Seitan Roast with Wild Rice and Chestnut Stuffing
By Vegan Dad
As I mentioned yesterday, Canadian Thanksgiving will soon be upon us. And by us I mean mainly me since most of my readers are American. I thought I had better take some dishes for a trial run before I make them for members of my family next weekend, like this roast. I will warn you now that the stuffing is a tad finicky. I think when I make it next week I will add in a slice of bread or so to make it all stick together. I also discovered that I made the chestnuts pieces way too big--small is the way to go with stuffing.
INGREDIENTS
Stuffing
- 12 roasted chestnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup wild rice, cooked
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp margarine
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 rib celery, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp sage
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 tbsp flour
- you may want to add a some bread cubes to help hold it all together
METHOD
1. Roast chestnuts and cook rice according to the directions (usually 1/2 cup of wild rice is cooked in 2 cups of water for 50-60 mins. Drain off any excess water).
2. Melt margarine in oil on a saucepan over medium heat. Saute shallot, garlic, and celery for 5-7 mins, until soft and translucent. Add water, spices, and cranberries and cook for 3-4 mins, until cranberries begin to soften. Add rice and chestnuts and cook for 2 mins. Then add flour and mix well. Remove from heat and transfer to fridge to cool. (If you are using bread cubes, omit the flour and toss mixture with the bread)
3. While stuffing is cooling, make seitan. Your stuffing needs to be cool or it will make your seitan break apart during rolling.
Seitan
Get your water on its way to boiling in your steamer
- 1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp poultry spice
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup soy milk
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
Get your water on its way to boiling in your steamer
- 1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp poultry spice
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup soy milk
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
METHOD
1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl and add to dry. Mix with a wooden spoon into a wet dough. If it seems too wet, add a bit more gluten flour. It should be soft and pliable, but still hold together.
2. Transfer dough to counter top or board. With your hands, flatten into a rectangle, about 1/2" thick. The width will depend on how wide your steamer is. Make sure it will fit.
3. Put stuffing in a line the center of the dough. Compress the stuffing in your hands so the center of the roast will be firm. Gently but firmly roll the seitan with the stuffing in the middle (i.e. make sure there is a cavity in the middle with the stuffing in it--don't roll it like a jelly roll). Seal the ends and seam as best you can.
4. Transfer the roll to a piece of extra wide, extra strength aluminum foil (it is important to have this), and tightly roll up like a Tootsie Roll.
5. Steam for 30 mins, turning over after 15 mins. While steaming, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then, place roast in a loaf pan and bake for 25 mins.
1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl and add to dry. Mix with a wooden spoon into a wet dough. If it seems too wet, add a bit more gluten flour. It should be soft and pliable, but still hold together.
2. Transfer dough to counter top or board. With your hands, flatten into a rectangle, about 1/2" thick. The width will depend on how wide your steamer is. Make sure it will fit.
3. Put stuffing in a line the center of the dough. Compress the stuffing in your hands so the center of the roast will be firm. Gently but firmly roll the seitan with the stuffing in the middle (i.e. make sure there is a cavity in the middle with the stuffing in it--don't roll it like a jelly roll). Seal the ends and seam as best you can.
4. Transfer the roll to a piece of extra wide, extra strength aluminum foil (it is important to have this), and tightly roll up like a Tootsie Roll.
5. Steam for 30 mins, turning over after 15 mins. While steaming, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then, place roast in a loaf pan and bake for 25 mins.
6. Let roast stand for 15 mins before unwrapping and slicing with a very sharp knife. Serve with your favourite gravy.
The roast, unwrapped, after coming out of the oven.
. Anyway, I am happy that I tried this, because it came out very moist and very delicious. I could not stop myself from digging in to this as soon as it came out of oven. So it kind of crumbled 
.
MMmmmm Mouthwatering…. that too eggless to Sone pe suhaaga.
great work yaar…. I know Iam a bit late(almost a year) to comment on the recipes, but its simply mind-blowing..
was wondering if you can publish cakes(eggless) which can be made in microwave….
Is it possible to do the same cake using a microwave oven??? Will the duration differ???
Shilpa: Yes, you can make it in microwave and it gets baked in very less time. I haven’t tried it though, so can’t tell exact timings.
hi, i’m from india, i love ur website and diff varieties of ur recipes…i do have a convection oven with maximum of 220′C i want to know the basics of convection cooking, could u help me in that… i want to bake this cake for my husband. in convection mode how much should v preheat and how many min should v keep that 4..send me a mail so that i can have it saved. i prefer eggless cakes only..thanks..
Shilpa: Please follow the steps given in the post. I have given temperature in Fahrenheit, you just have to convert it to Celsius.
Hi Shilpa,
I had messaged you a few days back asking you for some advise about baking this cake (substituting orange juice for grapefruit sada)… but I didnt really get around to making it that time. Didnt have enough of all the ingredients.
Today, I finally got the chance and so here I am writing to you. It was my brother’s bday today and I decided to make this cake. It turned out amazingly well. I was quite worried about making the caramel, but that too came well, luckily! a little bit of caramel got stuck to the bottom of the pan which I was using to mix all the ingredients, but overall had no problems with the caramel. The only thing that I would probably change the next time around is the amount of spice that goes into the cake. My family isnt too fond of these spices, especially cinnamon and cloves… The spices (especially cloves, since they have a strong flavour) were a little overpowering. I think though, it tasted just like fruitcakes bought in India. However, the next time around, I will most likely reduce the amount of spice that goes into the cake…probably only add half a tsp (or less) of cinnamon powder, cardamom and perhaps just one clove. Maybe i’ll even try omitting the spices altogether (but I wonder if thats not such a good idea…what do you say?).
Nevertheless, I do have to compliment you. I think you are definitely deserving to be on the ‘daring bakers list’. Keep posting recipes here. I am a huge fan of yours (and my family loveeeeees your Date Cake)
You’re awesome
can you please give me an idea what other nut beside pecans I can use. I am allergy to pecans. If you be kind to response soon this cake looks delicious and I want to try as soon as possible for the holiday season. I been looking for a vegan alternative to fruit cake. I belive I found it. Thank you so much
Regards
Martica
You amaze me.Whatever recipe I search for ultimately leads here and then I think why do I need to check anywhere else.
But this time I thought i wouldn’t find the vege fruit cake recipe…but you have beaten me at it.welll jokes apart…You have made me a fan.I always follow ur recipes to the dot and they come out soo well.Thanks for taking the effort for all of us.
yummmm….this cake looks absolutely delicious.A great way to ring in the Christmas season
This is the recipe i have been searching for a long time. Thank u dear. ur cake looks tempting.
I have been trying to find a receipt for a fruit made with canned fruit. I make it some time ago and have lost the receipt. It has flour, sugar, eggs, nuts, canned pineapples, maraschino cherries, and I think it may have had raisins and coconut. The person that gave me the receipt called it a Maude Cake. I have also been looking for a receipt for prune cake and have not been sucessful. If you have these receipts or know where I can get them I would appreciate especially the fruit cake. Thanks in advance.
Hey, the cake looks so yummy!!!! Can it be baked in a Microwave oven instead of a normal oven??
Shilpa: It can be baked in microwave.
Dear Shilpa
I have been meaning to try this recipe of yours since a very long time…and I just finished making it, well, what better day than Christmas Eve…..waiting for it to cool, but I must confess, I cudn’t resist and I have sneaked off a bite…and so has my 3-year old son…simply fabulous! We loved it! Thank you for this recipe and here’s wishing you happy holidays and a very happy new year!
Chitra
I love the cakes. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe. I will definately try this.
But can you help me in one thing? Is it possible to make this without oven?
Anyways, thanks!
HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Shilpa: You can bake it in cooker (without whistle) the way you make idlis.
First of all, wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!
I tried this recipe last week and it came out great. I was moist, soft and just-the-right-amount-of-sweetness! This was my very first cake. My husband and family liked it, though they would have preferred an egg cake. But I thought it was great and considerably healthy too! Thank you so much for my very first cake recipe!
I also tried soaking the fruits for a couple of hours in orange juice along with two cinnamon sticks. It gave the cake an amazing flavour! However, there was a small glitch when I poured caramel into the fruits mixture. It just crystalized! I had a hard time trying to make it melt. I tried pouring a tiny amount of hot water into it (very little water). I guess it sort of helped, though there was still pieces of crystal caramel. Also, when I baked the cake, all the caramel crystals sort of came to the top and spilled over. Because when I checked it, some had spilled over the side of the dish and got cooked there. So, thankfully there was no mess. I tore off the part that stuck to the side of the pan and ate to find it was the crystal caramel which was still somewhat chewy now. If u have any suggestion for this, let me know.
Anyway, on the whole, the cake still came out well!
I took it to office and everyone loved it! They couldnt believe it was eggless and yet so soft and moist!
I will definitely share this recipe and website with my sister and her family who are more health-conscience.
Thank you again for this. I have a question though. After baking and cooling, does the cake have to be served upside down? your pic seems to be say so. I remember my mom used to serve the cake upside down so I did the same, though my husband’s family said it should be right-side-up. What do you think?
Sorry for a long comment!
Happy holidays!
Shilpa: I normally serve my all cakes upside down as the base of the cake usually has a flat surface. You can serve it anyway you want.
Hi Shilpa,
I was searching for the eggless fruitcake recipe and i think this is ultimate. For the first time i am preparing the cakethis will be the one. I have a question. does vanilla extract and vanilla essence makes the difference?
can the fresh orange juice is substituted with no pulp tropicana orange juice?and can marmalade be substituted with any fruit jam or spreadable fruit?
Shilpa: You can use either vanilla essence or extract. Yes, you can use tropicana juice. I haven’t tried the fruit jam/spreadable fruit. You have to try it and see.
Thanks Shipla! This was an easy recipe.I had all the ingedients at home today to try out this unplanned “cake event”. The cake came out nice and brown in 25 minutes.It is still warm so I have not tasted it, but it definitely smells yummy!
halo shilpa cake looks yummy!
just had a few clarifications, firstly for the fruit cake is it 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of baking powder?
and have u tried to bake this in a microwave , if yes then is it the same procedure of keeping the power on 60% and baking it for 8- 10 mins.
Shilpa: yes, thats what is written in the post, so sorry, I am not getting your question. I haven’t tried baking cakes in microwave.
thank u shilpa that answers my doubt!
dear Silpha,ur eggless cake recipe so great,and the 2nd times I was made I try to improved it with my local fruit like bangkuang,red guava and a sweet rosella the result so ammazing…..I got the crunchy freshly in the deeping mouth,so nice……I got a defferent style.thanks to U to inspire me to make a new cake…..
Hi shilpa,
i prepared this cake on my daughter’s B’day…
it was awesome…and my friends also liked it so much…
thankyou for the recipe…it was moist and tasty…
but the cake sank in the middle but the taste was really unforgettable…can u tell me y this happened?
and i dint open the oven door till the cake was done..
thanku shilpa…
Hi shilpa,
i prepared this cake on my daughter’s B’day…
it was awesome…and my friends also liked it so much…
thankyou for the recipe…it was moist and tasty…
but the cake sank in the middle but the taste was really unforgettable and i dint open the oven door till the cake was done..
thanku shilpa…
Perfect Receipe!!
I tried it though the pre preparation is more time consuming the cake turned out to be perfect.
Thanks for the perfect veg- cake.
Nice recipe. Even I am always in lookout for eggless cake recipes. I am going to try this recipe right now. Will let you know how it turns out.
I made this cake following your recipe by making a couple of changes. The cake was delicious. Thanks for coming up with such a wonderful eggless cake recipe. I will post this cake recipe in my blog by mentioning the source for the recipe as your blog.
Thanks a lot.
Priya.
Hi Shilpa, your eggless cake is simply mouthwatering less its vegan.
however, i need some expertise from you with regards to the baking of the mentioned recipe as i want to make this cake for a good fren of mine and also gain some insight to making eggless variations,
Q1. what is the purpose of adding the orange juice to the recipe? is it mandatory? does the orange juice induce the flavour in the cake?
Q2. what is the use of adding marmalade in the cake? is it for flavouring or to act as a thickener?
Q3. if i’d wanna add commercial caramel (bought fm stores), what is the amount required for the recipe?
Q4. if i want the cake to be chocolate flavoured, is it best to add cocoa powder or chocolate chips? if can, please tell me when can i add the chocolates to the mix?
Q5. if i wanna double the recipe as it is, any minute details in ingredients i need to consider?
i know i’m asking too much but i just wanna learn the proper way…:) thank you so much for your help on this…really appreciate it….
I am a lover of eggless plum cakes but i am not having oven, can i make my own plum cake in pressure cooker? please do tell me how to make EGGLESS PLUM’ CAKE IN COOKER…
This looks to be interesting i will try this week end and tell u the result of it
Hi, Your cakes seems very tempting and i am gonna give it a try.. on thing i didnt get.. what did you mean by tutti fruit( did u mean mixture of fruits??)
Shilpa: These are candied fruits readily available in Indian store.
Looks yummy. Going to give this a try very soon. And thanks for the caramel preparation, I make a eggless brownie with brown sugar and always wondered if I could caramelise sugar and use it instead. Brown sugar is a lot more expensive at the grocery store than white sugar.
Hi Shilpa,
I want to know, can i do this in microwave. If yes please suggest me what all i have to use.
Or I have a cooking range i.e., 4 burner Gas Stove. And i have never used the grill part in that cooker, since i am vegetarian. Please tell me the detail procedure as i don’t know how to heat the oven to 350F 350F for about 10mins.
Sorry Anupama, I don’t understand what you are saying. You have a cooker which has grill?? and 4 burner gas stove?? And then you are asking about oven. I am confused.
Hi Shilpa,
Can butter be substituted with oil,as my I cannot use any milk product in my receipe
Neha, I have’t tried with oil. I think butter makes the cakes fluffy. But give it a try with oil and see what happens.
I forgot to tell you taht I tried the eggless dates cake receipe ,it turned out really good.
My husband and son liked the cake.
Thanks
can i use brown sugar instead of white sugar?
yes
thanks a lot shilpa for this lovely recipe…i was searching it for long time..i made it yesterday and it was really great…me and my husband liked it very much…will try your another recipes too…
dear shilpa,
i really adore your recipes ,i will try this this sinful cake this weekend.
keep on posting such recipes
all the best
Hi,
I tried your recipe of the cake and came out very well. Thanks for posting the recipe in detail. I just made few changes and tried the recipe and i shall also post my outcome of the cake in my blog soon along with your name.Thanks again.
Hi Shilpa,
Thanks for the receipe. I made this today and it didnt turn up really well. It came out crumbled and was not binding properly. I used brown sugar instead of while sugar and did not use caramel and jam. Do you think thats why it happened?
Please help.This is the 2nd time I am trying
Thanks.
I would suggest using the recipe as it is a trying once before making any modifications.
thanx mam for posting the recipe in detail .I tried the egglless dates cake its reallygud .my
husband likes it very much.
I tried this fruit cake today…was unplanned…but luckily I had all the ingredients
I used brown sugar instead of white sugar, half plain flour and half wheat flour, fresh orange juice, sherry, and used all dry-fruits like pecans, walnuts, cashews, dates, figs, apricots, prunes etc, marmalade, spices and rest of the ingredients
Turned out very good….although i found a lil more oily…I mean the texture is perfect…but when i eat …i find my hands a lil oily…mayb supposed to be that way…mayb next time will reduce the butter content and see. And yeah i measured 100 grams butter…and then melted it…so that comes to half cup melted butter…(for people who don’t have kitchen scale…and need extact proportion)….and also i baked it in the microwave owen. My microwave…has a cake bake option…i used that…but reduced the time to 30 mins. For those who are trying in the microwave oven…u can set the microwave to 180 C (350F)…and bake for 25 – 30 mins.
Hey..wanted to tell u…now that its completely cooled in the fridge…it’s no more oily and it cuts and tastes perfect! Thanks.
Yesterday I tried your date cake recipe…I am on a baking spree…:)….and I can confidently try ur recipe’s…as I know they come out perfect.
thanks…..wonderful cake. i made this twice ..everybody in my family liked it….Thanks for giving us a marvellous cake.
i have one doubt..always the sugar caramel gets solidify and it remains like stones in the cake..it is not getting mixed properly..do u have any suggestion for making it not solidify!!!
May be you need to take it off the heat a little early
hi shilpa!
the recipe looks great! and i really want to try it out, but quick question, you have written 1cup (125gms). Isn’t one cup 200 gms?
Hey shilpa,
I made this cake for my birthday. The cake turned out so good.
It dint last more than a day.
I had problem with caramel. In the first time the sugar starts to crystalize. then i googled why and tried again with 2tbsp more water and increased the heat.Finally i got the caramel.
Thanks for the recipe.
Hey shilpa,
My whole family is a big fan of this cake. Cake vanishes in just a day. Now i want to bake this cake and courier it to my sister in connecticut. Can u tell me how many days this cake can survive?
I have kept it for max 2 days.
thanks for the quick reply shilpa. I am going to make this cake and send it to CT. I hope the cake reach them fresh and good.
Hi, I tried your cake in the dead of the night yestrday. The caramel gives it a very unique taste. I did, however, make a few adjustments… Firstly I threw out the nuts as I wanted my lil baby to be able to eat it. I ommited the laici because I din want the cake to taste like chai (lol) and lastly I used fresh vanilla bean instead, which didn’t make much of a diff because the taste was drowned by all the candied fruit (sigh, what a waste of good vanilla). Overall, it was good.
thanks for a great recipe that I will definately use over and over again.
Hi shilpa,
Can i skip orange marmalade in cake? Will it make any difference in taste or texture?
Tate will be slightly different
hi shilpa,
Tried the cake but the caramel did not mix with nuts properly, was like a lump.Do i have to add more nuts.The cake turned out medium sweet as caramel did not mix uniformely.pls suggest.
Take out the caramel from heat before it becomes too hard
hi shilpa please help i have had a request for eggless fruit wedding cake can i put your recipe in deep tins and would i need to adjust cooking time could you also help with weights for 12″ 10″ and 8″ inch round and square i need the cakes to min 3″deep when cooked looking forward to hearing from you sharron.
Sorry, I don’t know weight. I had tried this a while ago.
Thank you for this recipe.
Hi Shilpa,
Thanks a ton for the recipe. My friend suggested this recipe of yours and the cake came out very well.