Chocolate, Peanut Butter Custard Cups

For how much I love making my own food, I rarely do it while at school. Something about sharing one kitchen with 300 other girls just isn't all that appealing to me. This was one of the three times I made it down there this semester, and man was it worth it.

I made these custard cups way back in October when my boyfriend and I celebrated 6 months. 2 months later, I am finally posting the recipe (yay for Christmas break). These cups are extremely rich, so it's hard to eat a lot. Yet at the same time they are so good, so it's hard to stop. They are nice because you can make them one day and eat them later, or save them for a week in the fridge. Either way, they taste delicious! 

The original recipe, comes from Green Kitchen Stories. They made the cups with almond butter, but in order to make them more boyfriend-friendly I substituted it with peanut butter. He still didn't fully buy into them, but I liked it so much I finished his off. I keep telling myself that one day I'll get him to enjoy food that doesn't come from a package.

The key to successfully making these is keeping the egg from coagulating. Coagulating. Don't worry, I had to look this word up too. Basically, keep the eggs from turning into a clumped solid. There are a couple of steps that are necessary in order to do this. 1. Don't use the egg whites! They turn solid easier than the yolks when heated. If you have ever made any type of custard, you know this. 2. Pour the hot milk mixture over the eggs slowly, while continuously stirring. 3. Bake the cups in a pan filled with hot water, this helps them heat more slowly, allowing everything to heat equally. 

When baking these, I used mason jars. I'm a poor college student after all, so that was al I could find in my dorm room. They worked perfectly fine and were super cute. Any small glass dish will work!

Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp all-natural peanut butter
2 organic egg yolks, room temperature
2 tbsp honey
1 pinch sea salt
3 1/2 oz /100 g dairy-free dark chocolate (minimum 70%), coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Whisk together egg yolks, honey and sea salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. 
2. Heat coconut milk, vanilla extract, and peanut butter to a low simmer, stirring to make sure the peanut butter completely dissolves. This can be done on the stove (but I cheat and use the microwave).
3. Remove the milk from the heat and add dark chocolate and stir to make sure it melts into the milk. Slowly pour the melted chocolate mixture over the eggs while constantly whisking. This is important to prevent the eggs from coagulating. 
4. Place 3-4 oven-proof small ramekins, glasses or cups inside a deep baking pan and fill the pan up with hot water. Pour the custard into the cups and carefully place the baking pan on a rack inside the oven. 
5. Bake until the center is almost set, about 30 minutes (custards will firm as they cool). Let cool completely and then refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.

Banana Buckwheat Pancakes with Stewed Apples

At school lately there have been pancakes everywhere. Pancakes to celebrate fall. Pancakes in class. Pancakes to celebrate the upperclassman. Pancakes because people are bored. The problem with pancakes made like this? They all are made with dairy, meaning I get to miss out. This, of course, means that I have been craving pancakes for weeks, so when I finally got home for break that was the first thing I made myself for breakfast.

I found this recipe on a new blog, Luar + Wolfdenne, that I found and love (I also love her instagrams). It's super quick and easy; literally 4 ingredients in the pancakes. It's also nice because it only makes one pancake, perfect for just me! The cinnamon stewed apples on top pair perfectly with the dense and sweet banana pancake. I simply added a little extra maple syrup on top, but any extra toppings would only add to the delightfulness of this pancake.

(makes 1 pancake)

Ingredients:

Pancakes:
3 heaped tbsp buckwheat flour
2 tsp coconut oil
1/2 banana, mashed
water to bring to a thick batter (about 1 tbsp)

Optional Add-In:
1 tsp Cacao Powder

Apples:
1/2 apple, sliced (or 1 small)
1 tsp coconut oil
2 tsp pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan on low-medium heat, warm the coconut oil and add in the apple slices, maple syrup and cinnamon. Stir until the apples are coated in cinnamon and syrup. Turn the heat to low, place a lid on the saucepan and leave to cook while you make your pancake.
2. In a small bowl combine the flour, coconut oil, banana and water, and mix until you have a thick batter. Place your batter in a frypan on medium heat with a little coconut oil, and cook your pancake until it's golden on both sides.
3. Eat! Feel free to add almond butter, more fruit, maple syrups, or cacao nibs on top

Easy Oat & Ginger Cookies

The thing I love about these cookies is that they are true to name; they really are easy to make. They take 10 minutes to whip up and 15 to bake, using only a handful of ingredients. They are addicting too. I have, on more than one occasion, eaten an entire batch by myself (oops). These are quickly becoming my favorite cookie for the sole reason of how easy they are to make.

Another wonderful thing about these cookies is that many of the ingredients can be replaced. Use honey instead of maple syrup, or almond flour instead of buckwheat. I made these couple of times this summer with the original recipe (posted below). Recently, since it's fall, I switched it up a little and made these with pumpkin spice instead of ginger and clove (replace with the same amount). Both versions were equally as yummy and addicting.

adapted from Green Kitchen Stories

Ingredients:

4 tbsp coconut oil, room temperature
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp buckwheat flour
2/3 cup (plus some) rolled oats
2 tbsp coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
1 tsp ground ginger (scant)
a pinch ground clove (about 1/6 tsp)
a pinch vanilla extract (about 1/6 tsp)
a pinch salt (about 1/6 tsp)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Stir together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
3. Spoon up 10-12 pieces of dough onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Use the backside of a spoon (or your thumb) to flatten it out as thin as you can. They should be slightly larger than 2 inch wide. 
4. Bake for about 15-18 minutes. Until they get a  bit dark around the edges. 
5. Wait to cool before eating. This is hard, but SO worth it as they become crisp once they cool.