Mini hazelnut cakes (vegan) & Last Mile Health

Last Mile Health

Website: www.lastmilehealth.org

From the Last Mile Health Website: "In 2003, Liberia emerged from more than a decade of civil war. After so many years of violence, the country’s health infrastructure was devastated. Only 50 doctors remained to treat a population of more than 4 million people. If you got sick in the city, you stood a chance. But if you got sick in remote villages – many of which are days away from the nearest clinic – you could die anonymously of a treatable condition like malaria, a complicated childbirth or even diarrhea.

Around the world, one billion people lack access to care because they live too far from a health facility. Today, Last Mile Health is more committed than ever to bridging the gap between clinics and remote villages, bringing primary health services to the doorsteps of people living in the last mile."

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Mini Hazelnut Cakes (Vegan)

Cakes adapted from MyNameIsYeh

(she has the coolest blog & her pics are much better than mine...check it out if you haven't!)

You'll Need:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Molly used gluten-free flour, so you can do that if you want!)

2/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground

3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon 2/3 c maple syrup 1/3 c coconut oil, melted but not hot 2 tsp vanilla extract 2/3 c full fat coconut milk

For the Ganache:

dark chocolate chunks/chips

a bit of coconut oil

Let's Get Cookin'

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and get a muffin tin ready

2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, hazelnut flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon).

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (maple syrup, coconut oil, coconut milk, vanilla extract).

4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well incorporated.

5. Pour the batter into the muffin tins and stick into the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Pray to the baking gods! Molly suggests starting to check for doneness around 16 minutes. You know they're done when you stick a toothpick into the muffin and it comes out clean.

6. While your muffins are baking, you can make your chocolate ganache! Put your dark chocolate and a bit of coconut oil into a heat-proof bowl. Stick in the microwave and keep checking every 30-seconds. This mixture is the same thing as a homemade magic-shell! So great.

7. When your muffins are done, take them out and let them cool. Decorate with chocolate and hazelnuts to your liking. I really liked how Molly turned hers upside-down and decorated them, so I did the same.

These cakes are a great option if you have a vegan guest or you just want a dessert that tastes awesome but is slightly less indulgent. A lot of vegan cakes come out a little dry, but I found that because of the natural oils from the hazelnuts in here, these were pretty moist. After a day, if you have some left, make sure to stick them in the fridge.