Sweet treats made with vegetables

BORA: Hi Sonja, tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

Sonja: Hi there! I’m Sonja and I come from Upper Bavaria in Germany. I live between Lake Chiemsee and the mountains – a holiday destination for others – and I’m a pastry chef with a passion for baking.

BORA: How did you get into baking and what makes you so passionate about it?

Sonja: I’ve been baking for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I used to hang around the kitchen with my mum, and the older I got the more passionate about baking I became. I then baked my own wedding cake and that’s when it all began...

BORA: How and what do you like baking most?

Sonja: When baking, I prefer using regional and seasonal ingredients. This means I use what’s growing in my garden at the time, even if it’s an unusual ingredient. For example, I sometimes use vegetables, such as courgettes, in my sweet cakes.

BORA: What makes a good cake in your opinion?

Sonja: The sign of a good cake is when I want a second helping straight away. That’s what makes a good cake for me. And it shouldn’t be too sweet either.

BORA: What’s the most unusual cake order that you’ve received so far?

Sonja: The most extraordinary cake that I’ve baked to date was for a Medieval wedding held in a castle. I had to be pretty creative with that multi-layer cake. I even made a 3D dragon out of modelling chocolate to sit on top of it. That was definitely one of the main highlights of my career.

BORA: Do you have any tips on how people can make their favourite cake recipe healthier so that they can enjoy eating cake without feeling bad?

Sonja: I’m generally known for the fact that my cakes aren’t too sweet. In this case, less is sometimes more. I’m fond of replacing table sugar with unrefined organic raw cane sugar or coconut sugar, which also makes a good alternative. Wheat or spelt flour can be replaced with almond or coconut flour, for example. This also lends the bake a special flavour.

BORA: You cook and bake using our BORA appliances. What makes baking with our appliances so special?

Sonja: As a local pastry chef I’ve been lucky enough to bake for BORA for the past three years, and so I’ve got to know the products. I absolutely love cooking with the BORA Pure cooktop extractor system, and I use the BORA X BO steam oven every day in my bakery. 

BORA: What makes baking with the BORA X BO so special in comparison with conventional ovens, in your opinion as a professional baker?

Sonja: The X BO is a cut above conventional ovens because it’s so easy to use and ensures amazing baking results. Cake bases always come out really moist, for example.

Sonja Voggenauer has created a courgette cake for BORA that’s easy to make at home:

Courgette cake with avocado and lemon cream

For the avocado and lemon cream

• 1-2 avocados (approx. 200 g)
• 250 g coconut yoghurt
• 80 g agave syrup
• 1 organic lemon
• 80 g virgin coconut oil (melted)

For the courgette cake

• 90 g pistachio nuts
• 60 g coconut flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 180 g courgette
• 150 g coconut yoghurt
• 150 g coconut sugar
• 3 organic eggs (size M)
• Salt
• 2 organic lemons
• 1 sprig of basil
• 60 g virgin coconut oil (melted)
• Some raspberry & rhubarb jam

Prepare the cream

Halve the avocado(s), remove the skin and the stone(s). Wash the lemon in hot water and dry it. Finely grate the zest, then cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice. Put the lemon juice, lemon zest, avocado, coconut yoghurt and agave syrup into a mixer and blend. Add the coconut oil and blend again until the mixture has a smooth consistency. Cover the cream with cling film and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Make the batter

Toast the pistachios over a high heat in a non-stick frying pan without any fat. Allow them to cool then finely chop them. Wash the basil, shake it dry and pluck the leaves. Wash, dry and grate the courgette. Grate the two lemons.

Mix together the coconut flour, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. Finely chop the basil leaves and add them to the flour mixture. Add the grated courgette, coconut yoghurt, coconut oil, coconut sugar, lemon zest and eggs to the batter and mix together. Add a pinch of salt and mix again.

Spread the batter into 3 cake tins, then bake in the X BO (170°C/0% humidity) for around 20 minutes.

Assemble the cake

Leave the cake bases to cool down, then spread alternating layers with raspberry & rhubarb jam and avocado cream. Decorate with desiccated/grated coconut, chopped pistachios or edible flours, as desired.

Pro tip: This cake will keep for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.