Vegan MoFo: Y is for Yogurt Cake

I have to be honest...I had zero energy to cook and/or bake tonight! But, with 2 letters and 2 days remaining in November, I decided not to push it. So, I found this recipe but did not have the lemon zest. Instead, I had fresh oranges that supplied orange zest and juice. I thought the addition of semolina was interesting. And it is no lie that this cake smells terrific while baking!

The texture of the cake was really nice. There was a thin, crisp layer to the top and edges, while the inside was extremely moist, fluffy and a bit grainy but in a very appealing way! I enjoyed the orange flavor (I also used walnuts instead of almonds) but I will also try it again with lemon someday.

East Coast Coffee Cake with Apricot Swirls

My mom recently visited and her arrival time was early morning. My favorite thing to serve with coffee is coffee cake and it is easy to make ahead of time! My old favorite recipe calls for vegan sour cream and I didn't have any. So, I decided to give the Vegan Brunch recipe a try. It was fantastic! I added a swirl of apricot jam before adding the crumbled topping. The cake is very moist and the crumble is soft and grainy. It doesn't bake into a solid layer or become crunchy.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the post bake masterpiece! I did however think to take a picture of the cake batter with apricot swirls.

My Own Private India Menu

From the "Menus for the Masses" section of Veganomicon, I traded a few of the meal items with another Indian feast called "Lazy Indian Gourmet." I love this section of the cookbook because it maps out a perfectly balanced meal for me to follow, all within a common theme.

The meal consisted of the following: Sauteed Spinach and Tomatoes, Cornmeal-Masala Roasted Cauliflower, Curried Tofu, Rice, Roasted Yellow Pepper and Corn Bisque, and Vanilla-Yogurt Pound Cake with berries and soy ice cream for dessert.

Sauteed Spinach and Tomatoes
We spent last weekend in Frankfurt, Germany with friends and Julia made this one night with dinner. Her recipe is almost identical to the one in Veganomicon. Onion, garlic, and ginger are sauteed in vegetable oil. A very large portion of spinach is added to the mixture (around 6 cups) along with diced tomatoes. This is all cooked down for as long as possible and splashed with lemon juice before serving.

Cornmeal-Masala Roasted Cauliflower
My beloved Brussels Sprouts are out of season so I substituted Cauliflower in this recipe and was not disappointed! It is a breading mixture of cornmeal, chickpea flour, garam masala, and other spices all coating the cauliflower and baked to crispy deliciousness.

Curried Tofu
Pressed, marinated, and baked, this tofu had a really nice flavor. But some credit has to be given to the fact that I bought the tofu fresh from the Asian market. I am not sure I could ever go back to pre-packaged tofu again!

Rice
I really like this rice recipe. It seems to come out just right each time and has just enough flavor but not too much to take away from whatever it is served with.

Roasted Yellow Pepper and Corn Bisque
This soup has a bit of a bite but the combo of the spice along with coconut milk, lime, roasted veggies, corn, garlic, and nutmeg along with everything else make it great! It makes a huge batch and fortunately leftovers taste just as good.

Vanilla-Yogurt Pound Cake
The above link to the recipe is slightly different than in Veganomicon. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup Vanilla Soy Yogurt but this blogger substituted vegan Sour Cream. Also, the original recipe calls for 2 cups all-purpose flour, no whole wheat. This cake is heavy but if I remember correctly, pound cake is supposed to be! The vanilla soy yogurt and the citrus extracts gave it so much flavor. It went really well with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries (sprinkled with sugar to bring out the juices in the fruit) and Soy Ice Cream.

Chocolate Orange Cream Loaf Cake

For my second attempt at catering lunch for John's co-workers, I made this dessert. I didn't get to eat any of it myself but the feedback was very positive and it did smell wonderful!

The cake is a basic vegan chocolate cake baked in a loaf pan. After it has cooled completely, it is sliced into three long layers.

The filling is a combination of sugar, cornstarch, soy milk, orange juice, vanilla, and orange zest. It has a pudding-like texture but did a nice job of holding the layers up and staying in place.

The final step is to frost with Chocolate Ganache (1/4 cup coconut oil, 3 Tbsp soy milk, 1/2 cup chocolate). I didn't do this for a variety of reasons, but left the bowl of Ganache next to the cake and let people spoon it on themselves!

The recipe is from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. Along with the dessert, I made Kugel and Lentil Salad.

Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes

Apparently one day at John's office, there was talk of me making lunch for everyone occasionally. Everyone was willing to pay for the lunch and was on board with everything being vegan. So, today was day one of my amateur catering business! I decided on Tomato-Basil Lasagna Spirals, Panzanella, and for dessert, Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes. I think it went well, and I really enjoyed the experience!

The spirals are really delicious and many can fit into a large baking pan, making it easier to transport. I made another batch of homemade tomato sauce to serve alongside the stuffed noodles. The Panzanella combines the bread and salad making this a filling meal.

The mini cakes are adorable and sweet, caramel and fruit flavored. The original recipe recommends using mini springform pans. I do not own these or have the desire to go buy them, so I used ramekins. I had to cut my pineapple into chunks because the rings were too large. Instead of cherries, I used raspberries for the center. Everything else worked out nicely!

Here is a picture of the caramel sauce and the fruit in the ramekin, before the cake was poured on top.

And, a picture of the cakes fresh out of the oven, pre-flipped!

Neapolitan Bars

I know, Spring is for Strawberries (that is the name of the article the recipe is found in, in the March/April 2009 issue of VegNews) but after my cookie disaster yesterday, I had to make up for it with something chocolate and fruit! These definitely did the trick. The recipe is easy to follow and quick to make. I substituted rice milk for soy.

Here they are right out of the oven.



And the final product, chocolate topping included!

Carrot cake with Cream Cheese Icing

I have made this recipe before, not vegan. Tonight I tested it with egg substitute and vegan cream cheese and was definitely not disappointed. It is from an In Style magazine from 2005 and is called "Jenny Belushi's Carrot Cake." The ingredients for the cake are: 2 cups All-Purpose flour (I substituted one for Whole Wheat Pastry), 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, 2 cups sugar, 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used safflower), 2 eggs (Ener-G Egg replacer), 4 cups grated carrots, and 1 cup sweetened (I used unsweetened) coconut. Heat the over to 350 and grease/flour two 9" cake pans. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a medium bowl. In a large bowl beat sugar, oil and eggs until well blended. Beat the two mixtures together. Add carrots and coconut. Divide between two pans and bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool on wire wracks. Ingredients for the frosting are: 11 oz. Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, 4 TBSP Earth Balance butter, 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tsp vanilla (I forgot to add the vanilla). I added all the ingredients to my food processor and mixed. I had to add at least a cup more powdered sugar to make it thick enough. This cake rocks!

Carrot Cake

I took this recipe from the cookbook How it all Vegan. I will use sugar next time, not sucanat. It definitely changed the flavor. I enjoyed the cake but will search for a different topping next time. I am happy that I kept it on the side verses spreading it on the cake. It has stored better in the fridge and allowed me to skip it all together! John really enjoys the topping on his cake though.
Country Carrot Cake
1 1/2 cup flour (I used spelt)
3/4 cup dry sweetener (I used sucanat)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3/4-cup soy milk (I used almond milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4-cup oil
egg replacer (to equal 1 egg)
1/2-cup carrot, finely shredded
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
Heat oven 350. Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix until "just mixed" but don't over mix. Pour into a greased cake pan and bake for 25 minutes.
To-Fruity Cream Cheese
1-cup soft silken tofu
1/4-cup cashew pieces
4 tsp sweetener (I used agave)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2-cup fruit (I used strawberries)
Mix in a blender.