Tag: foodblogger

Pumpkin Ginger-Spiced French Toast Roll-ups with Cinnamon Tahini Fondue

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This cinnamon tahini fondue is very everything. When I woke up that morning, there was a funny pain at the base of my stomach, and that’s never a good thing, but I still knew my weekly french toast get-up was much needed, for better or for worse. There are times during the day, usually alone, with a bit of quiet, or during deep conversation with someone who’s on the same page as you, that one can calmly address all negative emotions, accept them, then pass them to the air.

Feeling wild writing this, yet calm. It’s my last day of being 19, and who knew a year could’ve changed me so much in all facets. Just a year ago I was on a boat with other freshmen pondering the excitement of living near Hyde Park, and now here I am, still alive, still a student, still eating the same plates of french toast. I am truly grateful for the close friends who stuck by me and who I can always count on, my family, and stuff to learn and discover every day. Now I find I need so much less to be happy– dining in the dark with an old friend, a fresh bath and timely wake, fresh roasted vegetables, the hug of tea in the cold, brisk air, working alone. Nope, nothing more.

Of course there was no more appropriate way to spend the morning than with my favourite breakfast. Opened the pantry and of course there was no bread. But. Found a fair bit of Lebanese flat bread given so kindly to me by a friend (Lavash I should think?), so I made do with that, and goodness was that good. Though it had gone a bit stale as I intended to make each pillowy bit of fragrance last as long as possible, dipping it in my pumpkin french toast batter and then frying it gave it a renewed warmth, tenderness, life.

I came up with the idea for this cinnamon tahini fondue whilst trying to think of something other than good old coconut almond butter for my porridge topping, and I know nothing comes quite as close as the stuff, but with a new pot of tahini, something had to be done, and tahini naked wouldn’t have been embracing that morning creative jolt It’s an uncomplicated mix of tahini, cinnamon, applesauce and yoghurt, along with some of the pumpkin french toast batter. The weirdness of that mix overshadows its majesty.

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Pumpkin Ginger-Spiced French Toast Roll-ups with Cinnamon Tahini Fondue

Ingredients

1 large flatbread (lavash), tortilla or crepe (alternatively, use normal bread slices)

 

For the pumpkin french toast batter:

2 heaping tbsp pumpkin purée

50ml milk of choice (I always use almond)

1 tsp fresh grated ginger (or ground)

1 tbsp sweetener of choice (agave syrup/date syrup/honey/blackstrap molasses)

pinch of salt

pat of vegan butter (or normal butter) for the pan

 

For the cinnamon tahini fondue:

1 tsp pumpkin purée

3 tbsp tahini

a heavy hand (around 1 tsp) of ground cinnamon

1 tsp sweetener of choice (refer to choices above)

 

Directions

If using flatbread, tear so that the pillow punctured and you get two thin ‘slices’ per bit of bread. You can use any other bread, but for the rollup effect, make sure to roll them out pretty tin and flat so you can squish them into the rolled shape you want afterwards.

Whisk together the ingredients for the pumpkin french toast batter and heat your pan on medium heat. Add a pat of butter to the pan and wait to hear a sizzle. Once hot, dip your slices into the pumpkin batter for 5-6 seconds on each side (you don’t need much time if you’re using a crepe or flat bread because they are so thin), then place gently in pan. Wait 20 seconds or so to cook, then flip and wait another 10-15 seconds.

Mix together the ingredients for the cinnamon tahini fondue, and serve the hot french toast rollups with that, together with some berries, perhaps some whipped (vegan) cream and more sweetener of your choice.

Posted on by alexcrumb 0

Overnight Vegan PB&J Chocolate Coconut Babka

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In the wake of weird, let’s bake. Let’s have some sweet to go round, softening the edges of confusion. Though I am no savvy politician, I simply can’t see why decisions have solidified as such. The morning throbbed with trepidation. But it’s up to us to look up, look ahead.

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Babka has been on my mind for a long time! There is so much about it to love. A tender fluffy crumb, the endless combinations of swirl and filling (chocolate and nuts is the traditional fave–a bulging filling at that), a possible icing, knowing full well it pairs perfectly with any steaming holiday-themed beverage…

So you make the dough, let it rest because you have stuff to do for the night, put it all together first thing in the morning, or perhaps 2 days later because you’re off for work at 7 the next morning and can’t be arsed to dress up some bread (and that’s ok!), then bake it, all the while smiling at the fact that the whole put-babka-together-and-roll dance occupied the time it would take to make any other meal, or maybe less.  The whole weekend I was seriously craving some peanut butter and jam action, and because I tend to like chocolate with anything too, and coconut because live life on the edge, I decided to throw in some chocolate coconut action into the game as well.

A soft, tender, sweet yeasted babka filled with peanut butter, jam, chopped chocolate, chocolate coconut spread, topped with a coconut milk glaze. 

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Swell morning.

I did mention veganising most, if not all my recipes from now on in my previous post, because accommodation isn’t illegal, and it’s actually really darn fun; not having eggs or dairy by mistake doesn’t mean it’s the end of humanity as we know it. You’re cutting down on ingredients, and replacing the necessaries with other cheap, easily-found ingredients. With my recent vegan endeavours, most of my meat-eating fanatics simply can’t tell the difference, unsuspecting of zilch gram of egg or meat or butter in there. Sometimes they beat the originals. It’s an enthralling process. Of course, this need not be completely vegan, so feel free to use butter instead of Earth Balance etc.

This. Babka. Sweet, buttery bread cradles nuts from your chunky breakfast spread, darkened selectively in places oozing with textured chocolate, hardened by the oven but molten in the centre. The coconut milk glaze glides over every crevice, letting the coconut-flavoured lashings of chocolate smushed on the inside sing.

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Take a bite, then sip your coffee. Saccharine bliss. This post is dedicated to my first #VirtualCoffeeParty, as well as to my dear friend Ella, who’s birthday is today.

Overnight PB&J Vegan Chocolate Coconut Babka (makes one loaf, or 6 thick slices)

Ingredients

For the dough:

250g flour

1 tbsp instant yeast

pinch of salt

45g applesauce

50g Earth Balance (or butter, or any vegan butter)

40g sugar (coconut sugar here would be great)

90ml plant or nut milk of choice (or plain milk)

For the chocolate coconut sauce:

100g chopped dark chocolate

1 tsp coconut essence

*alternatively, use a ready-made chocolate coconut sauce, like Sweet Freedom’s Choc Shot (mmmmmmmm)

For the filling:

110g chunky peanut butter

6-7 tbsp strawberry or raspberry jam

100g chopped dark chocolate

For the glaze:

100g icing sugar

3 tbsp coconut milk

 

Directions

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt together the butter/Earth Balance and milk of choice.

In a separate large bowl, add the flour, yeast, applesauce, sugar and pinch of salt. Mix together briefly, then add the milk-butter mixture and knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface. Shape into a ball, put the dough back in the bowl and leave in the fridge overnight or up to 48 hours.

The next morning, spray a pan and heat your oven to 200C. Make the chocolate coconut sauce– simply microwave together the ingredients and set aside for the timebeing. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface, into a rectangle slightly longer than the pan itself. Spread the peanut butter on the dough leaving a one-inch margin all round, then the jam, then the chocolate and chocolate coconut sauce. Roll the dough along its length so you get a long cylinder, then cut a slit down the middle lengthwise. Twist the dough, sort of like in a braiding fashion, then put onto your pan. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then bake for 25-30 minutes in your preheated oven.

While it’s in the oven, whisk together the coconut milk and icing sugar. Once baked, let it sit for 10 minutes before drizzling on the glaze, cutting and serving. Y-U-M.

Posted on by alexcrumb 0

Spiced Nutella-stuffed Matcha Baked Doughnuts

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The longest flight cannot deter me from the baking buzz. Oh, sweet, unfailing kitchen and oven!

All at once, 2015 is behind my shoulder, at the top of my head, and heavy in my heart. As I was scrolling through my old posts and reading my personal diary, I realised how important and special this little place has become to me– never did I think it would grow into such a shrine of my passion. I’ve sometimes blurred the line between personal thought (which explains the existence of my diary, something I’ve kept for 10 years and counting!) and just rambling on about cake and anything to do with sugar, but I’ve learnt to embrace that once in a while, and it’s only enhanced my excitement over writing about anything in general. With a long, hard year ahead, I’m determined to keep it close, despite all the work I know I will face during the long run.

I don’t think this post would be complete without a little more on the main inspiration behind this recipe– Japan!

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Amazing food, small kitsch gadgets, overwhelming magnanimity. If there’s a country that’s got tourism down pat, it’s the Land of the Rising Sun. Oh, and not forgetting heated toilet seats. Really. That’s always a plus.

Afterwards– a solid, foreign calm. Back to the heat, the familiarity of my favourite tiny island, though admittedly, and as a friend put it so well, it feels so weird not to be held accountable for anything anymore, then suddenly be thrust into the routine of family fun. It does require some getting used to.

The taste of Japanese food after a good 3 months without the stuff was almost a spiritual experience. Just imagine– the freshest uni possible (mildly rough texture that gives way to buttery insides, mmph), slippery, thick slices of fresh pink otoro (fatty tuna), and of course… green tea.

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Green tea kit kat, green tea mochi, green tea… everything, really. We came across so many different varieties of matcha (the finely ground powder of specially grown green tea) chocolates, in other words the main inspiration for the final product:

fluffy matcha baked doughnuts, stuffed with nutella and covered in a matcha glaze.

You see it, I see it. It’s got all the goods, and anything stuffed with chocolate/hazelnut chocolate spread is a win. Based off my previous recipe for maple bacon doughnuts (I implore you to try these at some point in your life as well), the results were lush– fluffy, cake-like doughnut base, a slight twang of sponge in there, gooey nutella in the middle, and a glaze that speaks loudly of matcha instead of simply being a sugar overload.

The addition of spice is simply my excuse for not being around during Christmas do indulge in the usual Christmas baking routine, but it adds another level of flavour that propels this simple recipe to something that much more festive. By all means, leave the spices out if you prefer a more straightforward chocolate-matcha pairing.There’s something about the pairing of the mild bitterness present in all that matcha, and rich milky hazelnut chocolate that’s unbeatable on a Sunday afternoon, coffee and book in hand. Right, let’s do this.

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Spiced Nutella-stuffed Matcha Baked Doughnuts (makes 6 doughnuts)

Ingredients

For the doughnuts:

125g (1 cup) all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp matcha powder

75g (1/3 cup) white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

120ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk

28g (2 tbsp) unsalted, melted butter

~1/3 jar of nutella/melted dark chocolate (the quantity is up to you)

 

For the matcha glaze:

115g icing sugar

1 tsp matcha powder

2 1/2 tbsp whole milk

 

Directions

Preheat your oven to 177C and grease a doughnut pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, matcha powder and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, milk and vanilla extract. (tip: it helps to have all your ingredient at room temperature for even, stress-free mixing). Tip your dry mix into the wet mix and mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula until everything is well combined.

Take a tablespoon of batter and place at the bottom of a doughnut mold, spreading so it coats the bottom (you don’t want too many chocolate leaks) and goes about halfway up the side. Using two teaspoons or a piping bag (or use a small ziploc bag with the tip cut off), line the middle of each doughnut with nutella/any chocolate spread or even melted chocolate. Do this 6 times for 6 doughnuts, then place the molds in the preheated oven and bake for exactly 8 minutes. I find that the shape and size of the doughnuts are perfect if you fill the molds 3/4 of the way with batter, rather than all the way. Once you take them out of the oven, the doughnuts will feel soft and tender to the touch, with a gentle rise and the gentlest browning on top. Leave them to cool on a cooling rack while you make the icing (thankfully, it doesn’t take long).

For that, simply whisk together the icing ingredients and set aside to use once the doughnuts are cool, else it will melt everywhere. After 10 minutes, remove the doughnuts from their molds,and dip one side into the bowl containing the matcha icing, then place right way up again on the cooling rack to let any excess icing drip down the sides.

Eat right away, or store in an airtight container and keep at room temperature for 1-2 days, or the fridge for up to 4 days. The sooner, the better!

Posted on by alexcrumb 2

Double Chocolate Banana Pillow Pancakes

I do like chocolate. And in the parlance unique to all chocolate lovers… um… What about double chocolate? Yesterday morning, there was a lapse in self-control. These pancakes aren’t exactly the healthiest, but they sure are the most Sunday morning-esque, and that’s the most important thing, because a certain rainy day and time on your hands demands a lush, thick stack. Sometimes I’m partial to the whole almond-milk-and-oats sort of thing, but this particular lapse in the system of fairytale strength made me put whole milk, whole eggs, and good, rich chocolate on the counter at 6am in the morning.

Didn’t look back. Can’t look back. I keep swooning over my favouritest thick, fluffy buttermilk pillow pancakes, and ever since I can’t bear to experiment with any other pancake recipe. I can’t bring myself to attempt anything off-standard. They’re magical and fluffy and pillowy; the best ones you will attempt in your lifetime. And life is so incredibly short. These are a double chocolate and banana version, with cocoa in the dry ingredients, banana in the wet, and stuffed with dark chocolate chips (use chunks if you will for full-on pleasure). The picture above shows a sweet little stack of 4 crowned with glorious, gooey, sticky cashew butter, maple syrup, and topped with a king-sized piece of dark chocolate, which melts along with the cashew butter and makes the whole bloody breakfast a fudgy and delectable brown-and-white mess. Any sort of nut butter is highly recommended, for its rich stickiness clings to the tender surface of each pancake and ups the goo-and-fudge factor considerably. Mmmm. Rich yet soft, sporadically studded with pockets of melting chocolate. Mandatory maple syrup. Double Chocolate Banana Pancakes (makes around 10 medium, or 8 large pancakes)

Ingredients

175g (slightly less than 1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder

3 tbsp white sugar

pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

240ml (1 cup) milk of choice (I used whole)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 banana, mashed

50g unsalted butter, melted in the microwave (in 30-second increments), and a little more for the pan

large handful of chocolate chips or chunks (to your own discretion)

Directions

Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, sugar and both leavening agents into a large bowl. Whisk everything together well to ensure proper dispersion. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla extract, mashed banana, honey and melted buttter. Pour the wet mix into the dry and slowly mix together until just combined. The mix will be thick and lumpy.

Heat your pan or griddle on medium heat. It’s hot enough when you add a little butter and it sizzles audibly. Using a tablespoon measurement or a light hand with a quarter-cup measurement, pour circles of batter into the pan. Make sure there’s at least an inch of space between each dollop, because these enlarge significantly after flipping. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on the surface of each pancake (my own pan can only take 2 pancakes at a go), then take your spoon again and spoon more batter on top. The thickness of the batter means the bubbles won’t show up as quickly, so after 2 minutes check the bottom doneness with a spatula, and if it can slide easily underneath, give the pancakes a flip. The second side takes hardly any time at all, so wait less than a minute before removing and placing on a towel (to absorb condensation). Serve with nut butter, maple syrup and fruit, or whipped cream and maple syrup, or whatever the hell you want, really.

You can make all 8-10 pancakes before everyone is up for breakfast, just make sure to microwave them or place them in a warm oven for a while before serving. Place uneaten pancakes in a ziploc bag and into the fridge. They reheat beautifully, and are there whenever you want.

Posted on by alexcrumb 2

Semolina Pear Pudding Cake

In all honesty, I’m not quite sure how to kick this one off.

Because look at it.

Do you like pudding? Or cake? Maybe both? If you’re into something soft yet firm-crusted and perhaps a little gooey on the inside, then fill yourself with hope. I had this for breakfast this morning and haven’t looked back. Why did it take me so long to get to this stage of sunlit ecstasy (what does that even mean)? Embarrassingly, I have too many questions to ask myself.

It’s the 3rd day of June and I feel like having a third cup of coffee. I like looking at the stains up and along the sides of the cup, a few viscous drops never really making it halfway down the porcelain breadth. Although some things in my personal schedule have shifted a little, constants remain, like almost-selfish spaces of time to myself, spent with a good book, science literature… and, yes, absolutely random ovenputtogethers baking bonanzas. I’ll be truthful and say that I still prefer the taste and texture of traditional baked cake, but semolina, or coarse, purified durum wheat, indeed lends a more interesting albeit unorthodox flavour.

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Let’s go through the motions.

What we have here is a layer of pears on the bottom, then a semolina cake enriched with plenty of vanilla and a little elderflower cordial, then another layer of pear. Everything is brushed with what would seem like too much elderflower syrup after baking.

With regard to the pears, I used the soft and sweet Comice, but any sort will work perfectly here, be it the firmer variations like Bosc or Concorde, or even Green or Red Anjou. Whatever’s lurking in the closet. I was initially afraid of using the sort which is perfect eaten raw, for fear of everything disintegrating into fruity mush, but the recipe yielded a surprisingly pleasing result; the moisture of the soft pear paired wonderfully with the drier cake (pre-drizzle of course).

A few notes:

– I term this a ‘pudding cake’ only because such a label is a near-perfect representation of the final texture– that is, coarser and of a much less refined texture thanks to the semolina, yet slightly squidgy, especially around the parts of the cake near the cooked pear. The ‘pudding’ part is only achieved with the liberal drizzle of elderflower syrup, as well as the no-holds-barred addition of heavy cream later on. Which brings me to my second point:

– Please do yourself a favour and have this drenched in heavy cream!

– Whilst drizzling the syrup, you will notice that you will only be able to do so on the parts of the cake not covered by the pear (obviously). That’s alright, because the moisture from the pear seeps into the surface it covers, so everything is nicely balanced.

I’m not quite sure what exactly compelled me to pair semolina with pear, but I’m glad keen instinct drove me to do so.

Semolina Pear Pudding Cake with an Elderflower Syrup Drizzle (serves 9-12)

Ingredients

113g (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature or just slightly softened in the microwave

235g (1 cup) white sugar

2 eggs

120ml (half cup) milk of choice (I used a mix of whole and almond milk)

1 tsp vanilla extract

365g (around 2 cups) semolina

1tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

3-4 pears of your choice (as mentioned above, I used Comice, but any sort is fine, and the amount you need will depend on the size of your pears)

For the elderflower syrup: 1/2 cup elderflower cordial mixed with 1/2 cup filtered water, mixed and warmed in the microwave for a while.

Directions

Preheat your oven to 177C (350F), and grease and line an 8×8 or 9×9-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (semolina, salt and leavening agents) and set aside. With an electrical beater, or using a whisk and good old bicep strength, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract, until pale and very fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then the milk. Pour in the dry mix you set aside and fold in using a spatula until everything is just combined. The mix will look pale, coarse and rather thick.

Core and cut your pears into slices around a 1/2-inch thick, and place a layer of slices on the bottom of the pan. Scrape the cake batter into the pan and use the spatula to make the top smooth, spreading the batter into the corners. Layer more slices on top, but make sure there’s some space between the slices for the syrup later on. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-28 minutes, or when a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean. This took me around 26 minutes. While the cake is baking, mix together the syrup ingredients.

Remove the cake from the oven and drizzle on all of the syrup. Yes, all of it! This is what will ensure the pudding-like result. To serve, scoop some of the cake onto a plate and cut in half horizontally. Sandwich 2 or 3 slices of pear in between the slices, then drench everything in heavy whipping cream. Enjoy whenever.

Posted on by alexcrumb 2