Vanilla Creme Brulee Instant Pudding (No Cook, Low Glycemic, JELL-O Copy Cat Recipe)

This is a truly delicious instant no-cook pudding mix I created today, and it's lower glycemic too...

Vanilla Creme Brulee Instant Pudding.

This Vanilla Creme Brulee Instant Pudding is full-bodied and creamy. It has a decadent vanilla caramel flavor. You will be surprised that this is an instant pudding mix when you taste it! It is good enough to serve as a stand alone dessert.

This pudding has a secret, it is made with pure organic coconut palm sugar. Coconut palm sugar gives a nice caramel color, scent, and flavor to this pudding mix. It looks a lot like brown sugar, yet it is high in minerals like potassium and phosphorus. The thing that awesome about organic coconut sugar, is that it is a healthy, low glycemic alternative to other sugars like regular table sugar. It can also be used as a sweetener in beverages, desserts, and other recipes that call for regular cane sugar.

We make this pudding truly decadent by substituting some of the milk for cream, which just so happens to lower the carbs even further. Party.

Bonus: This is a true instant (no cook) pudding mix recipe you can use to replace the commercial 3.5 ounce boxed instant vanilla pudding mix called for in recipes. Party.

This is my second trial with no cook puddings. These instant pudding mixes will be evolving. I have plans to make instant protein puddings.

My goal: They have to taste good, like dessert, or I won't enjoy eating them much. I'd like to have a healthy pudding snack, say, before bed? Or maybe for breakfast. I have wanted to make delicious protein puddings/protein drink mixes for years. So now I'm going for it!

One hurdle has been how to get an instant pudding consistency without cooking it and without having to source ingredients only available to commercial food manufacturers. So this recipe is definitely progress. earlier I made a chocolate instant pudding that had a great consistency... I think I will post about my progress, then you can see how the instant pudding recipes evolve too.

See my first trial recipe of instant chocolate pudding too.



Vanilla Creme Brulee Instant Pudding & Pie Filling Mix:

3/4 c. (120 g) Organic Coconut Palm Sugar
6 T. (30 g) Ultra Gel Instant Non-GMO Modified Corn Starch (Cornaby's brand)
1 t. Lecithin granules (like Now brand)
1/8 t. (1 g) Sea salt or BioSalt (up to 2 g, to taste)


Method:

Grind the coconut sugar, Ultra Gel, lecithin powder and salt together 30 seconds until fine textured in a VitaMix blender. Let the dust settle before opening up the lid.

Store the pudding mix in an air-tight container.


To Prepare Pudding:

Liquid Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. organic whole milk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 t. real vanilla extract
1/4 t. caramel flavoring (like Brickford brand), optional


Method:

Pour 1 3/4 cups cold milk into a mixing bowl.
Add 1/4 c. heavy cream to the milk (you may cut cream down to 2 T. and increase the milk by 2 T.).
Add 1 t. real vanilla extract and caramel flavoring, if using.
Add 1 recipe of Instant Pudding Mix above.
Using a hand mixer or whisk, blend for 2 minutes.
Let the pudding set up for 5 minutes in the refrigerator.


Photos of the process:

Organic Coconut Palm Sugar

Put the dry ingredients into a blender and grind fine, with the lid on!

Pour the wet ingredients into a mixing bowl and then add the pudding mix.

Whisk pudding ingredients together.

Adding the heavy cream to the pudding.

Whisk until smooth and glossy, and starting to thicken.

Pour into small serving dishes and chill at least 5 minutes to set up.

Top with sweetened whipped cream if desired.

Enjoy,

Leila.

Ginger Almond Dark Chocolate Bark

Exotic, spicy, chewy bits of crystallized ginger take this delicious almond bark to the next level!

A beautiful friend of mine who's hair I cut & color-weave, brought me a taste of some chocolate bark that she made. It had crystallized ginger in it, and I think it had almonds in it too, I can't remember, I just know I loved the ginger! I wanted more...

I have been playing with chocolate in my kitchen again (a regular occurrence). The weather has been cool and rainy here, so I can't work on my garden or plant flowers right now. Obviously, creating with chocolate was the next best thing to do with my time. Chocolate is a great distraction any time, right?

I love the chewy bits of ginger in this bark. They create a nice contrast with the crunchy roasted salted almonds. I added extra dried ginger powder for an added dimension of ginger flavor. The ginger flavor also deepens with time, as the ginger's essential oils are infused into the dark chocolate.

Added bonus: Ginger is great for your digestion. Almonds add protein and fiber, while the dark chocolate is high in good-for-you antioxidants. All good reasons to make and eat this luxurious chocolate!

This recipe is very easy to do, taking hardly any time at all to make. So when that craving hits, you can have gourmet chocolate in no time!

I like the grown-up flavor of this recipe. The dark chocolate flavor stands out beautifully here. I hope you enjoy it too.



Ginger Almond Dark Chocolate Bark Recipe:

500 grams high quality French dark chocolate (or Lakanto Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate!)
50 to 100 grams (1/4 c. to 1/2 c.) chopped crystallized ginger, to taste
300 grams (2 cups) roasted salted whole almonds
6 grams (1 T.) powdered dried ginger root


Method:

Chop the dark chocolate if it is not already in small wafers, and place in a microwave-safe bowl.

Gently melt the chocolate in 45 second intervals in the microwave, stirring in between.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator a few minutes.

Stir the chopped crystallized ginger into the melted chocolate and mix well.

Add the powdered ginger and stir in well.

Add the whole roasted salted almonds and stir in well.

Scrape the chocolate mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out evenly.

Chill in the refrigerator until completely set, up to 30 minutes.

Break up the bark into serving sized pieces and store airtight.


Photos of the process:

Chop the crystallized ginger.

Seed the melted chocolate by adding a bit of unmelted chocolate pieces.

Stir the chocolate pieces thoroughly into the melted chocolate to cool it down.

Keep stirring until the added chocolate is completely melted.

Add the chopped ginger, ground ginger, and then the almonds and blend well.

Pour onto a prepared baking sheet and spread out evenly.

Chill until completely set up.

Break up into pieces.

Enjoy!

Leila.

French Chocolate Anise Bark Recipe (Copy-Cat Recipe) Gluten-Free

This unique recipe is a copy of a chocolate bark made in a Paris restaurant called L'ARPÈGE. 

Make this lovely chocolate, then close your eyes, take a bite and imagine you are in Paris as you savor this delicious treat. If you want to imagine that you are in Paris anyway... I do know that this chocolate will take you somewhere... To chocolate bliss land.

This delicious chocolate is exotic with many flavor and texture dimensions. We love it. It is also extremely easy to make. You can make a half batch the first time if you are not sure what you think of anise flavoring, which is licorice-like. Trust me though, this is g-o-o-d.

To make this chocolate even better, I recommend my mother's healthy sugar-free dark chocolate formula manufactured by Lakanto. It will be sold at Whole Foods. Call your local Whole Foods store and ask them to order it in , if they don't have it in stock yet. You will love her chocolate!



Chocolate Anise Bark Recipe:

Serves: 12

12 oz high quality bittersweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped (Lakanto Dark Chocolate is our fav.)
2 t. (4 grams) anise seeds, freshly ground to a fine texture in a krups seed mill
2/3 c. (12 grams) dried (pitted) sour cherries
2/3 c. (16 grams) dried apricots, coarsely chopped
2/3 c. (12 grams) roasted salted cashews,coarsely chopped
1 drop star anise essential oil, optional



Method:

Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Chill the cookie sheet a few minutes.

Melt the chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 45 second intervals until melted and smooth, stirring in between.

While the chocolate is melting, prepare the fruit and nuts and mix together in a bowl.

Stir the finely powdered anise seed into the melted chocolate.

Optionally add 1 drop of star anise essential oil and stir into the chocolate very well, if you want a stronger anise flavor.

Stir half of the fruit and nut mix into the melted chocolate.

Spread the chocolate mixture onto the lined and chilled cookie sheet with a spatula into a rectangle shape.

Quickly sprinkle the chocolate with the rest of the fruit and nut mixture and gently press in so that it's slightly embedded in the chocolate.

Chill the chocolate until it is completely set up, up to 30 minutes.

Break into 12 pieces and store air-tight.


Note: Lakanto's Dark chocolate is sugar-free and delicious and it is formulated by my mom!


Photos of the process:

Enjoy!

Leila.

Healthified Raspberry Fool (and a healthy Ice Cream recipe)

This is an easy and decadent treat you can feel good about eating.

This version of Raspberry Fool is a delicious super creamy, lower fat, higher protein, and sugar free version of the traditional Raspberry Fool, which is usually made with sweetened vanilla whipped cream and lightly crushed raspberries.


Enjoy this as a great low-carb snack, breakfast, or dessert. It's great for people wanting to slim down but still want a decadent treat. The fat content here is very satisfying while the protein balances it out perfectly.


Healthified Raspberry Fool Recipe:

Base:

1 part Organic sour cream
2 parts Greek yogurt
Powdered Lakanto sweetener, to sweeten to taste (or powdered erythritol)
Real vanilla extract, to taste

Fruit:

Chia Blackberry Jam (or crushed strawberries, blackberries, or other soft fruit or berry)


Method: 

Mix the Chia Blackberry Jam into the yogurt base, to taste and eat.



Tip: Also try with our Chia Blueberry Sauce recipe!



For Instant Berry Ice Cream:

This was one of my mother's early childhood discoveries, which has wonderful memories for her. she still loves it to this day. Sugar was originally used, but now she uses powdered erythritol or xylitol, and you can further enhance the sweetness with a couple drops of stevia glycerite, if desired.

Crush the berries with sweetener &/or jam of choice then freeze in a shallow layer (so it's easy to break up) until semi-hard.

At serving time, mix the nearly frozen fruit with sweetened vanilla whipped cream.


Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Chia Blueberry Sauce - Sugar-Free (Healthified)

Try this healthy variation of blueberry sauce.

This is a very delicious and very easy sauce to put together. It is loaded with antioxidants and fiber. Since it is sugar-free, you can enjoy it knowing that it won't spike your blood sugar.

The beautiful thing about this sauce is it seems dessert like and very more-ish, yet it is great as a yogurt topping for breakfast, or on low-carb ice cream for dessert. there are many uses for this versatile sauce. You will not feel deprived, trust us!

We also like that you don't have to cook this blueberry sauce to death. It tastes F-R-E-S-H.

Also note how we keep using a blend of sugar-free sweeteners on this blog. That is because the blends we use are synergistic, which means they enhance each other's sweetening power along with tasting much more like conventional sugar. Cool, right?



Chia Blueberry Sauce Recipe:

2 boxes (22 to 24 ounces total) fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
2 c. "Old Orchard" brand no sugar added Cranberry-Raspberry Juice
1/4 c. dark chia seeds
1 to 2 t. very finely powdered psyllium husks
4 to 6 T. erythritol, to taste (or Lakanto white sweetener)
4 to 6 T. xylitol, to taste
Fresh lemon juice and/or Vitamin C powder, to taste
Stevia Glycerite, to taste


Method:

In a small saucepan place the blueberries, chia seeds, and 2 c. juice.
Mix together and let thicken 30 minutes.
Barely cook the mixture.
Powder the psyllium husks very finely in a Krups seed mill.
Mix the psyllium husk powder with the erythritol and xylitol.
Add the psyllium mixture to the hot berry mixture and still very will until fully dissolved.
Let berry mixture cool.
Add fresh lemon juice and /or Vitamin C powder to taste.
Add Stevia glycerite to taste.
Chill the berry sauce overnight.
If the sauce thickens up too much, just add more juice to reach the desired consistency.
Use as a topping for cheesecake, yogurt, ice cream, etc...


Variations:

This Blueberry Sauce can be made with less juice and be used as a sugar-free blueberry pie filling!

Or, Make it less sweet and it could become a tasty blueberry Danish Pudding.

Or, mix it with any kind of sugar-free syrup to make a blueberry pancake syrup!

There are lots of options for the blueberry lover...


Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Chai Spice Mug Cake - Sugar-Free, Low-Carb, and Gluten-Free. Y-U-M.

Here is another Amazing 2-Minute Speedy Cake!

2-Minute Chai Spice Jiffy Cake.

This is another delicious gluten-free cake recipe that is very similar to our Amazing Mini Gingerbread Speedy Cake. These make your kitchen smell heavenly!

I adore Chai Tea. I make some herbal caffeine-free versions of chai that our family loves and they have long been one of our favorite beverages... But I just cant seem to get enough Chai, so this mini cake was born.

This low-carb Chai-Spice mug cake is light and fluffy. It tastes terrific, plus it is packed with lots of nutritious ingredients, instead of using a high amounts of starch like the typical gluten-free baked goods. This unique Mini Cake fills you up and keeps you feeling satisfied for a long time, taking care of your cravings for sugary sweets. It's perfect paired with a cold glass of organic whole milk or almond milk.

We LOVE these Jiffy Cake recipes!

This is a variation of a recipe created in the Kitchen Cheetahs Test Kitchens in the fall of 2014. This delicious microwave mini cake cooks in only 2 minutes. It's nice to make just a little cake and not have a bunch of leftover cake you don't know what to do with.

We like to prepare several of these single-serving cake mixes and package them up into mini zip-lock bags. The ingredient list is more complex, but it is totally worth getting out all of these ingredients to make these cake mixes. Then they are ready for a quick dessert, breakfast, or snack. Often 2 of us will share 1 of these scrumptious cakes. They are very filling and enjoyable to eat. These quick mini cakes are great for people who don't want to be deprived on their low-carb or gluten-free diets, and still want to lose weight.

These are truly a guilt-free treat. I feel completely comfortable having my family eat these for breakfast, or as a snack before bed. This is sugar-free, gluten-free, chemical-free, and dairy-free. It also has a nice protein content and is loaded with healthy fiber. The coconut oil is very good for you too.

Stay tuned, more delicious speedy mini-cake recipes will be posted on this blog!



MINI CHAI SPICE SPEEDY CAKE Recipe:

Dry Cake Mix Ingredients:

3 T. finely ground white almond meal
1 T. plus 1 t. coconut flour
1 T. finely ground golden flax meal
2 t. finely ground rice bran or oat bran
1 T. xylitol
1 T. IMO powder
1 T. Lakanto brand White Zero-Calorie Natural Sweetener (sugar substitute)
1/16 t. (heaping) lecithin powder


1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. plus 1/8 t. ground cardamom, to taste (I love cardamom)
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves or allspice
1/4 t. ground ginger (make sure your ginger powder is fresh)
1/8 t. powdered intense natural sweetener, of choice (we will post a formula for soon!)
1/16 t. (heaping) sea salt or Biosalt (recipe on this blog)


Wet Ingredients:

1 large egg, at room temperature
1 t. vegetable glycerine
2 T. warmed coconut oil
2 T. warm water
1/2 t. real vanilla extract, optional


Method:

To Make The Dry Cake Mix:

Place the first 8 ingredients in a Krups seed mill and finely grind together. The finer this is ground, the nicer the cake will turn out.

Pour out the fine powder mix into a small zip-lock bag.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients into the zip-lock bag.

Seal the bag and shake together well to blend.

Repeat this process for however many cake mixes you choose to make.

Label and store the bags of cake mix in your refrigerator, or in your freezer for longer term storage.


To make 1 mini-Cake:

Oil a 2-cup sized Pyrex baking cup (we like to use deodorized 76 degree coconut oil).

Crack the egg into the 2-cup Pyrex baking cup and whisk to blend without incorporating air.

Add the vegetable glycerine and vanilla and whisk together.

Add the warmed coconut oil along with the warm water, whisk together well to blend.

Pour in a single serving of prepared dry Mini-Cake Mix. Stir together until smooth.

Place the Pyrex baking cup off-center in your carousel microwave for even cooking.

Cook on high for 2 minutes in the microwave. The center of the cake should just spring back when touched.

Let cake cool in the microwave 3 minutes.

Remove from microwave and eat once it has cooled down enough, or cover with a lid to keep moist and eat it later.

You may sprinkle the top with additional cinnamon or chai spices. Topping with whipped cream is excellent too!

Enjoy!


Variation: To Make a mini-cake that you can turn out of the baking cup:

Cut out a piece of parchment paper that fits neatly into the bottom of your Pyrex baking cup.

Oil the bottom and partway up the sides of the Pyrex baking cup. Place the parchment paper disk in the bottom of the baking cup and press to attach.

Oil the top of the parchment paper in the baking cup.

Mix up your cake mix in a separate small bowl and scrape it out into your oiled and papered Pyrex baking cup.

Microwave 2 minutes, as directed above. Cool 3 minutes in the microwave.

Remove from microwave and then invert cake onto an oiled serving plate. Peel off parchment paper.

Let the cake cool an additional 3 minutes before eating, or cover for later.

Source: VitaFiber IMO (Isomalto-oligosaccharide) fiber powder http://www.bioneutra.ca/product_vitafiber.htm



Photos of the process:

An easy way to store and warm the coconut oil for Jiffy Cakes.

Mix the wet ingredients together and them add the dry ingredients (I used a pre-made mix).

Mix together well until lumps are removed.

Microwave off-center 2 minutes, for even cooking.

The finished cake.

Sprinkle the top with cinnamon or chai spices if desired. You can top with whipped cream too!

A very nice textured cake.

Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy
The Kitchen Cheetahs!