Wholewheat Fig Pie with Almonds and Poppy Seeds

Autumn is almost gone and I just realized how quickly the time passes by...Only couple of weeks ago I was enjoying visiting my parents and here we are in November: Christmas markets are already being built all over Hamburg.... Nice times with hot wine and baked chestnuts have come. And as my oven was not working properly for some time you can imagine how happy I am now with the new one. Finally baking!!!! This time I wanted to bake something appropriate as a TO-GO Breakfast as well because it is getting harder and harder to wake up in the morning earlier in order to prepare it.  And I knew where to look for such recipe. "Super Food" can help. You probably remember how happy I was cooking this healthy breakfast by Jamie Oliver or baking a wonderful banana bread. For the latter I did not have figs and almonds that time so I chose dates and walnuts. But this time I tried to follow the recipe. I did my best. Although no the Best Best :) Well, you know me :) 

Ingredients:

yields 1 round loaf of bread 24 cm in diameter or heart shaped in my case :)

adopted from Everyday Super Food by J.Oliver

250 g dried figs

100 g wholemeal spelt flour

50 g wholemeal buckwheat flour

4 tbsp grape seed oil

5 tbsp Bulgaria yogurt

2 tbsp sesame

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas

1/3 tsp vanilla paste

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

100 g ground poppy seeds

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 apple

50 g whole almonds

For the recipe scroll down....... 

When I prepare my breakfast I find it very important to balance energy and protein intake reducing sugar as much as possible. At least not to pack my breakfast with added sugar. Fruits and healthy fats in moderation are welcomed. Hence this recipe took my attention: no added sugar, wholewheat flour, protein from nuts and poppy seeds, healthy fats and natural sweetness. Therefore it serves a perfect snack to-go, breakfast or dessert. I personally had a wonderful breakfast today.... Yummy!!!

First of all preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line a 24 cm round ovenproof form with baking paper.Or just simply take a silicon form if you have one. Wash the figs and place 200g of them in a food processor together with eggs, peeled bananas, oil, yogurt and vanilla seeds. Blitz until smooth. Then add both flour types with baking powder, ground poppy seeds and turmeric. Pulse until combined with the rest of the dough.

Grate the apple and mix it in. Pour the mixture into the form and spread evenly. Cut the remaining figs into pieces and decorate the bread with them, pushing them a bit. Then place whole almonds all over the top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden, cooked through and as inserted skewer comes out clean. Let it cool a little.

And here you go. It can be served with clotted cream (as my husband prefers) or peanut butter / yogurt or just eaten as it is because the texture it moisture and smooth with pieces of crispy fig parts.

Gluten Free Ricotta Cake

Why are Fridays always that good?! I get up easily, go to work with a light feeling knowing that after it I am free like a butterfly: can stay awake longer without any need of getting up early the next day, can go meet my friends and not hurry up home to cook/bake/make my homework for the German classes, can just sit the whole evening reading doing NOTHING ;) Those are the moments worth to wait for from Monday through Thursday. And although my work is a lot of fun, I sometimes really need a rest. Just some time for myself, with no rush and time pressure. And for all this I love weekends. And moreover I adore days off for having more time to bake/cook something really special. Just like the recipe today. 

This is a gluten free cake with ricotta and polenta. Worth to try, I promise! A bit moist inside, yet nutty and redolent with a slight sourness.

Ingredients:
yields 18-20 cm cake

2 middle ripe bananas
50 g butter
160 g corn flour (polenta)
100 g honey or rice syrup
3 tbsp lemon zest
4 eggs
100 g almond flour
250 g ricotta
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a 18 cm round ovenproof form with baking paper. It may be also a 20 cm form.

As you know from my other posts you may reach additional pleasant sweetness in the pie by replacing sugar with banana. And this is exactly the case. In a food processor blend bananas, add butter, 50 g honey, lemon zest, vanilla. Then pour the egg yolks and mix well. Now it is turn of the main ingredients. Fold the batter adding almond meal, polenta and ricotta. 

Meanwhile beat the egg whites for about 1 minute. Portion by portion add honey and do not stop whisking until shiny glossy meringue. Honey may be replaced by rice syrup if you prefer. I did not have it this time.

Pour the batter into your form and bake for about 40-50 minutes  or until golden, cooked through and as inserted skewer comes out clean. Let it cool a little. My decoration was pretty simple - sugar dust and pecan nuts.

Enjoy your weekend and save some time for yourself ;)

Pear and almond tart: Sugarfree recipe

Hurra! I am happy to finalise 8-week Detox "I quit sugar" and give you my feedback. I have to say that it is quite challenging to follow this programme in the cold time of the year because our bodies are willing to gain weight before winter and our hands are unwittingly reaching out for another piece of chocolate.

Therefore I started the first week very smoothly. I still ate some fruit, excluded only the sweetest: bananas and grapes. No added sugar was not a problem for me. I anyway don't add sugar into my coffee or tea, can live without sweets and creamy cakes. What was really hard for me was to exclude dried and fresh fruit. But I managed at least to reduce them. So everything is manageable. Believe me! If I was really starving for something sweet one apple served a good source of needed energy. Or a little piece of dark chocolate (80% cocoa and higher) rescued me. During this period I educated my attitude to sugar. I really think twice before I now eat another piece of chocolate or sweet. I ask myself: "Do I really want it?" And the answer in most of the cases is: "No!". I am not sugar-addicted and my body can live happily without it. Or let's say - with reduced amount of it. I am not pretending to follow a sugar free nutrition plan. This is not my intention. The only thing I want you to understand is that our possibilities are unlimited. And we can always try something new. But we have to stay reasonable. To avoid added sugar is definitely possible and you can see that from my recipes. One of it I want to share with you today. I baked it some time ago and finally it's time!!!

As a celebration of my sugar free consciousness I present you healthy variation of pear and almond tart.

Ingredients:
(for 24-26 cm baking form)
Crust *

Filling
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1⁄2 cups raw unblanched whole almonds, finely ground
2⁄3 cup rice syrup
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1⁄4 tsp. salt
3  pears, peeled, quartered and cored
date syrup

*To prepare the crust please use my tart crust recipe for Pumpkin pie.

Prepare your crust: in a large bowl combine both types of flour with salt; using pastry blender kitchen processor, cut in butter, yogurt and banana. Pour in cold water and mix well until dough starts to hold together. Use the dough immediately, or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Take the dough out of the fridge. Oil your baking form (mine was 26 cm in diameter) and place a thin layer of the crust into the form trying to make nice edges.

Bake the crust for 15 minutes.

While the crust is baking prepare your filling

In a saucepan melt the butter. Let it cool down. In a bowl mix ground almonds, rice syrup, eggs, vanilla extract and melted butter. Spread evenly in the tart shell. Slice each pear half crosswise into slices about 2-3 mm thick, keeping each one together. Put each half core side down and stem end toward the centre in the pan. Flatten the pieces and press the slices into the filling.

Bake the tart until the filling is firm to the touch in the centre and slightly golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Pour date syrup over the tart slice and enjoy your sweet treat ;)