It was the first day of school holiday, I was off work and decided to get up early and surprise my little pandas with something nice and yummy so this is how this beautiful almond, sour cherries and raw cacao bites came about.
I had some almond flour but before anything else, I quite fancied some fluffy, and quite almondy, some delicious dessert that was going to be ready before the munchkins were coming downstairs to have a nice breakfast with a glass of kefir.
Said and done, these gluten-free little squares were ready in a flash. Super mama I was called and that was flattering – I still get nice comments – not sure for how long but for now… I still enjoy being appreciated – aww, aren’t they just lovely? My son has just turned a teen but so far… so good 😉
We enjoyed these little squares or bites or whatever you want to call them while still warm this time but they’re good even for a couple of days easily if kept in the fridge and…. if they last of course ;-).
I made this gluten free almond cacao sublime dessert before with other fresh fruits like apricots, peaches or apples but never with sour cherries from the jam. This was the first time.
My mum gave me a jar of sour cherries preserve or jam so I used some of these. I love anything with sour cherry but sour cherry jam always reminds me of pancakes. It’s the jam for pancakes ever since I was a kid.
No sour cherry jam = no pancakes – that was tough to comprehend as a kid but luckily, with 2 or even three trees at the back of the garden – we were never short of this wonderfully flavoured jam.
They were a little sweeter than my general taste and how I personally like my dessert but children and hubby found them perfect and I’ve got to trust them.
I know, I am a little weird when it comes to desserts and I never like them too sweet but what is too sweet for me is nowhere near too sweet for the rest of the world.
Weird, I know so I always have to listen to them, they’re my best judges. I was going to decrease or even to take out the icing sugar to just leave the honey but I was told not to! I assume the cherries being from the jam have added that extra sweetness but I know for a fact that this made with fresh cherries or any fruits it is not too sweet at all, it’s just perfect for my weird tastebuds.
In all truthfulness, these were not that sweet and in the end, I feel it worked out perfectly as the cacao gives a nice balance. Oh my, how I like this choco/cacao- sour cherry and the almonds combo -it’s just divine.
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Let’s get these beautiful gluten-free almond, cacao and sour cherries dessert in the oven.
Let’s get on with a little baking then, shall we?
Gluten free Almond, sour cherries and raw organic cacao squares
Equipment
- Freestanding mixer
- bowl
- ovenproof dish
- sieve
Ingredients
- 270 g almond flour sieved
- 90 g butter melted
- 50 g icing sugar
- 5 eggs organic
- 50 g flour gluten-free
- 120 ml honey
- 20 sour cherries drained of any juice/syrup *
- 1/4 tsp soda bicarbonate
- 1/4 tsp baking powder gluten free
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp cacao powder sieved
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350F or 175°C fan assisted oven.
- Grease or line with parchment a 22-24cm (9-91/2in) oven proof dish.
- Melt the butter and set aside. Do not heat too much as you will need to wait for this to cool before using.
- In a larger bowl put together the almond flour, the gluten-free flour, the icing sugar, the soda bicarbonate and baking powder mixed together with the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and the raw organic cacao powder. Mix slightly with a whisker until nicely homogenised.
- Add the melted butter, honey and eggs into it. Mix very well using a hand whisker until homogenised and there are no lumps. Add the coconut flakes if you wish to use.
- Pour the mixture into the greased/lined oven dish.
- Sprinkle the sour cherries evenly on top of the batter.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, depending on the oven and whether this is fan assisted or not. Since the batter is already brown you will not see when it has browned but slightly touch the middle part of the dish and it should feel nice and set. Maybe even rotate the dish half way while baking to achieve an even baking.
- Take out of the oven and allow to cool before removing from the dish.
- Dust slightly with some additional icing sugar, cut into nice bite size squares and serve.
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
My, you ARE Supermama! I love anything with sour cherries, and these look amazing. I can’t wait to try them with MY pandas!
Ramona says
Ha ha Michelle, we need to be the supermamas don’t we- we only get one chance 😉 and I am sure our pandas will appreciate it forever -hopefully! These bites are a must make – I am so sure you will all love it.
Have a wonderful weekend lovely! Ramona x
Brian Jones says
They sound amazing, cherries and almonds are such a great pairing, adding the cocoa is a stroke of genius!
Ramona says
Hey Brian, you made my day – thanks – give these a try – they are the best cheerers 😉
Thank you and have a great day !
Ramona x
Patty says
Wow Ramona! These squares look so good, love the sour cherries or any cherries, they are my favorite fruit, and the fact that this dessert is gluten free is simply awesome. I must make your recipe for the family a.s.a.p.
Ramona says
Thank you so much Patty, I’m really glad you like the recipe, we love cherries too and any opportunity to have them it’s just great. Let me know how you liked it once you make it. Thank you so much ?
Nicole says
These look so delicious! and I absolutely agree, I love a dessert where the flavours come through rather than being overwhelmed by loads of sugar!
Ramona says
Hi Nicole
Thank you so much, you’re so right! Absolutely true. ??
Jacqueline Debono says
These sound so delish. I love sour cherries and combining them with almonds and cacao sounds perfect. Certainly one I want to try! Your pandas are lucky! x
Ramona says
Thank you so much Jacqui,
My pandas ? are soo lucky, in fact, they say that too which is quite rewarding to hear.
We absolutely love the combo too.
It’s soo nice!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Mmmmm….that sounds like a lovely combo! A big square of one of those and some coffee would make a yummy afternoon snack 🙂
Ramona says
Oh yes Dawn, you are so right! that is the spirit, girl! 😉
Arjhon says
Oh my, this looks delicious and healthy. Here in the Philippines, we have a lot of raw organic cacao so there are no excuses not to try this one. Thanks for this recipe.
Ramona says
Hi Arjhon,
Thank you for stopping by. I agree- there is no excuse! Try it and let me know how you have liked it 😉