Ingredients

100 g quinoa flour
200 g semi-whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
a pinch of whole sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
half a teaspoon cardamom powder
200 ml plain (unflavoured) and unsweetened rice milk
70 ml extra virgin olive oil
80 g rice malt syrup
20 ml maple syrup (grade C)
100 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken into pieces
3 handfuls of dried sour cherries

Makes 10-12 muffins.

Directions

Preheat oven to 180° C. In a large bowl,  combine the quinoa flour, wheat flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, salt, baking soda, cardamom powder and stir to blend well. In another bowl combine the milk, olive oil, rice malt syrup, maple syrup and whisk well. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir gently until the ingredients are combined but make sure you don’t over mix the batter. Add the chocolate and cherries and give another stir just to make sure they’re evenly incorporated into the batter. Fill the muffin cups or muffin tray with the batter, using a spoon. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool for a couple of minutes, unmold the muffins and place them on a wire rack to let cool.

Thoughts, tips, ideas

If you want to enjoy the bits of melted chocolate, eat the muffins while they’re still warm. Or whenever you fancy one, you can always warm it up. Anyways, they’re equally good cold. 

Ingredients

200 ml coconut milk
200 ml plain rice milk with no added sugar
3 tablespoons shredded coconut
60 g whole cane powdered sugar
1 cup fresh cherries, seeds removed
3 tablespoons agave syrup
a pinch of vanilla powder

Makes 2-4 servings.

Directions

Pour the coconut milk and rice milk into the bowl of your mixer, add the shredded coconut and the sugar and process until smooth. Put the mixture into the fridge for about 30 minutes. Place the cherries in a bowl, add the agave and vanilla, stir and let marinate in the fridge until it’s time to use them. Take the coconut milk based mix out of the fridge, transfer it into your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 30 minutes should be enough to make a creamy, rich ice cream. Approximately 10 minutes before the end of the cycle, add the chilled cherries and their juice. At the end of the cycle, remove the ice cream from the machine and divide it into bowls or glasses. Eat your ice cream right away. If you can’t, keep it in the freezer until serving time.