Carob and Blueberry Vegan Squares

When it comes to food I'm probably more curious than in any other field.
Therefore, when I see a recipe like this, without a single ingredient of animal origin, even though I'm not vegan, curiousity pushes me to give it a try.
I'm not used to baking without eggs and the result, I must say, is different than in traditional baking. This cake has a totally different texture. It is dense and full of flavour coming from all the great ingredients put together. Being sweetened with malt, it is also not as sweet as it is case when using sugar.
Particular taste comes from using carrob powder, and I really like that taste. It reminds me of my childhood, when we used to eat carrob pods right off the tree. If you don't know anything about carob, check this article,  it's an interesting and healthy ingredient to introduce into your diet, occasionally or as a substitute for chocolate.
And then the addition of dried prunes and fresh blueberries, probably the best part. My only regret is not having fresh figs, to serve with this dessert as the original recipe suggested, but this year they were such a rare sight where I live.
If I decide to make this again, I think that adding one egg would move it one step up on my scale of liking.
However it was pretty good and it was nice to try something new.
I made this cake two weeks ago while my parent-in-law were visiting. After they left, my husband said his mother appreciated this cake a lot. Since I never saw her eating a single piece, I'm still trying to figure out wheter she ate it while I wasn't around or he's teasing me as he usually does when it comes to "the strange stuff I make". To be clear, for my husband, "strange stuff" is anything, from fresh herbs to really uncommon ingredients.

Carob and Blueberry Vegan Squares
(recipe from Cucina naturale magazine, Sept. 2011)

* 100 g whole wheat flour
* 100 g AP flour
* 3 teaspoons baking powder
* 50 g carob powder
* 200 g rice malt syrup (or other cereals malt syrup)
* 140 ml vegetable oil
* 140 ml pineapple or orange juice
* 50 g fresh blueberries
* 50 g dried prunes

Sift the two flours, the carob powder and baking powder together and place in a mixing bowl.
Put the fruit juice, the oil and the malt syrup in another bowl and whisk until blended well.
Add the wet mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Add the blueberries cut in half and the chopped dried prunes.
Prepare a 20x30 cm baking pan - brush it with oil and dust with flour, or simply line with a piece of baking paper.
Pour in the batter and bake the cake for about 20 minutes in the oven preheted to 180°C.
Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool on a cooling rack.
Cut into 12 squares and serve.

The original recipe suggests to serve these squares with fresh figs on top, dusted with cinnamon and roasted in a hot oven for 7-8 minutes. Unfortunately, I didn't have any, but I'm sure they would be a great addition.

Dolce con carruba e mirtilli
(da Cucina naturale, sett. 2011)


* 100 g farina integrale
* 100 g farina bianca
* 1 bustina di lievito per dolci (o cremortartaro + un pizzico di bicarbonato)
* 50 g polvere di carruba
* 200 g malto di riso (o di altri cereali)
* 140 ml olio
* 140 ml succo di ananas o di arancia
* 50 g di mirtilli freschi
* 50 g prugne secche


Setacciate le due farine con il lievito e la polvere di carruba.
In un'altra ciotola mescolate il succo, l'olio e il malto usando una frusta.
Versate gli ingredienti umidi su quelli secchi e amalgamate bene i due composti.
Unite i mirtilli tagliati a metà e le prugne secche tagliate a pezzettini.
Versate il composto in una teglia da 20x30 cm,  oliata e infarinata, e infornate il dolce per circa 20 minuti a 180°C.
Lasciatelo raffreddare e poi tagliatelo in circa 12 quadrati.
La ricetta originale suggerisce di servire questo dolce con dei fichi freschi, spolverati con la cannella e infornati a 180°C per circa 8-10 minuti. Io, purtroppo, non sono riuscita a trovare neanche un fico quando mi serviva, però sono sicura che ci starebbe proprio bene.

Osim rogača i borovnica u ovom su kolaču našle mjesto i suhe šljive, pa prilažem još jedan recept ovomjesečnom krugu igre Ajme koliko nas je, i šaljem ga našoj domaćici Snježani s bloga Vrtaljica koja je odabrala kao temu šljive.


Kolač s rogačem i borovnicama
(recept iz časopisa Cucina naturale)


* 100 g integralnog brašna
* 100 g bijelog brašna
* 1 vrećica praška za pecivo
* 50 g rogača u prahu (carob powder)
* 200 g rižinog slada (ili ječmenog i sl.)
* 140 ml ulja
* 140 ml soka od ananasa ili naranče
* 50 g svježih borovnica
* 50 g suhih šljiva


Prosijte skupa brašna, rogač i prašak za pecivo.
U drugu zdjelu stavite sok, ulje i slad. Dobro izmiješajte pjenjačom.
Sipajte smjesu mokrih sastojaka u zdjelu s brašnom i dobro izmiješajte da se sve sjedini.
Umiješajte nasjeckane suhe šljive i borovnice prerezane na pola.
Sipajte smjesu u nauljen i pobrašnjen pleh (ili obložen papirom za pečenje) promjera 20x30 cm.
Pecite kolač u pećnici zagrijanoj na 180°C oko 20 minuta.
Ohlađen kolač izrežite na kocke.


U originalnom receptu prijedlog je da se ovaj kolač posluži uz smokve posute cimetom i zapečene 8-10 minuta na 180°C (tj. da se na svaku kocku stavi jedna smokva), ali ja ih nisam imala.
Recept je iz časopisa Cucina naturale.