Using Chaga 3 Ways: Healthy Treats in Disguise
Growing up, my dad was the dessert king. Throughout the summers we would spend our Friday nights down at the local ice cream shop. He would indulge in the most lavish sundaes that existed. Hot fudge, hot peanut butter sauce, brownies, you name it, it was on his ice cream. Sunday’s we would go to church and afterward, take our pick from the array of donuts in the church basement while my parents would socialize with our community members.
Now that i’m a parent, I love to spoil my kids too. There’s so much fun to be had watching our middle daughter Willow unknowingly create her own chocolate ice cream beard when we go out. When I even mention a new dessert recipe I’d like to make, the kids are always eager to help. It’s a mental battle sometimes to become content feeding children a sugary treat, so my mind is always creating ways to make them healthier. I like to find ways to use less sugar, or at least use sugars like honey or maple sugar. Sometimes I have different whole grain flours in the cupboard that we play around with using. I love the idea of incorporating wild foods into my creations, and I was sparked with inspiration when my friend Rose purchased some of our Hot “Chaga”late tea and mentioned me on Instagram showing off her “Chaga”late brownies the next day! So, I came up with three recipes using our Chaga tea blend for your guys to try, so you can know you’re feeding your children healthy treats in disguise!
Make all 3 Recipes with our Hot “Chaga”late tea.
You may notice in these recipes that I use maple sugar in place of cane sugar. This is for a few reasons. First off, if you live in the north, maple sugar may be local to you. Every year, my family gathers sap in the early spring, and we make our own homemade sugar to use throughout the year. We take pride using a local and very sustainable source of sugar in our household instead of shipping in cane sugar from…I don’t even know where. If you haven’t participated in a maple sap harvest, I highly suggest doing so even if you only tap a single tree! Just having fresh sap in the spring to drink can be so refreshing. We usually have at least a half gallon of sap in our refrigerator at any given time during maple season. Second, using unfiltered maple sugar serves as a rich source of minerals some of those being manganese and riboflavin. Maple sugar has been shown over and over to actually have positive affects on blood sugar, and the flavor is far superior in my opinion. Have I sold you on maple sugar yet?
“Chaga”late Stout Cupcakes with Chaga Cashew Frosting
I’ve had my mind on stout cupcakes for awhile now, and the flavors of chaga and chocolate are the perfect pairing. Topped with cashew cream frosting and sifted cocoa powder, they make a delicious, healthier alternative to a traditional cupcake. The alcohol is evaporated during the baking process so it is a treat the whole family can enjoy.
Makes 12 cupcakes
Frosting:
115g Raw Cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
3 T Honey
1 T Hot Water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 T “Chaga”late powder
110g Grass-fed Butter, softened
Cupcakes:
190g All-Purpose Flour, Organic if possible
200g Maple Sugar
20g Cocoa powder
10g Hot “Chaga”late Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
120g Milk (of your choice)
2 eggs
70g Coconut Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
120g Stout Beer
Make the frosting up ahead of time, before baking the cupcakes.
Drain the cashews after they have thoroughly soaked. Add them to the blender along with honey, hot water, lemon juice, and “Chaga”late powder. Blend until it has reached a smooth consistency and there are no lumps or pieces left. Once the mixture is smooth, add the butter and continue blending until it is completely emulsified. I would recommend a very high powered blender for this job like a vitamix, but if you don’t have one, you can use a food processor or a blender.
Pour the frosting into a piping bag, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line 12 cupcake cups with papers.
In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, maple sugar, cocoa powder, “Chaga”late powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add milk of your choice, eggs, melted coconut oil, and vanilla. Mix until well incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix on medium speed until almost combined. Add the stout and continue mixing until smooth, however be sure not to over-mix as this can cause too much gluten to build up. If you are using a 1 to 1 gluten free flour, this would not be as much of a concern.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. When they are fully cooked, they will spring back if touched in the center of the cupcake. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to completely cool. Once they are no longer warm, frost, and top with sifted cocoa powder and store in the refrigerator to keep the frosting set. Enjoy!
“Chaga”late Milkshake
In this recipe, I created a standard chocolate syrup and then added Hot “Chaga”late powder. Instead of ice cream, I used frozen yogurt. If at all possible, avoid frozen yogurts that contain corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients, or feel free to substitute with any non-dairy frozen dessert. You can also use cows milk, plant based milk, or even goat milk when blending! This is a very flexible recipe.
Makes One Serving
25g Maple Sugar or Honey
8g Cocoa Powder
8g Hot “Chaga”late powder
14g Grass-fed Butter or coconut oil
45g Whole Milk or any milk alternative, plus 120g
240g Frozen Yogurt
Combine sugar/honey, cocoa powder and Hot “Chaga”late powder in a small bowl.
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, add the milk and stir.
Next, add the sugar mixture and whisk continuously until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Once it is cooled but still pour-able, empty into a squeeze bottle like the one pictured on the right. It will make it easier to drizzle some remaining chocolate syrup onto the finished milkshake later on.
Add frozen yogurt and remaining 120g milk to a blender. Squeeze the cooled chocolate sauce into the blender and process until smooth. The amount of chocolate syrup you add to the milkshake all depends on your preference. I like to drizzle some on top before serving.
Maple “Chaga”late fudge
After our recent trip to Mackinaw Island (the fudge capital of the world) I was stoked to be back so I could try my hand at making homemade fudge. However, I started searching for fudge recipes and I could only find recipes containing loads of sugar and sweetened condensed milk. So here is a recipe I created using coconut milk instead and maple sugar. I added coconut oil to make sure it had a more solid texture at room temperature, but it’s still soft and will melt in your mouth. Top the fudge with whatever you’d like. I chose toasted chopped pecans and large flake salt, and trust me these did not last long in our house.
1 can coconut milk
43g Organic Grass-Fed Butter, plus 30g
135g Maple Sugar
30g Hot “Chaga”late Powder
675g Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
100g Coconut Oil
60g Toasted Pecans
Large flake salt
Line an 8 x 8 inch square pan with parchment paper
Combine coconut milk, 43g butter, maple sugar, and Hot “Chaga”late powder in a large saucepan. Keep in mind the saucepan will have to be large enough to hold the entire recipe including the chocolate chips, so make sure there will be enough space. Bring to a simmer and reduce by 1/3 while whisking continuously. The mixture should be thick like condensed milk.
Once it has been reduced, add in the chocolate chips and remaining 30g butter + coconut oil.
Stir using a spatula until the chocolate chips have completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
Pour the mixture into an 8 x 8 inch square pan lined with parchment paper.
If you want to add any toppings like nuts or coconut, be sure to add them while the mixture is still warm in the pan, before placing into the freezer, to make sure the toppings will stick. For this recipe, I topped the fudge with 60g of toasted pecans and some large flake salt.
Allow the fudge to cool to room temperature and then place it in the freezer to finish setting up.
Remove from the freezer and cut into squares with a hot knife (Warm the knife under hot water or keep a container of hot water close by to dip your knife into, then dry off with a towel before cutting).
Store this fudge in the refrigerator to maintain firmness. It will be a little soft at room temp.
Enjoy!