Posts Tagged ‘spelt flour’

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cashew Coconut Cream

Over the weekend we celebrated my birthday. Celebrating a birthday during the month of November in the North West is sometimes a challenge. I really enjoy doing things outdoors, but I’ve come to realize that the weather will always be icy cold and most likely rainy, so I should just do whatever I really want because there are just some things you can’t predict or change. So when a friend mentioned a trip up to Lopez Island a few weeks ago, I made no hesitation and we started planning.

We woke before the sun rise on Friday and made our way North on I-5 for a 2-3 hour drive. The sunrise that morning was beautiful. A magnificent crack of deep orange sitting just below very dark blue-gray clouds outlining Mt.Rainier. Our first stop before getting on the ferry to Lopez was at Deception Pass. The water was crystal clear blue and looked icy cold. Just as we stepped out from the car we felt the first droplets of rain and bundled up into our coats and boots for a walk down the trail to the beach. We combed the shoreline, watched the diving birds and seals, and chased the tides while running around the rocky shores. It was beautiful.

Soon we found ourselves on the ferry where we slowly rocked across the Puget Sound through all the islands before finally reaching our destination. The first thing you see when getting off the ferry is all the tall evergreen trees lining the cliff edges, soon you find yourself in yellow wheat fields where fluffy sheep are grazing and old farm houses are in the distance. My first thought was “how am I going to leave here?” It’s so beautiful, even in all its gray and rain. There are no fast food restaurants or ugly billboard ads, only the locals who wave every time you pass them, we waved back.

We stayed with family that one of our friends had on the island. It was nice to cozy up each evening after a full day of wandering around the grassy cliff side shores of Otis Perkins Park, Shark Reef Park, Iceberg Point, and Lopez Hill. It pretty much poured rain the entire time we were there, but I still had such a great time and now we’re trying to figure out how soon we can go back.

The day before we left I wanted to make a little birthday treat to pack along with us. Since we were going to be doing a lot of driving I figured cupcakes would be easier than a full layer cake. I debated about the frosting. I was originally going to make a light coconut whipped cream type, but wasn’t sure how it would travel. Instead I settled on making cashew coconut cream and frosting them after arriving so they wouldn’t get messy if tossed around.

The cakes themselves are practically sugar-free, using only a little honey. They have a nice chocolate flavor and the cake is a little denser than regular chocolate cake, almost bordering a cake-like brownie.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cashew Coconut Cream / makes 12 cupcakes
cake loosely adapted from My New Roots

The cake and frosting can easily be made vegan by substituting the honey for agave of maple syrup. I think the only change I would make in the future would be the frosting, maybe using coconut butter in place if the coconut milk for a stiffer version. This cake is also great for using up an last bits of pumpkin puree you may have around. It doesn’t taste anything like pumpkin and since I used a yellow banana (instead of a super ripe speckled one) it barely tasted of banana at all.

for the cake
1 1/4 cups light spelt flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flax meal mixed with 6 tablespoons water
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 small banana, mashed well
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

for the frosting
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350?F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners

I a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl combine the flax mixture, pumpkin puree, honey, vanilla, mashed banana, and apple cider vinegar, mix very well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and slowly fold in just until the dry ingredients are fully wet, do not over mix. 

Pour batter into the paper cups, filling about 3/4 of the way full. Place in the oven and bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Prepare the frosting.
Drain the soaked cashews and place in a food processor. Add the coconut milk, honey, and lemon juice. Puree until very smooth, stopping to scrap down the sides if necessary. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. Stores for about 1 week.

Desserts + Sweets

Spelt Biscuits

spelt biscuits

There is nothing better than a hearty, soul warming soup in the fall and through the winter, but as excited as I am about tasting each new batch or being reminded of familiar favorites, sometimes I get just as excited about the bread that will be accompanying it.

I made a big batch of stew for dinner the other night soon after finishing our chickpea noodle soup. Normally I enjoy soups and stews with a nice loaf of crusty bread; sopping up all the last remaining bits with a shaggy torn piece at the end. This time however, I was craving biscuits. Warm from the oven, flaky, buttery, homey biscuits.

Now, these are not your traditional biscuits in any sense, they are made entirely from spelt flour, but they still have that buttery, slightly flaky characteristic I was craving. So they suited me just fine.
butter

dough

spelt biscuits

This batch made plenty more than we could eat that night and biscuits are always a welcome sight in the morning. I rewarmed them slightly in the oven the next day just to give them that warm from the oven feel again. Then I drizzled mine with some local raw blackberry honey alongside a hot cup of tea, but jam or even just a nob of butter perks them up too. I also may have eaten more then one, but who’s counting?

Now that I’m on the topic of breakfast, I’m envisioning serving these alongside scrambled eggs or tofu or maybe making a fried egg sandwich from them as well. Biscuits have so many great uses! Never be afraid to make a double batch, they will always get eaten.
spelt biscuits with honey

Spelt Biscuits /8-10 biscuits

Other than the change from white flour to spelt (you can use light spelt if you prefer too), there is plenty of cold butter mixed in to give the biscuits their flakiness. I used my favorite buttermilk substitute of almond milk and vinegar, but if you have a splash of buttermilk needing to be used up you can use that here too.

3/4 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 1/2 Cups spelt flour
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine the milk and vinegar (alternatively you can use buttermilk), set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using your hands, rub in the butter into the flour mixture until you have roughly little pea size bits.

Stir in the milk mixture with a wooden spoon. You should have a shaggy doughy mess, don’t worry if it seems dry at this point. Dump everything out onto a clean surface and knead the dough 10-15 times just until all the flour is worked in.

Flatten the dough out into a 1″ thick circle and use a biscuit cutter to make neat rounds of dough. Gather together any remaining dough scraps and repeat until you have 8-10 biscuits cut out. Place them on a baking pan and bake for 18-20 minutes. Serve warm.

Bread, Breakfast, Fall, Grains, Proteins, Sides, Winter

Simple Chocolate Cake

I’ve read more books so far this year, then I feel I have in a long time. When I was younger I used to go through the scholastic reading newsletter that came every month at my school and barely be able to contain myself for the books I would soon receive. When they came, I devoured them. Summer always seemed to involve a long reading list and if I remember right, I had to keep track of each one and the time I spent for credit that would lead to a prize or reward of some kind for my efforts.

These days I feel lucky if I get the chance to read more than a few pages before slowly nodding off to sleep each night. But this Summer I found time, or at least I made the time. The funny thing is that three of the books just so happened to be food memoirs that I finally got to catch up on.

The first was Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, where I instantly wanted a plot of my own land to live off (and which may or may not have given me the canning bug this year). I was inspired to make things like my own cheese and yogurt, so far only the later has happened and with surprisingly good results.

Then I moved on to The Sweet Life In Paris by David Lebovitz. This book had me laughing out loud and even reading sections to my husband, who got a kick out of it as well. Recipes for apple tarte tatin, crepes, brownies that the French went nuts over, and of course a recipe for a perfectly simple, but oh so delicious, chocolate cake, which is what I’m sharing with you today. More on that though in a minute.

My most recent read, was A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette. Another one that was hard to put down. When she described even the most simple moments where food was involved, I felt like I was there eating right alongside. She also has a chocolate cake that I want to try next. But what I first enjoyed was a big plate of roasted eggplant ratatouille because I just can’t seem to get enough eggplant this year. It was delicious.

So I’ve been a busy reader this summer, but more than any marks or points I can mark down on my check list, I have good food to eat, share, and enjoy. I think that is better than possibly any of the prizes I received as a little girl and ones I want to keep and share. What have you been reading this Summer? I’d love recommendations!

Simple Chocolate Cake / serves 8-10
Adapted from The Sweet Life In Paris by David Lebovitz

This is my idea of a perfect chocolate cake. No frosting, a slight direction into the brownie category, rich chocolaty flavor, and simple to make. David mentions that the cake is often made a day or two ahead of time so the flavor has time to develop. Ours lasted exactly into day two and I can say it really was a bit tastier. Odd how that works. The cake puffs up real high when first pulled from the oven, but quickly flattens and sinks down when cooling. I made mine in an 8-inch spring-form pan rather than a 9-inch loaf pan and it made for easy removal.

9 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup cane sugar
4 eggs at room temperature, separated
2 tablespoons spelt flour or plain flour
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8-inch spring-form pan or alternatively use a 9-inch loaf pan, buttered and lined with parchment.

Place the chocolate and butter in a double broiler, melt until smooth. Remove from the heat, stir in 1/2 the sugar, the egg yolks, and the flour.

Whisk the egg whites with the salt. Keep whipping until soft droopy peaks form. Whip in the remaining sugar gradually until whites are smooth and hold their shape.

Using a rubber spatula, fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then fold in the remaining whites just until the mixture is smooth and no white streaks remain.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the center feels slightly firm. Don’t over bake. Let cool before serving. Keeps for 3 days wrapped or covered and frozen for up to 1 month.

Desserts + Sweets

Peach Maple Bundt Cake

Yesterday marked a very special day. One year ago I married the man who has been my best friend for the last eight years. We spent a long weekend in one of our favorite places to be. Paradise on Mt. Rainier.

His family has a little cabin nestled among the tall trees with a creek running through the back. It was a perfect weekend with sunny blue skies and temperatures in the upper 70′s. We spent our time hiking, reading, relaxing, talking about things other than work. I love these times we spend in the outdoors. For me it means I get a chance to unplug and rejuvenate my mind and body. I am so very thankful that I have found a man I can enjoy these times with and who enjoys our outdoor activities just as much as I do.

Our actual wedding day included about a dozen beautiful homemade bundt cakes to serve our guests, ranging in flavors from raspberry and chocolate, to root beer and cinnamon and everything in between. I couldn’t see having a traditional wedding cake when I never was much of a cake lover. Plus the pattern of each cake was unique and beautiful in a very rustic way. I think it only made sense for me to want to make another bundt cake to celebrate our first year together. And in a way, maybe this will be a new sweet little tradition of ours.

Peach Maple Bundt Cake / serves 10-12

Peaches are all I could think about when deciding on the flavor of cake I wanted to bake. I wanted it to be moist, with a delicate crumb, not very sweet, but with lovely juicy peaches dripping out the side. What I made was actually very close to that. I’ve written the recipe below as I made it, but the only major change I would make to this cake is actually stirring in small peaces of peach into the batter rather than layering them. I think it effected the rise a little bit more than I anticipated. Other than that this cake is super moist and only very slightly sweet. If you want a sweeter cake I would suggest making a simple glaze and adding it to the top after the cake has cooled. I sprinkled on a little bit of raw sugar plus a few flowers to make it prettier.

2 cups spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups peach puree, about 2 large ripe peaches, plus 1 peach cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons flax meal mixed with 6 tablespoons water or 2 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 10-inch Bundt pan, dust with flour and tap out excess.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside.

Beat the butter until fluffy. Add flax meal mixture (or eggs if using), beating well. Beat in the peach puree, maple syrup and vanilla.

Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture in three additions alternating with the yogurt, beating until just combined after each addition.

Pour 1/2 the batter into prepared pan. Place a layer of peach slices down then cover with remaining batter, smoothing over the top.

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Let cool in pan upside down on a wire rack for 15 minutes. If it hasn’t already pulled out from the Bundt pan, carefully remove and cool completely on wire rack before slicing and serving.

Serve with fresh whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or by itself. Store covered tightly for 2-3 days.

Desserts + Sweets, Fruits, Summer

Rhubarb Rosemary Crisp : For Two

I’m a firm believer that desserts, especially in the form of cakes, pies, and crumbles, should be served for a crowd. It feels celebratory and it’s a great way to end a meal with the ones you love. But then there are times when the middle of the week rolls around, with no place to go or people to see, and a craving strikes for something sweet with an oaty brown sugar topping smothering warm fresh fruit.

I happened to have everything to make a rhubarb crumble and wanting to avoid the inevitable, dessert for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the days after, I settled on making it for two. Shortening up the recipe quite a bit to make only two servings took some thinking and tweaking. At first I was worried I would end up with to much crumble topping, but after thinking about it more I thought, who ever complains about having to much crumble? I ended up with the perfect amount anyways and a tasty treat I looked forward to digging into.

Have you ever had rosemary with your rhubarb? It’s amazing. They were meant to be together. It transforms a tart, sweet dessert into something sophisticated and interesting. I love my rhubarb desserts on the more tart side, then sweet. Adding sweetened whipped cream or creme fraiche adds a little extra creamy sweet touch at the end as well, but you can choose to use more sugar in the filling if you’d like. Crisps and cobblers are one of my favorite things to make in the Spring and Summer time. They’re always a comfort and easy to prepare and serve.

Rhubarb Rosemary Crisp / serves 2

I used spelt flour for the crumble, but feel free to substitute whole wheat or all-purpose flour if you’d like. I really liked the coconut oil in the crumble, it added another slight flavor change to the traditional butter topping, but either will be fine. Although the butter will most likely brown a little more. The ramekins will seem really full, as the rhubarb cooks it will break down and sink a bit, so don’t worry if you think it will overflow.

crumble topping
3 tablespoons spelt flour
3 tablespoons rolled oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil or cold butter

rhubarb filling
1 stalk rhubarb, chopped or about 1 full cup
1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoon cane sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease 2 ramekins and set aside.

For the crumble, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Add in the coconut oil and using your fingers, mix in until crumbles start to form. Use your hand to squeeze the mixture together into one or two large clumps and place in the freezer while preparing the filling.

In a separate bowl, place the rhubarb, rosemary, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar. Stir to combine.

Spoon the rhubarb mixture evenly into the prepared ramekins. Pull the crumble out of the freezer and spoon evenly on top of the rhubarb.

I like to place the ramekins onto a baking sheet just in case there may be any spill-over then place in the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden and the fruit is cooked and bubbly. Serve warm with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Desserts + Sweets, Fruits, Vegan, Vegetables