Kugelhopf

My new favorite egg replacer in baked goods is coconut yogurt!  I’m obsessed with trying it out for all kinds of things.  This kugelhopf recipe turned out great the very first time I tried it.  I just took a non-vegan recipe I found on the web, replaced two eggs with 4 ounces of yogurt and voila!  Light and tasty kugelhopf.  For those of you who’ve never had it before, kugelhopf is a breakfast sweet bread from Austria or Alsace, depending on your nationality.  I did use the “traditional” kugelhopf pan, but really, any 11 cup (or greater) bundt pan will work just as well.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water
1 cup almond milk
7 tablespoons Earth Balance, or other vegan margarine
6 tablespoons cane sugar
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces plain coconut (or soy) yogurt
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries or raisins
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange or lemon zest
About 20 whole blanched almonds
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Instructions:

1.  Stir together yeast and water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

2.  Heat almond milk with 6 tablespoons Earth Balance and cane sugar over low heat, stirring, until mixture is warm, butter is melted, and sugar is dissolved.

3.  Sift together flour and salt into large mixing bowl. Make a well in flour and add yeast mixture. Add warm almond milk in a slow stream, mixing at low speed with paddle attachment (or with a study wooden spoon, if mixing by hand – yes, it can be done!). Increase speed to medium and beat in yogurt, then beat in craisins and zest. Continue to beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.)

4.  Grease kugelhopf mold with remaining tablespoon Earth Balance. Put 1 almond in each depression in bottom of mold (the almonds are only decorative; you can skip them altogether if your mold has no depressions), then scrape spoonfuls of dough evenly into mold (dough will be very elastic). Cover top of mold with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until it fills pan, about 1.5 – 2 hours (depending on temperature in room – to speed things up set heat the oven to its lowest setting, then turn heat off, but let dough rise in the warm oven).

5.  Remove pan from oven, if using that to rise it.  Preheat oven to 400°F.

6.  Remove towel from kugelhopf and gently peel off plastic wrap. Bake kugelhopf in middle of oven 15 minutes, then loosely cover mold with foil and continue to bake until golden and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes more. Cool in pan 2 minutes, then invert cake onto a rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. Dust with confectioners sugar.

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Almond-Cinnamon Granola

Here’s another granola that goes excellent with some So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt (which is, in fact, so delicious – just as it says on the label). This recipe makes about 3 C, so feel free to double if you want more. It didn’t make the big clumpy, crunchy chunks that is so good in granola, but the taste more than made up for the lack of big crunchy chunks. Mocha and I thoroughly enjoyed this granola, and I know you will too! Now that there’s no more left, I’m wishing I had doubled the recipe…so I’ll be making more this weekend, and this time, doubled for 6 C! 🙂

Ingredients:

1/4 C shredded coconut
2 C rolled oats
1/8 C oat bran or toasted wheat germ
1/2 C slivered almonds
1 TBSP ground flaxseed
2 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 C agave nectar
4 TBSP Earth Balance vegan butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread the coconut on top. Bake until toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Let cool.
2. Reduce heat to 300°F. In a large bowl, toss together coconut, oats, oat bran or wheat germ, almonds, ground flax, sesame seeds, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Stir together melted vegan butter and nectar, add to the oat mixture and mix thoroughly.
3. Spread onto baking sheet lined with parchment (the same as what you toasted the coconut on will be fine). Bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes, stirring after about 15 minutes for even golden-goodness. Let cool, and store in an airtight container.

I also turned this into a bowl of cereal – pour into bowl, top with hemp/almond milk. So it can go naked – as a quick, dry snack – or in yogurt, or as a bowl of cereal.. it’s very versatile!

Happy Baking!

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Cashew and Almond Cream

It never occurred to me to make my own milk alternative, until my friend (and fellow vegan) Carrie from work told me that she makes her own rice milk. That inspired me to try out making nut milks and the results are delightful. The amount of water given here is for a thick cream, but you could add another cup for a thinner milk.

Ingredients:

1/2 C raw cashews

1/2 C raw almonds

1 TBS agave nectar

pinch salt

2.5 C water

Instructions:

1. Boil the nuts in 1 C water for ~15 minutes. Set some more water on to boil in your kettle a few minutes before the nuts are done.

2. Transfer the nuts and remaining water to the food processor or blender, and blend for a few minutes, until thoroughly ground.

3. Add the salt, nectar, and another 1.5 C boiling water. Blend until mixed.

4. Pour through wire mesh or cheese cloth to strain out the cream into a jar.

Keep the cream in the fridge and use within a couple of days (shake before using), or freeze to keep longer. The nut paste left in the strainer could be kept to add to baked goods or doggie treats.

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Nectar-glazed Nutty Granola

I adapted this recipe from one published in Food and Wine, December 2007 – though I think I revamped mostly every ingredient, I should say this recipe was more inspired than adapted. Using the brown rice syrup in this granola, as opposed to using a regular maple syrup, helps reduce the glycemic index. You could also reduce the amount of sugar and increase the nectar if you wish to further reduce the glycemic index and make it that much healthier. This recipe makes about 4 pounds worth.

Ingredients:

4 TBSP Earth Balance vegan butter
1/2 C oat flour (*if you want gluten-free, be sure to use a GF flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 C vegan granulated or turbinado sugar
1/2 tsp salt
large pinch of ground cinnamon
large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
3 C thick-cut oats
3/4 C brown rice syrup
2 TBSP nectar
1/2 C walnut halves, roughly chopped
1 C peanuts
1/2 C pepitas
1/2 C sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a roasting pan or large casserole dish (or line with parchment). In a food processor, pulse the EB vegan butter, flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until crumbly. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Stir together the oats, walnuts, peanuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, and the brown rice syrup; transfer to prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally (about every 10-15 minutes or so), until crisp. Let cool. Divide among 8 gift bags and seal tightly.

*Note: I sent this in ziploc bags to Dad as a surprise care-package…be sure, if you send this to someone, that everything is sealed tight and no sticky finger residue is on the outside of the bags. This attracts ants and other little buggers..but it does travel well, and is mighty tasty! 🙂

Happy Cooking!

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Spinach and Chickpea Dinner Salad

Contrary to popular opinion, a salad can be a very satisfying meal. One critical error that many people make is to treat the leafy greens as the focus, rather than the basis of the meal. A proper salad is not some lettuce with tomatoes tossed on top, but rather a mixture of vegetables, fruits and nuts brought together on a bed of greens.

This recipe should make enough for four salads. You could assemble the salad in one large bowl, and then serve it out, or assemble each person’s salad individually (my preference).

Ingredients:

6 C baby spinach

2 carrots, grated

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 C chickpeas, cooked and rinsed

1 C pecans, toasted

1 apple, sliced

1 C croutons

4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt

Instructions:

Divide spinach between four bowls. Top with carrots, tomatoes and chickpeas. Drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil over each bowl of veggies. Add a few shakes of salt. Place apple slices and pecans around edge of bowls. Top with croutons.

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Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Cookies are a huge part of the holiday season for most of us… Here’s a holiday cookie that is sure to please! I love the combination of cranberries and nuts, and pecans are the über holiday nut in my book. This cookie is so soft and delicious once they’ve cooled, and flaky while still warm – so you get the best of both worlds. I can’t remember, and didn’t make note of, where I adapted this recipe from..but it wasn’t vegan originally – so I know I got it from somewhere. This recipe makes about 15-20 cookies..so feel free to double the recipe for about 30-40 cookies!

Ingredients:

3/4 C Earth Balance vegan butter, softened
1/4 C turbinado sugar
1/8 C maple syrup or brown rice syrup (using the latter will have a less sweet taste, so opt for a small splash of bourbon if you want that maple appeal)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 C white whole wheat flour (I like the organic King Arthur Flour since they never bleach their flours)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C pecan pieces, toasted

Directions:

1. Mix together vegan butter, sugar and syrup with a wooden spoon or in an electric mixer. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each cup is added. Stir in the salt, cranberries and pecans.
2. Shape dough into two logs and chill until firm, 1 to 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut dough into 1/2-inch slices and arrange on baking sheet. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Optional additions: You can opt to sprinkle with a little finely ground granulated sugar before baking for an extra sparkley, sweetening effect. You could also play with nut and fruit combinations, such as cherries with almonds or walnuts.

Note: Cookies will keep several days in an airtight container.

Happy Baking!

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Walnut Shortbread

Here’s a tasty treat getting us in the mood for Autumn…Walnut Shortbread! These were superbly pleasing, and I really enjoyed the fact that the walnuts were toasted then ground into a relatively fine flour (but not so much that they became walnut-butter), so there were no huge chunks of walnuts which pleased some coworkers who are opposed to large walnut chunks 🙂 They were so easy, just like any butter-based cookie or shortbread..and I must say, I give the dough two thumbs way up! What? You’re surprised that I tasted the dough – I’m ALL about quality control at every step in the baking process! So check these puppies out, and you can play around with various nuts – I bet pecans would be delicious… This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies, but you can half the recipe if you don’t want to have that many cookies lying about.

Ingredients:

4 C walnuts, toasted and finely ground
1 C [2 sticks] Earth Balance vegan butter, softened
3/4 C dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 C confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 C unbleached AP or oat flour (or a gluten-free flour if need be)
1/2 tsp salt
granulated sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat to 325°F. Spread the walnut pieces on baking sheet and toast for 5-7 min, or until golden and fragrant. Cool completely, transfer to food processor and pulse until finely ground; set aside.

2. Cream vegan butter, brown sugar, and confectioners sugar together until very smooth and creamy, beat in vanilla.

3. In separate bowl, combine ground nuts, flour and salt. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat to form a soft dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm enough to roll – at least 30 min.

4. Lightly grease two baking sheets or line with parchment. Divide dough into two pieces, and roll one piece out to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured board. Using cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can and place them on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Sprinkle each with granulated sugar.

5. Bake for 12-15 min, or until they turn light golden brown. remove to a wire rack to cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Happy Baking!

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Dulce de Bourbon Pecan Chews

These cookie chews are pretty rich, but oh so good! Dad loved them…Dad’s friends, Mike and Dee, loved them…I loved them – I’d say they were an overall hit! I love the combo of bourbon, pecans, and chewy dulce de leche. There’s not much I can say about these cookies, except that they are very bold with the molasses taste – so if you have an aversion to molasses, you may not like these very much – although the caramel does help mask the molassesness. And I think it’s the molasses that gives them a very rich flavor such that you can only eat one or two at a time – of course, that’s good for portion control. But of course, with molasses as the sweetener you can feel better about these cookies! And of course, unsulphured blackstrap molasses is good for you in that it can help energize you by replenishing iron supplies in the body – which is especially good for menstuating women! Unsulphered blackstrap molasses actually provides more iron for less calories (and is fat-free) than red meat. It’s also a good source of calcium, which is not only good for healthy bones but a not-so-commonly known benefit is the removal of toxins from the colon – ergo helping in the prevention of colon cancer. Molasses is also an excellent source of copper and manganese, as well as potassium and magnesium. Two teaspoons of blackstrap molasses also provides 5% of your daily value of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and 3.5% of selenium (an essential micronutrient). Who knew cookies could be so good for you?!

Ingredients:

1 C flour (oat, whole wheat, all-purpose, etc.)
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsulphured blackstrap molasses
1/4 C creamy peanut butter
1/8 C bourbon
1/2 C packed light-brown sugar or turbinado
2 C coarsely chopped pecans
1 C finely chopped pecans
1 batch dulce de leche

Directions:

1. Whisk together flour, allspice, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Melt molasses and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. I realize this is not the most glamorous picture, but that’s what it looks like – trust me, the result tastes much better than this step looks. Remove from heat; let cool slightly. Stir in bourbon. Transfer to a medium bowl; whisk in sugar until smooth. Stir in flour mixture and 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans. Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Scoop balls of dough using a small spoon; press in 1 C finely pecans to flatten a bit and pick up some pecans. Space 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake about 9 to 11 minutes.

4. Meanwhile make dulce de leche and add final 1 C of coarsely chopped pecans (if you so desire). Let cookies cool on baking sheets 3 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and top with small spoonfuls of warm dulce de leche; let cool completely.

*Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week, but odds are they won’t last that long without being gobbled up!

Perhaps one day, I’ll let my army of dulce de bourbon pecan chews take on my army of miniature blueberry tarts…hmm…now that’s a tasty battle!

Happy Baking!

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SOP: Brownies

Ok, another addition to the SOP category!! Brownies!! Now everybody should know how to make brownies, especially vegan brownies, to satisfy that chewy, cakey, chocolatey craving when it strikes! Sometimes, a preemptive strike is necessary – when no one gets harmed, that is… So with that said, I give you SOP Brownies. They are so caramely chewy, and chocolatey good…no one can resist their powers! They go perfect with vegan ice cream too! Mmm…I see a brownie sundae in my future, with strawberry ice cream! Ah, the future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades 🙂

Ingredients:

3 TBSP ground flax meal + 1/3 C warm water
12 TBSP (1 1⁄2 sticks) Earth Balance Vegan Butter
3⁄4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 C turbinado sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract (or a 1:1 combo of almond and vanilla extract)
1.5 C all-purpose flour (or buckwheat for gluten-free)
Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment. Make flaxseed+water combo; set aside. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Put the 12 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter in a large saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir with the whisk just until the butter is melted.
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the cocoa powder. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain.
4. Add the sugar and continue whisking until well blended. Let the mixture cool for 2 minutes.
5. Add the flaxseed mixture and vanilla and almond extracts and whisk until well blended. Add the flour and salt. Using a rubber spatula, stir until the batter is blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownie comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes. Let cool completely.

Optional add-ins: Vegan chocolate chips (your favorite brand – I’m personally not a fan of the Tropical Source, but that’s just me) and/or Nuts (again, personal favorites include walnuts and pecans for brownies, but it’s up to you).

Happy Baking!

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Cool Rider Cake with Raspberry-Almond Icing

Can’t decide between brownies or cake? Why not have both – or at least a perfect happy medium? Yesterday I had an extremely wonderful day, as did Jo, so I went home and baked! Since this was a celebratory baking experience, I went straight for my Celebrate with Chocolate cookbook by Marcel Desaulniers. I took the cake I was intending to (but didn’t) make for my birthday a few weeks ago & veganized it. The original recipe was for the “Pretty In Pink” cake, but since I’m more of a ‘Grease’ fan (not to say that I’m not a fan of the Ringwald 80’s era – I’m just drawn to musicals), I dub this cake ‘Cool Rider.’ This was the song sung by Michelle Pfeiffer’s character (Stephanie) in Grease 2 when describing to the socially awkward yet attractive Australian what kind of guy she wants, and it’s one of my favorites of all the Grease songs; that, and since she’s a Pink Lady…don’t question my train of thought, just go with it. This cake is definitely a dream on a mean machine, with hell in it’s eyes. No ordinary cake is gonna do! It looks like a lot of steps, but it’s really not much work – so don’t be put off by the long list of directions…

Ingredients:

Schnappy Cool Rider Cake:
canola oil for greasing pans
3/4 warm water + 3 TBSP ground flaxseed
2 oz (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 1/2-oz pieces
3/4 C + 3 TBSP buckwheat flour
4 oz bittersweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped (or use semisweet and reduce the sugar to 1/2 C)
1/4 C Dagoba Xocotl Hot Cocoa (or any cocoa powder)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C turbinado sugar
1 TBSP any berry flavor schnapps (I used raspberry)

Directions: (The following directions are for using an electric mixer, although I went ahead and did it all by hand with a whisk, I was feeling frisky – so feel free to do the same.)

Schnappy Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly coat the insides of 3 6X2-inch cake pans (or 4 mini-springforms; mine are approx. 5X1.5), set aside. Add 3 TBSP flaxseed to 3/4 C warm water, set aside.
2. Melt the chopped chocolate and 2 oz butter in the top half of a double boiler (or regular pan – just keep the temp really low). Stir until smooth – take off heat once smooth, set aside.
3. In a sifter combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Sift onto a large piece of parchment paper (or wax paper, or bowl), set aside.
4. Place the granulated sugar and flax-water mixture into a bowl of an electric mixer. Beat for 3 minutes until the mixture is combined and slightly thickened (I didn’t mix with my hand for 3 minutes..just until it looked right). Add the chocolate-butter mixture, mix to combine ~15 sec.
5. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Operate the mixer on low while gradually adding the dry ingredients; mix until incorporated, about 45 seconds.
6. Add the schnapps and mix on low for ~10 sec. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatular to finish the mixing until thoroughly combined.
7. Immediately divide the cake batter among the prepared pans (about 2/3 C or so per pan) and spread evenly.
8. Bake on the center rack of the oven until a toothpick (or knife if you’re uncultured like me) inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25-27 minutes. Remove the cake layers from the oven and cool in the pans for 15 minutes at room temperature. Invert the cake layers onto cake circles or cake plates, then turn baked side up again. Refrigerate the layers. Once they are unmolded, what do you do with the remnants that remain on the pans?

Scrape them up with a spatula and eat them, naturally! It would be a tragedy to let good cake crumbs go to waste!

9. Make Raspberry-Almond Icing (either Jo’s or Sara’s version, or use a different berry..whatever tickles you pink). I did sort of a middle-man version: 1/2 C almonds, 1/4 C nectar, 1 bag of frozen raspberries, 2 tsp almond extract.
10. Ice the layers and stack, refrigerating afterwards. Bring to room temp for about 15 minutes before serving – or eat straight out of the fridge.

Note: This cake can be made over 2 days. Day 1: Make the cake, covering each layer in plastic wrap then into the fridge. Day 2: Assemble the cake, and refrigerate 1 hour before serving. After assembly, the cake can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days before serving. Using the buckwheat flour makes this cake gluten-free (as long as your cocoa is too).

Happy Baking!!

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