Ingredients:
1 and 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour (it’s 100% whole wheat but much lighter in taste! I use the one by King Arthur Flour)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 cup pureed sweet potato (I use canned from Farmer’s Market Organic Foods)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
I was having my sister over for Shabbat lunch, when I remembered only hours before Shabbat started that it was actually her birthday! (I have 8 sisters, so it’s hard keeping track of the big days) In a panic I realized it was too late to get her a birthday cake and I would have to make one from scratch. But what would I make? I wanted to bake something that would taste good, something that would like nice and something that would be easy to whip up in the little time that I had. And then I saw the Hershey’s Cocoa box on my shelf and breathed a sigh of relief. Some things are just classic. Like Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake recipe. It’s truly perfection. Rich moist chocolate cake at it’s best. It’s a chocolate lovers dream. I baked the recipe in two square pans and layered them on top of each other with Hershey’s “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING” and added some chocolate sprinkles as a finishing touch.
I have a sweet tooth. Ok, that is putting it lightly. I am a sugar junkie, craving all things doughy and sweet – cupcakes filled with custards and jellies, topped with a thick layer of
rich frosting. There is nothing more satisfying than ending a meal with a slice of moist rich chocolate cake. I am the girl who makes chocolate chip cookies just to eat the raw dough. Brownie batter? That’s my drug of choice when I need an instant mood lift. When going out to eat, I would often choose a restaurant based on their dessert selection – naturally, my husband and I often found ourselves at dairy places! You can imagine my dismay when my doctor recently told me to avoid all things dairy while nursing my son. I can easily give up my pizza and Greek salad, but what about dessert?
Good news! Just in time for my non-dairy diet, I found “The Kosher Baker”, by Paula Shoyer, which contains over 160 dairy-free recipes! When I saw the photo on the cover of an Orange Tea Cake being drizzled with white icing, I knew I had found the bible of dessert cook books. I spent an entire Shabbat looking through all of the recipes, eagerly turning each page in search of my next favorite treat.
Not only is every imaginable dessert listed, but Paula has organized them into sections, such as “Quick and Elegant Desserts,” “Two Step Desserts,” and “Multiple Step Desserts and Breads.” This makes it a breeze to sort both by preparation time and how much you want to impress your guests.
Enjoy this tasty sampler for “Summer Fruit Galette” from “The Kosher Baker:”
Date nut bread, sounds dead-good-for-you-serious, doesn’t it? That is until you taste it. Plump and moist and chock full of goodies. I make it with spelt flour too, so it’s a win-win.
Ingredients:
1 cup diced dates, packed
1 cup dark or golden raisins
2 1/2 cups flour, all purpose, whole wheat pastry or spelt (as always, spelt is my favorite)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup hot strong tea, decaf ok
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Mix the first set of ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the second set of ingredients in another bowl. Combine both mixtures, making sure not to overmix. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan, or 6-cup loaf pan, and bake 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Muffins: Pour the batter into greased muffin molds (about 12 medium) and bake 30 minutes
Kosher in the Kitch had its first ever tasting party this past Sunday evening in the home of Yossi and Idii Stern. The idea was to bring the site to life where its fans could actually try the recipes that they have been following on the site.
Six contestants had the opportunity to prepare their recipes in the kitchen of The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts and then present them at the party to be sampled. The event was open to the public and everyone was able to taste all of the delightful treats.
The following four judges were present at the tasting event to select their favorite desserts:
~ Leah Koenig, Writer and Editor of
“The Jew and The Carrot”
~ Sandy Stollar, personal chef and creator of
“The Kosher Tomato”
~ Yos Schwartz, Executive Chef of
“The Fresh Diet”
~ Jesse Blonder, Director of
“The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts”
They sampled desserts from the following contestants:
Shoshe Ben-Abou
Etti Hazan-Goldfarb
Elke Probkevitz
Miriam Rothstein
Tanya Bernardson
Chanel Lipskier
A delightful moist chocolate cake served with whipped cream and fresh fruit was an old family recipe submitted by Shoshe. Etti whipped up individual servings of a chocolate mousse that was silky goodness. Elke of “Take Home Chef” prepared her famous chocolate-dipped white biscotti. Miriam also brought back an old family favorite, her mother’s strawberry shortcake, while Tanya went with something new, baking an upside down cranberry pie that was simply fabulous. The winning recipe of the evening was Chanel’s peanut butter ice cream with brownie bits! It won her two free passes to a cooking class at the culinary school as well as a $100 gift certificate to Grillz of Staten Island!
Those in attendance also had the chance to win some fabulous prizes that were raffled off.
For those that missed it, don’t worry this is an event we plan on having again!
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg ( i never put this is)
1/4 tsp ginger
4 TBSP marg/butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup pumkin puree (fresh mashed or canned)
1/3 cup milk
frosting
in side bowl, mix flour, baking soda, powder, salt and spices
in mixing bowl beat butter ad sugar. add egg. beat well. beat in pumpkin puree. add dry ingredients alternating with the milk until well blended.
pour in muffin plans. fill about 2/3 full otherwise they will over flow!!!
bake at 350 for 15-20 min.
cool and frost.
