Vegan MOFO day 13: DONUTS!!!

image and recipe via leaves & flours

I seriously have an issue with sweets lately. The issue being I simply cannot get enough of the sugary goodness into my growing belly. And when I came across these apple cider donuts from the tasty looking Leaves & Flours you better believe I bookmarked these babies right away. I cannot wait to give them a try and judging from the recipe it doesn't look like its too difficult to pull together. The few times I've tried to make donuts it was a big fat fail taste wise...perhaps it was because I baked them instead of fried. If you are interesting in giving these delectable bits a go, head on over to Leaves & Flours for the recipe, I'm sure your taste buds will thank you! Plus creative baker and recipe maker Shannon has also been participating in VeganMOFO so there are many many great bites to give a try too.

VeganMOFO day 12: A raw tart

images by our designed life

One of the perks of living near the annual vegetarian society festival is getting to stop in on tons of workshops and demos. The husband and I got a chance to sit in on a raw food demo where we learned how to make a completely raw tart, something I never dreamed was so easy and tasty. In fact, it was so easy we ended up making our own version that night for a dinner party we were invited to. It came out ok, I used pineapple as the filling and well it never actually set since it was so watery, but even though it was more like a custard with crust it still tasted fantastic! To make the crust I modified the almond crust recipe from Raw Food made easy for 1 or 2 people by Jennifer Cornbleet. Again, since it was so last minute I didn't have a chance to gather all the ingredients of choice so I made do with what I could find at the grocery store under our building.

Almond Crust

2 Cups almond flour {I used a food processor to grind up raw almonds}

1 Cup dates 

To make the crust, simply put both ingredients in a food processor and process away. You don't want to over do it, just wait till it get sticky enough to be able to press into a pie tin. And you guessed it, press nice and firmly into a pie dish till it resembles a crust. Set aside in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Pineapple filling

1 pineapple

dates {I used about 8}

3/4 Cup shredded coconut

In a food processor blend till creamy. Pour into crust and let sit in the refrigerator for about an hour. I chose to add fresh strawberries and bananas on top which definitely gave it a bit of a wow factor and tasted fantastic with the pineapple. 

Again, it was a little runny but it all goes down the same, nice and tasty! And with the help of the husband we were able to whip this bad boy up in really no time. Seriously, I think I maybe spent a total of 10 minutes actually making it. I even braved a slightly numb mouth to get a slice or two in, being slightly allergic to pineapple wasn't enough to stop me from giving this a try!

Vegan MOFO day 3: Pineapple sweet bread

One of my favorite things growing up was the delectable sweet bread my parents used to buy for our family to snack on. Sadly becoming vegan meant no more easy trips to the store for these sweet treats. That is until this recipe. Though its not exactly as I remember, its a great dessert full of flavor and literally finger licking good. I've made this a few times both for other vegan and non vegan friends and never do I have any left over to snack on. So sad. I even took a batch to a bar for a friends birthday and they were inhaled! I would highly recommend trying this recipe out, its a little bit of work but thankfully most of the time is spent letting the dough rise.

Pineapple sweet bread

1/2 Cup rice milk

5 Tbsp. butter {I used Earth balance}

3 pieces of star anise

4 Tbsp. ground flax seed and 12 Tbsp. water

3 Cups flour

2 envelopes dry active yeast

3/4 Cup sugar + more for sprinkling

2 Tbsp. wheat germ {optional}

Pineapple {canned will work in a pinch but fresh is better}

In a small pot, combine rice milk, butter and anise and bring to a low boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and set aside.

In a small bowl mix the flax seed and water, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and wheat germ. 

Remove the anise from milk/butter mixture and add to dry ingredients. Add flax seed mixture. Dough will be very sticky, add another 1 1/2 cup flour until dough is a bit more workable. 

On a floured work surface kneed the dough till it is a bit elastic like. 

Lightly grease a large bowl and place dough inside to let rise. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place.

When dough is rising, pulse pineapple with a teaspoon of sugar in a food processor till smooth.

Once dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours, pull apart and shape individual pieces. I tried for about 5-6 inch rounds rolled out slightly. 

Place a small amount of pineapple in the center of the dough and fold over pinching edges closed so the mixture stays put.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from heat and brush with orange juice. Immediately sprinkle with a little more sugar and let cool.

Serve and enjoy!

Serves 8

This recipe is also entered in the Better Recipes Mexican themed cooking contest, I sure would love it if you gave me a little vote! I promise these are super tasty and highly addictive.

images by our designed life

Make this: Decadent desserts

Its another wait I need one of these now moments. I came across this peanut butter and honey milkshake over on A beautiful mess and now I can't stop thinking about how I can turn this into one delicious vegan treat. With just a handful of ingredients it should be easy enough to make too. I wonder how different the taste would be with almond butter instead of peanut- turns out us pregnant ladies are advised to stay away from those little nuts since we don't know if our little babies are allergic. My favorite treat was a banana smothered in peanut butter and dipped into vegan chocolate chips talk about magical; can't wait to have that again in 4 more months! But back to this shake, be sure to stop by for the full recipe and and how to, its pretty simple.

image via a beautiful mess

I.want.this

I seriously think when I was skimming the photos of this oreo cake the baby started kicking. For real! Seems all I can think about these days are food; what I should make, what I should eat and just how good every single dessert sounds and this cake from I am baker looks crazy good. With white cake, chocolate covered cherries, butter cream frosting smothered in hot fudge and then packed together with oreo crumbs I not only drooled a little myself the little one started to do its own happy dance. I've had one serious sweet tooth lately- my favorite after dinner snack has been a big glass of orange juice while munching on dark chocolate... preferably simultaneously. If I can figure out how to make a vegan version of this its totally on! You can find the entire tutorial here as well as even more mouth watering pics of one incredibly tasty morsel. Though I warn you, don't check out I am baker on an empty stomach!

image via i am baker

Cake on the brain

Its been all things cake around here lately, yesterday I splurged and made a chocolate cake with strawberry filling and banana ganache frosting and when the husband came home from work he surprised me with a slice of vegan cheesecake! So. much. cake! So its only natural I keep the theme going with this totally adorable Princess and the Pea cake from Amy Atlas. It might be one of the sweetest little things ever, perfect for any girly girl. You can follow the tutorial available and make your own little bed...of course mine would never come out quite this perfect. If only fondant was vegan it would make cake decorating so much easier.

image via amy atlas

Tasty snacks

Over the weekend the husband treated us to a few sweet treats and handed over a bag of these tasty morsels from Peasant Pies. I pass by this place almost daily and after a year we finally gave them a whirl...and oh man were they good. Serving both savory and sweet pies- meat filled and even a few vegan, this place has a little something for everyone. I think the only problem was that they were so itty bitty....I could have easily put away two by myself! There are currently 3 locations throughout San Francisco, so go grab yourself a snack to go and take a walk through the beautiful city.

image by our designed life

Our eats: Chocolate meet berries

With all the birthday's going on we have had an insane amount of sweets, specifically cake just laying around asking to be eaten. I've tried out all kinds of great cake recipes lately and thought I would share my triple chocolate cake. Its not only moist and full of chocolate, it includes a simple berry filling that's oh so tasty.

photo by our designed life

Triple Chocolate Cake

1 Cup milk substitute {I used Rice milk}

1 tsp. Apple cider vinegar

1/2 Cup sugar

1/4 Cup canola oil

2 tsp. Vanilla

1 Cup flour

1/4 C. cocoa

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 Cup vegan chocolate chips

*Preheat oven to 350

*Combine the milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle

*In a small saucepan, heat chocolate chips with a splash of milk till melted. Stir often and set aside to cool

*Combine sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in milk mixture. 

*Add the melted chocolate to the wet mixture and stir well.

*In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

*Bake 45-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

{I used two deep 3 inch cake pans and required a longer time to bake}

Chocolate ganache

1/4 Cup rice milk

1/2 Cup vegan chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. agave

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

*Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan over low heat. 

For the fruit filling, combine either frozen fruits {berries work best} or fresh with a few teaspoons of sugar and splash of water in a small saucepan. As it cooks down it will get thicker, just keep stirring and mushing the fruit a bit as you go.

Make this, Pear wafers and Sparkling sorbet

Lets face it, when it comes to desserts its usually the more the merrier and these sugar coated pears would be a perfect match for that sparkling sorbet, don't you think? I imagine the sweet crunch would be a great combo for the zesty sorbet. Of course you could pair them with just about anything, throw in a cup of coffee and you have yourself a tasty afternoon delight.

photos via donna hay and martha stewart

Blog love: Sprinkle Bakes

I totally have a foodie blog crush for Sprinkle Bakes, a collection of the most amazing and almost all simple to make desserts you will see. Filled with color and a little whimsy, brilliant baker Heather Baird has not only given us drool worthy photography, she even includes recipes- and even though they seem out of this world difficult, Heather is known to throw in a few boxed cake mixes to make it that much easier. Although I strictly bake vegan in our kitchen, I am always tempted to try out new desserts with my own vegan twist... and you can bet I've added Heather's recipes to my 'to bake' folder.  So head on over to Sprinkle Bakes for such amazing treats you will want to lick your monitor.

photos via sprinkle bakes

Make this, Cinnamon roll pull outs

On Sunday after a morning of walking all over the city I had a sudden need for sweets and thought of this crazy concoction from Plain Chicken right away. I came across this recipe for a cinnamon roll pull outs a while ago and couldn't wait to give it a try, and really who would turn down bits of cinnamon roll goodness? Not me. I made sure to stop by and pick up a super fresh loaf of sourdough from our local bakery on the way home and got to work slicing and dicing. 40 minutes later something very similar to this was sitting in front of my husband and I, ready to be devoured. And oh was it. I had to tell my husband to slow down twice just so I could get a few pieces, it was that good. Have you made anything scrumptious lately?

photo via plain chicken

Make this, Apple rings

I'm pretty sure these are incredibly unhealthy for you judging by the ingredients alone, but oh.my.gosh. they look good. I came across this recipe for Apple rings on How to simplify and added it to my recipe bookmark right away, you know for those special occasions when oodles of calories are a no biggie. I wonder if I can make this stand up with out the egg, sometimes recipes just don't translate to a vegan version, but it might still be fun and tasty to try. Have you made anything interesting lately? I'm still on my 'new to me' recipe kick and so far the husband and I have happy and healthy tummies.

found via paper flora; photo via how to simply

Make this, Apple nachos

For me summertime has always meant cold drinks, sweet eats and lots and lots of sunshine.  Unfortunately for me, I can't have anything super cold to drink and the current San Francisco weather is a cold and rainy 55 but, I can however still get my sweet eats on.  And these apple nachos may just do the summery trick.  There really isn't anything better then an apple covered in gooey delight and this simple recipe from gimmie some oven looks finger licking good, don't you think?  Might have to make up a batch of these this weekend, veganized of course.  How do you ring in the summer?

photo via gimmie some oven

More sweets

Yesterday I decided to bake up batch of cupcakes, because apparently I didn't have enough sweets over the last week. Missing Native Foods like crazy, (seriously, one in Northern CA would be amazing) I pulled out Chef Tanya's Restaurant cookbook and tried out her recipe for Elephant Chocolate Cake.

I got about half way through the recipe before I realized I was short an ingredient.  So I made do and added a few touches here and there, turns out I really need to restock my baking pantry, Christmas wiped me out.  I ended up with delicious moist little cakes, even my meat eating parents liked them.  This recipe also comes with a peanut butter cinnamon topping, which I made, but for some reason, these taste better without it.  Looks like we are going to have fancy PB&J's this week. Oh darn.

A little dessert? Yes please!

I have been on a hunt for wonderful recipes to fill mine and my husbands tummies, and just thought I would share a few that I am just dying to try out.  And for some reason, they seem to all be pink.  Happy weekend, and why not take a chance on one of these delicious bits!

These nanaimo bars from My baking addiction look simply divine.  And apparently they are easy to put together.

A low fat cobbler? Yes please!  This plum cobbler from Fat free vegan kitchen looks amazing.  With fresh fruits from the farmers market, I can't wait to try this one.

This one might just be too good to be true.  A healthy strawberry un-milkshake? Without the use of milk, this could be a very good alternative for the summer.  Will have to try it out and report back.

click on each photo for the source