Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Vegan Orange Chocolate Cake

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I love chocolate cakes and I like veganizing cake recipes to make them healthier. Sometimes it’s really hard to control my sweet touth with all the mouthwatering cakes’ photos I collect in my Pinterest album. If I could I would bake everyday something sweet, something with cocoa or chocolate. There are so many wonderful recipes on fellow food bloggers’ sites. I found this one on Chinmayie blog. The cake’s recipe is the same but I made a different kind of frosting.

This was our Christmas Eve dessert. We loved it so much. The chickpea flower makes it a bit crunchy and if you buy a gluten-free oat flour the cake is gluten-free. The rich chocolate cream or frosting on top of the cake is so yum and makes the cake moist. The date syrup is thick, luxurious nectar taken from the fruit of the date palm tree and gives a kick to the cake. Don’t hesitate to try this recipe! 🙂

Vegan Orange Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

For the cake
– 1 cup chickpea flour
– 1 cup oat flour
– 1/2 cup unsweetend cocoa powder
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 cup date syrup (you can use honey or agave/maple syrup)
– 1/3 cup raw cane sugar
– 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
– 6 tablespoons water
– 1 orange’s zest
– 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
– 1/4 cup olive oil
– 1 tablespoon orange marmalade

For the frosting
– 3/4 cup coconut milk
– 1 cup chocolate (70-80% cocoa content)
– 1 tablespoon coconut oil
– 1 tablespoon honey
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

Method

In a small bowl mix together flaxseed with water and set aside. It will get thick and gelatinous. (Using flaxseeds in place of eggs is a great vegan trick for baking. Flaxseeds are a nutritional powerhouse and sneaking some into baked goods is an easy way to get some of their wonderful nutrients into your diet.)

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

Sift all the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder) in a bowl and mix them together. In another bowl whisk together all the wet ingredients (date syrup, cane sugar orange juice, olive oil, marmalede, orange zest and the flaxseed mixture) then pour into dry and mix until combine. Line the bottom of a 22 cm (8.6″) round cake pan with parchment paper and pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes on 180C (350F) and 20 minutes on 170C (340F). Remove from the oven when a cocktail stick just comes out of the cake cleanly. Cool somewhat before removing from the pan.

To make the frosting in a saucepan, combine coconut milk and oil, honey and vanilla.  Whisk over low heat until they become just warm.  Remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate with spoon, continuing with the stir until all chocolate is melted and it becomes smooth.  Cool before use.

To assmely simply pour the frosting on top of the cake. Decorate it with orange slices.

Vegetarian Christmas – Pumpkin Pie

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I was going to write a series about vegetarian Christmas but because I was very busy I didn’t have time to translate all my Hungarian blog posts into English. I’ve got tasty ideas for a vegetarian Christmas with festive vegetarian/vegan recipes like a delicious nut roast, different side dishes and yum desserts. So next year if you look for ideas for a sensational spread on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and throughout the festive season, remember to come back and visit my blog for these recipes.

The filling recipe is from Shauna. This is a pumpkin pie made and baked from scratch with love. From a real pumpkin. In Hungary you can’t buy canned pumpkin puree, we don’t have it. If you want to make something from pumpkin puree you have to make it. If you haven’t tried it, it’s the time you should. This pie is very filling and nutritious.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

For the crust
– 200 g white spelt flour
– 50 g oat flour
– 170 g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small (2-3 cm / 1-inch) cubes
– 4 tablespoons cold water
– 2 teaspoons cane powder sugar
– 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the filling
– 2 cups roasted, pureed pumpkin
– 1 cup ricotta
– 1/2 cup cream
– 2 organic or free range eggs
– 1/3 cup cane sugar
– 2 tablespoons maply syrup
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
– 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground ginger

Method

To make the crust, in a bowl mix together the flours, powder sugar and salt. Add the cubed butter and mix until the butter pieces are broken up and about the size of small peas. Add cold water and mix until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in a clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30-40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). After resting the dough, roll out  the pastry on a floured surface to cover your pie dish (diameter: 29-30 cm) and prick holes with a fork all over the pastry (this helps the steam escape and prevents the crust from bubbling up). Line the pie crust with parchment paper, then fill with dried peas, lentils, beans or other pulses, or with ceramic or metal “baking beans” (also called pastry weights or pie weights) so that it will keep its shape when baking. Bake at 180C (350F) for about 15 minutes until it gets golden brown. Set aside.
Roast pumpkin halves at 180-200C for 45-60 minutes. Let cool and scoop out 2 cups flesh.
To make the filling, in a bowl beat the eggs until fluffy, then add cane sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, ricotta and cream. Continue blending until the mixture is smooth. Spoon the filling into the crust. Bake at 180C (350F) for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 170C (338F) and bake for another 30-40 minutes (until you can insert a toothpick into the center of the filling and have it come out clean). If the crust starts growing too brown, put some foil around the edges of the pie and continue baking. Set aside and allow the pie to cool before serving.

Vegan Beetroot Chocolate Cake

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I found a beautiful video about beet cake on Vimeo. After I had seen it I knew I had to bake it. I only wanted to bake it in a more healthier way so I changed sugar into honey and maple syrup, butter into coconut oil and eggs into oat milk + vinegar. The cake is almost sugar free only the chocolate contains a little bit.

Last time I baked it for my grandmother’s 88th birthday. I was a bit afraid how she would like this modern, vegan cake but she loved it. It was a big hit! Everyone from my family begs me to bake it again. 🙂

Vegan Beetroot Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

– 2 cups cooked beetroot, mashed
– 1 cup whole wheat spelt flour
– 1 cup white spelt flour
– 1/2 cup honey
– 1/2 cup maple syrup
– 1/2 cup coconut oil (you can use sunflower oil too)
– 1 cup oatmilk (you can use rice milk, soy milk too)
– 100 g chocolate (70-85% cocoa content), melted in a heat-proof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, not boiling!
– 2 teaspoons apple vinegar
– 2 teaspoons baking powder
– 2 teaspoons baking soda
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

Method

Sift all the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in a bowl and mix them together. In another bowl whisk together all the wet ingredients (oat milk, coconut oil, honey, maple syrup, apple vinegar and vanilla). Add mashed beetroot and melted chocolate to the wet ingredients then pour into dry and mix until combine.

In the meantime preheat the oven to 175C (350F) and line the bottom of a 25 cm (9.8″) round cake pan with parchment paper, oil and flour it with cocoa powder.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes on 175-180C (350F). Remove from the oven when a cocktail stick just comes out of the cake cleanly. Cool somewhat before removing from the pan.

Cinnamon Rolls

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Making these beautiful cinnamon rolls was the first time for me to work with yeast dough on my own. I baked cakes from yeast dough before but always with my mom together. My mom is very talented, her yeast cakes are always beautiful and yummie. She learnt the recipes from her mom. I was a bit afraid how these cinnamon rolls would turn out but I was ready to challenge myself.

Working with this flexible and not sticky dough was amazing. I loved it and enjoyed every moment. I started making it in the evening so by the time all the 32 rolls were ready it was 11 pm.
Ree’s recipe inspired me to make these rolls but I changed a few things.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients
– 5 cups white spelt flour, sifted
– 1 package (7 g) dry yeast
– 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 500 ml milk
– 1/2 cup sunflower oil
– 1/4 cup cane sugar
– butter
– cinnamon
– cane sugar
Method

Pour the milk, sunflower oil and sugar in a large pan. Heat until just before the boiling point. Turn off the heat and leave to cool about 40 minutes. When the mixture is lukewarm, pour it into a big bowl then add the dry yeast. Let it sit for 5-8 minutes then add 4 cups flour. Stir mixture together, cover it with a tablecloth and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir mixture very well.

Sprinkle the rolling surface with flour. Divide the dough in half and start working with one of them. Roll the dough thin (0,5 cm) maintaining a rectangular shape. Spread it with melted butter and sprinkle with cane sugar and cinnamon (take as much as sweet you would like to be).

Starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you (keep it as tight as you can). Pinch the ends of the roll to seal it. Cut the rolls about 1-1,5 cm thick and lay them in a buttered pans. Let the rolls rise for 30 minutes then bake at 180-200C (350-375F) for 15-25 minutes.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.

Lime Olive Oil Greek Yoghurt Cake

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When I first saw this cake on Peter’s blog, Souvlaki For the Soul, I knew I had to bake it. The next weekend we celebrated my brother’s birthday and I promised to bake something delicious for him and my family. This cake turned out an absolute hit, everybody loved it!

I usually don’t print out recipes (like this one) I collect day by day, but I save them on Pinterest in my “I want to make” board. I have 395 pins in this board now and I think I made 5% of the saved recipes… and the number increases everyday because I always find something delicious, yummie I would love to try. Sometimes I just want to stay at home and start cooking and baking all the recipes. Do you feel the same?

Lime Olive Oil Greek Yoghurt Cake

Ingredients

– 1 cup white spelt flour
– 3/4 cup whole wheat spelt flour
– 1 cup (300 g) Greek yoghurt
– 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
– 1/3 cup cane sugar
– 1/4 cup lime juice (freshly squeezed)
– 1 lime’s zest
– 2 organic eggs
– 2 teaspoons baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (325F). In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flours, baking powder and salt. In another separate bowl whisk the eggs with the cane sugar, then add yoghurt, olive oil, lime juice and zest. Pour the wet ingredients mixture into the dry one using a spatula mix until combine. Grease with olive oil a 22 cm springform baking tin and pour the dough into it and bake for about 40-50 minutes at 180C (325F). The cake is ready when the top is golden brown and the skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Once cooled, sprinkle the top with powder sugar and lime zest.