My favourite birthday cake: Black Forest Cake (gluten-free, vegan)

At the end of March, I turned the ripe ol’ age of twenty-nine. And truth be told, my favourite thing about my birthday is my cake.

I love making cake, and am so excited for when The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Cakes and Cookies is launched (it’s currently in editing). Cake is what I dream about. It trumps any other dessert. I love it in layers, I love it in bundts, I love it in huge slabs, I love it cold, I love it warm.

Did I mention I love cake? I do. I really, truly do.

When I was young, my mom used to make the most awesome Black Forest Cake on our birthdays. Whipped cream, chocolate frosting, chocolate cake, and cherry filling.

And, for some ridiculous reason, I’d never recreated it.

Double Chocolate Molasses Cookies (vegan, gluten-free)

I wanted to make double chocolate cookies with a bit of a chew. Then I wanted to make a sepearate molasses cookie. Then I wanted to make a chocolate gingerbread cookie. Then I figured that, in addition to the other cookies (including gingerbread men and another chocolate cookie from my book testing) that I’ve already made, this might be overkill in the chocolate/molasses department if I do three more.

(Okay, it was actually because I don’t have the freezer space).

Peanut Butter Fudge That’ll Take You To the Dentist (vegan, gluten-free)

Ninety-five percent of the time I aim for health combined with delicious flavor and the tastes we want. That’s the premise of my blog, my books, and the way I eat as well.

Sometimes, well, we don’t.

Revamped Peanut Butter Balls

Just like the shortbread recipe that I remember, another stand-by favorite during the holidays was Peanut Butter Balls. Similar to Buckeyes, these are peanut butter and rice crisp cereal balls coated in chocolate. Super easy to make and so addicting.

The recipe has been in my mom’s recipe box forever, but it hails from the back of a Rice Krispie box. These days, they are a little healthier using gluten-free and vegan ingredients, but delicious just the same. You honestly can’t taste the difference, and there are a few other modifications on the way.

Nostalgic Shortbread (gluten-free, vegan)

My favorite shortbread recipe came off the box of cornstarch from when were a kid. It’s simple, traditional, and most of all, nostalgic.

I remember rolling and decorating these when we were a kid. I loved every second, and it was even better when we would sneak into the freezer and snag a cookie or two as the weeks to Christmas approached.

These are adapted from the box of Canada brand cornstarch, called “Grandma’s Shortbread”. Here is the original recipe. I do recommend if you are rolling it into shapes or want it to hold a particular shape that you refrigerate it for a bit, first.

I will upload a photo later, but wanted to make sure that I got the recipe here for you!

Simple Shortbread

Makes a couple dozen

Free of: dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, nuts, seeds, peanuts, nightshades

3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
3/4 cup nondairy margarine (I used soy-free Earth Balance), softened

Put the sorghum flour, quinoa flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, and icing sugar in a large bowl. Whisk until well combined. Add the nondairy margarine and stir with a wooden spoon until soft and smooth.

Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes (or longer if you are rolling them out).

Preheat the oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. The original recipe says not to line them but I always do out of habit.

Roll about 1-inch balls between your palms. Either press down with a fork or make a finger indent if you want to fill them with something (as I did).

The original recipe says to bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. I find that mine don’t brown on the Silpat, and take about 20 minutes. Let cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Usually I fill the indents with jam, but when we were kids we used candied cherries or holiday M&Ms. This year, for something a little different, I found holiday Skittles at the store and couldn’t resist bringing back a bit of those memories (after all, they sort of look like M&Ms). Plus, Skittles are now vegan (sugar aside); they nixed the gelatin.

I made a little icing sugar icing, filled the holes, and pressed in a Skittle (S-side down). They look lovely! I sampled a Skittle on its own and, you know, it used to be one of my favorites and I haven’t had it in so long I didn’t really love it. But, they look good on the cookies so you have to sacrifice, right?

Chocolate Cream Truffles (vegan, gluten-free)

Over the next couple of days, I’ll post up recipes of what I have been baking and making for the holidays. Posts will be brief, short, and delicious!

Chocolate Cream Truffles

Easy to prepare, these chocolate truffles feature a smooth gananche filling, encased with a creamy chocolate coating. Use good quality chocolate for best results.

 

Makes about 30 truffles

Ganache Filling:

1/2 pound/227g semi-sweet nondairy chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)
1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For rolling:

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoon icing sugar

Chocolate Coating:

180g semi-sweet nondairy chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)
1 tablespoon (15mL) coconut oil

Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Put the coconut milk in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Pour over the chocolate. Stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Stir in vanilla exact. Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl (such as a glass pie plate). Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or over night, until firm.

Line a cutting board or plate with waxed paper. Put the cocoa powder and icing sugar in a small bowl. Mix well. Use a melon baller or a small scoop to scoop the filling mixture into 1-inch balls, putting them into the cocoa mixture. Roll the balls between your palms to create a smooth, cohesive ball.  Put the ball on the waxed paper. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Freeze the balls for at least 30 minutes.

To coat the truffles, melt the chocolate and oil together in a double boiler or in the microwave. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove the balls from the freezer. Dip the balls in the melted chocolate, coating completely. Return to the waxed paper. Repeat with remaining balls. Freeze until completely firm, about 20 minutes, before storing. Store in the freezer or refrigerator.

Holiday planning and baking (plus vegan egg nog recipe!)

With so much to do around the holidays, I haven’t updated as much as I would like to. Days have been filled with work, Christmas gift shopping, and making the odd holiday treat. Generally at this time of year I’ve already baked loads–however, I still have so many leftovers from testing for the second cookbook I am going to put out some of those.

But wait — don’t get me wrong — there is plenty more to be baked! And because I love new recipes, I will share them as I bake them.

I was rummaging through the freezer yesterday and realized I don’t have nearly as many cookies and treats leftover as I thought! So this week may end up being a bit of a baking frenzy: and to be honest, that’s definitely okay with me.

Here’s what’s on tap:

Hallowe’en treats and, yeah, I’m a little gross

Two years ago I wrote an article for the Standard. It was pretty gross. It was about Hallowe’en (which, really, I don’t even like very much).

That being said, I dug up the article and thought I would post some of it. Mostly because it’s gross.

You know what is also gross? My pumpkin that I carved this way for the last 8 years or so. This one is from a few years ago.

My favourite spice: cardamom (Vegan MoFo)

I love spice-flavored anything. I’m never one to turn down anything with cinnamon, and love the smell of it wafting as I slow-cook apples for applesauce. Nutmeg makes me swoon, and I have a nutmeg cake in my second book that I adore! Cloves I could take or leave, and though a clove-flavor as a dominant one isn’t my flavor of choice, I do adore a pinch or two in gingerbread and pumpkin dishes.

But there is one that stands above the rest. And it’s name is cardamom.

Last few weeks of grilling season…

I’m excited that my website is finally coming along. I’ve revamped the cookbook portion of the website (found in the sidebar under The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread).

If you’re interested in being a tester for any of the books in the series, please contact me.

As well, if you have any questions or concerns about the book, contact me as well! I can build a FAQ based on that.

I dug up another Standard article and would like to post it before barbecue weather dies out. It’s actually an article about veganism and Father’s Day… so I’m a little late. The article is from 2010, actually, so I’m quite late. I’m sure I linked to it somewhere, but I’ll just post it as is below.

The recipes include Grilled Stuffed Peppers, Stuffed Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Pseudo Sour Cream, Grilled Caesar Salad, and Two-Minute Banana Cinnamon Caramel Crunch Ice Cream (with a name that describes every flavor inside of it!)