Heikki and I liked the chocolate that was sprinkled with both cardamom and pink peppercorns most, and the nutty chocolate did have a nice sugary crunch to it as well. Next time I might just add our favorite spices right into the melted chocolate and then sprinkle with nuts, although it was nice to have a variety of flavors to taste and compare this time.

Sugar-Coated Nuts:

I didn’t actually caramelize the nuts for this chocolate bark – they only got a thin coat of whole cane sugar, more brittle than the solid caramel you’d get by boiling the sugar for a longer time. This is a lovely treat by itself and we munched the leftovers from the chocolate-making in no time at all.

• 4 tablespoons whole cane sugar (rapadura)
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 2-3 teaspoons water
• pinch of salt
• 2 dl pecans, chopped
• 2 dl cashews, chopped

First, I mixed the sugar, oil, water, and salt in a cup to make a smooth-ish paste. Then I chopped the nuts coarsely with a heavy non-serrated knife, and toasted them on high heat until fragrant and just very lightly browned. I lowered the heat and poured the sugar mixture in the pan, stirring with a wooden fork, and it started bubbling right away.

I let it boil for a minute or two, until the water had evaporated and all the nuts were coated with the sugar. Then I spread the mixture on a piece of baking parchment, separating the bits from each other, and let it cool.

Making the Chocolate Bark:

• 200 g (or more) chocolate
• crushed pink peppercorns, ground cardamom, crushed peppermint candies, sugar-coated nuts, cinnamon, etc.

I used a bunch of different “leftover” chocolates for this one, most of them about 70 % cocoa solids. I divided the chocolate bars in small pieces, and melted them in a water bath (first boiled the water, then took the pot off heat and placed the chocolate bowl in the pot). Then I poured the chocolate on a piece of baking parchment in smaller and larger mounds, and spread them a little bit until about 3 to 4 millimeters thick.

Now I sprinkled the chocolate with my favorite things: pink peppercorns alone and combined with cardamom or cinnamon, mint candies, and the sugary nuts from above. I let the chocolates sit in room temperature until settled, for a few hours I’d say.

I baked these for the birthday party of a niece, and a diabetic nephew was also present, so I replaced some of the sugar with fructose (which has a lower glycemic index, making it a better option). While I must admit that decorating free-style with my non-existent piping skills didn’t produce the most stylish cupcake, the birthday girl did turn 5, so I think the sprinkles were the main attraction for her anyway…

The Batter:

• 3 dl whole spelt flour
• 3/4 dl cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 and 1/2 dl plain soy yoghurt
• 1 dl muscovado sugar
• 1/2 dl fructose
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• 1/2 dl canola oil
• oven-proof apricot preserves for the filling

I first preheated the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

To make the batter, I first mixed the dry ingredients together (flour through salt), then mixed the liquids in another bowl (soy yoghurt through canola oil), and then mixed the two together with a fork. Now, I added one tablespoon of batter in each cupcake liner, then placed a teaspoon of apricot preserves in the center, and covered the preserves with another tablespoon of batter. I think we got 12 cupcakes allthogether, but our cupcake liners were sort of large, so the batter might make a few more of regular-sized cupcakes.

Then I baked the cakes in 160 degrees Celsius for 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted came out clean.

Fructose can be replaced with another sugar – you just need to add a bit more since fructose is very sweet. Fructose also browns quickly, so when using a regular sugar, these can be baked in 175 degrees instead of the 160 indicated.

Cardamom Apricot Chocolate Mousse:

• 175 g (half a package) Mori-Nu silken tofu
• 110 g chocolate, melted
• 1 dl apricot preserves
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract plus confectioner’s sugar)
• crushed seeds from 2 cardamom pods
• pinch of salt
• grated chocolate and sprinkles for decoration

To make the mousse, I just melted the chocolate, and while it was cooling down a bit, I blended the tofu with our immersion blender until it was completely smooth. Then I added all the rest of the ingredients and mixed until combined.

I let the mousse settle in the fridge for an hour or so before piping it over the cupcakes, and decorated the cupcakes with grated chocolate and sprinkles.

I adapted the recipe from Dog Hill Kitchen‘s Cherry Pocket Pies. I generally dislike rolling out pie pastries and such, but this dough was really easy to work with, and also totally easy to make. My filling is not very sweet, so this recipe makes snack style pocket pies, but with more sugar these would be a nice portable dessert as well.

The Filling:

• about 10 dl chopped apples
• about 1 dl water (or more)
• 4 tablespoons muscovado sugar (or more)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons potato (or corn) starch, mixed with a bit of water

It’s best to start making the filling an hour or so before baking, so it’ll have time to cool down.

I rinsed and cored the apples, and cut them in small cubes. Then I placed them in a sauce pan with the water, and simmered them on medium to medium high heat until they started to soften and mush up. I added the sweeteners and the spices (muscovado through salt), and cooked until I had a nice saucy consistency with a few apple pieces here and there. Then I mixed the potato starch with a little bit of water, and poured the slurry in the apple pot, stirring all the time to ensure it wouldn’t form lumps. This thickened my filling almost instantly. I removed the pot from heat and let the filling cool down before assembling the pies.

You might need more water or less potato starch, all depending on the fruit you use. Our apples were kind of floury.

The Dough:

• 5 and 1/2 dl whole spelt flour
• 2 dl soy milk
• 5 tablespoons margarine
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

I mixed the flour with the baking soda and salt, and then added the cold margarine in the bowl. Now, I used a fork to incorporate the margarine in the dry mixture. When it looked uniformly crumbly all over, I added the soy milk, and kneaded for a few minutes. The dough should come together nicely, so if it is sticky at this point, you might need to add a little bit more flour.

Now I set the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Then I divided the dough in 12 equal portions, shaped each into a ball, and rolled them out into circles. The pocket shells were about 15 cm in diameter.

To assemble, I placed about 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling in the center of each dough circle, folded the sides together, and sealed them with the spikes of a fork. Now, I covered two baking sheets with baking parchment, placed the pies on the sheets, brushed them with some soy milk, and scored them thrice with a knife to make air vents.

Then I baked my little pockets, for 25 minutes, one baking sheet at a time, until they were a little brown around the edges and on the bottom side.

Here’s what I came up with: chocolate squares with grated apple, orange juice, and a hint of cardamom thrown in the batter. Moist and gently fruit-flavored, these treats made the transition to urban environment much easier for me!

I would say these are best when eaten warm, either on the day of baking or warmed up a bit on the following days. We don’t have a microwave oven, so we always warm leftovers on the stove. Today, I just heated a small non-stick frying pan and fried the cake for a minute or two on both sides, until a thin crust formed and the insides softened.

The Wet Mix:

• 70 g dark chocolate, melted
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 small apple, grated
• 1 dl freshly squeezed orange juice with pulp
• 1 dl plain soy yoghurt

The Dry Mix:

• 1 and 1/4 dl whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons chick pea flour (gram)
• 2 tablespoons potato (or corn) starch
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 dl muscovado sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

First, I melted the chocolate, set the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, and covered a small (23 X 15 cm) baking dish with some parchment paper. Then I sprayed the paper with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

I set the chocolate aside to cool down a little, and mixed the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. When the oven seemed ready, I added the oil to the chocolate, and mixed until combined. Then I added the rest of the wet mix ingredients to the chocolate bowl, and stirred until the mixture was pretty smooth.

I poured the wet mix in the dry mix bowl and stirred with a fork until thoroughly combined. Then I poured the baatter in the baking dish and baked it for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake came out with a few moist crumbles.

This is the first time I’ve used olive oil in sweet baked goods, and will definitely be doing that more often from now on. The taste wasn’t overpowering by any means, there was just a hint of the olive goodness hiding somewhere amongst all the apples. I really liked how the top (or, eventually, the bottom) of the cake came out a little crunchy, which is a nice contrast with the moist cakey insides and the fruity topping. The photo is a bit yellowish because of the progressing lack of light in Helsinki, but I guess it’s best to get used to that…

The Cake Batter:

• 1 dl olive oil
• 2 and 1/2 dl sugar
• 2 dl plain soy yoghurt
• 1 dl wheat flour
• 2 and 1/2 dl whole wheat flour
• 3/4 dl coarsely ground almonds
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 dl grated apples

Topping:

• 5 small apples, sliced
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

Before starting with the batter, I set the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, grated the apples, and greased a round glass baking dish with a little margarine.

I started with the topping. I sliced 5 small apples, placed them in a mixing bowl, and stirred in the sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Then I poured the slices in the baking dish and arranged them so that they covered the bottom and the sides of the pan.

To make the batter, I first whisked together the olive oil, sugar, and soy yogurt until the mixture was smooth. Then I mixed the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a separate bowl, and added them to the liquids. I whisked the batter until there were no large lumps and then stirred in the grated apple. Now, I poured the batter in the baking dish over the apples.

Then I baked the cake on the lowest rack of our oven for 55 minutes, until it was well browned, and came off the sides of the baking dish. After baking, I let the cake cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, and then inverted the cake on a surface covered with baking parchment. We enjoyed the first slices with some vanilla ice cream, but I think that this cake is just as delicious on its own.

I made this recipe into 6 cupcakes, but there was a little bit too much tosca topping, and the batter rose a lot on the oven, so this batch would probably be enough for 7 small cakes too. With a little too much topping on a little too high cupcakes, I experienced a little spilling of the topping while it was baking, and that’s a problem because when it cools, it hardens, and it becomes tricky to loosen the cupcakes from the cupcake pan. So, when I took the cakes out of the oven, I immediately grabbed a butter knife and tidied up the edges of each cake.

The Cake Batter:

I made 6 cupcakes with this, but I think it’d be better to make 7. Before starting with the batter, I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, and greased and floured 6 cups in my muffin tin.

Dry Mix:

• 1 and 1/2 dl wheat flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Wet Mix:

• 1 dl plain, unsweetened soy milk
• 2/3 dl plain soy yogurt
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 dl canola oil

I whisked the wet mix in a mixing bowl, then stirred together the dry mix, and combined the two with a fork until only small lumps remained. Now, I poured the batter in the 6 prepared cups in my muffin tin, and baked for about 14 minutes, until a little brown on the sides but very pale on the tops. While the cakes were baking, I prepared the topping.

The Tosca Topping:

• 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
• 2 tablespoons plain soy milk
• 1/2 dl sugar
• 1 tablespoon wheat flour
• 50 g slivered almonds

I placed everything else but the almonds in a small cooking pot, and then heated on medium heat until the mixture started to boil gently. It took about 5 minutes to reach that stage. Then I turned down the heat, let the mixture simmer for about a minute more, and then removed it from heat. I mixed in the slivered almonds, and the topping was ready.

When the cakes were done prebaking, I spread about a tablespoon of the topping over each cake, and then popped them in the uppermost rack of our oven for 12 more minutes, until the topping started to get brown. Then I took the cakes out of the oven and carefully tidied up the edges of each cup before the topping started to harden. Then I let them cool in the tin for about 20 minutes until removing.

And this drink is really really good, especially when sweetened with agave syrup. Some believe that sugar isn’t good for a flu, but I don’t think a teaspoon or two of agave syrup ever hurt anyone. I have a feeling that this would be a great summer drink too, only chilled and served over ice.

My Tea Recipe:

• 1/2 l water
• 2 tablespoons ginger, chopped
• (1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated -optional)
• 1 teaspoon whole cardamom seeds (or a few crackled pods)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• juice of one orange
• (agave syrup to taste)

First I let the 2 tablespoons of chopped ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon simmer in the water for ten to fifteen minutes, then remove the pot from heat, and add the orange juice. I sometimes add the extra grated ginger and let the drink steep for 5 more minutes to get a fresh ginger bite as well. Then I filter it in a jug, and sweeten with some agave syrup.

I often double the recipe, and sometimes use the dried ginger root called sonti – it has an even more potent and fiery taste than the fresh root, but takes a little more effort to ground.

Katie wrote that her brownies were too crumbly and didn’t keep together well, but I lined my baking dish with parchment paper, and didn’t have any falling apart issues – maybe due to the adjustments I made.

I read an article in the NY Times claiming that real brownies shouldn’t use baking powder or baking soda. On the other hand, according to the writer of that article, real brownies should use a liberal amount of eggs and butter, and almost every vegan brownie recipe I’ve seen uses a leavening of some kind.

Mint Chocolate Brownies (makes 10):

My little godson was enchanted by the mint chocolate brownies and gobbled one up in no time. Still, they weren’t very sweet – more like an adult treat for those who love dark chocolate. I used organic muscovado sugar for extra flavor, but I guess any brown sugar would equally enhance the chocolate aroma.

• 70 g vegan chocolate (semi dark)
• 60 g margarine
• 1,2 dl wheat flour
• 2/3 dl dark cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 dl plain, unsweetened soy yogurt
• 1 dl muscovado sugar
• 1/2 dl crushed mint candies
• 3 tablespoons oat milk
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

First, I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, and melted the chocolate and the margarine in a water bath. Once melted, I let them cool down while preparing the other ingredients.

I mixed the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Then I placed the soy yogurt, the oat milk, vanilla extract, muscovado sugar, and crushed mint candies in another bowl, and whisked them for about 3 minutes. I wanted the candies and the sugar to melt a little, so at this point I took the time to prepare my baking dish.

I covered my glass baking dish (23 cm X 15 cm) with parchment paper, greased the paper with a little margarine, and floured it to make sure the brownies wouldn’t stick, since the original recipe stated that these stick very much. Now, I whisked the cooled down chocolate-margarine -mixture in the other wet ingredients, and then added the dry ingredients. I stirred with a wooden fork to combine, and poured the batter to the baking pan, spreading it evenly.

I baked the brownies in 175 degrees Celsius, on the lower rack of the oven for about 33 minutes, when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake came out clean. Then, I cooled them thoroughly before eating.

Spicy Brownies (makes 15):

The spicy brownies were a tad sweeter than the minty ones since I used more sugar instead of crushed candies, and vanilla sugar instead of the extract. I have a feeling that the hot bursts caused by chili flakes require a little more sweetness for a nice balance.

• 70 g vegan chocolate (semi dark)
• 60 g margarine
• 1,2 dl wheat flour
• 2/3 dl dark cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 and 1/2 dl plain, unsweetened soy yogurt
• 1 and 1/2 dl muscovado sugar
• 3 tablespoons oat milk
• 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar

I made the batter exactly as above, only adding the spices to the flour-cocoa mixture and substituting vanilla sugar for extract since I didn’t have that any more. Because I think that brownies are often thinner than the first batch, I baked the second batch in a larger baking pan (33 cm X 21 cm). Subsequently, I baked them for 16 minutes only, until a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean.

We had very recently bought the chili flakes I used for this, and I think they added just the perfect amount of heat without being overpowering. I might up the amount a little bit if my chili flakes were older.

Some people prefer their cakes moistened with Punsch, but most use rum or almond extract as a flavoring instead. As with any traditional recipe, there are numerous variations of the Runeberg’s Cake – some make theirs with ginger bread crumbs, and most use almonds in some form; some want their cakes very moist, and some prefer a crumbly cake. Most recipes have twice as much margarine or butter as my recipe, but I wanted to make a lighter cake, so we could eat several of them!

My Runeberg’s cakes include things I found in the cupboard yesterday evening: digestive cracker crumbs, bread crumbs, ground almonds, almond extract, and hazelnut-almond rice milk. We couldn’t resist having a bite of these yesterday evening, but the real treat was at the breakfast today, when the flavors had developed in the fridge overnight. The texture is quite crumbly, since I don’t like my cakes too moist, but the moistness is easily adjusted by the amount of liquid infused in the cakes after baking. This recipe makes exactly 12 cakes.

Dry Mix:

• 2 and 1/2 dl ground cookies (we had digestives)
• 2 and 1/2 dl wheat flour
• 2 dl bread crumbs
• 1 dl ground almonds (50 g)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon potato starch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• pinch each: cinnamon, cardamom, dried ginger

Wet Mix:

• 1/2 dl dark syrup
• 1/2 dl sugar
• 1 dl liquid margarine (or melted margarine)
• 1 and 1/2 dl soy yogurt (plain, unsweetened)
• 1 dl hazelnut-almond rice milk (or other vegan milk)
• a few drops of almond extract (not more!)

Moistening:

• about 2 dl hazelnut-almond rice milk (or other vegan milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Decoration:

• 2 and 1/2 dl confectioner’s sugar
• a few teaspoons orange juice (or water, or soy milk)
• raspberry jam

I made the cake batter like a muffin batter: mixed wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls, then combined the two, and mixed just enough to combine. Now, I greased and floured my muffin tin, and spooned the batter in the cups. I leveled the surface of each cake, and then baked the cakes in 175 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, until they were a little browned over the tops.

After the cakes had cooled down a little bit, I removed them from the tin, and moistened them with rice milk flavored with rum extract. I spread the milk over the cakes with a teaspoon and let them infuse all of it. Some people just make a mixture of rum, water, and sugar to moisten their cakes, some use additional almond extract in this. More liquid can be used to make moister cakes.

I made the icing as thick as possible, first adding just enough liquid in the confectioner’s sugar to produce a crumbly paste, and then adding some more drop by drop until the consistency was just thin enough for piping. I placed a dollop of raspberry jam in the middle of each cake, and then piped a circle of white sugar icing around the tops of the cakes. Now, I leveled the jam to make it coat the whole cake. After having a test bite with Heikki, I refrigerated the rest of the cakes until the next day.

Maple syrup is a little bit of a luxury item, but it does deepen the flavor of these muffins. I ground the raisins along with the flaxseed because I am not a big raisin lover and still wanted to get some of their fruity sweetness. Lemon grass powder produced a nice, bitter edge with the sweeter flavors of cardamom and cinnamon, but ginger powder would be a more traditional addition.

Dry mix:

• 1 and 1/2 dl wheat flour
• 1 dl spelt flour
• 1 and 1/2 dl rolled oats, finely ground
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon dried lemongrass powder
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet mix:

• I mixed these in an electric mixer first:
  • 1 dl raisins
  • 1 dl soy milk
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

• 1 and 1/2 dl soy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 dl maple syrup
• 1/2 dl (or a little less) canola oil
• 1 organic carrot, brushed and finely grated or ground

First, I made the flaxseed “egg” by grinding the raisins, flaxseed, and 1 dl soy milk in our food processor until they formed an emulsified mixture. I also ground the rolled oats until they resembled a coarse flour, a little like spelt flour, and then coarsely ground the carrot as well. We have a mini food processor attachment to our immersion blender, and that’s my best friend when preparing ingredients like these.

Now, I mixed the wet and the dry mix in separate bowls first, and then combined the two. I stirred the batter with a wooden fork just until incorporated, and then filled the cups of my prepared muffin tin up to two thirds. This batter made exactly twelve muffins.

I baked the muffins in 180 degrees Celsius for about 18 minutes, and after a few minutes removed them from the muffin tin to cool down.