A new romance and the beginning of a fairytale...

I've been looking for the perfect cake. Not that I could generalize a cake that everyone would regard as the perfect one. I've been looking for a cake, that feels just right at the moment, perfect for this instant, this period of life. Perfect for me I guess, and hopefully perfect for others too. I was thinking about it so hard that this idea just struck me one night before falling asleep. Of course I had to stand up to write it down, I had a feeling that there was something revolutionary coming :)


I love, more than love bananas, so I wanted to bake a cake that would include my favourite ingredient of course. I also adore coconut and strawberries - I decided why not to use them too. With strawberries there comes always the white chocolate - and a touch of lemon to refresh the whole creation :) I wanted this cake to be comfortable and luxurious, decadent, at the same time. And for the frosting it had to be cream cheese, which gives such a lovely soft flavour and a texture.
 

 

Organic cream cheese.

Actually the idea for the decoration came first, the I started to build up the cake according to it, so that it would match the basic idea. The combination of white chocolate, banana, coconut and a hint of strawberry sounded irresistible. And the outcome is such a romantic, fluffy and ravishing cake. I decided to name it the Love Cake, Rakkauskakku in Finnish. I hope that when you taste it you can feel the love you used to make it. Love is the greatest of all. It's at least moderate to bake a cake celebrating it!

And then you see, it's spring. The season of love, new beginnings, new romances that lead into heartbreaking fairytales ot the ones with a happy ending. So, celebrate the beauty of life, the nobility of loving and being loved. Share this cake with your dearest, or bake it to brighten up your days filled of routine. Don't miss the message of love <3 1. Cor. 13:13. Gal. 5:22.
 

" Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony". Col. 3:14.


For the Love Cake "Rakkauskakku"
 

3,6 dl mashed ripe bananas (about four medium sized bananas)
2 tsp lemon juice
4,8 dl wheat flour
2,4 dl organic coconut flakes
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp himalaya salt
1, 8 dl (about 150g) organic butter
4 dl organic brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla sugar
1 zest of a lemon
3, 6 dl organic coconut milk
 
For the filling
 
0,5 dl organic coconut milk
juice of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla sugar
about 2 dl freezed strawberries
1 banana
2 tbsp agave syrup
about 0,5 dl organic peanut butter (I used smooth but crunchy goes perfectly too)
 
For the frosting and decorating
 
2 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil
100 g organic white chocolate with strawberry flakes



2 packages (175 g each) organic unflavoured cream cheese
1 dl icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar

one banana
some lemon juice
about 1 dl organic coconut flakes
30 g white chocolate (grated white chocolate flakes to decorate)
 
1. Butter the cake tin with coconut oil, flour it with organic potato starch or equivalent. Heat the oven into 150°C.

Extra virgin coconut oil. 

2. In a bowl, mash the bananas, add lemon juice. Grate zest of one well washed lemon, add to the mixture and set aside. Mix the wheat flour with coconut flakes, baking soda and salt, set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar with a stand mixer until well mixed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla sugar, mix again.

4. Beat in the flour mixture alternatively with the coconut milk. Save the leftover coconut milk for the dampening of the cake.

5. Stir in banana mixture, mix well. Bake in the oven for about 2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. The baking process is a bit tricky. For the first one and a half hours keep the temperature 150°C, then for the last 30 minutes raise it to 180°C. Don't hesitate to bake it long enough. Be patient, it's worth it :) Put a foil on top of the cake to stop the surface from getting too brown or hard.

6. Remove from oven and let it cool down in the room temperature for 2-3 hours. Put to the fridge overnight, it gets better and more moist. You can also serve it the same day, but I suggest this because it gets better and better in the fridge!


7. Take strawberries out from the freezer half an hour earlier so that they melt a bit. Prepare the filling: mash one banana. Puré the freezed strawberries with a hand mixer. Combine the two mixtures, pour 2 tbsps of agave syrup to sweeten it up a bit.

8. Take the cake from the fridge, remove it carefully from the tin. It should be easy to remove, especially of you've put baking paper on the bottom of the tin.

9. Cut the cake carefully into two halves horizontally from the center. Mix together lemon juice, coconut milk and vanilla sugar, with a tablespoon sprinkle over the bottom and the upper part to give the cake some moisture and flavour.

10. Spread the peanut butter on the bottom, then the strawberry-banana filling. Put the upper part of the cake on top. Don't put too much of the filling, otherwise it comes out from the sides.

11. Prepare the frosting. Take the cream cheese to the room temperature about half an hour earlier, it will make the frosting a bit smoother. Melt the white chocolate together with the virgin coconut oil in a small kettle over a bigger kettle with simmering water. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Set aside. 

12. Prepare the decorations. Cut one banana into slices. Take about 1 dl of coconut flakes on a wide bowl. Put a baking paper near you so that you can but the dipped banana slices on it to cool down. Dip the banana slices one by one in the chocolate, then dip them in coconut flakes. Let them rest for a while.
 

13. You'll have plenty of the white chocolate mixture left, use it for the frosting. Mix it together with the cream cheese. Add vanilla sugar and then add the icing sugar. Mix until the frosting is smooth. Spread beautifully on top of the cake. Then put the dipped banana slices on top of the cake, making a round around the edges. Grate some white chocolate and sprinkle on the sides on top of the banana slices. 

14. Share with your family, friends...the people you love - or just anyone who might need a slice of pure love :)

The most delicious chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Every single time I bake something with chocolate I use Finnish Fazer's baking chocolate. I think that it's the best chocolate you could use, and by using it I have always succeeded very well. These cupcakes are one of the best things you could imagine, if you're a friend of chocolate - and tell me someone who isn't. Tomorrow we are going to celebrate the end of the school year with my friends, and I want to surprise them by bringing these cupcakes :) I hope they like them.

This is the third time I'm baking these chocolate cupcakes, but every time I have changed the recipe a bit and this time I have changed it to make the cupcakes super delicious and chocolaty. You know in Finland we are used to say that the third time tells the truth, and I think with these cupcakes it fits perfectly. And I just love cream cheese frostings, so I thought that this time I'll make one. And I have to admit that I tasted the frosting and it was superior good! And the dough also...Tomorrow I'll have a proper taste. But these cupcakes came out quite pretty, don't you think?

Ingredients:

114 g Bittersweet dark Chocolate broken into small pieces

240 ml all-purpose flour

60 ml unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

120 ml milk

60 ml cup water

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil (olive or rape oil)

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

110 g Bittersweet dark Chocolate, broken into small pieces

75 g butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

320 ml powdered sugar

Directions:

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Paper-line 22 (small, 14 big) muffin cups.

2. Melt the chocolate in a metal dish attached to a pot with boiling water. Stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

3. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Combine milk and water in small glass measure. Beat brown sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl on high for 2 minutes. Beat in melted chocolate. Beat flour mixture into creamed mixture alternately with milk mixture.

4. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.

5. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.Don't over bake them, it's better if they're a bit soft. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

For the cream cheese frosting:

1. Melt the chocolate the same way as before, stirring just until melted. Cool to room temperature.

2. Melt the butter in microwave, until it's liquid like. Mix the powdered sugar and vanilla extract with the cream cheese, add the melted chocolate and butter. Mix well to make an even icing. It should be light and fluffy.

3. Spread the frosting over the cupcakes with a spatula.

For decoration you can grate some dark chocolate, or you can us your imagination and figure out some other decorations as coconut flakes or nonpareils...

Raw chocolate revolution

What if you didn't have to feel guilty about eating chocolate? What if chocolate could be one of the most healthiest things you could imagine? Does it sound like an impossible thing to you? Raw chocolate is the answer. It's made only from organic and the most healthy and highly nutrient ingredients: raw cocoa beans, cocoa butter, extra virgin coconut oil, raw cocoa powder, lucuma-powder,maca-powder, agave-syrup and organic cashew nuts. If you have some knowledge about superfoods, you recognize that maca and lucuma powder and raw cocoa beans belong to them. They have many amazing effects on your body and mind.

For example raw cocoa contains over 1200 active ingredients, and 10% of it's weight is antioxidants. So it protects our body ia from heart diseases. Raw cocoa contains more antioxidants than goji-berry, blueberry, acai-berry, red wine and pomegranate all together. Isn't it incredible? Raw cocoa is also a great source of vital minerals: iron, manganese, chrome, brimstone, zinc and copper. Furthermore it's an excellent source of fibers. It also has unique qualities, that effect on our brain functions and the feel of happines.

This chocolate is a revolution. It's suitable for everyone, it's delicious, and the most important thing is that it's healthy!! I mean you can eat it and you can think at the same time that oh, this does so many good things for me, I'll feel even better after enjoying this, no hard feelings at all, only pure joy! You don't have to eat chocolate secretly, not anymore, when you eat raw chocolate you can be proud of it.

Did you know that every chocolate is made from cocoa beans? However, the difference between an ordinary chocolate and raw chocolate is huge. Ordinary chocolate contains only about 30% of cocoa beans, all the rest is all kinds of filling agents that have nothing to do with the real chocolate. And the cocoa beans in ordinary chocolate have none of their valuable nutrients left, all of them disappear when the producers manipulate the beans in the process of making chocolate - for example roasting the beans destroys all the important antioxidants and vitamins. And it's very normal that ordinary chocolate contains milk powder, soy lecithin, milk fats, palm tree oil or artificial aromas, that are not so good for you.

So the acquaintance with raw chocolate is very recommendable. I feel so moved by this chocolate, it opened a whole new world to me. I hope you can feel it too, because it's so amazing. I'm really running our of words. Maybe I'll just explain now how you should do it.

It might be hard to find all the ingredients for this chocolate, but I think yo can find them from well equipped organic shops. Draw your attention to the quality of the ingredients, it's very important to use only the best. Choose products that are packed well.

This recipe is a basic recipe, you can add different nuts, dried fruits or berries (e.g. goji-berry), different powders (e.g.spirulina) and spices, e.g. cinnamon, genuine vanilla, mint or chili. Anything you like. It's very easy to make (I was very surprised how easy it was) and it's quickly done. And the result is so pretty, cute little hearts or other chocolates, depending on the forms you use. I fell in love with the raw chocolate, instantly. I can't wait to try new combinations of different flavours - I want to try it with cinnamon the next time.

All the ingredients.

Raw cacao beans.

Extra virgin coconut oil.

Maca-powder.

Agave syrup.

Ingredients:

4 dl grated organic raw cocoa butter

1 big tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1 dl organic raw cocoa beans

1 dl organic raw cashew nuts

1 dl organic lucuma-powder

1 big tsp organic maca-powder

2 big tbsps raw cocoa powder

1 big tbsp organic agave syrup

(dried fruits, spices, herbs etc.)

1. Peel the cocoa beans using a knife and nails.

2. Bruise the cocoa beans and the cashew nuts into tiny bits.

3. Melt the cocoa butter and the extra virgin coconut oil in a kettle over another kettle of simmering water, the temperature of the butter shouldn't rise over 40°C degrees.

4. Add cocoa powder into melted butter, add agave syrup and then all the other ingredients. Mix well, with a teaspoon put into a silicone form and cover with a glad wrap. Put into fridge for 10-15 mins until set. It happens quite quickly!

5. Remove from the forms, put on a beautiful plate and enjoy, really, really enjoy because this chocolate really is the one you can enjoy, without any guilt!

Banana bread with chocolate & hazelnut paste

I've been very busy the last two weeks, I haven't really had time for blogging. Today is the second day of my holiday. It's snowing very hard and I'm really thinking that if it doesn't stop soon we'll be drowning in the snow. And last two days the temperature has been minus 20 °C degrees - being outside is like wandering on the northern pole! The only reasonable thing to do is to stay inside and to bake this lovely, warming and melting in the mouth banana bread. It's a very healthy and good for you recipe (if you don't count the chocolate, but actually dark chocolate is healthy!), it includes a lot of healthy vegetable fats, and no sugar used, only natural sweeteners. I used various flours to make this bread packed with important vitamins and minerals and of course fiber.

So when the weather gets cold and frigid, I advise you to bake this banana bread, enjoy it with a cup of hot tea and sit by the fireplace under a warm blanket - soon you'll forget all about the winter and it's wretchedness. And if you don't have a fireplace, you can always imagine.

Ingredients:

For the banana bread:

3 ripe bananas

125 g seedless dates

2 eggs

0,5 dl rape oil

0,5 dl soymilk

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp himalaya rose salt

1/2 dl minced hazelnuts

1 dl quinoa flakes

1 dl soyflour

1 dl wholewheat flour

1 dl buckwheat flour

2 tbsp honey

For the chocolate & hazelnut paste:

3 dl minced hazelnuts

1 dl melted dark chocolate

dollop of rape oil, to make this paste fluid

1. Heat oven into 200°C degrees. Boil some water, soak the dates for 5 mins to soften them a bit. Chop the softened dates into tiny bits.

2. Beat the eggs into a foam. Add the dates, add oil. Mash two of the bananas.

3. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients with the egg-mixture and the mashed bananas, add soymilk.

4. Fold a long shaped bread mould with parchment paper, pour the batter on it. Cut the third banana into slices, put into a line on top of the batter. Spread honey over.

5. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, try with a stick if it's ready. Remove from the oven.

6. Mix together the minced hazelnuts and the melted chocolate, add oil to make a smooth paste.

7. Serve the banana bread with the chocolate & hazelnut paste.