Strawberry Shortcake



Strawberry Shortcake

Since I love tofu and eat it just about every day, I borrowed Tofu Cookery (25th Anniversary) by Louise Hagler from the library.  It's an older book and I wish the photos were more attractive but I'm interested in trying quite a few recipes.  Today was a beautiful, sunny, Sunday afternoon and I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  This recipe for Strawberry Shortcake caught my eye and the whole family was happy with my choice and the results. 

I thought the shortcake dough (which contains silken tofu) was rather sticky but they baked up perfectly.  I'm not used to working with biscuit dough so I'm sure it was fine.  They were tender and not too sweet, the very bottoms where browned from the baking pan were slightly tougher.  The Sweet and Creamy Topping which I also made from silken tofu (although the recipe called for regular), had a mild sweet flavour.  I added an extra couple of teaspoons of lemon juice because I thought it was initially a bit too bland.  We ate the shortcake and cream with fresh cut strawberries which makes this a great summer dessert but next time I think I will add some type of strawberry sauce or maybe just macerate the strawberries for a while before serving to make them juicier.  All in all, this was a successful dessert despite my nit-picking and I will definitely make it again. 

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Kathryn made the most delicious looking Black Bean Tempeh Stir-Fry dish last week (she's ahead of lazy me again) over at The Hedgehog in the Kitchen.  Check it out here!

No Bake Chocolate Cookies - Oh Yes!



Da Kine No Bake Chocolate Cookies

 Valentines Day was the official end of my no-sugar challenge.  I never thought in a million years I could go six weeks without indulging in a daily hit of sugar but I actually did it with the support of my good friend Merry.  I must say there was a noticable improvement in my energy levels.  That awful, mid-day, sluggish, slump disappeared and after about 3 weeks the cravings lessened.  Tonight I made my first real treat, a recipe for no bake chocolate cookies from Vegan Fusion World Cuisine.  These were very simple to prepare, just melt the chocolate or carob chips and mix in the remaining ingredients which included raisins, pecans, coconut flakes, almond or peanut butter, a bit of maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon.  The mixture cooled and firmed up quickly making it easy to shape the cookies.  We popped them in the fridge and after about 15 minutes, the upper limit of my daughter's waiting tolerance, she tried one.  Total success!  She loved them except for the raisins which were spit out, no surprise there.  Then, it was my turn.  I made a cup of tea, sat down and bit into chocolatey goodness.   Mmmm, they almost taste like very firm fudge with chunks of pecans and raisins.  I was only going to eat one because they are so rich but could not resist attempting a second.

Easy Chocolate Cake



Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

 This is my daughter's favourite and most requested dessert - Chocolate Cake from The Joy of Vegan Baking.  I love this recipe because it's so fast and easy to put together.  If you double the recipe it makes a bundt cake and is also great for cupcakes.  I always have the ingredients in my pantry, it doesn't require any egg replacer just flour, salt, sugar, cocao, baking soda, vinegar, vanilla, water and oil.  The cake itself is not too rich on it's own but if you make the chocolate buttercream icing to go with it, the decadance factor goes up a notch.  We enjoy it both ways.   I don't often get a photo of this cake because it gets eaten too quickly and that means as soon as it's out of the oven, I am being pestered for a piece.   As you can see from this photo, there is a slice missing.

Apple Clafouti

Apple Clafouti

I love apple pie but I don't like pastry (or making pastry) so when I came across this recipe for Apple Clafouti in Robin Robertson's Vegan on the Cheap I was ecstatic.  I don't know if this happens to everyone but it often seems no matter what book or recipe I'm cooking from, there is always at least one key ingredient that I lack.  I keep a pretty well stocked pantry but it doesn't seem to matter.  I will just have to look on the bright side and believe this ongoing problem will make me a more creative cook!  This time it was applesauce I was missing and the recipe called for one whole cup.  I ended up using an equal amount of soy milk because I didn't know what else to substitute.  Fingers crossed! 

When the clafouti came out of the oven the smell of apples and cinnamon was mouth watering.  The top looked and felt like a springy cake.  It had a soft spongy texture, very unassuming and not overly sweet.  The cinnamon-apple mixture on the bottom were definitely the stars of the show.  The soy milk worked but I'm curious as to how using applesauce would have changed the texture and flavour of the cakey part.  I will definitely make this again, it's a simple, warm and comforting dessert.   

Vegan Flan - Cooking Challenge

My brother used to date a lovely Brazilian woman named Ana who always brought the most scrumptious flans to family events. I’ve never made flan let alone a vegan flan so I’m really excited for my little experiment this week. In preparation, I read a few recipes on the web and since they were all fairly similar I decided to combine my favourites into the following recipe.

I had a few problems with the caramel. At first, the sugar wouldn’t melt so I turned the heat up to high which resulted in a bunch of hard clumps that wouldn’t dissolve no matter how hard I tried to mash them out ( I think this is my fault for not stirring enough, I got distracted by the computer). I added a few tablespoons of water which may have helped with the consistency but after stirring and stirring I gave up and just strained the syrup into the pan. Instead of using individual ramekins, I poured the caramel and custard into a round cake pan.

I must admit to being disappointed with the flavour and consistency of this dessert.  The flan set well but was too gelatinous and not creamy enough for my taste.  I also didn't enjoy the soy flavour of the custard and will replace the soy milk with coconut milk in my next attempt.  I'm happy I gave this a try even though it was not as fantastic as the flan in my memory.  I'm determined to make it better.

Vegan Flan

For the Caramel:

¾ cup of sugar
3 tablespoons water (approximate)
Melt the sugar and water over medium-low heat until the syrup coats the back of a spoon and it’s a lovely golden brown colour. I think you should stir it fairly constantly but obviously I’m no expert! Pour the caramel into the bottom of the pan or ramekins, whatever you are using.

For the Custard:

2 cups of unsweetened soy milk
1 tablespoon agar-agar flakes
½ cup silken tofu
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Heat the soy milk and agar-agar flakes in a sauce pan until boiling and then reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until the agar-agar has dissolved.

Place the soy milk mixture, tofu, sugar, vanilla and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth.  Pour over top of the syrup and refrigerate until cool. To remove, slide a knife around the perimeter of the cake pan and lightly shake side to side. If the flan doesn't loosen, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for about 15 seconds, then turn over onto a plate.  Eat it up!
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Now turn your attention to Kathryn's creation this week over at the hedgehog in the kitchen.   She was inspired by a picture book to make pumpkin soup.

And joining us for the first time from Mexico City, please welcome Kika who has made an appealing looking corn bread.   Her blog is called come compa and she is posting in both Spanish and English.  

I can't wait to see what everone is cooking up next week! 

Pineapple Pick Me Up!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I've been feeling a little down lately with all the stress of preparing to move and listening to the caveman who lives below us swearing, ranting and raving all night long.  So to cheer myself up, I decided to infuse the space with the sweet fragrance of pineapple upside down cake.  I've always wanted to make one and happily discovered a simple looking recipe on vegweb.  Unfortunately, I was so anxious to taste the cake it came out of the oven without being tested and when we cut into it, the middle was like mush.  The cake is a basic white cake but the pineapple/brown sugar adds sufficient sweetness and moisture to make this an enjoyable, casual dessert.  

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup pineapple juice/water (see below)

1/3 cup oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 20 oz can pineapple chunks in unsweetened pineapple juice

1/4 cup UNPACKED brown sugar

Directions:

 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Pour juice off can of pineapple into 1 cup measuring cup - it should be about 3/4 cup juice. Add water to make 1 cup.  In a separate bowl, combine oil, vinegar and juice.

Dump pineapple chunks into the bottom of a 12 inch spring form pan (you could use an 8x8 or other sized spring form, just adjust cooking time). Sprinkle with brown sugar.

Quickly mix wet ingredients into dry, stirring quickly to combine ingredients well and get out the big lumps. Pour into pan on top of the pineapple/brown sugar mix.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Baking time will depend on pan size.

Let cool and loosen sides of cake from pan. Remove side ring and place serving plate on top. Flip cake over onto serving plate and remove pan bottom.

 





Cinnamon Rolls

Last night while I was making my challenge recipe, I had another project going in the kitchen, my first ever cinnamon rolls!   In fact, I've never made any kind of bread and the search for the bread hook attachment that came with my stand mixer was lengthy, dusty and hot (but absolutely worth it in the end!). In total, the process took over four hours from start to finish with a good portion of that being rising time.  I used the recipe from my go-to baking book The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goodreau.  I tried to document with photos what the rolls look like in each step.  And lets just say that when they were finally out of the oven and iced at about 11:00 pm, I couldn't stop eating them.   I managed to stuff down THREE big rolls.  I couldn't stop myself and even though I'm a little on the bloated side this morning, I may just have to indulge myself for breakfast.   Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Rising in the pan before they go into the oven.

 

Just out of the oven before the icing goes on

I'm in Cinnamon Roll heaven.

      

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Tonight instead of going to the gym I indulged my sweet cravings by making Cinnamon Coffee Cake with a recipe courtesy of The Joy of Vegan Baking.  My daughter arrived home from the park with her dad, took a bite and asked me what the cake was called.  When I told her she said "I want to rename this Cinnamon Brown Yummy!"  She especially enjoyed the topping calling it "very rough and very good."   I actually wasn't expecting this to be such a hit because it's not very sweet.  I'm very happy to be wrong in my predictions  The recipe called for chopped walnuts in the topping but I couldn't find any so I substituted chopped pecans.

Cinnamon Brown Yummy

Vegan Cooking Challenge - Week 4

Fudgie Wudgie Blueberry Brownies

Even after a sugar laden week, I ended up making Fudgie Wudgie Blueberry Brownies from Veganomicon because I was asked to contribute a dessert for my dear friend Elizabeth's birthday party last night.  Most people like brownies right?   I was hoping they would be enough of a variation on the standard chocolate dessert to not be boring and I think they turned out well.   Nice and fudgy.  I must admit that I was in a bit of a hurry and instead of greasing the pan with Earth Balance I used olive oil spray.  I didn't think anyone would notice but my husband took a bite and had a strange look on his face.  No one at the party seemed to mind but I guess I won't be doing that again.

 And take a look at this Pumpkin Pie Brownie that Jeannette made this week!  I want a piece of that!

Pumpkin Pie Brownie

Pumpkin Pie Brownie

I took this week’s recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. The authors were generous enough to post this recipe on their blog:

I have been looking at this picture for weeks now, in a bookmarked tab, so it’s finally time to attempt it. I wanted to do it by the book; I even went out and bought plain soy milk! But, my canned pumpkin turned out to be canned sweet potato. :) For the recipe, I measured 1 cup from the 15 oz. can for the pumpkin layer and used the remaining canned sweet potato in the brownie layer. It was probably a rather scant cup. Also, I omitted the ginger (don’t like) and added extra nutmeg (love).

This was definitely a success! My taste-testers were unanimous and exuberant in their praise. “Pumpkin pie -- followed by chocolate!” The brownie bottom is fantastic (the melted chocolate has a lot to do with this). The pumpkin layer was good, too, but I think I might add either a bit more sugar or some maple syrup next time. It just could have been a little sweeter. Maybe it was the sweet potatoes or maybe it was the missing ginger.

Anyway, I never would have imagined that something without eggs and butter could taste so good! I will definitely make this again.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

When the recipe for these cookies popped into my inbox last week courtesy of The Healthy Bitch Daily, I knew I would be baking them up soon.   Never one to resist homemade chocolate chip cookies, I was curious as to how different they would be from the recipe I'd been using for the last 8 months.  Let's just say they turned out so well, I managed to stuff down about 5 or 6 before feeling slightly sick.   They were chewy perfection, I will definitely make these again but next time, will cut the amount of white sugar.     

Kim’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

What to Buy:
4 1/2 teaspoons of Ener-G Egg Replacer
6 tablespoons of warm water
1 cup Earth Balance non-dairy butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup evaporated cane juice sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or you can use half whole wheat pastry flour and half all purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) package vegan chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional but delicious)

How to Make It:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine the Egg replacer and the water and whip until fluffy. In a separate large bowl, add the Earth Balance, cane juice sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Mix with a beater until well combined. Add the Egg replacer mixture and stir well. In a separate medium bowl add the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined like a soft dough. Add the chocolate chips (and the nuts if you are using them). Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Scoop out small spoonfuls of batter and place on cookie sheet, making four rows of dough. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Makes 48 cookies.

What It’s Gonna Cost You:
Serving Size: 1 Cookie (28g) Calories: 130; Fat 7 g; Saturated Fat 2.5 g; Cholesterol 0 mg; Carbohydrates 15 g; Fiber 1 g; Protein 1 g

Amelia Bedelia Cake

Last night at bedtime, I was reading one of those awful Amelia Bedelia books to my daughter and at the back of the book she discovered a recipe.  I knew what was coming next, M was going to request we make it and I was dreading having to say no.  I thought it would be an egg and dairy laden dessert but when I read the ingredients out loud I was shocked to discover it was vegan!  What!  Cool!

So, after my daughter extracted a promise from me that we would make it first thing in the morning, she happily went off to sleep.  I love the rare days at home when I can devote an afternoon to browsing through my cookbooks, baking treats and planning future meals.  Lately, those days seem far and few between but happily today was one of them.  

We quickly assembled the ingredients from the pantry and my only complaint was that it called for everything to be mixed in the baking pan with a fork.  I found it a little tedious getting the wet and dry ingredients mixed properly in the darn corners.  It would have been much easier and faster to use a large mixing bowl.  This is a great recipe to make with kids because they can do it all from start to finish with minimal assistance.  It was moist and not too sweet but I found some inconsistency in the batter because it was mixed in the pan (and shhhh don't tell anyone but we didn't sift the dry ingredients).

Amelia Bedelia's Sheet Cake

3 cups of flour
1 3/4 cups of sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup of cocoa
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups water

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa directly into an ungreased 9" by 13" pan.  Add oil, vinegar, and vanilla.  Pour water over all ingredients.  Mix with a fork until smooth..

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. 

Okay, so we didn't exactly sift the dry ingredients. 

Mixing with great concentration.

Chocolate sheet cake fresh from the oven.

Coconut-Lemon Bundt Cake

I made this cake for my husband's birthday even though it's not the usual frosted confection typically eaten at such occoasions.  Before it even had a chance to cool down and receive the recommended sprinkling of icing sugar, slices were being snuck out of the kitchen while I was busy preparing dinner.  It was a hit with the adults and my very, discriminating daughter ate 3/4 of a good sized piece.  She's usually a strictly chocolate girl so that tells me something.  The shredded coconut lends the texture an unexpected chewiness and combines nicely with the lemon flavour.  This cake would be perfect for afternoon tea.   

Recipe from Veganomicon. 

Coconut-Lemon Bundt Cake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

If these decadant treats are any indication of a typical dessert recipe in Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet, I think I'll have to add a few more to my queue.  The steps were quick and painless, just two pots on the stove to melt a few ingredients, some layering in cupcake liners, sprinkle a few chopped nuts on top and then pop them in the fridge for a couple of hours.   Of course I had to sneak out of bed at 2 a.m. to test one after they had set!  

Be warned, the peanut butter base is very rich. I don't think I could eat more than one at a time.  There wasn't quite enough chocolate to cover all of the cups so next time I make these, and there will be a next time, I'll increase the amount of chocolate chips.

Alicia has kindly included the recipe on her website so if you don't have her book you can still enjoy these delicious treats!   Recipe here.

chocolate peanut butter cup

Butterscotch Pudding

I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea to stand over a hot stove stirring pudding on a sticky summer night but I've been wanting to try this recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking all week.   Colleen's book has many classic dessert recipes and every one I've tried has been delicious.   My daughter and I wolfed down a pudding when they were barely cool and it was smooth, creamy and very brown sugary.   Yum.