Strawberry Tea Bread

Just in time for Sunday brunch – I needed bread that would go great alongside eggs and mimosas. Strawberries are available everywhere so they were my first choice to flavor a bread. A short search of my files revealed a recipe for a vegan quick bread that incorporated these lovely berries.

For altitude I reduced sugar and baking soda. I added milk, although there was none, to help with dryness at altitude.To make it a little healthier, I took out some regular flour and put in whole wheat. The last change was substituting ginger for cinnamon, but that was merely to please my own taste buds. Add vegan cream cheese and fresh strawberries to a slice, and you’re set.

Strawberry Tea Bread adapted from Strawberry Quick Bread
1 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cups canola oil
1 TBS arrowroot powder
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 TBS unsweetened non-dairy milk
1 1/2 cups mashed strawberries with their juice
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp powdered ginger
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease 3 cavities of a mini loaf pan. In a large bowl, mix sugar and oil. In a small bowl, combine arrowroot and applesauce, then add to large bowl and stir. Stir milk and strawberries with juice into sugar mixture. Add baking soda, baking powder, and lemon juice, and whisk to combine evenly, without lumps. Stir in vanilla and ginger. One cup at a time, add flours and stir to incorporate into a smooth batter.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 30-33 minutes until tops turns golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and run a knife around the edges of each loaf. Allow loaves to cool for at least 10 minutes before turning them out to cool completely on a wire rack.

Until next time, happy baking!

Lavender Earl Grey Tea Bread

Dec30

It’s January so the celebration for National Hot Tea Month is in full swing. Although, if you ask me, we should have a hot tea season that would span several months. I love drinking hot tea, especially when it keeps me warm.

What goes well with a cup of hot tea? Tea bread, of course. And the perfect tea bread contains an infusion of tea to permeate the baked good.

To come up with a complementary treat for my cuppa, I found a recipe for a tea cake with Earl Grey tea in it. The classic Earl Grey is black tea flavored with orange-scented bergamot. A new twist has the addition of lavender buds which rounds out the tea nicely, so I knew I wanted to include the floral profile.

I first altered the recipe by including the lavender flowers. Next, I changed it from gluten free to using all purpose flour because that’s what I had on hand. Feel free to use a gluten free flour blend instead.

Then I reduced the recipe so it would make four small loaves that would bake better at high altitude. For altitude I also switched it up to include a combination of baking soda and baking powder. There was no need for vegan changes because the recipe was already vegan.

The resulting mini breads were moist and extremely flavorful, reminiscent of honey cakes. With a hint of lavender when warmed and depth from the maple syrup, they are fantastic alongside a robust tea as well as an herbal blend. I froze a few loaves so I can savor them this month, and also enjoy them on a future tea drinking day.

Lavender Earl Grey Tea Bread adapted from Earl Grey Tea Cake

1.5 cups boiling water
3.5 teaspoons Earl Grey loose leaf tea
1/2 teaspoon culinary lavender flowers
1/3 cup dried currants
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Grease the sections of a mini bread tin (mine makes four breads measuring 5 x 2.5” each) and set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the water, Earl Grey tea, and lavender in a heat-proof container. Cover and steep for 5 minutes. Strain and discard the leaves. Add 1/2 cup of tea back to the container, saving the other 1 cup of tea for later. Place dried currants in the 1/2 cup of tea, cover, and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil and maple syrup to a medium bowl and whisk together. Add the vanilla and 1 cup of tea to the oil-syrup mixture. Whisk until combined, then stir in the tea with the currants.

Add the liquid mixture to the ingredients in the dry bowl and stir until combined and no longer lumpy. Distribute the batter evenly into the sections of the tin. Bake for 34-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a bread comes away clean or with a few small crumbs.

Let the breads fully cool in the tin placed on a wire rack. Run a knife along the outside edges of each bread to loosen, then tip the loaves out.

Until next time, happy baking!

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake Pan Cake

Dec30

The very ripe bananas on my counter were calling my name. Although I do love my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, I wanted something more decadent and more banana-y. A banana cake seemed appropriate. With plenty of mashed bananas in an easy cake pan form, the recipe I found sounded perfect. I just had to make it vegan and high altitude friendly.

To veganize it, I used whipped aquafaba instead of eggs. I also traded butter with Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread. (Note: I did not use the sticks because I wanted the lighter texture of the spread.) To help counter the affects at altitude I added more liquid and flour. However, vegan banana baked goods can be heavy so I added apple cider vinegar and a smidgen of baking powder to boost the lift.

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake Pan Cake adapted from Banana–Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/3 cup aquafaba, cold (the liquid from canned chickpeas)
2 cups + 1 TBS all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
scant 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegan buttery spread (see note above)
1 cup + 3 TBS vegan sugar
1 cup mashed bananas (2 to 3 bananas, very ripe)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour an 8 x 8” baking pan. Stir apple cider vinegar into the non-dairy milk and set aside. Add aquafaba to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk for 5 minutes. Place whipped aquafaba in a separate bowl, and replace the whisk attachment on the stand mixer with the paddle.

Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat the buttery spread on medium-high speed for a minute. Add the sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Fold in whipped aquafaba. Add bananas and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, scraping down bowl as needed. Stir in half of the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.

Transfer the batter to prepared pan and smooth top with the spatula. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips evenly over top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool completely in pan on wire rack. The cooled cake can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Until next time, happy baking!

Date Nut Bread a la The Ranch House

Dec30

I have wanted to bake the Date-Nut Bread from the Ranch House Restaurant in Ojai, CA ever since I first tasted it. At the time I didn’t even like dates, but this quick bread was pretty decadent. Sweet, moist, and great slathered in butter. The cookbook from that restaurant has been collecting dust on my shelf for many years, so it was finally time to conquer it.

The original recipe is neither vegan nor high-altitude and has a few quirky directions. It took me several tries to come up with a bread that not only tasted (and smelled) fantastic but also had the right texture. I did a few basic veganisms – oil for butter and tofu for egg. I added in some whole wheat flour to make it more healthy, while adapting for altitude by using regular baking powder instead of double-acting.

There is one step I didn’t change. It says to line the bread pan with brown paper. Just do it. I was using a non-stick pan so I thought I only needed a light oiling of the pan – it was a bad idea. The bread cooked perfectly except around the outside where it remained gooey and refused to release from the pan. I got smart on the third attempt and used lightly greased parchment paper. Some directions were written to be followed exactly.

Until next time, happy baking!

Print Recipe

Date Nut Bread

I have wanted to bake the Date-Nut Bread from the Ranch House Restaurant in Ojai, CA ever since I first tasted it. At the time I didn't even like dates, but this quick bread was pretty decadent. Sweet, moist, and great slathered in butter.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Vegan

Keyword: Baking, Dates, High Altitude, Nuts, Quick Bread, Recipe

Servings: 8

Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

Mini Loaf Pan
Stand Mixer

Ingredients

5 ounces chopped pitted dates
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup blended silken tofu
1 1/4 cups organic sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Heat oven to 350F. Prepare a mini loaf pan by cutting parchment paper to fit three of the four sections. Lightly brush the pieces of paper with shortening and insert the paper into each of the three sections. The fourth section will not be used.
Put dates in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine the tofu and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the dates with their water, oil, milk and vanilla and beat again. Blend in the flour mixture in two batches. Add in the walnuts and mix well.
Divide the batter between the three prepared sections of the loaf pan. Bake for 33-35 minutes, or until the tops rise up and crack a little. Remove loaves from pan and place on a rack to cool.

Notes

Adapted from Vegetarian Gourmet Cookery by Alan Hooker

Cranberry Cream Cheese Puff Pastry Bites

Dec30

cranberry cream cheese puff pastry bites

On New Year’s Eve, I love to spend the day snacking on appetizers and small bites. Many are savory but, of course, I need to satisfy my sweet tooth, too.

Puff pastry is the perfect vehicle for bite-sized morsels, sweet or savory. For my holiday celebration, I fill the pastry with a combination of sweetened cream cheese and barely-sweetened homemade jam. The tart and sweet flavors play well against each other. They are also pretty tasty when followed with a sip of champagne or bubbly mocktail.

Until next time, Happy New Year and happy baking!

Print Recipe

Cranberry Cream Cheese Puff Pastry Bites

On New Year’s Eve, I love to spend the day snacking on appetizers and small bites. Many are savory but, of course, I need to satisfy my sweet tooth, too. Puff pastry is the perfect vehicle for bite-sized morsels, sweet or savory.

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Vegan

Keyword: Baking, cream cheese, New Year's Eve, puff pastry, Recipe

Servings: 18 bites

Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

2 12-cup muffin tins
Rolling Pin

Ingredients

⅓ cup blueberry-pomegranate juice or other berry juice
1 ½ cup fresh cranberries
¼ teaspoon lemon peel
1 tablespoon agave syrup
¼ teaspoon vanilla
6 ounces vegan cream cheese at room temperature
⅓ cup vegan vanilla yogurt
1 pear
2 sheets puff pastry thawed (a 17.3 oz box)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease 18 cups of muffin tins very well with cooking spray.
Place the juice, cranberries, and lemon peel in a small pot over medium-low heat. When you hear the cranberries popping, remove the pot from the stove. Mash the berries with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Add the agave and vanilla and stir to combine.
Put the cream cheese and yogurt in a medium bowl and stir with a spoon to combine.
Slice the pear into thin, bite-sized shapes. (You won’t use an entire pear.)
Unfold thawed puff pastry sheets onto a lightly floured board. Gently roll each sheet with a rolling pin to remove the creases. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut each sheet into 9 even squares. (You should have a total of 18 squares cut out).
Place one square of pastry into each muffin cup, pushing down slightly to form a cupped shape. Place a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture onto each pastry, then follow with a heaping teaspoon of cranberry mixture and a piece of pear.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges of the pastry are golden brown. Let the muffin tins cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then gently remove each pastry bite to a wire rack to cool further.
These are best when freshly baked baked, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.