Coconut Cream in a Can, Win a Whipped Cream Dispenser!

Make your own healthier whipped cream in a can.  Am I dreaming?  Gone are the days of searching high and low for a good vegan store-bought version that didn't either taste funny or cost more than I ever wanted to pay for cream in a can.

Granted, my recipe produced a slightly softer cream than the regular kind, but it has no hydrogenated fat and tastes incredibly good.  Unfortunately (and fortunately), I'll have to finish the cream in my dispenser before starting another recipe, but I'm so looking forward to trying other flavors, ingredients, etc.

Whip-It^tm Whipped Cream Dispenser


So... do you want one of these? 

Excellent.  I just happen to have one to give away, courtesy of The WEBstaurant Store.  I found a plethora of different recipes for sweet and savory creams and foams online, so leave me a comment telling me what you'd like to make with the Whip-It, and I'll choose the most creative one. 

As for vegan versions, sadly there aren't very many to find.  The Whip-It website suggests using coconut cream (separating from the milk), but I wanted to skip that step and use the whole can (hate when I have a partial can of whatever sitting around).  AND, I've been itching to use my guar gum, which I found in the bulk section of my local natural food store.  Now in order to make whipped cream in a can, the liquid has to have at least 30% fat -yikes!  Guar gum, made from guar seeds, is a natural thickener, emulsifier, and often used in ice creams to inhibit ice crystals from forming.  Since I needed to up the fat content of the coconut milk (normally about 17% fat), I needed this ingredient to keep the added oil and coconut milk from separating.

Coconut Cream (for whipped cream dispensers)

Ingredients*:

1 can regular coconut milk (almost 2 cups)

1/3 C. canola oil

1/2 C. confectioner's sugar

1/4 tsp. guar gum

1 tsp. vanilla extract

*You may need to reduce the quantities depending on the size of the dispenser- mine has a max of 1/2 liter, and this recipe worked out fine with one charger.

Spinz:

Blend in a blender until completely smooth (no lumps).  If it has lumps, this will clog the dispenser.  Pour mixture into clean dispenser, cap, insert nitrous oxide charger, and chill dispenser in the fridge until nice and cold before using.  Shake a few times, then hold can upside down when dispensing.

Happy Birthday to Me Cake!

Yes, it's my birthday today- a celebration of the 38 years of being alive in this world. But for my blog, I'd like to call this my 5th birthday, as it is a celebration of 5 years being vegan! 5 years of having a clear conscience, better health, and a worthy cause that inspires me to share.

My life in a nutshell? ... a nearly (nearly?) middle-aged DJ, who stays "hip" by scratchin' and playing the top "hits" but secretly loves the 80's (Hall & Oates, The Go-Go's- yeah!), loves her doggies like children because let's face it, they ARE- has a crazy obsession with cooking and blogging about it, constantly looking to make some good "food porn" with a dinky digital camera- loves the fact that her husband went almost vegan for her (couldn't give up the sushi though), and appreciates her best friend, housemates, and DJ crew for doing the same without complaints of meat deprivation- and is hopeful for her mother who has had cancer for 5 years, which was the trigger that led her to veganism... and this blog.

So... what does a person like this want to do on her birthday? Well, besides writing run-on sentences and talking about herself in the third-person... EAT CAKE, of course!

There are no vegan bakeries here in Davis (boo!), so I had to make this one myself- although I have been assured that there are one or more cakes to come this week, made by my family & friends. Yes, I'm a lucky, lucky girl!

After a little thought, I decided to make a coconut cake- because I LOVE coconut and we just bought a batch of coconut milk. And, I made a rich coconut frosting to go with it. It was a bit rich for me, but I got complements like "perfect" and "da bomb!" from everyone else. I only frosted between the layers before running out (but that was enough frosting for me). If you want to frost the whole thing inside and out, I would double it - but be prepared to take a long nap afterwards! zzzzz

Makes one four-layer cake (2 round cake pans)

Ingredients:

Cake
1 C. soy milk
1 C. coconut milk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2/3 C. canola oil
1 T. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 C. sugar
2 1/2 C. all purpose flour
1/4 C. corn starch
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting:
1/2 C. vegan margarine (I used Earth balance buttery sticks)
1/4 C. coconut butter
1/2 package of Mori-Nu firm silken tofu
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C. powdered sugar
1 C. reduced fat unsweetened coconut flakes (regular is ok too)

Spinz:

Prepare the frosting first by throwing everything except the coconut into a blender or processor until smooth. Add the coconut flakes and pulse a few times to combine. Note: if you're using the regular (not reduced fat) coconut, it would be a great idea to toast it a little first. Unfortunately, the reduced fat one does not toast well and gets overly tough and chewy. Put the mixture into the fridge to cool.

Pour the soy & coconut milk into a large bowl and add the vinegar. Let stand a few minutes. Add the oil, vanilla, almond extract, and sugar and mix well. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until lumps are gone (I used an electric mixer). Pour into two greased round cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool down before carefully popping them out onto plates and slicing each into halves. Spread the cooled frosting between the layers and chill in the fridge until ready to eat.

Exotic Coconut Muffins

Ok, so it doesn't look so exotic in the picture... but thanks to a trip to the Asian market, the secret ingredient is "Macapuno Strings," or jarred gelatinous(no gelatin!) young coconut. This stuff makes a rich, deliciously moist crumb. It also makes the muffin shiny on top without having to brush on any glaze. The coconut itself is soft vs. the fibrous texture of dried coconut. Watch out- these can be quite addictive!

If you can't get your hands on some macapuno strings, you can substitute 1 cup of regular dried coconut.

Makes about 18 muffins

Ingredients:

1 jar (12 oz.) macapuno strings
1 C. sugar
1 (13.5oz) can coconut milk (about 2 cups)
1/4 C. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 C. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Spinz:

In a large bowl, mix together the macapuno strings, sugar, coconut milk, veg oil, and vanilla extract. Mix together the remaining dry ingredients and add to the wet until fully combined. Pour into muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Done when toothpick comes out clean. Let cool a bit before munching.

Nutrition Info: 202 Calories/ 8.4g total fat/ 5g saturated fat/ 31.2g total carb/ 18.8g sugar/ 1.8g fiber/ 1.8g protein/ 233.3mg sodium/ 66.4mg potassium