Very simple chocolate yeast cake (vegan)

It's baking shortcut time!

Who loves chocolate yeast cakes (think: Chocolate Babka and the like)?!

Well, we're big fans of them around here, but sometimes I have no time or patience for kneading and rising. 

That's where this super simple, cheater version of a chocolate yeast cake comes in!

It's so easy and I even avoid making dirty bowls -  I just mix it AND bake it in a baking pan!

Recipe:

1 3/4 cups flour (I used white spelt)

1 Tablespoon dry yeast

4 Tablespoons sugar

pinch of salt

2.5 Tablespoons oil (I used sunflower oil)

3/4 cup warm water

Your favorite chocolate spread (small jar - I use anywhere from 1/2 - a full jar, depending what I have in my pantry)

1/3 -1/2 bag chocolate chips/chocolate chunks

oil for the pan

What you do:

Oil a 9 inch round baking pan or something that holds a similar amount (there are medium size - long but narrowish, not as narrow as "English cake" disposable foil pans - that work) - I used sunflower oil spray.

Place flour, yeast, sugar, and salt into the pan and mix. Make a well in the middle and add water and oil. Mix everything together with a spoon until well combined - it will be a very sticky dough. Spread it out in the pan. Scoop chocolate spread on top of the dough and then use a spatula or spoon to swirl it into the dough. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips.

Put the cake into a cold oven and then turn the oven to 175 C. Bake for about 30 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting it!

Enjoy with coffee and please let me know if you try it out. I love to hear from you!

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Chocolate Cake (Vegan)

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My go-to cake lately is chocolate cake. And it's a super simple recipe. (And more often than not, one of my kids makes it.) And it always gets compliments. AND it's vegan!

So since several people asked about it, I'm posting it here. 

The thing about this recipe is it's deep chocolate flavor. REAL dutched cocoa is the secret. If possible, don't use any other kind. And certainly don't substitute with that weird powder Israelis call chocolate for baking. It will be all wrong, so just don't, ok? Thanks!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

This recipe makes 2 cakes - 9 inch round or 8 inch square both work. Actually, this week I made it in my 8.5 inch bread pans and it was extra moist and delicious!

3 cups flour (I used 80% whole spelt, but really any flour should work)
2/3 cups dutched cocoa powder (I get it in the shuk in Teverya, I'm sure you can find it other places too. If you live near me, you can join our group orders from the store that carries them! Be in touch!)
2 cups sugar
0.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking soda

MIX all the above together in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.

Add:
1/3 cup oil (I use sunflower oil, but use whatever you prefer)
1 cup cold coffee (plain, unsweetened, no milk, nothing whatsover added!)
1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

MIX everything together until well combined. Pour batter into lined or greased and floured pans.

Optional, but highly recommended: 1/2 bag or more of chocolate chips - sprinkled on top!

Bake at 190C for about 35 minutes (test with a toothpick before declaring them done). Cool before cutting.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

 

Pesach Brownies - Repost with updates

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but never at any additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

What is Pesach without brownies?

I first posted this recipe for Pesach 2020. We thought it was awesome then, but this year, I modified it and made it even more amazing!

I hope you like it as much as my family and extended family does!

Pesach Brownies 

(gluten free, non-gebrokts, pareve)

4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp pesach vanilla (optional)
1 3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup potato starch
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 bag of chocolate chips

Optional: chocolate frosting (I used the entire (small) jar of pareve chocolate spread)

Mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. In a second bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the wet mix. Mix well with a wooden spoon. If you want to use one bowl, you can, but you'll probably find this needs to be mixed with an electric mixer, rather than a wooden spoon.

Pour into a large pan (I used a lasagna size pan or even bigger. It worked perfectly in the largest baking pan from the new set I bought for this Pesach!), sprinkle chocolate chips all over the top of the batter, and bake at 180 C for about 25 min (160 C if using the convection setting). I've also baked these in my "Shabbat mode" oven on 140 C (the highest I can leave it on Shabbat mode. I know, that's very strange, but that is what it is) for about 35 or 40 minutes, and it was perfect. But not everyone leaves the baking for the chag, so if you're baking on a weekday, go ahead and bake it according to these directions.

Allow to cool before frosting. Cut. Serve.

YUM. Chocolate craving solved. And with the roller coaster ride we've been on here in Israel, I'm guessing I'm not the only one craving a chocolate fix.

Versatile Vegan Cake Recipe

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I love having simple cake recipes I can throw together in just a few minutes! Because let's face it - we're all really busy people who just want to bring yummy food to the table for our families, with minimal fuss and minimal stress, right?

This recipe is so simple, it can be mixed in the pan you're baking it in - just be sure to whisk it well! If you've been using disposable baking pans, I highly recommend this awesome set of 6 stainless steel baking pans (2 of each of 3 sizes)! They even ship (free to Israel (and other locations) with a $49 USD order. (I just bought them for Pesach for myself - for year round I had found a different deal, but this deal is so much better I just had to share!!) I'm trying really hard to use real pans instead of disposables, and lately, I have bought a LOT fewer disposable pans! Less waste and lower expense over the lifetime of a pan! Win-win, as long as I can handle washing a few more dishes. And yes, yes I CAN do that!

(Pictures here are from cakes I made before I bought new cake pans. Sorry)

Here's the cake recipe I've been making almost every week, and it is easy to adapt to different flavors (see notes at the end of the recipe).

My family is always happy to see this cake, as are my guests, and no one knows it only took a few minutes to make!

Vegan Vanilla Cake

1.5 cups flour (I use white spelt or whole spelt flour, but wheat flour should be fine)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vinegar

1.5 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup water

1/4 cup oil

If you want, you can mix this in a bowl and transfer it to a greased or lined pan, OR mix right in the baking pan according to these instructions: 

Use an 8" round cake pan/can also be square or rectangular - it works perfectly in the smallest of the pans in the set mentioned above. Mix together dry ingredients (with a fork) right in your baking pan. Push the dry ingredients toward the outer edges of the pan, pour the wet ingredients into the middle and mix gently but thoroughly (gently so you don't make a mess) - best to use a whisk but you can use a fork. Once it's all combined, smooth it out, add in whatever add-ins you want (use a spatula to gently fold them in) and you're ready to bake the cake!

Bake at 190 C for about 50-60 min.

Variations:

- Leave out vanilla and use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, and 1/4 tsp cloves for a Spice Cake

- Add 2 mashed bananas and 1 cup of chocolate chips for Banana-Chocolate Chip Cake

- Make a cinnamon streusel topping (I combine half a cup of flour with half a cup of sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 2 Tablespoons of sunflower oil) and swirl it into the batter for a Cinnamon Coffee Cake

- Swirl cherry jam into the batter for a Cherry Cake

- Add 1/3 cup of cocoa powder to the batter to make chocolate cake. Top with chocolate frosting if you're so inclined! I sometimes just break apart a bar of chocolate and leave it to melt on the still-warm cake, then spread it around with a silicone spatula. It makes a great chocolate "icing"/

I love making this cake because it checks all my boxes: 

EASY

INEXPENSIVE

ALLERGY FRIENDLY (no dairy, eggs, or nuts!)

IT DOUBLES EASILY to make a larger cake for a crowd (use a lasagna size pan, or the largest pan of the set I mentioned above!)

YUMMY

I hope you love this cake recipe as much as I do!

Please share this post with your super busy friends who still want to cook from scratch! I know it's counter-culture but there are people out there who like to cook from scratch and take shortcuts! I can't possibly be the only one!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Squares

I baked some cookies. I mean cookie bars. Chocolate chip squares. Whatever name you prefer.

The kind of thing you bake when you need cookies around the house but you don't have any intention of actually taking the time to shape cookies...

Do I need an excuse about why? I don't think I do! After all, we all have the same excuse. It's the middle of a global pandemic. I needed cheering up. There were no snacks on hand.

See, I have plenty of excuses!

Anyhow I just wanted to share some virtual cookies with all of you!

Enjoy!

These are vegan.

Recipe:

2 T. chia seed, soaked in 2/3 cup water

1/2 cup oil

1.5 cups demarrara sugar (what I had on hand, use the sugar you prefer)

splash of vanilla extract

2 cups white spelt flour

dash of salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 bag mini chocolate chips

I mixed it all together in a big bowl, chocolate chips at the end, and spread it out on a large cookie sheet.

Baked at 180 C for about 20 minutes, it could have been a bit more. 

I'm really not a scientist, sorry.

Cut into squares, and eat them... probably best to share them with your family! 

(Great with coffee!)

Catch ya later!

Recipe: Pesach Brownies (GF, Pareve)

What is Pesach without brownies?
I mean, this year we are all home in our houses, no guests, and feeling a little out of sorts... It's a very different experience that Pesachs past. (I'm sure one day we'll tell our grandkids about the Pandemic Pesach of 2020, right?) So we needed something to jazz up our day - and I decided it would be a new brownie recipe!

I know that we are the lucky ones, we're not alone - there are six of us living in this house. So there's always someone to talk to when you don't want to feel alone. On the other hand, there's also always someone right there - even when you need some space! I'm sure you understand.

Anyway, brownies have always been a favorite in this house, so for the chag, we had brownies for dessert to help make sure everyone was feeling the holiday cheer! And they were a hit, so I'm sharing the latest variation with you.

Pesach Brownies (gluten free, non-gebrokts, pareve)

4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp pesach vanilla (optional)
1 3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup potato starch
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Optional: chocolate frosting (I used part of a jar of pareve chocolate spread) or chocolate chips to mix in to the batter

Mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. In a second bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the wet mix. Mix well with a wooden spoon. If you want to use one bowl, you can, but you'll probably find this needs to be mixed with an electric mixer, rather than a wooden spoon. (Optional: mix in 1/2 package of chocolate chips)

Pour into a large pan (I used a lasagna size pan), and bake at 180 C for about 25 min. I actually baked these in my "Shabbat mode" oven on 140 C (the highest I can leave it on Shabbat mode. I know, that's very strange, but that is what it is) for about 35 or 40 minutes, and it was perfect. But not everyone leaves the baking for the chag, so if you're baking on a weekday, go ahead and bake it at 180 C for 25 min!

Allow to cool before frosting.

Cut. Serve.

YUM. Chocolate craving solved.

Hope you are managing this Pesach, and please know that you're not alone, we're really all in this together. Hang in there!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Bar Cookies with Chocolate (Recipe)

Cookies.

When you're more or less living in lockdown (as we're all doing right now due to the pandemic), sometimes you just need some cookies!

And personally, I can't get enough of these peanut butter and chocolate creations - and the recipe is super simple so ... well, let's just say I've been making them a little too often!

So, for those of you who've been asking as well as those of you who didn't know to ask, here is the recipe:

Peanut Butter Bar Cookies with Chocolate Topping

Cookie bars:
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup Demerara sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir everything together with a wooden spoon until well combined. Spread out in a large pan (9x13 or so). It will be relatively thin and that's all good.
Bake at 180 C for 20-22 minutes. Turn off oven.

Topping:
1 bar bittersweet chocolate. If you want it extra chocolate-y, use 2 bars. You could totally do this with milk chocolate if you prefer, but I like to keep my baking pareve (dairy allergy!)!

Break the bar up and put it on top of the baked cookie layer (uncut). Return the pan to your still-warm (but off) oven. Leave it in the warm oven for about 8-10 min. Remove from oven when the chocolate is warm and spreadable. Use a silicone spatula to spread the chocolate evenly on top of the cookie layer. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into cookie bars.

Cool further before you eat them.

Enjoy!

Please tag me on Instagram (@kosher_frugal) or FB (@kosherfrugalmenus) if you make them!

Breakfast Deal: Cafe Gourmand (Jerusalem)

(This post contains affiliate links, and I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking a link. Thanks in advance for your support!)  

Check out this Groo deal if you're in Jerusalem or visiting Jerusalem!

Cafe Gourmand (at the Shani Hotel) breakfast vouchers - starting at 19 nis for a dessert-style breakfast, or 35 nis for one (65 for 2) for a full breakfast off the menu. Voucher valid thru January 30, 2019. Redeem Sun - Thurs, 8am - 2:30pm, and Fri, 8-11am (dessert breakfast ends at 1:30pm Sun- Thurs). Reservations required.

Groo deals often sell out quickly, so be sure to order before the deal ends!

Cinnamon Cake (pareve, vegan option)

This is my new go-to cake. I make it wheat-free (using spelt flour) and nut-free.

Makes one 9 x 13 inch baking pan, or 2-3 loaf pans

2 eggs (or 4 tablespoons flaxseed mixed with 1/2 cup hot water, allowed to cool for 10 min)
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup water + 1 tsp vinegar (I made it with water and vinegar)
3  cups flour (I used whole spelt, you can make it with whole wheat or white wheat, or a mix too)
pinch of salt
3 tsp baking powder

Topping (option 1): 150g walnuts, crushed coarsley
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
 OR
Topping (option 2): 
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon oil
mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, sugar, and water-vinegar mixture. Combine flour with salt and baking powder. Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Mix well to combine (this is best done with a mixer or a whisk).
Pour HALF the batter into 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
 
Mix topping together, and sprinkle half over batter. Cover with remaining batter. Cover the top of cake with remaining topping mixture.
Bake for about 1 hour at 175 C (check with toothpick to make sure it's done)
Allow to cool before cutting.
Enjoy!

Vegan Apple Cake!

   
Have lots off apples? Apples are finally coming back into season and we found ourselves with a whole lot of them.
 
I made a cake for a community event using some of the granny smiths, and several people asked if the recipe was up on the blog.

Well, it WASN'T, but now it is!

Vegan Apple Cake

Ingredients:
 
2 T. ground flaxseed + 1/4 cup boiling water (or 1 egg if you don't need it to be vegan)
1/4 cup oil
1 c. soy milk or orange juice or water + 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2  c. flour (I used whole spelt flour. wheat flour - white or whole - works fine)
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 granny smith apples, cored and diced (peeling optional)

Directions:

Mix 2 T. ground flasxeed with the boiling water, allow to cool for 10 min.
Add oil, sugar, cinnamon, and your choice of liquid. mix well.
Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well - you'll need a mixer or a whisk.
Fold in apples.
Fill 2 loaf pans and bake at 180 C (about 350 F) for about 50 min. Check with a toothpick to be sure it's done.

Allow to cool before cutting.

It was a big hit in my house! Please be sure to tell me what you think if you try it!

(Sorry no pics - will try to get one up here next time!)

Apple Crisp (vegan, pareve, wheat-free)

Apple crisp is a favorite of ours! At times, we serve it as dessert, and at times, as a decadent Shabbat side dish.

Here's what I do:


 8-10 apples, chopped coarsely (I don't bother to peel them, but you are welcome to if you prefer that!)

2/3 cup flour - I use oat flour or rice flour

1/3 cup sugar

4-6 tablespoons oil (you can use the amount you want, it's really flexible

ground cinnamon

Place chopped apples in a baking pan (I use a large lasagna size pan), and sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Combine flour, sugar, and oil in a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Spread the flour mixture over the top of the apples.

Bake, uncovered, at 180C for about 45 min.

Enjoy! (It goes really well with vanilla ice cream, dairy or non-dairy!)

Pesach Banana Cake (pareve, non-gebrokts)

This year, I gave up eating wheat when I realized I was having a mild allergic reaction to it. So while I'll still bake my kids their favorite Pesach treats (like mandel bread and pesach rolls), I needed to come up with something I could snack on too!
{So I stood in my kitchen and spotted a bunch of ripe bananas}
And I decided to try to change up my banana cake recipe!
Here's what happened:






4 large bananas, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1.5 cups ground coconut
1.5 cups potato starch
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking powder

Mix bananas, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract, if using and make sure they are combined well
Add dry ingredients. Mix well.
Divide batter between 2 loaf pans and bake at 185 C (about 370 F) for 45 minutes or until done.

This was so easy and really came out delish. It's perfect and I'm going to make it all year long!

Dessert When I've Run out of Time!

Sometimes, especially on short Fridays, I discover it's 20 minutes till Shabbat and I haven't made dessert!

Ok, it's not the end of the world, there's always fruit.

BUT if I can make the whole family happy and pull something together very quickly, why not?

Here's what I need to do this:

2 bars of chocolate
1/2 cup peanut butter (optional)
1.5 cups crisp rice cereal (like rice krispies or B&D pitzputzei orez)
sea salt (optional)

First, melt 2 bars of chocolate (I use  double boiler but you can carefully use a microwave, if you prefer).
Then mix in 1/2 peanut butter. Stir with a wooden spoon till smooth. 
Add in 1.5 cups crispy rice cereal . Mix, then spread out in a large pan. 
Sprinkle sea salt over the top if you like. cool (in fridge or freezer) then cut into squares.

THAT'S IT! You're done, and dessert took no time at all!
My family is always happy with this simple treat!

(You can use crushed pretzel or corn flakes instead of the rice cereal, or combined with the rice cereal for an interesting and delicious twist!)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Squares (Gluten free, as well)

It's been a few months since I decided to go wheat-free as an experiment. And I finally decided that if I was going to make dessert, it should be something I can eat, too.
This may not have been my best decision - it is so much easier for me to exercise willpower when something is COMPLETELY off limits. But when it's allowed in small quantities? Uh oh.

But I did it. I made nut-free, pareve, wheat-free chocolate chip squares.
And they are pretty good, if I say so myself, and even got Michael's approval... So I'll share the recipe with you! (and since it's nut-free, unlike many wheat-free baked goods, it's pretty frugal!) (Oh, and all you need is a bowl and a wooden spoon to mix these, no fancy mixer required, because some days I am just too lazy to pull out the KitchenAid!)

Vegan, Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Squares

4 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 cup warm-to-hot water
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar (I used raw cane sugar)
1 cup potato starch
1 cup chick pea flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
chocolate chips, as many as you like - I used 1/2 a bag

First, mix the ground flaxseed with the water and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Then add oil, vanilla extract, and sugars. Mix well. Add remaining dry ingredients (except chocolate chips), and mix well with a spoon. Fold in chocolate chips. 
Transfer to 9X13 inch baking pan (you can use a bigger pan and make thinner squares - totally up to you!) and bake at 175 C for about 25 min. Make sure it's done (you want the pan to be fully set - no jiggly middles - when you take it out) before you remove it from the oven! BUT if you underbake it, you're ok. There are no raw eggs to worry about!

Enjoy your "shehakol" chocolate chip squares! (Perfect for sukkot outings where there's no guarantee you'll have a kosher sukkah!) 

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Vegan "Ice Cream"! (free of gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, and added oils!)

I miss ice cream. It's probably the hardest thing to give up when you give up dairy, at least for me. Especially when it's been such a LONG, HOT summer and everyone around me seems to always be finding their way to a scoop (or two) of ice cream!

So this week, someone suggested that we bring vanilla ice cream to a local get-together, as it would go well with all the apple-themed desserts that we're having there. And I did NOT want to be left out again, so I volunteered to create some vegan, nut free "ice cream" to share. And then I wondered if I was crazy to commit to this endeavor!

Yeah.
Well. What happened was this:

Non-Dairy Vanilla Bean Frozen Dessert
1 cup chick pea cooking liquid (reduced)*-see note below
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
2-3 vanilla beans

First, I put the chick pea liquid and cream of tartar in my mixing bowl, and set it to whip for a good 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime I put the sugar and vanilla beans into my coffee grinder and ground them up well.

Once the chick pea liquid had magically transformed, I added the sugar-vanilla bean mixture and whipped it some more. When it was all incorporated and seemed like it was as stiff as it was going to get, I scooped it out into a container, covered it, and dug out a spot for it in the freezer!


*Note: If you are using the cooking liquid from home-cooked chick peas, you will need to remove all the chick peas from the pot, bring the liquid back to a boil, and then simmer for about 1/2 an hour. You will see it "reduce" in volume by about 1/3. It should be about the right consistency at that point. Apparently, the liquid from canned chick peas is often already the right consistency. Done!

Now I just need it to freeze!

And it turns out it is not only dairy free and nut free, it's also gluten free, soy free and free of any added oils!

(I did taste it before putting it in the freezer, it was light and fluffy and very promising as a non-dairy frozen dessert!)

Have you ever tried out this new "aquafaba" technique? I'd love to hear about your creations with this amazing liquid we all just used to spill down the sink! (Making this creation "super frugal", as well!)

Cinnamon & Nut Coffee Cake

Ok, you know who you are.
YOU asked for this recipe.

I thought I'd posted it before but I cannot find it on my blog, so I guess I hadn't.

So here it is!
(This is the cake that FLEW at the kiddush, by the way, and also the one that got people to ask me if they could order cakes for Shabbat from me.)
I have no pictures because it was so crazy here and I forgot to take a picture before Shabbat!

Makes one 9 x 13 inch baking pan, or 2-3 loaf pans

2 eggs (or 4 tablespoons flaxseed mixed with 1/2 cup hot water, allowed to cool for 10 min)
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk OR water + 1 tsp vinegar (I made it with water and vinegar)
3 1/3 cups flour (I mixed white and whole wheat)
pinch of salt
3 tsp baking powder


150g walnuts, crushed coarsley
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, sugar, and milk/water-vinegar mixture. Combine flour with salt and baking powder. Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Mix well to combine.

Pour half the batter into 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Sprinkle half the nut/cinnamon/sugar mixture over batter. Cover with remaining batter. Cover the top of cake with remaining nut/cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake for about 1 hour at 175 C (check with toothpick to make sure it's done)

Allow to cool before cutting.

Enjoy!

Pesach recipe round-up

So far, I have not cooked anything for Pesach.

I have not experimented at all to make up any new recipes for pesach, though I DO plan to. Just right now we are really eating chametz, chametz, and more chametz! (yes, we have too much flour in the freezer, didn't I mention that earlier?)

But I am sure some of you are more organized, and are busy prepping your menus, writing your shopping lists, trying to calculate just how much potato starch to buy this year, or trays of eggs...

So here are some of my favorite Pesach recipes!

Mandel Bread

Pesach Rolls

Carrot Muffins

Cashew Butter

Brownies

Banana Cake

Potato Kugel

(Oops, they are mostly dessert. Um, well, what can I say?)

There will be more coming. Just give me at least another week.

Fudgey Chocolate Chip Cake

I've been doing eggless baking for a while now, and I'm pretty sure it's a good way to go. While there may be room in our diets for eggs (please don't slam me, vegans!), I have come to believe that the average family relies on eggs a lot more than necessary.

I am going to encourage everyone to consider baking more eggless baked goods. It is so easy to do, and most people have no idea that they are eating anything "different" when they eat my baked goods. They are usually surprised to discover that I've left out the eggs!

bulk whole flaxseeds

ground flaxseed

I encourage you to... get to know your flaxseeds. They are awesome. Flaxseeds make an incredible binder for all of your favorite baked goods. And they work out cheaper than eggs, as long as you find an inexpensive place to buy them. The best price I've found in Israel is at the Nizat HaDuvdevan chain, where they sell flaxseed for about 7 shekel/kg (give or take, I don't remember exactly at the moment!). I grind them right before use, in my coffee grinder.


Today I threw together a chocolate chocolate chip cake for our Shabbat dessert. It was pretty easy, and it's so satisfyingly chocolatey!

Fudgey Chocolate Chip Cake

4 T. ground flaxseed
1/4 cup boiling water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup lukewarm coffee (not too strong)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 bag chocolate chips

Note: if you are using commercial vanilla extract, it isn't as strong as the homemade kind. so you may want to use more.

First combine flaxseed with boiling water, stir, then allow to cool for 10 min. Add everything else, and mix well (super easy if you have a mixer). Pour into a cake pan and bake at 190 C for about 35 min.
The pan in the picture is 8" X 12" (approx). And yes, it is disposable, because I don't have any good cake pans at the moment. So if anyone wants to surprise your favorite blogger with something - I need stainless steel baking pans! 

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

chocolate chocolate chip cake before it went into the oven

Pesach Mandel Bread

Pesach Mandel Bread

3 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
4 T. oil
1 c. cake meal (finely ground matzah meal)
1/2 c. ground nuts (I used walnuts, as that's what I have in the house)
2/3 c. shredded coconut
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 bag chocolate chips (or other embellishment of your choice - nuts, etc)

Mix eggs, sugar and oil together. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips and combine. Refrigerate dough for 15 min or so (I've skipped this step). Divide into 3 parts, and form each part into a "log". Place on an oiled baking sheet (or lined with parchment paper). (Leave room between the logs, they should expand somewhat when baking). Bake for 20-30 min. at 350 F (about 175 C). Remove from oven, and cut each log into pieces. Then - spread the pieces out on the pan and bake for another 10 min.
Super yum. Amazing with coffee. 

Enjoy!