Healthy cake – is it possible?

vegetarian, sugar free

Makes one 22cm layer cake

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (we use gluten free mix flour from Shipton Mill)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated curgette
1 cup finely grated beets
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or you can use 100g unrafined sugar and 1/2 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup sunflower or other mild-tasting oil
4 eggs

For the frosting:

ripe avocados flesh of 2, chopped  
200g good quality cocoa powder
1-2 tablespoons liquid honey or pure maple syrup

Arrange oven racks to divide oven into thirds. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease two 22cm cake pans, dust with a spoonful of flour and tap out. Line each with a round of parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, stir together carrots, curgettes, beets and raisins.

In a large mixing bowl, beat maple syrup and oil together until emulsified. Add eggs one at a time, beating until batter is smooth. Add flour mixture in three or four batches, mixing gently until mixture is even. Gently mix in the vegetable mixture. Divide between baking pans.

Place one baking pan in center of each of the racks. Bake 25-35 minutes, until a skewer or paring knife inserted into centers comes out clear and cakes are pulling away from the sides of pans. Cool on a rack about 5 minutes, then gently remove from pans. Cool to room temperature before frosting.

To make frosting:

Place avocado and cocoa powder in a food processor and blend together until smooth. Keep blending until the mousse is very smooth and creamy. Taste, and if you would like it a little sweeter, you can add a bit of honey or maple syrup.

inspiration from
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-harvest-birthday-cake-64416

Tahini dessert

Vegan, Gluten free, soya free

Personally I am not a big fan of tahini, but when combined with cashew nuts you're in for  a delicious treat. Today I would like to share with you my favourite Sunday breakfast. It is more exotic than the traditional English breakfast, but if you want to do something new and you do not to spend much time in kitchen than this will be a good option for you. I used Soya milk, but any plant-based milk works. Also there is a vegetarian alternative with natural yoghurt. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
150g cashew nuts

200ml soya milk (you can use any plant base milk)

2 tablespoons tahini paste

1 tablespoon date syrup

For our vegetarian friends we have different option:

200g natural yoghurts

2 tablespoon tahini paste

1 ½ tablespoon honey

For both:

Strawberries, blueberries or any your favourites fresh fruits, pistachio nuts.

Method:

Mix all ingredients in food processor until they are combinate well. Pour in to cup or jar decorate with fresh fruits or nuts.

Mango and Apricot Morning Smoothie

simple, breakfast

1 Mango

1 Apricot

1 tablespoon organic almond butter

1 heaped tablespoon hemp powder (for protein)

2 heaped tablespoons of coconut yogurt (I use Co-yo natural yogurt)

450ml almond milk (I use Rude Health Brown Rice Almond Milk)

Cut up your mango into cubes as shown here by our Jan.

Wash and cut your apricot in half making sure you remove the stone no need to remove the skin.

Put your fruit in a blender with your almond butter, hemp powder, coconut yogurt and almond milk and blend well on a high speed for a few minutes.

I have included a link to show some of the benefits of hemp powder as a common question for vegans is where do we get our protein, and the hemp powder and almond butter in this smoothie are both good sources.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower couscous

vegan, gluten free

When I initially heard about this recipe I was pretty sure that will be normal couscous with pieces cauliflower. I was really pleasantly surprised!

This recipe can replace couscous or rice in any dish, hot or cold, side dish or otherwise. Cauliflower couscous (in my opinion) really does mimic the texture of actual couscous remarkably well. If you were waiting for a vegan recipe with a few less carbs – here it is.

cauliflower couscous

Ingredients:

1 Large cauliflower

½ cup toasted hazelnuts (finely grated)
2 tablespoon risens
4 tablespoons flat parsley leaf (chopped)
2 tablespoons mint (only leaf – chopped)
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grounded cumin
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon chilli flakes 
1 teaspoon tumeric
3-4 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

Remove the outer leaves from the cauliflower, cut it into quarters.

Preheat oven in 200C. Place cauliflower on baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Turn cauliflower and bake another 5 minutes. Make sure they will not burn.

Grate the cauliflower on the coarse side of the grater. You may find you’re left with a few bigger pieces, which will give the ‘rice’ a chunkier texture.

Place grated cauliflower in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Mix it all well and serve.

Just BABA (Baba Ganoush)

vegan, gluten free

This aubergine dip is simply delicious served with warm pitta bread.

 

baba ganoush

 Ingredients:

1 large aubergine
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
chopped flat leaf parsley
pomegranate to garnish (optional)


Method:
 

Grill the aubergine until the skin starts to bubble, turning it frequently until all sides are done and the aubergine feels soft. This can also be done in a hot oven.

Cut the aubergine in half and then scoop out the flesh into a food processor. add the garlic, tahini, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and lemon juice, then blend until smooth.

Pile the Baba Ganoush onto a  flat plate, garnish with parsley and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Kept in the fridge can last for up to 4 days but best enjoyed on the day of preparation.

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recipe inspired by:
World Food Cafe, Vegetarian Bible
Chris and Carolyn Caldicott
2014 by First Frances Lincol