teacher by day - chef by night
Yet another Birthday Celebration this month (and we wonder why I have trouble not keeping a consistant weight!). My Grandmother (Hi Grandma!) loves to read my blog and always whines that she doesn’t get to taste more of what I make, so I wanted to …
Everyone is OK…. Smoke, School evacuation, cancelled fire calls, no snack – but everyone is ok!! Lets set the scene… I finished my lunch but wanted a snack to reached into my drawer to get a snack-sized popcorn. Headed to the microwave & started it …
“Hal-e-vah”OR “hawl-vah” … now that you know how to say it – you can try to enjoy it! But, how to spell it!? Halvah, Halva, Halava – no one ever said I was good at spelling (or that spelling makes sense, so lets just skip that part and enjoy eating)!!
I have loved Halvah since I was a little kid (its a sweet from Isreal, Turkey, Greece, India… you know, that area of the world. If you are interested in learning more about it: check out the Wikipedia article, even though it isn’t the most accurate source – come good background info, or visit Dictionary.com for quick info). The flavor tastes a lot like the tahini that you use, so make sure you are using one that you like (and that you like that flavor). I really thought that this was going to be a lot harder to make than it was – but besides making sure you have these ingredients (which I did) it is really pretty easy!
GUESS WHAT – this is [pretty] HEALTHY [in my opinion at least]… made with just cashews, sesame paste, & agave. Yes, there are about 15 grams of fat & 175 calories if you base this on 10 servings – but all of those are natural fats! So it really isn’t that bad of a tasty sweet (rich) treat for you. All of the fats or calories in this are the “good” kind, just don’t eat the whole thing at once!!
From Diet Dessert n Dogs who adapted it from the book: Sweet Freedom: Desserts You’ll Love without Wheat, Eggs, Dairy or Refined Sugar
Halvah Base
Chocolate Swirl
Base: In the bowl of a food processor process the cashews until they resemble a coarse cornmeal, no pieces left bigger than a sesame seed. Add remaining (base) ingredients and blend until the mixture comes together in a ball (scraping the sides down once helped). It should have the consistency of a thick dough (do not add liquid; you want it fairly dry, just moist enough to hold together). Break up the ball with your fingers or spatula and crumble it evenly around the processor bowl. Set aside.
Chocolate Swirl: Prepare to melt your chocolate in a double boiler (small pot of a little water with a bowl on top to put your chocolate in the top bowl). Stir constantly until the chocolate melts, a couple of minutes. Remove the bowl from the pot and then stir in the [glycerin or] agave [and stevia]. The mixture should remain smooth and pourable.
Finish: Drizzle the chocolate mixture directly over the halvah in the processor bowl. Don’t worry if it’s not even around the whole mixture. Pulse once or twice ONLY to just barely incorporate the chocolate in ribbons through the mixture (any more than this and you will end up with chocolate halvah). You want the chocolate to be distributed between the halvah, but not blended into it.
Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on your counter and turn the mixture onto it. Folding the plastic over the halvah mixture, press the mixture into place to form a compact rectangle (make sure its not too thick, but is compact). Cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least overnight. Once firm, cut into small squares for serving. Store, covered, in the refrigerator up to one week. Makes 20-30 small squares.
![Pickled [Deviled] Eggs](https://i0.wp.com/www.teacher-chef.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/4-22-pickled-beet-eggs1.jpg?resize=760%2C400&ssl=1)
A few years ago I made Pickled Beets and my parents told me that they hated pickled beets, but since through the years I was forced to try lots of things that I said I didn’t like – I told them they had to try it. Guess What… they liked it! I figured since at Passover (or Easter!!) we always have hard-boiled eggs and my whole family now likes pickled beets, why not combine the two!?
Every year since I can remember, Chocolate Covered Matzo graced our Passover table. We always bought it but in recent years 1/2 of the pieces in the package were no longer full pieces of matzo but were broken into small pieces. Having smaller pieces is …
ITS RICH’S BIRTHDAY!
The is just one problem with loving to cook, starting a food blog, improving your cooking skills, and dating someone who loves to eat my cooking. That is: when I offer the world for his birthday, he decided to take it and challenge me to get an awesome birthday cake this year. I love a challenge, so was ready to try making Chocolate Cake Cheesecake (you know kinda like the Cheesecake Factory’s classic dessert) when that was what Rich requested. After some Foodgawker searching I found Erin’s Food Files version that she recently made and decided I was up for this birthday challenge. Since last weekend I made a chocolate-peanut butter cake (and Rich didn’t want a peanut butter frosting) I decided to search for a different frosting (Rich requested a fudge-like chocolate frosting) and decided to roughly base my frosting on Beantown Baker’s Chocolate Frosting.
Be sure to set aside some time (cheesecake the day before) to make this cake – but once all of your parts are ready it is a fast assembly! The cheesecake layer is nice and smooth not a super solid cheesecake so it fits perfectly with the soft layers of the cake. Feel free to decorate however you want (I went with sprinkles since it was a birthday!) and just enjoy this cake for a special occasion [or whatever].
Recipes adapted from Erin’s Food Files & Beantown Baker
CHEESECAKE:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Boil a pot of water. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium until fluffy, scraping down side of bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract and salt. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down side of bowl after each addition. Beat in sour cream.
Cut parchment paper in a circle and line the bottom of the cheesecake pan. Wrap bottom half of pan in foil. Pour in filling; place in a roasting pan. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up side of springform. Bake until just set in center, about 45 minutes. Remove pan from water; let cool 20 minutes. Run a paring knife around edge; let cool completely. Cover; chill overnight, then on day 2 take out of the springform (leaving bottom on) and wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.
CAKE:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
FROSTING:
Cream butter and cream cheese and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Slowly add milk until frosting reaches desired consistency, then beat another 5 minutes until creamy.
ASSEMBLY
Place first layer of cake on cake stand. If desired, frost with a little frosting. Remove cheesecake from freezer, unwrap, and remove from metal bottom of the pan, then be sure to peel off parchment paper. Place cheesecake layer on top of the cake. If the cheesecake is wider than the cake & its necessary to to trim it, wait approximately 10 minutes for the cheesecake to soften, then trim it with a knife. Place top layer of cake on top of the cheesecake, and coat with a layer of frosting (crumb coat). Refrigerate approximately 30 minutes, then frost the remaining frosting. Top with shaved chocolate, chocolate chips, or decoration of your choosing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
