recipes

Strawberries and Cream Chocolate Bark

Strawberries and Cream Chocolate Bark

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Ingredients

  • 12 ounces white chocolate Almond bark or candy melts
  • 1 cup freeze dried strawberries

Instructions

  • Melt chocolate according to package directions. (Preferably the double boiler method)
  • On a parchment lined tray, arrange dried strawberries close together, reserving a few to garnish with.
  • Pour melted chocolate over strawberries.
  • Garnish with remaining strawberries.
  • Let cool completely and set up before cutting to desired serving size.
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Course Chocolate / Dessert / Fruit
Diets Vegan

Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Bark

Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Bark

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Ingredients

  • Melted dark chocolate
  • Fresh Pomegranate seeds
  • Sprinkle of flake salt

Instructions

  • Mix a handful of pomegranate seeds into the dark chocolate and stir gently to combine.
  • Spread melted dark chocolate over either a silpat mat or a sheet of waxed paper.
  • Sprinkle more pomegranate seeds over the chocolate, poking each one in slightly with the tip of a toothpick.
  • (I found the seeds pop off easily if they are not pushed into the chocolate).
  • Sprinkle lightly with salt, and allow the chocolate to set.
  • Carefully break into pieces and serve.
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Course Chocolate / Dessert
Diets Vegan

Berry Pop Tarts

Berry Pop Tarts

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour Alternative: 1 cup whole wheat pastry + 1 cup unbleached all purpose
  • Pinch of salt
  • ⅔ cup cold vegan butter
  • 2-4 Tbsp ice cold water
  • 1 heaping cup frozen mixed berries
  • 1 Tbsp raw sugar for topping (+ more for sweetening compote filling – optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Prepare the compote by placing berries in a small saucepan over medium heat.
  • Cook for 5-8 minutes with a lid on, stirring occasionally and smashing down with a spoon.
  • Add a few teaspoons of sugar to sweeten if preferred.
  • Transfer to a bowl to cool.
  • To prepare crust, mix flour and salt in a large bowl, then cut in butter with a fork or pastry cutter until well combined.
  • Using a tablespoon, drizzle cold water over the mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until it starts to form a dough.
  • (2-5 Tbsp ) It should be moist enough to form into a ball, but not too sticky to knead.
  • Add more flour if it gets too wet.
  • Turn onto a floured surface, shape into a disc, and then use a rolling pin to roll into a large rectangle.
  • Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough while rolling to reduce cracking.
  • Cut into 12 equal squares (not rectangles) and carefully transfer each to the baking sheet.
  • Place about 1 Tbsp of filling onto 6 of the squares, leaving a 1/4 inch border to seal the edges.
  • Then use your finger to dot water around the edges so the two squares stick together.
  • Top the squares with their matching halves and then seal lightly with a fork.
  • Poke a few holes in the top of each, rub a tiny bit of vegan butter on top of each, sprinkle with raw sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
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Course Dessert / Tarts
Diets Vegan

Tarte aux Pommes

Tarte aux Pommes

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Ingredients

  • 4-5 Apples
  • 1 Lemon juiced
  • 2-3 Tbs Sugar
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Pinch Nutmeg optional
  • 1 Pinch Allspice optional
  • 2-3 Tbs Melted Earth Balance
  • Your favorite jelly/jam for glazing

Pate Brisee

  • 1 ¼ Cup All Purpose Flour
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Sugar
  • ¼ Cup Non-Hydrogenated Veg. Shortening
  • ¼ Cup Earth Balance Margarine
  • 2-4 Tbs Ice Water

Instructions

  • Add the flour, salt, sugar, and fats together in the work bowl of a food processor/
  • hand ( If mixing by hand, ensure to work the fat all they way into the dough before adding the water. )
  • Pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand, with pea-sized lumps here and there.
  • Slowly drizzle in water while running the machine until the dough forms a ball.
  • If in doubt, add less water as opposed to more.
  • Turn out the dough onto the counter and press to form a disc.
  • Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.
  • Coring Apples with Teaspoon Measure Preheat your oven to 400º F.
  • Juice your lemon and place the juice in a small bowl.
  • Peel the apples, brushing them with lemon juice as you go to prevent discoloration.
  • Slice the apples in half and core them.
  • You can use a 1 tsp measure to core apples.
  • Don’t forget to brush the insides with lemon juice, too.
  • Roll out your pate brisee on a sheet of parchment or wax paper.
  • The dough should be 1/8″ thick and should be larger than your tart tin on all sides.
  • Invert the dough (using the parchment as support) over the center of the tart pan.
  • If you’re making a pan-less galette, skip this step and move on to arranging the apples.
  • Gently work the dough into the pan and start arranging your apple slices in rings, starting at the outside and working in towards the center.
  • It won’t really matter what it looks like once it’s baked, so don’t freak out about aesthetics.
  • Just make sure to jam a bunch of apples in there, since they’ll cook down as it bakes.
  • If your dough gets too warm it may break apart, but just mend it.
  • Once the apples are all in there, coat the top with the sugar and spices.
  • Fold over the edges of the dough towards the center .
  • Brush the entire tarte with melted Earth Balance and sprinkle with more sugar.
  • Pour any leftover earth balance over the apples.
  • Bake at 400º F for 45-55 minutes, or until the tarte is golden brown and the apples have color on them.
  • Glaze with warmed jam.
  • Let cool most of the way before slicing.
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Course Dessert / Fruit / Tarts
Diets Vegan

Apple Pie Coffee Cake

Apple Pie Coffee Cake

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Ingredients

  • 2 ½ Cups Flour
  • 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • ¾ tsp Salt 1/2 tsp if using Earth Balance
  • ½ tsp Cinnamon
  • ⅔ Cup Canola Oil or 2/3 Cup Earth Balance Margarine, softened
  • ⅔ Cup Soy Milk + 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp Cornstarch mixed with 1/2 Cup Water
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 20 to 25 oz Jar Apple Pie Filling
  • 1 Tbs Sugar mixed with 1 tsp Cinnamon for topping.

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350º F.
  • Combine all the dry ingredients of the cake and mix well.
  • Add all of the liquid ingredients and fold the batter until just combined.
  • The batter should be thick and nearly dough-like, as this will prevent the filling from sinking to the bottom of the pan.
  • Spread 1/2 of the batter in the bottom of a 9×11″ (or whatever) greased baking dish.
  • Add apple pie filling evenly over the top.
  • Spoon the rest of the batter over the top in clumps, leaving some of the apple filling showing through.
  • Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
  • Bake for 80 to 90 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
  • Be sure not to under bake.
  • You may wish to cover the coffee cake with aluminum foil for the last 20-30 minutes to prevent over-browning.
  • Remove coffee cake from oven and let cool before serving.

Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:

It’s just as good or better the next day.
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Course Cake / Dessert / Fruit
Diets Vegan

Crumb Cake

Crumb Cake

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Ingredients

Crumb Topping

  • 8 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine melted
  • ⅔ Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tsp Molasses
  • ¾ tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Pinch Salt
  • 1 ¾ Cup Flour cake flour or all-purpose

Cake

  • 1 ¼ Cups Flour
  • ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
  • ½ tsp Baking Powder
  • ¼ tsp Salt
  • ⅓ Cup Canola Oil or 6 Tbsp Earth Balance Margarine, softened
  • ⅓ Cup Soymilk + 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp Cornstarch mixed with 1/4 Cup Water
  • 1-2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • Powdered Sugar for dusting

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350º F.
  • Whisk the still-warm melted earth balance with the sugar, molasses, cinnamon and salt.
  • Mix in the flour with a spoon, or your hands, until a thick dough forms, similar to the texture of cookie dough.
  • Let sit to cool for about 10 minutes.
  • It should beready when after you’ve put together the batter for the cake.
  • Line an 8×8 pan with aluminum foil (two sheets in a cross formation, leaving excess draped over the edges to help you remove the cake later).
  • Spray with vegetable oil.
  • Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  • Add oil, soymilk mixture, cornstarch mixture and vanilla extract.
  • Whisk until smooth, but do not overmix.
  • Add the batter to the lined pan.
  • Begin to break apart the crumb mixture into smaller, pea sized pieces.
  • You want to take chunks from the bowl and gently break off the crumbs.
  • Cover the batter evenly with all the crumb mixture.
  • It will seem like a lot!
  • When I thought I had enough, I wasn’t even half-way through the mixture.
  • Use it all, as the cake will expand.
  • Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350ºF, or until the crumbs are slightly browned and a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Use the toothpick to push over a crumb or two in the middle and make sure the top doesn’t look gooey.
  • Grab the aluminum foil and gently lift the cake out to cool for 20-30 minutes on a cooling rack.
  • Give it a nice dusting of powdered sugar, slice and serve.
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Course Cake / Dessert
Diets Vegan

Sour Cream Banana Cake

Sour Cream Banana Cake

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Ingredients

  • ⅓ Cup Canola Oil
  • 1 Cup Tofutti Sour Cream
  • ⅓ Cup Soymilk
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 3 Medium Ripe Bananas mashed
  • 2 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 ¼ Cups Sugar
  • 2 Tbs Cornstarch
  • 1 ¼ tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • ¼ tsp Nutmeg
  • ½ tsp Cinnamon

Instructions

  • Whisk all the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth.
  • Set aside.
  • Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
  • Spray your bundt pan with cooking spray, or lightly grease.
  • Flour the bundt pan with some of the dry mix, pouring excess back into the bowl when finished.
  • Mix wet ingredients into the dry, adding a tablespoon or so of soymilk if needed.
  • Batter will be thick but not dry.
  • Pour evenly into the bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Let cool completely before removing from pan.

Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:

Serve with powdered sugar and fresh strawberries.
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Course Cake / Dessert / Fruit
Diets Vegan

Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

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Ingredients

  • Yellow Cake Recipe
  • 1 Can Pineapple Rings
  • 1 Jar Maraschino Cherries
  • ½ Cup Earth Balance
  • ½ Cup Brown Sugar

Instructions

  • Melt sugar and earth balance in a DRY sauce pan over medium heat, stirring only when necessary.
  • The presence of water, even a drop, can make your sugar seize and become gross.
  • When sugar mixture bubbles up, remove from heat.
  • It should cool and look (and taste! ) like a caramel sauce.
  • While the sauce is cooling, prepare your cake mix.
  • If you’re making one large cake (like 9″), pour all the caramel in the bottom. 2-3 tablespoons worth of sauce is perfect for mini cakes.
  • Arrange pineapple rings on the bottom, and fill their center with cherries.
  • You can decorate the sides of the pan with pineapple sticks.
  • Pour in your batter, being careful not to dislodge the pineapple slices.
  • If you’re using a springform pans, you might want to cover the outside in foil or bake them on a cookie sheet to make sure that the caramel sauce doesn’t drip out and mess up the oven.
  • Bake as per your cake recipe – usually between 18-25 minutes at 350º F.
  • Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
  • Remove rings (if springform) or run a knife around the outside (if regular cake dish) and invert onto a serving plate.
  • It’s easiest to put the plate on top, upside-down, then invert the whole thing and remove the pan.
  • Serve warm, but really, they’re just as good at room temperature.
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Course Cake / Dessert / Fruit
Diets Vegan

Snickerdoodles from Abby Kiowes

snickerdoodle

Snickerdoodles from Abby Kiowes

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Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • ½ Cup Earth Balance
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Prepared Ener-g Egg-Replacer Egg
  • 1 ½ Cups Flour
  • ¼ tsp Cream of Tartar
  • ¼ tsp Baking Soda
  • Cinnamon Sugar for rolling Cream sugar, Earth Balance, and vanilla extract together.

Instructions

  • Prepare the Ener-G Egg by following the package instructions (1 1/2 tsp powder whisked with 2 Tbs hot water until foamy), and add it to the Earth Balance and sugar mixture.
  • Whip (or whisk) it all up until it’s light a fluffy.
  • Whisk the dry ingredients together.
  • Add 2/3 of the dry ingredients to the whipped mixture and whip until combined.
  • Add in the remaining flour and mix by hand.
  • Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • Preheat oven to 375º F.
  • When the dough is chilled, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • Using a #40 ice cream scoop, make balls of dough (each ball will be made with 2 Tbs of dough, if you don’t have a #40 scoop).
  • Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar.
  • Using a fork (or whatever you want), squish the dough out into cookie shapes.
  • Bake at 375º F for 10 minutes for chewy cookies, 12 minutes for crunchy.
  • Remove from oven and let sit for 30 seconds.
  • They’ll be very soft when they come out of the oven, but that’s just fine!
  • Gently remove cookies from the baking sheet and let cool for a few minutes on a wire rack before serving.
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Course Coockies / Biscuit / Dessert
Diets Vegan

Tuile Cookies

Tuile Cookies

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Ingredients

  • ½ Cup Earth Balance softened
  • ½ Cup Sugar
  • 2 Tbs Flax Egg*
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • ¼ tsp Salt
  • ¾ Cup All-Purpose Flour
  • Flax Egg
  • 1 Tbs Flax Seed
  • ¼ Cup Water

Instructions

  • Grind the flax seed to a powder in a spice grinder.
  • Whisk with water and set aside.
  • Use 2 Tbs of this mixture for the tuile cookies.
  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Whip the Earth Balance and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Once the Earth Balance is soft enough it should whip up just fine.
  • Add flax egg, extract, and salt.
  • Whip until you see medium to stiff peaks.
  • Gently fold in flour and mix until well combined.
  • Your batter is ready, so prepare your workstation.
  • You can buy specialized tuile templates in lots of different shapes, but a piece of clean cardboard works just as well.
  • You can do circles, squares, rectangles, flowers, stars – anything!
  • Put your template down on your silpat and add a glob of batter.
  • Using your offset spatula, carefully spread the batter out to fill the template, remove the excess batter.
  • Lift the template up to remove it.
  • You’re cookies are ready to go in the oven.
  • Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
  • You may need to experiment with baking time to reach the ideal balance between strength and pliability.
  • I recommend not making more than 2-3 cookies at a time.
  • You’ll need to shape them immediately after they come out of the oven, and since they harden quickly, it’s difficult to shape more than 2 or 3 in one go.
  • It’s also important to completely cool the baking sheet between each batch.
  • Dump the hot baking sheet in the sink and spray it down with cold water.
  • Dry thoroughly before the next batch.
  • When they come out of the oven, let them sit on the cookie sheet for 15-30 seconds.
  • Gently remove them with a spatula and shape them immediately (Be careful, dont burn your fingers).
  • You can make all sorts of shapes.
  • You can make cones, cylinders, and tacos from circular template.
  • Use regular paper, rolled into cylinders and cones and taped, to make the other shapes.
  • Once cool the shape will set.
  • Now you can fill them with almond soy pudding and fresh strawberries or add them to ice cream, fill them with vegan pastry cream, stuff them with berries or custard, dip them in chocolate–whatever.
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Course Coockies / Biscuit / Dessert
Diets Vegan