For the Double Daring Bakers Challenge this month I got to tackle a Lemon Meringue Pie!!!  It was actually, pretty easy!

Lemon Meringue Pie (from “Wanda’s Pie in the Sky” by Wanda Beaver)

Daring Bakers Challenge #15: January 2008 Host: Jen (Canadian Baker)

The pies had to be lemon, but other than that, we could play a bit. I made mine just like normal, except veganized it. I was really worried about how to make a vegan meringue, but I was able to find one online while looking for vegan marshmallow recipes. So, here is what I did:

Lemon Meringue Pie

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust: I made an Oat Pie Crust

2 TBSP warm water

1 tsp ground flax seeds

½ cup old fashioned oats, ground

3 TBSP rice milk

½ tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

¾ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

For the Filling:

I used Colleen Patrick - Goudreau’s lemon filling recipe for Lemon Bars on page 126 of The Joy of Vegan Baking

For the Meringue: I used the Vegan Meringue recipe from Dave Soleil

To Make the Crust:

Whisk together the warm water & flax seeds, set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9” tart pan with a removable bottom with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the rice milk & vanilla. In a large bowl, whisk the ground oats, flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder & salt. Drizzle the flax mixture onto the dry ingredients & stir with a fork until crumbly. With the fork, stir in the milk mixture, one tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface & knead 7 to 8 times. Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Roll the dough out to an 11” circle, dusting with flour if necessary. Transfer to prepared pan, pressing to fit. Trim edges.

Line the tart shell with a piece of parchment paper & fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until set. Remove weights & parchment paper & bake for 8 to 12 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. (The shell will keep, loosely covered with foil, for up to one day.)

To Make the Filling: See page 26 of The Joy of Vegan Baking

Before the Meringue:

To Make the Meringue: Check out his recipe

For the Crust:

Let’s see, I didn’t get to make this while alone in the kitchen, so my many mistakes are

1. Forgot the pie weights & parchment paper during the blind baking.

2. Baked it for 20 minutes before remembering it.

3. Didn’t refrigerate the pie crust before rolling out (hence, how think it was).

For the Filling:

Since I messed up on my crust baking times, I had to adjust my cooking method for the filling. So, I cooked it on the stove top while my crust was cooling. I cooked it for about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring constantly until it set. Oh, I also added 2/3 cup lemon juice instead of 1/3.

After Baking the Meringue:

Okay, so my oven cooks hotter in the back then the front:

Sliced:

Verdict: YUM! Everything came out great, well, except for the crust being too thick. I will definitely be making this again.

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict & Annemarie of Ambrosia & Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

Recipe origins: Traditional (UK)
Inspirations & References: Allan Davidson, Tamasin Day Lewis, Anton Edelmann, Jane Grigson, Nigella Lawson & Jamie Oliver
Hostess: Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict
Co-hostess: Annemarie of Ambrosia & Nectar

From our hosts: “Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream & baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam & an almondy sponge cake-like filling.

The version we’re daring you to make is a combination of the 2: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane & jam. The term “Bakewell pudding” was first penned in 1826 by Meg Dods; 20 years later Eliza Acton published a recipe that featured a baked rich egg custard overtop 2cm of jam & noted,

‘This pudding is famous not only in Derbyshire, but in several of our northern counties where it is usually served on all holiday occasions.’ By the latter half of the 1800s, the egg custard evolved into a frangipane-like filling; since then the quantity of jam decreased while the almond filling increased. This tart, like many of the world’s great foods has its own mythic beginnings…or several mythic beginnings. Legend has it in 1820 (or was it in the 1860s?) Mrs. Greaves, landlady of The White Horse Inn in Bakewell, Derbyshire (England), asked her cook to produce a pudding for her guests. Either her instructions could have been clearer or he should have paid better attention to what she said because what he made was not what she asked for. The cook spread the jam on top of the frangipane mixture rather than the other way around. Or maybe instead of a sweet rich shortcrust pastry case to hold the jam for a strawberry tart, he made a regular pastry & mixed the eggs & sugar separately & poured that over the jam—it depends upon which legend you follow. Regardless of what the venerable Mrs. Greaves’ cook did or didn’t do, lore has it that her guests loved it & an ensuing pastry-clad industry was born. The town of Bakewell has since played host to many a sweet tooth in hopes of tasting the tart in its natural setting. Bakewell tarts are a classic English dessert, abounding in supermarket baking sections & in ready-made, mass-produced forms, some sporting a thick sugary icing & glazed cherry on top for decorative effect. Enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee or just eat it sneaky slice by sneaky slice until, to your chagrin, you realise the whole tart has somehow disappeared despite you never having pulled out a plate, fork or napkin with which to eat it.”

I am very glad that I made mini tarts, otherwise I would’ve had the problem of the sneaky bite by sneaky bite & realizing that I had eaten the whole thing! These are mighty tasty. I am going to make this one again, but try to replace the Earth Balance with fruit puree to lighten the fat content a bit.

More from our hosts: “The etymology of pudding is a rather interesting & slightly convoluted one. The naming confusion may come from the British manner of referring to the dessert course as ‘pudding’ (as well as referring to fat babies by the same name, though we don’t think that is what was the inspiration in this case). & so any dessert is a pudding until another name comes along & adds clarity to what it really is.”

For the challenge, we had to make a Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, by hand, please. We also needed to make the Frangipane. We had the option of making a homemade jam or curd, which I sort of did. I used a homemade “almond-ella” which I had made for last months challenge, I also had 2 yummy jams in the fridge that I had bought, so I used those. This recipe comes together quickly & easily. I recommend making the shortbread crust first because it needs to rest in the fridge for a bit. While that is resting, you can make your own jam & the frangipane. You can go here: www.thedaringkitchen.com to see the original recipe. Below is my adaptations & changes:

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Yield: 12 mini tarts
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Flour for dusting
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, sliced almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it warm up for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin & roll the pastry to ¼” thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the center & roll away from you), & turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size & thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in & trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. For mini tarts, cut out rounds that fit your muffin tin, or silicone mini tart pan.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam/almond-ella onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top & pop into the oven for 20 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy & brownish. Remove from oven & strew flaked almonds on top & return to the heat for the last 5 minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust & the frangipane will be tanned, poofy & a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven & cool on the counter. Serve warm or room temperature. You may drizzle with a little more almond-ella, if desired. When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy & the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Notes from our hosts:

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It’s a pretty popular cake, so you shouldn’t have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes & linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (¼ cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” & strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference & spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out & cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling wrap

8oz whole wheat pastry flour
1oz sugar
½ tsp salt
4oz Earth Balance, frozen
¼ cup soy yogurt
½ tsp almond extract (optional)
1-2 TBSP cold water

1. Sift together flour, sugar & salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater (this really does work best). Using your finger tips only, & working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
2. Lightly beat the soy yogurt with the almond extract (if using) & quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive & slightly sticky dough. I had to use 3 TBSP of water since it was so dry here.
3. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling & refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt & vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, 1 tsp of vanilla paste or 1 tsp of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

4.5oz Earth Balance, softened (this is 1 stick and about 1 tsp)
4.5oz powdered sugar
1 ½ TBSP Ener-g Egg Replacer

1/3 cup warm water
½ tsp almond extract
4.5oz ground almonds
1oz whole wheat pastry flour

1. Cream butter & sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl.
2. Whisk together the egg replacer & warm water, add to the butter mixture, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all of the egg replacer is in, pour in the almond extract & mix for about another 30 seconds & scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts & the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) & retain its pallid yellow colour.

For my toppings, I used some leftover hazelnut praline, pine nuts & slivered almonds. For my fillings, I used almond-ella, peach, mango, orange jam, and apricot jam. They were all yummy! Not sure which my fav is, I really liked them all. I think a little peanut butter mixed with the jam & topped with the frangipane would be good too, but I didn’t try it. Enjoy!

Daring Bakers April 2009 - Cheesecake Centerpiece

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from JennyBakes.com. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

This month Jenny picked a basic cheesecake recipe, courtesy of Abbey T. The real challenge this month is to take this basic recipe & play with it. Make it unique. Make a showstopper of a dessert. Add flavor, sauces, decorations – dress it up & show it off.

I was excited when I found about this challenge ‘cuz I luv luv cheesecake. The first step was to find out which recipe I wanted to make, which I couldn’t do, so I made 4 different ones. Which ones did I make?

Well, my first choice was The Real Cheezecake in Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo.

My first impression of this one was too much lemon & not really cheesecake. But, after it sat in the fridge for a couple of days, the flavors blended better & yum yum yum! She suggests topping it with a raspberry or carob sauce, I chose raspberry. This cheezecake uses a macadamia nut, coconut & date crust with a cashew, lemon juice, agave & vanilla filing. I served this for Easter & didn’t get a picture of the cut & topped cake because I forgot to bring my camera. I used my silicone tart pan for this one.
My second choice: Lemon Cheesecake from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

This was a favorite at Easter, oh, did I mention my whole family are omnivores? This one had a great texture & was topped with a blueberry sauce, although she recommends fresh strawberries which would also be very tasty.

Graham cracker crust, nondairy cream cheese filling. The lemon flavor of this one is much more subtle. I used a regular springform pan for this one.

Third choice: Mini Icebox “Cheese” Cake from My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky

This was probably the favorite of the 4 & my hubby’s fav. This is basically a plain cheesecake with nondairy cream cheese and vanilla baked in a graham cracker crust (I didn’t have enough, so I used half graham crackers & half grape nuts). This one has great texture & great flavor. She recommends using the jam of your choice as a topping, I chose black cherry. I used a tart pan with removable bottom for this one.

Last choice: Chai “Cheese” Cake, also from My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky

I brought this one to work with me for our Easter potluck. Well, at work there is a carnivore, omnivores & 2 vegetarians. Everyone liked it! The chai spices in this one are wonderful, great texture, & awesome flavor. I used my mini springform pans for this one, they were cute. I made a couple of muffin size ones too, but ate them before I could take a picture.

I didn’t use it, but here is the challenge recipe:

Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 383 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients & press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker’s choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese & sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) & cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, & alcohol & blend until smooth & creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust & tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan & pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, & let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking & cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. After 1 hour, remove cheesecake from oven & lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, & then cover & put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in & make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil “casserole” shaped pans from the grocery store. They’re 8 or 9“ wide & really deep, & best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, & chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

I wish I would have remembered some of these ideas for flavorings because the lavender-scented with blueberries sounds divine! Make sure to check out everyone’s & drool over their mouth-watering flavors.

Some variations from the recipe creator:

** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries - heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers & stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, & a dash of cinnamon - cook until berries burst, then cool)

** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel - take ¼ cup of the heavy cream & heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream & use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website - just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar & corn syrup with no dairy).

** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.

** Mexican Turtle - add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 & 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon & a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves & a homemade caramel sauce.

** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace ½ cup of the sugar with ½ cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled & cored, & poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of “coins” of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, & about a ¼ cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid & simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears & fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts & fresh pomegranate seeds.

Some variations from Jenny (from JennyBakes):

**Key lime - add zest from one lime to sugar before mixing with cream cheese. Substitute lemon juice, alcohol, & vanilla with key lime juice.

**Cheesecakelets - put in muffin tins, ramekins, or custard cups. Try baking 20-35 minutes, or until still a little jiggly, & cool as before.

  I am continuing to catch up on the previous Daring Baker challenges & this months extra challenge is:

Strawberry Mirror Cake!

I had never heard of a Strawberry Mirror Cake before, so I was flying blind on this one, although it sounded intriguing. As always, I put the challenge off to the last minute, so this on the afternoon of the 30th, I set out on my mirror cake adventure. Actually, it came together fairly easy, especially since I didn’t have to temper any eggs, or worry about heat affecting anything. I had to make quite a few substitutions on this challenge, but I think it turned out pretty good. I did half the recipe, just because there isn’t anyone to share it with this month & I really don’t need to be eating the whole thing myself. I have put my subs & notes in pink. For the rules, we had to make a white cake and the flavors had to be strawberry. We were able to sub the alcohol or omit it altogether. Well, I didn’t have any kirsch or strawberry liquor, so I used Grand Marnier. Flavor wise it worked great, I have always loved strawberries & oranges together. We also had to do the mirror. My mirror came out smooth looking, but I don’t know if I would call it a mirror. For some reason, all of my photos came out a little blurry, so sorry about that. I don’t know if I would make this again, but it was good. Mainly a texture thing for me, I really don’t like Jello, so the texture of the Bavarian Cream was a little too jelloy for me. Huge thumbs up for the cake from the whole family.

Strawberry Mirror Cake

Daring Bakers Challenge #9: July 2007 Host: Peabody (Culinary Concoctions by Peabody)
Absolute Rules for this challenge:

1. Cake must be a white cake.

2. Cake must be strawberry. If you for some reason don’t make the strawberry flavor Peabody did not find alternative recipes. So if you are going to deviate it will be up to you to figure out how.

3. You must do the mirror

Allowed Modifications: You may substitute the alcohol for a non-alcoholic flavor or omit

You may decorate the cake BUT a portion of the mirror must be visible

Recipe Quantity: One (1) 10″ Cake

Special Pans: 11 x 17″ Jelly Roll Pan, 10″ Springform Pan, 8 1/4″ Cake Round or Tin (or pattern)

A. Strawberry Mirror Cake

3 eggs soy yogurt

3 egg yolks silken tofu

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 egg whites Ener-g egg replacer

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

2 TBSP sugar

2/3 cup sifted cake flour

½ cup water

1/3 cups sugar

2 TBSP kirsch or strawberry liqueur Grand Marnier

1.Preheat oven to 450F. Butter & flour the sides of an 11 X 17“ jelly roll pan(rimmed baking sheet). Line bottom of pan with a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit bottom pan exactly. I used a square silicone cake pan.

2.Beat eggs, egg yolks & ¾ cup sugar together in a medium bowl until thick & light. Beat in the vanilla.

3.In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, add cream of tartar & beat until whites begin to form peaks. Add the 2 TBSP sugar & beat until the whites hold stiff, glossy peaks(do not over beat).

4.Sift flour over the egg yolk mixture & fold in . Stir in ¼ of the whites. Then carefully fold in the remaining whites.

5.Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake until light brown & springy to touch (7 to 10 minutes).

6. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Run a knife along edge to loosen. Invert cake tin to cut out 8 ¼“ circles of cake. Wrap the cake layers, separated with waxed paper, & set aside. Cake may be frozen at this point.

B. Strawberry Bavarian Cream

2 ½ TBSP unflavored gelatin vegan gelatin

1 ½ cups strained strawberry puree(1 ½ baskets) pureed in Vitamix, didn’t strain

5 egg yolks silken tofu

2/3 cup sugar

1 ½ cups milk soy milk

1 TBSP lemon juice

several drops of red food coloring omitted

1 ¾ cups whipping cream silken tofu

1.Sprinkle the gelatin over the strawberry puree in a small bowl & set aside until spongy.

2.Combine egg yolks & sugar in a bowl’ beat until light. Bring milk to a boil in sauce pan. I didn’t heat it at this time. I waited until I combined them. Pour hot milk into yolk mixture ans stir with a wooden spoon (it doesn’t say so but I would temper the egg mixture first to be safe). Return this mixture to the saucepan & cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until your finger leaves a clear trail in sauce when drawn across the back of the spoon. (Do not boil or mixture will curdle.) Immediately remove from heat & stir in softened gelatin mixture. Pour into a stainless steel bowl places over a bowl of ice water. Stir in lemon juice & a few drops of red food coloring. Cool over ice water, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens to the consistency of softly whipped cream. I just put it in the fridge for a bit, whipped, back in the fridge, whipped, etc.

3.While gelatin mixture is cooling, whip the whipping cream until it holds soft peaks. When the gelatin mixture resembles softly whipped cream, fold the whipped cream into the gelatin mixture. This was a little confusing, but just did my best.

Strawberry Mirror

1 tsp lemon juice

1 TBSP kirsch Grand Marnier

1 TBSP water

1 TBSP unflavored gelatin

Few drops of red food coloring omitted

1.Prepare strawberry juice.

2.Place lemon juice, kirsch, & water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over this mixture; set aside until spongy & soft.

3.Measure 1 ½ cups Strawberry juice into a small saucepan & bring to a simmer; pour over gelatin mixture & stir to dissolve gelatin. Tint to desired color with red food coloring. Place bowl over bowl of ice water & stir occasionally until the mixture is syrupy & just beings to thicken (do not let jell); remove from ice water.

4.When mixture is syrupy, pour a 1/16” layer over the top of cake. Refrigerate until set.

Strawberry Juice pureed in Vitamix, didn’t strain

1 ½ pints of strawberries(18 oz)

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup water

1. Wash & hull strawberries; coarsely chop.

2. Place strawberries in saucepan; crush to start juices flowing. Place over low heat; add sugar & water; simmer slowly 10 minutes.

3.Pour juice & pulp through damp jelly bag or cheesecloth-lined colander & drain into a bowl for 15 minutes (Do not press down on fruit).

Soaking Syrup

Combine water & the 1/3 cup sugar in saucepan; bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Cool to room temperature; flavor with liqueur. Set aside or refrigerate in glass jar until ready to use.

To Assemble the Cake:

1. Brush sides of 10” springform pan lightly with flavorless salad oil or almond oil. Cut out a cardboard circle that is exactly the same size as the bottom inside of the pan; cover cardboard with aluminum foil & fit into bottom of pan. Center one layer of the cake bottom of pan. Brush the cake with some of the soaking syrup to just moisten(not drench) the cake; set aside. I lined with parchment paper (a mini springform pan) & didn’t use the soaking syrup, just added the liquor to the cake batter. I did that mainly because I forgot about the syrup.

2. Prepare Strawberry Bavarian Cream. Immediately pour about half of the Bavarian Cream over the first layer of cake in the pan. Set the next layer of cake on top of the cream. Pour remaining Bavarian Cream over cake & smooth top of the cream with spatula. Refrigerate until the cream sets (1 to 2 hours).

3.Prepare the Strawberry Mirror.

To serve: Wrap a hot towel around the outside of springform pan for a few minutes. Run a small sharp knife tip around the edge of the Strawberry Mirror to separate it form the sides of pan. Mirror will tear when sides are unlatched if it is stuck at ANY point. Slowly unlatch the pan & slide it off the cake. Slice cake in wedges & serve in upright slices.

Welcome to the December Challenge for Recipes to Rival! The Challenge this month is: Appetizers

Think Tapas, little nibbles, noshing, YUM! I have to admit that I was a little bummed & discouraged when I saw the challenge for this month. I guess I was a little tired &stretched a bit thin, so I wasn’t really thinking about how easy this challenge was to veganize. Thanks to all those on the boards that helped me out. Much thanks to our host this month for a great challenge: Temperance of High on the Hog & Jen of Delightful Delicacies.

We were given 3 choices of appetizers with the challenge of making 2 of them. Our options were 1)Gruyere Cheese Gougeres, 2)Galatoire’s Oysters en Brochette, & 3) Blue Cheese, Pear & Walnut Crostini. I think I saw all that cheese & the oysters & freaked out. I had bought my dad some vegan blue cheese for his birthday last year & it was over $9.00, not including shipping, so I didn’t think I could afford that just for this challenge. The only vegan cheese I can get here is mozzarella, cheddar, sour and cream, so, mozzarella it is.

These app’s came together really quick, even hubby liked the crostini (would only eat one piece of the Gougeres though). He actually ate 3 of them.

Here is where you can get the recipes: http://recipestorival.blogspot.com/2008/12/appetizer-trio.html

Check out everyone’s efforts here: http://recipestorival.blogspot.com/

Here is what I changed:

Gruyère Cheese Gougères ©‘The French Laundry Cookbook’ By Thomas Keller, November, 1999
Makes about 4 dozen gougères (I only made ¼ of the recipe)
Gougères are a classical preparation often served at wine tastings in France. The puffs are made from a savory pâte á choux, or cream puff dough-flavored here with Gruyère. They are best served hot out of the oven, offering that creamy-dough gratification. Don’t add the cheese, & the puff is a base for a dessert.
1 cup water
7 tablespoons (3-1/2 ounces) unsalted butter Earth Balance
1 tablespoon kosher salt, or more to taste
Pinch of sugar
1-1/4 cups (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
4 to 5 large eggs Ener-G Egg Replacer
1-1/4 cups grated Gruyère (5 ounces) Vegan Mozzarella
Freshly ground white pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats (see Sources) or parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, salt, & sugar & bring to a boil. Add all the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium, & stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes, or until the mixture forms a ball & the excess moisture has evaporated (if the ball forms more quickly, continue to cook & stir for a full 2 minutes).

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle & beat for about 30 seconds at medium speed to cool slightly. Add 4 eggs & continue to mix until completely combined & the batter has a smooth, silky texture. Stop the machine & lift up the beater to check the consistency of the batter. The batter in the mixing bowl should form a peak with a tip that falls over. If it is too stiff, beat in the white of the remaining egg. Check again &, if necessary, add the yolk. Finally, mix in ¾ cup of the Gruyère & adjust the seasoning with salt & white pepper.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8” plain pastry tip with the gougère batter. Pipe the batter into 1-tablespoon mounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 2“ between the gougères as the mixture will spread during baking. Sprinkle the top of each gougère with about ½ teaspoon of the remaining grated cheese & bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they puff & hold their shape. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. And bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. When the gougères are done, they should be a light golden brown color. When you break one open, it should be hollow; the inside should be cooked but still slightly moist. Remove the pans from the oven & serve the gougères while hot.

Notes: These were good hot or cold. I did two diffrent sizes (Tablespoon & Teaspoon) & had a slight preference for the smaller ones. Feel free to try using a diffrent cheese, it makes a big difference in the taste. You can make them up in advance & stick them in the freezer, let them thaw for 10 minutes & then bake in oven as usual & you have warm fresh Gougères. I also thought that stuffing them would be a really good idea.
They turned out a little salty for me, I would cut back on the salt just a bit.

Blue Cheese, Pear & Walnut Crostini:
a baguette, thinly sliced about ½ inch each
olive oil omitted
mascarpone, for spreading (optional) soy cream cheese
any type of bleu cheese (gorgonzola, Roquefort, stilton), thinly sliced, or crumbled vegan mozzarella
freshly hulled walnuts
a few pears, peeled & sliced into small cubes

1. Brush your bread slices with olive oil, line on a baking sheet, then toast in a hot oven for a few minutes until browned & crispy. You can broil them as well, if you prefer.
2. Remove from heat & spread each toast with some mascarpone.
3. Lay bleu cheese slices, or spread some crumbles, on each toast & add walnut pieces on top. Return to a 375-400°F oven for a few minutes, just until the cheese is melted.
4. When the cheese is nicely melted, take the crostinis out of the oven & top with a few cubes of pear. Serve soon after.

I tried it with the soy cream cheese & without it. Personally, I liked it better with it. This would taste great with the blue cheese & brie would be amazing! (For all you omnivores out there)

I liked the Gougeres, but I probably wouldn’t make them again. I would totally make the Crostini again though, they were great.

For dinner we had a yummy noodle salad and some fruit salad for dessert. 

I made the Asian Noodle Salad from the June/July 1999 Cooking Pleasures Magazine.  I didn’t have to tweak it too much, but did change a couple of things.  We ended the dinner with a yummy fruit salad of just some chopped cantaloupe, raspberries, and blueberries.  The fruit all had great flavor!  Hooray for summer and fresh fruit season.

Asian Vegetable Salad

I used green tea soba noodles, they had some great flavor. If you can find them, they complement this dish very well.

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 6 minutes Serves: 4

Salad

6 oz Soba Noodles

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup snap peas (snow peas would work great too)

½ red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

¼ cup mushrooms, sliced ( I used cremini)

½ cup baked tofu, thinly sliced

1 TBSP sesame seeds, toasted

Dressing

3 TBSP soy sauce

2 TBSP rice vineagar

2 tsp sugar

½ tsp fresh ginger, grated

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the package directions.

2. In the last 2 minutes of cooking time on the noodles, add the broccoli, snap peas and bell pepper. Drain and rinse.

3. While the noodles are cooking, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Add the mushrooms, noodles, and vegetables, tossing to combine. Top with the tofu and sesame seeds.

4. This salad can be served warm, room temperature, or cold.

Here are some food items that I have tried this past year:

First up: Raspberry Preserves from Costco

Walls Berry Farms Raspberry preserves is sooooo good!  It tastes amazing on croissants, and makes an awesome raspberry sauce for anything chocolate.  If you can find it (only offered seasonally at Costco, I always get 2 when they have it), give it a try.  Tres Yummy!

Next up, Naked Juice Orange Juice

I really like this juice.  We use this every morning in our smoothies.  Sometimes I’ll combine it with pomegranate, cherry, grape, or apple juice (which is also good).  It has a nice fresh taste and mixes in really well and doesn’t overpower anything in our morning smoothies.

What’s next? Organic Food Bars - Vegan and Active Greens

There are numerous other flavors and I have liked all of the ones that I have tried (blueberry and chocolate chip are both yummy).  These make a great meal replacement for those days when you are running around doing errands, or are on a long hike.  It works great too for when your hubby is out all day and you know he’s not going to stop to eat anything, so I make sure he has one of these with him.

Lastly, Whole Soy Yogurt

I like this yogurt too.  I use the plain & vanilla flavored for baking, and once in a while I’ll get the fruit flavored ones to mix with granola for a nighttime snack.  Whole Soy & Co. is usually a little cheaper than Silk, so that’s why I go with it. 

Bonus pix:

Some yaki soba - I’ll share the recipe later, it was yummy!!

Every week, I sit down and figure out my dinner menu for the next week and write out my grocery list.  I don’t normally plan out a daily breakfast or lunch menu, just dinners.  Breakfasts are always a smoothie and then we add on either cereal, waffles or pancakes, hashbrowns, or steel cut oats.  I switch it up a little if I have a lazy morning, or find a recipe I want to try.  For lunches, we typically have leftovers, peanut butter and jelly, fakin’ BLTA or cucumber sandwiches.  Mainly depends on if I have to take my lunch with me to work or if I’m home.  Here is our dinner plan for the week (I say plan, because it is always subject to change as life happens):

Sunday - Special (check back at the end of the month to see what this was)

Monday - Quick Protein Salad with Bread

Tuesday - Vegan Patties with Corn on the Cob

Wednesday - Cajun-Seared Portobello Fillets with Avocado Cream

Thursday - Salad and Beans with pita chips and hummus

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Jamaican Jerk Burgers with Salad

This morning we had waffles with a ZenMatcha Power Shake (adapted from Refresh Cookbook pg. 158).  The shake turned out really good, it has 1 tablespoon of matcha powder in it which makes it a pretty light shade of green. 

ZenMatcha Power Shake 

Prep Time: 5 minutes    Yield: 1 serving

1 cup pineapple, cubed

1/2 cup orange juice

2 cups ice cubes

1 1/2 cups spinach

2/3 cup soymilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 TBSP matcha green tea powder

1.  Place all of the ingredients in a blender in the order given and blend until smooth.  You may need to stir it a couple of times to make sure it all gets blended together. 

2. Pour into a glass and enjoy. 

Sorry, no picture, there were too many cooks in the kitchen and I was starving!   Everyone loved it though!  The matcha flavor is great!

I made Blueberry Muffins today to take with us to Seattle. 

They turned out good, although I got a little carried away with the blueberries.  They just looked so good, that I kept adding a little more.  For the recipe, I looked through a bunch of recipes and took the best from them all and added a little of my own taste to it.  I will definitely make these again, just with a few less blueberries. 

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

This recipe can be doubled.

Makes 9 muffins

1 tablespoon flax seeds
2 tablespoons water
1 cup orange juice

¼ cup prune puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 TBSP sugar

2 TBSP brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats
¾ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup spelt flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup frozen blueberries
½ cup walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.

2. Grind the flax seed in a blender or food processor, then add the water & blend together until it begins to thicken.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flax meal, orange juice, applesauce, vanilla & sugar. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Gently stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries, nuts & chocolate chips, if using. Spoon into a silicone muffin pan & bake for 20-25 minutes.

Variations: you can use chopped dried fruit instead of the blueberries.

I bought a huge container of strawberries at Costco last week and still had some left, so I was searching some blogs trying to find something to make with them.  I came across a strawberry scone recipe that I just had to try.  The original recipe is definitely not vegan, so I had to make some adjustments, but they turned out very tasty.  K thought they were okay, he’s not a big fan of fruit “desserts”.  These are also good with a drizzle of honey instead of the icing too.  I didn’t have much confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, a.k.a. icing sugar) left, so my icing is a little thinner.  Give them a try!

Strawberry Scones

Prep Time: 10 minutes Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes (up to overnight) Cook Time: 20 minutes Yield: 8 scones

Scones:

¾ cup soy yogurt, plain

1 TBSP orange juice

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ cup sugar

1/3 cup firm silken tofu, cold, cubed

1 cup strawberries, diced

Icing:

½ cup confectioners sugar

1 TBSP orange juice

1. Place a fine mesh colander over a bowl and line with a paper towel. Pour the yogurt into the colander and let it refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight. The liquid will drain out so you can flavor it yourself.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

3. Remove the yogurt from the refrigerator and discard the liquid in the bowl. Scoop the yogurt into the bowl and stir in the orange juice.

4. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Cut in the tofu until it resembles bread crumbs.

5. Add the yogurt and strawberries to the bowl and stir until it comes together into a ball.

6. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a ball. Place each ball onto your baking sheet and press the dough until it is 1 ½” thick. Cut across each disk so that there are 4 pieces.

7. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack. Divide the scones along the cuts you made before baking and let cool on a wire rack. Prepare the glaze as the scone cool.

8. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and orange juice, stirring until smooth.

9. When the scones are cool enough to handle, using a fork, drizzle with the glaze and enjoy. These are great slightly warm and completely cooled.

Tip: For an even stronger strawberry flavor, you can substitute strawberry soy yogurt for the orange flavor. If you use flavored yogurt, you can skip the first and third step of the recipe directions. These would also be good as the base for strawberry shortcake!

Original Recipe by Nicloe at Baking Bites