Fragrant Vanilla Cake

Tag: cakes

  • Vegan Chai Spiced Pear Cakes with Hazelnut Chocolate Glaze

    Vegan Chai Spiced Pear Cakes with Hazelnut Chocolate Glaze

    So far Fall in Minnesota has been a rather chilly rainy one, the temperatures in the 30s and 40s most days with rain for 2 weeks straight it felt like until this week so we have all been bundling up. But finally we got a few lovely dry days in the 60s. This is the type of Fall I dream about, where it is warm enough to not have to wear jackets, and you can go out and enjoy the Fall colors on a hike and be comfortable.  I made sure to get outside, but I also decided to do some Fall baking to celebrate the perfect Fall days, and because cake sounded good.  I had some perfectly ripe Minnesota grown pears that a coworker had given me, and so I decided on pear bundt cakes.  Apple gets all the attention most of the time, you don’t hear about people going to the pear orchard to pick pears.  But they are super delicious so I am not sure why they don’t sell like apples do.  Heck, I would go to a pear orchard.  If you get a perfectly ripe, fragrant pear it is sweeter than an apple sometimes.  Back when I was in college, in the Fall one of my favorite things was to poach pears in the oven in a dish with spices, then eat them with ice cream.  Super delicious easy dessert.

    Anyways, back to those bundt cakes.  I suppose I could have made one large cake, but I like the idea of mini cakes, and they are perfect for sharing.  Not only that, they bake so much faster!  Only 20 minutes for these babies. For the batter, I pureed my pears, then blended them up with dates, spices, almond butter as a base to add the flour and other ingredients too.  This batter is actually fruit sweetened and oil free!  And, it is plenty sweet from the pears and dates.  It baked up beautifully and smelled amazing!

    But bundt cakes need a little glaze to decorate them so I decided to use some Veggimins Hemp CBD Chocolate Hazelnut Butter that Raw Guru sent me recently so drizzle over the cakes.  After all, pears, hazelnuts and chocolate are a match made in heaven.  This spread is bomb by the way, like the best nutella you will ever taste and what’s not to love about CBD oil being included in it.  It was amazing on the cakes!  They were so good… soft and sweet from the pears with a hint of spice and the rich dark chocolate. If you have pears on hand, give these a try!

    Vegan Chai Spiced Pear Cakes with Hazelnut Chocolate Glaze 
    Makes four 1 cup bundt cakes

    Ingredients:

    2 6 inch cake pans

    Cake:

    • 3/4 cups quinoa flour (or all purpose gluten free flour)
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp ginger
    • 1/2 tsp cardamom
    • 1/4 tsp cloves
    • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    • 1/2 cup packed soft medjool dates, pitted, soaked in water for 30 minutes and 1/2 cup of the soaking water reserved
    • 2 Tbsp almond butter
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/2 cup pureed ripe pears
    • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

     

    Glaze:

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and position rack in center of oven. Oil 4 mini bundt pans.
    2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and sea salt in a large bowl to blend well.  Set aside.
    3. Place dates, reserved water, almond butter, pear puree, and vanilla extract into a blender, and blend until smooth, then whisk this blended mixture into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in the cider vinegar until bubbles form.
    4. Transfer cake batter to prepared pans and bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool cakes completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour.
    5. Un-mold onto a piece of parchment on a sheet pan.
    6. Warm the hazelnut butter slightly in a double boiler just until it is liquid enough to pour (but don’t over-heat), and drizzle over the cakes.
    7. Enjoy!

     

    *If you can’t get the CBD hazelnut butter, or would rather make your own glaze, you can instead whisk 1 Tbsp cacao powder into 1/4 cup hazelnut (or almond) butter, along with 1 Tbsp maple syrup and just enough water to make it pourable and use the same way you would use the CBD hazelnut butter.

     

  • Vegan Mini Peppermint Swirl Cheesecakes

    Vegan Mini Peppermint Swirl Cheesecakes

    peppermint-cheesecakes-2

    One of the things I love about living in Minnesota is the beautiful scenery we get with the changes of the seasons.  Sure, it gets really cold here in the winter sometimes.  But you have to admit that waking up to a world of sparkling white outside your window is beautiful!  I had to get out and enjoy it last weekend, and I bundled up (but not too much because it was not below 30) and went for a run on the fresh powder.  I love how soft it is, and that squeaking sound my shoes make as they compact it with every footstep.  I also love being the first one on a trail to make the footprints.  So peaceful and serene.  The snow really put me in the mood for Christmas. Although I have been hearing Christmas music around in the stores, and people have their Christmas lights up and whatnot, I hadn’t really felt in the Christmas mood before that.

    peppermint-cheesecakes-4

    So, I put on some Christmas music, and decided to make something festive!  Something red and green and delicious!  Some Vegan Peppermint Cheesecakes! I have been using peppermint a lot in my diffuser, because it smells like candy canes.  And to be honest, that is what gave me the idea!  I am not a big candy cane fan (I have never liked sugary hard candy), but I love peppermint and vanilla together in desserts!  I made mini cheesecakes because they are easier and faster to make than one big one, and great for sharing!  I love sharing treats this time of the year!  And of course shocking people by telling them that they are vegan after they say they are delicious after tasting them.

    peppermint-cheesecakes-3

    These are simple to make, don’t let the swirls and color fool you.  For the crust, I chose a chocolate with a cookie dough like texture and a hint of mint.  It was so good I could have just eaten it like that (the big cookie dough fan that I am), but I wanted there to be enough for the cheesecakes! I used a rich coconut milk and cashew base, which always tastes the best in cheesecakes in my opinion.  For the colors, I went the natural route using matcha (green tea) powder, and beet powder to give them those beautiful hues.  Once they were all chilled and set, I could not wait to taste them!  They were super delicious, the mellow scent of vanilla and fresh peppermint the perfect flavors for the luscious creamy filling and rich chocolate crust! I highly recommend making these for your Holiday parties!  Sooo good!

    peppermint-cheesecakes-1

    Vegan Mini Peppermint Swirl Cheesecakes
    Makes 8

    Ingredients:

    Crust:

    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp gluten free organic oat flour
    • 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 2 Tbsp organic raw cashew butter
    • 2 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt

     

    Cheesecake Filling:

    • 1 cup full fat organic coconut milk at room temperature
    • 1/4 cup organic raw cashew butter
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 tsp matcha (green tea) powder or spinach powder*
    • 1 tsp beet powder*

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make the crust, stir together all ingredients in a bowl, and then press into the bottoms of 8 silicone muffin tins, and set them on a tray.  Place in the freezer while you make the filling.
    2. To make the filling, combine all ingredients but the matcha powder and beet powder in a blender and blend until smooth.
    3. Divide the filling between two bowls, and mix the matcha into one bowl, and the beet powder into the other.
    4. Drop the filling over the crust in the tins by the tsp, alternating the two colors until you have the tins full, then swirl with a toothpick to create marbling.
    5. Place cheesecakes in the freezer to firm up for 1-2 hours or until firm (depending on how warm the filling was).  Once they have firmed up, unmold them and place them on a tray to serve!
    6. Store any leftover cheesecakes in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

    *If you would like to use natural food colorings or spinach or beet juice instead of the powders, go right ahead!  Just add a little at a time until you reach the desired color.  Note that if you add a lot of liquid, you may need to add 1 Tbsp or more extra coconut butter to firm these up.