Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Cocoa and Banana Muffins with Black Sesame Seeds

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Raise your hands if you know Béa and her beautiful and amazing food blog, La Tartine Gourmande. If you don’t, hurry up and check it out, after reading my post. 🙂 Béa’s blog was the first foreign food blog I found and I fell in love with it. Her recipes are nourishing, healty and mostly gluten-free. And her photograpy… Oh My God… that is absolutely stunning. She is such a great, talented photographer and food stylist. You know what is the best? I have the opportunity to meet her in August at Food Blogger Connect, Europe’s premiere food bloggers conference. I’m so looking forward to meeting Béa and learning from her on her workshop.

And why am I writing all these? Because I chose a recipe from her to bake this yum cocoa and banana muffins with black sesame seeds on top. You should try it too!

Cocoa and Banana Muffins with Black Sesame Seeds

Ingredients

– 2 ripe bananas, smashed with a fork
– 100 g white spelt flour
– 100 g whole wheat spelt flour
– 50 g hazelnut meal
– 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetend
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 90 g cane sugar
– 1/3 cup oat milk
– 2 organic eggs
– 80 g butter, melted
– 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– black sesame seeds

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C (350F) and line 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases. 
In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flours, hazelnut, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl stir together the eggs with the cane sugar, beat until light, then add oatmilk, butter and vanilla and mashed bananas. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the cases, filling them about two thirds full, dividing the batter evenly. Sprinkle the tops with black sesame seeds. Bake the muffins about 25-30 minutes on 170-180C (350F). Remove from the oven when a cocktail stick just comes out of the muffins cleanly. Leave them to cool in a wire rack.

Vegan Hazelnut-Vanilla Pancake

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I love pancakes! Hungarian pancakes are larger and thinner than  the American ones. We serve it with cocoa or jam and roll up. I have never done vegan pancakes before, so it was high time for that. 🙂  Even if I did change the milk to coconut milk or oat milk, I always used eggs. Then I found a vegan pancake recipe on Alkaline Sisters blog and I fell in love with the concept. I wrote a comment for them because I really liked what they wrote about (Why We Wait to Improve Our Lifestyle when Cancer Lurks). Then we continued “talking” in emails… I have found out that Julie’s and Yvonne’s dad was Hungarian and he came from Szeged, my hometown! OMG, it is a small world, again!!! Unfortunately they lost contact with their relatives but I promised to help as much as I can to find them.

I did a few changes in the recipe. E.G. I used oat milk instead of almond milk and I added some ground hazelnut to the batter. And it turned out great.

Vegan Hazelnut-Vanilla Pancake

Ingredients (makes 8 pancakes)

– 1 and 1/4 cup white spelt flour
– 1/4 cup ground hazelnut
– 2 tablespoons aluminium free baking powder
– 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– 1 cup oat milk
– 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
– 1 tablespoon agave syrup
– pinch of salt
– coconut oil for the pan

Method

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flour, hazelnut, baking powder, salt. In another one mix together the wet ingredients: oat milk, oil, agave syrup and vanilla. Give each mixture a stir then add the wet to the dry combining just until mixed. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow batter to rise.

Prepare a non-stick pan with 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil on medium heat. Spoon batter into pan, forming 2 small pancakes. Cook until lightly brown on the bottom. Turn and brown the other side.

I served it with more agave syrup and tangerines.

Mrs. Myrtleberry’s Roast

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This is an amazing savoury dish… Seriously, you have to try it! I ate it at a fellow Hungarian (also vegetarian) foodblogger, Anna a month ago. The whole dinner with the starter, the soup, the main dish and the dessert was a feast. We ate so much until we were completely full.

The recipe comes from one of Celia Brooks Brown’s books: World Vegetarian Classics (I need to get a copy ASAP! :)). This recipe originates from Mrs. Myrtleberry who ran a B&B in Devon, England. The main adjustment was to toast the nuts, which brings out a wonderful flavour. This is rich, satisfying and chockfull of protein. Serve with a salad or steamed vegetables or mashed potato (like I did).

Mrs. Myrtleberry’s Roast

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

– 250 g mixed nuts – walnuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts and sesame seeds
– 1 onion, chopped
– 1 clove of garlic, chopped
– 2 organic eggs
– 400 g (1 can) peeled tomatoes, drained
– 150 g cheddar cheese, grated
– 1 tablespoon fresh parsely, finely chopped
– 1 teaspoon thyme, finely chopped
– 2 teaspoons fresh sage, finely chopped
– 1/2 teaspoon fresh mint, finely chopped
– 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
– 1 teaspoon mustard
– salt, pepper
– butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Grease a round form (diameter 20-22 cm) with butter, line with parchment paper then grease the paper also with butter.

Place the nuts (except sesame seeds) in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Toast, stirring gently, until golden and fragrant. Remove to a bowl and leave to cool. Whiz in a food processor until very finely chopped; the mixture should still be loose, not a purée.

In a large bowl, combine the groundnuts with the onion, garlic, herbs, tomatoes, sesame seeds, cheese, eggs, lemon juice and seasoning with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the form and bake for 40-50 minutes on 180C (350F) until firm and golden brown.

Cocoa, hazelnut and banana muffins

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These chocolate-y muffins are really comforting and on a cold winter day like today they are a real treat with a cup of hot chocolate tea. The bananas leave the inside moist and you can’t stop eating them.

I found the recipe on one of my favourite food blogs, La Tartine Gourmande. The writer, stylist and photographer behind the blog is the talented Béa. I’m 100% sure that she was born to do this. Her photos are so tempting and delicious so don’t visit her blog when you are hungry! 🙂


Ingredients

– 90 g white spelt flour
– 30 g whole wheat spelt flour
– 50 g hazelnut meal
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 4 tablespoons unsweetend cocoa powder
– 2 organic eggs
– 80 g natural cane sugar
– 7 tablepsoons melted butter
– 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– 2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

Method

In a bowl combine the dry ingredients: flours, hazelnut meal, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. In the meantime preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases. In another bowl beat the eggs with the sugar until light. Stir in melted butter, mashed bananas and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the cases, dividing the batter evenly. Bake the muffins about 25 minutes on 170-180C (350F). Remove from the oven when a cocktail stick just comes out of the muffins cleanly. Leave them to cool on a wire rack.