Category Archives: Dessert

Christopher’s Carrot Cake Cupcakes

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Christopher starts angling for a carrot cake for his October birthday sometime around the end of July. For years, he demanded my mom’s version, a classic carrot cake with cream cheese frosting — and a shocking amount of oil and highly processed flour and sugar. But after a while, I couldn’t help myself … I started to tinker. This cupcake version with my honey cream cheese frosting — which is a good deal healthier by all standards — has become our new favorite. So tell any health-aphobes in your world that this has Christopher’s stamp of approval!

whole-wheat-carrot-cake-cupcakesDry Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Wet Ingredients:

2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups grated carrot
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup shredded coconut

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting:

6 ounces neufchatel, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. With an electric beater, beat together sour cream, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in another large bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, beating just until well combined. Stir in carrot, raisins and coconut.

Divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat together neufchatel, powdered sugar, honey and orange zest until fluffy and smooth. Either spread onto the cupcakes with the back of a warm spoon, or transfer the frosting to a pastry bag and pipe onto cupcakes.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Nectarine Blackberry Cobbler with Coconut-Oat Topping

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This show-stopping cobbler recipe–featuring peak-of-season nectarines and blackberries–has half the sugar and butter you’d find in a regular cobbler recipe, yet packs a much richer flavor thanks to whole oats, raw coconut, sour cream and lemon zest.

nectarine-blackberry-cobbler

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Fudgy Black Bean Brownies with Sea Salt

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I love these fudgy, black bean brownies, which I originally found here on Minimalist Baker, for many reasons. For one, all you do is blam a few ingredients in the food processor, spoon the batter into a mini muffin tin and bake (now that’s my kind of baking recipe). For another, the whole baking-brownies-in-a-mini-muffin pan thing is genius–no breakage, no muss, no fuss, and they’re cute to boot. And yet another, they’re made with black beans in lieu of flour. There’s all kinds of fiber and goodness in this gluten-free brownie recipe, and yet all you’re going to hear on the receiving end is “man, these are AWESOME.” 

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Orange and Dried Plum Bars, and Free Giveaway From Sweet and Easy Vegan

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I consider myself a lucky girl for many reasons, one of them being that I have so many way cool colleagues in the food writing world. Like Robin Asbell. Robin has been putting the “yuummm” into veggie and whole grain based cooking for several years now, with her New Vegetarian, Big Vegan and New Whole Grains Cookbooks. Now, she’s gracing us with Sweet and Easy Vegan: Treats Made with Whole Grains and All Natural Sweeteners.

When Robin asked me to be part of her virtual potluck, I had a hard time choosing from the list of dishes. Mocha Scones with Cacao Nibs? Yum. PB&J Crisp? Sweet Potato Coconut Cupcakes? All good. I, though, decided to bring Orange and Dried Plum Bars to the party. Orange and plum has always been a favorite pairing of mine, and with a walnut streusel topping? Done.

Not only have Robin and Chronicle given me permission to share the recipe here with you, they’re also giving you the chance to win your very own copy of the book (trust me, whether you’re vegan or not, this would be a good thing).

Unlike many of my fellow potluck pals (who are more confident bakers than I am), I opted to cook the recipe exactly as is* out of the book for two reasons: one, because I tend to get into BIG trouble when I mess with any baking recipe and, two, because I was curious about the vegan ingredients. Nothing in the ingredient list was new to me, but some–palm sugar, coconut oil, soy milk, agave syrup–were, for me, novel ingredients to be baking with.

I’m not the biggest baker to begin with, but part of the reason is because I don’t feel great about having goodies that are basically processed flour and sugar in my fridge, no matter the guise. Which is why I was so excited to delve into Robin’s book. I can get behind bars that are mostly fruit, whole grains and nuts. I love that I’m adding not only to my sweet-leaning repertoire, but also to my ‘nourishing baking’ skill set.

Oh, before I forget … to enter to win a book of your own, just leave a comment below with a way to get in touch. I’ll pick a winner this Friday (October 26th). In the meantime, check out the rest of the virtual potluck dishes here.

Dried Plum Filling
1 pound pitted dried plums
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup agave syrup
3 tablespoons orange liqueur*
5 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

Crust
1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup Sucanat or granular palm sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons coconut oil, chilled
3 tablespoons soy milk

Streusel
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup Sucanat or granular palm sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted, plus more as needed

To make the plum filling: In a small saucepan, combine the dried plums, water, agave syrup, and orange liqueur. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat as much as possible, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until thoroughly combined.

Preheat the oven to 350. Oil a 9-inch square baking pan.

To make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the pastry flour, Sucanat, and salt and stir until well mixed. Grate the chilled coconut oil into the flour mixture, then toss until the bits of coconut oil are evenly coated. Mix gently with your fingers, squeezing to break up the bits and working quickly so the warmth from your hands doesn’t melt the coconut oil. Add the soy milk and stir until just combined. Press a bit of the mixture in your hand to see if it holds together; if it’s crumbly, stir in a bit more soy milk.

Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and press it in an even layer. Bake for 5 minutes. Let cool. Leave the oven on.

Meanwhile, prepare the streusel: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, walnuts, Sucanat, and salt and stir until well mixed. Add the coconut oil and stir until thoroughly combined. If any loose flour remains, stir in a bit more oil.

Spread the plum filling over the crust in an even layer. Scatter the streusel evenly over the top and press to flatten slightly. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the streusel is golden brown and feels firm to the touch.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut 4 by 4, to make 16 squares. Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, the bars will keep for about 1 week.

Serves 16

* Full disclosure … I did change one thing. I thought I had Cointreau, but didn’t, So I used amaretto instead.

 

Cherry Apricot Almond Tart

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This tart has the trifecta effect of cherries + almonds + apricots. And it’s gorgeous. I love how this tart gives off both a casual, rustic feeling and a sense of refinement at the same time. Get ready for it to be the talk of the barbecue.

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Old-Fashioned Raspberry Buckle Coffee Cake

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A buckle is a homey, old-school American dessert that’s a single-layer coffee cake studded with fruit. As the cake cools, it settles and “buckles.” I used raspberries here, but blueberries or blackberries would work just as well. If you happen to have our DIY Ghee on hand, use it to add deep flavor to this recipe. The buckle cake a great addition to a brunch spread or as an afternoon snack with coffee or tea.

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Brandied Cherry Clafoutis

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This dessert has a pudding-like consistency and decadently rich flavor . . . for about 30 calories more than a serving of low-fat Oreos.

cherry-clafoutis-recipe

1/2 cup brandy
1 1/2 pounds cherries, pitted and halved
6 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon powdered sugar, for dusting

In a saucepan bring the brandy and cherries to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and let soak for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 400.

With an electric mixer, beat together eggs and sugar at high speed for a minute and a half, until light and frothy. Turn off mixer, add in creme fraiche, butter, flour, vanilla and almond extracts and salt. Strain the brandy from the cherries into the egg mixture and blend at medium speed until all is incorporated.

Butter or spray a 10-inch baking dish and pour in mixture. Scatter cherries over the top (they will sink) and bake for 25 minutes, until batter is just turning golden and no longer jiggles.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 12

Chocolate Amaranth Pudding

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As we’ve noted before, amaranth has a gelatinous quality that makes it ideal for pudding. If you’re fan of rice pudding or tapioca, you’ll probably like this, too. Our version is spiced with a little ancho chile powder and ground cinnamon, and sweetened with coconut sugar. You can cook the amaranth in unsweetened coconut milk beverage found in the refrigerated section of health food stores (rather than the thicker, richer canned coconut milk you’d use in our Spring Vegetable Curry), or use almond milk if you prefer less pronounced coconut flavor.
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Whole Wheat Crepes

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Traditional French crepes get a healthy upgrade, thanks to whole wheat pastry flour. You don’t need a dedicated crepe pan for this recipe; any nonstick skillet will do. The number of crepes you get depends on the size of the skillet. I used a 10-inch skillet and ended up with 12 (7-inch) crepes. You can double this crepe recipe and freeze the leftovers. Thaw them at room temperature and warm them up in a low oven or in a nonstick skillet over low heat. Serve with savory (try our Cabbage Saute with Shiitakes and Crispy Tofu or Spicy Sweet Shrimp) or sweet fillings (like fresh fruit and a dollop of our Kitchen MacGyver Lemon Curd). Of course, it’s a classic with bananas and Nutella. Don’t worry if the first crepe isn’t perfect–French cooks call that the “sacrifice.”

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