special – FoodWatcher

Coconut Dreamcake – Celebrating 15 Years of MNR

Happy birthday, My New Roots! We’re celebrating 15 years strong with a Danish dreamcake, and I am so grateful to you, dear reader, for following along. Whether you’ve been here since the beginning, or this is your first post, thank you for being here and…

The post Coconut Dreamcake – Celebrating 15 Years of MNR appeared first on My New Roots.

I could say something cliché, like “I cannot believe it’s been 15 years already” but I CAN! Haha, I’ve packed so much into this last decade-and-a-half, that I’m actually shocked it hasn’t been 30 years! Two cookbooks, countless international cooking classes and workshops, an online membership platform, a TV show, a TED talk, a wellness retreat business, and a global community of hundreds of thousands of fine folks just like yourself. WOW.

This space has seen me through two overseas moves, four restaurant jobs, a marriage, a baby, home renovations, major health challenges and triumphs, and the personal evolution that comes along with all of it! I knew I needed to create a recipe that celebrated all of it and I’m so excited to share this Coconut Dreamcake with you.

Honouring a Classic

It was pretty fun deciding what I was going to bake for this anniversary and how I was going to photograph it. Those over-the-top layer cakes I made for previous birthdays felt fun and celebratory, but I also wanted something nostalgic and reverent for this one.

I have been wanting to try making a Sarah B-version of the classic Danish dessert, drømmekage (translation: “dreamcake”) for a very long time. When I lived in Copenhagen, this was one of my favourite treats because it is just so darn delicious and satisfying. The sponge is a moist and tender vanilla cake, with a topping of gooey, coconut caramel. Typically baked slab-style, and served in squares at bakeries all over the country, dreamcake is one of the most ubiquitous and well-loved desserts for a good reason – it truly is a dream!

Playing with an a time-honoured recipe is challenging, because why mess with a good thing?! But I’ve built a career on making healthy-ish, more nourishing swaps in traditional dishes, so why not attempt a drømmekage of my own?

Happy Hemp

If you’ve been here a while, you know that one of my favourite ingredients to work with is hemp! These light-tasting and creamy seeds are the perfect addition to so many meals, boosting the Omega-3 fat and protein content. They also contain good amounts of magnesium, iron, and zinc, and we could all use more minerals! Best of all? They’re grown locally here in Canada!

I love hemp seeds sprinkled onto my Revolutionary Pancakes and granola, blended into a rich and delicious milk, made into a mock-parmesan cheese, and of course blended into hemp butter. I knew I had to include hemp seeds in this celebratory dessert since I feel it’s my *signature move*. So I incorporated them in two ways: first as part of the flour mix for the vanilla sponge; this adds a beautiful tooth and moisture to the cake, keeping it fresh for days! And I made a hemp cream to replace the dairy cream in both the cake and the topping (just for fun – nothing against dairy cream!).

Celebrating Coconut

Other notable variations include toasting the coconut for the topping, which really brings the coconut flavour to the max! I used two kinds of coconut, since I love having just a few larger pieces for a textural change-up, but if you only have finely desiccated coconut, that’s *fine* too Using coconut sugar in the topping adds an incredible depth of flavour and complexity that I suggest you don’t miss out on – it brings so much more to the party than plain old brown sugar.

Helpful Notes

I used unbleached cane sugar instead of coconut sugar in the dreamcake because I wanted to maintain the light colour of the cake. If you want to use another granulated sweetener, go for it! Substituting with a whole food liquid sweetener is a different ball game and I haven’t experimented with that yet. If you do, make sure to share in the comments and let us know how it goes!

You can use whole or light spelt, or a combination of those flours for the sponge – the combo was my favourite, a mix of half and half. You can substitute these with any other gluten-containing flours, or with a gluten-free mix that mimics all-purpose flour for baking (or make your own!).

Now I gotta tell you about the topping, because there is a moment when you’re making that caramel that I know will make you think you’ve failed and you haven’t! The butter and coconut sugar are stubborn to meld. The whole thing will split and look chunky and strange, and the excess butter will be oozing around, not wanting to play with anyone. THEN! it will magically come together if you just keep stirring. Make sure the heat is very low, and stick with it. If you’re going on 8 to 10 minutes even… just keep stirring – you got this (and it’s SO worth it)!

Coconut Dreamcake

Author Sarah Britton

Ingredients

Sponge:

⅓ cup / 50g hemp seeds
1 cup / 150g wholegrain or light spelt flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
50 g salted butter preferably organic
4 eggs preferably organic
1 cup / 250g unbleached cane sugar
⅓ cup / 80ml hemp cream see recipe below
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping:

100 g salted butter preferably organic
1 ⅓ cup / 200g coconut sugar
3 Tbsp. hemp cream see recipe below
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. flaky salt such as Maldon
1 ½ cups / 150g unsweetened desiccated coconut
½ cup /25g unsweetened large flake coconut

Hemp Cream:

1 cup / 250ml water
⅓ cup / 50g hemp seeds

Instructions

Start by preheating the oven to 400°F / 200°C. Prepare a 7” / 18cm round springform cake pan by greasing the interior with a little butter, and placing a parchment paper circle in the bottom (I find it easiest to trace the bottom of the cake form, then cut it out to fit perfectly).
Make the hemp cream by placing the hemp seeds and water in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds, or until the cream is smooth. Set aside.
In a food processor, blend hemp seeds until they’re the texture of sand (but don’t blend too much or you’ll end up with hemp butter!). Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse to blend and set aside.
Melt the butter over low heat and let cool. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy (either with an electric mixer or your arm muscles!). Stir in the flour mixture, then fold in the butter, hemp cream and vanilla. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. Then reduce oven temp to 350, and bake for another 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
While the sponge is baking, make the topping by toasting the coconut in a large skillet over medium heat (work in batches if necessary, and toast the two types of coconut separately). Once golden and fragrant, set aside. Melt the butter over low heat, then stir in the coconut sugar. Stir frequently until they combine into a thick caramel (this make take a few minutes, but keep stirring!). Add the hemp cream and vanilla, stir to incorporate. Remove from the heat, then add the flaky salt, toasted coconut, and fold to thoroughly combine.
Once the sponge is baked, remove from the oven and spread the topping over as evenly as possible. Place back int the oven for another 5 minutes, just until the topping is bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool completely, then place in the fridge to firm up, at least 2 hours. Remove cake from the fridge, then using a sharp knife, cut around the edge to release caramel that is stuck to the sides. Unlock the springform to reveal! Slice, say thank you, and enjoy. Leftovers can be stored covered, at room temperature for about a week.

Photographing this dreamcake was just as much fun as eating it. Since I was re-creating a Danish recipe, and those flavours got me all nostalgic for my Copenhagen home, I decided to try emulating that very special Nordic light that I truly miss. I feel like I succeeded! This was not an easy feat, but after 15 years of teaching myself how to take photos of food, I think I figured it out. This is all to say, that I’m still challenged by this ongoing project, and in love with everything I’ve learned along the way. What a trip!

And one final thanks to you, for being here, for the time and energy you’ve spent here on the blog, engaging on social, on Grow, in my cooking classes and retreats, zoom hangs, or even those passing moments on the street when you come up and say hello (don’t ever NOT do that by the way. I love meeting you!). The thing I value most from the last 15 years of creating this space, is the people that I’ve had the privilege of connecting with inside of it. Words could not describe how big and full my heart feels when I remember the meaningful conversations, hugs, high-fives, tears and smiles that we’ve shared, while navigating this wild ride of life, and trying our best to look after our miraculous, individual bodies, together as one.

Immense gratitude and love. Your friend always,

Sarah B

The post Coconut Dreamcake – Celebrating 15 Years of MNR appeared first on My New Roots.

Umami Rice Stacks with Vegan Caviar

The post Umami Rice Stacks with Vegan Caviar appeared first on My New Roots.

It hasn’t happened in so long; when an idea hits like a bolt of lightening, and a recipe is downloaded perfectly into my brain, complete and fully-baked: Umami Rice Stacks with Vegan Caviar. I was talking to a dear friend a couple weeks ago, about nothing related to food, and this random idea for vegan caviar popped into my head. Out of nowhere. Understanding how my creative self works, I had to say this idea out loud immediately so I wouldn’t forget. No sooner had the words chia and kelp come out of my mouth, then the rest of the recipe tumbles out, one element after the next until it was there: a crispy rice, caviar-studded, spicy, creamy, savoury, stack with carrot-kimchi salad, avocado, and sesame. If you’re familiar with “sushi pizza” you’ll get where I’m going with this!

Although the entire dish is absolutely delicious, my favourite part has to be vegan caviar. It’s so easy to make and really fun! I knew that it had to have an “ocean-y” flavour, so using a sea veggie made the most sense. Nori is widely available and is a mild seaweed that most people enjoy the taste of, so I went with that. I used a product called nori “krinkles” that are minimally-processed kelp (just dried and toasted), but if you can’t find those, use nori flakes, or a couple sheets of sushi nori instead. After soaking for a minute, the nori becomes soft and easy to blend, and with the addition of tamari, a salty, umami-bomb liquid ensues – perfect for soaking the chia in!

After 15 minutes, the chia absorbs all of that dark, delicious liquid, and swells up to resemble teeny tiny eggs…BOOM! Vegan caviar is born! I added a touch of olive oil to create a slick mouthfeel too – this is optional, but pretty effective. And the “chaviar” continues to absorb the liquid it’s in while hanging out in the fridge, so to make it the right consistency, I just drizzle in a little water before serving each time. I’m over the moon about this one, people!

Sea Vegetables

Sea vegetables, like the nori used in this recipe are abundant, incredibly nutritious, eaten world-wide, and a truly nourishing food. Sea vegetables come in all different colours: red, brown, green, blue, and more and can be grown in the sea or cultivated in tanks. They have a smaller carbon footprint than the veggies we know and love that grow on land and don’t rely on the soil which globally needs restoring and rejuvenation!

Kind of like the sprouts of the ocean, packing so many nutrients in a small amount of food — they are actually the most nutrient-dense food on the planet, how rad is that? These rainbow-coloured, unassuming, under-water plants contain protein, various vitamins, important iodine (for thyroid health!), fiber, calcium, iron, and more, often times in much higher concentrations than their land veggie or even animal-food counterparts. Shining stars of the sea, the micronutrient content is just unparalleled especially as our soil nutrients continue to decrease due to degenerative farming practices. Holistic, regenerative agriculture works to combat soil nutrient loss and I highly recommend you seek out your local farmers trying to bring life back to the soil in your area and in the meantime, try incorporating more sea veggies into your daily diet.

Some of the most common sea vegetables:

Arame
A great source of calcium (more than other sea veggies) and vitamin A. Sweet and mild, perfect for beginners and because of the fiber, Arame is great for digestion!

Wakame
Folate-, manganese-, and iron-rich wakame is a sweet kelp that’s often found in salad form!

Kombu
Handy in a pot of beans to enhance digestibility, and as a flavour and mineral-enhancer in broths, kombu is high in magnesium and potassium.

Nori
Likely the most common sea veggie because of the popularity of sushi, you can find nori in krinkles, sheets, or flakes, dried or toasted! This is an easy and accessible way to eat more seaweed!

Spirulina
You’ve probably seen the brightly-blue-hued smoothies coloured by this algae. Just 1 Tbsp. of spirulina has as much protein as a small handful of almonds and an impressive amount of iron.

Dulse
A beautiful red seaweed, with ample amounts of magnesium and calcium.

There are countless more but these are the ones most commonly used in my recipes and are generally readily available! There are some concerns for sensitive populations about seaweed’s ability to store heavy metals when grown in polluted water. It’s important to find brands that are conscious about their sourcing, aren’t over-harvesting or are growing responsibly, and make sure you eat in moderation. I do think we all could benefit from diversifying our diets a little more to include these incredible superstars.

Now back to the recipe!

The first layer of this dish is the rice bottom, and that is what I cooked first (after nailing the chaviar). I tried using a couple of types of brown rice here, but I only found success was the short grain, I’m guessing because it has a more glutinous consistency than long grain and basmati, which tend to be lighter and fluffier. When I tested with the latter, I had to use an egg to bind the ingredients, but desired a vegan final product, so wound up using short grain in the end. You can absolutely use white rice if you like, but keep in mind that brown rice still has the bran intact and therefore more fibre, vitamins, and minerals.

Since my inspo was sushi pizza, I wanted a super crispy rice base. A quick sear in a hot pan was great, but without deep frying, I couldn’t get the satisfying crispiness that I desired. I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you take this extra step. I bet an air fryer would work beautifully here! The rice is still good even if it’s cold or room temperature, and a lot less fussy. Either way, make sure to cook the rice at least 4-5 hours before serving, so that it has time to cool down, so you can cut it into your desired shape. I used a jar lid for this, but a drinking glass or other circular tool would work perfectly.

The kimchi-carrot salad was inspired by the spicy salmon that often crowns a sushi pizza – it’s savoury and moreish, with a consistency walking the fine line between and al dente and tender. I steamed the carrots to achieve this texture, and you can cook them as little or as much as you like depending on your preference! The end result was so close to raw fish that my husband has a hard time believing it was carrots at all. Smothered in a creamy, brine-y, funky sauce, these humble roots become uniquely surprising and remarkably flavourful.

Don’t be intimidated by the multiple components of the Umami Rice Stacks with Vegan Caviar – once the rice is cooked and cooled, the rest comes together pretty quickly. You can even watch me make it in a live class on my wellness platform, My New Roots Grow! Perhaps bookmark this dish for a special occasion or celebration, so that you’ll set aside the time to make it. When tackling something new and different, I make sure I have ample hours so I don’t feel rushed. Cooking under pressure is the worst! Give yourself the gift of slow kitchen creation time.

Now for some notes on the Umami Rice Stacks with Vegan Caviar recipe…

I would encourage you to use short grain brown rice here (as I mentioned above) because it is the most glutinous and sticky, and it holds together well when you’re making that little base for the toppings. But! If long grain brown or brown basmati is all you have available, no worries. You may need to skip the cut-out step, and instead make a little pile on your plate. It’s all going to same place and tastes great no matter what format it takes! Haha…

If you have the the time for it, soak the rice overnight or for 8-12 hours in plenty of filtered water with a little splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice added. This improves the digestibility of the rice, and cuts back a little on cooking time too.

The amount of water you’ll use to cook the rice in depends on whether or not you’ve soaked the rice, and the size of the pot, so keep an eye on it, and add water as needed. You want the rice on the wetter side of things, since it’s the moisture in it that is going to help hold it together. Mirin, a sweet rice wine, is a tasty addition here, but it can be substituted with rice wine vinegar and a pinch of your sweetener of choice, or omitted altogether.

Umami Rice Stacks with Vegan Caviar

Author Sarah Britton

Ingredients

Umami Rice Stacks

1 cup / 200g short grain brown rice
2 ¾ cups / 650ml filtered water
¾ tsp. fine sea salt
1 Tbsp. mirin optional, but delicious

Chaviar

½ cup / 125 ml nori too light to have a gram measure
sub with 3 sheets of sushi grade nori
½ cup / 125ml hot water more as needed
1 tsp. tamari or soy sauce
2 Tbsp. chia seed
1 tsp. olive oil

Kimchi Mayo

¼ cup / 40g kimchi finely chopped
1 Tbsp. sriracha
⅓ cup / 85ml mayonnaise vegan or egg-based
¼ tsp. ground chili to taste
½ tsp. toasted sesame oil

Carrot-Kimchi Salad

3 medium / 300g carrots
2 tsp. tamari or soy sauce
2 tsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. cold-pressed olive oil
½ Tbsp. finely grated ginger
1 batch kimchi mayo recipe above

For Serving

1 ripe avocado
2-3 spring onion
1 Tbsp. toasted black sesame seeds

Instructions

Start by soaking the rice (see headnotes). Drain and rinse well, then place in a cooking pot with 2 ½ + cups / 625ml + water, plus the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook covered for about 35-40 minutes if soaked, 45-60 minutes if cooked from raw. Check the water levels periodically to make sure the pot isn’t drying out, and add water to the pot if necessary. When the rice is cooked, remove the lid and let cool for a few minutes. Add the mirin, and fold to combine.
Prepare a standard brownie pan (8×8” / 20x20cm) by rubbing it with a little fat to prevent sticking (olive oil, expeller-pressed coconut oil, ghee, or butter). Press the rice firmly into the pan, making it as level and even as possible. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Make the chaviar by combining the nori with water from a recently-boiled kettle. Let soak for 1-2 minutes, then add the tamari and transfer this mix in a blender (or use an immersion blender). Blend on high until smooth. Transfer mixture to a jar, then stir in the chia seeds. Let the chia absorb the liquid, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Make the kimchi mayo by stirring the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Scrub the carrots well, and chop them into your desired size – just make sure that they are relatively similar and bite-sized so that they cook evenly. Place in a steamer basket in a pot with water and set to medium-high heat, cover, and cook for 4-8 minutes once steaming – depending on their size and your preference. While the carrots are steaming, whisk together the tamari, lemon juice, olive oil, and grated ginger in a medium bowl and set aside. The carrots are ready when they are tender. Remove from heat, and immediately add to the bowl with the marinade. Stir well to coat. Let cool.
While the carrots are cooling, cut the rice out into your desired shapes. I used a jar lid (see photo) that would create four equal-sized portions, but you can also just cut the rice slab into four squares as well (alternatively, make a bunch of small, bite-sized pieces for appetizers!).
Place the rice bases on your plates. Spread a dollop of the kimchi mayo on top of each base and spread it to the edges. Top with avocado slices, then a few spoonfuls of the chaviar on top. Fold the remaining mayo through the marinated carrots, then spoon those on top of the avocado. Sprinkle with finely sliced spring onions and sesame seeds. Say thank you and enjoy immediately.

Notes

Serves 4-5

I am so grateful to all of you that participated in naming the Umami Rice Stacks with Vegan Caviar. I was HOWLING with laughter reading your proposals on Instagram! Wow, ya’ll are creative! I’d be remiss to not share some of my favourites: “The Inspired Layered Spire”, “Mountain of Love”, “Dynamite Discs”, “Avo-Kimchi Pow Pow”, “Shizza Shazam”, “The Candlestick.”, “Hokey No-Poke”, “Mt. Abundance”, “Mystic Pizazz”, and “Rainbow Tower of 1000 Saveurs”. LOL! Love you guys so much.

Big thanks my brain for channeling this stellar dish, so that I could share with you! I hope you love it as much as I do. Such a vibrant and delicious way to celebrate life! Sending you love on this day and every day.

xo, Sarah B

The post Umami Rice Stacks with Vegan Caviar appeared first on My New Roots.