Almond Banana Chocolate (ABC) Cake

ABC... Easy as 1 2 3, simple as do re mi, A B C, 1 2 3 baby you and me girl!

Life is always better with chocolate. Life is even better with chocolate in the form of cake. Guilt free cake. Cake that is even healthy for you! Cake that doesn't make you break out if you're sensitive to sugar. Cake that you can eat for breakfast or lunch or midnight snack. Almond banana chocolate cake.

I don't know whether it's because I haven't eaten any sweet food in a while, but this cake really hits the spot. This delicious cake was made for my mum's birthday. I swear I was going to eat just one piece. Nek minnit... Ended up waking up in the middle of night three nights in a row chowing down this cake. Yes I still have self control not to eat the whole cake so it lasted a few days. And what surprised me was the taste of the cake matured over time. On the first night it was actually a bit too dry and you can't really taste any other flavours but chocolate. But second night, the cake miraculously became super moist and you can really get the banana and almond coming through the chocolate with the underlying tone of spices. One thing to add to it if i make this again though is fresh raspberries in the cake itself.

Almond Banana Chocolate (ABC) Cake

Recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Stories

Cake

200 g wholewheat flour

25g unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup of desiccated coconut

2 eggs

80 ml olive oil

120 ml honey 

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Butter a cake tin, then dust with cocoa powder. 
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Fold in the desiccated coconut. Set aside. 
3. Beat the eggs until nice and fluffy, then stream in the oil and beat until thick. Add in honey and beat until well combined. Mix in the bananas and mix until just combined. 
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet mix in three batches and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. 
5. Bake for approximately half an hour (though check whether your cake is done as all ovens are different. The original recipe called for a 45 minute bake.)
6. Remove cake from oven. Let it cool in the tin for ten minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Ganache

80g dark chocolate

4 tbsp cream

1 tsp vanilla essence

Desiccated coconut

Freeze-dried raspberry

1. Finely chop the dark chocolate and transfer to a clean bowl. 
2. Gently heat up the cream until it's just under boiling. Pour over the dark chocolate. Add in the vanilla essence and stir until chocolate has melted and is completely smooth. 
3. Pour over the cake once it has cooled slightly (so it has thickened up but is still pourable). 
4. Decorate with desiccated coconut and freeze-dried raspberry. 

Upside-down Peach Heart Cakelettes

This morning while I was taking a shower, my earring fell out of my ear and before I could pick it up, it rolled into the hole leaving me gaping. My immediate reaction (after I've realised what had happened) was that I felt like crying. It was just so hopeless. I have just witnessed my favourite earring, a golden star earring which I got when I got my ears pierced 15 years ago, roll... into a hole and get lost forever. Who knows where the pipe leads to? Sewage. Along with ALL the other junk that goes down that way. It's lost. LOST. 

After getting dressed and saving the other half of the earring, I just kept saying to myself. Look, this is a lesson for you to learn to let go. Yeah it has sentimental significance, but come on, it's only an earring. My only gold earring you mean. It's not life and death. You've still got the other half of the pair. What use is one earring, like I'm going to wear just one side of it. This is a chance for you to learn to let.... go.... Let go of attachments to material, let go of attachments to the value, your perceived value of it. Things come and go, it's life, get over it. 

Eventually after having breakfast and complaining to mum about me losing my earring (and of course me getting told off for not being careful, and why was I wearring earrings while I'm showering anyway?), I thought I started to accept the fact that that's what's happened, and this was karma's way of punishing me for whatever bad things I have done. Of course I felt a tiny bit better after breakfast, come one, sustainance fuels. But later on I decided, who was I fooling, I was sad that I lost my earring. So I complained to my brother. 

Or course, big brother being the ever caring and ever busy-body person he is, at first yelled (well, exclaimed) that why was I wearing my earrings while I'm showering?! Then he physically got up from his breakfast and ran to peer down the hole which the pipe from the bathtub leads to. Yeah, water, grass, black bits. But he suggested that I went to flush down some water down the hole incase it's still stuck somewhere in the pipe, and he held a net under the other end of the pipe and try catching the earring if it was still there. Without holding much hope, I did as I was told. And yeah, told you, no earring, it's probably lost to the abyss. So, giving up, I went back to my computer, deciding to crack on with my studies.

But big brother didn't want to give up. He scrounged for his torch, then went to shine it down the hole in the bathtub. Lo and behold, there! I can see it! Golden and it's tangled within hair. Ugh, gross, but WHAT?! It's still there?! So there a sparkle of hope was ignited, we began our mission of extracting my little wee golden earring out from the pipe. Thank god for once that there's hair down the pipe... After ages of manipulation, borrowing of neighbour's suck pump thing (don't know what you call it, but it's the thing that de-clogs pipes through suction), yelling from one end 'has it come out yet?', 'nope, all there is is water, and some scungy stuff', loads of effort of flushing water down the hole with force, periods of 'maybe we should just leave the net here and wait for it to eventually come out some day... ... it finally, finally, came! Oh wow, gold has fallen into the net! Stopppp flushing water down!! I see it I see it! 

I was actually super surprised that I retrieved my earring. What an evolution of emotions throughout that hour. And I thought, this incident taught me something really important. It's really simple. NEVER give up. If it's something worth fighting for, something worth the effort for, something that means so much, keep trying. Try and try and try until you have exhausted all means, and only then if it doesn't work, accept the fact that you have to let go. It applies to all sorts of things really. Relationships, work, a small task, a massive project. If you try hard enough, you'll begin to see that sparkle of light, of hope, which will really guide you through. If you don't try at all, hope is forever diminished. 

Now this recipe. Sometimes we just need to go out and buy a silicon heart-shaped mould. It makes our food look so much more exciting. Baking is so much about giving and sharing. I'm sure most bakers would agree that baking is a way to show that you love and care for somebody. Now with a heart-shaped mould, it really more strongly emphasises this love we're giving. It makes the food look pretty (and yay more exciting food photography too!). And if you're giving it to someone special, a little more effort goes a long way. Get your hands on some pretty boxes and vibrant craft paper and dress up the little gifts! Whoever you're giving it too will be impressed.

The cake itself is an olive oil sponge, incredibly moist, soft and flavourful.

Upside-down Peach Heart Cakelettes

Makes about 18 individual cakelettes, depending on the size of your tins

1 Peach

30g butter, melted

Raw sugar

Olive oil Sponge cake

150g wholewheat flour

1/4 tsp salt

5 eggs, separated

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup blended raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup dessert wine or fruit juice

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Slice the peach up into segments. Into the mould, spoon about 1/2 tbsp butter and sprinkle in about 1/4 tsp sugar. Lay three segments of peaches on the bottom of the mould. Set aside for later use.

2. To prepare the cake, preheat your oven to 180C. 

3. Sift together flour and salt, then set aside.

4. Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add in the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add half the sugar and beat until stiff. Set aside.

5. Beat the egg yolks, remaining half of the sugar and vanilla until pale and thick. Beat in the wine/juice and oil, pouring in a steady stream until they are well incorporated.

6. Gently fold in the flour mixture. Then fold in the egg whites in thirds. 

7. Pour the cake mixture in the moulds and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 160C and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden. Turn off the oven and cover the cakes with an oiled baking paper and leave the cakes in the oven to cool slowly for 15 minutes. This gradual cooling prevents the cakes from collapsing. Remove from oven and allow cakes to cool in their moulds for 10 minutes before turning them out, running your knife around the edges of the mould to free them first. 

8. Cool slightly and serve, or cool completely and package nicely to be given away. 

Tiramisu-esque cake

8am wake up, go to the bathroom, drink some warm water, do my 20 minute stretches, read the newspaper, shower, eat breakfast, get ready for uni. That's my morning routine. It's the fourth week into my academic year and I feel like I've been here for months. My days are long, I'm stuck in front of my computer all day, reading articles after scientific articles, searching for that light, that spark that goes 'Yup! This is it woman! You found me!' I'm so close. So close to defining my Masters project. And i tell ya, resilience pays off. When I first started searching for a topic, the only way to start was the obvious 'where on earth do I start?' I felt that it was such an impossible task to find a topic that's novel, and on top of that, my ambitious self demands me to find a topic that is significant, that contributes to society AND that I'm passionate enough about that I can spend one year dwelling on it. But the best advice anyone could give was read, just read, doesn't matter what, just read. And read I did. But something else I should add too. Don't read blindly. Pause and reflect. Pause and re-surface to re-connect with the world around. What is the world up to these days? What are people into? What would our ancestors say about the world today?

I'm passionate about dietary practices and folk remedies - those practices that have passed down generation after generation for hundreds and even thousands of years - especially Chinese dietary advices and Chinese medicine. There is such a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in these practices. They've had people experimenting and testing them out for centuries and they've survived the test of time to be passed down to us. Yet most people these days do not believe in them, preferring to trust in science. I am studying science. I can tell you, yes there are so many amazing things science has done. Science has come such a long way over these past few centuries. But compared to ancient practices, science is but an infant. There is this thing about scientist, the urge of every scientist to discover something new, be it a novel gene, or a magic bullet for curing cancer. It is nobel to have these ambitions. But personally, I think we shouldn't rush to discover something new before we've learnt from existing knowledge. And this wealthy mine of knowledge and wisdom has large been left neglected as scientists dig elsewhere.

Take the concept of nutrition. Most advice these days focus on telling you what fibre or vitamins or omega-3 fatty acids you should be eating, what saturated fats, refined carbohydrates you shouldn't be eating. The world of nutrition has become so focused on the nutrients that they've forgotten about food itself. This sort of thinking is downward. Because we don't just eat singular nutrients. We eat food containing many many types of nutrients. We eat many types of food. Nutrition is so focused on discovering good nutrients and their benefits (which is not a problem. But) it's forgotten that each individual is different. We all have different lifestyles and habits. We all have different needs at different times. Yes, say... an orange is good because it contains lots of vitamin C. Yes, we all need vitamin C, but if we're not deficient in vitamin C, it's not particularly 'good' for us. But for someone with scurvy, orange is very good for them, because they need it. And also, if you just take vitamin C tablets, the effect might be lost. Why? Because an orange isn't just made of vitamin C. There are hundreds of other compounds in there. Ones that probably haven't even been discovered. Maybe the effect of vitamin C is dependent on those other compounds. Otherwise why would nature make an orange? Why doesn't nature just make vitamin C tablets?

Oh by the way, I'm hoping that my Masters project will be on grapefruit (or maybe orange) and how the bitter compounds are affected by processing. Why? Because bitter compounds (flavonoids and limonoids) have been shown to have anticancer and cardio-protective effects.  I know... it's a bit contradictory that I'm singling out bitter compounds to study. Like, how did epidemiologists know that it is those bitter compounds that lead to decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases? Yes, bitter compounds have shown to elicit antioxidant, radical scavenging properties, but this happens only in the petri dish and what happens in the human body, when there are millliioooooons of other compounds around? But hey, I actually have back-up. Traditional Chinese medicine, which dates back THOUSANDS of years mentioned that bitter foods are good for heart. I guess I'm just making the most of what I have? I'm trying to make my little contribution and nudge science that bit further in its long long long long long (x10000000000) way to go? And anyway, my thinking is that those bitter compounds play a part in the larger picture of food that gives its beneficial effects. Gosh... trying to justify myself... On a side note, I'm actually rather enjoying this whole research thing. Never ever thought i would, but as long as I don't lose track of what my values and beliefs are, and try to integrate them into my research, it's not too bad. At times I'm even like... PhD doesn't sound too bad either. Dr... Lol no I won't go there just yet.

SORRY I've blabbed on so much about science. I can't help it. It's what I've been and will be breathing and living all day, all night, all week, all YEAR. I'm so sad that it's taken my baking and blogging time away from me! I've only baked TWICE in this past month. TWICE. What is this atrocity? All I've cooked is fried egg and (made) sandwiches... which incidentally involved slicing two slices of bread, slapping on some jam and peanut butter. BAm. Guys. I wouldn't be alive without my mum. Like, seriously. Without her cooking all those delicious and healthy meals, I'd just be eating plain bread and store bought muesli bars. Sad sad situation. OR, I'd be mean to my equally sad looking bank account and buying $9 paninis everyday (yum, but so not worth the money). And soon, I'll be sculling coffee by the gallons.

Anyway, this cake was one I whipped up for my friend who requested it for his birthday! I didn't actually plan out what i was gonna make. I pretty much just went with the flow. Scrounged around the kitchen for ingredients and bashed them all together to create this beauty. Obviously it took longer that it should because I silly-ly (hehe) chose not to follow a recipe for the cream cheese-cream bit. I was going to buy savoiardi biscuits to layer them in because my friend requested tiramisu. BUT oh my god, I can't believe it, they stopped selling them at both my local supermarkets! (More atrocity). But I just made a sponge to substitute the 'cakey' bit, because it'd take less time than to make lady fingers. For the coffee drizzling, I omitted the alcohol because they wanted it to be an alcohol-free party, but if you sloshed in some Kahlua of Baileys, it'd kick the awesome level for this cake up. And one more thing, since I couldn't make it to his birthday party (sadface), I didn't get to try the cake NOR take photos of the insides of the cake. I'm sorry, you'll just have to make do with the exterior. I was told that everybody loved the cake though (yay!)!

Tiramisu-esque Cake

Serves 10

Sponge cake

Recipe from Wholefood Baking by Jude Blereau

4 eggs

1/2 cup blended raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup minus 1 tbsp (120g) wholemeal flour

40g butter, melted and cooled, placed in a bowl

Cream cheese filling

250g cream cheese, softened

200ml cream

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp really strong coffee

1 tbsp Kahlua or Baileys or Tia Maria (optional)

1/4 cup blended raw sugar

150g dark chocolate, melted

Coffee drizzle

1/3 cup strong coffee

1 tsp raw sugar

Chocolate decoration

About 50g dark chocolate, melted

Extra chocolate for shaving

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line base of 8 inch round cake tin. 

2. Whisk together eggs and sugar using a stand mixer until very thick, pale, creamy and tripled in volume. As Jude says, the mixture is thick enough 'when you can lift the beaters and the mixture falls back into the bowl in a ribbon that rests on the surface for about 10 seconds'. Add in the vanilla and whisk until just incorporated.

3. Sift 1/3 of the flour onto the egg mixture and fold in very gently until just incorporated. Add in the remaining flour in two additions, folding really gently. 

4. Add about 1 cup of batter to the melted butter and mix until incorporated. Gently fold this back into the egg mixture. Transfer to tin and bake for 20 minutes until folden and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Leave the cake in the oven and the oven door ajar so the cake can cool slowly. This prevents the cake from collapsing. 

For the cream cheese filling

5. Beat the cream cheese and cream together until well mixed. Continue beating so the mixture becomes more light and fluffy. Add in the rest of the ingredients and beat until mixture is smooth. Reserve about 1/2 cup. Beat the cooled melted chocolate into the rest of the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate before use.

Assembling the cake

6. Once the cake is cooled, cut the cake into three layers. Using a brush, spread the coffee drizzle onto every surface of the cake. 

7. To assemble, spread on about 1/3 of the chocolate cream cheese lavishly. Layer on the sponge and repeat. Cap on the final sponge layer. Spread the remaining 1/3 chocolate cream cheese on to cover the cake. The reserved cream cheese mixture should more or less be of a pouring consistency. Carefully pour it over the cake. This will give a smooth finish. Refrigerate until the icing has set.

8. Using a spoon, or a piping bag, drizzle on the melted chocolate in your desired fashion. The chocolate will solidify quickly once it hits the cold cake. Shave some extra chocolate on top. Refrigerate the cake.

9. Serve the cake chilled.  

Banana Berry Cakes (Gluten Free)

Life has been a complete whirlpool these past 6 weeks. The trip to Asia: Malaysia/Hong Kong/China has been eventful to say the least and since touching ground on NZ soil two thursdays ago I've been swept into a nice little storm called Masters. Wow. So, I do apologise for my lengthy absence from the blog, rest assured that I have not forgotten or abandoned it and you dear readers! I've just been trying to sort life out, catch up with friends, organize (still) a schedule for my studies, and *I know this is probably not the best time for it, but I'm super excited, and don't judge!* learn how to knit. 

So, first thing first, trip to Asia. Was a collection of family, food, stories, drama, hellos, goodbyes, laughter, tears, exhaustion, transport, toilets, beds, flights, reminders, hugs, history, future, shopping, learning, life. If I could stuff all my experiences into a ball, it'd be a very colourful and dense ball containing the whole spectrum of colour intermingling with one another. Oh it was rich, yeah. But it was to be expected, our trip back home in 3 years and considering that our last trip was so rushed we didn't have time to meet all the people we wanted to. 

Malaysian heat has been turned up several notches since the last time we were there, causing draught and water rationing! I've always been able to withstand it, but this time, ah it was hot, so very hot. I told everyone that the moment you sit down, your bum starts to sweat. And you constantly feel like showering. AC was your best friend. 

Traffic was as horrendous as ever. People run reds as they please and especially during the Chinese New Year period, a trip down to visit grandma which would normally take 2 hours took us 5. But despite all the difficulties and hardship, seeing the people, my relatives made it all worthwhile. Of course, not being the one driving makes a big difference. My dad was such a champ driving us everywhere. All that patience while driving, he deserves medals. And hugs. 

It's always such an experience when you reunite with someone you haven't seen in years. Especially for us who live so far away, we really do savour every precious little second of it. It really is a cocktail of emotion for us, seeing cousins that we used to play with when we were little and how much they've grown and progressed in life; and also seeing cousins that were babies or weren't even born when we left, all grown up now. I do feel a sense of regret that those cousins we don't have that tight bond with due to our lack of time spent together. But such is our fate in life and we can only do the best we can to build relationships across oceans and nations. 

The trip to China/Hong Kong was definitely a huge eye-opener. China was spacious, vast, neat, clean and orderly, a big contrast to the crowded, fast-paced and very colourful Hong Kong. Like our other visits in Malaysia, we're yet again embraced by the generosity of family and friends who offered their rooms/houses for us during our stay. Things in China weren't cheap, unless you know where to go. I loved their MRT, it was so convenient! Overhead, a female voice reminds people to look after children and respect elderlies, and I was pretty surprised that people actually give up their seats whenever they see someone old board the train. Everything was oversized there, the roads, the buildings, the parks, the malls. I don't think there's anything I can complain about. Except their toilets. Long drops just aren't my thing. And I probably spent record time in this rural toilet, where the walls were only about 1m high and there are no doors. AND... you pee into a drain and 'flush' with a pail of water that sits by the toilet. People HAVE CONVERSATIONS in there. Definitely a one of a kind experience. 

Hong Kong was very fast paced. The escalators go at running speed and even the traffic lights feature running man instead of stationary or walking man. I found that neighbours and people you encounter 'at home' were extremely friendly and hospitable. However if you wanna ask for direction or help on the street to some stranger or bus driver, mean mode is switched on to the max. But it was still such a great experience. I LOVED THEIR EGGTARTS. So damn good. The ones we had were freshly made at this little kitchen by the stall in the wet market and were so cheap! 2.50HK dollar which means about 40 NZ cents each! I wish we'd stayed there longer, just for the egg tarts. The nightlife in HK was amazing. Neon lights flashing, heavy traffic, row after row of shops and stalls selling food, bags, socks, phone accessories, everything! Though since I wasn't used to the crowd, it got a bit tiring at the end of the night trying to meander through the stream after stream of people. 

Now these muffins. I have to admit, I haven't touched the oven in over six weeks until tonight, when I made some fig muffins with my mum with the over-abundance of figs we were given! As I've mentioned, I've sort of hit the ground running ever since we got back, sorting out my postgraduate studies. So this recipe is from the archives, and it was one that I planned to share for a rather special red and green occasion. But, yet again, I was away and busy that period! *No excuse really... I know...* But here it is, special occasion or not, these muffins are rather good. They are super healthy for you, with all the goodness from the almond, bananas, berries, spices and eggs. Really, you are getting your fibre, your vitamins, minerals and your protein from this! And those of you who are gluten intolerant, here's a treat! They are super moist because of the bananas, but drizzling on some honey just makes it go that one step further. Oh and ignore the plums by the way... I was trying to add some colour into the picture... little polka dots of plums, so cute! So try it out, have it with a cuppa. Your morning tea is sorted :)

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Banana Berry Cake (Gluten Free)

Recipe adapted from At the table with Fee

Makes 12 little cakes

3 cups almond meal

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp five spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

1 tbsp blended raw sugar

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup natural yoghurt or soy milk

3 tbsp honey 

3 free range eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cups.

Sift together all the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Stir in the blueberries. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Divide the batter into the 12 holes. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and leave in muffin tray to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and cooling on a wire rack.

Coconut berry cake

It was one of those days where none of the photos turned out how I wanted them to. I must've taken about 50 shots and still, the lighting wasn't right, it was too yellow or too cold, the background looked too plain or too busy, the cake just looked like a round lump. It was rather frustrating indeed.

This flopped photography episode was in fact preceded by further frustrations. In my absent state of mind, I had accidentally set the oven to 'grill'. The top of the cake, or rather the nutty layer was charcoaled. After the cake cooled, I patiently picked and scraped off the black bits. I was also afraid that my temperament oven had overcooked the cake and that it would turn out dry. 

Then I spent ages scratching the back of my head, wondering how I would ice the cake. I didn't have the regular ingredients that I would use to make icing - eg. cream cheese. I was reluctant to make butter icings or icing packed with sugar. Being frugal and busy, I did not want to make a trip to the supermarket. So I racked my brains and finally I racked my books. Correction. I racked one book. Jude Blereau's book (yes, again!), where I got the recipe for the cake. And so matching the recipes with the ingredients I have at hand, I made a berry coulis. One that contains chunks of strawberries and blueberries. And I experimented. Coconut cream plus cornstarch, as the gelling agent. Vanilla and golden syrup to elevate the sensory properties. Apply heat. Stir. Stir. Stir. And what have we got? A split mixture. Brilliant. 

But actually, it was brilliant. It was delicious. The icing. Smooth, velvety, sweet, deep flavours that penetrate that gentle spot of your heart. That creaminess. Unbeatable. The texture of it, despite being split was incredibly smooth. I knew the reason why it split. The heat was too high and the coconut oil melted. Refrigeration should amend things. And so off I went again, tinkering. 

Filling the cake had an advantage. It was an excuse to cut open the cake and have a taste of it. Thank goodness the inside of the cake stayed surprisingly moist! I suppose this was what you get when you use golden syrup instead of regular sugar. And almond meal and coconut milk and olive oil. These wonderful goodies worked their wonder. So coconut filling slathered on and berry coulis layered on. Second half of cake capped on and more berry coulis poured on. To contrast the moist texture and to complement the filling of the cake, I toasted some desiccated coconut and sprinkled them liberally on the cake. Compared to what the cake started out looking like, it was quite a transformation. 

So, despite the stormy encounters, my mother loved the cake. She's been raving about it and asking me to make it again since. I too love it. In fact, it is now one of my, if not my favourite cakes. The flavours of the ingredients really packed a punch. The wholesomeness of the cake - the wholewheat flour and almond flour, the lack of refined sugar, the beautiful oil, really do make the cake shine in such a humble way. Oh what more, this cake really is a guilt-free pleasure. It's nourishing. It kisses your soul as well as your body. I'd happily make this cake again, though with minor adjustments!

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Coconut berry cake

Recipe adapted from Wholesome Baking | Jude Blereau 

Serves 8-10

Cake

195g unbleached wholewheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

50g almond meal

1/2 tsp salt

150g Golden syrup

80ml olive oil or macadamia or almond oil

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla
50g pecans/almonds/walnut (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C. Line an 8 inch cake tin. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir to mix well. In a separate bowl, stir together the wet ingredients until well incorporated. Fold the dry and wet ingredients together until just combined. Transfer into cake tin. If you want the extra crunch, you top the cake batter with nuts. Make sure that your oven IS NOT set to grill. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden and skewer inserted to the middle comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let it cool completely on wire rack before undressing it from the tin. Set aside.

Coconut filling

120ml coconut cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp Golden syrup

1 tbsp blended raw sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch

Whip the coconut cream using an electric mixer until nice and creamy. Add in the vanilla, golden syrup and raw sugar and continue mixing until well combined. Transfer the mixture into a saucepan and add in the cornstarch. Turn on the element to medium heat and stir continuously until the cornstarch is cooked. The mixture will turn slightly transparent. It will also boil, observed as pockets of mixture lifting gently off the pan. DO NOT over cook, as the mixture will split when the coconut oil melts. The whole process should only take about 1 minute. However, panic not if your mixture does split. It is still usable. Simply cool the cake in the refrigerator after spreading the filling on.

Berry coulis

1 handful of frozen berries

1 tbsp blended raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla
Generous splash of champagne/juice

On medium heat stir together the ingredients. You can determine the consistency you want of the mixture. Once the berries have disintegrated and the mixture has thickened and concentrated, turn off the heat and leave to cool. 

ASSEMBLY
Desiccated coconut, slightly toasted

Patiently slice the cake in half. To ensure an even slicing, get down to the cake's level so your line of vision is horizontal to the cake. I find it easier to turn the cake as I slice.
Spread the coconut filling on the bottom half of the cake. Top the coconut filling with half of the berry mixture. Cap on the top half of the cake. Spread on remaining berry coulis. Top with toasted coconut.
Store the cake in the refrigerator. Remove it from the fridge half an hour before serving. 

Apple cinnamon cake

At the very end of each semester, marked by the stern voice of the examiner announcing the rounding up of the 3 hours and the ordering of 'pens down, that's it', I always feel a sense of loss. This time around, there was no stern voice declaring that it is over. Rather, I left the exam early, something that I have not done in years (though I was still the last one of my class that left). Without that statement that that was it, it's taking a while for my 'freedom' to sink in. 

I'm not sure if it is to do with age. But this morning in the shower, I was thinking, how odd it would be for exams to be over. After a full on marathon and parade of a semester, the constant striving to do better, to absorb information, the thousands and thousands of words being typed for essays after essays, I actually feel like I'm going to miss studying. It is true. What 'they' say. Studying and getting degrees is addictive. Although I do have some far-fetched dreams of being a free-lance photographer or a food magazine contributor or even opening and running my on food establishment, there are no concrete plans for my future. After what... 5 years in primary, 2 years in intermediate, another 5 in college and 5 more in university, totalling to a whopping SEVENTEEN years in education, I still don't feel like I'm properly armed with the skills and knowledge required to enter the work force. Of course, I have had odd jobs working at cafes and what not, everyone does. But to march into a proper career? Nope. Not ready. Perhaps that is why I feel like I have to continue this journey of education, to further acquire skills and knowledge. But is that out of not wanting to feel idle, to feel like, right, this is it, time for me to take my own future into my own hands and make something out of myself? Is it out of the sense of insecurity that I'd rather succumb to another two years of studying, just because that system's been all set out and that I'll know what is expected of me? I'm not sure. 

Perhaps after a good night's sleep this feeling of yay! Exam is over! will start to present itself. Meanwhile, let's just talk a bit about this cake shall we. I am pretty proud of myself actually! Normally during study period, I'd scrounge around for things to do just so I don't have to study. But this time, wow, a full three weeks without the urge to come here and blabber, that is some achievement (Though apologies for you readers for that lack of post. I will make up for it!). This cake was made for my mum's friend's birthday a few weeks ago. It's the second recipe that I tried from Jude Blereau's amazing book, Wholesome Baking. I only altered minor components to the recipe. Really guys, if you want to invest in any book, this is the one. I had serious doubts regarding the texture of the cake - is it going to be too dry, too 'healthy' tasting (you know, those healthy cakes that have really rough textures), but after making this cake, those doubts are completely wiped clean. I would even go as far to say that the texture of the cake, seriously, is much better than ones made from plain white flour. It's moist, it's spongy, it's a perfectly ratio-ed emulsion that gives that perfect cake crumbly texture. The flavour is ah-mazing. Nuttiness from the flour, sweet spice of cinnamon and the apple really makes it. There was none of the soggy mess that I (shamefully) expected from the apple. And it is SO SIMPLE to make. No need to lug out that stand mixer. 

APPLE CINNAMON CAKE

Recipe adapted from Jude Blereau's Wholesome Baking 

As mentioned by Jude, the cake does stay moist even after a few days.

You can also make this into 12 muffins. 

Cake

Dry ingredients

 2 cups wholemeal flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup blended raw sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Nuts and fruits
1 cup lightly roasted pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
3/4 cup raisins
Zest of 1 lemon 
3 apples, cored, cut into 1cm pieces

Wet ingredients
185ml of olive oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
70g yoghurt

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1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 9 inch springform cake tin. 
2. Sift together the dry ingredients. 
3. Add nuts and fruits and mix well. 
4. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
5. Stir into the dry mix until just combined. Transfer into tin.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until nice and golden, and the skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool on wire rack completely before icing. 

Icing

250g cream cheese, softened
40mL cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 tablespoons sugar (adjust to taste)
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1. Whip together all ingredients until smooth and lump-free.
2. Cut the cooled cake in half. 
3. Spread about half the cream cheese on the cake. 
4. Place the second half of the cake back on.
5. Using a piping bag, pipe little swirls on the cake. 
6. Chill in fridge for a couple of hours to set the cream cheese icing. 
7. Serve!

Lemon yoghurt cake

                  

Being a vegetarian for me is not difficult.  Especially when my family is mostly vegetarian and my dad makes the most delicious vegetarian dishes ever. There are many more plant based food out there, so many more delicious choices that you can choose from to feel deprived of the few meat selection that we don't eat. A trip to the morning market will leave you filled with such joy from seeing the colourful produce. 

Eating out is of course a different matter. Majority of the restaurants have menus that are dominated by the meat selection.  Although there has been an increase in awareness of special diets consumers and most restaurants do have a few dishes to accommodate vegetarians but it is still that isn't it? To accommodate rather than to celebrate. But anyway, I am not that picky. Even though I would love to see the veg scene in Auckland expand, I am glad that at least most restaurants do offer vegetarian options. And if they don't, most places are more than happy to omit the protein part of the dish if you ask nicely. I mean, it saves them money. 

Over the past week I have been tied down by tests and assignments. One assignment in particular was especially difficult for me to do. It is about meat. Just my luck. We had to discuss the reactions of myoglobin, which is the main protein in meat responsible for meat colour, which also translates as meat quality in most consumers' eyes. After 4 weeks of procrastination, and a final week of forcing myself to research and write, I managed to squeeze out about 4000 words. (So glad that the lecturer said to NOT write 6000 words but rather to ere on the halfway mark as he's got a pile of thesis to go through alongside our assignments.) By about an hour before the deadline, I've truly had enough. I have tried my best in writing about something I am passionately against. I felt saddened by some facts that I read. Like wow, global meat consumption increased by a whopping 600% since 1950. How many kgs of meat are people eating per year? How many animals are being killed each day just so humans could enjoy the taste of it for a curt few seconds/minutes? Why must human build our enjoyment on others' suffering? 

Anyway, after I handed in the assignment, I headed straight home. As I passed my front lawn, I noticed the daisies have sprung up, white and yellow in the sea of green. That sight cleared my mind. I just love how strongly survival driven plants are. Just a few days of heavy rain and the soil have moistened enough for these plants to shoot out. Odd as it is for daisies to bloom in August, signaling the premature arrival of spring, I felt comforted by the thought that the season of growth is upon us. 

I am also glad that the winter fruits are still in full bloom! Our lemon tree in our backyard's been having a field day (month). So much yellow!!! So much happiness!! So much earthy satisfaction and pure joy just looking at them!! I love lemons. They're like laughter growing on a tree. That vibrant colour just blows away any dark clouds in your mind. So. In celebration of winter's gifts and early spring, I made a comforting lemony lemon cake :) 

[Lemon Yoghurt Cake]

280g flour (I used 200g unbleached AP flour + 40g wholemeal flour + 40g almond meal. The almond meal makes it much moister)

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

140g raw sugar, blended

1 tsp raw honey

1 tsp vanilla

zest of 2 lemons

juice of 2 lemons 

250ml natural yoghurt

120ml olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line an 8 inch cake tin. 

2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 

3. Beat together eggs, sugar and honey until thick and pale. 

4. Add the vanilla, zest and juice of lemon. Beat until well incorporated. 

5. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. 

6. Stir together olive oil and yoghurt until well mixed. Add to the cake mixture. Stir until just combined.

7. Pour into the lined cake tin and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean, cake is well coloured and firm but slightly bouncy to the touch. 

8. Remove from oven and cool in tin for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the tin and cooling on a wire rack. 

9. Serve as is or with a dollop of yoghurt.