Fragrant Vanilla Cake

Tag: red velvet

Vegan Red Velvet Popcorn with White Chocolate Drizzle
Since I really enjoyed the Red Velvet Cake Batter Dessert Hummus I made last week, I decided to make something else red velvet as well. Because, why not? Valentine’s Day is just a few short days away so it will be festive, and I always love popcorn. It is kind of surprising that I have never made red velvet popcorn before. I have made many other sweet dessert popcorn recipes. Like berries and cream, chocolate mint, and turtle. I pretty much love using the flavors found in classic desserts in popcorn. I first got the idea when I was at a Mall on vacation when I was visiting New Orleans, and I came across a popcorn shop. They must have had hundreds of flavors in there. Pretty much anything you can think of savory and sweet. I figured most of it wasn’t vegan and if it was, there was probably lots of refined sugar in it, so I just went in there to admire the flavors and maybe get ideas for making some at home. One of the flavors that I saw was red velvet cake. So, I thought to myself, I need to make that some day. Well, it kind of got pushed to the back of my mind I guess, because I didn’t remember that I wanted to make it until this week. And, that was over a year ago. I guess I had to be in the right mood too. Any excuse in February to make things that are pink and red and hearts for Valentine’s Day I am on it. Of course this doesn’t have hearts but it is pinkish red so I have that covered.

Also, I figured I could share it with Eric, because if I don’t share my snacks with him, he will go out and buy even more unhealthy ones. Also, he has a huge sweet tooth as well. This is pretty easy to make if you have plain popcorn on hand. I like to just make mine in the Whirly Pop with coconut oil, because it turns out perfect every time. But you could also just buy it. If it already has salt in it though, just omit the sea salt from the coating in the recipe. The red velvet coating is so delicious! It has only 6 ingredients including sea salt, and it is colored naturally. I don’t bring artificial food coloring anywhere near my food anymore. I actually used beet powder in this, which is my go-to red or pink food coloring. It doesn’t end up a bright red, but more of a pink red. I am ok with that though. You can usually find it at your local health food store in the bulk section. I get it at my work, Fresh and Natural Foods. The coating tasted like vanilla cake batter and that brilliant red, pink color was beautiful!

But I decided to make it a little more over the top and add a white chocolate drizzle since I had some white chocolate on hand already. If you don’t want to do this extra step, I totally understand, and it will still taste amazing. It just won’t have white chocolate. I also figured red velvet cake has frosting usually so the white chocolate drizzle is sort of the frosting. Once the popcorn is all done it is so good! Trust me, I ate half the pan before I knew it. You will keep going back for seconds. And thirds. Lucky I had to save some for Eric or I might have eaten more. If you are looking for a sweet and crunchy snack, give this a try!

Vegan Red Velvet Popcorn with White Chocolate Drizzle
Makes 8 cups

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup maple syrup, warmed to liquid
- 1/3 cup raw coconut butter, warmed to liquid
- 1/3 cup raw cashew butter at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp red beet powder (vegan natural food coloring may be used instead, start by using just a few drops and add as needed)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 8 cups plain organic popped corn
- 1/2 cup vegan white chocolate, store bought or home made (I made my own, recipe follows)
Instructions:
1. In a glass measuring cup (or bowl) whisk together the maple syrup, coconut butter, cashew butter, sea salt and vanilla until well blended.
2. Pour over the popcorn in a large bowl, along with berries and mix well. Spread out onto a lined sheet pan, and place in the freezer until it is hard.
3. Enjoy!
Vegan White Chocolate
Makes enough for the recipe, or about 16 small white chocolates

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup cacao butter (2 oz)
- 2 Tbsp raw cashew butter
- 1/4 cup coconut butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup (or to taste)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions:
1. Combine cacao butter, cashew butter, vanilla, maple syrup, and sea salt over a double boiler, and whisk until smooth. It is now ready to use in the above recipe.
2. Or, if you just want to make white chocolates, pour into a chocolate mold, and place in the freezer until set.
3. Store white chocolate in the refrigerator.
February 12, 2018
Red Velvet Cake Batter Dessert Hummus
I am always up for trying new hummus as long as it is vegan and does not have any dairy thrown in. Of course I love the classic with tahini, lemon and lots of cumin, and we make an amazing version of at my work. But I like to switch it up when I make hummus at home. There was a point in time I made it every week during the summer to enjoy with cucumbers fresh from the garden. I would always add lots of chipotle and give it a good kick, since the cucumbers were cooling. But the weekly hummus went by the wayside once Winter hit. I have been making some every couple weeks though, but not of the savory variety. It has all been sweet dessert hummus. I keep seeing posts on social media about companies that make and sell their own dessert hummus, so it has been motivation for me to make my own because they always look and sound so good. The latest one I made this week however, was not inspired by social media however, my Mom thought it up. I shared some of my Chocolate Cake Batter Dessert Hummus with her when I made that one, and she said, “Why not make red velvet cake batter around Valentine’s Day?” So I had to keep my promise. Besides, it sounded amazing.

I have always leaned more towards vanilla than chocolate, as delicious as chocolate is. So, this was right up my alley. There would be no artificial red food coloring involved though. This was going to be all natural. Of course it had to be chickpea based, this was hummus after all. But instead of the tahini that goes into savory hummus I used cashew butter. You can of course use almond butter instead if that is your jam. It had to have plenty of vanilla as well, and I sweetened it with maple syrup. Lastly, for that beautiful color I used beet powder. I thought about purchasing a red beet, cooking it and blending it into the hummus for color but that would have been too much work and I had the beet powder on hand already. It was a lovely reddish pink color once finished, and it was beautiful just how it turned out.

It is delicious for dipping fruit in and I so wished I had some strawberries, but I didn’t happen to have any on hand. I think they would be amazing with it though, and how festive for Valentine’s Day. Of course, you can eat it with a spoon, that is not frowned upon, at least not by me because I do it myself. Or as pictured here, you could serve it with some chocolate short bread (make without the almonds for what is pictured here) or brownie brittle. The chocolate is a nice contrast to the vanilla hummus. Or, if you only like vanilla, I think a cookie to dip in it would be amazing. I just didn’t have any on hand. So, if you are adventurous when it comes to hummus, and you like sweet things, give this a try!

Red Velvet Cake Batter Dessert Hummus
Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1/3 cup maple syrup (or to taste, if you like it sweeter add 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup filtered water (or as needed)
- 2 Tbsp red beet powder or as needed (or natural vegan red food coloring as needed)
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup raw cashew butter or almond butter
Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth (adding a little more water if necessary). Keeps in the refrigerator for about 1 week in a sealed container.
February 7, 2018
Vegan Pink Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies
One of my all time favorite relaxing activities is baking something delicious in the kitchen. So, last Monday I decided to bake some brownies since it was my day off. I haven’t made any in quite a while, so it was about time! I knew I wanted to make something really good, and something chocolate. So brownies were perfect! I didn’t want run-of the mill brownies though, I wanted something special. It took me a while to decide what kind. Maybe something with berries, since Valentines day is just around the corner? But I didn’t have any berries on hand. Maybe something with coffee? But I wasn’t feeling like a caffeine buzz. So, I decided on red velvet. I have been wanting to make red velvet cheesecake brownies since last Summer, and now seemed like the perfect time since nothing is more perfect for Valentine’s Day than red velvet and chocolate.

I decided to go a little different route than my usual brownies, and make these fruit sweetened and oil free as well. So, I used dates to keep them moist, as well as give them a rich luscious sweetness. They worked out perfectly too! The brownies turned out nice and fudgy, which is how I prefer mine. For the red velvet cheesecake swirl I used a mixture of cashew butter and coconut milk. This is what I always use for cheesecake swirls in anything and I have had many people tell me that they are shocked that it is vegan. It tastes just like cream cheese. I tinted it with beet powder to make these festive and give them the red color, which ended up being really pink, so I decided to call them pink velvet instead.

They smelled heavenly while baking, and I couldn’t wait to try them. I had to let them cool and set up though, and it was hard to wait but well worth it. They were rich and fudgy as brownies should be, and that luscious vanilla cream cheese swirl made them simply heavenly! My taste testers loved them as well, which is very important to me. I highly recommend making these the next time you have a craving for brownies. They are yummalicious!

Vegan Pink Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies
Makes 16

Cream Cheese Swirl:
- 3/4 cup thick coconut milk (from the top of a chilled can)
- 1/2 cup cashew butter (or almond butter will also work here)
- 2 Tbsp date paste or maple syrup
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp beet powder
- 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch or cornstarch
Brownies:
- 1 cup date paste
- 1/4 cup filtered water
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp ground flax seed, whisked together with 6 Tbsp filtered water)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
Directions:
1. To make the swirl, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
  To make the brownies, pre-heat the oven to 350F degrees.
2. Whisk together the date paste, almond butter, water, flax eggs, and vanilla until well combined. Add the flour, cacao powder and sea salt and beat until smooth.
3. Scrape the batter into a greased 8×8 inch pan, then drop the swirl over it in 2 Tbsp amounts, and swirl it with a knife.
4. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Place in the oven, and Bake for about 25 minutes or until just set (but do not over bake or they will be dry, slightly underbaked is better, because they continue to set while cooling).
5. Let cool before cutting into bars.
February 10, 2017
Vegan Red Velvet Chocolate Chunk Pancakes

Red velvet cake is sexy. That lovely color, that sweet flavor, and that luscious cream cheese frosting. Crave worthy. And definitely Valentine’s day worthy. But I know you all are not going to go bake a red velvet cake for you and your special someone. That is a lot more work than most of us are willing to commit to, plus some people are nervous about frosting. Well, what if you could still enjoy red velvet on Valentine’s day in pancake form? And, include chocolate? Hell yes right?! Well that is what Eric would say.

He loves anything sweet or with chocolate or cake themed. So, I made some Chocolate Chunk Red Velvet Pancakes the other night, because I was given some beets, and I thought this was the perfect use for them! They are a lot less work than a cake, but still just as delicious. I made a “cream cheese” drizzle for them as well, because they had to have the frosting in some form. Frosting is an important part of the cake!

They cooked up pretty quickly, and I have to mention, I did not mix the chocolate chunks in, but instead pressed them into the tops of the pancakes. Since my chocolate melts quickly, and I did not want it making my griddle messy with burning chocolate). The chocolate was still plenty gooey, and it was rich against the sweet pancakes and gooey cream cheese drizzle. They were simply heavenly. I love making pancakes to share with a loved one, and these would be perfect to make on Valentine’s day morning. Or whenever…because no one is going to turn down these made with love pancakes!

Vegan Red Velvet Chocolate Chunk Pancakes
Serves 2-3

Pancakes:
1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup pureed red beets*
1 1/4 cups thin coconut milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp maple syrup (or to taste)
about 1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chunks
coconut oil for cooking pancakes

Cream Cheese Drizzle:
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk chilled until very cold (only the thick part from the top of the can)
1/3 cup raw cashew butter
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cider vineger
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
filtered water as needed

In a food processor, combine all pancake ingredients but the chocolate chunks and process until just blended, pour into a bowl and set aside.
To cook pancakes, preheat oven to 110 degrees. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add a little coconut oil to coat the bottom. Once hot, add the batter in 1/4 cup amounts (I did 3 at a time, but it depends on your pan), and let cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side until set and starting to brown, then flip with a spatula, press some of the chocolate chunks into the top and cook another 2-3 minutes. When cooked, place on a plate and keep warm in the oven while you repeat the process with the remaining pancakes (or you may serve them as you cook them, keep in mind, the chocolate may get runny the longer you keep them in there).
To make cream cheese drizzle, mix together ingredients in a bowl, and whisk together until combined (if it is too thick add a little filtered water, you want to be able to drizzle it). Top the pancakes with the cream cheese drizzle to serve (I like to put mine in a ziplock bag with the corner cut off and squeeze it out).

*I chopped it up, threw it in the high speed blender, and then used it in the recipe.

January 30, 2016
Raw Red Velvet Bars

I saw a recipe for Red Velvet Bars on Pinterest when I was browsing recipes, and I thought to myself, hey I could veganize this! Because I love everything red velvet. And surprisingly I had not yet created red velvet bars. So, it was time. It was a good day, and I was in a good mood. I ran my favorite route that morning, it was 70 degrees and sunny outside and work had gone well. I spent my post work walk thinking about how I was going to make these bars, and I decided to make them raw this time. Didn’t really want to heat up the oven and I haven’t made a raw dessert in a little while (shocking I know) so raw was perfect. Plus I want to keep those of you happy that only eat raw, I want to share recipes that you can enjoy as well.

So, for the base of these babies, I used red beet to give them the stunningly beautiful color. It was a pretty rich dough, like sugar cookie dough but red velvet, and it tasted sooo good! I could have just eaten that with a spoon. But I figured it would be better once topped off with faux cream cheese frosting. The frosting was scrumptious as well. Tasting almost like the real thing, and perfect with the sweet bars.

A funny thing happened though when I was cleaning up the kitchen while waiting for the frosting to set up. Well…not funny at the time, but funny looking back. I had set my blender back on the base, filled with water to soak, and I accidentally knocked it on. Sending water everywhere! All over me and all over my kitchen. Sooo not what I was looking for to end my perfect day. Luckilly though, I had some delicious bars to enjoy after I finished cleaning up my huge mess. Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself when your kitchen ends up like a disaster area!

Raw Red Velvet Bars

Makes 12

1 cup chopped raw red beets*

1 1/4 cups soft, pitted medjool dates (if not soft, soak them in water first)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup raw cashew butter

1/4 cup softend raw coconut oil

1/4 cup psyllium husk powder

3 1/2 cups coconut flour (home-made, not the dry store bought stuff)**

Frosting:

2 cups young coconut meat

1/4 cup coconut water

1 tsp cider vinegar

3 Tbsp raw coconut nectar or maple syrup

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup raw coconut butter, warmed to liquid

For the bars, combine all ingredients but the psyllium husk and flour in a food processor. Process until smooth. Then add the psyllium husk and the flour little by little until a soft dough is formed. From here you have two choices. You may either dehydrate them at 115F degrees for about 6-8 hours until more firm, or place them in the freezer for about an hour to firm up (the first choice makes for a more cakey bar, the refrigerator a fudgier bar). If you are dehydrating, shape the dough into an 8 inch square using a rolling pin and bench scrapers. If you are refrigerating, you may either do that, or press into an 8 inch square pan lined with foil or parchment.

Meanwhile, to make the frosting, combine all ingredients but the coconut butter and oil in a food processor and process until smooth. With the motor running, add the coconut butter and oil and process a minute more. Pour the cream into a bowl and let sit in the fridge until the consistency of whipped cream. Place in the refrigerator while you wait for the bars.

Once the bars are done dehydrating or chilling, spread the frosting over them and cut into bars. Store extra in the refrigerator.

*Beets can vary in moisture, and so can the dates if you have soaked them prior to using in the recipe, so your dough consistency may vary. If you find it too wet at the end of the dough process, add a little more flour. Too dry, a little water. You want this the consistency of cookie dough.

**To make the coconut flour simply buzz your finely shredded coconut in the blender until you have flour. Simple as that! I do not recommend store bought because it is dry and it makes for a not so tasty end product.

August 27, 2015
Red Velvet Smoothie

I love Red Velvet Cake. Or Red Velvet anything dessert…like doughnuts, or ice cream sandwiches or strawberry shortcake. The classic cake cented with vanilla, such a beautiful eye popping color, and creamy frosting…heavenly. My favorite flavor is after all vanilla. No offense to chocolate. In all of my red velvet desserts I always use beets to color, so it is an even more lovely pinkish red than the original cake. I was craving some red velvet deliciousness recently but also in need of a nutritious smoothie post workout, so I thought, why not make a red velvet smoothie?

I added in the beets I always do for my red velvet along with the bananas and the classic red velvet flavorings and it was delicious! Tasted like red velvet cake batter. I even added in some Sprout Living Epic Vanilla Lucuma Protein Powder for an extra boost and I think it made it taste even more like cake. I left the top part of the smoothie just plain white like the frosting on the classic cake and it was lovely. Who says you can’t have red velvet for breakfast?!

Red Velvet Smoothie

Serves 2

1 cup raw coconut milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

½ tsp almond extract

Stevia to taste (optional)

1 scoop Sprout Living Epic Vanilla Lucuma Protein Powder

6 bananas, frozen and cut into pieces

2 cups cut up raw beets

In a high speed blender, combine all ingredients but the beets and puree until smooth, using the tamper to press the shake down into the blades. Remove ¼ of the mixture, and set aside in a glass or bowl, then blend the beets into the rest of it. Pour the red mixture into 2 tall glasses, then the plain mixture and serve!

June 6, 2015