Delicious 2-Ingredient Chocolate Cake

My daughter-in-law introduced me to a most amazing 2-ingredient no-bake chocolate mousse cake.

The two ingredients took me completely by surprise: 

• melted chocolate (semisweet bakers chocolate and/or chocolate chips), and...
• ... APPLES?!

That's it!

She explained how she had made it. Cook apples and blend them in a blender. Then add melted chocolate and continue blending until everything is smooth and creamy. Then pour the mixture into a pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil and cool overnight in the refrigerator.

So delicious! It seemed too easy to be true!

But ... how many apples? How much chocolate? What ratio? I eventually looked for more details online. 

The easiest instructions to follow were AI generated. (No annoying pop-up commercials...) I won't repeat them here... (There are more details.) But you can google "2-ingredient apple chocolate cake"... and it's sure to come up.

One recipe had this ratio:

The cubed apple pieces were cooked and drained. Then 1 1/2 cups were measured out and used in the cake.

I was hoping to find quantities for a smallish cake.

If you love chocolate like I do, you're sure to love this cake!

One more thing... I once made a 2-ingredient chocolate pudding using only melted chocolate chips and soft tofu. Like this cake, it worked! But make sure you use chocolate chips that you absolutely LOVE the flavour of... because that will be the flavour of the pudding - or, in this case, the flavour of cake!

Some online recipes call for dark bittersweet chocolate. That's not a flavour I enjoy, so I wouldn't use it. In the cake pictured above, my daughter-in-law used semisweet chocolate chips - and, for me, it was perfect!

Oatmeal Cookies - No Sugar Added

I recently came across this recipe online - and since there are very few "no-sugar-added" cookie recipes - and I had 2 over-ripe bananas - I decided to give it a try.

A few people commented that the cookies in the picture bear no resemblance to those made by the recipe - and that's true! Not sure why someone would post a totally different picture...  unless they just want you to click on a link... 

So, if you come across this recipe photo elsewhere online - don't click on any accompanying links!!

I did a screengrab of the picture above only. When I made them, the cookies looked like this...

They are very dense and ... I  guess "tough" is the word. But otherwise, they weren't bad! My father would have happily dunked them in his coffee!

I did modify the recipe a bit, using regular milk instead of oat milk. Two bananas only. I also added a "pinch" of baking powder, hoping to make them lighter in texture. Not sure it had any impact.

I also baked them in my silpat muffin forms. Next time, I'll just drop spoonfuls of dough on my silpat cookie sheet. I think they'll hold together.

So, if you're trying to live an added-sugar-free life, these cookies may be something you'd like to try. Raisins or chopped dried fruit would make them totally free of added sugar - but I did the chocolate chip version on this my first try!

Homemade Oatmeal Crackers

I've looked at this oatmeal cracker recipe numerous times in my Fanny Farmer cookbook.  

I've heard that homemade crackers are much tastier than packaged ones. The recipe looked simple, too.

I made only half the recipe, in case I didn't like it.

Mix 1 1/4 cups of dry oats and 1/4 cup of water.

BLEND - ROLL OUT (with a rolling pin) - score the "dough" with a pizza cutter - into 2 inch squares. Sprinkle with salt.

I don't have photos (I guess I got too caught up in the task)... But to make things simpler, I rolled the dough out on the same cookie sheet that I baked them on. 

Bake at 275 degrees F. for half an hour. Flip the squares  over and bake for 20 minutes more.

I found them delicious spread with soft cheese. They were eaten up quickly!

My daughter commented that the photo makes them look as thick as date squares. But I assured her that they were  only about 1/4 inch thick.

My son suggested adding more salt and baking them a bit longer. They were a little soft.

The batter was crumbly. Leftover crumbs - or crumbs that fell off the crackers - were added to the apple crisp topping I was making next. After all, it was only baked oatmeal - and a little salt.

Easy Mug Cake

I love the concept of a "mug cake" - a single-serving cake that can be mixed and baked in a mug. But finding a "healthy" (low-carb) mug cake recipe hasn't been easy. Non-wheat flour recipes I've tried  (using coconut flour or ground almonds instead of wheat flour) have been dry.

I'm still looking for the perfect low-carb chocolate mug cake recipe. But in the meantime, here's my favorite version that I make often. It isn't very sweet - but it's chocolate! 

The original recipe comes from a cookbook for runners entitled Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow.

Here's the original recipe...

My modified version isn't very sweet...To make it, a large mug that holds more than 8 ounces of liquid is needed.

In the mug, microwave the following on high power for 10-15 seconds: 

• 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil, 
• 1/2 teaspoon of honey and
• 1 teaspoon of apple sauce.

Add the following:

• 1/4 cup of almond meal, 
• 1 teaspoon of cocoa, 
• 1 teaspoon of desiccated coconut, 
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips

Then add one egg slightly beaten. Mix well in mug and smooth top. 

Microwave for 90 seconds on high. Let stand for 5 minutes before eating.

(To simplify matters, I've prepared several containers of the dry ingredients... making my own home-made mug cake mix!)

Big Batch Oatmeal Cookies

Terry and I have different tastes in food... Even after all these years of marriage, our daily diet fluctuates back and forth between foods that he likes and foods that I enjoy (or should be eating for health reasons).

He really misses the fact that I no longer bake very often... and when I do, I try to make "healthy" modifications to my recipes.

In an attempt to appease him, I recently made a large batch of dry oatmeal cookie mix that I could mix up easily to make PLAIN oatmeal cookies by simply adding eggs. He doesn't like raisins or craisins in his...(And I find plain ones a little boring!)

I got the recipe from my old  More-Wih-Less Mennonite cookbook...

Here is what the big batch of dry ingredients looks like in the container in the fridge (with the lid off). 

I added olive oil instead of butter or margarine, to make keeping it easier.

Now all I have to do is add eggs.

I may bring some mix along when I next visit my daughter in Guelph. She may like some home-made "mix" that make cookie baking easy.

New Favorite Apple Cake Recipe

I recently came across an apple cake recipe that uses ground almonds instead of flour. I've made it several times because it tastes really good - and is very low carb. (Of course, I've modified it a bit!)

Here is the recipe as I make it:

Mix together the following: 

• 2 cups of almond flour (also called ground almonds)
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon liquid honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs, beaten

When this is mixed, add two washed, chopped apples. (I don't bother peeling them.) The batter will be dry rather than liquid, but the apples will moisten the cake as they cook.

The cake will not rise a lot, so it can be put into a small cake pan that has been lined with parchment paper. 

Smooth down the top. Sprinkle cinnamon. Cut a teaspoon of butter into small chunks and place on top, so that it will melt while the cake is baking. Drizzle about a teaspoon of maple syrup on top of the cake as well.

Bake for 60 minutes at 320 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Test for doneness with a toothpick. 

Let the cake stand for at least half an hour before cutting. 

The photo above is of the first one I made, just out of the oven. I've made it several times since. 

Easy and delicious!

Rich Non-dairy Chocolate Pudding

I've tried the KETO diet, but consuming whole fat milk and eating lots of meat raised my bad cholesterol...

So these days I'm focusing on vegetable fats - like those found in nuts and avocado.

One of my friends, who is also trying to control her cholesterol, sent me this recipe for (rich) chocolate pudding made by blending together a ripe banana, two avocados, half a cup of cocoa and a tablespoon of honey... Actually she uses a little more honey than that, but I modified the recipe.

It doesn't taste the same as pudding made with milk - but I wondered if I'd enjoy it more if a drop or two of peppermint or almond extract were added.

It does freeze well - and it doesn't lose its thick consistency after freezing. But I wonder how it would taste if I made "ice cream sandwiches" with it before freezing.

I really do enjoy experimenting with recipes!

Refreshing Frozen Lemon Yogurt

One of my favorite hot weather treats is lemon yogurt...

The recipe comes from Anne Lindsay's Smart Cooking, a book I used a lot when my children were young.

The recipe is called "Frozen Lemon Cream" - and I first made it in 1993!

As usual, I don't exactly follow the recipe. The ingredients that I use are:

• 3 cups of unsweetened plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 
• 1/2 cup of sugar... (I used a little less: a heaping quarter cup)

Mix the ingredients together and eat as is... 

Or put in dessert-sized containers and freeze, for a colder refreshing dessert.

Double Chocolate Cookies ... for BREAKFAST?!!

One of the neighborhood moms I hung out with when our children were young introduced me to the concept of  "breakfast cookies."

I don't remember what her recipe was, but I do remember her saying that she found breakfast cookies and milk a great alternative to breakfast cereal for kids.

I remember looking at her recipe - and not being convinced.

Recently, however, I came across a recipe for double chocolate cookies  WITH BRAN that my older son loved when he was young.

Here is the recipe: 

Mix together: 1 cup of soft margarine or oil, 2 cups of brown sugar, 2 eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla.

Add 3 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 cup of bran, 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 a cup of milk.

Drop generous tablespoon of batter (about 2 inches apart) on a greased cookie sheet. (I use silpat cookie sheet liners, so I don't grease the sheets.)

Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Delicious!

Do bran and whole wheat make a cookie healthy?! I don't know - but the recipe makes quite a few rather large cookies - which are delicious with plain yogurt and fruit.

Fried Cabbage - and Egg Noodles

My daughter was a vegetarian for many years. She still rarely cooks meat. Her eating habits are so different from mine that I always find it interesting to hear what she had for supper. Fried egg on a bed of kale is a perennial favorite... 

She recently mentioned a simple supper she had made: fried cabbage mixed with cooked egg noodles. The recipe she used referred to it as "comfort food." (I'm not sure what that means... For me, "comfort food" has to have chocolate in it!)

When I tried the recipe myself, it was certainly filling and satisfying!

I used half a small cabbage, sliced in strips - and a small onion, similarly cut...

I fried the cabbage and onion slowly in several tablespoons of olive oil... Eventually (in half an hour to forty-five minutes) they caramelized.

Impatient to eat, I served them just as they were beginning to turn brown. They could have been cooked a little longer.

To the caramelized cabbage, I added the cooked egg noodles. The result is surprisingly delicious!

Online I discovered that there are a lot of variations to this popular East European dish. My daughter's recipe didn't mention onions - just chopped cabbage. But an online search for "fried cabbage and pasta" brings up a surprisingly large number of variations for Haluski.

Cottage cheese, cherry tomatoes, cooked sausage, and even dumplings are mentioned. Some recipes say to fry the cabbage in butter...

A very simple, versatile - and popular - dish.

Peanut Butter Cookies - with Coconut and Chocolate Chips

In my attempt to lower carbs in my diet, I've begun making the non-flour version of peanut butter cookies... The recipe is very simple:

Mix together

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg

Drop teaspoonfuls of the batter onto a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

I lower the sugar to 1/3 cup - and I don't find much difference in taste. They taste remarkably like the cookies made with flour.

The last time I made the cookies, I modified the ingredients a bit- but still added no flour:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of dried coconut
• 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips

The cookies tasted a little different - not as "peanut buttery" - but also good...

Next time I make the recipe, maybe I should substitute cocoa  powder for the coconut... I wonder how that would taste...

George Washington Carver, the famous American inventor, created 300 uses for peanuts... I wonder if peanut butter cookies was one of them!

Flour-less Pumpkin Muffins

My daughter recently passed on a Pumpkin Muffin Recipe that a friend had given her.

It's made with oats and almond flour (which is really ground almonds - healthy for type 2 diabetics.) They really don't rise, but they don't seem heavy - probably because they have baking soda in them. Also pumpkin and chocolate chips...

I found them easy to make and delicious.





Here's the recipe:

1. Blend together 2 cups of almond flour and 1 1/2 cups of oats. Add a teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 a cup of brown sugar (the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of maple syrup) and a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. I didn't have pumpkin pie spice so I substituted a generous teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, and a dash of allspice and nutmeg.
2. In another container mix together 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened canned pumpkin puree, 3 eggs, and 1/3 of a cup of olive oil or melted butter.
3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until blended. 
4. Add 1/2 cup or more of chocolate chips. I added a tablespoon of cocoa nibs as well.
5. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.
6. Makes about 18 muffins.

Pear and Parship Soup - Delicious!

I recently discovered the amazing deliciousness of Pear and Parsnip Soup!

It is also extremely simple to make...

• Lightly fry one chopped onion and garlic in olive oil.
• Add peeled and diced parsnips - I used a pound, because they come in one-pound bags where I shop.
• Add 2 chopped pears... I didn't peel them.
• Add 6-8 cups vegetable stock. (I used about 2 liters.)
• Optional: Add a little thyme. (I didn't have any on hand the first time I made it - and it was still delicious!)

The recipe I linked to above mentions that apples can be used instead of pears... I haven't tried that yet.

Cook until the parsnips are soft. Then remove the soup from stove and blend it to a creamy consistency with an immersion blender.

Add milk or cream when serving. (I froze some of the soup before adding the  milk.)

Some of my chunks of pear and parsnip evaded my immersion blender. The soup still tasted great with a few pieces of fruit / vegetable in them.

No sugar is added - but the soup is sweet. It could be a healthy dessert...

So delicious! (If you like the flavor of pears.) A new personal favorite!

Multigrain Date (or Raisin) Quickbread

I've reconnected with a recipe I made often before I was diagnosed with high blood sugar... and was told to limit my carbs.

I recently made "Multigrain Date Quickbread." a recipe in Anne Lindsay's Lighthearted Cookbook.

(My favorite of her many cookbooks...)

Here is the recipe online...

I wonder how it would taste made with soy flour and spelt flour (which are higher in protein)

Maybe I'll experiment another time...

My recipe comments indicate I first made it in July 1993!

Over the years, I've added notes like: Delicious even with 1 1/2 cups of oats and 1/2 cup of flour, instead of one cup of each...

This time I made the quickbread in muffin tins. I plan to freeze most of them, thawing them individually to eat as a special treat.

As colder weather approaches, I sometimes long for the comfort foods I enjoyed before I paid attention to my carb intake.

Very Flexible Vegan Soup Recipe

I've been trying to eat more vegetables. (They're good for us in every way...) I've also realized that I prefer cooked veggies to fresh ones. So vegetable soup is the perfect answer!

A new soup recipe that I've made several times is roughly based on the minestrone soup recipe in the book, The 30 Day Diabetes Miracle. But I've modified it, as I usually do!

This is how I make it:
In a large pot, heat a tablespoon or two and briefly fry:

• a chopped onion, 
• a clove of garlic  
• one large carrot, diced

After a few minutes, add:

• a large can of diced tomatoes
• one celery stalk 
• about 4 cups of vegetable broth or water 
• a can of beans or chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 a teaspoon (each) of oregano and basil
• one bay leaf

The first time I made it, I also added one sliced zucchini. 

The second time, I added a little chopped cauliflower and broccoli and left out the beans and zucchini. 

It was good both times! 

The original recipe also calls for 2/3 cup of whole grain pasta, but I've never added that. 

A few tablespoons of rice would also be nice.

My "secret ingredient" is to also add something spicy, like a few tablespoons of salsa or a tablespoon of hot sauce.

Simmer for an hour or so. Enjoy!

Failed Recipe: Corn Crisps

A while back, I came across an interesting recipe for homemade crackers made of oatmeal crackers. Looking through my cookbooks - and even online - I couldn't find it!

(Was it perhaps in an old recipe book I tossed?! As my mother used to say, You never need something until you throw it out!)

But I found another recipe for "corn crisps" made from water, cornmeal, butter and salt, so I tried it instead...

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in 3/4 cup of water till the butter melts.

Then add 1/2 cup of cornmeal and 1/2 teaspoon of salt - and stir. The mixture will thicken.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. (I used Silpat and parchment paper, so I didn't coat the cookie sheets.) Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

When I realized that the first pan full wasn't going to flatten on its own in cooking, I flattened the second batch.

The result? A soft (not crispy) cornmeal blob... Very bland. Not a flat cracker. Fresh, they tasted like cornmeal baking powder biscuits.

If I were to make them again, I'd add herbs, spices and Parmesan cheese to the batter. Then I'd bake them in larger mounds.

Then they'd be cornmeal biscuits - with no baking powder added.

Baked Canaloupe

I recently had more cantaloupe than I could eat before it went bad, so I did an online search to see if cantaloupe could be cooked or roasted. It was starting to get watery...

I came across this recipe for roasting it...

The recipe suggested adding sugar if the cantaloupe wasn't sweet enough. Mine was sweet, so I didn't bother.

I just put my cantaloupe chunks into aluminum foil pie plates. (I accumulate a lot of those, and re-use them. I don't mind if food burns on and the pie plate won't come clean. In that case, I simply recycle it.)

All I did was preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and spread the chunks out in several aluminum pie plats. I baked them for 20 minutes.

They were really good! I refrigerated them, using them up by adding them to plain greek yogurt.

And the pie plates washed up easily... I didn't have to recycle a single one!

Favorite (Simple) Garlic and Tomato Salad

One of my favorite summer salads is one I watched my roommate make when we were students in Israel.

It is made of only four ingredients - fresh tomatoes, several cloves of garlic, olive oil and salt.

First make fresh "garlic salt" by grinding salt into a clove or two of garlic until the garlic is all broken up in the bottom of the salad bowl. I used the flat bottom of a sturdy glass to crush the garlic. (I should really buy a mortar and pestle.)

I had three tomatoes. Two cloves of garlic with half a teaspoon of salt would have given a stronger garlic flavor.

Slice tomatoes into wedges and add to the crushed garlic.

Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes and stir, to coat the tomatoes. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. The salad will be juicier at this time, as tomato juice will mix with the olive oil. I like to eat this salad with slices of fresh bread which can be dunked in the salad marinate. Delicious!

Easy Egg Recipe

My daughter recently introduced me to an easy egg recipe.

• Fill a ramekin with uncooked spinach or kale... One ramekin per person.
• Break an egg and drop it on top of the green vegetable. 
• Add a teaspoon of milk or cream.
• Mix lightly with a fork.  
• Then add bits of cheese, to taste.
• Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) for 20 to 30 minutes.

Delicious!

Microwaved Mini Banana Breads

I recently posted a blog on microwaved mini cakes using a simple one-bowl chocolate cake recipe that is a favorite of mine.

I was so pleased with the result that I tried making microwaved banana bread mini cakes as well, using the simple one banana muffin recipe I posted a year ago. I thought of adding chocolate chips - which would have tasted good - but added half a cup of frozen cranberries instead. A tangy touch! (Next time I'll add a cup!)

I microwaved three containers at a time - first on high for a minute, then on 30% power for two minutes, testing with a toothpick.

Again I was pleased with the result.

Perfect for summer baking!