Cream Cheese Frosting

I love cream cheese frosting, it can be a bit zesty if you like, either way it is super easy and super yummy! This makes a large quantity, when I made it last I frosted a 30cm round banana cake and 12 cupcake/mini muffins, and had enough to do at least 12 more!! So you may want to halve the quantities (:

Cream Cheese Frosting 

Ingredients:

• 1 tub of Tofutti "Better Than Cream Cheese"
• 1/4 cup Nuttelex
• 500g icing sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract/lemon juice/orange juice/lime
• The zest of 1 lemon/orange/lime (optional, but recommended if using citrus juice instead of vanilla, which is what I usually do).

Method:

1. Allow cream cheese to soften on the bench for a little while before you are ready to make the frosting.
2. Place all ingredients in a bowl/bowl of mixer/bowl of food processor and mix until combined. Done! You may want to add your flavourings according to taste rather than quantity.
3. If you aren't using the mix immediately transfer to an air tight container and pop into the fridge until ready. It can be stored like this for a few days or so. 

Mini Carrot Muffins/Cupcakes

I have been finally get back into the swing of baking again, but I have terribly neglected my poor little blog!

I have never been a fan of carrot cake, it always seemed like a "grownup's" cake because I never found it very sweet, it never had pink or chocolate icing and the grownup's would alway have it with coffee. That was all terrible to me, and now if I was offered a slice of carrot cake I would still turn it down as I hate walnuts, which always seem to make an appearance. 

I stumbled across this cupcake, or really mini muffin, recipe a while back and I've been tweaking it to my tastes. 
So here are my carrot cake muffins, I  hope you enjoy them (:

Mini Carrot Cake Muffins

Makes 12 mini muffins/cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup raw/white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 225g grated carrots
• Zest of 1 orange
• Subsitute for 2 eggs 
• 1 1/2 cups self raising flour, white/wholemeal or a mix
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 55g sultanas
• 1/2 cup milk of choice, you may need more or less so start slow. I use soy or oat milk.
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Method: 

Basically I just chuck everything, except the milk, in my mixer and go for it. I then just add the milk whilst it is mixing through until it looks right. But I'll give you the proper version as well ;)

1. Preheat oven to 200oC/400oF
2. Sift flour into a bowl/food processor bowl or bowl of mixer
3. Add all other ingredients except for the milk. Gently mix until almost all combined.
4. With the mixer/beaters/food processor on low speed, slowly add milk until the mix has just come together and looking smooth. If you are doing it by hand just keep going until done. Remember; try not to over work the batter or the "muffincake" will go tough. 
5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes (give or take).
6. Cool completely on a wire rack.
7. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Can be stored in a air tight container unfrosted for a week or for about 3 days frosted in the fridge.

Piecing Everything Together.

Now that Vegan SJ is on Facebook as well I am trying to finally get around to old photos and blog posts. I'm going to cheat with this one though and send you to a link instead. VeganYumYum. Here is where you will find the tastiest little vegan doughnuts I have come across. They are so cakey and donughty and healthier than the real thing because they are baked.
Hubby and I were so naughty the night I made these that they became our dinner, non-vegan hubby likes silly dinners sometimes. They were just too damn good to resist, all hot and covered in cinnamon sugar.
Due to not having a doughnut pan as I haven't gotten around to getting one off Ebay yet, I used a mini muffin/cupcake pan and called the dough-nots!

You can't have just 1, trust me!

 

NEW COOKBOOK!!

A couple of months back I pre-ordered a copy of Vegan Pie in the Sky which was co-written by Isa chandra from the amazing Post Punk Kitchen and Terry Hope Romeo.
It's the first time I ever bought a book without having read a review, seen a preview of recipes or before it had even been released for sale! I knew, however, it would be gold, especially considering her other books I own (pictured below) sure as heck are!

I can't wait to bake my first pie, though it will be tough choosing which one to start with, but I will post a report and pics when I do :)

My Favourite Dessert.

Recently I made a chocolate "cheese"cake which I originally got from a newspaper website, but I didn't copy down the link.The recipe comes from a young lass by the name of Kamina who lives in Brisbane, she has a website called Kamina the Vegan and can be found on Facebook also.
Anyway I love this recipe, and I haven't met anybody who doesn't like, but it comes with a VERY RICH warning attached!
I call it chocolate"cheese"cake, but technically it's called Kamina's Chocolate Mousse Tart. This can easily be made gluten-free, I do this by using Orgran's amaretti biscotti.
Oh, and it is totally packed full of goodness as one of the main ingredients is tofu. Yep that's right TOFU! And trust me, you would never know!
So the original recipe follows with my changes in this colour :)

Chocolate "Cheese"cake :)

Fills 1 x 24cm fluted flan tin with delicious goodness.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 300g sweet biscuits - these can be vegan or gluten free or a simple plain sweet biscuit like I said I use Orgran's amaretti biscotti
• 125g vegetable margarine or substitute I prefer Nutelex olive lite

For the filling:

• 1/3 cup corn flour
• 1 cups soy milk ( rice milk or almond milk) can also be used
• 300g 50-60% dark chocolate - organic or vegan I generally use a mix of chocolate, usually 1 block of Sweet William's dairy free "milk" chocolate, sometimes a block of 80% cocoa dark (dairy-free) chocolate and 1-2 blocks of 50-70% cocoa chocolate, depending of course whether or not I use an 80% block or not. Each block is 100g
• 300g drained silken tofu - Kamina recommends the Japanese firm tofu, Morinaga Brand available at Asian or Japanese grocers on the shelf, I don't know the name of brand that I have used, but since moving to Tasmania I have only seen one type/brand of silken tofu, it has a black label and I have found it at Coles and Eumarrah.
• 225g soy cream cheese - Tofutti brand or king land soy available from health shops or supermarkets in the dairy cabinet, I WAS using the Tofutti brand, which I really liked and could buy at Coles, but now they have decided to stop stocking it (GRRRR!!), thankfully they have started stocking the King Land brand. 
• 2/3 cup raw organic or rapadura raw sugar I use organic raw caster sugar.

Method:

• To make the crust, place the biscuits into a food processor or crush them in a blender until rough crumbs, transfer into a bowl and using your hands mix the crumbs with the melted margarine until the crumbs are moist and keep their shape when squeezed. Wipe out the processor or blender to use for the filling.
• Press the mixture into the tin until the bottom and sides are well covered and extremely compact. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• For the filling, in a small saucepan whisk some of the soy milk with the corn flour until smooth and then add in the rest of the soy milk. Simmer over a moderate heat bringing the milk to a boil and stirring until it makes a thick smooth custard. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave at 30 second intervals mixing in between until smooth.
• Strain the custard through a fine sieve (this NEVER works for me properly so I don't waist my time with this step anymore!) into your blender or food processor and add in the tofu, melted chocolate, raw sugar and cream "cheese" and blend until smooth and runny. The mix will have the texture of melted chocolate.
• Pour the filling into the prepared base and refrigerate for at least 2 hours until firm to touch. Serve chilled with fresh berries. The first time I made this I served it with a raspberry coulis.

Making it is a lot of fun!

Mmmmm melted chocolate *drools*

Something Bitter-Sweet.

I don't normally eat desserts, but occasionally I feel the "need". Usually I would cook something from scratch like a good little vegan girl, and because the only store bought dessert that I have found that I can eat are Nana's Lite Apple Pies, and tonight these were out of stock.
Instead I picked up a packet of Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies Lemon Delicious Slice.
I only let it cool slightly then served it up with some vanilla So Good ice cream.
It was good, not amazing, but good. I did accidentally burn a little bit around the edges of it because my oven timer doesn't really seem to work, but I don't think I ruined it, not a bad "lazy" dessert.

A lovely weekend full of friends, fun and food.

A couple of months ago a friend of mine from Canberra, Tahlia, moved to Tasmania, but a couple of hours away from me. This weekend we finally both had the time to catch up, so she drove up to stay at our place on Saturday night, just to hang out.
It wasn't just that I hadn't seen her in a couple of months that made the visit exciting, but also the fact that she is trialing a vegan diet. Finally I had somebody that could really appreciate the food I make and understand my excitement over gluten flour and imitation sour cream! 

So here is the menu I came up with.

Dinner Saturday night:

Isa’s Veggie Korma

I've mentioned this recipe previously, but I thought I would post the whole recipe with the changes I've made this time. Isa's original post can be seen here. 

I halved this recipe, next time I will be adding more garam masala and probably a bit more curry powder too.

For the cream:
2 cups raw cashew pieces (plus water for soaking)
2 cups vegetable broth

Veggies to boil: (I’ve made some changes here to suit me)
1 ½ lbs yukon gold potatoes (1 1/2 inch chunks)
1 lb sweet potatoes (1 1/2 inch chunks)
1 lb cauliflower in large florettes (don’t cut em too small or they will fall apart)
1 lb broccoli in large florettes (don’t cut em too small or they will fall apart)
1 lb carrots, sliced on a bias 1/2 inch thick
1 lb sugar snap peas (or omit these for extra broccoli)

Puree:
2 medium sized yellow onions
2 inch nub of ginger
8 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Everything else:
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon coriander, crushed
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
Fresh black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate OR the juice from 2 limes (I forgot this, this time, wish I hadn’t!)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk ( I use 1 can of Carnation soy milk)
2 cups frozen peas (or omit for sugar snaps and have extra broccoli)
1 large caramelized red onion

Chopped cilantro (coriander) for garnish (optional)

Method:

First, soak the cashews. This will get them really soft and make them easier to blend really smooth. Place them in a bowl and submerge in water. Set aside for at least an hour. In the meantime prep everything.

Boil the veggies. Place them in a big ass pot (8 quart is ideal), and cover them in cold water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer (so you don’t overcook the veggies), for about 15 minutes. Potatoes should be fork tender. Drain and set aside.

Next, puree the onion, ginger and garlic. It shouldn’t be completely smooth, some texture is good. No need to wash the processor bowl just yet, you’re going to puree the cashews in a bit.

Preheat another big pot over medium heat. Cook the puree in the peanut oil with a sprinkle of salt for about 15 to 20 minutes, until it’s nice and browned.

This is a good time to puree the cashews. Drain them and place them in the food processor along with 2 cups vegetable broth. Puree until smooth. This can take up to 5 minutes to get it as smooth as possible.

Back to the puree. Once it’s browned, add the coriander seed and the red pepper flakes and saute for about 3 minutes. Add curry powder, garam masala, several dashes fresh black pepper and salt and saute for another minute.

Add tamarind or lime juice, tomato paste and vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Now add the coconut milk and the cashew cream. Let cook uncovered for about 15 minutes, it should thicken a little and be really creamy.

In the meantime, saute the red onion in a little peanut oil in a separate pan with a pinch of salt for about 15 minutes, it should be browned and slightly caramelized. This adds a really nice sweetness and some added texture to the finished dish.

You’re pretty much done. You can shut the heat off then mix in the peas. Now fold in the boiled veggies, put the lid on the pot and let it heat through. Taste for salt and seasoning and serve garnished with cilantro if you like.

Lunch Sunday:

Baked Mexican Seitan Chimichangas

Mexican Seitan

Although this isn’t the quickest recipe to make as it does have to bake for 1 ½ hours, it is really quite simple to prepare and great in any meaty/mincey Mexican recipe.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups gluten flour (I think GF gluten can be used instead…)
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp paprika (optional)
1-2 tsp cumin
2-3 Tbs taco seasoning powder (I use salt reduced)
¹/₈ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
¾ cup cold water
1Tbs tomato paste
3 Tbs Salsa (heat level is up to you)
1 Tbs ketchup/tomato sauce
2 Tbs vegetable oil (olive/canola/refined coconut oil, melted)
2 Tbs (GF) vegan Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed

Method:
Preheat oven to 165°C.
Simply mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Mix the crushed garlic and all the wet ingredients in a smaller mixing bowl, whisk until well combined.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well, then knead for several minutes to ensure is well combined, some of the veggies in the salsa will fall out, but you can just stick them back in.
Place some foil on the bench, long enough to wrap the mixture in, I usually cut 2 sheets of foil out the same length and fold up a seam through the middle. Lay the ball of seitan out and form   into a log in the centre of the foil. Wrap the log up, but not too tightly, twisting ends.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 1 ½ hours.
When cooked, unwrap and leave to cool completely if you’re going to put in the fridge or freezer for later use. Otherwise just let it cool enough to handle.

Baked Seitan Chimichangas

Ingredients:

½ - ¾ log of baked Mexican seitan
1 Tbs olive oil

1 Spanish (red) onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tin diced tomatoes

1 tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Taco seasoning powder, to taste, about ½ the pack/whatever’s left over from the seitan recipe
1 Tbs cummin
1-2 large flour tortillas or 2 packs of mini flour tortillas, depending on the quantity seitan used and if you want meal or finger food sized chimichangas (or some form of GF wrap)

Cooking/olive oil spray
2 Tbs extra olive oil for brushing

Method:
Preheat oven to 180^oC
Cut the desired amount off the seitan log, cut that into smaller chunks and place in the food processor. Pulse until “minced”. If you don’t have a food processor you can coarsely grate it into a bowl.
Heat the oil in a large pan, gently fry the onion and garlic.
Add the seitan, kidney beans, tomatoes and taco seasoning to the pan, combine and sauté.
Open the pack of tortillas and heat up according to microwave instructions.
Lightly coat 1 or 2 baking trays, depending on quantity of chimichangas being made, with cooking spray.
Lightly brush around the edges of each tortilla with the extra olive oil, the brushed edges will form the inside of the pockets.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of seitan mixture in the middle of each (large) tortilla, and pat it into a rectangle shape.
Fold one edge of the tortilla over the mixture, then the edge on the opposite side, the other 2 edges over the top of each other to form a sealed pocket. Lay each pocket seam side down on the baking tray.
Bake until tortillas are golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Serve with Tofutti Sour Supreme, enchilada sauce, guacamole, vegan cheese, Mexican rice and salad.

Mexican Rice

Ingredients:
2 cups white or brown rice
3 cups water
2 vegan “chicken” stock cubes
1 tin crushed or diced tomatoes, in juice
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Spanish (red) onion, sliced
1 red and 1 yellow capsicum, sliced
½ tsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
2-3 bay leaves
chilli to taste (I don’t usually bother, but I’m not much of a chilli fan)
1 cup frozen corn

Method:
Put all ingredients, except corn, into rice cooker.
Combine everything well, cover with lid and set to cook.
Once cooked add the frozen corn, stir and let sit on “Keep Warm” for a while.
Stir again and serve.

This is really nice with a squeeze of lime over the top as well.

Peanut Butter Blondies

From Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, Page 129

On Wednesday I received a fresh batch of cookbooks: Appetite for Reduction, Veganomicon, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and Vegan cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, all of these by the fantabulous Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romeo of The Post Punk Kitchen fame.  

So on Sunday morning Tahlia and I were going through my hoard of vegan books and told her to see if there was anything she wanted to pick out to bake. And what do you know, she picked the recipe I also really wanted to try!

So Whilst I was making chimichangas and Carl was taking care of the rice, Tahlia volunteered to make the Peanut Butter Blondies. It was so awesome all of us in a patch of kitchen making separate dishes to make an afternoon complete, so much fun :)
The blondies (pale brownies) turned out so good and yummy that I thought that recipe alone made buying the book worthwhile! 

At the end of the day I packed Tahlia up with a care package of everything we had made, as there was a lot of food, but that's part of the fun; making a truckload and sharing it!

Thanks for coming Tahlia :) xo

Yum, chocolate!

A while ago somebody put a post on either (I think) Animals Australia or Brightside Farm Sanctuary's Facebook page. The post was for the Cruelty-Free Chocolate Mud Cake. 

Unfortunately I don't remember who posted it or which wall it was posted on, but I did scribble down the recipe. I did, however, manage to record a quote from the original post "Genuine, rich, totally delicious mud cake".

Two nights ago I made said recipe and found a new favourite, I also found out that the quote is very true!

It may seem like a slow process , but I found it great to have this cooking whilst making dinner and cleaning up the kitchen and whatever else I had to do that night, so I was actually pleased to have a 1 1/2 hour baking time.
NOTE: This is a VERY wet mixture, do not try to thicken it up.

Cruelty-Free Chocolate Mud Cake

 

Ingredients:

• 2 blocks (200 grams) dark chocolate e.g. Lindt 70% (this is what the original recipe calls for, but I prefer 100g Sweet William and 100g dark Lindt).
• 250g margarine
• 1 ½ cups fresh coffee, probably as strong as you can handle
• 2 cups caster sugar, I use raw caster sugar
• 2 tsp egg replacer mixed with 4 Tbs water, whisked well
• 1 tsp of vanilla paste or 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 ½ cups self-raising flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160^oC.
2. Roughly chop or break up the blocks of chocolate and place into a microwave-safe bowl.
3. Add the margarine to the bowl and melt them together in the microwave, on high at
   30-45 second bursts, mixing at the end of each burst, until fully melted.
4. Whilst the chocolate is melting boil 1 ½ cups of water to make your coffee, I used instant, but if you have an espresso machine or even just a plunger that would be much better!
5. Don’t forget to keep checking on the chocolate!
6. Once coffee is made add the sugar and stir to dissolve.
7. Whisk together the egg replacer and water and add it and the vanilla to the coffee mix. Mix together well.
8. In a large mixing bowl sift the flour and cocoa together.
9. Add the coffee and chocolate mixtures, combine thoroughly.
10. Grease/line a 20 cm round cake tin, pour in the mixture and bake for 1 ½ hours.
11. Allow to cool as well as you can be patient for! Cooling completely would be best though, then you can decorate. I only dusted mine with pure icing sugar, but you could make a chocolate glaze, if you feel you can handle more chocolate that is!

Enjoy!