a wire rack.

8. Once completely cooled, gently unroll the cake. Remove the parchment and tea towel. Spread the top side evenly with the cooled jellyroll filling. Roll the cake back up. My cake did break a bit, but it did not seem to make a difference to the finished product

9. Wrap up the jellyroll in parchment or wax paper and refrigerate, seam side down, until ready to assemble the trifle (at least 1 hour, or overnight). I refridgerated mine over night.
 

Ingredients (Coconut Custard):

• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 3 large eggs, well beaten
• 2 bay leaves - I omitted this
• 1 Madagascar vanilla bean - i used my regular old costco vanilla bean
• 2 ½ Tbsp honey

1. Split vanilla bean down the middle and place in a saucepan. Add coconut milk and bay leaves. I scraped my vanilla bean a little

2. Heat coconut milk slowly over low heat until very steamy and just shy of simmering.

3. Add a ladle of the hot coconut milk to the beaten eggs while stirring the eggs vigorously. Then add the egg mixture back to the saucepan, stirring constantly.

4. Continue to stir constantly until custard thickens (should coat a wooden spoon), about 4-5 minutes. You really have to stir, otherwise it gets lumpy, but if you don't let it get lumpy it does not thicken up to what I think custard should be.

5. Remove from heat. Remove bay leaves and discard. Remove vanilla bean halves, scrape the inside of the vanilla beans with a sharp knife to collect the vanilla seeds and add back into the custard. Discard the vanilla bean pod. i completely scraped my vanilla bean at this point

6. Once cooled, add honey and mix well. I added my honey while it was still warm, maybe why it was runny?

7. Refrigerate until cold before assembling the trifle.

 

Ingredients (the trifle):

• Jellyroll
• Custard
• 1/3 cup good quality dark rum (for family-friendly option, flame ¾ cups rum) I did skip this since I was making if for me and Avery
• 3 cups fresh berries, plus more to garnish (I used strawberries and blueberries)
• Fresh mint, for garnish (optional) no thanks

1. Slice the jellyroll into ¾” slices (so you see the lovely spiral of the fruit filling).
 

2. Line a glass bowl with the jellyroll slices. For a really nice presentation, you might want to cut a few jellyroll slices in half for the bottom to help prop the other slices up on the sides. Place any extra cake in the bottom of the bowl.

3. Carefully drizzle each piece of cake with rum. (For family-friendly option: heat ¾ cup good quality dark rum in a wide-bottomed saucepan or skillet on the stove on low heat. When it starts to steam, remove to a well-ventillated area (like outside!) and carefully light it on fire (use a barbecue lighter, extra-long match/taper, or kitchen blowtorch). Let it burn, swirling the pan gently every once in a while, until the flames go out by themselves. You should be left with about 1/3 cup of lovely very low-alcohol rum. Let it cool before drizzling on the cake.) yah - I did not do this

4. Fill the inside of the bowl with the fruit (slice any bigger berries, if needed)

5. Poor the cooled custard over the fruit in the middle of the bowl. Place some extra fruit on the top for a garnish. Garnish with mint leaves, if using.
 
6.  Top with "whipped coconut cream"
 
Whipped Coconut Cream

• 1 can of thai kitchen organic full fat coconut milk
• honey (to taste)

Directions:
1.  Seperate the coconut cream from the water
2.  Whip the coconut cream until fluffy (3-5 minutes)
3.  Add sugar to taste
 
Hope you enjoy this as much as Avery and I did :-)
Happy Baking
JoJo!

Paleo Vanilla Bean Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

My husband doesnt like chocolate cake, so when I came accross this recipe I was pretty excited.  I also liked it because I could take the nut factor out of it.  That is always a plus since I seem to have to have cupcakes ready for Avery to take to daycare for special occasions!

 

The down side to this recipe... OMG it is a lot of work (in terms of dishes) you have a lot going on.  Whipping egg whites and refridgerating them.  Then boiling your vanilla bean with the milk.  Mixing your dry ingredients.  Mixing your eggs and stuff.  Lots to do, lots of dishes.... but worth it.

 

I made this cake over Spring break, and I had some of my lovely friends over for coffee, cake and a playdate.  We ate almost the entire cake that morning.  I also made the cake for Avery's 3'rd birthday, and everyone seemed to like it.  Avery is quite happy with it, and that is the most important part :-)

 

 

 

I followed the recipe as is, not too much you can change with a cake recipe the first time around.  I did make my own frosting, so I included that recipe as well.  I located the recipe on Pinterest, but it originates here!

 

For the Cake

• ½ cup (80g) of Coconut Flour
• ½ cup (64g) of Arrowroot Flour
• ½ cup (112g) of Pastured Butter (or Coconut Oil), soft -I used coconut oil
• ¼ cup (50g) of Coconut Sugar - you can now buy this at Costco
• ¼ cup (84g) of Raw Honey - Grandma Bees (Save on Foods)
• ½ cup of Almond Milk (or Light Coconut Milk) we went with coconut mild
• 4 Eggs
• 1 Vanilla Bean - I get mine at costco, but you can buy them anywhere
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar
• ½ teaspoon of Salt
• ½ teaspoon of Baking Soda
• Extra greasing butter/oil

For the Frosting

• 1 can of full fat coconut milk - refridgerated over night - I like Thai Kitchen Organic full fat milk  (stock up the first Wednesday of every month at the enjoy center - even when it is not on sale I find it the only place I can find it and price is NOT  inflated at all)
• 1/4 + cup of cocoa power
• 2+ tablespoons of honey

Instructions

For the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350F. you have plenty of time to do this ;-)
2. Line the bottom of two 6"x2" round pans with parchment and grease the parchment surface and pan sides with butter/oil. Don't use cheap parchment paper and I used coconut oil to grease
3. Optionally pulse the coconut sugar in a food processor if the granules are large. - I didn't bother doing this, couldnt be bothered to dirty more dishes
4. Gently warm the raw honey so it's soft and nearly a liquid state.
5. Separate the eggs into egg yolks and egg whites.
6. Combine the egg whites with the cream of tartar and beat on high speed with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form to form the meringue. Set aside, or place in the refrigerator while preparing the rest of the ingredients. this could take some time, give it 3-5 minutes
7. Gently warm the almond milk (or coconut milk). Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and place in the warm milk. Let the beans seep into the milk and scrape if necessary. Remove the pod. I absolutely had to scrape my pods
8. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolks to the warm almond milk. Whisk until combined to make the liquid mixture.
9. In the mixing bowl with a whisk attachment whip the soft butter (or coconut oil) until fluffy. coconut oil doesnt really get fluffy like butter so just whip it a few good minutes
10. Add the coconut sugar and honey to the butter/oil and whip on high speed for about 1 minute to make the butter mixture.
11. Sift together the coconut flour, arrowroot flour, baking soda, and salt to make the dry flour mixture. if you read my blog, you know by now I dont sift
12. Add half of the dry flour mixture to the butter mixture and whip until the flours absorb into the butter and becomes fluffy again. Scrape the sides with a spatula to incorporate.
13. Add the whisked liquid ingredients and the rest of the dry flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on high speed with the whisk until combined and fluffy.
14. Scoop in a heaping of the egg white meringue and hand mix into the batter. Gently fold in the rest of the meringue until combined.  This is quite the job, and takes quite a long time.  You do not want to lose too much air/volume from your cake mix
15. Portion the batter into each cake pan and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

 

 

For The Frosting

1. Seperate the coconut cream from the water and put the cream in your stand mixer
2. Whip for 3-5 minutes
3. add cocoa powder and honey (to desired taste) and continue to whip for another few minutes
4. You may chill it a little before frosting your cake, or just go right ahead and frost.  Ive done it both ways and the worked out each time :-)

 

I really hope you like it as much as I did, it really is worth all the effort and dishes!!

 

Happy Baking!!

JoJo

Paleo Alfredo with Carmelized Leeks and Bacon

Avery is (or was) a big fan of Alfredo sauce, so when I cam accross this I thought I should make it, and hope that Avery would eat it. I was not totally successful, but she did taste it. 

Its a pretty simple recipe to make.  The only downside is the cauliflower -  I always make such a mess with cauliflower.

As far as the flavor goes, I would not call it Alfredo sauce.  I would add some real garlic to supplement the flavor, and salt and pepper.  Perhaps cooking the leeks with some chopped garlic would be nice.  The texture is a little (ok a lot) different than Alfredo sauce.  It is not thick and creamy - or at least mine wasn't, and its kind of grainy from the cauliflower.  Maybe my food processor is just not as wonderful as I thought.  I also added extra bacon to the sauce and sausage (its what I had handy).... I need more protien in a meal than just a few slices of bacon!

Despite the recipe/texture flaws, I still did quite enjoy the dish.  I served it over Zucchini noodles using my veggie spiral slicer.  I was worried about freezing the meal, because zucchini releases so much water when it defrosts, but it really did not effect the sauce at all :-)

I got the recipe from Meatified

Ingredients

To cook the leeks:
• 1 tbl ghee or coconut oil - I used the bacon fat
• 2 large leeks, washed and chopped (about 4 cups) - probably ended up using 4 leeks and they were a decent size
• 1/8 cup chicken stock - (i do make my own chicken stock)
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon - I totally forgot this (as I see now I am writing) - could explain my flavor?
To make the sauce:
• 3/4 lb cauliflower, chopped (4 cups) - I just used an entire head of cauliflower - I find costco has the largest cauliflowers
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
For the noodles:
• 2 large white sweet potatoes (or preferred vegetable) - i had zucchini
To garnish:
• 6 slices bacon - of course I used more than 6 slices of bacon, and I also mixed it into my sauce
• Handful green onions, chopped

Instructions

To cook the leeks:
1. Over a low-medium heat, add the ghee or coconut oil (bacon fat) to a large skillet. Add the leeks, stirring them through so that they are coated in the fat evenly, then turn the heat down to low. Cook until softened and beginning to caramelize at the edges, about 20 minutes. Add the chicken stock and lemon juice and cover the pan, cooking until completely tender, about 5 - 10 minutes.
To make the sauce:
2. While the leeks are cooking, fill a saucepan 1/3 way full of water and bring to a boil. Add the chopped cauliflower and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Drain the cauliflower and add to a blender, along with the chicken stock, coconut milk, salt and garlic powder. Puree until smooth and liquid. Mine really did not get that smooth, but I used my food processor
4. Once the leeks are cooked, stir them into the cauliflower Alfredo sauce (this is where I added my bacon too). Set aside.
For the noodles:
5. Use a spiralizer to make the sweet potatoes (or veggie of choice) into noodles. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Add the spiralized sweet potato to the boiling water and cook until softened, but still al dente, about 4 - 5 minutes. I actually just pan fry my noodles.  I find it just as quick and easy
6. Drain the sweet potato noodles.
To garnish and assemble: I skipped most of the following - I just ladled my sauce onto my noodles and ate - my bacon was in my sauce
7. Cook the bacon until crisp. Allow to cool slightly and chop into small pieces.
8. Slice the green onions.
9. Add the sweet potato noodles to a large skillet, pour over the Alfredo sauce and leeks. Use tongs to stir the sauce through the noodles and make sure everything is coated evenly. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash or two of water.
10. Simmer the noodles in the sauce until everything is warmed through.
11. Pile the noodles and Alfredo sauce onto plates. Sprinkle with bacon pieces and green onion before serving.

I hope that you can make  your sauce smoother, creamier and more garlicy than I did!!  Please let me know how it goes for you!!

Happy Cooking!!

JoJo!!