Chia Pudding

Healthy! I tend to make enough for two days in each batch.

• 2 drops almond essence
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds
• 1/4 cup soy milk (or other milk alternative)

1. Put into a small jar, mix and then cover and shake well.
2. Put in the fridge for 10 hours (overnight).

Vegan "cheese" cake

Shavuot (Pentecost) is here and we celebrate by eating cheese dishes! I used to make a wonderful cheese cake that I inherited from my mother, but needed to find a vegan alternative. This recipe is by Leah Koenig (http://www.myjewishlearning.com/recipe/vegan-lemon-cheesecake/) and turned out wonderful. If you didn't know you'd think it was made of cheese.

Ingredients >  200 gm (8 oz) petit beurre biscuits >  100 gm (4 oz) marge >  zest of one lemon >  14 oz silken tofu >  200 gm (8 oz) Tofutti tofu spread, cream cheese style >  2/3 cup sugar >  1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice >  1/2 tsp ground ginger >  1/2 tsp vanilla essence >  2 Tblsp cornflour

Steps 1. First make the base of the cake. Grind up the biscuits. 2. Melt the marge, pour the zest and biscuit crumbs into the pot, and mix well. 3. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch cake tin and refrigerate while making the filling. 4. Pre-heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) . 5. In the food processor process the silken tofu and vegan cream cheese until smooth. 6. Add the sugar and process until well combined, approximately 3 minutes. 7. In the meantime, in a separate bowl, combine the lemon juice, ginger and vanilla essence. 8. Whisk in the cornflour until all smooth.  9. Pour this mixture into the food processor with the tofu, and blend until smooth. 10. Pour the mixture onto the crumb base. 11. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until set (the center will still be slightly wobbly).  12. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight.

Vegan "honey" cake

One of the traditions for the Jewish New Year is to bake a honey cake, and my kids knew that the New Year was coming by the wonderful smell emanating from the kitchen. This year my eldest son invited us for the traditional meal. They are vegan and also my son no longer likes honey. So I looked up an alternative on the Internet, and adapted it based on my previous recipe. It  came out moist, tasty, and... no honey or eggs were harmed in the process.

Ingredients >  2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour >  1 Tblsp baking powder >  1 Tblsp cinnamon >  1/2 tsp ground ginger >  1/2 tsp mixed spice (allspice) >  1/2 cup vegetable oil >  1/2 cup agave syrup/nectar >   1/2 cup pure maple syrup >   1 cup applesauce/puree >   2 tsp vanilla extract >   1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) dissolved in 100 ml orange juice >   1/2 cup raisins >   Sliced almonds for the top

Steps 1.  Heat the oven to 170C 2.  Sieve all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. 3.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil, agave, maple, applesauce and vanilla. 4.  Beat well until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and the mixture is smooth. 5.  Dissolve the soda in the orange juice and pour onto the mixture with the raisins. Stir. 6.  Pour the mixture into 2 lined loaf tins.  7.  Sprinkle the almonds on top. 8.  Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. The cake should be firm to the touch. 9.  Let the cake cool out of the draft. 10. When quite cold, wrap in tin foil and leave until needed. The taste improves with time.

Vegan carrot cake

This is the first time that I have baked a vegan cake. I checked on the Internet and found this carrot cake. It came with a nut icing, but we prefer un-iced cakes, though I think it would have added something.

Ingredients >  2 1/4 cups flour (I used half whole, half white cake flour) >  3 teaspoons baking powder >  1 teaspoon baking soda >  3 teaspoons cinnamon >  1/2 teaspoons nutmeg >  1 teaspoons salt >  1/2 cup applesauce >  1 cup soy/almond/whatever milk >  2 teaspoons vanilla essence >  1 cup sugar >  1/2 cup (melted) coconut or canola oil (I used canola) >  2 cups grated carrots (about 450gm) >  Optional: 100 gm walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped, or ground if very young kids are eating it

Steps 1. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. 2. Grease a 9x13 inch (or similar) baking pan 3. Grate the carrots finely. 4. Sieve all the dry ingredients (first 6) into a bowl. 5. In a large bowl, whisk the apple sauce, almond milk, vanilla essence,      sugar and oil. 6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. 7. Gently stir in the carrots and nuts (if used). 8. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, level it and place it in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  9. If you want the icing recipe, let me know.

Easy-peasey Flapjacks

These are fail-safe flapjacks, so quick to make and even quicker to devour. The original recipe comes (I think) from Mary Berry. She used golden syrup, which I cannot get here, so I substitute it with date syrup. The recipe also calls for margarine. I wanted to swap this with oil, but so far have failed to get it right. It tastes good but crumbles more.

Ingredients > 100 gm margarine or 6 Tblsp vegetable oil > 100 gm brown sugar (I use demerara) > 1 Tbsp date syrup (or other sweet syrup) > 150 gm porridge oats

Steps 1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.  2. Grease a smallish square or oblong tin. 3. Melt the margarine in a pan together with the sugar and syrup.  4. Stir in the oats and mix well. 5. Turn the mixture into the greased tin and press flat. 6. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. 7. Remove from the oven and mark into squares, but leave in the tin until cold. 8. When cold, remove from the tin and store in an airtight container.

Fruit Strudel

I needed a cake for last night and this evening, and the shops are shut. I am not a cake person, so it had to be something I could handle. I looked in the kitchen and found I had apples, plums and frozen filo pastry. So I decided to make a sort of strudel (stuffed dishes are popular on Sukkot - the Feast of the Tabernacles). I took the base recipe from a print-out I had for some years (I don't know from where, but it bears the name Lily Vieyra), adapted it and then looked up instructions for the Filo pastry part in my Evelyn Rose Jewish Cookbook. I removed most of the sugar, and I had to make it without any milk products, but it still worked, and turned out delicious.

Ingredients >  25 gm butter or margarine  >  1 large or 2 medium green apples >  Optional. 5 plums or apricots >  1/2 cup of sultanas (white raisins) >  1/2 cup chopped walnuts >  Light brown sugar to taste. I used 1 Tbsp, but the original recipe states 1/4 cup >  1/2 tsp ground cinnamon >  1/4 tsp nutmeg >  6 sheets of filo pastry, defrosted >  Oil or melted butter for the pastry >  1 egg, beaten Makes two strudels, each enough for 5 people. Serve with whatever you are allowed, such as cream or ice cream.

Steps 1.  Thaw the pastry. Note that this takes a few hours, so plan ahead. 2.  Peel the apples, core them and then chop them. 3. Remove the pits from any other fruit you are using, and chop these. 4.  Melt the butter (or marge) in a large frying pan, and add the chopped fruit and sultanas. 5.  Mix well and saute for a few minutes. 6.  Add the water, sugar, nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg. 7.  Mix well, reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the apples are tender but not overcooked. 8.  If there is too much liquid, cook for a few minutes more without the lid. 9.  Let the mixture cool. 10. Heat the oven to 200C 11. I have a silicone sheet, and this helped me with the pastry, but if you don't use a wet tea towel. 12. Open the filo pastry packet and carefully remove one sheet and place it on the silicone sheet or tea towel, long side facing you. Filo pastry dries out very quickly, so cover the remaining sheets with a wet tea towel. 13.Brush the sheet with melted butter (or oil). 14. Repeat the procedure for another 2 sheets. 15. Place half the filling on the bottom half of the sheet as it faces you. 16. Turn over both of the short sides of the pastry, and then carefully fold the pastry from you towards the top. This is where the tea towel comes in handy. 17. Line a baking tin with silicone paper and carefully place the strudel on it. Cover with a wet tea towel. 18. Repeat steps 11 to 16 for the other 3 sheets. 19. Brush the top and sides of each strudel with the beaten egg. 20. Cut diagonal slices into the top level of the pastry, until you reach the fruit. 21. Cover the 2 strudels with another sheet of silicone paper. 22. Put into the oven for 30-40 minutes. The pastry should be brown, and a knife inserted into one of the cuts should have no resistance from the fruit.

Lokshen Kugel (noodle cake)

This is a comfort food from the Jewish kitchen. I don’t make it too sweet, and the family loves it.

Ingredients > 200 gm flat egg noodles > 50 gm margarine, butter or vegetable oil > 2 eggs > 100 gm sugar > 4 Tbls raisins > Large pinch of salt > Large pinch of cinnamon > Grated rind of a lemon (without the white pith)

Steps Pre-heat the oven to 190°C. If you have a convection oven, make it 180°C. While it is heating up, put the fat in a 1 IB loaf tin, and place it in the oven. Cook the noodles according to the directions on the packet. Drain in a sieve and rinse well to remove excess starch. Whisk the eggs and sugar. Add the salt, cinnamon, lemon rind, and raisins. Take the loaf tin out of the oven; swill the hot fat around the sides and then pour that fat into the mixture Add the well-drained noodles and stir well. Pour the mixture into the tin and place it in the oven for 40-45 minutes. It should be set inside and crisp and brown on top. Note that you can also bake it at 150°C for 1½ hours.

Brownies

Does anyone remember that excellent cookery course called Cordon Bleu that ran in the late sixties? My mother collected a new issue each week (72 in all), and bought me the full set when I married. Their recipe for brownies has never failed me. 

Ingredients > 60 gm cocoa powder mixed with: > 5 Tbls water > 90 gm margerine (butter taste) > 240 gm white sugar > 2 eggs > 90 gm white plain flour > ½ tsp baking powder > Pinch of salt > 120 gm walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped

Steps 1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. If you have a convection oven, make it 170°C. 2. If you are using nuts (omit when small kids are eating this), roughly chop them up. 3. Mix the cocoa powder and the water in a small saucepan, add the marge, and melt on a low flame, while stirring. 4. Whisk the eggs and sugar until light. 5. Add the cocoa mixture. 6. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. 7. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. 8. Stir in the nuts. 9. Grease an 8” square cake tin and pour in the mixture. 10. Level it and place it in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until a dull crust has formed. 11. Let it cool a bit and then cut into squares.