Sunday, June 23, 2013

Puppy Chow!

For a fundraiser, me and my friends whipped up eleven batches of this stuff. It works well, and tastes great. Note: this is NOT food for dogs; I was surprised by how many people didn't know what "puppy chow" is.

Equipment: One mixing bowl, one large bowl with plate for shaking, one microwaveable containers, measuring cups (1 C, 1/2 C, and one more for measuring servings), two rubber spatulas (or large spoons), bags for portions.

Ingredients
1 box (13oz) rice chex
1/4c vegan butter
1/2c peanut butter
1c chocolate chips
1tsp vanilla
3c powdered sugar

Directions
Microwave the butters and chocolate in the microwave until the chocolate is mostly melted. Add the vanilla and mix. Pour one box of cereal into a bowl, then pour the melted chocolate mixture over it and gently fold until it's well mixed. Dump the cereal into the large bowl, add the powdered sugar, use the plate as a lid and shake well.


Large-scale directions
12 boxes rice chex
5 2# bags of powdered sugar
1 6# jar of peanut butter
2 1# boxes of Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks
2 3# bags of chocolate chips
Ziploc sandwich bags - 120 count

Follow the same directions as above, but in an assembly line - one person measures and microwaves, one mixes in the cereal, one person shakes the powdered sugar, one person measures 1c servings into sandwich bags. We ended up making 120 servings from 11 boxes, and sold each for $1. The original ingredients cost about $70, so we made an extra $50.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Brownies

I've done it! Vegan, gluten-free brownies!This is one of those difficult recipes that just didn't want to work for me.  Based on this post from Oh She Glows, I've tweaked and tested it more times than I can count, and will probably continue to do so. Contrary to my natural instincts, I recommend that you follow the recipe and directions as closely as possible. It is essential to bake these in a thin, metal pan, NOT glass, unless you want a strange, goopy mess.

Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp flax seed meal in 3tbps water

1c dark chocolate - I use 1.5 bars of 70% Divine chocolate
6tbsp vegan butter
1/2c nondairy milk

1c sugar
1/4c agave (you can use more sugar if you prefer)
1tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4c flour*
1/8tsp baking soda
3/8tsp xanthum gum

Flour mixture
These are the mixes that I've used that worked
1/2c oat flour, 1/2c sorghum, 1/4c millet
1/4c each of sorghum, brown rice and quinoa; 1/2c oat flour

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325

Mix the flax meal and water in a small bowl and set aside for a few minutes. Microwave the chocolate, butter, and milk until the chocolate is melting. Stir the chocolate mixture, then stir in the sugar, agave, and vanilla. Add the flax mixture and mix well. Mix together the flour, baking soda, and xanthum gum, then add the flour to the chocolate. The batter will be thick; I've successfully baked it as is, but I also added some extra milk without problems. Spray a thin metal pan - not glass - or a metal muffin tin. Scoop the batter into the pan and bake for around half an hour (I never actually time things; just bake until the top looks done and a toothpick comes out clean). They tend to be fragile when still warm, but they stick together better when they're cool.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

VGF Lemon Cake

I rarely meet my own expectations when it comes to cooking. Sure, the things I make taste good, but they almost never taste exactly as I had imagined. This cake is one of those exceptions. I can't do it justice in words, so you'll just have to try it yourself to see what I mean. This recipe makes two dozen cupcakes or two 10in rounds.



Vegan Gluten-Free Lemon Cake (adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

1 can coconut milk (not light)
2t apple cider vinegar
1c vegan butter (you could also use canola oil)
1 1/2c sugar
1t vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
juice from 1 lemon
3T tapioca starch (you could use cornstarch or potato starch)
1 1/2t baking powder
1t baking soda
/2 t salt
1c oat flour
1c sorghum flour
1/2c white rice flour
water (1/2cish)

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350.
2)Pour the milk into a bowl and add the apple cider vinegar. Mix and let sit for a few minutes.
3) Melt the butter and mix it, the sugar and the vanilla into the coconut milk mixture. Add the lemon zest and juice.
4) Add the dry ingredients and mix. I usually add everything but the flour and mix, then add the flours.
5) Mix in water until the batter is decently thin - I find thinner batter rises better.
6) Bake for 20 minutes (I didn't actually time it) - when it looks done and a toothpick comes out clean, leave it in for a few more minutes. It's a very moist cake, so if you want it drier leave it in longer.
7) Let it cool, then top with lemon glaze (recipe below). Wait for the glaze to set before serving.

Lemon Glaze

2c powdered sugar
1T non-dairy milk
1T lemon juice
2T corn syrup (next time I'll try agave)

Mix all the ingredients together. These measurements are guesses - taste it and see if it needs more of anything. It shouldn't be too runny, but too thick and it's impossible to spread. Just play around with it until it works.

Rainbow Cake Roll

I got the idea for this cake roll here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBvo7RVSEvk
Unfortunately that roll is extremely not vegan (5 eggs and 3 types of dairy), but I was determined! My biggest worry was that the cake needs to be very sturdy, and vegan, gluten-free things sometimes have difficulty with staying together. Not to worry - chia seeds to the rescue! I actually think I used too many (3tbsp), so this recipe has fewer, but feel free to experiment. Also, be warned, this recipe uses quite a few dishes.


Vegan Gluten-free Rainbow Cake Roll Recipe
2tbsp chia seeds in 1/2c water (I used whole chia seeds, you could also use ground)

3tbsp other egg replacer (I used 1tbsp each of potato starch, arrowroot and tapioca starch) in 6tbsp water

1c vegan butter, room temperature
1 1/2c sugar
1c almond milk plus extra
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4tsp almond extract

1c tapioca flour
1/2c corn flour
1/2c white rice flour
1/2c sorghum flour
2t xanthum gum
salt
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda

Rainbow food coloring

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4c vegan cream cheese
1/4c vegan butter, room temperature
1/4tsp vanilla extract
3c powdered sugar (this is a guess, I just add until it's a good consistency

Directions 
Preheat the oven to 375.

Soak the chia seeds in the water. In a food processor, blend the other egg replacer ingredients with water; ideally it should start to look foamy, but it might not. Cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Add the almond milk and extracts and cream some more. Add both the egg replacer mixtures and mix with a spoon. Mix together the flours, xanthum gum, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl, then add them to the batter and mix. You might need to add more almond milk to get a thinner batter; the chia seeds seem to soak up quite a bit of liquid.

Once you have a good consistency, separate the batter into 6 different bowls and color them. Using plastic bags, pipe the colors in order onto a pan lined with parchment paper in rainbow order. You can do straight stripes like in the video, or diagonals like mine. I made a 9x12 cake, and had enough extra batter to make 7 rainbow cupcakes.

Bake at 375 for 15ish minutes, until it looks solid and a toothpick comes out clean. The cake might puff up a lot, but it will shrink a bit while cooling. Flip the cake onto another piece of parchment paper and roll it up while it's still warm, then make the frosting.

Cream together the butter, cream cheese and vanilla with a hand mixer. Add powdered sugar until the frosting is the consistency you want; you can add more cream cheese, butter, or even nondairy milk if necessary.

When the cake is cool, unroll it, then frost the inside, and roll it back up. I cut mine in half so it would more easily fit on a plate. Enjoy!