Dessert

Vegan Mohnkuchen (Poppyseed Cake)

Hannah

We celebrated my husband’s birthday on Monday! This year, he requested Mohnkuchen (a German poppyseed cake) for his birthday cake. I had a hard time finding a vegan Mohnkuchen recipe in English, so I went ahead and adapted this recipe from Cookpad. It called for one egg in the poppyseed layer, which turned out to be very easy to substitute with chia seeds. After all, when you’re using over a cup of black poppyseeds in something, a few chia seeds will blend right in! Other than that, I mostly just switched out dairy products for their nondairy counterparts and made a few tweaks here and there (such as making the poppyseed layer larger at my husband’s request, which I think was a very good call).

I didn’t completely know what to expect with this cake. I haven’t baked with poppyseeds very much before and certainly never in this quantity. The finished product was extremely delicious! Each layer of the cake complements the others so well, and the subtle cinnamon and vanilla flavors blend with the poppyseed taste so harmoniously that the final result is beyond scrumptious. I seriously cannot believe how good it is. It’s a truly unique flavor profile for someone who’s used to the typical cake flavors common in America. Who would have thought that that many poppyseeds could be delicious in a cake? The people who invented Mohnkuchen, I guess! Good job, Germany.

I would also like to point out briefly just how beautiful this cake is. The stark contrast between the dark poppyseed layer and the light bottom layer is striking and visually appealing. So without further ado, here is the recipe.

Vegan Mohnkuchen Recipe

Ingredients:Mohnkuchen 2

  • 1 greased or parchment-lined 7-inch round cake pan, preferably with removable bottom. I used Fat Daddio’s.

Topping:

  • 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons organic raw cane sugar
  • 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread

Cake layer:

  • 1 heaping cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1/4 cup Silk vanilla soy yogurt or other nondairy yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened nondairy milk (I used Good Karma flaxmilk)
  • 3 tablespoons Earth Balance
  • 3 tablespoons organic raw cane sugar

Poppyseed Filling:

  • 1 cup + 1/8 cup poppyseeds (approximately 140 grams)
  • 1 “chia egg” (1 tablespoon chia seeds soaked in 3 tablespoons water and 4 tablespoons nondairy milk)
  • 2.5 tablespoons Earth Balance
  • 1 cup nondairy milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons organic raw cane sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Begin by mixing together the chia seeds, water and nondairy milk for your “chia egg” to be used later in the poppyseed layer and allowing them to soak.

Next, mix the flour, sugars and cinnamon for your topping. Add cold Earth Balance in chunks to the dry ingredients and crumble it all together using your hands or a fork. Once you have some nice crumbles, chill the topping mixture in the refrigerator until you are ready to top the other layers.

At this point, preheat your oven to 350°F. For the cake layer, add flour, baking powder and salt to a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together softened Earth Balance, nondairy yogurt, nondairy milk and sugar until combined. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until the batter comes together into a cakey dough. Roll the dough into a ball with your hands and then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a thick circle the size of your cake pan. Then, place your dough in the bottom of your pan and begin work on the poppyseed layer.

For the poppyseed layer, add nondairy milk and Earth Balance to a saucepan, heating on low until the Earth Balance has just melted. Whisk in the vanilla, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon and sugar. Mix well, whisking out any lumps as you bring to a simmer. Continue to cook for a few minutes until the mixture thickens. Then, let it rest for a few minutes without heat.

For best flavor and texture, roughly grind the poppyseeds in a food processor or mortar and pestle. Add the poppyseeds to the flour and cornstarch mixture and stir well. Next, add the “chia egg” that you mixed together earlier. The chia mixture should be nice and gelatinous after soaking. Once you’ve mixed it well, the poppyseed filling should be fairly thick and gooey.

Spread the poppyseed layer out over the cake layer. Finally, add the crumble topping on top of the poppyseed layer.

Bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes, until the crumble topping has browned and the cake is cooked throughout (although the poppyseed layer will continue to firm up as it cools). While baking, check halfway through to make sure the top layer is not browning too quickly. If so, lightly cover the cake with a piece of aluminum foil. For best results, let the cake cool for about an hour before serving to allow the poppyseed layer to set. Enjoy!

Vegan Mohnkuchen
Vegan Mohnkuchen

 

 

Sweet ‘N Easy Vegan Crepes

Hannah

Vegan crepes. The combination of these two words translates to me as just “Mmm.” I’ve always loved pancakes and waffles, covered in real maples syrup or my mom’s homemade strawberry syrup, but only recently have I decided that I love crepes even more. The light, delicate texture of these crepes makes the subtle flavors of coconut, cinnamon and vanilla even more noticeable. I enjoy eating these plain, filled with fruit, topped with vegan yogurt, or—my personal favorite combination—filled with chopped bananas and pecans with a drizzle of maple syrup on top.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Vegan CrepesP6233175

Makes 9-10 Crepes

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
3 tablespoons agave nectar or other liquid sweetener
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup soy or almond milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk together the coconut oil and honey, then add in the other wet ingredients one at a time. You can combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add them to the liquid ingredients, or you can simply whisk them in, being sure to mix well enough to eliminate any salt lumps.

Preheat a nonstick or seasoned skillet to a medium-low heat. For each crepe, pour about three tablespoons of the batter on the skillet and cook for several minutes on each side.

When the crepes are done, roll them up with chopped fruit on the inside or cover with your favorite syrup or vegan yogurt. Enjoy!

P6233175


Vegan Chocolate Coconut Pie

Hannah

When I was a kid, my mom would always make us a frozen chocolate pie for the holidays. This is my own remake of a childhood favorite. I have tried this pie with several different types of crust. If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll just pour some granola and chopped nuts on the bottom of a pie pan. I’ve also tried lining the bottom of the pie pan with a layer or two of banana slices, which works great. If I’m particularly ambitious, I’ll make a flaky pie crust (I use the recipe from the cookbook “Vegan Vittles”). One that works particularly well with this pie is a homemade granola crumble crust that I make, which I will post the recipe for below. But know that pretty much anything will taste amazing with this chocolate coconut pie filling. So, without further ado, here is the recipe!

Chocolate Coconut Pie

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Pie Filling
Ingredients:

2/3 cup Silk French Vanilla Creamer (or coconut milk or soymilk)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 12-ounce package of silken tofu
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
Stevia to taste (optional)

Whisk together the non-dairy creamer and cornstarch and boil until thick. Add the coconut oil and stir together, with the heat turned down to low. Blend the mixture on the stove with the rest of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pour the chocolate filling into a prepared pie pan on top of a crust and freeze. For more of a mousse consistency, take it out after a couple of hours and transfer to the refrigerator. I prefer to eat the pie when it is frozen all the way, which will generally take 8 hours or more.

Granola Crumble Crust
Ingredients:

1 cup oats
1 1/2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 cup agave nectar

Stir together the dry ingredients. Melt the coconut oil and pour it along with the sweetener into the dry ingredients and mix them all together. Spoon the mixture onto the bottom of your pie pan and bake at 325 until it reaches a light golden brown color.

chocolate-pie

Vegan Banana Bread + Baby Muffins

Hannah

Tonight something happened in my household that rarely occurs: a surplus of ripe bananas. Normally, we go through bananas like water thanks to my brother, N. I decided to take advantage of this unprecedented plethora of bananas and bake a banana-themed dessert. This recipe is one of my favorites because of its simplicity, and because it lends itself so well to vegan baking. Bananas are a natural binder, which makes them an ideal replacement for eggs in baking. Also, the bananas add a really nice level of sweetness so you don’t have to go overboard with the sweetener. Oh, and did I mention that the finished product tastes fantastic? I hope you enjoy this incredibly simple recipe for healthy, delicious banana bread or muffins. (All photo credit goes to the amazing Tori Johnson).

Vegan Banana Bread + Baby Muffins

Ingredients:Vegan Banana Mini Muffins

4 ripe bananas
1 to 1 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
1 tablespoon applesauce
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Optional: blueberries or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350. Mash the bananas in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir together the dry ingredients in a separate, smaller bowl. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet mixture. Add blueberries or walnuts, if desired. Measure into bread pans or muffin pans and bake until done (the time varies greatly depending on whether you are baking muffins or bread).

I’ve found that this recipe works best in mini bread pans or a muffin pan so the inside can bake thoroughly without the outside getting too brown. My absolute favorite thing to make with this recipe? Baby muffins. As Jim Gaffigan would say: “I’ll just have one or twelve.”