Vegan Ambrosia

I'm not the best cake decorator, but this cake is tasty! My Favorite Cake Vegan chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting Today* is my birthday, so I baked my favorite cake for myself. This cake can be made as cupcakes, a sheet cake, or layer cake. I have 4-inch diameter cake pans that I like to use for this purpose. This recipe made 3 of those plus 4 cupcakes. I'll eat the one layer cake and freeze the rest. Cake Wet ingredients: 1 cup unsweetened soy milk* ⅓ cup applesauce 2 Tbsp canola oil 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar Dry ingredients: 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour) ½ cup raw cacao powder ¾ cup cane sugar 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt *The combination of the soy milk and vinegar and baking soda/powder is what makes the cake rise. Soy works best here because it needs enough protein for the chemical reaction. You could also do half soy and half another kind of milk, like almond or coconut, or substitut...

You know when you have a lot left over from your farm share, you're due to pick up the next one, and you have a chocolate craving? What?  It happens to me all the time. This is what came out of that last combination of circumstances night.  I was not intending to turn this into a blog post, and so I apologize for the paltry poor quality photos.  With modifications, the recipe for the cake recipe was drawn from one on   Yummly , the frosting from a recipe on  Nouveau Raw . Cake: 3-5 small  beets (enough to make about 1-1/2 cups when cooked down) water to cover beets for boiling unsweetened applesauce (if necessary, to fill in for the beets) 1/2 cup soy milk (or other nondairy milk), unsweetened 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 1/4-1/2 cup agave syrup (or other liquid sugar) to taste (I used only 1/4 in my first try, but I'd add a bit more next time) 1 tsp  vanilla extract ...

I recently decided that, even as I cut back on calories overall, I need more chocolate in my life. More and more research is coming out about the health benefits of chocolate, with the only caveat I see is that it comes with unhealthy fats and refined sugars we don't want. So let's eat chocolate in forms that are healthier and still enjoy the benefits (including deliciousness)! This recipe gets its sweetness from agave syrup and dates, and the fats come from nuts and legumes. I adapted this recipe from a few others, and really, you can adjust ingredients and amounts to make this your own. Brownies: 1 cup raw walnuts 1 cup raw pecans 2 cups pitted dates 1 cup raw cacao powder 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut shreds 1/2 cup agave syrup dash of salt In food processor, chop walnuts and pecans coarsely.   Add dates and cacao powder and chop together until a fine crumble; then add coconut, salt, and agave syrup.   Run food processor unt...

These cupcakes are fairly low in fat, and since I mistakenly left out the applesauce, they turned out denser and more like brownies than cupcakes.  Feel free to add 1/3 cup of applesauce to the batter (I have done a version with that before) if you want them more cakey. Brownie cupcakes: 1/2 cup coconut milk drink or lite coconut milk 1/2 cup turbinado sugar 1/4 cup agave syrup 1/2 cup soy milk 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup raw cacao (or cocoa) powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a mini muffin pan.  (I like that size, but feel free to use the bigger ones and increase the baking time.) Mix together the coconut milk, turbinado sugar, and agave syrup (not pictured - sorry!).  Mix vigorously with a fork or whisk every minute or so, until sugar is dissolved. Meanwhile, stir together soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for a few minu...

These are a version of one of my favorite baked goods.  They are not as low in fat and sugar as many of my other recipes, but sometimes we just need to indulge.  The coconut helps keep the cookies together and adds another element of flavor. 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup Earth Balance or other vegan margarine 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 ripe banana, mashed 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips 1/2 cup dried shredded coconut Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a cookie sheet. Mix together flours, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In large bowl cream together margarine and sugars. Mix in mashed banana, vanilla, and baking powder. Add coconut and flour mixture in three batches, and stir well. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, until just firm and with golden brown ...

I posted this a few weeks ago on my Facebook page, but I thought I would reproduce it here.  I might copy a few others over as I go along, and so I'm sorry for the repeat to my FB friends. I recently discovered the joys of candy-making when I had an excess of vegan caramel (and pecans and chocolate) leftover from making candy apples with friends (hence - turtles!).  So I thought I would try making some of my other favorite candies at home.  It is surprisingly difficult to find vegan peanut butter cups, but not so hard to make!  They may not be pretty, but they're yummy! For the filling: 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used a mini chopper, but you could probably crush them by hand) 3/4 cup powdered sugar 3/4 cup natural crunchy peanut butter (no added sugar) For the chocolate coating: 1/2 pound vegan dark chocolate (I used Trader Joe's)   Mix the ingredients for the filling together with an electric mixer on low until it resembles cookie ...

I just got an inexpensive, small ice cream maker ( Hamilton Beach ), and I'm having fun making vegan ice cream.  It's cheaper than buying non-dairy ice cream in the store, often lower in fat and calories, and I can play with flavors.  I like to make a large batch of the liquid mix and then make one serving at a time.  The ice cream from this machine is soft and doesn't keep well, but it's quick and easy. My second try, this peanut butter chocolate chip ice cream, turned out great.  The peanut flour gives it a peanut buttery taste with all the protein but a lot less fat.  You could substitute any non-dairy milk combination for the coconut-almond mixture I used. 1 package silken tofu 3/4 cup coconut milk beverage 1/2 cup almond milk 1/4 cup agave syrup 1/4 cup maple syrup Peanut flour (Trader Joe's carries this now) Mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life) Mix all ingredients in a blender except chocolate chips until smooth.  Pour into ice ...