Chocolate Cherry Brownie Cakes

Chocolate and cherries, Oh My! I love cherries, fresh, frozen, sweet, and sour. Have you ever tried cherry wine? Cherries are one of the many great resources of Michigan; the northern shores of our great state are covered with many cherry orchards. Cherries are a delicacy.

Well, I guess to be more honest I should say I love food. I do, I think that I truly discovered how infatuated I was with food when I discovered that I couldn't eat certain foods anymore. It almost felt like my personality changed because I had to think before I acted. Before food allergies I would try almost anything, I would have a little bit of this and a little bit of that... just to taste it. I was a risk-taker. Then, after self-diagnosing myself with the gluten allergy I had to ask what were the ingredients in EVERYTHING. No longer could I just try something on a whim. I became more sober to the choices of what I was putting in my body. Some of the adventure of food seemed to cease, until I discovered that I could be adventurous in my own kitchen.

Adventurous with millet and buckwheat and veggies that I never tried before and new spices and flavors. I sometimes tell people that I really discovered FOOD when I was diagnosed because I truly found out what real whole foods were. I started feeding my creative instinct with being inventive in the kitchen, and I would never had been drawn to do so if I had not been through so much suffering. I can truly say that I am better off for finding out my body is better without certain foods.

Healing can take time, but when you find simple joys to carry you through to the next hurdle, it's just that more beautiful.

It's the simple treasures in life that make it sweet and beautiful. Like cherries and chocolate. :)Hm, so here is a recipe I whipped up the other day to share with friends and it turned out pretty good. So, now I share it with you...


Dry Mix:
1/2 cup of ground almonds (grind in a coffee grinder or food processor)
1/2 cup of sweet sorghum flour
1/2 buckwheat flour
1/2 cup of white or brown rice flour, or a mixture of both
1 1/2 cup of sucanat
1/3 cup of cocoa powder (regular or dark cocoa both work fine)
2 ts. of baking powder
1 ts. of xanthan gum, or guar gum (or I have tried it without both and it works fine too, just a bit more crumbly)
1/2 ts. of sea salt

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Melt together:
1 cup of semi-sweet or 70% cocoa chocolate chips, make sure they are dairy-free (allergen-free chocolate chips work too)

2/3 cup of grapeseed oil or coconut oil

Pour oil and chips in a glass bowl and put in the microwave for 1 minutes, stir, and then put in for one more minute if it is not melted yet.

Wet Mix:
1/2 cup of almond milk
1 TB of real vanilla extract
2 free-range organic eggs (or egg substitute enough for 2 eggs worth)

Add the wet ingredients, and melted chocolate and oil to the dry mix and mix well for about 2-3 minutes to get all the dry ingredients mixed well.

*Pour the batter into muffin cups 3/4 full, in a 12 or 18 hole cupcake pan.

*Add 3-4 frozen cherries to the tops of each cupcake ( I buy frozen cherries from a local store that is gets their cherries from a northern Michigan orchard) I like to use the red tart cherries best, but any kind will really do the trick.

*Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on the tops as well to add a little more chocolate, why not right?!

*Bake the delicious brownie cakes for 30 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree oven

*After 30 minutes, put a pic in the middle of one to test to see if the batter is cooked all the way through. If they are then let cool for a few minutes before plucking them from the muffin pan.

*This recipe will make 18 small cupcakes or about 12 large ones.

Now, it is time to enjoy! I love to share my goodies with friends, but I may just eat one before I share. :) ...hmmm, I got to tell ya, I really love gluten-free goodies baked in your kitchen. Enjoy!