Desserts Archives - Page 5 of 6

Product Review: Barry’s Bakery French Twists

May 13, 2010 by epicureanvegan

I picked up a box of Barry’s Bakery French Twists on a whim–was looking for a quick little dessert for a get together. For about $3.89 you get roughly 10 twists and can choose from 5 different flavors (I chose Wild Raspberry). They were delicious! They’re made with layers of crispy, cinnamony puff pastry and with about 30 calories per twist (snack-size) they’re Watch Watcher’s approved. Approved or not, I’ll eat ’em!

They have no eggs, cholesterol, butter, yeast or dairy! However, they do have high gluten flour, so they’re not for everyone. Ingredients: High gluten wheat flour, soy oil, palm oil, beet sugar, cinnamon, salt, and natural raspberry flavor.

If you’re looking for a nice cookie to serve with tea, these are perfect—I’m looking forward to trying their other other varieties. Check out their site for more information.

Red Velvet Cake

May 6, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Okay, this cake could have been one of the most amazing vegan desserts ever. . . if I hadn’t of screwed it up. Really, it was all my fault. Apparently, I didn’t know the difference between 2-1/2 cups and say. . . 4 cups. Of the dry ingredients. What was I thinking? I wasn’t. Got heavy-handed with the dry baking mix and the cake ended up a bit dense (much like the baker). I thought the flavor was really good and the “buttercream” frosting was delicious! Plus, it’s gluten-free!

So I’ve only posted the winners before, but c’mon—the pictures! I had to post it after all the work and it is my birthday for at least another 45 minutes, after all, so I can do what I want! 🙂 Really, if it hadn’t been for my mistake, I truly think this recipe is a winner. Try it and let me know what you think! If not, enjoy the pictures! (A special thank you to the kind folks who I “tested” this on. . . you’re all good sports)!

CLICK HERE for the redemption version!

INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
1 C gluten-free vanilla rice milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
2-1/2 C Betsy’s Baking Mix (below. . . and this is where I screwed up because the mix makes more than 2-1/2 cups)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1-1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C organic palm oik shortening
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ounce red food coloring
1/4 C +3 Tbs unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs distilled white vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
Betsy’s Gluten-Free Baking Mix:
3-3/4 C garbanzo flour
2-1/4 C potato starch
1-1/2 C tapioca starch/flour
(Combine all ingredients with a wire whisk. Seal in an airtight container and shake vigorously for 1 minute)
Frosting:
1-1/2 C Earth Balance margarine
4-1/2 C confectioners’ sugar
Vanilla soy/rice/almond milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9″ round cake pans. In a small bowl, make “buttermilk” by combining rice milk and cider vinegar. In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking mix (just the 2-1/2 cups) with the salt and xanthan gum. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and shortening. Meanwhile, in a separate small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and food coloring to form a paste; set side.

Add the applesauce and vanilla to creamed shortening and sugar blend until the mixture is light and creamy. Add the cocoa powder paste and mix well. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the “buttermilk” mixture to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour the white vinegar into a small cup and sprinkle the baking soda over it. Immediately pour the fizzing combo into the cake batter and thoroughly combine the two mixtures.

(That’s some thick batter)!

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes. Let cakes cool completely in their pans on a cooling rack. Turn cakes out of their pans.

To make frosting: With a mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Alternately, add the confectioners’ sugar and enough soy milk to reach desired consistency. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Frost the top of each cake layer. Transfer 1 layer to a serving plate and set the other layer on top. Frost the sides of the cake. Store the frosted cake, covered and refrigerate, for up to 3 days.

I think a scoop of soy ice cream on top would have been perfect — and possibly would have even saved me, but of course, I didn’t have any!

Recipe source (cake only): Living Without

Chai Spice Cookies with Lemon “Buttercream” Frosting

May 1, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Yum. Yep, these are delicious! Both the cookie and the frosting recipe is from 1000 Vegan Recipes, and I decided to combine the two. This is a crispy cookie, so my suggestion is to make them really thin if making a sandwich–otherwise, it’s a lot of cookie (which is what I learned). Or you can just ice the top of the cookie–it’s a wonderful combination of flavors. You can also use vanilla extract in place of the lemon, if you prefer. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

INGREDIENTS:
Cookies:
2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground fennel seed
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
3/4 C sugar
2 Tbs plain or vanilla soy milk
2 Tbs agave nectar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Frosting:
1/2 C vegan margarine
2 C confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbs plain or vanilla soy milk
3/4 tsp pure lemon extract, or vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Cookies: Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, cloves, fennel seed, and salt. Mix to combine well. In a large bowl, beat together the margarine, sugar, soy milk, agave nectar, and vanilla until well combined. Add the flour mixture, stirring well to form a smooth, stiff dough. Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll them between your hands into balls. Place dough balls onto an ungreased baking sheet and use a metal spatula to flatten the cookies to about 1/4″ thick.

Bake until lightly browned at the edges, about 15 minutes. Cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting: In a large bowl, cream the margarine with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, soy milk, and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined. Continue mixing for about 2 minutes, until the frosting is smooth and stiff. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Enjoy!

Maple-Pecan Shortbread

April 30, 2010 by epicureanvegan

I love thy neighbor… And I really love that we’re both foodies. I’ll bring over some vegan concoction (they’re so great to be my guinea pigs for some of my recipes) and she’ll return the dishes full of a different vegan concoction–even though she’s not a vegan! How cool is that?! So this afternoon, she returned two dishes I had given her–minus the hummus I sent in them–and filled with other vegan goodness. These cookies are one of them. She said they were pretty easy to make–I obviously don’t have pictures of the process–just the end result, but I’ll assure you–they’re worth any time they may have taken.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pecans
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup maple sugar crystals or unbleached cane sugar (or white sugar from sugar beets)
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/3 cup vegan margarine
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract
safflower oil, for oiling cookie sheets

DIRECTIONS:
In a blender or food processor, place the pecans, and pulse a few times to roughly chop. Transfer 1/3 cup of the chopped pecans to a small bowl and set aside. Add the oats to the remaining pecans in the blender and process for 30-60 seconds to finely grind them together. Add the flour, maple sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, pulse a few times to combine, and set aside. In a medium bowl, place the margarine, maple syrup, vanilla, and almond extract, and stir the mixture until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well to combine. Add the reserved chopped pecans and fold gently to incorporate them. Cover the bowl of dough, place it in the refrigerator, and chill the dough for 30 minutes or more.

Using a little safflower oil, lightly oil (or mist with oil) two non-stick cookie sheets and set aside. Transfer the chilled dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch squares or diamonds or into desired shapes with small cookie cutters. Using a fork, gently poke the surface of each cut cookie a few times. Working in batches, carefully transfer the cut cookies to the prepared cookie sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. Allow the shortbread to cool on the cookie sheets for 3 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Repeat the baking procedure for the remaining cut cookies. Store the cookies in an airtight container.

Yield: 4 Dozen

Recipe source: VeganChef

Product Review: Tofutti Cuties–Cookies ‘N Cream

April 23, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Delicious. That’s about it.

Ok, so here’s the low-down: 1 cutie is 130 calories with 6 grams of fat. So not the healthiest, but c’mon, it’s fake ice cream! And when you’re a vegan, tasty fake ice cream is like striking gold.

Completely dairy-free, these ice cream sandwiches come in several flavors: Cookies ‘N Cream, Vanilla, Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Key Lime, Wild Berry, Coffee Break, Strawberry Wave, and Very Vanilla (I guess the other vanilla is just sort of vanilla).

Here’s a list of ingredients: water, sugar, corn syrup solids, contains one or more of the following oils: (Corn, soy, coconut, and palm), soy protein, tofu, cocoa butter, vanilla, crunch (unbleached wheat flour, cocoa sugar), soy lecithin, guar seed gum, carrageenan, carob bean gum, salt.

Wafer ingredients: unbleached wheat flour, sugar, caramel color, soybean oil, yellow corn flour, cocoa processed with alkali, modified corn starch, salt, baking soda, vegetable mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin.

They are the perfect sized dessert–at least for me (and kids)–and taste sweet, but not overly sweet. Compared to the ice cream sandwiches I had as a kid, these taste identical, if not better!

Check out Tofutti’s site for more info.

Quick Apple Crisp

March 31, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Just like grandma’s…okay, maybe not, but damn close! Great with a scoop of soy ice cream. Prep time was only about 15-20 mins–even with peeling the apples.

INGREDIENTS:
5 Grannie Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4″ slices
1/2 C maple syrup
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C old-fashioned oats
1/2 C finely chopped walnuts
2/3 C light brown sugar
1/2 C vegan margarine, softened

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a 9″ square baking pan. Place the apples in the prepared pan. Drizzle with maple syrup and lemon juice over the apples and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, oats, walnuts, sugar and the remaining 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Use a pastry blender to cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles course chunks.

Spread the topping over the apples and bake until bubbly and lightly browned on top, about 45 mins (55 mins was perfect). Serve warm and enjoy!

Recipe source: 1000 Vegan Recipes

Cranberry Muffin-Bundt

March 22, 2010 by epicureanvegan

The original recipe is called Low-Fat Vegan Coffee Cake but it really has more of a muffin-like texture, consistency and taste. “Coffeecake” just doesn’t seem to fit. It’s not to say it’s not delicious because it’s extremely tasty and moist. Plus…prep time was about 10 minutes and only required one medium sauce pan! How easy is that?! This would be great for dessert, brunch (Easter is coming up…) or just good ‘ol teatime.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup vegan margarine
2 cups applesauce
1 cup flour
1-1/2 cups wheat bran flakes or oat bran (I used the flakes and broke them up just a little bit)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 cup raisins (I used dried cranberries)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional-but I used walnuts)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9″ square baking pan. I obviously used a bundt pan–I think it makes a much prettier presentation. In a medium-large saucepan, combine the margarine and applesauce over medium heat and heat until margarine is melted. Remove from heat.

Add the remaining ingredients, combine well and pour into prepared baking pan. I had to shake the pan to even out the batter. It should resemble oatmeal.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, however, I ended up baking mine for 45 mins before an inserted knife came out clean. All ovens run differently, so just keep an eye on it. Leave in the pan and place on a rack to cool before removing from the pan.

Top with confectioners’ sugar, of desired. (I say yes–it’ll look pretty) Enjoy!

Enjoy!

User Reviews

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

tasty, easy and moist!, March 15, 2009
Guest erineedwards

“I thought this cake was very simple to prepare and my family loved it, including our picky toddler!I reduced the sugar by half, only using 1/2 cup and found it was still very sweet. I also subbed oatmeal and oat flour for the recommended oats or wheat germ or whatever it called for, I don’t recall. I did add raisins and walnuts.I baked it as suggested but found in my 8 inch round glass dish I needed to cook it about 20 minutes longer than suggested!”

4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Processor “Cheese” Danish Pastry

February 19, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Impress your neighbors and wow the in-laws with your pastry chef-like skills by making this surprisingly easy danish. The original recipe is from Nigella Lawson‘s How To Be A Domestic Goddess cookbook and so for some time, I’ve been dying to veganize this recipe. I made several alterations, but I am so impressed with how flaky and delicious they came out. Don’t freak out by all the directions–it was actually quite simple. Plus, you don’t actually need to use a food processor–a mixer will work just fine.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C warm water
1/2 C soy milk
1 large egg (1 Tbs ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbs water)
2-1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 pkg (1/4 oz) rapid-rise yeast
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
1 C unsalted butter, cut into thin slices (Earth Balance sticks)
Filling:
Pinch of salt
1 C ricotta cheese (Tofutti cream cheese)
1 Tbs lemon zest (I used a lime)
1 large egg, beaten (again, 1 Tbs ground flax seed + 3 Tbs water)
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled (Earth Balance)
Glaze:
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C water

DIRECTIONS:
Pour the water and milk into a measuring cup and add the flax seed mixture, beating with a fork to mix. Put to one side for a moment. Get out a large bowl, then put the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in the processor, and give one quick whirl just to mix. Add the cold slices of Earth Balance and process briefly so that the butter is cut up a little, though you still want visible chunks of at least 1/2″. Empty the contents of the processor into the large bowl and quickly add the wet ingredients. Use your hands or a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together, but don’t overdo it: expect to have a gooey mess with some butter lumps pebbling it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, put in the refrigerator, and leave overnight or up to 4 days.

To turn it into pastry, take it out of the refrigerator, let it get to room temperature, and roll it out to a 20″ square. (This was fairly easy–it rolls out very nicely). Fold the dough square into thirds, like a business letter, turning it afterward so that the closed fold is on your left, like the spine of a book.

Roll out again to a 20″ square, repeating the steps above 3 times. Cut in half, wrap both pieces and put each in the refrigerator for 30 mins. (Just gently fold and wrap with plastic wrap–worked great).

So for the filling:
Combine the cheese, sugar, salt, lemon zest, egg-replacer, and Earth Balance. (I used the food processor)
Then you’re ready!
First of all…the recipe is intended to make 6 large danishes. For the first batch I made 3 large ones and decided on the second batch to make smaller ones, which I personally thought worked much better.
Roll out one of the pastry dough halves into a big rectangle (recipe doesn’t specify exactly how big…) Divide into thirds and place a tablespoon of cheese filling on each piece of dough. Fold the opposite corners up together and seal with a pinch.

Place on baking sheets prepared with waxed paper and brush with the sugar/water glaze. The recipe then calls for them to rise for about 1-1/2 hours. Yeah, that didn’t happen for me, but apparently that was no big whoop because they came out great. Preheat oven to 350 and bake 15 mins or until puffy and golden brown.

I then made a lime icing (since I used lime zest) by combining about a cup of powdered sugar and then drizzled in lime juice, stirring and adding more juice to get the consistency I wanted. I then drizzled the danishes with the icing…

For the second batch, I made smaller ones and spread out the filling more. I brushed them with the glaze and this time, they baked about 20 mins.

These really came out amazing and I will make these again and again! Enjoy!

Chocolate Truffles

February 14, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Oh my…these will be the perfect ending to your Valentine’s Day dinner! (or any dinner for that matter.) You won’t believe these tasty, decadent treats are vegan.

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 C Vegan chocolate chips, such as SunSpire brand (Ghiradelli makes a great vegan chocolate chip)
8 oz Tofutti cream cheese
3 C Confectioners’ sugar
1-1/2 tsp Vanilla
Stuff to roll them in: sweetened cocoa, sprinkles, confectioners’ sugar, toasted coconut, finely chopped nuts, or cinnamon and sugar.

DIRECTIONS:
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips. In a food processor, cream the cream cheese, about 1 min. Add the confectioners’ sugar, about a cup at a time. Combine until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate and vanilla to the food processor and blend until well combined.

Transfer to a bowl and chill for 1 hour.

When ready to make, shape into 1″ balls and roll in your favorite yummies, such as sprinkles or nuts. Chill for another hour before devouring!

Another suggestion would be using just a cup of chocolate chips and adding 1/2 C of peanut butter and melt together. Enjoy!

Recipe source: veganchef.com

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

February 6, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Yum! This recipe comes from Vegetarian Times (February 2010 issue) and they are quite delicious and easy to make. The recipe calls for a 1/4 C of applesauce and of course, I didn’t have any. We’re not big applesauce eaters here and I knew that any leftovers would turn different shades of green and white, so I opted to make my own. I just chopped up 1/2 a Grannie Smith–skins and all–and threw it into the food processor with a 1/4 cup of water and a tsp of sugar. Worked beautifully! The lemon-flavored icing is the perfect accompaniment to these cookies!

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbs flaxseed meal
1 C oat flour (I ground 1-1/2 C of oats to reach a cup of oat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs margarine (I used Earth Balance)
1/2 C light brown sugar
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C applesauce (or they recommend prune puree)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 C old-fashioned oats
1/2 C raisins or dried cranberries (I used 1/4 C golden raisins and 1/4 C of orange-flavored craisins)
Icing:
3/4 C confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
Stir together flax meal and water in a small bowl; set side. Whisk together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl; set aside. Beat margarine, brown sugar and sugar with an electric mixer, 1-2 mins, or until light and fluffy. Add applesauce, vanilla and flax meal mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in oat flour mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add oats and raisins/craisins, stir to combine. Cover and chill 2 hours or overnight. (I went with the 2 hours)

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking pans with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray. (I like to use the parchment or waxed paper). Roll cookie dough into golf ball-sized rounds, and place them 1-1/2″ apart on baking sheets. Flatten each cookie to 1/4″ thickness with the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in water.

Bake 10-12 mins or until cookies look dry on top and are just starting to brown.
Meanwhile, to make icing: Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Icing should be thick, but spreadable. Gently brush icing on hot cookies with a pastry brush. (On the second batch, I waited until the cookies cooled to ice them and I liked that better–the icing didn’t “melt” into the cookies). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 24 cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Product Review: Barry’s Bakery French Twists

Red Velvet Cake

Chai Spice Cookies with Lemon “Buttercream” Frosting

Maple-Pecan Shortbread

Product Review: Tofutti Cuties–Cookies ‘N Cream

Quick Apple Crisp

Cranberry Muffin-Bundt

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Processor “Cheese” Danish Pastry

Chocolate Truffles

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

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