Easy Non Dairy Chocolate Cake

I don't remember when was the last time when I tried to make a perfect chocolate cake, but I know for sure that I wasn't so happy with the results. Somehow, I missed the right measurements for creating the perfect match of flavors between the sourness of the cocoa and the sweet balance. 

The last Friday, out of ideas for a dessert, I decided to take again the challenge hoping that, as in the case of writing, the more you try the better chance you have for a successful outcome. This creative recipe I created wasn't necessarily the perfect, but somehow, was much better than the previous ones and although a pinch of improvement is needed, I will rather use it as a base for further developments. 

It has the advantage of being moderately sweet, not so heavy and easy to match with either a lemonade or a hot tea. 

Ingredients
100 gr. vegetarian margarine for the pan
2 cups flour
15 gr. baking powder
1 pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup sunflower oil
3 tablespoon cocoa
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
2 tablespoons dessicated coconut, for the garnish

Directions

Heat the oven at 150C, at least 10 minutes before starting the baking.

Add the flour, the backing powder, the salt, the vanilla sugar, white sugar and mix well. Add the oil and keep mixing. In a separate cup, add the cocoa and 2/3 cup of warm water and mix until the cocoa is dissolved. Add it to the main ingredients and keep mixing for another couple of minutes.

Pour the content in the pan and bake it at 100C. I realized that keeping a low temperature for baking helps at a great extent to a homogenous melt of the ingredients and also prevents upper burning. 

After is ready, let it to rest for another couple of minutes and garnish with the dessicated coconut.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes

The cake is served! It is perfect if you are trying to accomodate a dessert for a big group of guests, or just if you want to have something sweet to munch for at least the whole weekend.

Bon Appétit!

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White Cheese-Filled Pita Bread

Pita bread, simple or filled with cheese, sometimes even with plum jam, used to be an usual food in my childhood and since I started to do my own baking I tried more than once to prepare it, with results that were considerably better than my home-made foods as a child. As in January I haven't cooked or baked anything interesting - but stay tuned as a fantastic foodie news will come tomorrow - this afternoon I decided to use some ingredients available in the kitchen and get back to some serious baking. To be honest, it was also the pressure of not having any bread left so it was an emergency situation we were dealing with. 

But it was actually a great occasion to offer to my kiddo my childhood staple for the first time, while also enjoying some bites, although in a heavy oily ambiance. The good thing is that I survived the experience which also involved high-temperature frying without any serious burning incident, which was a great achievement. During my last Hanukkah preparations a big splash of hot oil landed on my left wrist and for more than a month my hand looked like just escaping a suicidal attempt. 

Ingredients 
- for the dough
4 cups white flour
1 package dry yeast - the equivalent of 7 gr.
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- for the frying and filling
250 white cow cheese grated
250 ml. sunflower oil

Directions

Dissolve the yeast into 200 ml. warm water until it looks bubbling. Add the 3 cups of flour and the beaten eggs. Mix by hand or with a spatula. Let the dough to rest outside under a warm cover for around 1 hour. You can also keep it overnight in the fridge.

After one hour, take the dough out and split into 9 small pieces. Roll it by hand. Spread the white cheese in the middle and cover it with the dough. 

Meanwhile, heat the pan at 250C for 1-3 minutes. Add the oil and heat it for another 3 minutes. Add the pita shaped dough to the pan and eventually press it on in the middle with a stainless steel spatula. It helps to eliminate the air from the dough and create a compact pita ready to be fried. 

Serves: 9 cheese-filled pita.
Preparation time: 1 hour

Although you can eat it simply like that, moderately warm, eventually accompanied by an equally warm mint tea or a glass of cold Ginger Ale. If you are really hungry and want to combine as many ingredients as possible, you can also add: some fresh salmon, yellow cheese, a spread of cottage cheese, a boiled egg, hummus.
As a fresh healthy company, you can make a cucumber, tomatoes and avocado salad. Some tasty black olives are also a good idea. 

All being said, it seems like this week will have many foodie adventures in the making. For now, I can only be happy for bringing back childhood memories on my plate.

Bon Appétit!

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