Yesterday was a good day. The photography gods were smiling on me. There are some days when I can’t get a decent photo of my food to save my life. It’s usually a combination of my own impatience and less than ideal lighting.
I had 3 desserts to photograph and I managed to get them all photographed in less than 2 hours. It’s a miracle!
I have to admit, I’ve been struggling with inspiration issues lately. Sometimes I get frustrated because I live in a very small space. I don’t have room for a lot of fancy props. I look at other bloggers lovely dishes and cups and cutlery and table tops and feel a little inadequate. Every day I walk past a food photographers studio on the ground floor of my building and gaze longly in the window. She has so much space and so many cool toys. Maybe I should make friends with her and she will lend me some goodies!
When I’m feeling envious, I like to remind myself that sometimes great work comes from limitations. I’m not a professional photographer, so I’m learning as I work. Props are fun, but sometimes they distract from the food. When it comes to photographing food, sometimes less is more. The triple-layer coconut cups in this post are a good example. They already have a lot of texture and layers and colour. I stacked them in a zigzag fashion to make the image more dynamic. The blue saucer adds an optimistic punch and grounds the photo. I’m really happy with the results!
Now, about the recipe! How do you feel about coconut oil? I love the stuff!
These triple-layer coconut cups have a lot of coconut oil in them. That means you MUST keep them in the freezer until you are ready to serve them. They will get melty at room temperature. So don’t try to pack these on a picnic,okay?!
Here is the (very easy) recipe…
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Triple Layer Coconut Oil Cups
Prep Time: 30 mins- Total Time: 30 mins
Yield: 6-8 cups
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Pin RecipeIngredients
- Bottom Layer
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1 tbsp sweetener of choice*
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Middle Layer
- 1/2 cup natural almond butter
- 2 tbsp protein powder or almond flour
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1.5 tbsp sweetener of choice*
- Top Layer
- 3.5 oz (100 grams) dark chocolate (chopped)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- * A note about sweetener. I will leave it to you to choose your sweetener. The measurements I’ve given refer to the spoon for spoon equivalent to sugar. You may need to make conversion if you use a very concentrated sweetener such as stevia. As a rule, it is a good idea to taste your mixtures as you go along to see if it meets your taste.
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients for the bottom layer in to a blender and mix until smooth.
- Spoon one tablespoon of the mixture in to paper or silicon muffin cups. You should be able to fill 6-8 cups.
- Put the filled cups in the freezer while you work on the next step.
- In a bowl, mix up the ingredients for the middle layer.
- Take the chilled cups out of the freezer and spoon a tbsp of the almond butter mixture in to each cup.
- Use a spoon to spread the layer flat if you need to.
- Put the cups back in the freezer while you work on the top layer.
- Melt the coconut oil and chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl over simmering water.
- Once it is completely melted, remove it from heat and let it cool for a minute.
- Take the chilled cups out of the freezer.
- Spoon the melted chocolate on top of the almond butter layer one tsp at a time.
- Try to distribute the chocolate evenly and make sure the top is covered.
- Put the cups back in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.
- You can eat them right out of the freezer but I prefer to let them soften for about 5 minutes.
- Warning! They can be a bit messy on your hands!
