Coconut Flour Crust

I have been making a lot of desserts lately for holidays and parties and my usual low carb, Paleo-ish choice is almond meal. However almonds don't really agree with me all that well and I've never been all that crazy about how the crusts turn out. So on a whim I thought to try coconut flour, which I had bought online. The brand was "Aloha Nu". I've heard bad things about certain coconut flours which you can buy in health food, I think the brand was Bob's Red Mill. It is orange colored (from what I've heard). I can't imagine why coconut flour would be orange. Anyway, I've only used Aloha Nu and it seems to be pretty good stuff.

I have worked with coconut flour before, it is quite challenging stuff. It absorbs moisture like nothing I've ever seen and can turn into a crumbling, dry sponge that sucks all the water out of your mouth, if you're not careful. So I had my doubts about using it as a crust. However I do love to experiment!

So I experimented and I'm actually quite pleased with the result. Out of the oven it was a bit crunchy and I can only describe it as flaky, almost like a wheat crust. When I put the filling in it lost the crunchiness but still retained it's shape nicely and had a great taste and remained flaky. It's only oddness was it expands in the mouth. But I didn't mind, it just lent to that flaky texture feeling. I love the little bit of salt added, I think it makes a big difference in the taste of the crust.

Unfortunately I can't give exact measurements on some things because I just added them until the texture was right, but I think I can tell you what to look for.

1 Cup of coconut flour (Aloha Nu)
Lard -- right out of the fridge
2 Tbl Butter -- Room temperature is ok
Salt -- 1/8-1/4 tsp
Sweetener -- about 1/8 - 1/4 cup depending how sweet you like your crust

Put coconut flour, sweetener and salt in your food processor and whiz until mixed.

Now start to add lumps (roughly 2 Tbsp) of lard at a time. I also added about 2 Tbl of butter, because I love the taste. Whiz.

Continue adding the cold lard and processing until the dough just begins to look like it will soon want to clump. Don't put too much in! You really want to be able to pour it into your pan and spread it out easily and press it into place. If you add too much, the dough will be too sticky.

After placing the dough and patting it into place beat an egg white until foamy and paint the crust with it. This will help it get crisp and waterproof it a bit. Try to use the entire white.

Bake the crust at 350' for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

I have to say Alton Brown inspired the idea to use lard instead of butter. He used it in his wheat pie crust recipe (along with butter) saying that the lard has a higher melting point and helps keep things flaky.

Update:  Be sure to bake this crust before filling, like you would a graham cracker crust.  The egg provides a kind of waterproof seal (sort of) and it should help keep the filling from soaking in too much. 

Still stuck on the egg crepes!

I often make these for breakfast and lately for dessert as a bed time snack. If I have any mostly-paleo lemon curd on hand, I might top them with that!

Coconut Lemon Mousse

Ok, this one is super easy! Goes together fast but needs some time in the fridge to set up. I don't have exact measurements for sweetener, I tried about 3/4 cup of sweetening power and that was too much. So we'll guess, and please taste and adjust.

1 Can of Coconut milk (mine was 15 oz)
1/3 Cup of lemon juice (fresh is always best, but sometimes I cheat and use bottled)
Lemon Zest [optional]
1/3 - 1/2 Cup of sugar (or sweetener to that equivalency)
2 tsp of gelatin

Soften the gelatin on a little water in a bowl.

Microwave or cook the coconut milk until it gets hot, but you don't need to boil it. Add everything to the hot coconut milk and stir until the gelatin is dissolved.

You can pour into little bowls or just keep it in one large one.

I like to serve this on hot raspberries.

Egg Crepes with Berries

The last couple of mornings I've been eating egg crepes, doused in butter (ghee if you're really sensitive to casein), and drowned in slightly sweetened blackberries or raspberries.

What you need

2 Eggs
1 non-stick pan
Cooking oil
Frozen or fresh berries
[optional] A bit of sweetener, I use liquid splenda.
Butter

In a small non-stick pan I add some cooking oil and let it get hot.

The berries are easy. If they're frozen, pop them into the microwave for 30-45 seconds until they're heated and juicy. Add in sweetener and mix.

Meanwhile I break 2 eggs into a bowl and add a few Tablespoons of water, to thin the egg. I beat it very well with a fork. Then pour enough egg into the pan to just cover the bottom. I let it cook until fairly well set-up. Flip it over and just let it cook for a few seconds on the other side. Flip onto your plate and top with butter and berries.

If can imagine that if you weren't completely paleo with the dairy stuff, some sugar-free whipped cream would be delightful, or even some creme fraiche.