Agave Nectar Cakes with Blueberry Mousse Icing

These cakes were a delight to make and it seems as though the dough recipe is versatile enough that you can add/take away as you wish!  The cake and icing recipe came from Moskowitz & Romero's Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  Changes I made included use of whole wheat pastry flour and a bit more vanilla in place of the almond extract the recipe called for.  Here is the recipe for the mousse, which, by the way, must be kept incredible cold all the way until you pipe it and serve the cupcakes.

Blueberry Mousse Icing

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed to room temp
6 oz plain tofu
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 Tbs agave nectar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/3 cup blueberry juice from draining the above mentioned blueberries
1 teaspoon agar powder
1 Tbs arrowroot
Directions:
Strain juice away from blueberries and set aside.
Blend together berries, tofu, salt, agave and lemon juice in food processor for 1 minute.
In small bowl, mix together 1Tbs of the blueberry juice that was set aside with arrowroot and set aside.
In small saucepan, whisk together remaining juice and agar powder. Bring to boil, and simmer for 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat.
Pour in arrowroot mixture slowly and stir constantly until mixture thickens, about 1 minute.
Use heat proof spatula and slowly pour contents of above into food processor. Blend until creamy, scraping down the sides occasionally, about 3-4 minutes.  Scrape mixture into container and refrigerate at least 3 hours. 

Whip mixture a bit and then place in pastry bag and pipe as desired.

Green Tea Gelato

Recipe is from Ciao Bella of San Francisco.  Enjoy! This five ingredient recipe is fantastic, gluten-free, but not vegan.  Try it:

Ingredients:

Whole Milk   2 Cups
Cream   1 Cup
4 Egg Yolks
Sugar   2/3 Cups
Matcha Green Tea Powder    2 Tablespoons

Directions:

1. Combine milk and cream in a medium sized saucepan.  Stir to prevent skin from forming.  Heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges (temperature should be ~170ºF if you’re using a thermometer).
2. While heating the milk/cream, whisk egg yolks in your standmixer on high speed.  After 1 minute, add in sugar and continue to whisk until the yolk-sugar combination becomes thick, pale yellow and reaches the ribbon stage.  Turn the speed down once it reaches this stage to the lowest setting.
3. Next, temper the egg yolks by slow pouring the hot milk into eggs.
4. Then, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook stirring constantly.  It is ready when the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (~185ºF).
5. Set a bowl over an ice bath and pour the custard through a mesh strainer.  Stir intermittently until custard has cooled.
6. Once cooled, cover and place in refrigerator overnight or for at least 4 hours.
7. The next day, pour the cooled gelato base  into a blender and drop in 2 tbsp of green tea powder.  Blend until smooth.
8. Then transfer to ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions.

Ginger-Orange Marmalade on Challah

 

This recipe makes about 4 cups and is derived from a recipe from the Whole Foods' app on iPad.

Originally, the recipe did not call for pectin, but this ingredient is vital to keep the marmalade from being runny.

Ingredients:
4 naval oranges, rinsed
1 qt water
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 teaspoons pectin
Challah bread, sliced into thin pieces.

Steps:

Chill a small plate in the freezer before continuing.
Trim off ends of oranges and discard.
Peel oranges including pith. Slice half of the peel with pith attached into thin strips. Transfer to large pot and discard remaining.
Slice remainder of oranges into thick bite-size pieces and transfer to pot.
Add water, sugar, lemon juice, ginger, pectin and salt to pot and bring to rolling boil.
Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil. Skim off any foam on surface and continue to stir until mixture thickens-about 45 minutes.

Marmalade will be done when teaspoonful dropped on chilled plate runs clean when you run your finger through it.  If it clumps back together, keep on stove top and continue to cook on medium heat.  Test again every five minutes.

Ladle the hot marmalade directly into glass jars, set aside until it reaches room temperature, then refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Spread slightly chilled marmalade on toasted challah bread.

Irish Soda Bread

Hands down, this is the easiest bread recipe I've made.  This one is not gluten-free, but it is vegan.  Gluten-free Irish soda bread I will soon try.  Here is the recipe derived from one of Barefoot Contessa's Baking Basics episodes-happy bread making:

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 4 cups whole wheat bread flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold margarine, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 13/4 cups soy milk mixed with 13/4 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons potato starch
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 cup dried currants mixed with 1 Tablespoon whole wheat flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.


Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, potato starch and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Add the margarine and mix on low speed until it is mixed into the flour.


With a fork, lightly beat the soy milk-lemon juice mixture, and orange zest together in a small bowl.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the soy milk mixture in a steady stream to the flour mixture.

Combine the currants with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough.


Empty dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Make sure surface of loaf is smooth and free of cracks.

Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.

Cool on a baking rack. Cut into slices of desired thickness and serve warm or at room temperature.