Vegan Italian Valentine feast

Here's a peek at the dinner I made for my Valentine...

Spaghetti with vodka marinara sauce (which I will remake and blog about at some point), steamed broccoli, from-scratch garlic flatbread, and a Piemonte Barbera red wine. Pretty perfect.



Hannah Kaminsky (a.k.a. Bittersweet)'s famous Mocha Devastation Cake. Absolute fattiest and most caloric thing I have ever made in my life. Needless to say, it was a hit.



Mocha Devastation Cake = two layers of dense chocolate cake sandwiching a rich coffee buttercream frosting, enrobed in a thick dark chocolate ganache and ringed with crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans. Life is good.



Happy V-Day, everyone!

Crème-filled German chocolate upside-down cake

Yes, I realize I just did an upside-down cake, but while that one is classic and traditional, this is a very unconventional take on a well-known and -loved cake. German chocolate may not have anything to do with Germany (it was named after a Mr. Samuel German), but it can’t be a coincidence that my family is a GCC-loving clan. For just a few moments, though, suspend your preconceived notions of German chocolate cake, and try my interpretation on for size. The recipe is one I found a long time ago in Taste of Home. It’s unique, unexpected, and it veganizes surprisingly easily.

This is one of my three favorite cakes of all time (you’ll find out in due time what the other two are) and while it’s one of the most caloric desserts I’ve got on here, it’s well worth a splurge. You can use the excuse that I did, and make it for a friend’s birthday.

1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 pkg German chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1T canola oil
1 Ener-G egg
1/2 block firm silken tofu, like Mori-Nu
1 pkg vegan cream cheese, like Tofutti, softened
1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the coconut and pecans evenly into a greased and floured 13x9-inch baking pan.



In a blender, combine 2/3 of the tofu with the applesauce, canola oil, Ener-G egg, and however much water your cake mix calls for (probably 1 1/4 cup) and process until completely smooth. At this point, my blender was already dirty, so I decided to try something weird and make the whole cake in there. It worked! So, you can transfer the mixture to a large bowl and break out a whisk or hand mixer, or you can just dump the cake mix right into the blender.



Blend for about 2 minutes, then carefully pour the batter over the coconut and pecan mixture in the pan.



Set that aside, and clean out your blender (take this opportunity to taste the batter, ohh it’s good). Set the blender back up and process together the cream cheese and Earth Balance. (I have a good feeling coconut oil could work here as well.) Add the remainder of the tofu and blend again.



Add the sugar a cup at a time, blending until completely smooth. Carefully drizzle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan



Make sure it goes all the way to the edges. You’re probably wondering why we’re putting frosting on the bottom of an upside-down cake, but just you wait.



Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Check out what happens in the oven—the rich, weighty frosting sinks halfway down into the cake, et voilà, instant crème filling!



Cool the cake for 10-15 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate or, in my case, a parchment-lined baking sheet. Before you say anything, yes, I admit I nibbled on one of the corners as the cake cooled. I just couldn’t wait. Only when I flipped the cake did I realize I couldn’t hide it in the picture, heh. Sorry.



Is that beautiful/amazing/mouthwatering/insert-yummy-adjective here, or what?! The coconut and pecans toast all on their own against the bottom of the pan, and lend the cake a pleasant crunch and chew. The cake part is kept super-moist by the applesauce and tofu, and the filling—oh, that filling! Super-sweet and rich, but with just the right amount of tang from the cream cheese. With every bite you sink your fork into, that gorgeous crème will ooze out to greet you. When you combine it all in your mouth, you'll experience the gustatory fireworks that only a treat as hedonistic and indulgent as this can bring.



I really wish this last picture weren’t blurry, but maybe that’s a sign that you need to just go bake this cake yourself. Because you do. Oh, you do.



Yield: 20 slices. Per slice: 337 calories, 14.4g fat (4.8g sat), 50.8g carbs, 2g fiber, 2.2g protein.

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Deep chocolate bundt cake
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Pineapple upside-down cake

A few weeks ago, a woman at my work brought in a pineapple upside-down cake for a birthday party. I was in the lunchroom, minding my own business, doing my best to ignore the fruity aroma invading my senses, when I was offered a piece. Vegan it was not, but I had to try it. The cake was light and moist, the pineapple was soft and syrupy, and the brown sugar streusel topping really did it in. I’ve never had much of an opinion on pineapple upside-down cake—I could take it or leave it, and it had never entered my baking radar at all—but I knew then I had to make one myself soon.

Needless to say, the cake I tasted at work had sky-high amounts of fat and sugar. It was nice to have a few bites of, and it’s no secret I don’t mind ultra-richness and super-sweetness one bit, but I don’t really need anything that caloric tempting me in my own home. Though it didn’t have the buttery melt-in-your-mouth quality of the work cake, mine turned out quite tasty, and satisfied my craving just fine.

1 can of pineapple rings
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
2T brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Maraschino cherries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch cake pan. Drain the can of pineapple rings, pouring the juice into a bowl or measuring cup. Add the canola oil and vanilla to the pineapple juice. Lay out the pineapple rings on a plate to allow any extra juice to drain (add any drained juice to the juice-oil mixture).



Arrange the pineapple rings in the bottom of the cake pan, overlapping them slightly. Add a pitted cherry to the center of each ring, if desired, and sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the pineapple. I didn’t have any cherries, but I had the juice remaining from an old jar—I knew I’d find a use for it someday! I drizzled the cherry juice (about 2T) over the pineapple before topping it with the brown sugar.



Mix together the flour, white sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir to combine.



Pour the batter over the pineapple rings...



...and use a spatula to gently spread it to the edge of the pan.



Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is completely golden. It will start to look brown very early on, but don’t be fooled! The juicy pineapple at the bottom makes it take longer to bake than other cakes its size.



Cool the cake for at least 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen it from the pan. Put a large plate upside down on top of the cake pan. Wearing oven mitts, flip the cake pan and plate over at the same time, so the cake lands on the plate.



Let the cake continue to cool as long as you can stand, then cut and serve.



This cake is a study in layers. The pineapple on top, saturated by the cherry juice and sweetened up by the brown sugar, melts right into the next layer, a moist stratum of tender cake soaked with pineapple juice. Below that, the cake is less dense, giving birth to airy crumbs with every stab of the fork, and it’s perched atop a dry base that supports and seals in everything above. It’s not too rich and not too sweet—the light, tropical flavor is just right.



Yield: 8 slices. Per slice: 210 calories, 7g fat (1g sat), 35g carbs, 3g fiber, 3g protein.

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Homestyle blueberry cobbler

I’ve never known exactly what to call this. I got the recipe from my mom, who got it from a neighbor, who got it from someone else, and it’s been passed down as a blueberry “cobbler.” When I think cobbler, though, I think of a sweetened mass of fruit sitting beneath either a pie-crust-type pastry or a biscuit-like drop-topping. I’m tempted to call it a coffee cake, but those I imagine with a crumbly brown sugar layer on top. It’s baked in a pie plate and cut into wedges, but it’s certainly not a pie. It seems like a cake of some sort, but it’s FAR moister, and it’s definitely not meant to be frosted. Is it a betty, clafoutis, grunt, pandowdy, slump? Can anyone help me out here?!

Whatever you want to call it, this recipe is ridiculously easy, naturally eggless, blessedly quick to throw together, and timelessly delicious.

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 (scant) cup sugar
1 cup vanilla (or plain) soymilk
1T lemon juice
1/4 cup Earth Balance, melted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup berries, fresh or frozen, any kind

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch glass pie plate. Put the lemon juice in a measuring cup, and pour in the soymilk till it reaches the 1 cup mark. Set aside for at least 5 minutes—this will make “buttermilk.” Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, and whisk together.



Melt the Earth Balance if you haven’t already. (Note: I have tried making this with canola oil instead, but for whatever reason, it just didn’t work right.) Pour the lemon juice-soymilk mixture and the melted Earth Balance into the bowl with the flour mixture.



Using a spatula (not the whisk), gently mix everything together until just combined. There will probably be lumps, which is a-ok. Pour the batter into the greased pie plate.



Now, break out the berries. Blackberries are by far my favorite berries to make this with; however, since I made something with blackberries rather recently, AND since blueberries were on sale a couple weeks ago, I defaulted to the berry of the original recipe. This is great with raspberries, too, and I’ve always wanted to try it with chopped apples and a dash of cinnamon.

Take your choice of berries and drop them into the batter. You can do it neatly and daintily, like I did, or you can just dump a pile of them in there; they’ll spread out anyway. Put as many or as few berries as you like; 1 cup is just a round suggestion.



If you have one of those pie-crust-protector-circle-things, I’d put that on there. If not, you may just want to check it halfway through and put some foil around the edges if they look too brown. The outside always cooks significantly faster than the inside, for me. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 10-15 minutes.



Then simply slice and serve! It’s plenty sweet as-is, but you can dust it lightly with powdered sugar if you want. The blueberries will have burst during baking and permeated the cake with their juicy goodness. The cakey part is light, fluffy, and über-moist—and somehow even more so the next day. It’s great as dessert, breakfast, or just a snack. Call it whatever you choose, but do give this one a try. Perhaps you can even pass it along to someone in your own family.



Yield: 8-10 slices. Per slice (8): 206 calories, 6.3g fat (1.8g sat), 35g carbs, 3.1g fiber, 2.6g protein.
Per slice (10): 165 calories, 5g fat (1.5g sat), 28g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 2.1g protein.

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Deep chocolate bundt cake

I’m really not much of a chocolate person, but for some reason, every dessert I’ve wanted to make lately involves chocolate. I’m itching to make my white chip brownies again. I couldn’t resist adding those chocolate chips to my peanut butter banana bread. Speaking of bananas, I’ve been eating mine lately smeared with chocolate PB Loco. On top of all that, three of the four baked goods on my to-make list are chocolatey. It’s a little out of line with my usual tastes, but you know, I’m not going to fight it. Last week I accepted this chocolate phase with open arms and plunged right into it with an all-chocolate dessert. I made the low-fat bundt cake from Veganomicon, which is right up my nutritional alley.

1 3/4 cups brewed coffee
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour (or sugar) a bundt pan. If you haven’t brewed your coffee, do so now. Check out my Senseo—I love it. I haven’t made drip coffee at home since I got it years ago. It’s quick and convenient, and it makes great coffee.



If your coffee is hot and fresh, like mine, mix in the cocoa powder until it’s dissolved. If your coffee has cooled, bring it to a simmer over medium heat, then turn down the heat and whisk in the cocoa. Set it aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, applesauce, and cornstarch until the sugar and cornstarch have dissolved, about 2 minutes. Mix in the extracts...



...and the cooled coffee/chocolate mixture.



Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I really need a sifter; 2 cups of flour took a looong time to sift in my little sieve. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat until smooth. I highly recommend using a handheld electric mixer for all this mixing—my arm was pretty tired by the end.



Pour the (delicious!) batter into the greased bundt pan.



Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 20 minutes.



Invert onto a serving plate to cool completely. Once cooled, lightly sift some powdered sugar over it, cut, and serve.



This cake absolutely lives up to the hype. Calling it “deep” chocolate is no misnomer. The coffee intensifies the flavor of the cocoa powder, and the applesauce/oil ratio creates a perfectly moist crumb. It’s dense and rich, while remaining light and springy. One person who tried it likened its taste and texture to a Hostess cupcake! This would be the perfect dessert to bake for your Valentine. However you slice it (literally), this cake is mouthful after mouthful of excellence.



Yield: 16 slices. Per slice: 186 calories, 5.3g fat (.6g sat), 34.7g carbs, 2.9g fiber, 2.2g protein.

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Peanut butter bliss cake
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Peanut butter bliss cake

Stop the presses. Hold the phones. Drop everything you are doing, RUN to your kitchen, and make this now.

It’s my take on a Nava Atlas recipe, and ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the three best cakes I have ever made. I can’t even be sure where it ranks within the top three – it may very well be number one. Imagine a moist, gooey, peanut-butter laced cake, studded with melty chocolate chips and crunchy crushed peanuts, that melts in your mouth like some sort of giant Reese’s PB cup. I am a peanut butter FREAK, and I’m telling you, if you even mildly like peanut butter, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS.

Did I mention that it’s low-sugar, whole wheat, and vegan?
Does life get any better?

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup soymilk (vanilla or plain)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp nut oil (optional)
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped peanuts



A couple notes and tips...
- You can use all-purpose flour in place of whole wheat pastry if you want.
- You can use any type of milk (rice, almond, even ::cringe:: dairy).
- The nut oil is optional; I just added it for extra sumptuousness. You can use walnut, almond, hazelnut, macadamia nut (like me!), or even just canola.
- The easiest way to measure a half cup of PB is to fill a 2-cup measuring cup up to the 1 1/2-cup mark. Spoon in PB until the water reaches the 2-cup mark. Just drain off the water, and voilà.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Combine the applesauce, soymilk, peanut butter, and oil in another bowl and whisk together until smooth.



Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and stir together until fairly well blended, then whisk until the mixture is smooth.



Stir in the chocolate chips and all but a tablespoon of the peanuts. Pour into a greased 9-inch round (or square) cake pan.



Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and a knife inserted in the center comes out with chocolate, but no batter.



At this point, it is divine as-is, but I decided it needed some extra flair, and some concealer for those little cracks in the top. So I whipped up an impromptu chocolate glaze. I just eyeballed it – I’d say I used about 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 3T cocoa powder, and just enough soymilk to make it smooth (add it a tsp at a time).



Spread the glaze over the warm cake, sprinkle with the remaining peanuts, and set aside to cool. It’ll be difficult to wait very long.



Now prepare for the most luscious peanut butter experience of your life.



There are no words. It rendered me speechless. (And not just because of that delightful peanut-butter-on-roof-of-mouth effect that leaves your tongue lolling about in sticky glee.) There’s really no describing it – you’ll just have to make it yourself.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!



Yield: 12 slices. Per slice (with nut oil, without glaze): 240 calories, 13.3g fat (4g sat), 27.8g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 5.1g protein.