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.
I serve this salad nearly every Valentine’s day. We have another couple that we join and cook together for a nice dinner with candle lights and vino…it’s a tradition.
Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Balsamic-Honey Dressing
One bag of spinach leaves
One pint of strawberries, sliced
1 c chopped walnuts
Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T honey
I premix the salad and place on salad plate then drizzle with desired amount of dressing. We love this salad. Of course not everyone can make this for Valentine’s day, we just happen to live near strawberry country and they are coming in season for us :)
Raspberry Pomegranate Coconut Tart topped with Banana Strawberry Soft Serve
(serves 2)
For crust:
– 1/2c oats
– 1/2c pinenuts
– 1/2c shredded coconut (unsweetened)
– 1/4c almond (or peanut) butter
– 1/4c maple syrup
– 1tbsp canola oil
– pinch of salt
For filling:
– 1/2 c pomegranate seeds
– 1/2 c frozen (or fresh!) raspberries
– 1tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup)
– 1/2tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
– 1tbsp coconut
– 1tbsp oats
Soft Serve:
– 1 frozen banana, cut into 1/2″ peices
– about 7 Frozen Strawberries (or any other frozen fruit of your choice – mango, raspberries or cherries work well, too!)
To prepare crust, combine pinenuts, coconut and oats in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add almond (or peanut) butter, maple syrup, salt and oil. Pulse until incorporated – dough should form a ball or a few large clumps.
Press dough into two small ramekins to form mini pie “crusts”. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
To prepare filling, combine pomegranate seeds with raspberries, add agave (or maple syrup) and vanilla extract. Stir lightly so that fruit is coated with liquid.
When crust is done, remove from oven and fill each ramekin to the top with raspberry pomegranate mixture. Sprinkle the top with remaining oat/coconut topping. Bake for 10 minutes at 350. If you’d like the top a little crispier, switch oven to broil for the last two minutes – but keep an eye on it to ensure the tarts don’t burn!
To prepare soft serve, combine frozen banana with Strawberries or frozen fruit of your choice (cherries, mango or raspberries are my fav!), pulse in food processor until they are the texture of frozen yogurt (about 3 minutes). Spoon into a dish and freeze for 5 minutes. Serve on top of tart!
Unfortunately, this isn’t my recipe, but I thought I’d share it since the muffins would be lovely for Valentine’s Day! I’ve made them before and they’re awesome, especially spread with coconut butter – yum!
Red Velvet Coconut Muffins
From: http://findyourbalancehealth.com/2010/02/red-velvet-coconut-muffins/
These are dense and moist muffins I am enjoying for breakfast, snacks and dessert. This recipe makes 10 regular sized muffins, not those gigantic monster muffins. I used a silicone muffin “tin” which doesn’t need to be greased, but if you are using a metal tin you probably want to oil or grease each cup.
1 cup roasted beets, shredded (about 3 beets)
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs (or flax egg, I suppose)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup dried, unsweetened coconut (plus more for topping)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350F. In food processor or with a grater, shred beets. Combine with all wet ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add wet mixture and blend. Spoon batter into muffin tin and fill each cup to the top or even overfilling a bit. Sprinkle with more dried coconut if you wish. Bake for 30-40 minutes.
I wish I had enough kitchen creativity in me for this one!
But since I know that you love a good challenge, and thought you might be looking for something fun post-Valentine’s Day – I’m a total cinephile and have been hosting an Oscars party every year for the past 10 years. Last year we added a cook-off to the mix, and this year I decided to shake things up with a virtual cook-off as well.
Here’s the link – http://havedentalflosswilltravel.com/2011/01/21/filmic-friday-the-countdown-begins/. If it looks like something you might be interested in, it’d be great to have you involved! :)
Two Bite Double Down Dark Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Brownies
These vegan two bite brownies have the sweet chocolate flavour of a brownie (but not too sweet) with the goodness of whole wheat, oats and the antioxidant powers of dark chocolate, these make a perfect high fibre well balanced dessert. Serve on a plate of homemade raspberry jam for a black forest cake affair.
2 cups large flake oatmeal
1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar
2 T ground flax
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt (optional)
2/3 cup nondairy milk (I used almond milk)
2/3 cup olive oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup dark chocolate, cut into chunks
1) Preheat oven to 350F
2) In a medium bowl sift dry ingredients together (oats, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt), set aside.
3) In a large bowl whisk together sugar, ground flax, non dairy milk, oil and vanilla, fold into dry ingredients, once mixed stir in dry ingredients add coconut and dark chocolate and voila!!
4) Drop a solid tablespoon amount onto non-stick cookie sheet, cook for 10-12 min, then transfer onto wire rack for cooling
This was my first attempt at creating a vegan baking recipe, and I’m pretty stoked about how it turned out! These have a unique, cozy flavor and would be the perfect punctuation at the end of a romantic Valentine’s day meal :)
“I Choo-choo-choose You” Chai-Chocolate Cookies (makes approximately 2 dozen)
•1/2 c. vegan margarine, room temperature (I used Earth Balance)
•1 c. sugar
•2 flax “eggs” (mix 2 tbsp ground flax with 6 tbsp water, stir, and let sit for 5-10 minutes)
•1/2 tsp vanilla extract
•2 1/4 c. flour (plus some extra for rolling out the dough)
•1/2 tsp baking soda
•1/2 c. cocoa powder
•2 chai tea bags (mine were 2.5 grams each)
Glaze:
•3/4 c. confectioner’s sugar
•1/8 tsp cinnamon
•pinch of ground cloves
•2 tbsp almond milk
Cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flax “eggs” and vanilla extract and mix well. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour, and then roll it out on a floured surface to approximately 1/4″ thick. Cut out cookies (preferably heart-shaped), place them on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the glaze ingredients. It should be a good consistency for drizzling–if it’s too thick, add more almond milk. If it’s too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar. When the cookies are completely cool, drizzle them with the glaze and enjoy!
Those hearts are adorable! Are they fudge? Brownies? Can’t wait to make them.
Sweet Beet Smoothie:
1/4-1/2 cup chopped beets (for fellow beet haters out there, stick with 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup almond milk (or soy)
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 clementime
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Blend everything until smooth.
My family are quite the meat and dairy lovers, so I indulge them from time to time by making a quiche. Eggs, cream, bacon. It reminds me of valentines day because my dad aptly named this recipe his favourite ‘Hog and Quiche’. Such a dad joke I know! Anyway I was wondering if you could revamp this recipe to make it vegan. So many vegan quiches use tofu, which I’m not a huge fan of, so I was hoping there was a way around this. If anyone can do it, You can Angela!
‘Hog and Quiche’
1 quantity shortcrust pastry
5 slices short but bacon, diced & fried
5 eggs
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup cream
3 tbsp milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Roll out pastry and blind bake in a 180 degree (celcius) oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool.
2. Combine eggs, milk, and cream in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and whisk lightly.
3. Scatter bacon pieces evenly over baked pastry. Slowly pour in egg mixture. Top with cheese.
4. Bake in 180 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
They absolutely devour this recipe every time I make it. While I’m not a vegan, I do not consume eggs, or dairy. I was hoping you could health up this recipe to include more vegetables and make it vegan friendly :)
Hey Angela and Eric!
I’d love a vegan version of this recipe because I adore cheesy snacks!
Nacho Cheese Triangles
– 2 cups blanched almond flour
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1 tsp chipotle powder
– 1/2 tsp chili powder
– 230 g grated cheddar cheese
– 1 egg
1. Combine dry ingredients
2. Whisk egg in a separate bowl and then mix into dry ingredients. Knead well.
3. Stretch the dough into a large circle. Cut into 16 slices.
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 200ºC
It’s simple and a great snack to enjoy at a party! I hope you can ‘veganify’ it :)
Ang – you should make my Beet Pancakes – but heart-shaped! They’re a brilliant shade of Valentine’s Day magenta and filled with good stuff. You can eat them sweet (topped with maple syrup and walnuts) or savoury (topped with cashew cream and dill – a fun take on borscht!)…
Photos here: http://anthimeria.com/2011/01/25/beet-pancake-recipe/
NOTES
These pancakes are hefty and dense – the texture is similar to pound cake and one or two make an ample breakfast. They’d be delicious with some maple syrup and Greek yogurt or toasted walnuts. For a savoury take, omit the honey and up the salt to one teaspoon – then top with sour/cashew cream and dill for a non-traditional take on borscht. In coin-sized portions, the savoury version would make a terrific blini base.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup spelt or other whole grain flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp fine sea salt (increase to 1 tsp for savoury version)
1 Tbsp cocoa, non-Dutch processed (I like Nativas Naturals raw cacao or Scharffen Berger cocoa)
2 medium red beets, roasted to tender (about 1 cup)
1.5 cups warm water
2 Tbsp honey (vegan: sub agave or maple syrup)
1 large egg, beaten (vegan: sub two flax eggs)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted (vegan: sub earth balance)
EQUIPMENT
blender
large metal or glass mixing bowl (beets will stain plastic)
spatula
whisk
heavy non-stick frying pan or griddle
baking sheet
tin foil
METHOD
To roast the beets: preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Scrub beets well and remove ends. Wrap individually in tin foil (as you would a baked potato) and roast for approximately one hour, until a sharp knife is easily inserted. This can be done in advance – just store the wrapped beets in the fridge.
To make the pancake batter: in bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, sea salt and cocoa until very well incorporated. Set aside.
In another bowl, dissolve honey into warm water. Add honey-water mixture and beets to blender and puree until very smooth and liquefied – there should be no beet pieces remaining.
Add the beet puree, egg and butter to the dry ingredients, stirring well to incorporate until an even bright magenta batter is achieved.
Drop 1/4 cup spoonfuls onto a heated griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook for two minutes per side until pancake is cooked through and forms a light brown crust. You will know when to flip because tiny bubbles will crack at the pancake’s surface.
Serve plain (the pancakes are slightly sweet from the honey and beet) or with maple syrup. For a savory version, see headnote. Makes 8 large pancakes. Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen and reheated.
Enjoy!
What a great idea!
I made this recipe only one time but the hubby loved it!
Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
Makes 24
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
2 to 2 1/2 pints strawberry ice cream, softened
Directions
1.In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, vanilla, and sugar. Add eggs and milk, and mix until combined. Add reserved flour mixture, and mix on low speed until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl at least once. Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a flat disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
2.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out on a floured surface, sliding an offset spatula under the dough to release it every few turns of the rolling pin. Roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut dough using a variety of heart-shape cookie cutters 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter, making sure each cookie has a match to make a sandwich. Place hearts on a parchment-lined baking sheet; chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Remove from refrigerator; use a fork to prick the cookies all over with holes. Bake until just firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet; transfer to a wire rack.
3.With the underside of half the cookies face up, spoon softened strawberry ice cream about 1/2 inch thick to cover one side. Place matching cookie on top of ice cream, top side facing out. Transfer immediately to freezer to harden; repeat with remaining cookies and ice cream. Serve directly from the freezer. Sandwiches can be kept stored in an airtight container in the freezer for 3 to 4 days.
Yummers!!!
I kinda feel the same way as you about Valentine’s Day…It may not be my favourite holiday (But I might change my mind about that this year…because I’ll be celebrating our love in Italy!)…but I still think it’s a good holiday to cook! :) Why? Because it gives me a reason to make yummy “protein bars” for my husband…and to sprinkle my love with coconut! :)
(I wrote I love you with coconut on top of it – is there a way I can send you a picture of it? It’s really cute! :)
Plus, another bonus about cooking these types of homemade recipes — eating healthy makes me happy & full of energy!
Here’s the recipe which I named “LOVE at first bite”…because my husband said that he fell in love with me all over again when he ate his first bite, hehe!
Put these ingredients in the microwave for about 2 minutes:
¾ cup of syrup (I used maple)
¾ peanut butter (or almond butter)
…6 big marshmallows (I wish I could find something healthier to make it “stick” together…any ideas?)
Stir until well blended.
In the same bowl, add 3 cups of your favorite cereal
(I used 3 different cereals and put one cup of each…for lots of protein, I used Kashi GoLean, Vector & Nature’s Path flaxseed)
Add ½ cup of shredded coconut and 1/2 cup of chia seeds
(You could always add almonds, walnuts, flax seeds or anything else that you like!)
Blend everything together.
(If ever it doesn’t stick enough, just add more marshmellows and sirop and put everything together in the microwave for like a minute)…
Put some dark chocolate (full of antioxidants!) in the microwave until it melts…(for example: Xocai Nuggets – they sell them at the farmer’s market)…
Spread the chocolate on top of your bars…(sprinkle with coconut!)
Refrigerate at least an hour or until firm.
There’s no better snack for before or after a good workout!
Enjoy!! :)
Here is another of my favourite Valentine’s recipe…something to warm my soul during those cold winter months, especially February, brrrrr! (I live in Atlantic Canada!!)
This is a cookie full of good, whole, nutritious & wonderful food…and to make it romantic – you can cut them in cute heart shapes…
Here’s the recipe for my “I go bananas over you, Valentine” cookies:
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup almond milk
2 bananas
1/2 cup of coconut
1/2 cup of nutella
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 ½ cups oatmeal
2 tbs of chia seeds
Dash of cinnamon
1/4 cup flax seed and a few drops of water
In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork until smooth. Add peanut butter, milk, coconut and maple syrup and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well combined.
Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees
Eat it! Your body will thank you for it! :)
Yay to Vday yummies!
This one is going to blow Eric’s socks off!
Vegan Nanaimo Truffles
based off the traditional Nanaimo bars, but with my own twists thrown in.
this is the veganized recipe before I “truffled” it….
—————
Bottom Layer
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp ground flax seed
3 tbsp water
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup unsweetened coconut, flaked
1 1/4 cup vegan graham cracker crust
Middle Layer
1/2 cup vegan margarine
2 tbsp vegan milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 cups powdered icing sugar
Top Layer
2 tbsp vegan margarine
4 1-oz (28g) squares unsweetened chocolate
To prepare the bottom layer: In a medium saucepan on low heat, melt the margarine and sugar, stirring to combine. Once liquefied, stir in the cocoa until smooth. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, stir together the flax seeds, water, walnuts, cocoanut and graham cracker crumbs. Add the chocolate sauce and stir well. Press mixture into an ungreased 8X8-in (20X20cm) pan. Set aside.
To prepare the top layer: In medium saucepan on low heat, melt the margarine. Add the chocolate and melt, stirring often to prevent burning. Remove from heat and set aside to pour over middle layer. You want sauce to be cooled but liquid to still spread easily.
To prepare middle layer and assemble bars: In a food processor or medium bowl, cream together the margarine, “milk”, starch, vanilla, turmeric, and icing sugar until well mixed. Spread evenly over bottom layer. Spoon chocolate sauce evenly over middle layer and set pan in fridge immediately. Let chill for 2+ hours before cutting and serving. Makes 9 squares.
—————-
Now, here are my tweaks…
I took the “layer 1” mixture & combined it w/ a bit more than 1/2 of “layer 2” mixture, which was still quite moist, so I added in a bit more graham cracker crumbs til it tightened up. Then I scooped up this dough w/ my smallest cookie dough scoop and placed the balls on a silpat lined baking sheet. Then I drizzled on the “layer 3” chocolate and placed in the fridge to set up.
Seriously amazing, decadent, and KIND! :)
here’s a pic of them done:
http://tinyurl.com/4zvf462
http://tinyurl.com/4ulyzx6
oxoxoxo
I think I would die if my recipe got selected by you and Eric – I don’t even care if I’d win or not!
I once made something from “The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur” recipe book:
ADORABLE BLEEDING-HEART SANDWICH COOKIES
(makes ~15-20)
Cookies:
3/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp.’s soy milk
1 tsp maple syrup
2 cups flour
Icing:
2 tbsp.’s margarine
2 tbsp.’s shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
~ 1/3 cup strawberry or raspberry jam
Cream together margarine and sugars with electric mixer. Add 3 tbsp.’s of soy milk and syrup. Sift in flour, stir often. Add last tbsp of milk if needed (if dough is too dry or sticky). Wrap in plastic and chill in fridge for 20 minutes.
Make the icing. Cream margarine, shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla with mixer. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Divide dough in 2. On a floured surface, roll out each portion of dough ~1/4-inch thick. (If it’s cracking – it’s too stiff, wait a few minutes).
Cut out cookies with a fluted 2-inch circle cookie cutter and set on a greased or parchment line cooked sheet. Use a mini heart (or star or any shape) cutter to cut out centers of half the cookies and collect dough. Roll it out and cut more cookies. Repeat until dough is gone. Half your cookies should be “normal”, and the other half should have a heart in the center.
Bake cookies ~10-12 minutes (make sure heart ones don’t burn!). Remove when edges are golden and let cool on a rack).
Spread 1-2 tsp.’s of icing on top of each plain cookie, top with a blob of jam, then place a heart cookie on top. Repeat for all cookies.
Store in fridge and let sit for ~10 minutes before serving.
Good Luck to all – and I can’t wait to try some of these myself :)
Bright red, heart shaped, dessert beet pizza:
this is a 3 part recipe-pizza dough, frosting, and fruit toppings.
1. PIZZA CRUST:
ingredients:
-1 cup warm water
-1 envelope active dry yeast
-2 tablespoons maple syrup
-1/2 cup heaping beet puree
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-3 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour mixed
instructions:
-add dry yeast to warm water and whisk with a fork until frothy. Let sit for 10 minutes
-make beet puree by draining canned beets, but keeping the water that is in the can. Place the drained beets into a food processor and add about a tablespoon of the beet water into it. Pulse it until smooth, adding more beet water until it resembles applesauce
-add maple syrup, beet puree, and olive oil to the water and yeast. Mix with a fork
-add the wet ingredients into flour and mix with a spatula, then knead the dough with your hands
-place the dough in a pre-oiled bowl, getting oil on all sides of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours.
-preheat oven to 425 F
-roll out pizza dough, splitting into 2 separate pizza’s if necessary.
-spread out dough in chosen shape on a pizza stone or on a greased metal pan
-spread a little bit of vegan butter (Earth Balance) on top of the pizza
-cook for 7-10 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure it’s not burning
-cool completely before applying frosting:
2. FROSTING
ingredients:
-1/8 cup butter (earth balance) at room temperature
-4 oz. (1/2 8 oz. container) vegan cream cheese at room temperature
-1/4 cup strawberries, mashed up in a food processor
-2-3 cups powdered sugar
instructions:
-cream butter and cream cheese together using a fork, or electric beaters
-mix in the strawberries
-add the powdered sugar to taste and consistency you prefer (the thicker, the better)
-spread on top of completely cooled pizza dough-making it as thick or as thin as you want
3. FRUIT TOPPING
-buy a bunch of red fruit. I used; raspberry, strawberry, pomegranate seeds, and blueberry. Others could be mango, red apple, plums, or anything you want
-slice up the fruit to your taste
-place on top of pizza in any design, shape, or pattern
-ENJOY!
-pizza needs to be kept in the fridge, so that the fruit stay fresh.
These cupcakes are sooo good. They take a little effort to make but trust me its worth it.
For pictures visit http://www.partylikeavegan.com/?p=368
Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
* 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
* 1 ¼ tsp apple cider vinegar
* ¾ cup sugar
* 1/3 oil
* 2 tsp vanilla extract
* ½ cup white flour
* ½ cup white whole wheat flour
* 1/3 cup cocoa powder
* ½ teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* A pinch of salt
* ¼ cup of vegan chocolate chips, finely chopped
* Raspberry filling (recipe follows)
* Buttercream icing (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin tins.
Mix almond milk and vinegar until it curdles. Add sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix until it gets foamy. Sift in dry ingredients (except chocolate chips), stopping 2-3 times to mix lightly. Add chocolate chips and mix until smooth and combined.
Spoon batter into prepared cups and divide evenly (about ¾ full). Bake for 18-22 minutes. Let cool completely before decorating.
Make filling and icing while cupcakes are cooking/cooling. Refrigerate icing. Fill a pastry bag with a piping tip with raspberry filling.
Once the cupcakes are cool, insert your pinky finger into the center of each cupcake, making a little well for the filling. Pipe filling into the well you just made. Use about a teaspoon of filling per cupcake. Spread or pipe icing on each cupcake. Decorate with raspberries and sprinkles.
Raspberry Filling
* ¼ cup Earth Balance, softened
* 3 tbls Vegan shortening
* ¼ cup seedless raspberry jam
* ¼ tsp vanilla extract
* ¼ tsp raspberry extract
* ¾ cup powdered sugar
In a large bowl beat together first 5 ingredients. Add sugar slowly. Mix on high until completely combined. This makes more filling then you need, save the extra to top off a dessert later in the week. Brownies maybe?
Buttercream Icing
* 5 tbls Earth Balance, softened
* 3 tbls vegan shortening
* A splash of almond milk
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 3 cups powdered sugar.
In a large bowl beat together first 4 ingredients. Add sugar slowly. Mix on high until completely combined.
You know what would be really awesome…an assorted box of vegan chocolates (think Russell Stovers, etc.). Complete with truffles, cream-filled chocolates, bonbons, etc. I really miss those and it would be fun to make my own. I can imagine that one could be a raspberry, pomegranate, cherry, or strawberry filling; another could be caramel; one could be maple cream; a chocolate-covered pecan cluster; mint creme…etc. There could even just be one ‘cream’ base and then have different extracts and flavors added to make different kinds.
I had a baking day yesterday and made your no-bake peanutbutter chocolate crispie bars, peanutbutter cups and graham crackers and we all loved them! I also tried adapting your graham cracker recipe to make chocolate graham crackers but it wasn’t that successful, too bitter and not chocolatey enough for us. I think a chocolate graham cracker would be a fun treat for Valentines Day (I would love to take them to my son’s pre-school) and was wondering if you had any ideas.
I don’t know if you’re allowed to enter twice, if not, you can disregard this post as an entry but made these cupcakes over the weekend for hubby’s b-day and thought…hey they’d be great for V-day. The ones I made weren’t vegan(the cupcake part was but not the filling or the icing) but I included vegan substitutions to make them vegan.
See pictures here:http://flightofthepenguin.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/chocolate-raspberry-ganache-filled-cupcakes-with-white-chocolate-cream-cheese-icing/
Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Filled Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
Cupcakes(makes 12-16 cupcakes)
1 ½ c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/3 c. cocoa powder
½ c. coconut oil(liquid)
1 c. almond milk(at room temperature or warmer)
1.5 t. vanilla extract
1 T vinegar
Preheat oven to 350. Line 12-16 muffin tins. Add vinegar to almond milk, set aside. Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Add coconut oil and almond milk/vinegar mixture to dry ingredients and mix till well combined and no lumps remain. Stir in vanilla extract.
Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way full (if you want flat top cupcakes) or nearly full(if you want muffin style cupcakes) and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pan.
Raspberry chocolate ganache
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
½ c. whipping cream or coconut milk(full fat)
3-4 T raspberry jam
Chop chocolate and place in bowl. Bring cream to boil and pour over chocolate. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently mix to combine then stir in jam. Fill cupcakes with ganache mixture and place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
8 oz cream cheese(or vegan cream cheese) soften
½ c. white chocolate(or vegan white chocolate) melted
3-4 c. confectioners sugar
Whip cream cheese/chocolate till creamy. Slowly beat in confectioners sugar till desired consistency is reached. Pipe or spread on cupcakes.