XMAS SWEETS | 4 RECIPES

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• Roscos de vino (Sweet wine doughnuts) / vegan

• Chocolate Cake Pops /+vegan version

• Polvorones (Spanish crumble cakes) /+vegan version

• Chocolate Turrón /+vegan version

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• RELATED POSTS

• Fruit hedgehog: New Year´s Eve, 12 grapes tradition / vegan

• Snowpaperman | recycled craft 

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• DECEMBER MENU

APPLE CAKE | VEGAN RECIPE

WIKI NOTE: Apple Cake VS Apple Pie - The apple cake differs from the apple pie in that it is a sponge cake baked with fresh apple pieces in it. An apple pie is a fruit pie (or tart) in which the principal filling ingredient is apple. The pastry is generally used top-and-bottom, making it a double-crust pie, the upper crust of which may be a circular-shaped crust or a pastry lattice woven of strips.

APPLE CAKE

YOU WILL NEED:
DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 and 1/4 cups wheat flour (plain or all-purpose)
1 cup panela sugar or unrefined cane sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup roughly chopped apple
1 cup walnuts, chopped  (optional)
WET INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup sunflower oil (or veggie oil, any neutral flavored)
3/4 cup vegetable drink (oatmeal, soy or hazelnut to taste)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
NOTE: Put raisins in a glass with a dash of water and the raisins plump up.
TOPPING
Thin apple slices, to decorate
Sprinkle brown sugar on the top

NOTE: Homemade measurement units



LET´S COOK!

1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Grease a bread pan with margarine or sunflower oil.
NOTE: Standard dimensions for bread and loaf pans start at 8 ½ by 4 ½ inches. It's the perfect size for that amount of ingredients. If you multiply the amount by the number of times that you want,  you will get a bigger cake. You have tons of different sizes of baking pans depending on the final amount.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl: brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom), and a pinch of salt until well-mixed. Optional: add chopped walnuts.
NOTE: Sift the flour for cakes. Sifting helps to remove any lumps and/or unwanted debris from the flour and also helps to combine the flour with any dry ingredients. If you don't have a strainer handy, you can also mix flour with a wire whisk or a fork.
3. Add roughly chopped apple to the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix it well with a wooden spoon.

4. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl:  veggie oil, and vegetable drink (oatmeal, soy, or hazelnut) until well mixed. Optional:  add raisins.

5. Pour the wet mix into the dry bowl. Mix everything slowly with a wooden spoon.

6. Pour the mix into the bread pan.
7. Arrange the thin apple slices around the cake decoratively. Sprinkle brown sugar on the top. 

8. Bake for around 40 minutes, until browned.

NOTE: Don't open the oven, you can always leave the cake in the oven for a few more minutes.

9.  Remove from the oven. Leave to cool.
NOTE: Serve as is or with vegan custard.

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• RELATED POSTS

• Grape apple juice / vegan

• Carrot soup / vegan

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• DECEMBER MENU

DECEMBER MENU | 4 RECIPES

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STARTER: WINTER SOUP

YOU WILL NEED: 
2 medium potatoes
1 or 2 cloves garlic, to taste
A half onion
1 leek, white part  (optional)
A generous splash (about 50g) of extra virgin olive oil or olive oil, to taste
A bunch of parsley
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Water (to boil)

LET´S COOK!
1. Wash the vegetables well. Peel potatoes, leek, onion and garlic. Cut the potatoes into big pieces. Chop the onion, leek and garlic.
2. Heat the olive oil in the pot. Saute the onion, leek, and garlic until transparent.
3. Add the big pieces of potatoes. Stir for several minutes with the rest of the ingredients.
4. Cover with water (the water has to exceed a couple of fingers the ingredients) and cook the vegetables for approx. 20 minutes. When the veggies are tender, turn off the kitchen and remove the pot from heat.
5. Mix everything with the blender until it is the consistency of a soup. Add black pepper and salt, to taste.
NOTE: If the texture of the soup is too liquid, add a few tablespoons of cornstarch (corn flour refined).
6. Serve the soup warm. Chop a bunch of parsley and sprinkle it on the top of the soup plate. Add some crunchy popcorn because it makes the soup more yummy, yummy!


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MAIN COURSE: FISH PÂTÉ 

YOU WILL NEED: *vegan recipe replace fish pâté for hummus
1 slice of hake (whiting family)
1 slice of salmon
4 crab sticks
3 eggs
10 tablespoons of tomato sauce, either store-bought or homemade.
200ml double cream
Grated nutmeg, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste


LET´S COOK!
1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Grease a baking pan with olive oil.
2. Place the slice of salmon hake fish and bay leaves in a saucepan, and cover with salted water.
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer over low heat for 5- 10 minutes, until the fish is cooked.
4. Drain in a colander. Place it on a plate. Remove skin and any bones. Allow the fish pieces to cool.
5. Put the eggs, crab sticks, fish pieces, tomato sauce, and double cream on the base of the blender. Mix everything with the blender, until obtain the desired texture (pâté) Season with ground black pepper, grated nutmeg, and salt, to taste.
6. Pour the mix into the baking pan. Place the baking pan in the oven baking tray. Fill the oven baking tray with water.
7. Bake it for around 1 hour. Check it until browned.
NOTE: Open the oven and prick the fish pâté in the middle with a needle knit. You can check it many times until the needle knit is clean. It means that the pâté is well done. 8
8. Remove the baking pan. Let cool the fish pâté for a while.
9. Cover the bowl with cling film and put it in the fridge for a while. The fish pâté has to be cold to serve. It is yummy, yummy with tomato salad.
NOTE: You can also spread the fish pâté on toasts.

• LET'S MAKE THE RUDOLPH RED-NOSED REINDEER FACE!

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer face: fish pâté (face), cherry tomato (nose), lettuce leaves cut into julienne (hair and horn) teaspoon of mayonnaise, and raisins (eyes).


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DESSERT: POLVORONES (SPANISH CRUMBLE CAKES)

YOU WILL NEED: *vegan recipe

200g plain flour

100g lard /*vegan margarine

150g icing sugar /*icing brown sugar, to sprinkle

Cinnamon powder, to sprinkle (optional)

LET´S COOK!

1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C for around 15 minutes. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Add the white flour to a big saucepan over medium heat. Mix it slowly with a wooden spoon, until brown. 

3. Put toasted flour in a big bowl and leave to cool. 

4. Put lard in a small saucepan. Warm gently, stirring until all melted. Set aside and leave to cool. 

5. Pour cold melted lard into the big bowl. Mix it well with a wooden spoon.
6. Add icing sugar. Mix it and knead for 10 minutes.

7. Let mixture dough rest for 30 min. 

8. Using hands, divide and roll mixture dough into small balls (same size approx.)
9. Carefully place onto the baking tray and flatten each ball a bit.
NOTE: balls will flatten out more during baking.

10. Bake crumble cakes for 30 minutes oven at low temperature (approx. 140 º C).
11. Set aside and leave to cool. Sprinkle icing sugar over crumble cakes.
NOTE: Mix some icing sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon powder in a cup. Sprinkle mixture over crumble cakes (optional). 

12. Serve and place it on the Xmas plate.

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DRINK: SOFT TURRON MILKSHAKE (ALMOND BUTTER MILKSHAKE)

YOU WILL NEED: *vegan recipe
300 g soft turrón (turrón de Jijona) or almond butter
350ml of milk /*almond milk
2 tablespoons of honey /*agave nectar, to taste (optional)
Cinnamon powder, to sprinkle (optional) 

NOTE: The soft turrón (turrón de Jijona) is made with ground almonds. Almond butter instead of soft turron works well for this recipe, just add some honey. 

LET´S COOK!
1. Chop the soft turrón into small pieces. Put half of it into the measuring cup of the blender. 

2. Add half milk. Mix everything with the blender until foaming.

3. Mix everything well with the blender, at the same time add the remaining milk and pieces of soft turrón, until foaming. Rectify the taste by adding honey.

4. Serve it in a glass with straw. Sprinkle cinnamon on the top of the glass.

NOTE: Put the glasses in the freezer for a while, the soft turrón milkshake has to be cold.

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• NOVEMBER MENU

• JANUARY MENU

•  Xmas sweets | 4 recipes 

• Fruit hedgehog /New Year´s Eve special 

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• CALENDAR: 12 MENUS (PLUS HALLOWEEN + EASTER)