In August, Joe and I joined his sisters, Terri Ann and Tina, and their families for a short vacation in Ocean City, N.J. (Our 14 year old niece, Gabriella, who is about as far removed from “Snooki” as one can get–thankfully!–does a great imitation.) The DiJulios spent part of the summers there throughout their lives and, now that both of their parents are deceased, have vowed to keep the tradition alive.
Family dinners are part of the tradition so, late one afternoon on the way home from a bike ride, Terri Ann and I couldn’t resist the Jersey peaches at a local market. Dinner was a grilled affair (marinated tofu for me) with my husband, Joe, in charge, so he put the peach halves on while we enjoyed dinner including Jersey corn and tomatoes plus sauteed kale from who knows where.
Before we sat down, I joined forces with Terri Ann (a good cook in her own right) and her husband’s son, Curt (a partner with Bonefish Grill who knows his way around a kitchen) and created a luscious, glistening, and not-too-sweet Cabernet sauce for the peaches. We all gave it a can-I-please-have-some-more? enthusiastic thumb’s up!
I served it over a plain grilled peach for me, but added a little scoop of peach yogurt that was in the fridge for everyone else, omnivores all. But, if you like, you can forget all the formalities and just eat it from a spoon!
Hopefully there are still a few summer peaches available in your neck of the woods, but if not, the sauce would be delicious over, say, grilled bananas, perhaps pears, vegan pound cake or ice cream (or both!), etc.
1 1 /2 cups Red wine (we used Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet)
2/3 cup sugar
Bring both ingredients to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat, and simmer gently until reduced by about one-half to two-thirds. You should have about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sauce. Remove from heat. Reduction will thicken more as it cools.
Serve over grilled peaches with or without a dollop of vanilla or peach vegan yogurt.
Yield: enough to generously frost 12 regular cupcakes or a single-layer cake
School started on Monday with an in-service week for teachers, so I made these beauties for a few of my teacher friends to wish them a “sweet” start to a new school year.
What a hit they were! One teacher wanted the recipe, one said they were “three minutes of uninterrupted heaven,” another sent me a text saying, “Awesome cupcake,” and still another said he was quite sure it was the best cupcake he had ever eaten! And, by the way, all of these teachers are omnivores.
What makes them so special? Well, the vanilla cupcakes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World are darn good. But the cupcake-frosting combination is out of this world. Truly, it was the frosting that sent everyone over the moon: fresh raspberries that I marinated in champagne! Actually, they were from a sangria recipe I created with Prosecco (I was testing a recipe for a major project that, fingers crossed, will come to fruition). But, for the purpose of recreating the frosting without having to make sangria first, I figured out the correct proportion of Prosecco and sugar. The flavor is bursting with berry freshness and a little tangy zip, but there is a subtle depth and complexity about it too.
These cupcakes are pretty enough for a wedding, but it would be a shame to save them for such rare occasions. Bake up a batch and make any day special!
1/2 cup sparkling wine (I use Prosecco, but champagne would be lovely too)
3 tablespoons natural sugar
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons vegan butter
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
5 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
The day before you plan to make the frosting, marinate the berries: in a small bowl, dissolve sugar in the sparkling wine, add berries, stir well, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours. To make frosting, cream butter, shortening, and cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, starting the mixer on slow and gradually increasing the speed so that you don’t coat yourself in sugar. After you’ve added about 2 cups of the sugar, drain berries and add all of them with another cup of sugar, beating well. Don’t be alarmed if mixture looks curdled; it will smooth out as the remaining sugar is added. Continue beating and adding remaining sugar and vanilla until the frosting is thick and creamy. You may find that you need more or less of the sugar in the marinade, as well as in the frosting, depending on how sweet and moist the berries are, respectively. So adjust as you see fit. Use the frosting immediately or refrigerate until ready to use. I like to pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cupcakes using a pastry bag before garnishing with white nonpareil pearls for a very feminine look (I purchase the pearls at our local Kroger). However, a fresh raspberry perched on top , perhaps with a mint leaf, would also be lovely.
Note: I recently saw some Oreos (they’re vegan in the U.S.!) with a berry filling! So pretty in pink. I’m thinking that the frosting would be absolutely scrumptious between two chocolate wafer cookies, no?
Find the back-story and simple recipe for these cupcakes HERE.
And if you don’t have lemon verbena growing in your garden, run, don’t walk, to the nearest garden center or farmer’s market. It has become one of my favorite herbs: pretty, versatile, and easy to grow!
Where did May go? I feel that I’ve been out of touch for so long, and that was not my intention!
I had the flu for the first two weeks of the month, and it was all I could do to get myself to school and home. And, I guess, by the middle of the month, we were deep into testing, final assignments, end of year celebrations and, come the first of June, the creation of exams and oh-so-much-more in preparation for graduation which is only a week from tomorrow! The last days of school are absolutely breathless!
Speaking of breathless, these fabulously decadent cupcakes will take your breath away!
They were inspired by the irrepressible Kisha Marie, Starbucks barista and beaded jewelry designer extraordinaire. I love starting my day with an exchange of greetings, ideas, and news with Kisha. Her exuberance is infectious. And, I swear, she has my Green Tea Soy No Syrup Frappuccino started before I even arrive!
Every so often, my local Starbucks where she works offers free tastes from a big carafe. A recent Kisha Marie concoction gave rise to my newest favorite cupcake: a blend of iced Via concentrate, coconut syrup, and soymilk. Mmmm… She always gets the balance of flavors, consistency, and color exactly right.
Though there is no chocolate in her signature beverage, I thought the chocolate cupcakes would be a perfect foil for the coffee and coconut in the frosting. Yes, indeed! And the Kahlua? Well, who needs to justify coffee liqueur? I just have to remember not to spike them when I share with my students!
But I did share them with all my pals at Starbucks. The cupcakes received a latte praise (sorry, I couldn’t resist), though Kisha recommended that I use Via instead of my standard espresso powder. I’m sure she’s right about that. Next time!
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup natural sugar
1/3 cup finely ground almonds, plain or toasted for deeper flavor (use a food processor to achieve the consistency of an almond meal)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (table salt is fine, but I love sea salt even in baked goods)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (or canola oil)
1 cup chocolate almond milk (chocolate soymilk may be substituted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
5 tablespoons Kahlua or other coffee flavored liqueur for brushing tops
Optional garnish: 30 chocolate-covered coffee beans, sliced almonds, or a pinch of plain or toasted coconut
Line 30 mini-muffin cups with mini-muffin papers. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, stir together all dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients except Kahlua. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Stir both together until the batter is smooth, though a few small lumps may remain. Using a small scoop, divide batter evenly among the lined muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted in the center of one cupcake comes out clean. Check at 18 minutes to avoid over-baking. Remove muffin tins to wire racks to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove cupcakes from the tins onto the racks in order to prevent them from continuing to cook. Prick each cupcake a few times with a toothpick and brush the tops with up to 1/2 teaspoon Kahlua each. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe in swirls on top of each cupcake. Or simply spread the frosting on each cupcake with a dinner knife, spoon or offset spatula. Garnish as desired and serve immediately or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Coconut Espresso Buttercream Frosting:
6 tablespoons vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons espresso powder dissolved in 4 teaspoons unsweetened or plain soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons coconut extract (extract is preferred over coconut flavor, though the flavor will do if you can’t find extract)
Cream together butter and shortening until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, alternating with the espresso and soymilk mixture, until smooth and creamy. Start electric mixer on low so as not to coat yourself in sugar. Beat in vanilla and coconut extracts until completely incorporated.
It was recently published by the good folks at One Green Planet and you can access itby clicking HERE.
Its crust has a secret ingredient–now known to be healthy–that yields a perfect flaky, yet tender, crust that’s a cinch even for novice bakers to manage. And you won’t have to wait very long to have this beautyon the table because of my stove top pre-cooking method.
Make it a la mode: As a bonus, you can also access my Cinnamon Stick-Vanilla Bean Ice Cream recipe which was created especially for this pie, but is delicious on its own.
Thanks to Team One Green Planet! Enjoy, everyone!
Following is another gift of the season fromThe Blooming Platter Cookbook. While I can’t purchase locally-grown oranges, I did notice a sweet shipment from Florida in the grocery store last week, which made me think of this recipe.
It is a luscious marriage of rich chocolate and fresh oranges. Especially if you spike it with a tablespoon or two of orange liqueur, it is a wonderful dessert for a cold winter evening. The mousse sets up almost instantly, so it is ready and waiting as soon as you put your dinner fork down.
Yield: 8 servings
This is a luscious marriage of rich chocolate and fresh oranges. Spiked with orange liqueur, it is a wonderful dessert for a cold winter evening. The mousse sets up almost instantly, so it is ready and waiting as soon as you put your dinner fork down.
2 large oranges
12 ounces extra-firm silken tofu
1/2 cup natural sugar
9 ounces bittersweet vegan chocolate,melted (see note) and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch sea salt
Optional garnishes: vegan whipped topping, orange slices, or candied violets
Arrange 8 (4-ounce) ramekins in a 9 x 13-inch pan and set aside. Zest and juice the oranges and transfer to a food processor along with the orange pulp, discarding the seeds and pith. Add the tofu and sugar to the food processor, and process until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the melted chocolate, vanilla and almond extracts, and a pinch of salt. Process for several minutes until smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins. Cover the top of the pan with foil. This method is faster than covering each individual ramekin and makes them easier to transport. Chill the mousse until set, about 30 minutes. Serve chilled, garnished as desired.
Note: melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave for about a minute at 30 second intervals, whisking in between. Alternately, melt on the stove in the top of a double boiler.
For 150+ additional gifts of the season, please consider The Blooming Platter Cookbookfor yourself or as a gift for a health- and taste-focused friend or loved one.
A big thank you is in order to Isa and all the good folks who are the driving force behind Vegan MoFo. Thank you so much for continuing to feed this fire and for making it so easy, not to mention gratifying, for all of us vegan bloggers and many, many readers to participate. What a beautiful thing.
Though MoFo officially ends today, I will still be here offering new recipes several times a week to Blooming Platter readers and subscribers. So I invite you to subscribe if you haven’t already. It’s now easier than ever and you can do it via email, no rss feed necessary. Just look over at the top of the right-hand sidebar and follow the simple prompts.
This version features a split pumpkin biscuit.
And now a sweet for the sweet, but, not so sweet that you couldn’t serve this warming dish for a fall breakfast or brunch, which is how I first enjoyed it.
I grew up loving my mother’s biscuit-style Strawberry Shortcake which, incidentally, she would sometimes allow my sister and me to enjoy for breakfast. So, my fall version of this treat is based on a sweetened pumpkin biscuit.
And it’s topped with a quick and spicy apple and walnut saute. Your kitchen will be perfumed with some of the best fragrances of fall.
Yield: 4 Servings
Note: the following is the Herbed Biscuit recipe from my new Blooming Platter vegan cookbook without the herbs, but with the addition of dehydrated pumpkin powder and a little natural sugar. Just click here to order the dehydrated pumpkin from Barry Farm. I am partial to it rather than pumpkin puree, as it adds lots of flavor and golden color, but no additional un-needed nor unwanted moisture which requires additional flour and, hence, a heavy biscuit. However, if you have a vegan pumpkin biscuit recipe you like, feel free to substitute. Just add about 2 tablespoons of natural sugar to a cup of flour.
My special biscuit method requires freezing the vegan butter and shortening, so don’t forget to pop it in the freezer the night before you plan to make them. And I highly encourage taking the tiny bit of extra time to employ my modified french puff pastry folding method. You won’t believe how buttery and flaky the two together will make your biscuit-shortcakes.
This version features an unsplit pumpkin biscuit.
Pumpkin Shortcakes
Note: this recipe makes about 10 biscuit-shortcakes, more than you need, but they are delicious plain and reheat nicely, so I predict you’ll be glad to have them on hand.
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup plain or unsweetened soy milk
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (or 1 1/2 cups all purpose or white whole wheat flour + 1 tablespoon baking powder)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder (add only if using the self-rising flour)
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or your own mix of ground cinnamon, clove and nutmeg to taste)
1/4 cup natural sugar
4 tablespoons frozen vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons frozen vegan butter + 2 tablespoons refrigerated vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
Warm Spiced Apple Filling (recipe below)
About 1/4 cup of your favorite vegan whipped topping, sweetened cashew cream, or even vegan sour cream and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar into the soy milk and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder (3/4 teaspoon if using the self-rising flour and 1 tablespoon if using all purpose or white whole wheat), pumpkin powder, pumpkin pie spice, and natural sugar, and stir with a fork to combine. Make a well in the center. Spray your box grater very lightly with nonstick spray for easier clean up and then grate the frozen shortening and frozen vegan butter into the well. Whisk the soy milk mixture and add it to the well.
2. Incorporate the wet into the dry ingredients by stirring with a fork so that the warmth of your hands doesn’t melt the shortening and butter. Place the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a 9-inch square pan and place it in the oven to melt the butter. Remove the pan as soon as the butter has melted.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, pat or roll the dough to about 1-inch thick (1/4-inch thicker than for my biscuits). Fold it like a business letter: fold one side two-thirds of the way across and fold the remaining 1/3 back across. Pat or gently roll the dough out to a 1-inch thickness again, turn it a quarter turn and repeat about 4 more times. Do this fairly quickly so that the dough doesn’t warm up.
4. Lightly flour the work surface as necessary. The last time you pa the dough to a 1-inch, cut out biscuits wih a 2-inch biscuit, cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place each biscuit in the prepared pan and flip to coat both sides with melted butter. Bake the biscuits for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. While biscuits bake, make filling (recipe below).
5. When cool enough to handle, either place a biscuit on each of 4 plates; top with 1/4th of the Warm Spiced Apple Filling; garnish each serving with a tablespoon of vegan whipped topping, sweetened cashew cream, or vegan sour cream and a light dusting of ground cinnamon; and serve warm. Or, split the biscuits and place 1/8th of the filling inside and another 1/8th of the filling on top, garnish, and serve. Save the remaining 6 biscuits in an airtight container for another use.
Warm Spiced Apple Filling
1 tablespoon vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons chopped walnuts
2 medium apples (I like our local Winesaps), cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 cup natural sugar
1/4 cup ground cinnamon or to taste
1/4 cup ground ginger or to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground clove or to taste
1 tablespoon maple syrup
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add walnuts and toast, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove nuts to a paper towel-lined saucer. Add apple, natural sugar, and spices. Saute for about 3 minutes or until apples soften. Add maple syrup and cook another minute or two until apples are very tender. Add all but 1 tablespoon of walnuts, stir, and heat through. Remove from heat and use as directed above.
Here in VA Beach, fall comes late so it can be quite warm this time of year. Therefore, when my “good” vegan gal pals on “Good Reads” suggested that we all post a recipe inspired by pumpkin to celebrate the mid-way point of Vegan MoFo 2011, I decided to make mine a quasi-warm weather recipe while featuring this quintessential cool weather ingredient.
I love pumpkin as much as I do sweet potatoes, which is to say ” a whole lot!” so I was all in. And I love it in both savory and sweet dishes. This one is a not-too-sweet, but plenty sweet enough (that one’s for you, Lee!), maple-infused pumpkin ice cream. I serve mine with sweetened Cashew Cream and a cinnamon stick. But it would be delicious, say, with my Pepita Caramel Syrup (which is equally good on my Vegan Pumpkin-Bourbon French Toast) or with Pepita Brittle.
True confession: I tried a new recipe I found online, experimenting with adding some additional flavors. The recipe was a bust–maybe it was the Tequila and lime juice I added (seriously!)–as it never hardened enough to make brittle, but it also wasn’t soft enough to serve as a sauce. Plus, I discovered a very important lesson: cinnamon and chipotle chili powder, when combined, taste like a Red Hot! I don’t know about you, but I’ve never cared for Red Hots, and certainly not on my beautiful pumpkin ice cream. So much for being creative. I did, however, discover that I LOVE lime zest sprinkled over the top of the not-so-brittle brittle. I’m going to keep experimenting and be back to you when the results are worthy of Blooming Platter readers!
For now, I hope you enjoy my newest creation!
Yield: approximately 1 quart
1 cup unsweetened or plain soymilk, divided
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
3/4 cup soy creamer
2/3 cup natural sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1-15 ounce can pumpkin puree (feel free to substitute homemade)
In a small cup or bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup soymilk with arrowroot until completely combined, and set aside. In a 2 quart saucepan, combine remaining soymilk, soy creamer, sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin, cinnamon sticks, and dry spices. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture just reaches a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately whisk in arrowroot mixture. The custard will thicken noticeably and quickly. Whisk in vanilla and maple extracts. Pour the mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate until cold, approximately 2 to 3 hours or overnight. Remove cinnamon sticks, whisk again, and freeze according to your ice cream manufacturer’s directions. Store in freezer. Serve with a dollop of sweetened Cashew Cream, half of a cinnamon stick, and/or with Pepita Caramel Syrup.
Yea, I know, I’m a seasonal vegan cook, and this recipe hardly fits that description… unless, like me, you consider chocolate to be a perennial food.
This recipe was inspired by a pan of dessert bars I spied in our administrators’ kitchen at school about a week ago. Theirs had a thin chocolate crust topped by a thick peanut butter layer and another thin chocolate ganache layer. They looked so good that I thought I would absolutely perish if I didn’t figure out how to make a vegan version and fast.
However, I couldn’t get started on them as quickly as I’d hoped because, after I went to the store, I came home to put the groceries away and could not find my (honey-free) graham crackers anywhere. Figuring that I must have stuck them somewhere really odd, I looked in places like the freezer…and the washing machine. No luck. So, I went back a couple of days later, bought another box, and made them on Sunday for my students’ National Art Honor Society meeting last Monday. A hit!
After just a little research, I put a couple of recipes together and fell head over heels for the result. They are FAR better than my memory of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. And they are very well-behaved, slicing beautifully. They do need to stay refrigerated, but that’s a small price to pay for creamy perfection!
Yield: 24 bars
Crust:
1 3/4 cup finely crushed vegan graham crackers (Nabisco brand “original” are honey-free), that’s one wrapped package within the box
1/2 cup vegan butter, melted (I like Earth Balance)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Filling:
2 1/2 cups natural creamy peanut butter (crunchy is fine, but the mixture is processed and ends up creamy anyway)
3/4 cup vegan butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
Ganache:
1/4 cup soy creamer
11 ounces vegan chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together all crust ingredients. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13″ pan. I like to use the bottom of a glass to help with this task. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven, and cool completely. Once partially cool, I like to place the pan in the freezer for the crust to finish cooling. (Avoid placing a hot pan in the oven as it might raise the temperature of the compartment to a potentially dangerous level.)
In the bowl of a food processor, combine all filling ingredients and process just until smooth. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and process until combined, pulsing if necessary. Add the remaining cup of powdered sugar and do the same. Dollop the mixture over the cooled crust and pat evenly to cover. Cover the pan and refrigerate until the ganache is cool enough to use.
In a 1-quart saucepan, bring soy creamer to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, add chocolate chips, and stir or whisk until mixtures is smooth. Let it cool to room temperature and then spread thinly over the peanut butter layer. It will look like there might not be enough ganache, but there is the perfect amount (if you don’t eat too much of it while frosting the bars!). Cover and refrigerate for 2 more hours. Slice into bars and serve. Store any leftovers–leftovers, yea, right–in the refrigerator.
This recipe was adapted from Midwest Living (Eagle Ridge Inn and Resort).
Just 2 days left in my Blooming Platter Cookbook giveaway! Go here for the details and simple directions on how to enter and win!
Yield: 8 servings (1/2 to 3/4 cup sauce)
