To continue our somewhat related to St. Patrick’s Day celebrations we made Chef Chloe’s Chocolate Beer Cupcakes into a cake and frosted it with a vegan cream cheese Bailey’s style topping (blend together 1/3 cup vegan cream cheese, 1/3 coconut Earth Balance, 1 TBL sugar, 1 TBL melted chocolate chips, 1 TBL coffee, 1 TBL whiskey. Then refrigerate topping for 30 minutes before frosting the cake.)
This is our entry for Vegan Iron Chef Challenge #3: coconut. This was actually much more difficult of a challenge than last week’s. Not to complain, but coconut is already an integral ingredient in many sweet and savory dishes from around the world, and coconut milk is a common vegan sub for dairy. Anyway… we tried to make something fun and tasty and new to us, so here is our version of (gluten-free, vegan) Coconut Spiced Kugel.
8 oz gluten-free spaghetti, broken into fourths
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
2 ener-g egg replacers, whipped
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 medium apple, chopped into thin, 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup tart dried cherries
2 TBL simple syrup (we had this on hand from another recipe; you could use maple syrup or agave, etc.)
1/4-1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
extra simple syrup for drizzling on top
Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare a round 8-inch casserole dish with Earth Balance on the bottoms and sides.
Cook noodles about 4 minutes and then remove from heat. Drain and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine egg replacer, coconut milk, vegan cream cheese, and spices. Add noodles, apples, and cherries. Add simple syrup to taste. Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish. Top with coconut flakes and extra sweetener.
Bake 20 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 F for an addition 15-20.
Edit: This was especially good reheated with mozzarella Daiya on top!
Another big win by a small baker. This is not the quickest recipe to pull together, but the cake is moist, flavorful, and the ginger cream cheese frosting is perfect. Vive le gateau!
1 cup gluten free baking mix **
1 cup oat flour (just grind your oatmeal in the food processor) **
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBL Earth Balance, melted a little
1/2 cup dried dates, seeded and chopped finely
1 ripe bananas (1/2 cup) mashed well
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 3 medium)
1/3 cup soy milk
1 TBL lemon juice
2 egg replacers, whisked well
6 oz vegan cream cheese, room temperature (Trader Joe’s brand!)
2 TBL fresh ginger, grated finely
3 TBL agave nectar or maple syrup (or to taste)
½ tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9x5x3 / 8-cup loaf pan (or 8×8 cake pan) and line it with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
Stir the dates into the melted Earth Balance.
In a separate bowl combine the banana, pumpkin, carrots, and brown sugar. Stir in the date mixture, breaking up any clumps as you go. Whisk in the soy milk, lemon juice, and egg replacer.
Add the flour mixture and stir until everything just comes together. Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean in the center of the cake – it’ll be less if you are using a standard cake pan. Remove from oven and let cool.
While the cake is baking whip together the cream cheese, sweetener, vanilla, and ginger. Taste and adjust for sweetness and ginger flavor. Refrigerate icing. Wait until the cake has completely cooled (at least 4 hours) before frosting with a knife or spatula.
** This is how we made the cake. If you prefer a lighter texture, try 1.5 cups gf baking mix and 1/2 cup oat flour.**
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks.
First, these cookies must be made by someone under 5 feet tall. An elf will do, if you know one.
Second, these are the best cookies in the world! Not only are they the perfect balance of sweet, spice, ginger, and chocolate, they are the ideal consistency–just soft and crisp enough to keep you eating and eating.
This recipe is for a half batch (about 16 cookies)
1 1/8 cups gluten free baking mix
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup Earth Balance, measured and softened on the counter at least 30 minutes
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 (heaping) tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Ener-G egg replacer (or equivalent flax egg)
1/4 cup ginger, finely grated
2/3 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Grate ginger and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the gf baking mix and baking soda, set aside. Whisk egg replacer with warm until frothy, set aside. In a large bowl, combine the Earth Balance with both sugars and ginger, using a whisk (or electric mixer) beat until light and fluffy. Add the salt, vanilla, and egg replacer and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate ch.
Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 12-15 minutes.
**Your oven may be hotter than ours, so check the cookies around 10 minutes if you are concerned. However, with the gf flour and ginger, we think the baking time needs to be longer than typical cookies***
Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
The title is a mouthful, but these babies are so good, it’s worth the extra effort. As we’re doing so much gingery cooking, we considered halving the recipe to be sensible. Do not be sensible, make the whole batch and enjoy these with a hot rum toddy.
2 cups all-purpose gluten free baking mix
1 TBL baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBL fresh ginger, grated
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup non-dairy milk (soy or coconut, rice milk would probably be too thin)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4-1/3 cup ginger beer
Preheat oven to 425 F. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and nutmeg together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in grated ginger with a fork. Form a well in the center and add soy milk and pumpkin. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Gradually begin to add ginger beer until there is enough to form a soft dough.
****You may not need all of the ginger beer.*** The mixture should form a soft dough, but should not be too sticky.
Prepare a heavy bottomed baking dish (such as a lasagna pan) with parchment paper.
Gently place dough on a piece of wax paper with a little flour Handle the dough as little as possible, using lightly floured hands to stop dough sticking to you, and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. It may be helpful to put another piece of wax paper on top to smooth the dough. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out the scones and place them so they are just touching each other in the baking dish.
Bake for 15 minutes (maybe up to 20), until golden on the top. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Cover scones with a cloth until ready to serve. Best when warm, with a dash of Earth Balance.
Beans, Figs and Katz 