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College Cooking: the elements of taste, raw chocolate desserts

By Joel MacKenzie,
Staff Writer

Instant kimchi for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner? No way!
College Cooking is here to
provide recipes, ideas, and
healthy eating information to
help post-secondary students
create healthy, unique,
satisfying food for cheap.

nowing how our
tongues react to
tastes can help

one find replacements for
unhealthy foods that would
elicit the same reaction
from the tongue. Flavour
involves the interaction of
many elements, including
textures, piquance
(spiciness), scents, etc., but
taste is nonetheless a major
part of interesting eating.
When the tastebuds
on the tongue, throat, and
the roof, sides, and back
of the mouth interact with
different tastes, they release
chemicals that stimulate

| cannot believe this is rum cake

Drunk dessert done
right

By Dominic Dutt,
Contributor

reat yourself to a
rum cake next time
you feel the urge

to bake a cake. The recipe,
which can be found on the
blog alwaysorderdessert.
com, is simple and takes
no longer than 50 minutes.
It’s warm, sensational, and
has a strong aroma of rum,
which makes it a perfect fall
desert.

My sister-in-law
just returned from the
Caribbean and she brought
back, for me, rum cake.

different responses in

the brain. Theoretically,
animals have evolved to
have pleasurable chemicals
released while tasting food
that is more nourishing,
and vice versa, so that
nourishing foods will be
consumed, and dangerous
ones not. The different
tastes that the tongue reacts
to are sweet, bitter, sour,
salty, and umami (or fatty /
savoury).

So if you want to
substitute an unhealthy
food with a healthier one,
consider the tastes that
go into the food you want
to replace that make it
enjoyable. For instance,
bacon is very high in fat,
particularly the unhealthy
saturated and trans types;
replacing bacon in a
sandwich with avocado will
still provide the fatty acids
that make it taste good, but
with healthier forms of fats,
like essential fatty acids
omega-3 and omega-6, and
“healthy” monounsaturated

Sitting there on that table,
waiting for me, I looked at
the package and the cake
inside was crying, “Eat me.”

I couldn’t wait. I had to
devour that cake. I opened
up the package and tore the
dessert out of the plastic.
The smell was intoxicating.
The whole cake actually
smelled like rum. As I
took my first bite, I was
immediately transported to
La-La Land. My head was
spinning. I felt all warm
and tingly. I was actually
hearing angels in my head
singing “Hallelujah.” So |
gave praise, and I devoured
it.

The following week, I
decided to bake my own
rum cake. However, I did
not take my time to follow

fatty acids. A sweet
alternative to candy is
dried fruit, like dates or
apples. These are sweeter
than regular fruits, being
dehydrated, but can have
tons of vitamins, minerals,
and fibre—elements that
contribute to a healthier
body and a feeling of
fullness.

Of course, healthier
options can still be very
high in sugar and fat, which
could potentially provide
excess calories. Sweets
and desserts must still,
therefore, be enjoyed in
moderation.

Raw chocolate mousse,
buttercream frosting, and
chocolate ice cream

Continuing my list of

raw dessert recipes for

this month, this week we
feature raw vegan chocolate
mousse, with variations

to use either buttercream
frosting or chocolate ice
cream, courtesy of Jennifer

the instructions. I felt too
poor to buy real rum.
Instead, I bought cheap
rum extract. I didn’t use the
proper ingredients and the
result was not really rum
cake—I'd call it a science
experiment gone horribly
wrong.

I was just too lazy. So
bake your own rum cake,
and take your time and
follow the directions. Don’t
cheat or skip any of the
ingredients or instructions,
and you might bake
something pretty decent.

Finally and most
importantly, use real rum.
Happy baking!

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup walnuts, crushed
- 11/2 cups granulated

Cornbleet, from her blog,
Raw Food Made Easy
(dlearnrawfood.com)! Jessica
also has a book filled with
more raw recipes called
Raw Food Made Easy for 1
or 2 People Revised filled
with entrees, dips, desserts,
and a whole lot more.
These raw recipes are a
great example of using
replacement ingredients

to add vitamins, minerals,
and healthy fats to a classic
recipe. In them, avocado
and dates replace sugar,
butter, and cream.

Ingredients

- A cup pitted Medjool
dates, soaked

- A cup pure maple syrup
or agave nectar

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
(optional)

- 34 cup mashed avocados
(1 12 avocados)

- A cup plus 2 tbsp
unsweetened cocoa or carob
powder

- A cup water

white sugar

- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter,
softened

-3 tbsp + 1/2 cup grape
seed or canola oil, separated
- 13/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch

- 4 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp kosher salt

- 1 cup vanilla instant
pudding mix

- 3/4 cup whole milk (or
substitute water for milk)

- 4 large eggs

- 3/4 cup dark rum
(recommended: Tortuga
Rum)

- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Grease and flour your pan,
and drop crushed walnuts
into the bottom of the pan.

Process the dates, syrup,
and vanilla in a food
processor until smooth.
Add the avocado and cocoa
powder and process until
creamy. Stop occasionally to
scrape down the sides of the
bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add the water and process
briefly. Stored in a sealed
container, the chocolate
mousse will keep for three
days in the refrigerator or
two weeks in the freezer.
Serve chilled or at room
temperature.

Variations
For chocolate buttercream
frosting: omit the water.

For chocolate ice cream:
freeze the chocolate
mousse for at least four
hours. Allow to thaw for

15 minutes before serving.
Stored in a sealed container,
chocolate ice cream will
keep for one month in the
freezer.

Set aside.

In the base of a mixer, cream
the granulated sugar and
the butter together. Add

3 tbsp of the oil, the flour,
cornstarch, baking powder,
and kosher salt, and mix
until even and mixture
resembles fine crumbs.

In a separate bowl, whisk
together the eggs, milk,
rum, vanilla extract, and
remaining 1/2 cup of oil.
Add to the dry ingredients
and mix well until
combined. The batter will
be smooth, thin, and pour
easily.

Pour into the prepared

pan and bake for 50 to 60
minutes, or until a toothpick
or knife inserted into the
cake comes out clean.

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