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Baked ‘Eggnog Custard’ Pie

15 Dec

When it comes to holiday pies, I’ve always expressed my dislike of pumpkin pie as the standard for the season. Don’t get me wrong, it smells amazing, but the texture is absolutely not in line with what texture I think it should be. Plus, I find most other pies to be much more enjoyable, especially creamy, custard style pies. There’s something nice about a baked fruit pie, and of course pecan pie has a very special place in my heart, but a custard pie can steal the show.

What would be a better combination than my favorite holiday drink and the texture of a custard pie? Probably nothing. In fact, I enjoyed this pie so much I made it twice, and ate it for breakfast for a week. Topped with coconut whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg, this is like the solid version of eggnog.

In testing this recipe, I found a combination of starches wasn’t quite enough to set the custard, but then remembered my shelf stable Mori-Nu tofu in the pantry. Suddenly, I realized the combination of tofu, starch, and eggnog was going to be the answer. The creamy texture of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu makes this pie especially dreamy, and adds complete plant-based protein to the end product. Plus, the flavor of the tofu perfectly blends with eggnog without overpowering it. I’m always sure to drain my tofu before using, as added liquid in this recipe can make the pie not able to set properly.

Since this recipe relies on the heat from the oven to set the custard, prepping the pie includes pouring a liquid into a baked crust. Be VERY careful moving this to the oven, since the liquid can spill easily. Trust me, I made this mistake during recipe testing, and while my kitchen smelled of eggnog for a while, it was just not a fun mess to clean.

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Chocolate Silken Tofu Thin Mint Pie

16 May

Are you like me and have held on to your last few boxes of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu and Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies in case of emergency? Well, I think we’ve hit that emergency threshold with the current state of events. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been craving lots of sweets, carbs, and creamy, comfort foods. I usually make this recipe for summer cookouts or potlucks, but with none of those on the horizon, I’m unfortunately going to have to polish off this whole pie plate by myself.


I’d like to think I’m up to that challenge.
If you’d like to join me, you can find the recipe by clicking more below. 


DSC_0393tofu

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Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

5 Jan

This past week there was torrential rainfall in the Midwest and we happened to be affected by it. We live in an older house that I love, but the previous owners decided to finish most of the basement. This usually isn’t a problem: we have extra space for entertaining and a whole extra room to display some of my husband’s Marvel action figures.

Until it floods.

And yes, he collects action figures. Our bathroom is actually Simpsons themed. You can totally tell we’re adults who grew up in the 90s. My husband had taken a few days off between Christmas and New Years, and spent most of that time on his hands and knees tearing up laminate. This week, we have people installing a sump pump (I didn’t even know what that was) in our basement. These nice guys actually went through the effort of hauling away all of our basement flooring, so I decided to make these cinnamon rolls for them.Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Little did I know, one was on a diet, so after I shared with the other guy, I ate four. So it goes.Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

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Vegan Caramel Turtles

22 Dec Vegan Caramel Turtles

 
I made these turtles as a present for my family last year on Christmas and they requested I make them again this year. And by requested, I mean demanded. But I was happy to oblige because these are delicious and I get to opportunity to taste test them before the big day.
I’m a huge fan of rich, chewy caramel, but it’s hard to find a vegan version that compares to the non-vegan kind. Cocomels are the only ones I’m aware of, although there could be more. I used this same caramel recipe in my birthday dacquoise, but it’s originally from Fork and Beans. If you’ve never made homemade caramel before, here’s a disclaimer: it’s easy to screw up. Trust me, I’ve screwed it up multiple times and I have made this recipe a LOT.

Vegan Caramel Turtles

A few tips for your success include:

  • low and slow is the way to go. Don’t try to heat it too fast, because it will burn to the bottom of your pan and ruin it forever. Not like I’ve had experience with that.
  • use parchment paper in the pan. Aluminum foil and wax paper will not work. You’ll end up peeling them off the caramel while trying to salvage any bits of caramel and it’s just really messy. Seriously, I haven’t done this a few times either.
  • don’t try to use an immersion blender if the emulsion breaks. Caramel is hot. Like over boiling temperature hot. If you stick a blender in it, it’s going to splash onto your arm and burn you. Definitely don’t try this. See the first tip on how to avoid the emulsion breaking.
  • don’t expect it to be as firm as non-vegan caramel. Unless you have a candy thermometer, it might get firmer. I haven’t been able to successfully get it that firm. Let me know if you do.

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Baked Vegan Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust

13 Dec

Cheesecake.

Rich, creamy, luscious, thick cheesecake. On top of a salty pretzel crust and drizzled with blueberry sauce.

Baked Vegan Cheesecake

Another one of those recipes that I have never even attempted before going vegan, yet worked out perfectly. I’ve been intrigued with New York style cheesecake for a while now, but most recipes call for a massive amount of eggs to set the texture. Before now, I would have never been able to replicate them. But yet again, VeganEgg to the rescue! Since VeganEgg sets at higher heats, it works perfectly in this custard-style application.

Baked Vegan Cheesecake

This recipe is so ridiculously easy that I’m considering making another cheesecake tomorrow. Two cheesecakes is not a problem, right? Not in this household.

 

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Perfect, Fudgey, Crispy Vegan Brownies

8 Dec Perfect, Fudgey, Crispy Vegan Brownies

When I first discovered aquafaba, I made several attempts at creating a perfect brownie. 5 to be exact, within the span of a week.  Unfortunately, aquafaba doesn’t set like eggs do in baking, so it wasn’t a perfect replacer.  I did find adding a little tofu to set worked pretty well and ended up with dense gooey brownies, but I knew I could improve.

Perfect, Fudgey, Crispy Vegan Brownies

And then came the VeganEgg. That’s right, this recipe is going to require a hard to find ingredient. In fact, you may have to order it online (Amazon and Vegan Essentials carry it.) Sorry about that, but I promise you it’s worth finding! The VeganEgg will perform that crucial task of ‘setting’ during baking, while aquafaba helps create that desirable shiny, crispy crust. You can read my review of VeganEgg here.

One of the keys to brownie perfection is cooling time before cutting. You can even speed this up by tossing them in the freezer. If you cut them too early, that nice crackly crust will tear, leaving you with jagged edges and crumbles. If that doesn’t matter to you, feel free to eat them up while they’re still hot.

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Vegan Tiramisu Macarons

1 Nov Vegan Tiramisu Macarons

Inspiration comes in the strangest places sometimes. I saw this recipe for vegan tiramisu last week and though it was gorgeous, and immediately wanted to make tiramisu macarons. Like most things in my life, it took about 3 days before I was actually able to make the attempt. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to infuse coffee liqueur into the shells, so I would suggest eating these with a shot of Kahlua.

Vegan Tiramisu Macarons
Since today is World Vegan Day, it seemed like a good day to share the recipe. I’m actually going to be bringing these to a work potluck later, and I’m sure they’re going to be well received! Who can resist chocolate, coffee, and buttercream!?
Vegan Tiramisu Macarons

As always, I have Charis at Floral Frosting, to thank for the macaron recipe. You also should take a look at the Vegan Meringue Facebook group for more amazing recipes. If you have trouble with the directions, try reading my troubleshooting guide for a little more in depth description.

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Candy Corn Meringues

26 Oct

Halloween is quickly approaching. I already have my costume (or three) and I’m in the spirit for Halloween themed treats and Hocus Pocus marathons. My husband is a huge fan of Halloween and decorates our house and yard accordingly.

I saw the idea for these cute little frosting filled meringues while searching for pumpkin meringues and couldn’t resist making them. All the fun of macarons with way less effort and failure!

Candy Corn Meringues

Be sure to check out the Vegan Meringue Facebook page for more information about aquafaba!

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Speculoos Cookie Bars

22 Oct

I developed a slight addiction to a Trader Joe’s product called Cookie Butter sometime last year-if you’ve ever tasted it, you can understand why. There are secret underground communities dedicated to worshiping the stuff. I’m dead serious, just look up cookie butter on Tumblr and browse for about 30 seconds. It combines everything that is good about gingerbread and peanut butter and cookies into one addicting jar.

Speculoos Cookie Bars

All love fades eventually, though and then you are left with the remnants of your broken relationship. In my case, that’s about 4 jars of cookies butter hiding in a cabinet. I had honestly forgotten about them until the past weekend. I was forced to move everything out of my pantry to make space for a washer and dryer (yay!). Our recent 14 inches of snow inspired me to make a warm, comforting dessert and I knew I could find a use for all that cookie butter.

Speculoos Cookie Bars

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Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

12 Oct Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Today is my husband’s birthday and one of his usual requests is something with chocolate. I knew I needed to use up these bananas from my freezer, so chocolate chip banana muffins were a great way to satisfy both his sweet tooth and my desire to declutter.

Aquafaba makes a great egg replacer in these muffins and no one would even be able to tell they’re egg and dairy free. I actually brought them in to share with his coworkers and they gobbled them up.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

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