Guava Swirl Cheesecake

Hey everyone, I'm still alive! I've just been letting work and life take precedence these days. But that also means that I've build up a good pile of recipes to share with you.

This dessert popped into my head one day when I was thinking about a way to combine the flavors of guava and cream cheese. My husband loves these super sweet Cuban pastries filled with guava and cream cheese, but trying to make a starch free version of the real pastry just wouldn't come close enough to the real thing. I had to get a little more creative with the flavor combination. And so the guava swirl cheesecake was born! (And depending on your flavor preferences, you can change the guava to any type of jam or jelly and this cheesecake would still be delicious. I think strawberry, blueberry and blackberry would all be amazing.)

The crust is the same recipe that we used in our Key Lime Mousse Pie and makes a good starch free substitute for any pie or dessert recipe requiring a crust.

Guava Swirl Cheesecake
makes one 10-inch cheesecake
for the crust:
3 cups almond meal/flour
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
(scant) 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
(scant) 1/8 cup water
for the cheesecake:
two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temp.
2/3 cup sugar (you can use a little less depending on how much jelly your adding in)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, at room temp.
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4-1/2 cup guava jelly, depending on your taste - I used Goya, in the international food section

for the crust:
--> Combine the almond meal with the baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the butter and some water, but don't add too much water! You just need enough to moisten the dough so that you can mix it. Knead to combine, and don't worry if some of the butter still shows through the dough. Form the dough into a flat disk, cover completely with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

--> Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and lightly butter or spray a 9 inch or 10 inch springform pan. Remove the dough  from the fridge and place between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Roll the dough out to a round disk a little larger than the springform pan. Remove the top sheet and invert the shell onto the pie dish. (Sometimes, if the dough feels a little bit on the sticky side, I just put the dough directly on my pan and press it in piece by piece with my fingers instead of rolling it out. When it's too sticky, it can just stick to the paper.) With your hands, mold the dough to fit your springform pan, making the edges a little thicker than the bottom.

--> Put into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust has very lightly browned and is firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely while you make your filling.
 
for the cheesecake:
--> Increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese at medium speed until very soft and smooth, about 4 minutes. Add sugar and salt, and continue to beat at medium speed for another 4 minutes or so, until cream cheese is light. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition so that your batter will be well aerated. Reduce to low speed and mix in heavy cream.

--> Stir bowl with rubber spatula, scraping the sides, and pour into your cooled crust. In a small bowl, stir your guava jelly until softened and uniform in texture. Pour jelly onto cheesecake mixture by the spoonful and marble gently into the cheesecake with a knife. 

--> Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until slightly browned and puffed a little. A thermometer should read 150 degrees F when inserted into the center of the cheesecake. Let cool, then place into the fridge. If you'd like, serve with whipped cream on top. But it's amazingly delicious either way.

Maple Flan

Flan is a dessert that I've been wanting to learn how to do right for awhile, since it's one of the standard Cuban desserts. And since we're a little unclear on whether or not caramel is starchy I decided to take a different (but equally delicious) route with our flan and use maple syrup. Roi says that this recipe is more like a "restaurant" version of flan as opposed to a "homestyle" version. I'm not really sure what that means but I'm taking it as a compliment. This recipe makes unbelievable creamy flan, and real maple syrup is the perfect compliment.

This recipe is adapted from the flan recipe in America's Test Kitchen Cooking for Two 2009 cookbook. I doubled the recipe and exchanged the caramel for maple, but other than that, the recipe was perfect.

{adding the maple to the ramekins}

{adding the custard to the ramekins}

{in the oven}

{baked custards}

Maple Flan
makes 4 servings
1/4 cup real maple syrup (not a corn syrup substitute! gross!)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 cup milk (I used whole milk, but you can use any type)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1.) Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place a kitchen towel at the bottom of a 9X13 inch baking pan. Grease four 6-ounce ramekins, divide maple syrup between the ramekins and place them on the towel.
2.) Whisk the egg and egg yolk together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk, sweetened condensed milk, and lemon zest until thoroughly combined. Divide the custard evenly between the four ramekins.
3.) Place the baking pan in the oven and carefully pour enough boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake the custards until the centers are just barely set, 25-30 minutes.
4.) Carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath and let the custards cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover the ramekins tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.
5.) Run a small knife around one of the ramekins to loosen the custard. Place an inverted serving plate over the top and quickly flip the custard onto the plate, drizzling any extra maple over the top. Repeat with the remaining custard and serve.

Simple Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a variation on the Chocolate Mousse Cake I posted earlier this year, and you'll be happy to know that this is the quicker and easier version to make! I decided that I wanted to post about a simple cake that you can make even if there's no special occasion, or if the occasion is just that you feel like eating cake. This recipe makes one 8x8 or 9x9 single layer square cake and is only 4-5 servings.

The cake recipe is the same that I used in my earlier post, and you can go check it out if you're wanting more pictures about the cake process; I just halved the recipe for this version. The Honey Cream Cheese Frosting is from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook. It's this recipe, without the butter. But if you'd like a fluffier frosting, add in the butter and tell me what you think!

I added a thin layer of high quality strawberry preserves under the layer of frosting, to add a little depth of flavor. And since I had strawberries on hand, I added those on top of the cake. It would be just as good without the fruit though, I'm just partial to fruit flavors in my cakes. Or you could substitute other flavors as well. Raspberries would be delicious with this cake.

{Cake batter and softening cream cheese. Isn't our cafetera family cute?}

Chocolate Mousse Cake
serves 4-5
5 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 eggs, separated --  (make sure the whites are completely free of yolks or oil, or they won't fluff up correctly -- also make sure that the whites are at room temperature before you mix them, they'll form stiffer peaks that way)
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
makes 1 1/4 cups - enough to cover one single layer cake
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup honey

 For the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 1 8x8 or 9x9 inch glass or metal baking pan and line the bases with buttered parchment paper.
2.  In a saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter (I put the butter in the pan first to protect the chocolate from direct heat) over low heat until smooth, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and whisk in the egg yolks until completely blended. Beat in the vanilla extract and pour into a large bowl. Set aside, stirring occasionally.
3. In a clean, grease-free bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites slowly until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed and continue beating until they form soft peaks, then stiffer peaks that just flop over a little at the top. Have patience, this will take 5-10 minutes.
4. Stir a large spoonful of white into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining white until they're just combined. Don't overmix, or the whites will fall. It's okay if there's still some streaks in the batter.
5. Pour batter between cake pans, smoothing the top evenly and tapping the sides gently to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 30-35 minutes until puffed. The cake will fall slightly when you take it out of the oven. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then use a knife to loosen the sides and invert the cake onto the rack and remove the paper.

For the frosting:
If your cream cheese isn't room temperature, just zap it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds so that it softens a little, but not so much that it's melty. In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the honey and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate until needed. 

To assemble:
Stir about 1/4 cup strawberry or other preserves in a small bowl so that it's easy to spread. Spread a thin layer over the cake and add the cream cheese frosting on top. Spread over the cake until you have a even and smooth layer. If you'd like, add sliced strawberries or raspberries on top. Buen provecho!

Cranberry Raspberry Pops

These are undeniably the most amazing homemade popsicles I've ever made. And I think that even if you're not as into cranberries as I am, you'll love them too. If you're partial to other kinds of berries, you can pick and choose which juices and fruits you use for your pops. But if you ask me, these could not have been better. Just don't wear a white shirt when you're eating one.

Cranberry Raspberry Pops
Adapted from this book.
2 1/2 cups cranberry juice
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 fresh raspberries
1 cup light brown sugar, or to taste

1. In a saucepan, combine all of the ingredients (except the fresh raspberries) and 1 1/2 cups water. Cook over low heat for about 7 minutes, stirring, until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
2. Divide your fresh raspberries between the molds. Fill the pop molds with the juice mixture, insert the sticks, and freeze for at least 12 hours.
3. Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds.

~~~~~

I also used this popsicle mixture to try out a birthday present I got from my awesome friend Ashlee. (This is in no way a sponsored post, just an honest product review!) She gave me the Zoku popsicle maker that claims to make popsicles in 5-8 minutes. And you know what? It does!

You have to freeze the mold for at least 24 hours in your freezer before it will work, and you can't touch the silver part with bare hands or it can burn you with its coldness. But I actually sat there and watched it freeze, which isn't something you see every day. This one took closer to 10 minutes to completely freeze, so it wouldn't be very practical for serving more than 1-2 people. But if you want a delicous home made popsicle and you don't want to have to wait overnight, then here is your solution. And I like how the popsicle looked when it came out of the mold.



{freezing my popsicle on the counter}



{Zoku popsicle: it freezes in a marbled pattern}



Flourless Brownie Cake



This is seriously the simplest chocolate cake ever. It's definitely a household staple around here because it doesn't take any time to make and it's amazing when you eat it warm, paired with vanilla ice cream. As far as ice cream goes, Breyer's Natural Vanilla Ice Cream is a good starch free choice, because it only has a few ingredients and they're the right ones. (Or with some fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Have you noticed a trend here?) We call it brownie cake because it falls right between a thick, fudgey brownie and a rich chocolate cake.

Flourless Brownie Cake

makes 1 8x8 or 9x9 round/square cake

4 ounces semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with the butter. Heat it up in small increments (15-20 seconds at a time), stirring in between each time, until the chocolate is melted. Stir until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, then mix in the vanilla extract.

{weighing the chocolate}

2. Sift the dry ingredients together, then mix in everything else. Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is cooked through and the top starts cracking. Serve warm!



{getting ready to mix everything together}



{finished baking}



Flourless Brownie Cake

makes 1 8x8 or 9x9 round/square cake

4 ounces semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with the butter. Heat it up in small increments (15-20 seconds at a time), stirring in between each time, until the chocolate is melted. Stir until smooth.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together, then mix in everything else. Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is cooked through and the top starts cracking.



Berry Limeade Poppies

Now for something a bit more fitting for the season. I made these popsicles the other day with ingredients that I had available and they're awesome. I have to confess, I'm eating one as I type this (more difficult than I imagined it to be) so that I can accurately describe how tasty this flavor combination is: refreshing lime, a hint of syrupy cream soda and sweet berries. These poppies are simple to make and the perfect thing on a hot day.

I had 1/2 a bottle of extremely flat cream soda left over from my bday party a few weeks ago (we don't really drink soda at our house, here it's mostly water and cranberry juice) and I don't like to be wasteful, so I wanted to find a use for it.

There isn't really a real recipe for these, everything is interchangeable. I started by putting some of the fruit in the molds; I did 1/2 of the popsicles with sliced strawberries and 1/2 with whole blackberries. Then I combined 1 cup of limeade (we buy the Simply brand, it's not made from concentrate and safely starch-free) and 1 cup of cream soda together and pour them into the popsicle molds. I didn't mix in any extra sugar, and these turned out to be sweet, but not too sweet. Just really refreshing.

Double Chocolate Ice Cream

If you ask Roi what his favorite dessert is that I make for us at home, he'll always say chocolate ice cream. I think he could probably eat a quart a day.  And I love this recipe because it doesn't require an ice cream maker to yield amazingly creamy, rich and delicious ice cream, which is lucky, because we don't yet own an ice cream maker. 

This ice cream takes less than 10 minutes to make (if you don't count freeze time), but it's super rich, so some people might like to cut it with vanilla ice cream. Roi says you can have half of this chocolate ice cream and half vanilla ice cream and it'll be the same chocolatey-ness as store-bought chocolate ice cream. I found this recipe in Cook's Country magazine. [Also, please excuse the instagram phone photos, with my computer broken, my photo options are a little more limited and I like to play around with photo apps on my phone.]

Double Chocolate Ice Cream

makes 1 quart

1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder

1 tablespoon hot water

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (I usually just make it with semisweet chocolate chips, though)

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch salt

1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream

{measuring out my chocolate}

{post-melting}

1. Combine coffee/espresso powder and hot water in a small bowl. Let stand until coffee dissolves, about 5 minutes. Microwave chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and coffee mixture in bowl, stirring every 15 seconds, until the chocolate is melted, about 1 minute. Stir in vanilla and salt, then let cool.

{whipping the cream}

{folding it all together}

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1/3 of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Freeze in airtight container until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks.

{my cooking helper! Peppy was sitting next to me while I was making the ice cream}

Double Chocolate Ice Cream

makes 1 quart

1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder

1 tablespoon hot water

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (I usually just make it with semisweet chocolate chips, though)

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch salt

1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream

1. Combine coffee/espresso powder and hot water in a small bowl. Let stand until coffee dissolves, about 5 minutes. Microwave chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and coffee mixture in bowl, stirring every 15 seconds, until the chocolate is melted, about 1 minute. Stir in vanilla and salt, then let cool.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1/3 of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Freeze in airtight container until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks.

Lemon Curd/Lemon Custard Icing

Lemon curd has actually been a very large bone of contention in our household. Roi had never heard of lemon curd before I made it and flat out refused to try it because in his book, anything called "curd" sounded disgusting. So I had to come up with a different name to call it (even though fruit curds are not a new thing--we use lemon curd and passion fruit curd at the bakery where I work on a regular basis) before he'd even consider tasting it. So now at home lemon curd is now lemon custard icing.

Anyway, lemon curd is delicious and definitely something you should try if you haven't before. And making it from scratch is way better than buying it pre-made from the store. You can use it as filling in a layer cake, as an ice cream topper, on pancakes, with muffins, etc. After I made it, I kept trying to think of more things to eat it with, because I just wanted more. I followed this recipe.

 {all the supplies, sans salt}

Lemon Curd
makes ~2 1/2 cups
3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
pinch salt

{lemon & sugar}

1. Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler. Add the zest to the bowl of the food processor or blender. Blend until the sugar is very finely minced. The oils from the lemons will come out and flavor the sugar. Add the butter to the food processor. Then add the cream until it comes together. Add the eggs one at a time, with the machine running. Add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until the mixture is pale yellow.

{starting to cook}

{the spoon test}

2. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan. Cook over low heat on the stove until it thickens. You will  need to stir the whole time, and it'll take about 10 minutes. You will know that it's ready when you dip a wooden spoon (I used a metal spoon, it worked just fine) into the lemon curd, drag your finger across, and if the line stays, it is thick enough. Then proceed to eat it on everything!

{vanilla ice cream with lemon curd & fresh strawberries}

Lemon Curd
makes ~2 1/2 cups
3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
pinch salt

1. Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler. Add the zest to the bowl of the food processor or blender. Blend until the sugar is very finely minced. The oils from the lemons will come out and flavor the sugar. Add the butter to the food processor. Then add the cream until it comes together. Add the eggs one at a time, with the machine running. Add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until the mixture is pale yellow.
2. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan. Cook over low heat on the stove until it thickens. You will  need to stir the whole time, and it'll take about 10 minutes. You will know that it's ready when you dip a wooden spoon (I used a metal spoon, it worked just fine) into the lemon curd, drag your finger across, and if the line stays, it is thick enough. Then proceed to eat it on everything!

Green Tea & Mint Poppies

Anyone who knows me well knows that popsicles are one of my favorite foods, definitely my overall favorite food group. When I was younger, I would forgo any kind of cake, cookie or pie for a bomb pop (you know -- the iconic red, white and blue kind of popsicle). Even in the middle of winter I would choose a poppy over another kind of dessert; that's how deep my love of poppies goes.
Anyway, this is my way of introducing an ongoing series that I'll be doing throughout spring and summer -- homemade poppies (and of course they'll be starch free). And don't worry if you don't own a mold for making your own popsicles. If you do have a mold, that makes it easier, but you can make poppies using espresso cups, ice cube trays, disposable cups, shot glasses, etc. (+ popsicle sticks) for your molds.

The first kind of poppy in the series is a simple and tasty green tea & mint flavor. I got the recipe from this book.

Green Tea & Mint Poppies
makes six 8-ounce pops or eight 6-ounce pops 
(or any variety of smaller pops)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 loose green tea or 5 tea bags
12 sprigs fresh mint
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup honey, or to taste
opt: 1/4 cup edible flowers or 1/4 cup blanched almonds (I opted out of these two)

1. Bring 4 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour into a heat-resistant pitcher (or mixing bowl with spout) with the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the tea, 10 sprigs of the mint and the lemon juice. Cover and let steep for 1 hour.

2. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in honey to taste. Add a few fresh mint leaves (and flowers and almonds if you'd like) to each poppy mold. Pour in the tea and insert the sticks. Freeze for at least 6 hours. (If you're using actual popsicle sticks and not molds, you'll have to freeze it for awhile and then put in the sticks, or they won't stay in straight.)

3. Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for a few minutes or put the poppy under hot tap water before removing it from the mold. Then go and feel amazingly refreshed!

Almond Macaroons

These cookies take less than 10 minutes to put together and are perfect for anyone who can't do regular cookies because of the starch &/or gluten. I actually made them this morning before making Roi his breakfast & lunch so that I could pack a few in his lunch for an afternoon snack -- that's how quick they are to make. They're chewy in the middle, crunchy on the outside and taste like amaretto. And I may have a eaten a few for a pre-breakfast snack.

You can substitute other kinds of nuts for the almonds (like pecans or macadamia nuts) but I haven't tried out those varieties yet, and I don't know for sure whether or not those types of nuts are starch free (although tree nuts do tend to be starch-less).

Simple Almond Macaroons
yields 12-15 cookies
1 egg white, unbeaten
1 1/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (aka sugar in the raw), for rolling

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly oil.

2. Mix together egg white, almond meal, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until well blended. Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough between your palms into 1-inch balls. Put turbinado sugar into a small bowl and roll each of the balls in the sugar. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

{post-rolling, pre-baking}

3. Bake until firm, set and lightly browned (they're going to be darker than regular wheat flour cookies), about 35 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

{cooling}

{eat!}

-- Kara

Celebrating Pi(e) Day with Key Lime Mousse Pie

This pie is so good! It's sort of a cheesecake, key lime pie, ice cream pie and white chocolate cream pie wrapped into one. When we were in Miami a few weeks ago visiting family, I had the t.v. turned on to The Food Network a lot while we were lounging (we don't have t.v. at home besides the internet and netflix, so it was kind of a treat) and saw a lot of Paula Deen's shows. Later when I was looking up a recipe that I saw on her show for home-made lollipops (I'll show you how to make those later, promise!) I came across this recipe and knew I had to try it, because the filling was totally starch free and looked delicious. I decided to make it for Pi(e) Day and was not disappointed.

To make it starch free, I made a pie shell out of almond meal instead of her graham cracker crust. I also halved Paula's recipe because hers looked enormous, and I didn't need to feed a million people. And really, I just wanted it too look like a pie and not a cheesecake. (Even with halving the recipe, I still had a little extra filling. I just put it in a little container in the freezer to have separately.) If you live near a Trader Joe's, their almond meal works perfectly for this (and a lot of other recipes) and is much less expensive than other brands of almond flour that I've seen.

Ingredients:
makes 1 standard pie (8-10 inches)
for the pie shell:
3 cups almond meal/almond flour
4 ounces unsalted butter
(a little less than) 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda (not baking powder-that's starchy)
1/8-1/4 cup cold water as needed
for the pie filling:
3 tablespoons fresh key lime juice
1/2 envelope of unflavored gelatin (a little more than 1/2 ounce)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
5 ounces white chocolate, chopped or as chips
12 ounces (1 1/2 packages) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tablespoon lime zest

To make the crust:
1. Combine the almond meal with the baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the butter and some water, but don't add too much water! You just need enough to moisten the dough so that you can mix it.

2. Knead to combine, and don't worry if some of the butter still shows through the dough. Form the dough into a flat disk, cover completely with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Remove from the fridge and place between 2 sheets of baking paper. Roll the dough out to a round disk a little larger than the pie dish. Remove the top sheet and invert the shell onto the pie dish. With your hands, mold the dough to fit the pie dish, making the edges a little thicker than the bottom. Put into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust has browned and is firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

{rolling out the dough}

{baked crust, cooling}

To make the filling:
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the lime juice. Whisk in the gelatin and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the white chocolate and stir until smooth. Allow to cool.

2. Using an electric mixer, blend together the softened cream cheese, sugar and lime zest in a medium bowl, until smooth. Slowly beat in the cooled white chocolate mixture into cream cheese mixture.

3. Using clean, dry beaters, beat the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream in a small bowl, until it forms soft peaks. Fold it into the white chocolate mixture and pour into the pie crust. Cover and freeze overnight.

4. Remove from the freezer and cut into wedges with a knife that has been dipped into hot water. Serve immediately and store the extras in the freezer.

{juicing the limes}

{cream cheese and white chocolate mixture}

{whipped cream, soft peaks}

{folding cream cheese mixture and whipped cream}

{filled pie, before freezer}

{yum!}

Toasted Almond Covered Truffles

It's been so long since I've posted! With a friend visiting from out of town and Valentine's day, I was busy planning other things. But now I'm back with a delicious treat.

When you're doing the starch free diet, tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc.) have a lot of uses. This is a really simple recipe for making delicious chocolate truffles. I decided to cover ours in toasted almonds, but you could also cover your truffles in cocoa powder, a plain chocolate coating, or home made sprinkles (I'll teach you how to do this soon!). This recipe needs to chill in the fridge for awhile, so you'll need to plan ahead for when you want to eat them.

Toasted Almond Covered Truffles
makes 20-30
3/4 cup heavy cream
10 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 tablespoon almond extract (you could also use vanilla, but I would up the amount to a tablespoon)
1 cup chopped toasted almonds

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, then stir until melted and smooth. Stir in the butter and the almond extract, then strain into a bowl and let cool. Cover and chill for 6-8 hours or overnight.
2. To toast your almonds, spread out finely chopped almonds onto an ungreased baking sheet in a single layer. Make sure they're chopped to the same size so that they'll toast evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, checking on them so that they don't burn. Let cool before you roll your truffles.
3. Line a large baking sheet with wax/parchment paper. Using a small ice cream scooper or two teaspoons, form the chocolate mixture into 20-30 balls and place on the paper. This might get messy, so be prepared! Chill if the mixture becomes soft.
4. Roll the truffles in the toasted almonds, covering completely. Chill well wrapped, for up to 10 days.