Easy Chocolate Mousse

After a slight break we are back with a delicious chocolate mousse for you!

Did you buy or receive a blender for Christmas, have become really bored with the juicing craze (khale smoothie anyone?) and now want something to do with your new sparkly blender? Well this luxurious mousse will tick all your boxes. This is an all in one dessert where all you need to do is blast the mix together and heat up the milk, what could be simpler?  This dessert is one which needs to be set in the fridge, preferably overnight so this makes the perfect night before prep dessert. There is a lovely hint of coconut behind it from the milk, but if this is not to your tastes soya milk will work perfectly too! Hope you enjoy!

You will need:

- 300ml chocolate coconut milk-
- 300g dark chocolate block or chips-
- 2 large eggs-
- 50g caster sugar-

Method:
1) Measure out your ingredients and put your chocolate, eggs and sugar in a blender. As we are blending the mixture, it will form a light, smooth texture, almost reminiscent of chocolate mousse. blend until the chocolate is in small chunks and the eggs and sugar have come together.


2) Put your coconut milk into a pan and heat over the stove until it starts to simmer or bubble, watching carefully that it doesn't boil over!



3) Take off the heat and pour the milk into the blender and blend for about 30 seconds, the hot milk will melt the chocolate and will help to bring the mix together.


4) Once everything is melted and combined, sieve the liquid to make sure there are no lumps left and pour into cups. Pop your cups or glasses into the fridge and leave overnight to set.


So here you have it, your delicious chocolate dairy free mousse just waiting for you to eat!

Happy Baking!

xoxox
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Delicious Hot Chocolate

So we are sat in the middle of January and it is ridiculously cold, windy and wet. As I write this post some of the country has come to a snowy standstill so what could be better than some delicious hot chocolate during this freezing cold period? The recipe only calls for 2 ingredients, dark chocolate and dairy free milk, we used soya as it gives the best thickness to the hot chocolate and most resembles cows milk. This recipe will be very rich and dark so feel free to sweeten if needed. Be careful when heating the milk that it doesn't boil over or burn, keep alert at all times!We added some whipped cream on top, ours came from soyatoo which you can order online for the price of normal whipped cream! We hope you enjoy this delicious and simple recipe, perfect for curling up with a book, in your pyjamas by the fire!

Ingredients:
-80g dark chocolate-
-400g Soya milk (or any other dairy free milk)-
-Optional whipped cream (we used Soyatoo)-

Method:
1) Add your chocolate and milk into a bowl or jug and melt over a double boiler or in the microwave (10-30 second blasts) until hot and thoroughly melted together.
2) Strain your hot chocolate through a tea sieve and serve!


Add any optional toppings, we used Soyatoo whipped cream from the can. You can also use marshmallows and some dairy free chocolate chips!


Happy Baking!

xoxox

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How to temper dairy free chocolate

My first attempts at trying to work with dairy free chocolate failed dramatically. The chocolate would not melt or would form unsightly creamy lumps at the top of the chocolates! Then it occurred to me that normal methods would have to be altered slightly to achieve gorgeous, glossy tempered chocolate!

The method I adapted was the classic seeding technique. This is one of the easiest methods to temper chocolate to create that beautiful, glossy finish to all your chocolates. You can temper chocolate both over a double boiler or in the microwave, using 10 second blasts and a candy themometer for achieving the correct temperature! You will also need to include the temperature of the room you are working in to your speed, as if a cold room you will have to work quicker as the chocolate will cool faster. This method will work for any volume of chocolate you need to temper. The change in the method is quite simple, but will allow for a good temper when using specialized chocolate, at the beginning when you first melt the chocolate, melt at the lowest heat and for a long time. This means the chocolate can slowly destabilise and when cooled will reform to give a smooth sheen and when broken in half will have a snap to it that non tempered chocolate won't have.

Method:

1) Using 2/3rds of your volume of chocolate, using a candy themometer melt this chocolate until the chocolate temperature is 45 Degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Into the melted chocolate, add in the last 1/3rd of the chocolate and let this melt into the chocolate until the chocolate has cooled to 28 Degrees Fahrenheit.

3) When the chocolate reaches 28 Degrees, reapply heat to the melted chocolate until the chocolate reaches 32 Degrees Fahrenheit.


After you have tempered your chocolate, you can use the chocolate in a variety of ways. We have a recipe for chocolate moulding here!

We hope you have found this useful for any chocolate moulding or decorating you're undertaking in the future!

Happy Baking!

xoxox

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5 top recipes of 2014!

Hello everybody! We hope you have had the most glorious 2014 and are prepared to face a momentous 2015! Our blog is still a new-born baby in our eyes, (with that gorgeous new baby smell) only being created in late October, but I definitely have many favourite recipes from this time and have only just managed to whittle this down to 5 incredible recipes. When me and Caitlin decided to create our blog, we wanted to share all of our new found dairy free knowledge with the world, and help others to navigate the pretty scary transition from mainstream eating to cutting out such a big food group. For me, I was pretty terrified when I was told the news why I was constantly tired, throwing up, lethargic and having the trots on a daily basis was because I couldn't process dairy. I was pretty lucky (to an extent) because I have a brother and aunty that can't eat dairy either so I had a wealth of knowledge behind me, but that still doesn't prepare you for having no more dairy again. So for the end of 2014, the year my diet was turned upside down, we hope you have the greatest year and if you or anyone you know are making the transition from dairy to no more dairy, its really not a bad thing!
So onto the recipes!
 
This traybake is such a brilliant cake. Devised completely by Caitlin this cake is incredibly moist, has a beautiful coffee flavour with that classic hint of walnuts. This cake is so good, that our dad; a notorious savoury junkie even loves this cake (so it must be incredible!) At my previous job coffee and walnut cake was such a big seller that whoever you make this for is going to absolutely adore you for it!

Coffee and Walnut Traybake

Here in the Dairyfreesince93 household, cookies are such a big hit it's hard to explain! This recipe is so so simple to make and the cookies taste absolutely incredible. I made these cookies at Uni and they were a big success! The cherries give a really nice balance to the intense dairy free chocolate in the cookies! A recipe we will definitely be making again and again!

Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cookies

Profiteroles were such a brilliant success of our #12cakesofchristmas series (day 1 is here) and a resounding success for us too. Profiteroles lead us on the search for dairy free whipped cream, and we found this in the form of Soyatoo, which most definitely changed my Christmas! Surprisingly easy to produce and a great arm workout too, profiteroles will stand out on any table for any occasion all year round! They taste exactly like normal profiteroles too so will help yourself and others still feel like part of the gang!

Profiterole Pyramid

This brownie recipe has been in our family for a few years now, and each time we create these they get better and better! For this batch, Caitlin really outdid herself, they were so chocolaty and light (it's all in the whisking!) This was one of the first recipes we ever posted onto our blog and will forever remain one of our favourite go to recipes ever!

Ultimate Chocolate Brownies

Here we come to the last favourite recipe of the year, our incredible pizza! Every single item in this pizza is homemade and to me tastes like perfection. Bufala mozzarella has changed my pizza life (I can still eat normal pizza!) and the sauce in this is pure tomato indulgence. I made this recipe up on the spot and I am so proud of it. This is seriously a pizza to impress anyone!

Rustic Homemade Pizza
So there we have it! Our top 5 recipes from our relatively short year of blogging and we could not be prouder of them! We have so many more recipes planned for the year ahead that you will definitely have a dairy free dish for any occasion! If there are any requests for our blog for 2015 please comment or tweet us! So from both me and Caitlin we wish you the greatest 2015!

Lots of love and Happy Baking!
 
xoxox



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New Years Eve Cocktails

Now this is something very different for our blog. I adore cocktails (Mojitos stole my heart a long time ago) and I have always struggled with the creative element of making new cocktails. Caitlin is yet to experience the joys of a good, strong cocktail, so we decided to create some of our own for New Years Eve. These cocktails have most likely been done before, but I personally have never seen them! I will be covering the alcoholic cocktails side and Caitlin will be attending to the non alcoholic cocktail. These will be an affordable cocktail with not any fancy alcohols (no Grey Goose here!) so anyone can make them and feel even more glamorous at New Year's, whether a child, a non drinker, a pre- drinker or house party animal! So lets get started shall we?

Jungle Juice and Dark Sunshine
Dark Sunshine:

This cocktail is one of our alcoholic cocktails, and is very fruity with a dark twist. Mixed with pomegranate and cranberry juices, I feel this is a more sophisticated version of your woo- woo's that everybody loves! The alcohols are vodka and amaretto, giving the dark twist at the end of your drink. The drink can also taste heavenly with a hint of fizz- we used lemonade here.
Dark Sunshine
Ingredients:
-ice cubes (any size)-
-half a shot of amaretto-
-shot of vodka-
-100ml (or there abouts) of cranberry juice-
-100ml (or there abouts) of pomegranate juice-
-optional topper of lemonade-
Method:
Pop your ice into a long glass and add your shots of amaretto and vodka. Pour in your cranberry and pomegranate juices to the top, or add your hint of fizz at the top of this. Stir with a straw and enjoy!
Jungle Juice:
This is a juice that anyone, boy girl, grandma or grandpa can enjoy and devour at ease. Perfect for making in bulk and sticking in the middle of the table for anyone to grab hold of and enjoy. As enjoyable with ice as without, and can also be fizzed up for any fussy child!
Jungle Juice
Ingredients:
-2 shots of pomegranate juice-
-1 shot of orange juice-
-3 shots of cranberry-
Method:
Pop your juices into a glass (or plastic cup!) and mix with a straw and enjoy!

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Dairy Free Restaurant Review: Zizzi's

Since becoming dairy free, I have struggled with trying to find places to eat out where I can eat something other than a salad. So we are going to be starting a series (if not a little sporadic, who has the dollar to eat out all the time?!) reviewing restaurants in the UK for dairy free options on 'normal' foods! There is nothing more irritating or embarrassing then when dining out with friends, having to be a fussy bugger and avoiding Pizza Hut like the plague so we along this ride will try and help you all out!

Sofia Pizza
I was out for dinner with 2 of my friends from my old job, we tried to book many other tables but ended up on Zizzi's, as it was the Saturday just after Christmas! I knew from previous visits that I could get a decent, dairy free meal here and my friends like Zizzi's too. Our table was booked for 8.15 and I was eager to sit down and eat! We all ordered cocktails, and we all chose the 'Berry Bella', which is a mixture of amaretto, vodka, berry juices and soda water. I have to say this was delicious. I was slightly wary of the amaretto aspect but it blended in really well and made for a grown up cocktail, far away from my usual go to option of Sex on the Beach! The cocktail was £5.95 which is a little pricey, but I found it well worth the money.

Berry Bella Cocktail

Next came the choice of starters. Now, whenever I see Calamari on a menu I cannot resist, it's like a little Calamari gremlin in my head! There was a little bit of a wait on this but what I got in return could not disappoint. Some of the nicest Calamari I've eaten have been at Zizzi's restaurants previously and I was thoroughly satisfied here. The Calamari comes in small or large sizes and as tempting as large is, I can't quite justify that to myself! That still doesn't diminish the sadness I feel when I reach the bottom of the pile. The Calamari is served with garlic and basil aioli dip which I'm not sure if there is dairy in it or not, but I haven't had any adverse reactions to this. The Calamari was £5.95 for the small portion, there was a good amount of Calamari here for the price.

Calamari <3

Then came the mains. I adore pizza like it is going out of fashion and the fact that Zizzi's has Bufala mozzarella was like all of my pizza dreams coming true all at once! When ordering my pizza, I asked if I could have buffalo instead of normal mozzarella and the waiter and chef were absolutely fine with this as I explained I couldn't have the normal version. Bufala is perfectly fine with me as my intolerance is only to cows but you might want to check your own intolerances out before hand! I ordered the 'Sofia' pizza, which is part of the 'rustica' range of the pizzas, where they are stretched out thinner and longer than the normal pizza. The pizza comprises of mozzarella, spicy chicken and sausage, chillis, and pepperoni. The pizza was really delicious. I always struggle with having to cut slices of the pizza off myself and the rectangular shape meant I could fold it up and make it easier to eat. The chilli on the pizza is hot stuff, especially when you manage to get it stuck to the end of your tongue! I was really impressed with this pizza and I was absolutely stuffed at the end! The pizza cost £11.95 which I found was a good price for the size!
The pizza is huge!
The bill totalled £23.85 for myself, which I found was ok for a once in a while treat and catch up with friends, but I would not be able to afford this regularly. The bill was easily split between the 3 of us on different cards and then there was an option to give £0.25 to charity which I did. The food is mainly Italian influenced which I really enjoy and having the option to eat pizza just makes me feel just that little bit normal again. The pizza bases all come with a gluten free option too! Overall I was really impressed and will be visiting any of their chain again next year!
Hev
xoxox

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