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!

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

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!

Raspberry bars – vegan and gluten-free!

This recipe is a variation of the vegan and gluten-free blueberry bars.  I substituted raspberries and added a little bit of cinnamon and vanilla.  These turned out great!  I might try a mixed berry one next time.

You might want to adjust the amount of lemon juice and vanilla in this recipe.  I wasn’t sure how much to use since raspberries are more tart than blueberries.  I was hoping the vanilla would reduce the tartness.  Next time I’m going to use less lemon juice and vanilla and let the raspberries stand out.

You will need to make two batches of this (hence the ONE and TWO).  Keep the batches in separate bowls.

[ONE and TWO dry mix]

2 cups gluten-free oats

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

¾ cup dark brown sugar

¾ cup light brown sugar

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

½ lb. Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks melted

1. Spray a sheet pan (don’t forget the sides!) with cooking spray.  Place a sheet of parchment onto the sheet pan and spray a little more oil on top.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a stand mixer (ONE) and mix.  Add melted butter and mix until dough sticks together (like cookie dough).
3. Press this batch of topping into an even layer on the prepared sheet pan.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and set aside.

While the first layer of topping is baking, prepare the second batch (TWO) and the raspberry sauce.

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Raspberry Sauce

4 cups frozen raspberries thawed (or fresh)

1 T. lemon juice

1 T. vanilla extract – try using 1-2 t. first and taste test the sauce

2 T. sugar

½ t. cinnamon

1. Blend everything in a VitaMix or food processor.  Pour raspberry sauce over baked crust in an even layer.  Use a spatula to even it out.
2. Crumble the remaining half of the oat topping on top of the raspberry sauce in an even layer.  Gently press the oat topping down.
3. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Don’t forget to let the raspberry bar cool for a while before you cut it.  Enjoy!

More vegan grill action

This morning I whipped up a hashbrown scramble using a spicy bean burger from Earthfare.  The burger is mildly spicy and works well as a vegan alternative to crumbled sausage.  These burgers are tasty, inexpensive, and made with whole ingredients.  It is also one of the few vegan and gluten-free burgers out there.

I fried 1 ½ cups of frozen diced potatoes and 1 cup of frozen onions and peppers with one burger patty.  I fry the patty whole and crumble it up with the spatula as it cooks.  I seasoned it with a ¼ cup of nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme.  I can’t get enough of nutritional yeast and thyme lately!  So good!

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The spicy bean burgers are also delicious on the grill.  I always brush my burgers with a sauce (try your favorite bbq sauce) and spritz them with oil before putting them on the grill.

I must have been hungry at work because I was daydreaming about the grill all day long.  As soon as I got home I started preparing this vegan feast:

A spicy black bean burger with Daiya mozzerella cheese, Portabella mushroom stuffed with tofu, onion, and fresh parsley, baby potato fries, and a balsamic zucchini and pepper grilled salad.

I hope you enjoy the recipes!  You will have plenty of leftovers

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Spicy Black Bean burger

2 pieces of Udi’s gluten-free bread

EarthBalance vegan butter

1 spicy bean burger patty – Earthfare brand (these are on sale at Earthfare for $2.99 for 4 patties!)

Daiya mozzarella shredded cheese (available at Earthfare near the produce and at Kroger in the natural food section)

Some type of sauce – I used a spicy apricot agave bbq sauce

This is what I used:

Danny found it at Kroger.  Patti LaBelle knows what’s up.  It’s tasty!

I like covering my bread with butter and toasting it on the grill.  I butter one side of the bread before placing it on the grill.

I slathered the patty with the bbq sauce and sprayed with oil before grilling it.  Grill for a few minutes on each side.  Right before you remove the patty, place a little pile of Daiya cheese on top.  Let it melt on the grill.  YUM.

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I wanted to make stuffed portabella mushrooms but I made WAY too much stuffing.  I decided to grill the mushrooms sans-stuffing and then stuff them once they are cooked.  That way I could pile on the stuffing without fear of it falling off into the grill.

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Tofu Crumble – makes enough for 5 portabella mushrooms

1 block firm tofu crumbled

1 vegan chicken bouillon cube (Edward and Sons brand – available at Earthfare and Kroger) + 1 cup hot water

½ onion – diced

½ cup nutritional yeast

¼ t. thyme

½ t. garlic

pinch salt

pinch pepper

¼ t. cayenne

fresh parsley

Portabella mushrooms

Place a strainer over a large bowl.  Crumble tofu over the strainer.  Squeeze tofu to get rid of most of the water.

Using a large frying pan, sauté the tofu and onion for a few minutes over medium-high heat with a few tablespoons of canola oil.

Add the bouillon cube and cup of hot water to the pan.  Stir tofu and cook for 10-15 minutes (or until most of the liquid has cooked off).

Add nutritional yeast, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne to the pan.  Stir and cook for a minute or so.

Remove from heat and let cool in the pan.  Once tofu crumble has cooled off a bit, add the fresh parsley and stir.  Set aside.

Time to grill the mushrooms!  Cover the mushrooms with olive oil and grill for 10 minutes.  Once they are done, scoop a bunch of the tofu crumble on top.

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Herb potato fries – serves 5

1.5 pounds small potatoes – I used the ruby gold variety from Kroger

¼ cup olive oil

½ t. salt (you might want to add more or less)

½ t. pepper

1 t. holiday herb mix (a blend of dried sage, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and pepper)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a sheet pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Rinse off potatoes and dry.  Cut potatoes into strips or slices (but not too thin).  Place in a large bowl and toss with remaining ingredients.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Shuffle them around at 20 minutes.

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Balsamic veggies  - makes enough to serve 5

3 zucchini

1 yellow banana pepper

1 red pepper

½ a red onion

½ t. salt

½ t. pepper

½ t. garlic

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

Dice all veggies and toss in a large bowl with remaining ingredients.

Prepare two foil packets for the grill.  This recipe yields a lot of veggies so it’s easier to grill them in two packets instead of one.  For each packet, tear off a 4 feet long piece of foil.  Fold it in half (to make it more sturdy).  Carefully dump the veggies onto one half of the foil rectangle.  If you have extra sauce in the bowl, save it for later because you can always add more sauce once they come off the grill.  Fold the other half over the veggies and crimp the edges together.  Poke a few holes in the top of the packet using a small knife.  Place packet on the grill and grill for 10-15 minutes.  Be careful when you remove and open the packet!  I used a scissors to cut off one side and emptied the packet using an oven mitt.

Enjoy!

Dark chocolate mint coconut milk muffins – vegan and gluten-free

Good news!  I am a guest blogger on the Earthfare Athens blog!  My vegan and gluten-free blueberry bars are currently featured.  I’m so happy to share recipes with more Athens foodies.  Check it out here

I had a bit of coconut milk leftover from the coconut milk Pink Ladies cake so I whipped up some dark chocolate coconut milk muffins.

I used the dark chocolate mint Endangered Species brand chocolate bar in this recipe.  I thought dark chocolate mint and the fattiness of the coconut would work well together.

Endangered species chocolate is my favorite vegan chocolate thus far.  You can find it at Earthfare in the coffee and candy section.

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This recipe makes 10 small muffins if you use a 2 oz. scoop.

1/2 cup + 1 T. white rice flour

1/2 cup + 1 T. gluten-free all-purpose flour (Bob’s Red Mill brand – available at Earthfare at Kroger)

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. xanthan gum

1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter – cut into small cubes

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 t. salt

1/4 cup + 1 T. coconut milk

2 “eggs” (use EnerG egg replacer – available at Earthfare and Kroger)

2 T. oil

3/4 t. vanilla extract

1 – 3 oz. chocolate bar – dark chocolate mint flavor – chopped into small pieces with a serrated knife.

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with liners.
2. Sift flours, baking powder, and xanthan gum.  Set aside.
3. Cream butter, sugar, and salt with a stand mixer on medium for 4 minutes.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, mix for 1 more minute.  Scrape bowl.
4. Slowly stir in milk with mixer on low.  Scrape bowl.
5. Slowly add “eggs” and oil.
6. Add sifted flour mixture (in 2-3 increments) to the mixer.  Mix on low until fully incorporated.
7. Scoop into the prepared muffin pan.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Don’t forget to use a toothpick to test your muffins.  The muffins are done if you insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin, remove it, and it comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing them (I use a spoon to help me pop them out of the pan).  If you have a cooling rack, let them cool on the rack.

The texture of these muffins are much better than the last batch I made (a few months ago).  I think I’m going to use coconut milk from now on.  The subtle mint flavor from the dark chocolate makes this muffin extra special

Vegan and gluten-free coconut milk layer cake with strawberry icing

Yesterday I had some friends over for the musical Grease, blueberry bars, and cake.  I recently purchased an Ateco metal cake turntable (around $50.00 on Amazon) so I wanted to give it a whirl!

Rizzo is my favorite, of course!

I wanted to use my gluten-free interpretation of the Dulce Sin Leche cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World to make a 4-layer cake that would make the Pink Ladies proud.  I iced this coconut milk cake with icing tinted pink with pureed strawberries.

I tripled the recipe so that I would have ample cake batter to fill cake pans almost halfway.  I used two 8-inch cake pans and cut each layer in half.

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Coconut milk cake – makes two thick 8-inch cakes.

[DRY 1]

1 1/2 cup arrowroot flour

2 1/4 cup white rice flour

1 1/2 t. xanthan gum (completely necessary even though it’s $12.00 a bag!)

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking powder

3/4 t. baking soda

[DRY 2]

1 1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

[WET]

1 cup oil

1 1/2 cup soy milk

1 1/2 cup coconut milk

2 T. vanilla extract

1 T. lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper.  To make perfect cake pan sized parchment circles, place cake pans onto a sheet of parchment paper and trace around them.  Cut out the circles and place onto the bottom of each pan.
2. Sift together dry ingredients.
3. Add sugar and brown sugar.  Mix.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
6. Pour cake batter into two prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes.
7. Let the cake cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then flip them over on a flat surface (I prefer a cooling rack) and let them cool completely.  In the mean time, mix a 1/4 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup warm water and stir.  This simple syrup will be brushed onto each cake layer before applying icing.  This will help keep crumbs at bay.

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Strawberry pink icing

8 oz. of strawberries

lemon juice from a lemon half

1 cup shortening

1 cup Earth Balance vegan butter sticks – must be at room temperature!

7 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 t. vanilla extract

1 t. almond extract

pinch of salt

1. Blend 8 oz. of strawberries and lemon juice.  Measure out 1/4 cup and set aside.
2. Beat shortening and butter on medium speed for 4 minutes until fluffy.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and mix for 1 more minute.
3. Add sugar (one cup at a time) and mix on lowest speed until incorporated.  Once all of the sugar is in the mixing bowl, beat for 3 minutes on medium/high.
4. Add extracts, salt, and 1/4 cup of strawberry purée.  Mix on the lowest speed until incorporated.  Beat for 5-7 more minutes on medium/high until fluffy.

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Once your icing is ready and the cake is cooled, cut each cake layer in half.  I used a large roast knife to cut these.

Paint the tops of each layer with the simple syrup (1/4 cup sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup water) and apply icing.  Never let your icing spatula touch the cake!  If you do happen to pick up a crumb or two, wipe off the spatula before applying more icing.  Lay the icing on thick and gently smooth it out by forcing it out from the center and slightly over the edges of each cake layer.

I had some strawberry purée remaining from the icing recipe so I poured it into a squeeze bottle and thought it would be fun to add some on top of the icing.

This was not a good idea.  When I placed the second cake layer on top of the first, the strawberry sauce made the cake layer slide around on top of the icing.  It kept wiggling around and made icing that layer more difficult.  Never again!

I decided to put the strawberry sauce on top of the cake layer BEFORE I apply icing.  That way the sauce can soak into the cake and layers stay put.

Keep layering cake, a wash of simple syrup, strawberry sauce, and icing.  Don’t put too much icing in between each cake layer because you want to make sure you have enough to cover the top and all around the cake.

This cake was so good!  I’m going to keep using coconut milk in my cake recipes because it makes the cake so moist and cake-like (unlike some gluten-free cakes I’ve tried…super dry and dense!).  Next time I will put more strawberries into the icing because the strawberry flavor didn’t come through.

Pink Ladies 4 Lyfe.  Thanks to the Backus sisters for inspiring this Grease and cakefest!

Vegan and gluten-free blueberry bars

I’ve never had the full blueberry bar experience from Ike and Jane because they contain gluten.  I decided to make some at home because I am seriously that obsessed with baking.  I love reworking recipes so that people with allergies can enjoy these delectable treats!

I made some modifications to the recipe so that these are vegan and gluten-free.

Behold!  A tower of vegan and gluten-free blueberry bars!

These blueberry bars are magical.  The ingredients are simple so the tastiness comes from how all the flavors marry with one another.  The Earth Balance vegan butter and brown sugar crust are a perfect accompaniment to the blueberry (with a squeeze of lemon juice) purée center.

This recipe is for a 12 by 16 inch pan.  I cut the bars into a 4 by 5 grid and got 20 large bars.  You can also cut the bars even smaller (quarter each one) so that you can share the blueberry-goodness with more of your friends

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Oat Crust and Topping:

4 cups gluten-free oats (Bob’s Red Mill brand – located near the cereal at Earthfare)

2 cups white rice flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 lb. Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks melted (available at Earthfare near the other buttery spreads – I stock up on these whenever they go on sale!)

Spray a sheet pan (don’t forget the sides!) with cooking spray.  Place a sheet of parchment onto the sheet pan and spray a little more oil on top.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all dry ingredients in a stand mixer (if you have a very large one) and mix.  Add melted butter and mix until dough sticks together (like cookie dough).

A note:  All the ingredients wouldn’t fit in my stand mixer so I mixed them by hand.  You could also prepare this in two batches in your stand mixer (with 2 cups oats, 1 cup white rice flour, 1 cup gf all-purpose flour…etc).  If you do it in two batches, keep them in separate bowls.

If you did it in one batch, divide the oat topping in half.  Press one half of the topping into an even layer on the prepared sheet pan.  Set the other half of the topping aside.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and set aside.

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Now you need to prepare the blueberry sauce:

4 cups frozen blueberries thawed (or fresh)

lemon juice from a 1/4 lemon

2 T. sugar

Blend everything in a VitaMix or food processor.  Pour blueberry sauce over baked crust in an even layer.  Use a spatula to even it out.

Crumble the remaining half of the oat topping on top of the blueberry sauce in an even layer.  Gently press the oat topping down (it’s okay if a little bit of blueberry sauce seeps through).

Return to the oven for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove and let cool completely before cutting it.  You can pop it into the freezer for a little while too.  If you don’t let it cool, cutting it into bars is a big goopy mess!

I’m definitely going to try using blackberries or raspberries next time I make these.  I’ll have to make twice as many too because this batch did not last long!  I made these yesterday and my friends and co-workers ate them up. 

Coconut milk cupcakes – vegan and gluten-free with a hint of lemon

I’ve baked so many cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World in the past few months and I haven’t blogged about any of them yet!  I’ll get started right now

First of all, I LOVE this cookbook!  All the recipes are vegan and so far all of them are delicious!  Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero even offer decorating tips and a trouble-shooting guide because sometimes cupcakes don’t turn out the way they’re supposed to even though you’ve followed the recipe.  AAH!  Been there.  Super frustrating!

I modified the recipe for the Dulce Sin Leche cupcakes so that they are gluten-free and vegan.  Only two of the recipes in this cookbook are gluten-free so I have to play around with various gluten-free flours in order to get a light cake texture.  Using gluten-free all-purpose flour (Bob’s Red Mill brand mostly contains bean flours) doesn’t give me the best results because the flour is high in protein and has a strong taste.

Here’s my recipe so far.  I might change it in the future but I’ll keep you updated!  Lemon zest adds an unexpected flavor which pairs nicely with the light and moist cake.  This cake tastes so similar to regular gluten-full cakes.  I couldn’t believe it!  I think it’s the high fat content of the coconut milk.

Coconut milk cupcakes – This recipe makes around 9 cupcakes.

[DRY 1]

½ cup arrowroot flour

¾ cup white rice flour

½ t. xanthan gum (completely necessary even though it’s $12.00 a bag!)

½ t. salt

1 t. baking powder

¼ t. baking soda

[DRY 2]

½ cup sugar

¼ cup light brown sugar

[WET]

1/3 cup oil

½ cup soy milk

½ cup coconut milk

2 t. vanilla extract

1 t. lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sift together dry ingredients.
3. Add sugar and brown sugar.  Mix.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
6. Scoop with an ice cream scoop (with a trigger handle-thing) and bake for 22 minutes.

YUM! The recipe from the book recommends glazing these cupcakes with a vegan brown rice caramel sauce made with soy milk, soy milk powder, arrowroot, and brown rice syrup.  I didn’t like the flavor of the sauce (might be the soy milk powder) so I’ll rework it and blog it up