Mocha Toffee Crunch Vegan Ice Cream

Happy summer! It’s past Solstice now, and alternates here between pouring rain and hot hot sunshine. Which is OK – Edmonton in the summertime is pretty nice. I must be adapting to the heat this year, as only a few times so far have I felt like I would melt if I didn’t watermelon or a popsicle or ice cream into me ASAP.

If you only and up making ice cream rarely this summer, this flavour is definitely a good choice: cool chocolate perked up by a touch of coffee flavour, contrasting with bits of crunchy toffee.

I’ve included a toffee recipe that results in a candy that may seem rather oily, as that acts as the candy’s “raincoat” and prevents it from softening or getting soggy when mixed in to the ice cream. It’s a nice mix of contrasts and a lovely treat on a hot (or cold!) day.

By Agent Minty.

Ingredients: 

Ice cream base:

• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1c white sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 3/4 cups almond milk
• 1 Tbsp instant coffee powder
• 2 cups canned coconut milk

Toffee Bits:

• 1/3 cup blanched, slivered almonds
• 3 Tbsp Earth Balance or other hard margarine
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp golden syrup
• 1.5 tsp water

Instructions:

1. Whisk together corn starch, brown sugar, cocoa, 1 cup white sugar, salt, and 2/3 cup of the almond milk in a large saucepan. Heat on medium.
2. Mix the instant coffee with about 3 Tbs of the remaining almond milk. Add to mixture in saucepan.
3. Keep stirring mixture until sugar is dissolved and it starts to simmer. Turn down heat to medium-low.
4. Keep stirring while slowly adding remaining almond milk, then coconut milk.
5. Cook mixture until slightly thickened and glossy, about 5 minutes.
6. Remove from heat, and cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. after cooled slightly, refrigerate for at least three hours.
7. Toast almonds in a ~350F oven for 2-5 minutes, until lightly golden, then remove to cool, and chop finely.
8. Melt Earth Balance and oil in a small saucepan, then add sugar, syrup, water, and salt.
9. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with aluminum foil and tossing chopped almonds onto an area approximately 12×12 inches.
10. Stir syrup on medium heat until sugar starts to dissolve, then add a candy thermometer and cook, undisturbed, until the syrup reaches Hard Crack stage (300-309 Fahrenheit).
11.  Give candy one quick stir with a spatula, then pour over the almonds on the cookie sheet. Use the spatula to sweep any extra almonds onto the toffee area. You will get a thin puddle of candy smaller than the cookie sheet itself.
12. Allow the toffee to cool for at least one hour before breaking into slivers.
13. Freeze ice cream base according to instructions for your ice cream machine. Add in toffee bits for the last minute of mixing.
14. Transfer to a plastic container and freeze overnight before serving.

Vegan homemade donuts!

It’s national donut day and if you have the time tonight, celebrate by making donuts! These tasty guys are my favourite kind – old-fashioned cake donuts with a generous pinch of nutmeg, and a nice vanilla glaze.

These are a vegan version of what Tim Horton’s “sour cream” donut could be if they really tried to elevate their donuts.

They do need to be fried in oil to get that crinkly, tasty texture, but even so they are a simple recipe to make. Blend, whisk, mix, rest, roll, cut, fry, glaze. Eat, eat, eat.

You will obviously get a bunch of donut holes, too, but we ate all the ones I made before I took the pictures. Oops!

Vegan Old-Fashioned “Sour Cream” Donuts

By Agent Minty, heavily adapted the recipe posted at The Messy Baker. Makes approximately 16 donuts plus holes.

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup (90g) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups (180g) pastry or cake flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 block medium tofu
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 Tbsp dairy-free “milk” of choice
• 2 Tbsp (30g) shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 + 2Tbsp icing sugar
• 3 Tbsp warm water
• 2 tsp corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• at least 3 cups of Canola or other neutral-flavoured oil for frying

Instructions:

1. Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a food processor or blender, puree tofu until completely smooth.
3. Remove 3/4 cup +  4 tsp (200g) of the tofu puree and combine with vinegar, corn starch, and milk. Set aside (unused extra tofu can be discarded or used in a smoothie).
4. Cream together shortening and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 1 minute in a stand mixer.
5. Alternate repeatedly adding 1/3 of flour, then 1/2 of milk, beating mixture between additions. The dough will be sticky afterwards and a bit lumpy.
6. Transfer to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 40 minutes or longer.
7. Fill a heavy, deep pan at least 2inches deep with oil. Heat on med-high until a candy thermometer in the oil indicates that the oil is 325°F/165°C.
8. While the oil is heating, roll out the dough on a well-floured surface until it is 1/2-inch thick. Cut into rounds about 2 or 3 inches across, with a hole in the centre (I used the lid from my bottle of vanilla extract). Scraps can be gently pouched together and rolled out again to cut out more donuts. You’ll see I also tried making the donut shape mentioned in Laura Wilder’s Farmer Boy, the passage mentioning it can be read here.
9. Whisk the water into the icing sugar, mix in the vanilla and corn syrup, and set aside in a bowl near where your donuts will cool. Ensure that you have a wire rack set up with paper towels or a tray underneath, for cooling the donuts and that the oil is still the correct temperature.
10. Brush extra flour off the donuts before frying – this will reduce splattering!
11. Place 2-4 donuts at a time into the hot oil, allowing them to cook for 10-15 seconds on the first side, flipping them, cooking for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown on that seconds side, then flipping again (so the first side gets fully cooked).
12. Remove donuts from oil and place more in one donut at a time. While second batch is cooking, dip the first batch in the vanilla glaze and set donuts to drip and cool on the wire rack.

 

Vegan Savoury Pie, or Non-Quiche

Vegan quiche sounds impossible. What about the eggs, the cheese? In the words of a non-vegan critic, Where does all the flavour come from?

Well, if you can’t make something plant-based and flavourful, you just need to work a little harder. There is some vegan cheeze in here, as this is the second instalment of recipes that can be made with cheeze, but a lot of the favour also comes from the roasted peppers and seasonings, not to mention a rich pastry crust. At the request of Mme. Minty, I’m not officially calling this a quiche, as “eggs are gross,” so savoury pie it is. A perfectly indulgent dish for wintertime.

Vegan Savoury Pie

An original recipe by Agent Minty

One note about the tart tin: I used a 9-inch quiche/tart tin than separates into two pieces. If you only have a traditional style pie plate, that will work too, as the crust recipe makes more than enough dough.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup (80g) Earth Balance or other hard maragarine
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp water

Filling:

• One red pepper
• 1/3 head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 1/2 block (170g) traditional/medium tofu (not pressed)
• 2 Tbsp chickpea/Besan flour
• 1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/8 tsp smoked sea salt (if you have it)
• 1/4 tsp regular salt
• 1/2 tsp miso paste
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp almond milk
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp sage
• generous dash of black pepper
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 3 Tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 cup of cubed non-dairy cheeze (soft or meltable is best), or shredded Daiya

Instructions:

Prepare the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Whisk together salt and flour in a large mixing bowl.
3. Drop in Earth Balance by spoonfuls or as cubes.
4. Cut flour into fat with a pastry cutter until the largest pieces are smaller than peas.
5. Combine water and vinegar and pour over flour mixture.
6. Mix water in by cutting-motion strokes with the edge of a spatula.
7. Mix until the dough holds together, and turn out onto a floured countertop.
8. Knead a few times until you have a smooth-ish ball.
9. Roll out to about 5mm thick.
10. Cut a circle slightly larger than the bottom of your pan and lift into the bottom of your tart pan.
11. Cut rectangular strips about 50% wider than the walls of your pan. Use these to line the walls, pressing to join with the bottom. Using multiple overlapping strips is fine.
12. Fold excess top edge of pastry into the pan and press to reinforce.
13. Prick bottom of pan all over with a fork.
14. Completely line pan with a sheet of foil (I find crinkling it first makes it easier to work with), and fill with dried beans, marbles, or other weights.
15. Bake for 12 minutes. Set to cool on a rack for 5 minutes before attempting to lift out foil filled with hot weights!
16. Let cool completely while preparing the filling.

Prepare vegetables for filling:

1. Cut pepper in half and remove seeds and stem.
2. Place cut side down on a baking sheet or piece of foil.
3. Switch oven heat source to broil.
4. Cook in 450F oven until skin is blackened.
5. Meanwhile, blanch broccoli and shock in cold water.
6. Chop broccoli finely – After preparation, you should have about 1/3 cup.
7. Let roasted red pepper cool or run under cold water for a few minutes to cool quickly.
8. Peel skin off of pepper (even non-burnt regions) and chop one half of pepper finely.

Prepare filling:

1. Turn oven temperature down to 350F.
2. Puree tofu in a food processor until smooth, about one minute.
3. Add all remaining ingredients except baking powder. Pulse until combined, scraping walls occasionally.
4. Add baking powder and blend briefly.
5. In a mixing bowl, stir together puree, broccoli, and pepper.
6. Fold in cubed cheeze.
7. Pour mixture into pastry shell and level out.
8. If desired, decorate with herbs and shapes cut from remaining roasted red pepper.
9. Bake for 40 minutes.
10. Cool at room temperature for at least one hour, to allow filling to set.
11. Can be re-warmed before serving.

Amazing Vegan Mac

Growing up, my favourite meal was homemade macaroni and cheese. It had four ingredients: boiled elbow noodles, shredded cheddar, skim milk poured all over everything, and crushed potato chips on top. Talk about simple. And man, what an overload of dairy.

I’ve made a recipe to share with you that has the comfort food spirit of my childhood favourite, but with a little more flavour and zero animal products. Ooey, gooey, creamy, cheezy. This is my first follow up to my Vegan Cheeze post, and uses Daiya shredded Pepperjack and some Kick-Ace cheddar spread. This makes a large batch – be sure to use a very deep 9×9 dish, or a larger casserole dish will also work. It is amazing as leftovers, too.

Amazing Vegan Mac – An original recipe by Agent Minty

Ingredients:

• 3 cups dried elbow macaroni
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp margarine
• 2.5 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup plus 2/3 cup almond or other non-dairy milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup prepared Kick Ace cheddar
• 1/3 cup plus 2/3 cup Daiya Pepperjack shreds
• 1/4 cup parsley flakes
• Optional: a handful of rippled potato chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and generously spray your casserole dish.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook macaroni until al dente, while preparing the sauce.
3. Melt the margarine and oil together in a heavy-bottomed pot on medium-low heat.
4. Whisk in the flour and stir vigorously until it starts to foam and thicken slightly.
5. Gently sprinkle in a few spoonfuls of the wine and whisk vigorously until combined with the paste.
6. Drizzle in the remaining wine while whisking vigorously.
7. Stir in 1 cup of milk while continuing to whisk.
8. Take the pot off of the heat and whisk in the kick-ace cheddar and 1/3 cup of the daiya shreds.
9. Return to medium-low heat and stir until cheezes are melted.
10. Remove from heat and stir in drained, cooked noodles.
11. Fill casserole dish with alternating layers of 1/3 of cheezy noodles, 1/3 cup reserved daiya, and 1 Tablespoon of parmesan, until all are done.
12. Bake in centre of oven for one hour.
13. Top casserole with crushed potato chips, if desired.
14. Broil casserole for 3 minutes, or until golden brown.
15. Cool out of the oven for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Christmas Ice Cream – Candy Cane Crackle

Canadian readers will probably be familiar with President’s Choice Candy Cane ice cream. It came out in 1995 and was immediately my favourite ice cream ever. Rich vanilla ice cream with chunks of candy cane and ribbons of hard chocolate that crackled when you scooped some out. Our whole family looked forward to eating it for dessert in December. It underwent a redesign about five years ago and hasn’t been the same since – now the ice cream is minty, there are red and green globs of candy instead of broken candy canes, and the ice cream itself isn’t as rich. I don’t have a picture of the old version, but here’s what it looks like now:

I have tweaked the recipe over the past two years until it is as creamy and crackly as I remember. It is with pride that I’m sharing it with you now… hopefully it will be a Christmas favourite with your family, too!

Christmas Crackle Ice Cream

The vanilla base is modified from the French Vanilla ice cream in Hannah Kaminsky’s Vegan a la Mode, but the rest of the ideas are my own. Note that this recipe makes a large batch of ice cream – lots to share!

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 Tbsp Bird’s custard powder (for whiter ice cream, use half custard powder and half corn starch)
• 1 cup soy milk or almond milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 cups almond milk
• pinch salt
• 1 can gold (high-fat) coconut milk, left in a cool place to separate
• 3/4 tsp vanilla paste, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp vodka
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil, or shortening
• 6 Tbsp chocolate chips
• 3/4 to 1 cup of crushed green and red candy canes (red only is fine, the addition of green is just prettier to me)

Instructions:

1. Whisk the custard powder and 1 cup of milk in a saucepan until thoroughly dissolved.
2. Stir in the sugar.
3. Slowly warm the mixture on low to medium heat, whisking the whole time.
4. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring heat to medium.
5. Add in remaining almond milk and salt.
6. Stir until the mixture thickens.
7. Meanwhile, scoop out fatty portion of coconut milk (should be 1 1/4 to 1 2/3 cups) and microwave for 30 seconds to soften.
8. Once the mixture on the stove is the consistency of a light pudding, take off the heat.
9. Stir in coconut milk and vanilla.
10. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally.
11. Add in vodka.
12. Cool for at least two hours, stirring occasionally to break up the “skin” that forms.  If you forget to stir, just whiz the mixture for a few seconds with an immersion blender before freezing.
13. Pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze until the ice cream is quite stiff.
14. Meanwhile, melt together the chocolate chips and coconut oil
15. Add the crushed candy canes and mix in the ice cream maker for only about one minute. Adding the candy canes too early will allow them to bleed – you’ll get grey ice cream!
16. Scoop out about half a cup of ice cream, drizzle melted chocolate in thin strings on top. Aim for thin layers!
17. Repeat until all of the ice cream is used up. You’ll have a little chocolate left over.
18. Freeze for at least two hours.

Enjoy! Merry Christmas!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Hi-Hat Cupcakes

Love chocolate and peanut butter together? So do I. Yum. However, I’m not a huge cupcake fan. I’ll eat them, sure, but if I’m making something for myself, I would more likely make a tart, ice cream, candy, or cookies. I made these for a lab meeting at work, though, and my colleagues love cupcakes – especially any featuring chocolate.

Sink your teeth into these chocolatey cupcakes topped with whipped peanut butter icing and chocolate shell.

So yummy… when you bite into them, you get a creamy, nutty surprise:

These would be perfect for a fancy occasion like a birthday party or for a potluck.

 

Agent Minty’s Peanut Butter Hi-Hat Cupcakes

Makes 18 medium cupcakes

Quick rich chocolate cupcakes (modified from Joy of Cooking)

• 2 1/4 cups of white flour
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 9 Tbsp cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1.5 cups cold water
• 1 Tbsp instant coffee granules
• 6 Tbsp canola oil
• 1.5 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Combine water, coffee granules, oil, vinegar, and vanilla
3. Pour liquid ingredients into dry and mix until smooth.
4. Pour into cupcake liners.
5. Bake at 350F for 17-19 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool for at least 45 minutes.

Peanut butter whipped frosting

To get the creamiest consistency, I recommend using the cheap no-stir homogenized peanut butter. I use the natural stuff on my toast, but it’s famous gritty texture will interfere with your frosting here.

• 3 1/2 Tbsp margarine (any kind is fine)
• 2.5 Tbsp of smooth peanut butter
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 3 1/3 c icing sugar
• 5 Tbsp almond milk

1. Cream together the first four ingredients.
2. Add in icing sugar 1 cup at a time, alternating with milk.
3. Whip until a mousse-like texture has been achieved
4. Transfer to a piping bag with a large tip  and place a large dollop on top of each cupcake.
   • Alternatively, use a spoon or a freezer bag with the corner cut off.
5. Freeze topped cupcakes for at least one hour.

Chocolate shell

Try to make this in a 2-cup container – wide enough to fit your fingertips, and deep enough to fit the frosted top of the cupcake. You will end up making more chocolate sauce than you will need. Try Adding extra coconut oil to the leftovers to make your own Magic Shell topping for ice cream.

• 2 cups of vegan chocolate chips, divided
• 2.5 Tbsp coconut oil, divided

1. Melt half of each ingredient together in a heat-proof container in your microwave (3 30-second bursts should do it).
2. Take a frozen, topped cupcake and dip into the chocolate sauce.
3. Drip off the extra.
4. While the chocolate is still wet, place on any decorations you want. I used salted roasted peanuts.
5. Return cupcakes to the freezer, or keep out for immediate consumption.
6. Allow cupcakes to thaw for 2 hours before serving. They will stay good for about 10 hours at room temperature, but the chocolate shell will get a little soft.

By the way, sorry for the lack of budget or healthy eating posts lately. With my busy schedule, most of my meals have been repeats of the staples – vegan homemade wieners, bean salad, spaghetti, or tinned soup. Cheap, yes, but not so interesting. We have a two-week break in the renos while we wait for a new counter, so hopefully in the meantime I’ll get inspired to document some weeknight cooking!

Tiger Tail ice cream – Vegan Potluck 2013 contribution

Hello Vegan Potluck visitors! It’s finally starting to warm up in Edmonton – last week we still had intermittent snow, but this week I could see a transformation across campus. People were wearing shorts and skirts, t-shirts and polos instead of jeans and sweaters. We have recently had several days with temperatures in the high twenties, and nothing’s better to complement a hot day than a scoop of cool ice cream.

Tiger Tail is a nostalgic flavour for me. I remember trying it for the first time when I was about six, when my family had walked to the corner store for ice cream cones. I liked the combination of tangy orange and interspersed with liquorice (yes, I was the kid that always liked black jelly beans).

Mrs Minty hadn’t had Tiger Tail ice cream in over a decade until we came up with this recipe together several months ago. This recipe uses my top-secret ingredient for intensely fruit-flavoured ice creams, icing, and cakes. Ready? It is…..

OH YEAH!!!!

Yep. Kool-Aid. If you’re the kind of person who abhors artificial colours and flavours, this ice cream probably isn’t for you. I originally tried to make an ice cream base using orange juice instead, and it just doesn’t take like the commercial stuff. Go ahead, double down and use the kool-aid powder, as well as the black food colouring in the liquorice ribbon. It tastes like childhood!

Tiger Tail Ice Cream – Original recipe by Agent Minty

It requires about half an hour of work the night before you intend to freeze the ice cream, and I would advise making the two components sequentially, or having a partner help you – both the caramel and “milk” bases need to be stirred at about the same time.

Milk base

• 3 cups of almond milk, divided
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 c corn starch
• 1 398-mL can old premium coconut milk, shaken, minus 1/2 cup (so ~1 cup +1 Tbsp)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup Cointreau or other orange liqueur
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/4 tsp-2 tsp orange Kool-Aid powder

1. Combine the sugar and 1 1/2 cups of almond milk in a large saucepan. Heat on medium until sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup of almond milk and the corn starch in a small bowl, whisking until all the lumps are dispersed.
3. Once the sugar/milk mixture has come to a boil, turn the heat  down to keep it at a simmer.
4. Add the cornstarch/milk mixture, whisking vigorously.
5. Cook, still stirring, until it reaches the consistency of a light pudding/custard.
6. Add the remaining almond and coconut milks, whisking continuously.
7. Once the mixture has started to lightly simmer again, remove it from the heat.
8. Add in the vanilla, Cointreau, and lemon juice.
9. Add the Kool-Aid powder. I found that  1 1/4 tsp gave me a good flavour and colour, but if you need something that’s violently coloured, add more. Taste the mixture as you go, to make sure it is satisfactory.
10. Strain the hot mixture through a mesh sieve (to remove any corn starch lumps).
11. Refrigerate overnight or until cold to the touch.
12. Freeze the base according to your ice-cream maker’s directions. If this is your first time making ice cream, don’t get distressed if the mixture is about the consistency of soft serve ice cream. That’s normal, and it will harden up in the freezer.
    

    This is ready to freeze.

13. Layer with the liquorice ribbon as described below.

Liquorice ribbon

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut cream (reserved from the can used for the milk base)
• 1 Tbsp anise extract
• Black paste-style food colouring
• 1 Tbsp molasses

1. Combine the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Cook at medium-high without stirring. The sugar will dissolve in the water. and begin to boil.
   

   The syrup is boiling. Do not stir!

3. The clear sugar syrup will begin to heat up (warning: this is very hot can will burn if you touch it!). Allow it to cook undisturbed until it starts to become a light amber colour.
4. Swirl the pot gently, without stirring, until it becomes a dark caramel colour (think the colour of a Werther’s, or dark brown sugar).
5. Combine the anise extract and milk.
6. Add the anise milk to the syrup. This will splatter a bit!
7. Stir virgorously until smooth.
8. Scrape out a small lump of black food colouring (I used about 1/3 of 1/8 tsp). Stir into the hot caramel. This may take a while to disperse.
9. Stir in the molasses.
10. Store in a fridge overnight.
11. Before combining with the milk base, leave out for a few hours or microwave on low power until the caramel is room temperature.

Layering the ice cream

1. Use a plastic container to store your ice cream. You will need once with a volume of at least 1.5 litres.
2. Scoop out approximately 1/5 of your just-frozen ice cream into the container. Smooth it out on an angle.
3. Drizzle 1/4 of your liquorice caramel on top.
4. Add another layer of ice cream and more caramel, repeating until both are gone. This doesn’t have to be perfect.
5. Cover your ice cream with plastic wrap and gently press down to unite all the layers.
6. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before scooping, preferably overnight.

Thanks for stopping by as part of the Virtual Vegan Potluck! Enjoy every taste of the upcoming summer!

To visit the blog that precedes mine in the Potluck, click here!
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To see the main course “after” me, click here!
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Weekend scones for the one you love

It’s only Wednesday night, but I’m already thinking ahead to the weekend. 

 

Annick only gets to come home from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. I’m really looking forward to seeing her this weekend, especially. 

 

An easy breakfast to make is scones. They are quick (10 minutes from pantry to oven), flexible (add dried or fresh fruit, chocolate, nuts, cheese, or spices), and taste delicious as leftovers, too. 

The dough is also fairly easy for beginners; just remember not to knead it for too long, or the scones will be tough. 

The recipe I use is actually adapted from my go-to biscuit recipe from the Purity cookbook (Purity was an old brand of flour 50 years ago). If you want to make biscuits for dinner, omit the sugar and fruit. If you want to make shortcake, double the sugar and sprinkle more on top. You can roll the dough out and cut shapes using cutters or a knife, hand-shape them into flattish balls, or (my favourite), make two large disks and score them in sixths before baking (this gives them soft sides). 

They bake in less than 15 minutes; for ones that are thicker than 1 inch when rolled out, leave them in a little longer or the insides will be doughy. 

Delicious hot out of the oven with butter and jam! 

 

Rapid Scones (adapted from The All-New Purity Cookbook):
 

Ingredients: 

– 2 cups All-purpose flour 

– 4 teaspoons Baking powder 

– 1 teaspoon Salt 

– 1-2 tablespoons Sugar 

– pinch of Nutmeg 

– 1/3 cup Shortening 

– 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons “milk” 

– 2 tablespoons Dried fruit or nuts (optional) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and nutmeg.
3. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening until the largest crumbs are about the size of dried peas. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, use two butter knives slicing in X’s.
4. Make a well in the mixture and add 3/4 cup of milk.
5. Stir with until moistened. If you want to add fruit or nuts, add them now.
6. If the dough is still crumbly, add the remaining milk. Don’t make the dough too sticky!
7. Stir until the dough is mixed. Don’t stir until it is an even paste (like bread dough). It should be soft and smooth, but a little bumpy.
8. Knead once or twice.
9. If cutting out shapes, roll to 1/2-inch thickness on a floured surface and cut out desired shapes.
10. If hand-moulding, pinch off bits of the desired size, and shape them before placing them directly on a non-stick baking sheet.
11. Alternately, divide into two 8-inch circles 1/2-inch thick on the baking sheet. Score each round into six.
12. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
13. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
14. Remove immediately to a cooling rack.
15. Allow to cool completely before wrapping or storing in a tin.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I love cake and sweets.

How better to commemorate my quarter-century on earth than by bringing in a cake to share with my friends at work?

I wanted to make something impressive and fancy, but also tasty. In other words, I wanted to show off! It’s my day, dammit, so I’m allowed!

I decided to go with the flavour combination of Chocolate Orange – two great tastes that taste great together! I used the Vegan Chocolate cake and Vegan Orange cake recipes from Joy of cooking, as they are both easy and tasty. I made a 10″ (I think) round cake, because I don’t have an appropriately-sized rectangle pan, and I find round cakes require less trimming and waste.

There were two chocolate layers and one orange one, and each layer was split in half and filled. I made a whipped chocolate ganache to fill the orange layer.

I made orange curd for the first time as a filling for the chocolate layers. While I liked the overall texture and flavour of the orange curd, I expected it to be zestier (this could be remedied by substituting more orange juice for the water, and adding some lemon juice). As well, I used a peeler-style zester, which resulted in very long strings of zest. I would recommend using a grater or microplane-style zester instead.

I froze the cakes after making, splitting, and cooling them, since I think vegan cakes tend to stale faster than traditional ones, and I had made them two days in advance.

Everything was assembled with chocolate buttercream, and topped with a dark chocolate glaze. Yummy!

I was also fortunate enough to spend my birthday with my family. Knowing my penchant for carbohydrates, they made me a dinner full of my childhood favourites: macaroni and cheese, greek salad, and garlic bread! For dessert we had an old family favourite, Mud Pie

I felt so loved that my family took the time to get together, and make me dinner, on a work night. You guys are the best!

I especially want to thank my mom and dad for all of the love and guidance they have given me. I know now how lucky I am to have had such a great family life.

Here’s to another year of growth, learning and happiness!

Recipe: Orange-Chocolate Birthday Cake

Chocolate Vegan Cake (from Joy of Cooking) – For the cake I made, I repeated this recipe twice:

Ingredients:

– 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour

– 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Sugar

– 6 tablespoons Cocoa powder

– 1 teaspoon Baking soda

– 1/8 teaspoon Salt

– 1/4 cup Vegetable oil

– 1 cup Cold water

– 1 tablespoon White vinegar

– 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Prepare a 9 or 10-inch spring form pan by lining with paper and spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Combine dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well “sifted.”
4. Combine the wet ingredients and add to the dry.
5. Stir on medium-low speed until smooth.
6. Scrape into your prepared pan. Drop on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven when a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool for 5 minutes on the rack.
10. Slide a knife around the edges of the pan. Remove the sides of the pan.
11. Keeping the cake on the parchment paper, slide it off the bottom and on to a cooling rack.
12. Wait approximately 15 minutes before peeling off the parchment paper liner.
13. Cut the cake horizontally in half FIRST, then cut off the dome of the top. Doing it in this order gives you a stiffer top half when manipulating them.
14. Place plastic wrap between the layers (multiple spatulas may come in handy at this point!) to prevent them from sticking back together.
15. Wrap tightly and freeze, if desired.
16. When thawing frozen cake, allow to come to almost room temperature (no more condensation on the plastic wrap) before removing the wrappings.

Ultra Orange Cake (from Joy of Cooking):

Ingredients:

– 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour

– 1 cup Sugar

– 1 teaspoon Baking soda

– 1/2 teaspoon Salt

– 1/3 cup Vegetable oil

– 1 cup Orange juice

– Zest from one large orange (about 2 tablespoons)

– 1 tablespoon Cider vinegar

– 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Prepare a 9 or 10-inch spring form pan by lining with paper and spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Combine dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well “sifted.”
4. Combine the wet ingredients and add to the dry.
5. Stir on medium-low speed until smooth.
6. Scrape into your prepared pan. Drop on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven when a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool, cut, wrap, and freeze as described above.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache Filling:

Ingredients:

– 3/4 cup High-quality coconut milk (gold can, but room-temperature and SHAKEN before opening)

– 160g Dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat the coconut milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, on medium heat.
2. Once the milk is simmering, remove from the heat.
3. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl.
4. Stir with a spatula until the ganache is a shiny, dark brown.
5. Chill for an hour or more.
6. Whip the mixture with the whisk attachment of a stand mixture until the topping is the texture of soft whipped cream
7. Use to fill the orange cake layers.

Orange Curd Filling (original by Agent Minty):

Ingredients:

– 1/2 cup Sugar

– 3 tablespoons Bird’s custard powder

– Zest of 1 large orange

– 1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup Orange juice

– 1 cup Water

– 2 teaspoons Arrowroot powder

– 1 tablespoon Coconut milk

Directions:

1. Combine sugar, custard powder, orange zest, and half of the orange juice in a saucepan.
2. Whisk over low heat until sugar and custard powder are dissolved.
3. Add the water and stir.
4. Bring heat to medium under saucepan.
5. Bring the mixture to a low simmer.
6. Dissolve the arrowroot powder in the remaining orange juice.
7. Add the arrowroot-orange juice mixture to the saucepan. Whisk well.
8. Add the coconut milk.
9. Whisk wile heating until the mixture boils gently. You may need to increase the heat slightly.
10. When the mixture is the consistency of yogurt (?), take it off the heat. It will continue to thicken as it cools!
11. Whisk occasionally until the curd is lukewarm.
12. Scrape into a container and store in the refrigerator until needed.
13. Use to fill the chocolate cake layers.

Chocolate Buttercream (adapted from the Purity Cookbook):

Ingredients:

– 10 tablespoons Softened margarine (use higher-quality stuff, like Earth Balance brand)

– 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla

– Pinch of salt

– 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

– 9 cups icing sugar

– 1/2 cup room-temperature coconut milk

Directions:

1. Beat the margarine, vanilla, and salt together until fluffy.
2. Mix together the cocoa powder and the icing sugar.
3. Add 1/3 of the dry mixture to the butter mixture.
4. Beat on medium until incorporated.
5. Add half of the coconut milk.
6. Beat on medium until incorporated.
7. Add another portion of the dry mixture.
8. Beat on medium until incorporated.
9. Add the remaining coconut milk.
10. Beat on medium until incorporated.
11. Add another portion of the dry mixture.
12. Beat on high until fluffy.
13. Adjust the consistency of the icing as desired by adding more “milk” or icing sugar.
14. Use to paste together the cake layers, and frost the outside of the cake. An offset spatula really helps!

Chocolate Glaze (from Dad):

Ingredients:

– 1 cup Chocolate chips

– 3 tablespoons Hot coffee

– 3 tablespoons Softened margarine (I used the high-quality kind)

– 1 tablespoon Orange liqueur, orange extract, or extra coffee.

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate chips on low heat, preferable in a double boiler.
2. Brew the coffee.
3. Add the hot coffee to the melted chocolate and stir. This will look terrible, but don’t despair!
4. Add the margarine and stir rapidly. Aha, you’re getting an emulsion!
5. Add the flavouring and stir some more.
6. If you want this runner, add more hot coffee.
7. Drizzle all over the cake or anything else that could use some pizzazz.

Friendship Pie

My friends are great. They are there to call when I need a second opinion about something, or to cheer me up when I’m feeling lonely.

They are beautiful and talented in diverse ways, and I’m lucky to have them in my life. The nice thing is that they will introduce me to new friends, and so the circle grows even bigger over time.

Last night I went to a dinner party at Ali’s house. Between the six of us there, the meal needed to be gluten- and nut-free, and vegan. I volunteered to make dessert because I like a challenge! I learned a lot while making this pie, and because of it’s accommodating nature for the sensitivities of my friends, I’m calling it Friendship Pie.

While looking around for Nanaimo bar ideas a few weeks ago, I found the Daring Bakers challenge hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. I realized that the gluten-free graham crackers would make an excellent base for a crumb-crust pie.

The recipe called for rice, tapioca, and sorghum flours. The bulk store I shop at doesn’t carry sorghum flour, so I used coconut flour instead. Apparently it’s just powdered dried coconut meat! Consequently, while I was mixing up the dough, the kitchen had the wonderful aroma of coconut. I had to veganize it, and adapt it for what I had available in my kitchen.

This was my first time baking gluten-free, and I found the texture of the dough to be unusual – almost crunchy (I am an incorrigible cookie dough eater). They also took about half of the time Lauren recommended for baking.

The recipe made approximately 2 and a half dozen crackers; enough for Annick and I to snack on for two days, plus enough for a thick pie crust and some to give to my friend.

I used the recipe from Veganomicon for the pie crust, which uses yet more coconut! I didn’t bake it for as long as recommended, because I wanted a crust that wasn’t too crumbly. My graham crackers were also well-done, so I didn’t want the crust to taste burnt.

The ganache filling of the pie is a result of a happy accident. In December I tried to make ginger truffles, but the ganache never set firmly enough. As a result, I had a creamy ganache to use as a filling for my Christmas bûche, and I use the same chocolate-coconut milk proportions for an easy, rich filling.

For the final fancy garnish on the cake, I wanted to make white chocolate mousse.

My last attempt at making white chocolate was unsuccessful, but I had a PLAN this time! I made paste with a small volume of coconut milk and the soymilk powder, stirring and pressing with a spatula until all of the lumps were dissolved. To this I added the vanilla and powdered sugar, again making sure that the sugar was dissolved before proceeding.

I then added more coconut milk, because I wanted this to be a whippable custard (?), not a solid chocolate. Next I added the cocoa butter and stirred it until I got an emulsion, then added MORE coconut milk. I let this chill in the fridge so that it would be easier to whip, and meanwhile relaxed.

Once the mixture was the consistency of thin yogurt, I whipped it as much as I could. It didn’t whip as well as coconut cream, but it did get airier. I filled up a tube with it, and piped it onto the pie.

Result: One tasty pie, and several “oh my god this is so good!” comments.

Friendship Pie, dedicated to all my friends, old and new!

Recipe: Friendship Pie

Graham Crackers (Adapted from Celiac Teen):

Ingredients:

– 1 cup Sweet rice flour
– 3/4  cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
– 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
– 1 cup Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
– 1 teaspoon Baking soda
– 3/4 teaspoon Salt
– 7 tablespoons Margarine (I just used the normal soft kind)
– 1/3 cup Honey, or half honey and half corn syrup
– 5 tablespoons Soymilk
– 2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
2. Cut the margarine into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles fine cumbs.
3. Combine all wet ingredients in a mixing cup and add to the dry ingredients.
4. Mix with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until well combined.
5. Gather all crumbs into a ball, divide into two halves.
6. Flatten each half into a patty the side of your hand and wrap in plastic.
7. Chill in the fridge overnight.
8. The next day, preheat the oven to 350F.
9. Dust the counter and rolling pin with rice flour, and roll out each half to approximately 1/8-inch thick.
10. Cut out crackers in your desired size and shape.
11. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
12. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until they appear a toasty brown colour.

Graham Crumb Crust (from Veganomicon):

Ingredients:

– 1 3/4 cups Ground graham cracker crumbs

– 1/2 cup Unsweetened shredded coconut

– 2 tablespoons Sugar

– 3 tablespoons Margarine (again, the soft kind is OK)

– 3-5 tablespoons Soymilk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Pulse enough graham crackers in a food processor to make 1 3/4 cups.
3. Add the sugar and coconut to the crumbs in a microwaveable bowl.
4. Add the margarine on top of the dry ingredients.
5. Microwave until the margarine is almost completely melted.
6. Stir until all four ingredients are well combined.
7. Add enough soymilk that the crumbs are moist and hold together when squeezed.
8. Press the crumbs thickly into a 9″ pie plate.
9. Bake until the crust is slightly firm when touched, but the coconut is not too dark.
10. Cool on a rack while preparing the filling.

Chocolate ganache filling (Adapted from Josee di Stasio’s coconut ginger truffle recipe in Chatelaine):

Ingredients:

– 2/3 cup High-quality coconut milk (gold can, but room-temperature and SHAKEN before opening)

– 200g Dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat the coconut milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, on medium heat.
2. Once the milk is simmering, remove from the heat.
3. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl.
4. Stir with a spatula until the ganache is a shiny, dark brown.
5. Pour into a prepared pie crust, or refrigerate for other uses (this is delicious for dipping fruit, or filling a cake).

White chocolate whipped topping (original by Agent Minty):

Ingredients:

– 1 teaspoon Soymilk powder

– 1/2 cup, divided, High-quality coconut milk (gold can, but room-temperature and SHAKEN before opening)

– 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

– 1.5 tablespoons Icing (powdered) sugar

– 50g Solid food-grade cocoa butter

Directions:

1. Combine the soymilk powder with approximately 2 tablespoons of coconut milk in a saucepan, off the stove.
2. Do NOT proceed until all powder is incorporated! A spatula works well for this – I have to press the clumps against the side of the pot to break them up.
3. Add the vanilla and stir.
4. Turn the heat under the saucepan to medium-low.
5. Add the icing sugar and stir until well combined.
6. Heat the paste for a few minutes until you have a smooth mixture that is slightly warm.
7. Add half of the remaining coconut milk.
8. Once the mixture starts to simmer, remove the mixture from the heat and add the cocoa butter.
9. Allow the cocoa butter to melt and stir rapidly to disperse the fat into the mixture.
10. Add the remainder of the coconut milk and stir to get a creamy emulsion.
11. Pour into a mixing bowl and chill for at least an hour.
12. Whip the mixture with the whisk attachment of a stand mixture until the topping is the texture of soft whipped cream.
13. Pour gently into a piping bag fitted with a large decorative tip.
14. Pipe rosettes onto the pie or whatever else you wish to garnish. Idea: pipe into parfait glasses, chill, and serve with fruit as a light dessert.