Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Mini Dorayaki – Japanese Pancakes with Adzuki Beans Paste

by

Adzuki bean widely grown throughout East Asia and the Himalayas for its small (approximately 5 mm) bean. Sweetened azuki bean paste is used in a variety of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean sweets. Whether used in bread or pastry fillings, sweet soups, pancakes, or ice cream, the essential adzuki bean is usually highlighted as the main flavor. Its assertiveness is best complemented with neutral ingredients but it is also common to add flavoring to the bean paste, such as chestnut. I don’t know if it is true but it is also said that an adzuki-flavored Pepsi product was released in Japan a couple of years ago. That’s interesting!

Make these pancakes on a lazy weekend when you have nothing else to do just staying in bed late, reading a good book, drinking a nice cup of hot tea and watching a great movie. These are my favourite programs to relax the hectic weekdays.

How do you relax?

Mini Dorayaki – Japanese Pancakes with Adzuki Beans Paste

Ingredients

For the pancake
– 1 and 1/4 cups white spelt flour, sifted
– 1/4 cup cold water
– 2 organic eggs

– 1/4 cup cane sugar
– 2 tablespoons honey
– 1 tablespoon sunflower oil plus 1 tablespoon for oiling pan
– 1 tablespoon mirin
– 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

For the adzuki beans paste
– 1 cup adzuki beans
– 3/4 cup cane sugar

Method

Soak the beans in three times their volume of cold water for a night before cooking. Drain, then put them in a pot of cold water again with the sugar; bring them gently to a boil and cook them until tender (45 minutes). Drain and mash the beans with fork or in a blender. If you have leftover, it freezes well.
Break eggs in a bowl and add sugar, honey, sunflower oil and mirin. With a whisk, beat the mixture by hand until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add dry into wet in batches, whisking in between. Once all combined, slowly add just enough water to form a smooth batter. Heat a pan over medium heat, add small amount of oil and spread with a piece of kitchen paper. Turn heat to low, pour enough batter to make a 9cm pancake then cover immediately with a lid and bake until small bubbles form on the surface and the bottom is nice and brown. Turn the pancake over and cook the other side. Repeat process to make about 36 pancakes(18 dorayaki). Fill one side of the pancake with azuki bean paste and sandwich with another pancake.

Rhubarb Walnut Chia Seed Muffins

by

>

When I found this recipe on Maria’s blog I didn’t know what chia seed was. “OK, whatever it is it can be bought in Hungary” – this was my first reaction. “If I bake these muffins I will leave out the chia seed” – I thought. Then I went to my favourite wholesale store and as I was walking between the shelves looking for spelt flour I found chia seed. I was surprised. I bought a packet, went home and surfed on the Internet to find information about chia seed.

Chia is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala. Chia seeds are one of the most powerful, functional, and nutritious superfoods in the world. The chia seed is an excellent source of fiber, packed with antioxidants, full of protein, loaded with vitamins and minerals, and the richest known plant source of omega-3.

And if we can believe all the facts that are on the internet… not only do chia seeds give you a boost of energy that lasts, they also provide stamina and endurance. A single tablespoon could sustain Aztec warriors for an entire day. 🙂

I changed some of the ingredients in the recipe and I added the same rhubarb compote to it that I also used in the rhubarb redcurrant muffins.

Rhubarb Walnut Chia Seed Muffins

Ingredients

For rhubarb compote
– 1,5 cups finely diced rhubarb
– 3 tablespoon honey
– 2 tablespoons water

For muffins
– 100 g whole wheat spelt flour
– 200 g white spelt flour
– 100 g natural cane sugar
– 250 ml oat milk
– 50 ml olive oil
– 2 teaspoons baking powder
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 organic egg
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– 2 tablespoons chia seeds
– 1/2 cup walnut, roughly chopped
– rhubarb compote
– cinnamon

Method

Place the rhubarb in a pot with honey and water. Stir and stew on low heat until soft. Purée with a blender and set aside.Preheat the oven to 175C (350F) and line 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases. (From this quantity of ingredients you might have 16 muffins.)

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flours, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl beat the egg with the cane sugar until light, then add oatmilk, olive oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until smooth. Fold in rhubarb compote, chopped walnut and chia seeds. Spoon the mixture into the cases, filling them about two thirds full, dividing the batter evenly. Bake the muffins about 20-25 minutes on 175C (350F). Remove from the oven when a cocktail stick just comes out of the muffins cleanly. Leave them to cool on a wire rack and sprinkle the tops with cinnamon.

Rhubarb Redcurrant Muffins

by

Meeting Béa (the writer of the beautiful blog, La Tartine Gourmande) last weekend at Food Blogger Connect in London was a dream come true experience for me. She is my role model in food photography and styling. I love her colourful kitchen props and I hope one day I will have as many cutleries, plates, napkins, glasses and bowls to choose from as she has.

I know… everything goes step by step. And to be honest, I like my small steps. I can see the development on my work. I also hope I will be able to attend next year’s Food Blogger Connect because I’m ready to learn more and meet again my new found food blogger friends from all over the world. If you read this, I miss you guys! 🙂

I found this redcurrant rhubarb muffins recipe on Béa’s blog. I love rhubarb so much. The base of the muffins is rhubarb compote that would be also great dribbled on vanilla ice-cream. Yum! I changed some of the ingredients and I didn’t have raspberry at home so I used redcurrant instead of them. The muffins turned out to be absolutely moist, not too sweet and delicious!

Rhubarb Redcurrant Muffins

Ingredients 

For the rhubarb compote
– 1,5 cups finely diced rhubarb
– 3 tablespoon honey
– 2 tablespoons water

For the muffins
– 100 g whole wheat spelt flour
– 70 g white spelt flour
– 60 g almond meal
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 2 organic eggs
– 7 tablespoons coconut oil
– 1/2 cup oatmilk
– 70 g natural cane sugar
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– 1/2 cup finely diced rhubarb
– 1/2 cup red currant
– rhubarb compote

Method

Place the rhubarb in a pot with honey and water. Stir and stew on low heat until soft. Purée with a blender and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 170C (350F) and line 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases.

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flours, almond, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl beat the eggs with the cane sugar until light, then add oatmilk, coconut oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until smooth. Add rhubarb compote, then fold in the diced rhubarb and red currants.

Spoon the mixture into the cases, filling them about two thirds full, dividing the batter evenly. Bake the muffins about 20-25 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.

Rhubarb and Apple Bread

by

Rhubarb is my new favourite vegetable that is usually prepared and eaten much like a fruit. I remember when I was about 10 years old we had rhubarb plants in our hobby garden. That time it wasn’t very known in Hungary and we didn’t know how to use it exactly. Now when it is in season I bake or make compote from it every week. I think I fell in love with rhubarb…
This recipe is from Maria, although I did a bit of changing. This bread is great for breakfast or for an afternoon snack. Yummie!

Rhubarb and Apple Bread

Ingredients

– 1 cup whole wheat spelt flour
– 1/2 cup white spelt flour
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1/4 cup apple puree
– 1/4 cup sunflower oil
– 2 organic eggs
– 1/4 cup natural cane sugar
– 3 tablespoon honey
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– 1 cup chopped rhubarb
– 1 cup chopped, peeled apple

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flours, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk the eggs with the cane sugar then add apple puree, oil, honey and vanilla. Mix until combine. Gently fold in the chopped rhubarb and apple. Slowly pour the wet ingredients in the dry one and mix until everything is combined. Pour it in a 25 cm (9,75 inch) long loaf pan and bake it on 175-180C (340-350F) for about 40-50 minutes. It’s ready when the cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.