Dollars to Donuts

Oh, heavens! The sweet and crispy, warm and fluffy all at once. These donuts are the best thing to happen since my vegan baking experiment began. Nowadays I'm not only going gluten free and dairy free, but also egg free. I gotta say: I really miss eggs. In addition to giving up the delicious sausage scrambles, being without eggs really ups the baking challenge. Especially since eggs tend to hold the gluten-free flours together. But I digress. I have been learning the vegan ropes and today I perfected amazing gluten-free, vegan donuts. Most of the credit goes to Lolo over at VeganYumYum. Her Mini Donut recipe was the foundation for my creation. Aside from switching to gluten-free flour, I also switched brown sugar instead of white, almond milk instead of soy, coconut oil instead of Earth Balance, and fried instead of baked (not as healthy, but I don't have the donut pans yet). I also chose to roll my donuts in cinnamon sugar, but Lolo has some great glazes you can also try out. Experiment for yourself.

Cinnamon Donut Holes
*gluten free, vegan

Dry Ingredients:
1 c. Gluten Free Flour Mix*
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 shake of cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 c. almond milk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Egg Replacer for 1 Egg
4 Tbs coconut oil

Vegetable Oil
Cinnamon Sugar

*GF Mix: 1/4 cup of each flour- millet, sweet rice, coconut, and potato starch. Plus 1/2 tsp of xanthum gum and 1/2 tsp of guar gum

Mix all the dry ingredients together; whisk to make sure they're thoroughly blended. In a small sauce pan, over medium-low heat, slowly whisk together (don't over do it) the wet ingredients. DO NOT OVER HEAT. The ingredients will fully blend and will start to rise. You should be able to dip your finger in and it should just feel warm. Pour the wet mix into the dry and stir together. It should look like this photo.

In order to fry the donuts, pour about 2" of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pan and heat to 350 degrees. I used my deep, cast iron fry pan. Once the oil is to the proper heat, roll about a tablespoon of the batter into a ball and drop it into the fry oil. Allow for about a minute and half on each side and then set the donut holes to drain on a paper towel.

After they've cooled for awhile, roll them in cinnamon sugar and devour! Enjoy

Cupcakes Make the Party

Ah, the beautiful marriage of blueberries and lemon! This week my siblings and I threw a very belated birthday party for my brother's girlfriend. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she replied, "Anything, but chocolate." No chocolate! Gasp! So I hit the cookbooks looking for a party-worthy, non-chocolate birthday cake, and since I now have the stand on which to set them,  I decided it must be in cupcake form. In the past week or so, I have been lustily gazing at the recipes in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. So many cupcakes to choose from! This book is amazing! I finally decided on the Blueberry Lemon Creme Cupcakes simply because my house still has so many bags of frozen blueberries from last summer. And although the Vegan Girls have a gluten-free yellow cake recipe, I ended up using a cake recipe (not vegan) from the book Gluten-Free Baking Classics. I added a dollop of lemon curd (recipe also from Gluten-Free Baking Classics) at the center and covered it with the vegan blueberry compote and vegan lemon buttercream icing. The cupcakes were a success and the birthday girl was very pleased.

And don't those cupcakes look so handsome on their little pedestal?

Who says you have to live without?

Yes, that is cheesecake. And yes, it has whipped cream on it. And guess what!?! It is totally gluten and dairy free [insert angel choir and glorious beam of light]! I never thought this day would come, but the good people at Living Without have made my non-dairy cheesecake dreams come true. I made the chocolate version sans ganache. It can be made vegan, but I put the egg in there. The only complaint I have is that their gluten-free brownie crust was a little excessive; I would prefer a little less crust and a little more crunch. I'd cut the recipe in half or I might go with a cookie crust next time. And there will be a next time!

Now all I need is a beautiful cake stand on which to rest my glorious cake... The cake gods have heard my cries again! Today I was just selected as the lucky winner of the Dahlhaus Cupcake Stand Give-a-way! I can no longer claim to be one of those people who never wins raffles. I am so excited to get this beautiful little stand from this talented ceramic artist. What a great day! I think I'll celebrate with a delicious slice of cheesecake.

Nutbutter Truffles

Oh, the glory that is the truffle! So I'm a bit obsessed at the moment, but when you find such an amazing gluten-free/dairy-free treat, you don't let go of it that easily. I decided to expand my truffle repertoire with other nutbutters: cashew and peanut butter. I busted these out for Easter with the help of my trusty sidekick (Note: four hands are better than two sticky, chocolate-covered hands all alone). The results were a smashing success. I was glad to help the Easter Bunny out with the food allergy crowd.

Coconut Cashew Butter Truffle
*gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan

1 cup cashew butter
1/2 cup agave syrup (or honey)
1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/4 cup creamed coconut
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 Tbsp sesame seed
1 tsp vanilla
4-6 oz semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
optional:
shredded coconut
or chopped nuts for topping

Mash all the ingredients except chocolate chips together. Chill mixture for about an hour so it is easier to work with. Once chilled, roll the cashew mixture into teaspoon-sized balls (or bigger depending on whether you like bit-sized or larger) and place on parchment. Place balls in the freezer until cold and hard. If you try to roll them in the chocolate unfrozen, they will fall apart.

Covering the truffles:
Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time until smooth. Set out clean parchment and any additional toppings. Remove balls from the freezer. One at a time, dip cashew balls in the chocolate and roll them between your palms. It gets really messy, but the more chocolate on your palms, the more even the coverage. You can then roll the truffles in shredded coconut or chopped nuts or whatever you desire (this is where it is helpful to have a truffle-making partner). They are also delicious plain and simple. Place truffles on parchment and let the chocolate solidify. Keep in refrigerator until you're ready to eat. Best eaten at room temp.

Makes about 40+ small truffles

Alternative Flavor:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle

1 cup natural peanut butter, salted
1/2 cup honey (or agave syrup)
1/2 cup peanut or almond meal
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp vanilla
4-6 oz semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips

Follow directions above. The peanut butter mixture ends up a little more dry than the cashew one; no need to freeze.

Belated St Patrick's Day

I love making a meal centered around a common theme. I should try to do it more often, but holidays always provide the perfect excuse to be thematic. Okay- so hot dogs aren't exactly Irish, but we had already had pot roast that week and I didn't have any corn beef on hand. I'm sure the Irish can appreciate a good hot dog. We did have the soda bread, colcannon and beer (or hard cider in my case). And all the veggies came straight from our CSA share! Of course it was a dairy-free, gluten-free St. Patrick's event. And my roommate used the leftover colcannon to make an amazing quiche crust! Check out my recipes below:

Vegan Colcannon
*gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped into small pieces
1 pound potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
2 onions, chopped
1 lrg carrot, shredded
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup Earth Balance "butter"
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, steam kale until tender. Set aside and keep warm. Boil potatoes until tender. Remove from heat and drain. While potatoes are boiling, simmer onions in coconut milk until they are soft. Season and mash potatoes well. Mash in butter. Stir in cooked onions and coconut milk. Blend in the kale and carrots and heat until warm. Serve it up! (For quiche crust: Grease pie pan and pat in a layer of colcannon. Prebake until browned and then add egg mixture.)

 

I also attempted a g-free/d-free Irish soda bread. I think it was a little crumbly so I might add another egg next time, but it was delicious none the less. Unfortunately, most of my roommates have an aversion to raisins, golden or otherwise. You either love 'em or you hate 'em! And this house is apparently a Raisin-Hostile Zone.

Irish Soda Bread  
*gluten-free, dairy-free
Adapted from the Gluten-free Goddess and the Gluten-free Girl

1 cup millet flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch (not flour)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup golden raisins, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and drained
1 cup Milk-alternative, with 1 tsp lemon juice (buttermilk replacement)
6 tablespoons Earth Balance, melted
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a small souffle dish for a round loaf or nine-by-five-by-three-inch loaf pan (the standard size) for a square loaf.

Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir them together until you have a consistent mixture.

In a second, smaller bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together. Make a small well in the dry ingredients, then slowly pour the wet ingredients into the well, then stir until just combined. The dough will be quite sticky, but it should not be too dry.

Scoop dough into the pan and spread evenly. The Gluten-free Goddess suggests "using a sharp knife [to] slice a criss-cross into the dough and wiggle it a bit to make a wider dent [because] according to Irish folklore, the criss-cross discourages the mischievous fairies from messing with your humble loaf of bread."

Bake for thirty minutes or so, or until a butter knife inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minute or so before serving. Cooling time helps the bread to settle and tends to be a little less crumbly.

Watery Winter Weekend

What a weekend! We have had the craziest weather: winds and wetness and flooding! Since Lawrence has no trees to speak of, we did not fear any branches or downed wires, but rather rolling trash cans and flying roof materials. And of course we are surrounded by rivers, so lots of folks are suffering the rising waters. All this weather has been a good excuse to stay indoors and bake, knit, and watch movies. The baking began with a deluge of chocolate truffles from Cafe Verde. The Cafe Verde ladies were commissioned to make 500 truffles for a Chocolate and Champagne event at Lawrence General Hospital this Thursday. There were truffles everywhere! And 13 varieties!

And after a day of lusting after those unattainable, dairy-filled delights, I just had to make my own. I found the recipe at Bluebirdbaby's partner's blog Too Good To Be True. I omitted the cocoa nibs (because I didn't have any) and the heavy cream (to make it dairy-free), and I rolled them in unsweetened coconut after dipping them in the melted chocolate. They are amazing, and loved by the omnivores and allergy-inflicted alike. Next time, I would like to try them with peanut butter, a little less honey and a dash of sea salt.

The next culinary feat was neither gluten-free nor dairy-free, but filled to the brim with both wheat flour and butter. My roommate Thomas celebrated his birthday this Sunday and requested an orange cake. Out of a love for a good baking challenge and a desire to make a wonderful birthday cake for my roommate, I hit up Smitten Kitchen for her Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake. For this recipe, I omitted the "chocolate chunk" portion and went with the plain orange cake. I dusted the top with powdered sugar and made an orange-raspberry drizzle. The candied orange slices made for a lovely presentation. It's always a risk baking something you can't test yourself, but all reports were positive and Thomas loved his cake. Happy Birthday, roomie!