The Healthy Vegan Kitchen

It’s time for my 6^th Double Challenge. What is it? Deepest Darkest Crepe Cake!

I was actually really excited when I saw this challenge, especially after reading all of the comments everyone had. It seems that they all had some trouble with the crepe recipe. Luckily, being vegan, I get to try it with a different recipe since I don’t eat milk or eggs. As long as you expect the first couple of crepes to be trial runs that are fit for snacking but not the actual cake, you should be fine. I was able to make this cake all in one day, but you can take up to 4 days to make it. This cake is rich, but not too sweet. It tastes great, even my hubby liked it (he’s the non dessert lover). I would describe the Hazelnut filling on the buttercream side & the chocolate glaze tastes heavenly made with hazelnut cream instead of heavy cream. I had some problems with my candied hazelnuts. I started out making the hazelnut prailine from the Filbert Gateau, then read the directions. The sugar had started to melt a bit when I decided to add the water, big mistake. I then didn’t cook it long enough. I ended up just putting it back on the stove to heat some more & it turned out okay, not great, but it was salvaged. The other problem I had was impatience. I made my Chocolate Glaze then put it in the fridge to cool down. Well, it wasn’t cooling down fast enough for me, so I put it in the freezer, planning to take it out after 10 to 15 minutes. Well, 30 minutes later, it had started to harden into chips again, so the presentation isn’t as pristine as I would’ve liked, but I actually liked the little bits of chips, it gave a nice texture difference to the smoothness of the cake. Each component of the cake is pretty easy to make, especially after you get the hang of the crepes & it comes together nicely as well.

 first side     flipped over

My changes are in green.

Deepest Darkest Crepe Cake from the kitchens of Martha Stewart

Daring Bakers Challenge #6: April 2007 Host: Brilynn (Jumbo Empanadas)

   

Allowed modifications:

1. If you don’t like hazelnut filling, you may choose a flavor of your choice but you are on your own how to make the cream filling.

2. You don’t have to do the candied hazelnut topping. You may just do sugar, nothing or the topping of your choice.

3.High altitude modifications are allowed as long as you stay “true” to the recipe.

4. Conversion for certain dietary restrictions like gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan etc. is allowed.

5. Recipe ingredient exception allowed only if allergy or an ingredient not available or cost prohibitive in your region.

   

Crepes

3/4 Cup (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus melted for pan

8 Ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/3 Cup sugar

2 Teaspoon salt

2 1/2 Cups whole milk, room temperature

6 large eggs, room temperature

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Bring 1/4 cup water to a rolling boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking to combine after each addition. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until completely melted. Set aside.

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla in another medium bowl. Gradually add milk mixture to flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Add chocolate-butter mixture, whisking until smooth. Pour through a fine sieve into an airtight container; discard lumps. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Lightly coat an 8″crepe pan or nonstick skillet with melted butter. Heat over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Remove pan from heat; pour about 2 tablespoons batter into pan, swirling to cover bottom. Reduce heat to medium-low; return pan to heat. Cook, flipping once, until edges are golden and center is dry, about 30 seconds per side.

Slide crepe onto a plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, coating pan with butter as needed. Crepes can be refrigerated, covered, up to 1 day.

Place a crepe on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Spread with about 3 tablespoons hazelnut filling. Top with another crepe. Continue layering with hazelnut filling and crepes, using about 32 crepes and ending with a crepe on top. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Spoon ½ cup glaze on top of the cake, spreading to edges. Spread remaining glaze around sides of cake, coating completely. Refrigerate until glaze is firm and set, about 20 minutes. Cake can be refrigerated up to 3 days. Garnish with toasted and candied hazelnuts.

Crepes

2 ¼ cups soy milk

¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not substitute ordinary whole wheat flour)

¾ cup oat flour (2/3 cup rolled oats, ground in a dry blender)

¾ cup extra-firm silken tofu

1/3 cup chickpea flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP honey (or agave nectar)

¾ tsp salt

¾ tsp baking powder

1. Process all of the ingredients in a food processor or a blender until very smooth. (You do not have to “rest” the batter before cooking, like with egg crepes.)

2. Heat a nonstick 8″ skillet (a shallow skillet is the best, if you have one) over medium-high heat. Use 2 tablespoons of batter per crepe (stirring the batter before you make each crepe), rolling & tilting the pan until it evenly covers the bottom. Cover the pan & cook for a few seconds, or until the top looks dry. Carefully loosen the crepe with a very thin plastic spatula. Stack the cooked crepes on a plate & cover them with a clean napkin. (These crepes are quite tender & it is difficult to flip them over– with this method of cooking, you don’t have to.) - You can cook them uncovered & flip them if you want, that’s what I did.

3. Either fill the crepes right away & serve as directed below, or let them cool & place in a plastic bag or rigid container (with pieces of waxed paper in between each crepe), & refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze them for future use (thaw thoroughly before filling).  I only got 23 crepes. 

Hazelnut Filling

Serving: Makes about 8 cups

2/3 Cup heavy cream – coconut milk

6 large egg whites - ¾ cup extra firm silken tofu & 1 ½ TBSP Ener-G Egg replacer mixed with 1/3 cup coconut milk

1 2/3 Cups sugar – 1 cup

1 3/4 Cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, softened – 1 ½ sticks

1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 Cup hazelnut cream, (available from Whole Foods Market, www.wholefoods.com) – Hazelnut soy creamer

1 tsp salt

Put cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Whisk egg whites & sugar in the clean bowl of mixer set over a pan of simmering water until sugar has dissolved & mixture registers 160 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes.

Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment; beat on high speed until slightly cooled & stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 5 minutes.

Fit mixer with paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter, several pieces at a time, mixing well after each addition (meringue will deflate slightly as butter is added). Add vanilla, hazelnut cream, & salt; mix until mixture comes together, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Use immediately.

I mixed all of the ingredients together with a hand mixer. Then refrigerated it until I put the cake together.

  Crepes stacked & filled with Hazelnut filling. You can spread the filling a little closer to the edges then I did, but don’t get it too thick on the edges because the weight of the crepes will make it smoosh out the sides.

Chocolate Glaze

Serving: Makes about 2 cups

1 1/4 Cups heavy cream – Hazelnut Soy Creamer

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup – Lee’s Golden Syrup

1 tsp salt

10 Ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Bring cream, corn syrup, & salt to a boil in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; swirl pan to cover completely with cream. Let stand about 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let cool completely. 

Candied Hazelnuts

Serving: Makes 9

9 hazelnuts, toasted and peeled

1 Cup sugar

Thread each hazelnut onto tip of a long wooden skewer; set aside. Place a cutting board along the edge of a countertop; set a baking sheet on floor next to edge.

Cook sugar & ¼ cup water in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides with a wet brush to prevent crystals from forming. Let boil until syrup turns light amber, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Let stand until slightly cooled, 8 to 10 minutes.

Dip 1 skewered hazelnut into syrup, coating completely & letting excess syrup drip back into pan. When dripping syrup becomes a thin string, secure end of skewer under cutting board, letting caramel string drip over edge onto sheet. Repeat with remaining hazelnuts. Let stand until caramel has hardened, about 5 minutes. Break strings to about 4“. Carefully remove skewers. (Mine were about ¼” long)

 Sliced

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.

We are getting ready to visit my sister in Seattle, WA.  We will be there for a week and since they are omni’s, I decided to make it a little easier on her and make some muffins for us to have for breakfast and snacks while we’re there.  I wanted to make some Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins,

 

but that didn’t use the whole can of pumpkin that I had, so I needed to find another one.  The second muffins I made are Pumpkin, Millet, Chocolate Chip Muffins,

 

they turned out yummy!  But, that still didn’t use up the rest of the pumpkin (about 1/2 cup left), so I made some pumpkin pancakes this morning, WOW, they were great!  Pumpkin pancakes topped with peanut butter, chopped walnuts and maple syrup are so good.  Now I just have some blueberries to use up, so I’m going to make blueberry muffins tomorrow to take.  Here’s the recipe for the Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins:

Oatmeal – Pumpkin Muffins

Serve with a glass of orange juice for a wholesome breakfast or light snack.

Prep Time: 30 minutes Bake Time: 20 minutes Cool Time: 5 minutes Yield: 12 muffins

3/4 cup soymilk

1 TBSP lemon juice

2 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)

3/4 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 TBSP egg replacer

4 TBSP warm water

2 TBSP applesauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and set out silicone muffins pans.

2. Place the soy milk in a cup, add the lemon juice & mix well. Set aside. This will thicken as it sits, making a soy buttermilk.

3. Whisk together the egg replacer with the warm water until frothy, set aside.

4. Place 2 cups of oats in a food processor; cover & process until fine. Transfer ground oats to a large bowl; stir in flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cloves. Make a well in center of oat mixture; set aside.

5. Whisk together pumpkin, soymilk mixture, egg replacer & applesauce in a medium bowl. Add pumpkin mixture all at once to oat mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy & thick).

6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set your muffin pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin pan and let cool completely before moving to an airtight container. They will keep for a week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Tip: You can also add cranberries or carob chips depending on your mood. Dried figs would be good too.