sočni čokoladni biskvit

Kao što ste već vjerojatno primijetili, u zadnje vrijeme sam odlučila učiniti ovaj blog i recepte na njemu pristupačnijima i ljudima koji bi se htjeli malo zdravije hraniti, ali nemaju želju izbaciti većinu kuhane hrane i namirnica na koje su navikli iz prehrane. Zato radim malo više recepata za zdravije, cjelovite,  niskomasne, veganske inačice nekih postojećih jela na koja su mnogi ljudi navikli. Za ljubitelje sirovog, ne brinite, bit će još puno recepata za sirova jela, nisam odustala od sirovljenja na blogu!

Iskoristit ću ovaj predivno sočni i ukusni kolač za kratku lekciju o modernoj pšenici. U ovom kolaču sam koristila pirovo brašno od cijelog zrna, koje već neko vrijeme povremeno koristim u prehrani (uglavnom kada radim nešto za dečka, ali i ja probam što mu spečem). Dugo sam izbjegavala spomenuti pir na blogu jer ne mislim da su žitarice idealna hrana za ljude, ali zaključila sam da bi bilo korisno pokazati ljudima da mogu lako zamijeniti proizvode od pšenice na koje je većina navikla, a jako su loši za zdravlje. Pšenica sama po sebi nije nužno štetna ili loša, samo je imala tu (ne)sreću da upravo ona postane jedna od biljaka koje su se kultivirale i hibridizirale do iznemoglosti svemira kako bi se maksimalno povećali prinosi i kako bi mogla "nahraniti svijet" pod svaku cijenu. Nemojmo se zavaravati da se ista stvar nije dogodila s većinom hrane koju danas jedemo - sve biljke koje koristimo za hranu su kultivari (o životinjama neću ni pričati jer njih ne jedem, ali i one su hibridizirane da bi "davale" više mesa, mlijeka, jaja...), no razlika je u tome da se većina njih još uvijek može nazvati hranom bez opreznog "ali...". Pšenica koju danas koristimo je relativno nov hibrid, nastao sredinom dvadesetog stoljeća u tzv. Zelenoj revoluciji (o ironiji tog niza događanja možda napišem u nekom zasebnom postu), koji se uzgaja širom svijeta zbog izrazito dobrog uroda, otpornosti na bolesti i štetnike i ostalih osobina koje olakšavaju proizvodnju neke kulture. Može se proizvesti jako puno ovakve pšenice za manje novaca i na manjoj površini zemljišta nego prije, no ta nova pšenica ima manji udio nutrijenata, a veći udio glutena u odnosu na starije sorte pšenice i zbog toga mnogim ljudima uzrokuje velike probleme sa zdravljem. Još jedan problem sa pšenicom je način prerade u brašno. Nekad su se za to koristili kameni mlinovi u kojima je najjednostavnije bilo dobiti brašno iz cijelog zrna (pa normalno, reći ćete), no s razvojem tehnologije i izumom modernog čeličnog mlina u drugoj polovici 19. stoljeća proizvodnja bijelog brašna postala je jednostavnija i jeftinija nego ikad. Osim što je u to vrijeme bijelo brašno još uvijek bilo luksuzni proizvod koji je tada napokon postao dostupan široj masi, pravi razlog zašto je do danas bijelo brašno najšire dostupna namirnica je taj što ga je puno lakše skladištiti i prevoziti nego brašno od cijelog zrna, budući da nema nutrijenata pa ga niti kukci niti štakori ne žele jesti. Čak je i cjelovito brašno proizvedeno uz pomoć ovakvih modernih tehnologija često zbog prirode procesa proizvodnje lišeno većine nutrijenata.

Pir spada u isti rod kao i pšenica, no nije toliko hibridiziran, ima manje glutena i drugačiji kemijski sastav glutena koji je manje štetan za čovjeka nego onaj u pšenici. Usudila bih se reći da ne mora biti uopće štetan (osim za osobe s celijakijom, ali to je druga priča), jer znam da neki ljudi koji su "intolerantni" na gluten mogu jesti pir. Dakle ne mora gluten sam po sebi nužno biti problem, već je problem u današnjoj pšenici. A skoro svi je jedu. Pir je i izrazito bogat nutrijentima i iako nisam neki pobornik prehrane žitaricama, vjerujem da nije sve crno-bijelo i da ljudsko tijelo može i iz njih dobiti dosta nutrijenata. Detaljnije drugom prilikom, da vas ne odvučem predaleko od čokoladnog kolača. Još jedna prednost korištenja pira je po meni ta što, barem u Hrvatskoj, većina pirovog brašna koje je dostupno za kupiti dolazi od malih proizvođača i raznih OPG-ova i mljeveno je kamenim mlinom, pa je manje prerađeno nego pšenično brašno iz dućana i zapravo je cjelovita hrana. A može se kupiti i pir u zrnu (ja ga kupujem na placu ili u malim dućanima zdrave hrane) pa samljeti ako imate jaki blender. Da ne duljim, ako imate naviku jesti proizvode od pšenice, pir je savršena zamjena za njih koja ne narušava vaše zdravlje. Kruh, kolači, tortilje, palačinke, peciva, sve se to može napraviti od pirovog brašna umjesto pšeničnog - tekstura je slična, ne morate se bojati da će se raspasti, a okus je bolji.

Pa krenimo onda s ovom divotom od kolača. Neki bi rekli da se dobar biskvit ne može napraviti bez ulja, jaja i mlijeka, ali ovaj jednostavni biljni kolač dokazuje suprotno... Budući da trenutačno kod kuće imamo puno domaćih jabuka i nisu sve baš najbolje (neke recimo prerano padnu sa stabla, druge stoje predugo i postanu brašnaste jer ih imamo hrpu pa ne stignemo pojesti...), od onih "lošijih" se može napraviti kaša/pire, koja je savršen sastojak za kolače.

što/
{količine su otprilikativne ali potrudit ću se opisati što bolje}
1 šalica pirea od jabuka
1 šalica pirovog brašna od cijelog zrna (možda bude potrebno još malo za gustoću)
2 jušne žlice zobenih mekinja (opcija)
4 jušne žlice kakaa u prahu
1/2 čajne žličice sode bikarbone
prstohvat soli

kako/

pire od jabuka_
Sameljite jabuke (ja sam koristila nešto više od 1 kg) u što finiju kašu u blenderu (možete i naribati pa izmiksati štapnim mikserom). Stavite ih u lončić i zagrijte do vrenja, smanjite vatru i ostavite da lagano ključa oko 3-5 minuta uz miješanje. Zatim dodajte zaslađivač po želji (datuljin sirup, javorov sirup, rižin ili ječmeni slad, melasu, nerafinirani šećer) i kuhajte uz miješanje još nekoliko minuta. Sve količine između 0 i nekih pola čaše zaslađivača su u redu. Jabuke su same po sebi slatke pa će nekome to biti dovoljno. Kada maknete lončić s vatre, pričekajte nekih 5 minuta da se pire malo ohladi prije nego što ga pomiješate s ostalim sastojcima.

kolač_
U zdjeli pomiješajte pirovo brašno, mekinje, kakao, sodu bikarbonu i sol. Dodajte pire od jabuka i dobro izmiješajte smjesu mikserom. Gustoća bi trebala biti takva da smjesu nije moguće izliti, ali niti oblikovati rukama (ali kad gurneš prst unutra, da ostane rupa). Ako vam se čini prerijetko, dodajte još malo brašna. Ostavite smjesu da odstoji 15-ak minuta, a za to vrijeme zagrijte pećnicu na 175-180°C. Smjesu promiješajte žlicom i prebacite u kalup/posudu za pečenje. Pecite oko pola sata, odnosno do željene suhoće. Ne možete puno pogriješiti, može samo ispasti malo manje sočno ako prepečete. Ja sam ga ostavila da se hladi prekriven krpom, pa je ostao još sočniji.

[ENGLISH]

juicy chocolate cake

As you have probably already noticed, I've decided to make this blog and recipes on it a bit more friendly for people who would like to eat healthier, but who have no intentions on excluding most of the cooked foods and foods that they are used to from their diet. That's why I'm making more recipes for whole, low-fat, vegan cooked meals based on healthy ingredients. For those who like my raw food recipes - don't worry, there is still going to be plenty of them!

I will use this wonderfully juicy and tasty chocolate cake as an opportunity to write a short story about modern wheat. In this cake I used whole grain spelt flour. I've been using spelt in my cooking on occasion for quite some time now, usually when I'm making some food for my boyfriend, but I also give it a taste. I had avoided to mention spelt on my blog until now because I still believe that grains are not a perfect food for humans. However, I concluded that it would be useful to show people that there are healthy alternatives to wheat products, as today's wheat can be really bad for human health. Wheat itself is not necessarily bad or harmful, it was just (un)lucky to be one of the plants that were cultured and hybridized until universe couldn't take it anymore in order to maximize the yields and "feed the world" by any means. Let us not fool ourselves that it wasn't the same case with most of the food that we eat today - all the plants that we use today are cultivars (animals also, but I don't see them as food so I won't write about that now), but the difference is that most of those plants can still be called food without being too cautious about it. On the other hand, the wheat that we are using today is a relatively new hybrid that was introduced around 1960, in a movement called Green Revolution (the irony of the whole thing is obvious, but I'm trying to keep it short now so I'll write about it some other time) and is widely grown around the world because of its desirable characteristics such as good yield and resistance to pathogens. It is possible to produce much more of this new wheat for less money and on a smaller piece of land than before, but it also has less nutrients and more gluten that the older wheat cultivars. This new gluten seems to cause major health problems to many people today, and together with a poor nutrient content makes this wheat everything but a good food for a human body. Another problem with wheat is the way it is processed. Before the invention of modern steel rolling mills, it was milled in a stone mill and the product was simple and nutritious whole-grain flour. In the second half of 19th century, after the invention of modern mills, there was more and more white flour on the shelves, as its production became a lot cheaper. It was a "fancy" food that suddenly became available to everyone. But the real reason why white flour became one or the most widely available foodstuff is its long shelf life and easy storage and transport. It is lacking all its natural micronutrients, so not even rats or insects want to eat it. Even the "whole-grain" wheat flour from such mills usually lacks most of its nutrition due to the nature of the processing.

Spelt belongs to the same genus as wheat, but it was not hybridized so much and it has less gluten with a different chemical composition that is not so harmful for human health. I would dare to say that it is not necessarily harmful at all (except maybe for people with coeliac desease), and I know that there are "gluten-intolerant" people who can eat spelt and have no problems at all. So gluten itself doesn't have to be a problem; the problem is in modern wheat. Spelt is also a very nutritious grain that has lots of minerals, vitamins and proteins, and although I'm not really a big supporter of a diet rich in grains, I believe that it's not all black and white and that human body can get lots of nutrients from the grains as well. Another good thing about spelt is that (well, at least here in Croatia) it is pretty easy to find whole-grain spelt flour that was milled in a stone mill, which usually means that it's not heavily processed. You can also buy whole grains of spelt and grind it yourself (I buy mine at the farmers' market or in small healthy food stores). So, if you are used to eating wheat products regularly, you can easily replace them with spelt and give your body a proper nutrition. Bread, pancakes, tortillas, buns, cakes... you can make all of that with spelt flour instead of wheat. The texture will be similar, it won't fall apart, and the taste is going to be even better.

Finally, we got to the cake. Some will say that you can't make this type of cake without oil, eggs and milk, but this simple plantbased cake proves the opposite... At the moment, our house is loaded with homegrown apples and not all of them are really good (some fall off the tree too soon, others just stay there for too long because we don't get to eat them), so I made applesauce, which can be a perfect ingredient for a cake.

what/
1 cup applesauce
1 cup whole-grain spelt flour (maybe a bit more)
2 tbsp oat bran (optional)
4 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt

how/

applesauce_
Blend the apples (I used a bit more than a kilo) into a smooth purée in a blender, or grate them and then use a stick mixer to make it smooth. Put them in a pot and turn the heat on; when they start to boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes while stirring. Add some sweetener of your choice (date syrup, maple syrup, rice or barley malt, molases, nonrefined sugar) and let it simmer for another few minutes with constant stirring. Anything between 0 and half a cup of sweetener will be fine; apples are already sweet, so it might be enough for someone. Turn off the heat and let it cool down for 5 minutes before using it in the cake dough.

cake_
Mix the spelt flour with cacao, bran, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add the applesauce and mix everything well with a mixer. The dough should not be flowy/runny, but it should not be too thick either, nor should it be kneadable (but when you stick a finger in it, a hole should remain!). If it seems too soft, add some more spelt flour. Let it sit for around 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 175-180 °C. Mix the dough with a spoon and transfer it into a cake mold or a baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until it's as moist/dry as you like it (not much can go wrong). I left it to cool down with a kitchen cloth over it for maximum juiciness.