Vegan Pear and Rhubarb Cake

We get veggie boxes delivered these days, although I'm hoping that one day we'll grow so much fresh food that we won't really need to. I love the lucky dip nature of it, it's different every week and you figure out what you're going to make when it comes. Surprisingly though, it comes with pears pretty much every week. Much as I love them I've struggled to use them up in such quantity, leading to experimental cooking like this. This creation turned out fantastic!


Vegan Pear and Rhubarb Cake
Ingredients
3 ripe pears
4-5 rhubarb stalks
1 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar (I use raw)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups wholemeal flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp brown sugar

To make:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2.  Core 2 of the pears and chop into 1cm or so cubes, don't worry about peeling the skin. Chop the rhubarb stalks into 1cm lengths.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the soy milk, oil, sugar and vanilla together.
4. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and chia and mix well to combine.
5. Grease a loaf tin (or a small round tin) well and line with baking paper.
6. Pour in the batter. Slice the remaining pear and use it to decorate the top with whatever pattern you like. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.
7. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a knife (or skewer) inserted into the middle comes out clean.
8. Cool in the pan and then use the sides of the baking paper to lift it out and serve.

Makes 1 loaf or 1 small cake. To make a full size cake you'll need to double the recipe.

Rhubarb and Apple Sago Parfait

When the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop Hosts announced their next theme to be "Layer upon Layer" I was a bit at a loss. There are lots of things that immediately spring to mind - layer cake, baklava, slice, trifle etc. None of these things really excited me though, plus I really wanted to make something healthy and not too heavy! I have to admit that sometimes I find these blog hops a bit difficult because I just wish I could cook something savoury instead! I eventually decided a fruit parfait would be a healthier option than any other that I could think of - however, I was still faced with the layers of cream all through it. Then it hit me like a cream pie in the face - sago!

I love sago. Love love love it! It is the perfect alternative to cream and to custard (as you can see in my Vegan Strawberry Cherry Sago Trifle!) On a recent trip to my favourite Asian supermarket I found the most amazing thing..... green sago!! Green sago (thought I should say it again for emphasis!). As far as I can see it really is just sago with some food colouring because the ingredients just say 'sago'.... so evidently it is just sago. But check it out!!!!!

So once I had decided on sago parfait I knew that I just had to use my new green sago. I decided to combine it with the rhubarb that was growing abundantly in my garden and what better partner to go with rhubarb than apple? Rhubarb and apple are quite a classic combination - however combining them with sago?? Well it was amazing! The fruity sago layers are creamy yet refreshing, and the whole parfait is an amazing mixture of textures! Stringy, pulpy rhubarb and firm sweet apple pieces combined with the amazing creamy pearls of sago and then a beautiful surprise at the bottom in the form of crunchy, syrupy walnuts!!

Ingredients


Sago Custard:
1 can coconut milk
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sago (tapioca pearls)
1/3 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean, sliced open

Fruit:
1 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 green apple

1/3 cup water
3 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces
1/3 cup walnuts

To Make:
1. Heat the coconut milk, water and sugar in a saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a gentle simmer and add the cinnamon stick, vanilla bean and sago. Stir while bringing to a simmer. Simmer, covered over a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean and allow to cool.
2. Heat the other cup of water in another saucepan and add the sugar. Leave on a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon juice.
3. Peel the apple and set the peel aside (you'll use it later!). Cut the apple into quarters, remove the core and slice the apple into slices about 1/2 centimetre thick. Add the apple to the saucepan and simmer, covered, for 4-5 minutes. The apple slices should be just tender but not mushy! Remove the apple slices and set aside.
4. Add the apple peel to the saucepan and leave the syrup on a low heat to simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes turn off the heat and remove the apple peel. Allow to cool.
5. In another saucepan combine the 1/3 cup water and the rhubarb. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove lid and simmer gently for another 5 minutes, there should be little or no water left. Mash the rhubarb with a fork until you have a lovely mushy rhubarb pulp. Add 2 tbsp of the hot syrup that you have simmer in the other saucepan (I'm assuming you are cooking all of these elements at the same time, I did!!). Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
6. Allow the sago, apples, syrup and rhubarb to cool to room temperature before assembling (don't refrigerate - all the elements will congeal and you will find it hard to layer it!).
7. Take 4 wide short tumblers (like scotch glasses) or small glass bowls. You could also use wine glasses or Martini glasses. Place a few slices of apple on the bottom of each glass and then layer 1/4 of the walnuts into each one - breaking them up into smaller pieces as you do. Spoon 2 tbsp of the syrup (which has cooled to a lovely thick honey like consistency) over the walnuts. This will be the lovely syrupy walnuty surprise at the bottom!
8. Layer the rest of the ingredients into the glass/bowl in this order: sago, rhubarb, apple, sago and then a spoonful of rhubarb on top. Chill for at least an hour in the fridge before serving. Enjoy!

Makes 4 individual parfaits (will vary depending on the size of your tumblers/bowls).

This is part of the March Sweet Adventures Blog Hop. Check out all the other layered desserts in the hop by hitting up all those little tiny pictures you see here:

Edible Christmas Gifts Part 1: JAM!! (Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam)

Buying Christmas presents can be not only hard but stressful. But here is the secret - home-made edible Christmas presents are not only cheaper and cooler but are also a lot more special and personal to the person you give them to (they also show off your rad kitchen skillz! and we all know that girls only want boyfriends who have great skills...). Jams are particularly special gifts if you give them flavours that they can't buy anywhere else - like the four listed below.

So, pictured above we have plenty of jam varieties for you to choose from:

Tangelo and Goji Berry Jam (I know, tangelos are a bit hard to get your hands on but if you can then definitely pick this one because it has a delicious tart freshness to it)

Strawberry and Mulberry Jam (you can't go wrong with this one - and if you can't get the mulberries just substitute raspberries or blackberries)

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam (recipe below - it pretty much blew my mind)

Tomato and Pineapple Jam (for those a bit more adventurous, this is both mine and my partner's favourite type of jam - probably the main reason we are together)

So - here are the steps to awesome gifts that everyone will love: 

1. Make your jams

2. Bottle them up 

3. Add some nice handwritten labels

4. You can put some Christmasy fabric on the top

5. Tie some ribbon around it to make it festive

6. Give at Christmas

7. Get ready to accept some serious praise

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients
750g fresh strawberries
750g fresh rhubarb stalks, cut into about 1cm pieces
1.5 kg sugar
1 packet of Jam Setta (for info on Jam Setta see this other jam post)

To Make
1. Chop up strawberries, I like to do about half of them small and the other half chunky. Chop the rhubarb into pieces about 1cm long. Put all the fruit in a big saucepan (ideally the jam should only take up about 1/3 of the saucepan so probably use the biggest one you have).
2. Add the sugar and stir through. Put the pot on a low heat (you don't need to add any water!) and stir a bit until the juice starts to come out of the fruit and the sugar starts to melt. Once there is enough liquid in the bottom of the pan you can stop stirring and cover the pot over to bring it to a simmer.
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add the jam setta and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Check the jam has set. To test this do a set test, place a tsp full of jam (preferably not a chunky fruity bit) on a saucer and put it in the freezer for about 30-40 seconds. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the jam crinkles then it is ready. If it doesn't boil the jam for 5 more minutes and try the test again.
5. Once you have a successful set test remove the jam from the heat.
6.Wash empty glass jars in hot soapy water and rise well. Dry and fill with hot jam. Screw the lids on very tightly.
7. Line a huge saucepan with tea towels (so the glass jars don't touch the bottom). Place your tighly sealed jam-filled jars in the saucepan and cover completely with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil. Boil for 20 minutes and then turn off the heat.
8. Once they have cooled a bit remove the jars from the water, dry and label them.

Makes 6-8 jars (depending on the size of your jars).