The Panforte Christmas Cake

Perhaps one of the popular desserts associated with Christmas is our good ol' fruit cake. While browsing through the net to find a good fruit cake recipe I somehow ended up with another Christmas cake recipe the Italian Panforte (pronounced pan-FOHR-tay) which is as delectably delicious as its counterpart. This cake is best served with hot tea or milk.

Ingredients for Panforte:

3 ounces (90 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup (125 grams) toasted and coarsely chopped hazelnuts

1 cup (120 grams) toasted and coarsely chopped blanched almonds

1 cup candied citrus (170 grams) (citron, lemon and/or orange peel)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup (70 grams) all purpose flour

1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar

2/3 cup (160 ml) honey

Procedure: Butter and line with parchment paper an 8-inch (20 cm) tart pan. Alternatively, and for a more authentic look, line the pan with edible rice paper (available at Asian markets).

First melt the chocolate in a stainless steel bowl over simmering water. Set aside. Then in a large bowl combine the nuts, candied fruit, spices, flour, and cocoa powder.

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar and honey. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Then clamp a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Continue to boil the mixture over medium heat, without stirring, until the temperature reaches the soft ball stage, 240 degrees F (116 degrees C).

Remove from heat and stir the sugar/honey syrup and the melted chocolate into the chopped nut and fruit mixture. The mixture will stiffen quickly so once combined, transfer to the prepared pan. With damp hands, or the back of a spoon or offset spatula, evenly spread the Panforte, smoothing the top.

Bake in a 300 degree F (150 degree C) oven for about 30-35 minutes or until the surface has fine blisters. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. While the Panforte is still warm, remove the sides of the pan and heavily dust the top of the cake with confectioners' (powdered/icing) sugar. Gently rub the sugar into the cake. (Note: if you have lined the pan with rice paper you may find it has torn. If that is the case simply add more rice paper, using a little egg white as glue.)

Once the cake has completely cooled, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in a cool, dry place. Well wrapped this cake will keep several months.

Serve this cake in thin slices as it is quite rich.

Makes 1 - 8 inch (20 cm) cake.

Note: To remove the skins of the hazelnuts as well as to toast them: bake in a 350 degree F (180 degree C) oven for 15 minutes or until fragrant and the skins begin to flake. Remove from oven and place the hot nuts in a dish towel. Roll up the towel and let the nuts sit (steam) for a few minutes then briskly rub the nuts in the towel to remove the skins. Let cool before using. Toasting the nuts not only removes the bitter skins but also enhances the sweet, rich, buttery flavor of the nut.

To toast the almonds: bake in a 350 degree F (180 degree C) oven for about 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Watch carefully as they can burn easily. Remove from oven and let cool before using.

Source: http://www.joyofbaking.com/Panforte.html

Wai Lana's Cauliflower Pastries

Here's another great recipe from Wai Lana. It is equally delicious as the first Wai lana recipe I posted (avocado tarts) enjoy!

Filling:
3/4 cup fresh cashew milk*
1 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cups cauliflower, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh ginger juice**
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
Pinch of turmeric and asafetida
1/2 Tbsp. Bragg liquid aminos
1/16 tsp. salt, or to taste
1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp. water

Pastry:
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. egg replacer powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/16 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. eggless mayonnaise
3-4 Tbsp. water, or as needed

1. Prepare the cashew milk as directed below and set aside. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat and sauté the cauliflower until lightly browned. Add a little water and cook until tender.

2. Stir in the cashew milk and the next 6 filling ingredients and gently simmer for a few minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened. Cool before using.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the dry pastry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the oil and eggless mayonnaise and rub in until evenly crumbly. Gradually add enough water to make a soft ball.

4. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. On a floured work surface, roll the pieces out into thin circles about 1/16 inch thick. Spoon 1/8 of the filling onto one side of each pastry, leaving room to seal.

5. Fold the other side over the filling. Seal by fork-pressing the edges evenly. Prick the tops and lay the pastries on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Makes 8 half moon pastries

*Cashew milk: Blend 1/4 cup raw cashew pieces with 1 cup hot water until smooth. Strain through a fine strainer.

**To make fresh ginger juice, simply grate some fresh ginger, then manually squeeze the pulp.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories: 150, Fat 8.3g (74 cal), Carbohydrate 16.2g (64 cal), Protein 2.9g (12 cal)
Added information: Saturated Fat 1.3g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 168mg, Dietary Fiber 1.4g

source: http://www.wailana.com/lifestyle/recipes/

Vegan Apple Cake

Because of curiosity I tried this vegan dessert recipe (also from http://www.eggless.com) just to see how a non-dairy cake would taste like...It's undeniable that this cake has that "healthy" tang, I know you can agree simply by reading the list of ingredients.

• 2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup soft vegetable margarine
• 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 dessert apples, cored and grated
• 1 tablespoon soya flour
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sultanas
• 2 tablespoons soya milk
• juice of 1 lemon
• water if necessary

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5

Use a 20cm/8 inch sandwich tin.

Oil and line the cake tin. Cream the margarine and sugar together for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Stir in the apples. Mix together the flours, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking powder and sultanas. Stir this into the creamed margarine and apples and add the soya milk and lemon juice plus a little water if the batter is too thick. Pour the batter into the sandwich tin. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour in the preheated oven. The cake is baked when a warm knife inserted into it comes out clean. Remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Eggless Apricot Caramel Upside-down Cake

I was searching for recipes of eggless desserts and a stumbled upon this very nice site that features a lot of delectable recipes. Here's one of their must try recipes for all the dessert lovers out there:

Apricot Caramel Upside-down Cake

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 1/2 cup cornflour
• 3/4 cup white self-raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 cups fresh apricots
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons sour cream
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon ground almonds
• SYRUP:
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups water
• CARAMEL:
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5

Use a 23cm/9 inch square cake tin.

Syrup: Make a syrup by boiling the sugar with 600ml/1 pint of water for 5 minutes.

Caramel: Put the sugar into a pan with 10 tbs. or 1/2 cup of water. Stir over low heat until dissolved, then boil hard to a rich caramel brown (don't stir, but watch it). Wrap your hand in a tea towel, and stir in - off the heat - 4 tbs. water, using a wooden spoon. The caramel will sizzle, harden and look very odd. Just stir carefully, and if it does not dissolve into a clear smooth caramel, put it back over the heat until it does. Pour into the lightly greased cake tin and set aside.

Bring the syrup to the boil in a wide pan, and slip in the halved stoned apricots, cut side down. When the syrup returns to the boil, give it a minute to simmer, then turn the apricots over. By this time, they will be cooked enough. Do not let them collapse. Remove with a slotted spoon and pack closely together, cut side down, on top of the caramel.

Lightly grease the cake tin. Put all the cake ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer or processor and whizz until smoothly blended. If necessary, add a couple of tbs. of the apricot syrup to make the mixture a dropping consistency. The ingredients can equally well be beaten together by hand; make sure the butter is very soft indeed.

Spread carefully and evenly over the apricots. Bake for about 45 minutes. The top should brown nicely. Cool for a moment, then run a warm knife round the edge, put a serving plate on top and quickly turn upside down. Serve warm, with fresh cream.

If you like, you can split and toast as many almonds as there are apricots, and put a nice brown piece in the cavity of each half of apricot.

http://www.eggless.com/test5/016.shtml

Oriental Molo Soup

This recipe is from my good friend who is a culinary enthusiast. This soup recipe is perfect for the cold nights of the “ber” season.

Oriental Molo Soup

Ingredients:

½ pack eggless dumpling wrapper

½ cup ground gluten

¼ cup grated turnips

1 small carrots, grated

4 cloves garlic, grated

4 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in water

1 tbsp. Kinchay (Chinese coriander) finely chopped

4 cups water

4 tbsp. miso paste

4 tbsp. light soy sauce

1 stalk leeks, thinly chopped for garnishing.

Method: In a pan with oil add garlic. Lightly toast garlic and then add in gluten, soy sauce and sugar.

Stir continuously for 5 – 8 mins or until gluten is lightly browned. Then add carrots and singkamas. Cook for another 5 mins. and add kinchay and cornstarch mixture.

Set aside to cool.

Wrap the filling in dumpling wrapper.

For the soup simply boil water in a pot. Add light soy sauce and the dumplings in boiling water. When dumplings float to the surface, turn off fire and add the miso paste and leeks.

Best serve hot.

Variation- Add more vegetables in the soup such as carrots, cabbage and string beans. Than add 2 tbsp of sesame oil and a tbsp. of chili garlic paste in the end to add a touch of Chinese flavor.

"Indian" French Fries

:)

these are good I promise

version 1: is from Manjula's kitchen.
http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2008/09/07/masala-french-fries/

version 2: is from my kitchen :)

3 medium sized potatoes.

wash, peel and julienne.

for crunchier fries soak the potatoes in a bowl of cold water with about 2 tsp of flour for about 15 minutes. Drain well.

Deep fry in ghee. Drain well. Sprinkle with chili powder, hing, and black salt.

wai lana yoga diet recipes - avocado tarts

wai lana yoga diet recipes - avocado tarts

Her desserts sounds so good.



Pastry:

1 cup unbleached white flour
2 Tbsp. raw sugar
1/2 tsp. egg replacer powder
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. safflower oil
Water for binding

Filling:
3/4 cup fresh cashew milk*
1/4 cup raw sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups ripe avocado
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Fresh mint leaves for garnishing

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the dry pastry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Rub in the oil with your fingertips until evenly crumbly. Carefully add just enough water to make a soft ball of dough.

2. Lightly oil 4 mini tart pans or custard cups, or a standard muffin tray with 6 cups. Divide the pastry into 4-6 pieces depending on the size and choice of pan. On a floured work surface, roll each piece into a circle about 1/8 inch thick.

3. Place the pastry into the pans and mold to fit. Prick the bottoms with a fork. Bake for 20-30 minutes until light golden. Cool and remove the shells from the pans. If you are using custard cups, bake first, then remove the pastry shells from the cups and bake on a tray, bottom side up, for another 5-10 minutes.

4. Prepare the cashew milk as directed below. Blend the cashew milk and the next 4 filling ingredients until smooth. Add the lemon juice and mix. Spoon the filling evenly into the cooled shells and chill briefly. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Makes 4-6 tarts

*Cashew milk: Blend 1/4 cup raw cashew pieces with 1 cup hot water until smooth. Strain through a fine strainer.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories: 293, Fat 15.3g (138 cal), Carbohydrate 34.7g (139 cal), Protein 3.8g (16 cal)
Added information: Saturated Fat 1.8g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 202mg, Dietary Fiber 2.7g

http://www.wailana.com/lifestyle/recipes/recipe.php?id=8