Rhubarb Raspberry Polenta Cake

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

Its rhubarb season! Grocery store shelves are brimming with these beautiful red stalks. I couldnt let spring roll around and not make anything with rhubarb! Usually, rhubarb is used along with strawberries in pies (because rhubarb and strawberry seasons coincide). This recipe features rhubarb, along with raspberries in a polenta or cornmeal cake. If you like corn cakes, you’ll certainly love this dessert version!

Andrea, from Cooking Books blog says its the Scandinavians who know how to best enjoy the tartness of rhubarb. Andrea says,

“I’m not sure anyone appreciates rhubarb the way the Scandinavians do. In the US, it seems like you rarely find rhubarb without strawberry to mellow it’s tartness. But in Norway, rhubarb stands very much on its own. In fact, R remembers as a child being given stalks of raw rhubarb with a small bag of sugar for dipping and munching.”

Tart rhubarb, tart raspberries, in a sweet, cornmeal cake. Just delicious! And I love the ‘corny’ taste and texture of this cake too.

I adapted the recipe from this recipe for raspberry and lemon polenta cake by Jane Hornby. Jane’s recipe is for a layered polenta cake, filled with a cream cheese filling. I left out the filling all together and simply made a single cake, adding rhubarb.

Add most the fruit to the batter and bake half way. Then sprinkle more berries on top of the half-cooked cake and continue baking.

Ever baked a cake with fruits in it and all the fruits sink to the bottom? Jane has the solution! Its a great trick for getting this cake to look beautiful too. Reserve some of the berries and then sprinkle them on top of your cake half way through baking. The cake should still be jiggly when you do this. Gently press the berries into the batter like the picture above and return cake to the oven. The batter will bake around the berries and when its done, you’ll have a perfect, berry studded cake!

You can store this cake covered at room temperature for about 2-3 days or wrapped tightly in the fridge for about 4-5 days. Serve with icecream or homemade rhubarb-raspberry compote.

Rhubarb Raspberry Polenta or Cornmeal Cake Recipe

adapted from this recipe by Jane Hornby
serves about 8

8 oz or 225 grams sugar
8 oz or 225 grams butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 oz or 175 grams fine cornmeal or polenta
1.75 oz or 50 grams flour(I used cake flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup chopped rhubarb
1 cup raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 375F. Butter a 9 inch cake tin or baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a standing mixer, cream the sugar and butter together for about 3 minutes. Then add the eggs to this mixture one by one. Beat on high speed till the mixture is fluffy. Add vanilla and turn off the mixer.

Sift together the cornmeal/polenta, flour, baking powder and salt. Fold this into the egg mixture in 2 batches. Stir in lemon zest. Pour this batter into the baking dish or cake tin.

Reserve about 1/8 cup of the rhubarb and 1/8 cup of raspberries. Sprinkle the rest of the rhubarb and raspberries on top of the cake batter. Smooth out the top. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. The cake should still be jiggly, but risen. At this stage, take out the cake from the oven. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Sprinkle the lemon juice-sugar mixture all over the top of the cake.

Then arrange the reserved rhubarb pieces and raspberries on top of the half cooked cake. Gently poke them into the batter (but dont poke them all the way in — see picture in post above). Return cake to the oven and bake another 10 minutes. Cool cake slightly before removing it from the pan.

Tender Coconut and Lychee Pudding. No cooking required!

Posted on February 6, 2010 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

tender coconut lychee pudding

I’m at my parents place in India. There is such an abundance of fresh tender coconuts here that I absolutely had to use it as the star of this no-cook dessert. I added some lychees to the pudding and it worked really well.

coconut tree

A coconut tree in my parents’ garden

Note: If you cant get fresh tender coconut, just use frozen coconut juice/coconut water available in Asian stores. If the coconut juice is sweetened you should less than whats called for in this recipe. But whatever you do, please do not use the canned coconut juice!

Tender Coconut/Coconut Water/Coconut Juice/Elaneer and Lychee Pudding Recipe

serves about 6

1 cup + 1/4 cup milk
6 teaspoons quick set gelatin* (see note below)
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup tender coconut water/coconut juice/elaneer
3/4 cup tender coconut meat, chopped
3/4 cup canned lychees, strained (about 6 pieces), chopped

*I usually use agar agar to set desserts, but this time gelatin is all I had on hand. (See this post on how to use agar agar). The gelatin I used was a quick set variety. Your pudding may set differently depending on what gelatin you use.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients except the 1/4 cup milk and the gelatin.

Warm 1/4 cup milk and dissolve gelatin in it. Add this to the bowl with all other ingredients. Stir everything well. Pour in individual serving dishes and refrigerate till the pudding sets; about 2 hours.

Sparkling Wine or Sprakling Grape Juice Gelee with Cranberries & How to use Agar Agar

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

sprakling-juice-or-wine-gelee-with-cranberries

This is basically jellied fruit juice or wine with cranberries suspended in it. A beautiful, light, and easy dessert for any occasion. Use any kind of juice or wine and add any fruit you like. Read on for some great gelee variations.

I used agar agar to set the gelee. This recipe using agar agar is inspired by Mark Bittman’s book, How to cook everything vegetarian.

agar-or-kanten-bars

Agar-agar, also known as kanten is a form of dried seaweed. It’s a fantastic vegetarian substitute for gelatin. Gelatin, for those of you who don’t know, is a pork product. So if you are vegetarian or want to avoid pork products and derivatives, agar-agar is the best substitute.

Agar-agar comes in 3 forms:
-          Bars
-          Flakes
-          Powder

Basic recipe: How to set or jellify liquids using agar-agar or kanten

1 bar agar (0.25 oz) or 2 tablespoons agar flakes or 2 teaspoons agar powder
Note: Agar powder is a direct substitute for gelatin. So 2 teaspoon gelatin = 2 teaspoon agar powder
2 cups liquid (fruit juice, wine etc)

Place the agar in the liquid and bring to a boil. Boil until the agar melts completely. Continue cooking on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or till the mixture begins to gel and thicken. Pour into a serving dish and place in the refrigerator to thicken further. The liquid will get thick and jell-o-like in about an hour.

Acidic juices may require more agar to set.

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As you can see from the set gelees above, agar, unlike gelatin doesnt set clearly. So if your gelee is a little cloudy, dont worry, thats how agar sets. You can use any fruit juice you like for these gelees. I like sparkling juice or sparkling wine, champagne, or prosecco for this because the little bubble suspended in the gelee are beautiful.

Some gelee variations

substitute these ingredients in the recipe below

- Coffee and coconut milk gelee. Serve this after an asian style meal
- Champagne or Prosecco gelee with orange segments. Like a jellied mimosa; great for a holiday brunch
- Sparkling apple juice gelee with pomegranate seeds. A beautiful, refreshing dessert
- Lemonade gelee with lemon zest. Great end to a summer lunch, or serve this as a palate cleanser inbetween courses

Where to buy Agar agar

Any health food store or Asian store should have it.
You can also buy online, there is plenty of choice on Amazon.com

cranberry-floating

Sparkling Grape Juice or Sparkling Wine Gelee with Cranberries Recipe

Serves 2-3

½ cup water
½ cup sugar
½ bar of agar (or 1 tablespoon agar flakes or 1 teaspoon agar powder)
1 ½ cups sparkling grape juice or sparkling wine
a few cranberries

Run a little water over the agar bar to make it soft. Then tear it into small pieces. Omit this step if using flakes or powder. In a small saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. When the sugar just about melts, add the agar pieces. Boil gently till the agar has completely melted. Continue cooking the liquid for another 4-5 minutes. Turn off heat. Slowly pour in the sparkling juice or wine. Stir gently, being careful not to release too many bubbles. Pour this mixture into champagne flutes or a serving dish, sprinkle cranberries on top and place in the fridge till set, about 1 hour.

Apple Spring Rolls or Apple Phyllo Cigars with Brandy Butterscotch Sauce

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

apple-spring-rolls-and-brandy-butterscotch-sauce

I was going to make these spring rolls with Asian pears. But I had to use up the million or so apples I have sitting in my kitchen. So I used apples instead. Thats the beauty of this recipe, you can use a lot of different fruits. I recommend apples or pears. You could also make this with phyllo pastry or with spring roll wrappers. But who doesn’t love apples and phyllo and brandy and butterscotch!

Here is a somewhat step by-step post. ‘Somewhat’ because I was too lazy to take pictures of every single step

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Start with the apple filling. Use a tart apple, like granny smith. Core and then cut the apple into sticks about 1/3 inch thick. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt to the apples.

how-to-fold-apple-spring-roll01

Now work on the phyllo spring roll. Place a phyllo sheet on a work surface. Spray baking/olive oil spray or brush melted butter evenly over the phyllo sheet. Place the second phyllo sheet over the first. Spray or brush with butter. Repeat for the remaining sheets. You’ll now have a 4 layer stack of phyllo pastry sheets, one on top of the other.

Cut this stack into 4 rough squares. Start with one square (see picture above). Place 4-5 apple sticks on the phyllo square, slightly off center and towards you. Fold the bottom of the phyllo sheets over the apple.

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Press down lightly. Then bring up the left and right ends towards the center.

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Keeping the ends tucked in, roll the spring roll away from you. Repeat with all the phyllo squares. Remember to keep all your phyllo sheets, except the one you are working with, covered in a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out. Each phyllo stack will give you 4 spring rolls. Bake spring rolls in the oven till golden.

brandy-butterscotch-sauce

While the spring rolls are baking, make the brandy butterscotch sauce. The world’s easiest brandy butterscotch sauce! Combine Nestle butterscotch morsels, milk and brandy in a bowl and microwave till the butterscotch morsels melt. Thats it!

apple-spring-rolls-and-brandy-butterscotch-sauce2

Serve spring rolls warm with brandy butterscotch sauce. Vanilla or Caramel icecream will also taste great with this!

Apple Spring Rolls or Phyllo Cigars with Brandy Butterscotch Sauce
makes about 12 spring rolls

for spring rolls
1 large tart apple, like granny smith
1 tbsp brown sugar (the butterscotch sauce that goes with this is quite sweet, so I dont use a lot of sugar in the spring rolls)
1/4 tsp powdered cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of salt
12 sheets of phyllo (you will be making 3 ‘stacks’ of 4 layers each)
baking/olive oil spray or 1/4 cup melted butter

Pre-heat oven to 375 f.

Peel apple if you wish (I didnt). Core and then cut the apple into 1/3 inch thick sticks. Toss apple sticks with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

To make the spring rolls, start with 4 phyllo sheets. Place one sheet on a work surface. Spray or brush butter on top of the phyllo sheet. Place another phyllo sheet on top. Spray or brush butter on this sheet. Repeat this for all 4 sheets. You now have a phyllo stack of 4 phyllo sheets. Cut this into 4 equal pieces (they will roughly be squares). Take one square, place apple sticks on it and fold into a spring roll. See detailed pictures and instructions above. Repeat for all phyllo squares.

Place the spring rolls in a buttered or oiled baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes or till the spring rolls are golden. Serve warm with brandy butterscotch sauce.

Note: You could also use spring roll wrappers instead of phyllo dough. Use 12 spring roll wrappers and leave out the baking spray/melted butter. Fold the spring roll according to the pictures and directions in this post. Dip your finger in water and go around the edges to seal the spring roll wrapper. Make sure all sides are well sealed. Deep fry in oil.

for brandy butterscotch sauce
1/2 cup Nestle butterscotch morsels
1/4 cup milk
3 tbsp brandy

Combine everything and microwave in 30 second increments till the morsels are just about melted. Make sure the sauce doesnt burn or boil over in the microwave. Stir to combine, serve warm. To re-heat sauce, add a little more milk and microwave.

Have you entered my Fall Entertaining Set giveaway yet?

Raspberry Mousse Tartlets with a Chocolate Surprise

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

raspberry-mousse-pie2

I had a really stressful week. When I was talking about it to my friend K, she suggested two things. Go over to her place for dinner. Or make something decadent and post it on my blog. (Notice how both involve food?!). I went with option two. What can be more stress busting than cooking (and then making S clean up)? What can make a girl happier than a luscious raspberry mouse tart with dark chocolate ganache hidden inside?! And what can make me forget my worries that reading your comments Stress be gone!

mousse-tart-diptych

You can whip up this dessert rather quickly because there is no baking involved. The only time consuming step is chilling the tartlets for atleast 3 hours so that the filling sets.
chocolate-surprise

I used store bought graham cracker mini tarts. You can use whatever pie crust you like. An oreo crust will be great too.

The filling is raspberry jello powder or agar agar, mixed with a quick raspberry jam (recipe below), cream cheese and cream.

Whip everything together. Pour a little chocolate ganache at the bottom of the pie/tart. Then pour the raspberry mousse in and let it set.

You cant see the chocolate layer, but once you cut into the tartlet, there is a nice little chocolate surprise waiting for you.

Regular mousse involves eggs. But this recipe is eggless. You still get a wonderful, creamy yet light mousse from the addition of fruit pectin and jello powder or agar agar.

raspberry-mousse-tart

Raspberry Mousse Pie/Tart/Tartlet with Chocolate Surprise Recipe
loosely adapted from this recipe on Recipe Bazaar
makes about 6 mini tarts

6 mini graham cracker pie crust or any pie/tart shell of your choice. If the crust you are using needs baking, pre-bake it according to package directions

for quick chocolate ganache
2 oz dark chocolate bar
1 1/2 tbsp heavy cream

for raspberry mousse
6 oz fresh raspberries
1 1/2 tbsp fruit pectin powder
3/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt

1 1/2 tbsp raspberry jello powder or agar-agar
1 1/2 tbsp boiling water
3 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream

Start with the raspberry jam. In a medium pan, heat the raspberries, pectin, sugar and salt on medium heat. Cook till the mixture is bubbling and slightly thickened. About 4 minutes. Then press the raspberries through a strainer, discard the pulp and seeds and reserve the liquid jam. Let the jam cool.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric beater, place the boiling water and jello or agar agar and mix till dissolved. Then add the cooled jam and cream cheese. Mix with a fork till well incorporated. Pour in cream. Using the beater, whip/beat the mixture on high till thick.

For the chocolate ganache, place the dark chocolate and cream in a pan and cook on low heat just untill the chocolate melts. Be careful not to burn the chocolate

Divide the chocolate ganache evenly among the pie crusts. Let it cool about 5 minutes. Then pour the raspberry mousse mixture into the pie crusts, over the chocolate ganache. Refridgerate atleast 3 hours to allow the mousse to set. Serve chilled, garnished with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings.

NOTE (added Oct 13 ’09): the raspberry filling was very slightly runny for me. (You can see that in the picture of the cut open tart above). You may want to use more jello or agar (3 tbsp jello/agar + 3 tbsp boiling water) to help the filling set better.

Fresh Fig and Spiced Rum Upside Down Cake

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

fig-rum-upside-down-cake2

I have a confession. I cheated big time with this cake. I used…gulp…store bought cake mix! I didnt have time to make cake batter at home and I really wanted to make a fig upside down cake with a gorgeous box of fresh black figs. So I resorted to a betty crocker mix…and it turned our yummy. The figs were so soft and sweet, I thought a nice rum and spice upside down cake would be fitting for these figs.

fresh black figs

Dont keep fresh figs for more than two days. They are best used the day you buy them. You could also use dried figs in this recipe – just simmer them in a little water to reconstitute them and then proceed with the recipe.

arrange-figs-in-cake-pan-then-pour-batter

Wash and pat dry the figs. Then trim off the stems and quarter each fig. Pour some rum and spices over the figs and let them sit while you make the cake batter. Then arrange the figs in a cake pan and pour cake batter on top. Bake according to the instructions on the cake mix box.

fig-rum-upside-dowm-cake3

When the cake is done, invert it onto a plate and you’ll have gorgeous fig studded cake!

This post goes to monthly mingle over at ‘My Diverse Kitchen’, Meeta and Aparna have chosen the theme, high tea.

Fresh Fig and Rum Upside Down Cake
Serve about 10

12-16 fresh figs
2/3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tbsp sugar, more or less depending on how sweet the figs are
4 tbsp rum (I used captain morgans spiced rum)
1 box store bought cake mix (angel food, white or yellow cake mix)
Ingredients need to make the cake mix

Wash and dry figs. Cut off the stems. Quarter the figs. Arrange the figs in the bottom of a buttered cake pan in a single layer. (divide teh figs and batter into two cake pans if necessary). Mix cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, sugar with rum. Pour this spiced rum over the figs. Then prepare the cake mix according to manufacturers instructions. Pour cake batter into the cake pan, on top of the figs. Bake according to directions on the box. When cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes and invert in onto a plate.

Watermelon Juice for the Purist

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

watermelon-juice5

Life doesn’t get simpler than this. Watermelon juice with nothing in it except….watermelon! I just cut up a seedless watermelon, removed the rind, put the fruit in a blender and then strained the juice out. Its even easier if you have a juicer; you don’t have to do the straining separately.

I decided not to add anything to the juice because it tasted fresh, fantastic, super fabulous all by itself.

watermelon-juice6

But here are some great additions to watermelon juice:

Sugar, honey or any other sweetener
A pinch of Indian black salt, which always pairs well with fruits
Lemon or lime juice
Lemon or lime zest
Mint
Basil
Alcohol (highly recommended!) – rum, tequilla or cahaca (my favorite)
A little club soda to make watermelon spritzer (thanks Aparna!)

You cant go wrong with mixing and matching any of the above.

watermelon-juice4

I served this watermelon juice, chilled, in mini flower vases with a sprig of mint.

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What will you add to watermelon juice?

Chocolate-Banana Yin-Yang Cupcakes

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

banana-chocolate-cup-cake4

When life gives you bananas, you wish they didn’t all ripen at the same time. But because your wish will never come true, you should banana cupcakes! Or rather, half banana, half chocolate cupcakes. These are banana-chocolate, yellow-brown, yin-yang cupcakes. This recipe was born out of a need to use up overly ripe bananas and some baking chocolate that was nearing its expiry.

flour-sugar-vanilla-baking-poweder-chocolate-eggs-banana-butter-for-cupcakes

Cake flour makes things light and airy because of its lower protein content. If you don’t have cake flour, just use all purpose flour; you’ll have slightly denser, but tasty cupcakes.

cream-butter,-sugar,-salt-and-eggs,-then-fold-in-flour

Beat sugar, eggs and salt together. Then beat in butter and vanilla. Fold in cake flour, baking soda and baking powder. This is your basic cake mixture.

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Divide the batter in half. Add a mashed banana to one half and melted chocolate to the other half of the batter.

spoon-into-muffin-tin

Now you are ready to make your yin yang, half and half cupcakes. Just place a spoon of the chocolate mixture to one side of a cupcake or muffin tin. Then place a spoon of the banana batter on the other side, so that the muffin cup is filled one half with chocolate and one half with banana batter.

You could also make banana-chocolate swirl or marble cakewith both these batters. Spoon the banana and chocolate batters alternatingly onto a cake tin. Then using a spatula, gently make swirling patterns through the batter to get the marbled cake effect.

Bake in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes and you’ll have banana-chocolate cupcakes!

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes. The mashed banana keeps the cupcakes incredibly moist.

chocolate-banana-cupcakes

Note: there is a consistency difference between the banana and chocolate halves of the cupcake. I find that the chocolate part is a bit brownie-like (maybe because I used melted chocolate and not cacao powder?). Next time, to even out the consistency, I may mix the mashed banana into the entire batter and then stir in some cacao powder to one half of the banana batter.

The secret to perfect cakes

Don’t over mix the batter. Only fold/mix the batter till the ingredients have just combined. Don’t over handle or over mix the batter.
Don’t over bake the cake. You’ll land up with dry cakes if you over bake them. If your kitchen smells like cake, it means its ready to come out of the oven in a few more minutes. (A tooth pick inserted into the cake must come out clean).

Chocolate-Banana Yin-Yang Cupcakes
Makes about 12 cupcakes

6 tbsp butter at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar (use upto 3/4 cup if you want it sweeter)
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs at room temperature
¾ tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup cake flour or all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
½ cup mashed ripe banana (1 large ripe banana)
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted over a double boiler.

Preheat oven to 350f. If you are not using a non-stick muffin tin, grease the tin with a little butter and dust it with a little flour.

Using an electric beater or stand mixer, whisk butter, sugar and salt on high speed for about 1 minute. Then add eggs and vanilla and whisk for about 4 minutes of high or till the mixture is pale and fluffy. Mix flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Fold this gently into the egg mixture. Don’t over mix. Divide the cake batter in half. Mix in mashed bananas to one half and melted chocolate to the other half.

Spoon the chocolate and banana batters into muffin tins as shown in the pictures above. Bake for about 18-22 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.

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