Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Let Them Eat Cake!!!

The Secret to an Awesome Chocolate Cake…..

…..is coffee!!!  I never knew this till I recently read a recipe for Mudd Pie from Chef Chloe:
She mentions using espresso powder to make the chocolate sauce more decadent….

Then I found this recipe from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau for Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache (The Vegan Table page 146) also with coffee in the cake…..

So I decided I had to try this!!
I modified the recipe a little bit b/c I was missing some ingredients and I doubled the amount to make it a double layer cake. Also, I added some liquor to my ganache (b/c I am a lush)……. J

And it turned out to be the BEST Chocolate cake ever!

Enjoy!


Chocolate Cake with Coffee Ganache (my modified recipe)

Cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 cups evaporated cane juice (sugar)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
½ cup cocoa powder
1.5 cups non dairy milk
1 cup dark coffee
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tbs white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze: (I omitted this b/c I didn’t have it on hand)
1 cup apricot preserves
2 tsp water

Ganache:
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup evaporated cane juice (sugar)
2 tbs dark coffee
1 stick Earth balance butter
1tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs Amaretto di Amore (omit this or use any liquor of your choice)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper
Combine flour,sugar,salt,baking soda, and cocoa powder
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients
Add the milk,coffee,oil,vinegar and vanilla.
Stir until all mixed together
Poor into pans and cook for 30 minutes.

Make the ganache by placing ingredients in a sauce pan
Heat on low, constantly stirring till it is creamy and shiny
Set aside

Once the cake is done, let cool.
Then flip cakes out onto a cake pedestal
Pour warm ganache over the top
Decorate with whatever you like, I added chocolate chips
Serve warm…… ahhhhhhhh.

VOTING:
Adults: 2 thumbs up
Children: 4 chocolaty thumbs up!





The Black and White Cake
(Recipe from Have your Cake and Vegan too, page 86)

This cake is amazingly delicious! The oreo cookie frosting is to die for!


Ingredients:

Cake:
3 cups flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup canola oil
2 cups evaporated cane juice (sugar)
1 2/3 cups soy milk
½ tsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup baking cocoa (sifted)
3 tbs soy milk

Frosting:
½ cup Earth Balance vegan butter
½ cup shortening at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 to 4 cups of powdered sugar
1 cup crushed Trader Joe’s Joe-Joes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans
In a small bowl combine: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt
In a large bowl cream the oil, sugar, milk, vinegar and vanilla
Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
In a separate bowl combine the cocoa and 3 tbs milk
Transfer half the batter into the cocoa/milk mixture
Then pour the plain batter into one cake pan and the chocolate batter  into the other
Bake for 30 minutes
Let cool for 30 minutes
Make the butter cream frosting by whipping the above frosting ingredients – at the end add the crushed cookies.
Assemble cake, frost and serve!!!

Enjoy!!!


VOTING:
Adults: 2 thumbs up
Children: 4 thumbs up and yee haw!





Red, White and Blue Cheesecake

I just saw this recipe in some magazine and had to make it. I modified it to my liking…. And boy did I LIKE it!!!!!

Crust
2 cups ground cinnamon graham crackers
½ cup pitted dates
½ cup almonds
1 cup melted Earth Balance Butter


Filling:
5 packages (8 oz) soy cream cheese
1 cup evaporated cane juice (sugar)
¼ cup coconut milk
3 tbs flour
½ tsp lemon peel
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs (or Energy Egg Replacer)
1 cup fresh, crushed strawberries
1 cup fresh, crushed blueberries

What to do:

Make Crust by:
Combine all the above dry ingredients in your food processor
Add the melted butter and mix
Then press into the bottom of a greased 9 inch springform pan
Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees and then set aside

Make Filling by:
Beat cream cheese and sugar till smooth
Add in the milk, flour, lemon peel, salt and vanilla
Then beat in the eggs (or egg replacer)
Divide the batter in half
Fold the crushed berries into one of the batter halves
Pour this into the crust.
Top with the remaining plain batter.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.
Reduce to 300 degrees and bake for 70 minutes.
Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
Refrigerate for several hrs before serving.
Garnish with assorted berries.

Enjoy!
VOTING
Adults: 2 big thumbs up!
Children: only 1 thumb up (clearly the other 3 are not mine)  J


Monday, July 11, 2011

Better than Banana Pudding

I was recently inspired to make banana pudding….. however I thought this recipe sounded much better…..

Banana Ice Crème!

Check out the full recipe on this website.


Here is what I did…..


What you need:
4 ripe bananas
4 tablespoons coconut milk
1 Vitamix


What you do:
Slice the bananas and place in a ziplock bag in the freezer for 2 hrs.
…..
Get out your Vitamix.
Add the frozen bananas and coconut milk and blend on high for  <1 minute
And just like that you have all natural, yummy, creamy banana ice crème!
(Or put in the freezer for a few hrs to harden up…. Both ways deelish!)


Enjoy!!!



VOTING:
Big monkeys: 2 thumbs up
Little monkeys: 4 thumbs up