apple cake

The sight of an apple cake slice on a plate with whipped cream can do wonders, wouldn't you agree? Last year I made this recipe for my husband who loves apple cakes – not pies, he wants cakes. This is one of the recipes that came instantly, the first try was a hit and I promised hubby not to change a thing. If he were allowed to choose I would never have to bake anything else. However, just to get other people’s reaction, not as apple-cake biased as hubby, I have made this one for guests that are used to cakes with plenty of white sugar and butter and I have got nothing but praise. The list of ingredients is simple, the cake is easy to make, and the scent from the oven is heavenly. Just one reminder: Do not forget to sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the apple slices! I cannot tell you how often I have been close to forgetting it ... or have forgotten it completely.

APPLE CAKE

INGREDIENTS

• 100 g raw cane sugar (½ cup)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave nectar
• 2 eggs
• 2½-3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 130 g spelt four (1 cup)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder, gluten-free (1 tsp if using regular)
• 2 red apples, preferably organic
• cinnamon sugar (raw cane sugar + cinnamon), as little or as much as you like

METHOD

1. In a medium bowl, mix the raw cane sugar, agave, eggs and coconut oil using a whisk or a fork (if the oil is solid, place the jar in a bowl of hot water before use)
2. Mix the spelt flour and gluten-free baking powder in a separate bowl and add to the other blend with a spatula
3. Slice the apples with an apple slicer, peel off the skin and cut each slice into three, lengthwise
4. Line a spring form cake tin (20-24 cm/8-9.4 inches) with baking parchment or coat a pie dish with a small amount of coconut oil
5. Use a spatula to spread less than half of the batter into the bottom of the cake tin/pie dish. If the batter is stiff you can dip the spatula into a bowl of hot water
6. Arrange the apple slices in a circle over the bottom, allowing the slices to overlap (the smaller the cake tin/pie dish the more tightly they will overlap) and make sure you have some slices left to put in the centre
7. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the apple slices (in my home we do not think much about the ratio when making cinnamon sugar but I read somewhere that 1 tablespoon raw cane sugar to 1 teaspoon cinnamon makes a good blend when used for baking). You can also sprinkle cinnamon only
   
8. Spread the rest of the batter over the apple slices, being careful not to displace them. Remember to dip the spatula in hot water if the batter is stiff. The stiffness of the batter depends on the size of the eggs you use and/or the humidity in the kitchen. Sometimes I do not have to use a spatula to spread the batter; pouring it gently from the bowl over the slices seems to be enough. But I always use a spatula to scrape the rest from the bowl
9. Place in the oven and allow to bake for 40-55 minutes at 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2 until golden (I use a fan-assisted oven for this one - bake at 160-170°C if not using fan-assisted). The smaller the cake tin/pie dish, the longer the baking time - stick a fork into the middle to see if the cake is ready
10. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream

pecan pie

The musician Sting performed Elton John's song Come Down In Time on some CD and said he wished he had written it himself. I feel the same way about this pecan pie recipe made by my friend (Cafe)Sigrun – probably under a spell! This is one of my all time favourite cakes/pies and the beauty of it is that it doesn't need baking; the only thing you need is a food processor. The chocolate and cashew filling is so good that I have no words for it. Okay, I'll admit it, I usually lick the bowl when I'm done making the filling! I have seen people eating this pie and licking their plate without feeling embarrassed. I've seen people, who almost hate everything healthy, going nuts over this pie and not believing they're eating something that's actually good for them. I think I've said enough, let's just make the pie NOW!

PECAN PIE

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

• 100 g pecan nuts
• 50 g almonds
• 90 g pitted dates

FILLING

• 100g cashew nuts
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 large banana
• 4 tablespoons agave nectar or pure maple syrup
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt
• 25-50 ml soya milk
• 1 tablespoon cacao nibs (optional)

METHOD

CRUST

1. Soak the dates in water for 20 minutes
2. Place the almonds in a food processor and mix for a few seconds until coarse. Add the pecans and mix for a few seconds
3. Drain the dates and add them to the food processor. Continue blending until the mixture is coarse but sticks together when pinched with your fingers
4. Cover the base of a 21 cm (8.3 inches) spring form cake tin with cling film or baking parchment. If you are not going to serve the cake on a cake stand/cake plate you can simply use a pie dish without cling film or baking parchment
5. Press the crust into the bottom of the cake tin and let it reach about two third up the side. Place in the fridge

FILLING

1. Place the cashew nuts in the food processor and blend for about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and continue blending for 1 minute. Add the coconut oil while the food processor is running and continue blending for about 1 minute or until the texture resembles peanut butter (the length of time depends on how good your food processor is)
2. Break the banana into 3-4 pieces and add it to the food processor with the agave syrup, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and salt. Blend for a few seconds and then add 25 ml of soya milk. Scrape the insides of the bowl and continue blending until you have a smooth texture. Add more soya milk if the filling is too thick
3. Remove the crust from the fridge and pour the filling into the crust. Spread evenly with a spatula and place in the fridge for 2-3 hours
4. Sprinkle the cacao nibs on top if you use them
5. Remove the pie carefully from the cake tin and place it it on a cake stand/cake plate
6. Serve slightly chilled with whipped cream

veggie chilli

Veggie chilli is one of my favourite meals; I never get tired of it. I usually serve it with sour cream, guacamole and organic tortilla chips. Home-made bread is also fine. This is a recipe I put together in 2009 (I made chilli yesterday so I decided to share the recipe with you today). I had wanted to make my own recipe for a long time because I had tried various ones and always felt something was missing. This one isn't too spicy because of my children and because I don't really enjoy eating chilli that only burns my tongue; I want to be able to enjoy the taste of the other ingredients. As the name indicates, the recipe contains no meat. I have actually served it to meat eaters who didn't even realise that there was no meat in it.

VEGGIE CHILLI

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 green peppers or 1 green and 1 red, seeded and diced
• 1 green jalapeno or chilli, seeded and finely chopped
• 1½ tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• ¼-½ teaspoon chilli powder*
• 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses (or unrefined cane sugar/agave syrup)
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 can black beans or kidney beans (400 g)
• 1 can pinto beans (400 g)
• 1 can tomatoes (or 2 cans and skip the tomato purée)
• 2 tablespoons, heaped, tomato purée
• 100-200 ml water (½ cup = 125 ml)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• optional: small can sweetcorn

* Use more or less, depending on how hot your chilli powder is. A very hot variant I once bought called for halving the does in all recipes. I like it when the chilli has a bit of an edge, but not when it sets the tongue on fire and makes it hard to actually taste the food. (When I first put this recipe together I used 2 tbsp of a very mild version which was some sort of a chilli mix.)


METHOD

1. Before you start cooking, rinse and drain the beans and keep them in a colander until ready to use. Mix all the spices in a small bowl (not the salt) and set aside. Make sure you are using spices of good quality.
2. In a large saucepan over low to medium heat, fry the chopped/diced vegetables in the olive oil until soft
3. Add the spices and mix together
4. Add the beans, tomatoes/tomato purée, water, molasses and salt and blend together
5. Put a lid on the saucepan, turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Then turn the heat down again and let the chilli simmer on the lowest heat with the lid for 20-30 minutes and without it for another 10 minutes. If using sweetcorn: Rinse and drain and add before serving.

You can use another can of either black, kidney or pinto beans but then you may want to add some tomato paste and water as well.

You can serve the veggie chilli with sour cream, cheddar, (home-made) guacamole, bread, organic snack (blue corn tortilla chips are my favourite) or whatever. Please make sure that you do not spoil this healthy recipe with unhealthy side dishes.

Chilli even tastes better the day after so it is perfect for the lunch box if you can heat it up at work. It's also excellent to make a grilled sandwich with chilli and cheese. It's also excellent to put chilli on a baguette with cheese and spring onion and grill/heat in the oven. If I'm serving it to guests and have plenty of time, I cook it in the morning and let it sit in the pot. Then I simply heat it again right before the guests arrive.