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Eggless Almond Mango Protein Cake with a whipped mango frosting

Eggless Almond Mango Protein Cake. It’s summer and summer screams mangoes. I’m having the time of my life working in the kitchen with mangoes. Made this eggless mango almond cake a while ago topped with a luscious mango cream and freshly diced mangoes.

May I say it was most delicious? It certainly was that and more. The cake is a satisfying mango almond sponge, dense and moist, high protein too. Once again a simple recipe = dry mix + wet mix.

I’m having quite a fun time experimenting with eggless versions of cakes, and an even better time sharing them. Seems to be breathing new life into the blog, Instagram and generally more motivation for everyday.

It’s tough enough to bake when the temperatures are soaring, and lethargy all but sets in. I wake up every morning with a long list of thing to accomplish, much like conquering Mount Everest. By 10am, the incessant heat hits you, and lays all good plans to rest.

On days like this it is mangoes that are a savior. Bright yellow, enticing, tempting, motivating and calling my name, they get me to really start playing with pots and pans. This Eggless Almond Mango Protein Cake is the result of one such day, and a happy result that.

I’ve used a ton of mangoes this year and the last year as well, so I have a whole load of recipes to share. I’ll get there one at a time. For now, please do make this tropical delight which I have made a few times.

It’s simple, it’s vibrant and it looks really pretty. The frosting took all of 5 minutes and it’s just the colours that bring it alive! I’ve added a video of one without the protein powder too just in case you’d rather try that!

Eggless Almond Mango Protein Cake with a whipped mango frosting

Eggless Almond Mango Protein Cake. A most delicious & satisfying tropical mango almond sponge, dense and moist, high protein too. The topping makes it even more delicious, festive too. Once again a simple recipe = dry mix + wet mix.

Keyword baking, dessert, eggless, fruit, homemade, sweet

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 50

Total Time 55

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Wet Mix

3/4 cup store bought yogurt
3/4 cup raw sugar/boora or powdered sugar
1/4 cup clarified butter {ghee} melted, cool
1/4 cup milk {– 1 tbsp} room temperature

Dry Mix

1 cup plain flour/maida
1/2 cup almond meal 45g
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup mango protein powder

Whipped Mango Frosting

1 cup mascarpone cream, chilled
1/4 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp mango protein powder

Instructions

Mango Almond Protein Cake

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a round 8" baking tin with a 3" ring insert with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insert.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl to mix well. Alternatively, sift if you like. Reserve.
In another large bowl, whisk together the yogurt and sugar. Leave to stand for about 15-20 minutes. Whisk in melted, cool ghee, milk and vanilla extract.
Gently stir in the dry mix in 4-5 lots, mixing well each time.
Transfer to the lined 8" baking tin with a 3" ring insert.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until tester comes out clean. Cool in tin for 5 minutes, then gently turn out onto rack, and cool completely

Whipped Mango Frosting

Gently whisk all ingredients until smooth, yet firm. Don’t over whisk as we don’t want to break down the thickness. Taste and adjust sweetness.
Top the cooled cake with this, and scatter over diced fresh mangoes, fresh mint & rose petals.

Best Ever Eggless Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Loaf – Simple & delicious

Eggless Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Loaf , simple, so delicious and wholegrain too. Did I tell you it’s hand whisked and takes about 10 minutes to get into the oven? Yes, that too. Above all, the coconut sugar and clarified butter add deep, earthy flavours making the loaf a winner.

Have you ever used coconut sugar?

And do you use walnuts often? I just think they make everything taste better!

3 ripe bananas, a mix of flours, sugar and ghee/clarified butter yield this delicious moist and above all, VERY SIMPLE Eggless Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Bread/Loaf. The basic recipe works with everyday ingredients.

Walnuts and chocolate chips are add ons, but they do add deliciousness. You could also add a dash of cinnamon powder if you like.

Hopefully I’ve convinced you to get into the kitchen and begin mashing bananas! I’ve had like a million requests over on Instagram for an eggless version of a Wholegrain Banana Bread video I shared a while ago. I tried a couple of times to make it eggless, but I wasn’t convinced.

Then one day, I saw a comment from someone on Instagram who said she was really grateful for an eggless recipe I had shared since her daughter was allergic to eggs. I’ve now begun trying to share both sort of recipes, with eggs and without. I’ve made a few videos as well.

I had a really nice time making the videos. As you can see, the recipe is really really simple, fuss free and quick. So easy that I’ve begun making this Eggless Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Loaf {and the recipe version with eggs too} quite often.

♥ Always nice to hear from you ♥

Tag me if you like Instagram @passionateaboutbaking Facebook @passionateaboutbaking Twitter @vindee Pinterest @PassionateAboutBaking

Do let me know if you make this loaf cake, or you have requests for any others. I often try and bake on request since it makes more sense. I’m here because of you after all! And of course, do hit the subscribe and turn on the notifications while on YouTube. I’d love to hear from you!

Eggless Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Loaf

3 ripe bananas, a mix of flours, sugar and ghee/clarified butter yield this delicious moist and above all, VERY SIMPLE Eggless Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Bread/Loaf. The basic recipe works with everyday ingredients and walnuts and chocolate chips are add ons.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 20

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

1/2 cup clarified butter/ghee melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup coconut sugar {or brown sugar}
3 large bananas well mashed
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour {maida}
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180º.
Line a loaf tin with baking parchment.
In a small bowl, whisk the flours, baking soda, baking soda and salt. Reserve.
In a large bowl, whisk together the clarified butter and sugars, followed by the mashed banana and vanilla extract.
Add sifted flours, chopped walnuts and chocolate chips into the wet mix.
Mix gently just until combined. Do not overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Top with walnut halves and chocolate chips.
Bake at 180Cº for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until the tester comes out clean.
Cool in tin for 30 minutes at least, then cool on rack.
Serve sliced warm or at room temperature.
Note: Loosely tent the top with a sheet of aluminium foil in the last 10-15 minutes if the top is over browning.

Eggless Wholegrain Strawberry Frangipane Tray Bake …simple, one bowl deliciousness

Eggless Wholegrain Strawberry Frangipane Tray Bake… simple, one bowl deliciousness. The buttery shortbread base which holds an indulgent fragrant almond filling, finished off with sweet tart strawberries and sprigs of fresh rosemary. The whole bake comes together quite quickly and simply, you’ll love it!

This has been a while coming and I’m not really sure why. The last time I baked this wholegrain frangipane tray bake, it was one with eggs, the recipe jotted down on one of my million post-it notes. While it did see light of day in a ‘blueberry tray bake‘ avatar, it felt like it was time to do a strawberry version again.

That truckload of strawberries in my fridge leads me on everyday. This is one of 3 strawberry seasons up in North India, and I can’t get enough of it. There’s SO MUCH you can do with these luscious berries…

Then again, one thing led to another, and further inspiration from the infinite eggless requests kicked in. I’ve been baking for donkeys years, some of the best years were with the Daring Bakers. I recall an eggless frangipane we once made back then, so this is a spin off that recipe.

Those were some of the best years of my baking life, a steep learning curve then, and very challenging. It’s one thing to get up and push your creativity a little. It’s altogether another when you completely shove the boundaries, doing things you never thought you would do!

Those Daring Baker golden years. All from scratch ... Hungarian Kalács, Tres Leche, Momofuku’s Crack Pie, Battenberg, Armenian Nazook, Povitica, Swedish Princess cakes, Savarins, Croquembouche, Baklava, Pavlova, Empanada Gallega, Entremets … so many more!

It was these challenging bakes that gave me a foundation, a ‘baking education’ that allowed us to think differently, perhaps more creatively too. At the time, ingredients were tough to come by in India and the challenges were for a worldwide audience. Doing things from scratch had a different meaning, something I will always be grateful for.

This Eggless Wholegrain Strawberry Frangipane Tray Bake is the result of all that experimentation. Doing a whole lot of baking, and a whole LOT of eggless baking makes you often think out of the box.

The recipe is super simple, using no ‘equipment‘ as such. It’s a quick, one bowl recipe {used twice}, gets the fingertips in a bit and gets into the oven in under 30 minutes.

Then you need to wait for the bake to cool to allow you to slice it. The flavours just sing your name. I mean look at the ingredient list. All that almond meal will make anyone HAPPY!

Using ghee/clarified butter instead of normal butter is a game changer for me in many ways. I think I use it more than butter in baking now.

Ghee – doesn’t spoil and stays indefinitely at room temperature. That it tastes great and is difficult to stop eating … it is delicious! I think it also works really well because of a lower water content as compared to butter. I think I’ve read somewhere that it’s easier to digest too. Well, I’m not complaining!

So here’s the recipe for the Eggless Wholegrain Strawberry Frangipane Tray Bake. Hope you make it soon, and enjoy it as much as I have.

If you make any changes, please jot them down and do share them with me in comments. It’s always nice to know how things work differently with different folk, and how we can share experiences.

Thank you for stopping by as always. If you have any requests for recipes, please leave me a note. Will try and get something going for you.

Eggless Wholegrain Strawberry Frangipane Tray Bake

Eggless Wholegrain Strawberry Frangipane Tray Bake… simple, one bowl deliciousness. The buttery shortbread base which holds an indulgent fragrant almond filling, finished off with sweet tart strawberries and sprigs of fresh rosemary. The whole bake comes together quite quickly and simply, you’ll love it!

Keyword baking, dessert, eggless, fruit, sweet

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 45

Total Time 2 50

Servings 16 squares

Ingredients

Wholewheat biscuit base

1 cup whole-wheat flour/aata scant} {110g}
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp clarified butter / ghee melted, cooled {75g}
2 tbsp brown sugar
Pinch salt
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tsp Water

Eggless Almond Frangipane

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp clarified butter / ghee melted, cooled {75g}
1/2 cup raw sugar/boora {75g}
1 1/2 cups almond meal {145g}
3 tbsp cornflour 25 {25g}
Few drops almond extract
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
2 tbsp Greek yogurt

Instructions

Wholewheat biscuit base

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a loose bottomed 8 X 8″ square baking tray with parchment paper.
Place flour, sugar, salt and clarified butter in a large bowl. Whisk with balloon whisk to get an even breadcrumb like mix. Since it’s winter here, the ghee was semi solid which was perfect.
Whisk in the apple cider vinegar evenly, then whisk in just enough water that the biscuit base holds together when pinched between fingertips, much alike a crumble.
Transfer to prepared tin, even out, then gently press into place with your fingertips.
Bake for 12 minutes at 180 C until light golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the eggless almond frangipane.

Eggless Almond Frangipane

Place everything in a large bowl and whisk to mix. Use fingertips to get an even moist crumb. Turn over baked biscuit base and spread uniformly using an offset spatula.
Top with sliced strawberries, a scattering of fresh rosemary. Sprinkle over a tbsp of vanilla sugar.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until slightly firm to touch, and the strawberries are cooked and slightly coloured at the edges.
Cool completely before slicing.

Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake adapted from Ottolenghi

Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake … if carrots are in season, and gajar ka halwa/Indian carrot halwa has been made {happened last week}, it’s definitely time to tick the other things off my list. Carrot cake tops this ‘list’!

This Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake has been lurking in the to do list for long.

Adapted from the Ottolenghi recipe, this one is as delicious. I’ve gone 100% whole wheat, used coconut sugar, part clarified butter/ghee, upped the walnuts and carrots slightly, and topped this with a hand whisked mascarpone. One word, YUM!

Push came to shove when someone from my Instagram feed recently made a carrot cake and tagged me. On asking her which recipe, she exclaimed that it was from my blog, the Ottolenghi Carrot cake. I had baked that way back in 2010!

The Ottolenghi Cookbook was my first really special cookbook, a gift from a very sweet friend when I visited the UK for the Food Bloggers Connect in 2009. While the trip was a hurried one, the Ottolenghi ‘shop’ was on the list of things to do. We were too many, too scattered, and never really got there. We were a bunch of food bloggers who built the tour to the UK after connecting on twitter. Those were good days, and twitter made it happen!

I still remember the carrot cake like it was just yesterday.

Intrigued by the description, a battle of tastebuds penned down by the author in the introduction, I proudly turned out carrot cake, much to the fascination of all at home. In those days, carrots either meant a gajar ka halwa, or at best a quick Indian stir fry. Salad was of course the easiest option!

I was touted a genius to be able to get so many vegetables with so much ease down the kids throats and that too happily! The carrot cake was much enjoyed!

Of course more such experiments then followed. Beetroot cakes, pumpkin pies, apple cakes … and so much in between.

With so much baking done these last few years, experiments tend to get bolder. Also, ingredients need to stand for themselves and make sense as an include. This Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake is no different, and I’m glad to say it turned out delicious.

Changes? Whole wheat baking flour instead of all purpose, coconut sugar instead of normal, garam masala instead of cinnamon and clove powder, half oil + half ghee/clarified butter … and a few other minor ones.

Oh, also mascarpone in the frosting just because the kidlet doesn’t love cream cheese! Mascarpone was far simpler too, sweetened with the intensity of a scraped vanilla bean! ENJOY!!

Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake

This Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake has been lurking in the to do list for long. Adapted from the Ottolenghi recipe, this one is as delicious. I've gone 100% whole wheat, used coconut sugar, part clarified butter/ghee, upped the walnuts & carrots slightly.

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Total Time 2 15

Servings 8 cake

Ingredients

Cake

150 g whole wheat flour/aata
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp garam masala powder
2 eggs separated
100 g oil
100 g clarified butter {ghee} melted, cooled
200 g coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
100 g walnuts chopped
50 g desiccated coconut
150 g carrot grated
pinch salt
25 g coconut sugar for sprinkling over

Frosting

200 g mascarpone chilled
50 g icing sugar
1 vanilla bean, scraped
50 g walnut halves toasted

Instructions

Cake

Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and dust a loose bottom 8" round tine. Line the base with parchment. I used a ring inset for the centre.
Stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and the spice mix.
Place the oil, clarified butter, coconut sugar and vanilla extract in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk for 3-5 minutes, then add egg yolks, whisking until mixed in.
Stir in the coconut, walnuts and carrot, followed by the flour mixture on the lowest setting. Don’t overmix it, just until it’s combined.
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until firm peaks and fold them into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin, levelling out as required. Sprinkle over 25g of coconut sugar.
Bake this carrot cake with walnuts for 60 minutes in the preheated oven until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
Let it cool completely in the tin, then gently remove from tin.

Frosting

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk with a balloon whisk until smooth. Don't overbeat as the mascarpone might lose its body.
Spread over the top of the cooled cake, then scatter over toasted walnut halves.

Dark Chocolate Layered Cake with Almond Meringue Topping … moist, dark, delicious

“Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate.”
Jo Brand

Moist, dark and absolutely delicious are words enough to describe this Dark Chocolate Layered Cake with Almond Meringue Topping. The base is a simple chocolate genoise sponge, layered with a low fat whipped cream. The top is a brown sugar meringue topped with slivered almonds, quite optional if you are torn for time, but it does add a lovely touch to the final look. The secret to the moist cake and whipping up low fat cream is melted, cooled clarified butter/ghee. This is my new favourite sponge recipe and my new favourite light buttercream.It’s been a busy last few months and I stare at a hungry blog. We’ve had a great food styling workshop just recently, packed to the gills, on one of the hottest days of the season. It was a LOT of work and planning, but it was all so worth it. The venue {Lodi – The Garden Restaurant, New Delhi}, the folk who attended, the food we ate and shot, was all great fun. A great learning experience too.Then of course there is obsessive everyday shooting, something that keeps me so engrossed, I often lose track of time. Some work for others, some for myself, yet all a learning process. Add to that Sunday Stills where I join Simi as she shoots stills. The Masala Dabba with Dolphia has fallen prey to procrastination but I will get back there soon since spices is what I enjoy shooting a lot!

Getting back to baking and this wonderful cake, here’s something I recently discovered. I often find a lot of folk these days baking out of a box and frosting the cake with ready made cream, ingredients loaded with preservatives, enhancers, emulsifiers and what not. Read the label and you’ll figure out. Baking or cooking ‘from scratch’ conjures up images of cooking with fresh ingredients and lovingly preparing meals. Boxed meals emphasize just the convenience. Add a few ingredients and then you’re done. Making a cake from scratch gives you control over the quality of the ingredients, also allowing for a bit more creativity. Creativity and experimenting go hand in hand. The revelation that I could use clarified butter / ghee instead of normal butter has made life really simple for me. The recipes need to be adapted a little here and there, but the huge plus is that clarified butter stays good on the shelf for long. You don’t need to melt and cool in summer as it doesn’t set hard at warm temperatures. The convenience of use is indescribable in weather like we have here these days at 45C! That’s how I got the low fat 20% cream to whip up so I could pipe it. Worked each time but once when it was really really hot and humid. Whip chilled low fat cream to medium soft peaks at a high speed. Then drizzle in about a teaspoon of cool melted clarified butter / ghee for every 100ml of cream and continue to whip at high speed, you will notice the cream gradually firming up and holding shape. This is because you’re putting the fat back into low fat cream. I have also seen this works better with the ‘Go’ brand of fresh cream as compared to ‘Amul’ {in India}. Do let me know if it works for you!Well everyone can’t ‘do it from scratch’, and even though additives etc are often considered part of the package when it comes to boxed meals, it really doesn’t have to be. Interestingly enough, at least one company thought that way. San Francisco-based food tech company Hampton Creek offers a new take on shelf-ready foods, striving to take out additives and other unnatural ingredients from common, off-the-shelf goods. For eg, their premade cookie dough doesn’t contain common additives, is an eggless dough mix that is also dairy-free. Baking from a box or a premade mix can be as mouth-watering as a meal made from scratch; guess you need to know what to look for.

Until then, here’s my Dark Chocolate Layered Cake with Almond Meringue Topping Cake!

Dark Chocolate Layered Cake with Almond Meringue Topping

Moist, dark and absolutely delicious are words enough to describe this Dark Chocolate Layered Cake with Almond Meringue Topping. The base is a simple chocolate genoise sponge, layered with a low fat whipped cream. The top is a brown sugar meringue topped with slivered almonds, quite optional if you are torn for time, but it does add a lovely touch to the final look. The secret to the moist cake and whipping up the cream is melted, cooled clarified butter/ghee. This is my new favourite sponge recipe.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

Chocolate Genoise Sponge 1

4 eggs
1 egg-yolk
125 g brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
35 g plain flour
35 g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
45 g clarified butter/ghee melted, cooled

Meringue topping

2 egg whites
40 g brown sugar
2-3 tbsp flaked almonds

Frosting and filling

600 ml low fat cream, chilled
100 g icing sugar
40 g clarified butter/ghee melted, cooled

Instructions

Chocolate Genoise Sponge 1

Preheat oven to 180C. Line the sides and bottom of 2 8" spring-form round tin with parchment. {I have just 1 tin and an oven that fits only 1 cake at a time. I kept the parchment ready while the first sponge baked}
Place 4 eggs and the egg yolk in the bowl of the stand mixer with 125g brown sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk on high speed until light, very mousse like and tripled in volume, about 8-10 minutes.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt 2 times. Reserve.
Place cooled clarified butter in a medium sized bowl. reserve.
Once the eggs are whisked and mousse like, sift over 1/3 of the flour/cocoa mix and gently stir in in figure 8 moves so that the beaten air doesn't escape. Repeat 2 more times.
Take about a cup of this batter and fold into bowl with melted ghee to loosed the mixture. Now turn this batter back into main batter and gently mix through taking care not to release the beaten air.
Turn into prepared tin and bake for approximately 40 minutes, untl a pick inserted comes out clean.

Chocolate Genoise Sponge 2

Repeat as above, turn into prepared tin and top with brown sugar meringue spreading gently and uniformly with an offset spatula. Scatter slivered almonds over and bake for approximately 40 minutes, until a pick inserted comes out clean.

Brown sugar meringue

Whisk the egg whites with brown sugar on high speed to stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.

Frosting and filling

Place chilled cream, icing sugar, clarified butter in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk at highest speed for 7-9 minutes until stiff peaks form. Adjust sweetness if required.

Assemble

Gently cut each cake into two horizontal layers. They will be very moist and delicate.
Place one layer on the cake platter, top with about 1 cup of whipped cream, spread evenly. Repeat with remaining 3 layers. Frost the sides of the cake with remaining frosting, maybe pipe a border around.

Stone Fruit Strudel … getting stoned on strudel!

“I have no truck with lettuce, cabbage, and similar chlorophyll. Any dietitian will tell you that a running foot of apple strudel contains four times the vitamins of a bushel of beans.”

S.J. Perelman

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. These are exciting times for the Daring Bakers. I’ve reached a stage where the next challenge seems more exciting than the one gone by. Month after month, one keeps wondering what the next challenge is going to be, & the excitement is palpable. I checked a 100 times on the 1st of May but it hadn’t been posted, because we wake up to a new day before the West. Courtney aka Coco aka Glamah caught the buzz the minute it was posted, & twittered about it. I swooped down almost instantly. YAY…An ‘Apple Strudel’, with room for creativity on the filling.

First thoughts:
YAY, no eggs (I love that)
A dough to knead…yes! And it was a simple dough at that, & LOW FAT!!

Stone fruits creeping into the market = YUM filling options!

Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
Method:

Combine the flour and salt. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour and knead to a soft dough. Continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally (check the hosts blog for making it by machine).
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).
It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it’s about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

I love kneading doughs, however nonsensical that might sound, but I do find it therapeutic. This dough was no different. I kneaded it, I flung it on the counter several times…& I think the more you hit it, the better it gets. Was beautiful to work with after 2 hours of rest, and overnight on another occasion. I divided it into 2 because I wanted to ambitiously try 2 different sweet fillings, & almost got cold feet halfway through. It’s the peak of summer here & the market is flooded with stone fruits. Apricots, plums & mangoes were just surfacing in the first week of May, so my strudels got ‘stoned’!

Mango strudel
adapted from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
Ingredients:
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs (made from 3 slices of fresh brown bread, edges trimmed)
1 recipe strudel dough (recipe above)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 ripe mango, peeled & chopped (300-350gms)

Method:

Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.
Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper).
Make the strudel dough as described below. I used 1/2 of the dough & half filling ingredients for the each variant.
Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands).
Sprinkle the buttered dough with 1/2 the bread crumbs. Spread 1/2 the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the mangoes with the raisins & the vanilla sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.
Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar.
Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.
I made this little ‘pouch strudel’ with the left over trimmings…

Check for some handy tips on the hosts blogs – Courtney of Coco Cooks and Linda of Make life sweeter! Apricot and plum strudel
Sugar roasted fruit and toasted walnuts make a fabulous filling for sweet crisp strudel
Inspired by Mike Robinson, as adapted from UKTV Food
Ingredients:
250g apricots & plums
1 sachet of vanilla sugar (or icing sugar, for dusting)
Handful dried cherries (snipped)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon,
1/2 tbsp cornflour
Juice of 1/2 lime
50g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
2 tbsp vanilla sugar (or golden caster sugar)
1/2 quantity strudel dough Method:

Peel, core and slice the apricots and plums. Lay them on a baking tray and dust with vanilla/icing sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool and then transfer to a large bowl.
Stir in the fruit, lime juice, cinnamon and cornflour. Mix well.
Then follow the recipe for the mango strudel above.

They were pretty straightforward to make, & very really scrumptious because of the crisp breadcrumbs within. I think the pastry works better if rested overnight, and is one of the simplest I’ve ever made. Apple strudel has been on my to-do list for absolutely ages, ever since I saw it on Manggy’s blog ages ago. I went on to make a savoury version too a few days later as I was quite taken in by the ease & lightness of the dough. I did this one with shredded grilled chicken, roasted red bell peppers, mango/peach salsa & mozzarella. This savoury version was very delicious too, & served as part of the main meal.

THANK YOU Courtney and Linda for hosting a great challenge …

Please do stop by at the Daring Bakers blogroll and take a look at all the fantastic strudels Daring Bakers across the globe have rolled out!

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