Miniature Strawberry Mint Cupcake with Black Pepper Icing

Miniature Strawberry Mint Cupcake with Black Pepper Icing Cupcake: 1 ¼ cup fresh strawberries, chopped 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp 1 tsp white sugar 1 cup soy milk 1 tsp lemon juice 1/3 cup canola oil ¾ cup white sugar 2 tsp vanilla 1 ¼ cup unbleached flour 1 tbsp cornstarch ¾ tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda 1 tsp lemon zest 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped finely 1 pinch black pepper Line a miniature cupcake pan with cupcake liners and preheat oven to 350 Combine strawberries, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Combine soy milk, lemon juice, oil, sugar and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth. Sift in dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Fold in zest, mint, strawberies and black pepper. Divide into cupcake liners and bake for 15-17 minutes. Icing: ¼ cup earth balance shortening ¼ cup earth balance buttery spread 2 ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper 2 tbsp soy milk Use an electric mixer to whip together shortening and buttery spread until smooth. Sift in sugar, ½ a cup at a time, alternating with soy milk and vanilla. Add pepper. Whip for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

Easy Peasy Banana Cream Pie

Why don’t bananas get lonely?

…Because they hang around in bunches!

This is a really quick and easy no bake pie to make in a hurry and everyone enjoyed it.

 

Banana Cream Pie  Crust: 1 ½ cup chocolate or graham cookie crumbs (I used a mixture of both) 2 T sugar 1/8 t salt ¼ c canola oil 1 T rice or soy milk Combine crumbs, sugar and salt. Drizzle with canola oil and mix with hands. Add soy milk, combine and press into pie plate. Filling: 1 pack of vanilla pudding mix (Jell-o brand is vegan), prepared with chocolate soy or rice milk Prepare pudding and pour into pie crust. Let set. Topping: 2 bananas ½ a cup of dark chocolate ½ a cup of crushed macadamia nuts Melt dark chocolate in microwave or double boiler. Slice bananas and layer over pudding filling. Drizzle with chocolate and top with macadamia nuts. Chill



Ginger Bottom Pumpkin Cheesecake

 

For Thanksgiving weekend, I wanted to make something special. I hadn’t ever made a cheesecake before so I thought I’d try it out. I wondered about the crust for a long time before deciding to make it a ginger cookie, which turned out great. I was nervous making this for a special dinner and the amount of question marks I wrote on the first draft recipe also put me a little on edge. In the end, the cakes turned out and everyone seemed to like them.

 

Ginger Bottom Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes Makes 12 Cupcakes ½ recipe of Gingerbread Cookies (8 oz) pack of vegan cream cheese ½ cup, ¼ cup white sugar 1 t vanilla ½ cup silken tofu, blended in a food processor 1.5 t arrowroot powder, or cornstarch, sifted 1 cup pumpkin puree 1 t cinnamon 1 pinch cloves, ginger and nutmeg Prepare gingerbread cookies, and roll to ¾ inch balls. Flatten slightly and bake for 7 minute. When cooled, place into the bottom of a lined cupcake pan. (I also made smaller ginger cookies to put on the top. About ½ inch balls, baked for 5 minutes. You might need more or less time depending on the size. The cookies are done when they start to crack on the top.) Preheat the oven to 350 C. Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, ½ a cup of sugar, vanilla, silken tofu and arrowroot powder. Remove 1 ½ cup of the mixture and blend in the rest of the sugar, pumpkin and spices. Scoop 1 ½ TBSP (or 1 purple cookie scoop) into each cupcake liner and swirl with a knife (or chopstick ! ) Bake for 30-35 minutes *I made 1.5 times this recipe and there was about ½ a batch left. I used a 6 inch springform cake pan lined with ginger cookies for the rest of the batter. I baked it for 55 minutes and let it sit in the fridge overnight. It came out very very good.

 

Ginger Bottom Pumpkin Cheesecake

 

For Thanksgiving weekend, I wanted to make something special. I hadn’t ever made a cheesecake before so I thought I’d try it out. I wondered about the crust for a long time before deciding to make it a ginger cookie, which turned out great. I was nervous making this for a special dinner and the amount of question marks I wrote on the first draft recipe also put me a little on edge. In the end, the cakes turned out and everyone seemed to like them.

 

Ginger Bottom Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes½ recipe of Gingerbread Cookies2 (8 oz) pack of vegan cream cheese½ cup, ¼ cup white sugar 1 t vanilla ½ cup silken tofu, blended in a food processor 1.5 t arrowroot powder, or cornstarch, sifted 1 cup pumpkin puree 1 t cinnamon 1 pinch cloves, ginger and nutmeg Prepare gingerbread cookies, and roll to ¾ inch balls. Flatten slightly and bake for 7 minute. When cooled, place into the bottom of a lined cupcake pan. (I also made smaller ginger cookies to put on the top. About ½ inch balls, baked for 5 minutes. You might need more or less time depending on the size. The cookies are done when they start to crack on the top.) Preheat the oven to 350 C. Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, ½ a cup of sugar, vanilla, silken tofu and arrowroot powder. Remove 1 ½ cup of the mixture and blend in the pumpkin and spices. Scoop 1 ½ TBSP (or 1 purple cookie scoop) into each cupcake liner and swirl with a knife (or chopstick ! ) Bake for 30-35 minutes *I made 1.5 times this recipe and there was about ½ a batch left. I used a 6 inch springform cake pan lined with ginger cookies for the rest of the batter. I baked it for 55 minutes and let it sit in the fridge overnight. It came out very very good.

 

No-Bake Black Bottom-Peanut Butter Silk Pie

This is a great recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance

No-Bake Black Bottom-Peanut Butter Silk Pie 1 prepared Chocolate Cookie Pie Crust (recipe follows) or graham cracker crust FOR CHOCOLATE BOTTOM: 4 oz semisweet chocolate ¼ c soy or rice milk FOR THE FILLING: 12 oz extra firm silken tofu ¾ c creamy peanut butter 1 ½ c confectioners’ sugar 2 t vanilla extract 2/3 c coconut milk, soy creamer, rice milk or soy milk 11/4 c boiling water 3 T agar (I used 4.5T of agar flakes) Prepare the black bottom: Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. When the chocolate has melted, add the soy milk and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Pour most of the chocolate into the prepared pie crust, reserving a couple of tablespoons to drizzle over the top of the pie. Transfer the chocolate-coated pie crust to the fridge. Make the filling: Combine the tofu, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. In a saucepan over a moderate heat, boil the agar in boiling water. Stir constantly until dissolved. This takes about 10 minutes. When dissolved, pour into a glass measuring cup. There is usually 1/3 cup agar at this point. You want the liquids to be 1 cup but you can’t add it to the agar mixture or it will firm up, so if you have 1/3 cup agar and water, add 2/3 cup of milk to the tofu mixture and blend. Then add the agar and blend again. Assemble the pie: Slowly pour the peanut butter mixture into the pie crust. Drizzle the remaining chocolate over the pie. Run a butter knife through the chocolate in straight lines to create a pretty pattern. (I just drizzled it over top) Refrigerate, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 3 hours. No-Bake Chocolate Cookie Pie Crust 11/2 c chocolate cookies, crushed 2 T sugar 1/8 t salt ¼ c canola oil 1 T rice or soy milk In a food processor, combine cookies, sugar and salt. Pulse into fine crumbs. Remove from the processor and pout into a pie plate. Drizzle with the canola oil and mix with your fingers. Drizzle with the soy milk and mix with your fingers. Press into the pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.

The Happy Nanaimo Part Four: Mocha Pecan

My brother has been bugging me for nanaimo bars every day. I told him to finish the cake and then I’d make nanaimo bars (Ha ha ha!). Today, with one piece of cake left, I caved and made the nanaimos because I was too excited. I was really, really looking forward to this recipe and wanted to make it as part one, but decided to start with the original and think about this one awhile longer. I recently picked up the Flavour Bible which helped me out a bit with the bottom layer. These turned out really, really fantastic and I’m happy to share them…

Mocha Pecan Nanaimo Bars Bottom Layer ½ c margarine ¼ c brown sugar ¼ c + 1 tbsp cocoa 1 T ground flax seeds 3 T spiced rum 1 t maple extract 1 ½ c chocolate or graham cookie crumbs 1 T ground coffee 1 ½ c coconut ½ cup chopped pecans Combine margarine, sugar, and cocoa powder, extract, rum, flax and water in a small pot over a medium heat until margarine is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, combine crumbs, coconut, coffee grind and nuts. Mix the two together and press firmly into a greased 8×8 in square pan. Middle Layer 2 t soy or rice milk 2 t instant coffee granules ¼ c margarine 1 c powdered sugar Combine soy milk and coffee granules until coffee is dissolved. Combine margarine and powdered sugar. Add soy milk mixture. Mix with an electric mixer until fluffy. Press evenly on top of the first layer and put in fridge to cool. Top Layer 4 oz semi sweet chocolate 1 T vegan margarine coffee bean to top each piece Melt ingredients in a double boiler and spread over base. Press coffee bean into each piece. Refrigerate until set.

What do you give an injured lemon? LemonAID

I guess loaves and muffins are my new passion these days. Rocking out to ginger coconut muffins, carrot raisin loaves and a bunch of other things I’ve thought up (working on making/posting them). Today at work we made lemon poppyseed loaves…and I was inspired. This is my first time personally using agave and I’m pretty impressed. I used it in a few things at my previous job and the loaves we made today had it so I thought, “Why not?” and gave it a shot.

Oh, and also…I love jokes about food.

Lemon Poppyseed Loaves Makes 5 Loaves ½ cup soy or rice milk juice from one lemon 1 ½ cup flour 1 tbsp baking powder 6 tbsp poppyseeds ½ tsp salt ½ cup canola oil ½ cup agave zest from one lemon Grease a mini loaf pan and preheat the oven to 375 Combine milk and lemon juice in measuring cup and set aside Combine flour, baking powder, poppyseeds and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients and lemon zest, mix until just combined Scoop into loaf pans using 2 scoops from a yellow NSF scoop (about ½ a cup each) Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a cooling rack.

The Happy Nanaimo Part Three: Peanut Butter

You can really never go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate. Am I right? When I was coming up with the flavours, I thought this was a pretty obvious one. Everyone loves chocolate and peanut butter so, why not? Everyone loved them.

Nanaimo bars are so disgustingly easy, it’s amazing. I brought two kinds of the nanaimo bars to a couple of vegan coworkers. I said, “Do you guys like nanaimo bars?” and they both stared at me blankly until one of them finally said, “…If they’re vegan.”

I wonder how many unfortunate vegans in the world have never been lucky enough to eat a nanaimo bar..? Do they know they exist? There’s lots of recipes out there to try out. They’re a very easy dessert to make, is all I’m saying. Ain’t no thang – make a nanaimo.

Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars Bottom Layer ½ c margarine ¼ c white sugar ¼ c cocoa 1 T ground flax seeds 3 T water 1 ½ c chocolate or graham cookie crumbs 1 ½ c coconut ½ cup chopped peanuts Mix together flax seed and water. Combine margarine, sugar, and cocoa powder in a small pot over a medium heat until margarine is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in flax seed mixture and remove from heat. In a separate bowl, combine crumbs, coconut, and peanuts. Mix the two together and press firmly into a greased 8×8 in square pan. Middle Layer ¼ c margarine ½ tsp vanilla extract ¼ cup peanut butter 1 T soy or rice milk ¾ c powdered sugar Combine margarine, vanilla and peanut butter and milk in a bowl and mix with a spatula. Add powdered sugar and combine. Mix with an electric mixer until fluffy. Press evenly on top of the first layer and put in fridge to cool. Top Layer 4 oz semi sweet chocolate 2 T smooth peanut butter Melt ingredients in a double boiler and spread over base. Refrigerate until top is set.

Next Nanaimo: Mocha Pecan !