Korvapuusti

Autumn always puts me in a romantic mood.

Although no tree turns glorious golden brown here and the closest encounter I have to anything maple is my plastic maple leaf shaped cookie cutter and maple syrup, September, October, November, and December are indeed my favorite months. The food, the fashion, the equinox, the bittersweet feeling of knowing winter is coming.. Hmm, now I start to sound like The Starks of Winterfell..  My point is, I love autumn.

Speaking about autumnal food, I have several pumpkin recipes I’d like to try soon. But that should wait because I’ll have final tests early next month. Not that I dread having them, it’s just that the amount of pages I have yet to read is quite overwhelming. The problem is; I need a break from studying. Those Sons of Anarchy DVDs aren’t gonna play themselves. So I gave myself a week off from studying. I’m happy to report that I read all three books from The Infernal Devices Trilogy, nothing like a light romance steam punk style to refresh the mind, watched the Sons of Anarchy episodes that I haven’t had a chance to watch, and made Korvapuusti this afternoon.

Korvapuusti is the Finnish take on cinnamon rolls. That somehow translates as a clip or slap on the ear. What makes it so darn gorgeous is that cardamom plays the lead role. Have I got your attention? Cardamom is one of the spices that just by grinding them using mortar and pestle, the smell will calm your nerves and in this point in life I’d take anything to calm my nerves, natural of course.

The recipe is adapted from Scandifoodie. As usual, I incorporate wheat bran in the dough for the fiber.

Ingredients:

For the dough

250 ml milk

60 gr butter

2 tsp yeast

60 gr sugar

1/2 teaspoons salt 

1-2 tbs freshly ground cardamom**

300 gr all purpose flour

125 gr whole wheat flour*

35 gr wheat bran*

1 egg 

More all purpose flour, if needed

For the filling

50 gr butter

1/2 cup sugar or light brown sugar

1/2-1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the topping

1 egg for brushing

Sugar

*Note: If you don't have it, substitute it with all purpose flour

**Green cardamoms has stronger scent than the white ones

Directions:

-Warm the milk just until the butter dissolves.

-Mix all the dry ingredients together.

-Pour the warm milk-butter mixture in the dry ingredients and stir.

-Put in the egg.

-Transfer your dough onto your work surface and begin kneading. Incorporate more flour if your dough is too wet.

-When your dough is already cohesive, transfer it to an oiled bowl and proof until it doubles in size.

-Oil your work surface so it's going to be easier for the dough to be rolled.

-Roll your proofed dough into a 1 cm thick rectangle.

-Spread the butter-sugar-cinnamon filling and roll it like a roll cake.

-Seal the edges nicely.

-Cut into 10 pieces

-Now to make the authentic Korvapuusti style, or you can skip it altogether:

Use a slim spoon handle, finger, or just about anything to make a straight indentation in the middle.

-Let them proof for another 30 minutes covered with clingfilm.

-Brush with egg and sprinkle with more sugar

-Bake in the preheated oven, 225C for 12 minutes

Wow!

My house smells deeevine! My love affair with cardamom in sweet baked goods started when I first made Orange-Cardamom Danish Braid. Eversince that time, I have always been looking for recipes that incorporate cardamom in dessert. 

Apparently, Scandinavians love cardamom so much. Well, that's an important note for me if I wanna date Loki.. Gawd, Im so oot :D 

Anyhow, feel free to add more sugar in the filling if you think it's not sweet enough. Korvapuusti freezes very well. Just put it in an air tight box, pop it in the microwave for a quick breakfast or afternoon treat or just like.. whenever.

I hope you'll try this  beautiful and easy recipe and I sure will post something amazing with pumpkin to celebrate the season, soon.

Cheers,

Amy

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Vegan, Paleo, Gluten-Free ChoCoconut Tart

Whoa..

Quite a mouthful of title isn't it?

Today I decided to make something fancy that anyone can eat. After all, it is my birthday and birthday equals indulgence. I actually did not plan to make anything because I already planned a night out with my friends. But alas, something came up. My brother and sister in law have to go out of town and then I end up with 3 kiddos.

No complaints here, they're adorable and being the only child, Amiko always love to play with her cousins. The problem is, one of her cousin has a severe dairy, egg, and gluten allergy. A bit of of those would give the poor child red rashes and unbearable itchiness all over his body. So, no eggs, no dairy, no gluten, hmm.. Almonds to the rescue.

This recipe is adapted from Bakerita.com

Ingredients:

For the crust

190 gr blanched or sliced almonds

40 gr dried unsweetened coconut

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbs coconut oil

2 tbs maple syrup

For the ganache

220 ml boxed coconut milk, I use Kara

250 gr good quality dark chocolate, chopped

1 tsp vanilla essence

For the topping

1/4 of whole coconut, peeled

Directions:

-Simply put the almonds, coconut, and salt in your blender and blend into a fine meal.

-Mix the meal with coconut oil and maple syrup to form a dough.

-Transfer the dough into a greased 9 inch removable bottom pan and bake for 20 minutes on 175C. Cool completely.

-Meanwhile, using a vegetable peeler, just peel the coconut from the side so you will get coconut ribbons. Bake them together with the crust though it will take longer for them to brown and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container.

-To make the ganache, simply boil the coconut milk then pour over your chopped chocolate to melt it then add the vanilla essence.

-Pour the ganache in the crust and refrigerate until it sets.

-Once it sets, top it with your crispy coconut ribbons.

DELISH!

I honestly believe that food has gotta be made to please us but at the same time we should honor our body by eating food that nourish our body. This tart is the perfect example of love on a plate.

I cannot get a pic of the sliced ones because once I cut it, there's no stopping everyone from eating it. An important note though, Each brand of coconut milk has different thickness. So since Kara is the brand of boxed coconut milk that most of my friends use, and I think the most delicious one, using the original recipe gives me rather thin ganache and it didn't set as fast as I hoped. Though the tart was still absolutely yummo. So I guess a bit of experimenting by making the ganache would be better. Just put the ganache in the cup and you have beautiful midnight snack, right?

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Cheers,

Amy

Submitting this recipe to NCC Chocolate Week

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