RECIPE: Vegan Coconut & Dark Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream. Coconut Lovers Rejoice!

I've heard tell of some peculiar people who don't like coconut, apparently some people even hate it. To those people, I'm sorry- today's post is not one you'll enjoy.

This ice cream is all about the coconut. It's rich, decadent with a deep coconut flavour. To that I have added some hefty chunks of coconut-flecked dark chocolate, because I can. Sometimes, it's great to be a grown up.

A quick note: I used coconut sugar, which gives the ice cream a caramel colour and creates a very strong coconut flavour. Feel free to use any sweetener that takes your fancy though.

Vegan Coconut & Dark Choc Chunk Ice Cream

An original recipe by A Rhubarb Rhapsody
Total time: 20 minutes prep and cooking +  cooling time  + overnight freezing

Ingredients:

• 1x 270ml tin of coconut cream (I used Ayam brand)
• 2x 270ml tins of coconut milk
• 100g coconut sugar (or other sweetener of choice)
• 2 Tablespoons corn flour

• 100g vegan dark chocolate
• 1/4 cup dessicated coconut

Method

1. Place the coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. 
2. Add the corn flour to the mix, whisking until smooth and the mixture begins to thicken.
3. Pour the mix into a heatproof container, cover and refrigerate until cold.
4. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or in a double boiler, add the desiccated coconut and stir until well combined. Let cool for 5-10mins.
5. Churn the coconut ice cream in your trusty ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's instructions. In the last couple of minutes of churning, slowly drizzle 3/4 of the chocolate in.
6. Scrape the ice cream into a freezable container, pour the remaining chocolate over the top. Cover and freeze until ice-creamy (overnight is best)

Choc Chunk Muffins with Brown Sugar & Choc Chip Frosting

Chocolate chip, the quintessential baker's classic. Simplicity in its finest form.

In all honesty, I prefer my sweet treats rich and decadent to the point of near sickening. I've heard my husband complain of desserts being too rich and this is something I truly can't fathom. Granted, he also doesn't like cake so I'm pretty sure he's certifiably mad.

Even though I will usually opt for 'chocolate mud' I still hold a warm place in my heart for 'chocolate chip'. Choc chip cookies sing of comfort and lazy childhood afternoons, they're unparalleled as a nostalgic treat. Whether it's choc chip cookies, ice cream, cake, or muffins, it's guaranteed to be a crowd favourite.

I wanted the joy of chocolate chip cookies in a more substantial form, but it had to be compact enough for me to lug down to the park for an impromptu picnic with my son. Muffins fit the bill perfectly! I still have a glut of Easter chocolate left over so I chopped some of it up and made these 'choc chunk' muffins. I then grated a bit more of the excess chocolate and mixed it through brown sugar frosting for a choc chip overload. The result? A perfect picnic indulgence!

I'd love to know, what's your most nostalgic treat and are you a 'choc chip' or 'choc mud' kind of person?

Choc Chunk Muffins with Brown Sugar & Choc Chip Frosting

Recipe by A Rhubarb Rhapsody
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients for the Muffins: 

• 3 cups plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks or chips (I used a mix of dark and milk choc)

To make the Muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (355°F)
2. In a large bowl sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add salt and sugar. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl whisk together oil, vanilla extract, egg, milk and yoghurt. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Add chocolate chunks to the batter and gently stir until just incorporated.
5. Pour batter into well-greased muffin pan. 
6. (Optional) Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of raw/turbinado sugar over the top of each muffin (this will make the top nice and crunchy). 
7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked throughout, let them sit in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Once completely cooled pipe choc chip frosting (recipe below) on top of each muffin and serve immediately.

Ingredients for the Brown Sugar & Choc Chip Frosting:

• 250g cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 7 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter (at room temperature)
• 40g dark chocolate (grated finely)

To make the Brown Sugar & Choc Chip Frosting:

1. In a the bowl of your mixer or food processor add the cream cheese, brown sugar and butter. Mix/process until completely smooth.
2. Add the grated chocolate and gently stir through until it's evenly distributed.

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Spiced Pear & Dark Chocolate Chunk Bread & How I Learned To Cook

I learned how to cook very young and I was terrible at it for a very long time. My Mum was a divorced, working Mother, which meant that growing up she was often at work during dinner time. So in the evenings I was left with a kitchen at my disposal, no internet or cook books and a hungry belly. My Mum had taught me the basics, how to cook pasta, the perfect hardboiled egg and bechamel sauce. So, you can imagine my meals weren't particularly appetising. Eventually I graduated from using jars of store bought pasta sauce on top of woefully over-cooked spaghetti to learning what 'al dente' is and making my own pasta sauce with olives, garlic, feta and lemon. I happily lived off that for years.

I moved in with my boyfriend (now husband) when I was 17 years old. He couldn't cook beyond making toast, and with our cooking powers combined our diet consisted heavily of take away and store bought frozen meals. Surprisingly one can only live on tater tots and pizza for so long.

By now I had a much-loved connection to the internet and I began to explore the world of cooking blogs. I was inspired by so many people who seemed to be able to create incredible dishes with the greatest of ease. The food looked ethereal and I was envious, so very envious

I soaked up every bit of information I could, how to pick the best ingredients, how to balance flavours and textures, how to leave behind packet mixes and cook from scratch. I loved every minute.

Sure it was hard and frustrating and I never did quite manage to make that evasive white chocolate mud cake, even after 3 attempts and wasting over a kilo of chocolate. But boy I was overjoyed to be able to finally place something delicious on the table that I had worked hard on, with love and patience.

Now that I have a family of my own cooking has become something we do together. Each meal is an opportunity to learn together, to talk, to savour each other's company and the wonderful things we can create when we work together. My son, Oscar loves to "mix mix", scoop and pour. He's a dedicated taste-tester too. I ask him what he thinks, does it need more sugar? Salt? Is it thick enough? I encourage him to create recipes and different flavour combinations. I often catch him flicking through my cookbooks, scanning the pages for something "mmmlicious!.

Cooking with kids is a messy and sometimes disastrous business, but it makes me giddy with excitement to see my cooking passion instilled in that little man. It's a comfort to know that this is one thing ticked off the list in creating a well-rounded and independent adult, not to mention breakfast in bed is just around the corner. ;)

This recipe is largely thanks to my son, I needed to use some pears and the idea to make it a bread and add chocolate chunks was his hungered request. Oscar and my husband, Keith, kindly tested out the recipe for me with winning results. Kid, husband and food blogger approved! This is a moist (not doughy) bread with a hint of spice, it's best eaten warm for the full 'oozing chocolate' effect. I served it with a side of good quality salted butter and some honey-drizzled fresh figs but it was also delicious the next day, plain and simple with a cup of chai tea.

Spiced Pear & Dark Chocolate Chunk Bread

Recipe by A Rhubarb Rhapsody
Total time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup greek/natural yoghurt
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 500g (1lb 1oz) very ripe pears, peeled cored and mashed (about 3 medium pears)
• 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
• 90g dark chocolate, cut into chunks

Cooking Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 175°C/ 345°F. Grease load tin and line with grease-proof baking paper, set aside.
2. In a large bowl sift flour, baking powder and baking soda together. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk until combined.
3. In a medium sized mixing bowl mix the mashed pears, yoghurt, eggs, vanilla extract and oil/butter together.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined (do not over mix). Carefully fold the chocolate chunks into the mixture.
5. Pour the batter into the pre-prepared loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack, wait until it's at room temperature before cutting and serving.

Supremely Chewy, Fudgy, Chocolate Brownies (The Old Reliable)

I wasn't originally going to post this recipe, because in all honesty who doesn't have 145 different brownie recipes bookmarked? (I may have a minor crush on this homely dessert) I've tried my fair share of brownie recipes, and then somebody elses share, and probably some other dude's share too. I have an appreciation for the over top, heart-stopping (almost literally), multi-faceted brownies that almost make you sugar-drunk merely by looking at them. BUT. Time and time again I find myself coming back to this recipe, the old reliable, my never fail. It's a brownie recipe delicious in it's pure simplicity. No frills, honest to goodness chocolate and it's all the better for it. As such, you absolutely must use the best chocolate you can get your brownie-loving hands on, no ifs, buts or maybes.

This recipe is an adaptation of a David Lebovitz recipe. Let me be upfront and say I adore this man's recipes like they were my own little recipe nephews and recipe nieces. I've made a good chunk of his creations and the only time I've been let down was when I wandered off the path and didn't follow the directions provided.

If you have your heart set on amping it up, mix-ins I'd recommend are: roasted hazelnuts, cherries, raspberries, chocolate-coated coffee beans or swirl in some home made caramel sauce before baking.

I'll warn you now, these are rich. Correction, these are super rich. They're claggy and dense with a film of chewiness on the outside. There's nothing cakey or timid about these bad boys. Serve them in small portions. And, if you've dirtied all your dishes from 'food blog baking', feel free to eat them straight off the baking paper they were cooked on. No judgement here my friend.

Supremely Chewy, Fudgy, Chocolate Brownies

Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz's 'Robert's Absolute Best Brownies', Ready for Dessert, p. 196

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 9-12

Ingredients

• 85g butter
• 35g very good quality milk chocolate (I used Whittaker's 33% Cocoa Creamy Milk)
• 190g very good quality dark chocolate (I used Whittaker's 72% Dark Ghana)
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee (you won't taste it but it'll add depth)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 35g plain flour

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180C. Generously grease an 8 inch square cake tin, line with baking paper and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan melt the butter, take off the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate's completely dissolved.
3. Add the sugar, vanilla and coffee. Stir until combined. In a small bowl whisk the eggs then stir these into the chocolate mix.
4. Add the flour and stir like crazy for 1 full minute. Do not skip this step or count quickly, the brownie gods are watching and they will smite you.
5. Once the batter is no longer grainy but is instead glossy and silky pour it into the prepared cake tin. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the center is just set (I baked mine for 20 minutes and they were mega fudgy).
6. Let them cool in the tin completely before you attempt to remove them. In order to cut them neatly I fridged them for about an hour so they were quite solid and easily sliced. Make sure they come to room temperature before devouring them. Enjoy!