7 Layer Citrus Trifle

When I was at University I worked at a retail store in a shopping centre. It was a great job; discount clothes, working with my best mates, cute customers! Thursday nights were my favourite. It was army payday and it was corporate policy to give servicemen a percent discount (or at least it was my own personal policy!). The crushes I had! 

One of our jobs was to 'dress the windows'. We had mannequins, props and signage and often a theme to follow. This was a challenge for me as I like symmetry. Sounds weird I know, but I like things even, centered and balanced... In life and windows displays! This made my merchandising efforts quite boring (but hopefully not my life!).

I do like symmetry and balance in my cooking as well, especially in plating and decorating. Sometimes going off centre can make a dish look messy and less appealing. How do you challenge an anally symmetrical food blogger? A 7 layer trifle!

This concept comes from Raspberri Cupcakes. I had made it twice in my sugar eating days and it was a hit a parties. With so many different textures and flavours it's a different dessert with each spoonful. It is a lot of work with so many different elements and cooking methods but it is well worth it! Ensure you plan ahead. Some elements can be made a couple of days ahead (curd, mousse, biscuits, cream) and then constructed before serving. If you put it together a few hours before serving it will help the and textures settle into each other. 

7 LAYER CITRUS TRIFLE
(based on this recipe from Raspberri Cupcakes)

LAYER 1: Lemon Mousse
(adapted from Empowered Sustenance)

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup Lemon Curd (from recipe below)
1 cup coconut cream, tin opened and placed in fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight
1 Tablespoon Gelatin
Maple Syrup to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
In a small saucepan whisk together coconut cream and gelatin. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Place saucepan over a medium heat and whisk until gelatin dissolves.
Pour into a bowl and allow to set for 4 hours.
In a food processer, place curd and set gelatin cream and blend on high until creamy. This may take up to 5 minutes. Add maple syrup to taste if required.
Once smooth place on bottom of trifle dish. Store in fridge.
If storing in fridge before assembly the Mousee may need to be blended again before using.

LAYER 2: Lemon Cake
This is a 1/2 recipe of the lemon flavored versatile cake.

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
1/4 cup Maple syrup
2 teaspoons Vanilla essence
1/4 plus 1/8 Coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 175C.
Place egg whites in a clean mixing bowl and whisk on medium/high until soft peaks form.
Slowly add the maple syrup; 1 spoonful at a time.
Mixture will triple in size and form peaks.
Add vanilla and whisk on medium/high until combined.
Turn whisk to medium and add egg yolks, 1 at a time. Add next yolk only once the previous one has been combined.
In a separate bowl, sift the coconut flour and baking powder together 3 times.
Gently fold the sifted dry mix into the egg mixture in 3 lots.
Add  the juice/rind and gently fold.
Pour into a greased and lined 20cm/8 inch cake tin.
Bake for 20 min, or until skewer comes out clean.
Cool on rack. If the cake is too big to fit easily into the trifle dish cut in half and trim until it fits. Pledge on top of mousse layer.

LAYER 3: Lemon Curd
See Lemon Curd recipe

Part of this curd can be used in the Lemon Mousse recipe. When cooled, the remainder can be spread over the cake.

LAYER 4: Orange Jelly
Set in a flat dish so it can be cut into small pieces, or into a springform cake tin the same size as trifle dish.

INGREDIENTS
120ml boiling water
10 gram Gelatine
350ml orange juice, strained

INSTRUCTIONS
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.
Add orange juice and stir until combined.
Pour into a lined baking tray and set in fridge for at least 4 hours
Once set cut into small pieces and place on top of curd.

LAYER 5: Almond Orange Biscotti with Choc Chips
See recipe from Tasty Yummies

Once cooled, cut biscuits into small pieces to resemble a chunky crumble. Scatter evenly over the jelly.

LAYER 6: Lemon Cream

INGREDIENTS
1 can coconut cream, opened and refrigerated overnight (or at least 2 hours)
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

INSTRUCTIONS
Remove thickened cream from the can, discard watery component.
Place cream into mixing bowl and whisk on high until thickened.
Add vanilla, maple syrup, lemon juce and zest and whisk until combined and thick.
Store in fridge and let thicken.
Dollop evenly over biscuit layer.

LAYER 7: Mini Meringues

INGREDIENTS
2 egg whites
1/2 cup Maple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
Optional; lemon or orange zest

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 95C/200 F.
Combine egg whites and maple syrup in the bowl of a stand mxer  Add vanilla extract.
Set bowl over a pot of simmering water, and stir until combined and mixture is warm, about 3 minutes.
Add salt and cream of tartar.
Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue is mostly cooled, about 7 minutes. Beat in zest if using
Fill bag fitted with piping nozzle with meringue, and pipe circular shapes (they don't need to be perfect rounds) on lined baking trays. Alternative,y dollop spoonfuls on baking tray.
Bake meringues until crisp on the outside but still soft inside, between 1 hour- 1 hour 15 minutes.
Let cool completely on wire rack.

TRIFLE CONSTRUCTION
The trifle can be constructed the day before, but place the meringues on top just before serving. Trifle needs to be stored in the fridge. The meringues may go soft if left for too long.

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Mississippi Mud Pie

I own 2 pairs of tracksuit pants; one for good, one for home. 

What makes 'good' tracksuit pants you ask?

Velour obviously, no elasticated cuffs (this allows your trackies to sit better and cover your odd socks) and a drawstring waist band (in case you eat too much cake). 

Which such occasions qualify for the 'good trackies'?

My friend Carolyn has a rule; you can only wear track suit pants out of the house if you are pregnant or breast feeding. As I am neither, I have broken her rule numerous times this week, and have committed many crimes against fashion (I even made a quick dash to the shops in my gym Lycra!).

Until recently I held quite a public position in the regional town that I live in. Most people knew me from my weekly photo in the paper; where I had blow waved hair, an ironed shirt and a fully made up smile. My trackies were like my superhero costume. They were my disguise. I could go about my daily life without people recognizing me; I had the freedom to go shopping with my children without being hassled and, just as importantly, the comfort of polar fleece. Anonymity was my super power! 

Life is much simpler these days, but some days I still feel like enabling my inner velour. And let's face it; they're just soooo comfortable!

This cake is based on the classic Martha Stewart Mississippi Mud Pie. I made it a few Christmas ago to tasty reviews, but sadly it is not Paleo friendly....until now! Not only does this pie contain no dairy, gluten or processed sugar it has fruit and a vegetable! Come on; that has to be the healthiest dessert ever? Or should it be called dinner?

My pie had 16 slices and each slice had approximately 324 calories. It is a simple recipe to make but can be time consuming due the need to refridgerate between layering. Start planning the day ahead.

MISSISSIPPI MUD PIE

INGREDIENTS

CHOCOLATE PIE CRUST (adapted from Against all Grain)
1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup coconut flour (available from health food and speciality stores)
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup coconut oil, softened but not melted
1/2 cup maple syrup (you could substitute honey etc)
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE CAKE (adapted from Amazing Paleo)
2 Sweet Potatoes- medium sized, peeled, cut and baked until soft (approx 40 minutes at 180C/350F)
1 tablespoon Coconut flour
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup cocoa, unsweetened
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of salt

MOUSSE
See The Great Chocolate Mousse-Off

CREAM
1 can organic Coconut cream, opened and in fridge for min 5hours
1-2 teaspoons maple syrup
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extrct

INSTRUCTIONS

PIE CRUST
Preheat the oven to 175C (350F).
Grease and line with baking paper a 20cm/8 inch springform cake tin.
Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl of a kitchen stand mixer.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until combined.
Using your fingers, press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the tin. There will be enough dough to make a high edge, approximately 5 cm.
Bake in oven for 7 minutes.
Cool completely.

CHOCOLATE CAKE
Preheat oven to 160C/325F
Place sweet potato in blender and mix until a puree forms.
Add all other ingredients and mix until blended and smooth.
Add to cooled pie crust and bake for 27 minutes.
Cake should still be slightly gooey when removed from the oven.
Allow to cool before placing in fridge, preferably overnight but for at least 2 hours.

MOUSSE
See The Great Chocolate Mousse-Off remembering to whip the mousse with the additional coconut, almond milk or whipped coconut cream.
Spoon into pie crust (on top of cake).
Refridgerate to firm up mousse for at least 1 hour.

CREAM
Scoop the thickened cream from the tin, discarding the watery liquid at the bottom.
Place cream in mixing bowl and beat using whisk attachment.
Add maple syrup and vanilla to taste and continue whisking until thick.
When Mousse is firm on cake, add 1 cup (or more) of cream to top of cake.
Keep refridgerated.

Chocolate Bavarian Pie

I was at university for a long time - not because I was bad at it - because I did a long degree.

There are many things that are synonymous with being a uni student; 2 minute noodles, the 20 pack of  'beef' (errr... or some kind of meat-ish substance) burgers for $2 from Woolworths, cheap Vodka and even cheaper pub squash (to this day I cannot even smell it without getting queasy) and day time TV ('Passions' anyone?).

It was all about getting by on the cheap. Our motto was never pass up a free meal. Even if it meant having to endure painful dinner conversation and eating at a dining table. Free is cheap, and for a uni student that means everything!

Celebrating, and commiserating, is something we did often at university (any excuse for a party!).

Woo-hoo we passed an exam! A boy called! We paid the rent on time!

Boo-hoo that exam was hard! Why hasn't he called? Still why hasn't he called? Why is my bank balance red?

There was only one dessert worthy of the joy of not having to go to another chemistry lecture, or that could heal a broken heart.  The Chocolate Bavarian Pie. The humble frozen dessert (according to Sara Lee) "combines fresh cream, dark chocolate, natural vanilla flavour and a high sided chocolate biscuit base". Alas, at uni we could only ever manage the home brand no name version but it was still delicious. 

My aim was to recreate the Chocolate Bavarian Pie, this time gluten, dairy and processed sugar free, keeping it as paleo/clean as possible ensuring it retained its creamy texture. How'd it go? 

Deliciously!

This is by far the tastiest and prettiest dessert I have made since embarking on this new style of cooking.

Why? Because it doesn't taste like you're missing out on anything. It still has the ability to mend a broken heart and bring a smile to your dial - but without all the nasties! Per slice (my pie had 12) it contains approximately 185 calories; which isn't too bad for such a decadent treat. 

Now, before you embark on creating the best dessert ever (a bold statement!) - I have a few pieces of advice.

Tins: I used an 18cm (7inch) spring form cake tin to create the lovely edges, but a pie tin would also work. The spring form means the edge of the tin can be removed without fear of cracking and breaking. A slightly bigger tin would mean a thinner pie, but that would still work.

Mousse: I have used the winning mousse from the Great Chocolate Mousse-Off  but it definitely needs to be whipped with the additional milk for the right creamy texture.

Cream: Arrghhhhhh!... Whipped coconut cream has been my nemesis for some time. I have wasted many cans of coconut cream and milk trying to get it to work but I could never achieve the right consistency - until now! I have read many people saying that it works best when the cream is free of additives and thickeners and I now agree. I used a can of organic coconut cream (from Aldi) that had been opened and in the fridge for a few hours. To re-create the vanilla flavour of the original Bavarian I added splashes of maple syrup and vanilla essence until I was happy with the taste (approx. 1-2 tsps. of each). This cream is quite tasty as an alternative for dairy whipped cream.

Chocolate: I make my own chocolate using this recipe. I keep it in the freezer and use it as required. 

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

CHOCOLATE PIE CRUST (adapted from Against all Grain)

1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour (available from health food and speciality stores)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
1/4 cup maple syrup (you could substitute honey etc)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

MOUSSE

See The Great Chocolate Mousse-Off

CREAM

1 can organic Coconut cream (see above notes on types of coconut creams), opened and in fridge for min 5hours
1-2 teaspoons maple syrup
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

OPTIONAL 

Chocolate to decorate, using this recipe if you want dairy free, processed sugar free chocolate. Strawberries/Raspberries to serve.

INSTRUCTIONS

PIE CRUST

Preheat the oven to 175C (350F).

Grease/Spray an 18cm (7inch) spring form cake tin or pie dish.

Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl using a kitchen stand mixer.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until combined.
Using your fingers, press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of your tin of choice.
Bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely. 

If using a spring form tin, remove the crust and place on a serving tray. This may be more difficult if using a pie tin and you may choose to construct the pie and serve from the tin.

MOUSSE

See The Great Chocolate Mousse-Off remembering to whip the mousse with the additional coconut or almond milk.

CREAM

Scoop the thickened cream from the tin, discarding the watery liquid at the bottom.
Place cream in mixing bowl and beat using whisk attachment.
Add maple syrup and vanilla to taste and continue whisking until thick.

CONSTRUCTION 

Spoon mousse into the pie crust, smoothing off the surface.

Use 1 cup of the whipped coconut cream and spread over mousse. 

Grate chocolate on top to decorate.

Keep refrigerated after serving (if there's any left!)

Mmmmmmmmmmmm........PIE!

The Great Chocolate Mousse-Off

In October last year I gave up sugar. I knew I had a stressful month ahead (if only I knew!) and I wanted to avoid the stress-sugar relationship that would inevitably result. As it turned out it wasn't that hard. I was already eating a Gluten free diet and didn't drink soft drinks or eat lollies. I simply said no to dessert (unless I had cooked it sugar free) and made sure that I carried healthy snack options with me to avoid hunger induced cake purchases (having 2 kids usually means I have a myriad of snacks in my bottomless handbag anyway). After the sugarless October I decided to maintain the diet changes. I felt better and it would provide healthy options for my family.

As it turned out my stress only got worse and continued for another 9 months. Whilst there were times due to anxiety and depression that I didn't feel like eating, there where others that I craved the comfort that only the sweet nectar of sugar can provide. But I stayed strong, lost 16kgs along the way and got inventive instead.

There are many websites and blogs dedicated to the Paleo and Clean Eating Lifestyle (which by definition are both gluten and sugar free), and thanks to Google there are many and varied options at your finger tips. It's essentially healthy food without the crap! Throughout my experimentation I have found some amazing recipes and simple solutions to creating meals that are both healthy and enjoyable for the family, without giving up the old favourites. This has lead me to the 'Great Chocolate Mousse-Off ".

To begin my blogging life I have decided to do a series of 'Off Challenges'. I will take a traditional  favorites; Chocolate Mousse, Lemon Curd, Chocolate Cake, Donuts, Banana Bread to name a few, and make different healthy versions. These will be blind taste tested by my family and friends to pick their favourite version. I may not even tell them that they are healthy!

The Great Chocolate Mousse-Off... Paleo style!

In the early 2000's there was a TV show called 'Temptation Island'. Every Tuesday night my friends and I would gather to watch as partners were split onto different Islands with 12 overly attractive people of the opposite sex. The premise; would they cheat on their partner? Let's consider this -  you're on an idyllic tropical island surrounded by gorgeous models throwing themselves at you. How could this not be great viewing?!

'Tempation Island' night was also accompanied by a giant bowl of Chocolate Mousse... unfortunately this particular Mousse is not clean nor paleo but I have since found 4 that are!

The mousse challenge involved 4 different chocolate mousse recipes that used Avocado as the base. Whilst all were good there was one that was reminiscent of 'Tempation Island'... one that made you feel like you were eyeing off one of the hotties on the beach! It got the tick of approval from all of my testers. Whilst it tasted amazing it was quite dense, and not as fluffy as the other mousses that also used Banana. To overcome this I whipped the Mousse in my stand mixer for 3 minutes whilst adding 1-2 tablespoons more milk. This fluffed it up nicely!

RECIPE (adapted from Creative Simple Life)

INGREDIENTS

2 ripe Avocados

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup maple syrup (you could also use honey, etc.)

11/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbspn milk (coconut, almond etc)

1-2 Tbspn milk (coconut, almond etc) extra for whipping

INSTRUCTIONS

Remove the pips and scoop the avocado pulp into the food processor/blender.

Add the cocoa, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and milk. 

Blend and blend until all the lumps and bumps are gone... then blend some more.

The mousse is great to eat now, but for a lighter consistency transfer to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. 

Add the extra milk and whisk for 3 minutes, or until fluffy.

The mousse will keep in the fridge for 3 days... but will most likely be eaten much quicker!

The mousse can also be used on a Marshmallow Pie (coming soon!) or a Chocolate Bavarian Pie (coming soon!).

The other Mousses we tested;

Healthy Chef

Produce on Parade

Paleo.com.au

My favourite mousse served with Chocolate Pizza

The grin of approval from S!