Dulce de leche Eggless Pumpkin Walnut Quinoa Tart. Yes, I’m back again with more pumpkin and more walnuts. At the risk of repeating myself, I continue to be inspired by pumpkin puree. I’ve made many pumpkin tarts, pies and cheesecakes over the past month {and years} but never an eggless one. So many requests for an eggless tart and recipes in general made me experiment a few days ago.What I had on hand – a homemade tin of dulce de leche, a bowl of fresh pumpkin puree, walnuts from California Walnuts India and organic quinoa flour. For the uninitiated, a tin of sweet condensed milk cooked for 30 minutes in the pressure cooker and then cooled makes 300g of dulce de leche. Also on hand, a huge jar of delicious ghee or clarified butter that was gifted over Diwali.That was enough to set me off, wander into the kitchen and begin to stir pots and pans! It’s quite fun to experiment in the kitchen working backwards with ingredients on hand, rather than always working with a recipe in your head, then gathering ingredients etc! The element of surprise is a great motivator, though at times can be a teeny bit scary. What if it doesn’t work, what if it falls apart?Here’s what I made – An eggless, walnut loaded delicious Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Walnut Quinoa Tart. It’s vegetarian, it’s gluten free, it’s packed with walnuts and it makes me happy! This is a great bake for the season. Easy to make, deliciously healthy and make ahead. It slices beautifully as well! Great too for Thanksgiving which is tomorrow if that’s something you bake for.I’m hosting a Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow with California Walnuts India and Chef Ruchira Hoon at Dirty Apron, The Piano Man Cafe tomorrow.
It showcases a menu loaded with walnuts and is going to be fabulous! Do look out for updates on my stories on Instagram.
An eggless, walnut loaded delicious Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Walnut Quinoa Tart. It's vegetarian, it's gluten free and it’s a great make ahead dessert especially during fall, Thanksgiving and the festive season.
Pumpkin Coconut Cream Pudding… Once you’re on the fresh pumpkin spree, it’s tough to get off. The more fresh pumpkin puree I make, the more I’m inspired, the more you’ll see it popping up on the blog! Maybe it’s the season, maybe it’s pumpkins all over social media, it’s just such fun to work with this unassuming vegetable that is available year round.
This one is a no brainer. Fresh pumpkin puree + pie spice + maple syrup + coconut cream made for the base, blended to smooth sweetness in the artisan blender from KitchenAid. I stirred white chia seeds through, let them bloom, stirring a couple of times, then transferred the pudding into glass jars to set.
Thank you for this beautiful vintage brass coconut grater Madhuli at My Food Court. I love it to bits! I haven’t seen a prettier one ever and am so so grateful!
Pumpkin and coconut are a great combination and work well both sweet and savoury. Think a Pumpkin Coconut Thai soup, or then these mildly sweet gentle Pumpkin Coconut Cream Puddings. I’ve topped these simply with unsweetened coconut cream, then walnuts, roasted seeds and dried cranberries to tie in fall flavours. Alternatively, you could top them with a crisp buttery tuile, or maybe granola. A coconut chocolate ganache would really make it special. The possibilities are endless! ENJOY!
Pumpkin Coconut Cream Pudding. Pumpkin and coconut are a great combination and work well in these mildly sweet gentle puddings. I’ve topped these with unsweetened coconut cream, then walnuts, roasted seeds and dried cranberries to tie in fall flavours. You could top them with a crisp buttery tuile, or maybe granola. A coconut chocolate ganache would probably make it special.
Keyword dessert, eggless, glutenfree, homemade, no bake, sweet
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 3 hourshours10 minutesminutes
Servings 4people
Ingredients
500gpumpkin {peela kaddu}roasted in oven, pureed, room temperature
200gcoconut cream
1tsppumpkin pie spice {to taste}
3tbspwhite chia seeds
Maple syrup to taste
To top
100gcoconut cream
toasted walnutsseeds, cranberries
Instructions
Place pumpkin puree, coconut cream, pie spice in blender jar. Process until smooth.
Turn into a large bowl and stir in chia seeds and maple syrup to taste.
Stir a couple of times, 10 minutes apart to make sure the seeds don’t gel together.
Divide the pudding into 4 jars and leave to set covered overnight.
Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart … a tart full of memories! If you’ve been following my blog, it’s no secret that I absolutely adore including walnuts as an ingredient in my baking. Often ‘the more, the merrier’ is norm and an overdose of this delicious nut is most welcome. So when the California Walnut Board invited me to San Francisco, I was thrilled to be part of the special media group for the 2018 Harvest Tour.
It was a superbly managed tour, not easy given that we were a diverse group of 8, mostly media and a couple of bloggers. We were also joined with groups from the UK, Turkey & China and the tour was an absolute blast! {Catch the tour highlights on my Instagram feed}.
Walnuts made up every part of course with visits to the walnut orchards, then to the inshell processing plants and processing & packaging facilities. There were absolutely delicious walnut inspired meals {read breakfast/lunch/dinner & snacks too}, and then plenty of wine tasting with Lodi Wines.
I’ve been fascinated by the dry fruit for long but have never had the opportunity to see how it’s been grown, harvested, cleaned, shelled etc. To be able to witness my first walnut orchard was the most exhilarating experience ever. Rows upon rows of trees laden with walnuts ready to be picked, some walnuts still in their green husks.
The experience of seeing shakers being driven by precisely latching on to trees and giving them a professional shake…then showers, literally showers of walnuts. The whole ground strewn with walnuts was a little surreal. That we stepped on a few, the crunch piercing our hearts with pain, was again a very unreal experience.
Post that, the sweepers came in, low vehicles driven by old farm hands, trained to do the job to perfection first using blowers to sweep the path clean, then collecting the walnuts off the ground very expertly. All the processes are mechanised and so efficient. We also visited the in shell facilities where the walnuts are checked, washed, cleaned of debris, graded, sized and finally packed off either to distributors, else to the shelling plant. Carton upon carton of freshly harvested clean walnuts, rows upon rows of men & women at work painstakingly getting us the best California walnuts from farm to table is something to be grateful for.
Our visit also included several meals hosted by the California Walnut Board in Lodi accompanied by really nice wine from the wine growers of Lodi. The entire experience tied in so well, leaving me with so many memories. Also inspiring me to get back home and begin working with walnuts in the kitchen the minute I got back. I spend my days thinking of how much you can do with this much-loved dry fruit. There was no stopping me, and soon I baked up this beautiful Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart.
I love working with ingredients that are both healthy and delicious and walnuts are one of them. I’ve been using them for years and years. This last batch from the walnut board were possibly the freshest I’ve ever used. Comparing them to earlier ones I’ve used, these were sweeter, the flesh lighter and more tender. The tannins weren’t overpowering and the quality outstanding. I’ve bought so many in the past, and now can see what was wrong.
Walnuts are most delicious if stored well and eating fresh. Handfuls will disappear if the quality is good. Most issues come up due to incorrect storing, whether it’s been from retail of stored incorrectly at home. Best stored in the freezer {or even the fridge}, you can keep small serving portions out at a cool room temperature. If they’ve not been cleaned & dried properly, storing in sealed bags at room temperature will definitely get mold. Vacuum sealed bags of walnuts are a safer buy.
Walnuts are a powerhouse of good nutrition. A handful or two of walnuts everyday will get you a daily helping of protein, fibre, magnesium and phosphorous. They also contain the highest amount of the plant-based omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and are a great source of good fat! In a nutshell, walnuts full of antioxidants, low in saturated fats and rich in nutrients are an excellent dietary include. Enjoy them either raw or cooked/baked as they are winners all the way.
I use them so often in baking. I recently made this Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart using walnuts in the base and chocolate, walnut butter and fresh pumpkin puree in the filling. Other than it tasting drop dead delicious, this tart is simple. It’s also whole grain, eggless and uses no refined sugar. What’s not to love about desserts like these?
It’s #wholegrain & #eggless, and can go vegan with a few changes. I also used some finger licking good walnut butter in this, jars of which we carried back home. It’s the best thing in the world. You must make some!
Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart is wholegrain & eggless, and full of delicious healthy walnuts. It can go vegan with a few changes. I also used some finger licking good walnut butter in this, jars of which we carried back home. It’s the best thing in the world. You must make some!
Keyword baking, chocolate, dessert, eggless, glutenfree, homemade, no bake, sweet
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 2 hourshours40 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Ingredients
Walnut Tart Biscuit Base
50gtoasted walnuts
50gdigestive biscuits
50gghee {or melted butter}
Chocolate Pumpkin filling
200g72% dark couverture chocolatechopped
50gsingle creamwarmed but not boiling
100gfresh pumpkin puree {Made from roasting approximately 200g pumpkin}
Zest of 1 orange
25mlmaple syrup {or honey}
15gwalnut butter {or ghee}
5gpie spice {or cinnamon powder/garam masala}
Instructions
Walnut Tart Biscuit Base
Chop walnuts in a processor jar {I used a hand chopper}, then add the digestive biscuits and process again until finely chopped.
Stir in the melted ghee.
Turn into a 7″ loose bottomed tart tin, pressing the sides into place, and then the base.
Chill for 10 minutes in the freezer while the oven preheats.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Bake the base for 10 minutes. In the meantime prepare the filling.
Chocolate Pumpkin filling
Heat the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl for 1 minute in the microwave.
Pour over the cream and leave for 5 minutes. Whisk to mix, then whisk in all remaining ingredients.
Pour over baked walnut biscuit tart shell, and level out with an offset spatula.
Bake at 180 C for 20 minutes, then leave to cool in oven.
Chill for a couple of hours. Grate over with dark chocolate, and top with walnut halves.
Chocolate Walnut Granola & a Coffee Chocolate Granola Tart … yes it’s two recipes in one post today because one thing led to another. The chocolate walnut granola I made is minimally adapted from the recipe at Minimalist Baker was fabulous and needed to be celebrated. I thought it might fit straight into a tart, yet I didn’t want to do a breakfast tart. The chocolate walnut granola needed some hard core coffee something and that’s just what the tart turned out to be.
It was just one of those days where I began sorting out the larder, and bits and bobs of leftovers were strewn across the counter. Some popped amaranth, a bag of flax seeds, a 1/4 tin of cocoa powder, some coconut sugar. Just looking at ingredients like this reminds me of granola, possibly cookies, and before I knew it I hit Google search! Easiest way to find a delicious end to small portions of leftover ingredients. In so many more ways than one, Google is still God! Always has an answer.
One of the first results was the granola from Dana who has one of the most fun pages on Instagram, a place where you can literally bookmark every recipe to try! Thought her feed is vegan and gluten free, I adapted her recipe to use things I had on hand. I just had to bake the granola a little longer as it took forever to crispen up. Of course, that was quite expected since I had lowered the baking temperature since I’m quite wary of chocolate burning in the oven. Also, as with any altered recipe, ingredients tend to behave differently, so it’s best to keep an eye out!
Both the Chocolate Walnut Granola & a Coffee Chocolate Granola Tart are relatively healthier and you get good plant fibre and a hearty dose of protein. The coffee cream is as simple as it gets. Whipping cream, mascarpone, instant coffee, sugar & Kahlua which nestles luxuriously in the baked chocolate granola walnut tart base. It’s eggless, it’s vegetarian and it’s gluten free. It can be easily turned vegan too if you follow the basic sea salt dark chocolate granola recipe. Also, for the filling, maybe use coconut cream? You could also make a vegan lemon curd if you like, and top the tart with berries! All yours!
Chocolate Walnut Granola & a Coffee Chocolate Granola Tart
This Coffee Chocolate Granola Tart is a relatively healthier tart since you get good plant fibre and a hearty dose of protein. The coffee cream is as simple as it gets. Whipping cream, mascarpone, instant coffee, sugar & Kahlua which nestles luxuriously in the baked chocolate granola walnut tart base. It's eggless, it's vegetarian and it's gluten free. It can be easily turned vegan too.
Dark Chocolate Walnut Gateau … baking up for when the world’s lightest full frame DSLR comes over for a review. Well it’s a Canon, more specifically a Canon 6D Mark II, and you just know it’s time to add to the wishlist. Light, at a mere 685 grams, wifi enabled, a touch screen technology, good in low light, not sure what more you can ask for?Did they say adequate weather sealing too? YES!!Yes indeed, it’s a model that won me over even though I already use the Canon 5D Mark III. It seems a matter of luxury to have touch screen auto focus and even a shooting option with the touch screen. For a fleeting moment you might feel redundant since it’s a camera that appears to frame, focus and even shoot on auto! Yet once you get past that initial awe and excitement, this is a good feel, full frame snappy camera with a powerful processor.I speak from quite the non tech point of view but because I have always used Canon as a brand, I am a huge fan of the brand and quality products. I set off with a Canon PS40 when I began shooting, graduated to a G9, then an EOS 50D, and now use a 5D Mark III. Ever since I cut over to the DSLR beginning with a 50D, I used a Canon f/2.8 100mm lens for food photography. I’ve now graduated to an L series lens of the same specs and for me that’s the best lens to shoot food.The Canon 6D Mark II on review came with a kit lens, the 24-105mm f/4 which is pretty decent for a kit lens and the full frame camera. It has the image stabilisation feature that I find so useful, especially in low light conditions. Since I am used to shooting with the 100mm f/2.8 lens and used to the results that gets, it was only a matter of time before I snapped that onto the 6D body.
The images above are all with the kit lens and the ones that follow with the 100mm f/2.8. Such an absolute pleasure to shoot with the 6D. It’s snappy, it’s quick and has a great new processor and a large sensor. These relate to less noise in your images. The live view focus is also really fast and enviable, and the colours are great. The wifi function also means that you can instantly share images to different devices without the hassle of downloading to another device tethered, or via a card reader etc.For the modern day digital lifestyle, this is an amazing feature. It takes the ease of what the cellphone camera can do, and places it in a camera. You might argue that carrying a camera is cumbersome, and these days cellphones produce amazing images too. Then again, If you are like me and are used to a DSLR to take pictures, then there’s nothing else that can offer you the same satisfaction.For you then, the 6D is a good choice if it’s in your budget range. It begins at INR 1,32,000 and if you are a serious photography enthusiast, then it’s a great investment. Though it is always the eye that frames the shot, the person that visualises the frame, you need great equipment to deliver the result. With a full HD capability and an LCD that shoots upto 4 frames a second with less shake in a video, this just might be the camera to consider.I have this Canon 6D in my view even though I love my 5D Mark III to bits. I love the innovative approach Canon has. The latest features are a sign of responding to the ever changing dynamic times, making life simpler while improving on quality, and largely responding to user feedback. How else would you find built in smart device pairings, remote control functions via a smart phone and instant transfers to devices?
If you have questions do let me know. I’ll try and answer them. Canon is my brand of choice as I’ve used no other, and find it meets my requirements and more.
And for the record, I barely do any post processing as most folk who know me are aware. So with minimal fixes {if any}, these are basically just images straight from the camera. I’d love to play around with it more, figure out white balance better etc, but for now I’ll say adieu!
… oh, and before I forget, the Dark Chocolate Walnut Gateau is a delicious healthy alternative for dessert. It’s flourless, it’s wholesome, and chocolate of course! You could actually serve it without the topping, yet who wouldn’t mind added indulgence?
Chocolate and walnuts are a marriage made in heaven. Giving a favourite an even healthier twist, this cake comes with a serving of oats too. It’s flourless, gluten free, moist and delicious. Make it ahead as a tea cake or dessert.
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 4 hourshours35 minutesminutes
Servings 8people
Ingredients
Walnut Oat Base
30gclarified butter {ghee}
150gwalnuts
40gquick cooking oats
15gbrown sugar
Dark Chocolate Filling
4egg yolks
50gbrown sugar
1tspvanilla beanscraped {or 1vanilla extract}
15gcoffee powder
100gdark chocolatemelted
2tbspWater
4egg whites
1pinchcream of tartar
50gbrown sugar
30goatmeal
1/2tspbaking powder
10gpowdered sugar for sifting
Mascarpone Caramel Cream
200gmascarponechilled
2-3tbspsalted caramel sauce
Salted caramel sauce to drizzle
Instructions
Flourless Gateau
Preheat oven to 180 C. Butter an 8" springform tin. Line the base with parchment paper
Walnut Oat Base
Run walnuts, oats and 1 tablespoon brown sugar in food processor till ground. Add the clarified butter/ghee and pulse till it all comes together.
Gently press this into the bottom and up the sides of the baking tin to form a base.
Dark Chocolate Filling
Place the egg whites in the bowl of the stand mixer. Add 50g brown sugar, pinch of cream of tartar and beat on high speed to stiff peaks. Reserve in a separate bowl.
Place the egg yolks in the same bowl of the stand mixer. Beat on high speed for 5-7 minutes until thick and mousse like. Add the remaining 50g brown sugar, coffee powder and scraped vanilla bean, and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Gently stir in the oats flour and baking powder.
Fold in the melted chocolate and water.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites, beginning with a quarter at a time.
Turn the filling over the walnut base and spread uniformly. Sprinkle over with 1 tbsp brown sugar
Bake for approximately 30 minutes, cool in the pan for another 15-20 minutes
Loosen sides, and leave to cool completely for about 2 hours. The centre will drop/sink
Chill, then top with the mascarpone cream.
Topping
Whisk the mascarpone until smooth.
Take 2-3 tbsp and whisk in the salted caramel sauce to loosen, the gently fold this through the remaining mascarpone. Taste and add more sauce if desired.
Top the chilled cake with this, add some salted caramel popcorn if you like.
Slightly warm a little more salted caramel sauce and drizzle over to finish.
“There is not a thing that is more positive than bread.”
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Walnut Garlic Coriander Wholewheat Bread, another favourite artisan bread. It’s 100% wholegrain, the dough is beautiful, the bread tastes as good as ever… and it uses a beautiful new wholewheat flour mix from Aashirvaad that we’ve have used at home forever! For those who know me and follow me, I am still pretty obsessed with my #makehalfyourgrainswhole passion. I win some, I lose some, yet I LOVE experimenting.As you can see above, I bake a whole lot with wholewheat flour. So when this new variant of wholewheat flour, Aashirvaad Sugar Release Control Atta showed up at home I was pretty excited. We’ve used Aashirvaad Atta at home forever and ever. A lot of folk I talk to get their own grains and have them milled with a mix of lentils, fenugreek seeds etc. I tried that once but I found it difficult to sustain. We do use a lot of wholegrain flour at home.This new variant from makes me happy. The day it came, I baked bread! It was a 60% wholegrain loaf that turned out yum! Pretty too! It tasted just like what we use normally, so a little surprising that a stepped up variant is so within reach now. The GI value of the grain mix is 53, and the blend contains a portion of lentils, fenugreek and oats too!Nothing better than fresh home baked bread, and the success of the 60% bread made me bold enough to try a 100% wholewheat version. It didn’t disappoint. At all. Of course I like added flavour to my breads so in went some omega-3 rich walnuts, loads of fresh coriander, and a drizzle of fine quality extra virgin olive oil. That’s all a good bread needs in our home! Fresh herbs, nuts and olive oil and a wholegrain base!This Walnut Garlic Coriander Wholewheat Bread is bursting with goodness of the new wholewheat flour. Use herbs and nuts of your choice, play around with ingredients, but do make this. It’s healthy, it’s addictive, and bread baking is therapeutic. Above all, it’s so good for a 100% whole grain bread!! This is my new favourite wholegrain flour, and I’m loving it!There is so much and more you can do with it. Maybe wholewheat pita bread. All you need is falafals and hummus, a crisp salad, and you have a healthy balanced delicious meal! Or maybe bake wholegrain crackers! So YUM!! Serve them with some fun home made dips and you’re good to go!What would you make with a flour like this? I mean other than including it as an everyday pantry staple of course! I’ve used it quite a bit the last week or so. As basic dough for chapatis/flatbread, also for stuffed tandoori parathas. It behaves and tastes just like the regular flour. That it’s even healthier is a bonus. The low GI makes it diabetic friendly and an ideal pantry staple! I’m next thinking wholegrain chocolate chip cookies or cheese crackers.Oh, and did I tell you I baked a batch of Wholewheat Dark Chocolate After Eight Mint Cupcakes with the same flour mix two days ago? It’s a one bowl no brainer recipe filled with wholegrain goodness that I carried to the “Facebook: A Place to Connect” event at New Delhi. I was speaking there on Facebook Live, and you can catch me and my Aashirvaad Sugar Release Control Atta cupcakes on the link here!I’ll share that recipe soon as a WHOLE lot of folk have been asking me for it. Until then, here’s another peep into how good and moist the cupcakes were.
Now time for the Walnut Garlic Coriander Wholewheat Bread. This is just a new way of thinking food, or rather #EkNayiAadat with #Aashirvaad!
Nothing better than fresh home baked bread, and this Walnut Garlic Coriander Wholewheat Bread is bursting with goodness of this new wholewheat flour . It has great flavour. Use herbs and nuts of your choice, play around with ingredients, but do make this. It's healthy, it's addictive, bread baking is therapeutic and above all it's so good for a 100% whole grain bread!!
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour40 minutesminutes
Servings 1loaf
Ingredients
Walnut Garlic Coriander Dough
2cupsAashirvaad Sugar Release Control Atta
1tspyeast
1/2salt
1tsphoney
2tbspextra virgin olive oil
1cupwater {approximately}
1tspgarlic powder {or 4 cloves minced}
1cupfresh coriander, finely chopped
1/2cupwalnuts, finely chopped
Topping
4-5walnut halves
Few sprigs fresh coriander
Himalayan pink rock salt
Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over
Instructions
Walnut Garlic Coriander Dough
Add the wholewheat flour/Aashirvaad Sugar Release Control Atta, yeast, salt,garlic powder, honey and extra virgin olive oil to bowl of your stand mixer fitted with dough hook.
Stir to mix on speed 2, then knead for 5-7 minutes on speed 4 until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Add a few spoons of wholewheat flour if the dough is too wet, or a tbsp or two of water if too dense. We're looking for a soft dough.
Make a smooth ball, drizzle over some olive oil, and cover the bowl with cling-wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Place in a warm, draft free place for an hour or two until the dough doubles in size.
Form into a ball, drizzle over with a little olive oil, cover the stand mixer bowl with cling-wrap or a wet kitchen towel. Leave to rise in a warm, draft free place for an hour or two until doubled.
Preheat oven to 200C.
Take off the cling wrap or kitchen towel, add the finely chopped fresh coriander and walnuts to the same bowl and knead again briefly to mix.
Form into a loaf and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Topping
Paint top gently with damp fingers and sprinkle over some Himalayan rock salt and finely sliced garlic, push in walnut halves, and maybe add a sprig of fresh coriander.
Leave covered with a kitchen towel until the oven preheats to 200C. {20 minutes}
Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until golden brown and done. Serve warm or at room temperature.
