Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

The First Birthday Cake

by

_MG_5408_a

We have reached a huge milestone… or at least this is what I think. Adam is one year old!!! Oh My! How could this happen? I remember the first days when I had problems with the breastfeeding and now he is one year old! Everything happened so quickly. Being a parent can be wonderful and rewarding, but it can also be difficult and unpleasant. This is what Ivan and I learnt in the last year.

On this beautiful day we had a quick porridge breakfast together then Adam got a few small presents and got his first birthday cake. I cooked a vegan pancake cake for him without sugar of couse. See the photos below how Adam enjoyed his birthday cake. It was kind of the most adorable thing I have ever seen. (Plus, recipe of the cake is at the end of the post.)

We love you, Adam! Mom & Dad

_MG_5410_a

“Let me see what mom cooked for me! “

_MG_5412_a

“Oh, la la! As a French would say…”

_MG_5417_a

“Oh My! This is so exciting!”

_MG_5421_a

“Yum!”

_MG_5453_a

“This is getting more delicious!”

_MG_5458_a

“Mom, you are a super talented chef! I love you so much!” 🙂

_MG_5477_a

Vegan Banana Pancake Cake With Vegan Chocolate Ganache

I used carob powder to make the ganache. Carob is a tropical pod that contains a sweet, edible pulp and inedible seeds. After drying, the pulp is roasted and ground into a powder that resembles cocoa powder, but does not have the same flavor and texture of chocolate. Carob is naturally sweet, low in fat, high in fiber, has calcium, and most importantly no caffeine – that’s why I chose to add this to Adam.

Ingredients (to make 8-10 pancakes)

For the pancake
– 2 ripe bananas, smashed with a fork
– 40 g whole wheat spelt flour
– 60 g white spelt flour
– 150-200 ml rice milk (you can use oat or almond milk too)
– 1 tablespoon baking powder
– 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– coconut oil for cooking

For the chocolate ganache
– 1 medium ripe avocado, pitted
– 2 ripe bananas
– 2-3 tablespoons carob powder (you can use cacao powder)
– 2 tablespoons almond butter
– small amount rice milk

Method

Place the ganache’s ingredients into the kitchen blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Place it in the fridge to chill.

In a bowl mix together the flours, baking powder and vanilla. Add the smashed bananas, rice milk. Give the mixture a stir, combining the ingredients until mixed and smooth (if you find it too thick add a bit of rice milk 1 tablespoon at a time). Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the batter to rise.

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

To build the cake, place one pancake on a plate, spread some chocolate ganache on pancake and top with another pancake. Keep doing this until you’ve used all the pancakes. Keep some cream back for the top.

Best Of 2012

by

I’m sharing my favourite top 12 recipes from 2012. Some of them were very popular – according to statistics – but I loved these 12 the most. I really enjoyed looking back at all of these vegetarian or vegan meals I cooked or baked over the past year.All in all I shared more sweet recipes than savory. Of course it doesn’t mean we only eat sweets, I just somehow like taking photos of these delicious yuminess!

I’m excited for the new year and all it will bring! I hope you’ll still be here reading my short stories, commenting and enjoying my recipes. You inspire me to make this blog better and better day by day. See you in 2013!

Let’s see the favourites of 2012…

January

This month I really loved cocoa, chocolate and walnut cookies! I bet you did too! Also shakshuka was a new way for me to poach eggs in herby tomato sauce. Yum!

February

In February we challenged ourselves. We were planning to do a 29 day sugar-free (no cakes, no chocolates, no sweet fruits only apple, lemon, orange and mandarin sometimes) vegan challenge but we ended it on the 25th day. 25 days were enough. We enjoyed it, we had ups and downs but we couldn’t bear not to eat anything sweet anymore.

As a result of the challenge this month only brought savory recipes. One of my favourites is this spring roll with citrus soy sauce but I also loved the udon noodles with creamy tahini sauce, roasted kale and tofu.

March

This month it’s unequivocal that the best recipe was the raw chocolate ganache cake. This has been one of the most popular recipes on the blog.

April

In April I shared the first recipe from the cookbook, Veg Every Day. I could cook and bake all the recipes from the book because all of them are vegetarian or vegan. With over 200 recipes and vibrant photography, River Cottage Veg Every Day is a timely eulogy to the glorious green stuff. This kale and mushroom lasagne was a big hit.

May

The biggest challenge in May was making strawberry leather or you can call it the healthy version of gummy candy. This leather thing is exciting not only for children, for adults too. It’s very easy to make (and a few hours) but don’t miss it.

June

Another sweet favourite in June: vegan chocolate popsicles with roasted almonds. They are creamy, thick chocolate-y vegan popsicles to enjoy! Yum! I also loved making and eating this raw zucchini spagetthi with creamy tahini sauce.

July

I love nut roasts and vegetarian/vegan patties. I made these yum quinoa patties for a picnic.

August

From the end of the summer my favourite recipe is this milk pie I baked with my recently deceased grandmother. This is actually a thick pancake baked in the oven. It is not too sweet but moist and soft.

September

Imagine little sweet indigo-coloured berries and little sweetish yellow corn kernels in soft, moist muffins with a bit of crispness from the cornmeal. You got it? These vegan corn blueberry muffins are just like I described.

October

I love cooking pancakes. I used carrot to make this soft, vegan and sugar-free pancakes. You can use  honey, agave, rice or maple syrup to pour over the pancakes. A real autumn Sunday indulgence…

November

I added pumpkin purée to this oatmeal that’s why its colour looks bright yellow. With a bit of maple syrup and spices it is one of the best comfort food breakfast during winter time. It is a small bowl of harmony in terms of its colour and taste.

December

This month was one of the busiest with 11 recipes I shared. It’s difficult to choose one of them so I let you make this decision. 🙂

The World’s Best Raw Chocolate Ganache Cake

by

I have to tell you: this is the world’s best yummiest raw chocolate cake ever! I can even say: this is the best chocolate cake.

I don’t tell you to make it.

I’d rather say: if you don’t make it you will miss your best raw chocolate cake moment!

Raw, vegan and full of chocolate? How can this happen? Does this mean this is a healthy, sweet, very chocolate-y experience? Yes, if you don’t count the 100 grams coconut flower sugar, this cake is nutritious, healthy, full of vitamins and minerals.

The base contains dates, almonds and Himalayan salt. Almonds are rich source of vitamin E, containing 26 miligrams per 100 grams. Raw almond is high quality protein, a third of which are essential amino acids.They are also rich in dietary fiber, B vitamins, essential minerals and monounsaturated fat, one of the two fats which potentially may lower LDL cholesterol.

Health benefits of dates are uncountable, as this fruit is affluent in natural fibres. A 100 gram portion of fresh dates is a source of vitamin C and supplies 230 kcal (960 kJ) of energy. Dates are even rich in other vitamins and minerals. These natural product contains oil, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium which are advantageous for health.

The base of the ganache is avocado. Avocados are a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamins C, E, K, folate, and B6. Half an avocado has 160 calories, 15 grams of heart-healthy unsaturated fat, and only 2 grams saturated fat. One globe contains more than one-third daily value of vitamin C, and more than half the day’s requirements of vitamin K.

Cocoa contains a large amount of antioxidants (flavinoids). Cocoa beans are rich in a number of essential minerals, including magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium and manganese and in vitamins such as A, B1, B2, B3, C and E.

“Coconut sugar has long been a staple in East Asia where it is extracted from the sap of coconut flower buds. And when compared to brown cane sugar, coconut sugar contains more than 20 times the amount of nitrogen, 26 times the amount of phosphorus, nearly 16 times the amount of potassium, four times the amount of magnesium, 26 times the amount of natural chloride, and nearly twice the amount of iron. It is also very high in natural B vitamins.” (Learn more on Natural News.)

Do you believe me that this is a healthy chocolate ganache cake? 🙂

Oh and I shouldn’t forget to mention the name of the goddess who I learnt to make this cake from. Laura Coxeter is a raw food specialist and she showed Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (in the TV show River Cottage “Veg Every Day”) how to make a sumptuous chocolate tart with wholesome raw ingredients.

Raw Chocolate Ganache Cake

Ingredients (serves 4, for a 18,5 cm – 7,28 inches – spring form pan)

For the base
– 100 g almonds
– 70 g dates, pitted
– 1/2 teaspoon sea or Himalayan salt

For the filling
– 2 big ripe avocados
– 70 g raw cocoa powder
– 50 g coconut oil
– 100 g coconut flower sugar (you can substitute with raw cane sugar)
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– pinch of sea or Himalayan salt

Method

If you have time soak the almonds for at least 6 hours then drain and dehydrate them (The soaking releases the enzyme inhibitors and makes them easier to digest.). In a food processor blend the almonds. Add dates and salt and blend until you get a ‘dough’ or until the mixture forms a ball (if it’s too dry, add 1-2 teaspoons coconut oil to the dough).

Line the spring form pan with cling film and press the dough into the bottom of the pan. Place it in the freezer  to harden until you make the ganache.

Place all the filling ingredients in a food processor then blend everything until smooth. Pour the ganache over the base. Set in the freezer for 1 hour (it should be firm enough to slice up). If you’re impatient you can take out after 45 minutes freezing. 🙂

Let’s cut in…

This is your slice… the bigger part is all gone! 🙂

Fig Frangipane Tart

by

The born of this frangipane tart has a short story. Let me tell you… I found this recipe on my friend’s, Emiko’s blog who I met in London at the Food Blogger Connect Conference. She is a great person, a true friend and a talented photographer.  When I saw the photo of this tart, I fell in love with it. I was dreaming to bake it but it’s difficult to get figs in Hungary… either you are lucky and you have a tree in your garden or you have friends, relatives, neighbours who have fig trees in their garden. 🙂 In my situation, option number two is the winner.

So a sunny Sunday morning in September the door bell rang… we got a basket of figs from the neighbours. Oh, yeah! We are lucky! I ran into the kitchen and started making this tart straight away. Instead of sugar I used honey to sweeten the filling.

I didn’t know what frangipane means so I searched on the internet for the information. Frangipane is a filling made from almond. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods.

Fig Frangipane Tart

Ingredients

For the pastry

– 250 g white spelt flour
– 125 g cold butter
– 70 g cane powder sugar
– 1 egg
– 1-2 tablespoons of cold water

For the frangipane
– 100 g almond meal
– 50 g butter
– 50 g honey
– 1 egg
– zest of 1 lemon
– 20-25 fresh figs

Method

To make the pastry, in a bowl chop the cold butter into small cubes, add to the flour and cane sugar. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until you get a crumbly mixture. Add the beaten egg until and the water until the pastry comes together into a smooth, elastic ball. Wrap in a clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. After resting the dough, roll out  the pastry on a floured surface to cover your pie dish (diameter: 20-23 cm) and prick holes with a fork all over the pastry.

To make the frangipane, in a bowl mix together almond meal, butter, honey and the egg. Add lemon zest, then mix and stir until combine. Turn the mixture out onto the pastry. Add the fig halves, face up, to cover the entire tart. Push the figs down gently into the frangipane so that the surface is even. Bake at 180C (350F) for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

These quantities will give you enough to make a large tart plus some extra leftover. From the leftover dough I made fig biscuits! 🙂

Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Coconut Vanilla Cream and Roasted Hazelnuts

by

We went on a hiking trip to Bakony Mountains on my birthday so I didn’t have the opportunity to bake this yum cake for my birthday. I found the recipe at the end of September on the blog My New Roots and I fell in love with it. I knew this was going to be my special treat for myself.

Bakony is a mountainous region in Transdanubia, Hungary. It forms the largest part of the Transdanubian Mountains. It is located north of Lake Balaton. The Bakony is divided into the Northern and Southern Bakony. Kőris-hegy in the Northern Bakony is the highest peak of the range with its 706 meters. There are no high mountains in Hungary.

The medieval castle of Csesznek

I thought we had arrived at the peak of foliage but nature mother decided to stay green a bit longer than last year. Although the view of the hills and small villages made an amazing sight. We admired the quiet walks in the middle of the forests listening to the sound of nature and stopping every fifteen minutes to take it all in. Breathtaking and relaxing.

We stayed at Hotel Bakony in Bakonybél at a rustic but reconstructed hotel at the end of the village. The food and the service were amazing. The hotel’s restaurant offers a wide range of foods, especially focusing on rural flavors and the specialties of the Bakony. They say that “The secret of the Hungarian cuisine lies not only in producing certain foods so classy, but serving up one after the other, so that the food consumed calls for the next one, and when we already think we are quite well fed, there is something served, that makes us say: However, we must eat it!“

If you are still reading this post, here comes the recipe…

Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Coconut Vanilla Cream and Roasted Hazelnuts

Ingredients

For the cake
– 1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (I prefer home made but you can use canned)
– 1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey)
– 2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
– 1 teaspoon apple vinegar
– 6 tablespoons coconut oil
– 2 cups whole wheat spelt flour, sifted
– 1 cup white spelt flour, sifted
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 2 teaspoons ground ginger
– 1 teaspoon cardamom
– 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
– 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
– 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
– 1 tablespoon cinnamon
– 2 tablespoons chia seeds

For the cream
– 3 cans of coconut milk
– 1/4 cup honey
– 1 cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

Method

Place cans of coconut milk in the fridge for at least 4 hours to cool. Roast pumpkin halves at 180-200C for 45-60 minutes. Let cool and scoop out 1 and 1/2 cups flesh. In a dry non-stick pan roast hazelnuts for 3-5 minutes, let cool and chop roughly.

Open the cans and scoop out just the top coconut cream layer, leaving the liquid portion (save for soup). Place in a bowl and whisk together with the honey and the vanilla. Place the bowl of cream in the fridge for set.

In a big bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flours, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and chia seeds. In another bowl mix together the wet ingredients: pumpkin puree, bananas, maple syrup, coconut oil and apple vinegar. Add dry ingredients to wet, mix and stir to combine. Pour batter into a 22 cm spring form cake pan. Bake at 175-180C for about 35-45 minutes (or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean). Set aside and let cool then remove from pan.

Slice the rounded top edge off of the cake (this ensures that the subsequent layer will sit flat). Then slice the cake in half so you have two layers. Place the bottom of the layers on a cake stand or plate and cover with the icing, followed by the roasted hazelnuts. Add the top layer, repeating the icing and hazelnut procedure until you’ve used all the cream. Top the cake with hazelnuts.

Happy birthday to me! 🙂