liquorice

New year, fresh winds! A new edition of my very first cookbook, It’s a Pleasure – Sweet treats without gluten, dairy and refined sugar (in Finnish: Kiitos hyvää – Herkkuja ilman sokeria ja gluteenia) has just came out in Finland with new recipes in it. 

I’m really excited that I had an opportunity to design new stuff for this title, as I feel that although the book came out already two years ago here in Finland, the subject is still very topical.

Well, actually I can’t think of a time when healthy yet delicious sweet treats would go out of style. At least they are very much trending in our household all the time. And it was only 3 months ago when the book came out in the US, so it’s great to blow some new wind to these sails also in Finland! (I know there might not be that kind of idiom in English, but you get the point.)

So cake, muffins, donuts, cookies, chocolates, candies, ice creams and other heavenly goods, all without gluten, dairy and refined sugar. Gentle yet effective ease for sweet cravings with 86 recipes. Pretty luscious package, if I may say. And you’ll recognice the new Finnish edition by the green stamp it has on the cover. 

To celebrate the new edition I wanna give away one copy of the new Finnish title to one lucky reader. All you have to do is drop a comment and say hello here in the comment field and I will pick a winner (located in Finland) on Sunday 22nd at 22.00. (10 pm)

Of course I don’t wanna leave you guys from other counties with empty hands, so I’m giving away one copy of the English title, It’s a Pleasure too. So eeeveryone can join! And please do!

Here is also one of the new recipes from the new Finnish edition: my current No.1 favorite raw cake, Raw Licorice Chocolate Mousse Cake, with a super soft and tasty filling and crunchy truffles. Enjoy, babes!

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(raw, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free)

Crust:

1 cup almonds

½ cup pecan nuts

5 fresh dates

3 prunes

3 tsp licorice root powder / licorice root extract powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp anise powder

½ tsp sea salt

 

Filling:

1 cup cashew nuts (soaked for 1–3 hours)

1 cup coconut milk (room temperature)

6 tbsp coconut syrup or raw organic honey

1 tsp tamari soy sauce

1 cup raw cocoa powder

pinch of sea salt

5 tbsp cocoa butter (melted)

5 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

 

Chocolate Licorice Sauce:

2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

2 tbsp raw cocoa powder

2 tbsp licorice root powder or licorice root extract powder

½ tsp vanilla powder

2 tbsp coconut syrup (or maple syrup)

a tiny pinch of sea salt

 

On top:

Small truffles made from the crust dough + black sesame seeds

raw cocoa powder

 

Tin/Cake mould size: 17 cm / 7 inches

 

Crust:

Cover the bottom of the cake mould with a parchment paper so that it is easier to remove later. Add the almonds and nuts into a blender and blend until fine crust. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until a thick and sticky dough. Check the taste and add more seasoning if you like. Spoon out the dough and put into a bowl, taking aside about 4-6 tablespoons of the dough, from which you’ll later make the truffles. Press the rest of the dough firmly onto the bottom of the cake mould. Prepare the filling.

 

Filling:

Toss out the soaking liquid of the nuts and rinse the cashews in cold water. Place the nuts into the blender and add the coconut oil. Also add the syrup and tamari. Blend. Add the raw cocoa powder and salt. Also pour in the cocoa butter and coconut oil. Blend until a smooth thick mass. Pour the mass into the cake mould. Even the surface with a spoon. Place the cake mold into a freezer for about 2 hours or until it’s totally firm. In the meantime prepare the truffles and the sauce. When the cake is firm, take it out of the freezer, remove from the mould, dizzle some shosola sauce on and decorate with the truffles you’ve made. Serve and enjoy. Store in the fridge.

 

Truffles:

Prepare small balls from the dough crust you had set aside. Roll the truffles on black sesame seeds pressing them firmly but gently so that the seeds stick and cover the balls evenly.

 

Chocolate Licorice Sauce:

Add the raw cocoa powder, licorice powder, syrup and salt into the melted coconut oil. Mix well so that you get a nice chocolate sauce.

More healthy sweet treats: It’s a Pleasure cookbook

  • ½ cup rice syrup (or organic honey or coconut palm syrup)
  • ½ cup almond butter (or nut butter of your taste or 1 cup butter)
  • 3 tbsp oat milk (or other dairy-free milk)
  • 3-4 tbsp black licorice root extract powder or grated liquorice root extract stick
  • 1 tsp ground anise
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder
  • a tiny pinch of sea salt

Pour all the ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to boil. Stir constantly and turn the stove to low temperature. Heat the mixture stirring slowly for about 5-20 minutes. If you want it to be really thick and sticky, cook only for about 5-8 minutes. If you like softer toffee, cook for 10 – 20 minutes. To test if the toffee is ready, drop a tiny bit of mixture into a bowl of cold water. Toffee is ready when you can mold a soft but solid ball of it with your fingers. Pour the mixture into chocolate molds or spread to a silicon-lined or parchment-lined board or plate. Let cool in the fridge. If you spread the toffee onto a sheet, break it into bars or smaller candies. Wrap it for example in greaseproof paper or store in a jar. Serve and enjoy! Store sealed in a cool room temperature or in a fridge and use within two weeks.

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  • 0,5 cup almond flour
  • 0,5 cup coconut glour
  • 0,5 cup potato flour
  • 0,5 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon psyllium powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 200 g organic butter
  • 0,5 cup organic curd / quark
  • 1 organic egg
  • + plum jam (recipe below)

Mix flours and powders in the bowl. Cut the butter and allow to soften slightly at room temperature. Add with the flour mixture and pick the dough into crumbs. Add curd and egg and mix. Place the dough in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. (In the meantime prepare the plum jam)

Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius / 400 Fahrenheit degrees.

Take small portions (about the size of your fist) from the dough and knead it slightly on a floured surface. (put the rest of the dough back in the fridge) Roll the dough piece into about 1 cm thick disk. Cut pieces with a cookie cutter. Add plum jam in the middle. Bake in middle of the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the tarts get a beautiful golden hue.

PLUM CHIA JAM

  • 1 cup dried pitted plums
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 star anise
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tablespoon grated licorice root stick / licorice root powder (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons chia seeds

Apply plums, water and the spices into a tin. Bring to a boil, and then let simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes. Remove the spices. Add licorice root powder among the plums and water and puree to smooth mixture. Spoon the puree in a glass jar, stir in chia seeds and leave the mixture to cool without cover for about an hour. Store in the refrigerator covered and use within a week.

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Porridge:

  • 2 cups oat milk (or other dairy free milk)
  • 2 tbsp coconut milk
  • 1 cup oat meal
  • 1 sliced ripe banana
  • ¼ tsp cardamom
  • ½ tsp vanilla seeds or vanilla powder
  • 2 tsp almond butter

Licorice jam:

  • 1 cup oat milk
  • 4 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp grated licorice root extract stick or black licorice root powder
  • 1-2 tbsp of liquid organic honey
  • a pinch of vanilla powder /vanilla seeds

Place oats and oat milk in pan, stir well. Bring to the boil and stir. Add cardamom, vanilla and almond butter. Boil for 2-5 minutes until oats are thick and creamy. Prepare the licorice jam.

Pour the oat milk in a small bowl and stir in the chia seeds. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Stir in the honey and licorice root powder. Stir and let the liquorice powder melt into the mixture.

Pour porridge into bowl. Top with licorice jam. Serve and enjoy!

Chia pudding:

  • 5 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 cup almond milk (or other dairy-free milk)
  • ½ tsp vanilla powder

 

Licorice smoothie:

  • ¼ cups almonds
  • 2 dried figs
  • 1 banana
  • 2 cups almond milk (or other dairy-free milk)
  • 1 ts vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp raw chocolate powder
  • 1-4 tsp black liquorice root extract powder (or grated liquorice extract stick)
  • banana slices between the parfait

 

Chia pudding:
Make the chia pudding by adding chia seeds, almond milk and vanilla in a jar, stir after 30 minutes and let then sit 2 hours or overnight in a fridge. The longer you refrigerate the pudding, the thicker it will be.

Liquorice smoothie:
Add all the ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth. Add enough liquid to make it smooth but not too watery.

Assembly:
Add about ¼ cups of smoothie in a big glass. Spoon in chia pudding and add then sliced banana. Top with the liquorice smoothie. Grate some liquorice extract stick on top. Serve and enjoy!

 

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