Vegan Breakfast Oat Muffins

As the year nears its end, I can spend countless hours in the kitchen. So why am I so hungry all the time? Well, a lot of the baked treats made during the holidays are for gifts or parties. So, in other words, the fruits of my labor are for others to enjoy.

To help allay any future hangries, I stock the fridge with easy to heat-and-eat foods. It helps to avoid eating all of the imperfect cookies while I’m baking. Not that that’s a horrible task, but sometimes I deem the majority of them not perfect enough and there are none left for gifting.

Having a protein-filled snack nearby is the perfect solution. It not only curbs a blood sugar spike caused by testing many sweets, but ensures a meal won’t take a lot of time when time is a precious commodity. I can bake a few dozen cookies, concoct a coffee cake, and prepare a batch of peppermint bark, and still have a chance to throw together an easy meal. Add some slices of spiced apple alongside these Breakfast Oat Muffins and you have a well-rounded lunch.

Vegan Breakfast Oat Muffins veganized from Natural Grocer’s Savory Oat Muffins recipe

1.5 cups almond flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons spices of your choice (I used a mix of granulated garlic, granulated onion, smoked paprika, and thyme to equal the 2 teaspoons)
1.5 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon Just Egg (a vegan liquid egg replacer)
3⁄4 cup + 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
6 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
1/2 cup dairy-free cheese style shreds (I used Violife cheddar)
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (see note)
1 roasted red pepper (if from a jar then blot it dry on a towel), finely diced (see note)
4 Beyond Breakfast Sausage links, cooked and crumbled (see note)

Preheat oven to 375F. Thoroughly grease a 12-cup muffin pan, or use a silicon muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk the almond flour, baking powder, salt, and spices, breaking up any clumps. Stir in the oats.

In a medium bowl, add the Just Egg, non-dairy milk and melted vegan butter. Whisk well to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir well until completely combined. Let sit for 5 minutes so the dry ingredients can absorb some of the moisture. Add the dairy-free cheese, thawed spinach, diced red pepper, and cooked Beyond Sausage. Stir to distribute the ingredients throughout the mixture.

Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups. Push the batter in each cup down with the back of a spoon, then transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are firm and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, warm in the oven or toaster oven at 300F for 10 minutes.

Note: You can customize the add-ins. I used spinach, red pepper, and sausage, You can add drained and chopped olives, diced jalapeños, a different leafy green or diced vegetable that has been squeezed dry. You want the add-ins to total 1 ½ cups.

Until next time, happy baking!

Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples

Sep30

Pumpkin Spice season has arrived! Admittedly, I do not like pumpkin spice in my beverages, however unpopular my idea may be. Cinnamon yes, but not the blend. However, the mix of spices is delicious in baked goods.

Apple season has also arrived, and apples and pumpkin spice pair together perfectly. Spiced apples are lovely to cook up, but I wanted something more substantial to make. The idea struck to use applesauce cake as a backdrop for spicy warm apples.

In my search for an applesauce cake, I looked at many recipes for cakes, quick breads, and cupcakes. What I came up with is a vegan mashup of all of them. I hope you enjoy my Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples for dessert, breakfast, or whenever you want a snack. It is best warm because the smells and tastes come alive.

Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples

for the cake
shortening, to grease the baking pan
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup maple or coconut sugar
1.25 teaspoons baking powder
.75 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1.5 cups unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cups apple juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons canola oil
for the spiced apples
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoon canola oil
1/3 cup maple sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two 8-inch round baking pans with shortening, then line them with parchment paper and grease the paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 cup maple sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spice. In a medium bowl, whisk together the applesauce, apple juice, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, then whisk to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pans. Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Set the pans on a wire rack to cool while you prepare the spiced apples.

Sauté the apples in a nonstick skillet set on medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add the 1 tablespoon oil, 3 tablespoons maple sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to coat the apples. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the apples are tender, about 5 more minutes.

When the cakes have cooled, tip them out onto serving plates and top with warm spiced apples.

Until next time, happy baking!

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake

Aug27

It’s that time of year when peaches are peaking. Where I live, fresh juicy peaches are in abundance and demand to be eaten in everything. They complement muffins and pretty layered cakes, but I like them best when added to an easy snack cake. No muss, no fuss.

The cake recipe that crossed my path was already vegan, and gluten-free as well. The first way I changed it was to add peaches instead of apricots, but you could even use plums or cherries here. The next swap was to use aquafaba instead of packaged egg replacer because aquafaba helps maintain the structure that can be lacking in gluten-free baked goods.

For high altitude baking, I reduced the baking powder and baking soda. I also swapped the water for milk, for more flavor, then curdled it with apple cider vinegar for a greater leavening effect that boosts gluten-free flours at altitude.

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake adapted from Gluten-Free Blueberry Apricot Cake

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1.5 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
scant 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegan butter
3/4 cup organic sugar
2 tablespoons aquafaba, cold (the liquid from canned chickpeas)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 small peach, pitted and sliced

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Stir apple cider vinegar into the non-dairy milk and it set aside to curdle. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Whisk the aquafaba and add it to the mixer bowl along with the vanilla. Beat until incorporated.

Reduce the mixer’s speed to low and beat in half of the flour mixture then half of the curdled milk. Scrape down the bowl and repeat the sequence with the remainder of the dry and wet mixtures.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Arrange the sliced peaches and blueberries on top.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 33 to 38 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking time. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely before slicing.

The cooled cake can be covered in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Until next time, happy baking!

Easy Chocolate Pudding Parfait

Jun24

It is fun to reimagine recipes I’ve made in the past. Often this is spurred on by scrounging around in my cupboard and discovering an ingredient that needs to be used up. In this case it was an aseptic box of tofu that was hovering near to its expiration date.

Tofu for dessert often ends up in the blender to become vegan mousse or pudding. You can make a pie or tart shell to hold this blended mixture, but I was feeling lazy. However, by layering it with cookies or cake and other sweet bits you create an easy and elegant parfait.

Over the years of making tofu pudding I have discovered a few tips to ensure smooth success. I added these steps to my recipe so you have the perfect parfait for a warm summer evening.

Chocolate Pudding Parfait based on Chocolate Mousse Pie with Cookie Crust and Raspberry Coulis

chocolate pudding
1 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsweetened nondairy milk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or substitute coffee extract for a deeper chocolate taste)
12 oz silken tofu, drained (soft or firm, the choice will affect the texture), at room temperature
parfait add-ins
6-12 chocolate cookies, depending on size
3-18 vegan marshmallows, depending on size

For the chocolate pudding: To melt the chocolate chips in the double boiler method, place them in a glass or metal bowl. (Note: The bowl should be large enough so that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water in the pot you set it over.) Set this bowl over a pot filled with 1/2 cup of simmering water. Heat the pot over low-medium heat on the stove, stirring the chips occasionally until they are melted.

Once the chips are melted, take the bowl off of the pot and allow the chocolate to cool slightly. (Note: Do not allow it to cool enough so that it re-solidifies. You want it somewhat cool so it’s closer in temperature to the other ingredients).

Place the nondairy milk, extract, and tofu into a blender. Process until smooth. Scrape down the sides and add the melted and cooled chocolate. Process the mixture until completely smooth.

To assemble the parfaits: Crumble the cookies and cut up the marshmallows if they are large. Add some cookie crumbles to the bottom of a dessert glass. Next, add a few spoonfuls of pudding then a few bits of marshmallow. Continue layering the ingredients until the glass is almost full. End with crumbles and marshmallow bits. Add fresh fruit, chocolate shavings, and nondairy whipped cream if you’re feeling fancy.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Apple Raisin Mini Muffins

Apr30

I’ve been enjoying the challenge of scaling full-size recipes down by using different pan sizes. It’s helpful if you have a smaller family, or if you’re concerned about not eating too much dessert. (Although that second idea is nonsense because there is no such thing as “too much dessert,” is there?)

My favorite taste tester was looking for a quick afternoon snack, so I thought I’d go for mini muffins. They are great anytime, really; breakfast, mid-day, late night. Just ask my tester because he ended up eating them all day long.

Now it was time to learn how to make smaller treats. Craftsy covers a variety of pastimes on their blog, including baking, and they had a post on how to Make It Mini. Their good advice included ingredient preparation. “Chocolate chips, dried fruit, and nuts are all excellent mix-ins because the(y) can easily be chopped down to a suitable size.” That meant I needed to chop my dried fruit so when I bit into a muffin it wouldn’t just offer a big, fat raisin. It also made me realize that cutting up the fresh apple strands would help distribute the ingredients.

Other recommendations were for greasing the mini muffin pans in lieu of using liners, and adjusting the baking time to avoid overbaking. I followed these suggestions and the result was perfectly moist muffin bites.

The article’s description of yield didn’t match up with what I produced. “Mini muffins are one-third the size of regular muffins, which means that a big muffin recipe that yields 12 large muffins will produce 36 mini muffins.” But, at altitude it’s best not to fill the muffin cups all the way (as mentioned in my post Misguided High Altitude Guidelines). Therefore my tins had batter that didn’t exceed 2/3 full, and I ended up with 47 minis.

Okay, enough prep talk. Let’s bake!

Apple Raisin Mini Muffins adapted from Allergy Free Cookbook by Alice Sherwood

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
pinch fine sea salt
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you love cinnamon like I do)
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons vegan butter, melted then cooled slightly
3/4 cup + 2 teaspoons non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 small to medium apples, cored, peeled, and grated into short strands
2 tablespoons chopped raisins
2 teaspoons vegan cane sugar for sprinkling on top
vegan shortening, for greasing the muffin pans

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 47 cavities of your mini muffin pans, and set aside.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and brown sugar into a medium bowl. Add the melted vegan butter, non-dairy milk, and vanilla and stir until almost incorporated. Add the grated apples and chopped raisins and stir to combine. The dough will be thick.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups until the cups are 2/3 full. You may need to press the fruit bits down into the cups with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 13-15 minutes until the cupcakes are pale golden and firm to the touch. Set the muffin tins on a wire rack until the minis are cool. They should tip out easily when ready.

Mini muffins can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for a few days.

Until next time, happy baking!

Convert to a Different Cake Pan Size and Blueberry Cake recipe

Jan28

Recently I posted on how I made a Moderate Midnight Chocolate Cake in a smaller-sized bundt pan. The conversion for that recipe was easy as all I had to do was cut the ingredients in half from the full-sized bundt pan recipe amounts.

I thought it would be fun to make another small bundt cake, but this time I looked at a recipe that used a loaf or a round cake pan. So, how do you go from one cake pan to a very different one and still make a successful cake? To start you need to know how many cups your pan holds.

The recipe I found originally called for a 9-inch round cake pan or a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Upon searching the internet, I found out that these each hold 8 cups so it made sense that they were interchangeable sizes. I knew from my research on bundt pans that my small pan holds 6 cups. Quick math told me that my pan was 75% smaller (or 6 cups divided by 8 cups). That meant I needed to multiply each measurement in the ingredient list by 75%. So far so good.

Next, I needed to throw in a few small tweaks for altitude, which gave me more flour and plant milk and less baking powder. After that I made an adjustment to the baking time to account for the overall smaller size of the cake. I began with 75% of the time used for the smaller pan in the original recipe, figuring I could add more time if needed. The reduced time was right on the mark, and the cake baked beautifully.

I was inspired to add lemon to complement the blueberry flavor. You could also make this with chocolate chips instead of blueberries to be more decadent. Or you can turn it into 6 cupcakes if that is what you prefer, but be sure to reduce the baking time by at least half because cupcakes are much smaller and bake faster.

Vegan Blueberry Cake with Lemon Glaze adapted from Vegan Blueberry Cake

shortening, to prepare cake pan
2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra to prepare cake pan
3/4 cup organic sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1.25 – 1.5 cups frozen blueberries (depending on their size), still frozen
1 cup non-dairy milk, unsweetened and unflavored
3 ounces canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
lemon glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon non-dairy milk, if needed

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 6-cup bundt pan, making sure to get into every crevice. Set aside.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Remove 1/2 cup of the flour mixture and place it in a medium bowl. Add the blueberries to the medium bowl and lightly toss them to coat in the flour mixture.

Add the non-dairy milk, oil, and vanilla to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir with a spatula until just combined. Add the flour-coated blueberries and fold gently to incorporate them into the batter. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Hit the pan lightly oil the counter to level the batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes away with a few crumbs. Let cool for 15 minutes in the pan set on a wire rack, then gently loosen the center and cake edges from the pan using a small spatula. Invert the pan onto a wire rack and let the cake cool for 20 minutes.

To unmold, pick up the rack with the pan on top and lightly tap both on the counter to loosen the cake. Remove the pan from atop the cake and place the rack on the counter to allow the cake to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, make the glaze by sifting the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in the lemon juice. Keep stirring until no dry sugar remains. If some dry sugar remains, then add the 1/2 teaspoon non-dairy milk and stir until incorporated. The glaze should be smooth and glossy but not so thick that it won’t pour.

Once the cake is fully cooled, pour or drizzle the glaze over the cake.

chocolate chip cake with mocha glaze — chocolate chip version

Until next time, happy baking!

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Sandwiches

Dec22

It’s cookie season! Well, to me cookies are always in season, but cookie baking seems to be at an all time high right now. Especially in my kitchen where I recently baked dozens and dozens of cookies for holiday gifts and cookie exchanges.

When making many cookies I love to try new recipes, but it’s nice to fall back on favored creations from the past that have already had the kinks worked out. And yet, sometimes it’s nice to riff on a favorite. That’s where this cookie sandwich comes in.

My Chocolate Roll-Out Sugar Cookies are vegan and gluten-free, but for this baking frenzy I realized I was out of gluten-free flour. So after swapping in all-purpose flour, and a few other ingredients for ones I was low on, I decided to create a cookie sandwich. With a simple peppermint filling I turned a nice cookie into something magical.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Sandwiches adapted from Chocolate Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

Chocolate cookies
1.75 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup dutch process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon + a pinch fine sea salt
1 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup unsalted vegan butter, softened
1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon unsweetened non-dairy milk
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Peppermint frosting
2 cups organic powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vegan butter, softened
3 teaspoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

To make the cookies, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cane sugar and 1/2 cup vegan butter until creamy. Beat in the non-dairy milk, vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

Split the dough into two discs and wrap each in plastic wrap. Let the dough discs rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a flat surface, lay out a large piece of plastic wrap. Place a rested disc of dough in the center and top with another piece of plastic wrap. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until the dough is just under 1/4-inch thick. Cut the dough using a festive cookie cutter. Place the cookies on a baking sheet. Repeat with the second disc of dough until all dough, including the scraps, has been cut into cookies.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies firm up on the edges. Remove baking sheets from the oven and place on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the peppermint frosting by placing the 2 teaspoons vegan butter into a bowl. Smash the butter with a spoon to soften. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl, then stir together.

Gradually add the water, one teaspoon at a time, and stir until the frosting is smooth. Stir in the 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract until well combined. The frosting should be spreadable and slightly stiff. If it is too stiff, stir in more water. If it is too runny, stir in more powdered sugar.

To assemble the cookie sandwiches, spoon a dollop of frosting onto the bottom of a cookie. Place another cookie on top, bottom side down, and press lightly until the sandwich holds together. If the frosting starts to dry out during assembly, then stir in a few drops of water. Store the cookies in an airtight container.

Until next time, happy (holiday) baking!

Moderate Midnight Chocolate Cake

Nov27

I do love a good sale, so Black Friday is loads of fun. What does that have to do with baking? For the purchase of baking pans, of course!

Bundt pans are very useful for high-altitude baking, so when they go on sale I scour the internet with glee. There are several 10-cup Bundt pans in my arsenal; it was time to get a more manageable 6-cup model.

With the smaller version in hand, I looked back at favorite Bundt pan recipes. My Midnight Chocolate Cake has always been well-liked, so I chose that for the new pan. Checking the recipes on Nordic Ware led to the tip that you can simply halve a full-sized recipe to use in the more petite pan. Whew! That makes things much easier.

When my hubby saw me making a half-sized version of the cake, he asked why. My response was a query of what would two people do with a large cake. His reply, “Eat it!” With that, I give you my sensibly-sized revision.

Moderate Midnight Chocolate Cake

Shortening, to grease pan
1/2 cup cocoa powder (packed tightly) + extra to dust pan
1 cup + 3 tablespoons boiling water
1.25 teaspoons instant coffee
1.25 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon salt, depending on how salty your butter is
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegan butter (at room temperature)
1.5 cups organic cane sugar
1/2 cup pureed silken tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla pastry cream and crushed peppermint candies, for decoration

Preheat the oven to 350F. Use shortening to grease a 6-cup bundt pan then dust the inside with cocoa powder. Set aside.

Mix boiling water with 1/2 cup cocoa powder and instant coffee and whisk well. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, sift together the flours, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and tofu. Alternate adding cupfuls of dry ingredients then cocoa liquid to the creamed butter mixture. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add vanilla and beat until fluffy.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out with a few specks clinging to it.

Let cool for 15 minutes in the pan set on a wire rack. Gently loosen the center and cake edges from the pan using a small spatula. Invert the pan onto a wire rack and let the cake sit for 20 minutes.

Until next time, happy baking!

Vegan Honey Mini Cakes for a Sweet New Year

Sep29

This week was a celebration of the Jewish New Year. The tradition is to eat honey cakes at this time to ensure sweetness in the upcoming year. Because honey is not a vegan food, vegan bakers can turn to a honey substitute to have a sweet new year.

I have a honey-like syrup in my files from my “A Sweet New Year Apple Muffins,” so I went in search of a honey cake recipe that I could use it in. What I found was perfect because the spices in the cake would go well with the fruit in the vegan honey. Also, the cake was already vegan, but I amped it up by using my own egg substitute described in “Super Flegg – A Perfect Egg Substitute.”

Next I put the high altitude spin on it by adding flour and liquid (in the form of applesauce), then reduced the leaveners. The batter was divvied into mini cake pans to help with rise issues caused by altitude, but that had an added bonus. I now had several mini cakes so each person could have their own tasty treat to enjoy while ringing in the new year.

Vegan Honey Mini Cakes for a Sweet New Year adapted from Vegan Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah

for the vegan honey
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/8 cup pure maple syrup
1/8 cup agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon vegan sugar
1/2 organic orange, thinly sliced
1/2 organic lemon, thinly sliced
for the cakes
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
3 tablespoons aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas)
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1.25 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup raisins, optional

To make the vegan honey, combine the syrups and sugar in a medium saucepan with high sides. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add the sliced fruit. Lower the heat and cook at a low boil for 15 minutes, stirring a few times. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain a low boil. Once a syrupy consistency is reached, pour the liquid through a mesh strainer into a heat-safe measuring cup, discarding the fruit. If you do not have 1/2 cup of syrup, then add agave syrup to reach that amount. Set aside to cool.

For the cakes, preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour the cups of a mini cakes pan, or a muffin tin.

Prepare the super flegg by putting the ground flaxseeds and the aquafaba in a small bowl and stirring well. Set aside to thicken.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves into a large bowl. Place the applesauce, oil, vanilla, vegan honey, and super flegg into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Stir in the raisins, if using.

Divide the batter among the cups of the pan you are using. Do not fill the wells completely or your cakes will overflow while baking. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes, depending on the pan used, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out with a few small crumbs. Place the baking pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then tip the cakes onto a wire rack to fully cool.

Until next time, Happy New Year and happy baking!

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

Aug26

Okay, I know that soup isn’t baked, and you may be wondering why I am posting a soup recipe here. Well, my last blog showed how to make homemade plant-milk and I wanted to offer a way to use that milk.

In the post “Chai Spiced Milk and DIY Plant-Milk Tips,” I mention that you can get thicker milk by changing the nuts to water ratio. Denser plant-milks make wonderfully creamy soups, and this soup is a shining example of that.

A local restaurant makes a curry sweet potato soup that I adore so I sought to recreate it. I found a recipe using powdered curry, but I find that the concentrated paste has a more bold flavor. And I like bold flavor.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup adapted from Sweet Potato Coconut Curry Soup

1 cup raw cashews (no need to soak)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, rough chopped *
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 garlic cloves, rough chopped *
1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed *
1/2 cup butternut squash or carrots, peeled and cubed *
2-3 tablespoons green curry paste, depending on the strength of the brand used
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon Thai basil, chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted, for garnish

Place the cashews and water into a high speed blender and blend until almost smooth. Set aside. (No need to clean the blender yet; you’ll use it again soon).

Warm the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and salt and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the sweet potatoes, squash or carrots, and curry paste. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the broth and coconut milk. Stir in the cashew milk you set aside.

Cover the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the Thai basil, if using. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Carefully transfer the soup to your high speed blender and puree to desired thickness. Put the mixture back in the pot and warm it over a low heat until heated through.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds.

* You don’t need to finely chop any of the ingredients as you will be blending the cooked soup.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Vegan Baking Up High

making tasty vegan treats at high altitude

Category Archives: peanut free

Vegan Breakfast Oat Muffins

Applesauce Spice Cake with Spiced Apples

Gluten-Free Summer Peach and Blueberry Snack Cake

Easy Chocolate Pudding Parfait

Apple Raisin Mini Muffins

Convert to a Different Cake Pan Size and Blueberry Cake recipe

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Sandwiches

Moderate Midnight Chocolate Cake

Vegan Honey Mini Cakes for a Sweet New Year

Curried Sweet Potato Soup