Happy & Healthy
AND THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE HEALTHY TAITAII
At our office, we've been enjoying chocolate peppernuts and speculaas for quite a few weeks now. Saturday, Sinterklaas is arriving again, and all those bags of sweets are going to be opened and GONE. I must honestly confess that I can hardly resist those chocolate peppernuts either. But only the dark ones. And those are the ones that always seem to be left in the bag.
But those December kilos are still a bit of a concern. Because there will be eating. And not just a little bit. To tackle the impending weight gain just a bit, I’m turning November into ‘healthy Sinterklaas recipe month’. And I’m going to make you happy every week with a Sinterklaas recipe until the birthday of our good saint. Peppernuts, filled speculaas, marzipan, and taaitaai; you name it, I’ll arrange it. But it will be the healthy version. Normally, it’s questionable whether a healthy version is just as tasty as the original. With this recipe, I assure you that this is indeed the case. The chance of feeling sick from overeating is significantly smaller, and you won’t regret it when you have one too many. It’s important to use liquid sweetener for this recipe (so no coconut blossom sugar or cane sugar), so that the taaitaai becomes nice and moist and sticky.
“Taaitaai then.”
What do you need?
• 200 grams spelt flour
• 150 grams almond flour
• 250 grams maple syrup or honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons speculaas spices
• 2 teaspoons ground anise seeds
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• a splash of almond milk
• pinch of salt
• tablespoon of ground pink pepper (available at the Asian store)
• 1 egg yolk (to brush the taaitaai)
And how do you make it?
1. Weigh the ingredients. First, combine the dry ingredients. Mix in the maple syrup or honey and blend with a food processor or hand mixer until you have a smooth dough.
2. The dough should be quite sticky. If the dough is too dry, add a little almond milk. Taste and add more speculaas spices or anise seeds to your liking.
3. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
4. Then preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and shape the dough into a form you like on the parchment.
5. Separate the egg white from the yolk and brush the top of the dough with the yolk. Bake the taaitaai for 12 to 20 minutes until golden brown (keep an eye on the taaitaai, every oven is different).
Which Sinterklaas sweet would you like a healthy version of?
Let me know at simone@amayzine.com.
