Pecan Brownies & other vegan teases

Hello All! 2012 went fast and now I'm back home with hundreds of sweet recipes to share with you! First and foremost you must try these Pecan Brownies. If you haven't found a decadent vegan brownie yet, well the search is over.

Pecan Brownie

Before you preheat your oven, let me take a moment to apologize/defend for my absence. I got the opportunity to spend the year in an incredible kitchen, elbow-deep in whole wheat pastry flour and chocolate chips as the pastry/salad chef at the award-winning Ravens' Restaurant.

The Ravens' is attached to the eco-friendly Stanford Inn by the Sea. Along with included breakfasts, guests can enjoy a complimentary dessert every afternoon during what we referred to as "Tea Time". Skeptics, believe me when I say that dreams come true: I got to live on the scenic Mendocino coast in Northern California and bake something new each day with the fresh, organic, vegan ingredients

When I had a free moment (which wasn't very often), I got to photograph some of the lovely desserts:

Carob Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Strawberry Basil Mini Layer Cake

S'mores Bar with Cocoa-Dusted Banana Slices

Trio of Macaroons: Almond, Toasted Coconut, Strawberry

Mexican Hot Cocoa Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream

Strawberry Shortcake with Peanut Butter Mousse and Chocolate Ganache

Some Tea Times were just too good to be served once and made an appearance every month or so. The favorites included Double Fudge Brownies (a la mode) (keep scrolling for recipe!), Huckleberry Orange Bundt Cake, Chocolate Marble Banana Bread, Tiramisu (which made it to the dessert menu for a month), Lavender Lemon Bars, Italian-Style Cheesecake with Pomegranate Sauce (for the holidays)...

Old-Fashioned Ginger Molasses Cookies

Speaking of holidays, what better way to spend December than having a Christmas Cookie of the Day? Pfeffernusse, my dear-to-heart Italian Anisette Cookies, Gingerbread, Walnut Apricot Jam Dots, Mint Chocolate Chocolate-Chip, there was room for all to be enjoyed alongside a cozy fireplace and Christmas tree at the Inn. I taught a Christmas cookie baking class (along with a couple healthier classes too). I can only hope Cookie Season 2013 will be half as whimsical.










As I promised, here is the recipe for the Brownies. There are many variations with this recipe. Pecan Brownies are always a favorite, a bit more indulgent than walnuts, (but many times I went nut-free and threw in some orange zest and cinnamon for a Mexican kick). I made these for my family and they went so fast, I was lucky to get one to take a picture.

Note: For extra fudgy brownies, underbake slightly - remove from oven when top crust has formed but insides are still soft, about 30 minutes of baking.


Yields 1 8"x8" pan, about 16 servings

1/4 cup coconut milk (or other nondairy milk)
2 tablespoons flaxmeal
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegan buttery spread, melted
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup nondairy chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup hot coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 8"x8" square baking pan.

In a small bowl whisk coconut milk and flaxmeal until thick. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and add sugar, melted buttery spread, and vanilla.

In a small bowl mix chocolate chips with salt. Pour hot coffee over, stirring until chocolate has melted.
Add to wet ingredients and mix well.

In a large bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Add wet ingredients into dry mix and stir until no flour lumps remain. Use a rubber spatula to even spread brownie mix into prepared pan. Bake for 30-3 minutes, until top crust has formed and edges have browned. Let cool in pan before cutting.

Strawberry Blueberry Granola Crumble

Happy Fourth of July! Another holiday, another excuse to bake something exciting. Don't even think that using red, white, and blue sprinkles will cut it for America's birthday. You want to impress her, bake with the fruit grown from her land.

I'd salute it.

You cannot get any more summery-American than this Strawberry Blueberry Granola Crumble. Ripe strawberries, plump blueberries, hearty oats ... the sweet, simple, guiltless desserts are always devoured the quickest. My advice: Make two, bring one to the  BBQ tomorrow and keep the other safe at home.


1 1/2 cups oats, ground in the food processor

3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup slivered almonds
dash of salt
dash of cinnamon
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 quart blueberries
1 quart strawberries, diced
2 tablespoons arrowroot
squeeze of lemon juice

Heat oven to 350F and lightly grease a clear casserole dish.

Mix together ground oats, whole oats, almonds, salt and cinnamon. Add oil and syrup, mix using finger tips until a coarse crumble is achieved. Set aside.

In a large bowl toss blueberries, strawberries, arrowroot, and lemon juice until fruit is all-coated. Pour into casserole dish. Using a large spoon, drop granola crumble on top. Bake until topping is golden and fruit is steaming, about 20 minutes. Let cool a bit before eating. If feeling adventurous, serve with coconut ice cream.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

I'm in the midst of my last week in the Chef's Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute.

Emotionally, I am not ready for this. Before the program, I thought that taking a bus at 7:20 in the morning to begin a day in which I dedicate over 3 hours commuting was going to be miserable. But when I see the 801 turn my corner, I am so excited and grateful that I am on my way to my dream school. I am going to miss my fellow CTP 198 students and all of the great chefs and faculty, especially because I am going to be on the other side of the country! I will be interning at The Millennium Restaurant at The Hotel California in San Francisco. I have never eaten there but I've read their cookbook and am madly in love.


We had a final written exam today, and so I spent Sunday studying. Well, baking cupcakes totally counts, right? My friend, the girl at ilaughalittletooloud.blogspot.com, hadn't had the best week, especially when it came to transportation. She had a few flights canceled, plus had to say goodbye to her totaled new-to-her car Mr. Grover. Determined to make this a better week for her, I surprised her with these Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting.

The frosting is peanut butter based, and considering how delicious AND healthy it was, it was unbelievable.
She and my nonvegan family loved them!

Banana Cupcakes
Yields 12

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 tablespoons soy or almond milk
1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting and chopped peanuts for topping

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare cupcake tin with paper liners.

Mix oil, sugar, applesauce, and banana in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Sift and whisk dry ingredients together; add wet ingredients into dry. Whisk to combine soy milk, vinegar, and vanilla; add mixture to batter.

Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full. Bake for about 15 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
Yields about 1 1/2 cups, enough for a dozen cupcakes

1 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably unsweetened
6 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
6 tablespoons liquid sweetener (agave nectar or honey  works best)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup soy or almond milk (enough until desired consistency is reached).

Blend with hand mixer until smooth. Pipe through pastry bag for best results.

Blueberry Cobbler

Most weekends, I find a recipe I want to make, only to come home and find I have none of the ingredients. Never one to deprive myself of dessert, I "made it work"with this amazing blueberry cobbler, a recipe altered and veganized from the Blackberry Cobbler recipe in Mary Engelbreit's Sweet Desserts Cookbook. She actually only does the artwork in the cookbook, so I'm not really sure why her name gets such big letters and not the chef, but whatever. The book is full of simple, too-sugary, buttery desserts. Her intentions are all good, and with some changes the recipes can be adapted for the sweettoothed vegan.

Messy is beautiful, beautiful is messy.

This cobbler is DELICIOUS. Now, I have a real bias toward my beloved blueberry, and other fruits can be used in place, but the blueberries really add a lot. This dessert went unbelievably fast, if I didn't have blueberry staining all over my mouth and hands, I probably would have mistake the whole thing for a wonderful dream.

Topping:
3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c sugar
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 T vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)
1/3 c + 1 T almond milk

Filling:
2 c fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 c sugar
2 1/4 t whole wheat flour
1/16 t allspice

Heat oven at 375F.

Mix dry topping ingredients in a small bowl. Press in oil and almond milk until mixture has a crumbly texture. Set aside.

Mix filling ingredients together in a medium bowl. Pour into an ungreased pan or pie tin. Drop topping on blueberry filling, in spoonfuls until well covered (it will spread).

Bake for about 20 minutes, until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling.

Let cool shortly and serve warm or cold.

Black Bean Brownies

Prior to today, I've never made a successful vegan brownie. They would just sort of boil away in the oven, and come out hard, not very appetizing. They would still smell good, tricking my whole family into thinking they were going to have dessert that night. I have been mean to them long enough, it's time they get what they deserve. Fortunately, today is Labor Day so everyone is home to eat them so I don't have to ration myself some and test my self-control.

Low-fat, gluten-free, no white sugar =
nothing to stop me from having another ... and another.

I knew had to try these Low Fat Vegan Black Bean Brownies when I read that they were "dense, fudgey, and ultra-healthy", because I'm a firm believer that cake brownies are oxymoronic and have no place in my kitchen. And recipes with black beans always get my vote.

I'm not going to lie, they do taste like black beans. But it makes it even more delicious. Don't take my word for it, do yourself a favor and head over to Happy Herbivore to get the recipe.

First, a warning: this are really fudgey! If you want a bit more floury, add more instant oats as noted. I did not use the optional sugar, and for the first time, I followed a recipe exactly instead of personalizing it (which may or may not be why my past attempts at brownies were flops), so follow the link for the recipe. Next time I think I'll fold in some walnuts for that nutty-fudgey love.

The Best Chocolate Cupcakes

Hot like Mexico, rejoice!

"Baby, let's make a run for the border,
I've got a hunger only tacos can stop."

I lied. These really aren't Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes. But they could be. The decorations are misleading. The red sugar screams "fun and full of surprises" but they are just normal chocolate flavor. These really should have cinnamon and cayenne in them. It's such a shame.

I made these for my cousin's graduation party. Nobody thought they were Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes. But they did love them anyway. I don't believe my extend family has met the Mexican hot chocolate cupcake. Next time they are in for a spicy surprise.

This is my absolute favorite chocolate cake recipe. Perfect amount of sweetness, lovely brown color, and did I mention how moist they are? They just might ruin all over chocolate cakes for you, but they are worth it. Seriously, I refuse to follow any other recipe. I can't take credit for them, you can click the link below to see their origin and rave reviews.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Yields 12 cupcakes

1 1/2 c white flour
1 c sugar
1/4 c cocoa powder (preferably dutch)
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/3 c safflower oil, or any vegetable oil
1 t vanilla extract
1 t distilled white vinegar
1 c water

Heat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tin with paper liners

Sift together the dry ingredients, add the wet, mix until smooth (without overmixing).

Pour into liners (about 2/3 full), bake for about 10 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out dry.

Let cool a minute, transfer to wire rack. Wait until completely cool before icing.


Vanilla Icing

1/4 c safflower oil, or any vegetable oil
1/4 c Earth Balance
1 1/2 powdered sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/8 c almond milk

Beat oil and margarine until smooth, beat in sugars, then the liquids.

Snip tip of plastic sandwich bag and spoon in some icing. Apply even pressure to bag with spiraling around the cupcake, working from the center out. Immediately sprinkle with red crystals. Alternate between clockwise and counter for each cupcake to further ensue fun.

Vanilla July 4th Cupcakes

Ready for those flashing lights

If you didn't already know, you would have found out soon enough, but I am a little monster. I literally only wear make-up when in costume, so I enlisted the help of my amazing friend Cristina to glam my face up for the Monster Ball. I have more in the kitchen than in the bank, so I paid her with these July 4th cupcakes.

It's so delicious, that's money honey.

Yes, those are Christmas tree sprinkles on the middle cupcake. It happened and I went with it, I think those Hot Bread donuts are to blame.

The rest were donated to my family. I don't have a car, so I constantly feel the need to pay them in baked goods for all the places they drive me. Mostly the A&P.

The big ones can be dollars and the itty ones, cents.

Now, I'm not one for dyes and such, but I do like using up all the unhealthy decorations that are taking up precious shelf space.

The cupcakes are a plain white cake, taken from Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifer McCann.

Fluffy White Cupcakes

Yields 22 cupcakes

2 1/8 c white flour
1 1/8 c sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c safflower oil, or any vegetable oil

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 scant c almond milk

1 1/4 t vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.

Large bowl, mix together the five dry ingredients. In separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Add wet to dry and beat until smooth.

Fill liners about 2/3 full with batter. Bake 15-20 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out dry.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cakes to wire rack. Let cool completely before icing.

Icing

1/4 c safflower oil, or any vegetable oil
1/4 c Earth Balance
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
3/4 t vanilla extract
1/8 c almond milk

Beat oil and margarine together until smooth, then beat in sugar, then remaining ingredients. If you desire color, split icing into as many bowls as colors to be used. Mix in a few drops of food coloring to each bowl, stir. Spoon icing onto cakes and spread with back of spoon.