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Today I'm sharing with you a cake which is almost impossible to believe that it is vegan! This cake is with incredibly moist and fluffy biscotti sponge, covered with light yogurt cream, hugged with summer taste of peaches...mmm...
This cake disappeared so fast, that I still can't believe that it was a real thing!
And as the summer is almost to its end, we have not a long time now to enjoy one of the most loved summer fruits - peaches!
So, take a look at the health benefits of that tasty fruit and find a few new reasons to enjoy them even more often!
1. Packed With Nutrients and Antioxidants
Peaches are rich in many vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant compounds.
One medium-sized peach (5.4 ounces or 150 grams) provides approximately:
Calories: 58
Protein: 1 gram
Fat: less than 1 gram
Carbs: 14 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Vitamin C: 17% of the Daily Value (DV)
Vitamin A: 10% of the DV
Potassium: 8% of the DV
Niacin: 6% of the DV
Vitamin E: 5% of the DV
Vitamin K: 5% of the DV
Copper: 5% of the DV
Manganese: 5% of the DV
Peaches also offer smaller amounts of magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and some B vitamins.
In addition, they’re packed with antioxidants — beneficial plant compounds that combat oxidative damage and help protect your body against aging and disease. The fresher and riper the fruit, the more antioxidants it contains.
In one study, juice from fresh peaches demonstrated antioxidant actions in healthy men within 30 minutes of consumption.
Fresh and canned peaches seem to have similar amounts of vitamins and minerals — as long as canned varieties are unpeeled.
However, fresh peaches have higher levels of antioxidants and appear to be more effective at protecting against oxidative damage than canned ones.
2. May Aid Digestion
Peaches may contribute to healthy digestion.
One medium-sized fruit provides about 2 grams of fiber — half of which is soluble fiber, while the other half is insoluble.
Insoluble fiber adds bulk to your stool and helps move food through your gut, reducing the likelihood of constipation.
On the other hand, soluble fiber provides food for beneficial bacteria in your intestines. In turn, these bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids — such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate — which feed the cells of your gut.
Short-chain fatty acids in your gut may also help reduce inflammation and improve symptoms of digestive disorders like Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and ulcerative colitis.
Peach flowers are another part of the fruit that may benefit digestion. They’re commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat digestive disorders.
Animal research shows that compounds found in the flowers may effectively increase the strength and frequency of gut contractions, which helps maintain the proper rhythm to push food along smoothly.
While studies often use peach flower extract, an herbal tea made from the flowers is commonly consumed in Korea.
3. May Improve Heart Health
Regularly eating fruit — including peaches — may promote heart health.
Peaches may lower risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
What’s more, test-tube studies show that peaches may bind to bile acids — compounds produced by your liver from cholesterol.
The bound bile acids — together with the cholesterol they contain — are eventually excreted through your feces, which may help lower blood cholesterol levels.
Additional test-tube and animal studies found that peaches may reduce total and “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, as well as blood pressure and triglyceride levels.
Research in obese rats further reported that peach juice may lower levels of the hormone angiotensin II that raises blood pressure.
While these effects seem promising, more studies are needed to confirm them in humans.
4. May Protect Your Skin
Peaches may have protective effects that help keep your skin healthy.
Test-tube studies indicate that compounds found in peaches may improve your skin’s ability to retain moisture — thus improving skin texture.
What’s more, both test-tube and animal studies show that extracts made from peach flowers or flesh applied directly to the skin may help prevent UV damage.
Peach flower extracts were also found to delay the development of skin tumors in mice.
However, more research in humans is needed before conclusions can be drawn.
5. May Prevent Certain Types of Cancer
Like most fruits, peaches provide beneficial plant compounds that may offer some protection against various cancers.
Specifically, peach skin and flesh are rich in carotenoids and caffeic acid — two types of antioxidants found to have anti-cancer properties.
Test-tube and animal research has also shown that compounds in peach seeds may limit the growth of non-cancerous skin tumors and prevent them from turning into cancerous ones.
Not to mention, peaches are full of polyphenols — a category of antioxidants shown to reduce the growth and limit the spreading of cancer cells in test-tube studies.
Peach polyphenols may have the ability to kill cancerous cells as well, without causing any damage to healthy ones.
In one animal study, these polyphenols were particularly effective at preventing a specific type of breast cancer from growing and spreading.
Researchers reported that a person would need to eat about two to three peaches a day to consume an amount of polyphenols equivalent to that used in the study.
In another study, postmenopausal women who consumed at least 2 peaches or nectarines each day had a 41% lower risk of breast cancer over 24 years.
However, few studies have been done in humans, so more research is needed.
6. May Reduce Allergy Symptoms
Peaches may reduce allergy symptoms.
When your body is exposed to an allergen, it releases histamines, or chemicals made by your immune system to help rid your body of the allergen.
Histamines are part of your body’s defense system and trigger allergy symptoms like sneezing, itching, or coughing.
Research shows that peaches may help reduce allergy symptoms by preventing the release of histamines in the blood.
Moreover, test-tube studies report that peach extracts may be effective as well and limit the inflammation commonly seen in allergic reactions.
However, more research is needed to determine the strength of these effects in people with allergies.
7–9. Other Potential Benefits
Peaches may offer several other health benefits. The most well-researched include:
May boost immunity: Peaches are rich in immune-boosting nutrients and antioxidants. Test-tube studies report that they may also fight certain types of bacteria.
May protect against certain toxins: In one study, peach extracts given to smokers increased the removal of nicotine through the urine.
May reduce blood sugar levels: Studies show that compounds found in peaches may help prevent high blood sugar levels and insulin resistance in obese rats.
That said, these studies were small, and most of these benefits have not been observed in humans.*source
Find the recipe below!
Prep: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h
Level: medium
Servings: 10 portions
Calories per serving: 302 kcal
Find the recipe & nutrition facts below :
For the biscotti cake:
240 gr. aquafaba (water from canned chickpeas)
2 tsp vinegar (or cream of tartar; xantham gum)
140 gr. of sugar
160 gr. of apple purre
120 gr. of sugar
250 gr. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
For the peach marmalade:
4 medium-sized peaches
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
10 gr. tapioca (or cornstarch)
20 gr. of sugar
1/2 tsp agar agar powder
For the yogurt cream:
200 ml. soy milk (or any other milk)
15 gr. of tapioca (or cornstarch)
40 gr. sugar
1 tsp agar agar powder
200 gr. of soy yogurt(or any other yogurt)
1 can of coconut milk (set overnight in the fridge) (200 gr of the thick coconut cream from the can)
For the decoration:
1 peach
1/4 cup of roasted almonds (optional)
1 tbsp grounded almonds (optional)
Method:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line three 18cm cake tins.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl whisk with an electric mixer together aquafaba with vinegar, when you reach fluffy whipped cream like mixture, start to add in the 70 gr. sugar mix until you reach soft peaks. Set aside.
Step 3: In a medium mixing bowl whisk with an electric mixer together apple puree along with sugar, until sugar dissolves.
Step 4: Extremely gentle, slow, and with as little as possible movements mix together the apple puree mixture into the whipped aquafaba mixture. Then stiff and stir slowly the flour, again gently and with as less as possible movements.
Step 5: Then fill the batter into the prepared tins and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes, then remove to cool completely.
Step 6: Now, let's prepare the peach marmalade. First, put the peaches in boiling water, leave for 2-3 minutes, then place into cold water, and peal with hands the peaches. 2 peaches blend into a puree and the other 2 cut into small cubes. In a medium pan add in all the ingredients and mix, then bring to boil, and boil for around 3-5 minutes. Let it cool down completely.
Step 7: And for the cream, in a medium pan mix together milk, and just remove the thick part from the can of coconut milk which should be 200 gr with tapioca, sugar and agar, and bring to boil and boil for around 3-5 minutes. In the hot milk mixture add in the yogurt and mix together with an electric mixer. Set aside to cool down almost completely.
Step 8: Now, it's time to assemble the cake - Put one of the 3 sponge cakes on a serving plate in a cake ring covered with wrapping foil. In a piping bag add the yogurt mousse and cover the sponge until the edges.
Step 9: Then again in the pipping bad add in the peach marmalade in and add a layer over the top of the mousse. Put the next sponge on top and repeat this step.
Step 10: Then put the last sponge on top and spread the remaining cream all over the top of the cake. Place your cake in the fridge for a few hours to chill.
Step 11: Gently remove the ring and decorate your cake with fresh peaches and almonds.