pomegranate heart tarts

Pomegranate Yogurt Tart
makes 8 small heart shaped tarts

Crust:
3oz (1 cup) blanched almond meal
1 egg white
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil, other vegetable oil or butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
1 cup thick yogurt
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a small bowl mix the almond meal, egg white, honey, oil and salt. Mix until a thick, pasty dough forms and there are no clumps left. Using a small spoon or your finger, press the dough into tart forms, filling in any holes, the layer of dough does not have to be to thick, since it will puff up a little as it bakes. Bake for 12-18 minutes, until edges are golden and no raw areas are apparent.

In a small dish bloom gelatin in the water. In small sauce pan gently heat the yogurt. Slowly whisk in the pomegranate molasses and honey until everything is blended. Keeping the heat low, whisk in the bloomed gelatin until it is all dissolved. Pour yogurt into cooled tart shells and place in the refrigerator over night to set.

black forrest gingerbread hearts

Black Forrest Gingerbread

1/2 c. (15pc) prunes
1/2 c. water
1 small tangerine or 4oz applesauce and zest of 1 orange
3 eggs
2 Tbsp honey
6oz (2 c.) blanched almond flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1/2 Tbsp ground allspice
1/2 Tbsp ground nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp ground cloves
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. dried cherries

Preheat oven to 325°F and line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Soak prunes in 1/2 c. water in a covered container in a warm location. Blanch tangerine: in a small, heavy sauce pan cover the tangerine in cold water, bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute, drain and repeat two more times. Cover tangerine with water once more and boil for 1 hour. In a blander or food processor puree the prunes, water, tangerine, honey and eggs. In another bowl mix almond flour, spices, baking soda and salt. Blend dry ingredients with prunes and mix well, then stir in cherries. Pour into prepared pan and spread to edges with back of a spatula and Bake for 25-35 minutes, until firm to the touch. Cool for at least 30 minutes and cut into squares, or any other shape with a cookie cutter.

Low-Fat, Glutan Free Cheesecake

Despite the name of this recipe it's really very good. I'm used to modifying recipes to meet my needs and I found the base of this one in a women's magazine. I tweaked around so that one 1/12th of a cake slice is only about 200 calories. It's perfect for my end of the day, after my workout sweet craving. I'm putting down the basic recipe, but lately I've been preoccupied with jalapeno jelly, and I found a gluten free variety at the Union Square Greenmarket from Beth's Farm Kitchen. Both the Mighty Hot Pepper Jelly and the Habenero Jelly are GF. This cake is great with just a little bit of the jelly on top.

this one was made with sliced apples for the crust rather that nuts

Note: To see the entire ordeal of making the first cakes see: http://arte-vitta.livejournal.com/

Crust:
1/4 cup chopped pecans and walnuts
dash cinnamon
dash salt

Filling:
15 oz part-skim ricotta
8 oz 1% fat Whipped Cottage Cheese
1 cup sugar, more or less
1/2-cup fat free sour cream
4.5 tsp Ener-G egg replacer powder
3 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract (or more)
2 tsp Bob's Red Mill GF all-purpose flour
1⁄4 tsp salt


Heat oven to 350. Toast nuts with a little salt and cinnamon in the bottom of an 8" spring form pan for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce heat to 325. Wrap outside of pan in foil to prevent seepage. Filling; puree ricotta in a food processor until smooth, about 1 min. Add cottage cheese, sugar, sour cream, egg replacer, water, almond extract, flour and salt; puree until smooth. Pour filling into pan. Add 1-inch hot water to a shallow baking pan; place spring form pan in baking pan. Bake until cheesecake is firm around the edge and slightly soft in the center, 45-50 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan. Remove foil; let cool on rack. Chill 6 hours or overnight before removing sides of pan.

If you want experiment with marbling the cake mix 1 cup of plain filling with your additional ingredients and drizzle it on top.

*Last weekend I made this cake layering sliced apple in the bottom of the pan to create the "crust". It came out great! That cake is the one pictured above.

Carrot Cake

When I went home to visit for my birthday, my mom tweaked our family's old standby carrot cake-cum-birthday cake recipe (my dad won't touch chocolate with a ten foot pole, don't ask) to be gluten free for me, and heart healthy for my dad, who had open-heart surgery in May. It turned out great! Here's the recipe:

Vegetable Nut Torte aka Carrot Cake
Modification for gluten free, low fat

3 c gluten free flour (we like Bob's Red Mill)
1.5 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1.5 c sugar

egg replacer for 4 eggs (Ener-G)
1.5 c apple sauce (no additives) in place of oil
1.5 c grated carrots
0.5 c finely chopped celery
1.0 c finely chopped rhubarb
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
0.5 c chopped pecans

(apple sauce, carrots, celery could have been increased from her original recipe to provide more
moisture)

Sift dry ingredients. Beat or mix eggs, add applesauce, veggies, then
dry ingredients. (When using Ener-G egg replacer, I usually just use the powder with out additional water)

Bake in a greased and floured spring form pan (or other of your choice)
at 350 for 45-50 min or until tooth pick comes out clean.

When fully cooled frost

Modified cream cheese frosting:
8 oz rice cream cheese
0.5 c sifted powdered sugar (could use less)
2-3 oz Smart Balance spread
1 tsp almond extract

Enjoy!