Recipe of the week

ITALIAN ESPRESSO MOUSSE WITH HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD DIPPERS
(Gluten free and dairy free)
An explosion of cream and dark chocolate with a hit of real espresso.

Ingredients for the Mousse (GF and DF):
2 x 120g/150g of 85% dark chocolate
A table spoon of Pure Soya margarine (for melting)
One standard shot of freshly made espresso
2 large eggs, separated, plus 1 large egg white
2 tablespoons caster sugar
100ml of Soya cream (I use Alpro)
Walnut pieces to decorate
Whole coffee bean for grating on top of finished mousse for taste
Ingredients for the Hazelnut Shortbread (GF and DF):
Half a small cup of roughly chopped hazelnuts
125g of Soya margarine
115g (or half a cup) of caster sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons of Essence of Rose Water
180g (or one and half cups) of Dove’s Gluten Free Plain Flour, sifted
1 teaspoon of gluten free baking powder
2 tablespoons of Dove’s Gluten Free Plain Flour – extra for rolling the dough

Method for the Mousse:
Break up the dark chocolate, put into a heatproof bowl with the butter and melt gently, stirring occasionally with a spatula. Don’t take your eyes off the melting chocolate.

Once melted, stir through the soya cream (do not let it boil).
Remove the bowl from the heat, stir gently and leave to cool for a minute.
Cool your already made espresso coffee slightly then stir into the chocolate and soya cream mix.

Stir in the 2 egg yolks.
In a separate bowl, whisk the 3 egg whites until they form soft peaks.
Stir about a quarter of the whites into the chocolate mixture to soften it and then fold this mixture into the remaining egg whites with a metal spoon.
Spoon the mixture into espresso cups.
Decorate with the walnut halves and then cover and chill overnight. Bring out of the fridge 15–20 minutes before serving, to allow the mousse to ‘come to’ and grate a coffee bean over the top for decoration and added taste.
Serve with the Hazelnut Shortbread for dipping on the side.

Method for the Hazelnut Shortbread:
The idea of the shortbread is to accompany the mousse for dipping. It is truly scrumptious.
Place the Soya margarine and sugar in a large china bowl and beat until pale and creamy.

Add the egg and mix until combined.
Add the rose water and stir through until smooth.
Finally, add in the nuts, the GF plain flour and the GF baking powder.
Fold through until a stiff dough forms.
Sift the extra flour over a clean, dry work surface.
Remove the dough from the bowl and roll into logs.
Wrap in Cling film and refrigerate until firm (approximately 30 minutes).
Preheat your oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
Remove the dough logs from the refrigerator and slice into 5mm thick rounds.
Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and place the biscuits in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.



CHICK PEA CHOCOLATE CAKE
Gluten free and dairy free. Naturally low G.I

INGREDIENTS

1 can of chick peas (I used cannellini beans and it worked well)
2/3 cup orange juice
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of sugar or honey (I used less honey...I'd say if you use honey, use about 2/3 cup)
2/3 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
(The recipe didn't call for this but I added a little salt to the batter too, say 1/4 tsp)

INTRODUCTION
This sounds totally bizarre but makes a chocolate cake that is everything a chocolate cake should be. It was emailed to me - one of those recipes with vague details - and unfortunately whoever wrote this up in the first place didn't specify the dimensions of the baking pan; I used a 9-inch square one and it turned out fine. If you wanted to make a layer cake I'd double the recipe. I bet this would be great with frosting or icing sugar or something on it, or with chocolate chips in it. It makes one of those nice dense yet fluffy, very moist cakes. Yum. I will definitely be making this one again. And again. This cake also happens to be gluten free, as long as your baking powder doesn't have gluten in it.

METHOD
Blend the chickpeas until smooth in a blender or food processor, and mix in all the rest of the ingredients until blended. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.