Tag: kefir

Einkorn Kefir Biscuits

Einkorn Kefir Biscuits

These biscuits are great with Einkorn or white spelt and you can make up the dry ingredients as a meal prep on the weekend and add the kefir and honey the day of.  We often store a jar of pre-made in the pantry for easy 

Einkorn Apple Pie (No Sugar)

Einkorn Apple Pie (No Sugar)

Our beloved apple pie for the holiday season… without the sugar.  I have served this up at two holidays pitted against full sugar pies and no one can tell it’s sugar free… and often it is preferred. Feel free to sub the Purecane with Swerve, sucanut, 

Cultured Einkorn Kefir Pancakes

Cultured Einkorn Kefir Pancakes

Hey friends!

As promised, I’m posting some of my family recipes in the absence of my ability to be creative with my own food at the moment… you know… the stuff I can actually eat.

This is a thin pancake, much like a cross between crepes and American pancakes.  We developed the recipe in the US originally and our kids loved it with fine ground einkorn flour or Bob’s Red Mill White Pastry Flour.  When we moved to Ireland it just would not turn out.  I think I made 8 batches before we figured out how it would work with the local flour and super creamy milk.  Eventually, we ditched the milk for milk kefir (a bit like buttermilk) and settled on a fine ground white spelt flour.  Now that we are back in the States I have gone back to my favorite Jovial Einkorn flour. It is sometimes out of stock through Jovial so I will from time to time pick it up from Thrive Market. I can’t currently eat grains but when I was having all the autoimmune flare ups early on it was the flour that I could eat without pain and inflammation.  I have become extremely carbohydrate sensitive in the past couple years, due to a little known protozoa I am currently fighting, called blastocystis hominus, which I have had since my first real trip overseas by myself as an exchange student in High School.  Bummer really… but I’m working on that and hope to get back to the Einkorn one day.  I whip these up in my Vitamix in a matter of minutes and pour them onto a large cast iron griddle or these crepe pans, which have proven to distribute heat the best over burners.

In the meantime, this is our family favorite pancake recipe… and it is bellissima. 

Love to you and let me know if you have any questions!

Brenna xo

Cultured Einkorn Kefir Pancakes

This is a thin pancake, much like a cross between crepes and American pancakes. We developed the recipe in America and our kids loved it with fine ground einkorn flour or Bob’s Red Mill White Pastry Flour. When we moved to Ireland it just would not turn out. I think I made 8 batches before we figured out how it would work with the local flour and super creamy milk. Eventually, we ditched the milk for milk kefir (a bit like buttermilk) and settled on a fine ground white spelt flour. Bellissima.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American, Scottish

Equipment

  • High Powered blender
  • Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients
  

  • 114 g Butter 1 American Stick or 1/2 European Block
  • 1 cup Milk Kefir
  • 2 cups water
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice or squeeze of 1/2 lemon
  • 3 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3 Tbsp Coconut Sugar/Sucanut
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 3 cups/415g white spelt or einkorn flour

Instructions
 

  • We do this in a Vitamix so I melt the butter on the cast iron griddle in a metal measuring cup and then throw in everything at once and blitz it. If you do it in a mixer or by hand follow this process:
  • Preheat your pancake griddle (or cast iron crepe pans as we do) to medium heat. Soften the butter first (I put mine on the stove to melt). Add the milk or kefir and water. Add the eggs and mix. Add the butter, baking powder, soda and salt. Squirt in the lemon and mix. Add the sifted flour and mix until smooth. Any flour works, but you will need to adjust the milk/water ratio to suit.
  • Pour the batter onto the pre-heated pans or griddle and cook until bubbling. Flip and repeat. They should look golden brown. Repeat until done! Fill and roll them with yogurt and fruit, maple syrup, lemon and sugar, or our kids favorite, nutella.
  • *Can substitute coconut sugar with rapadura, sucanut, maple syrup or raw honey.
Keyword einkorn, kefir, pancakes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Vanilla Cinnamon Cold Brew Kefir for a Happy Brain (keto, vegan & paleo options)

Vanilla Cinnamon Cold Brew Kefir for a Happy Brain (keto, vegan & paleo options)

The school year has begun and I have not quite hit my rhythm yet. Kids and homework, yes. Studying for my Nutrition course and blogging? Not so much. One thing at a time. Right now my youngest is happily attending her first day of preschool 

Cultured Coconut “Sourdough” Keto Bread

Cultured Coconut “Sourdough” Keto Bread

Well it’s official. Actually it has been official for over a month but being the introverted lady that I am I have only recently felt ready to share. After a battery of blood tests I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease, which is actually quite 

Guinness Cake for St. Patrick’s Day (grain free flours, no sugar)

Guinness Cake for St. Patrick’s Day (grain free flours, no sugar)

No Sugar, Chocolate, Nut-free, Keto-Cycling

Yields 1x 8″ round cake, 2x 5″ round cakes or 16 cupcakes.

This cake was first introduced to me in Scotland and served up by a lanky Swedish man. I’m fairly certain the originator of the recipe was Nigella Lawson though, at least she is who I consulted for years in making it. It evolved over the years as I became more and more intolerant to wheat and then grains and sugars and I have to say this version is just as good as that first. If you can abide sugars go ahead and use 1 1/2 to 2 cups coconut sugar, but you may need to adjust the coconut flour a little. I call this cake flourless because as it’s made with Guinness it isn’t really grain free. Nor is it Paleo or Keto, but as Guinness has about 8-10 carbs per 12oz bottle that does add to the total carb intake. Let’s be real though, with only a cup in the recipe you are really only looking at an additional 0.5 carbohydrates per serving. No biggie, as long as you can handle grain. I normally cannot but I have found that my tolerance is much better when grains are fermented as in a beer or in sourdough bread or sprouted grains. So tread safely and know yourself but if you think you can handle it then this baby is WELL worth your effort. It makes a dense cake that I love best frozen, frosting and all. If you want it more dense and fudgy; I find the best trick is to turn up the heat a bit after you’ve whipped in the eggs thoroughly and let the batter “cook” a wee bit before pouring in the pan. Or you could just pour in that whole bottle of Guinness. Hey, for a beer it is pretty amazingly healthy. It is full of prebiotic fiber and it is high in iron and relatively low in calories. Don’t believe me? Read this. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

For the icing:

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180°C, and butter and line an 8 inch cheesecake pan with parchment paper. I love these pans because I can pop out the bottom, place it on the parchment paper and slice around it with a sharp knife for the perfectly lined pan. I cut the parchment for the sides a bit taller so I can “overfill” the pan and get the cake a bit taller.

Pour the Guinness into a large wide pan and then add the butter. Heat until melted then whisk in the cocoa and sugar.

Whisk in the milk kefir and then crack the eggs in one at a time, whisking them in vigorously.

Add the vanilla and whisk in the baking soda.

Last of all sift in the pea protein or arrowroot followed by coconut flour.

Pour the cake batter into the buttered and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or 40 minutes for two smaller pans like the one shown. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack. I will sometimes pull it out of the pan and pop it in the freezer for a stint to make frosting easier.

While it is cooling, we deal with the icing. Whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla, stevia and allulose and whip to combine.

Now if you are using kefir cream you will want to carefully add it in a bit at a time to keep the consistency smooth. You can get away with a cup as opposed to the heavy or whipping cream. If you whip it too hard it will curdle because it is already cultured to thickness and is just a step from becoming a lovely cheese and whey.

If using heavy cream, add it in slowly and whip until you have a light but spreadable consistency. I will sometimes need to fold it in with a spatula. Whipping cream can behave a bit differently and it is best to whip it to soft peaks first and then combine it slowly.

You can choose to make this dairy free by coconut cream and coconut butter together but as it is not very Irish to do so I have not tried it. I would recommend beating 1 cup coconut cream with 1/4-1/2 cup coconut butter and adding the vanilla and sweetener and whipping until combined.

Spread the icing over the top of the cake only so it resembles the head of a freshly poured pint of Guinness.

 

Keto Guinness Cake

Brenna May
A gorgeous keto chocolate guinness cake. It has hints of gingerbread and a glorious bittersweet chocolate fudgy texture. Feel free to sub the guinness with a gluten free stout for a fully gluten free cake.
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine British

Equipment

  • Cheesecake pan. I use Fat Daddio. Normally I do this in an 8″ pan but for this I used two 5×3 inch
  • Saucepan
  • oven
  • Parchment paper

Ingredients
  

FOR THE CAKE:

  • 1 cup Guinness I have used both draught and stout. The draught is milder and the stout is stronger
  • 2 sticks 16 Tbsp Kerrigold butter
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cacao powder
  • 1 cup allulose
  • 1/4 cup chicory fiber sweetener
  • 15 drops liquid stevia
  • 1/2 cup milk kefir can sub sour cream or cream of coconut
  • 3 large humanely raised eggs for vegan try subbing with 3 Tbsp ground chia in 9 Tbsp water. Or for fun you could stir it into the other half of the Guinness!
  • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup pea protein 1 scoop can sub collagen peptides or arrowroot
  • 2 tsp baking soda if using cream of coconut, add 2 tsp cream of tartar

FOR THE ICING:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup allulose
  • 5-10 drops liquid stevia
  • 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream or 1 cup milk kefir cream heavy cream cultured with milk kefir grains

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180°C, and butter and line an 8 inch cheesecake pan with parchment paper. I love these pans because I can pop out the bottom, place it on the parchment paper and slice around it with a sharp knife for the perfectly lined pan. I cut the parchment for the sides a bit taller so I can “overfill” the pan and get the cake a bit taller.
  • Pour the Guinness into a large wide pan and then add the butter. Heat until melted then whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
  • Whisk in the milk kefir and then crack the eggs in one at a time, whisking them in vigorously.
  • Add the vanilla and whisk in the baking soda.
  • Last of all sift in the pea protein or arrowroot followed by coconut flour.
  • Pour the cake batter into the buttered and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or 40 minutes for two smaller pans like the one shown. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack. I will sometimes pull it out of the pan and pop it in the freezer for a stint to make frosting easier.
  • While it is cooling, we deal with the icing. Whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla, stevia and allulose and whip to combine.
  • Now if you are using kefir cream you will want to carefully add it in a bit at a time to keep the consistency smooth. You can get away with a cup as opposed to the heavy or whipping cream. If you whip it too hard it will curdle because it is already cultured to thickness and is just a step from becoming a lovely cheese and whey.
  • If using heavy cream, add it in slowly and whip until you have a light but spreadable consistency. I will sometimes need to fold it in with a spatula. Whipping cream can behave a bit differently and it is best to whip it to soft peaks first and then combine it slowly.
  • You can choose to make this dairy free by coconut cream and coconut butter together but as it is not very Irish to do so I have not tried it. I would recommend beating 1 cup coconut cream with 1/4-1/2 cup coconut butter and adding the vanilla and sweetener and whipping until combined.
  • Spread the icing over the top of the cake only so it resembles the head of a freshly poured pint of Guinness.
Keyword chocolate, guinness, keto, pancakes, stout
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Honey Kefir Sandwich Loaf  (Ancient Grains, Nut-Free)

Honey Kefir Sandwich Loaf (Ancient Grains, Nut-Free)

As promised, I am (re)posting one of my einkorn recipes.  Although I do not eat grains myself since developing autoimmune disease, this is still a much healthier recipe for families who are conscious of modern gluten and it’s ill effects on the gut.  Einkorn is