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!

Banana Pecan Piloncillo Ice Cream

There are many joys to be found in cooking, one is the diversity of flavours you can find in different variants of the same ingredients. This recipe draws upon the not-so-familiar piloncillo sugar; an earthy brown sugar with hints of caramel. It has been around for at least 500 years and popular is popular in Oaxaca, though it is not commonly used here. Thankfully it can be easily found in many Latin American grocery stores. Like many less-refined sugars, it is not as sweet helping gift you with a creamy, yet light ice cream that plays nicely with others.

If you have not explored the bounty of sugars on they market, I would review a few guides to them.

This recipe is a veganized version from the lovely book, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking (as has many of my recent updates, some more successful than others. This one falls under "more successful").

Banana Pecan Piloncillo Ice Cream

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3/4 c firmly packed, grated piloncillo*
• 8 very ripe bananas, peeled, broken into pieces, sealed in a bag, and frozen**
• 1/2 c cashew cream***
• 1/2 c chopped, toasted pecans

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine 3 T water and the cinnamons stick. Simmer until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the piloncillo and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Remove the cinnamon stick from the syrup and pour the syrup into a blender. Add the cashew cream and bananas and blend until smooth and mushy.
Pour mix into ice cream maker and freeze according to directions. When the ice cream is nearly done, add the pecans, let mix. Transfer to a freezer-safe container.

* You can also use jaggery, or brown sugar, or some other unrefined sugar. I have used a mix of dominican sugar and jaggery.
** Alton Brown has a recipe that recommends freezing the bananas in their peel, then peeling them after about 45 minutes. I have not decided this is the must-do method for me, but I am going to continue to experiment with it.
*** I used a failure of a cashew-based ice cream. You can also use this recipe here.

Red is Stop. Green is Go. Pink is Yum.

Waugh firefox crash just sucked my post into a void :(
Needless to say, I have a serious problem.
Pictured above is a sorbet, an ice cream, and a frozen yogurt. Not pictured is another four or five ice creams, another sorbet, and well.. probably some other stuff, too. My fridge is full of ice creams... FULL! Well, onto the recipes...

Red Wine Strawberry Sorbet with Black Pepper

• 2 pounds strawberries, hulled and washed
• 1/4 c fresh lemon juice
• 1 c dry red wine
• 2 c sugar
• 1 T vanilla paste
• 1/2 fresh ground black pepper
• 1 t balsamic
• 1/2 t citric acid (if strawberries are out of season, or to taste)

Toss strawberries with lemon juice, balsamic, vanilla, and citric acid, set aside. Meanwhile put wine, sugar, and black pepper on the stove. Warm over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour syrup over strawberries, stir, let cool to room temperature then refrigerate until chilled.
Puree or blend strawberries until smooth, then prepare according to ice cream manufacturer's instructions.


Thai Basil Coconut Ice Cream
**Under Construction!**: Re: I didn't log it, and it needs work anyway... I want to say I based it off of this recipe from Kitchen Therapy but looking at the recipe to say I based them off one another is a very very loose interpretation...

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

• 1 pound plus 2 oz fresh strawberries, hulled and washed
• 2/3 c sugar
• 2 C strained plain vegan soy yogurt
• 1 T agave
  
• 1 t lemon zest
• 2 T red wine
• 1 t balsamic vinegar
  
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 t citric acid
  
• pinch salt
  
• dash lecithin

OK I should say straight up, pretty much every ingredient after the yogurt is semi-optional, if you don't have it, don't stress it. Don't have open red wine? Use kirsh, or vodka, or rum, or nothing, or whatever. And so on... HAVE FUN! Anyway, that said, dice the strawberries, toss them with the sugar and liquor. Let sit for 2 hours.
When two hours have passed, blend with the rest of the ingredients, chill in refrigerator. When chilled, prepare according to manufacturer's directions.

I am going to say that the posted recipes are 'sketches.' These are rough guidelines I followed in the kitchen. I often find recipes restrictive and when it comes to flavouring, I explore with abandon. Not having some things listed rarely stops me from making something. In the case of the strawberry sorbet, rather than opening a bottle of red wine I used 1 C of a red wine black pepper sorbet I had left over, which was very dry without much sugar. In that red wine sorbet I used some leftover concord grape sorbet. I am constantly using things as much to get rid of them as I am to explore and experiment. I do advise you to do the same, though admit my boldness may be bolstered by my compression-based ice cream maker that does not need recuperation time to make a second batch...

Remember, failure is just an excuse to cook even more, and if you are sticking to the sort of ingredients life happened to hand to you it isn't like you invested any money in the recipe... Speaking of things being handed to you, next up is going to be the Brown Sugar Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers...

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.

Malted Peanut Butter Ice Cream

OK, so maybe the pictures were not as bad as the first one implied... Though this one could use some serious photoshop mopping on my lovely concord grape balls, as well as the plate. Oh well, I'm working on it, I'm working on it.

Appropriately enough, better pictures come with better recipes (Srsly? You mean it gets better than salted concord grape tapioca balls?!) So I am starting to release the more substantial stand-alone items of this concoction. The first, and probably best to make without any grander purpose is the peanut butter ice cream. Sure, the melting ice cream does go beautifully with the crunchy home made cracker jacks, tangy sesame yogurt cubes, and salty-sweet-chewy tapioca balls, but I don't just whip those out of the cupboard.

Anyway, this was sourced from a number of peanut butter ice cream recipes, and I gave it my own twist... I felt it turned out quite lovely, but it turned out even better when paired with a dark chocolate ice cream, recipe forthcoming... I am going to note I used a super blender for this, so you may want to stick to very smooth peanut butters if using a normal blender. The addition of maca root can be omitted, rendering the peanut butter non-malted. I felt it was missing something, though, which is why I added it. I am sure the type of peanut butter one is using can significantly change this, though.

Malted Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1 12 oz package silken tofu, frozen, thawed then drained
1 cup peanut butter (I used a mix of ground-at-store, Maranatha, and Trader Joe's Valencia)
3/4 c maple syrup (think I used grade A, Kirkland brand)
dash cinnamon
1/4 t Xanthum Gum
1 T gelatinized maca root powder
1 3/4 C unflavored hemp milk (or milk alternative of choice)

Blend ingredients together.
Chill.
Churn.
Chow.

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.

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.