Apple Cider Donuts

I have been wanting to make apple cider donuts for ages and bought the cider a couple of weeks ago for this purpose. I didn't have a recipe in mind so when I finally decided to get down to it this morning, it took me a couple minutes to decide whether I wanted to veganize a recipe I found or just find a vegan recipe. Fortunately, Vegetarian Times has a recipe they published back in 2009, no extra work required.

I used a flax egg instead of that egg replacer stuff, because I don't do the egg replacer stuff, and once again, like the last several times I've made donuts, the recipe makes WAY MORE than it says. It's really weird. I feel like the mini donut pans these people use must be about twice the size of the mini donut pan I use, because I got 48 mini donuts and the recipe said it makes 18. I don't get it.

Numbers aside, these are pretty yummy. I added 1/4 tsp more cinnamon because the person I was bringing these two likes cinnamon things, and coated them in cinnamon sugar rather than superfine sugar. I let Dash have one pretty much right out of the pan (they're tiny, they cool quickly) and not letting him have another inspired a lovely 10 minute tantrum which ended with hm putting himself to bed, so yeah, they're good.


















Apple Cider Donuts

* remember, if you don't have Ener-G, use a flax egg instead of the 'egg replacer + water' combo suggested
* cinnamon sugar = 1/2 c sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon. Dip donuts in melted earth balance first, then coat in
   sugar

Gin and lime curd tart

Potluck staff meeting! New Christmas products to take inspiration from! What a magical time in the life of me.

One of the products that came out this year was Mr Punch soap, which is a lime, gin, juniper berry and black currant soap. I couldn't incorporate the black currants - out of season and for some reason the extract doesn't exist here! - or the juniper berry on account of not being able to find any. However, what we lack in currants and berries we make up for with gin, lime oil, and blackberries.

I wanted to make the crust gluten free, since we have a gluten intolerant member of staff who deserves delicious tart just as much as everyone else, so I made an almond meal crust. Super basic - just almond meal, sugar, earth balance, and a bit of salt. Pressed into a tart pan - the most annoying part of the whole process - and then baked.

The curd I made with the usual VegNews Lemon Curd recipe, with some crucial changes - lime instead of lemon peel, no turmeric, lime oil instead of vanilla, and most importantly, gin instead of lemon juice. It's only enough for a thin layer on the bottom of the tart, but it's a pretty boozy, tart curd so I think it's all that's necessary. You could always double the curd recipe or perhaps make a vegan whip to pile on top, depending on your current wants and needs.

Almond Crust

2 c ground almonds
4 -5 tbsp melted earth balance
4 tbsp sugar
pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix all the things together until fully incorporated. Press into a 9" tart pan; bake, covered for 20 minutes and then uncover and bake for 10 mire until nicely golden. Remove and let cool completely before adding filling.

This was supposed to be a shot of the unfilled crust, but I forgot to take that. Oops.

Lime curd

3/4 c full fat coconut milk
1/2 c gin
1/2 c sugar
lime zest from 3 limes
3 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp pure lime oil

Mix everything in a small pot over med-low heat. Keep stirring until mixture bubbles and thickens, about 6 minutes. Remove from stove top and push through a sieve if you want it to be super smooth and amazing, which I did and you probably do too. Let it cool (the pushing through a sieve will help with this) but don't let it form a skin. Pour it into the crust and smooth it out. Top with various treats.

I was going to use currants, but they don't exist right now, so I chose blackberries.

Blackberry'd up!

My husband came home with many various berries, so then I decided that it would be fun to add the raspberries too. These aren't strictly Mr Punch related, but whatever, I do what I want.

Blackberries AND raspberries? Crazy talk.

Bad week for MoFoing! Oops.

So... cupcakes. That makes everything better. Obviously.

Last year I did some Lush inspired cupcakes and this last week I thought I'd repeat the experiment with a new shower gel that came out, Ponche. There used to be a Lush soap called Red Rooster which was absolutely terrible, but sounded fantastic - cinnamon and orange. Super Christmasy and yummy, right? Oh, so wrong. The actual execution of it ended up being a scent akin to... well, let's not go there. Yucky, is all I'll say.

Ponche, however, has some buchu, which is almost black curranty, and the cinnamon and orange, plus, bonus!, tequila!

Ponche Cupcakes

2/3 c almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 orange, zested & juiced
2 tbsp creme de cassis (or if you have blackcurrant extract, you could use 2 tsp)
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 c sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Line 12 - 14 cups with cupcake liners. I know, another stupid number like 14. I'm the worst.

Mix the milk, vinegar, and orange juice in a cup and set aside.

Sift the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the middle and pour in the wet ingredients and the orange zest. Stir until relatively well combined, but some lumps are a-okay. Divvy up amongst the cups and bake for 18-20 minutes, until they pass the toothpick test. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Icing

1 c earth balance, softened
3 1/2 c icing sugar
2 tbsp creme de cassis
1 tbsp tequila
purple food colouring if you so desire

Beat the earth balance until creamy. Add in 1 c of the icing sugar, followed by 1 tbsp of liquid. Repeat until
all the things are mixed together, add your purple food colouring, and then ice those mofos. This icing is pretty soft, so you can add more sugar if you want it to be stiffer, or use some shortening instead of just the buttery spread, up to you!

Baubled!

Pumpkin Mac N Cheeze

I wanted something to do with the half can of pumpkin left over from making the baked pumpkin oatmeal. Fortunately, I had pinned a (non vegan) pumpkin mac n cheese. This need to finish the pumpkin has also coincided with some awful teething from Dash, who can't eat anything less soft than macaroni. Perfect marriage of circumstances.

I worked mainly by feel here; mostly I was influenced by OhSheGlow's mac n cheeze, which I didn't realize till after I had already made this. It was the most recent mac n cheeze I've made though, so that makes sense.

Pumpkin Mac N Cheeze

1 box penne, cooked (or whatever pasta you like)

1/2 c cashews, soaked for as long as you've got. Mine were soaked for 4 hours.
2 cloves garlic (I will probably add more next time, but we like a lot of garlic)
1/2 can pumpkin - I would guess around 1 1/3 c.
here's where it gets sketchy because I stopped measuring
dijon mustard (a couple of tsp)
3 half handfuls nutritional yeast
some olive oil (probably 2 tbsp)
some almond milk (1/4 - 1/2 c)
some salt (1 or 2 tsp?)
some veg broth (around 1/4 or 1/2 c as well)
juice of half a lemon

Topping

2 tbsp Earth Balance
2 tbsp horseradish
1 c panko crumbs

Preheat to 350.

Throw everything but the penne into a food processor and process until totally smooth, scraping down the sides every once in a while. Pour over the cooked penne, mix well, and dump into a large baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil or otherwise destickified.

Melt the earth balance, stir in the horseradish, then drizzle over the bread crumbs. Spread evenly over the macaroni and then toss it in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Dash's plate. He ate this and then another helping. Yum!

Enjoy!

ps this was 100% approved of by our (admittedly not at all picky) toddler. "How's your food Dash?" "Mmm! Delicious, mommy!"

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

'tis the season of all things pumpkin. You know this because there was a riot in the streets when Starbucks brought the pumpkin spice latte out a few weeks ago.

Okay, so maybe there was no riot. But if the fact that it's out doesn't mean anything to you, a quick browse around Pinterest Food & Drink sections will certainly clue you in. Pumpkin goes in / with everything. Donuts. Mac n cheese (I will be doing this later this week hopefully...). Baked oatmeal. Not just for pie anymore!

I pinned a non-vegan pumpkin baked oatmeal with the intention of veganizing it, so here we are. I just googled 'freezing baked oatmeal' and looks like that should work, so I might make another batch, cut it into squares and freeze it as part of the freezer meals for when Lip comes.

Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal

1 1/4 c pumpkin puree
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c coconut yogurt (vanilla flavour)
2 tbsp ground flax
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c almond milk (I actually had to top up the almond milk with a bit of Silk Creamer, maybe 1/4 c, because I was too lazy to open a new container when I ran out at 1 1/4 c)
2 1/2 c oats

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with cooking spray of some variety.

Mix everything but the oats together until smooth; then stir in the oats, toss it all into your pan, and bake for 30 minutes covered in foil. The original says to bake for 15 more uncovered, but I ended up doing a whole 'nother half hour uncovered to get it actually baked. Remove.

Before baking.

I let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing into it, putting it into my bowl and drizzling it with maple syrup and vanilla Silk creamer.

Out of the oven

It was super delicious. I would probably add more spices next time; I think more cinnamon and ginger would have been great. I don't actually know what 'pumpkin pie spice' is so I was just making things up as I went along anyway. You can do whatever you like!

Ready to be eaten!

'Niller Cupcakes

Sometimes, you gotta work out the basics. Nothing is more basic than a vanilla cupcake with almond icing. Well, maybe one with vanilla icing, but you either add 2 tsp vanilla or 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond, so really, same level of basicness as far as I'm concerned.

I wanted to try a new and fancy recipe. I love VCTOTW but they're the only vegan cupcakes I've ever made; I thought it might be time to branch out into the wonderful world of something else. So I used glorious old pinterest to find 'the BEST VANILLA CUPCAKES EVER!!!eleventy!!!' and veganized the hell out of them. Unfortunately, other than discovering I am masterful at veganization of cupcake recipes, these aren't all that different from VCTOTW and they were more work and required more ingredients. I mean, they're tasty and all. But I wouldn't go out of my way to buy coconut milk yogurt just to make them again. I did skip the whole scraping the vanilla pod and mashing it with the sugar step from the original, because I'm lazy like that, so maybe that would make a big difference. I could also be the wrong person to ask, since I'm a chocolate cupcake gal myself. So keep that in mind and definitely try these out vs your regular recipe and draw your own conclusions.

I asked Ian to take a picture. And I got a cupcake floating in space. What?

Vanilla Cupcakes

2/3 c milk (I use almond)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 c earth balance
1/3 c canola oil
1 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c vanilla coconut yogurt
1 3/4 c flour minus 3 tbsp (this is the stupid shit that happens when the original calls for cake & pastry flour)
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 350. Line 16 cups with muffin papers. 16? I KNOW, RIGHT? I hate that kind of thing. So annoying.

Mix together the milk and vinegar. Set aside to curdle. Meanwhile, pull out the ol' kitchenaid or handheld beaters and beat the sugar, oil and earth balance together. It will have a kind of gross consistency. Add the vanilla and milk mixture and beat until well combined.

Sift in the dry ingredients and either beat on slow slow speed or else just use a spoon or spatula to mix it all together. Small lumps are okay, they will bake out. Scoop the batter into the cups and toss in the oven for 15 minutes. Check with a toothpick to see if they are ready; if not, leave them in for another minute or two and check again. Let cool in pans for a few minutes before removing them to a rack to cool the rest of the way.

Almond Icing

1 c Earth Balance, softenend
3 c icing sugar
2 - 3 tbsp soy creamer (I used Silk French Vanilla)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

Cream the earth balance till it's all nice and, you know, creamy. Beat in a cup of the sugar, followed by a tbsp of creamer. Then, more sugar. Then, more creamer. Then, the last of the sugar. Add the extracts. If it's not quite spreading consistency, add a bit more creamer until it is.

Natural: about to nommed, which as we all know, is the natural state of cupcakes anyway.

Gooey Carrot Cupcakes with Cinnamon Icing

These are made of win. I know that phrase is outdated and stuff, but it's true. I saw the original cake recipe on pinterest and knew I had to veganize it. And possibly make it into cupcakes, because who eats cake these days? Cupcakes are easier to share.

The recipe calls for a sauce thing to be poured over the cake while still hot; I decided to pour on some of the remains of the vegan sweetened condensed milk I made last week for Dash's cupcake icing instead, because I already had that made and am lazy.

Carrot Cupcakes

2 c shredded carrot
3/4 c shredded, sweetened, toasted coconut
1/2 c chopped pecans
1 c crushed pineapple in juice
1 c milk (as always I used almond)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c sugar
3/4 c oil
2 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350. This recipe made 24 cupcakes, so either halve it and make 12 or line 2 cupcake tins with paper liners.

Shredded carrot and coconut

Mix the milk and vinegar in a large bowl and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.  Meanwhile sift together the flour through salt in a smaller bowl. Then, to the milk, add the vanilla, oil and sugar and whisk well until combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined; fold in the remaining ingredients. Scoop into the muffin tin; they will be pretty darn full - 3/4 or so. Bake for 20 -22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

You can probably just let them cool on a rack and then frost and eat, but if you want to go the 'gooey' route, poke them several times each, while still warm, with something about chopstick size. I used a chopstick. Then pour sweetened condensed milk over the cupcakes, into the holes, by the teaspoonful. Allow to cool the rest of the way on racks.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/2 c cream cheese, softened (I used tofutti, which I like better than most other brands I've tried)
1/2 c Earth Balance, softened
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 c icing sugar

Cream together the Earth Balance and cream cheese. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon, then add the icing sugar by the cupful and mixing to incorporate each cup entirely before adding the next. Spread onto cupcakes. Mine was too soft to pipe nicely and hold a shape, but you can try or maybe add more icing sugar to see if that makes it more solid. It's freaking delicious this way though so I'd say just stick with it.

Yum.