Showing posts with label hazelnuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hazelnuts. Show all posts

Sunday, January 02, 2011

Flaxseed orange cake with hazelnuts

Happy new year 2011, everybody! My first post of the new year is an eggless cake, using flaxseed powder as a substitute for the egg in the original recipe - and goodness knows where I got that from. Anyway, it works! Flaxseed as a substitute for eggs really does work! There's no reason it SHOULDN'T, because this particular substitution has been recommended and tried by plenty of others. It's just that I needed to try it for myself before I could actually believe it. And I'm pretty sure I don't need to feel lonely in this respect, I'm sure I have plenty of company.
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I'd dry roasted a lot of flaxseeds earlier, and it was a simple job to grind one tablespoon of the seeds to powder and mix it with water.
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It's one thing to be told that 1 tbsp flaxseed powder + 3 tbsp water = one egg. It's quite another thing to realise that the flaxseed powder simply SUCKS up the water,
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and when the mixture is added to cake batter, it makes the batter really really gooey. In fact, the batter felt so gooey that I wondered if the cake would turn out a disaster, but hooray for flaxseeds, it didn't!

If you look at the photos of the cake, you'll see that the hazelnuts are practically powdered. That was not the effect I was after. I wanted the nuts chopped, not ground to dust. Sadly, one moment's distraction while running the nuts in the grinder is all it takes to pulverise rather than chop - so take note.

In short, if you DO make this cake, be sure to chop the nuts (whichever nuts you may substitute) a bit chunky; they're best not pulverised.

Recipe for: Flaxseed orange cake with hazelnuts
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Ingredients:

1/3 cup oil
pinch salt
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp flaxseed powder + 3 tbsp water
1-1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cream or yogurt
1/3 cup dried berries
3-4 tbsp milk (if required)
3 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau liqueur (or orange juice)
1/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°C.

2. Mix oil, salt, orange rind, Grand Marnier and sugar in a large bowl.
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3. Beat in the flaxseed mixture along with the cream or yogurt.
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4. Sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add to wet mixture in three or four stages, stirring well in between,
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then add the dried berries and mix them in well.
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The batter will be quite sticky and gooey. Beat in some milk if the batter feels too thick.

5. Pour the batter into a 7" round or square pan which has been sprayed with Pam.

6. Spread the chopped nuts on the surface, pressing them in gently so that they are partly sunk in the batter.
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7. Bake till the cake is done - about 45-50 minutes, although it's best to check from 30 minutes onwards, depending on your oven.
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8. Cool the cooked cake for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
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Cut when cool.
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RECIPE: FLAXSEED ORANGE CAKE WITH HAZELNUTS

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oil
pinch salt
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp flaxseed powder + 3 tbsp water
1-1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cream or yogurt
1/3 cup dried berries
3-4 tbsp milk (if required)
3 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau liqueur (or orange juice)
1/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°C.
2. Mix oil, salt, orange rind, Grand Marnier and sugar in a large bowl.
3. Beat in the flaxseed mixture along with the cream or yogurt.
4. Sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add to wet mixture, then add the dried berries and mix them in well. The batter will be a bit sticky and gooey. Beat in some milk if the batter feels too thick.
5. Pour the batter into a 7" round or square pan which has been sprayed with Pam.
6. Spread the chopped nuts on the surface, pressing them in gently so that they are partly sunk in the batter.
7. Bake till the cake is done - about 45-50 minutes, although it's best to check from 30 minutes onwards, depending on your oven.
8. Cool the cooked cake for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Hazelnut rosewater kulfi pops - Diwali 2010

My Deepavali preparations this year were sketchy and very last minute. About the only thing that didn’t fall into that "last-minute" category was one of the sweets that I made in celebration - and that mainly because I'd been thinking about making it at home at some point. The other sweet I made merely to keep up the momentum, even though I’d long held the opinion that it was best left to professionals to make. (Which was more or less proved correct, but that's for the next post.)

This kulfi was the first of the two sweets. I knew it was dead easy to make (having researched various blogs on the 'net), but just couldn’t be fagged to do it. The reason – lethargy. Pure, unrefined lethargy, completely innocent of adulteration by any justifiable excuse. (Aren’t you all glad to see ONE thing in this world that retains its original, if unworthy, quality? I knew you would be.)

Anyway, because Pete doesn’t like cardamom-flavoured milky sweets, I went with rosewater as the only flavouring for my hazelnut-rich kulfis. A good choice, although I ended up adding about ¼ cup rosewater to be able to taste it over the hazelnuts in the kulfi mixture.

By the way, I started out with raw skin-on hazelnuts. I roasted them, then rubbed off most of the skin before chopping them. If you’d like to avoid the deskinning process, use skinned hazelnuts to start with. If you don’t want the hassle of roasting the nuts, get skinned and roasted hazelnuts. And if you don’t want the annoyance of chopping the roasted skinned hazelnuts... can anybody guess where I’m going with this? Yep – get pre-skinned, pre-roasted, pre-chopped hazelnuts.

Just avoid the pre-eaten, pre-digested ones.

Recipe for:
Hazelnut rosewater kulfi pops

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Ingredients:

1 can low-fat evaporated milk (to make 1-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (or to taste)
1/4 cup rosewater
1/3 cup hazelnuts
8 popsicle moulds

Method:

1. Roast the hazelnuts over medium-low heat, stirring often, till they turn a pale gold. Be careful not to burn them.
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2. When they are cool, chop them finely. A few larger pieces are ok for crunch. You can powder them if you want the flavour in the kulfi without the texture.
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3. Bring the evaporated milk to a gentle boil, then turn off the heat and let cool.
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4. When the evaporated milk is at room temperature, add the rosewater and the condensed milk.
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5. Then stir in all but 2 tbsp of the hazelnuts.
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6. Sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts at the bottom of the kulfi mould.
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Then fill with the kulfi mixture.
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7. Place the filled kulfi moulds in the freezer for at least 8 hours or until frozen. To remove the frozen kulfi from the moulds, run them under hot water for a moment or two, then loosen carefully. Serve immediately.

RECIPE: HAZELNUT ROSEWATER KULFI POPS

Ingredients:

1 can low-fat evaporated milk (to make 1-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup rosewater
8 kulfi moulds
1/3 cup hazelnuts
8 popsicle moulds

Method:

1. Roast the hazelnuts over medium-low heat, stirring often, till they turn a pale gold. Be careful not to burn them.
2. When they are cool, chop them finely. A few larger pieces are ok for crunch. You can powder them if you want the flavour in the kulfi without the texture.
3. Bring the evaporated milk to a gentle boil, then turn off the heat and let cool.
4. When the evaporated milk is at room temperature, add the rosewater and the condensed milk.
5. Then stir in all but 2 tbsp of the hazelnuts.
6. Sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts at the bottom of the kulfi mould. Then fill with the kulfi mixture.
7. Place the filled kulfi moulds in the freezer for at least 8 hours or until frozen. To remove the frozen kulfi from the moulds, run them under hot water for a moment or two, then loosen carefully. Serve immediately.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Savoury egg-free nut roast

The first time I tried nut roast was a few years ago, when we went for Sunday lunch with my father-in-law and his partner, in honour of his birthday, to a pub that he favours. Sunday lunch usually involves roast beef, lamb or turkey, sometimes chicken, along with a selection of steamed vegetables and roasted potatoes, and of course a jug of gravy.

Me being vegetarian, I had to go for the only veggie option there was in the Sunday lunch section – which was nut roast. I didn’t know what it was or what I was going to get, but to my pleasant surprise, it was delicious! I don’t know if they made the nut roast from scratch at the pub or whether it was just cooked from frozen, but it didn’t matter – it was absolutely scrummy. I never had it anywhere else and we never went to that pub except with my f-i-l, but every time we went there, that’s what I had. The nut roast.

I don’t know why I didn’t think to try making it at home… well, perhaps I do know. It’s probably because the nut roast, in my mind, was linked to a specific meal at a specific place on a specific date with specific people… (and does the word specific now look as weird to you as it does to me? Repetition causes confusion.)

My mother is going to spend Christmas with us this year, the first time that circumstances have made it possible for her to be with us. (People, there IS a point to this, I’m not digressing, and especially not digressing without reason!) She was wondering what she would be able to eat for Christmas dinner, since she doesn’t even eat eggs or anything containing eggs in any form, and whether it would be too much trouble to cook for just her alone. That’s when I had the brilliant idea – I would make a nut roast for the vegetarians in the family! (See, I TOLD you, there was a point and I just made it. Without going off on a tangent. [All you need for this to happen is get the moon and the stars in the correct alignment. NOW I’m digressing. Guess the moon and stars moved.])

Of course, I didnt want to make a nut roast on Christmas Eve and then have it flop, so the next thing to do was make it now, as an experiment. (If it didnt work, at least I wouldnt have ruined our meal for Christmas!) So, I researched nut roasts and discovered that the recipe is nicely forgiving, able to accommodate pretty much anything you throw into it. The recipe below is an amalgamation of 2-3 different ones, using ingredients I prefer (courgette not aubergine, for instance; wholewheat granary breadcrumbs instead of white, etc)... and omitting the eggs entirely.

To my delight, the nut roast was as gorgeous as the one I'd had at the pub... the texture and taste were perfect. If it didnt quite hold together as well as it should have, I attribute it to the lack of egg as a "binder" (In hindsight, I should have added extra breadcrumbs). Not that I minded, and even Pete, despite good-naturedly grumbling about "too many vegetables", thought it was very tasty.

Hooray, I have a vegetarian roast recipe for Christmas! (Amma, take note.)

Recipe for:
Nut roast




Ingredients:



1 cup peanuts
½ cup walnuts
Handful cashews (about 10)
Handful almonds (about 10)



1 medium courgette
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
1 cup button mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup masoor dal (+ 2 tbsp whole masoor - optional)
2-3 dried birds eye chillies, minced (or use fresh green chillies to taste, minced)
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (I used wholewheat granary bread)
2 cups chopped herbs (combination of parsley, coriander and dill)
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp sunflower oil
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Wash the masoor dal.



Cook in boiling water till done but not mushy.



The stove-top will do fine for this as masoor cooks very quickly, and you can keep track of its texture. Drain off the cooking water and reserve the cooked lentils.

2. Chop the nuts finely (but not to a powder – just small pieces) in a food processor (or by hand if you have that sort of patience).



3. Peel and grate the carrot. Chop the courgette, onion, bell pepper and mushrooms very finely.

4. Heat the oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan and fry the onions, garlic and chillies till the onion is soft and brown.



5. Add the chopped herbs, dried thyme, turmeric powder, chopped courgettes and mushrooms now and stir well.



6. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook for 4-5 minutes, then add the grated carrots and bell pepper.



Saute for 7-10 minutes or till the vegetables are cooked.



Transfer the vegetables to a big bowl and let cool.



7. Then add the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and mix in. Add a little salt (about ½ tsp) and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, the chopped nuts,



the cooked lentils



and the breadcrumbs



and mix it all with your hands to make a homogenous mixture



– it shouldn’t be dry but also don’t make it sloppy or runny, or the roast will not “set” in the oven. Also check for seasoning now and correct if necessary.

8. Pack the mixture tightly into a greased loaf tin,



cover with foil



and bake for 45 minutes covered, at 180C. After that take the foil off, lower the temperature to 160C and cook uncovered for another 10 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the loaf rest for 5-10 minutes in the oven itself, before unmoulding onto a serving plate.



Serve thickly sliced with a selection of roasted and/or steamed vegetables.