Orange Vanilla Snacking Cake

For a few months I will be living in Sarasota, Florida for an internship.  The weather has been amazing and I live in a very picturesque area.  I have been having amazing wildlife adventures too!  But I am from Portland, home of everything conveniently vegan, so even though I am enjoying so much, I have also been missing all the vegan food, bakeries and bars.  I haven't really found a place I can buy a good tasting vegan treat, so when the temperature dropped a little last week, I decided to bake something for myself.

I love cake, but didn't want to really deal with frosting.  I went to a local market and usually I use blended silken tofu for all my cakes since it gives them such a perfect texture.  This store did not have any, but I did find some soy yogurt and decided to give it a try as a replacement.

I shared one cake with my roommates and the other I brought to my internship.  I heard good reviews and even got a request for the recipe.  I call that a great success!

Orange Vanilla Snacking Cake

1 cups Organic Unrefined Cane Sugar
½ cup Earth Balance Margarine
½ cup Vanilla Soy Yogurt
1 ½ cups Non-dairy Milk (I used Almond Milk)
2 tsp Vanilla
2 ½ cups Unbleached White Flour
1 Tb Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
Zest of 1 Orange

Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans, or two loaf pans and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the sugar and margarine until creamy.  Add the soy yogurt and mix until incorporated.  Slowly add in the non-dairy milk, then the vanilla and orange zest.  Do not be surprised if the mixture gets a little lumpy, this is normal.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Combine the dry into the wet ingredients until just combined. Spread evenly into the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes for the round pans and about 40 minutes for loaf pans. Cake will bounce back when lightly touched in the middle when done.  Allow the cake to cool some before turning them out for glazing.

I topped the cake with a simple orange glaze.  I juiced the one orange used for zesting and then slowly added it 2 cups powdered sugar.  Mix thoroughly with a fork or whisk.  You may not need to add all the orange juice, or use more, depending on the orange.  Glaze should not be super runny, but not too thick to easily spread over the cake.

When cakes are slightly cool, remove from baking pans and turn upside down.  Pour the glaze over the top, allowing it to go over the sides as well. Enjoy!

* For extra orange flavor, use orange juice instead of non-dairy milk in the cake recipe.

My Traditional Thanksgiving Recipes- Veganized

This holiday season I am finding myself unable to find creativity in the kitchen.  Mostly this is due to my cat being very sick and towards the end of his life.  It has been a very tough month.  So instead of sharing new recipes, I want to once again share my classic recipes that are sure to please.  I plan to make most of these recipes myself for my family this year.  Be thankful of your friends and family (especially the furry and fluffy ones) and enjoy the recipes!



Traditional Stuffing

3 1/2 cups Bread Crumbs

1 cup Vegetable Broth

1/4 cup Earth Balance

6 Celery Stalks, chopped

1 small Onion, chopped

2 tsp Sage, rubbed

1 tsp Marjoram

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Melt the margarine over medium high heat in a skillet and add the onion and celery. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. In a medium sized pan, heat the vegetable broth until boiling. In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, herbs, salt and cooked celery and onion. Stir all of this to combine thoroughly. Slowly add the vegetable broth, stirring occasionally to cover all the bread crumbs. Place stuffing in a greased 9-inch square pan bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes.

*To make your own bread crumbs, cut a loaf of bread in cubes. Place on a large cookie sheet and bake at 300°F for about 20-30 minutes, using a spatula about every 5 minutes to move around the bread so it will dry out evenly.



Miso-Maple Tofu

1 1/2 blocks Tofu*
1 cup Walnuts
2 Tb Miso
1 Tb Maple Syrup
1 Tb Sesame Oil
2 Tb Tamari

Cut the tofu into 1/4 inch slabs. Combine the sesame oil and tamari. Coat the tofu in the oil/tamari combination and place on baking sheet. If any oil/tamari is left, pour over top of tofu. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, flip tofu and bake an addition 10 minutes.

In a food processor, combine the walnuts, miso and maple syrup until it is a paste-like consistency. Spread the paste evenly over the baked tofu. Bake an addition 15 minutes.

"Buttermilk" Biscuits

4 cups Unbleached White Flour
1 Tb. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 Tb. Sugar
1 cup Soy Margarine
2 cups Soymilk + 1 Tb. Lemon Juice

Combine the soymilk and lemon juice and let stand a few minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut the soy margarine into the flour mixture until pea sizes or smaller. Pour the soymilk mixture and blend until combined. Place dough on a floured work surface and knead a couple times. Spread the dough out to about 3/4 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 15-18 minutes. Makes about 20 biscuits.

Pumpkin Pie

1 - 15 oz can of Pumpkin Puree

1 - 12.3 oz package of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (Firm)

3/4 cup Organic Cane Sugar

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground Ginger

1/4 tsp ground Cloves

1 prepared Pie Shell or Flaky Pie Crust (below)

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until creamy.  Spread into a pie shell.  Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.  Allow to sit a couple hours before serving.

Flaky Pie Crust

1 ½ cups Unbleached White Flour
½ cup Soy Margarine (Cold)
½ tsp Sea Salt
4-6 Tb Ice Water

Place flour and salt in medium-size bowl. Break up margarine and cut into flour with a pastry cutter until there are pea-sized pieces of dough. Slowly add ice water and blend with fork. Do not overwork; blend until just mixed and dough holds together. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to be slightly larger than your pie pan. Place in pie pan and form dough as desired. Add pie filling to the crust and bake according to pie instructions. Makes one 9-inch pie crust. 

Other Thanksgiving Recipes

Gluten Free Buckwheat Stuffing
Thanksgiving Gluten Roast
Gluten Free Pumpkin Silk Pie

Brownie Cups and a Wedding!

Last week my younger sister, Laura, got married! It was very unconventional and perfect. There was no planned location until the day before. I got ordained online about a month prior, but prepared nothing to say. I just knew I had to make sure they both said their "I do's". It was very small and located essentially between a hotel and walmart. But you would never know that since we were along a walkway next to a river. There was a western grebe in the distance along with lots of cormorants and other birds. I had my eye out for a vagrant ribbon seal who was spotted in the area a week prior, but no luck.

The groom prepared a funny thing for me to say at the beginning, then they whispered vows to each other (which was my favorite part and so cute!) and then on the fly I made up "do you take..." stuff and declared them married. Laura was radiant and beautiful and she is about 6 months pregnant. Right before the wedding I got to feel the baby kick, which was so exciting! After nuptials, everyone went out to dinner, which I think was a first for my dad in almost 20 years.

After dinner, I shared these brownie cups with everyone. Laura hates cake, but loves brownies. And since we didn't have plates or a knife, I knew cupcake version of brownies would be perfect! Here is what I did.

Brownie Cups

1/2 cup Soy Margarine, melted

1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 cup Organic Cane Sugar

1/2 cup Silken Tofu, blended

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Unbleached White Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place baking cups into 12 muffin cups; set aside. Combine the melted margarine and cocoa. Add the sugar, silken tofu and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Add chocolate chips and stir until just combined. Drop by the rounded tablespoon into the baking cups until dough is evenly distributed. Bakes for 20-25 minutes.

Pumpkin Baking

I went to a housewarming party last month and had been wanting to try and make pumpkin bundt cake. Well, I couldn't find my bundt pan so I ended up using the same recipe I developed to bake into cupcakes. I then glazed them simply with powdered sugar whisked with a little vanilla and coconut milk. I am not a huge pumpkin fan, but I do love ginger so I made sure to add just as much ginger as cinnamon and I think this helped me enjoy the cupcakes, along with the extra moisture from the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

3 Tb. Flaxseed Meal
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Oil
1 cup Unrefined Cane Sugar
1 cup canned Pumpkin Puree
1/4 cup Molasses
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 cup Soy, Almond or Coconut Milk
2 1/2 cups Unbleached White Flour
2 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp ground Ginger
1 Tb. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

Combine the flax and water and let stand a few minutes. Cream together the oil and sugar, then add the pumpkin, molasses, vanilla and milk. Add the flax/water mixture to the other wet ingredients. Whisk together the dry ingredients and add to wet and mix until just combined. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes for cupcakes. Bake 40 minutes for 9-inch cakes and 50-60 minutes for a loaf pan.

* For gluten free, use 1 1/2 cups sorghum flour, 3/4 cup sweet white rice flour, 1/4 cup potato starch and 2 tsp guar gum for flour. This has not been tested in this recipe, but it has worked in other cake recipes.

Coconut Almond Cake Balls

I was hosting a thank you dinner for people who helped me move recently, and I wanted to create the best possible menu. I heard about cake balls and decided I needed to make this for dessert and make my own recipe for doing so. I actually made two batches (one gluten free) and it took me a lot of time. When I finally got to try the results of my time in the kitchen, I decided it was definitely worth it! These were a major hit and it shouldn't take you as long since you will only be making one batch and have a recipe to follow.


Coconut Almond Cake Balls

Coconut Cake:
1 cups Organic Unrefined Cane Sugar
½ cup Earth Balance Margarine
½ cup Silken Tofu, blended
1 ½ cups Coconut Milk
2 tsp Vanilla.
2 ½ cups Unbleached White Flour
1 Tb Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
1 cup Shredded Coconut

Cream together the sugar and margarine. Beat in the tofu and then the coconut milk and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and blend until just combined. Add the coconut and combine it using a spatula, careful to not over mix. Spread into 2 greased 9-inch round baking pans and bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool.

*For gluten free, use 1 1/2 cups sorghum flour, 3/4 cup sweet white rice flour, 1/4 cup potato starch and 2 tsp guar gum instead of the white flour.

Almond Frosting:
2 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
2 – 4 Tb Coconut Milk
2 tsp Almond Extract
¼ cup Earth Balance Margarine

In a large bowl, blend together the sugar, almond extract and margarine. Add the coconut milk until the frosting is a consistency that is slightly softer than traditional frosting.

Chocolate Glaze:
2 cups Vegan Chocolate Chips
2 Tb Earth Balance Margarine
2 Tb Coconut Milk (or soymilk)
1 tsp Vanilla

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat on medium heat. As the chocolate melts, combine the ingredients to a smooth consistency with a fork. Turn down heat to the lowest temperature. Allow to cool on the lower heat so the chocolate is not hot. A double broiler can also be used.

Creating the cake balls: Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Set aside. Crumble the cakes into the frosting bowl. Combine the crumbs and the frosting with a spatula. Once the frosting is evenly distributed to the cake crumbs, form it into cake balls and place on the baking sheet. Refrigerate about 1 hour to harden slightly. Take one cake ball at a time from the sheet and dip it in the chocolate with a toothpick, allowing all but the bottom of the cake ball to be covered. Set on parchment paper and continue with the rest of the cake balls. Once all cake balls have been chocolate covered, return to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. After 4 hours, store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.

This Year It's Pecan Cake!

It's my birthday again! Although friends are always quick to offer making cake for my birthday, at work we are responsible for bringing in our own treat to share with others (if we choose to do so). I like to bake, so I don't mind this at all. I started to think of flavors early on, and decided on a pecan cake with caramel frosting (and filling). I have made caramel sauce successfully many times, but some tweak I did this time made it so it didn't work out, so I quickly whipped up a basic vanilla frosting. Although I was sad for no caramel sauce and frosting, the results were still awesome! A week later I was still being told how much people enjoyed the cake.



Vegan Pecan Cake

1/2 cup Margarine, non dairy
1 1/2 cups Organic Raw Sugar
1/2 cup Silken Tofu, blended
1 1/2 cups Coconut Milk
2 tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 cups Unbleached White Flour
1 cup Pecans, ground
1 Tb Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

Cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Add the tofu and vanilla and blend. Slowly add the coconut milk as the beaters continue mixing. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and blend until just mixed. Put in the pecans and stir in with a spatula until incorporated, careful not to over mix. Fill two greased 9-inch cake pans with equal amounts of the batter. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. When cakes are done, the top should spring back when lightly touched.

Once cooled, assemble cake with frosting of choice between layers and all over the surface of the cake layers. Yum...

Lemon Coconut Cake

A little bit tart, occasionally sour and lots of sweet. That sums up my friend Liz who just celebrated her birthday, and the cake I made for her. Looks like the cake was a success and I love the different flavor combination. And it is always great to celebrate with a good friend!

Lemon Coconut Cake

Lemon Coconut Cake:

½ cup Soy Margarine

1 ½ cups Organic Raw Sugar

½ cup Silken Tofu, blended

1 cup Almond or Coconut Milk
½ cup fresh Lemon Juice

1 tsp Vanilla

2 ½ cups Unbleached White Flour
½ cup Shredded Coconut (unsweetened)

1 Tb Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

Lemon Frosting:

1/2 cup Margarine

3 cups Powdered Sugar

3-5 Tb Lemon Juice

1 cup Coconut Flakes (unsweetened)

Cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Add the tofu and blend. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and blend some more. Slowly add the almond or coconut milk as the beaters continue mixing. Add the flour, baking power and salt and blend until just mixed in. Put in the shredded coconut and stir in with a spatula until incorporated. Fill two greased 9-inch cakes pans with equal amounts of batter. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. When cakes are done, the top should spring back when lightly touched.

Frosting: Blend the powdered sugar and margarine together. Add lemon juice, a little at a time, until you reach the desired texture.

To assemble the cake, frost the top of one 9-inch cake. Add the other cake layer on top and frost it as well. Go around the sides with more frosting making sure to cover the entire cake. Sprinkle the coconut flakes onto the frosting (top and sides), patting it into the frosting to make sure it sticks. Serve with a birthday.

Betty White Party with lots of food

Betty White has done a lot for animals in her lifetime and she has also delivered a great amount of laughs. When a campaign to see her host Saturday Night Live appeared on facebook, I joined right away. And when she was finally announced to host SNL, I organized a party right away. When I throw a party, what food I will serve becomes my first planning task. I have a few friends that eat gluten free, so I did know I wanted a least most of it to be safe for everyone to eat.

I decided on a host of dips and stuffed stuff. This included my popular Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Spread, White Bean Artichoke Heart Dip and Tofutti Sour Cream with a Frontier Organics French Onion Soup dry mix.

I also served zucchini stuffed with a garbanzo tahini mash and small red potatoes stuffed with tofu celery salad. I served multiple veggies as well including cherry tomatoes I had hoped to stuff with guacamole but that became too much work, so I offered them for snacking instead.

For dessert I offered strawberries, a vegan whipped cream, sweet mini biscuits and cheesecake bites with an almond meal crust (gluten free).

Vegan Cheesecake Bites

Filling:
1 – 8 oz container Tofutti Cream Cheese
½ cup blended Silken Tofu
1/3 cup Organic Unrefined Cane Sugar
2 Tb Cornstarch
1 tsp Vanilla

Crust:
1 ½ cups Almond Meal
1 Tb Cornstarch
2 Tb Margarine, melted
1-2 Tb Almond Milk

Filling: Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Crust: Combine the almond meal and cornstarch. Using a fork, blend in the margarine. Add the almond milk until the meal starts to hold together when pressed.

Place about a tablespoon of the crust in a greased mini cupcake holder and press down. Filling the cupcake holder until about full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Luckily SNL with Betty White was hilarious and wondrous and the food was enjoyed between the laughs.

Brownie Bites (Gluten Free)

I made these for a bake sale to benefit SPECIEES. I wanted to offer something that was gluten free since there seems to be more and more demand for it. This recipe uses almond meal flour and cornstarch instead of white flour so it has a great taste and no xanthan gum was needed. I have found that blended silken tofu is best egg replacement in brownies. The resulting product is rich in choclate taste and decadent in texture. Yumm!

Brownie Bites

1/2 cup Non-Dairy Margarine, melted
1/2 cup Cocoa, unsweetened

1 cup Organic Unrefined Cane Sugar

½ cup Silken Tofu, blended

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Tb Corn Starch

1/2 cup Almond Meal Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

In a food processor, blend the silken tofu until smooth. Scoop out ½ cup and reserve left over for other baking or for making a “pudding” by blending the tofu with melted chocolate chips and sugar or make a “creamsicle”.

Combine the melted butter and cocoa, stirring to combine. Add sugar, blended tofu and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the almond flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Scoop the batter by the spoonful into a greased mini muffin pan, filling each space about 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes and then let cool 15 minutes. Makes 32 brownies bites.

I love cupcakes!

When I visit my family for the holidays, I really get into planning the dinner and dessert that I will be making. I usually try new and exciting things and mostly, this has worked really well for me. This year when trying to decide what dessert to make, all I could think about was peppermint cupcakes with chocolate frosting. It wasn’t the most creative thing, but I had to make them. I forgot my sister doesn’t really like cupcakes, but she did eat it and I think she enjoyed it. Everyone else loved them and when taking photos of the cupcakes, my mom insisted on including some holiday cheer in the form of frosty the snowman and in the far distance, my dad’s addition of a teddy bear with a santa hat.

Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes

Peppermint Cupcakes:

½ cup Margarine
1 ½ cups Organic Raw Sugar
½ cup Silken Tofu, blended
1 ½ cups Almond Milk
1 – 2 tsp Peppermint Extract
2 ½ cups Unbleached White Flour
1 Tb Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt

Chocolate Frosting:

½ cup Chocolate Chips, melted
2 Tb Margarine
2 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
4 – 6 Tb Almond Milk

Cupcakes: Cream together the margarine and sugar. Add the silken tofu and blend. Add the peppermint extract and the almond milk slowly as you mix the batter.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk together to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and blend until just combined. Pour into greased cupcake pans or liners about ¾ full. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, or until cupcake top springs back when lightly tapped.

Frosting: Melt the chocolate chips and margarine together. Add this to the powdered sugar and blend until incorporated evenly through the sugar. Add the almond milk until you reached the desired frosting consistency. Spread on the cupcakes once they have cooled.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

It's my birthday! At my work we have a policy we have to bring in our own birthday treat, which I think was created because they didn't know how to buy or make vegan cake for me. Not everyone like cake either, so some birthdays we get a unique display of food to share.

This year I did not have too much time and had just bought some White Chocolate Peanut Butter and remembered making a yummy peanut butter pie in the past, so I decided to recreate this tasty treat with some modifications. My co-workers love it!



White Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

3/4 cup White Chocolate Peanut Butter
1 1/2 - 12.3 oz package of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (Extra Firm)
1/2 cup Organic Cane Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

Pie Crust

2 cups ground Sugar Cookies
1 Tb Cornstarch
2 Tb Earth Balance Margarine, melted
3-5 Tb Almond Milk

Combine the ground cookies and cornstarch. Pour in the melted margarine and combine it with the dry ingredients using a fork. Add the almond milk a tablespoon at a time until the consistency is not wet, but when pressed together it sticks together.

Pour the pie crust "dough" into a greased pie pan. Press the crust into the sides, turning the pie pan to cover all sides. With the left over crust, press it into the bottom of the pie pan. Pour the pie filling into the center and spread evenly with a spatula. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

Optional Topping:

1 cup vegan White Chocolate Chips*
1 Tb Earth Balance Margarine
2 Tb Almond Milk

Melt the ingredient over medium-low heat. Whisk together when melted until smooth. The white chocolate chips take away to cook down, so patience will be needed. Pour over pie filling and refrigerate overnight.

*Vegan white whocolate whips can be found at Food Fight! in Portland, otherwise, vegan regular chocolate chips can be used instead. Regular peanut butter can replace the white chocolate peanut butter as well.

Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has meant a lot to me over the last 10 years or so, pretty much since I became vegan.  After an argument with my parents concerning their consumption of turkey, they agreed to not eat turkey and I agreed to visit them and my sister on the holiday and we all enjoyed a delicious meal together that I cooked.  Luckily my sister being vegan as well helped my side quite a bit.  I started out with a veganized version of a traditional meal and eventually decided on food themes to further my culinary curiosity and skill.  Just recently I started to spend more time with friends rather than family on Thanksgiving, but I appreciate and recognize the uniqueness of my family forgoing turkey out of respect for me.  Obviously I wish they would forgo the turkey out of respect for the animal, but we haven't gotten there quite yet.

Recently I received a request for a traditional vegan pumpkin pie recipe and realized I could not find mine which was probably written down on some abscure piece of paper from years ago that somehow disspearred in the mean time.  I remember most of what I did, so I decided to go back in the kitchen and share the recipe before I forgot.  

I was never much of a fan of pumpkin pie myself, but I like this recipe since it is not overwhelmingly pumpkin.  It uses moderate spices so feel free to up the amounts if you like alot.  

Pumpkin Pie

1 - 15 oz can of Pumpkin Puree

1 - 12.3 oz package of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (Firm)

3/4 cup Organic Cane Sugar

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground Ginger

1/4 tsp ground Cloves

1 prepared Pie Shell

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until creamy.  Spread into a pie shell.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Allow to sit a couple hours before serving.  

If you are looking for other Thanksgiving recipe ideas, I have many more to share.  

Thanksgiving Gluten Roast

Flaky Pie Crust

"Buttermilk" Biscuits

Traditional Stuffing

Buckwheat Stuffing (Gluten Free)

Basic Bundt Cake

I am so sorry for neglecting all my recipe developing, and enjoying, for the last month.  I have been so busy with school my culinary time has been cut down considerably.  But I have so much more flavor to create!  I will try harder.  And have fun doing so.

The last thing I baked up was some Orange Spice Budnt Cake.  This is such a great recipe to base a zillion variations on.  I have also made blueberry, strawberry and chocolate chip bundt cakes and have many more ideas to implement.  Here is the basic recipe and some variations you can try.

Basic Bundt Cake

3 Tb Flaxseed Meal

1/2 cup Water

1 cup Alternative Milk (Soy, Almond, Coconut, Rice)

1 1/2 cups Organic Cane Sugar

1/2 cup Oil

2 tsp Vanilla

2 1/2 cups Unbleached White Flour

1 Tb Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

Combine the flaxseed meal and water, let stand a few minutes.  In a large bowl, combine the milk, sugar, oil and vanilla and mix to combine.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Use a whisk to blend the dry ingredients together.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine, careful not to over mix.  When the batter is mostly mixed, add any extras and finish mixing.  Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 55 minutes.

Variations:

Orange Spice- Add 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground clove, zest of one orange, replace 1/2 cup orange juice for milk alternative.

Berries- Add 1 cup berries of choice (blueberry, strawberry, cranberries).

Lemon Poppy seed- Add 2 Tb Poppy seeds and replace 1/4 cup lemon juice for milk alternative.

Double Chocolate- Add 1/3 cup cocoa powder and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Raspberry White Chocolate- Add 1/2 cup vegan White Chocolate Chips (if available) and replace 1/2 cup fresh raspberry juice for milk substitute.

Apple Walnut- Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1 cup finely chopped apple.

Coconut Almond- Add 1/2 cup shredded coconut and 1/2 cup sliced almonds.

You can also be creative, or basic, with a topping for the bundt cake.  You can simply combine powdered sugar with milk alternative until you reach the consistency you desire.  Or you can use orange/lemon/raspberry juice instead of a milk alternative with powdered sugar.  The cake can also go bare since it can stand alone.

What other flavors can you think of? 

Carrot Cake!

Birthdays are always a great excuse to celebrate, even if the person isn’t excited about the new number to their age. I remember when I was young, age didn’t really mean much. It was all about doing something fun which was all about me on a certain day. And I got to eat cake. Cake has always been the symbol of celebrating another year of living and with good reason. It is sweet, and moist and soft (hopefully) and can be an adventure since there are so many flavors and ways to dress up it up. For my friend Jacqueline, she requested Carrot Cake and I am so glad she did. I like to add pineapple and a little coconut to my carrot cakes, and no raisins! The results were so perfect I ended up eating two slices that day and getting a little sick from all the sugar. But it was worth it!

Carrot Cake Deluxe

1 ½ cups Organic Raw Sugar
¾ cup Oil
¾ cup Silken Tofu, blended
2 tsp Vanilla
2 cups Unbleached White Flour
1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt
2 cups Carrot, shredded
8 oz crushed Pineapple, crushed & drained
½ cup Coconut, shredded (unsweetened)
½ cup Pecan Pieces

Mix together the sugar and oil. Add the tofu until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix again. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until barely combined. Add the pineapple, coconut and carrot. Mix until just combined. Spread the batter into two greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz Tofutti Cream Cheese
¼ cup Soy Margarine
2 ½ cups Powdered Sugar

Cream together all the ingredients until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if needed for a thicker consistency. Spread on cake and enjoy.

ORANGE!

This is the month of orange.  I was thinking it was just an orange day, with my friend Liz's birthday and I was making her an orange purse and orange spice cake.  Then I realized orange is all around me.  My cat is orange, my bike is orange, my water bottle is orange, I recently sewed an orangish-yellow top, I got an orange toothbrush from the dentist, the sun, which is orange at time, has been shining strong.  See, lots of orange.  Plus, Liz loves orange, which is why I decided to make her an orange purse for her birthday.  She also loves purses.

Liz requested a long time ago for me to make her an orange spice cake for her birthday.  Some time long ago I guess I made one and she's been requesting it ever since.  I don't remember making that cake she fell in love with, but when I made this cake I re-fell in oranges.  I decided to use fresh squeezed oranges and they were so good!  I accidently ate too many of the oranges so I had to go back to the store to get more.  

Orange Spice Cupcakes

1/2 cup Soy Margarine

1 1/2 cups Organic Raw Sugar

1/2 cup Silken Tofu, blended

1 1/2 cups Orange Juice

Zest of One Orange

1 tsp Vanilla

2 1/4 cups Unbleached White Flour

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1 Tb Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Cloves

Orange Cream Frosting:

1/3 cup Soy Margarine

2 cups Powdered Sugar

4-6 Tb Orange Juice

Orange Zest for topping

Cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth.  Add the vanilla and tofu and blend some more.  Pour in the orange juice and blend until incorporated.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and spices.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and blend until just mixed in.  Stir in the zest with a spatula since it will cling to beaters.  Fill cupcake cups about 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Makes 18 cupcakes.

Frosting:  Blend the powdered sugar and margarine together.  Add the orange juice, a little at a time, until you reached the desired consistency.  Apply the frosting to cooled cupcakes and sprinkle orange zest on top.

Cool Down With Creamsicles

Although now the weather is fairly mild, last week the sun was shining and I had to get out my fan to find comfort in me house.  I know it was time to start creating desserts to help cool me down.

This photo does not really give this sweetness justice.  The creamsicle has a mild sweetness, creaminess and really allows the flavor of the fruit you use to come through.  The first time I made this I used strawberries.  So yummy!  For this trial I used cherries.  I don't think you can go wrong with what fruit you use and you can get creative with what you add.  Maybe next time I'll try pineapple and coconut.

Cherry Creamsicles

1 Box Nori Silken Tofu (Firm)

2 cups Cherries (or fruit/berry of choice)

1/2 cup Organic Unrefined Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor.  Pour the mixture into a cup, ice cube tray, popsicle holders and place in freezer.  Allow to freeze for several hours.