Coconut flour is quite the diva. It’s the Gordon Ramsay of flours. You can’t substitute it with any other flour. Just try to, and your baked goodies will throw a hissy in the oven. This is because coconut flour demands alarming quantities of liquid in comparison to plain white flour.
I’m prepared to put up with coconut flour’s shenanigans because it makes a great alternative to gluten or grain flours (hello Paleo, hello coeliac). You won’t beat this flour’s fibre content either, ringing in at a whopping forty-two percent (bye bye haemorrhoids).
An Irish company is finally supplying coconut flour to specialist stores around the country, making it cheaper and easier to find. Watch out for Dr Coy’s retro packaging.
Chocolate Guinness Cake
Here’s my version of Chocolate Guinness Cake with a stealthy healthy twist. I cheat by using vacuum packed beetroot. It’s worth mentioning that the water content of vacuum packed beetroot can vary from brand to brand. Don’t panic. Just add an extra tablespoon of coconut flour to your beetroot puree if it’s not already thick and sumptuous.
I promise this cake won’t taste of beetroot! The chocolate sings so loudly, any whisper of vegetable is instantly drowned out. Loaded with beta-carotene, antioxidants and iron, beetroot is famed for its restorative powers on the blood. And anything that helps purify the blood will surely help with hangovers March 18th.
But wait! There’s more! Dates are packed with potassium, your ally against hangovers. Potassium is a supersonic mineral that helps rehydrate and jump-start your body again.
2 cups pitted dates
1 cup / 250ml Guinness (or water for chislers)
¼ cup / approx 25g coconut flour
1 x 125g tub cocoa or raw cacao powder
1 cup / 250ml pureed beetroot (about 4 cooked baby beets from a vacuum packet)
2 teaspoons tamari soya sauce
4 medium eggs
½ cup / 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
350g CoYo (or cream cheese with a touch of maple syrup, if dairy poses no problem)
Fire up the oven to 180 Celsius, 160 fan oven or 350 Fahrenheit.
Grease a 20cm round cake tin of springform tin.
Boil the dates in a saucepan with the Guinness (or water) for 6-8 minutes until mushy. Puree in a high-speed blender. You’re aiming for 1 cup of date paste. Any leftover paste can be stored in the fridge and served with tomorrow’s porridge.
Whiz this date paste with the coconut flour, the cocoa, the beetroot and the tamari soya sauce until glossy and gorgeous. Blend in the eggs, the oil, the vanilla, and the baking powder until thoroughly socialised.
Immediately pour the batter into your greased tin. Once the cake is in the oven, lower the heat to 170 Celsius, 150 fan-assisted, or 340 Fahrenheit. This is an important step. Bake for 45-55 minutes (depending how wet the beetroot was). You’re looking for a moist, rich cake, not a dry fluffy one.
Remove from the oven. Allow to cool, making sure you give the cake enough time to chill before removing from its tin. Using a big spoon, slather the coconut milk yoghurt – we use CoYo – over the top of the chocolate cake to resemble a happy pint of Guinness. Alternatively, you could use cream cheese sweetened with a little maple syrup. For those of you with sensitive ‘bitter buds’, have a bottle of maple syrup at the ready. Guinness can challenge even the most intrepid explorers.
Happy Paddy’s Day!
Competition Time!
Competition details:
- Mum, you can’t enter!
- The winner will be randomly chosen at 11am this Friday (March 14th 2014) by Random.org, and posted above.
- Multiple entries are permitted (e.g. one tweet is the equivalent of one entry. Following Naturya on twitter is another way of entering)
- This giveaway is open to UK and Irish residents. I will not be mailing the prize myself. It will be mailed directly from Naturya’s HQ in Britain.
I am not profiting from this giveaway. During the coming weeks, I’ll be running some giveaways with great products as a way of thanking my fabulous readers for catapulting me to the Number One best seller in Ireland. It’s my way of virtually high-fiving y’all!
Now, go forth and get green!