Ice Cream Sundaes The Perfect Apres-Burger Dessert

Strawberry Shortcake and Caramel Affogato!

I love ice cream sundaes and I love how dipping into even the most sophisticated sundae - and I think the Caramel Affogato is plenty sophisticated - makes you feel like a kid.

The three sundaes are each fun in their own way. The Strawberry Ice Cream Sundae's got little cubes of pound cake, fresh berries, strawberry ice cream, hot fudge sauce and, of course, whipped cream. The Banana Split's got bananas (how could it not?), both chocolate and vanilla ice cream, hot fudge sauce, whipped cream, chopped chocolate and an optional cherry on top. And the Caramel Affogato, which I like so much, has the classic ingredients: espresso and ice cream (although I used coffee instead of the usual vanilla ice cream), but it's also got whipped cream and warm caramel sauce, which is so perfect in the sundae that it ought to be written into the affogato rule-book.

You can make all of these sundaes with ingredients straight from the supermarket, but I don't have to tell you how much better they'll be -- and how much more fun you'll have -- if you start from scratch and make your own hot fudge and caramel sauces and your own ice creams.

(You can find recipes for both sauces in Baking From My Home to Yours or you can use the Chocolate Sauce recipe I posted to go with the Simplest Loaf Cake. The chocolate sauce is thinner than the hot fudge and won't firm much when it hits the ice cream, but it's very tasty.)

To get you started on the road to homemade sundaes, here's my recipe for Vanilla Ice Cream.

VANILLA ICE CREAM
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

A word on vanilla: This ice cream can be made using a fresh, plump, pliable vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract. If you use a bean, you should split and scrape it and then allow it to infuse the hot milk and cream with its flavor - give yourself an extra 30 minutes for this.

A word on quantity: If you'd like to make a pint rather than a quart of ice cream, use the following proportions: 1 cup milk, 1 cup heavy cream, 3 large egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.

Makes about 1 quart

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 plump, moist vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. If you are using a vanilla bean, toss the bean, pulp and pod, into the pan, cover and set aside for 30 minutes. At the end of this infusion period, bring the milk and cream back to the boil. If you are using vanilla extract, you'll add it later.

Working in a mixing bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar together until they are very well blended and just slightly thickened. Whisking all the while, drizzle in about one-third of the hot liquid. Once the eggs are acclimatized to the heat, you can, still whisking, beat in the remaining liquid a little more quickly.

Pour the custard back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring without stop, until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon; if you run your finger down the bowl of the spoon the custard should not run into the track. The custard should reach at least 170 degrees F (but not more than 180 degrees F), as measured on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and pour the custard into a clean heatproof mixing bowl. If you are using vanilla extract, now is the time to add it, stirring to blend.

Allow the custard to chill before churning it into ice cream.

Scrape the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Pack the ice cream into a container and freeze it for at least 2 hours, until it is firm enough to scoop.

Serving: If the ice cream is very firm, allow it to sit on the counter for a few minutes before scooping.

Chocolate cherry amaretto ice cream cake

Oh. My. God. This is one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten!

Let’s rewind. After having tons of fun with Heathy’s Moon Pie challenge, I was totally jazzed to enter her latest raw dessert contest: the Ultimate Raw Ice Cream Cake challenge. I knew pretty much from the start that I wanted to combined the delicious flavours of cherries and amaretto, and to round it off, I decided to throw in some chocolate. I’ve always been a big fan of amaretto liquer (although I rarely drink alcohol anymore), and I’ve been having tons of fun with a bottle of almond extract I picked up a few weeks ago. It really does a great job of imparting the delicious flavour of amaretto to certain foods. I’ve been adding a few drops of it to vegan yogurt recently, along with frozen cherries, so I knew the flavour combination would work well in my ice cream cake. Here’s the breakdown of my take on a raw ice cream cake:

Crust: almond dark cacao (almonds, cacao, coconut oil, maple sugar)

Layer 1: chocolate ice cream (Heathy’s recipe)

Layer 2: amaretti cookie crumble (almonds, shredded coconut, coconut oil, maple sugar, almond extract)

Layer 3: cherry amaretto ice cream (Heathy’s recipe, + almond extract, cherries)

Swirl: chocolate ice cream and cherry amaretto ice cream (with cherry juice for the pink colour)

Toppings: coconut whipped cream (Heathy’s recipe + some fresh young coconut), dried cherries, amaretti cookie

And that’s all, folks! The only challenge I ran into while constructing this beauty was an absent icing set. At one point I did own an icing bag complete with all kinds of deocrative tips for making fun icing patterns, but I can’t find it anywhere! Maybe it was lost when we moved last summer? At any rate, I improvised by cutting a hole in the corner of a ziploc bag, poking the tip of an old agave squirt bottle in the corner, and using that contraption to ice the top. It wasn’t ideal, but hey, it worked in a pinch!

I used frozen sour cherries (although I still found them pretty sweet), and the slight tartness perfectly counterbalanced the sweetness of the remaining components of the ice cream cake. It was a total joy every time I bit into one of the juice cherry chunks. As far as the individual components go, I think my favourite part to eat on its own was probably the amaretti cookie crumble. I had to stop myself from devouring it so I would have enough left for the cake.

My boy and I each had a slice last night (it may or may have not been my entire dinner!) and we’re still swooning. It also totally gave me a sugar high… I’ve been eating ultra clean lately so even sugar in raw desserts get to me super easily these days. Thankfully, it wasn’t difficult to enlist the help of a small army of friends, who are eager to assist in polishing off the rest of this delicious creation. In the meantime, here’s some raw food porn for your enjoyment If you want even more pics, check out some of the other entries floating around the blogosphere, like Kelli’s rawspberies and cream & chocolate strawberries & banana cakes, Norka’s lilac and poppy seed cake, Gillian’s Gimme S’More cake, an amazing orange blossom cake, several creations by Nelly, and Bitt’s cookies ‘n’ cream cake.

Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie

Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie with Strawberries

I love cheesecake. I love it so much I even made it my wedding cake. Basically I’m addicted to the extreme creamy cheesiness combined with just a hint of lemon all served on the simple, yet wonderful graham cracker crust. I’m also addicted to my ice cream maker. Coming up with new ice cream dishes throughout the long steamy summer helps keep me sane when the temperatures down here in Nashville edge higher and higher. So deciding to come up with a version of cheesecake ice cream is not exactly out of character for me. And given my love of cheesecake, the fact that I decided to freeze the concoction into a graham cracker crust and serve it with strawberries – well, that’s just the logical next step.

The ice cream was fairly easy. Just start with a softened block of cream cheese and whip it with the whisk attachment of your mixer. Once it’s soft and creamy you can add the sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and then – slowly – the half and half. After a run through the ice cream maker, the base’s consistency will be almost soft serve-like. Perfect for putting into a pie plate. Or if you have low willpower, gobbling it up right from the ice cream maker.

Graham Cracker Crust

The graham cracker crust is possibly the simplest crust you can make – crushed graham crackers, sugar and melted butter are all you need. I added a tiny bit of nutmeg – but that’s because I’m also addicted to nutmeg (there must be a 12 step program for spice addicts somewhere). After a quick trip to the oven and a thorough cooling, the crust will be ready (and willing) to be filled. After a few hours in the freezer, the whole pie was ready to be cut and served. The whole thing makes for an easy summer treat – especially nice when I don’t feel like cooking a cheesecake for an hour and heating up my home. A nice ice cream pie takes care of my craving and keeps me cool. Perfect.

Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie

Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients

For the Ice Cream:

8 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature)

juice of 1 lemon

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c white sugar

2 cups half and half

For the crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

1/3 cup sugar

nutmeg (optional)

To make the crust – combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and nutmeg (if wanted) and press mixture into a pie plate. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

To make the ice cream – using the whisk attachment of an electric mixture whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the sugar, slowly, until incorporated. Add in the vanilla and lemon juice. Slowly add in the half and half until the mixture is smooth. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour. Freeze the base in an ice cream maker until the mixture reaches a soft serve consistency. Spoon ice cream into cooled graham cracker crust and smooth out the top. Cover in plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours.

To serve, remove from freezer – if pie is too hard let sit for 10 minutes. Top with the fruit of your choice.

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

As much as I love eating ice cream, the thought of making my own had never really occurred to me. I don’t have an ice cream maker and there’s no shortage of shops in the city, so why bother? But now that I have a food blog—and readers—I’m constantly looking for ways to expand my culinary horizons. Plus, I’ve noticed a lot of other bloggers making their own frozen treats, and when one of my favorites, Brown Eyed Baker, posted a recipe for mint chocolate chip, followed by another post on how to make it without any special equipment, I was sold on the project.

And, oh my, I am so glad I took on the task. The ice cream is rich and smooth and tastes as fresh as if I made it myself. Which I did! Truth be told, the first batch was not my best work. The flavor was there, but the texture was way too icy. I was on the phone with Christie the other day trying to figure out where I went wrong when I happened to mention that the custard mixture needed to be cooled with an ice bath—which I took to mean that I needed to pour a bunch of ice cubes into the custard to cool it down. That’s when Christie explained to me that an ice bath means that you place the entire bowl in another larger bowl filled with ice and water. Um, duh. How did this escape me, people? (Christie called it an “Amelia Bedelia” moment.) Which just goes to show you that no matter how much you cook, there is always something—often a no-brainer—that can trip you up in the kitchen. Armed with this new knowledge, I set out to make a second batch of the sweet stuff. This time, the custard chilled to the proper consistency and froze beautifully. I used David Leibovitz’s method to freeze and whip the custard into cream using a hand mixer and the result is below:

Mint chocolate chip is my favorite flavor, but pistachio is Johnny’s, so he’s requested that as my next attempt. I’ll post more pictures when I try it. In the meantime, if you have the time, I highly recommend trying this recipe. I think I will invest in the Kitchen Aid Ice Cream Maker attachment once I actually have the space to take my mixer out if its box and use it. While the hand method worked well, it takes a lot more time for the ice cream to be whipped between freezings. I’ve posted Brown Eyed Baker’s recipe below. Instead of chocolate chips, I chopped up a dark chocolate bar and stirred that into the mix. I also let the custard mixture chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream, divided
1½ cups whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons mint extract
3 drops green food coloring (optional)
½ cup chocolate chips

1. Warm 1 cup of the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar and pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.

2. Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

3. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (if using a thermometer, it should be right around 170 degrees F). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add the vanilla and mint extracts and the food coloring (if using), and stir until cool over an ice bath.

4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (preferably overnight). Churn according to your ice cream maker’s directions, adding the chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of churning.

Dulce de Leche Gelato-Helado de Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche Gelato-Helado de Dulce de Leche

(Does gelato like this really even need an introduction?)

Perhaps you've heard that Argentinians speak Spanish with an Italian accent-that's true, and they're also loud and passionate (even when discussing something unimportant), and gesture a lot. But Argentineans also eat with an Italian accent!

In Argentina, helado (ice cream) is more like Italy's gelato-softer and creamier than American ice cream, and with typical flavors like chocolate hazelnut, dulce de leche, and sambayon (which is the Spanish spelling of zabaione) custard-flavored gelato typically served with fruit. Some of the more uncommon flavors include malbec (made from the wine), watermelon, or coconut. Truly, it's almost divine.

I had the luck of finding what I personally believe might just be the best helado in Argentina on our last trip. (Of course, I haven't had the chance to do a formal evaluation, touring all the heladerias in Argentina...yet.)

I felt like Elizabeth Gilbert in her book Eat, Pray, Love in which she samples the gelato of one particular shop several times in one day just to make sure it's as good as she thinks it is. I'm here to say: it is-I know because I did the same thing!

Like the Italians in Gilbert's book, Argentinians are "...masters at the beauty of doing nothing" (And that's a compliment, by the way. As she goes on to say, Americans are list-makers, multitaskers, work too hard and burn ourselves out-we have a hard time slowing down, relaxing (and giving ourselves permission to relax!) In Argentina, relaxing is part of life. They work hard, but also enjoy taking their kids out for ice cream on a Friday night, sitting there and chatting for a couple of hours with friends and letting the kids entertain themselves. You know, relaxing.

Oh, and that heladeria...it really is the best-Rafael Rodriguez and his family have been making helado in Argentina for three generations. I was lucky enough to see how the ice cream is made (in small batches daily) and how they have elevated making helado to a true art form.

I promise to write all about that on a day very soon, but today, you get this delicious recipe inspired by my visit to his shop-the ideal way to celebrate summer being around the corner. I promise it won't disappoint-and it's very quick and easy.

Receta para Helado de Dulce de Leche

Recipe for Dulce de Leche Gelato

For this recipe, there's the gelato base, and then there's dulce de leche, which is just folded into the finished gelato or drizzled over the top (like in the picture).

Gelato base:

3 cups milk

1 and 1/2 cup heavy cream

4 eggs, yolks only

1/2 cup vanilla sugar* if available

1/2 cup sugar

In a saucepan, mix the milk and cream and heat over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugars together until the sugars are incorporated and the mixture is frothy. Slowly add the warm milk to the sugar mixture, whisking continuously.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium heat and stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of the spoon. If the egg starts to get lumpy-the heat is too hot! Remove from heat immediately.

Strain the mixture through a fine strainer or sieve into a bowl. Cover and put in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a sealed container and freeze until firm-if it gets too hard, bring it down to the fridge to soften.

Ice Cream Cupcakes

We celebrated Binks’ birthday this past weekend. The usual is to get an ice cream cake for the whole family. The usual that is until I came into the picture. Binks is a fan of cupcakes. Mostly because he can grab a piece easier than having to cut from a bigger cake. Obviously my husband cares about the speed in which he obtains his cake. And while he is definitely not a foodie, he is very serious about his cake…and for birthdays…ice cream cake.

These cupcakes are so easy to assemble that I really don’t think this quite classifies as a recipe but rather, a how-to. You can use your favorite cake, favorite ice cream and top it to your heart’s content. Next time, I might try to incorporate homemade chocolate shell and whipped cream. It’s perfect for summer birthdays or a general summer treat altogether. As a person that eats one sweet thing everyday, this would have been perfect but for the fact that we had none left. You can definitely make these a day or two ahead, which cuts down prep time substantially and allows you more time to spend with the birthday boy.

Ice Cream Cupcakes
slightly adapted from Joy the Baker
- yields approximately 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• Your favorite cake batter – I used half of my chocolate cake from here
• Your favorite ice cream – I used Snickers ice cream (Binks’ favorite)
• Chocolate ganache – optional
• Sprinkles – optional

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with foil liners. Scoop a tablespoon of cake batter into each liner. You don’t want to use any more than a tablespoon. Bake for 8 minutes (make sure it passes the toothpick test). It should be done by then.
2. Once done, remove and cool to room temperature. If your cupcakes domed, then flatten by cutting the top with a knife. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. When you put the cake in the freezer, remove the ice cream. You want the ice cream to be softened to be able to spread.
3. Take the cake out of the freezer and using a spoon, spoon the ice cream over the cake and smooth out the top.
4. Place the filled cupcakes back in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
5. If you are topping with ganache, remove from freezer and add ganache and sprinkles, if using.
6. Place back in freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from the freezer only before serving as it will melt quickly. The foil helps keeps the ice cream colder longer.

Why Ice Cream is the Best Dessert in the World

Why Ice Cream is the Best Dessert in the World

There’s only one dessert in the world that makes everyone scream. It’s cold, it’s sweet, and it makes everyone feel like a kid no matter how old they are. It’s Ice Cream! There’s nothing better than a big scoop on a hot summer day, or when you’re celebrating something special. It comes in a variety of forms and you can enjoy it anyway you like. There are a lot of desserts out there, and many of them are fancier and more expensive, but nothing comes close to the perfection of ice cream. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why it will always be the best dessert in the world.

It’s Portable

Can you imagine walking down the beach eating a whole chocolate cake? How about going to the playground and trying to eat a pumpkin pie? There are no desserts as portable as ice cream in its many incarnations. Being able to enjoy it on the fly means you can take it to your favorite destinations. Whether it’s taking a stroll in your favorite park or window shopping along a busy street, ice cream is the only dessert built for on-the-go action.

Hundreds of Flavors
You can probably name dozens of kinds of cake and pies, but there are literally hundreds of flavors of ice creams to enjoy. You can live a lifetime without experiencing them all. Baskin-Robbins with its 31 flavors is just the beginning. There’s an ice cream parlor in Vancouver, Canada that actually has over 500 flavors. Some of them are interesting twists on exotic foods like mango or papaya. And they’ve even got a curry-flavored ice cream. It’s probably not going to become a worldwide favorite, but you should have no problem finding something else you love.

Different Forms
When most people think of ice cream, they imagine a big scoop on top of a cone. But let’s not forget about the delightful treats the ice cream man has in his truck. Remember all those strange and interesting ice cream bars you had when you were a kid? How about a big banana split topped with fresh fruit, nuts, and sprinkles? And can you say ice cream cake? As you can see, there aren’t lots of fun ways you can enjoy this dessert.

It Goes with Anything
One of the biggest advantages ice cream has over any other dessert is its compatibility. Can you imagine trying to eat a chocolate brownie and cheesecake at the same time? It would be way too sweet and much too filling. But you can easily combine either one of these tasty desserts with a big scoop of ice cream and it would work perfectly. There’s really no other dessert out there that can be used with other sweet treats so successfully.

You Can Make it Yourself

It takes a lot of time to prepare an Apple pie properly. And if you don’t have enough culinary skill, your chocolate cake could end up being a disaster. But thanks to ice cream makers these days, making frozen dessert at home is a breeze. All you have to do is cook up your custard, and then pour it into your ice cream maker for about half an hour. Even if you’ve never cooked a day in your life, a klutz in the kitchen can make ice cream with no problem. Better yet, it gives you a chance to incorporate healthier ingredients so that you can enjoy this dessert more often.

Raw Blackberry Lemon Lavender Cheesecake

Raw Blackberry Lemon Lavender Cheesecake

As I struggled through my 9 mile run yesterday, I was sweating profusely. I felt like the sun was draining my energy and I was imagining jumping into a lake and how good it would feel at that point. However, the pond I was running beside just wouldn't do. I couldn't imagine jumping into something that had so much algae growing in it and smelled the way it did. So back to sweating and imagining it was...trying to cool my body with my mind, after all, I only had 3 more miles to run. Then I saw it...a sprinkler! It was just begging to be ran through! The five year old in me said "Do it"! I am not one to ignore that voice and so I did, hoping the owners of the sprinkler weren't watching. It felt so good to be showered with coolness even if it was only for a few brief moments.

As I have mentioned in a few posts previous to this one, it has been very warm in Minnesota this week. It is already 91 today and climbing! So I made it my goal to not use the oven this weekend and prepare only food that didn't need to be heated trying to keep the house cool and save money on air conditioning. This was not going to keep me from having delicious desserts however. I NEED my dessert.

I decided to make another raw cheesecake. I know, I am a bit obsessed, but if you have ever made one you know why...they are so increadibly good! I had blackberries and lemons and so I thought a blackberry lemon lavender cheesecake would be perfect. I was amazed at how vibrantly purple the blackberries made the filling, it was quite beautiful.

Almost too pretty to eat, but that never stops me. It was heavenly, the silky smooth luscious filling with the tart blackberries and lemon, the sweet vanilla and the nutty crust! I was almost tempted not to share but I am not that selfish.

I used to think it was not possible to make a cake without heating the oven and boy, was I wrong!

Raw Vegan Blackberry Lemon Lavender Cheesecake

Makes one 6 inch cake

six inch spring form pan
Crust:
3/4 cup hazelnuts

1/8 teaspoon sea salt
3 soft medjool dates, pitted and chopped

Filling:

2 1/2 cups raw cashews (preferably soaked overnight)

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp lemon zest

1/3 cup plus 3 Tbsp agave nectar

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp coconut oil (warmed to liquid)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract and seeds from half a vanilla bean (other half reserved for topping)

2 Tbsp organic dried lavender flowers

1 cup fresh organic blackberries

Blackberry puree:

1/4 cup blackberries

1 Tbsp agave nectar

Cream Topping:
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces (preferably soaked overnight)
1/2 cup coconut water

3/4 cup fresh young coconut meat* (or additional soaked cashews if not available)
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla and seeds of half a vanilla bean (the other half of the one you used for the filling)
1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed to liquid)

To prepare the crust, spray a 6 inch spring form pan with nonstick spray. Process hazelnuts and sea salt in a food processor until the hazelnuts are fine crumbs, then add the dates and process until the mixture holds together when squeezed between your fingers. Firmly press crust into the bottom of prepared pan. Set aside.

To make filling, drain cashews and combine them with lemon juice, and zest, agave nectar, coconut oil, sea salt and vanilla in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Remove the filling from the food processor, stir in lavender and divide evenly between 2 bowls. Place half back into the food processor and add 1 cup blackberries. Puree until smooth and scrape back in the bowl. For the blackberry puree, using an immersion blender (or you can rinse out the food processor) combine the 1/4 cup blackberries and 1 Tbsp agave nectar and puree until smooth. Drop the filling alternating between the vanilla and blackberry in about 3 tbspful amounts over crust in pan, until all is used up, sort of in a checkerboard fashion. Tap on the counter to level (keeping pan level). Drop some of the puree in teaspoonful amounts over the top of the cake (reserving some for serving) and swirl with a knife to create marbling. Place in the freezer until it is set, 6 hours about. After that store in the fridge until ready to top.

To make topping, drain cashews and blend all ingredients until smooth in a food processor, and set in the freezer about 30 minutes until a frosting consistency. Place in a pastry bag and pipe decoratively on top of the cheesecake. Store in the fridge when not enjoying.

Chocolate Red Velvet Cookies...with a secret ingredient..

Chocolate Red Velvet Cookies...with a secret ingredient..

I admit it, I am a bit obsessed with beets. I would go as far as to say I love beets. I pretty much eat them every day in some form, in a salad at lunch or blended into a berry smoothie. What's not to love, they are sweet, beautifully colored and packed with nutrition! I am also aware that some people hate them and refuse to touch them. I find this unfortunate, and so I try and change their minds by creating things which make beets appealing. One of my favorite ways in which to use beets that is definately delicious is in baked goods. Whenever I make a red vevet anything you can be pretty sure it contains beets as I am not a fan of using bottles of artificial red food coloring.

Last week at work when I was prepping beets for a salad at work, I began dreaming of red velvet desserts... oh yes, cake sounded nice but too much work. But now cookies on the other hand sounded like the level of effort I was willing to put in.

I have made red velvet cookies in the past, but they were simply mimicking the cake, vanilla frosting atop a red hued soft cookie. I wanted the ones I made this time to be different, containing chocolate as well!

But simply adding chocolate to my beet cookie base was not interesting enough for me so I decided to throw in dark chocolate chunks and dried cherries as well. The dough was so increadibly good, it was a wonder as much of it made it through being chilled over night and into the oven the next day. Good thing I had the willpower to restrain myself from eating it all.

I wasn't sure how much of the red color would be retained though baking, but actually the baking process made the cookies all the more lovely! The red intensified into a beautiful deep color instead of a muddy one. They smelled amazing while baking as well, like the aroma of brownies!

Once they were just cool enough to dive into but while the chocolate was still gooey and liquid, I had to indulge in them. They were amazing, the soft chocolate base, the warm chocolate pockets throughout the dough and the tart sweet chewy cherries! Simply heavenly, and they did not taste of the beets, they were just made beautiful by them. I can guaruntee that if you gave one of these to a non beet lover and told them they were red velvet cookies they would never know they were eating beets. Only you would know the secret.

I can guaruntee that if you gave one of these to a non beet lover and told them they were red velvet cookies they would never know they were eating beets. Only you would know the secret.

Beet lover or not, here is the recipe if you would like to experience some of the deliciousness for yourself!

Chocolate Red Velvet Cookies

makes about 16 large cookies

Cookies:

1 cup maple sugar, or granulated organic sugar

3/4 cup coconut oil

3/4 cup cooked red organic beet puree

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt
12 oz chopped vegan dark chocolate
1 cup dried cherries

In a large bowl, combine coconut oil with sugar and whisk until well combined. Beat in the beets, vanilla extract, and agave nectar until well combined. In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, then add to the large bowl, and mix until well combined, then add chocolate and cherries and mix until well distributed. Place in the fridge to chill until firm (preferably overnight). To bake, Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll balls into about 3 inch balls, and place on prepared cookie sheets a couple inches apart (refrigerate unused dough while baking the other trays). Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until puffed and just starting to brown slightly (but do not overbake!). Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Vegan Red Velvet Pancakes with Coconut Cream and Berries

Vegan Red Velvet Pancakes with Coconut Cream and Berries

Earlier this week in the deli where I work, an adorable little girl in a pink dress was peering into the salad case. She got a big smile on her face, started clapping and yelled "Yay!!!" I couldn't imagine what a five year old would be so excited about in the salad case...but then her Mother, who was standing behind her said "She is exited about the beet salad. She loves beets." It was about the cutest thing ever. A child getting excited about veggies, even better that it was beets! It was a really beautiful delicious beet salad she was exicted about that my friend Gabrielle made which she was excited about though, so I don't blame her. But still, I wouldn't have touched a beet with a ten foot pole when I was five, so it made my day to hear her get excited about the beets! Thank goodness as an adult I can't get enough of beets and I don't hold a grudge against any veggies.

If you read my blog frequently, you know that it is no secret I love beets and I love to include them in everything including desserts. So when I decided that making a batch of red velvet pancakes the other day seemed like a good idea, you know where my food coloring was going to come from. Beets of course, since I am not a fan of fake red food coloring. And why use it when you can use nutrition packed beets?

I didn't exactly have a recipe, but what I did was use a simple vegan banana pancake recipe I have been making for a long time, swapping out the bananas for beets figuring they have a similar texture. It worked wonderfully!

I served the pancakes with whipped coconut cream and fresh berries. They were beautiful, and they were delicious! You would have never known they had beets in the by the taste, but it made me happy to know they were there.

If you would like to know more about me, Javelin Warrior was kind enough to include me in his Featured Foodie post with an interview! Check it out on his blog, and check out the rest of the site as well! http://cookinwluv.blogspot.com/2012/06/food-fetish-friday-featured-foodie_15.html

Vegan Red Velvet Pancakes with Coconut Cream and Berries

Serves 2-3

Pancakes:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup pureed cooked beets*

1 1/4 cups coconut milk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp maple syrup


Cream:
1 cup full fat coconut milk chilled until very cold (only the thick part from the top of the can)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
coconut oil for cooking pancakes
2 cups fresh berries for serving
maple syrup for serving

In a food processor, combine all pancake ingredients and process until just blended, pour into a bowl and set aside.
To make coconut cream, chill a medium bowl and beaters in the freezer until very cold. Place coconut milk in the chilled bowl and beat until stiff peaks, about 1-2 minutes. Add syrup and vanilla and beat until combined. Set aside in the fridge to keep cold.
To cook pancakes, preheat oven to 200 degrees. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add a little coconut oil to coat the bottom. Once hot, add the batter in 1/4 cup amounts (I did 3 at a time, but it depends on your pan), and let cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side until set and starting to brown, then flip with a spatula and cook another 2-3 minutes on the other side. When cooked, place on a plate and keep warm in the oven while you repeat the process with the remaining pancakes.
To serve, top with the coconut cream, fresh berries and maple syrup if desired!

*About one large beet, I cooked mine by wrapping it in foil and roasting it in a 450 degree oven until tender (about an hour and 15 minutes). I then let it cool and peeled it, cut it into chunks and pureed it.

Almond Joy Layer Cake

Almond Joy Layer Cake

When I was a kid I was not a fan of Almond Joy candy bars. I think it was because of the overly sweet artificial flavor that they have as well as the huge hard almonds in the center. So why would I choose to make a cake with the same flavors of an Almond Joy bar? Well, now that I am an adult, I like the combination of almonds chocolate and coconut! Just not in the form of the commercially made sickeningly sweet candy. I called the cake I made yesterday "Almond Joy" because it gave me joy as I sat and enjoyed every last crumb of it.

I wanted the cake layers to have a big coconut flavor, so I added it in 2 forms, coconut oil, coconut milk, and shredded coconut. They tasted like a macaroon, but not overly sweet, just right with all the goodness of coconut as the star. To frost and fill my cake I chose an almond butter fudge frosting that complimented the light cake layers perfectly in texture and color! The gooey fudge against the light moist cake was perfect! I didn't forget to add some coconut and almond between the layers and atop the cake as well...I chose sliced slmonds however, since I am not a fan of the big hunks of almond in the Almond Joy bars.

The cake was heavenly...that is the best word I can think of to describe it! It was 100 times better than the candy bars of my childhood! Here is the recipe if you wish to expirience some almond joy!

Vegan Almond Joy Layer Cake

Makes 1 6 inch 4 layer cake

2 6 inch cake pans

Cake:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup toasted finely shredded unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup maple sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

Frosting:
1 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup toasted almond butter
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp coconut milk, or more if needed
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, or more if needed
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups toasted sliced almonds
1 1/4 cups toasted large flake coconut

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and position rack in center of oven. Line two six-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper and pan sides with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, sea salt, and sugar in a large bowl to blend well. Whisk oil, juice, vanilla extract and food coloring together in small bowl to blend well, then whisk into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in cider vinegar and stir quickly (pale swirls will be in the batter, which is the baking soda reacting with the vinegar, which allows the cake to rise since there are no eggs). Transfer cake batter to prepared pan and bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour. Cut around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto platter; peel off parchment paper. Let cool completely, then place in the fridge to chill until very cold to make slicing easier (since cakes with no eggs crumble easier). When chilled, slice cakes horizontally in half so that you have 4 layers.

To make frosting, whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl until very smooth, adding more cocoa powder if the frosting is not thick enough, or more coconut milk if too thick. Place a layer of cake on a plate, and spoon about 1/2 cup frosting over, almost to the sides, then top with about 2 Tbsp each toasted almonds and coconut. Add another cake layer and repeat. Top with another cake layer, another frosting layer, the nuts and coconut then the top cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and the sides of the cake, and sprinkle almonds and coconut over the top of the cake, and at the base.

*if you would like a 4 layer 9 inch cake, double this entire recipe and bake in two 9 inch cake pans.

Strawberries with Raw Almond Coconut Lavender Cream

Strawberries with Raw Almond Coconut Lavender Cream

Sometimes only a decadent dessert will do...and that was yesterday after work! The weather was kind of eh...it was dripping a bit outside and something sweet sounded good to me! Afterall, it was National Eat What You Want Day...so I was going to eat what I wanted! I was craving something with cream and strawberries, but since I didn't have cream in my fridge I thought I would go about the raw vegan route with the cream. Better for me anyhow, and why not be healthy and get what I wanted!

I had fresh organic strawberries, raw almonds and a young coconut so I decided on strawberries filled with raw coconut almond cream! It would be a simple yet delicious dessert to satisfy my craving. The cream was really simple to prepare as I already had some soaked almonds and young coconut meat scooped out of the shell in the fridge. I just buzzed it in the food processor with some vanilla bean, agave nectar and coconut oil, let it chill for a while and voila! Delicious almond coconut cream!

I decided that it needed some lavender for fragrance as well before I piped it into the berries so I whisked some in which made the cream even more delicious! I thought a little chocolate would make the berries even better, so I served the with a simple chocolate sauce.

They were amazing! They tasted so decadent...just as much as if I had whipped some real cream, but even better! The cream was smooth and light, creamy and a perfect match for the sweet berries. When I took a bite I got the fragrance of the lavender as well and a touch of the chocolate sauce...so heavenly! If you would like to enjoy some for yourself, I have included the recipe! Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

Strawberries with Raw Almond Coconut Lavender Cream

makes about 24

24 organic strawberries, leaves and centers removed with a sharp knife

filling:
1/2 cup raw almonds pieces soaked at least 3 hours but preferably soaked overnight
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup fresh young coconut meat
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla and seeds of half a vanilla bean (the other half of the one you used for the filling)
1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed to liquid)
2 Tbsp dried lavender flowers

Chocolate sauce:
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup cacao powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut oil
pinch of sea salt

To make cream, buzz all the ingredients together in a blender send through a fine meshed strainer, pushing the solids against the bottom (to remove any chunks and create a smooth cream) and place in the fridge to firm up for about an hour (until firm enough to pipe).
To fill berries, place cream in a pastry bag fitted with a larger tip and fill each berry.
To make sauce, whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
Serve berries atop sauce on a plate for a pretty and delicious presentation!