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What is it about sweet potato and cake in the same sentence that promises awesome? When I saw this recipe posted at the fabulous VegNews site, I knew I was in trouble.
Five days. That’s how long I lasted between spotting the recipe and making it materialize in front of me.
This cake is delicious – I think it might just make another appearance over the Holidays. Sweet, fragrant and spicy, this dense and super moist delight is like gingerbread in a cake.
I followed the recipe for the cake exactly, except that I used two round 9-inch pans (instead of the recommended 8-inch pans). You could definitely make this cake in a bundt pan or muffin tin – gingerbread cupcakes! I baked for an extra 5 minutes (for a total of 40 minutes), so definitely use a toothpick to determine done-ness. I also made my own sweet potato puree (rather than the called for can), by steaming sweet potato and weighing it to get the required amount. In a pinch, you could probably substitute pumpkin puree – but have you ever noticed how much sweeter sweet potato is? Mmm, sweet potato.
After comparing the icing portion of the recipe to some of my favourites, I decided to reduce the amount of confectioner’s sugar called for, using 3 cups (instead of 4 cups) – which is plenty sweet and has a really nice texture.
I love, love, love the addition of toasted coconut and pecans sandwiched between the two cake layers – so don’t leave that part out!
What to make next? Have you seen the VegNews Holiday Cookie Collection? Yeah, baby.
Happy World Vegan Day! It is also time to reveal the most recent Daring Bakers’ challenge: Macarons. Well, truth be told, it was actually time to reveal the Daring Bakers challenge last Wednesday. Better late than never I say. There was no way I was going to miss out on trying my hand at making vegan macarons, and what better way to celebrate World Vegan Day, the kick off to World Vegan Month.
The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.
Macarons were made famous in France, although they may have originally been brought there from Italy. According to Serious Eats, ‘the English word macaroon is derived from the French macaron, which in turn comes from the Italian maccherone, or “fine dough.”‘ These delicate cookies are traditionally made with almond flour (finely ground almonds), confectioners’ sugar, and egg whites. To veganise them, I would have to replace five egg whites. After following the early feedback of my fellow vegan Daring Bakers, I decided to use Ener-G egg replacer to do this. For those unfamiliar with this product, Ener-G is basically a mix of starches and chemical leavening to which water is added – it is particularly well suited to cookies.
I have to say, I was a bit trepidatious upon embarking on this culinary adventure. Whenever the replacement of a mountain of egg whites is in order, things can get dicey fast. I was, however, pleasantly surprised with the results. I achieved a delicate thin crust and a deliciously chewy centre. I had some difficulty piping the dough initially – mine was far too stiff to yield the desired shape. I somewhat rectified this by adding four teaspoons of water to thin the dough a bit. Still, the visual result is not the perfectly smooth dome you might have seen in the pages of Gourmet or the window of a Parisian patisserie – or indeed, the heights of biscuit beauty achieved by many of my fellow Daring Bakers. Nonetheless, I was fairly pleased, considering.
I flavoured the dough with vanilla bean and cocoa and whipped up a batch of the delightful Chocolate Mousse from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, to use as my filling. If you would like vanilla macarons, omit the cocoa. I thought Matcha green tea powder would make a great alternative addition.
This is my veganised version of Fleming’s original recipe.
Vegan Macarons
- 2 ¼ cups Confectioners’ sugar
- 2 cups Almond flour
- 2 Tbsp Granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
- 6 Tbsp water + 1 tsp
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa powder (omit for vanilla macarons or try Matcha powder instead)
- 1 Vanilla bean (seeds only)
- Filling of your choice, prepared.
1. Preheat the oven to 200F. Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl.
2. Beat the Ener-G and water with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) until it holds soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the Ener-G mixture and stir gently to combine. Add vanilla bean seeds, and Cocoa (or Matcha) if using. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Don’t overmix.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off. It’s easy to fill your bag if you stand it up in a glass and fold the tops of the bag down over the edges before filling with batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized mounds of batter onto parchment lined baking sheets.
6. Bake the macaron for 5 minutes at 200F. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375F. Once the oven has reached this temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or until lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling. I think any soft filling would work nicely – the cookies are delicate so you don’t want to be pressing them together too roughly. I chose to use the Chocolate Mousse recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World for my filling. You could also try your favourite ganache recipe.
Enjoy.
Let there be vegan macarons a plenty.
It is Vegan MoFo III, the Vegan Month of Food, Day 31.
This recipe is my husband’s creation. It’s really simple to whip up and it hits the spot when you’re looking for something a little spicy.
Spicy Thai Noodles
- Soba or Udon noodles, one package
- Silken tofu, one package
- 1/2 can coconut milk (regular or light)
- 1/2 lb mushrooms
- 1/2 lb Brussels sprouts
- 1 Tbsp red curry paste
- Olive oil, for sauteing
Prepare noodles as directed.
Warm oil over medium heat in a large skillet and saute mushrooms and Brussels. Remove mushrooms and Brussels and reserve. In the same skillet, scramble tofu. Set aside.
In a small pot, warm coconut milk. Add red curry paste and combine.
Add noodles to large skillet with tofu. Add mushrooms and coconut milk curry mixture. Stir well to combine.
Serve with chopsticks.
Happy Vegan MoFo everyone!
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It’s Vegan MoFo III, the Vegan Month of Food, Day 30.
Will you look at the crumb of that cookie?
Chocolate chip cookies are a very personal thing I find. Some like them crispy, others like them soft. Some like them huge, others prefer them to be more dainty. Some like them loaded up with chocolate, others prefer restraint in that area. You get the picture. Truth be told, I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t like. I’m a cookie monster and I’m not afraid to admit it.
What is it about chocolate-chip cookies that brings out the perfectionist in bakers? I’ll admit, I’ve made my fair share of them in an attempt to attain that elusive perfect cookie. I’ve never been completely satisfied with what I’ve made so far. There was always something not quite perfect – the texture, the sweetness, the crumb.
So when I whipped up these delicious cookie specimens from Hello Veggie blog a while back, I knew I was close – oh so close. In fact, those cookies are amazing, and it was quite by accident that I altered the recipe.
I was low on all-purpose flour and so I lessened that and increased the whole wheat pastry flour component. I also used golden sugar in place of dark brown, and reduced the amount. I did not have almond butter on hand (as with my previous attempt) but I did have almonds, so I processed a cup in the food processor until they stuck together when pressed. The almond definitely did not turn into butter but rather a very fine, moist powder. As I discovered later (when I re-made the cookies using almond butter) this makes a significant difference to the crumb of the finished cookie. It adds a lightness that I love and a truly perfect crumb.
This cookie is heavenly.
While the almond paste appears to be the magic ingredient in achieving the awesome texture of this cookie, it does not impart an almond taste – so, to keep the flavour neutral I ran with that idea and made another change: I omitted the almond extract that the original recipe calls for. I chose unsweetened almond milk as my non-dairy milk of choice.
Best Chocolate-Chip Cookies
(recipe adapted from Hello Veggie)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached organic
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, unbleached organic
- 1 cup almonds (whole raw, with skin on)
- 1/4 cup non-dairy margarine
- 3 Tbsp almond milk , unsweetened (or soy or oat milk)
- 1/2 cup golden sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375ºF
Add almonds to food processor and process to a very fine grind – stop just short of allowing the almonds to turn into butter. You should get a very fine paste that sticks together when pressed but that will still crumble apart if disturbed. It might take upwards of 5-10 minutes depending on your processor. Be sure to stop the processor occasionally to stir the paste up from the bottom and get the drier top bits down there.
In a medium bowl, cream together almond paste, almond milk, vanilla, and non-dairy margarine until smooth.
In a larger bowl, add both flours, baking powder and salt. Whisk lightly to ensure dry ingredients are combined – do not over beat.
Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine. Once dough is combined, fold in chocolate chips.
Spoon dough onto ungreased baking sheets. I used a modest-sized ice-cream scoop to measure the dough (I got 22 cookies one time and 24 the next).
Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies should just slightly turn golden at some edges or rough corners that might be poking up, otherwise they should stay fairly white. Do not over bake.
Allow cookies to remain on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.
Makes 22 to 24 cookies depending on how big you make them.
Try not to eat them all in one go. It’s not easy.
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It’s Vegan MoFo III, the Vegan Month of Food, Day 29.
I have been sharing a whole lot of sweets lately. And eating them. We must have balance. Enter, kale.
Kittee taught me how to make kale chips – thanks Kittee!
She generously provided this very clever suggestion for seasoning the kale, and it’s as lip-smacking delicious as it is simple. When you have a hankering for something savoury or salty, this fabulously healthy snack is it. So super easy to make. Who needs potato chips?
Kale Chips
- 1 bunch kale
- olive oil
- soy sauce or bragg’s
- nutritional yeast
Preheat oven to 175F.
Wash kale and remove stems. Cut into manageable pieces. Place in salad spinner to remove water, or pat dry.
Place kale in very large bowl or pot (or season in batches) and season with olive oil, soy sauce and nutritional yeast – to taste. Amounts will depend on how much kale you have and what you like. Be careful with how much soy sauce or bragg’s you add as it might get too salty.
Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or foil and arrange kale in a single layer.
Slide baking sheets into oven. Allow to bake (really it’s drying out, not baking) for 30 minutes – you might want to check it after 20 minutes. The kale will need to be turned over. If it’s still super soggy, leave it in for a bit more before turning. If it has lightened up significantly, turn it over and let it bake for another 20-30 minutes.
If you’re in a rush – you can up the oven temperature to 200F which will cut the baking time in half. Be careful not to let them scorch, which will happen quickly. Monitor them closely.
What you’re looking for is for the kale to become completely dry and crisp – no moisture or chewiness. They will be light as air and feel as though they are made of paper. Delicious nutritious paper.
So much better than chips. Enjoy.
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It is Vegan MoFo III, the Vegan Month of Food. Day 26.
Chocolate muffins for breakfast? I’m in.
Jae posted the recipe for these scrumptious chocolaty things recently on the front page of her blog, Domestic Affair. Made with yummy spelt flour, they’re super good.
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It’s Vegan MoFo III, the Vegan Month of Food, Day 22.
Yesterday, I shared a truly simple yet entirely delicious phyllo dessert with you – today I bring you its savoury cousin.
This is one of my husband’s house specialties. Just as I gave him full credit for yesterday’s dessert, I must do the same for today’s dinner. He’s an experimenter in the kitchen and lately it’s all been about phyllo. Getting him to write down what he was doing was no easy task. He doesn’t like to be held down by rules in the kitchen – he likes to feel and taste his way through it. Still, I persevered to get something in writing and this is what he came up with. It’s a little different each time he makes it, but that’s part of its charm. I’m not complaining – this is tasty stuff.
This dish is very forgiving – the recipe is more of a guideline than a strict plan of action.
Spicy Mushroom Phyllo
- Phyllo dough, thawed and ready to use
- 1 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped (or white mushrooms)
- 3 slices of bread
- 1 – 1.5 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced (to taste)
- 1Tbsp red curry paste
- 2/3 – 1 cup coconut milk (or almond or rice milk for a lighter dish)
- 3/4 cup sliced almond
- 1 bell pepper – yellow, red or orange, minced
- 2 – 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast (to taste)
- oil (for stir fry and for brushing dough)
- water (as needed)
Preheat oven to 375F.
Warm 1-2 Tbsp oil in a skillet at medium-high heat on stove and stir fry mushrooms. When mushrooms have reduced considerably in size, lower heat to medium-low. Drain mushrooms and finely mince. Return to skillet.
Add minced ginger to mushrooms and toss together in skillet.
Turn heat off on stove but leave skillet there. Check on it occasionally to be sure contents do not stick to bottom of pan.
Cut the bread by quartering each slice three times – quarter a slice, then quarter those pieces, then quarter those pieces (you’ll end up with tiny pieces). Add almond slices and cubed bread to skillet and mix everything together very gently (you don’t want to completely break up the almond slices).
Add coconut milk (or almond or rice milk) a bit at a time until right consistency is achieved. You’re looking for everything to be quite moist, but not liquidy.
Lay phyllo over your work area. Layer three pieces of phyllo directly on top of each other. Lightly brush oil over the top of the phyllo. With a sharp knife, quarter the phyllo as it lays flat. Fill a small bowl or glass with water and keep nearby. Water acts like glue when you’re working with phyllo.
Spoon mushroom mixture equally onto each of the four pieces of phyllo. Now wrap the phyllo up into a square package, just as if wrapping a present. Dip your fingers in the water and touch the dough as you make each fold – this will help the dough stay together and not unravel.
Place each phyllo package on a parchment lined baking sheet and slide into oven. Bake until phyllo starts to turn golden, about 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. Monitor closely to prevent scorching.
Watch out – it’s steamy when it comes out of the oven. Enjoy.
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It’s Vegan MoFo II folks, the third annual Vegan Month of Food.
Let’s bring it back to dessert today, shall we. It wasn’t so long ago that I made my own phyllo pastry from scratch, for the Daring Bakers Strudel challenge. It was somewhat time consuming but, ultimately, it was a lot easier than it looked. Traditional phyllo pastry also happens to be naturally vegan – no eggs, dairy or any other animal fats, go figure. If you’d like to learn how to make your own phyllo, take a look at my Daring Bakers post – otherwise do what I do most of the time and use store bought phyllo.
You’ll find store-bought phyllo pastry in the freezer section of your grocery. I’ve never seen one yet that wasn’t naturally vegan but double check the ingredient list of yours to be safe. This is what is contained in the ingredient list of my phyllo package: enriched wheat flour, water, corn starch, canola oil, dextrose (a type of sugar derived from wheat or corn), salt, wheat gluten, inactive yeast.
The phyllo is stored in your freezer at home until you’re ready to use it. When you want to use your phyllo, you will need to let it thaw out – mine says either on the counter for five hours or overnight in the fridge. Follow the directions on the package. Ditto for baking times – everything will be explained clearly on the box.
My husband came up with dessert idea. He made an out of this world delicious savoury version first (I’m working on him to write down the recipe) and then came up with this sweet dessert version – and dessert doesn’t get much simpler than this.
Simple Chocolate Phyllo:
- 1 package phyllo dough
- good quality dairy-free chocolate chips or bar chocolate, finely chopped (amount variable, up to 2 cups)
- banana, finely sliced (optional, 1 or 2, to taste – adds delicious creaminess)
- canola oil (or other light-flavoured oil like vegetable or sunflower)
- cinnamon and/or nutmeg (optional, to taste)
- confectioners’ sugar
Thaw phyllo pastry as directed on package – also preheat oven according to package directions.
Lay two or three sheets of phyllo over top of one another on a large, lightly greased baking sheet (depending on how much dough you like). Brush a small amount of oil over your pastry. Sprinkle chocolate liberally over pastry – this part is not rocket science, just use as much or as little as you’d like – the amount will change depending on how big your phyllo sheet is. I like my chocolate density to amount to approximately 3 or 4 chips per square inch of phyllo. The more chocolate you use the more rich and decadent the dessert will be. Distribute banana slices if using. Sprinkle with spices if using.
Carefully roll up your phyllo until everything is contained in one neat cylinder. Rest the roll on its seam – you can either tuck the ends underneath or leave them open. Brush the exterior of the phyllo roll with a small amount of oil.
Slide baking sheet into preheated oven and bake according to package directions, usually about 8-10 minutes – it doesn’t take long at all. In fact, be careful not to let it burn.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar – not completely necessary but confectioners’ sugar always makes everything instantly gorgeous. The added sweetness is a nice addition to the tangier Berry Variation below. Slice as desired.
You could also make smaller individual serving rolls and then you don’t need to slice it.
That’s it. Told you it was simple. You now have a dessert that will have everyone thinking you spent all day working on it.
Berry Phyllo:
Skip the chocolate and use fresh or frozen fruit instead. This dessert works particularly great with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Sprinkle some cinnamon or cardamom on top of the fruit and enjoy the tastiness.
Behold, a slice of blueberry heaven:
Enjoy!
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It’s Vegan MoFo III friends, the Vegan Month of Food.
This pizza is so simple to make and it’s totally delicious. All you need is a batch of pizza dough, homemade or store-bought, an eggplant and some fresh rosemary and you’re off to the savoury races.
I kept this pizza super simple – I didn’t even use a pizza stone, gasp, which I own, man that thing is heavy.
Rosemary-Eggplant Pizza:
- Pizza dough, homemade or store-bought
- Cornmeal (or corn grits – just use less)
- Eggplant
- Fresh rosemary
- Olive oil
Preheat oven to 425F.
Sprinkle a large rimmed pan with corn meal (I was fresh out so I used a smaller amount of corn grits – crunchy!), and stretch your pre-risen dough over top. Drizzle olive oil over dough and use the tip of a silicone spatula to gently spread it around.
Next, distribute one prepared eggplant evenly (see note below for tips on how to prepare eggplant). Then, mince up some fresh rosemary and sprinkle over the pizza.
Slide pan into preheated oven and bake for 18 – 23 minutes, depending on how crispy you like it.
Tips for Preparing Eggplant:
Slice eggplant into 1/4-inch thick slices. To make this pizza, I also removed the skin and further sliced those slices into 1/4-inch thick strips. Throw eggplant strips into a wide-bottomed bowl or dish and add up to 1/2 Tbsp salt. Stir around with your hand until all the eggplant is well coated with salt. Transfer eggplant to a colander or sieve and place over a bowl on the counter. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. When you return you will find that some liquid has accumulated at the bottom of the bowl. Discard that liquid. Rinse eggplant thoroughly under cool running water. Grab some eggplant in your hand in small batches and squeeze out as much liquid as you can over the sink (like you’re wringing out a sponge). Repeat with the rest of the eggplant. A lot of liquid will come out.
This not only prevents the eggplant from going soggy when it bakes, but also removes the bitterness – leaving you with a sweet, succulent flavour. You can use this method to prepare eggplant for many dishes (you don’t have to always cut into strips – you can leave it in big slices). Eggplant is a super versatile, tasty, hearty, satisfying addition to any meal.
I love eggplant. I can’t get enough of the stuff. And rosemary – the fragrance wafting up from the oven is so out of this world awesome, you can’t go wrong.
This pizza is also great with mushrooms or zucchini.
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We are almost half way there – blogging merrily along the Vegan MoFo III road.
I love my local Farmers’ Market.
Now that I’ve gotten that amorous declaration out of the way, allow me to share this: It makes me exceedingly sad that my local market will be closing up shop at the end of this month, marking the end of an especially colourful and bountiful season. But before that sad day comes, I’ll be taking full advantage of what the October market has to offer.
And my favourite October market find is pumpkin. Pumpkin is so versatile. You can use it in sweet and savoury dishes alike. Soups. Baked goods of all sorts.
But those elusive pumpkins show up about a month before Halloween and then, suddenly, they’re all gone.
There is a way we can extend the pumpkin bounty, friends: Pumpkin puree. And if you’ve never pureed your own pumpkin before, you’re in for a treat – it’s easy.
So buy up those pumpkins while you can, roast ‘em, and puree away – then freeze it all, stored in little ziploc bags, and use it for months to come. Don’t get me wrong – in a pinch, some nice organic canned puree will do. When you’re making that pumpkin pie during the holidays however, you just can’t beat fresh puree.
Trust me on this. It’s easy. It’s awesome.
There is an absolutely fabulous step by step tutorial all about pureeing your own pumpkin at Ree Drummond’s super site, The Pioneer Woman, complete with humorous anecdotes and lovely photos. My advice is to take Ree’s sage advice regarding allowing your puree to drain before using or freezing it if you suspect it to be on the wet side – I find, more often than not, that it is. Allowing the pumpkin to drain over a cheesecloth or sieve in the fridge overnight (or even a full day) will improve the texture and intensify the flavour.
Ditto regarding Ree’s advice about freezing the puree in 1-cup bags. That’s just clever.
I’ve heard, and Ree concurs, that smaller pumpkins generally yield more intense flavour. The pumpkins I used this time around were about 5 to 6-inches in diameter, which I’d classify as mediium. I have pureed bigger ones, like last year’s Halloween pumpkin, with fine results. I have yet to try those teeny ones from the supermarket (which look to be under 4-inches in diameter), and who knows, maybe those little ones would knock my socks off.
Now snap those pumpkins up.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you all about the pumpkin pie I made with the first puree of the season.
