Cinnamon Bread

Cinnamon bread! Not to be confused with cinnamon buns, this bread is perfect for toasting and serving with a little Earth Balance or go the extra mile and make some French Toast with this stuff. So much better than using plain white or whole wheat bread. This recipe requires very little work but a lot of time, due to it needing to be proofed twice. But trust me, it is definitively worth all that extra time because you cannot even compare how this tastes to that store bought stuff.

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Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

* 1 cup non-dairy milk

* 6 Tb vegan margarine ( I used Earth Balance )

* 1 packet dry active yeast or 2 1/2 tsp

* 2 Tb grounded flax seeds, dissolved in 6 Tb water

* 1/3 cup sugar

* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 tsp salt

* 1/3 cup sugar

* 2 Tb cinnamon

* 1 Tb vegan margarine, for brushing

* about 2 Tb vegan margarine, for greasing the loaf pan

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the milk until warm but not boiling. It should be at about 115 F. Sprinkle yeast over the top, gently stir and allow to sit for about 10 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar with the flax seeds until well combined. Pour the milk/margarine/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add the rest of the flour and beat to combine.

4. Switch to the dough hook and allow it to knead for about 10 minutes. If the dough is still too sticky, add another 1/4 cup of flour and knead for another 5 minutes.

5. Drizzle a little canola oil in a medium sized mixing bowl, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

6. Turn the dough onto a work surface and roll it out to a rectangle no wider than the loaf pan and about 18 inches long. Smear 2 Tb of melted margarine. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together, then sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough.

7. Starting at one end, roll the dough toward you, keeping it neat and tight. Pinch the seam to seal.

8. Smear your loaf pan with butter. Place dough, seam side down, in the pan. Cover with a damp towel and allow it to rise for another 2 hours in a warm place.

9. Preheat oven to 350F. Brush the top of the loaf with 1 Tb of melted margarine and bake for 40 minutes.

10. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slice and serve!

Chocolate Chip Brownies

Brownies, who doesn't love them. I thought I'd make these for my boyfriend as a nice surprise, since brownies are his absolute favorite. I added 1/2 cup of chocolate chips for an extra something. This batter is really easy to make and there is hardly any work needed. Eat these alone or with a big scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream as the ultimate dessert.

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Ingredients

* 1 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips, divided

* 1/4 cup non dairy milk

* 3/4 cup sugar

* 1/2 cup canola oil

* 2 tsp vanilla extract

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

* 1/4 tsp baking powder

* 1/2 tsp baking soda

* 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. Melt 2/3 cup of the chocolate chips, either using a double broiler or by placing them on high in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir the partially melted chocolate chips and microwave again for 30 seconds.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the non daily milk, sugar, canola oil and vanilla extract. Mix on high speed for 1 minute.

4. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until well mixed. Then mix in the melted chocolate chips.

5. Fold in the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven and let cool. To serve warm, allow to cool for about 30 minutes. Slice and serve.

Cinnamon Buns

I've been wanting to make my own cinnamon buns for awhile but for some reason I thought they were really difficult to make. I came across VeganYumYum's recipe and after watching her video, I felt a little more confident in attempting to make these. There's really not much work required for these, just a lot of waiting..a little over 2 hours of waiting for the dough to proof. But trust me, these babies are well worth the wait!

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Recipe from VeganYumYum

Makes 12 buns

Ingredients

Yeast Mixture

* 4 tsp Active Dry Yeast ( a little less than 2 packets )

* 1 tsp sugar

* 1 cup warm water

Dough

* 1 cup soymilk

* 2/3 cup sugar

* 2/3 cup vegan margarine ( such as Earth Balance )

* 2 tsp salt

* 2 Ener-g Egg Replacer Eggs, prepared

* Yeast mixture, from above

* 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

Dough Filling

1/2 cup vegan margarine, melted

* 1 1/2 cups sugar

* 3 Tb cinnamon

Pan Sauce

* 1/2 cup vegan margarine, melted

* 1/3 cup sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting

* 1/4 cup vegan margarine

* 1/3 cup vegan cream cheese, such as Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

* 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Combine yeast mixture, stir gently and set aside for about 10 minutes or until nice and foamy.

2. From the dough ingredients, combine the soymilk, sugar, margarine, salt and ener-g eggs in a small saucepan. Heat until margarine is melted and all ingredients are well combined. Do not let the mixture get too hot. You should still be able to touch it without burning yourself.

3. By now the yeast should be ready. Combine it with the warmed liquid in the saucepan. Again, make sure it is not too hot or it will kill your yeast.

4. Place 4 cups of all-purpose flour in a large bowl. Add the warmed wet ingredients.

5. Beat the batter well with a wooden spoon. The dough will be very wet.

6. Add 2 more cups of flour and mix in partially.

7. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured a large kneading surface. Begin kneading. It should take about 8 minutes to get the dough where it needs to be. Add more flour if the dough begins to get too sticky.

8. Once the dough is ready, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for 90 minutes in a warm spot.

9. When the dough has risen completely, turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and press it down or roll it out onto a 15 x 20 inch rectangle.

10. Pour the 1/2 cup melted margarine onto the dough. Brush it on so the dough is covered completely.

11. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle it evenly over the dough.

12. Prepare a large baking sheet, by pouring the melted margarine from the pan sauce ingredients above.

13. Add the sugar, spreading evenly over the bottom of the pan.

14. Roll the dough up gently, starting from one of the short sides. Let it rest on the seem once its rolled up completely.

15. Cut 12 rolls with sewing thread. Place the rolls in the pan.

16. Cover the buns and let rise for 45 minutes if you will be baking these immediately. If baking the next day, cover and let rise in the refrigerator overnight. Bake in the morning, with no need for extra rising. If making for a date in the future, freeze immediately. The day before you are ready to use them, defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then let warm up on the counter the next morning for an hour.

17. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Let cool for a few minutes.

18. Stir together the frosting ingredients, stir until there are no lumps.

19. Serve the buns warm with frosting.

Apple Cranberry Pie

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great Christmas. Please forgive my absence but I've been going through some things at home and it has made it very difficult to blog. I feel so bad because I didn't do my usual step by step pictures for this post. But I promise to go back to my usual blogging starting tomorrow.

I love the idea of this pie because it is a great twist to one of my already favorite desserts, apple pie. I adore the fruit combination of cranberries and oranges, so I knew adding this to apple pie could only make it better. The added toasted oats on top, gives it a nice crunch but please do make sure to keep your eye on it while it bakes. I was running around preparing Christmas' dinner and didn't notice that the top was beginning to burn. I would say, let it bake no longer than 30 minutes and then cover it loosely with foil to prevent that from happening.

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Ingredients
Crust ( From Veganomicon )
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 Tb sugar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/3 cup nonhydrogenated vegan shortening
* 1/4 cup cold water, plus 2 Tb if needed
* 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Filling
* Juice of 1 orange
* Zest of 1 orange
* 5 cups of peeled, sliced apples ( about 5 apples )
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 tsp cinnamon

Topping
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 2 Tb oats
* 2 Tb vegan butter, melted
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions
1. Prepare the crust by following the directions here.

2. Make the filling by mixing all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.

3. Making the toppings by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

4. Add filling to cold pie crust and scatter the toppings over the filling.

5. Bake at 400 F until the juice in the center of the pie is bubbling, about 1 hour. ( If the crust or toppings is becoming too dark, cover the pie loosely with foil ).

6. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.

Chocolate Strawberry Cake

So as you may already know, yesterday was my boyfriend's birthday. I've been waiting for this day because this was the first time I've ever baked a cake. Well something more elaborate than a simple one layer cake.

He told me he wanted a chocolate cake, so I did some searching online and found this recipe. This cake stood out to me but the only problem was that it is vanilla. So I went ahead and used the chocolate cupcake recipe from my Halloween spiders and just increased each ingredient needed and replaced the oil with butter.

If you want a simpler cake, try making only one layer of the cake and divide the frosting recipe in half. Perfect if you have a small family or a little gathering to attend to.

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Serves 12

Ingredients

Cake ( I did this twice. Once for the top layer and again for the bottom )

* 1 cup soy milk

* 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

* 1/2 cup vegan margarine, at room temperature, plus more for pan

* 1 cup vegan cane sugar

* 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

* 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

* 1/2 cup cocoa powder

* 3/4 tsp baking soda

* 1/2 tsp baking powder

* 1/4 tsp salt

Frosting

* 16 oz vegan cream cheese ( such as Tofutti )

* 3 cups organic powdered sugar

* 1 cup vegan margarine

* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Toppings

* 1 lb strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 8 or 9" round cake pan.

2. Mix in the soy milk and vinegar in a small bowl or cup and set aside to curdle, about 10 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla.

5. Alternatively, beat in flour mixture and soy milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Too much mixing and your cake will turn out dense.

6. Spread batter in prepared pan.

7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pan and invert onto a wired rack to cool completely.

8. To make the frosting, add all the ingredients into a medium sized bowl and mix well with an electric mixer until smooth.

9. Place bottom half on a serving plate.Arrange half the strawberries over bottom cake layer, top with half of frosting, leaving a one inch boarder.

10. Cover with top half of cake, cut side down. Top cake with remaining frosting, leaving a one inch boarder. Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least one hour or up to one day. Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.

Chocolate Spider Cupcakes

Aren't these the cutest? Never thought I'd be saying that about spiders : ]

These cupcakes are so simple to make and taste so rich and moist. I assembled these with my boyfriend's nieces and they absolutely loved it. The hardest part was putting the licorice strings in. I suggest poking a hole first with a skewer and then placing the string in each hole.

This recipe is also very versatile. If you can't find vegan chocolate sprinkles, try using another color. I also substituted cherry Twizzlers for the legs on some of the cupcakes ( since most people think black licorice is yucky ). Play around with this recipe, they're so fun to assembly with family and even more to eat!

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Makes 8 - 12 spiders

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

* 1 cup soymilk

* 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

* 3/4 cup vegan sugar

* 1/3 cup canola oil

* 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

* 1 cup all purpose flour

* 1/3 cocoa powder

* 3/4 tsp baking soda

* 1/2 tsp baking powder

* 1/4 tsp salt

For the spiders

* Black shoe string licorice, for the legs

* Chocolate sprinkles ( check ingredients to make sure it is vegan )

* Any type of small red candy ( such as red hots, cherry heads, etc )

Frosting

* 1 ( 8 oz ) package of vegan cream cheese ( such as Tofutti )

* 1 1/2 cups of organic powdered sugar

* 1/2 cup vegan margarine ( such as Earth Balance )

* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

* 12 paper or foil liners

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a muffin pan with paper or foil wrappers.

2. Mix together the soy milk and vinegar in a small bowl or cup and set aside to curdle, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract and soy milk/apple vinegar mixture to a large bowl. Stir well.

4. In a separate bowl, sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

5. Add to wet ingredients and whisk until they are no lumps.

6. Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

7. To make the frosting, add all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well until smooth, either by using an electric mixer or a fork.

To assemble the cupcakes

8. Once cupcakes have cooled, spread a thin layer of frosting over each cupcake. Place two cinnamon candies in place of the eyes. Sprinkle enough chocolate sprinkles to cover the frosting, making sure to go around the eyes. Press in 6 licorice strings, 3 on each side, for the legs.

Carrot Cake with Candied Walnuts

Mmm carrot cake! What's a better way to celebrate the carrot season than to bake your very own carrot cake! I remember buying carrot cake at my local market and reading the ingredients to find the list to include nearly a hundred ingredients and I'd say that 80% of them were unrecognizable to me. This cake is filled with nothing but organic and real ingredients.

Only one small change I would make and that is to use flax seed instead of the egg replacer powder. I really wanted to but I forgot to buy some. If you happen to have flax seed at home, combine 1 Tb of ground flaxseed with 3 Tb of water and mix well. That will give you enough replacer for one egg.

Okay I am not going to lie, this cake was amazingly good..so good that my boyfriend's little niece could not tell the difference between this and regular non-vegan carrot cake. But of course you know what makes this cake so good? Its all the added sugar! So much of it in the frosting, cake and candied walnuts. So if you do make this, please share, as I will. You can always cut back and not add the candied walnuts or the frosting. It would make a nice carrot bread type of dessert.

One last thing I wanted to share with all of you. One of my favorite vegan fashion bloggers, Chic Vegan, has released an eBook that talks all about nutritional needs, vegan fashion, vegan cosmetics and what ingredients to look out for. So informative and best of all, she's allowing everyone to download it for free! Download it here.

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Makes 10 servings

Ingredients

Cake

* 1 1/2 cups vegan sugar

* 1 cup vegetable oil

* Egg replacer, equivalent of 3 eggs

* 2 cups pastry flour ( either both white flour, or 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat )

* 2 tsp cinnamon

* 1/4 tsp baking soda

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1 tsp vanilla

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 1/4 tsp nutmeg

* 3 cups shredded carrots ( about 5 medium sized carrots )

* 1 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting

* 1 ( 8 oz ) package of vegan cream cheese ( Such as Tofutti )

* 1 1/2 cups of organic powdered sugar

* 1/2 tsp vanilla

Candied Walnuts

* 1/2 cup walnuts

* 1 Tb vegan butter ( such as Earth Balance )

* 2 Tb vegan sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F and lightly grease a 13x9x2" baking pan or a 9" cake pan.

2. In a large bowl add the oil, sugar and egg replacer and beat for 1 minute with an electric mixer or by hand.

3. Sift in the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, salt and add the vanilla extract. Beat for another minute.

4. Fold in the shredded carrots and chopped walnuts.

5. Pour in the glass or cake pan and smooth the top.

6. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean when inserted in the center. Place on a cool rack and allow to cool before adding the frosting.

7. To Make the cream cheese frosting, add all the ingredients and mix well until smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cake.

8. To make the candied walnuts : In a small frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the walnuts, sprinkle the sugar, and cook, stirring, until the sugar melts and the nuts are toasted and caramel coated. Set aside to cool. When it has cooled enough, sprinkle on top of the frosted cake.

I used the recipe from here but added baking powder and changed the frosting recipe.