Merry Minty Chocolate Peppermint Cake {grain-free & honey-sweetened}

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and looking forward to a great New Year!

Did you miss me?

This pass month was a busy time of ministry, birthdays, family visiting and Christmas. So, I decided to take a step back from my blog and computer in general.

I really needed that break.

Now, I am slowly coming back. Not sure how often I will be blogging, but I want to take a different approach with my blog.

I want to try to write more about my life as a deaf missionary mama and share about other things besides food. I am even thinking about moving over to my own domain and stuff... soon, hopefully.

Okay, enough about me and the blog.

Let's talk about this cake...

Cool, creamy, minty, rich and so nourishing... this cake is simply divine, easy to make, loaded with healthy fats & protein and deliciously grain-free.

Plus, everything about this cake is, well... minty. The cake is minty, the frosty is minty and crushed peppermints topping it off, making it literally a "merry" minty cake.

I had so much fun making this cake... and eating the leftover frosting with crushed peppermints on a big spoon.

Oh, yes I did do that. Yum.

My mouth just tingles thinking about it!

I have to tell you that this frosting only requires THREE ingredients... butter, chocolate chips and peppermint extract. Or for those who need it to be dairy-free... thick full-fat coconut milk, chocolate chips (Enjoy Life is dairy-free) and peppermint extract.

Can you believe that?! Totally fail-proofed and guaranteed to whip up beautifully, oh yesss. That's my kind of frosting. 

To be honest, I typically shy away from making cakes and frostings. They never seem to turn out well for me, but I wanted to give it a go this time around because...

It was for my little man's 3rd birthday.

I had to try!

My girls' had lovely rainbow cupcakes for their birthdays this year and I didn't want him to feel that he wasn't special enough to have a cake too.

Plus, I am a baker, for crying out loud! I should be able to make a cake... and frosting!

Anyway...

He was so excited to have a birthday cake. He kept running up to me and saying, "that's MY birthday cake!" and "that birthday cake is for ME!"... then his face would light up with that adorable grin of his that simply melts my heart and I am so sure it will melt the hearts of many young latina girls in the not-so-distance future!

He was especially excited that I was making the cake using two of his favorite flavors... chocolate and peppermint.

Who doesn't love that combination?! Chocolate and peppermint are one of those matches made in heaven... along with chocolate & orange... chocolate & cherry... chocolate & almond...

Okay, pretty much everything tastes amazing with chocolate and my family loves anything with chocolate!

I even have a secret addiction to Trader Joe's variety of chocolate cover fruits and nuts... good thing I have enough self-control to buy only one box  (or two) when I am there once a year and live far enough away that I can't buy any on a regular basis. Ha!

Anyway, the peppermints I used for this cake are from Trader Joe's... brought down via my mother-in-law, but you can buy natural peppermints from this awesome Natural Candy Store. I am planning to doing a little shopping there this week! (psst- if you buy some candy through that link... I will get a $5 gift certificate to buy some candy for my kiddos! Thanks!)

Okay, enough about the chocolate and peppermint.

There are a few other ingredients that really takes this cake up a few more notches, nourishing-wise...

Coconut flour.

Eggs.

And butter. Lots of butter.

All three ingredients required for a growing little man to keep him strong, healthy and smiling that adorable grin.

Now, I think it's time to head into the kitchen and make another one of these double-layer Merry Minty Chocolate Peppermint Cake for our New Year celebration... you should do the same. I'm sure you have some leftover peppermint candies lying around that need to get used up  ;)

Merry Minty Chocolate Peppermint Cake

(grain-free & honey-sweetened)

3/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
3/4 cup cacao powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
8 eggs
3/4 cup coconut oil or butter, melted (plus more for greasing pans)
1 cup honey
1/2 cup milk (regular or coconut)
1/4 cup strong coffee (or coffee substitute)
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 Tbsp peppermint extract
Chocolate Peppermint Frosting (recipe below)
Crushed peppermint candy

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
3. Mix together coconut flour, arrowroot, cacao, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt in a small bowl and set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with whisk attachment, whisk the eggs.
5. Add oil/butter, honey, milk, coffee, ACV or lemon juice and peppermint. Continue to mix until combined.
6. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until ingredients are incorporated.
7. Stop the mixer and scrap down the sides (you might need to do this a couple times).
8. Turn mixer back on and beat on high speed for about one full minute to make the batter fluffy.
9. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.
10. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Check at 25 minutes with a toothpick... it should come out with a few moist crumbles. Don't overbake or the cake will be dry. If it is still too moist, bake for another 2 to 5 minutes (the cake was perfect at 27 minutes for me).
11. Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 10 to 15 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the sides of the cakes from the pans and turn them out onto the wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Chocolate Peppermint Frosting

2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups butter or full-fat coconut milk
2 tsp peppermint extract

1. In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over medium low heat. Stirring frequently to keep from burning.
2. When melted, turn of heat and stir in peppermint extract.
3. Let it cool completely and chill in the fridge until solid.
4. Remove from fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. You will have to eye-ball this as you don't want it too warm that it becomes more of a gooey mess, but you don't want it too firm that it just balls up inside the whisk.
5. Scoop the mixture into a mixing bowl and beat on medium for about 2 minutes or until light in color and fluffy.

Using coconut milk:
Chill can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight. When ready, open can and pour off the water (save it for smoothie or toss out). Scoop only the solid white coconut cream into a medium pot. Add the chocolate chips and follow the instructions listed above.


Putting together the cake (the fun part!):

1. Carefully move one of the cakes unto a serving plate of your choice.
2. Top it thickly with Chocolate Peppermint Frosting and sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy (don't be shy with this!).
3. Carefully put the second cake on top and top it off with the rest of the frosting.
4. Sprinkle more crushed peppermint candy.
5. Enjoy!

Have a wonderful New Year!

This post is part of the Nourishing Progressive Dinner for the Holidays. Please check out what these bloggers have whipped up for this special event! 

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but I will receive a small commission. The commissions I receive goes to support my family, our ministry and helps keep my blog going. Thank you for your willingness to use the links to support us & help me keep Just Making Noise going!

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Stuffed & Roasted Butternut Apple Crisp + A Round-up of Wholesome Butternut Squash Recipes

Need some inspiration with the humble, hourglass-like squash sitting on your kitchen counter? You've come to the right place!

Not only do I have a delicious maple-sweetened stuffed butternut apple crisp to share with you, but I also gathered up several nourishing butternut squash recipes that will give you the inspiration & courage to cut through it's hard beige-yellow skin.

Once you've cut through that skin... you will find a beautiful, vibrate, orange flesh that shows several noteworthy health perks.

Health Benefits of the Humble Butternut Squash

According to different sources, the tangerine-like color shows a profusion of powerhouse nutrients such as carotenoids, vitamin A (has more than a pumpkin!) and potassium. Plus, a cup of butternut squash gives you nearly half the recommended daily dose of vitamin C!

On top of that, it is said that this humble squash may have anti-inflammatory effects because of its high antioxidant content!

This humble squash is also an excellent choice for blood sugar regulation, preventing birth defects, feeds the heart, nervous system & immune system, contains 5 B-vitamins (B1, B3, B6, pantothenic acid and folate) and adequate levels of minerals like iron, zinc, copper, calcium and phosphorus.

How to Buy a Butternut Squash

When browsing through the pile of butternut squash at your farmer's market or grocery store be sure to pick them up because a good fruit should feel heavy for its size and have a matte (rather than glossy) skin.

A shiny skin shows that the squash was picked too early and won't be as sweet & flavorful as a fully grown squash. Trust me on this, I learned this the hard way.

When you bring home that yummy, round, fat thing... store it in a cool, dry place (not in the fridge!) with plenty of ventilation and it should keep for up to 3 months. You can also cut up the squash, wrap it up and it should stay fresh for up to a week in the fridge.

Cooking Tips

Did you know that this bulbous-like squash is technically a fruit? I did not know that, but it makes total sense because of the seeds inside the squash! Hmm, just like the avocado & tomato.

Anyway...

Butternut squash is a pretty versatile fruit and you will see that below in the round-up I've pulled together for ya!

The two easiest way to start off with a butternut is either...

Cut in half, scoop out seeds and place on a cookie sheet to bake in the oven for about an hour, or until you can pierce it with a knife.

OR...

Remove the skin, using a vegetable peeler, and cut the flesh into chunks for steaming or sauteing or strips to make butternut squash fries.

Once butternut is cooked using either method, you can mash it, puree it for soup or baked goods, fold it into a pasta or risotto dish or simply enjoy your butternut squash as is.

That's how my dad likes it... he enjoys butternut squash with a scoop of butter and a little bit of sea salt. As is.

Also, don't be quick to throw away the seeds. You can simply roast them on a cookie sheet alongside the squash and eat them as a snack! They are rich in protein, minerals and health-benefiting vitamins. The seeds are a fantastic source of health promoting amino acid, tryptophan, which is vital for brain health.

Now, are you ready to cut through that fruit and enjoy its many health benefits?

Stuffed & Roasted Butternut Apple Crisp

1 butternut squash
1 large apple, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choice (preferably soaked & dehydrated)

1/2 cup chopped dried fruit of your choice

4 Tbsp butter. softened

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the flesh in the center along the neck, enough to make a ditch to put the stuffing in. Chop up the flesh that has been cut out.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together apples, butternut squash, cinnamon, maple syrup and vanilla.
4. Put the butternut squash in a pan, facing up and divide the apple/butternut mixture between the 2 halves.
5. In a small bowl, mixed together nuts, dried fruit, butter, maple syrup, sea salt and cinnamon.
6. Put the crumble topping over the apple/butternut mixture.
7. Cover the pan with parchment paper or foil and bake for 40 minutes.
8. After 40 minutes... uncover, scoop up any juice and drizzle over the squash and bake, uncovered, for another 20 minutes or until the flesh of the butternut squash is soft.

Enjoy it hot as it is or serve some homemade ice cream alongside it. I'm sure the Horchata Ice Cream would be fantastic with this!

Looking for more butternut squash recipes? See below! 

Round-up of Wholesome Butternut Squash Recipes
Here's what I have found so far among my real food blogging friends, but I plan to update this list in the years to come. Enjoy!

• Butternut Ice Cream from Stacy Makes Cents
• Curried Butternut Squash Soup From Red and Honey
• Apple, Raisin & Butternut Squash Spiced Chutney from Keeper of the Home
• Lacto-fermented Mango, Peanut Butter & Chutney Spiced Smoothie from My Humble Kitchen
• Butternut Apple Bake from Stacy Makes Cents
• Butternut Squash Fries from The Nourishing Gourmet
• Butternut Squash Smoothie from Amazing Grace Farms
• Crock Pot Morrocan Chicken Stew from Stacy Makes Cents
• Butternut Squash Bisque from Smithspiration
• Crock Pot Butternut Applesauce from Stacy Makes Cents
• Spiced Butternut Squash & Chicken from For the Family
• Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce from The Nourishing Gourmet
• Garlicky Baked Butternut Squash from Whole Intentions
• Bacon & Butternut Squash Risotto from Modern Alternative Kitchen

Do you have a favorite recipe with butternut squash? Please share in the comments below!

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Pumpkin Maple Baked Oatmeal

Good morning my friends!

Would you all like to start off your day with a slice of warm, spiced pumpkin oatmeal bake topped with large scoop of butter and drizzled with maple syrup?

My family loves a good baked oatmeal. It's a frugal, hearty & nourishing way to start off our day... plus, the leftovers make great snacks, warm & cold.

Baked oatmeal is awesome for making my mornings easy, especially on busy days or when I need a little extra sleep.

I am sharing this yummy Pumpkin Maple Baked Oatmeal over at The Nourishing Gourmet. 

If Pumpkin Maple doesn't sound appealing to you... how about trying Spiced Cranberry Apple or Strawberry Pineapple. These two, along with Pumpkin Maple, are our favorites!

Have a wonderful week and enjoy your slice of Maple Pumpkin oatmeal bake!

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Homemade Horchata Ice Cream

Note from Marillyn: During the months of September and October I've had several good blogger friends doing guest posts for me on Just Making Noise. This has been a big blessing and a way to keep things going here while my family and I are re-adjusting to being back home in Honduras.

Today's is the last guest post and Nicole at Gidget Goes Home is doing the honors. I am THRILLED that she is sharing an ice cream dessert with us today! Thank you, Nicole! This gal loves ice cream (and Jesus!) just as much as I do. Can't wait to give this one a try, yum!

I'm thrilled to be here today to share with you one of my favorite new homemade ice cream recipes.

Mare is one of my ice cream gurus so I'm really honored to able to guest post for her. Her eBook, Just Making Ice Cream, is one of my go-to sources for making ice cream and her use of natural ingredients in her delicious recipes always inspires me.

This recipe was inspired by the sweetly spiced Mexican treat that we sometimes indulge in at our favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, horchata.

Horchata (pronounced or-cha-tuh) is a sweet rice milk drink seasoned with cinnamon. I adapted a recipe by David Lebovitz to create this deliciously creamy ice cream that has a wonderful texture as well.

Horchata ice cream is a perfect way to transition from summer to fall-- it's a refreshingly cold dessert that features very fallish flavors.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Italian Arborio rice (I get mine at Trader Joe's)
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup evaporated cane juice (raw) sugar
• scant 1/2 cup (about 7 Tbs.) raw honey
• pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

How to make homemade horchata ice cream:

The first step is to bake the rice. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a 2-quart baking dish, mix the rice, milk, sugar and salt. Add the vanilla bean (scraped right into mixture) and the cinnamon stick. Cover dish with foil and bake for 1 hour. Take the rice mixture out of oven an uncover. Finish scraping the vanilla bean and remove it (leave the cinnamon stick in). Stir in the honey and bake uncovered for another half hour, until the rice is tender. Remove the dish from the oven and take out the cinnamon stick. Quickly whisk in the egg yolks all at once. Whisk in the half and half or cream. Purée half of the mixture with an immersion blender in a bowl and then add the rest of the mixture to it and sprinkle with nutmeg. Chill mixture thoroughly, covered, in the fridge.   Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.   Scoop into a container to freeze, and sprinkle the top with ground cinnamon if you want. Now you are ready to indulge in this creamy dessert and enjoy its unique texture!

Nicole Bennett can be found blogging at her lifestyle blog Gidget Goes Home, which usually reflects the things that make her happy: things like spending time with her Savior in the early morning, reading, sewing, making ice cream, taking pictures, watching baseball and going for walks with her hubby and three little kiddos (the eldest of which is homeschooled). She loves the beach and anything handmade and is affectionately known as a bit of a hippie among family and friends.  

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Somewhere Over the Rainbow... My Girls' Birthday Party

Whew! We have been back in our home for almost a week now and it feels really good to be back in our space, but we are still going through some re-entry adjustments.

All in all, we had a great furlough... it was busy, but fruitful. We've come away with many new memories and my girls' birthday party is one of them.

My two oldest girls, Naomi & Tabitha, are unique... they are my Labor Day babies. Both born on Labor Day two years & 3 days apart. I always say God sure has a sense of humor having me go to labor and birth on Labor Day... not once, but twice in a row!

For the past few years, we've celebrated the girls' birthdays right at the beginning of our yearly furlough. I did my best with doing simple birthday celebrations for them, but this year decided to really go an extra mile and put in extra effort to really throw a party for them.

I actually started planning, by accident, back in May!

It all started on Pinterest... of course (rolling eyes). I was simply browsing around and a beautiful picture of a rainbow cake caught my eye... not only that, but the caption said something about using homemade, all natural dyes.

Yep, that caught my attention and an idea started blooming in my mind.

That's when I started my 'Birthday Pin Board'. Gotta love Pinterest!

I started planning, pinning and made a list...

Girls' Birthday Party - Rainbow Theme

Rainbow skirts for all 3 girls.
   - measure them (waist & length)
   - ask a friend if she can make 3 of this rainbow skirt.

Birthday banners
   - rainbow colors
   - order from Etsy

Small Plastic Horses
   - spray paint them in red, green, blue, purple & orange (orange turned out hideous!)

Cake Stand
   - ask a friend to make a simple kind using a wood circle and old ice cream sundae glass.
   - spray paint white or red?

Rainbow Cupcakes
   - contact a friend to help make the cupcakes
   - bake in mason jars
   - make simple buttercream frosting
   - make rainbow sprinkles using natural, homemade dyes and coconut sprinkles

Rainbow Fruit Sorbet
   - buy fresh or frozen fruits (strawberry/banana, mango, pineapple/banana, kiwi and        
     blueberry)

What made this a successful party was my asking for help from friends. I learned from past experiences that I couldn't pull off a simple party like this without some help!

All of them were glad to do it... especially for the girls. You all know who you are, thank you!

The girls knew they were having a small party, but the theme was a surprise. I knew there was no way I could plan a complete surprise party, but I can surprise them on the theme!

I had originally planned to do the party on my parents' front enclosed porch where the walls are a fresh white, making the room bright and sunny. I wanted to string up the banners across the room to give it a festive look.

My mom did a great job decorating the enclosed porch with fun mix-matched chairs, plants and pictures that all basically match with the colors of the rainbow theme.

In my mind, it was a perfect set up and excellent for taking good pictures. Plus, there was enough room for everyone who was invited to sit comfortably and enjoy the party!

But right when we arrived to my parents' house from Honduras... the weather took a turn from comfortably warm to super hot all week.

It was a melting 100 degrees outside by early afternoon on the party day. Waah!

I was SO disappointed, but made the choice to shake it off and make the best of it. The party was not about making everything look perfect, but for my girls and they don't care if the set up is perfect or not... it is the thought, effort, joy and excitement that counts and that is what they will remember.

I asked my hubby to help me bring in the yellow, retro 50s table (a wedding gift from my parents to us) from the porch and pushed it up to the window... there I pulled back the curtains as far as it would go to allow as much light in as possible.

Sigh... not how I wanted to look, but I knew my girls will still love the surprise.

I get to work prepping for the party... getting my colorful stripe dishes out (my family kept them for us when we moved to Central America!) and setting up everything on the table.

I also started working on the rainbow fruit sorbet, which I will share more below. My friend dropped off the cupcakes and I send my mother-in-law out to the garage to spray paint the mini-horses.

During this time, the girls were kept busy upstairs so they wouldn't see their 'surprise' party.



Once the mini-horses were dried. I set them up on the cupcakes... they were perfect. Do they look awesome?!

I did have orange spray paint, but it came out clumpy and a hideous bright orange color. The paint was coming off and I didn't like the idea of eating bright neon orange paint with my cupcake. Those poor neon orange horses got tossed aside.

The colorful sprinkles on top... those are actually coconut flakes that have been naturally colored!

I will have to do a post on how to make homemade colored sprinkles with coconut flakes. It is pretty simple and a fun project that I know my girls will enjoy! The sprinkles really perked everything up. I almost didn't even want to do them, but change my mind later. So glad I did!

I set up all the jars on the cake stand and around the front of the stand on the table. I was so pleased with how everything was coming together. Shows how a good attitude helps you see everything in a different & better light!

So, using the natural rainbow cake recipe... my friend helped make these rainbow cupcakes and the buttercream. Do they look lovely and natural?!

She was concern the colors weren't bright enough, but I wasn't expecting the bright, obnoxious, artificial rainbow colors and thought they looked perfect and so natural. Like they should look!

For the ingredients, I originally wanted to use sprouted flour, but the bag I ordered didn't come in time. We made do with regular whole white wheat flour with a little bit of unbleached flour. We used organic cane sugar, but we cut the cane sugar back by a 1/2 cup or so. We also cut the sugar back in the buttercream. My girls don't like sweet cake (woohoo!) and neither do I.

The cake was a little dense & chewy, but tasted really yummy and the buttercream was perfect with it. Even my husband, who is not a fan of cakes, really liked it a lot!

Next is the rainbow fruit sorbet.

Of course.

Me being the "Ice Cream Queen" and recently knighted as "The Ice Cream Mentor" by some of you guys... I had to make and serve some form of homemade ice cream for the girls' party!!

My parents have an ice cream maker, but I didn't have time to re-freeze the bowl over and over to get all the rainbow colors. So, I did a short-cut that is super easy and a no-fail method!

You can actually find the tutorial of how to make the rainbow sorbet in my ice cream ebook, Just Making Ice Cream... there's even a picture of it on the front cover!

Hmm, maybe I will share with you how I make these fantastic rainbow sorbets in a later post... with a video, maybe  ;o)

Anyway, I like to mix banana with the frozen strawberries and pineapples because of their higher water contend... which can make them very icy once frozen. The banana helps them stay creamier and makes it easier to make nice scoops once the sorbet thaws a little.

Man, the textures and colors of this rainbow sorbet is just downright delicious! When thawed a bit, the sorbet scooped up beautifully. See the last picture below.

Next, I send up the girls' outfits. Darling rainbow skirts handmade by a local friend!

I finished prepping everything and got my photos done. Just before we were expecting our guests to arrive... I called down the girls and we got ready with our cameras to capture their expressions when they saw the table.

As you can see... they loved it!

"Oh mama! The horses look so cute! Did you paint them?"

"Mama made rainbow sorbet! Yea!"

"Ooh, look at the colorful cakes in the jar!"

"Look, there are sprinkles on the frosting!"

"We are having a rainbow party! Thank you Mama!"

Even though Poema's birthday wasn't until October I still had to have a skirt made for her!! 

Don't they all look darling?!

I am humbled and honored that the Lord has blessed me with 3 girls. I have a big responsibility in raising them because they will be learning from me as they grow up.

I pray that my life will lead each of them to desire a relationship with our Lord and follow Him all the days of their lives.

I want to show them a love of life that can found only in Jesus.

I want to be an example of a humbled wife that loves and submits to her husband through everything. I want to show them the joy that can be found in family and children, no matter how challenging it can get.

When I pass on from this world, I want to be remembered by them as a woman, wife and mama who loved Jesus with all her heart, soul, mind and strength. Leaving them inspired to do that same.

That's a big and sometimes scary responsibility. I am human and make mistakes, but I remind myself that my girls don't need me to be perfect... they just need me to be real and humble.

That's all.

The party was a hit. The cupcakes were delicious. The rainbow sorbet was yummy. Everyone enjoyed their time with us and celebrating the girls' birthdays.

Thank you Lord for another year that we can celebrate with our 3 special girls!

Would you like a scoop of rainbow sorbet??  :o)

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