Dairy free chocolate Easter eggs

Still unsure where to get your chocolate Easter egg for Easter, then here are some links for the chocolate eggs I would recommend.

If you are looking for an Easter egg for a kid or someone who is not keen on dark chocolate, for me it has to be the Moofree Easter egg. It doesn’t have a funny aftertaste like some dairy free “dairy” chocolates can have, it is a bit on the sweet site, but beside that is a really really good dairy free chocolate. see an earlier post on Moofree here.
www.moofreechocolates.com

Lactose free ice cream and toppings

Yeah! Lactofree has come out with a vanilla ice cream, and it is delicious. It has an amazing creamy and fluffy texture, and even contains real vanilla seeds like real vanilla ice cream should have I think.

I am actually really happy that they brought out vanilla ice cream compared to let say chocolate or something else, and not because vanilla actually is my favourite, but because it means you can transform it into any flavour you desire.

I got my hands on a tub for the weekend and invited some friends round for an afternoon ice cream party (could have used some sun and not rain for this, but what can you do).

I had made:
-Dulce de leche see here for recipe
-Honey Comb see here for recipe
-Chocolate syrup see here for recipe
-Rum-Raisin see here for recipe
-Chocolate chip cookies see here for recipe

I served with:
-Lactofree whip cream for more info see here
-Chocolate chips for more info see here
-Mint Thins (I am sure after eight use to be dairy free, but they are not anymore, but luckly Sainsbury’s own are dairy free.) for more info see here
-Oreo’s (I used Americans which are dairy free) see the blog post about the difference between American and European Oreo’s.
-Roasted and chopped nuts (I used hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts).
-Bananas and glazed cherries.

I will be posting some more ice cream recipes during the next few weeks, but please leave a comment on what flavour you have been missing.

BeyondDark healthy chocolate

I accidently saw this sweet little pack of chocolate buttons in Sainsbury’s, on the top shelf and a bit hidden between the other chocolates in the chocolate section. I just loved the packaging, and turning it around, it only had the warning ”may contain traces of milk products”, which means it is normally okay for us lactose intolerant people.

Reading the front it says “rich in natural antioxidants” and on the back it says “up to three times more antioxidants than standard chocolate”, this obviously made me very curious and I went straight home to look at their website.

According to the website, this little pack has the equivalent of 25 oranges, 8 bananas or 5 apples in antioxidants. It is stirred for 72 hours, where most chocolates are stirred for 6 hours, to give it a smooth texture. And it has a long list of health benefits from the flavinol antioxidants found in the chocolate.

Tasting the little chocolate buttons really made me hooked on the product, they melt in your mouth and have a really round taste, and not bitter like some 70% chocolates can be.

I went back the next day and bought 10 more packages, and now carry one in my bag at all time for when I have a chocolate craving.

For more information visit the BeyondDark website.

Mini Pies

16. December

Again this is a bit of a cheat recipe, but let's you got to love a bit of a cheat when arranging a party some times.
See my other recipe with readymade pastry

1 readymade rolled short crust pastry (I used Sainsbury own)
finely grated Lactofree cheese
Store bought or homemade tomato sauce.
Egg for brushing.

Roll out the pastry and using a glass, cut out as many circles as possible.
Fill the small circles with ½ teaspoon sauce and a bit of cheese (don't over fill, otherwise they will be difficult to close). fold the circle in half and close up using a forks to press the edges together, use a bit of water as glue if they are not sticking.
brush with a bit of egg wash (as I forgot) and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.

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Minced puff swirl

14. December 

Did you know that a lot of the readymade puff pastry and short crust pastry is dairy free?
This obviously makes being lactose intolerant a lot easier, because who has time to make everything from scratch.
These little minced puff swirls (lack of a better name), is so easy to make and will satisfy your mince pie craving. 

1 roll of readymade puff pastry (I used Sainsbury own)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1-½ jar of fruit mincemeat
Lactofree spredable or homemade butter

Preheat the oven to 200°C
Roll out the puff pastry, and spread a thin layer of margarine/butter all over.
Sprinkle the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of the sugar on top of the margarine/butter.
Spread out the mincemeat and roll the puff pastry back up.
cut up into 15 equal size pieces and transfer back to the baking paper.
Sprinkle the last tablespoon of sugar on top and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

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Sweetcheeks

Sweetcheeks christmas selection 2011

11. December

I have loved Sweetcheeks cakes ever since I bought some cupcakes at the allergy show earlier this year, and now whenever I am in London on a Saturday, I always swing by the Marylebone High Street Market to try a few new flavours.

Sweetcheeks cakes are all Vegan and Gluten free, than means no dairy, eggs or flour. You might think that sound dull, but believe me these cakes are anything but dull, they are the most moist and flavourful cakes you will ever buy. And an extra bonus is that because they use good fats, no eggs and agave nectar when can, they are a bit healthier and lower in calories then normal cakes.

Catherine from Sweetcheeks has been so kind as to let me share one of her cupcake recipes with you on my blog, so if you don't live in the London area, you can make your own amazing cupcakes at home. 

Ingredients 60g rice flour 230g potato flour 120g corn flour 1.5 tbsp gluten free baking powder 1/2 tsp xanthan gum 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp salt 160ml canola oil 320ml agave nectar or fructose syrup 180g plum puree (bake about 4 plums then mash away) 240ml warm water 1 tbsp vanilla essence Handful of vegan white chocolate drops Handful of fresh raspberries

Method 1. Set the oven to 150 C / gas mark 2, and line muffin tins for 24 cupcakes. 2. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl together and mix. 3. Add the oil, nectar, puree and water and stir well until the lumps have gone. 4. Then add the raspberries and crumble the white chocolate into the mix and stir well. 5. The mix should be the between the consistency of dough and custard. 6. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases about 2/3 full 7. Put into the oven for 18 minutes (rotating the tins after about 12 minutes) 8. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. 9. Leave the cupcakes to cool For the Frosting 115g vegetable shortening 115g soya margarine 500g sifted icing sugar Splash of soya milk Raspberry juice 1. Whisk the margarine and shortening together until smooth 2. Gradually add the icing sugar and blend well until fluffy 3. Add a splash of soya milk and raspberry juice (to make it easier to pipe the frosting and give it good flavour and a dash of colour) 4. Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes and sit back with a cuppa and enjoy.

Note: All the ingredients might seem very foreign to some, but they can all be bought in any good supermarket. And if making your own plum puree seems a bit daunting you could try and replace it with un-sweetened applesauce. 

For more information on how to get a hold of your own Sweetcheeks cakes, visit the Sweetcheeks website or facebook page.

Grapefruit tea

3. December

December is a wonderful month with the lights, the cooking and spending time with family, but one thing that can put a downer on it all is getting sick.

Now that the weather has become colder, I just want something nice and warm after having been outside, so I have started making my grapefruit tea again, as it is filled with vitamin C and super yummy.
Heating up grapefruit juice doesn't take away any of the Vitamin C, but it does seem to take away some of the bitterness and sourness, so you might like it even if you are normally not a grapefruit fan.

Have your Oreo and dunk it too

Did you know that there is a difference between American Oreo's and the Oreo's in Europe?
 There is, the American Oreo's don't contain any dairy so that they can also cater to the Vegan market. So really good news for us Lactose intolerance or dairy allergic people, that love Oreo's.

And with products like Lactofree milk, you can even have your Oreo and dunk it too, and not feel the difference in being lactose intolerant.

There are several places that sell the American Oreo, I have even found them in the food hall at Selfridges.
But here are some great web sites where you can get them from, if you don't live near any specialty shops.
www.americansweets.co.uk
www.americansoda.co.uk

Note: it is only the classic shape Oreo with crunchy biscuit that is dairy free, but if in doubt the people at both websites are very helpful and can tell you if the product is dairy free. 

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Montezumas

Sunrise (spicy orange), Quick Fix (freshly brewed coffee), Hot Lips (Chilli and coconut),
Creme de Cacao (simple dark) and Moondance (dark almond pralines).

Have bought a few of Montezumas bars before from the supermarket, but finally got the chance to try out there vegan chocolatetruffles, and they were great, I have always had a weakness for good chocolate truffles and these are defiantly very good chocolate truffle that is worth a try.
My favourites where the Quick Fix and Sunrise, that was just perfect with a cup of tea and an old black and white movie.

The people at Montezumas has also made it very easy for people that can't have certain ingredients, marking all their products with little symbols at the bottom of each description, and if you are looking for the once that don't contain dairy, you want to go after the vegan symbol.

For more information take a look at Montezumas website

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Do you know Amy's?

If not, it is defiantly worth knowing about.
Amy's is an American company that started up in 1987 and specialises in vegetarian organic ready meals.
But Amy's is also in the UK, not sure how long they have been in the UK, but am really glad that I have found them, since most of the products found here in the UK are gluten free or dairy free.

Burrito

Indian Samosa

So far I have tried three of their products, the dairy free Burrito and Indian Samosa that I found in Holland and Barrett and the Vegetable Barley Soup that I found in Waitrose.
All three products where packed with flavour, like homemade food tastes and very far from normal ready meals, so defiantly worth a try.

For more information visit the UK site or the American site.

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Moo Free

For all of you who have been missing dairy chocolate like me, because sometimes it need to be dairy chocolate, but haven’t really liked the taste of the ones where milk have been replaced with soy.
Well here is the answer Moo Free Organic Chocolate bar, it is melt in your mouth delicious and every bit as good as old fashioned milk chocolate, though a bit on the sweet side. 
Even Harrods are now stocking this chocolate, and if the fine pallets behind Harrods give it the tombs up you know it has to be good.

For more information go to www.moofreechocolates.com 

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Booja Booja Chocolate for Chocolate lovers

When I lived in Denmark, the best thing I could ever think of eating was the champagne truffles from the sweetest little chocolate shop called PB Chocolates in city centre, where not only where all the chocolates amazing the staff in that little shop where some of the sweetest sales staff I have ever meet, they were always up for a chat about chocolate and talked so passionately about it. I often think of this little shop and about the amazing champagne truffles that I no longer can have, and it still makes me smile.

Accidently emptied it before I had a change to take a picture

But lucky me, there is actually a company called Booja Booja that makes dairy free champagne truffles and I literally felt like I had won the lottery first time I saw these on a shelf. The company seems to put so much heart behind the ingredients and products, and  you can certainly taste it in every bite.
On top of being dairy free, they are also gluten free, cholesterol free, vegan, GMO free and organic, and they certainly hold their own against any fine chocolate truffle on the market.

So far I have tried the Champagne truffles and Cognac banana truffles that I can highly recommend, but are defiantly going to try all the other flavours as well.

If you are still looking for an Easter egg for someone this Easter, why not give them one of Booja Booja’s hand painted Easter eggs. I have definatly put a few on my wish list that's for sure.

For more information about Booja Booja chocolate truffles see here

Chocolate I would recommend

I love chocolate so much, and milk chocolate is probably one of the things I miss the most in my lactose free diet, but luckily there are some good dark chocolates out there to eat or use to make scrumptious treats with.

These are the chocolates I normally buy that I have found so far.

My absolute favourite is Willie Harcourt-Cooze chocolate, and if you haven’t tried his chocolate you need to try it, he is so passionate about his chocolate and it really comes through in the taste.
He does two different products his Willie’s Supreme Cacao that is 100% pure cacao, mostly used for cooking, and Wille’s Delectable Cacao that is bars ranging between 69%-72% cacao, and these you can use for both cooking but also for eating, and they  taste absolutely amazing, melt in your mouth smooth with the most different adventures tastes.
The bars only contain cacao and raw cane sugar, so no soy or bad things. 

For more information visit www.williescacao.com

The other chocolate I use a lot in cooking, it is a bit cheaper for when I make cakes or other things where the type of chocolate doesn’t make a big different in taste, is Waitrose’s own continental  plain chocolate that is 72%, it taste good and is great for cooking.

It does however contain soya, but it seems like there isn’t a lot of chocolates out there that doesn’t contain soya.

For more information click here

Alternative Easter egg

I want to jump right into blogging with a great idea for Easter, are you going to give an Easter egg to someone who can’t have dairy or maybe you yourself can’t have dairy and want to send a hint to someone about an alternative to a chocolate Easter egg? Then this might be a great idea for you.

First there are these amazing vintage looking cardboard Easter eggs, they are quite similar to the ones I use to get as a kid and besides being extremely cute, they are also reusable for a lot of Easters to come. They are also very versatile, you can pretty much fill them with anything you like and make this a much more personal Easter egg to give.
I found mine on Amazon by searching for cardboard Easter egg. The bigger ones are 15cm in size and the smaller one comes in a pack of four (but they are really small so only suited for something really small like small sweets for an Easter egg hunt, a note or money).

I have chosen this year to fill one of the Easter eggs I am giving away with funny and different sweets that are dairy free from cybercandy, they have everything you could wish for to fill an Easter egg up with exciting things, and just going through the website makes you feel like a kid in an amazing candy shop.

But other alternatives to put in these sweet eggs could be dairy free sweets or homemade allergy free sweets (that I will post some recipes for later this month), or maybe something non edible filling like gift cards, jewellery or underwear.

If you are buying online for this Easter make sure you do it in god time so you are not empty handed when Easter comes.