Vegan pumpkin pie with some chocolate

Greetings vegan aliens!  After a LONG hiatus, I offer you a vegan pumpkin pie recipe.

I modified the recipe from a Farm Sanctuary magazine.  I made a practice pie this week and tweaked a few things since it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to.  I’m very picky!  This pumpkin pie has a chocolate ginger walnut layer, a vegan cream cheese layer, and then a sweet layer of pumpkin.

First of all, I HATE pre-made pie crusts.  They come in packs of two, but one is always cracked and then the other one doesn’t bake right (or cracks in the oven).  I will never EVER again use one and will figure out a vegan pie crust from scratch.  I wasn’t sure how vegan butter would act in a scratch-made crust so I just used the vegan pie crusts from Earthfare.  If you can find one that isn’t cracked, go for it!  But don’t listen to the instructions on the crust label, trust me!  You need to bake it for a little while before filling it to ensure the bottom is baked and crisp.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake the pre-made crust for 12 minutes.  Rotate it and bake for another 5 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake it for another 5 minutes.

While the crust is baking, you can work on the filling components.

For all layers, you will need:

1/4 cup walnuts

half a chocolate bar (make sure it’s vegan.  I wanted to try the vegan dark chocolate with crystallized ginger in the pie since ginger and pumpkin go so well together.  I found this chocolate bar at Earthfare.  regular vegan chocolate chips will work fine too.  Earthfare sells them in the bulk section.)

1/2 cup vegan cream cheese – divided.  available at Earthfare.

1/2 block (half a pound) silken tofu – divided.

2/3 cup sugar – divided

1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree

pinch of salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

I found all these ingredients at Earthfare.

For the chocolate walnut layer:  Chop up half the chocolate bar and pulse the chocolate pieces and 1/4 cup walnuts in a food processor until crumbly.  Gently press this onto the bottom of the pie crust once it’s done pre-baking.  You might not need to use all of the chocolate crumbs.  You just want a thin layer of chocolate on the bottom.

For the vegan cream cheese layer: blend 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, 1/4 block silken tofu, and 1/3 cup sugar in the food processor until smooth.  Spread this on top of the chocolate layer and smooth it out with a cake spatula.  Again, you might not need to use all of it.

For the pumpkin layer: blend 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, 1/4 block silken tofu, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 1/4 cup pumpkin, a pinch of salt, 1/2 t. cinnamon, and 1 t. pumpkin pie spice in the food processor until smooth.  Gently spoon this on top of the cream cheese layer and spread it evenly.  Don’t over fill the pie!  You can save any excess filling and use it to make a second pie (or a mini pie).

Bake the pie for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let the pie cool completely (at least 2 hours) before serving.  I prefer to let it sit in the fridge overnight before serving it.

I don’t know why it cracked like that.  Maybe the foil pie pan warped during baking?  I couldn’t cut the pie since it’s for Thanksgiving but I’ll try to take a picture tomorrow of a cut piece so you can see the tasty layering action of chocolate, cream cheese, and pumpkin.

Enjoy!

I will be back with many blog posts starting next week!

Hey y’all!  I’ve been moving, quitting and starting new jobs, and traveling so I have no free time for blogging or baking.  I’m kinda sad about the lack of baking in my life right now!  I am unpacking my kitchen as soon as I get back from Rhode Island and NY (I’m visiting the Culinary Institute of America’s campus!  I can’t wait!!)  so I can turn my baking up a notch.  I am starting a new baking job with Jittery Joe’s on August 5th.  I’m so excited to be working for local Athens businesses Jittery Joe’s and Ike and Jane.  I will have the same schedule every week and days off EVERY week!  I don’t have internet at home but I’ll use my apartment’s leasing office for wifi and hammer out a blogging schedule to keep it regular.  Stay tuned!  I’ll post some pics from the CIA when I get back

Cupcake of the week – vegan and gluten-free German chocolate cupcakes!

Thanks to everyone who purchased a cupcake last week!

The amaretto icing on these cupcakes is my favorite icing so far.  I LOVE packaging cupcakes in cute little boxes.

I’ll post more pics and recipes of the raspberry tiramisu cupcake/icing sometime this week.  Hopefully tomorrow!

This week I’m taking orders for my second cupcake of the week.  These vegan and gluten-free German chocolate cupcakes are one of my favorites in the chocolate cupcake category.  Each cupcake is a mini German chocolate cake.  I cut the cupcakes in half before layering the coconut-pecan topping between each layer and on top.  I even put Maker’s Mark in the coconut-pecan topping.  YUM.  I love me some Maker’s since it’s gluten-free and delicious.

Each cupcake is $3.00.  For larger orders: 10 cupcakes cost $27 and 12 cupcakes cost $33.  Cupcakes will be ready for pick-up at 9pm this coming Sunday.

Once my friends receive their cupcakes in the mail and I hear back about how well the cupcakes fared through the mail, I might be able to ship cupcakes to other states (in tiny mason jars).  One cupcake would cost around $10 and two cupcakes would cost around $14.  I’ll keep you posted on the details though.

Let me know if you’d like a German chocolate cupcake!

Cupcake of the week club – a tasty vegan and gluten-free cupcake every week!

I’m starting to offer different vegan and gluten-free cupcakes for sale every week.  This will let me get the practice and experimentation I want in while giving me a way to distribute cupcakes to friends for a low cost.  I love trying out new recipes but baking lots of cupcakes gets expensive!

Each week I’ll post an announcement with details about the weekly cupcake.  I’ll aim to post it every Sunday.  This week I’m announcing the flavor today (raspberry tiramisu cupcakes – vegan and gluten-free) because I JUST thought of this idea today while I was working at Ike and Jane.

The raspberry tiramisu cupcake has 4 layers: the vanilla cake, an espresso soak, a cinnamon raspberry filling, and an amaretto buttercream.

The other cupcakes in this picture are margarita and rum raisin.  I’ll make these soon!

If you want to join the club, post a comment below letting me know how many cupcakes you’d like me to reserve for you.  Post a comment no later than 9 p.m. Friday evening.  That way I’ll have ample time to gather all the ingredients I need before you pick up the cupcakes on Sunday or Monday.  If you don’t have a car I can drop them off or meet you somewhere depending on my work schedule.

Each cupcake costs $3.00 and is 100% vegan and gluten-free.  If you want a whole batch of cupcakes (10-12 cupcakes depending on the recipe), I’ll give you one cupcake for free.  So 10 cupcakes cost $27 and 12 cupcakes cost $33.

Let me know how many you’d like!  These raspberry tiramisu cupcakes are HEAVENLY.

Lemon poppyseed cupcakes with lemon buttercream – vegan and gluten-free!

I developed this recipe because my friend Michelle loves lemon poppyseed cake and her birthday was last week.  I brought these over to her birthday party yesterday.  I love birthdays and any occasion that gives me an excuse to bake desserts for friends

These cupcakes are super lemony because they contain fresh lemon juice, zest, and lemon extract in both the cake and the icing.  The cake itself is light and not too sugary.  I am so pleased with the texture of the cake.  Experimenting with various gluten-free flours by baking cakes, cupcakes, and cookies at home ALL THE TIME has paid off!  Instead of using the pre-made gluten-free flour blends (like Bob’s Red Mill brand), I create my own flour blends using different amounts of rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, or arrowroot starch.  I use a blend of brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch for cupcakes.

I made 20 cupcakes (two batches) for the party.  For both batches of cupcakes and a double batch of icing, I zested 4 lemons and used the juice from 2 lemons.  If you are making one batch of cupcakes and icing, I recommend purchasing 2-3 lemons to cover all the lemon juice and zest in the cupcake and icing recipes.

Enjoy!

Lemon poppyseed cupcakes – makes 10 cupcakes if you use a 2 oz. scoop

[WET]

1 cup soy milk

1 t. apple cider vinegar

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1/3 cup canola oil

¾ cup sugar

1 T. lemon zest

2 ¼ t. vanilla extract

1 ½ t. lemon extract

1 T. poppy seeds

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[DRY]

¾ cup brown rice flour

¼ c. potato starch

¼ c. tapioca starch

2 T. cornstarch

¾ t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

¼ xanthan gum

1/2 t. salt

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1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line a cupcake tin with liners.
2. Combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar.  Set aside.  (It will curdle.)
3. Sift together DRY ingredients.  Set aside.
4. Beat together milk mix, oil, sugar, zest, extracts, and poppyseeds.  Sift in DRY and mix until no lumps remain.
5. Fill liners ¾ way full and bake for 20-22 minutes.  Check the cupcakes with a toothpick.  Let them rest in the cupcake tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

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Prepare the lemon simple syrup while the cupcakes are in the oven.  Brushing the tops of the warm cupcakes with this lemony syrup will add even more lemony goodness to the cake.  My boss at Ike and Jane recommended this.  This is such a good idea!

Lemon simple syrup

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

Combine both in a small sauce pan.  Heat until juice starts to simmer.  Stir sugar to help it dissolve.  Remove from heat and brush the tops of the cupcakes while they are still warm.  Let cupcakes cool completely on the cooling rack or stick them in the fridge.

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Now it’s buttercream time!  The lemon zest in the icing adds flavor and looks pretty too.

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Lemon Buttercream – makes enough for 10 cupcakes

¼ cup shortening

¼ cup Earth Balance vegan butter

2 cups powdered sugar – sifted

2 T. lemon juice

2 t.  lemon zest

1 t. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

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1. Cream shortening and Earth Balance on medium until well combined.  Try 3-4 minutes.
2. Add powdered sugar in multiple (3-4) additions.  After each addition, add a splash of lemon juice and beat on low until combined.
3. Add vanilla, lemon juice, zest, and salt and beat for 3-5 minutes on medium until smooth and creamy.

 

I hope you try these recipes!  Let me know if you have any questions

A big ol’ salad from The Grit and my favorite gluten-free alcoholic drink

I’ve blogged about The Grit before but I can’t get enough of their food!  I wanted to share with y’all one of my favorite dishes: the house salad with tofu!

When I’m not noshing on my usual fave (the golden bowl), I order this.  This salad is not for the faint-hearted.  You must be brave if you want to finish it off!  The mound of nutritional yeast-crusted tofu makes this salad a full-blown meal.  This is THE BEST tofu in Athens!  Seriously!  The Grit double fries the tofu so it’s nice and firm.  They coat the tofu in nutritional yeast to give it a cheesy/savory taste.  If you’ve had bad experiences with tofu, don’t give up.  Head to The Grit and try this salad or the golden bowl, or any dish with tofu!

Check out The Grit’s menu here.  The Grit is located at:

199 Prince Avenue
Athens, GA 30601-2400
(706) 543-6592

Parking is hard to come by so I recommend parking on Finley street (in front of Big City Bread) and walking over.

I also wanted to share this gluten-free alcoholic drink I found at Trappeze.  Trappeze is known for its vast beer selection, but did you know that people who suffer from gluten allergies can’t drink beer?  Beer is made with malted barley which gluten-free people must avoid.  I am extremely allergic to malt.  It sucks! 

Fortunately there’s still plenty of alcohol that we can drink (responsibly…of course!).  Check out this list of gluten-free alcohol if you’re curious.  I have it bookmarked on my phone so I know exactly what I can drink when I’m downtown.

Hard cider is my personal favorite and this Ace brand is THE BOMB.  It tastes almost like a pear Jolly Rancher but not as sweet.  It’s almost wine-like but a little lighter.  It pairs wonderfully with food, unlike the wines and mixed drinks I usually drink at Trappeze.

I like this hard cider better than the Jack’s hard cider on tap.  Both cost $5.00 but I’ll stick to the Ace.

Trappeze is located at:

269 North Hull Street  Athens, GA 30601

They serve food but call ahead to make sure the kitchen is still open.

White Tiger has vegan barbecue tofu tacos!

I didn’t think I’d find delicious vegan and gluten-free fare at a barbecue joint, but I DID!

These are the churrasco tacos from White Tiger: grilled tofu, cabbage, and bbq sauce served on lightly toasted corn tortillas.  If a vegan-bbq-heaven existed, these would be the way to get there.  You need to request the grilled cabbage to make the tacos vegan though.  Otherwise the tacos come with a non-vegan slaw (still tasty but it contains milk).  These tacos are 2 for $6.50.

White Tiger also offers grilled tofu and veggie sandwiches and salads if you want to try their other veg options.

White Tiger is located just north of Prince avenue at 217 Hiawassee Avenue  Athens, GA 30601.

Chocolate maple cupcakes with chocolate ganache – vegan and gluten-free

Danny passed his dissertation today!  I told Danny I could make him a batch of cupcakes in any flavor and he chose this chocolate maple cupcake recipe in addition to a blueberry lemon creme cupcake.  I made him some chocolate maple cupcakes today and will probably make the blueberry lemon creme cupcakes tomorrow.  I never get tired of cupcakes. 

These cupcakes are a classic chocolate cake topped with rich dark chocolate icing.  The chocolate in the cake is rich but the cake itself is light.  I wonder if it’s because of the pure maple syrup I used.  I only buy pure maple syrup because it actually has flavor unlike the cheap high fructose corn syrup stuff.

This recipe comes from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook by Cybele Pascal.  I’ve changed a few of the ingredients in the recipe since my baked goods don’t need to be completely free of major allergens.  Fortunately I’m not allergic to soy so I use organic soy milk instead of rice milk in recipes.

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Chocolate maple cupcakes – One batch yields 11 cupcakes when you use a 2 oz. scoop.

2/3 cup soy milk

1 t. apple cider vinegar

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[DRY]

1 cup gluten-free flour blend

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ t. + 1/8 t. xanthan gum

¾ t. baking soda

½ t. baking powder

¼ t. salt

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½ cup vegetable shortening

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2/3 cup maple syrup

1 ½ t. vanilla extract

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cupcake pan with liners.
2. Combine soy milk and vinegar.  Set aside.  The milk will start to “curdle.”  This is normal.  Promise.
3. Sift together the DRY ingredients.
4. Cream shortening in a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer) on medium speed for 1 minute.  Scrape bowl.  Add maple syrup and vanilla.  Beat for 3 minutes first on low to combine, then on medium speed.  The batter will be chunky.
5. Add DRY mix in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture.  Beat on low speed to combine.  Beat for 30 seconds or so on medium and scrape bowl if needed.
6. Fill liners ¾ full.  Bake for 18 minutes.  Rotate pan halfway through.  Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into a cupcake’s center comes out clean.
7. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

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While the cupcakes cool, prepare the chocolate ganache.  I had trouble with this recipe because I didn’t follow the recipe in the book exactly.  I’ve never made ganache before so I just melted chocolate the best way I know how…I melted the chocolate in a double-boiler and then poured cold milk and agave into it not thinking it would seize up.  Well it DID.  I was left with clumpy separated chocolate.  I don’t know if the cold milk caused it or water from steam is to blame, but I saved it by pulsing it in a food processor.  The chocolate was slightly thick but still a spreadable-icing consistency.  Ganache crisis averted!

This is what a double-boiler looks like if you’re curious.  I simmer a bit of water in the pot and place a metal bowl on top.  Chocolate sits in the bowl and slowly melts because of the hot steam generated by the simmering water.

Since I made two batches of cupcakes, I needed to made more chocolate ganache so I increased the recipe recommendations in the cookbook.  I adjusted the recipe since I figure most people aren’t churning out double batches of cupcakes on a regular basis (unless you’re a baker like me!).

I recommend using one whole bar of Ghirardelli 100% cacao if you’re into dark chocolate or 3 Enjoy Life rice milk bars if you prefer the taste of milk chocolate.  I used Ghiradelli chocolate in addition to the recommended Enjoy Life boom Choco boom chocolate bars.  You can find these chocolates at Earthfare and Kroger.

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Remember to chop chocolate with a serrated knife!

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Chocolate ganache

4 oz. chocolate

¼ cup milk

2 T. maple syrup or agave nectar

pinch of salt

1. Chop chocolate into small pieces using a serrated knife.
2. Heat rice milk in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Once it starts to simmer, remove from heat and stir in chocolate pieces, maple syrup, and salt.
3. Whisk until smooth.  Let cool to room temperature before drizzling on cupcakes.

Danny approves of these cupcakes.  I’ll make the blueberry lemon creme ones later this week

Carrot ginger birthday cupcakes with orange buttercream icing – vegan and gluten-free!

I made these carrot ginger cupcakes with orange buttercream for my birthday party yesterday.  These cupcakes are amazingly decadent for a gluten-free dessert.  The carrots and cinnamon remind me of carrot cake while the fresh ginger notes in the cake and the orange zest in the icing make this cupcake extra special.

I wanted to make carrot cake cupcakes for my birthday so I began researching recipes a few days ago.  I found different variations on carrot cake but the winning recipe came from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook by Cybele Pascal.  So far, every recipe I’ve made from this book has turned out perfectly!  I’m so glad I found this book at Barnes & Noble.  SO GLAD.  I’m a cookbook fiend.

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This recipe makes 10-11 cupcakes when scooped with a 2 oz. scoop.

[DRY]

1 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend (try 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons tapioca starch, 1/3 cup potato starch, and 1 cup brown rice flour)

¼ t. + 1/8 t. xanthan gum

1 t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

½ t. salt

½ t. cinnamon

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[WET]

2 ¼ t. egg replacer + 3 T. orange juice

3 T. plain or vanilla vegan yogurt

½ t. vanilla extract

1 c. sugar

¾ c. canola oil

1 t. grated fresh ginger

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1 ¼ c. shredded carrots

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1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a cupcake tin with liners.
2. Combine and sift DRY.  Set aside.
3. Combine WET ingredients.  Stir for 1 minute.  Add carrots and mix until combined.
4. Fold in DRY mix into carrot mixture.
5. Fill liners ¾ full.
6. Bake for 24 minutes.  Rotate pan halfway through.

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And now for the best part:  vegan orange buttercream icing!

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[ONE]

1 cup shortening

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[TWO]

3 cups powdered sugar

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[THREE]

¼ c. orange juice

2 t. orange zest

pinch of salt

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1. Cream shortening on medium for 2 minutes.  Scrape bowl.
2. Add sugar in 3 additions.  Mix on low to combine.  Scrape bowl each time.
3. Add orange juice, zest, and salt.  Mix on low to combine.
4. Beat on medium for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

You can pipe or spread this icing on your cupcakes.  Just make sure your cupcakes are cooled before you ice them, otherwise the precious icing will melt off.

I still have a bunch leftover since I made around 50 for my party.  If I see you in the next few days, you will definitely get to try one!

Today is my birthday!

I had a glorious lunch at Big City Bread this afternoon.  I just can’t get enough of their tofu sauté!

I don’t have much to blog about today.  I wanted to bake a cake to celebrate my birthday but I don’t have time since I have to work today :/  I’m having a birthday party this weekend so I’m going to postpone the birthday baking until then.  I’m either going to bake carrot ginger cupcakes with orange buttercream icing or some type of carrot cake cupcakes.  I haven’t decided yet but they will be vegan and gluten-free.  I can’t wait!

Danny got me this cute piece of cake from Big City Bread as a birthday treat.  Unfortunately it isn’t vegan but I just had to give it a taste.  The icing was very rich with cream cheese.  Big City Bread’s cakes have the prettiest icing decorations.

I think my next cake taste test will be at The Grit.  I drool over their vegan (but not gluten-free) cakes in their display case every time I eat there.  Who’s up for a vegan cake field trip?