VeganMoFo 2019 Day 31: Kombucha Cake and a Wrap Up

"All my life I've been searching for somethin' Somethin' never comes, never leads to nuthin' Nothin' satisfies, but I'm gettin' close Closer to the prize at the end of the rope"

"Done, done, and I'm on to the next one Done, done, and I'm on to the next one Done, done, and I'm on the next one Done, I'm done, and I'm on to the next"

"One by one, Hidden up my sleeve"
You needed to see yesterday's offering again. Look at her! She's magnificent! The texture set up overnight, it's perfect.

Today I made a Kombucha cake for you "soda cake" style. Not my best work. These were the ingredients:

That's my  home-brew there... grapefruit!

I used my own home brew grapefruit kombucha. Something is definitely off with this combo. The texture is not right, it's not dense but it is chewy. The flavor isn't bad at all though. Perhaps my home brew has too much sugar? Too little sugar? I have no clue. My frosting is an on the fly cream cheese using only Tofutti cream cheese, powdered sugar and kombucha. Way too soft and almost runny. I used those sprinkles because I had purchased them especially for the month and never got to the cake they were for. I made this cake "naked cake" style because the icing is so soft, no way I was getting any swirls on this cake. I tinted it ever so slightly with the Watson brand of natural food coloring you saw way back earlier this month. Then I warmed up some of that tequila icing and drizzled it over the sides. I think the tequila frosting is a very good compliment to this cake, the cake itself has a very faint citrus flavor. Remember, that tequila icing has lime in it. The tequila icing really takes over this entire combo, I have zero problem with that, this frosting is fire.

This box cake mixed with 12 ounces of grapefruit kombucha filled 3 6" layers. Not only do I still have tequila frosting left, now I have this super soft cream cheese icing left too.

This month flew by faster than I expected. I didn't miss a day for you, despite many challenges around here. The last prompt for us today is who inspired us through the month as far as other bloggers. I checked in with every single participant that posted (some registered but didn't post, not many but I checked back on them a few times hoping to see content). I enjoyed Herbivore's Heaven, Kittens Gone Lentil, Amber Eats Veg, My Apologies for the Novel, AfroVeganChick, and so many more. Truly the one that blew me away the most was the angel food cake post from Gonna Go Walk the Dogs, I'm still marveling over that cake, or rather it's more appropriate for me to say that cake will haunt me until I nail it too. I will not give up on my efforts, I'm on a mission, I will get it done. I was truly inspired by that cake.

I hope you enjoyed my content and made a point to read other bloggers offerings as well. So many of us pour a lot of effort into our daily posts. Even I am surprised how much work these cakes took on some days, and I actually had a jump on things with a few cakes "in the can" before the month started. I didn't share a cake that I meant to, so here's one more:

This one of my "leftovers" cake.
I had the frosting, salted maple pecans, and caramel sauce left from other cakes.
I baked another version (half recipe) of Gretchen Price's banana layer cake.
I found this recipe in particular needed more liquid;
I think I added up to 1/4 cup more non-dairy  milk.
The cake was not dense, and way better when I made it that way.

At this point in my life, I have no idea what tomorrow brings (literally and figuratively) but surely it is my hope I'll be back here blogging for Vegan Month of Food in 2020. I feel very fortunate to be back working in my kitchen, being back at the burners preparing breakfasts for our guests for the first time in 2 years, playing with cakes for you, dodging a major hurricane this week, working hard to reclaim my health (physical and mental), and looking forward to our first event here at the bed and breakfast, it's coming up quick, there's going to be a ThanksLiving celebration here catered by Chef Gail Patak. I cannot even believe that is happening, after all we've been through, so many days I thought I'd never see the sun again. It's been such a long road for me and so many others, still not through it all, but we're getting there. Speaking of the hurricane, it's still anyone's guess where she'll hit if she comes ashore, but here in the Keys we are clearly out of the cone. Last night I slept in the dedicated "pet room" that we now have for travelers as that is where our 2 fosters are for the time being until they relax a little. Perhaps they felt my own stress, they didn't come out from under the bed at all. I didn't realize just how hard this Dorian storm was weighing on me until today. I stayed in bed til after 10 (all reservations we had on tap cancelled with the impending storm so I had the morning and the place to myself) and put zero demands on my time today except for the cake. Not too shabby a recovery day I'd say.

Thank you to all the bloggers who worked so hard with your content, I've read dozens and dozens and dozens of your posts. You've had to deal with hard and heavy things in your life, including even a mass shooting in your town (I'm so so very sorry). Through it all, you persevered, and I so appreciate you all.

My blog will continue of course, but for now I'll be switching back to regular life. See you in JULY 2020 for VeganMoFo, if the Universe allows me.

Go vegan, stay vegan.

#31... "I'm done, I'm done, I'm done."

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 30: Italian Ricotta Cheezecake, Dorian and 2 New Faces

"Cheesecake Will Always Taste Like Love"
AS LONG AS IT'S VEGAN

This is a vegan version of an Italian Ricotta Cheesecake. It is from a recipe published today (or perhaps last night) by Gretchen Price of Gretchen's Vegan Bakery (online) and author of Modern Vegan Baking.  Since this recipe was only published less than 24 hours ago, if you're thinking I wasn't planning on this today, you're correct. Since basically I'm a bottom line kind of gal, I'm going to edit out about 10 hours of my day's story and tell you this much. I planned a different cake, it had multiple components. A lot of things are happening around here right now to interfere with plans and routine, especially Hurricane Dorian spinning in the Atlantic. I was having time management issues with the planned cake to say the least, and then I got a call from the local animal shelter explaining in an abundance of caution, they were emptying the shelter with storm fosters. Since I'd previously signed up, they asked if I would be able to honor the commitment. Of course the answer was yes, all I needed to do was get there before closing tonight. With that, I tossed out the planned cake, stumbling with what to do instead. Like magic a post came up in my social media from Gretchen with her vegan recipe for Italian Ricotta Cheesecake. Editing almost everything out as I said I would... I made the cake. It's not fully chilled yet, but I sliced it for the photo. You'll probably see a better picture of it here tomorrow (if plans go ok). I tasted it. I've never had Italian Ricotta Cheesecake, but when you read Gretchen's post or watch her video, you'll understand when I say it came out exactly as she said, a little more wet which is not a bad way, it's perfect. The flavor is excellent, the texture is beautiful. I'm not even really a fan of cheesecake (another "plus" in the column, or so I thought, since I simply do not want to eat my stress today). I say "or so I thought" because this cake is so good, I'm not sure I'm going to refuse a slice tomorrow at some point. There was only 1 ingredient which I didn't have and didn't have access to; I posted a question on Gretchen's page and in less than 20 minutes she had responded and coached me on substitutes. So, her recipe was followed EXACTLY (I weighed the ingredients) but instead of the special egg replacer, I added 1 tablespoon extra of cornstarch per Gretchen's advice. I cannot imagine this cake being even better than it already is, but come tomorrow we shall see.

Now, for the hurricane and the fosters. Looks like we're out of the cone at the moment, but we are expected to receive some "weather." We hightailed it up to the shelter for 1 foster, but came home with 2... siblings. We could not separate siblings especially in such a time of need. These terrified little kitty cats are named Trixie and Gracie. They're all set up in quiet space, have eaten and had water. They need some time to adjust to this huge upset in their lives, we will be there for them. Here they are in the car ride home:

Trixie sitting on Gracie.
They are sisters.

There you have it for today's cake. Tomorrow is my last cake day, as I keep mentioning I have so many more cakes I want to bring you. Not sure what tomorrow will bring, if I have time I hope to take a crack at what was supposed to be today's cake, but it's anyone's guess at this point. I'm off to be a presence with Trixie and Gracie for the rest of the evening. For anyone reading this in faraway places, I have to ask you to please hold good thoughts for all in the path of Dorian.  I've been doing my best channeling for her to just stay far at sea there are so many in harm's way.

Cake #30 over and out, vegan style of course.

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 29: Eat My Feelings Part 2

"Give your stress wings, and let it fly away"
or, at least give it cake. Yes, absolutely.... cake.

As Doria churns out in the Atlantic, many eyes are on her including mine. It's been a busy day or so around here, while we don't expect a direct impact, I cannot deny that the timing is bringing back too many bad memories. Last night I had my first real hurricane nightmare, probably triggered by the fact that instead of leaving the TV turned to true crime all night I left it on weather. We had an absolutely glorious morning here, which also triggered some feelings for me similar to right before Irma, that beautiful weather we had. Here's a picture of this mornings double rainbow after a big boomer passed through (so big that Pink scurried back under the covers in the pre-dawn hours which is when she's usually out and about, one of her nicknames is Vampira).

If you look in the center of the picture by the water, you will see
a flock of birds turning in unison.
I think they were kites but I'm not sure.

I stuck mostly to my word from yesterday that I would not over schedule myself again, which meant I had time to take a power nap. When I woke up, it was 7pm. I made the perfect cake for a day like today... mug cake! This one is really good! It's banana, chocolate, peanut butter... everything good all wrapped up into a mug. The link is here fro "MyFoodStory.com" https://myfoodstory.com/eggless-banana-chocolate-peanut-butter-mug-cake-recipe/

I stuck true to the recipe (it's a mug cake for crap's sake, what's to change?!) and made it in one of my new cute deer mugs I got at the thrift this week, how absolutely stinkin' adorable is that mug. I bought them for soup, but now I know they are cake cups. I'm working hard not to eat the cake. It's warm and smells so good. Sure I tasted it, but hopes are the other happy vegan gets back here before I completely breakdown and eat my stress (he's out on patrol for feral kitties to feed). I'm actually keeping this recipe in my collection, I really liked it. That's a little bit of chocolate ganache on the cake leftover from one of my other recent cakes (I think Fran's torte).

There's only 2 more cakes after today... so many cakes, so little time, where has the month gone?!!

#29 closed out!

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 28: Mocktail Cake

"You Bring the Tequila, I'll Bring the Bad Decisions"
MARGARITA CAKE!

Today there's a prompt for us to make a mocktail/cocktail drink. In keeping with my own theme of 31 cakes in 31 days, I cake-ified the margarita cupcakes from Isa and Terry's Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I've had this book for many years, but this recipe never appealed to me as I'm not a tequila fan.  I also like fluffy frosting, the cupcakes don't have either, it's a thin and flat, very soft icing. These issues of my own precluded me from making this delicious cake for years, wow this recipe is YUM! I made a half recipe of the cupcake batter, and baked it in one 6" round pan. I made the entire icing recipe because usually I need more and just double it. Big mistake, the frosting made plenty and then some. Since this was a cupcake recipe, any issues I have with the cake I chalk up to my own change of baking in a cake pan. The cake baked up very quickly (about 16 minutes) and is tender. The edges however are a bit chewy, not in a doughy way either. I'm not sure how to describe it, I mean it's not bad at all but I noticed it. As far as the frosting goes, this is a very soft, wet, almost fluid frosting. While it's doesn't harden up like royal icing, it does set and is firm to the touch. I'm going to experiment and see if I can freeze this frosting I have quite a bit left and I'd like to use it again. If alcohol is not your thing, I think you should just skip this recipe completely. I'm not sure what would be a suitable sub for the tequila. If you just like lime flavor, that's fine, but I would think you can just use a lime citrus cake recipe and not deal with the measurements being off in this recipe by omitting the tequila. 

This cake is surely not for the wee ones, it has tequila in the batter AND the frosting. The cake tastes like lime to me (yes, obviously there's lime in both cake and frosting as well), but in the frosting the tequila totally shines through and is a star. This is a delicious combo. I knew I was going to be making this cake today and all day long I figured I'd pop a slice into a martini glass for a cute photo op. Early evening I realized I have no martini glasses, they vanished in the storm. I keep forgetting the stupidest things like that. I decided to pop the slice of cake into a wine glass (which isn't really a wine glass, it's what I use for parfaits here when I serve guests). It looked ridiculous, but I took the photo anyway. As you can see, I didn't use it. Once I downloaded (uploaded?) the photos, I found a perfectly placed cat hair lying on the surface just next to the glass. Invisible to the eye when shooting, but glaring in all it's glory when I looked at the photo. Sigh.

I'm happy I at least will get this post up before midnight. This was the first day in a really long time that I've found myself completely overwhelmed and over scheduled. It's not a good feeling. I'm still functioning at the "do one thing a day" level, and that's been working well since I set that rule in place with the New Year. I've learned my lesson, tomorrow I recommit to my own set rule.

I have 3 more days of cakes. I'm getting a little sad because I have way more cakes to share than days on the calendar.

#28 down and done, tequila style.

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 27: Fight for the Right... to ParrrrrrrrrrrTY!

You wake up late for school, man you don't wanna go
you ask your mom, please? but she still says no!

You missed two classes, and no homework
but your teacher preaches class like you're some kinda jerk!

You gotta fight, for your right to party.

Today is my sister's birthday. It's a safe bet she doesn't read this blog, even the other happy vegan doesn't read this blog, which is why I can get away with as much as I do, bwah ha ha. Anyway.... my sister lives far away, but it's her birthday and we're both Virgo so I baked a birthday cake today!

I've been wanting to bake a "white bakery flavor" cake, even though I wasn't sure even what that was anymore. I haven't had a conventional bakery cake in decades, I don't feel like I'm missing anything as this month has shown there's plenty of cake in vegan world and it's superior to conventional anyway. I chose a recipe from "Yup, It's Vegan" and ordered the accidentally vegan Wilton butter flavor a few weeks ago specifically for this cake, it's clear. I was supposed to order clear vanilla flavor to keep the cake pure white, but that's not really my jam (non fair trade vanilla) so I skipped it. The recipe link is at the bottom, I kept true to the recipe, except I cut it in half, and made 2 6" layers. I hoped half the recipe would be even less and I could get away with 2 4" layers, but it's a generous amount of batter. I stuck with 6.

As soon as I tasted the cake I remembered what "white bakery cake" is. No, it's definitely not vanilla, and it's surely not a yellow cake. It's a flavor all of it's own, and I'll stick with "white bakery cake" for the name too. This cake is very delicate and tender. My layers took 24 minutes to bake, which is a bit longer than most 6" cakes I've been baking. I chose a basic vanilla frosting to ice the cake, and used my non-parieles from Sweetopolita, I have a 5 pound bag of them. These little dots used to get a lot of use around here, not so much lately though. I wish I had baked this cake earlier in the day so there was natural light. The cake really is white! I'm sure my teeny bit of vanilla made it a bit off, but it's way whiter than any vanilla cake I've ever baked, super pretty. It's after 9pm as I write this, my kitchen is pretty dark.

As far as the recipe itself, there's a few things you should know. It's very runny when you pour it in the pans, almost watery. No worries you didn't make a mistake, it's the way it is. Also, this recipe specifically said do not use convection on this cake or it will bake "weird." I have a convection bakery oven, there simply is no way to turn the convection option off. I wondered what would be "weird" about it, and I discovered these tiny little creases in my baked cake I'm not sure if you can see it in the photo, I tried to hide it a bit, but they are definitely there. I suspect that is what is meant by "weird" about convection baking. Since this was a "no reason" cake these creases do not bother me, but I wouldn't be happy if this was a for purchase cake. I made 3 slices, and each one had weird creases.

I'll probably never make this cake again, despite how white the cake turned out. I'm a fan of chocolate, no apologies will be forthcoming. I'm going to wait til tomorrow when the other happy vegan road tests this cake. Among his favorite cake flavors is vanilla. I really need him to evaluate this one for me, I'm just not the right person to run with vanilla.

Recipe link: https://yupitsvegan.com/vegan-white-cake/

#27 dedicated to the birthday girl, Happy Birthday Sis! 

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 26: Grasshopper Says I Am Still Learning

Cake is always the answer,
no matter the question.

I wouldn't lie.

Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.
Even cake.
Especially cake.

Well, here I am all happy thinking cake #26 of 31 in 31 was going to be the big thing on the post today, but no... it's the meringues. I'll get to that in a moment.

Today we have a teeny tiny grasshopper cake. I used Gretchen Price's chocolate mint cake recipe. Actually, her cake isn't minty, but her frosting is. This is the first time I've made Gretchen's chocolate cake, it's outstanding. I used her frosting recipe as well, but I added tint unfortunately I was a bit heavy handed with the leaf green. I cut the mint extract quantity in half, and I'm glad I did, it's plenty minty. Although she offers a ganache recipe for her mint cake, I used my own, it's tried and true.  I was under the gun to make this cake quickly, and it was done start to finish in 2 hours INCLUDING the meringues! Now, let's talk decorations. What is over the ganache is Newman's mint sandwich cookies that I crushed, and cut into quarters. The quarters are on the frosting, the crumbs are on the ganache. But the star of this show.... oh my goodness, those cocoa mint vegan meringues. They are not made using aquafaba, nope! This is the first time I've made meringues using EnerG egg replacer, wow these are among the best meringues I've ever made. I used a recipe from Pickles and Honey blog. In addition to the EnerG replacer and water, they have cocoa powder, chopped dark chocolate, mint and vanilla extracts, plus sugar. That's it. The only flaw in my meringues was that I decided to use a piping tip and bag after a few scoops with a portion scooper. Some of my chocolate wasn't fine enough to force through the large tip so I ended up stopping to clear the clogs a few times. I ended up liking the look of the small portion scoop better than the piped meringues when I was finished, but I wanted to see how each way ended up. They were perfectly stable from start to finish. I'm giving you the link to the meringues, and Gretchen's mint cake recipe is also linked. I made 2 small 6" layers, the recipe as written makes 3 6" layers; I cut the recipe in half because I had no reason to make this cake other than VeganMoFo and when you scroll down, you'll understand my urgent need to keep cakes small lately.

After I made this cake, I learned that mint chocolate cakes are referred to as grasshopper cake. I would've loved the green to have been more subtle, but I'll take what I can get. What I've not mentioned to you is that I have not had air conditioning for a week. Oh sure, all the guest rooms have AC working perfectly, no worries there. It's my area... back of the house as I call it. Nope, nada, zero, zilch, dead as a doornail. No AC and I'm making cakes. This cake was melting so fast the wee cookie bits put too much strain on the frosting mountains, within 30 seconds, it all began to wilt, there was nothing I could do to change this other than spin the cake around to hide the falling off parts for photos, and fire off as many as possible in 15 seconds. It is HOT in the kitchen this week. This is where the rubber meets the road is all I can say. It was promised way back that there would be plenty of melting cakes and that was before the AC was on the fritz. I've sure kept true to my word. No Mr. Airconditioning RepairPeople, you are not going to be among the ones getting any of these cakes lately, sorry not sorry, you promised it would be fixed last week and it's still broken. I know, I know, first world problems.

Here's the links to the recipes:

CAKE: https://www.gretchensveganbakery.com/mint-chocolate-chip-cake/

MERINGUES: http://www.picklesnhoney.com/mint-chocolate-chip-meringue-cookies/

I'll remind you now, meringues are truly not my "thing." They are so super sweet, I can't even. Trust me though when I say the recipe I link to you above will yield some of the best meringues you'll ever have, and after making so many meringues with aquafaba I think this recipe was the most stable I've ever made. Also very surprising to me is that this EnerG meringue recipe was published in 2012! So for 7 years this recipe has been lurking on the internet and I never found it, don't wait 7 years friends, go forth and make those chocolate minty meringue cookies STAT!

If this month has taught me anything, it's that life is short eat the cake (or a meringue). This cake is worth the effort.

Poof, #26 down the hatch.

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 25: Excuse Me, My Jersey Is Showing

"Gather the crumbs of happiness
and they will make you a loaf of contentment."
(or at least a cake of contentment)

Remember marble cake day? I wrote about Entenmann's cakes, how my mom was a fan. She liked their coffee cake so I planned on replicating a coffee ring cake. I was undecided about making my own coffee cake, or using a published recipe, so I decided to surf the 'net. I came across a caption about a New Jersey Crumb Cake. In a flash I remembered how my mom really liked the Entenmann's crumb cake too, thus I clicked on the link. Up came a story about a crumb cake "Jersey style" and they waxed poetic about the super thick layer of crumb, specifically referencing Entenmann's cake. I remember that crumb cake from Entenmann's, it had a pretty thick layer of crumb, but I didn't think it was anything special about New Jersey, or even East Coast. Maybe I should rethink that though. Any of you out there in possession of Isa's "Vegan Brunch" book know full well she has her East Coast Crumb Cake published in there. I can't remember for sure but I think she may add blueberries to hers. That's an excellent recipe by the way. So Isa has "East Coast' crumb cake, and today I see New Jersey crumb cake, maybe it IS a thing to have extra crumb in New Jersey? I've eaten at lots of diners (usually between midnight and 4am, no it was not a thing, there was cake and crumbs but no one called it Jersey crumb cake or whatever. It was just cake. I'd say that we didn't put "Jersey" in front of certain foods, but that would be a lie... I mean really don't get me started on corn NOT from Jersey and by the way don't ever even think about eating pizza in Florida if you're from New Jersey or you'll be scarred for life (yes I've eaten pizza here and no it's not pizza, neither are the bagels no matter how hard they may try). I met someone who was born and raised in Florida, they actually thought Domino's pizza was pizza, I almost wept.

In honor of my mom and her love for all things crumb, here's a crumb cake. I think she secretly liked the crumb cake simply because no one else in the house really went for it. That crumb cake would last a really long time, she was probably so happy to have something just for her. I remember mom drinking tea with her crumb cake, I think it was Twinings, but I cannot remember the flavor. Mom's been gone a long time, little details like that tend to often fade away. It bothers me.

If you scroll below, I've typed out the recipe. The recipe I followed was not vegan, so I veganized it. I do not provide links to non-vegan recipes. I'm gonna say... the cake part of this isn't bad at all. I mean, it's a breakfast coffee cake, plain but it has that true coffee cake flavor, you know what I'm talking about, right? But the crumb topping is ridiculous. I'm not sure if it's good or bad... it's about twice the thickness of the cake. This is what the person who wrote the recipe was waxing poetic about... the crumb... the Jersey crumb. Going in, I knew this was going to be a very thick crumb layer, it had THREE CUPS of flour in just the topping, that's a lot of crumb. I think if I were to make this cake again, I'd reduce the topping by half. Maybe it's me... perhaps I've lost my Jersey forever, but it's just too sweet and too much everything for me. This cake would still be tasty without all that extra sweet, just unnecessary. But... maybe someone from Jersey will read this and think I'm nuts because Jersey crumb cake is supposed to have at least an inch thick crumb on top of that wee cake layer. You do you.... have at it. I've used aquafaba for the egg replacer, but I also think EnerG brand egg replacer would do just fine. Flax will work but it will leave flecks and even I say that's a no-no in the cake layer here. Aquafaba gives this cake a really delicate crumb (no pun intended) but the topping layer is so thick, and a little crunchy/hard in some spots, the tender cake gets lost. I happen to know this cake is too sweet because the other happy vegan already tasted the topping and went "mmmmm keep me some of that."

Jersey Crumb Coffee Cake (recipe from Erren's Kitchen veganized by me)

TOPPING:

1.5 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2T cinnamon

1t salt

2.5 sticks melted vegan butter (I used Earth Balance it's what was available, but I would prefer Miyoko's)

3 cups (yes THREE CUPS) flour

powdered sugar for dusting

FOR THE CAKE:

2.5 cups flour

1t baking soda

1t baking powder

1/4t salt

1.5 sticks softened vegan butter

6T aquafaba

1 1/4 non-dairy milk w/1t vinegar to curdle

1.5t vanilla

Prep your topping: in a bowl, mix both sugars, and the warm melted vegan butter and stir to blend. Add the flour and mix w/a fork til moist clumps form. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 (325 for convection), grease a 13x9 pan (I used Vegelene).  In a mixing bowl whisk/sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the softened vegan butter til fluffy. Add the aquafaba, 3T at a time and beat well after each addition. Add the curdled non-dairy milk (I used soy) and the vanilla, and beat til just blended. Add the flour in 3 additions, beating til just blended after each addition. Spread the cake batter into your prepared pan. Now, the topping: take your time and take little balls that you sort of "pinch" into a shape and place each little pinched ball onto the cake, yes one by one. Don't dump the topping on, it will likely just sink into one spot and ruin your cake. Take your time, stare out your window as you make little pinched cinnamon topping balls for 10 minutes and add them to your cake. I saw little finches and 2 Key deer walk by while my mind wandered during this time. It was kinda nice. You will have a VERY thick layer of topping when you are done.

Cover the pan for 1/2 hour and bake. Uncover the pan at 30 minutes and bake another 20-30 minutes. It won't look done, but do not over do it... the topping will get super hard if over baked, just do a toothpick test for doneness at about 50 minues and go from there.

Let set to cool, dust with confectionary sugar. Slice serve it with a hot cup of caw-fee. Yup, as the saying goes you can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl. I don't think I'd want it any other way.

#25 over and out.

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 24: Elegant Cake

"Bittersweet Ganache-Glazed Chocolate Torte
To Live For"
Recipe by Fran Costigan
(topped w/bittersweet chocolate truffles)

There she is.

Rarely do I invest so much expense in a dessert as I did today, especially for the reason I did (just for me). If you want a book of chocolate recipes, and ONLY chocolate recipes, I recommend "Vegan Chocolate" by Fran Costigan. This book has not gotten much use in my world because the recipes I do want to make are more labor intensive and precise. This book is truly a fine baking book, some of the most decadent elegant chocolate desserts live in this book, in fact the pictures alone make this book (for me) worth the money. This recipe for her torte is one I have seen repeatedly photographed by Fran as well as others who have made it. Each time I'm impressed by the glaze, and the way everyone describes it. Now I have joined the club.  Look at the glaze and honestly my glazing was rushed yet its still magnificent (my rushing caused those teeny bubbles you see, I'll do better next time). The cake has such beautifully layered notes of chocolate I cannot describe it with true justice. I brought out the big guns from my pantry for this cake as far as chocolate, the finest bittersweet baking chocolate I have which I keep in reserve for REALLY special bakes. Of course it is fairly traded and organic, hopefully you wouldn't consider otherwise either. It's so tender and flavorful. The glaze is unbelievably decadent. And the truffles, well they are my own recipe, although Fran has quite a few truffle recipes in her book, I knew I wouldn't have time to do both the cake, the glaze and her truffles today. And, it was all today.

I woke up this morning weary and with puffy red eyes. I had an ugly cry last night upon getting some news that came so unexpected out of left field. That, right on top of the loss of one of our core advocates down here, taken far before her time. I knew I had to do a cake today, I could've just posted one of the ones I have "in reserve" but I decided to "eat my feelings" and no one can stop me. With that I reached for Fran's book which is full of elegant and delicious chocolate items to fill my dark heart. And so I did.

Yes, this cake was made to soothe my once again battered heart, but the super majority of it is being packed up and taken to Food for Thought where my friends there will hopefully eat it for the sake of enjoyment, not as plaster to fill in the cracks of broken hearts.

Chocolate. It's what's for dinner.

#24 out the door.

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 23: Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Randy

This is a cake I made for our friend Randy. Randy is someone who I would say is the closest to the other happy vegan down here, a true friend. He has been slogging through shit here with us since Irma, and this is someone who basically has not said no when he has been asked to help. It's not just us though, he volunteers for sea turtles, he volunteers for the coral restoration, he volunteers for the major Irma cleanups that are continually happening, he volunteers for the Key deer, and he just is a do-gooder when no one else is looking on things that I shall not speak of here. He is a good eggless egg; he and his wife are also pre-vegans that are now striving to be vegan. Without Randy, I cannot imagine what this world would be like, I cannot imagine what my community would be like, and I cannot imagine the other happy vegan's life without Randy there for him. He is trusted and loved. So, I found out it was his birthday and made this cake. Actually, this was probably the very first birthday cake I've made since Irma. This cake was the first time I WANTED to make any birthday cake since our lives were blown apart. I actually got happy when I was making it. This is a double layer chocolate fudge cake with chocolate filling, the sides are coated with chocolate crumbs, and I used a happy sprinkle mix from Sweetopolita as well as gold and silver stars (also Sweetopolita's, her vegan line of course). It was as I was finishing this little cake ambassador when I realized I was a bit happier, and I had been happier as I was rattling the pans, mixing the batter and decorating her. Cake made me happy again? How could I hold on to the feeling I wondered and it's around the time that I saw the announcement for 2019 Vegan Month of Food. I gave Randy his cake, and he smiled. He seemed genuinely happy. So, that's TWO people happy over cake. The power had just doubled.

As I get older and go through more and more challenges, I see where my bread is Earth Balanced and I know where energies need to go with people. There are people that for the rest of my life I will move mountains to help any time that call comes from them.  There has been more cake lately than I ever expected would be forthcoming from my kitchen after Irma when I swore off baking. I still cannot do much for people, but now at least what I am able to do, I do without question. And for someone like Randy, making a birthday cake is one of those things that I could do. Without Randy in our life here, the quality of our lives would be significantly diminished. And, with that, a cake is the least I could do (but still some days still all I can manage).

This quote has been altered to reflect how I see Randy and the other happy vegan's friendship: "You and I are more than friends, we're like a really small gang." Now, they're a really small gang with cake.

#23 over and out.

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 22: Cake! (of the pan variety!)

Leaning tower of (pan)cakes

I think there's a physics lesson in there somewhere

Cake #22 of 31 in 31! I took a peek at the "prompt" for today... it's "make something using seasonal ingredients where you are." Done and done.

A couple weeks ago, Patrick from the Grimal Grove surprised me with an incredibly wonderful gift, a case of GG mangoes and an entire stalk of GG bananas. I think they're the "ice cream" variety, they are smooth, creamy and seem to have less seeds than what we're used to seeing the market. Loading the bananas in the car was a sight... a HUGE stalk and I mean HUGE barely fitting in the hatchback of my Irma-rusted vehicle. So yes, bananas are in season here, as is dragonfruit. I do not have any fresh dragonfruit at the moment, but as you know from Unicorn Cake day, I do have pitaya powder. 

I used this recipe from "Nora Cooks" blog: https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-banana-pancakes/ for the pancakes. I used fresh bananas from the Grimal Grove lifetime supply, and added about a tablespoon of pitaya powder (I only made half the recipe, and didn't really need that much pitaya, probably could've used half that amount). I also added a tiny amount of vinegar because I wasn't sure how the color would hold/develop without an acid, and by the way since I'm tropical I added a pinch of cardamom and allspice. 

I know, I know, there's strawberries on there. Not in season here. Probably ARE in season many places where people are reading this. Also, our strawberry season is super early, around January/February. Our "non-tropical" food growing season runs from roughly November(ish) to March(ish). Also, Miyoko's non-whipping cream makes an appearance as you see. Suffice to say tropical heat+hot pancakes=melting cream. But.... oh so tasty, the other happy vegan says "mmmmm."

See what I've been doing? I'm giving you lots of leads on reliable delicious recipes from others. I am doing this because I am aware the majority of people who read my blog are not vegan. With all these great links and recipes from me, other blogs, and the other people participating in VeganMoFo, I have effectively removed any arguments against being vegan. You're welcome!

#22 down the hatch!

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 21: SUMMER IS FOR STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES!!!

Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
(whatever happened to Sinead anyway?)

My social media feed exploded into a pumpkin and spice frenzy today, I have no idea why. It's AUGUST, STILL SUMMER! Now that I'm done screaming about August and Summer, let's get down to business. I am wholly against all things autumn, and totally for endless summer.  In the only way I know how, I reject fall and all that goes with it by bringing you the perfect summer dessert, strawberry shortcake. Two important things about this post. First, the biscuit recipe I used is from this link here: https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/vegan-strawberry-shortcake/  Why that link is extra important is because it's a recipe blog I really enjoy, and have made recipes too numerous to count from Sam. I followed her biscuit recipe exactly and for the first time ever, I made biscuits in a food processor. That's a super risky way in my opinion, but 4 pulses and poof the dough was ready to turn out. Check out Sam's blog if you're looking for some delicious, easy and not overly complicated recipes, I have never had a "fail" from anything off her pages!

The next important thing about this post is the whipping cream. I've been working with Miyoko's Homemade Vegan Pantry book for a few weeks now, I absolutely love this book. There are a few little tweaks and such I've discovered I need to make in some recipes, not sure if it's because of where I live (so very hot, so very humid) or the recipe itself from time to time, but on the few times I've had to tweak a recipe, it's minor. Today is an example of that. I made Miyoko's whipping cream, which is shown in the above picture. I could've gone to the Winn Dixie and gotten a spray can of non-dairy whip (another example of how vegan food has really gone mainstream, vegan spray cream in a can on my island!!!) but I've been wanting to try her whipped cream. So I did. And, it is superb! I love it! She has 2 versions, one with soy milk (shown) and one with water (which supposedly provides results more like Cool Whip). This recipes requires nuts, and I have no clue if you can substitute. However, my experience was that after the 5 minutes of whipping, it was still runny, OH NO! I was not about to throw a whole batch of this in the compost especially so close to my 3 cake fails in one day (angel food) last week. I grabbed my xanthan gum and put about 1/8 teaspoon into the mixture. Within 1 minute it began to firm up, and by 3 minutes, it was what you see. I probably could have whipped it even more, but it's getting late (ok, it's after 10pm and I'm still writing for you). The flavor is not too sweet and the texture is super creamy.

Oh yes, this was the perfect recipe for today, not a hint of pumpkins and mums!"Summer summer fruits, it wouldn't be summer without 'em." 

Eek, #21, over and out!

VeganMoFo2019 Day 20: Decadent Is As Decadent Does

Lettuce and celery all day long
it's the only thing vegans eat, amiright? DOH!

My friend Kelley had a birthday. When I met her I thought she was older than she is not because she looks old but because she takes on a ridiculous amount of responsibilities in her life. She once told me she thought I was younger than I am when we met. She didn't reveal her reasoning, although I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I act like a 5 year old most of the time (consider this insert an apology to any offended 5 year olds). I don't know why, but these 2 facts amuse me. All that said, Kelley is a pre-vegan who is already vegan, she just needed to nail down the food issue. She has rescued more animals than I can count, and I mean serious risk rescues. She is involved in animal causes, and gets down and dirty for the greater good, this includes people, animals and environmental issues. She is quite a Renaissance woman in my opinion. Currently she is committing to veganism with that missing puzzle piece of food. For me that meant she MUST have a very bad ass birthday cake, and so she did. Here is what I made for her! This is a chocolate fudge cake, with chocolate fudge frosting, drizzled with caramel sauce that I salted afterwards, decorated with salted triple chocolate decadence cookies. The middle of the cake is piled with Gretchen Price's marshmallow icing which I torched, and then piled Dandies mini marshmallows (torched them too). When all was said and done I gave it another hefty dose of Gretchen's caramel sauce, a bit more sea salt and shaved dark chocolate in lieu of sprinkles. What makes those cookies a triple chocolate threat is the fact they have cocoa powder, melted chocolate, chocolate extract AND chocolate chips. Technically it's a four-threat, but triple threat sounds more ominous, dark and bad ass. Any cake that gets torched is indeed extra wicked in the best way possible.

When I bake cakes like this of course it's an expression of love for the person I'm baking for, but in the bigger picture I so want people that see and eat them to understand that there is zero reason not to be vegan, it's not about "giving up" anything (other than letting go of cruelty and ego). Once again, a little cake goes out the door as an ambassador to all things compassionate and delicious.

Cake #20 down and done. Oh my goodness, only 11 days left.

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 19: Mango Cake!

When life gives you lemons
throw them back and say
"I wanted a mango!"

My cake fork needed a polish but she didn't get it.
She's getting a workout this month!

This was before the cream cheese bath.

The mangoes from Grimal Grove are unlike any others.
They are the best I've ever had.
I am so fortunate to have gotten some this year.
Here's my mangoes for this cake just before the processor spin.

Today we have a vegan mango bundt cake. I have so many mangoes this time of year, I love to find different ways to enjoy them, but honestly eating a perfectly ripe mango over the sink is my favorite way (we all know this to be true, admit it!) I see the prompt today is "orange and red" and well wouldn't you know this cake not only fits my own theme of 31 cakes in 31 days, but also it's truly a beautiful mellow mango color. You can scroll for the link, the only changes I made for this cake were using fresh mango that I pureed, and adding a pinch of turmeric to hold the golden color through baking. I actually made this cake twice already. First time was in a regular size bundt pan. The cake was perfect, but it wasn't as tall as I expected, so I sized down one pan size for the next round and it was absolutely perfect. You can use any type of pan you'd like, wouldn't mini bundt cakes be lovely too? Also, on the second making of this recipe, I added a very thick cream cheese glaze. It really jazzed this up and looked so pretty. The glaze was my own, no recipe, just on the fly, but I did use Tofutti brand cream cheese because it's what I had in the fridge. Miyoko's has a great cream cheese, as I see Violife on the shelves in my local Publix but I've not taken the plunge yet on that one.

If you live in an area where you have off the tree mangoes, you'll really want to make this recipe. Sorry not sorry, mangoes that are sold frozen, or mangoes that are shipped just don't do it for me, they  don't taste like mango. This cake really allowed the mango flavor to shine. I have some Grimal Grove mangoes right now, the ones straight off that beautiful tree that rained mangoes before Irma. Let's say she may not be raining mangoes, but she's quite showery and I've got the goods to prove it.

Here's the link: https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2019/06/14/vegan-mango-bundt-cake/

Hard to believe but yup, cake 19 in the books. I have more cakes than days left, how can this be?!!!

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 18: Beat the Heat With Cake!

Success!
Raw Vegan Unicorn Cheesecake!
ALL NATURAL, NO DYES!

She was so pretty!

We have a situation.
Let me explain.

Today I actually hit the subject matter "prompt" which is something that cools us down in the summer. As I am doing 31 cakes in 31 days, my summer cooler of course is done cake style. Raw vegan unicorn cheesecake. Oh, and yes, a situation on cake #3, I'll explain at the end.

I have been wanting to make a unicorn cheesecake or a galaxy cheesecake for a long time. I didn't have all the ingredients, I only had blue spirulina and charcoal. I finally broke down and invested in pink pitaya powder and butterfly pea powder. Apparently I'm the least organized caker right now, I knew the unicorn cake was on tap, but I didn't have anything to make the base with... no coconut cream, no cashews, no tofu. I searched and searched for a suitable recipe, there simply was none. So this is my own creation. My colors are still relatively vibrant considering I used almonds that had their skins still on. I can imagine how beautiful this cake would have been if I had made it with cashews or coconut cream, and it would've probably been a bit more creamy too. But around here necessity is the mother of invention, and I do need to work with as much as what I have on hand. The crust is a non-measured mixture of almonds, dates, coconut, coconut oil with a splash of agave which I prepped in a food processor til crumbly and patted into a 6" lined cake pan. Then I made 4 different batches of cake layers in the Vitamix. Each layer essentially had the same ingredients, but I colored each layer with either the blue, pink or purple. One layer was left white (you can see the tiny flecks from the almond skins, but since I used a Vitamix the consistency was smooth). Using whole almonds with skins on surely tamped down the vibrant colors as well as gives this is much more noticeable nutty flavor. The layer ingredients are non roasted almonds, raw sunflower seeds, coconut oil, lemon juice, coconut oil, vanilla bean powder, agave and non-dairy milk (a splash to thin it). This cake was totally "on the fly" and I have no recipe to provide you. It's softer than it should be, you can see in the photos the edges are not as sharp at least as I expect a raw cake to be. This is because I didn't follow a recipe of course. Overall, this cake would likely fetch $8 (or more) for each small slice in a fancy restaurant, there's a crap ton of nuts in there, plus those powders do not come cheap either. I'm actually surprised how tasty this is and now I am committing to getting the proper ingredients, following a recipe and doing another unicorn cake at some point. It won't be this month, but it will be happening at some point. I love these beautiful powders, they can be used for almost anything (a blue coconut latte is totally in my future).

Now, about that third photo above, please let me explain. I could've "phoned in" today's blog post. Very early this morning (oh yes, I was up way too early for a beach cleanup) the other happy vegan told me that our friend down the street said he has something with my name on it in his freezer, it's been there for ages, but he has no clue what it was, and he kept forgetting to tell us. I told the other happy vegan well I have no clue either, best retrieve it and stop cluttering up his freezer. My jaw dropped a bit when he came back with the item. It was my 2017 raw vegan birthday cake. The one I had made shortly before Irma. I didn't celebrate my birthday in 2017 because we were so busy prepping for the storm, then the storm hit and you know the rest. But up to Irma, I had been back on my raw track for quite a while and had planned ahead enough to make a raw vegan peanut butter chocolate cake. Actually I think I may have even mentioned that cake in one of my 2017 MoFo videos. I guess we ate a piece each at some point because from the looks of this there's 2 pieces missing. In all the chaos of bouncing from shelter to trailer to bombed out house, to another house, to another trailer and blah blah blah... this cake just got lost. I remember putting it in our friend's freezer because he actually still had a freezer; he was fortunate to be among the very few who's house sustained damage but not catastrophic. And we even stayed in that house for a little bit of time. How funny is it that I cared enough about this cake to save it. I guess after losing so much, even a cake seemed like one of my most important possessions. At the time, likely it was. So, that's the third cake, which I refer to as "the situation." It's still on my counter, I have to toss it of course. That white frosty stuff is freezer burn. It still looks enough like what it was 2 years ago that even if I didn't make this I could guess what it was. Irma, the gift that just won't stop giving.

I'm pleased with today's offering, but sorry I cannot offer you a recipe. There's tons of raw vegan unicorn cake recipes on line, I recommend you take a crack at one. If you worry about something being too "nut heavy" simply go with one of the coconut cream versions (that's my plan too).

Cake 18 in the bag.

xo

VeganMoFo 2019 Day 17: Marble Cake!

Marble Cake!
Another winner!

My mother really liked Entenmann's products, in particular their coffee cake. Now, I have plans to make a coffee cake this month because of mom, but MY Entenmann's favorite was marble cake. Mom would bring one home for the family every now and then, I really loved it. The top was always super soft and a little bit sticky. That was the best part and I saved it for last every time. I remember picking out the pieces of vanilla vs. chocolate, eating the vanilla first "to get it over with," then the chocolate, and then that super soft, slightly sticky top always as the grand finale. I also remember my mother teaching me to make marble layer cake from scratch. Magically mine always seemed to have more chocolate than vanilla, no one complained.

I had completely forgotten about marble cake, either in a loaf or layers, until bopping around the internet one day. The name "zebra cake" caught my eye, so I clicked. It's marble cake! I never heard it referred to as zebra cake, but I'm ok with it if that's your jam. I'm sure the name comes from the way the batter is layered, not swirled like all the other marble cakes I've known. I like it this way, far more difficult for me to pick out the vanilla cake to "get it over with" yeah I'd probably still do that if I could get away with it. This cake is so good, honestly I have made it no less than 4 times in the last month. The recipe link is provided at the end of this post, please scroll down.

My changes in Bianca's recipe were minimal. I omitting the soy flour because I never seem to have that on hand anymore, plus it's not readily available anywhere down here. I have made this cake twice subbing with almond flour for the soy, and twice just omitting. I don't think it matters, it's only a tablespoon, supposedly for texture. I'm just so enchanted by a cake that changes with every slice, I couldn't care less about soy, almond or leaving it out. For the non-dairy milk I used unsweetened soy, and where you see the starch v. pudding powder option, I went for the starch. I use nonGM safflower oil, and I've always omitted the zest. Lastly, I do not use the topping or frosting options on my cakes.

I really miss the sticky top of Entenmann's so I've made efforts to recreate that on each cake in various ways, to no avail. I've tried brushing with aquafaba, soy milk, tenting the cake, and leaving it alone. It's always the same. Not bad mind you, just not that super soft, slightly sticky top I remember so well. Maybe I just like the sound of the words super soft, slightly sticky top that I keep bringing it up?

This cake an easy and pretty breakfast cake, a really nice cake to bring to a friend "just because" or when you want a nice hostess gift. It's another recipe I'm recommending, no special ingredients (beyond the soy flour discussed above), no special equipment. I think the only thing missing from this cake is a picture with my little "eat cake" fork, somehow she didn't make an appearance in any of my 4 zebras so far.

Find the recipe at: https://biancazapatka.com/en/zebra-marble-cake/

#17 down and done.

xo

VeganMoFo2019 Day 16: Champagne Celebration!

NAILED IT!

I shot a video for  you today because today is a day I want to remember. Today we reopened our business after being closed almost exactly 2 years from Hurricane Irma. It wasn't until about 6:30pm tonight that I decided if I wasn't going to drink myself into oblivion with champagne, I'll eat myself into oblivion with champagne cake. I found this recipe online and whipped it up. Friends, I am not steering you wrong, MAKE THIS CAKE! The frosting is some of the fluffiest, most delicious I've ever tasted and I do not even like cooked fruit. The cake has a faint flavor of champagne, the texture is superb. Here's my video, if you scroll past the video, you'll see the recipe typed out, with the credit to the author.

Champagne Cake w/Roasted Blueberry Frosting

Recipe Courtesy of: Potluck.OhMyVeggies.com

Author: Emily Fraser

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CAKE: 

3/4 cup vegan champagne (confirm it's vegan with the Barnivore app or the site)

3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used soy)

1t lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup plus 2T neutral oil (I used safflower)

2t vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

3T starch (I used arrowroot)

3/4t baking soda

1t baking powder

1/2t salt

FOR THE FROSTING:

1/2 cup fresh blueberries, pureed (I deviated, see my notes at the end)

3/4 cup vegan butter (Miyoko's for palm free, or Earth Balance)

3/4 cup shortening or additional butter (I used Nutiva brand)

4 - 4.5 cups powdered sugar (I used 4)

2t vanilla extract

1/8 cup non-dairy milk (I omitted/did not need)

FOR THE ROASTED BLUEBERRIES

2 cups fresh blueberries (I used frozen wild blueberries)

PREP:

Grease/line 3 6" pans (I used Vegelene, and parchment)

ROAST THE BLUEBERRIES:

Preheat oven to 425 (400 for convection). Place blueberries in an oven safe dish in a single layer and sprinkle w/sugar. Roast in oven for 7-9 minutes til juices have been released (I gave mine 10 because they were frozen). Let cool.

MAKE THE CAKE:

Preheat oven to 350 (325 for convection). In a bowl, combine the champagne, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, oil, vanilla and sugar. Stir til sugar is dissolved.

In another bowl, sift together your dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stir gently to combine. Pour evenly into your 3 pans. Bake 24-27 minutes, test for doneness with toothpick (mine took 20 minutes exactly). Cool completely before frosting.

MAKE THE FROSTING:

Pulse the 1/2 cup fresh blueberries in a food processor til pureed, leave chunky if desired. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine vegan butter & shortening until fluffy. Add in the vanilla, powdered sugar and blueberry puree. Beat until combined, streaming in milk if necessary to get desired consistency.

Assemble by placing a cake layer, drizzling on some of the blueberry juices, spreading some frosting, then sprinkling w/a third of the roasted blueberries. Repeat with other 2 layers. If fully frosting the cake, be sure to form a dam with the frosting before sprinkling the berries so they do not spill out the side.

MY NOTES: I did not use the 1/2 cup fresh blueberries for the frosting. Instead, I measured about 1/3 cup from the roasted blueberries, squeezed out the juice, and added that to my frosting. I sprinkled a scant amount of the remaining blueberries in between the layers and pressed them into the frosting before adding each layer. No dam needed. You do you, I didn't want a bunch of fruit flying around in my cake when it's over 90 degrees around here. I planned on giving this cake away. The other happy vegan has given express directions this cake does not leave the house. I have to admit, this is one of the best cakes I've made in ages. Highly recommend. Thanks Emily Fraser for this recipe, you're a genius!

We still have a long road to walk down here, our house is still a sad vacant lot, but today is one for the books in the best way possible. The Universe smiled so much, even my cake couldn't be any better.

Cake on, vegan style.

xo