Some have said, “An Unrefined Vegan? Yeah, girlfriend can’t do gluten-free!” Well, I’m here to tell you not only that I can, but that I AM doing GF over at Richa’s blog today. That’s right – old Ms. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour is hangin’ at Vegan Richa today with a rice flour-xanthan-gum kinda recipe for chocolatey and blueberrily whoopie pies.
Be sure and spend some time exploring her site when you visit. You WILL leave hungry. Thank you, Richa, for inviting me to share!
On a wild hare a few weeks back, I entered a baking contest over at Earth Balance (via their Made Just Right site) – something I have heretofore never done. Since I only had a short time to come up with an original recipe, I decided to go with something familiar – something I knew tasted good. So once again I returned to the mocha spice cake recipe I created for the Virtual Vegan Potluck. I thought a creamy, melty maple-flavored ganache would be the perfect topping. It tasted great, but clearly I need to work on my decorating skills!
I didn’t take home the prize for best cupcake; nor did I win the grand prize (a trip to Las Vegas), but it was fun participating – and I did end up getting a very unexpected prize for best photo. Thank you, Earth Balance! (Visit the original recipe at Made Just Right here. And check out the delicious winning recipes while you’re there.)
One year ago today: Better Than Doughnuts: Peanut Butter & Jam-filled Tangzhong Bread
One year and one day ago: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip, Cranberry & Pecan Cookies
Mocha Spice Cupcakes w/ Maple Crème Ganache
Makes 12
Batter
2 cups strong, freshly-brewed coffee
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup maple sugar
½ cup vegan butter or coconut oil (or a blend)
2 tbsp. flaxseed meal
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup AP flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. powdered stevia
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/3 cup sweetened cacao nibs
Ganache
¾ cup vegan butter, softened
¼ cup coconut oil, softened
6 tbsp. nut milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. maple extract
¼ cup maple syrup (more or less, depending on taste)
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin tins w/ paper muffin cups or spray lightly with oil.
Make the ganache first as it needs a couple of hours to chill.
In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut spread, coconut oil, nut milk, vanilla & maple extracts and maple syrup. Place in the refrigerator to firm and chill.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, stevia, baking powder, baking soda and spices.
In another bowl, whisk together the hot coffee w/ the cocoa powder, maple sugar, EB Coconut Spread, flaxseed meal and vanilla extract. Whisk to thoroughly combine and then pour into the dry mixture. Stir well, pressing out any lumps. Stir in the cacao nibs.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cupcakes are firm and springy on top.
Allow to cool completely.
To finish the ganache, pour the mixture into a blender – it should be firming up, but not completely solid – and process until very smooth and creamy. Either pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes or simply spread over the tops.
Keep cupcakes in the refrigerator as the ganache will soften at room temperature.
Christmas and mint. How did they become an item? The red-and-white-swirled candy canes dangling from stuffed stockings? The tiny pastel-colored, melt-away candies piled in bowls that appear only in December? The Santa- and snowman-shaped chocolate candies filled with a gooey mint center? Or maybe the cool of mint recalls drifts of snow and icy winds. It can’t be helped. Mint reminds me of Christmas.
This is the classic chocolate cream cheese muffin but without the dairy and a little bit less of the guilt. I’ll take one of these over a candy cane any day.
A quick but important aside to thank one of my very favorite bloggers – Nicole, of Cauldrons and Cupcakes – for naming An Unrefined Vegan as one of her Blogs of the Year. If you haven’t met Nicole, do yourself and your psyche a favor and go visit. Nicole is a gentle, wise and sensitive soul who shares of herself without reservation; her readers reap the benefits.
One year ago today: Onion & Walnut-Stuffed Beer Bread
Chocolate Mint Cream Cheese Muffins
Makes ~22
Mint Cream Cheese:
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/2 tsp. white miso
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 tbsp. egg replacer
3 tbsp. nut milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
~1/4 cup cacao nibs
Muffin batter:
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. powdered stevia
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cups nut milk
1 tbsp. flaxseed meal
4 oz. unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp. brown rice vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350F and line ~22 muffin tins with paper or silicon muffin cups.
Make the cream cheese filling:
In a food processor, add all of the filling ingredients, except for the cacao nibs, and process until very smooth. Taste and adjust for sweetness and mintiness. Stir in the cacao nibs. Set aside.
Make the batter:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda and powdered stevia (no, I did not forget to add salt). In a medium-sized bowl, combine the nut milk, flaxseed meal, applesauce, vinegar and vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until thoroughly combined.
Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full with batter and then top each muffin with a heaping tablespoonful of filling. Bake for about 20 minutes – do not overbake – and remove from the oven. Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so on cooling racks, then remove from the tins.
Much more prim and proper than their deep dark chocolate cousins, these vanilla cupcakes with a chai truffle center also pack a less powerful caloric punch. The cupcake is based on a recipe from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay Nixon.
One year ago today: Asparagus & Cilantro Soup
One year and one day ago: Tempeh Bacon, Fig Chutney & Apple Sandwiches
Vanilla Chai Truffle Cakes
Makes 10
Truffle Filling:
1/2 cup dates, roughly chopped, soaked for a few hours
1/2 cup pecans, soaked for a few hours
1 tbsp. crystallized ginger, chopped
1/4 tsp. anise seed, ground
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
pinch salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. coconut oil
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup almond milk
Cupcakes:
1 cup almond milk
1/2 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup maple sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Make the truffle filling:
Drain and rinse the dates, pecans and crystallized ginger and put them in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground.
Meanwhile, carefully melt the chocolate chips and the coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder. When melted and combined, remove from the heat and set aside.
Spoon the mixture date/pecan mixture into a blender and add the almond milk, all of the spices and the chocolate/coconut oil mixture. Process until silky smooth. Pour into an air-tight container and refrigerate for a few hours to firm.
Make the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly oil 8 muffin tins (fill the empty tins half-ful with water). In a small saucepan, slowly heat the milk and scrape the vanilla bean so that the seed paste comes out. Drop the bean into the milk. When the milk just starts to bubble around the edges, remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a smaller bowl, combine the applesauce, maple sugar and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk in the milk mixture. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins and bake for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the muffin tins from the oven and drop truffle filling by the teaspoonful+ on top of each muffin – gently pressing the filling into the cupcake. Return the muffin tins to the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the cupcake is firm and a toothpick comes out clean (from the cake, not the truffle). Let cool for a few minutes before removing cupcakes from the pan. Serve warm.
(The truffle filling would also make an excellent frosting.)
I once worked briefly for an Army Colonel. He could’ve stepped off of the movie set of Apocalypse Now: tall and wiry with a stiff and graying crew cut, a brisk manner and a lopsided, slightly maniacal grin that revealed a mouthful of misaligned teeth. Plus the requisite rich southern accent and an endless supply of (to keep things G-Rated here) “earthy” sayings. I kept a mental catalogue of his favorite expressions, one of which was “it’s an ugly baby.” Well, back on October 27, 2011, I published a post of several ugly babies. The post was titled A Delicious Failure: Sunken Chocolate Cakes and the recipe was based on one by Marcel Desaulniers called Heart of Darkness Cakes. After my failure, tasty though it was, I vowed to try again. It’s taken me over a year to do it. They’re still ugly babies, but my, they are delicious. (If chai isn’t your thing, just leave out the spices and you’ll have a delicious chocolate truffle.) Coming up soon: Black and White Cakes – a vanilla version of the above – which cleverly and thriftily uses the leftover truffle filling made for these cupcakes.
Now for the really important stuff: the winner of a copy of Kathy Hester’s book, The Vegan Slow Cooker! Congratulations to – - - Paula!! You are going to love this cookbook! Please check your email, Paula 
. Thanks to everyone who entered - – and remember that there will be a lot of giveaways happening on the Virtual Vegan Potluck website over the next few weeks – - so don’t despair, you still have a chance to win something! (P.S. Tomorrow I reveal the winner of the $50 forAnima gift certificate…)
And…One year ago today: Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice & Cranberries
Deep Dark Chocolate Chai Truffle Cakes
Makes 10
Truffle Filling:
(filling makes enough for two batches)
1/2 cup dates, roughly chopped, soaked for a few hours
1/2 cup pecans, soaked for a few hours
1 tbsp. crystallized ginger, chopped
1/4 tsp. anise seed, ground
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
pinch salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. coconut oil
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup almond milk
Cupcakes:
1/2 cup coconut oil
2.5 oz. prune puree (baby food)
1 cup vegan, semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp. flaxseed meal + 9 tbsp. water (whisk together then let sit for a few minutes to thicken)
1/2 cup maple sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. all-natural coffee flavoring, optional
Make the truffle filling:
Drain and rinse the dates, pecans and crystallized ginger and put them in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground.
Meanwhile, carefully melt the chocolate chips and the coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder. When melted and combined, remove from the heat and set aside.
Spoon the mixture date/pecan mixture into a blender and add the almond milk, all of the spices and the chocolate/coconut oil mixture. Process until silky smooth. Pour into an air-tight container and refrigerate for a few hours to firm. I rolled mine into sloppy balls (~20) and placed them in the freezer to firm up – making them easier to handle when putting them into the cupcakes.
Make the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly oil 10 muffin tins (fill the empty tins half-ful with water). In a small saucepan, slowly heat the coconut oil and the chocolate chips until melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder. In a smaller bowl, combine the prune puree, flaxseed meal mixture, vanilla extract and coffee flavoring, if using. Whisk the chocolate mixture in with the other wet ingredients and then stir this into the dry ingredients. Batter will be very thick and gooey.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins and bake for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the muffin tins from the oven and drop truffle filling by the teaspoonful+ on top of each muffin – gently pressing the filling down into the cupcakes. Return the muffin tins to the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the cupcake is firm and a toothpick comes out clean (from the cake, not the truffle). Let cool for a few minutes before removing cupcakes from the pan. Serve warm.
These reheat beautifully in the microwave. And the freeze well.
Welcome to the Potluck! By now your waistband is probably stretched a bit, the table is thick with empty plates and glasses and you’ve probably gone through a napkin or two. There are still lots of yummy, sweet, decadent treats coming your way and - I want you to get right to the next dessert! Mine!
I couldn’t resist this year; I had to make a dessert. Sure, I had fun at the last Potluck with my Sage & Rosemary Dinner Rolls with Roasted Garlic Coconut Butter, but the dessert bloggers were getting all of the attention! While a bit detailed and requiring some advance work, this rich and creamy trifle recipe is well-worth the effort – especially for a holiday meal or for when you want to impress your guests. By the way, you’re really getting two desserts for the price of one. Both the cake and the creme are stand-outs on their own.
Maple Creme & Mocha Spice Cake Trifle with Fresh Blueberries
Serves 8
Mocha Spice Cake:
2 cups freshly-brewed hot coffee
1/2 cup maple sugar, divided
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
1/4 cup vegan butter
1 very ripe banana, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. flaxseed meal + 6 tbsp. water (whisk together and set aside until thickened)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. powdered stevia
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 cup sweetened cacao nibs
Maple Creme:
16 oz. silken tofu
1/4 cup freshly-brewed coffee
1/2 cup almond milk, divided
2 tsp. maple extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
juice of 1/2 a lemon
3 tbsp. tahini
pinch cardamom
pinch kosher salt
4 tbsp. arrowroot powder
1/2 -1 cup fresh blueberries
Make the mocha spice cake:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9″x 13″ pan with parchment and lightly spray with cooking oil.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 1/4 cup of the maple sugar. Add vanilla extract and flaxseed mixture. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine the coffee, the remaining 1/4 cup of the maple sugar and the cocoa. Whisk together and warm – just enough for the cocoa and maple syrup to dissolve. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, stevia, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice. When the coffee mixture is cool, alternately add it and the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir until smooth. Stir in the cacao nibs.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is firm and springy and a tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into small chunks.
Make the creme:
Mix the arrowroot powder with 1/4 cup of the nut milk. Set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup and coffee and gently warm.
In a blender or food processor, combine the tofu, the remaining 1/4 cup nut milk, the maple and vanilla extracts, lemon juice, tahini, cardamom and salt and process until very smooth.
Let the maple syrup/coffee mixture come to a boil, reduce the heat and stir in the arrowroot powder. Stir with a whisk until the mixture thickens – this happens quite suddenly. Immediately pour the arrowroot mixture into the blender with the tofu mixture and process until thoroughly combined. Pour into an air-tight container and refrigerate until firm.
Assemble the trifle:
In a large glass trifle bowl or in individual bowls, pour some of the maple creme. Lay down a layer of mocha spice cakes chunks and sprinkle in some blueberries. Repeat layers until all of the ingredients have been used – making sure you end with maple creme and blueberries. Cover and store in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
Thank you so very much for visiting An Unrefined Vegan and for coming to the Potluck! If you like what you see here, consider following my blog or visiting me on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.
And now – - continue your plant-based journey and discover more delicious desserts!
To visit Too Cheap for Pine Nuts (sharing arroz sin leche), the next blog in the Potluck, click on the Go Forward button below, or click here:
To return to Anne Sture Tucker’s blog and her delicious carrot cake, click on the Go Back button below or click here:
You can always start at the beginning of the Potluck by visiting Vegan Bloggers Unite! or the home base of the Potluck, the Virtual Vegan Potluck website.
Hold on, hold on – I’ll get to dessert.
I had a big date last week. My stomach is still kinda all in butterflies about it. A rendezvous with my Utah bestie had been postponed a couple of times so this was a big deal. Sure, we’d been in near constant touch via text, email and blog comments, but it’s just not the same thing, is it? And then it happened. The stars aligned and our schedules meshed; I was going to spend a whole couple of hours alone in a vegan restaurant with Somer. Yep, that’s right. Somer, of Vedged Out fame.
That there up above is what Somer ate. It’s Sage’s Cafe’s awesome Nut Burger, loaded with pesto, guacamole and nestled up against two slices of whole grain bread. Read her post for the deets on that, but I know it was good cuz there wasn’t a single crumb left on her plate. It’s what I usually get (my only complaint about their burger is that it is too darn small – Supersize Me, Sage’s!), but I forced myself to look at the other half of the menu – into the unchartered territory of Entrees.
It was a tough decision, but I went for the Magical Wok. It looks pretty, huh? A coconut-currified meal in a bowl, it’s loaded with cashews and a seasonal selection of grilled veggies that still have a nice crunch to them. You can get it with either soba noodles or brown rice and then load it up with your choice of tofu, tempeh, mushrooms or chik’n. It’s creamy with just the right amount of curry flavor, but truth be told, I found it a tetch oily. I ended up taking most of it home and then splitting it with Kel for lunch. Sadly, it did not reheat well and we both composted the majority of it. I’ll be sticking to the Sandwiches and Salads side of Sage’s menu.
Which brings me to dessert. An unexpected end to the meal. Neither of us had any intention of stretching our waistbands further – at least not until dinner – but the waiter guessed correctly that we were celebrating Somer’s birthday so he pushed a dessert on us with the irresistible added bonus of it being gratis. When he set the tiramisu down in front of us, well, I can’t speak for Somer, but I’d bet both of us immediately thought two things: 1) where can I get a bigger fork?? and 2) I wonder if I can make that at home (and then blog about it)? Theirs is a very chocolate-flavored tiramisu, very creamy and very rich. Definitely one that you want to split with another person. It was the perfect wrap-up to a sweet, fun, funny, girlie lunch with my dear, Vedged Out friend. Next time we conquer Omar’s!!
What to do with that 5-pound behemoth of a zucchini that eerily resembles a lethal weapon wielded by an ogre in a Grimm’s Fairy Tale? Grate that puppy up and make zucchini bread. Lots of zucchini bread. Call it fate, kismet, destiny, luck or simply that it’s summer and everyone has at least one or two zucchini cudgels hanging about the kitchen, the recipe mentioned over at The Bear and the Blackberry for zucchini bread came just at the right moment. My tweaks were to reduce the oil by half and add unsweetened applesauce; reduce the sugar from 2 cups to a 1/2 cup (and I used maple sugar) plus stevia; add chocolate chips and change out the walnuts for pecans. This cake is absolutely addictive. It’s so good I’m looking around for an ogre who wants to unload an outsized zucchini or two.
The little beauty of a recipe above for dairy-free, no-bake cheezcake comes from Somer at Good Clean Food. Pure friggin’ genius. Never a traditional cheesecake fan, I tried this simply because it fascinated me – and I ended up loving the results. The secrets are cashews and Pomona’s Pectin. Soft and creamy with a little bit of lemony tang and then sweetness from the blueberries – you get the true cheesecake experience without a ton of sugar and scary dairy. I messed with the crust, using pecans instead of almonds and adding chia seeds and orange zest, but the only change I made to the cheez (other than coming close to complete disaster because I tried using a food processor for the whole thing rather than my Vitamix…) was to reduce the maple syrup by half and add a little bit of stevia. When you visit Good Clean Food to get the recipe (and you simply must get the recipe), note how much thinner Somer’s slices of cheezcake are. Oops.
Next, I offer up these beautiful bars inspired by breakfast #217 from Desayunos Veganos 365:
I followed Nihacc’s link to this easy recipe and played around with it a little bit, changing out some of the ingredients and adding some here and there. My take on it is below, but I encourage you to check out Nihacc’s mouthwatering breakfast blog (imagine: something different each morning!) as well as the blog she cites (The Sunny Raw Kitchen).
Date-Cherry-Ginger-Orange-Coconut Bars…with Cacao & Chia
Makes 12 or so bars
1 cup almonds
1 cup dates, roughly chopped
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/4 cup crystallized ginger
1 cup dried, unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
1 tbsp. cacao nibs
1 tbsp. chia seeds
Line a 9″ x 9″ pan with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a food processor, finely grind the almonds. Add the dates, cherries and ginger and process a few times just to break everything down. Add the remaining ingredients and process until everything is in small bits. If the mixture is not coming together, add a tablespoon or two of water.
Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and gently spread and pat it out until it reaches all sides and is fairly even. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours before slicing. I wrap mine in parchment paper and store in the refrigerator.
Just so I don’t neglect the beverage side of things: here’s a fruity-sweet peach and black tea drink from Compassionate & Passionate Cuisine. Since I just happened to have a boatload of fresh peaches hanging about, I couldn’t NOT make this (immediately) after reading her post.
“No snacks, no seconds, no sweets – except on days that begin with the letter S.
- Michael Pollan, from Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual
My sweets/sugar philosophy summed up by Mr. Pollan. And mostly I stick to it. I find that if I indulge myself on Saturdays and Sundays then it’s easy getting through the weekdays without cravings. Hence, the towering cake pictured above, created on a Saturday morning (in time for a post-lunch treat).
The process doesn’t always go smoothly (another word that begins with the letter S), however. It sure seemed like an awful lot of batter to pour into an 11″ x 7″ baking pan – especially with that big one tablespoon of baking powder and the huge heaping pile of chocolatey crumble on top – but who was I to question? Into the oven went the cake (with just one last look at the directions). There it was in black and white: “grease an 11″ x 13″ baking pan…“ Oh dear. Fingers crossed. Oven door slammed shut. Over the next 30 minutes I watched the cake rise and rise above the sides of the glass pan, hoping the contents wouldn’t spill down onto the oven floor and burn into cinders. You can see from the photos that the cake is rather tall, but is no worse for the wear for being squeezed into a smaller pan.
Incidentally, also too late I realized that I had only one chai tea bag (the recipe called for 4-5). Determined to go forward, I settled on using a black tea bag, the lone chai tea bag and two teabags spiced similarly to chai. The result worked perfectly – a mildly spicy and fragrant cake. The coconut milk yogurt makes for a very tender, moist crumb. Even if you aren’t a “corner” person, you’ll want the corner pieces of this cake on account of their extra coating of crumble.
This is another recipe adapted from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes, by Kris Holechek. I used some whole wheat flour instead of 100% white flour and instead of a whopping 1 1/2 cups sugar, I used 1/4 cup maple sugar and powdered stevia; small tweaks to the topping included subbing whole wheat for white flour and reducing the sugar by half.
(For some thoughts on women and sweets, have a read over at Rachel in Veganland.)
Tea and Chocolate Cake with Cocoa Crumble
Makes an 11″ x 13″ cake
Cake:
4-5 chai tea bags (I used 1 Tazo Awake, 1 Tazo Organic Chai, 2 Tazo Sweet Cinnamon)
1 3/4 cups almond milk, warmed
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. powdered stevia
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 6 oz. carton coconut milk (or soy or almond) yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla
Topping:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp. maple sugar
2 packets crystallized stevia (or 3 additional tbsp. maple sugar)
4 tbsp. vegan butter
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F and lightly oil an 11″ x 13″ pan.
Make the batter:
In a glass measuring cup, warm the milk, then steep the teabags for at least 5 minutes. Gently squeeze the bags and let the milk cool completely.
In a large bowl, mix the flours, stevia, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together the sunflower oil and the maple sugar until smooth. Whisk in the yogurt, vanilla and cooled tea-milk mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Make the topping:
In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder, brown sugar and flour. Cut the butter into small pieces and work into the cocoa mixture until crumbly. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, top with the crumble mixture and bake for 35-40 minutes. The edges of the cake should be firm and the top springy. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into generous pieces.
Matcha & Green Tea Cupcakes w/ Vanilla Bean Frosting.
See that beautiful (and yummy) cupcake up there? Sure, I made it and all, but I can’t take credit for it. That would belong to the creative minds behind The Bear & The Blackberry. In less than 24 hours after reading their recipe for Matcha and Vanilla Bean Cupcakes, I had these babies rising magnificently in the oven. Sure, I made my standard tweaks: used applesauce in place of canola oil; whole wheat pastry flour for white and used maple sugar and stevia to achieve the proper sweetness. I did not have matcha powder but did have green-matcha tea bags. I snipped a few and emptied them of their lovely green, powdery contents and voila! Almost-matcha powder. The biggest change I made was to modify the Lean Cocoa Frosting recipe from The (Almost) No Fat Cookbook, by Bryanna Clark Grogan. Do not expect thick, creamy, buttery decadence here, folks. But do expect lots of tasty vanilla flavor and zero eater’s remorse. Here’s the (very quick) recipe:
Lean Vanilla “Frosting”
Makes enough to coat 8 cupcakes
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup maple sugar
half of 1/3 of a cup (I’m not a mathematician) cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla extract syrup, vanilla extract or a vanilla bean, scraped
Combine everything but the vanilla in a blender and process until smooth and well-combined. Pour into a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Let sit until it reaches room temperature and then you’re ready to frost the cupcakes.
And now for some more blender action…Despite promising myself I would stop, I need to share another green smoothie recipe with you all.
Can’t Not Share it Green Smoothie
Serves 2
1 6 oz. container coconut-flavored almond milk yogurt
1 cup coconut water
1 orange, peeled and quartered
1 apple cut into chunks
1 stalk celery, cut into chunks
1 carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 big handful of spinach or other green
Process until smooth in your favorite blender-type appliance.
Recently I received this cuddly little cutie (above) in the mail from Rachel of Rachel in Veganland – why? because I won (woohoo!) the very first giveaway she held on her blog. Rachel must know that the color of my thumb hovers between gray and black and that I can’t do much harm to a crochet cactus! When I opened the package, all kinds of sparkles and fuzzies tumbled out of the envelope along with her handmade gift – it was kind of like getting a hug from my blogging friend. Thank you, Rachel! Your cactus has a place of honor right next to my computer.
Last but most definitely not least: Have you been thinking about what you’re going to bring to the next Virtual Vegan Potluck?? I have!
While I’m not quite ready to divulge what recipes I’m considering nor the work behind the scenes of the next one (November 3, mark your calendars!!), I will share that I recently asked two of my favorite bloggers to help me out with the details. Apparently my powers of persuasion are better than I imagined. I’m happy to report that both Jason of Watch Me Lose 150 Pounds fame and Somer, the plant-based heart and soul of Good Clean Food, have graciously agreed to help plan and execute November’s Potluck – and they’ve already been contributing awesome content to the VVP Facebook Page. (If you haven’t Liked us, please do!) If all goes as planned, the facade is going to look a lot different – but (pardon the expression) the meat and potatoes of the event will remain true to the first go ’round.
