The Nourishing Gourmet

Nourishing. Satisfying. Gourmet.

Dessert

Fig & Walnut White Chocolates

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By Anna Harris, Contributing Writer

Creamy honey-sweetened white chocolate confections are studded with the crunch of toasted walnuts and the syrupy chew of black mission figs.

As it turns out, white chocolate from home, naturally sweetened and flavored is a challenging creature. Lots of research backed up this recipe that just kept writing itself out in flavors in my mind’s taste buds. So the trick with homemade white chocolate seems to be to add loads of additional flavor as well as to properly temper this fickle and fragrant fat. The flavor comes from the honey, in this case I used dehydrated honey, or honey granules to keep the intensity of sweetness without extra moisture. A heavy cream powder or coconut cream powder for a paleo version, adds richness and that “white” chocolate flavor. The pure, raw cocoa butter on it’s own, while it smells utterly heavenly and promising, needs a boost to combat the oily taste of it on it’s lonesome.  A pinch of fine salt, those gorgeous black and miniature beads from  real vanilla beans, these ingredients deliver the hoped-for heavenly flavors.

While some may find some of the ingredients finicky and may not wish to whip up a batch weekly, around the holidays, with fancy and unhealthy ingredients alluring us with every shopping trip, I find this recipe perfect for real food lovers like myself. I do appreciate the blessing of a dessert that is not only decadent and addictingly delicious (I think I ate 8 pieces during my photo shoot alone) but offers sweet benefits of wholesome fats and natural sweeteners. For even more nutritional bonuses, soak your raw nuts in salted water over night and dehydrate them before lightly toasting!

Note from Kimi: I highly recommend the below coconut milk powder! It doesn’t have any of the same concerns as regular milk powder, and is very delicious. It makes AMAZING hot chocolate. Plus, it looks like it’s cheaper than the heavy cream powder. 🙂 Just note that it does have a trace of casein in it, so those very sensitive to dairy, should be cautious (it hasn’t bothered me at all, but you should be forewarned if extremely dairy sensitive).

Here is a list of needed ingredients for this recipe (affiliate links): Pure Honey granules (make sure you get a pure version), coconut milk powder or heavy cream powder, Navitas Cocoa butter, or organic cocoa butter melting disks,  and vanilla paste.
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Old Fashioned Boiled Custard

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old fashioned boiled custard nourishing gourmet

Like most old-fashioned desserts, this vanilla spiked, creamy dessert is simple, uses the basics, and is delicious! Brought to you from Dina-Marie from Cultured Palate.

I recently visited my mother who still lives in the middle Georgia town of Macon, where I grew up. What a special time we had together. Besides just spending time talking, we visited several restaurants that are still in business from my younger days. One restaurant was a special favorite and Boiled Custard was the favored dessert served. In fact, it was my all-time favorite dessert! Seriously, I ordered it every time we went to that particular restaurant. And, would you believe, the menu was much the same and they still have Boiled Custard!

I have made a lot of healthy changes to my diet since the days of childhood. One of those changes is the greatly decreased amount of processed sugar in my diet, in fact, none while on the GAPS diet! So, when faced with the question of ordering Boiled Custard, I chose to say, ” no”. First , I did not want to splurge with the sugar. Second, I was afraid the taste of the Boiled Custard would not measure up to the delicious childhood memory!

But, as I thought about the Boiled Custard, I wanted some! There had to be a healthy alternative without sacrificing the taste. So, my experimenting began and the following recipe for Old Fashioned Custard is the result. A result that I hope you will enjoy.

Old Fashioned Boiled Custard can be sweetened with honey, Rapadura, Sucanat or processed sugar. If you are not familiar with Rapadura, it is a whole food varying in color from batch to batch. The molasses is not separated out of Rapadura, it is not heated to high temperatures and therefore retains its vitamins and minerals. However, Rapadura is expensive. So, in an effort to balance health and budget, I chose Sucanat. Sucanat is heated to higher temperatures, the molasses is separated but then re-blended to make a consistent product. Sucanat also adds a delicious hint of molasses. If your budget does not allow for Rapadura, Sucanat may be an alternative for those special treat times!

Old Fashioned Boiled Custard can be cooked either in a double boiler or a heavy boiler. I used my Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot which I had purchased at an outlet store. Check out How to Save Money When Buying Le Creuset for ideas on purchasing at discount prices. Le Creuset allows for even heating and there was no problem with the custard sticking during cooking.

Now, on to the recipe…

Old Fashioned Boiled Custard
 
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
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Ingredients
  • 1 qt. plus ¼ cup whole milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 c. Sucanat, Rapadura, raw sugar or ¾ c. honey
  • ¼ c. unbleached flour or sprouted flour
  • 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
  1. In a double boiler or heavy boiler, heat 1 qt of the milk to scalding - just before boiling.
  2. Cream egg yolks and Sucanat, Rapadura, honey or raw sugar thoroughly. Stir in the flour then add the remaining milk. Cook stirring constantly until the custard thickens and coats the spoon.
  3. Remove the custard from heat and stir in the vanilla.
  4. Pour the custard through a sieve or wire mesh strainer into a large bowl. Whip vigorously for a few minutes.
  5. Chill and Enjoy!

 

 

Hi, I am Dina-Marie, the mother of 10 children, 7 of whom are still at home. I live in West Texas with my husband who also happens to be my best friend. We decided to make a lifestyle change in 2008 and left the corporate world of southern Alabama and moved to West Texas. We now have 27 acres of grapes, 2 family milk cows, chickens and raise our own beef. Working the vineyard together as a family is hard work but very rewarding.

Moving to West Texas to begin a vineyard has brought many changes including a return to health through the GAPS diet, learning about “real” food and becoming a chapter leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation.

Cooking REAL food for a large family has been challenging and fun. I love trying new recipes and sharing them with others. I have a passion to spread the healing potential of real traditional food, as well as, to encourage others with a nutrient dense diet and simple family living.

I would love to have you follow our adventure in real food and vineyard life at my blog, Cultured Palate.

Homemade Creamy Tropical Popsicles

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We just made our first popsicles of the season. I know it’s not summer yet, and we truthfully haven’t been having the best of weather, but it was time. And boy, were they enjoyed! Elena and her cousins (and myself) loved these creamy, mild popsicles sweetened entirely with fruit and blended with coconut milk. Yum!

Making your own popsicles is the best. It’s generally very inexpensive and easy to do too. Some of those “all fruit” popsicles are just plain expensive. If you have some leftover smoothie, it makes the perfect popsicle too. So a lot of our popsicles during the summer are simply leftover smoothie!

This time, I used one of our favorite smoothie combo’s, mango, banana and coconut milk. That’s all, if you don’t count the water. Just three ingredients. That’s what I call simple.

And I loved using my new stainless steel popsicle mold I received!

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Spiced Macaroons (Dairy, Refined Sugar, and Grain Free)

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These tasty macaroons remind me of gingerbread and my husband of oatmeal cookies. They are perfect for this time of year! I think that they would make a great substitute for a gluten free, or grain free dieter who wants to have “oatmeal” cookies. Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and sweetened with evaporated palm (coconut) sugar or rapadura, which has a molasses like flavor, these cookies are perfect for this time of year.

It’s been so nice to have some treats to send with Joel in his lunch and also to have on hand to serve to guests. I was recently watching a movie set in the 1930’s and realized how much more hospitable everyone was.

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