There is nothing better than healthy baking,
ones in a while.
My children do taste the difference
between butter and healthy oils,
sugar, little sugar and non sugar.
But even though they love the caramel taste of unrefined cane sugar,
I try to use as little
as possible.
Deco is a well known health cook in Japan
I never heard from her,
but my sweet neighbor Miki
knew all about Macrobiotic cooking
and Deco's kitchen.
When she returned to Japan,
she was kind enough to send me this little cookbook
that I couldn't buy here.
The Banana Cake
dry:
200 ml whole wheat flour
400 ml unbleached wheat flower
1 ½ tbsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
½ tbsp Grain Coffee Powder (i use Lima Yannoh instant Vanilla)
wet:
5 banana's (4 mix, 1 decoration)
50 ml Canola oil (i used rice bran)
150 g silken tofu
100 ml Apple juice
vanilla extract (don't forget!)
Optional (I do to add debt in taste) : Chopped walnuts
Dissolve grain coffee powder in heated apple juice
Puree 4 bananas, remaining wet ingredients and coffee juice
Add wet into mixed dry ingredients and chopped nuts
Decorate with sliced banana
Bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for a further 15 minutes at 200 degrees.
Note: don't over-bake, it will be very dry.
Next time:
Brown rice waffles
or Yomogi & Azuki bagle
or
Millet and Coconut Doughnuts?
ボナペティ
I really admire,
is Jude Blereau.
Her latest cookbook,
wholefood for Children
comes in very handy,
having three small children in the house.
(ok, it wasn't a severe necessity....)
Her cookbooks are especially good if any of your
family is on a special diet.
A lot of her recipes are wheat free,
gluten free or easily adjusted to vegan, etc.
This morning I made the:
Apple Fig Tray Bake.
I did precisely what the recipe told me to do
and it turned out delicious!
You will need:
500 g red or green apples
peeled, cores removed and finely diced
3-5 dried figs, finely chopped
130 g white spelt flour
165 wholemeal spelt flour
large pinch ground nutmeg
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
125 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
180 g rapadura sugar, plus 1 teaspoon extra
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
2 large eggs
125 g yoghurt or kefir milk
120 pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts chopped (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Grease a baking tray (20 by 30 cm) and line with baking paper.
Place one-quarter of the apple in a small saucepan with two tablespoons of water.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 3-5 minutes or until well cooked.
Remove from the heat, roughly mash, then stir in the dried figs.
Set aside to cool.
Place flours, nutmeg, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl
and whisk through to distribute the ingredients evenly and break up any lumps.
Stir in the remaining apple.
Place the butter and sugar in a bowl, and using electric beaters,
wisk until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at the time,
beating well after each addition, until thick and creamy.
Add the flour mixture along with the cooled stewed fruit and yoghuty and stir until just combined.
Take care not to overwork the mixture. Spoon the batter into the tin.
Combine the extra teaspoon of sugar and remaining cinnamon and sprinkle over the top,
and the nuts, if using.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool a little in the tin before slicing.
✿
This is a basic recipe,
for anything you wish to have in a cake.
1 medium courgette (grated and left for a night to loose some liquid)
or
2 mashed bananas
add anything you like,
today I added:
Almonds,
soaked apricots and figs in little pieces.
Dried bananas and almonds on top.
100 g softened butter
150 g soft brown sugar
(I use way less or a spoonful honey/agave/maple syrup, if adding bananas or dried fruits)
2 eggs
200 g flour (I used Kamut flour today)
3 teaspoons of baking powder
Beat butter and sugar light and fluffy
Add eggs
Beat really hard.
Add flour and baking powder
Mix
Add your courgettes or banana mixture.
Put in a greased loaftin bake 40- 50 minutes at 180 degrees.
✿
☀
To celebrate life....
Baking has a tremendous calming effect on the soul.
Roemer's amazing preschool,
chose to bake everyday for the first 3 months of the year,
just because so many children were new in the group.
It helped them to settle in,
to get comfortable with the daily routine.
To have a calming break in their busy play.
The children even mill whole grains to add to the flour.
So clever, right?
☀
Weekend buns
Weekend buns
I think this combination really works.
half Whole grain Spelt flour,
half strong White flour,
yeast, water, ts honey, salt.
Make a dough, like usual.
Let it rise.
Than add:
Lots of pan roasted pine kernels,
lots of roasted almond shavings
10 leaves of rosemary super finely chopped
a hand full (I think not more) of soaked sultanas
a hint of cinnamon
Form little buns,
allow to rise properly.
Put in warm oven
Serve warm with butter.
I like a little jam on top as well.
Bon Appetit!
♥
One million years ago I found this link:
I never made it,
but never forgotten it.
Yesterday,
I felt like trying something special.
Something exciting.
Something worldly.
Once this could mean a trip to Paris
and run straight to Poilane,
or maybe Italy,
to have a coffee with cornetti.
These days,
I have to use my own oven.
I got used to it,
maybe even prefer it.
So I got my pots.
Blindfolded Misses Kitchenaid
and start to blend.
And that was it.
Job done for 18 hours!
This morning I finally could do something to the bubbly mixture.
I could not imagine
what this blurb would turn in to.
I had to get a pastry scraper to handle the dough.
A really hot Creuset casserole pan
My oh My, does the smelly blob really turned in this beauty?
This taste like a pro bread,
really,
maybe beginners luck,
who knows?
but next on the list is her whole meal sister.
So my tip for today:
Press that link
and bake one tomorrow,
You won't look back!
Happy baking
♥
I like the cookies made by our local baker.
But when I found out how much they cost,
I simply can not buy them again.
Is this about being Dutch?
I wonder....
This basic cookie recipe is perfect
for adjusting, experimenting and mixing in.
And the dough is perfect for cookie cutters.
90 g soft unsalted butter
100 g caster sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon real vanilla extract
200 g plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine salt
Cream butter & sugar
Beat in eggs & vanilla
combine dry ingredients separately,
mix in gently
form in ball, wrap in cling film,
leave for at least 1 hour in refrigerator.
Today we chose for these flavors:
Thumbprint with organic 'More' jam, all the way from Italy.
Lavender
Chocolate Hazelnut
&
Pine nut & Rosemary
They sure taste lovely,
but best of all....
baking brings peace in mind and soul.
♥
Pasteis De Nata
This is proper slow food.
Make sure you bake them for a crowd,
otherwise you will eat them all by yourself.
Recipe by the lovely, beautiful and talented (Yes, I am a fan):
For the Dough:
250 g cold unsalted butter
250 g flour
40 g fine white sugar
pinch of salt.
Mix all in a food processor till it forms crumbs.
Add two or three table spoons of cold water.
Make a dough,
leave in fridge for a couple of hours,
wrapped in cling film.
Take out the dough,
roll out
try to make a rectangle
(40 by 35 cm)
Cut in half
make two huge sausages.
Cut 6 little ones out of 1 big
Put a little sausage straight up,
push with your thumbs the dough
into the greased muffin tin.
Leave in fridge while you start the custard.
Custard:
100 g fine white sugar
30 g flour
185 ml milk
1 vanilla pod
rind of lemon (1 big piece)
3 egg yolks
125 ml single cream
In a saucepan:
3 tablespoons of water and all sugar.
Leave to simmer until it thickens a bit, but doesn't caramelize.
Put the flour in a bowl and add a bit of the milk.
Stir until it forms a paste.
Leave aside.
In another saucepan:
Put in the rest of the milk, the lemon rind and a vanilla pod.
When it's a bit warmed up, take the vanilla pod out and cut in half.
Scrape out the marrow with a knife and put in the milk.
Leave until it almost boils.
Take out the lemon rind,
stir in to the flour paste and whisk well.
Add the egg yolks,
put mixture back in the saucepan on a low heat
and whisk for two minutes until smooth.
Take off the heat and add sugar sirup slowly while whisking.
Put in something that pours easily.
Preheat the oven (220 degrees)
Pour mixture in dough cups,
fill for ¾ .
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or golden brown.....
