Gorgeous Ginger Cake - (Gluten-free & Dairy-free)

This recipe makes a fairly large cake (25cm diameter, 7cm high). You can halve the ingredients for a smaller cake.

Ingredients:

350g rice-bran oil
100g rapadura (evaporated cane-juice)
6 eggs
2 tablespoons molasses
285g of sweet preserved stem ginger
1 cup glutinous rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
3 cups nuts (Almonds + Cashews + Hazelnuts)
6 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
4 heaped teaspoon grated fresh ginger
4 tablespoons soy milk

Method:

• Grind the nuts into a fine meal in a food processor. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat oil and sugar until light coloured.
• Add eggs gradually, whites first and then the yolks and beat until light and fluffy.
• Fold in molasses.
• Fold in sifted flour, baking powder, ground ginger and nut meal.
• Fold in fresh ginger and chopped stem-ginger.
• Fold in milk.
• Pour into a greased 25cm spring-form cake-tin, lined on the base with baking paper. 
• Bake for 50-70 mins in 170°C oven
• Allow cake to cool, before icing with Cashew Frosting.

Cashew Frosting - Sugar-free! (not pictured - but very, very yummy!)

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews (soaked in water for 30 minutes)
1/8 to 1/4 cup agave Syrup (taste it and see how sweet you want it)
juice of 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Coconut oil, melted
purified water

Soak cashews in water for at least 30 minutes but no longer than 60 minutes. Drain cashews and combine all frosting ingredients, except the coconut oil, in a food processor or blender and begin blending – add water slowly until the mixture becomes creamy and reaches desired consistency, you might need only a few tablespoons, as the lemon juice and agave syrup often give enough liquidity on their own. When the cashew mix is smooth enough, add the melted coconut oil, which will help the icing to set when it cools. Refrigerate the frosting for a few hours until it is cool and firm, then frost the cooled cake, applying with a palate knife or piping bag just before serving.

Enjoy!

PS: The flowers used for the styling of this photo are from Silk Flora - 109-111 Parramatta Rd Annandale, 2038

Pineapple Lemon Qi Cake

As you may have noticed, the Yum-oh blog doesn't include any recipes that use wheat or dairy, as those things just don't agree with me. Most of the time that isn't an issue at all - there are so many yummy cuisines to eat in the world that don't use wheat or dairy, or that soy is a fine substitute. But the one stumbling block was always CHEESECAKE... How do you get that creamy mouth-feel and unique flavour from anything else? So you can imagine how I was bowled over recently by the introduction to this amazing cake: no wheat, no dairy, but Oh My! how creamy-dreamy-yummy-cheezy it seemed! The discovery of this desert felt like nothing short of a miracle. This truly is an ‘I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-dairy’ epiphany of a ‘cheese’-cake. The recipe is blessedly shared with us by Regina and David Power from calmbirth® and PermaculturePower. Regina created the recipe after researching several sources and drew on some of the ideas from Julie Mitosis who runs a raw food company and cooking course in Sydney.

Regina and David's two-year-old daughter Maia has taken to calling it ‘Qi-cake’ – which besides being incredibly cute is also very apt, because you feel full of good Qi-energy after eating this delightful raw-food desert. (Regina says technically I can't call it an entirely raw-food recipe, because I created the addition of the agar-agar jelly topping, which does require boiling for a short time to set the jell in the seaweed - and the more hard-core raw-foodies wouldn't be seen within a hundred feet of a stove... But me? I'm into this cake for the flavour, the texture and the feeling of utter indulgence!)

So let’s cut to the chase – here’s the recipe - you’ll need a very strong blender for this one! I bought a whizz-bang, you-beaut, ice-crushing Ikon 600 from the Breville factory shop in Wattle St Ultimo for $160 that handles the job extremely well.

Pineapple Lemon Qi Cake Recipe:
(recipe kindly shared by Regina Power)

Cake Batter:
1 really nice, ripe, fresh pineapple (3 cups)
1-2 lemons juiced (taste the batter and see how tart you want it to be)
1½ half cups of fresh Thai coconut meat (approx 4 Thai Coconuts as sometimes you get more water than flesh.)
2 cups of dry cashew nuts (they get really soft when you soak for a few hours.)
3 tablespoon Agave Nectar
1 tablespoon Yacon Syrup (if you don't have yacon syrup, just use an additional tablespoon of Agave or Honey or to taste.)
2 Tablespoons lecithin*
1 Tablespoon of honey
¾ cup organic extra virgin coconut oil

Note:
*Soy Lecithin consists of three types of phospholipids, which are basically phosphorus rich lipids. The purpose of using soy lecithin in raw desserts is to emulsify and homogenize the fats and the aqueous liquids so that they do not separate, and it also helps make the dessert creamier. This desert will work without it - I didn't have any and it worked fine!Nut Crust:2 cups of dry almonds
Rind of one lemon
Some lemon juice to your liking
3/4 cup of pitted dates

Pineapple Agar-Agar Jelly Topping:
500ml fresh, unsweetened pineapple juice
200ml water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons agave syrup
5g agar-agar powder
extra water, if needed

Method:
Pre-soak the cashew nuts for the batter in fresh cold water for a few hours to soften.

Place the crust ingredients in a food-processor and process until mixture forms a ball. Take out small chunks and press them into the bottom of a spring form pan, pressing to form a solid base. Be sure the cover up the seams of the spring form pan as the cake batter may leak through the sides since it tends to be a bit runny until it hardens.

Open the Thai coconuts by shaving the pith off the top of the nut with a large kitchen knife, revealing a bald ‘friar tuck’ nut. Keeping your hands away from the coconut, whack the nut on the ‘hairline’ with the sharp corner of the butt of the knife (not the tip) and wedge the base of the blade into the crack, working it backwards and forwards until the round ‘lid’ of the coconut lifts off. See a video demo here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THEdI_gSNQ4

Serve the coconut water as a refreshing drink. Enjoy... it is delicious!

Scoop out the flesh of the coconuts and place the flesh in a heavy-duty blender with the remaining cake-batter ingredients, except the coconut oil, and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Taste the batter and adjust the lemon juice and sweeteners to your liking. Then when the batter is very smooth, and whist the blender is still running, add the coconut oil and blend until well incorporated and mixture is smooth and uniform. This is the stage where you get to see if your blender can handle the job, as it can really start to work hard at this point.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared spring-form tin, covering the nut-base. Refrigerate for approximately 3-4 hours until the mixture hardens. Any left-over batter can be poured into dessert dishes and keep in the fridge. Put a plate underneath the spring-form tin in case it decides to leak a bit. Allow to set before adding the pineapple agar-jelly topping.

To make the pineapple agar jelly topping, bring the pineapple juice and water to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Measure the amount of liquid remaining and add extra water to make up to 60ml. Add the agar-agar powder and bring liquid to boil again, stirring until dissolved. Add agave syrup, sweetening to taste. Allow the agar jelly to cool slightly, but don’t allow it to set too much. Pour the jelly syrup over the cake and return it to the fridge for the final setting – it won’t take long, 15-20 mins should be enough.

And Voi-La... there you have it: Pineapple Lemon Qi Cake...

Yum-Oh!
Eat & enjoy!

Zesty Citron Cake - gluten-free

At the risk of looking like I've developed an obsession with lemons, here's a delicious, zesty, gluten-free cake cooked by my friend Marienne, who is off to the south of France in two days time. Bless her, she thought I was just coming over for a cuppa and a chat and maybe take a few snaps of the finished cake she was planning on making, before we boxed it up to take to Regina and David's the next day... *chuckle*

Words to the wise: beware of inviting a blogger over for an afternoon of cake-making, he he he.... In the end, Marienne coped admirably with me turning her lounge-room into a photographic studio - lights, camera, action! Her hands over-came their camera shyness and she was very patient while I practiced my 'document the steps' process... I can tell you now, those people who make step-by-step photographs for magazines and cook-books are legends!! Juggling the attention to detail on the 'set', while keeping the actual cooking process on schedule is quite a task.

So here's my first attempt at step-by-step documentation:












zest and juice the lemons...












cream the butter and rapidura sugar...













beat in the zest and eggs...













whisk in the milk and fold in the flour...













stir in the lemon juice and pour into a lined cake tin...
bake at 180 degrees C for 30 - 45 minutes...












when baked, remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Prick all over with a fork and pour the citron-syrup evenly over the cake, allowing it to soak in.


And the recipe?

Marienne's Zesty Citron Cake: (gluten-free)

Ingredients:
150g unsalted butter
175g rapidura (dried sugar-cane juice)
2 eggs
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup almond meal
125ml soy or cow milk
60g sticky-rice flour
115g rice flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
juice of 1/2 lemon

Lemon Syrup:
100g icing sugar
100ml lemon juice (1/1/2 lemons)


Method:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest and eggs and whisk in. Add milk and almond meal and whisk through. Sift flours and the baking powder together and gently fold in to the cake mix. Do not beat much at this stage, as you don't want to 'toughen' the mix or lose its airiness. Fold through the lemon juice and pour immediately into a greased and lined cake tin. A spring-form tin is easiest for removal after baking.

Bake 30-45 minutes at 180 degrees C.

While the cake is baking, prepare the citrus syrup - place icing sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook over a gentle heat, dissolving the icing sugar, but do not boil.

When the cake is golden on top and a skewer comes out clean when tested, remove from oven and cool in the tin on a wire rack.

Prick the cake all over with a fork and pour the citrus syrup evenly over the cake, allowing it to soak in.

Remove from tin and serve immediately, or store in a sealed container over night.

Yum-oh!

Apple Pie for the Gluten-Free Gourmet

Yummy, scrummy, sweet & juicy, this is one is a winner.

Yesterday's winter rain made it a perfect day for baking, warm and cosy in the kitchen, the smells of crispy apples and tart limes melding with spicy cinnamon and the mellow caramel sweetness of the palm-sugar. Ah...

The recipe below uses a lovely gluten-free shortcrust pastry, but you can use your own favourite pastry recipe, or even use pre-made pastry sheets.






















Apple Pie Ingredients:
6 Granny Smith cooking apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1/2 a lime, juiced and zested
melted butter to glaze
extra sugar to sprinkle on top
shortcrust pastry - see Gluten-Free recipe below, or use your own favourite pastry recipe.

Method:
Prepare the pastry - see recipe below - making both a top and bottom sheet. Grease a pie dish or individual ramekins with melted butter and press a rolled pastry sheet into the dish to line it.

Peel, core and slice the apples into a mixing bowl and sprinkle with the spices, the palm sugar and the lime juice and zest, stirring to coat. Tip the apples into the lined pie dish, piling them up a little, as they will melt down during cooking.

Cover the apples with the second pastry disc and pinch off the excess around the edges. Press all around the edges with a greased fork or a spoon handle, to seal and make a decorative edge. Slice an 'x' in the centre of the pie to let the steam out during cooking.

Brush the top of the pie with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with creamy goats yoghurt.

Yum-oh!

Gluten-Free Shortcrust Pastry.

1 cup glutinous rice flour
2 cups brown-rice flour (or use white)
75g butter
1 egg

water

extra rice-flour for kneading

Method:

Sift the flours together and cut the cold butter into the mix in small chunks. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flours until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Take care not to over-rub, as the heat of your hands may melt the butter - any larger pieces left will incorporate later when the pastry dough is kneaded.

Stir in the lightly beaten eggs and add just enough water to make the dough come together in a ball. At this stage, the dough will still be quite crumbly, so kneading is essential. This may seem very strange if you are used to making conventional pastry where the golden rule is to handle lightly, but gluten-free pastry differs in that it actually benefits from being handled.

Lightly dust a cold surface with extra rice-flour & knead the dough for 1-2 minutes, adding as much extra flour as needed to prevent the dough sticking to the board. The pastry will change in texture, becoming much smoother and more pliable.

To roll out, divide the dough into two portions – one for the top and one for the bottom – and roll into two spheres. Lightly dust the surface and the rolling pin with rice-flour and roll out using smooth short strokes. When you are ready to place the pastry in the pie dish, use your rolling pin for pick-up and transfer.

Another method is to roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper for ease of handling.

Zucchini Muffins with Date & Almond cream

The first weekend's Adventures in Food Photography.

Deciding what to make for the
inaugural photo-shoot with the new camera was quite a decision. In the end, I chose to go 'back in time', settling on some baking - making these yummy little afternoon-tea cup-cakes. They were first made for us by my friend Phillip's mum when we were about eight years old - she wouldn't tell us what was in them until after we ate them - picky eaters that we were, we couldn't believe something so delicious had vegetables in it!

In starting out on this project, the ethical considerations seem equally important as the aesthetic, so I decided that we should
"Go Green" from go to whoa, leaving Petroleum out of the equation as much as possible. Riding my bicycle to the shops seemed a good start - and cycling up the hill to the Norton Street Grocer in Leichhardt was a good way to ground my excitement over the possibilities of the project in the here and now. I had already had more than one restless night, dreaming of the wonders of the Olympus E510 and the lenses that I eventually settled on...


- one-pedal stroke at a time -
- one recipe at a time -

that could become
my new Mantra.



The ethic and aesthetic pleasures continue at the green-grocers - selecting the most vibrant looking zucchinis, the freshest organic eggs, picking up a selection of paper muffin-cases from the Italian catering store, before pedalling the ingredients back to the studio to whiz together...

So now I present to you:

Zucchini Muffins






















Zucchini Muffins Ingredients:
(Wheat-free / Gluten-free / Dairy free)
3 eggs
1 cup rice-bran oil
1/2 cup rapidura
(dehydrated sugar-cane juice; ordinary sugar will do)
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups rice flour
1 cup sticky-rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts


Method:

Beat eggs until foamy. Add rice-bran oil, rapidura sugar and vanilla and beat until thick and mousse-like.

Stir in the grated zucchini and fold in the sifted flours, baking powder, bicarbonate soda, cinnamon and walnuts.

Pour into muffin tins 2/3 full - they rise well - and bake at 250 degrees for approx 10 - 15 Min's, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and ice with Date and Almond Cream.


Date and Almond Cream
(sugar-free & deliciously sweet)

1 cup raw blanched almonds
5 Turkish dates, seeds and skins removed
juice of 1 lime
water

Blend on high speed in food processor until smooth and creamy, adding just enough water to make a smooth paste. Ice the cakes with a palate knife, or decorate using a piping bag.

The Results:

I tried out a few different presentation styles, in paper cases / without paper-casing - not sure which one would make the best photo. And for sure I would put the CWA to shame with my dodgy piping technique... oh well, always good to have room for improvement!

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