Autumnal Apple Cake baked with Olive Oil

By Anni | August 27, 2008 – 17:47

We got a free bag of apples from the organic grocery nearby, and since the fall seems to be here for good, I decided to bake something cinnamony. This apple cake was so easy to make, came out perfectly moist, and had such a delightful fragrance, that the forthcoming winter doesn’t suddenly feel like such a bad thing after all!

This is the first time I’ve used olive oil in sweet baked goods, and will definitely be doing that more often from now on. The taste wasn’t overpowering by any means, there was just a hint of the olive goodness hiding somewhere amongst all the apples. I really liked how the top (or, eventually, the bottom) of the cake came out a little crunchy, which is a nice contrast with the moist cakey insides and the fruity topping. The photo is a bit yellowish because of the progressing lack of light in Helsinki, but I guess it’s best to get used to that…

The Cake Batter:

  • 1 dl olive oil
  • 2 and 1/2 dl sugar
  • 2 dl plain soy yoghurt
  • 1 dl wheat flour
  • 2 and 1/2 dl whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 coarsely ground almonds
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 dl grated apples

Topping:

  • 5 small apples, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

Before starting with the batter, I set the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, grated the apples, and greased a round glass baking dish with a little margarine.

I started with the topping. I sliced 5 small apples, placed them in a mixing bowl, and stirred in the sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Then I poured the slices in the baking dish and arranged them so that they covered the bottom and the sides of the pan.

To make the batter, I first whisked together the olive oil, sugar, and soy yogurt until the mixture was smooth. Then I mixed the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a separate bowl, and added them to the liquids. I whisked the batter until there were no large lumps and then stirred in the grated apple. Now, I poured the batter in the baking dish over the apples.

Then I baked the cake on the lowest rack of our oven for 55 minutes, until it was well browned, and came off the sides of the baking dish. After baking, I let the cake cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, and then inverted the cake on a surface covered with baking parchment. We enjoyed the first slices with some vanilla ice cream, but I think that this cake is just as delicious on its own.

By Anni | Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (5)

Tofu Patties with Lime and Smoked Paprika

By Anni | August 24, 2008 – 12:36

I have been obsessed with limes since our vacation, and I have a feeling this has something to do with the extremely juicy limes we got in Portugal. Even though the ones we can buy in Finland have just a faint shadow of their Portuguese counterparts’ deliciousness, they do add a lovely fragrance and flavor in most everything - and pair very nicely with smoked paprika, as in these tasty tofu patties.

The limes in Portugal were actually considerably sweeter than the ones we have around here - they are picked more ripe I suppose - which made me realize how challenging it can be to share recipes internationally. So, in this recipe, you might only need half the amount of agave if you live where the lime trees grow!

These patties were nice with mashed potatoes, and especially tasty squeezed between two slices of rye bread like a “fishy” veggie burger. We enjoyed our burgers with some garlic yogurt sauce, fresh dill, and pickled cucumbers - yum!

The Patties:

  • 500 g firm tofu
  • 1 dl chopped green onions
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons tamari (or regular soy) sauce
  • 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • grated zest of 1 lime
  • 1 tablespoon agave syrup
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon veggie broth powder (or less than 1 tsp salt)
  • 1 teaspoon crushed dried chilies
  • 3/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika powder
  • 1 dl gram (chick pea flour)
  • some more oil for brushing

First, I set the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, and covered a baking sheet with some parchment paper.

I didn’t press the tofu, since the burger dough needs moisture anyway. I just took the block of tofu out of the package and rinsed it, placed in a large mixing bowl, and then squeezed it with my hands until it was all mushy. Now I added the rest of the ingredients in the bowl and mixed the dough with a fork until everything was combined. At this point, I checked the taste to see if the balance of salty and sweet and acidic was right, and it was.

Now, I formed 12 patties out of the dough, each about the width of the palm of my hand, and about 2 centimeters thick. I placed the patties on the baking sheet I’d covered with parchment paper, brushed them with some canola oil on both sides, and then placed the baking sheet in the middle rack of our oven. I baked the patties for 10 minutes, then flipped them with a spatula, baked them for 15 minutes, flipped again, and baked for another 5 minutes until they’d browned nicely on both sides.

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Dream Chocolate Cake

By Anni | August 18, 2008 – 15:12

This is a moist and decadent chocolate cake that owes its wonderful texture to silken tofu and a large amount of chocolate. Not very cakey at all, Heikki described this cake as a blend of cake batter and chocolate frosting baked into one wonderful concoction. Only for those who love fudgy cakes and moist centers!

I used semi-dark chocolate and didn’t even add cocoa powder, since we don’t have any at the moment (and I was too lazy to run to the grocery). This produced an almost milk chocolate-like chocolate flavor. I don’t see why a darker chocolate wouldn’t work as well - the flavor would probably just be more deep and not quite as sweet. This cake really doesn’t need any frosting, but I might drizzle some more chocolate over the top for a fancier presentation.

The Chocolate Batter:

  • 220 g semi-dark chocolate (40-50 % cocoa)
  • 350 g firm silken tofu (Mori-Nu vacuum packed is what I use)
  • 2 dl sugar
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 dl canola oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur
  • 3 dl wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

The first thing I did was to preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Then I melted the chocolate and set it aside.

Now, I prepared the batter: I placed the tofu, sugar, oil, vanilla sugar, salt, cinnamon, and coffee liqueur in a large mixing bowl and puréed them with our immersion blender until everything was smooth and there were absolutely no tofu pieces visible.

I mixed the flour with the baking soda in a smaller bowl. Then I poured the melted chocolate in the tofu bowl, stirred with a fork until completely combined, and then added the flour mixture in the bowl as well. I stirred with the fork until just combined - some tiny lumps remained  - and then poured the batter in a glass baking dish (15 cm X 23 cm) covered with parchment paper.

Now, I baked the cake in 175 degrees for 35 minutes, until it was firm to the touch but still a little jiggly in the center. A toothpick inserted in the center did not come out quite clean at this point, but it wasnt’t soaked in batter either.

I think this cake was best when still a little warm, but it does keep in the fridge for a few days at least (or until it’s all gone, most likely). I like to warm it up a little bit but Heikki prefers enjoying it straight out of the fridge - it’s delicious either way.

By Anni | Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (9)

Coconut Ice Cream with Raspberry

By Heikki | August 13, 2008 – 20:57

I’ve always thought that you need an ice cream maker if you want to have home made ice cream, so I was delighted that the ice cream Anni made turned out so good. The next step, of course, was to make ice cream of my own. I wanted to try coconut ice cream, since it isn’t available here in Helsinki, or at least we haven’t found any.

Here’s what I used (enough for about 8 dl of ice cream):

  • 4 dl coconut milk
  • 2 dl whippable oat cream
  • 1/2 dl sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or more
  • 200g frozen raspberries or more
  • fresh raspberries for decoration

I began by melting the frozen raspberries and then putting them in a sieve on top of a bowl. I took a glass, and mashed the raspberries in the sieve with the bottom of the glass, until only the seeds and the skins of raspberries remained. In the bowl was some nice, fine raspberry purée. Obviously, if you have some kind of raspberry-crushing pestle that suits the task better, feel free to use one.

I put the oat cream and sugar in a bowl, and whipped them for a couple of minutes. Then I added the coconut milk, vanilla sugar and the raspberry purée in the bowl, and whipped some more.

I put the mixture in the freezer for an hour. Then I used our immersion blender to break the texture of the not-quite-yet ice cream, and put it back in the freezer again. I repeated this for 5 hours and 5 mixes, and then I put it back in the freezer for two hours more.

It was ready to eat now! We decorated the portions with some fresh raspberries we had picked ourselves. The texture was great, very much like store-bought ice cream. The taste was delicious too! It was very coconutty and could’ve been more raspberrish, so next time I think I’ll add a bit more vanilla sugar and use more berries.

By Heikki | Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (12)

Beet Quinoa with Beluga Lentils

By Anni | August 7, 2008 – 14:46

My mom gave us some fresh beets from the summer cottage, and this is one of the dishes we used them in. I love quinoa, and my favorite way to cook it is like this: in a pilaf with just a few spices and a vegetable or two. The beluga lentils are delicious, and I especially like how they have a resemblance to quinoa when it comes to size and shape, but the texture is quite different.

We served this dish with a simple side of cubed daikon radish, dressed with some lemon juice, linseed oil, and a pinch of salt and sugar.

The Beet Quinoa:

  • 2 and 1/2 dl quinoa, well rinsed
  • 2 small beets, finely grated (about 2 dl)
  • 1 onion, cubed
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 dl kalamata olives, sliced
  • 1/2 dl red wine
  • 4 dl water
  • 1 teaspoon marjoram
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • salt to taste
  • canola oil for frying

I first fried the onions in the oil until translucent, then added the garlic and the herbs, and fried a bit more. Now, I added the quinoa and the beets, and fried for a minute or so, just to coat them with the oil. Then I added the water, the red wine, and the olives, covered the pan, and let the quinoa absorb all the liquid, which took about 18 minutes. I checked it more often toward the end of the cooking time, and added just a little bit of water when it started to dry out but wasn’t quite done yet.

When the quinoa was cooked, I stirred in the Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper, and the dish was ready to be served.

The Beluga Lentils:

  • 2 and 1/2 dl Beluga lentils
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove, pressed

I cooked the lentils with the bay leaf until they were soft, which took about 15 minutes. Then I drained the lentils, removed the bay leaf, and added the rest of the ingredients. Then I let the flavors develop in room temperature until the quinoa was all cooked.

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