Maple Walnut Cake

I have been looking for an excuse to make a cake. Unfortunately, none of my friends have birthdays coming up and I didn't have any cake-worthy events planned. But, I finally found an excuse! I felt like making it just for the sake of it. I made maple cake because I feel like it's a very winter-esque cake. It was really fun to make and pretty easy. It came out delicious! My friend even asked if I would marry him just so I could bake for him...I'm assuming that meant he liked it. Happy Holidays!

Ingredients

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (you can also split the all purpose with whole wheat for a healthier spin)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan  butter softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup almond milk
1 cup chopped walnuts plus 1/2 cup for top


For the frosting:
2 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup softened vegan butter
1 teaspoon maple extract
2 tablespoons almond milk

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two round cake pans.
In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl,  mix together butter and sugar. Then mix in eggs and syrup. Slowly mix in the flour mixture and almond milk. Stir in walnuts.
Pour the batter evenly into the two round baking pans.
Bake the cakes for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the pans and let cool for about 20 minutes.

For the frosting mix all of the ingredients together. If it is too watery add more powdered sugar.

Assemble the cake and frost!

Chocolate Walnut Cookies

 
We are all getting ready for the holidays and what better way to prepare than to bake these yummy and cute cookies? My friend Melody helped me bake these and we had a blast!

What you need:
 
Cookie:
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
2/3 cup sugar
2 egg equivalent egg replacer (Separated)
2 tablespoons almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
 1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Filling:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon softened vegan butter
2 teaspoons almond milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips

What to do:

In a large mixing bowl, beat coconut oil and sugar together. Beat in the egg replacer, milk, and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour and cocoa. Gradually add flour mixture into the wet mixture until combined. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Mix egg replacer mix well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and dip in egg replacer.
Then roll the dough in walnuts.
With the end of a round spoon handle, press in the center of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the filling, mix all of the ingredients together. Spoon in 1/4 teaspoon into each cookie. Put as many chocolate chips as you would like to top it off.

ENJOY

Vegan Rice Krispy Treats

 Rice Krispy Treats are a classic. I'm not sure why it had never crossed my mind to make them. But, after spotting vegan marshmallows at the store the other day, inspiration struck. They are super easy and quick to make. My skeptical, non-vegan friend took a bite and said, "They taste like real ones!" So, I assume I succeeded in making vegan rice krispy treats!

What you need:

2 tablespoons vegan butter
2 cups vegan marshmallows (Dandies)
3 cups rice krispy cereal

What to do:

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt together butter and marshmallows. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in krispy cereal.
In a lightly greased, sqaure pan press in the krispy mix. Press the mix down with a spatula. Cut into squares.

ENJOY!

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies.

I took a bite right before I took the picture! I couldn't resist...

Baking is one of my absolute most favorite things to do and it always makes me feel better when I'm having a less than perfect day. Today was one of those so baking was a must! I decided to keep with the pumpkin vibe since it's still fall and Thanksgiving is only 4 days away! I've been seeing recipes around for pumpkin brownie's and I couldn't resist creating my own! These came out super fudgy and delicious and absolutely made my day better...These are a must to try.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegan butter
2 ounces dark chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs (2 tablespoons flax meal + 4 tablespoons water)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup whole wheat flour

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium sauce pan, melt together butter and dark chocolate.

 Once melted, remove from heat and stir in sugar, flax mix, and flour.
In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, sugar, and flour.
In a 9X9 greased baking pan, evenly spread out the brownie mix. Spread out the pumpkin mix on top and swirl in with a butter knife.
Bake for about 30 minutes and ENJOY!

 

So good with vanilla ice cream!

The batch right out of the oven.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

It's Fall! This means the holiday's are coming up and I am so excited! In celebration, I have been starting to make lots of pumpkin goodies! I have made here a delicious chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe! It's pretty easy and super delicious! Happy October.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup vegan butter
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
Egg replacer (equiv. 2 eggs)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, mix together sugar, butter, pumpkin, vanilla, and eggs.
In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Once sifted together, add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into a baking pan of your choice i.e. a cupcake pan, a loaf pan, a bundt pan, and etc.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Almond Butter Dark Chocolate Cups

These are so incredibly easy to make and don't call for a lot of ingredients. They're very decadent and rich!

Ingredients:
1 pound vegan dark chocolate
2 tablespoons earth balance butter
1 cup almond butter
1 cup brown sugar (or powdered sugar)


What to do:
In a double broiler, melt the chocolate and butter together until smooth. Remove from heat.
In a mixing bowl mix together the almond butter and sugar.In a miniature cupcake pan put about a teaspoon of the melted chocolate and spread it so it covers the sides. Put in about 1 teaspoon of the almond mix. Then cover the almond butter with dark chocolate. Freeze for about an hour.

 MAGGIE

I was in LA recently visiting a friends new apartment. As I walking to her house, the sweetest little white dog came up to me. She was so sweet while I petted her. She ended up following me all the way to my friends house and my first thought was I have to take her home! But, my mom, who is less impulsive than me, said no, it could be someones dog, although she seemed too dirty to me to have been taken care of. So, my friend Mary let me give her a bath. I looked on Craigslist and no one posted a listing for her. So, I took her to the LA Shelter where someone could find her if they were looking. I was so sad and scared because it was a kill-shelter. But, I had no other choice except to wait and see if someone claimed her. No one did and the day she went up for adoption I went and got her. She's the sweetest, most playful, energetic dog! I love her and I just had to share my new addition who literally just walked into my life.

Blackberry Oat Scones

I used to work at a small coffee shop in Summerland and they had the best pastries. My favorite was the blackberry oat scones. We got to take home the leftovers everyday. While there usually weren't any scones left, because they were so good, I remember one day there were two left. I was like oh, yay, I have a two day supply. I was driving home and I was like man, I really want a bite. So, I had one bite, then you know, another, then the last thing I know in my 10 minute drive home I ate both scones! (Don't judge.) They were that good! Since then, a few years have passed and I have yet to find a Vegan version of those scones. I decided to make my own, and they came out, in my opinion just as good as the others! Anywho, long story short, blackberry oat scones are delicious and I can't contain myself with scones, apparently.

What you need:
1 cup frozen or fresh blackberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup almond milk
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

What to do:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium saucepan on medium heat stir together blackberries, sugar, and almond milk. Stir together until balckberries become very soft and are almost mashed up. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
In a large bowl measure out flour, oats, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix in blackberry liquid.
On a clean surface, sprinkle flour. Make about 2 pancakes about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut each like a pizza into about four squares. There four you will have about 12 scones. Bake for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Raw Vegan Cheesecake with Berry Sauce

 I've been so busy lately, I haven't been able to make anything new! Thanks to my good friend Kyla, fresh back from a  summer in Paris, she suggested I attempt to make cheesecake! I decided a raw one would be interesting. So, I found a few raw cheesecake recipes and tried it out! This cheesecake takes some work but it is so worth it! You won't believe that raw, vegan cheesecake could be so delicious!!
 
What you need:

Crust-
1/4 cup dried coconut
1 1/2 cup raw walnuts (or any other nut like pecans or almonds!)
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Filling-
3 cups raw cashews (soaked in water for 1 hour)
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup raw agave
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sauce Ingredients-
1 cup frozen berries
1/2 cup dates or agave

What to do:

In a pie tin sprinkle the cocunut over bottom. This keeps the crust from sticking.
In a food processor grind up walnuts, dates, and salt. This will make a crust like substance. BUT, if  you have miniature, not very good food processor like me...Blend the nuts ad the dates separately. Then, in a bowl mash the dates and walnuts together (my hands worked well for this) until it is all mixed together.
Sprinkle the crust into the pie tin and then with a spatula press it down so it is like a crust.
In a blender, mix together all of the filling ingredients until smooth.
Spread the filling over the pie crust.
Place this in the freezer for about an hour.
While this is freezing, in a food processor blend together the fruit and dates. This takes some patience but it will eventually smooth out!
Once the cheesecake is cooled spread the sauce evenly over the top.
Keep in the refrigerator and enjoy! It's so yummy!

Vegan Dark Chocolate Pecan Bars

I love bars of any kind. I've been wanting to make some recently so I figured Pecan Bars would be good! These were delicious and irresistible. They're unbelievably easy to make! Have fun and hope you like!

What you need:

Crust:
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cold vegan butter

Pecan Filling:
1/4 cup vegan butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon almond milk
1 cup whole pecans

1/4 cup dark chocolate

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the crust: Mix flour sugar. Cut in the cold butter until mixture is crumbly.
In a smaller, lightly greased baking pan press the mixture in.
Bake for about 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside.

For the Pecan Filling: In a medium sauce and on medium heat pan melt the butter. Stir in the maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, and almond milk. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans.

Pour the pecan mixture over the pre-baked crust.
Bake for 20 minutes. 
Melt the dark chocolate and drizzle over cooked pecan bars.
Cook completely, if you can resist!

Vegan Double Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

 My two sisters and their families came to visit California from Denver and Las Vegas last weekend. I had so much fun seeing them. In the midst of all of this family time I was able to bake with my niece, Jillian and  my nephew, Jake! They're both a little silly about vegan food but I convinced them to to try it out. They decided they wanted to make double dark chocolate cookies. Jillian and Jake pretty much made the cookies on their own and they came out delicious!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon bakind soda
1 cup vegan butter
1 cup brown sugar packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs
1/4 cup almond milk
1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl mix together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.
In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until creamy and then beat in vanilla and egg replacer.
Mix in the flour mixture slowly then mix in the almond milk.
Stir in the dark chocolate chunks.
Onto a lightly greased cookie sheet roll out cookies any size you want.
Bake for 10-15 minutes.

 He ate the whole thing!

My beautiful niece, Jillian.

Vegan Marbled Bundt Cake

Cake Ingredients:

3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups organic sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup almond milk + 1/4 cup for chocolate mix
1 cup vegan butter
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a bundt cake pan
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, and baking soda into a medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, or in your mixer, beat together the 1 cup almond milk, butter, vinegar, and vanilla. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients until incorporated.
4.Split the batters in half.
5. In one bowl mix in the cocoa powder and the 1/4 cup almond milk.

 
6. Pour the mixes into the bundt pan. With a fork swirl together.
7. Bake for about 30-40 minute or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Drizzle:

1 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
2 tablespoons vegan butter
1/4 cup almond milk

What to do:

Over medium heat melt together chocolate, butter,and milk. Drizzle onto the cake and enjoy!

Happy Birthday Kyla!

Vegan Almond Butter Swirl Brownies

I have finally made brownies that are delicious! I broke my my curse of making bad brownies (hopefully)! These are pretty easy to make and they are delicious, especially if you have a weakness for almond butter.

Brownie Recipe:

3 tablespoons vegan butter
3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
1 tablepsoon ground flax meal
1 tablespoon egg replacer powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Almond Butter Swirl:

1/2 cup almond milk
1/3 cup sugar or brown sugar
2 teaspoon energy egg replacer + 2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small sauce pan melt butter. Mix in water, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Remove from heat.

Ina  separate bowl whisk together flax meal, water, and egg replacer powder.
Whisk into chocolate mix.
Whisk in the flour and baking powder.
For the almond butter swirl: Mix all of the ingredients together.
In a lightly greased 8" square baking pan evenly spread out chocolate mix. (It will be a very thin layer, don't worry!)
Put chunks of almond butter on top of the chocolate layer.

Swirl around with a knife.
Bake for about 25 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Vegan Raspberry Lemon Crumb Cake

 
I love coffee cake. I feel like vegan places tend to under rate just how good coffee cake is. In lieu of spring time I made a lemon raspberry crumb coffee cake. It is so good and everyone loved it.

Raspberry Layer:

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup water
2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cake:

3 cups white flour
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup cold vegan butter
Egg replacer equivalent of 2 eggs (you can also use ground flax meal 1 egg=1 tbs flax meal + 3 tbs water)
3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest from 2 lemons
1 teaspoon vanilla

Crumb Mixture:

1/2 cup flour (white or wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold butter

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water and raspberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Use a fork and mash in the butter so the mixture is crumbly.
In a separate bowl beat together to "egg," almond milk, lemon, zest, and vanilla. Add to the crumb mixture and mix well.
In a greased 13x9x2 baking pan pour about half the mixture. Pour the raspberry sauce over that. Top with the remaining batter.
For the crumb mixture: Combine flour and sugar and mash in the cold butter. It should be crumbly. Pour this all over the top of the mixture.
Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The cake is moist but the raspberry layer makes it even more decadent!

It was very popular...therefore, it went quick!

Salad with Sauteed Tofu and Brown Rice

Here is a filling, healthy, and delicious salad recipe! I hope you like it!


What you need:

1/2 cup dark leafy greens
1/2 tomato chopped
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/2 avocado
1/4 cup steamed brown rice
1/2 block tofu
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
your favorite dressing


What to do:

You can use any vegetables to put into your salad. I just think these ones complement the brown rice and tofu well.
Compile all the vegetables.
Dry tofu and cut into cubes. Put the tofu into a bowl.
Pour soy sauce and sesame oil over tofu just enough to cover it. Crush garlic and add to tofu-soy sauce mix.

In a saute pan heat olive oil for about 1 minute.
Once heated, pour tofu into the pan.

Stir tofu often and cook about 5-10 minutes until the tofu has browned.
Pour hot tofu onto the salad and enjoy with your favorite dressing!

*The cooked tofu can be refrigerated up to 3 days. If you would like it warm you can reheat it in the microwave.

Vegan Chickpea and Kale Soup

I have been lagging on updating my blog due to being so busy! I have school or work or both every single day! On top of that, I went to Coachella last weekend (which was super fun, I must say). Anyway, here is the Chickpea and Kale soup I promised. It is inspired by the soup I had in Las Vegas at the Wynn. (see my birthday post). The soup came out delicious and I really liked the kale in it. It was my first time cooking with kale. I will definitely be cooking with it more often! Anyway, this soup is easy to make and super delish!

Ingredients:
2 cups vegetable broth
2cups garbanzo beans
2 tablespoonsl olive oil
3 large carrots chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1bunch kale chopped
salt pepper
1 medium potato

What to do:

In a blender or food processor blend about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, olive oil, and the garbanzo beans together. Mix until pureed.
In a large sauce pan, stir together the rest of the vegetable broth and the puree.
Add in the carrots, onion, and kale.

 Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add in the chopped potato. (You can add the potato with the carrots but it tends to be a bit soft, almost mushy).
Let the soup simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the carrots are soft, the soup is done!
Enjoy!

4 Layer Vegan Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting and Dark Chocolate Ganache!

 I haven't been updating this recently because I have been incredibly busy with school and work. But, in the midst of all this my best friend, Mary, turned 21! April 3rd was the special day and since she made me such an awesome birthday cake I had to return the favor. I made this cake from the cupcake recipe I have on here but switched it up a bit so it would be a perfect cake. I also created an amazing dark chocolate ganache to sophisticate the cake a bit. The cake takes quite awhile to make because of all the cooling. But, it is so worth it. Mary, our friends, and I all loved the cake! There are a lot of directions so make sure you scroll down all the way so you don't miss anything. <3

Cake Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups organic sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup light coconut milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 round baking pans-same size (available at your grocery store in a pack)

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease the 4 baking pans.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, or in your mixer, beat together the coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients until incorporated.

4. Pour the mixture into the three tins evenly.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean in each cake.
6. Take out and cool completely.
7. Scroll down for further instruction.

Mocha Frosting ingredients:
1/3 cup vegan butter, softened
1/3 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
about 4 cups powdered sugar (enough to make the frosting thick)

What to do:

Mix all ingredients together adding powdered sugar last. Powdered sugar is hard to measure out for frosting, so just keep adding until it's at the consistency you want. *TIP* Refrigerate your frosting about 10 minutes, it will be easier to spread evenly onto the cake.
Once the cake is cooled, frost one layer of the cake over the entire top surface.

Place the second layer of cake on top and do the same until the cake is stacked. Spread the rest of the frosting over the entire cake.

 Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. You will pour the ganache over the layer of frosting.


Ingredients for the ganache:

1 cup vegan dark chocolate
1/3 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon vegan butter


What to do:

In a double broiler melt the chocolate. Stir in almond milk and melt in the butter. As soon as it is all melted pour over the slightly refrigerated cake. Smooth it all out with a rubber spatula. Place in the fridge for about an hour to let the ganache harden. Once it's hardened then you can enjoy!

COMING SOON:
Chickpea and Kale Soup and Oatmeal Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

21!

I recently celebrated my 21st birthday. It was so much fun and I got to spend it with my friends, family, and my dog. It was a bittersweet birthday. I found out 2 days before my birthday that my dog, Zoe, has progressed cancer and this will be my last birthday I get to spend with her. Lucky for me, I got to spend 15 years with her. I have to say that if it weren't for Zoe I wouldn't love animals as much as I do and I probably wouldn't be vegan. I also wouldn't have been able to enjoy my vegan birthday cake and vegan cupcakes.

 My best friend, Mary, baked me a vegan carrot cake for my birthday. It was delicious, delicious, delicious! I've had the same cake for 3 years in a row!

 After celebrating my birthday with my friends, I went to Las Vegas to visit my family. My sisters surprised me with 3 Water Course Mini Cakes all the way from Denver!! I got a Ho Ho Chocolate Cake, Strawberry Cake, and Carrot Cake.

They were all so good! I also got to go to a fancy restaurant at the Wynn. For those of you who aren't familiar with Steve Wynn...He owns probably half of the strip in LV. He recently opened a hotel named after him called the Wynn and then the Encore. You're probably wondering why I'm giving a biography of the guy. Well, he is Vegan. So, all of the restaurants in the Wynn have a pretty large Vegan option list. We ate at a restaurant called Stratta. It was SO good. I got Chickpea Soup with Kale and Vegan Pizza with Soy Cheese.

 It was so good, decadent, and nice! But, it's quite the expensive place so it's a good place to go celebrate. I love the soup so much that I'm trying to find a way to recreate it! Once I do it will be up here! Any who, I think that's all.

Happy 21 to me!