Egg-free Honey Cake for a Crowd!

I decided to try out baking a large batch of honey cake, as I was taking one to an event and then another to another event the next day.

It worked out really well, even though some people say making large batches of cake isn't the best idea.

WARNING: this cake is not exactly healthy, and not exactly frugal either. But it certainly is festive and appropriate for the season, so I figured I'd share!


 


Honey Cake for a Crowd, Egg-free
makes 2 9"X12" pans

4 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1.5 cups hot water
1/2 cup oil (I used this palm oil, but you can use any oil you like - neutral flavors work best)
2 cups honey
2 cups demerara sugar, or other dark sugar
1.5 cups warm (not hot) coffee (can be decaf!)
2 tablespoons orange juice
4 cups whole wheat flour (this recipe works fine with white flour, I just don't keep any in the house and I like to pretend my cakes are healthy)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
dash of ground nutmeg
dash of ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Note: if you are mixing this by hand, you'll need two bowls. If you are using a mixer, one bowl is fine!

Mix together flaxseed and hot water and oil, and let sit for 10 minutes
Add the other liquid ingredients to the flaxseed mixture.
If using two bowls, combine all the dry ingredients in the second bowl, and make a well in the center.
Slowly add liquids to the dry ingredients, and mix very well to combine.
Pour into two 9"X12" baking pans
Bake at 180C for 1 hr, 15 min.
Allow to cool completely before covering tightly, it is best served the next day. 


Wishing you all a Gmar Chatimah Tovah!

Sweet Whole Wheat or Spelt and Oat Bran Challah Recipe -With Vegan Option

I change up my challah recipe sometimes, and my kids have definitely expressed a preference for the times when I make them *sweet*. No real surprise there, though!

So lately, I've been making this version. It's been a hit with my family. If you make it, I'd love to hear your feedback!



Sweet Whole Wheat or Spelt and Oat Bran Challah

8 cups whole wheat flour (or whole spelt flour)
1 cup oat bran
2/3 cup ground flaxseed
1 T. salt
1/2 cup sugar

3 cups of lukewarm water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp dry yeast

1/2 cup honey or vegan honey (optional)
1/2 cup oil + a little more for oiling the bowl

Directions:
1. Mix 1 tsp sugar with the water. Add the yeast. Allow to proof for about 10 min

2. Mix together dry ingredients (flour, oat bran, flaxseed, salt, sugar)

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add liquid ingredients. Mix well. Then knead. 

4. coat the dough with oil and flip over a couple of times, so the bottom and sides get oiled too. cover with a tea towel to rise till doubled. On warm days, this can be about 1 hour, on cold days it can take a lot longer!

5. Punch down. Shape your challot. Cover with a tea towel to rise for about 1/2 an hour. (I usually make 3 challot out of this size batch, so I often double it!)

6. Optional: glaze your challot. I never bother, especially since I've basically gone vegan for baking! Bake for about 30-40 min at 350 F (175-180C)

Allow to cool before you devour them. For some reason, these cut much better when they've cooled properly.

Enjoy!

Simple Cake (that's not chocolate)

It started with a jar of cherry preserves. They had been sitting around for a while. My daughter found the jar and asked if she could open it for a sandwich one day, and I told her, "no, I'm planning to use that for a cake I'm going to bake." That was six months ago. Every so often, she has asked, "Eema, when are you going to make that cake with the cherry jelly?" Of course, I kept telling her, "soon," and for some reason, never did.

So, as her birthday approached, my daughter asked if I would make the cherry jelly cake for her birthday. "Of course!" - it was a great idea, since I didn't want to make the same ol' chocolate cake. BUT my husband always claims not to like cakes with fruit in them.

I wanted it to be a cake EVEN my husband would eat, and I succeeded! I know this, because apparently he came downstairs at 3 a.m. and ate a piece of cake...

Here's my recipe:

2 T. ground flaxseed + 1/4 cup boiling water (or 1 egg)
1/4 cup oil
1/2 c. milk or milk substitute (I used soy milk)
1 1/2 c. flour (I used white flour this time. gasp!)
1/4 c. ground flaxseed (optional)
2/3 c. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 jar of cherry preserves or your favorite no-sugar added fruit preserves

Topping:
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts or ground flaxseed (I used flaxseed, because it was handy)
1-2 T. oil

Directions:
Mix 2 T. ground flasxeed with the boiling water, allow to cool for 10 min.
Add oil, and milk. mix well.
Add flour, ground flaxseed, sugar, baking powder, salt. Mix well.
Spread about half the batter (it will be thick) in a lined round cake pan. spread 1/2 jar of cherry preserves over this. Spread the remaining batter on top.
Mix together the topping, and cover the whole top of the cake.
Bake at 180 C (about 350 F) for 30 - 35 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!

Flaxseed crazy

Shabbat is almost here and I was planning my menu, when it hit me that I *may* actually run out of flaxseed before Pesach.

You see, I have been using flaxseed in everything - bagels, bread, muffins, cakes, pancakes, even the sticky rice that I served tonight. I figured it can't hurt, it can only help us stay healthy, right?

So I was planning my Shabbat menu -

Homemade Challot (I already made them today, 100% whole wheat, with ground flaxseed)

Vegetable Soup (probably won't put flaxseed in that!)

Vegetarian Cholent (yes, I remembered to set the beans and barley soaking already. Wondering if I could sneak some flaxseed into the cholent? No one will notice if I do, will they?)

Potato Kugel (and I will add a little flaxseed, no one will notice since lately I've been making this without peeling the potatoes, and no complaints! I think it all depends on the potato. The potatoes I get here are very thin skinned, not like the Russet potatoes I used to buy in the old country.)

Carrot Kugel (I've long since replaced the eggs in my carrot kugel recipe with ground flaxseed + boiling water)

Chicken - in teriyaki/ginger/honey sauce (probably no flaxseed in that mixture, what do you think?)

Sliced, fresh vegetables. Running a little low, but I think I have cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots still

I think I have a chocolate cake in the freezer (yes, I made it with my flaxseed + boiling water method)

So what do you think, have I gone flaxseed crazy? Is there any reason not to? (I started using flaxseed as an egg replacer when I felt like we were going through too many eggs for my comfort. It eased my conscience, puts less of a strain on my budget, and is healthy!)
Do you add flaxseed to your food?

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Sandwich Bread (with flaxseed)

I am not good at following recipes - have you noticed? I look at most recipes as "suggestions" and I never follow them. I'm not always in the mood to dirty my measuring spoons and cups, or sometimes I'm out of an ingredient (or never had it in my house EVER) and sometimes a recipe looks interesting but is too complicated... you get the point.

So I was inspired by a recipe I noticed on King Arthur Flour to try making my own whole wheat oatmeal sandwich bread (that was our favorite bread from Whole Foods, back in the old days when we could get Whole Foods breads - some areas are kosher).

So here's what I did (recipe updated somewhat November 2016)

1/2 c. ground flaxseed
3 c. oat flour (I actually ground up whole oats in my coffee grinder...)
12 c. whole wheat flour or whole spelt flour
1/3 c. vital wheat gluten(optional)
1 T. salt

combine these in an extra large bowl (an old friend recommended using a dishpan instead of a bowl when making large batches or bread, and that's what I do! It's the perfect size.), make a well in the center, and add:

2 Tablespoons instant yeast
4 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup oil (I used grapeseed, that's what was in my kitchen today, King Arthur Flour recommends safflower oil, but I've already changed the recipe so much...)
1/4 cup honey or sugar

Mix well and add water or flour as needed (flour from different places/different seasons/different varieties absorbs different amounts of water. be flexible when baking bread!).

Knead for at least 10 min. then lightly coat with oil and cover with a damp towel, set it in a warm spot to rise (my kitchen is cold, so I boil a shallow pot of water and set it on the counter. Then set the bowl on top of it to rise in a nice warm, humid spot.).

That's my dough, nicely risen - more than doubled in bulk - in a dishpan.

Yes, I have a dedicated bread baking dishpan...

After it has doubled in bulk (2 hours or so), punch down, take challah, shape your loaves as desired (I make some in loaf pans, and generally use this quantity of dough to make 4 loaves. These would also work as pull-apart rolls, though), and set it in a warm spot to rise again (same trick as before with the pot). Let it rise about 30-40 min more, then bake at 350 F for about 40 min.

Enjoy!

This post was shared with the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop on Jan. 10, 2012