My last blog featured chocolate spread recipes. Here is the history of the Israeli variety and a recipe to make your own. Lot’s of history to food.
Bright Morninspread
The story of “Hashachar Ha`ole” – “Bright Morning” spread begins at 1948 when the five Wideberg brothers founded their factory, the “Shachar Wideberg Brothers”.
In its early days the factory was a small candy work shop for tehina, halva, waffles and jams. The Wideberg brothers decided to call it “Hashachar Ha`ole” (which means the rising dawn in Hebrew) simply because they thought that the morning dawn is beautiful.
The factory expanded at the early 1950’s when the Levkowich family joined. New production lines were added and advanced machinery was imported for candy manufacturing. Then the name was changed to “Hashachar Ha`ole”.
Soon they realized at “Hashachar Ha`ole” that there are already plenty of products similar to the candy they manufactured so far. They looked for what was missing – a chocolate spread.
They bought the raw materials and began to compound the spread. Each time they changed the dosing in the mixing pot. Few months later, they created the secret formula which is sold to this day and known as Bright Morning spread.
Over the years they decided at “Hashachar Ha`ole” to focus on chocolate spread production. The “Hashachar Ha`ole” Bright Morning spread became a strong Israeli brand and is also marketed in 12 countries including the United States, Canada, UK, France, Australia and more.
HOMEMADE GUILT-FREE VEGAN NUTELLA from Gluten free vegan girl
makes approx. 400 gram/14 ounce jar
Ingredients:
200 grams firm & silken tofu (7 oz)
Additional hazelnut rice milk as needed
2 cups pitted dates (300 grams) or syrup
1 cup toasted and peeled hazelnuts (135 grams)
3 – 4 tbsp baking cocoa powder (34 – 45 grams)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
a pinch of Maldon/pink salt
a few tbsp water (read below)
Directions:
1. Start off by placing the toasted hazelnuts and salt in a food processor and run until you have a nut butter. If you make this in a blender be prepared to scrape down the sides quite frequently.
2. Once you have a smooth butter, add in all of the remaining ingredients except for the water and starting with 3 tbsp cocoa powder. Run until you have a smooth paste. Add another tablespoon of cocoa powder if you want it to have a slightly richer chocolate taste.
From experience, you will probably get it just a tad smoother if you run it through a blender on the last step. You can also add in a few tablespoons of water, or hazelnut rice milk should you want it thinner and creamier. The longer you store it in the fridge for, the more it will firm up, so be aware of that.
Oranges may not be the only fruit but 300 years ago fresh oranges were expensive luxuries in northern Europe (and probably “fresh” wasn’t always the exact word for them). I can see why – an exotic fruit of such a wonderfully vibrant colour, they promise much and once peeled the sweet segmented flesh offers no disappointment. The wealthy built orangeries in the grounds of their stately homes, not something I’d come across until I came to England, but the building of an orangery illustrates how besotted the wealthy were with this lovely citrus. A fine example is the baroque Orangery in the gardens of Kensington Palace which was built in 1704 for Queen Anne, who used it for parties. The architect was Nicholas Hawksmoor and was built with under-floor heating – remember this is the dawn of the 1700’s – and in winter was used as a conservatory for delicate plants.
In those days if you could get oranges, they were marvelous for impressing your guests. They were a fleeting crop and one of the main concerns was how to preserve them, to savor their rich flavor and majestic colour all year. I’m guessing that that is why some clever cook came up with the idea of cooking them. The really distinctive flavor of an orange is in the peel, and so I offer this up as the motivation for the very first boiling of whole oranges.
This Nigella Lawson cake requires the boiling of whole oranges, 2 of them for 2 hours, and the who did it why first question has caught at the edges of my mind for the few months that I have been making it. Not who so much, but definitely why. They bob away – you can’t drown an orange – and gradually become squidgy – soft and wet and changing shape easily when pressed. They lose their smooth exterior and all that reassuring firm resistance they have when just picked and basically end up the very opposite of what you want in a fresh orange. The first time I made this recipe I reached the ‘boil oranges for 2 hours then cool slightly’ point and really, seriously, did not believe we were going anywhere good.
How wrong I was.
Chocolate Orange Cake
The baroque Orangery, located next to Kensington Palace in Kensington Gardens, was built in 1704-05 for Mary’s younger sister, Anne, who became Queen when William died. Anne used Kensington for entertaining and she held parties in the Orangery.
The building had under-floor heating and in winter it was used as a conservatory for delicate plants.
The architect of The Orangery is thought to have been Nicholas Hawksmoor, the clerk of works on Kensington Palace and the designer of six new churches in east London.
– See more at: http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington-gardens/facilities-in-kensington-gardens/the-orangery#sthash.7UYP8MLn.dpuf
You could get oranges, they were great for impressing your guests. But one of the main things on your mind would be how to preserve them, to savor their rich flavor and majestic color all year.
I am far from a cake fanatic. However everyone that eats it wants the recipe. I understand. It is a great cake, rich and elegant and properly grown up and sophisticated. And perfect for Passover.
6 eggs/or equivalent in ground flax meal 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda 250g caster sugar/agave
Put the oranges into a pan of water and simmer for 2 hours, until they go unattractively soft. Set aside to cool.
Heat the oven to 180C and grease and line the base of a 20cm spring form tin.
Cut the oranges in half then put them into a blender – skin pips and all – and whizz to a paste like consistency. Add all the rest of the ingredients and blitz again till you get a lumpy batter. If your blender is not big enough to put everything in, tip the orange pulp into a bowl then blitz the rest of the ingredients in the blender, add that to the orange and mix till it’s all combined.
Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about an hour till a skewer comes out clean.
Leave the cake in the tin on a wire rack for 20 minutes or so to start cooling then carefully unclip the outer ring and take it off. The cake can cool fully on the metal base before serving.
savyatseventy 