Hummingbird 40th birthday balloon cake

Oh my oh my S is 40 today! As his birthday present he got to pick me up from an overnight stay in hospital... But he also gets a cake! I was thinking of doing a good old coffee and walnut cake, but that seemed a bit unoriginal, plus we'd run out of garden walnuts and I couldn't find any in Lidl and it just felt like the world was telling me I should try something different... So anyway, I wanted to use pecans instead, and was dreaming about good combinations with pecan - cinnamon seemed like a good fit... something creamy... maybe caramelly... Then I stumbled across a Hummingbird cake, and wondered why I'd never tried it - with pineapple, pecans, cinnamon, banana, sounds like just our kind of thing (S has a long running pineapple juice addiction). It's apparently a Southern (USA) thing, but I felt like a Europeanized recipe might work best for us... In the end I decided to follow the Hummingbird Bakery recipe (the name match seemed too good, plus they gave weights for the fruit so I hoped it'd be foolproof) - although it had a bit less pineapple than other recipes I looked at, maybe more pineapple would be nice... And I freestyled some mascarpone icing, with Jamie Oliver inspired lime zest in it... And some appropriate decoration: it's supposed to look like 4 and 0 balloons: since there's also a balloon card and a baby who loves balloons around, a theme emerged... I made the cake and icing a couple of days ago and stored the cake wrapped in clingfilm and the icing in a tub in the fridge ready to assemble today.

For the cake:
270 g peeled bananas, mashed (approx 3 large bananas)
300 g caster sugar (used golden sugar, blended up a little to make it more caster-y)
3 eggs
300 ml sunflower oil
1 tsp cinnamon
250 g flour
50 g desiccated coconut
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla powder
100 g tinned pineapple, chopped into small pieces
100 g pecans, chopped

For the icing:
c 3 tbsp golden sugar blended to a powder
c 50 g butter, at room temperature
1 tub (250 g) mascarpone
zest of 1 lime
1 tsp cinnamon

Decorations:
Remaining pineapple rings
Toasted chopped pecans

Heat the oven to 170C. Line the base(s) of round cake tin(s) with baking paper (I only have one, springform tin so used that - ideally this would be 2-3 layers though). Mash the banana in a medium bowl with a fork, then mix in the sugar, eggs, oil, and cinnamon. In a separate, large bowl, mix the flour, coconut, bicarb, salt and vanilla with a fork. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and mix until combined, adding the chopped pineapple and pecans towards the end. Scrape into the prepared baking tin(s), spread evenly, and bake until a skewer comes out clean - for one big cake this took about an hour and 15 min; for 3 layers this ought to take 20-25 min. Let cool slightly in the tin(s) before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

While the cake is baking / cooling, make the icing and decorations. For the icing, cream sugar and butter together, then add the mascarpone, lime zest and cinnamon. Beat together until smooth and creamy. Store in the fridge until needed.

When ready to assemble, slice the massive cake in half horizontally, then layer with half the icing in the middle, along with some chopped pineapple and toasted chopped pecans. Then spread the rest of the icing smoothly on top and decorate with 4-0 pineapple rings and some chopped pecans.


It was good, although I think I'd have liked it more with less oil, less banana and more pineapple - perhaps future experiments required... maybe this one?

Chocolate biscuit cake

I have made chocolate biscuit cake before, it's a classic. This one is slightly different - not necessarily vegan, and didn't add milk/cream. Approximately followed this recipe.

This turns out to be an excellent use-up recipe - it came to mind because I had a pack of biscuits I knew I wouldn't eat before they got old, and then some chocolate that was either too milky or I wasn't that into for another reason, and then some ends of packets of dried fruit and nuts got in there, the end of a pack of butter and a bit of coconut oil, even a few green tea biscuits (these last not entirely recommended)...

250 g / 8 oz biscuits (used mostly havrekiks = oat biscuits, recommended; and threw in a few green tea biscuits, not so recommended)
300 g / 10 oz chocolate (mix of milk and dark is OK, I favour the dark)
100 g / 3 1/2 oz butter (or margarine, or coconut oil)
150 g / 5 oz golden syrup
175 g / 6 oz dried fruit (used a mix of cranberries, chopped crystallized ginger, chopped apricots and raisins; all recommended)
60 g / 2 oz roughly chopped nuts (used a mix of pecans and hazelnuts; both recommended)

Line a 20 cm / 8 in square tin with cling film, leaving extra hanging over the edges. Put the biscuits in a bag and bash to pieces with a rolling pin.

Melt chocolate, butter and golden syrup together in a medium bowl (large enough for all ingredients) over a pan of hot water. When all is liquid and smooth, take the bowl off the heat and mix in the bashed biscuits, dried fruit and nuts. Spoon into the prepared tin and press down / level off. Let cool to room temperature, then put in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours. Then turn them out, peel off the cling film and cut into squares. Store in the fridge.


It is very rich so small pieces are sufficient. This makes a lot - a half quantity would be a good amount for our household. But I am thinking it should freeze well, so put about half in the freezer - let's see how that goes.

If I make this again, I think I'd try reducing the golden syrup, and using coconut oil instead of butter and less of that too - it is maybe a little too sweet for my taste; and starts to get a wee bit melty quite quickly when it comes to room temp.

Apple muffins

Our apple tree started dropping apples already, so I wanted to make a start on some apple recipes to use them up. I fancied making muffins, even though they are not the most efficient way to use up apples. I liked the sound of this recipe, with grated, diced and sauced apple in it, and decided to give it a go even before I realized it's also a great baking-with-honey recipe - I especially like that it takes into account honey's tendency to dry out / burn.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup oats
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup grated apple
1 cup diced (1 cm) apple
1/3 cup olive oil (or veg oil)
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup)
2 eggs (ideally at room temp)
1/2 cup Greek yoghurt
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 tbsp demerara sugar to go on top

Heat the oven to 163C / 325F (218C / 425F for maple syrup). Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a large bowl, mix flours, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, bicarb and salt with a fork. Add grated and chopped apple and stir.

In a medium bowl, beat oil, honey (or maple syrup) together, then add eggs and beat, then add yoghurt and apple sauce and mix.

Add wet to dry and mix until just combined, adding raisins and pecans in the final few strokes. Spoon into muffin cups and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for c 25 min (13-15 min for maple syrup), until skewer comes out clean.

Apple, apricot and walnut loaf cake

This is a Delia classic, as well as being a Sher classic and the first cake S ever made for me. I can't quite believe I didn't write it out on here but it looks like I haven't... It is simple, although it does take a little time to prepare the ingredients (nut toasting, chopping fruit etc), and a fairly long time in the oven (up to 2 hours). But it's very versatile (lots of fruit, nut, flour, sugar variations possible), and a great way of using one or two old apples. This time I actually used some marzipan instead of about 2/3 of the nuts (did not toast, obv), and that was well tasty. I also added marzipan to apple crumble topping last week (I had a whole marzipan pig begging to be eaten), which caught a little but I think is in principle an excellent and delicious idea.

For the cake:
175 g pecan nuts (used walnuts)
110 g wholemeal flour
110 g plain flour
pinch of salt
1½ tsp baking powder
2 rounded tsp ground cinnamon
110 g spreadable butter
175 g light brown soft sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
3 tbsp milk (plus a little extra if needed)
175 g ready-to-eat dried apricots, each chopped in half
175 g Bramley apples, cored and cut into 1 cm chunks with the skin on

For the topping:
2 tbsp demerara sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Heat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 2 lb loaf tin. When the oven is ready, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 min. Remove them to a chopping board, let cool a bit, then chop roughly.

Meanwhile sift the flours, salt, baking powder and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl. Then add the rest of the ingredients except the fruit and nuts. Using an electric hand whisk, beat slowly then increase the speed to mix everything thoroughly til smooth. Fold in the apricots, apples and pecans. When everything’s folded in, add a drop more milk if necessary to give a mixture that drops easily off the spoon when you give it a sharp tap. Pile the mixture into the lined tin and level the top. Combine the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the cake.

Bake the loaf in the centre of the oven for about an hour, then cover loosely with a piece of foil and leave to bake for a further 15–30 min or until the cake feels springy in the centre and a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 15 min before turning out onto a wire cooling rack.

Grated Petersilienwurzel (parsley root), carrot and apple

I discovered Petersilienwurzel the first time I went to Germany with S, and was instantly intrigued: it's like parsley (+S loves parsley), but it's a root not a leaf. I didn't get to try it that time, but I bought some seeds and tried to grow them back in Norwich. No success.

While M was here we took her to Wegmans to stock up on Thanksgiving in a tin (based on a conversation with our Bostonian friend N, most traditional Thanksgiving dishes involve combinations of things out of tins). She ended up with a good selection - some things Thanksgiving-y (tin-shaped cranberry jelly, tinned pumpkin); also other American / local specialities (Boston brown bread in a tin). While there, S+I accidentally ended up in the produce section, where we came upon chestnuts (kurigohan happened, and it was fiiiinnne), elephant garlic, celeriac, and, resplendent beside said celeriac, petersilienwurzel! Wegmans truly does have EVERYTHING!

We roasted some in chunks with a mixture of other roots (carrots, celeriac, beetroot) and tofu, and it was really delicious - incredibly sweet (reminiscent of parsnip; they are quite closely related), with a delicate, slightly parsley-y / perhaps more parsnip-y taste.

After chatting with S's Austrian friend L, and eating her excellent vegetable strudel and beetroot, horseradish and caraway salad (from her grandmother's recipes), I decided to also follow her / her grandmother's suggestion for petersilienwurzel and grate it with carrot and apple. I threw in a few other things too, and it ended up a really yummy Winter salad - juicy and fresh and sweet.

5 small petersilienwurzel (parsley root), peeled and grated (celeriac is a good alternative / addition)
3 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1 medium apple, cored and grated
1-2 tbsp cider vinegar
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
~1 tsp chopped chives
handful of raisins (preferably golden)
handful of pecan pieces

Grate the petersilienwurzel (and/or celeriac), carrots and apple into a medium bowl. Add the cider vinegar, olive oil and seasoning (quickly, to avoid browning) and toss. Add the chives, raisins and pecans and toss. Ideally eat straight away, but it keeps OK in the fridge for a few days (consider just adding the pecans last minute if you want to serve it later).

Acorn squash with pecans and birch syrup

Ever since I bought birch syrup I had been meaning to make something with it that really let it shine. As autumn rolled around squash appeared, and reminded me of a recipe I'd seen in a leaflet that came with the birch syrup. This is an approximation, filtered through my memory, S's ideas, and what we had in the kitchen.

2 small acorn squash, cut in half and seeds removed
~ 2 tbsp chopped pecans
1 apple, cored and finely chopped (or use dried apricots, soaked for 10 min in hot water)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
~ 2 tbsp birch syrup
salt+pepper

Heat the oven to 400F. Lightly grease a baking sheet then put the squash halves on it, cut side up. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, then scoop into the hollows left by removing the squash seeds, distributing between the four halves. Put in the oven and bake for 30-45 min, until the squash is soft right through and lightly browned. Take it out and devour.


It's somewhere between real food and a pudding, sweetly lovely.

Harvest: quick autumn muffins

I had four and a half pounds of beautiful, black, egg-shaped plums with yellow flesh (harvested Wednesday night in Winter Hill, up a ladder under the Harvest Moon). They are confusing me, actually: they seem to be the variety known as 'damson plums' or 'Italian prune plums'. But they are not what I knew as damsons (the small, sour plum relatives that make the most wonderful jam). Anyway, they are delectable as well as beautiful, and well-suited for baking as not too sweet. I had a few things hanging around the kitchen hoping be consumed: the plums; also some apples and about a cupful of Chimay... It occurred to me to use the ale in baking - its maltiness could lend a dark note similar to the treacle in the apple-caraway muffins I love. Ale plus ginger, pecans, cinnamon, brown sugar (a little, not a lot), wholemeal flour and autumn fruits = quick and easy muffins, full of fall.

(makes ~12 muffins. I used half plums and half apples and halved the batter just before adding the fruit)

12 oz apples or plums (weight measured after coring / stoning)
6 oz plain flour
4 oz wholemeal flour
2 oz sugar
1 oz demerara sugar (plus ~3 tbsp for topping)
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup pecan pieces
2 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 5 tbsp boiling water
1 1/2 oz (72 g) grapeseed oil
175 ml ale, heated and cooled

Heat oven to 375F. Chop the apples or plums into ~2 cm dice. Mix the flours, sugars, spices, baking powder, salt and pecans in a large bowl with a fork. In a separate, small bowl combine the linseed mixture, grapeseed oil and ale. Add this wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix until just combined. In the final few strokes add the fruit. Spoon the mixture into a prepared muffin tin and bake for ~25 min, until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

(measurements are all over the systems, oops).

Pumpkin in June (M's birthday): Pumpkin and spice granola

It is M's birthday this weekend and she loves pumpkin, so I thought of making her some pumpkin stuff. Granola sprang to mind: it keeps for a good while, and if I pack it in a jar and label it, it should make a pretty gift - for snacking and for breakfasts. Ever since I made granola for the first time a week or two ago I keep thinking of potential variations - it seems like such an easy, adaptable thing to make. So I thought I'd try it using some pumpkin as part of the wet stuff, and adding pumpkin spice (cinnamon / ginger / nutmeg / allspice - also cloves but I didn't feel like grinding any), pumpkin seeds, pecans, maple and brown sugar to max out the pumpkinny/autumnal-ness. Happily I still had pumpkin puree in the freezer from last Autumn, so us being totally out of season for pumpkin was no big deal.

3 cups oats (old-fashioned)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup pecan pieces
good pinch (1/4 tsp) desert (or sea) salt
1-2 tbsp ground linseed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup pumpkin (or squash) puree
3 tbsp refined coconut oil (liquid state)
1/2 tbsp maple syrup + 1/2 tbsp maple cream
2-3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp date molasses
1 tsp vanilla essence

Heat the oven to 350F. Mix the oats, pumpkin seeds, pecans, salt, ground linseed and spices in a medium-large bowl. Put the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, date molasses and vanilla in a small bowl and beat with a fork until smooth. Add this liquidy mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with your hands until well combined. Spread onto a large baking sheet (with edges) and put in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, taking out every 10 minutes or so to move the granola around with a wooden spoon and check it is not burning. When it is lightly browned it is done. Take it out of the oven and allow to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container to store.


Came out yummy. I was a little underwhelmed by the pumpkin / spice flavour at first: it tastes good (toasty) but not intensely pumpkinny. But the next day it smells lovely when I open the jar, and the taste is definitely there.

Granola (coconut, pecan, pumpkin seed, banana)

I'd never even considered making granola before, because I prefer muesli and it's so much quicker to make. But S has been buying granola quite regularly of late, and he likes it, so I wanted to try making it for him...

There are lots of granola recipes out there. It seems to be one of those things where you can just chuck a bunch of stuff together and it will work out. I looked at a lot of recipes: here, here, here, here... And then got a little overwhelmed, decided all I needed was some oats and seeds, a little fat, stickiness and sweetness, and some time in the oven, and made something up from there.

3 cups oats (old-fashioned)
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1/8 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1/3 cup pecan pieces
good pinch (1/4 tsp) desert (or sea) salt
1-2 tsp mahlab
1-2 tbsp ground linseed
1 1/4 large, ripe bananas
3 tbsp coconut oil (liquid state)
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp carob molasses
1 tbsp date molasses

Heat the oven to 350F. Mix the oats, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, coconut, pecans, salt, mahlab and ground linseed in a medium bowl. Put the bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, carob molasses and date molasses in a blender and blend until smooth. Add this liquidy mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with your hands until well combined. Spread onto two baking sheets (with edges) and put in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, taking out every 10 minutes or so to move the granola around with a wooden spoon and check it is not burning. When it is well browned it is done. Take it out of the oven and allow to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container to store.


Notes:
This makes a delicious, toasty granola. But I always love the big, stuck-together lumps in granola the best. So ever since first making this I have been trying to figure out how to make a lumpier version - I tried dehydrating, which kind-of worked. My latest experiment involved chucking in a bit of psyllium seed husk and using a lower temperature (300F), which maybe helped a little bit but not that much.
This recipe allows for endless variations. I made a pumpkin granola by subbing pumpkin puree for the banana and using pumpkin spice, which came out delicious. Pretty much everything can be varied. But I do love this combination - toasted pecans, pumpkin seeds, coconut, sesame, banana and maple make a wonderful granola. I cannot express how much I love oats.

Biscuits (or cookies?): chocolate-pecan vs brazil nut

I was bemoaning the lack of biscuits while I took a teabreak with my labmates yesterday. Last night, on reflection, I decided I should stop moaning and take action: just make some! The obvious place to find effective biscuit recipes was ppk, so there I looked and there I found - happily without margarine, I dislike that stuff (palm oil) - decided to try two, slightly different methods - choc-pecan with ground linseed, and brazil nut with tapioca. I guess these may be cookies really, but I still want to call them biscuits...

Chocolate-pecan
(makes ~ 20)

1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa
2 tsp ground linseed
1/2 cup pecan pieces
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fake milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Heat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl with a fork. Add the oil, milk and vanilla and mix until well combined, going in with your hands to make sure it's all together. Make into 1 inch balls and flatten into discs, arranging on the sheets so they have enough room to spread a little. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit on the sheets for 5 min, then remove to a cooling rack and leave to cool.

Brazil nut-brown sugar
(makes ~24)

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup coconut oil (liquid state)
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup brazil nuts, chopped

Heat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Mix sugars, oil, milk and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl with a fork: beat for about 2 min,until it resembles smooth caramel. Mix in the vanilla. Add 1 cup of flour, bicarb and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Fold in the brazil nuts. Make into 1 inch balls and flatten into discs, arranging on the sheets so they have enough room to spread a little. Bake for about 8 minutes – no more than 9 (+less if they are small) – until they are just a little browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and let sit on the sheets for 5 min, then remove to a cooling rack and leave to cool.


The chocolate pecan ones were super simple and came out really, really good: rich and intensely chocolatey, masses of pecans and chocolate pieces, sweet and slightly salty. I followed the recipe to the word.

The brazil nut ones didn't go so well. The batter was really oily and sticky so I added a little more flour (total ~2 cups instead of 1 1/2), so then I could shape them, but they didn't really spread or brown in the oven. They taste OK but the texture is kinda cakey instead of biscuity, and they don't look so nice as they are really pale all over. Perhaps this is all because I used coconut oil instead of canola? Dunno, but if looking for a quick, effective biscuit recipe the choc-pecan assembly is the way to go... Edit: although... I took the first half of each batch to woodturning clean-up and the boys pounded the brazil nut ones and left almost all the choc-pecan ones. Different tastes? Also I ate a brazil nut one about 6 days later and thought they had really improved with age.

Spiced carrot muffins

I woke up this morning wanting carrot cake. And we actually had some carrots in the fridge, so it seemed like a realistic desire to fulfill. I haven't made carrot cake in ages (my go-to is the Delia recipe), but didn't really feel like the whole, cakey, sugary shebang, so decided to go for lots of spices, adapting this recipe, instead.

(makes 12)

1 1/4 cups wholemeal flour
1 1/4 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 5 1/2 tbsp boiling water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup veg oil
1 1/3 cups almond milk mixed with 1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/3 cup golden raisins mixed with a little flour
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups grated carrot

Heat the oven to 375F. Prepare muffin tins.

Mix the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt in a large bowl with a fork.

In a separate bowl, beat together the linseed mixture, sugar, oil, milk mixture and vanilla. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the raisins, pecans and carrot in the final strokes.

Spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes until lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean.

Golden salad

Once again, our regular weekly CSA gift from Alvin delivered something fun - this time, golden beets.  I haven't cooked them much, but boiled the bigger ones up at the weekend, and then began to nurture an image of a beautiful, golden, autumnal sunshine kind of salad, with plenty of sweetness (perhaps to note Rosh Hashanah and a sweet Jewish new year).  Pecans were a given, and I was thinking of cranberries, but when I pulled out my box of dried stuff the golden raisins were staring me in the face, and it seemed like it would be utterly fatuous not to use them.

4 medium-large golden beets
bunch of rocket leaves (from the roof!)
1 1/2 tbsp golden raisins
1 1/2 tbsp toasted pecan pieces

1 1/2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
salt+pepper

Wash the beets and put them in a medium saucepan.  Cover with water.  Cover the pan and bring to the boil.  Boil until the beets are tender (about half an hour, give or take - depending on the size of the beets - test with the point of a knife).  Allow to cool to room temperature (this step is best done in advance - the whole cooked beets can be stored in the fridge for several days).

When ready to make the salad, peel the beets (the peel should come away pleasingly easily between your fingers) and chop them into chunks ~ 2 cm square.  Wash the rocket and tear into pieces, removing any tough stems.  Put the rocket and beets in a salad bowl and add the golden raisins and pecans.

To make the dressing, mix the mustard, honey, oil, vinegar and seasoning thoroughly in a small bowl.

When ready to eat, add the dressing to the salad bowl and toss.


This was a very pretty, very tasty salad.  I have been underwhelmed by golden beets previously but these had great taste and texture, and looked lovely.  I think my mistake in the past has been to mix them with regular beetroot - the taste and colour of normal beetroot (much though I love it) overpowered the golden ones.  Better to keep them separate to let them shine!

I think this salad would work just as well with red beetroot, spinach (or finely chopped parsley), cranberries and red wine vinegar instead of golden beets, rocket, golden raisins and cider vinegar.

4th July: No-bake chocolate pie

Independence Day is another one of those American holidays we never really know what to do for - we just don't have the back-history with it.  What I hear is you're supposed to have barbeques and eat pie and watch fireworks.  We failed to go out as I have a crappo summer cold, but we had a barbeque on the balcony (featuring the awesome marinated tofu and courgette again, plus a few mushrooms and potatoes, and S toasted bread on the grill).  And we did watch the fireworks from the Summit Park, which was hilarious: an awkward juxtaposition of middle-class families with pockets of super-drunk college students in Stars n Stripes bikini tops etc, all standing neatly organised in two long lines to see between the trees.  A huge lightning / rain storm started up pretty much the exact same time as the fireworks, it was awesome (we had an umbrella).

And, I decided we should have pie.  It had to be be a super simple pie, and should not involve switching on the oven, because it's still very hot and sticky, esp in our apartment under the heat-absorbing roof.  So that meant a raw-style pie crust, which I was totally in the mood for anyway.  And I felt like it should have fruit in it somewhere, although we didn't have much fruit in the house.  I daydreamed about pie while looking back through recipes I made before and at ppk, and ended up doing this...

Note: Today I made enough crust for a mini pie plus a half quantity of filling as I just wanted a wee one for S and me to share.  So quantities below haven't been fully tested, but should be about right for a full-size (8 in) pie.  If just making the filling for a quickie pudding snack a half quantity should be plenty.


Crust:
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup almond meal
3 tbsp linseed meal
pinch salt
1-3 tsp mulberry molasses

Filling:
3 cups fake milk
1/4 cup cornflour
1/3 cup sugar (half quantity = 2 tbsp)
3 tbsp cocoa powder
pinch salt
3 tbsp chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla essence

good handful raspberries, fresh or frozen (or chopped fresh strawberries)

First, prep the crust: put the pecan pieces, almond meal, linseed meal and salt in a blender and grind til smooth.  Add the mulberry molasses bit by bit and pulse til the crumbs are just starting to stick together. Empty out of the blender and then press the crust into a pie tin or dish lined with foil.  Put in the fridge until needed.

(Note, the molasses is just to stick the nuts together and add sweetness, alternatives could be soft dates or frozen banana, or maple syrup.  Be careful when adding not to add too much as it would become too soft and sticky and make the finished pie not come out of the tin properly).

Next, filling: put 1 cup of fake milk in a pan with the cornflour and whisk together until the cornflour is distributed and there are no lumps.  Then add the cocoa, sugar, salt and the rest of the milk and whisk together.  Bring to the boil, whisking constantly until it thickens.  Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and mix until it is melted.  Then add the vanilla and mix.

Assembly: take the prepared crust and sprinkle the raspberries evenly over the base.  Then pour the chocolate mixture all over the raspberries and fill up the crust (any extra can just be poured in a separate bowl).  Leave to cool, then transfer to the fridge and leave for a couple of hours or so.


I actually used both frozen banana and mulberry molasses as sticky stuff in the crust, and ended up with something a bit too sticky but very tasty.  I went ahead and used it anyway - the pie didn't come out of the dish very easily but it still tasted good.  So the quantities described above reflect what I was aiming for rather than what I actually did.  The chocolate pudding mix was great - super easy, using stuff I always have in the cupboards / fridge, good just on its own as well as as a pie filling.  It's a good alternative to the silken tofu based chocolate pudding I've made often, perhaps even a more pudding-y texture (and doesn't require silken tofu, which I don't have any of at the moment).  Really into cornflour thickening in desserts right now - nice smooth texture with no flavour distraction.  All in all the pie was really yummy - S had thirds - and with a little tweaking of the crust mix I think it could be awesome.  Perfect for a hot day's pie craving!

Pecan Pie (waiting for Irene)

We are forecast a hurricane for tonight / tomorrow.  Right now it is raining like mad but not windy.  I spent the morning at the community garden, which was such a good decision as I don't think I'll be getting out much for the rest of the weekend...

In the meantime S went shopping - apparently Trader Joe's was a bit nuts.  He took photos, but it looked like a normal Saturday to me (supermarkets are such depressing places)...  It's been an odd week - last night Allston was overrun by flying ants, we had the earthquake on Wednesday, lots of rain and muggy weather...

S was getting worried we wouldn't have enough tasty things to eat during the hurricane, so I decided to test a pecan pie recipe to assuage his fears - pecan pie is one of his faves...  With the weather as it is, this seemed to be the best way to spend the afternoon...

I've never made pecan pie before, but was inspired by this recipe and this one to give it a go...

I used the Wind Attack crust, same as for the lime tart I made last weekend (I had half the quantity in the freezer).

I used the ppk recipe for the filling (used half quantities):

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (didn't have any brown, so used double white)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup margarine
6 oz extra firm silken tofu (1/2 of a tetra pack)
1/4 cup cold fake milk (used soy)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecan halves

Press crust into a pie dish (no need to pre-bake).

To make a caramel, mix the sugar and maple syrup in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring often with a whisk. Once small bubbles start rapidly forming, stir pretty constantly for about 10 minutes. The mixture should become thick and syrupy. It shouldn’t be boiling too fast.

Add the margarine, and stir to melt. Turn off the heat off, transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. In the meantime, prepare the rest of the filling, working quickly so that the caramel doesn’t completely set.

Put the tofu into a blender or food processor, along with the milk, cornstarch and salt. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender.

Preheat oven to 350F.

With the caramel still warm in the mixing bowl, add in the tofu mixture and the vanilla, and mix well. Fold in the pecans.

Transfer to prepared pie crust and bake for 40 minutes, til set.

It turned out good.  The texture of the filling was perfect.  The colour was a bit grey but suspect if I'd used the brown sugar as suggested that would not be noticeable.  I thought my caramel had gone all wrong, but even so the recipe worked out OK.  The crust was as before (perhaps more crumbly) - if I used it again I might try finer cornmeal.  Or try a different recipe (perhaps with gluten).  All in all, yummy.  And not too fussy either (especially with the crust pre-made).


I also made this bread... Not that there's any way we will starve anytime soon - we have a pantry crammed with dried fruit, nuts, seeds, preserves, nut+seed butters, crackers, bananas, cereal, fake milk etc etc etc.  But now S gets to eat favourites even if the power goes out...

Sebastian's Birthday: Pecan Caramel Cake

I took this recipe as a jumping-off point.

(uses two 6 inch cake pans)

Cake:

1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 cup (less 2tbsp) fake milk

3 tbsp coffee

1 tbsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp cider vinegar

handful (~50g) toasted pecan pieces

Salted Maple Caramel (note, for caramel that worked see this recipe):

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup coffee

3/8 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup tinned coconut milk

1 tbsp fake butter

1/2 tbsp vanilla essence

1 tsp sea salt

handful toasted pecan pieces; about 12 whole pecan halves

Oven to 375 degrees. Line two six-inch-diameter cake tins with with baking parchment. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.

Melt coconut oil.  When just melted whisk in fake milk, maple syrup, coffee and vanilla extract.

Add wet to dry and whisk until well blended. Lastly whisk in cider vinegar and stir quickly.

Split cake batter between tins and bake until skewer comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.  Cool cake completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour. Let cool completely, then refrigerate.

To make caramel, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the sugar, maple syrup and coffee to a boil, stirring well at first to dissolve the sugar. Turn down the heat to low and cook until the liquid is deep amber in color, about 15-20 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking (don't stir). Remove the pan from heat. Very carefully (the mixture will bubble), stir in the coconut milk, fake butter, vanilla and sea salt until smooth. Let cool until it is a thicker constency before using on cake (it gets thicker as it cools).  Ideally chill for an hour or so before icing cake to make sure it is as thick as possible.

Layer the cake with half the caramel and all the pecan pieces in the middle.  Put the rest of the caramel on top and decorate with the half pecans.


This was a big hit - he loved it!  It combines loads of his favourite things - salt, pecans, coffee...  It was quite sweet with the caramel (and there was quite a lot of caramel - more frosting would have been way too much), but the denseness of the cake and the nuts kinda balanced it out.  The caramel was quite runny - good to wait until it is absolutely cold.  Also I stirred the sugar a bit as it bubbled and it kinda thickened / crystallised - the caramel came out OK in the end (a wee bit lumpy) - think it's better not to stir.  As it was just for us at home presentation wasn't such a big deal but the caramel was hard to make look good.  It would have been great as a brownie with the caramel sauce on the side to pour.  Not sure you could really taste the maple the way I did it - might have been just as good with just sugar.  Also was perhaps a bit shy with the coffee - would consider using coffee instead of fake milk and maybe using more flour instead of cocoa another time to make a more coffee-y cake.  I liked the wholewheat flour - a good way of giving texture (which I feel like vegan cakes really need) without adding extra stuff.

Seb birthday cake ideas

He demands nuts (specifically pecans) and maybe coffee.

I am thinking maybe this one: 

maple pecan turtle cake

(it looks amazing, I am interested in trying a salted caramel (and seb loves salt so I think it would be a hit), and was also thinking maple syrup would be a good combination with pecans...)

Also looking at this recipe for pecan pie:

pecan pie

(like the sound of the crust)

Got looking at that blog... Also keen on trying something like this - love the sound of the guinness and avocado mix - have enjoyed stout cakes before, and wanted to try an avocado cake.  That blog is beautiful.

Finally, I bought some green tea powder at the weekend, so am keen to try and make some kind of green tea cakes (probably kitschy cupcakes or fairy cakes).

And I want to buy some agar agar or pectin and experiment with jellies.  That's probably enough to be getting on with...

Maple syrup roasted brussels sprouts (or apple, squash and pecans)

Maple syrup is one of my favourite American foods (others are squash, cranberries, blueberries, pecans, corn - more on those later).

A friend at work was eating maple syrup roasted brussels sprouts and said they were the best and easiest thing he'd ever cooked. So I went and looked them up. They are indeed simple and good - much potential to convert haters to sprouts.

1 1/2 lb brussels sprouts
~2 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper ~2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Heat the oven to 375F. Prepare the brussels sprouts by removing any yellow or brown outer leaves and the stems, then cutting in half. Toss the brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt and pepper together until well combined, then spread out in a roasting tin and put in the oven. After 15 min, stir the brussels sprouts. After another 15 min, stir in the maple syrup. Roast for about another 15 min until tender (about 45 min total). Toss the roasted brussels sprouts with the hazelnuts (if using) and eat.


I didn't have hazelnuts (seemed to be a temporary Boston-wide shortage), so did without and it was great. I also tried it with broccoli and that worked too. I've subsequently made it with and without hazelnuts a bunch of times (this has become a bit of a fave) and I like it both ways, but might even prefer without.

I did a similar thing with chunks of apple and squash, and threw in pecan pieces to toast for the last few minutes. That was a really tasty and autumnal dessert, with some coconut rice pudding.

Also good with birch syrup instead of maple.