Reena Spicehandler's Apple Dapple Cake

This super rich cake is from the 60s. 

They were devoured! Even by Shula - who doesn't especially like cake but LOVED the frosting.

1 1/2 c. oil
2 c.white sugar
3 eggs
3 c. peeled, chopped apple (doesn't need to be too fine - some visible apple chunks are nice)
3 c. flour
l t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
1 c. chopped nuts (also doesn't need to be too fine)

Cream oil, sugar, and eggs
Add flour, salt, and baking soda
Beat well and add remaining ingredients - this is a very heavy batter.

Bake at 350 for one hour [in greased pan like a bundt or tube] - I used Convection with a large pan and small pan for Thanksgiving cakes. 30 minutes for a small cake, more like 45 for a bigger.

Glaze

3/4 stick butter or margarine
1 c light or dark brown sugar firmly packed
1/3 c milk

Boil 10-15 minutes (until thick). This takes patience! Let it cool for a minute or two before pouring over the cake. Let the icing sit on the top of the cake(s) and dribble down. When it's really thick it hardens into caramel on the cake. 

In the original version, you pour the glaze into the cake while still in the pan. I prefer to drizzle the icing on cooled cakes.

Throw in Lots of Tomatoes Sweet Potato Soup

I make a lot of soups with tomatoes, and lots with sweet potatoes, but this combination is a little lighter, not using any coconut milk. 

It's great for a glut of tomatoes like this fall, thanks Micah! 

Loosely based on this recipe. The sweet potato thickens the soup when blended, and packs it with nutrients.

2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
Afew cloves chopped garlic
A bit of grated ginger

2-3 stalks chopped celery

3 peeled carrots, chopped
1 t. cumin
1 t. turmeric
1 chopped hot pepper like jalapeno (use a plastic glove when mincing)
2 peeled large sweet potatoes, diced
4-6 chopped tomatoes, diced
8 c. vegetarian broth

Optional: In a small container, take a few tablespoons broth to a chunk of peanut butter, mix to loosen, and add to soup.

Pour oil into large soup pot and add onion, garlic, ginger, celery, and pepper, saute until soft.

Add chopped sweet potatoes, tomatoes and broth. Boil for about 40 minutes. Use an immersion blender but leave some vegetables chunked. Add thinned peanut butter for a protein boost.

Grandma Beshie's Toast Crowns

 

Toast Crowns are always something the boys looks forward to about Sleepover Breakfasts.

Toast crowns have two ingredients: toast and a spread. This morning it was Trader Joe's Cinnamon Roll Spread on whole wheat bread.

Cut the toast in half. Cover each half with the jam or spread. A spatula knife is good for that.

Cut into triangles, and voila! There's the crown. This is on one of the trays I have here for kiddos. I made the name up long ago - Uncle Zach stresses marketing. It works!

Madjula's Sweet Potato Chocolate Mousse

This is from a Indian cooking website, Manjula's Kitchen, I started watching during the Pandemic when I was cooking a lot and up for learning more about Indian techniques. Though this recipe is thoroughly Southern California American. I found home cooking videos were good company. Eyal and Nadav are very down with this dessert!

1 large sweet potato, boiled
½ cup coconut milk full fat, chilled - 

    or a 4 oz can of evaporated milk

    or 1/3 c. powdered milk + water or milk. Amount is flexible. 1/3 to 1/2 c does it.
4 Tbsp cacao powder
4 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cinnamon powder

Peel sweet potato. In a bowl, add cocoa, sugar, coconut milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Use an immersion blender or potato masher until smooth.
Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Serving Suggestions from Madjula
When it is fully blended, scoop the Pudding into the individual serving bowls and refrigerate for an hour. Remove the Pudding from the refrigerator after it has chilled. Serve the Pudding with your choice of topping. I like to garnish with sliced almonds. You may top with fresh fruit, or seeds. Also, chocolate pudding tastes great as a dip or spread.

Oat Chickpea Crackers

This curious recipe is fun to make and makes for good snacking. So healthy. I saw it at My Kids Lick the Bowl, but it's available in many different forms and varieties. It's easy to throw in fresh herbs. Today I am trying rosemary and adding an egg. The egg makes it less doughy, so you need to add more grain, like whole wheat.

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt
• ¼ cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas
2. Place in a food processor, blend until  smooth, form a ball and have a texture a little like playdough
3. Add the rolled oats, continue to blend until the oats are finely chopped into the chickpeas
4. Add garlic, lemon juice and salt for seasoning
5. Begin blitzing in the food processor, gradually add the olive oil, continue blitzing/blending until everything comes together as a ball
6. Spray a quarter sheet pan with oil, place the dough on top, press the dough with your hands to start flattening it
7. Using a rolling pin, roll until it is evenly spread over the baking tray 
8. Score the dough into cracker shaped pieces, I use a pizza roller to do it, but you can use a knife
9. Using a fork, prick the center of each cracker, it helps the crackers to bake evenly
10. Bake at  360 Fahrenheit for 40-50mins until golden
11. Leave to cool

 

Chetna Makan's Masala Potatoes

 I have become very attached to Chetna's YouTube Channel, and she has taught me some basic Indian cooking techniques.

This is her filling for masala dosa, which I have made a few times on the tawa I purchased. The dosas are quite a potchke, but the potatoes are pretty easy and really good by themselves as a side dish.

2 large potatoes

Oil (she uses safflower)

1 t. mustard seeds

curry leaves (I bought them at an international store)

dried chili (if you have one)

1 t. tumeric

1 t. salt

1-2 large onions, diced

Boil the potatoes. Let them cool. Peel and dice.

In a deep fry pan, heat the oil. Throw in the mustard seeds, chili, and curry leaves and let sizzle for a minute. Add the onions and spices and cook until soft. Add the diced potates, stir (they will turn a beautiful yellow from the tumeric) and heat through, about 5 minutes. These are filling and delicious.

Parsnip Sweet Potato Ginger Soup

I have been cooking so much soup during the second winter of the Pandemic that I put this together without a recipe. Yum. And so nutritious! The sweet potato/carrot gives it a prettier color than a straight parsnip soup.

1 T. butter or olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 T. garlic ginger paste

1 t. turmeric

1 t. cumin

3 medium parsnips, peeled and diced

1 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1-2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

5 cups vegetarian broth

salt, pepper to taste

Saute the onion in the oil until browning. Turn heat down to avoid burning and add garlic/ginger paste, turmeric, and cumin, stirring about a minute.

Add diced vegetables and broth, and cook about a half hour.

Process with the immersion blender and season to taste. This is a gorgeous color, so have fun thinking of how to garnish. Pomegranate seeds are especially beautiful!

 

Cinnamon Star Coffee Cake/Challah (or Pesto Star)

This is a King Arthur recipe - It's a lot of steps but fun. I baked one with Shula and Amira for our New Years Eve 2022/Shabbat Dinner. Obviously dairy. In this case the filling ran a bit, so a better seal matters. There are lots of videos to review the cut/twist steps.

The dough would be easy to double. It's such an impressive bread.

To do a six-pointed star, assumedly you can cut each quarter into thirds, and have six points instead of eight.

Dough
2 c (240g) Flour
1/2 cup (46g) dried potato flakes
1/4 cup (28g) nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup + 2 to 4 tablespoons (198g to 227g) lukewarm water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough
4 T (57g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 t vanilla extract (omit if you're baking a savory star, like with pesto)
2 t instant yeast
2 T (25g) granulated sugar (cut to 1 T. for Savory Star)
1 t (6g) salt

Filling
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 c (99g) granulated sugar
1 T cinnamon

    or

Pesto (1/2 cup)

Combine all of the dough ingredients and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough. It is a rich dough and doesn't need a lot of working. Starting with a mixer and finishing by hand, in the bowl, seems to work fine.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60 minutes, until it's nearly doubled in bulk.

To shape the loaf: Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, cover the balls, and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.

On a lightly greased or floured work surface, roll one piece of dough into a 10" circle. Place the circle on a piece of parchment, brush a thin coat of beaten egg on the surface, then evenly sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar (or pesto), leaving 1/4" of bare dough around the perimeter.

Roll out a second circle the same size as the first, and place it on top of the filling-covered circle. Repeat the layering process — egg, cinnamon sugar, dough circle — leaving the top circle bare. [Pinch the perimeter so the filling doesn't burst out as much.]

Place a 2 1/2" to 3" round cutter in the center of the dough circle as a guide. With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips, from the cutter to the edge, through all the layers.

Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips, pull up & out and twist them away from each other twice so that the top side is facing up again. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so that you end up with eight pairs of strips.

Pinch the pairs of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points.

Transfer the star on the parchment to a baking sheet. Cover the star and let it rise until it becomes noticeably puffy, about 45 minutes.


While the star is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.


Brush the star with a thin coat of the beaten egg. Bake it for 12 to 15 minutes, until it's nicely golden with dark brown cinnamon streaks; the center should register 200°F on a digital thermometer.


Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.