Thank You Cake

Sometimes words just are not enough. Sometimes you have to find other ways of expressing gratitude to someone. The solution to this problem is always chocolate cake. Trust me.

I took a train back to school from New York and it was delayed 3 hours and my poor friend was stuck waiting for me at the station, freezing in her car while I called her every five minutes saying “Okay, they said we should be there in 20 minutes. Oh wait, make that an hour. Oh wait, two hours….” The least I could do was bake her a cake.

This cake is fairly basic, so I decided to boost the chocolatey goodness by drizzling homemade chocolate sauce all over it. Mmmm it came out light and fluffy and was so easy to make! It’s the perfect recipe to whip out when you need another way to say “thank you” or “sorry” or “you’re the best.”

Basic Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sauce (from The Joy of Vegan Baking)

Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 heaping cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

1 cup cold water

1. Preheat oven to 350° and oil a bundt pan or 9″ round cake pan.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 15 minutes and flip onto a plate.

Chocolate Sauce:

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbsp flour

1/8 tsp salt

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup vanilla soy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine dry ingredients in a sauce pan and then add the milk and vanilla.

2. Stir over medium heat and let it boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, it will thicken as it cools.

Of course, my kitchen lacks a real sauce pan, so I came up with the genius idea of using a tea kettle instead. It was actually perfect for easy pouring! …Oh college life.

Enjoy!

September Loves

My plans to bake keep getting squashed by so many things. First, it was just the fact that I was too busy, and now it’s because I’ve caught the college plague. You know how that goes, everyone around you is getting sick and you’re all like “Psh, I eat my fruits and vegetables, I’m not gonna get sick.” And then you wake up on Monday with a fever. Oops.

Anyways, because of this I’ve been bedridden for two days, only getting up to go get smoothies and soup from the cafe nearby. I figured while I have some free time to sit in front of my computer (since I already finished a whole season of Mad Men…) it’s about time to compile some of my favorite things from this past month. So here we go…

–This music video. It’s so endearing and the little dance breaks are the best.

-This incredible looking pie. It’s so far from vegan, but I’m determined to veganize it at some point.

-I’m obsessed with underwater photography, and this artist in particular. Her photos are so dreamy and stunning.

–Pears, apples and maple syrup. A perfect fall combination.

-That Book. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel. I finally finished it recently and it was so intense, enlightening, beautiful and disturbing all at the same time. I would highly recommend it!

-This song. I saw him live last year at my school and he was incredible, but I just rediscovered it!

–These shoes. Too bad I’m too cheap to spend over $20 on shoes. Plus did you know Urban Outfitters gives a lot of money to the Republican Party? Booo…

-Last but not least, it’s mildly embarrassing, but when I’m sick I tend to watch all 6 parts of this. It’s as comforting as eating a big bowl of mashed potatoes 🙂

That’s all for now! As soon as I can walk without getting dizzy, I will have some new recipes for you.

Banana Peach Spice Bread

Yay we got our oven back! Just in time. I finished a difficult paper for my literature class last night, so baking this bread was the perfect stress release. There is no better way to begin a week than by making some good old-fashioned banana bread…. except this recipe has a twist. I realized I didn’t have enough bananas for the recipe I had planned on using, due to my late night peanut-butter-and-banana snacking, so I decided to mash up an overripe peach instead. Bananas and peaches go together great in smoothies, so why not in bread as well?

Banana Peach Spice Bread

(adapted from Susan’s recipe)

2 large bananas

1 peach, peeled

1 tbsp white vinegar

1/3 cup soy milk

½ cup sugar

2 cups unbleached flour

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cloves

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray or wipe a 9×5-inch loaf pan with oil.
2. Mix the soymilk with the vinegar and let it sit until it curdles into vegan “buttermilk”
3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas and the peach together. Add the “buttermilk” and sugar and stir.
4. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until it is combined.
5. Spread the mixture evenly in your loaf pan and bake until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean or for about 50 minutes. Cool and eat!

This actually might be one of the best banana bread recipes I’ve made. It’s not only vegan, but super low-fat, which a lot of people are usually skeptical about. However this quick bread will hush up any skepticism. It’s moist, just the right density and full of tummy-warming flavor. Use this to surprise anyone who thinks vegan baking is bland!

On a different note, I know I set out with the intent that I would have new posts on here every other day, but between classes, Fearless and Loathing, work, being in a dance piece and actually trying to have some sort of a social life, I think that’s gonna have to change. Here’s the deal, I can promise at least one new post per week. Depending on my schedule and how often I cook, sometimes it’ll be more, but I think once a week will suffice! I have so many recipes that I can’t wait to make and share with you all, so stay tuned. 🙂

Speaking of staying tuned… does anyone else have to have music when they cook or bake? I know I do. This is a song from my banana bread baking music.

Toasted Veggie Sandwich and Disaster

Disaster has struck my dorm. Our oven and stove are broken. Now instead of baking lovely treats for everyone, I’m going to actually have to do my homework this weekend. Maybe it’s a sign that I need to adjust my priorities. Hopefully it will be fixed soon though, because I have a long “to-bake” list for you guys. Meanwhile….

I discovered the fact that the stove was broken midway through preparing to make a grilled veggie sandwich. I was about to completely give up after waiting 10 minutes for the pan to heat up and just go with boring old peanut butter and jelly, but then I had an idea. I could toast/roast the veggies instead. The result was still delicious.

Basically I drizzled sliced eggplant and tomato with olive oil and sprinkled them with oregano and rosemary and baked them at 400° in the toaster oven for about 15 minutes (until the eggplant was soft). I toasted two slices of bread (I used plain old wheat, but I wish I had some better bread like ciabatta so it didn’t get so soggy) and then spread a layer of spinach and artichoke hummus, topped it with fresh basil and finally added the veggies. Perfect for a quick and healthy dinner before I ran off to serve pizza for 5 hours!

Haven’t you ever noticed that the best sandwiches are always the messiest to eat? It’s a fact.

Double Chocolate Cookies

Well my class schedule is now official and I couldn’t be more excited about what I’m taking. Lots of literature, dance and art- what could be better? It will be incredibly busy… but I’ll figure out a way to handle it. In fact, you know what the best way to handle stress is? Bake cookies. Especially chocolate cookies. Take my word for it, it’s incredibly therapeutic.

My friend and I were just going to make plain chocolate chip cookies, but when we found cocoa powder in the pantry, we decided the more chocolate the better. They ended up delicious and had a great, crumbly-on-the-outside and chewy-on-the-inside texture.

Double Chocolate Cookies (adapted from here):

makes about 2 dozen

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

big handful of vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. In a medium bowl, combine sugar and oil. Then add the vanilla and water.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined (you may need to add a little extra water if dough is too dry).

5. Roll dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place them on an un-greased cookie sheet. Flatten them down a little- they don’t spread much.

6. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Take them out when they’re still a little soft, as they will harden as they cool.

The weather here has been gross and rainy, but these cookies make the perfect rainy day snack.

Also, while I eat cookies and start studying and everything, I have been revisiting this song and the whole album it’s on. It’s one of my favorites! My friend and I listened to it as we baked these 🙂

Oh and just so my readers know… I’m still not super happy with the theme of my blog. So if stuff keeps changing I apologize and promise I will be content soon!