VegaNanaimo bars

What do you get when you make a rich, dense, nutty base with a soft, airy, ultra sweet whipped (vegan) butter (vegan) cream layer, and top it with a crackling thin layer of dark chocolate?  Probably one of the only good things to come from one of my many past trainwrecks relationships; otherwise known as Nanaimo bars, named after the island of Nanaimo off of Vancouver, B.C. where said ex was from.  So, relationships may come and go, but my appreciation for the New Pornographers, Godspeed you Black Emperor, and obscure desserts even many Canadians have never heard stick around.

What with the holiday season in full swing, one is expected to make cookies, cookies, and more cookies!  One of the better annual parties we have is called "The Cookie Party," which is actually an underground warehouse rave that goes til dawn (plus uhm, a party featuring a mountain of like over 90 different types of homemade cookies such as ghost-pepper ginger snaps to tandoori curry cookies and well.. Nanaimo bars). 

From Cookie Party 2011: Not pictured: cookies.  Pictured: sassy erstwhile vegan food blogger Mary and her awesomer, sassier hair stylist, Joolie. 

 Anyway, on to the recipe...

VegaNanaimo Bars(say that 6 times, quickly)

Bottom Layer:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance (1/3 c oil + 1T water should work)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons cocoa (I use Valrhona)
• 2 T chia gel 
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup walnuts

Second Layer:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance (room temp)
• 2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1-4 tablespoon non-dairy (I used Whole Foods unsweetened soy) 

Topping:

• 4 ounces dark (70%+) chocolate
• 2 tablespoon Earth Balance or coconut oil

Prep an 8x8 dish by layering it with parchment paper. 

Bottom layer: Put the walnuts into a food processer bowl and corsely chop, add the remaining ingredients for the bottom layer, except the butter and pulse a couple of times until the ingredients are evenly mixed.  Melt the earth balance and pour into the bowl, pulse until the mix reaches the desired consistency.  I like mine to be dense and cohesive, relatively homogenous, but some people like the elements to be more distinct. Press evenly into 8x8 pan and let cool in the freezer as you prep the second layer.

Second layer: Cream the earth balance, confectioners' sugar, corn starch, and vanilla in a standing bowl mixture fitted with the whisk attachment. Add  a tablespoon of mylk and beat until light and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Spread on top of bottom layer. Place this in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.

Topping: Melt chocolate and butter together in a bowl set over hot water. Mix well and spread on top. Chill in refrigerator.

Finished product should look something like this.  When you are ready to cut them up, you want a sharp knife in a vase of hot water to cut through the chocolate with minimum cracking (cracking will likely happen anyway, though). 

 Lift the entire square out of the tray and flatten the parchment, placing the bar on a cutting board.  Remove the knife from the hot water and evenly start to cut squares out into the desired size. I tend to make roughly 1x1 inch squares, as these bars are riiiiiich!  Make sure to rewarm the knife as needed.

Plate up and share as desired... or take all of them and seclude your self in a blanket fort, growling at anything that passes by.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Ninja Stars!

OK, OK, not stars, but diamonds (that you can shape into ninja stars of [coronary] DETH!),  Who doesn't love chocolate peanut butter bars?  Who doesn't love that crumbly filling in Reeses peanut butter cups? You know what I'm talking about, the sugar substance spackled together with cheap peanut product and wax. Yeah, guilty as charged. So, obviously as soon as I saw this recipe in one of my new cookbook's, it jumped to the top of my 'To make' queue, with butter as the only dairy product, it was pretty easy to veganize.  

The end product was everything I hoped for, including the not-too-sweet crumbly peanut butter filling reminiscent of my childhood (into adulthood) favorite, Reeses PB cups, but now with a high quality dark chocolate topping and cookie bottom, topped with a dash of pink Hawaiian salt to give it a touch of sophistication.  Anyway, I do digress... Onto the recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

Yields 24 bars 

Crust

2.5 cups (9.5 ounces) chocolate cookie crumbs*

8 T (4 ounces, 1 stick) butter substitute, melted

Filling

2 1/2 cups (19.5 ounces) smooth natural peanut butter

1 1/4 cups (3.5 ounces) graham cracker crumbs

1 1/4 cups (3.5 ounces) finely ground puffed rice cereal*

1/2 cup (3.9 ounces) packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon (.2 ounces) kosher salt

8 T (4 ounces, 1 stick ) butter substitute at room temperature

Topping

6 ounces 70% dark chocolate, chopped

1 Tablespoon (1 ounces) coconut oil or butter substitute 

Finishing

Artisan salt, such as sel de guerande, pink Hawaiian, black salt, etc. 

*NOTES* 

You can use any sort of chocolate cookie you like, I used Newman's Own chocolate alphabet cookies pulverized in my food processor.  Pulverize the puffed rice cereal in a similar manner. You can also use vanilla cookies, corn flakes, or a blend of other crispy products for this. 

For the crust...  Line a 9x13 pyrex pan with aluminum foil, then grease with the wrapper of the butter substitute.  Mix the crumbs and melted butter substitute together until it resembles wet sand. Press the mixture into the pan using your palms to flatten and spread until you have a uniform pressed crust.  Chill in the fridge, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.

For the filling... Combine the peanut butter, butter sub, sugar, and salt together into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on high until well combined, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined. Remove the crust from the fridge and using your palms, spread the peanut butter mixture around evenly on top.  Refrigerate for 1 hour, uncovered. 

For the topping... Melt the chocolate with the oil in a double boiler set over simmering water, about  6 minutes, stirring with a rubber spatula to combine.   When the chocolate is melted and smooth, pour atop the bars and spread quickly into a think layer, careful not to scrape against the bottom, The faster you work the better, as the chocolate will start to seize atop the cooled base.  Return the pan to the fridge. 

Finishing... . After the bars have fully set (about 6 hours), prepare a hot water bath for a knife (a vegetable cleaver or a 7" santouku work well). While the knife is soaking in hot water, take the bars out of the fridge and lift them out of the pan in the foil and place onto a flat cutting surface. Use the hot knife to press down first in straight columns, then once more on diagonals to get that diamond shape, as illustrated below. 

If you would prefer squares, feel free to cut straight down rather than diagonal.   If you desire, a sprinkle of a fine salt really adds a nice touch to them. 

Mocha Pudding Pops

It is hot. I like things that are cold. I also like to have recipes that utilize things like almond milk, of which I have many containers of since school got out for the summer... Tales of the aseptic-sealed bean and nut milk mass abandonment of summer, 2009 are legendary!

Anyway... getting on with it... I am gifting you with the guide to my own first foray into frozen bars... or logging my work for my own future reference. The recipe is pretty tasty, but there are things I am going to try differently. Those notes will be after the recipe for me as well as you.

Mocha Pudding Pops

• 1/2 C sugar
• 3 T dark unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch processed)
• 5 t instant espresso powder
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 2 T cornstarch
• 2 T tapioca starch
• 1/4 t lecithin
• 1 T coconut oil
• 1/4 C raw almond butter
• 2 3/4 C unsweetened almond milk
• 1 t vanilla
• pinch of salt

In a large saucepan whisk together the first six ingredients.

In a blender combine the almond milk, almond butter, and salt and blend until smooth.

Add about 1/4 cup of the liquid to the dry mix and whisk until smooth. Turn the stove onto medium, whisking constantly and adding the rest of the milk slowly. Add coconut oil, turn stove to medium high and switch to a rubber spatula, constantly stirring and moving the liquid that firms up on the bottom.

When the mixture comes to a boil, stir vigorously for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir for about 1 minute as it cools down, add vanilla extract. Let cool down for another 15 minutes, then pour into moulds.

You can also pour into ice cube trays, cover with saran wrap and stick in toothpicks, then freeze for about six hours. To remove from moulds, run hot water briefly over the moulds, and shimmy out.

Enjoy! They is no denying that these are indeed pudding pops.

And that is just it, they are indeed very pudding-like, even frozen. In the future I may reduce some of the starches... Also I would add the coconut butter after I kill the heat...but there you have it, I would make them again. So, cheers and happy summer! Hopefully I'll get that update on peaches in before I leave for Burning Man!

Peanut Butter Marbled Rocky Road Brownie bars

Five half pence (two and a half pence?) to the first person who can guess what the above picture is of. No cheating and reading the title before hand!

Oops, probably too late for that, isn't it? So these are tasty, decadent, rich, happy little things. Like many things the recipe I am posting isn't exactly what I did. So first I will post the recipe I originally intended to go with... And then I will have a discussion about my dance

with these bars...

Peanut Butter Marbled Rocky Roads

• 2 1/4 c vegan graham cracker crumbs
• 2 T firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2/3 c butter sub*
• 15 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 light corn syrup
• 1 c soyatoo cream or cashew cream**
• 20 halved vegan marshmallows***
• 1/2 C whole, salted peannuts****
• 1/2 C to 1 C smooth peanut butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar, then add the butter sub. Stir gently until combined. Pour and evenly distribute into the prepared baking pan, pressing down with your hands along the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Remove the plan, let cool on a rack.

Set up a double boiler. In the large heatproof bowl, toss the chocolate together with the corn syrup. Place over double boiler, add "cream" of choice. Cook, stirring, until everything is melted. Fold in the marshmallows and whole peanuts. Pour the mixture into the pan and spread as evenly as possible (using an off-set spatula helps).

Now lay down horizontal 'stripes' of peanut butter on the oozy yummy top, then drag a knife up and down vertically to create a marbling effect.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or until set. Cut into triangles and serve. The bars freeze well, and will keep for about 3 days.

Asterix!

So my notes... I hate letting food go to waste, so a few things I did to illustrate alternative uses for things...

So...

*Butter sub. I used a mix of canola oil, coconut oil, and about 15% water. There was no need to use more expensive vegan butter for the task at hand.

** I used a failed cashew-based raw ice cream with touches of cinnamon and raisen for the cream. It had decent flavor, was good, rich, but didn't quite click right as an ice cream.

*** I used a failed batch of vegan marshmallows and swirled it in the chocolate mix, rather than getting some vegan marshmallows. I know I've said it before and I'll say it again. I try not to get fairly narrow-use ingredients, especially if they are unnecessarily expensive.

**** Other nuts are usable. I tossed some yummy walnuts in there!

MALTED CHOCOLATE FUDGE SAUCE (with pastry creme filled banana cakes)

Baby, this cake is simply a vessel for the lovely unblemished chocolately surface above... Full recipes for everything else will be forthcoming, but right now I am heading off to the woods for the 4th of July.

This is a conversion of one of many recipes that really doesn't lend itself AT ALL to being vegan (y'know.. Take eggs, cream, butter.. cook, and done! Now, how to make without the eggs, cream, and butter..), so it isn't necessarily that easy to follow.

Furthermore, I am always trying to fight back the beast that is the house's constantly growing pantry, this means if I am running out of something needed for a recipe I will scour for substitutes or often invent my own (no soy milk? water often works for smaller amounts. Larger amount? Blend some nut butter and water for the quantity needed. Ran out of walnuts? Toast some pecans). In this case, I was supposed to use all light corn syrup, but the bottle was on its last bits, so I substituted dark corn syrup for the rest.

Then there is finally the content itself.. It is fantastic and addictive, but I feel like I could tone down the malt flavor, in doing so I will probably streamline the recipe next round. For now you are getting the raw notes of my process.

2/3 c Almond cream (1/6 c TJs raw almond butter, 1/2 c water, blended until consistent)
1/6 light corn syrup
1/6 dark corn syrup
1 T INKA
2 T dark muscavado sugar
2 T light brown sugar
3 T Medium flavor malt powder (available at Brewer's emporiums, teh internets, etc.)
1/2 t salt (used pink himalayan)
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into pieces (Valhrona, used I. arrr!)
2 T butter sub (in my case I used a home made one consisting of 5 t canola oil, 1 t water, and a dash of lecithin)
1 t vanilla extract

Blend all of the ingredients together, up unto the chocolate. Pour into a saucepan with 4 oz of the chocolate over a medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir until smooth. When the chocolate has melted, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and stirring very slowly, cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter sub, vanilla, and the rest of the chocolate.

Enjoy, no really, it is good. Even the unedited version I wish I

Good Morning Coffee Banana Bread Muffins with Chocolate Chips

*note* far more photogenic if you click on the image. That said, I was not having much luck making these photogenic (they look ok in person!) *end note*

Mmmmuffins. I rarely ever express that sentiment. In my endless food snobbery I have dubbed muffins (and scones, and a few other items) the red headed step children of baking. They are comprised of the processed foods I try to avoid, rendering them entirely anutritious entities no better for you than any given dessert. Desserts, however, are often an artful playground for flavor exploration and combination, cooking technique and theory, or a decadence to bask in the pleasure of.

Muffins and scones tend to just be.. mediocre, unmemorable entites. There are exceptions, so I hear... And perhaps I would like to add my own to them one of these days. The above are quite tasty, and leave a glorious, clean after-taste that pleasantly lingers like a dear guest.

I do not know if I am going to post the recipe quite yet... I feel like I need to study The Muffin, and its respective concept. I feel like there is some sort of definition that my veganzied version did not quite achieve. Your own suggestions on what makes a muffin are welcome. In the meantime, the espresso/banana/chocolate combination is one from Brooklyn's "Baked" that needs not a recipe for one to explore.

Its 4:41 AM. I think I need sleep. I do have such a back log of things to post here, though... so many recipes getting lost in rime's sands...

Cherry Choco DETH!!1!

So first I'm gonna say I wanna go to Burning Man this year (Death Guild ho!). Second, I am going to keep this simple, for it is a simple recipe.

It is really a rich, creamy torte-like mousse that is, aside from having to soak the nuts, extremely quick and easy to make. It is one of the many items that people would not believe was vegan. Even closing my eyes and thinking about it right now I can imagine falling into its softly yielding texture.

Anyway, on to the recipe!

Cherry Chocolate Torte

Crust:

• 1 Chocolate crust of choice*, pressed into a 9" springform pan

Filling:

• 2 C raw cashews, soaked overnight, drained
• 1 C dark chocolate, chopped (I used some Valhrona Orange Noir and Callabaut bittersweet)
• 1-2 C cherries, pitted (frozen work)
• 1/2 C water
• Pinches of salt, drops of vanilla, flecks of cinnamon, espresso shots.. whatever floats your boat.

*I used a simple raw crust made up of 3 parts walnuts to 1 part cacao nibs, and a pinch of salt with enough coconut butter to hold it all together. Press into pan, refridgerate.

So, this is simple. Real simple. A powerful blender helps, and may be necessary. Soak the cashews overnight. Drain. Blend down as far as you can. Add 1/4 c water and make even smoother. Add whatever flavorings you would like. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a double boiler. When melted, add to cashew mix and blend until very smooth, adding water as needed.

Once smooth, stir in the cherries by hand. Save a few to adorn the torte. Pour the chocolate mix into the pan and smooth out. You can drag decorative lines into the chocolate substance as well, put in the fridge to set. Should be done fairly quickly.

You may want to layer the bottom of the springform pan with saran wrap, for ease of removal. I served this at a dinner party cut into single serving two bite pieces. It was loved by all. Babies may have been made. I may need sleep.

Dominos - Luxury Brownies and (Coconut) Milk Fudge

I seem to have a chocolate and vanilla thing going on... It is late, sleep soon, the recipes always need tooling, but this is what I did, and I still ended up with a tasty end product.. Both products are best served chilled, particularly the fudge... I am not sure if I made an error in the confectionary process, or the veganized recipe needs tooling (or both). Ah to the recipes.

Coconut Milk White Fudge with Nuts

4 cups sugar
2 cups coconut milk (I used a 14 oz can plus 2 T water)
1 stick cinnamon, preferably Mexican canela
1⁄2 cup light corn syrup
1⁄4 tsp. baking soda
1⁄4 tsp. fine salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1⁄2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1⁄2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1⁄2 cup chopped toasted pine nuts

1. In an 8-qt. pot, whisk together sugar, milk, cinnamon, corn syrup, baking soda, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; do not stir the milk. Use a metal spoon to skim off and discard any foam or solids that rise to the surface, rinsing the spoon in water after each use. Simmer, brushing the sides of the pot occasionally with water to prevent the sugar from crystallizing, until the mixture thickens and a candy thermometer reads 240°, about 30–35 minutes.
2. Remove pot from heat. Add butter and vanilla; do not stir. Remove and discard cinnamon. Let mixture cool to 180°.
3. Grease an 8" x 8" baking pan; line bottom with greased parchment paper. Stir milk–sugar mixture with wooden spoon until no longer glossy, 5 minutes. Add pecans, walnuts, and pine nuts; stir to combine. Transfer to baking pan; smooth surface with a rubber spatula. Chill until set, about 8 hours. Turn fudge out onto a cutting board and cut into sixty-four 1" squares.

The brownies... I have been seeking a good, dense, fudgey low flour vegan brownie recipe... the kind you get for flourless chocolate brownies. Sadly I have yet to find something that can lend the structural integrity necessary needed for flourless chocolate brownies, and the rest turn out cakey... My efforts at flourless brownies with vegan egg replacers thus far have been fairly tasty but utter failures as far as brownies are concerned. Then I saw this recipe from Coco&Me which looked promising... a low flour brownie, and my veganized effort showed it had enough flour to lend structure but not enough to dillute the quality chocolate used... The butter was replaced with a blend of water, oil, and lecitin, the eggs were replaced with Bob's Red Mill egg replacer. The final recipe could still use some work, but getting closer and leagues better than the flourless varities.

oh man, I need to sleep... More recipes and concepts coming soon.

Three Decadences - Donut Trifle with Rich Chocolate Pudding

So I want to have fun, lots and lots of fun. I also want to use the knowledge I have to build to new heights. I read about the creations at P*ONG, Per Se, Citizen Cake, etc. and I want to have them, but I also want to make something I could stealthily slip among their fun, whimsical offerings without disappointing the palette. This is a noble first step... it needs work, but it is a good first step. The pudding I used for this is also a fantastic stand-alone item, if you need a spiced pudding...

Anyway, this is an odd, fun recipe. You can make these in individual dishes, one larger dish, martini glasses, plates, whatever you have. Improvise!

3 Strawberry Jelly Filled Donuts
3 Devil's Foodcake Donuts

I left them in the dehydrator overnight, at about 110 degrees or so. You don't have to do this but for me I love the crunchiness and flavor concentration it creates. When they are good and dry, break up the chocolate donuts into fair sized chunks (about eight to twelve pieces per donut). Cut the jelly donuts into quarters, set aside a couple of pieces of the jellies for top-decorations.

Now that that is done, onto the...

Chocolate Pudding (!!!)

14 oz can coconut milk
1/2 c water
3 T sugar
4.5 oz good dark chocolate, finely chopped (I used Valhrona and Callebeut)
3 T dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used Sharffen-Berger)
1/4 C Arrowroot starch
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 t curry powder or spices of choice (I used a bit of freshly ground ginger, vietnamese cinnamon, madras curry powder, chili powder, anise, and nutmeg).

Mix the coconut milk and water together, set aside 1/2 c of this mix. Put the rest of the coconut milk in a sauce pan. Add the sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer over low heat.
Meanwhile whisk together the remaining coconut milk, arrowroot starch, spice blend, and cocoa powder until smooth (I used a blender for this). When the milk-mix has started simmering, take about 1/4 cup to the starch-milk mix and add slowly, stirring all the while until consistent.
Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, and slowly whisk in the starch mix into the simmering liquid. Now whisk the mixture vigorously until the pudding returns to a simmer and thickens up a bit. Remove the saucepan from the heat, keep whisking for another minute. Add the chocolate and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

At this point you can either use the hot, thick mixture to arrange the trifles, or you can put it in a dish and let it cool then arrange your trifles. It comes down to how you want to do it. Given I made my dessert in a dish for people to serve their selves out of, I chose to pour it on hot, rather than letting it set.

The object in the photo is adorned with vegan whipped cream, shaved chocolate, and a marashino cherry. Fresh strawberries would also be a fantastic adornment.

Lazy Blogday - Twofers Unrelated - Sunbutter Cookies n' Cream, and Chocolate Mousse Pie

These desserts really do not have a whole lot in common, and both stand up well enough on their own to not have to be sharing a plate... The pie in particular, at least if you get a bite with the crust. I have never had a pie in which the content was so meaningfully enhanced by the crust; in this case a mocha-walnut concoction. The airy filling is grounded in harmony the earthy base.

The sunbutter ice cream, I am not so kind toward. It is delicious and addictive, but also hard and flaky if not allowed to warm up a little, first. I will probably be making it again, and try some new spins on it... Texture aside, at the end of the day its life in my freezer will not be long. Still, if I want something more solid I will be going to my other peanut butter ice cream recipe.

My photographic laziness aside, there is a reason these two gems (one may be a little rougher, but) share a plate. They both offer special considerations toward the sensitive and the allergy-prone. The pie contains no gluten (or dairy ;) ), and the ice cream was made with a peanut-butter allergic friend in mine. So for those times when you don't want to make someone feel like everyone else is eating less well because of their needs, these dishes could please any palette.


Sins for Saints Chocolate Mousse Pie

So this came about because I wanted to make something for the massage workshop I was partaking in over the weekend. I was not feeling amazingly inspired the night before the event, though. So I just figured "meh," and went to bed later than I should have. I woke up, still wanting to make something, and fingered through a cookbook for an idea and saw a mousse. When I first experimented with vegan cooking, a tofu-based strawberry-kiwi chocolate pudding was one of my first recipes... so I ran some math in my head and this is what I got.

It was 7:50 AM. My workshop was at 9. Travel time was half an hour. Time was of the essence, so oven baking was out of the question. I wanted to do an oreo cookie crust, but with only 6 cookies that wasn't happening. So instead the crust was inspired by my experience with raw desserts. It was a total win, even better one of the girls of the group is gluten-intolerant, which I had forgotten. And the mousse.. well.. its just good... The food-making part was done within 25 minutes, and while I could have left the kitchen cleaner, I certainly could have left it worse. I was amazingly happy with it (so was everyone else). Though I am going to say it is absolutely necessary to make sure to get a bit of crust with each bite of mousse. Knowing that, So, onto the tart.

Crust:
1 and 3/4 c walnuts*
1/4 c cocoa powder**
1/2 t sea salt
2 T maple syrup
1-2 T raw coconut butter
1 t ground coffee

Mousse
15 oz dark chocolate, chopped***
1 c plus 2 T soy milk
1 T cocoa powder**
3/4 t kuzu starch
20 oz silken tofu
1/4 c maple syrup
2 t vanilla paste (or extract)
1/2 t almond extract

1. To make the crust, place walnuts in a food processor and chop until they are fine crumbs. Add everything else except the coconut oil and mix well. Add enough coconut oil for the crust to stick together. Press into 10" spring form pan and place in fridge to set.

2. To prepare the mousse filling dissolve the kuzu in the 2 T of soymilk. While it dissolves, place the chocolate, cocoa powder, and 1 C of soy milk in a double boiler. Add the dissolved kuzu starch and heat over simmering water, in the double boiler, until melted, stirring occasionally. It should take about 15-20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place the tofu in a blender bowl or food processor and blend until smooth. Add maple syrup, vanilla, and almond extract and blend again. Either blend with chocolate mixture, or fold in.

4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the springform pan, and chill until set (about 2 hours), or overnight, before serving.

*I used soaked and dehydrated but that is up to you
**Valhrona
***I used a blend of Trader Joes Dark Pound Plus and Callebeut Semisweet

NEXT!

Sunbutter Ice Cream

9 oz silken tofu
1 c water
1 c soy milk
1 c sunbutter
1/4 c sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 T powdered maca (Optional. I like the malty flavor it imparts)
15-20 (or more!) Chocolate Sandwich cookies (I used Joe-O's), broken up just a lil'.

Bring the water to a boil, add sugar and let cook for 5 minutes. Let cool. Blend remaining ingredients (except for the cookies) until smooth. Chill and prepare according to the directions of your ice cream maker. Once mixed, add in the cookies and either stir in by hand or churn until they are just mixed. Pack into container and enjoy now, or later, or now and later.

The Cherry, the Chocolate, and the Holy Walnut

So, I told someone that I would make them a chocolatey cherry-y thing when a big thing finally went through. It was still pending, but I had some extra sour cherry juice in my fridge that had been sitting there for months that needed using up, and an ache to make ice cream.

This wont be a particularly easy ice cream to replicate, as it was a "use up what I have" sort of ordeal. It did stay very soft in texture even after being frozen, so perhaps it could use less sugar. Next time I would use 5 oz unsweetened chocolate, rather than mixing it. That aside, I would leave everything the same until I made it again. Hopefully with pictures. My roommates descended upon it before I could photograph it!

Onto the recipe...

Black Forest Ice Cream

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I used Trader Joe's)
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (again, TJ's)
2 T powdered chocolate (I used generic, ideally I'd use the surprisingly affordable Valrhona)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 can coconut milk
dash soy lecithin
2 T beet juice (optional)
1 1/2 C sour cherry juice (this is the stuff in a jar of sour cherries)
1/4 salt
1 t vanilla
1/4 t almond extract
1 T tapioca starch

Optional: Walnuts and cacao nibs

Mix together the water, chocolates, the sugar and the tapioca. Heat until chocolate and sugar have melted, and the mixture has thickened a bit from the tapioca. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and stir until smooth, ideally do this in a blender.

Cool, and then prepare in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Add in cacao nibs or walnuts toward the end, if desired.

The Best Chocolate Ice Cream ever (srsly, those dairy based bastards don't stand a chance)

I wanted to take a nice "on the cone" pic of this, or something, but it didn't last long enough for me to :(. Me and 4 friends made short work of it... I guess I'll just have to make it again, clearly. I am currently making a variation of it with light coconut milk, and 2 T cold pressed espresso, and some lecithin to make up for the lost fat (it isn't supposed to be low fat coconut milk, my beloved 小姐 just got it by accident... *result*, goood. One housemate couldn't believe it was vegan).
So this originally started as a simpler recipe on Chowhound, but who can ever leave well enough alone?

Oh yeah, btw. Look what toy I just got (or was gotten for me). Yeah, it is fun. I just got it today.

Soo, on to the recipe...


1 cup water
1 cup sugar (straight up vegan cane)
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Trader Joes bulky bars)
2 cups canned Thai coconut milk

2 T powdered chocolate (I used Valhrona)

2 T coconut butter
(I use Artisana, don't really know if there is competition)
2 T rum
pinch salt
1/2 t vanilla

1. Heat the water and sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved.
2. Coarsely chop the chocolate, add it to the syrup, and whisk until the chocolate has completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the powdered chocolate, coconut milk and salt until smooth, then whisk in the vanilla and rum.
3. Chill thoroughly, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

*note* I can't remember if I added 2T of soy lecithin granules, or not. I do not think I did, but I had intended to. So I know if I make this again, and it is not perfect, well. I actually think I may have used a few more changes than noted, but as expressed, I'll have to make it again :D. The recent batch I made used a can of light coconut milk, 2T lecithin, and 2T cold pressed coffee. We were quite happy with it.

Black Bean Brownies and Blueberry Pie Ice Cream

The ice cream is not blueberry, but rather blueberry pie. The blueberries are cooked with the flavorings you find in pies, rather than focusing on the taste of the blueberries alone. This requires two steps (three if you count making your own almond cream), making the 'pie filling,' and making the almond cream base. I think it still needs some work, it is a little chalky. Next time I make it I am going to try one of two things; blending the cooked blueberries and strain them to remove the skins et al. OR I may make the cream base, and just stir in the pie mix rather than blend it in. Also, the base will probably be good for any number of other ice creams, particularly if they are fruit-based. Re: The carrageenan, I am still figuring it out. In the recipe I used carrageenan (or Irish moss) that had been soaked overnight, drained, then stored in the fridge with enough water to cover it. So here is what I made this time...

Blueberry Pie Ice Cream

Pie filling

1 1/2 c fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen. If using fresh, wash and pick over)
1/2 c sugar
1/8 t cinnamon
1 small lemon, juiced + 1 lemon rind
1 T orange juice
heaping 1/8th t powdered valhrona chocolate (any powdered chocolate should work)
pinch nutmeg
pinch clove
pinch salt

Almond Cream
2 C raw almonds (soaked overnight then drained)
3 C water

Cream base:
Liquid from Almond Cream
1 T lecithin
1 T carrageenan
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 C ground chia seeds

Cook the pie ingredients in a small saucepan, over medium heat stir until sugar dissolves, and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, remove from heat and let cool down.

To make the almond cream: Blend the almonds and water until the rattling stops, then strain through fine cheesecloth, a nylon nut milk bag, or other.

Mix the almond nutmilk with the rest of the ingredinets, blend until smooth. Let the milk sit for about 10 minutes, blend again, let sit for another 10. This is to allow for the chia seeds to absorb the water.

When the pie mix cools, add to the cream base and blend (or stir in). From there, prepare as you would according to your ice cream mixer directions. I try to get mine as cold as possible, without it freezing, before putting it in my ice cream maker.

Black Bean Brownies

So I had been seeing some interesting recipes, like these black bean brownies, from Baking with Agave Nectar. I figured I would give them a try, only a few problems... the listed recipe includes butter and eggs. Nah gonna fly with vegan baking, mang. Anyway. The first variation I made of these things was far too 'gummy.' I was displeased with it, but my friend really loved their earthy quality. I told him "OK, I'll make you a tray for 10 bucks to cover ingredient costs."
Deal made. Friend has brownies. I have an improved recipe. These brownies are earthy and moist, nice but not decadent. Suggestions are welcome, but all in all the recipe is solid.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9x13 inch pan.

Wet ingredients:
2 c cooked, drained blackbeans
1 c water
1/4 c instant coffee
1/4 c psyllium
2 T lecithin

1 C canola oil
4 oz baker's choco

Dry ingredients:
1 C sugar
1/4 c powdered chocolate
1 t carob powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 c Bob's red mill egg replacer
1/4 t stevia
1 c chopped walnuts

Blend the black beans and waters until smooth. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the chocolate into the oil. Add the melted chocolate and the rest of the ingredients, mix until consistent.

In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix until consistent.
Pour into greased 13x9 inch pan, bake for 30-40 minutes, until brownies are set. Take down, let cool overnight in the refrigerator or freezer. I prefer them frozen, but hey, your call.

Espresso Chocolate(x2) Chip Cookies

Oh how happy I am with these cookies! They are everything I could want. Complex, quality, robust, yet tender and well rounded. Oh, did I mention they are also quite rich?

Anyway... The first batch of these I made was a bust... Between veganizing recipes and trying them for the first time, I have my work cut out for me. The first ones I made did not have enough flour in them. I had my suspicions confirmed when the batter fanned out over the pan when I put them in the oven. I added more flour to the rest of the mix and sure the cookies were good but they had been over-beaten at that point. They were a very intriguing almost-shortbread style cookie... good but, hrh. The 2nd time I made them I added more flavor and voila!

So here is the recipe below. It includes cold pressed coffee, you could use regular espresso or instant coffee instead. I am just putting down what I used.


1 c 365 organic all purpose baking flour
3/4 c cocoa powder (I used part Hershey's, part Valrhona I think)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 baking powder
1 T Bob's Red Mill egg replacer
1 T espresso beans, finely ground
8 oz by weight butter substitute (about 1 cup, I really need to keep to volume measurements).
3/4 c dark brown sugar (I used muscadova)
2 T light brown sugar (again muscadova)
1/2 c + 1 T granulated sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t kosher salt
2 T cold press coffee
2 T water
1 1/3 c (vegan) chocolate chips of choice

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, ground espresso, and egg replacer. In the mixer bowl (or large bowl if doing this by hand) cream together butter replacement and sugars. Don't over-mix. Just get consistent. Make sure to scrape down sides if not hand mixing. The mix should still be cool.

Add the liquid ingredients and salt, stirring until just combined. Add the sifted ingredients in two parts, stirring gently until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix just enough to distribute. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to overnight.

When the dough has chilled, position racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350. Line sheets with parchment paper or use silpats. Get dough from fridge, and scoop up 1 inch balls (or whatever size you like, really). Set about 2 inches apart (or more for larger cookies). Bake for about 10 minutes, a little longer if you want them crisper. I baked them so they still looked a little 'raw' in the middle. When done, take out of oven, and transfer to a rack to cool off.

I liked these best still warm, but they keep pretty well for a couple of days after, in an air tight container.

Crazy Good (or rather nutty) Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These are just... really really good. I don't often say anything I make is "really really good ," certainly not on the first try. It is often that I will say "This is pretty good, but next time I would..." Not these. Ok, next time I may use 4 ounces butter by volume, rather than weight.

4 oz by weight butter substitute of choice, softened but still cool (I used Soy Garden. The non vegan recipe said 8 T, I would go with that next time I did it)

3/4 c dark brown sugar (I used muscadova , tastes like molasses)
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg replacement (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt (the margarine usually has salt in it already)
1 1/4 c all purpose flour (I used 365 "all purpose baking flour")
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
8 oz dark chocolate, either chips or I just used some Valhrona and Trader Joes big bar chocolate I had lying around and chopped it up.
3/4 c chopped walnuts (optional)

In a large bowl, cream together fat and sugar until consistent (don't overmix. Sugar granules are just fine). You can do this by hand or via electric mixer. Add the egg substitute, vanilla, salt, and just combine.

In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Then sift into bowl with the fat/sugar mix. Stir until just combined, then add chocolate/nuts. Stir until consistent. Should look like the picture below. It was almost kind of dry/crumbly (I strongly recommend you click through for the close up).


Cover bowl with saran wrap, place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

When ready, pre-heat oven to 350, and position rack in the middle of the oven.

Meanwhile, take out a baking sheet (no sides), line it with parchment, use a silpat sheet, or grease it. Lay out the cookies using a table spoon, a small scoop, or just pick out bits with your hand, and drop them on the sheet. Don't worry if the mix seems crumbly, just make sure the dough is in a bit of a pile. Don't over-handle.

Bake for about 13 minutes if you like them not too crunchy, 17 if you do like them crunchier (I only baked them for 13). The sugar begins to carmelize so they still have a certain crispness to them.

These cookies really hold their own at room temp/the day after. Good luck!

Coconut Chocolate Sherbert

I am currently churning this in my lame Cuisinart ice cream maker. Will report back soon.

This is def on the menu tomorrow, shaved fennel with toasted pistachios. I have a head of fennel, and some pistachios that are aching to be used. Though I am going to toast the pistachios my self.