DB Vegan Apple Strudel

I must say, making flaky paper-thin strudel dough was SO MUCH FUN! I just wish I had read the directions more carefully, because I made a major mistake in rolling it. Instead of making a nice 6" pile of filling and rolling multiple layers around it, I rolled it like a jelly roll (oops!), and ended up with a very thin outer shell with apples falling out of it. I scratched my head for a bit, because there was no "undoing" it or time to start over, but oh well- I thought I'd just make the best of it and see if it would still be edible. That's what I get for procrastinating anyway!!

So with some leftover dough, I was praying for a miracle. I rolled it out, stretched it super thin, and cut strips to do some patchwork on the outside. Then, I baked as directed and kept my fingers crossed.

I was expecting the filling to start oozing out, but... it didn't happen! It came out beautifully. I was also expecting the dough on the inside to be gummy and gross... but alas! It was GOOD, dare I say VERY GOOD!

But just when I was happily ready to post my lovely pictures, I found that my USB cord to my digital camera was missing (ugh!) I found two other cords that looked identical (we have a lot of cords around, being a DJ and all)- but NONE of them fit (double ugh!)

...So, I borrowed another camera and took a couple photos of the finished product (shrug). A little late, but in the end, it all turned out ok.

Ah, my Procrastination Angel- she was looking over me tonight!

Here's the recipe:

Strudel Dough:

I was thrilled to find out that typical strudel dough is already vegan! I've only eaten it a few times in my life, and have never made it before, so I decided to follow the recipe pretty closely, with the exception of subbing melted Earth Balance marg for the filling.

1 1/3 C. flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 C. water (more if needed)
2 T. canola oil
1/2 tsp cider vinegar

Mix the flour and the salt, set aside. Mix the wet ingredients and add to the dry. Knead until you get a soft dough. Oil the dough ball lightly, and wrap with plastic. Let it sit for 30-90 minutes (longer, the better).

Filling:

3 T. raisins
2 T. rum
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 C. sugar
1/4 C. + 3 T. Earth Balance margarine
1 1/2 C. fresh whole grain bread crumbs
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
2 lbs. tart apples

Fry the bread crumbs in the 3 T. of margarine, until toasty- set aside to cool. Soak the raisins in the rum, and mix the cinnamon with the sugar-set aside. Peel and core the apples, then slice thinly (I used a food processor with a slicing attachment). Toss the apples with the cinnamon sugar mixture, as well as the raisins and rum.

Here's the fun part- stretching the dough! Line your table with a clean tablecloth- I didn't have one, so I spread plastic wrap- not as easy, but works. Roll out the dough until fairly thin. Lift the dough and use your forearms and gravity to stretch it paper thin, so that you can almost see right through it! This dough is very stretchy and doesn't dry out too quick. When you're done stretching, trim the edges with scissors and spread melted Earth Balance over the top with your hands.

Now you're ready to fill and roll, using the tablecloth to help. Here is a strudel-making video that I wished I had watched!

Bake at 400 degrees on a mid-high rack for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for a bit before cutting and serving.

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

DB Upside Down Peach Cashew Cheesecake with Mango Compote

"Cheesecake gone crazy" was echoing in my head after learning of the challenge that had really no restrictions beyond being a cheesecake. I've made vegan ones before with Tofutti cream cheese, and have been impressing (or tricking) non-vegans for quite some time now. So I wanted to challenge myself and come up with a recipe using cashews instead of the conventional vegan Tofutti alternative. I also wanted to stay within my grocery budget and use what was in my pantry, fridge, freezer, etc. So... a carton of soy yogurt got subbed for my original plan to use silken tofu (someone used it!), and instead of fresh fruit, I defrosted a bag of frozen mangoes. Feel free to do your own substitutions and use what's in your kitchen!

I pressed my graham cracker-date crust into the bottoms of a mini bundt cake pan to make 6 cute little individual cheesecakes, as shown below.

Here they are turned out onto a cookie sheet. They didn't stick- yay!!

In the end, I got very good reviews- success!

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 C. ground graham crackers
1/2 C. dried pitted dates
2 T. water
1 T. Earth Balance buttery sticks

Filling:
1 C. raw cashews, soaked overnight
6 oz. container of peach soy yogurt (or try coconut milk yogurt)
2 T. agave nectar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. lemon juice

Mango Compote:
2 1/2 C. frozen mango
1/4 C. water
1/4 C. sugar
small pinch of salt

Spinz:
Process the crust ingredients until you get a fine crumble that sticks together when pressed. Spray cooking spray into mini bundt pans and fill evenly with the crust. Press into the bottoms. Bake for 5 minutes at 350.
Blend all ingredients for the filling until silky smooth. Pour evenly into bundt pans on top of the crusts. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350.
In a sauce pan, heat the mango compote ingredients until a nice syrup develops. Taste, and alter acidity with lemon juice or sweetness with more or less sugar if needed. My frozen mangoes were really sour and not very sweet, so these amounts may vary.
To assemble, let the cheesecakes cool to room temp. Turn them out onto a sheet pan and transfer onto a plate with the mango compote already on it. If desired, add a dollop of vegan whipped cream.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

DB Vegan Strawberry "Lasagna" Pie

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

When I learned about the Daring Bakers challenge this month (lasagna), I thought of being unique and making a dessert. But sweet pasta just didn't sound too good to me- maybe I'll try it some time and prove myself wrong.

Instead, I created a lasagna-shaped pie with a Balsamic Strawberry "Ragu," and a Vanilla Custard "Bechamel," and topped it with Candied Lemon Zest.

Hope you enjoy my deceptive creation!

After making my "crust squares," which was made slightly healthier by making a vegetable oil crust, instead of the traditional shortening or margarine crusts, I made the other components and simply assembled everything cold. In hindsight, I would probably try to roll the dough thinner since there are so many layers! This would also be good with puff pastry or phyllo, I think, but you may not be able to make those rad looking waves!

Balsamic Strawberry "Ragu"
If you've never tried strawberries with balsamic vinegar, it's wonderful! The vinegar brings out more of the strawberry flavor, and when reduced, makes a delicious syrup.

1 16 oz. package of fresh strawberries, sliced or cubed -then divided into 2 parts
1/3 C. sugar
1 T. balsamic vinegar
squeeze of lemon (@ 1 tsp)

Spinz:

Put everything into a sauce pan except half of the strawberries, and simmer until reduced to a thick syrupy sauce. Taste and make sure the sour to sweet ratio is to your liking and adjust as desired with sugar or lemon. Let cool, then fold in the other half of the fresh strawberries.

Vanilla Custard "Bechamel"
Ok, this was far from being like a sauce, but I wanted it to look neat and not sloppy, so I hardened it with some agar and cut it into squares. It had a great flavor, but could probably use a bit more creaminess, perhaps some pureed silken tofu...and a little less agar? If you didn't want to add more fat, then you could put the hardened custard into a food processor and crumble it to resemble ricotta, so it would then be more aptly named, Vanilla Custard "Ricotta." This was a great dessert on it's own, and I'll definitely be tinkering with it in the future!

1 stick of agar- I found this at the Asian market
2 C. soy milk
1 C. water
1/3 C. sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
1/2 pkg. Tofutti cream cheese (non-hydrogenated kind)

Spinz:

As directed on the package, I soaked the agar stick in the liquids (soy milk and water) for about half an hour. Then I heated it on the stove and mixed in the sugar and vanilla. After zapping the cream cheese in the microwave for about 30 seconds, I whisked that in and stirred until everything was fully combined and the agar was fully dissolved. Then I poured it into a 12 X 20"
rectangular cake pan and let it cool to room temp, then into the fridge until chilled.

There was a lot of the custard left over after making the above, which I will happily eat by itself or with some other fruits.

Candied Lemon Zest

Just zest a bunch of lemons and put the zest into a baggie and shake with some sugar. Let it sit for an hour or two, then shake off excess sugar- this "lemon sugar" is great stuff too!

This was definitely a dessert to share with a few friends with forks. Below was how I made the crust squares to look like lasagna noodles, using metal skewers.

Daring Baker's: Vegan Chocolate Flourless Torte & Coconut Rum Raisin Ice Cream

A rich, dense, nutty, dark chocolate torte served with a drizzling of chocolate syrup and cool creamy coconut rum raisin ice cream- vegan decadence for the Daring Baker's Challenge!

Here's a description of the challenge:
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

It was an extra challenge for us vegan bakers, due to the fact that a traditional torte has a lot of eggs and very little or no flour. My recipe was adapted from this one by Vegan Visitor (awesome blog, btw), and The coconut ice cream was slightly adapted from this recipe by Vegan Ice Cream (another kick-ass site).


The upside- a ridiculously indulgent dessert with much less fat and cholesterol than the original.
The downside- yet another heart-shaped food... but I promise, it's the last one... er... at least until next year ;)

Here are the recipes:

Vegan Chocolate Flourless Torte:

Makes about 8-10 servings

3/4 C. ground almonds
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 package extra firm silken tofu (Mori-Nu)
6 oz. semi sweet baker's chocolate
2 T. N-ergy Egg Replacer
1/2 C. water
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
powdered sugar (optional)

Spinz:

In a food processor, spin together the almonds, sugar, vanilla, salt, and silken tofu until smooth and well combined. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and mix in. In a high-powered blender, whiz the egg replacer, water, cream of tartar, baking powder, and baking soda until you get a nice foam. I wouldn't recommend a food processor or magic bullet for this, as the resulting pressure could cause it to explode! If you don't have a regular mixer, you can try a stick blender. Fold in the foam gently into the chocolate mixture and pour into an 8X8 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Mine did crack a little in the middle, so I would recommend baking in a water bath. I also baked for 35 minutes, turned off the heat and let it sit in the oven for an additional 10. Let cool completely before turning out. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional)

Coconut Rum Raisin Ice Cream:
(the only thing different from the original recipe is that I subbed coconut rum for dark rum)

makes about 1 quart of ice cream

3 1/2 C. coconut milk
3/4 C. sugar
2 T. arrowroot
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 C. raisins
3/4 C. coconut rum

Spinz:

Soak raisins in the rum, set aside. In a sauce pan, add coconut milk (reserving 1/4 C.), sugar, and vanilla and heat. Add the 1/4 C. reserved coconut milk to the arrowroot and dissolve. When the mixture in the sauce pan comes to a simmer, add the arrowroot mixture and whisk until thickened. Take off heat and let cool to room temp. Put into ice cream maker as directed by the manufacturer. Add in raisins and 1/4 C. of the rum at the last 5 minutes. Transfer to an air-tight container and freeze until solid.