Fragrant Vanilla Cake

Tag: grapefruit

  • Vegan Caramelized Citrus Galette

    Vegan Caramelized Citrus Galette

    Now that we are past the shortest day of the year, and we are into January, I feel like things are looking up.  Not that the Holidays were bad or anything.  I am just one of those people who likes to not have to worry about too many plans in a short period of time, and likes routine and normalcy.  I feel like I didn’t know what day of the week it was for the past couple of weeks with the Holidays in the middle of the week, and different days off than I am used too.  It feels so good to be back to normal and just do things at a more relaxed pace and enjoy things like just going for a walk outside or making new recipes and relaxing with a book or movie at night. It has been really warm here too for the last couple of days, which is awesome!  It is like Spring in January, so I have been trying to get outside everyday instead of just treadmilling it.  Also, it has been nice and sunny, not like December which is one of the cloudiest months.

    One of those new recipes that I had time to make this week, was a caramelized citrus galette.  I typically make galettes with apples, pears or berries, but since it is the peak of citrus season, I thought why not use it in a delicious dessert. I thought about using just oranges, but I love grapefruits and clementines too so I used all three!  It ended up being the perfect balance of tart and sweet. I tossed them with a little maple syrup, and a dash of cardamom and I knew this filling was going to be good.  I wasn’t sure it they would work out though, since citrus tends to be very juicy, but I solved that problem by saving the extra juices and making a caramel like syrup with rosewater and vanilla to top the finished galette off with.

    I love galettes because they are so much easier to make in pies and they bake much faster!  No fussy crusts, just one crust to roll and if it doesn’t look perfect, it is ok because it is rustic.  It smelled amazing while baking.  I love the sunny sweet scent of citrus, and the crust smelled almost buttery.  When it was done baking I drizzled it with a reduced orange rosewater caramel syrup and sprinkled it with some crunchy pistachios.  It turned out beautifully and it was super delicious!  I like it served warm with a scoop of coconut milk ice cream!  Take advantage of the lovely citrus this season and give this a try!

    Vegan Caramelized Citrus Galette

    Crust:

    • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour*
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1/3 cup coconut oil in solid state, cut into chunks
    • 1/4 cup almond butter
    • 5-6 Tbsp ice water

     

    Filling:

    • 1 grapefruit, peeled and sliced into rounds, juices reserved
    • 2 oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds, juices reserved
    • 3 clementines, peeled and sliced into rounds juices reserved
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
    • 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
    • pinch of sea salt
    • maple sugar or coconut sugar for sprinkling

     

    Orange Caramel Glaze:

    • 3/4 cup orange juice
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/2 tsp rose flower water or orange flower water (optional)
    • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

     

    For finishing:

    • chopped pistachios for garnish

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make crust, combine flour, sea salt, sugar, coconut oil, and almond butter in a bowl, and use a pastry blender to cut into the mixture until it resembles pea sized chunks (you can also use your hands).  Add water and mix into the dough.  Knead a few times until it comes together (you may need to add an additional Tbsp more water).  Shape into and roll out into a 1/4 inch thick circle on a sheet of parchment (you will want to dust the parchment underneath with a little flour and dust the rolling pin too to avoid sticking. If the dough has gotten too warm, place in the refrigerator).  Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
    2. Put a fine meshed strainer over a bowl, and press each citrus slice one by one into the bottom of the strainer (pressing out some of the juice, but not so hard that you smash them and they don’t look pretty anymore) and set them aside in a bowl.  Reserve the juices in the bowl under the strainer for later.
    3. Add 3 Tbsp maple syrup, the cornstarch, cardamom, and sea salt to the bowl with the citrus and toss to combine. Arrange fruit mixture on top of the dough, leaving a  1 1/2-inch border all the way around. Fold border over the fruit mixture, overlapping where necessary and pressing gently to adhere the folds (it doesn’t have to be perfect, it is rustic).
    4. Brush edges of dough with melted coconut oil, sprinkle with sugar, and bake until crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling, 45 minutes or so. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool the galette.
    5. Meanwhile, add all of the reserved citrus juices plus 3/4 cup orange juice to a small sauce pan along with 3 Tbsp maple syrup. Bring to a boil, and simmer until it is reduced to the consistency of syrup.  Add the rose water and vanilla and stir in.  Drizzle over the warm galette.
    6. Sprinkled the galette with pistachios, and serve warm or at room temperature.
    *You may use whole wheat pastry flour if you do not wish to make this gluten free.
  • Vegan White Chocolate Grapefruit Cake

    Vegan White Chocolate Grapefruit Cake

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    New Years Eve deserves a special cake, so I knew I wanted to make one, but I wasn’t quite sure what kind.  Sometimes my brain is a crazy snow globe with all of my recipe ideas floating around in it at once, getting tangled up with the other things going on in my life.  I would bounce from one idea to another, but they all sounded so good…so I needed a little help deciding and turned to Eric.  He often helps me decide when I am stuck between recipes.  Like a coin toss, but better because he is the one I will be sharing with most of the time.  I wanted something seasonal, and citrus was on the table, and we decided on Grapefruit white chocolate.  I have made grapefruit cakes before, but they were raw, never baked, so this would be different.  The cake I had imagined had layers of moist  grapefruit scented cake, luscious white chocolate cream cheese frosting and grapefruit curd in between the layers to break up all the sweet with a hint of tart.  I admit sometimes lately I shy away from cakes with more steps that are maybe a little more complicated, but what the heck, I was off work that day so why not?

    grapefruit-cake-with-white-chocolate-frosting

    For the cake layers, I added plenty of grapefruit in the form of juice and zest.  Grapefruits are at their best this time of the year, so it is the perfect time to use them in recipes!  I sweetened my cake with dates to both keep it moist, and give it a slight caramel flavor (which I love, and goes awesome with citrus).   Also, a little almond butter for richness, which I am preferring to just oil lately in my cakes.  The cake baked up beautifully, nice and light and aromatic.  I could not wait to assemble it!  But first I had to make the grapefruit curd and frosting.  For the curd, I used my usual lemon curd recipe modified and it turned out perfect!  It was so flavorful thanks to the lovely organic Rio Star grapefruits I had picked up at work.

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    For the frosting, I used my usual vegan cream cheese frosting with a coconut cashew base with a touch of cacao butter to make it taste like white chocolate.  Man was it good.  Like eat with a spoon, or top off your piece of pie with it good.  I never miss dairy as a vegan, because there are so many good substitutes for it!  I used to make cream cheese frosting all the time when I was not vegan, so it was one of the first things I figured out how to make vegan.  Anyways, it is good stuff.  And, this cake turned out lovely!  Moist grapefruit scented cake with sweet tart grapefruit curd, and creamy rich “cream cheese” frosting with a touch of white chocolate goodness.  Definitely a New Years Eve worthy cake, and good for curing those Winter blues.  It may be cold where you live, but this cake tastes like sunshine and happiness!

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    Vegan White Chocolate Grapefruit Cake
    Makes one 2 layer 6 inch cake

    Ingredients:

    2 6 inch cake pans

    Cake:

    • 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
    • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1 cup packed soft medjool dates, pitted, soaked in water for 30 minutes and 1 cup of the water reserved
    • 1/4 cup raw almond butter
    • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 2 Tbsp organic grapefruit zest
    • 1  cup grapefruit juice
    • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

     

    Curd Filling:
    • 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp fresh grapefruit juice
    • 1/2 Tbsp organic grapefruit zest
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
    • pinch of sea salt
    • 1 Tbsp full fat coconut milk
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 1/2 tsp coconut oil

     

    Frosting:

    • 1 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk, chilled
    • 1/2 cup raw cashew butter
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 tsp cider vinegar
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp melted coconut butter (warmed to liquid)
    • 1/4 cup melted cacao butter warmed to liquid (or additional coconut butter if unavailable)

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and position rack in center of oven.
    2. Oil two 6 inch round cake pan with coconut oil and line the bottom with parchment.
    3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt in a large bowl to blend well.
    4. Place dates, reserved water, almond butter, grapefruit juice and zest, 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.
    5. Pour the cake batter into prepared pans, and place in the oven.
    6. Bake cakes until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, about 25-30 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool completely, then unmold onto a plate.
    7. To make the filling, combine maple syrup, cornstarch, and sea salt in a medium pot, and whisk until combined. Add the juice and zest and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium high heat whisking constantly until thickened to a curd or pudding like consistency, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in coconut milk, coconut oil, and vanilla. Pour into a bowl, and let chill in the fridge until very cold, at least an hour.
    8. To make the frosting, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until completely smooth.  Pour into a bowl and place in the freezer until the consistency of stiffly whipped cream (about 30-45 minutes depending on how warm it has gotten.  Once it is ready place in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
    9. To assemble, place one cake layer on a plate, and spread frosting 1/4 inch thick over it.  Then spread some of the curd over that.  Place the other cake layer over that, then spread more frosting, and curd over it like the last layer.  Repeat with another layer, and top off with last piece of cake.  Spread the remaining frosting on the top and down the sides of the cake.

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