Couscous Cake

merigayle · Feb 24, 2008

Couscous Cake 
----------------- 
4 cups natural apple juice 
2 tbs brown rice syrup 
2 cups dry couscous 
1 apple diced 
2 cups apple sauce, natural 
raisins 
cinnamon 
In a sauce pan bring apple juice, 1tbs of rice syrup, to a boil. Stir in couscous, cook for 3 minutes, remove from heat and cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in some cinnamon. 
In a small sauce pan, bring apple sauce, apple, 1 tbs rice syrup, and cinnamon to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until apples are soft, stir in raisins. 
In a spring form pan (9 inch is what i used) press half of the couscous into the pan. Pour apple mixture on top of couscous and spread evenly. Take remaining couscous and press on top of apple mixture to form the second layer of the cake. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and refrigerate. Then slice and serve. I think it tastes best warm. You can also experiment with other fruit combinations as well.

Billy · Feb 24, 2008

My son just made something similar in his Young Chef's workshop. He said it was really good!

diablita · Feb 24, 2008

That sounds delicious meri. Thanks!

merigayle · Feb 25, 2008

Thanks Diablita. After 3+ months of no cakes, cookies, etc, this recipe stood out to me. It was really great!!! I will probably make another batch this week. It was a good breakfast food <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"> I may put raisins in the couscous too, and try some pear with the apple, if they ripen up <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

Ice Cream · Feb 25, 2008

This is unusual. I am going to try it. I suppose maple syrup would be Ok substitute for the rice syrup.

merigayle · Feb 25, 2008

yes, it probably would be. i personally HATE maple syrup! sugar would be a substitute too. or barley malt.

diablita · Feb 25, 2008

meri, have you used Agave Nectar/Syrup? I like it quite a bit in things like iced tea since you don't have to worry about it dissolving in, and it's more fructose than sucrose. 
And for anyone wanting to substitute honey or use honey as a substitute in a recipe, remember that it's a more hygroscopic ingredient than most other sweeteners -- it attracts moisture. So if you are using another sweetener in its place, you may want to up the liquid slightly; using it in another sweetener's place, reduce slightly.

merigayle · Feb 26, 2008

I have not tried Agave Nectar. In macrobiotics, it is mostly brown rice syrup, or barley malt for sweetening. I did make the recipe again and tweaked the couscous recipe a bit, i will edit the recipe to reflect that.

Ice Cream · Mar 9, 2008

I looked into agave nectar but decided against it for $$$ reasons, if I recall correctly. DH lost his job, and we are trying to be more conservative. That is an area where I can justify saving.

merigayle · Mar 9, 2008

You could just use sugar, or apple sauce, or maple syrup (which may change the taste some). I think if you omitted it from the couscous, you would not even notice and then if you cook the apples in apple sauce and maybe some sugar, you should be fine! Then it becomes a cheap recipe <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif">

divaleh · Mar 10, 2008

Auditions are good for something - was downtown at a (crappy) audition this morning, treated myself to a WholeFoods trip afterwards, and picked up some whole wheat couscous! Now I can make couscous cake!

merigayle · Mar 11, 2008

yipppeee! let me know what you think of it <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"> I like to put a slice (wrapped in foil so it does not crisp/dry out) in the toaster oven in the AM for b-fast <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

divaleh · Mar 11, 2008

Ahem, young lady! Doesn't that mean you're re-heating???? <img alt="wink.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/wink.gif">

merigayle · Mar 11, 2008

shhhhh. i really just should not reheat vegetables. I can steam grains to reheat. wheee. lol.

divaleh · Mar 15, 2008

Whew, ok..... 
Question(s) for you - about how many servings should I be able to get out of the CousCous Cake? Do you think I can cut the juice with some water, and perhaps eliminate the additional sweetener? 
Going to make it tonite!

merigayle · Mar 15, 2008

8-10? 
the juice gives the couscous some flavor, maybe use light juice if you do not mind using light products? You could probably get away with the sweetner, but maybe use some stevia or some other low cal sweetner, or the cake will be VERY bland. 
FULL REPORT! 
ps. it works best if it is refridgerated after making, it cuts up much easier.

divaleh · Mar 15, 2008

Cool. Will make it the right way the first time, and just make sure I budget for the yummy calories <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

merigayle · Mar 15, 2008

<img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"> 
for 10 servings (calculated on sparkrecipe): 
Nutrition Facts 
Couscous cake 
Serving Size: 1 serving 
Amount Per Serving 
Calories 164.4 
Total Fat 0.7 g 
Saturated Fat 0.0 g 
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g 
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g 
Cholesterol 0.0 mg 
Sodium 7.1 mg 
Potassium 108.5 mg 
Total Carbohydrate 37.5 g 
Dietary Fiber 1.9 g 
Sugars 2.8 g 
Protein 3.8 g

divaleh · Mar 15, 2008

Mine comes up with 227 calories on SparkRecipes, no rice syrup and 2 oz of raisins...

divaleh · Mar 15, 2008

I lied: Nutrition Facts <div style="text-align:left;">Meri's CousCous Cake, 1/10 cake </div>
10 Servings Amount Per Serving <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;">Calories 260.6 <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;"> 
Total Fat 1.0 g <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;"> 
Saturated Fat 0.0 g <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;"> 
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;"> 
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;"> 
Cholesterol 0.0 mg <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;"> 
Sodium 4.6 mg <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;"> Potassium 212.6 mg <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;"> 
Total Carbohydrate 59.6 g <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;">Dietary Fiber 6.9 g <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;">Sugars 4.9 g <img alt="" src="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/spacer.gif" style="border:0px solid;"> Protein 6.7 g

Couscous Cake

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