Archive for May 2021

reading time: 25 min

Episode 10.

Last June, the summer that felt like everyone was baking their own bread, fixing something in their house, or going crazy with DIY projects, my boyfriend J and I made our very first batch of homemade kombucha! (we also built a guinea pig house and DIY-ed our very own barefoot sandals, lol)

Since then, we have been batch-making our own "booch" for almost 1 entire year now, and I hope my love for kombucha will get you excited too!

So what is kombucha anyway?

I'm sure most of you have heard of this popular health and wellness elixir by now – I myself have been a kombucha junkie for a good 5 years or so now. Kombucha is a refreshing, tangy and delicious fizzy fermented tea drink that is served cold. It has numerous health benefits, being both a source for prebiotic and a probiotic healthy bacteria. It is made from either a black or green tea base, white sugar, and filtered water, through a double-fermentation process (don't let that intimidate you!) with the aid of a SCOBY, which is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. The SCOBY, also known as the "kombucha mother", interacts with the sugar and tea, slowly "digesting" and transforming it into the tangy, slightly tart, slightly sweet finished beverage we all know and love.

Kombucha is said to originate in Northeast China around 220 B. C. where it was cherished for its healing properties. It contains a wide variety of probiotic bacteria which contribute to a healthy gut, helping us digest food, absorb nutrients and prevent infection. It also contains various vitamins of the B-complex, which act as coenzymes in many metabolic processes and are especially important for healthy skin and blood formation. This makes kombucha the ideal alternative to sugary sodas and lemonades!

Homemade, fresh kombucha tastes much more aromatic and contains less sugar than the pasteurised ready-made tea beverage from the supermarket. This is simply because the store-bought kombucha has to be stopped in its fermentation process in order to last weeks and months on the supermarket shelf. Fresh, biologically active kombucha would continue to ferment even when bottled – and would have naturally turned into vinegar within a few weeks.

Plus, homemade kombucha is waaay cheaper than store-bought kombucha which usually costs around $ 7 or 4 € per liter. After the one-time purchase of a SCOBY and a large jar, homemade kombucha will only cost you around 20 cents (for water, tea and sugar) per liter.

reading time: 4 min

One of my most popular recipes here on the blog is my German Plum Crumble Cake that I posted three years ago. It's yeast-free, and it's baked in a springform (though you can also turn it into a sheet cake, if desired). Today I want to share with you another German crumble cake aka Streuselkuchen, and that's this strawberry streusel coffee cake. It's made with yeast, which makes it more traditional than the plum version, but is made with a not-so-traditional fruit topping: strawberries. (I know there's also frozen raspberries in the pictures, but those are just for garnish – the cake really is with strawberries, I promise 😉)

Strawberry season starts in May here in Germany, so about now, and peaks in June or early July, so you have plenty of time to try this recipe yourself over the next few weeks! Of course, you could also use any other seasonal fruits you enjoy (see notes below).

I made this cake for J's sister's birthday, but it's just as perfect for Mother's Day brunch, which is just around the corner, or even Beltane aka May Day, the Wiccan festival of life, love and creativity, which is symbolized with corresponding fruits such as strawberries and anything sweet and fruity, as well as oatmeal and dairy (or its non-dairy equivalent such as oat milk). Of course, it's also great for any regular brunch or family get-together :)

STRAWBERRY STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE

Preparation time: 2 h
Main ingredients: flour, oats, strawberries, yeast
difficulty level: easy
makes: 16 squares (11 x 15 pan)
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, wheat-free, soy-free

Ingredients

Dough:
1/2 cup raw cane sugar or brown sugar
1 1/2 package (10 g, about 2 tbsp) active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups flour (we used spelt flour, type 1050) *
1 1/2 old fashioned oats
1 cup warm non-dairy milk (soy, oat, almond ...)
3/4 cup vegan butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp lemon zest
pinch of salt

Strawberry filling:
3 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1/8 cup sugar (use more when using frozen strawberries)
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp cornstarch

Crumble topping:
2 cups flour (we used spelt flour, type 1050)
1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup + 2 tbsp vegan butter or margarine, softened

1 1/3 cup raw cane sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp lemon zest

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp vegan butter or margarine, softened
2-3 tbsp non-dairy milk (soy, oat, almond ...)
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

* If you are confused about that flour type, check out this website which explains the difference between German flour types and US-American flour types.

Instructions

For the dough:

Combine all dry ingredients for the yeast dough in a large mixing bowl: flour, sugar, dry yeast, oats, and salt. Whisk. Add non-dairy milk, vegan butter or margarine,lemon zest and vanilla essence, and beat on medium speed until well blended (use a dough hook).

Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 60 minutes.

For the streusel topping:

While the yeast dough is rising, prepare the streusel topping. Place flour, oats, sugar, margarine and lemon zest in another mixing bowl, and rub together until small to medium clumps form – about the size of blueberries. Or beat instead, using an electric whisk with a dough hook.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

After 1 hour of proofing time, take out the risen yeast dough and knead briefly. Grease a 11 x 15 baking pan. Transfer the dough to the greased baking pan. Spread evenly across the bottom of the pan, pressing down slightly. Set aside while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:

In yet another bowl (or re-use the mixing bowl from the yeast dough) toss together 3 cups of chopped and washed strawberries – or other fruit, see below –, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch. Mix well.

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).

Spread fruit mixture evenly on top of the yeast dough.

Take the chilled streusel mixture out of the fridge and roll between your fingers into little balls. Sprinkle streusel all over the fruit mixture.

Place the cake on the middle rack and bake the cake for about 30 minutes until the top begins to brown and a skewer poked into the center comes out clean (the baked berries will remain sticky, however – almost like jam).

Remove the cake, and allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes.

For the glaze:

Combine all glaze ingredients together and drizzle over the cooled coffee cake. Cut and serve.

This cake tastes bests when still warm – either as is, or topped with (vegan) vanilla ice cream, vanilla custard or whipped cream, if desired. It tastes best when served on the same day, but also freezes very well when cut in individual pieces.

NOTES:
- Instead of using just strawberries you could also do half strawberries, half rhubarb; or use other fruit such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches, plums, apples etc. If you use apples or plums, add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to the fruit mixture, and 1 tsp of cinnamon to the streusel topping.

- To actually cover the cake in glaze, you might want to double the glaze ingredients.
- You can replace the active dry yeast with fresh yeast as well. Simply use 1 block of fresh yeast (40 g), and dissolve the yeast in a bowl with the warm non-dairy milk before adding it to the mixing bowl.

Looking for more seasonal dessert recipes? Check out some of my favourites:

Vegan Strawberry & Rose Popsicles

Easy Vegan Strawberry Cream Cake

Sweet Vegan Rhubarb Cake

Vegan Strawberry Scones + Rhubarb Jam

♥

Maisy

reading time: 3 min

Hello my fellow cake-lovers! My Mum made this cake for my Dad's birthday earlier this year, using this German recipe by Toastenstein. It looked so pretty – and tasted so good! – that I was itching for an opportunity to make it myself – so here we are!

Doesn't this cake scream summer and sunshine to you?!

It's a very easy-to-make, but stunning-to-look-at upside down cake with candied orange slices that makes for a great bring-along for any vegan or non-vegan get-togethers (once those are actually allowed again ...). This orange cake is light, moist, fluffy, not overly sweet, with a lovely citrusy tang, and of course very nice to look at! Plus, it is one of the easiest cake recipes there is.

VEGAN UPSIDE DOWN ORANGE CAKE

original recipe from Toastenstein

Preparation time: 1 h
Main ingredients: spelt flour, oranges, vegan butter
difficulty level: easy
yields: 10 slices (26 cm- or 10-inch springform pan)
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, wheat-free, egg-free, soy-free

Ingredients

250 g (1 2/3 cups) spelt flour (type 1050) *
180 g (1 cup) raw cane sugar or xylitol
1 package (15 g) baking powder
220 g (1 2/3 cups in solid form) vegan butter, melted
3 tbsp lemon juice (or more orange juice)
1 organic orange, zest and juice
4 tbsp soy flour (see notes below for substitutes)
4 tbsp water

also:
2 organic oranges *
6 tbsp raw cane sugar or xylitol

* You can keep the peel on or remove it. When using non-organic citrus fruit, make sure to remove the peel!!

* If you are confused about that flour type, check out this website which explains the difference between German flour types and US-American flour types.

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 350°F.

Prepare vegan "eggs". In a small bowl, whisk together 4 tbsp of soy flour with 4 tbsp of water. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine spelt flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add melted vegan butter, vegan "eggs", lemon juice, as well as the zest and juice of 1 organic orange. Mix well to form an even batter, but don't overmix.

Line the bottom of your 26 cm- or 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Distribute 3 tbsp of sugar evenly on the bottom of the prepared cake pan.

With the skin still on, cut the remaining 2 organic oranges into thin slices. Make sure to remove any seeds. Arrange the orange slices in a single tight layer over the sugar – you may not need to use all the orange slices. You could also place some slices along the sides of the pan, like I did. (They should cover the bottom of the pan pretty tightly because the orange slices will shrink slightly due to the baking process!) Sprinkle another 3 tbsp of sugar evenly on top of the orange slices.

Pour the batter over the sugared orange slices and spread evenly to the edges of the pan.

Transfer springform to the preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes at 180°C / 350°F, until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before turning it out.

To do so, remove the sides of the springform pan. Place a cake platter or large plate over the cake, flip upside down, orange slices now facing upwards. Wait 30 seconds. Then carefully lift the cake pan, gently peeling off the layer of parchment paper.

Ta-dah!

Let the cake cool completely before slicing and serving. This cake is the perfect mate for a big dollop of vegan whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Store at room temperature for up to 4 days, tightly covered with foil, or in a large air-tight container.

TIPS:

- Instead of oranges, you could also use a mix of different citrus fruit (such as blood oranges, grapefruit, lemons, or a mix of all) or even pineapple rings / slices!
- If you don't have any soy flour, you can also replace the wet ingredients in this recipe (4 tbsp of soy flour + 4 tbsp of water as well as the melted vegan butter, lemon juice and orange juice) with 250 g freshly squeezed orange juice + 40 ml sunflower or canola oil.
- Add a sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped, to the batter for a nice herby flavour.
- Try swapping some of the flour for ground almonds for that orange-almond flavour combo which works so well. Half and half or slightly higher ratio of ground almonds should work well here.
- Instead of making one large cake, you could divide the batter into several muffin tins. Prepare the tins by sprinkling a bit of sugar at the bottom and putting one citrus slice each before spooning the batter on top.