Diablo Cake (not vegan)

This was the first layered cake I've ever made. And the first decorated. <3 I made it for Easter and took it over to my aunt's Easter-party thing. They all said it was good, so I'm counting on their feedback:D It took foreverrrrr, so I'm just going to post the standard 8-inch round layered cake.

Serves: I'm not sure. However many people it takes to eat a whole cake.
Diablo Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot brewed coffee
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and dust them with cocoa powder.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the hot coffee and cocoa powder together. set aside.
Using a standing mixer, cream the butter on low speed for about one minute. Add the sugars and beat on low speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. With the mixewr running, add the eggs one at a time. Then add the buttermilk and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the chocolate-coffee mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. When the mixture is almost combined, turn off the mi9xture and finish mixing by hand (to avoid overbeating). Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until your tester comes out clean. Cool the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack.

Vanilla Whipped Buttercream:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Cream the butter on medium speed, 3 to 5 minutes, in a standing mixer until soft. Add the sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.
In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of the milk, the flour, and the vanilla and whisk until there are no lumps. Over medium heat, slowly add the remaining 3/4 cup milk, whisking constantly, and cook until the mixture comes to a low boil. Then, reduce heat to low and keep whisking for a few minutes until the mixture starts to thicken.
Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat, but keep stirring. If necessary, place the pan over a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and allow the mixture to cool.
Once the mixture has thickened, stick it in the freezer to cool (take it out when it is room temperature. Make sure it isn't warm otherwise it won't set.)
With the mixture on low speed, slowly pour the milk mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add whatever food coloring you want.
Frost your cake. [:

*For an amazing filling, dissolve 1 heaping teaspoon of instant espresso in 1 tablespoon boiling water and combine with the butter-sugar mixture. It works beautifully with this cake.*

**Make sure to really cream the butter and sugar together, don't hold back.**

Mamaw's Birthday

I made German Chocolate cake. It wasn't vegan, and I don't have the recipe anymore.. But I wanted to post this anyway haha. The picture isn't very good because it was dark and my dad took it on his phone.. but..yeah.
[:


Mamaw's on the right.
I look overly excited.

Blondies

Now that I've made these, I am never going to eat another chocolate chip cookie again. It just wouldn't be the same. They're really hard to explain, which is good. They sort of remind me of these mini-muffins my old baby-sitter, Mimi (my pseudo-grandma), used to give us. I would have sat and ate the whole box of those babies if I was able to, they were so good. But these? 10 x better. And just so you know I'm not just bragging, when I made these I had to follow up with three extra batches to satisfy the demand of my family. Haha. They're these charming, fluffy, mini love cakes that you could make for any occasion. Love them.

Serves: 36
Blondies:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup arrowroot
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup applesauce (Granny Smith works best)
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup vegan chocolate chips (I swear by Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and lightly grease three 12-cup mini-muffin tins with oil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, arrowroot, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the 1/2 cup oil and the applesauce, vanilla, and hot water and stir until the batter is smooth. Gently fold in the chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.
Using a melon baller, scoop the batter into each prepared mini-muffin cup. Bake the blondies on the center rack for 9 minutes, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 5 minutes. They should turn out a golden-brown.
Let blondies stand in the tins for 10 minutes, and keep there until ready to serve to maintain freshness. Otherwise cover with plastic wrap and store for up to three days.

*If you don't have any arrowroot, you can substitute if with cornstarch.*

**Best served warm[: **

From St. Patrick's Day

Irish Soda Bread. I'd never had it before and was in the holiday spirit so I made this, haha. It sort of tasted like Raisin Bran. Actually, alot like Raisin Bran. I don't know if that's what it's supposed to taste like.. but I liked it. [:
I'll add the recipe below.


Leprechaun Cupcakes. Because the soda bread just wasn't festive enough. Haha. These are actually just my Crimson Cupcakes with green food coloring rather than red. And a little bit of green food coloring in the frosting. I know I know, so original. [:

Serves: 12
Irish Soda Bread:
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup seedless raisins
1 3/4 cups plain, non-sweetened soy milk plus 1 3/4 tablespoon white vinegar (mix to make soy buttermilk)
1/2 cup soft silken tofu, beaten up with a fork until it's smooth
2 tablespoons any neutral oil (I used vegetable)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt into large bowl, then stir in the raisins. Combine soy buttermilk, tofu, and oil in a smaller bowl. Add to dry ingredients and mix just until flour is moistened. Turn into a oiled 2-quart round casserole dish or 5 1/4 x 9 1/2-inch loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour.
Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.

*You can also put the batter into muffin cups and bake for 50 minutes.*

**When eating, warm it up and spread margarine over it. Trust me, it's good. [: **

Mac & "Cheese"

I found this recipe in my Vegan Yum Yum book and all I can say is.. Oh my god. I've tried so many vegan mac&cheese recipes and they were all well.. pretty disgusting. I'd even given up trying. But then I was flipping through this book and found yet another macaroni recipe so I decided..Hey, why not. Thank God I tried it because now my search is over. Another new wonderful discovery that came with this recipe: nutritional yeast, my new best friend. So good.



Serves: 4
What you need:
3 cups elbow macaroni
1 recipe "cheesy sauce"
1 cup toasted bread crumbs
4 oven safe bowls or one casserole dish

Cheesy Sauce:
1/3 cup Smart Balance Light (or any other vegan margarine)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon miso (I like red)
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cups soy milk (I used Silk Original, light)
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 pinches salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cook the noodles. Once they are finished boiling, drain and set aside while you start to prepare the sauce:
Melt the margarine in a saucepan over medium-heat (be careful it isn't too hot so that the margarine doesn't burn!). Once it's melted, add the flour and whisk until the flour is dissolved. Add the miso, tahini, tomato paste, soy sauce, and lemon juice and whisk all of the ingredients together until they are fully incorporated (the mixture should be sort of thick by now). Slowly stir in the soy milk scraping the sides to prevent pasty-buildup. Turn the heat up a bit. Add the yeast, salt, and pepper and whisk until it thickens (Once it starts to boil it should be pretty thick). Take the sauce off of the heat, and toss with the macaroni. Distribute into individual bowls/ casserole dish.
Top the mac & "cheese" with the toasted bread crumbs and place into the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes until nice and bubbly.

*If using the individual bowls, place them on a cookie sheet in the oven for better handling.*

**If needed, place under the broiler for one minute or more to brown on top.**

***Squirt lemon juice over top for taste**

Finally back!

As I was watching Julie and Julia today, it hit me that I hadn't posted on here since February. February! I can't believe it. And it's not like I just haven't been cooking because I have (alot), I've just been too lazy to post anything. So I am sorry, whoever you are. And now that it's summer and I have absolutely nothing to do, I promise I will post. :]

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Since I was left alone on Valentine's Day (AKA: Single Awareness Day), I buried myself in the kitchen baking up all sorts of concoctions at the expense of my parents. Thankfully this one turned out! haha. I was sort of shocked actually because these were extremely easy to make. It's the same vanilla recipe I posted earlier with a few add-ons[: AAAND.. I know I know, it's been forever since I last updated. I'm sorry. But to make up for it I just recently went grocery shopping so be prepared for a lot more posting[: Hoorayyyyy.
Anyway, on with the recipe.

Serves: 12
Ingredients:
Pillsbury Cream Cheese frosting (it's vegan!)
Vanilla cupcakes
1/3 cup strong coffee
1/3 cup Kahlua
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
12 chocolate covered coffee beans, chocolate chips, or regular coffee beans

Mix together the coffee and Kahlua. Using a spoon or a knife, carve out a small cone in the middle of the cupcake ( about 1 inch from the center, 1 inch deep). Scoop the cone out carefully trying your best to keep it as intact as possible. Pour about 2 tablespoons of the Kahlua mixture in the hole you made, making sure all of the sides are soaked. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the frosting into the cavity and smooth it over with the back of your spoon. Dollop a few tablespoons on top of the cupcake. Dip the bottom or the cut-out chunk into the Kahlua mix keeping the top part dry, and pat gently into place on top of the frosting [continue with the remaining cupcakes]. Dust the chocolate and cinnamon over the tops of the cupcakes. dollop a small amount of frosting on top and add the chocolate chip or espresso bean.

**Make some coffee to go with these[: **


My dad ended up being my date, he's just the cutest thing. [:
And he loved the cupcake

Superbowl Cupcakes[:

I wanted to make these as simple as I could, because I'm terribly lazy and didn't have that much time to work with haha. So, I just ended up making basic chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. The chocolate cupcake recipe is actually one passed down from my grandma, so you have my dad to blame because he wouldn't let me post it. I have to tell you though, it's my favorite. Sooooo good. The vanilla recipe, however, isn't a huge secret so here it is[:

Basic vanilla cupcakes:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 + 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 + 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Whisk the soy milk and vinegar together and let the mixture set until it curdles. Beat the mixture together with the oil, sugar, vanilla, and vanilla extract. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until well combined. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way and bake for about 21 minutes until done. Let cool completely before frosting!

**I didn't make any frosting for these; Pillsbury sells alot of vegan frosting, so I used Original Vanilla for the vanilla cupcakes and I think Chocolate Fudge for the other? haha I know it was chocolate, had the word "fudge" in it, and it was vegan. I know right, I'm so much help. [:
Also, did you know their Cream Cheese frosting is also accidentally vegan? I didn't. I <3 Pillsbury.**

**Duncan Hines also has vegan frosting, but I don't like it as much.**

** I used a Wilton 1m swirl tip to frost these.**

Coconut-Banana Bread

This changed my whole view on bananas. Haha seriously, I used to hate them, but after this it's like there's this whole new thing I've been missing out on. I've never made banana bread either, so on top of this being ridiculously amazing I was super excited because I'd never made anything like it before. [:

Banana Bread:
1 + 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 mashed bananas
Equivalent of 2 eggs ( I use Ener-G Egg Replacer)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
A large handful of shredded, sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a loaf pan.
Mix together whatever egg replacer you are using, bananas, sugar and oil in a bowl and beat until well combined (this is easiest with an electric mixer but you can do it by hand if necessary). Sift together flour and baking soda and stir into wet mixture until blended. Fold in the shredded coconut.
Bake for 45 minutes.

**If you want to make just regular banana bread you don't have to add the coconut, it bakes the same without it[:**
**You could add walnuts or blueberries in place of the coconut, alot of things would be good with this[: just experiment**

Lemon Poppyseed Teacake

This was really good! I was a little hesitant to try this recipe again since the first time it ended up a big mess (I used different ingredients), but I'm glad I did. It was already gone about two hours after coming out of the oven[: I didn't have as many poppy seeds as the recipe calls for so I halved the whole thing.

Serves: 10
Teacake:
2/3 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1 + 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 + 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup applesauce ( I use unsweetened Granny Smith[: )
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pure lemon extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease a 7 x 4 x 3-inch loaf pan.
In a small bowl, combine the soy milk, vinegar, and poppy seeds; set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce, vanilla and lemon extracts, and lemon zest to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Incorporate the soy milk-poppy seed and mix just until all of the ingredients are blended.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake on the center rack for 35 minutes, turning the pan 180 degrees after 18 minutes.
Let the teacake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before cutting.

**Don't open the oven door except at the 18 min. mark and when it's finished!**
**If you don't have lemon extract, don't substitute for actual lemon juice! The acidity will ruin everything haha trust me.**