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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Wholegrain Spelt Apple and Marzipan Cake Recipe

Wholegrain Spelt Apple Recipe | How to make Wholegrain Spelt Apple | Wholegrain Spelt Apple tips

Wholegrain Spelt Apple and Marzipan Cake

A classic German apple cake with marzipan. The marzipan paste, made of sugar and almond, is used in the cake batter to enrich the flavour and texture. If you are an almond lover, feel free to use more marzipan instead of sugar, and adjust accordingly flour quantity. The batter should look like a smooth and thick paste.

I do still use my favourite wholegrain spelt flour, but you can use wheat flour (wholegrain or not) instead if you want. Allergic reaction to eggs? No problem, use 1 cup of applesauce instead of 3 eggs.

After baking, a glaze could be created to brush the apples by warming 2 tablespoons of water and 3 tablespoons of apricot jam together. I chose to leave it. It’s rich and sweet enough for me.

2-3 Sour apples
1 tbsp Lemon juice
100 g Marzipan, grated
150 g Butter, softened
100 g Sugar
1/2 tsp Almond extract
Pinch of salt
3 Eggs
180 g Wholegrain spelt flour
1/2 tbsp Baking powder
1 tbsp Almond slices

Peel apples, cut into quarters lengthwise, and remove cores. Slice deep lines along the length of the apple quarters and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Line a 30x12x9-cm loaf pan with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
Roughly grate the marzipan. Place them in a mixing bowl together with butter, sugar, almond extract and salt. Beat until creamy. Add in eggs, one at time, beat until well combined.
Whisk together the wholegrain spelt flour and baking powder. Sift the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Stir until just incorporated. Spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Arrange the apple quarters over the top, cut side up, pressing lightly into the batter. Bake for about 30 minutes. Cool the cake on a wire rack to room temperature. Dust the surface with powdered sugar if desired.

Wholegrain Spelt Apple and Marzipan Cake Recipe

Marzipan Cake Recipe | How to make Marzipan Cake | Marzipan Cake Tips | Marzipan Cake ingridients

Wholegrain Spelt Apple and Marzipan Cake

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Chocolate Swirl Loaf

This is basically a sweet yeast bread swirled with chocolate-flavoured dough and formed into a two-toned braided loaf. It might seem to be difficult to make but it is simply a braided challah with two-toned effect.

Chocolate Swirl Loaf

inspired by Away of Mind

120 ml Milk, lukewarm
60 ml Water, lukewarm
60 g Butter, room temperature
1 Egg, room temperature
1 tsp Salt
50 g White sugar
360 g All purpose flour
7 g Instant active dry yeast
2 tbsp Dark chocolate spread
1 tbsp Flaxseed, ground

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the ingredients in the order given except the dark chocolate cream and ground flaxseed. Using a dough hook, mix everything together until a soft dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly-oiled surface. Combine the dark chocolate cream with 1/3 of dough. Knead each portion for a few minutes to form two smooth and elastic balls of dough.
Place two dough balls separately on two lightly greased bowls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size.
After dough balls have risen, roll and stretch each dough into approximately a 10 x 6-inch / 25 x 15-cm rectangle. Place the chocolate dough on top of plain dough, then roll it out to a 12 x 8-inch / 30 x 20-cm rectangle. Cut the rectangle into half, so you have two 6 x 8-inch / 15 x 20-cm rectangles. Now stack one rectangle on top of the other and roll it out again to a 12 x 8-inch / 30 x 20-cm rectangle. Repeat the above steps twice more.
Slice the rectangle into 4-6 strands, leaving one end intact, and braid the strands to form a loaf. Place it in a loaf pan lined with baking paper. Cover with the plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or until it doubles in size. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Spray the top of the loaf with water and sprinkle the ground flaxseed over. Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Radicchio Salad with Chicken in Kiwi Vinaigrette

A quick, light and tasty salad with leftover pan-seared chicken breast (turkey could be used instead here), antioxidant-rich radicchio, kiwifruit, cherry tomatoes, physalis (aka cape gooseberry) tossed with a fresh, fruity and delicious kiwi vinaigrette dressing. So If you feel stuffed and want a a healthy and soothing meal after holiday feasts, this salad might be what you need.

Kiwi Vinaigrette	Salad
2 Kiwi fruits, peeled and coarsely chopped 3 tbsp Orange juice 2 tbsp Canola oil 1 tbsp White wine vinegar 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp Honey Salt and pepper to taste	200 g Leftover pan-seared chicken breast 1/2 head Radicchio, coarsely chopped 2 Kiwi, peeled and cut into wedges 1/2 Yellow onion, sliced 5 Cherry tomatoes, cut in half 10 Physalis fruit, cut in half

To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth, about 5 to 10 seconds. Pour into a serving container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Coarsely chop the radicchio leaves. Arrange the radicchio and onions on a large serving platter. Top with chicken, kiwi,tomato,and physalis halves. Serve with kiwi vinaigrette.

Friday, November 12, 2010

How to Make Mastiha Pumpkin Spice Soup

Mastiha Pumpkin Spice Soup

It is exciting times on the Greek culinary front. The Greeks are re-discovering one of their ancient aromatics, the rarest spice on the planet: mastiha (mastic). As exciting a development as this may be, it is a situation fraught with gastronomic risks. In the drive to incorporate mastiha into a “Greek” cooking palette and create new taste sensations, there have been some interesting offerings coming out of test kitchens all over the planet.

Mastic Pumpkin Spice Soup

Ingredients

6 - 8 cups fresh pumpkin pulp
4 cups chicken/vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 tbsp. butter (optional)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 cups chopped onion
½ tsp. ground mastic
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot; add onions and sauté until soft.
Add broth, spices, salt, pepper, mustard and water to pot, stir and bring to boil; add shredded pumpkin pulp to pot, stir and cover to boil. When boiling, lower heat to medium low, keep pot covered and let simmer for 30-40 minutes.
When the pumpkin pulp is sufficiently softened, use an immersion blender and puree the soup to a creamy consistency. Cover and let simmer for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, then serve with a dollop of Greek-style strained yogurt in each portion.

Makes 8 servings and good to freeze for reheating.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Greek Cucumber Salad - Αγγουροσαλάτα

When Greeks sit down to a summertime meal, they will invariably include a raw salad of one kind or another. One of the more popular summertime Greek salads in our family is the world famous Aggourosalata (ah-goo-roh-sah-LAH-ta), or, Cucumber Salad. There are a few variations on the theme, but it is a very basic dish and serves as a refreshing course alongside other summertime favourites.

The cucumber has been α part of Greek cookery for millennia. It is used in the famous Tzatziki sauce, and can simply be sliced into wedges, salted or not, and consumed without any fuss, much like a melon. Indeed, a little known fact about the cucumber is that it is not a vegetable; it is actually a melon.

Ancient Greek melon patches included the long green fruits alongside more recognizable spherical varieties. Today, alas, cucumbers are found among the vegetables in market produce sections, which can cause some confusion regarding their genus. Fortunately, a few of us are familiar with the old ways and can serve to remind others of our forgotten Greek food heritage.

Ingredients:

1 medium sized cucumber, chilled, washed but not peeled and sliced thinly
½ medium sized red onion, sliced thinly
2 - 3 tablespoons Greek extra virgin olive oil
2 - 3 tablespoons Greek wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dried Greek oregano
Kalamata olives
Salt and fresh ground black pepper; to taste.

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine and toss all the ingredients together. Serve immediately.

Serves 4