Jordan Rondel, aka ‘‘The Caker'' describes her creations as ‘‘edible dreams''.
Baking is in her blood, thanks to a great-grandfather who was a pastry chef in Paris, and visits to her grandparents who lived in that city, so it is no wonder Rondel grew up with an apron on and a yen for the French ideal of indulging in taste not bulk.
In 2010, Rondel started selling cakes through her blog ‘‘The Caker'' and soon after gave up her day job and set up a commercial kitchen in Auckland.
She describes herself as health conscious, preferring cakes that are not packed full of white sugar, refined flour and topped with toothache-inducing icings.
Instead, she has created 76 recipes that she says are not sickeningly sweet and are better for the body and the taste buds. They can be adapted to gluten or dairy-free or vegan requirements.
‘‘Don't fret about making your baking look 100% professionally sterile. This is about it being 100% delicious,'' she says.
Wholesome Cakes, Cookies & Desserts separates her recipes into seasons for convenience and for taste.
Summer cakes revolve around berries and the winter ones carrots, apples and pears.
Vegan spiced pumpkin and dark chocolate cookies
These cookies are simply delicious. They remain soft and chewy when baked, which is exactly what I like in a cookie. You can add chocolate chips to the cookie dough as well as, or instead of, drizzling on top.
Makes 12
1 pumpkin or 110g/3.9oz canned pumpkin puree (I get mine from Martha's Backyard)
250g ground almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g maple syrup
½ tsp baking soda
Chocolate drizzle:
1 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
80g dark chocolate chips (70% cocoa solids)
Method
If making your own pumpkin puree, preheat oven to 200degC. Slice a pumpkin in half, remove seeds and roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes until soft. Remove from oven and let cool. Scoop out flesh and, using a food processor or blender, puree until smooth.
Leave the oven on but turn down to 160degC. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the 110g of pumpkin puree along with the other cookie ingredients until smooth.
Using your hands, form small balls and place them on the baking tray.
Bake for 12 minutes or until golden.
Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before transferring on to a cooling rack.
To make the chocolate drizzle, melt together the coconut oil and chocolate chips over a double boiler until melted.
Once the cookies are completely cool, drizzle the chocolate over the cookies and place the cookies in the fridge to set for 10-20 minutes.
Store in an airtight container or a cookie jar for up to one week.
Pistachio loaf
You'll love this sticky, gluten-free loaf with its intriguing colour. The freshness of the orange zest is heavenly in this recipe.
Serves 12
Cake
190g softened butter
190g light muscovado sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 unwaxed orange
90g pistachios
75g ground almonds
30g buckwheat flour
Honey vanilla cream cheese icing
200g cream cheese
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp orange juice
dash of vanilla
Top with
65g roughly chopped pistachios and crushed raspberries
Method
Preheat oven to 160degC. Line and grease a 24cm x 10cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time then add vanilla and zest.
Grind the pistachios into a coarse powder in a food processor and then fold into butter mixture, along with the almonds and buckwheat flour. Bake in loaf pan for about 50 minutes or until golden in colour, springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing from its tin.
Meanwhile, make the honey vanilla cream cheese icing. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and continue to add all the other ingredients.
Once cool, ice the top of the loaf, top with a drizzle of honey and scatter with some roughly chopped pistachios and freeze-dried raspberries.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Spring trifle with rhubarb, kiwifruit and honey
When you need a simple, wholesome dessert for two, this is the one to go for. If you wanted to make it a little richer, you could use whipped cream instead of Greek yoghurt in the filling. You can use any fruit and nuts you fancy.
Serves 2
Cake
125g ground almonds
½ tsp baking soda
25g melted butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
75g honey
Filling
4 stalks rhubarb, cut into 2cm chunks
60ml water
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
Top with
2 ripe kiwifruit, skin removed and cut into thin slices
roasted macadamia nuts, chopped
dollop Greek yoghurt
Method
First, make the cake. Preheat oven to 180degC fan bake. Line a 15cm square tin with baking paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the ground almonds and baking soda.
Gradually mix in the butter, egg, vanilla and honey.
Pour the batter into the tin and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden in colour and springy to the touch.
Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool.
Once the cake is cool, cut it into squares. You will need about four small squares per person.
Meanwhile, make the filling. In a saucepan, place the rhubarb chunks, water, honey and vanilla. Cook on a low heat for about 7 minutes. Once stewed, take off the heat and allow to cool.
To assemble the trifle, place a square of cake at the bottom of a glass or jar, followed by some kiwifruit and rhubarb and a big dollop of Greek yoghurt. Continue this process until the glasses or jars are full.
Top with a scattering of chopped roasted macadamia nuts and drizzle with honey.
Serve immediately.
Cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
