Gingerbread

This is a fairly spicy gingerbread cake. It can be fasting or not--if not, it's great with whipped cream on the top! I brought this a few weeks ago for trapeza.

Gingerbread

2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

(optional—½ tsp black pepper)

½ tsp salt

½ cup melted butter (or coconut oil)

½ cup sugar

1 egg (or ¼ cup water)

1 cup molasses

1 cup hot dark coffee*

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan.

Sift dry ingredients in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat together the butter/oil and sugar; add the egg/water and molasses. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients. When completely combined, slowly mix in the coffee. Batter will be runny. Pour into pan and bake 30-35 minutes.

*Instead of a cup of coffee, I often add some instant coffee granules to the dry ingredients and use plain hot water at the end.

Poor Man's Toffee

I've also seen this called Chocolate Caramel Crackers. There's both a fasting and non-fasting version. The non-fasting one is the tastiest, of course (and what I brought for trapeza today), but the fasting one is incredibly good too! (I've brought that in the past.)

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Poor Man’s Toffee

makes roughly 100 pieces

1 1/4 cups butter, divided
around 40 saltine-style crackers (or graham crackers)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cups finely chopped nuts (optional)

You'll want to have all the ingredients ready ahead of time--once it starts boiling, everything happens quickly!

Preheat oven to 375.
Melt 1/4 cup butter; pour into foil-lined jelly roll pan.
Arrange crackers over butter, edge to edge (cover the entire pan).
Melt remaining butter; add sugar and boil 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally (the longer it boils, the chewier the toffee will be).
Remove from heat and stir in condensed milk. Pour over crackers and spread as evenly as possible.
Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, until bubbly and slightly darkened.
Remove from oven, cool 1 minute, and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes (until chocolate is soft and melty) and spread.
Sprinkle with nuts; press lightly into chocolate.
Cool; refrigerate until chocolate is set.
Remove foil and cut candy.

To make fasting--use margarine instead of butter and omit the sweetened condensed milk. Spread the caramel mixture over the crackers quickly; it will start setting as soon as it's poured.

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(My "personal" version is kind of a combination of an old family recipe, and these two blog posts at Smitten Kitchen and Life in a Shoe)

My new favorite (fasting) cookies

I checked Veganomicon out from the library because I've heard it's a fantastic cookbook. I can't speak for the whole book--this is the first recipe I've tried--but these definitely are fantastic! Rich, dense, chewy, with a lovely hint of flavor from the almond and raspberry. These aren't just good fasting cookies--they're good cookies period! And you don't need a mixer to make them.

Chewy Chocolate-Raspberry Cookies

1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup neutral oil (like canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the preserves, sugar, oil, and extracts. In
another bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in 3 batches, mixing well with a fork or spoon after each addition. Mix to a smooth, soft, pliable dough. By the last batch, you'll probably need to get your hands in there to help.

Roll the dough into walnut-size balls and flatten into 2 1/2 inch diameter disks. Place closely together on a cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes (they'll be slightly cracked on the tops, but still very soft).

Remove the pans from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Or eat warm and still slightly gooey!

Makes 2 dozen.

Sweet Potato Bake Recipe

Sweet Potato Bake Recipe

10-12 Servings
Prep: 35 min. Bake: 20 min. + standing

Ingredients
7 large sweet potatoes (about 6 pounds), peeled and cubed
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger

TOPPING:
12 oatmeal cookies, crumbled
6 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions

Place sweet potatoes in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook just for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain
Mash potatoes with butter. Add the marmalade, orange juice, brown sugar, salt and ginger. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Toss cookie crumbs with butter; sprinkle over the top.
Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes or until browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Nita's crazy cake

Nita's crazy cake
yield: Makes 8 servings

This cake is good sprinkled with powdered sugar or topped with vanilla frosting.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place first 5 ingredients in 8x8x2-inch nonstick metal pan. Using handle of wooden spoon, poke three holes in dry ingredients. Combine 1 cup cold water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla in large glass measuring cup. Pour liquid ingredients into holes in dry ingredients (there will be some overflow). Using fork, stir until batter is smooth. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.)

Stone Fruit Tea Cake

This is the peach tart I brought for trapeza. It is so, so good--especially warm from the oven--and very simple to make. It can be made with any type of stone fruit, but I've only ever used peaches and nectarines. This is from Rustic Fruit Desserts, which has a multitude of recipes organized by seasonal availability of fruit, but extremely adaptable and versatile. Everything I've tried from this cookbook has been delicious!

Stone Fruit Tea Cake

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (or slightly less table salt)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature, for the pan
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped stone fruit, fresh or frozen (any variety, unpeeled is fine)
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar*

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, cream the sugar and butter together on medium-high speen for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each, and then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix just till a smooth, sticky dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a disc, and freeze for 30 minutes (it will be too sticky to handle, otherwise).**

Meanwhile, prepare your fruit. When the dough is well-chilled, preheat the oven to 375. Butter a shallow 10-inch round baking pan or tart pan.

Divide the dough into two equal portions and pat one portion evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan (butter your fingers or the spoon so the dough won't stick quite so much). Spread the fruit evenly over the dough, all the way to the edges. Break the rest of the dough into tablespoon-sized pieces and scatter them over the fruit, then sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until lightly golden and firm. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

* Turbinado sugar is coarse, raw sugar crystals. Most grocery stores will have it in the baking section, or I buy from Sprouts in bulk. It's a wonderful finishing touch, but I've forgotten them before and nothing bad happened. : )

**You can store the dough in the freezer for longer if needed; just soften slightly before continuing with the recipe.

Chess Bars

Ok, I'm finally posting this recipe! I'm sorry, I thought I had long ago... These are embarrassingly easy for something that gets such rave reviews!

Chess Bars

1 box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon

Beat together and spread in a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan. May be necessary to butter hands to keep the mixture from sticking.

2ND Layer:
1 box confectioners' sugar (about 4 cups)
2 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon

Beat and spread over cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before cutting.

Chocolate Sorbet

This is so wonderfully rich and chocolatey! Better than chocolate ice cream, in my opinion. Make sure you use a large pot or it will bubble over. And don't skip the blender step--I did, and while it was wonderful, there were little bits of chocolate and I think it would be even better perfectly smooth.

Chocolate Sorbet
from The Perfect Scoop

2 1/4 cups water
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk, for 45 seconds.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it’s melted, then stir in the vanilla extract and the remaining 3/4 cup water. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 15 seconds. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker. If the mixture has become too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out. After freezing in the ice cream maker, transfer to another (cold) container to continue freezing until it's the right consistency (another hour or so).

You can probably make this without an ice cream maker--just put it in the freezer and stir every half-hour or so until frozen--probably 4 hours?

Makes 1 quart.

Versatile Vegan Fruit Cobbler

Crust:
1 c. margarine (you can use shortening)
dash salt
1 1/2 c. white flour
2 c. sugar
2 c. oats
Mix together w/ pastry blender and set aside. Should be crumbly, not a ball of dough.

Fruit:
2 large cans peaches or 2 cans of berry pie filling
1 bag frozen blueberries or blackberries

Mix and pour into greased pan. Spread crust mixture evenly over top.

Bake at 350 to 375 degrees 40-50 minutes.

Vegan Rice Pudding

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup white medium grain or short grain rice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups soy milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 slightly heaping tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
pinch of salt
1/2 cup white raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped almonds (optional)

PREPARATION
1. Combine 1 1/2 cups water, the rice, and the salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over very low heat 8 to 9 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed. Check frequently and stir to make sure it doesn't stick. Add 3 1/2 cups of the soy milk and the sugar. Continue simmering on very low heat for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until the rice is soft and most of the milk absorbed. You want a spongy texture, with no bite. Remove the rice from the heat.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of the remaining soy milk into a bowl and whisk in the cornstarch to dissolve. Add the vanilla extract and cardamom. Pour the cornstarch-milk mixture along with the remaining 3/4 cup soy milk into the hot pudding and stir to combine. Add a pinch of salt and the raisins and nuts if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Apple-Cranberry Cake

recipe from Jenny:

This cake is chock-full of fruit and, as cakes go, fairly healthy and not too sweet. And tasty!

Apple-Cranberry Cake

1/2 of a 12-oz pkg of fresh cranberries (or frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 apples, peeled and diced
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cloves
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit (optional)
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
~1/4 cup liquid (cranberry juice, orange juice, and water all work)
Preheat oven to 325º. In a small pot, bring to a boil ½ cup sugar and 1 cup water. Add cranberries and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool. Stir together cranberry mixture, apples, and the rest of the sugar and let stand 10 minutes. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl, then add nuts, raisins, oil, and vanilla to the apple-cranberry mixture. Stir fruit mixture into the dry ingredients, adding as much liquid as needed to make a thick batter. Pour into 9x13 inch greased pan and bake 50 minutes.
Variation: To make a plain apple cake (no cranberries), omit the cranberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup water. Use 4 apples instead of 2 and 3/4 cup of sugar instead of 2/3. Continue as above.

Monkey Bread

Recipe from Jenny:

One of our favorite and easiest fasting treats.

Monkey Bread

4 cans refrigerated biscuits (or 3 large cans)
1 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup sugar

1 cup chopped nuts

Stir sugar and cinnamon together. Cut biscuits into quarters. Roll each in cinnamon sugar. Layer nuts and biscuits in greased bundt pan, beginning with nuts. Top with monkey bread topping.

Topping:

1 ½ sticks of butter/margarine (3/4 cup)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar

Bring butter, cinnamon and brown sugar to a boil; boil for two minutes. Pour over biscuits in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, till biscuits are done. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then flip over onto a plate and remove pan. Cool slightly. Can either slice or just pull off chunks.