Walnut chocolate fudge cake with raspberries

It was a warm summer in 2010 and we had just moved to Antwerp, where we lived for two years. Our son's birthday was coming up and he asked me to make this walnut chocolate fudge cake with raspberries that needs no baking. He had seen it in Ani's Raw Food Desserts by Ani Phyo and his mind was set. A fudge cake and Playmo and our five-year old was happy. The original recipe, called raspberry ganache fudge cake, had two layers with frosting and raspberries between them. I made it, we loved it, but after only one slice we were full. For us the two layers were simply too much. I reduced the cake's size and my version is one layer with frosting and berries on top. The beauty of making the cake is its simplicity: There is no soaking of nuts or dates needed; everything is mixed in a food processor. The cake is shaped and ready to serve. Excellent on summer days when you're craving a chocolate cake but it's too warm to turn on the oven.

One of the reasons why I love this cake so much is that it has two of my favourite foods: walnuts and raspberries. Walnuts are an excellent source of (plant-based) omega-3 fatty acids. They are considered good for the heart and they have anti-inflammatory benefits. I read in my Larousse Culinary Encyclopedia that the ancient Greeks and Romans believed walnuts cured headaches because of the shape of the kernel, which looks like the two halves of a brain (p. 1143). In the same food bible I read about 'the nymph Ida prick[ing] her finger while picking berries for the young Jupiter and thus raspberries, which had been white until then, turned red' (p. 861). Let's leave the mythology and make the cake.

This walnut chocolate fudge cake recipe is adapted from the aforementioned book by Ani Phyo, which is filled with delicious raw treats. I have reduced the cake's size, as we prefer one layer, with the frosting and raspberries on top. Phyo's recipe calls for dry walnuts (first soaked, then dried in the sun or in a dehydrator) but I simply use walnuts without soaking them. Some people are sensitive to caffeine and in such cases you can substitute the cocoa powder in the fudge cake for carob powder. The original recipe calls for pitted Medjool dates, which are soft and don't need soaking. You can of course use pitted dried dates instead and soak them first. The original frosting recipe has agave syrup but I use pure maple syrup instead. The cake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

WALNUT CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE WITH RASPBERRIES

fudge cake
220 g walnuts (2 cups)
50 g cocoa powder (¼ cup + 2 heaped Tbs)
scant ¼ teaspoon fine sea/Himalayan salt
175 g pitted Medjool dates (scant 1 cup)

frosting
60 g pitted Medjool dates (about ¼ cup)
40 ml pure maple syrup (scant 3 Tbs)
70 g ripe avocado flesh (⅓ cup)
30 g cocoa powder (¼ cup)

topping: 70-100 g raspberries (about ½ cup)

To make the fudge cake, combine the walnuts, cocoa powder and salt in a food processor and pulse until coarsely mixed. Avoid over-processing. Add the dates and pulse until mixed well. Use your fingertips to feel the texture of the batch and add one or two Medjool dates if it feels dry. Using your hands, shape into a cake of desired size on a plate (I like mine 18-19 cm (about 7 inches)). Set aside.

To make the frosting, combine the dates and maple syrup in the food processor and process until as smooth as possible. Add the avocado and process until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and process until smooth.

To serve, spread the frosting over the cake and top with fresh raspberries.

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If using pitted dried dates, instead of Medjool dates, chop them first and soak them in water for at least 30 minutes. Do not discard the soaking water, as you may need some of it to get the right texture, both for the cake and the frosting (depends on how good your food processor is). Instead of walnuts only for the fudge cake you can subsitute one cup for a blend of pecans, almonds and cashew nuts.

Danish rice and almond pudding (risalamande)

Christmas time is upon us and it's time for the last blog entry this year. I would like to use the opportunity to share again the recipe for rice and almond pudding (risalamande), a traditional Danish dessert that always gets many views on my old food blog in December. I remember seeing the pudding on the Christmas table in my childhood but it wasn't an annual tradition. The Danes have served the pudding at Christmas since the late 1800s and it has undergone some changes. I think I remember it correctly that the whipped cream wasn't added to the recipe until the era of the Second World War (1939-1945) when the price of rice got higher. A few years ago, when we were living in Copenhagen, my aunt and her Danish husband invited us to their home for a Christmas dinner and for dessert they served risalamande with organic cherry sauce, which was a wonderful combination. This was back in 2009 and since then the rice pudding has been on our Christmas table.

I serve the pudding on Christmas Eve, which is the day of celebration in the Nordic countries, when a festive dinner is enjoyed before the presents are opened. If buying the cherry sauce I would opt for an organic choice, free of refined sugar. Preparing the sauce is very easy. If I can get fresh cherries at this time of year I use 600 grams: Cut the cherries and remove the pits before mixing with 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup in a food processor. Pour it into a small saucepan, stir in 2-3 tablespoons of unrefined cane sugar and add a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Let it simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until the liquid has mostly evaporated, but not to the point of having dried out. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and allow it to cool before serving.

You can also use frozen cherries: you will only need 300 grams that go straight into a saucepan with the syrup, sugar and lemon juice, and let it simmer longer. When the sauce is ready you can mash the cherries with a fork or a spoon before allowing it to cool. On Sunday I made the rice and almond pudding and for the sauce I used frozen mixed berries. It tasted wonderful and that's the sauce you see in the photos.

In this house the Christmas preparation is pretty much done and the smoked lamb (hangikjöt) is on its way from Iceland via express mail. Here in Scotland there is hardly any chance of white Christmas, even a bush by our dining room window has started to form buds. I would like to wish you Happy Holidays and my best wishes for 2016, and at the same time to thank you for all the blog visits this year.

On this blog, late in 2011, I mentioned the risalamande recipe (some write ris a la mande or ris à l'amande) and much to my surprise my readers were eager to view it, which is why I shared it on my old food blog. It is the recipe I got from my aforementioned aunt and her husband in Denmark and I have only made slight changes: I use more sugar because my children like it that way (they use half a tablespoon) and instead of blanched almonds I use almonds with the skin, which provides dietary fibre. I always prepare the pudding in the morning of Christmas Eve, as it needs time to cool, and the scent of vanilla that fills the house is heavenly. As I said before, I serve it with either organic cherry sauce or home-made. If you are interested in a lighter version of the pudding you can substitute the whipping cream for Greek yoghurt, or you can combine cream and yoghurt. At Christmas I always prepare the real thing, with the whipped cream.

RICE PUDDING (RISALAMANDE)

190 g pudding rice (scant 1 cup)
250 ml water (1 cup)
1 litre milk (4 cups)
1 vanilla pod
2 tablespoons unrefined cane sugar
½ teaspoon fine sea/Himalayan salt
75 g almonds (½ cup)
400 ml whipping cream (about 1½ cup + 2 tablespoons)

To make the pudding: Rinse the pudding rice (white short-grain rice) before boiling in 250 ml water (1 cup) for 2 minutes in a saucepan. Add the 1 litre of milk (4 cups) and bring gently to the boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer gently for about 35 minutes. Use a lid but tilt it to allow the steam to escape. (The cooking time applies to Danish grødris (pudding rice). Other type of rice could need longer time to cook. Most of the liquid should be absorbed and the rice should be soft.)

Before adding the vanilla pod to the saucepan you need to split it and remove the seeds. Use a sharp knife to split it lengthways and then scrape the seeds out with the knife tip (I use the seeds to make my own vanilla sugar with unrefined cane sugar).

When the rice pudding is done remove the saucepan from the heat and remove the two halves of the vanilla pod. Spoon the rice pudding into a big bowl, add the salt and sugar and stir gently. Cover the bowl and allow the pudding to cool in the fridge.

Chop the almonds with a knife or in a food processor and add them to the cold pudding. (You can use blanched almonds if you prefer. If you can't buy them then simply put them in a bowl of hot water and rub the skin off with your fingers.) Whip the cream (not too stiff) and gently stir it in.

Serve the pudding with cherry sauce or sauce with mixed berries.

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Rhubarb and strawberry crumble

You know those lame family jokes that I believe every family has a set of? My husband is the author of most of ours and even managed to make one about crumbles. Every time I'm preparing a crumble - rhubarb and strawberry is our favourite - he or any of the children can be heard singing a line from Adele's Bond song Skyfall, with slight changes. Instead of when it crumbles, they sing let it crumble. I know, terribly lame, but still it puts a smile on my face every time. I don't know what it is with a crumble baking in the oven, but it seems that ten minutes before it's ready everyone is already in the kitchen waiting, even walking around my farm table and peeking through the oven window. It must be the aroma. Crumbles are indeed comforting, even more so in autumn when the leaves have started to turn.

We are very fond of rhubarb crumbles with either fresh strawberries or blueberries, preferably both, but fresh plums and apricots are also wonderful. Instead of adding much sugar to the fruit and berry base, I use chopped semi-dried dates and only two tablespoons of sugar. Dates are naturally rich in sugar but they are also a good source of dietary fibre.

Most of you are probably used to plenty of butter in the crumble topping but mine contains none. I don't bake or cook with butter. I rub a bit of soft coconut oil into spelt flour and then I usually add ground almonds, or finely chopped, for that delicious crunchy texture. Walnuts and hazelnuts are also ideal.

When I was growing up I spent much time with my paternal grandparents. Their rhubarb bed in the garden was large and we ate the stalks like candy. The rhubarb was also used to make jam and my mother would often prepare a rhubarb pudding for dessert. Here in the UK, a rhubarb pudding looks like a cake - nothing like my mother used to make. I guess my mother's version could be called Nordic style rhubarb pudding. It was smooth like a thick soup or a smoothie, served warm with cream - sugary and delicious!

I had already posted a rhubarb and strawberry crumble recipe on the old food blog. In essence, this is the same recipe but the base is larger and I have added blueberries. You can replace the blueberries with more strawberries or other berries. We lived in Luxembourg when I put the recipe together and were so lucky to have rhubarb in the garden. I was inspired by a rhubarb and blueberry crumble recipe from my friend CafeSigrun that I had tried and loved. Remember her cookbook that I told you about? It just got published in Iceland. In fact, this morning I was listening to a live interview with her on an Icelandic radio station where she was introducing it. More on the book later. If you are expecting guests and want to serve the crumble for dessert you can prepare everything beforehand but wait with topping the base. Do so right before the crumble goes into the oven or else you will lose the crunchy texture that makes a crumble so tasty.

RHUBARB AND STRAWBERRY CRUMBLE

fruit & berry compote/base
400-450 g rhubarb
300 g strawberries
150 g blueberries
100 g semi-dried dates
2 tablespoons unrefined cane sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

crumble topping
50 g ground almonds or finely chopped
100 g white spelt flour
3 tablespoons unrefined cane sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil, soft
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice or water

Fruit and berry base: Wash the rhubarb, trim off the leaves and chop the stalks into 2-2.5 cm chunks (about 1 inch) and put them into a large bowl. If the stalks are chunky chop them more finely. Rinse and hull the strawberries. Depending on their size, either halve or quarter the strawberries and add them to the bowl. Remove the stones, then chop the dates finely and add them to the bowl. Finally add the sugar, ground ginger and nutmeg and mix gently with a spoon. Set aside while preparing the crumble topping.

Crumble topping: If not using store-bought ground almonds, process whole almonds in a food processor. Set them aside. Combine the spelt flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the soft coconut oil and rub together with your fingertips (if it's warm and your coconut oil is in a liquid form then simply place it in the fridge before using). Add the ground almonds and orange juice and rub together a little longer.

Put the compote in a pie dish and spread it evenly (mine is 25 x 5 cm (about 10 x 2 in.) with sides that don't slope much). Top the compote with the crumble topping and bake at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan oven) for 30 minutes, until golden brown on top. If the top starts getting too brown, you may want to cover it with baking parchment or foil about ten minutes before the crumble is ready.

Allow the crumble to cool for a few minutes before serving with whipped cream, home-made vanilla ice cream or Greek yoghurt.

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Meringue tops and chocolate sauce

I remember Nigella Lawson saying wittily in one of her TV episodes that adding strawberries makes you feel like eating very healthily. She was wearing a robe and I think she was making pancakes for breakfast at a beach house. It stuck with me. I need to borrow her words because the meringue tops have the highest sugar content of all my recipes. After years of occasional experimenting I gave up and concluded that a healthier version was a wishful thinking. A certain ratio of sugar and egg whites is needed for the meringue texture to feel right. It cushions the blow just a little to use organic unrefined cane sugar, but after all sugar is sugar. I serve the meringue tops with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, strawberries and blueberries, and if I'm making them in summertime I like adding nectarines or peaches.

This is one of the recipes I have already shared on the old food blog and when making them yesterday I thought, why not snap new photos. Actually, I had already separated eggs and was about to make Belgian waffles when the jar of coconut oil came flying out of the cupboard and broke into pieces on the floor. I had berries in the fridge, so making meringue tops instead was an excellent idea.

In comparison to my other recipes, these meringue tops may have a high sugar content but their taste isn't over-sugary. It is said that the fibre and fructose of strawberries help regulate blood sugar, which may explain why we never feel a sugar-rush after enjoying them. But note that this isn't a recipe that I make every week, these are just for special occasions. I used to own a KitchenAid mixer but for many years I haven't used a mixer when baking, except for whipping cream and egg whites. Now I use a simple handheld mixer on a stand so I find it best to add the sugar gradually, not in one go. In my meringue experiments I tried using baking powder, lemon juice, cream of tartar and a blend of it all, but in the end I switched to cornflour and add just a bit to the sugar. If you are new to meringue making, make sure not a trace of egg yolk goes into the mixing bowl (see tip below).

MERINGUE TOPS (CHOCOLATE)

4 egg whites (use large free-range eggs, at room temperature)
185 g organic unrefined cane sugar (as fine as possible)
½ teaspoon cornflour
a pinch of sea salt
for chocolate meringue tops: ½ tablespoon cocoa powder

Separate the eggs. Add the egg whites to a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and cornflour.

Beat the egg whites until you get a slightly fluffy texture. Gradually add the sugar until the texture has become thick (the process takes me about 10-12 minutes). If making chocolate meringue tops, sieve over the cocoa powder and use a spatula to gently fold it in to create a marbled effect.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment and use a spatula to form 6 meringue tops, using slow swirling movements.

Bake at 140°C/275°F (125°C fan oven) for about 80 minutes, then turn the oven off, open the oven door and let the meringue tops sit in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries, and perhaps the chocolate sauce below.

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If you are new to meringue making or perhaps a bit clumsy then perhaps it's better to separate cold eggs, one at a time: Use separate bowls for the egg whites and yolks. After cracking each egg, transfer the egg white from the bowl to the mixing bowl before cracking another one. If using cold eggs, cover the mixing bowl with a plastic film or a plate when you are done and wait for about 30 minutes until you start beating the egg whites.

Meringue tops ready for the oven

The chocolate sauce is a variation of the chocolate frosting I made for my chocolate tray bake recipe. I just added more water to turn it into a sauce (you can also use it on ice cream). Make sure to always bake with quality cocoa powder, preferably organic/fair-trade. Prepare the chocolate sauce while the meringue tops are baking in the oven to give it time to cool.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1½ tablespoons unrefined cane sugar
2½ tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave syrup
4½-5 tablespoons water (about 75 ml)
a small piece organic dark chocolate or milk chocolate (15-20 g)
optional: a pinch of sea salt

Put all the ingredients into a small pan or saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring gently. Then remove from heat.

Pour the chocolate sauce into a bowl and let it sit for 30-40 minutes before serving.

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A love story by Antonia Fraser | Quinoa dessert

Recently I crossed one book off my list when I read Must You Go?: My Life with Harold Pinter by Antonia Fraser. If I were to describe it in only a few words I would say it's a beautiful love story, one of the most intimate ones I have read. Fraser uses her diaries to tell about her life with playwright Pinter, from the day they met in 1975 to the day he died in 2008. And what a life they shared! I would like to tell you just a little bit about the book and also republish my recipe for quinoa pudding with Greek yoghurt, berries and fruit.

It's no secret that both Fraser and Pinter were married when they met and the press fed on their 'literary friendship', as one paper put it. Things got complicated until both got a divorce and in one entry Fraser refers to a devoted friend of both who 'thought all this romantic talk about marriage was nonsense; why couldn't we just have an affair like everyone else?' (p. 29). It cracked me up.

I often laughed or smiled during the reading. Mainly the diary entries tell the story but sometimes Fraser comments on them and, personally, I would have liked to see more of that. Fraser has a beautiful way with words and I like her unpretentious style. She gets right to the point, unafraid of exposing herself and often describes things in a comic way. I loved the book but I would have been more satisfied with a longer one.

It's obvious that the book ends with Pinter's death, yet when I reached that final page I was so immersed in their love story that my heart was crushed when it was all over.

I cannot say that I knew much about Pinter, except that he was a playwright and a director and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005. In person, as described by Fraser, he was nothing like I had imagined and now I'm eager to read the biography, Harold Pinter by Michael Billington.

Just a few more lines about books before dessert. I have already told you about my love for author Helene Hanff (1916-1997), in my posts about 84 Charing Cross Road and Letter from New York. Since then I have also read Q's Legacy (spotted in my images), which is just as wonderful as the others. Parts of it are a repetition of what Hanff has already said in earlier works but I wouldn't let it stop me from reading it too.

I have stated earlier that I would like to keep all my recipes in one place and this quinoa pudding, which I often make during the warmer months, is from my old food blog. Food blogger and writer Aran Goyoaga of Canelle et Vanille was my inspiration when I put the recipe together. She had used milk to cook the quinoa but I use water and then Greek yoghurt for the pudding itself because of its creamy texture. The recipe is simple but you have to boil the quinoa first and allow it to cool for about an hour. You can top the pudding with any kind of berries and fruits. Please note that I'm serving the pudding as a dessert for five people.

QUINOA PUDDING WITH GREEK YOGHURT, BERRIES AND FRUIT

200 g quinoa (1 cup)
625 ml water (2½ cups)
a pinch of sea salt
250-300 g strawberries (circa 1½ cup)
½-1 tablespoon unrefined cane sugar
2 peaches, nectarines or apricots
450 g Greek yoghurt
2 teaspoons organic vanilla sugar
1½-2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
to garnish: almond flakes or chopped almonds or walnuts

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly under running water to remove the coating, which contains the bitter-tasting saponins (sometimes I let it soak in water for about 30 minutes before rinsing, depending on the type I use).

Put the quinoa in a medium saucepan with water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil on the highest heat, then reduce it to the lowest and cook for about 20 minutes. Use a lid but let it tilt slightly to allow the steam to escape. When the quinoa is cooked, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool for about an hour.

Hull and dice the strawberries. Put them in a medium bowl and sprinkle them with ½-1 tablespoon unrefined cane sugar. Allow to sit at room temperature while the quinoa is cooling.

To make the pudding: Combine 350-400 g Greek yoghurt, vanilla sugar and maple syrup in a large bowl. Fluff the quinoa gently with a fork before adding it to the bowl.

Dice the fruit and chop the almonds/walnuts finely, if using.

To serve, ladle the pudding into dessert bowls or glass jars. Add strawberries on top and then fruit. Top with the rest of the Greek yoghurt and almond flakes or chopped almonds/walnuts.

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