cinnamon Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Grain-free Spiced Chocolate Torte

November 30, 2016 By Becky 40 Comments

This grain-free spiced chocolate torte is a great to end a festive dinner. It will satisfy any chocolate lover, but also has a delectable hint of spice.

Thanksgiving is over, and I’m planning to top everything with pomegranate arils from now until the end of the year. This grain-free spiced chocolate torte, of course, is no exception.

I love using warming spices like cinnamon and cardamom to make desserts smell and taste extra festive during the holiday season. However, I’m also a huge lover of chocolate. I didn’t want to choose between my love of chocolate and my love of a little seasonal spice, so I decided to combine the two into a spiced chocolate torte.

This torte has a perfect texture and crumb thanks to a combination of almond flour and tapioca flour from Bob’s Red Mill. Those two flours are my go-to for grain-free baking year round. The almond flour, which is made of whole, blanched sweet almonds, provides the tenderness and richness that every torte needs. And since Bob’s Red Mill almond flour is super finely ground, there’s no need to sift it before using! As an extra bonus, almonds are packed with healthy monounsaturated fats and protein, but are low in carbohydrates (and are naturally gluten free).

Grain-free Coffee Cake Muffins

March 7, 2015 By Becky 6 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Grain-free Coffee Cake Muffins | acalculatedwhisk.com

These grain-free coffee cake muffins make a decadent grab-and-go breakfast, complete with a cinnamon swirl inside and streusel on top.

Having a dozen freshly baked coffee cake muffins in your kitchen is like having all 12 new episodes of House of Cards waiting for you on Netflix, brand new and ready to be enjoyed. In fact, I think the muffins are even better, because I can make more of them whenever I want. Once I finish watching that last House of Cards episode, I’m out of luck for a long time.

Can you tell that I’ve already watched all of Season 3 (and eaten all of these coffee cake muffins)? What is left for me to look forward to?

Cinnamon Hazelnut Date Cake

January 26, 2015 By Becky 30 Comments

The humble date is much more delicious and versatile than one might guess based on its appearance. Dates are appealingly sticky and sweet, and their complex flavor makes you think a few aromatic spices like cinnamon and allspice may already be inside the fruit.

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I had the pleasure of perusing Ros’ blog, The more than occasional baker. As someone who also tends to fire up the oven more than occasionally, I was excited to see all the fabulous baked goods on her site. From classics like chocolate peanut butter squares to innovative treats like parsnip cake, her blog has it all.

As soon as I spotted this cinnamon date cake, though, my mind was made up. A beautiful Bundt cake sweetened with dates and flavored with cinnamon sounded like just the thing for a snowy January weekend, and it was!

For this recipe, you pit a bunch of dates and soak them in very hot water. (The pitted dates look just like hearts, so I had to stop and take a few photos. Looks like I’m in a valentine’s mindset already!) The soaked dates and then blended into a paste in the food processor so they can permeate the batter with moisture and flavor.

Vanilla Chai Spiced Ghee + Chai Ghee “Latte” (Whole30 Day 26)

January 27, 2014 By Becky 8 Comments

I am so obsessed with ghee. Ever since I followed Nom Nom Paleo’s instructions and made my first batch, it’s been a staple in my kitchen. First of all, it smells amazing. Second, it’s easy to make. Third, it has a high smoke point, which means it won’t burn like butter does during high-heat cooking. Fourth, it tastes great with everything. And bonus–it’s lactose and casein free.

I’ve even been putting a teaspoon or so of ghee and coconut oil in my morning coffee (inspired by Stupid Easy Paleo). After a short blitz with the immersion blender, it’s foamy like a latte. Delicious. Basically, ghee is saving my Whole30 life.

Mexican Brownies (Gluten-free, Paleo)

December 20, 2013 By Becky 3 Comments

These brownies are SO good! Rich and fudgy in the middle and irresistibly crunchy around the edges–I can’t stop thinking about them. Their flavor is enhanced by a dose of a cinnamon and a hint of cayenne pepper, but you can totally leave those out if you want a more classic brownie.

I made a big pan of these (doubled the below recipe) for the first meeting of my school’s Spanish Club, and they were a huge hit! The meeting was at ten am, but nobody complained about being served brownies for breakfast. I made them again day before yesterday in these Christmas molds, and I was going to give them as gifts . . . but we ate them all. Restraint is futile when faced with Mexican brownies, especially if they are shaped like Christmas trees.

These brownies don’t taste gluten-free to me at all! The original recipe called for a relatively small amount of flour, so I knew it would be a great candidate for using my paleo flour blend. If you don’t have the flour blend on hand, I’ve also provided measurements for each individual type of flour. The ratio is slightly different from that of the flour blend for ease of measurement, but I have made the brownies both ways and did not notice a difference in taste or texture.

If you’re looking for a last-minute edible gift, why not whip up a batch of these Mexican brownies? Just make sure to give them away quickly before you break down and eat them all. Or, go ahead and make them for yourself for breakfast! ¡Feliz navidad a todos!

Spiced Honey & Corn Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream (Gluten free, Paleo)

September 7, 2013 By Becky 4 Comments

I wanted to make a fabulous end-of-summer, beginning-of-fall cupcake, and here it is! These have corn kernels baked right in, and a batter laced with fall spices. The frosting is my favorite part: butter and coconut cream are delicious together, with a little honey and maple sugar for sweetness. I tested the frosting with and without butter, and it’s great both ways.

Some people don’t include corn in their paleo diet, so feel free to leave it out. If you wanted to substitute something else, I bet these would also be delicious with little chunks of apple instead. Let me know if you try it!

Oh, and do you love these parchment cupcake cups as much as I do? I got the idea from this post on Alexandra’s Kitchen. They take a few minutes to make, but I love their rustic look. The BEST part is that NONE of the cake crumbs stick to the paper! And, the cup unfolds into a nice little placemat to put your cupcake on between bites. You can also use parchment to line a loaf pan if you are making banana bread or something like that, and you don’t even need to grease it.

Caramel-Stuffed Snickerdoodles (Paleo, Gluten free)

September 2, 2013 By Becky Leave a Comment

Some people go crazy for snickerdoodles, but I’m not usually one of them. Snickerdoodles have a lot of cinnamon, which is nice, but they don’t have chocolate, caramel, or fruit. Usually I require one of those three things in order to truly fall in love with a dessert. Several weeks ago it occurred to me that snickerdoodles could be stuffed with caramel, and ever since I’ve been eager to try it. I’m not the first one to try stuffing caramel inside a snickerdoodle, but I think I’m the first to try a paleo and gluten free version.

I made this honey caramel yesterday to drizzle on top of an apple honey cake that I’m working on for Rosh Hashanah. The cake was delicious, but it still needs a little work. I had half of the honey caramel left (it wouldn’t all fit on top of the apple cake!) so I decided I needed to make the snickerdoodles.

These are easy to make (no creaming!) and fun to eat. Before the photo shoot, I tried two cookies, one straight from the oven and one after they’d cooled. (As a food blogger, I have to do these things. You know, for science.) Then, after I took my pictures, I had to eat all the cookies that had suffered casualties (been broken open) during the shoot. I had to drink all the milk, too, because it would have been really hard to pour it back in the carton without a funnel. The things I do for this blog! Anyway, it was a fabulous snack and I think you should make some today.