Gluten Free "Hostess" Cupcakes

My husband's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to bake him a gluten-free cake from scratch, but I really didn't have time when I got home from work and so I made cupcakes using Pamela's Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix.  They were absolutely delicious...moist, rich and super chocolatey!  For the egg substitute, I used Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer, but ground flax meal/water would work just as great.

To be honest, my husband probably would of preferred if I made Hostess Twinkies instead of the cupcakes, but Twinkies are so boring...it's just a vanilla sponge cake with piped in frosting.  No creamy ganache icing or fun squiggly decoration on the top...just a boring sponge cake.  Anyway, he loved them and I think that I made a chocolate lover out of him!

For the filling I used the same buttercream recipe that I used for my Veggie Cupcakes, but only made half of the recipe and I added a little more cashew cream about 1 Tbsp to make the filling smoother.  Using a small plain piping tip and squeezed in enough frosting to cause the cupcake to puff up, but not to break.

 

For the ganache topping I used 1/2 cup Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips and about 3 Tbsp cashew cream.  I placed it in the microwave for about 30 seconds until melted and then stirred in 1 tsp Earth Balance Butter.  Before decorating the cupcakes, I let both the cupcakes and the ganache cool to room temperature and the iced the top of the cupcakes using a small off-set spatula. 

And for the squiggle design I used a 1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar with 1 Tbsp cashew cream and stirred until smooth.  You want this to be really thick so that when you pipe the icing will hold its shape.  Also, let the ganache set-up completely for about 30 minutes before piping the squiggly design.  To speed up the process you can place the cupcakes in the fridge for about 10 minutes until the ganache sets.

Berger Cookies...My Mom's Favorite Cookie!

Mother's Day is a tough day this year because my mom passed away in August.  Normally on this day we would talk on the phone and I would send her a card, flowers (usually tulips) and a box of cookies...she had a sweet tooth...especially for Berger Cookies, a local Baltimore favorite.  So in memory of my mom today I decided to make homemade Berger cookies which are unlike any other cookie in the universe!  They are a cake-like vanilla cookie covered with chocolate-fudge ganache.  The cookie to ganache ratio should be 50-50, so don't skimp on the chocolate! 

In addition to Berger Cookies, Baltimore is known also for Old Bay Seasoning and steamed crabs, UTZ Potato Chips (puts Lays to shame) and Natty Boh (National Bohemian) Beer.  My mom could care less for the beer (she preferred wine), but she loved Old Bay Seasoning, UTZ potato chips and of course her Berger Cookies!  My mom was an excellent cook and it was hard deciding what to make in her memory (I could of gone with a savory dish), but I believe that she would be in Berger Heaven after eating these, and I know that she is!

Cookie Base:
Makes about 30 cookies

1 stick Earth Balance Butter
3/4 cup pure organic sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract 
1 1/2 Tbsp Egg Replacer powder, whisked with water according to package directions (I used Bob's Red Mill, but you could use Energ instead...you just want the equivalent of 1 1/2 eggs.  You could also use flax eggs but the cookie will be even more cake like without any crunch.) 
2 1/4 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cashew milk (see below)

Cashew Milk:

1/2 cup cashews soaked for 4 hours and drained.  Place in a high-speed blender with 1 1/4 cups filtered water and blend on high for a couple of minutes.  If you don't have a high speed blender then strain milk before using.  You will have enough milk for the cookie as well as the ganache frosting.

Method:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Using the standard cookie creaming method, cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer until fluffy, add vanilla extract and the egg replacer mixture and mix until combined.  In another bowl whisk together, flour, salt, and baking powder and add alternating flour and milk to the mixer and only mix until combined.  Line a sheet pan with either parchment paper or a silpat and scoop dough using a teaspoon or a 1-teaspoon ice cream scooper (which is what I used).  Take your fingers and press the dough lightly to flatten.  Bake cookies in the middle of the oven rack for 9-10 minutes (turning halfway through the baking process).  Remove the cookies immediately with a spatula onto a cooling rack and cool completely before icing.

Fudge-Ganache:
I made my ganache the day before and kept it in the refrigerator so that it would set-up be ready to frost the cookies after they cooled.  Also, my ganache was just a tad soft.  It still set up fine, but it could of been a little firmer.  Perhaps it is because of the cashew cream or because I ran out of chocolate chips.  But here's what I did--if you want it firmer then add a little bit more chocolate.  Also, I don't like using light corn syrup, but this will give the chocolate a glossier finish.

1 1/2 cups good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
3/4 cup cashew cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
1 1/2 cups organic confectioners sugar, shifted

Method:  Cashew Cream and chocolate can easily burn and so I placed the chocolate and cashew cream in a bowl over a pan of slightly simmering water for about a minute until the chocolate melted.  You could also microwave in increments of 25 seconds, stirring in between until chocolate is melted.  Once melted, whisk in melted butter, vanilla extract and stir in powdered sugar and beat with a spatula until creamy and combined.  Chill in the fridge for about 4 hours to chill and harden.  Before icing the cookies, beat the ganache lightly.  You can either hand dip the cookies (the traditional method) or use a small off-set spatula or pipe the ganache with a plain tip, like I did.  Let the icing set for about 30 minutes before eating (if you can wait that long).  My teeth hurt from all the chocolate!

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Mother's Day and if you ever get a chance surprise your mom with a batch of homemade Berger Cookies on her special day!

 

   
 

Gluten Free Cupcakes with Veggie Colored Frosting

Growing up as a kid my mom, sister and I would always dye eggs this time of year.  Our mom being the natural artist that she was would create the most beautiful designs. It was hard to compete, considering the only artistic ability I have is to draw stick people, but it was fun and I have great memories of sharing this tradition with my mom and sis.
 

 

I have never liked eating eggs and never understood how you could dye them, and then several days later peel and eat them.  The food coloring would seep through the shell and the white of the egg would be purple, blue or grey.  Luckily for me I got to skip that part and now since I am vegan, creating beautiful cupcakes is my new tradition.

My hubby wanted gluten-free cupcakes and so I purchased a bag of Wholesome Chow Vanilla Cake Mix.  I've tried making gluten-free products from scratch, but it is really expensive.  By the time you purchase all the starches, g-f flours, xantham gum, etc., you're looking at a substantial cost.  Of course if I had a gluten intolerance then this would be fine, but they end up sitting in my pantry and then I just throw them out.  Wholesome Chow has the best packaged gluten-free products on the market, at least in my opinion.  Another brand that is suitable for Passover because it doesn't contain leavener is Manischewitz Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix. It comes with a chocolate frosting but you can omit this and use the buttercream recipe below.  This product is not vegan but you could substitute flax eggs in the recipe.

So what to do about the food coloring and frosting the cupcakes?  There's no way I would ever use commercial food dyes and the organic/natural plant-derived dyes are too expensive. I did an internship at a bakery once and I watched how much food coloring they used in everything and I would never eat their cookies, cakes or cupcakes...especially their red velvet. 

So instead of spending a lot of money, I decided to use what was in my fridge and the buttercream turned out beautiful and delicious.  Yes it takes a little bit more work because you have to juice the vegetables first, but you can still obtain beautiful pastel colors or even vibrant hues using vegetables.  Plus everything was organic!  Here's what I did:

Purple:  Red Cabbage

Green:  Spinach with a pinch of spirulina (could of used more spirulina to get a darker green--be careful though so that it doesn't taste like the ocean)

Red:  Beet

Orange:  Carrot (I also reduced the carrot juice down to a puree to obtain a darker hue)

Blue:  Red Cabbage and a 1/4-1/2 tsp of baking soda

Yellow:  Turmeric (I used about 1/4 tsp with 1-2 tsp water to make a paste)

Now you would think that by using vegetables and spices that it would impart these flavors into the frosting, but it is ever so faint and when you combine it with the cupcake you can't even tell.  Kids would love eating these even if they helped you make them and knew that they were made with vegetable juice!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup Earth Balance Buttery Sticks

1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Butter Flavor Shortening

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 - 3 Tbsp almond milk (or more to obtain desired consistency)

3 cups sifted organic powdered sugar

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and shortening on medium speed until combined and creamy.  Add vanilla extract, almond milk and then with speed on low, add powdered sugar until combined.  Once combined, increase speed to medium and then whip until creamy and fluffy about four minutes.  Portion buttercream evenly into six bowls and then start out adding 1/2 tsp vegetable juice to each bowl and whip with a spatula until creamy.

Note:  Because of the acidity of the vegetable juice, it will look as if the buttercream will start to curdle.  This is why it is good to start with a small amount and add slowly and beat with a spatula until creamy.  For all of the above colors, I used no more than 1 tsp veggie juice to each to get the desired effect.  Also, you can use all Earth Balance and not the Spectrum Shortening, however the shortening holds the buttercream at room temperature longer and so you do not need to worry about refrigeration.

I hope you'll give this recipe a try and start a new holiday tradition with your family!

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Passover and Easter!     

 

Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

My cravings for Cinnamon Rolls started two weeks ago when my daughter-in-law posted a photo on Instagram of her homemade cinnamon buns.  I immediately liked the photo and commented that I wanted the recipe.  When she emailed me the recipe she said..."have fun with this one!"  The recipe she sent me was not Vegan and was basically like making a brioche dough with butter, egg yokes and whole milk.  But I was up for the challenge and for the past two weeks all I have been thinking about is making these darn buns!

If you're in a hurry to make any yeast dough, you might think about making something else.  These cinnamon rolls take about five hours from start to finish.  If you want them for a mid-morning breakfast, then I recommend that you start the dough in the evening, let them go through the first rise, punch down, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.  In the morning you can then finish the rolls and bake them off.  I started these at 6am (I'm an early riser) and they were ready at 11am.  My husband slept in until 10am and he was surprised that they weren't ready.  But YUMMY things come to those who wait and have patience!

When kneading the dough you want to keep in mind that you are not making bread and you do not want to develop the gluten.  You want the dough to be soft, glossy and smooth and the finished buns to be light, fluffy and tender.  I kneaded my dough for about 5-7 minutes in my Kitchen Aid mixer--just enough for the dough to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  I also added just enough flour so that I could handle the dough without it being too sticky.  I added about 3 1/3 cups of flour but you may need to add more or less during the mixing-kneading process. 

Dough Ingredients:

1 packet Active Dry Yeast
1/4 cup warm water (100 degrees)
1/3 cup sugar 
4 ounces Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, melted
1 cup cashew milk, warmed (1/2 cup cashews blended with 1-1/2 cups water)
3-4 cups of all purpose flour (I used organic unbleached)
1 tsp kosher salt

Filling Ingredients: 

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2-3 tbsp ground cinnamon (I used 2 tbsp)

Icing Ingredients:

8 ounces Follow Your Heart Sour Cream or Cream Cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp cashew milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated orange zest

Method:

• Place warm water and yeast in a small bowl and mix together.  Let sit for 10 minutes until it starts to bubble.
• In a small sauce pan, heat butter until melted, remove from heat and add 1 cup of cashew cream, 1/3 cup of sugar, whisk together and set aside.
• In the bowl of a kitchen-aid mixer, place 3 cups of flour and 1 tsp kosher salt and whisk together.  Create a well in the center and add butter/milk mixture, along with water/yeast mixture.  Stir together with a spatula and then start mixing with the dough hook on medium speed.  Add enough flour (I added about 1/3 cup) extra flour so that the dough pulled away from the side of the pan and when you touch the dough it is not sticky and it can be handled easily.  Again, I kneaded my dough for about 7 minutes, you may need more or less.
• Lightly oil a medium sized bowl and place dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for about two hours until doubled in size.  If your house is warm, it will rise quicker.
• Lightly punch down the dough and place on a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a 12-16 rectangle.
• Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2" border and roll the dough up tightly, moistening the end with water and sealing the roll.  
• Place the seam side down and dust roll lightly with flour, along dusting a sharp knife with flour for every cut.  Cut the dough in half and then cut each half in half so that you have four equal pieces.  Cut each of these four pieces into three pieces so that you have 12 pieces.
• Butter a 9x12 pan and place the cut side up.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 1-1/2 - 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and adjust the baking rack to the center of the oven.
• Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes until golden brown, turning half way-through the cooking process.
• Remove from the oven and turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool 10 minutes before separating and drizzling with icing.
• While the rolls are baking, make the icing in a mixer and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

My husband and I ate quite a few of these today and we felt so guilty that we went for a long hike in the mountains.  We still have about seven left on the kitchen counter and they are screaming at us...Eat Me!  But we are being strong and the remaining rolls are going to work with me tomorrow for others to enjoy!  I hope that you enjoy them too!

Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts

I grew up eating gingerbread--my mom's background was German-Pennsylvania Dutch and she always made gingerbread around Christmas. Come to think of it we always had gingersnaps in the house and she would use them to make German dishes like Sauerbraten with Dumplings.

 
Most people are not a big fan of gingerbread because they don't like the flavor of ginger--my husband included.  When I told him that I was making gingerbread doughnuts he was not jumping with joy.  His response to me was..."out of all the doughnut choices you're making gingerbread doughnuts?" But what would Christmas be without gingerbread and I'm not a big fan of gingerbread cookies...so gingerbread doughnuts it was!

This recipe makes 10-12 doughnuts and the batter is very thick.  It helps using a small spoon to spread the batter in the pan.  For the powdered ginger I used China Ginger from Penzeys Spices.  During Thanksgiving were up in Portland visiting family and we stopped by their retail store and purchased this ginger.  It has a clean flavor with a nice kick from the heat--truest to actual fresh grated ginger.

For the toppings have fun with it, but flavors that pair well with ginger are chocolate, dark berries and cinnamon.  I made a cashew milk chocolate-ganache, a white icing glaze mixed with wild blueberry preserves, and the old standby of cinnamon sugar.  My favorite flavor was the wild blueberry, but they all were delicious!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 tsp coffee extract
2 tbsp molasses
1/4 cup cashew milk or other non-dairy milk
1/2 cup organic applesauce
1 tbsp ground flaxmeal mixed with 3 tbsp warm water to make a flax-egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil (plus more for greasing the pan)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease doughnut tin and set aside.  
• In a medium sized bowl, sift all dry ingredients together.
• In a larger bowl, whisk all wet ingredients together.
• Using a spatula add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined.  If batter seems too thick then add one tbsp cashew milk or non dairy substitute.
• Spoon batter into doughnut tin and smooth with spoon.
• Bake on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes.
• Let cool for about two minutes before turning out on a cooling rack and repeat with remaining batter.
• Let doughnuts cool completely before dipping in icing and decorating.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays to All!  



 

  

Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Candied Orange Syrup

I was flipping through my cookbooks trying to find a dessert recipe that would go well with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, or potentially My Moroccan Thanksgiving and I came across a recipe for a Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Candied Orange Syrup.  This happens to be a perfect recipe for both because it uses pumpkin, but also uses spoon sweets (fruits cooked in syrup), which is a typical for dessert served in Middle Eastern countries.  So after veganizing the recipe, and also by adding cardamon spice to the syrup, I think that it turned out great and it is definitely a contender for this Thanksgiving!

Candied Orange Syrup:

2 cups unfiltered sugar

2 cups filtered water

1 large seedless orange, thinly sliced

1 tsp ground cardamon

5 black peppercorns

Note:  Kumquats would also work really well with this recipe; however they are very labor intensive because you need to remove all the seeds after slicing.

Method:

• Add water, sugar, cardamon and peppercorns to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
• Add orange slices and stir to coat each slice.
• Reduce heat to medium low, and cut out a piece of foil and place directly on top of oranges to slow the evaporation.  Cover pan with another piece of foil and slowly simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until syrup is the consistency of honey.
• Remove from heat and let oranges cool in syrup before removing.
• Once orange slices are cool enough to touch, strain syrup into another bowl, pressing the orange slices lightly to remove excess syrup and chop orange slices and set aside.  You'll need a 1/2 cup for the cake and 1/4 cup for garnish. 

Ingredients:

2 sticks softened Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, plus 1 tbsp for pan
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, plus a little more for dusting pan
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1 cup pure maple syrup
4 1/2 tsp Ener-g Egg Replacer, plus 3 tbsp filtered water
1 cup organic pumpkin puree
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup coarsely chopped candied orange slices

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 and position oven rack in the middle of oven.
• Butter an angle food cake pan and dust lightly with flour and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices and whisk until combined, set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together egg replacer and water until frothy and set aside.
• In a large bowl, using a mixer whip butter until fluffy.  Add maple syrup and mix again.  Next add egg replacer and pumpkin puree and mix until combined.
• Slowly add flour to pumpkin mixture, and mix just until smooth.
• Fold in chopped candied orange and walnuts.
• Using a spatula, spoon cake batter into pan and smooth surface.
• Bake for about 1 hour, turning half way through the cooking process.  Cake will be finished when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove cake from oven and let cool on a baking rack for about 20 minutes.  Remove from cake pan and let cool further on rack, positioned over a sheet tray to catch syrup.
• Spoon syrup over cake and then carefully lift cake to a serving platter or cake stand.
• Garnish with candied walnuts, candied orange and additional syrup. 

Candied Walnuts:

10-12 whole raw walnut halves
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Method:

• Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add walnuts.  Blanch for about 1 minute and then drain and toss in powdered sugar to coat evenly.
• Place walnuts on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until sugar has caramelized, turning nuts over half way through the cooking process.
  

Pumpkin Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

I rarely have to make recipes over for my blog, but I made these cookies four times to get the right texture.  All I wanted was a crispy cookie on the outside with a moist-chewy center.  The problem with pumpkin cookies is that they contain a lot of moisture because the pumpkin has a high water content and you end up with a cake-like texture instead of a cookie texture.  I also didn't want to use regular or brown sugar in the recipe, even though it would help crisp them up.  My sweetener of choice is maple syrup, especially if the flavor pairs well, and pumpkin and maple are a great combination.  However, I knew that by using the maple syrup that I would be adding even more moisture to the batter and I would have to make further adjustments to the recipe.   Anyway, I was about to give up (I had wanted to post this recipe in October), but I'm glad that I hung in there because I really like the texture and the flavor.  But it's time to move on--I'm so over pumpkin cookies!

Ingredients:

(Yield:  4-1/2 doz if using a small ice cream scooper)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

2 sticks Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, softened to room temperature

1-1/2 cups pure maple syrup

3 tsp Ener-g Egg Replacer, plus 2 tbsp filtered water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup canned organic pumpkin

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats, not quick or instant

1 cup dark raisins

1/2 cup golden raisins

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two sheet trays with either a silpat or parchment paper and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together egg replacer and filtered water and set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices and set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor (or large bowl) add softened butter and maple syrup and mix well to combine.  Then add egg replacer, vanilla and organic pumpkin and mix well again.  If you used a food processor to mix the wet ingredients, then scrape out the batter into a large bowl.  Note:  The batter may look like it's curdling because of the acid content of the maple syrup reacting with the butter, but it will all come together when it bakes.  Just make sure that your pumpkin is evenly disbursed and this is where it's helpful if you have a mixer or food processor. 
• Add flour/spices to wet ingredients and mix lightly just so that the flour is disbursed, but not all the way combined.  
• Add in rolled oats and raisins and stir until ingredients are evenly combined, but do not over mix.
• Using a small ice cream scooper, or what ever size you have on hand space batter evenly on a cookie sheet (12 per sheet) about 2" apart and flatten cookies slightly with your fingertips.  
• Bake for 16-20 minutes depending on your oven temp, rotating the baking sheets from top-to-bottom, and from left-to-right, half way through the baking process.
• Cookies will be lightly golden brown around the edges/bottom and firm to touch when finished. 
• When finished baking, remove cookies from the sheet pans and place on cooling racks.  As the cookies cool (about 15 minutes) they will crisp up even further.

 

Coffee Cake with Almond-Oat Streusel Topping

I had a craving for coffee cake this morning for breakfast.  Now, I know that you're thinking I've fallen off the wagon for my 21 day program, but not really.  The coffee cake is gluten free and made with agave syrup instead of sugar and I only had a really small slice.  The remainder of the cake is for my husband to enjoy.  I just really like baking and wanted to make something gluten free.

For the cake base, I followed the recipe for blueberry crumb cake in the Baby Cakes cookbook.  However, I made several adjustments to the recipe.  Instead of coconut oil (I don't want all the saturated fat), I used canola oil and instead of rice milk, I used almond milk because I used almonds in my topping.  I also added almond extract and coffee extract to the batter instead of just using vanilla and I omitted the blueberries all together.  Finally the recipe in the book uses leftover cupcakes for the crumb topping.  Now, I'm not about to make a batch of 24 gluten free vanilla cupcakes just so that I can create a crumb topping for my coffee cake--seems a bit excessive!  So I made my own streusel topping using gluten free oats, oat flour and almond meal.  I also made my own glaze using cashew cream, agave syrup and coffee extract.  So how did it taste...well it was quite good actually.  The cake had a really nice texture and worked well with the crunchy almond topping.  And my husband ate two pieces so I know that he really liked it.

Cashew Coffee Cream Glaze:

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least four hours
1 cup filtered water
1 tbsp agave syrup or more to taste
1/2 tsp coffee extract (optional), or vanilla extract

Method:

• Soak cashews in filtered water, drain and place cashews in a blender and add 1 cup filtered water and blend on high for 4 minutes until creamy.
• Place in a bowl and stir in agave syrup and coffee extract and set aside.

Almond-Oat Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free oat flour (optional, you can grind your own oat flour in a spice grinder with rolled oats, see below)
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free whole rolled oats
1/4 cup roughly chopped almonds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup agave syrup
1 tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, melted

Method:

• Place 1/2 cup sliced raw almonds in a food processor and grind to a fine meal.  Measure out a 1/2 cup almond meal and place in a medium bowl.
• Place 1/4 cup whole rolled oats in a spice grinder and grind into a fine flour.  Measure out a 1/4 cup oat flour and add to the almond meal.
• To the bowl of almond meal and oat flour add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
• Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cake Base:

2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free A/P Flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup agave syrup
1/3 cup almond milk
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (if you omit the coffee and almond extracts, then increase the vanilla to 2 tsp)
1/2 tsp coffee extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Canola spray

Method:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place rack in the middle of the oven.
• Line the bottom of a 9x3" round cake pan with parchment paper and spray the bottom lightly with canola spray.
• In a medium bowl, sift together a/p flour, rice flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and kosher salt and set aside.
• In another bowl, whisk together, canola oil, agave syrup, almond milk, extracts and lemon zest.
• Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine.
• Pour into prepared cake pan and using your fingers crumble almond-oat streusel topping evenly over top of batter.
• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and then turn cake and then bake another 15 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove cake from the oven and cool on a baking rack for about 20 minutes.
• Gently run a knife around the edge of the cake and cover with a baking sheet and turn cake upside down.  Remove cake pan and then place a plate on the bottom of cake and then re-invert cake onto plate.
• Cut cake into slices and drizzle with cashew-coffee cream.

Loukoumades with Orange-Cinnamon Syrup

Loukoumades (Greek Donuts) remind me of summertime.  I guess it's because my husband and I would travel to Greece during this time of year, and we would also attend just about every Greek festival in the Bay Area during summer.  The best Loukoumades that I've ever had were at the Belmont Greek Festival, which is held over Labor Day weekend.  The line for Loukoumades would wrap around the building for people to get a bowl of piping hot donuts dipped in warm honey syrup.   But since they're not vegan, no more Belmont for us...so I wanted to make my own version and they are just as delicious if not more!  Everything tastes better when you take the time to make it yourself!

I used to have a great recipe for Loukoumades (kind of like a brioche dough) that I wanted to veganize, but I couldn't find it and so I had to start over experimenting with recipes to get the right texture and flavor.  Actually, I made a batch of these on Saturday night when I had family visiting, but the dough was very difficult to work with.  So my daughter-in-law, who went to pastry school and is an excellent baker, and I sat around afterwards discussing ways to revise the recipe.  We thought about reducing the yeast, reducing the soy, adding more flour, chilling the dough before frying and so I made another batch incorporating some of these changes, but they still weren't right.  I was about to give up because there is only so much fried-sugary food I want to put in my body, but I'm glad that I gave it another shot because as you can see they are perfect little balls of gooey goodness.

Dough Ingredients/Frying:

1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm filtered water (110-115 degrees)
1/2 cup organic warm plain soy milk (110-115 degrees)
1 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp ground flax
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
1 liter canola oil for frying
Canola oil spray
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup toasted pistachios, finely chopped

Method:

• In a large bowl add warm water and yeast and let sit for about five minutes to proof yeast.
• Add warm soy milk, agave, ground flax, vanilla extract, salt and whisk to combine.
• Add flour and stir to combine.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let proof for about two hours.
• Add canola oil to a deep dutch oven or pan and heat over medium heat to 350 degrees with a deep fry thermometer.
• Remove plastic from bowl and stir dough a couple of times to remove air bubbles.
• Using a small 1 tbsp ice cream scooper or a regular tablespoon, spray it lightly with canola and then scoop the dough and drop directly into the hot canola oil.  Work with about 6-8 donuts at a time turning them frequently so that they brown evenly.  Remove from oil with a large slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
• While donuts are still hot, toss them in the orange-cinnamon syrup and top with finely chopped walnuts and pistachios.  This recipe makes a lot of donuts so I dipped some in cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar as well.
• These donuts are best eaten warm, just after frying.

Orange-Cinnamon Syrup:

1/2 cup agave syrup
3/4-1 cup filtered water
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

• In a small sauce pan, add agave syrup and water, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for about 15 minutes until sauce thickens.  You can tell when it's ready because it will start foaming.  To check consistency, spoon a little on to a plate and hold the plate at an angle.  You still want it to drip, but you want it to be a little thicker than maple syrup so that it coats the donuts nicely.
• Remove syrup from heat and let cool.  The syrup will thicken as it cools, so you may need to add a little more water to thin out.
• Once cool, stir in orange zest, vanilla, lemon juice and cinnamon and stir to combine.

Carrot Cupcakes with Maple-Date Frosting

My niece texted me this morning at 7:00 am asking me if I had a good recipe for organic carrot cupcakes.  I recommended a couple of websites and told her that I would make a batch today and post the recipe.  These cupcakes are almost all organic.  Every ingredient is organic except for the spices and a very small percentage of the cream cheese.  But more importantly, they are VEGAN and they contain no granulated or powdered sugars, and are made with whole grain flours.  Oh and by the way, they are wondie!!!

This recipe makes about 10 cupcakes.  The baking cups I used are very small, about 2-1/2" deep.  I like this brand (If You Care) because their products are unbleached (contain no chlorine) and are better for the environment.  However, they do make smaller cupcakes.  So just keep that in mind because you may want to double the recipe if you use different baking cups.

Cupcake Batter:

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup whole grain spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp finely ground flax seed
4 tbsp filtered water
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cup peeled shredded carrots, plus 1 tbsp for garnish
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, plus 1 tbsp for garnish
1/4 cup chopped raisins
Note:  If you can't find spelt four, then you can use whole wheat pastry flour for the entire recipe.  I just like the texture spelt provides to baked goods.  Also, I made my own applesauce (2 organic pink lady apples, peeled, cored and diced, 1/2 cup filtered water, and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon).  Place ingredients in a sauce pan and cook about 20 minutes until soft.  Blend in a food processor until smooth.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a 12 cup cupcake or muffin tray with baking cups.
• If making applesauce from scratch, prepare and set aside to cool.
• In a medium size bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices together and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk ground flax seed and water until frothy.  Add maple syrup, applesauce, vanilla, oil, carrots, walnuts and raisins and stir well to combine.
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
• Using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop an equal amount into each baking cup.
• Place cupcake tray in the middle of the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, turning once after 15 minutes of baking.  Using a toothpick check to see if they are done in the center.
• Let cupcakes cool for about 15 minutes on a cooling rack before removing.

Maple-Date Cream Cheese Frosting:

6 oz pitted medjool dates (about 1 cup)
2 cups filtered water
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
8 oz vegan cream cheese (I like Follow Your Heart brand)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp grated orange zest
Note:  I have used dates and maple syrup before to make a glaze for my Greek Tahini Cake, except the glaze was made with tahini, and not cream cheese.  For this recipe, the date puree provides a natural sweetness to the cream cheese, therefore eliminating the need for powdered sugar.

Method:

• Heat water to boiling and pour over dates and let sit for about 20 minutes so that they soften.  Place dates in a strainer and remove any excess water by pressing with the back of a spoon.
• Place dates in a food processor, along with maple syrup and blend for about 3-4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl, until you have a creamy puree.
• Add vanilla extract and cream cheese and blend until smooth.
• Remove frosting from the food processor and fold in grated orange zest.  Chill for about 1 hour before using to firm to a spreading consistency.  I chilled mine in the freezer for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
• Spoon about 1-2 tbsp frosting over each cupcake and garnish with chopped walnuts and shredded carrots.