Birthday Blessings + Espresso buttercream frosting

We're celebrating my love, my best friend for over eighteen years!

That cliche phrase that each year just keeps getting better, is spot on! My love for this guy increases daily!

Describing this guy's heart as abundantly generous just don't seem to do justice.

Ben is that father who gives gifts to his children on his birthday. {{love!!}}

Happy Birthday and blessings upon blessings to you my love!!

On my birthday, Ben surprised me with the.most.gorgeous.vegan, gluten free cake, but usually we

 bake our own gluten free goodness, topped with homemade frosting.

The kids wanted to make cupcakes and I've been wanting to try my hand at carrot cake, so we made both.

Homemade frosting is an art, one that has taken a bit of time for me to comfortably settle into.

Usually I head to Elana's Pantry for my GF recipes, and while searching, I found her chocolate buttercream frosting recipe.

 I tweaked her recipe a bit with a dark chocolate espresso bar & it's absolutely delicious.

This recipe tastes incredible and is easy to make, and because it's made with dark chocolate,
it's lower in sugar.

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This simple recipe uses just two ingredients;

77% dark chocolate espresso bar {3 oz} chopped + 5 tblsp.salted butter, cut into tblsp. pieces

Instructions:

 In a small pan over very low heat, melt chocolate and butter, stirring constantly.

Place mixture in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to chill.

Remove from refrigerator and whip with a hand blender until thick and fluffy....then frost!

I also used Elana's carrot cake recipe {shown above}along with her cream cheese frosting found here

I'm so thankful for delicious dessert recipes that don't sacrifice nutrition and yet taste scrumptious!

  Birthday's aren't complete without something sweet!

recipe : Gluten Free Banana Bread / muffins

 

     In honor of Father's Day and our family's journey into better health and gluten free eating,

today I'm sharing our basic banana bread / muffin recipe.

{recipe makes 12-18 muffins or one loaf}

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix * {found at your local grocery or on Amazon, here}

1 tsp cinnamon

3-4 fully ripe banana's

Directions:

 preheat oven to 350 degrees

 cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl

 stir in eggs and vanilla

 add Pamela's mix and cinnamon

combine mashed banana's and beat all ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

bake muffins for 12-15 min. or loaf for 45 min

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Variations:

  add 3 Tblsp. flax or hemp seeds and top with crushed walnuts for added omega's

add 1 cup of sour cream or plain yogurt for added moisture

      ** you can also substitute a can of pumpkin, in place of the banana's for a delicious pumpkin loaf.
 
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            you can read a bit more about Ben's health experience here and previous Father's Day posts here

 

{Gluten free chocolate cake}

Happy 4th of July! In our home we celebrate not only our freedom and celebrate this wonderful country, but we also celebrate our second born's birthday. 

At the beginning of this year, my husband decided to cut all wheat and dairy out of his diet
{that's another post entirely, which you can read about here}. Dairy / wheat free eating has come such a long way in the recent years, and here's a favorite, delicious and easy gluten free chocolate cake recipe.
 Here's to the knowledge that you don't have to sacrifice delicious tasting dessert in lieu of eating healthy!

          {you don't have to purchase the book ~ you can find the recipe here:source} Enjoy!!