NON-WHEAT KABOSU CUPCAKES

Here is a tasty Japanese inspired cupcake for wheat allergics!

Non-wheat kabosu cupcakes!

Kabosu (カボス or 臭橙) is a juicy green citrus fruit (Latin name: Citrus sphaerocarpa) closely related to the yuzu/Japanese lime with the sharpness of lemon, used instead of vinegar in some Japanese dishes. It grows on a flowering plant with sharp thorns, and the fruit is harvested when still green but ripens to yellow. Kabosu was brought over from China in the Edo Period and became a popular fruit in Japan. It is produced in most areas of Ōita Prefecture (Kyushu Island) but particularly in Taketa and Usuki. The actual fruit is regarded as a delicacy in other parts of Japan, as it is often expensive outside of Ōita Prefecture. It improves the taste of many dishes, especially baked fish, sashimi and hot pot dishes.

INGREDIENTS: for 6~7 cupcakes

-Kabosu 1 (if notavailable, use lime, yuzu or lemon or your choice!)
-Eggs: 2
-Rice powder: 80 g
-Sugar: 50 g
-Butter: 50 g
-Sugar for icing

RECIPE:

-Cut out six thin slices from the kabosu/lime. Press the juice out of the rest (15 ml). Cut the skin into thin strips (later cut them again into small pieces according to your preference).

-Melt the butter inside a microwave oven (500~600W) for 40~50 seconds. Keep aside.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

-In a bowl beat the eggs with half of the sugar over a bain-marie (a larger bowl containing hot water (about 60 degrees Celsius). When smooth add the rest of the sugar.

-When the mixture has reached a temperature equivalent to a human body temperature take bowl off the bain-marie. Keep beating until the mixture attains a whitish colour. Then beat at low speed for 3 more minutes.

-Add the rice powder and fold/mix it in with a spatula.

-Add melted butter, Kabosu/lime juice and chopped Kabosu/lime skin/zest. Mix them in gently.

-Grease mold with butter or olive oil if you use a mold instead of cupcake paper cups. Fill in mold/cups with mixture.

-Place one slice of Kabosu/lime on top of each cake. Sprinkle sugar over the top.
Bake in oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minute.

-Take out and let cool down completely before taking cakes out of their molds.

-If you do not serve them immediately, wrap them in cellophane paper and preserve them inside fridge.
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VEGAN RICE CUPCAKES

Just discovered this cupcake recipe for my vegan (I’m not) friends with the extra bonus of possible variations!

Japanese style vegan rice cupaakes!

INGREDIENTS: For 1 mug cup (arrange quantities accordingly for a greater number)

-Rice powder (Ris Blanc): 4 tablespoons
-Cornstarch: 1 tablespoon
-Sugar (of your choice, honey might be feasible): 1 tablespoon
-Baking Powder: Half a teaspoon
-Olive oil: 1 tablespoon
-Soy milk: 4 tablespoons

RECIPE:

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-In an oven ramequin or mug cup first pour rice powder, cornstarch, sugar and baking powder and mix well.
Next add olive oil and soy milk and mix well.

-Depending on the kind of rce powder and soy milk you use, you may have to increase the amount of one or both for a smoother mixture. Experiment!

-Cook insid emicrowave for 2 minutes or more. Check by pushing a thin wooden or meddle stick. It should come out clean. The taste is light. You may add sugar.

-Have a good look at the cake while it cooks. It should not be more than 2 minutes 30 seconds.
If you use kabocha powder, you will need 1 small teaspoon plus 1 teaspoon of water.

-The above green cupcake was made by adding 1 teaspoon of spinach powder and 1 teaspoon of soy milk!

-Add 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon of soy milk for a cocoa cupcake!

-Add 1 tablespoon of carrot powder and 1 teaspoon of soy milk for a carrot cupcake.

-Add crushed apple for the above!
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Scottish Dessert: Whisky and Rolled Oats Mousse

Yes, they have great for desserts in Scotland!

Whisky & Rolled Oats Mousse!

INGREDIENTS: for 4 persons

-Fresh cream: 600 ml
-Rolled Oats/Barley: 75 g
-Whisky: 6 tablespoons
-Honey (liquid): 3 tablespoons
-Raspberries (can be replaced by seasonal small fruit: strawberries, blaberries, etc.): 500 g

RECIPE:

-Spread the rolled oats on an oven hot plate. Place them under the grill for 2~3 minutes until they become golden. Let cool down completely on the oven hot plate.

-Beat the fresh cream (chilled!) with an electric beater/whisker. When the cream has become a firm Chantilly, continue to beat as you add the whisky and honey.
Then add the rolled oats with a wooden spoon.

-Pour some of the cream in 4 large glass cups. Place a layer of raspberries. Repeat the process until you reach the top of the glass cup.

-Keep the glasses inside a fridge for at least 2 hours (you can prepare the dessert the night before).

Drink your favourite whisky with it!
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French Dessert: Creme brulee aux Myrtilles/Blueberries Creme Brulee

I found a whole series of desserts inmy old notes!
Bleberries are still in season.
Here is an easy and very tasty variation of a classice French dessert:
French Dessert: Creme brulee aux Myrtilles/Blueberries Creme Brulee!

INGREDIENTS: For 4 persons

-Egg yolks: 8
-Blueberries: 350 g
-Unskimmed milk: 300 ml
-Thick fresh ceam: 700 ml
-White sugar: 200 g
-Vanilla: 1 whole pod
-Sucre cassonade/brown sugar: 2 tablespoons

RECIPE:

-Pre-heat oven to 150 dgrees Celsius with a large deep oven plate filled with water up to a third of its depth.

-Make a cut along the vanilla pod and mix the inside with the milk in a deep pan. Bring slowly to boil.

-Beat the egg yolk and white sugar together in a separate bowl.

-Add the fresh cream. Mix. Add the vanilla milk and mix.

-Place the blueberries inside dessert dishes. Cover with the hot cream. Place the dishes in the bain-marie and cook for 20 minutes inside oven.

-Last and just before eating, sprinkle each dish with brown sugar and caramelize the cream under the grill.

-Serve lukewarm or cold.

If you wish to taste it with wine, a sparkling white wine would be great!
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Blueberry and Red Wine Ruby Mousse

Here is a seasonal dessert for adults with a wicked liking for wine!

Blueberry and Red Wine Ruby Mousse!

INGREDIENTS: For 4 cups (to share?)

-Blueberry Mousse:
Powdered gelatin or agar agar: 5 g
Water: 2 large tablespoons
Plain yoghurt: 200 ml/1 cup
Honey: 40 g
Frozen blueberries (or fresh in season): 7
Lemon juice: a little
Fresh cream: 50 ml

-Red wine jelly:
Red Wine: 100 ml
Sugar: 15 g
Lemon juice: a little
powdered gelatin or agar agar: 2.5 g
Water: 2 large tablespoons

-For decoaration:
Blueberries: to taste
Mint leaves

RECIPE:

-Blueberry Mousse:
Pour water into a bowl, add gelatin and mix in (in that order, please otherwise you will fail!)
Drop yoghurt, honey (liquid) and blueberries in a mixer/food processor. Mix until smooth.
Beat up fresh cream until it “horns” stand. Add to mousse mixture. Season with lemon juice.
Dissolve gelatin in water by gently heating it. Add to Mousse mixtureand mix. Pour the the blueberry mousse into 4 recipients of your choice and leave inside fridge for 30 minutes or until properly solidified.

-Wine jelly:
As for the bleberry mousse, add gelatin to water.
In a small pan heat red wine and sugar together to dissolve. Stop fire as soon as you think that the alcohol has evaporated. Season with lemon juice.
Let cool completely.
Dissolve gelatin in water by gently heating it. add to red wine jelly mixture and let cool completely.
Pour jelly over Blueberry Mousse and put v\back into refrigerator to solidify.
Only when the whole mousse and jelly are firm enough decorate with blueberries and fresh mint leaves.

Make a point to scoop both parts for top enjoyment!
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Baked Matcha (Green Tea) Cheese cake

Shizuoka Prefecture, where I live, produces no less than 50% of the national crop of green tea. You can imagine the quality of green tea consumed in homes in our Prefecture!
Matcha, high quality green tea powder has increasingly become popular in cooking not only in Japan, but abroad.
It does make for a beautiful combination with cheese cakes!

Baked Match Cheese Cake!

INGREDIENTS:
-Cream Cheese (Philadelphia style): 250 g
-Sugar: 90 g
-Eggs: 2
-Fresh cream: 100 ml
-Cornstarch: 1 large tablespoon
-Matcha: 1 nad a half large tablespoons

RECIPE:
-Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Place a sheet of cooking paper inside the cake mold
Bring the cream cheese to room temperature

-Mix softened cream cheese with sugar and mix with a hand mixer. Next add eggs, one at a tim e and mix well.

-Add fresh cream and mix well.
Mix cornstarch and matcha, then sprinkle the mixture in a “rain” over the cheese cake mixture and mix.
Pour the mixture into baking mold.

-Cook at 180 degrees Celsius for 40~50 minutes.
Atfer having cooled the cake completely leave in refrigerator to chill probably before serving.

Easy, isn’t it?
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Quick Summer Dessert: Blueberries Tofu

Tofu for dessert?
And why not?
Easy, healthy and great for the whole family!
Bluberries Tofu!

INGREDIENTS: For one dessert
-tofu: 100 ml (half a cup)
-Frozen bluberries: half a cup
-vanilla ice cream: a small scoop
-Fresh bluberries: 2~3

RECIPE:
-Drop all ingredients in a mixer/blender and blend until blueberries are reduced to pulp.
-Pour inside recipient/cup/glass of your choice. Decorate with fresh blueberries.

Note: don’t overblend, otherwise ice cream will turn liquid!
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Fruit Chocolate Cream Mousse

I’ve always loved choclate mousse and cream as far as I can remember and am always on the lookout for a simple recipe!
Here is one that even chidren could make:
Fruits & Chocolate Cream Mousse!

INGREDIENTS: For 5 people
-Chocolat Cream Mousse:
Milk Chocolate (use you favorite brand!): 65 g
Fresh cream: 200 cc (1 cup)

Fruit marinade:
Seasonal fruit (I cho0se mango this time as they are available most of the year): 1
Liqueur (Your favourite!): I chose rum this time: 2 large tablespoons

RECIPE:

Any fruit is fine. Think of volume and cuts: pears, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, …

Marinate your fruit with your favourite liqueur.

Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie at about 50 degrees celsius.

Whisk the fresh cream up to your own liking.

Add one third of the whisked fresh cream and mix gently.

Add rest of fresh cream and mix gently. If you whisk it too hard, ingredients will separate.

Fruits & Chocolate Cream Mousse

Place marinated fruit into recipients.

Pour chocolate cream on top and leave in refrigeartor for 2 hours.

Before serving decorate each cup using your imagination!
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Vegetable and Fruit Yoghurt Mousse

Is your whole family vegetarian?
Here is a dessert for all, adults and chidren alike:
Vegetables and Fruit Yoghurt Mousse!

INGREDIENTS: for 8 people
-Mousse:
Vegetable Juice: 200 cc (1 cup)
Fresh cream: 200 cc (1 cup)
Yoghurt: 250 cc (1 and a quarter cups)
Sugar: 100 g
lemon juice (to taste)
Gelatin or agar agar powder: 10 g

-Jelly:
Vegetable juice: 350 cc (1 and three quarters cups)
Sugar: 200 cc (1 cup)
Sugar: 30 g
Gelatin or agar agar powder: 10 g

-Topping:
Blueberry jam (to taste)/You may use other fruit jams naturally!

-Others:
Lukewarm water to dissolve gelatin: 6 large tablespoons each

RECIPE:
-Preparing jelly:
Add water to vegetable juice and warm up inside microwave oven for 30 seconds. Take out, add sugar and mix.

Add gelatin dissolved in lukearm water and stir well.
Pour in individual recipients. Let cool.
Leave inside refrigerator for 40~60 minutes until it has properly solidified.

-Preparing mousse:
Mix fresh cream with sugar in blender or whisk until half solid (should still see bubbles)

In a separate bowl pour vegetable juice, yoghurt and lemon juice. Add gelatin dissolved in lukewarm water and mix well.

-Let cool and pour over jely in individual recipients. Leave in refrigerator until properly solidified.

-Once the mousse ad solidified, top with jam thinned with a little water. If the dessert is for adults only, thinning the jam with liqueur is a good idea!

Open to imagination and variations!
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Cherries Red Wine Compote

While cherries are still to found aplenty and at cheap prices, it is always a good idea to make preserves.
I remember my father back home preserving dark cherries in kirsch (cherry brandy), putting the jars away inside a small pantry, locking it and keeping the key with him as they would quickly disappear as I, my two brothers and one sister got drunk on them as kids!

Here is a simple recipe making use of light coloured cherries and red wine:
Cherries Red Wine Compote:

INGREDIENTS:
-Cherries: 150 g
-Sugar: 3 large tablespoons
-Red wine: 2 larg tablespoons

RECIPE:
Wash cherries in clear cold water. Stab 5 of them with thin needle.
In a small bowl, drop in sugar with a little water. Warm up in a microwave oven until sugar has dissolved. Add a little more water and let cool down completely.

Place cherries inside the pan with their stems taking care that the cherries don’t overlap.

Pour in red wine. Add sugared water. Add water to just reach the top of the cherries. Cook on a small fire for 10~15 minutes.

Pour the lot inside a preserve glass jar and close. Let cool completely and leave inside the refrigerator for a whole week.

Here they are!
Savour them with a coffee, dark tea or a dram of kirsch!
Note that they should be cooked over a low fire, otherwise the skins would break.
These cherries can be used on cakes in clafoutis!
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Watermelon non-wheat flour mini-Cakes

This particular recipe is dedicated to This Cat Can Cook who amused me with his comments and has a love for Watermelon.
Now, wheat flour allergics will be glad to know that none of it is being used!

INGREDIENTS: for 9~10 cakes
-Watermelon, red part, no pips: 150 g
-Eggs: 2
-Rice flour/powder: 60 g
-Sugar: 25 g
-Butter: 50 g

RECIPE:

Cut 100g of the watermelon in small cubes 1x1x1 cm. Blend rest into juice (40 ml).

Melt butter in electric oven at 5~600W for 40~50 seconds or until it is completely melted. Keep warm.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Mix sugar and eggs together. Warm sufficiently until it gets to your “skin temperature”.
Beat up at High Medium speed until it forms a bubbly but fine paste. Continue to beat at low speed for 3 more minutes.

Add rice flour and delicately with a spatula.

Mix in melted butter and watermelon juice delicately.

Pour in molds.

Place a watermelon cube on top and bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

Let the cakes cool before taking them out of their molds.

Serve them upside down decorated with mint leaves.