While Valentine’s Day is not my favourite holiday, it is one of my favourite holidays to bake!
It is a reason to make cutesy desserts, whip out the lace, sprinkles, and frills, and indulge in comforting and romantic homemade meals that would make anyone swoon.
It is also one of the only times of the year when I don’t feel like a 7 year old girl for loving the colour pink.
[Nadia’s Heart-shaped Oatmeal Pancakes]
Some of you might remember back in 2009, I hosted a Valentine’s Day contest. It was a lot of fun and many of you submitted some awesome Valentine’s Day recipes!
Here are some of the wonderful dishes that were submitted…
Lindsey’s Valentine’s Day Ravioli dessert took the US prize:
Hayley won the Canadian prize with her Raspberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast:
I loved the presentation of Karen’s I Love You Brownie:
and Diana’s Mmm-Mmm Cupcakes were show stoppers:
[For the recipes above (and others), see this post.]
This year, I’d love if you could share with me your favourite vegan recipes that would be great for Valentine’s Day. Or perhaps, you have a non-vegan recipe that you’d like me to try to tackle and revamp making it free of animal products.
Whatever the case, type out or copy and paste your full recipe below in the comment section. Eric will be selecting a couple for me to try out (or maybe he can make one too?).
You can submit as many as you like and it can be a dessert, breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack recipe. The sky is the limit so get creative!
Those recipes that Eric selects for me to feature on the blog, will win a $25 Gift Certificate to Glo Bakery just as a small token of my appreciation (US and Canadian residents only).
Deadline to submit your recipe in the comments below is Feb 7th. I will also be featuring some of my own Valentine’s Day recipes on the blog, from now until V-Day, so stay tuned for the recipes!
XOXO.
This is so cute! I’ll definitely be digging through my recipe troves soon :)
Fun! I’m totally doing this! Quick question… can they be posts from our blog? Say, if we were to make the recipe, post it on our blog, and send you the recipe as well?
Thanks Angela!
what a sweet idea:) and a great excuse for me to try my hand at vegan baking!
What a fun idea!! I will have to get on this! :)
Wow, Angela! This is another BIG undertaking. You’ll probably get “just a couple” reader submissions :) As in…hundreds!
Go big, or go home, right?
The contest in 09. Omg that feels like a lifetime ago but I totally remember reading your posts from then, where I was, what I was doing. Trip down memory lane.
Can’t wait to see what everyone submits! :)
haha I can’t believe two years have gone by!
I’ll have to put my thinking cap on for this one! :-)
such a good idea! Since we are not up against you we might have a shot, hehe. :)
Those little hearts are to die for, must make some for my husband :-)
oh, how fun! i know you’re going to get mostly baked goods, but i am a savory person, so i’m going to share a little appetizer:
roasted beets with cocoa-sesame sauce
* 1 lb beets
* 1/4 c tahini
* 1.5 T good quality cocoa powder
* 1 T agave
* 1 T apple cider vinegar
* 1/4 t sea salt
* 2 T water
1) Preheat oven to 400. Trim greens off beets, rinse, and scrub. Wrap beets in foil and roast in oven 30-45 minutes, depending on size. They will be tender, but not mushy, when they are done.
2) Let beets cool. When cool enough to touch, remove skins. [Skins should peel right off. If they don’t, they haven’t cooked enough.]
3) Whisk or blend together tahini through water. Add more water if necessary to reach desired consistency.
4) Drizzle sauce over sliced beets and serve.
why is it valentine’s appropriate? well, the beets will stain your fingers a lovely shade of pink, and once the beets are roasted, you could easily cut them into hearts with cookie cutters. the sauce is infused with cocoa, which is self-explanatory!
EEEP!!!! I LOVE this!! I would die if you choose one of my mine…
now, I just need to find you….you bake it though right? Because your skills and pictures are just – well 1000x better – obviously ;)
EEEP!!!! I LOVE this!! I would die if you choose one of my mine…
now, I just need to find one….you bake it though right? Because your skills and pictures are just – well 1000x better – obviously ;)
you got it!
For me…..Valentine’s day is all about the chocolate. I would love a vegan recipe for a chocolate molton cake (lava cake). It is my husband and kids favorite kind of cake but I can never enjoy it since I am a vegan!
heres my version of a cherry chocolate pudding cake. it tastes just like lava cakes and you can omit the cherries if you choose and it still tastes grand. sounds complicated but its made in 5 minutes minus baking time! enjoy!
Ingredients:
* cherries, 1 cup (fresh or frozen, or any berry or you can omit alltogether)
* carob powder, 3.5 tbs ( or chocolate)
* arrowroot, 1 ts
* *Whole Wheat Flour, 0.5 cup
* Salt, 1/8 ts
* Baking Powder, 1 tsp
* Vanilla Extract, 1.5 tsp
* soy milk unsweetened plain, 0.25 cup (or any milk or water)
* rapadura, 2/3 cup (raw sugar or sucanut)
WATER as needed
Directions
Cut the cherries in half and put them in a bowl and stir in 1 teaspoon rapadura. Let thaw if frozen.
Oil or pan spray 4 ramekins. Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix together 1/3 cup rapadura and 2 tablespoons carob powder and set aside.
Pour the juices off the cherries into a measuring cup. Press lightly on the cherries to get all of the juice (I had about 1/4 cup). Sprinkle the arrowroot over the cherries and mix well. Divide the cherries equally among the 4 ramekins.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, 1/3 cup rapadura, 1 1/2 tablespoons carob, and baking powder. Stir in the vanilla extract and soymilk adding a tbs more if needed. (Mixture will be very thick.) Drop by tablespoons over the cherries in the ramekins, dividing equally among them. Smooth to cover the cherries.
Sprinkle the rapadura/carob mixture evenly over the batter, about 2 tablespoons per ramekin. Use a spoon to level the tops.
Add boiling water to the cherry juice up to the 3/4 cup line. Pour or spoon it gently over the rapadura in the ramekins, about 3 tablespoons per ramekin. Place the ramekins in the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until tops appear mostly dry (they should be streaked with darker, wetter looking areas) and sauce is bubbling around the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
the best part is that each cup is only 200 calories and tastes like warm, melty, cakey cup of heaven!
I have one…
and it’s GOOOD!
Even me who is not vegan will quite happily rather make this than the full-fat-eggy-variety…
the spinach may seem a bit of an odd thing here but it does suit the flavours remarkably well…
(“stolen” from http://www.dietdessertndogs.com)
Enjoy!
Marit
Vegan Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Even if you are able to eat traditional molten chocolate cakes, this version is worth a try for its ultra-healthy ingredients. Don’t worry; no one will know the veggies are there, but they’ll definitely feel the love in these decadent-tasting treats.
NOTE: The amount of gooey insides will depend on a variety of factors, but most often if these are dryer, it’s because (a) the molten center wasn’t perfectly and completely surrounded by batter when raw, and touched the sides of the pan (in which case it just oozes out and bakes into the batter); (b) there wasn’t enough molten center put in to the raw cake; (c) the oven temperature was too high; (d) the cakes were baked too long; or (d) other ingredients were substituted (such as AP flour for the spelt), which changed the texture. Because these are, admittedly, so temperamental, I’m no longer recommending the molten version. The cupcake version, with the chips scattered throughout the batter, is now my preferred way to use this recipe.
Molten Centers:
2/3 cup (about 170 ml.) dairy free dark chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/4 (60 ml.) cup plain or vanilla soymilk
Cake:
2 ounces (about 60 g.) fresh or frozen spinach (you may include the stems)
1/4 cup (60 ml.) plain, vanilla, or chocolate soymilk
1 cup (about 3-1/2 ounces or 100 g.) raw zucchini, fresh or frozen, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup (about 85 ml.) light or dark agave nectar
1/4 cup (60 ml.) pure maple syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml.) sunflower or other light-tasting oil
1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) finely ground flax seeds or meal
1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. (10 ml.) pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. (10 ml.) instant coffee substitute
1 cup (about 140 g.) light spelt flour
1/2 cup (45 g.) whole oat flour
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder (22-24% fat content)
1-1/2 tsp. (3.5 ml.) baking powder
3/4 tsp. (4 ml.) baking soda
1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray eight oven-safe large ramekins or custard cups and place on a cookie sheet.
For the molten center: In a small, heavy pot, combine the chips, cornstarch, and soymilk. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Turn off heat and set aside.
For the cake: In a blender or food processor, blend together the spinach, soymilk and zucchini to a smooth puree. Add the agave, maple syrup, oil, flax, coffee substitute, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla, and blend to combine. Set aside while you measure the dry ingredients, or for at least two minutes.
In a large bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk together to combine.
Scoop about 3 Tbsp cake batter into each ramekin, then place a large spoonful (3-4 Tbsp.) of filling over it (try not to touch the sides of the ramekin, or the chocolate will ooze out and you will have a smaller or dryer molten center). Cover with more batter to fill the ramekin about 2/3 full.
Bake cakes in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the edge comes out dry (the middle will remain moist, as that’s where the molten filling is). Remove from oven and allow to cool ten minutes.
Turn the cakes out onto serving dishes. Serve immediately. Garnish with fresh raspberries and whipped “cream,” if desired. Makes 8 servings. Recipe may be halved.
Variation: Omit the molten centre and gently stir 2/3 cup chocolate chips into the batter before filling the pans. May be baked as cupcakes.
Oh, how fun! I might enter and can’t wait to see all the recipes submitted!
What a fun challenge to try out! I love all those heart chocolates above.
Great idea! I’d like to submit my Cinnamon Raisin Almond Balls, but shaped into hearts instead of balls :) Full recipe page: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/recipes/cinnamon-raisin-almond-balls/
Ingredients:
1 C almonds
1 C raisins
1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions:
Rinse the raisins and almonds with some water. Toss them in a food processor with the cinnamon. Process, and then remove and shape into hearts by hand :) Makes 10 to 12 hearts.
that stuffed french toast looks great!!! What an amazing idea girl!
One more idea – my Pomegranate Blueberry Pancakes, in heart shape obvi. :) Recipe link: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/recipes/pomegranate-blueberry-pancakes/. You would just need to swap out the egg for a flax egg – so maybe omit the flax in the recipe already.
(makes 1 serving – one large or two small pancakes)
Ingredients:
1/3 C whole grain pancake mix
1/2 C POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
1/4 C frozen (or fresh) blueberries
1 egg
1 tsp. ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Optional topping: Handful walnuts, 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup, 1 small ripe banana (mashed with syrup)
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Pour batter onto a cooking sprayed or nonstick pan on medium heat. Cook a few minutes on each side, until cooked through! Top with walnuts, and the mashed banana/maple syrup mixture.
Happy Anniversary! It was 20 Jan, correct?
I have had a green monster everyday for the last three months. I dream about them. I love them.
haha I totally forgot!!! Thanks for the reminder :)
Years ago, I made Chicken Divan for my high school sweetheart on Valentine’s Day. I am a vegan and no longer can eat it, and I miss the flavor of it. I know that recreating the actual dish is not very possible without delving into the somewhat unappetizing world of fake meats, but I just miss that flavor! I have lost my mom’s recipe, but the decadent recipe I remember is somewhat like this:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/chicken-divan-recipe/index.html
As you can see, it is so far from being healthy or vegan! But ooohhh to taste that mayonnaise creamy curry taste again! I would be ecstatic!
So much fun – really don’t like Valentine’s Day all that much (being single doesn’t have much to do with it), but I LOVE Valentine’s day cookies/cakes/pancakes/cupcakes!