The Penguin Chef

Pumpkin Time! Pumpkin Custard

2005-10-31T14:15:00.000-08:00

What to do with your left over jack-o-lantern pieces - that's the question of the day. And it's the Great Pumpkin Carve Up Cook Off over at Simply Recipes which can help you with that query . In honor of the day I found a recipe for pumpkin custard and adjusted it a wee bit to my liking and baked it in miniature pumpkins and then sprinkled cinnamon spiced toasted pumpkin seeds on top. Delish! Happy Halloween and may you receive many treats tonight!

Pumpkin Cardamom Custard

12oz soft tofu
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
15 oz pureed pumpkin
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cardamom

Preheat oven to 400F.
Puree the tofu until completely smooth.
Add the sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom and combine throughly
Pour into hollowed out miniature pumpkins, or into lightly sprayed ramekins, and bake for 35-40 minutes.
Take out of oven and let cool. Pudding will firm up more as it cools.
Can be eaten right away or refrigerated for 2-3 days. (if you bake them in the mini pumpkins, it's best to eat them the same day or else the pumpkin starts to get soggy).

Cinnamon Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Toss pumpkin seeds with just enough oil to cover them.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and toss and they are completely covered.
Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes or until toasty and crunchy.

this picture was taken 5 minutes after they came out of the oven.

A sad night

2005-10-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

So, in case you haven't figured out by now, I'm an obsessive compulsive baker. When I find new recipes I have to try them, and I'm constantly working on developing my own recipe ideas.

A couple weeks ago while searching the internet for something completely different, I found an intriguing recipe for Vegan Chocolate Pudding Cake. I've been excited to try it since then because the recipe is so unusual -- you pour hot water on top of the cake batter before you bake it. Very odd.

The idea is that the hot water allows for part of the cake to sink down to the bottom and become a pudding and then there is a layer of cake on top.

Well, last night I tried it. Followed the directions exactly. Very interesting result, and one which I'm sorry to say I just can't bring myself to post a picture of. It was a bit scary.

First of all, the cake overflowed a bit into the bottom of my oven. Second, as soon as it came out of the oven, it shrunk down to 1/2 it's size (maybe I should have done this recipe for SHF Souffles). When it shrunk down, well it just looked a bit....hmmm....gross. A uneven black jiggly thing. But it could still be ok -- not everything has to look pretty, it just has to taste good. No luck. Consistency was weird and the pudding, which was a very thin layer beneath the cake, was so sweet it overpowered the cake. The cake mixture on it's own wasn't that terrible, but that isn't the point of the cake -- the pudding is the unique part.

All in all, a sad day for cake making. I think the cake has some potential, but would involve playing around with the recipe quite a bit. I still like the idea, but maybe there is another way of going about it.

And I really wanted to eat some chocolate cake last night...instead it got fed to the garbage disposal...=(. ah well.

IMMB: Pomegranate Souffle

2005-10-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

Well, this week is a week of first's. My first SHF (see previous post) and now my first participation in Is My Blog Burning, hosted by Kitchen Chick. When I first heard about this blog event I couldn't wait to participate. But then, I found out that this month is souffles and immediately grew sad because I didn't think I could participate, given my self-imposed limitations. I had never heard of a vegan dessert souffle and had no idea where to even begin.

But, at the last moment (of course), I decided that I was not going to let a small thing like egg whites get in my way, even if they are the main ingredient. I did some research on the web and came up with virtually nothing and again grew disinhearted.

But I thought about it for awhile and decided to break down the components of a souffle - what is it really. It's a flavored "base" with whipped egg whites folded in that is then baked. Well, making the flavored base isn't a problem -- fruit juice and arrowroot should take care of that. But what to do about the egg whites?? The only solution I could come up with is a vegan whipped cream that is then folded into the fruit base to make it light and airy. I'm not sure if this still qualifies as a souffle (it might be more of a light mousse) but it's all I got. So here it is.

I also decided to spice up the presentation since this isn't baked in a ramekin and therefore doesn't have the same poofy eye appeal, and piped it into pre-made filo cups which can be found in the freezer section of your local supermarket. They are fabulous and vegan.

I used the POM pomegranate-blueberry juice mix. I think it can be found most places.

Pomegranate Souffle

Vegan Whipped Cream
12.3 oz soft silken tofu
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth
Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Pomegranate base
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 tbl sugar (adjust to your taste)
1 tbl arrowroot
5 tsp pomegranate juice

Put the 1 cup pomegranate juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.
While that is heating, mix the arrowroot powder and 5 tsp juice together to make a "slurry".
When the juice/sugar mix comes to a simmer, add the arrowroot mixture and whisk constantly until it comes to a boil. Let boil for 1-2 minutes. You will see it thicken.
Take it off the heat. If any lumps have formed, pass it through a strainer.
Let cool. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours until gelled.

When folding the cream into the pomegranate base, I used a formula of 2 tbl of the base to 1 tbl of cream (such small amounts because I was filling the filo cups). This leaves a lot of extra cream but I'm sure you can find a use for it!!

This can be served immediately or refrigerated for several hours.

Tagged with: IMBB # 20 + Souffle

Sugar High Friday- Orange Maple Cookie Sandwiches with Decadent Chocolate Mousse

2005-10-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is my first Sugar High Friday and I couldn't have been more excited about the topic -- Dark Chocolate!! There is nothing better than a good dark chocolate to start your day off right or end a beautiful evening or just to make the day that much better right in the middle.

As soon as I heard the topic, I knew I was going to make the mousse - nothing is more dark and chocolate-ly and fills all those cravings than a rich mousse. But, I wanted to present it differently than it usually is, and I love the combination of orange and chocolate, so I created this sandwich cookie.

The cookies have a delicate orange flavor that combines perfectly with the maple syrup and are a wonderful combination with chocolate.

***to see a roundup of all entries, check out LovesCool's wrap up.

Orange Maple Cookies

1 3/4 cups flour
2 tbl raw cane sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbl orange zest
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tbl fresh orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with oil.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and zest in a medium bowl. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, mix the maple syrup, vanilla extract, canola oil, and orange juice.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
Place spoonfuls of the cookie dough on the prepared tray, 1" apart.
Bake for 11 minutes. Do not overbake or the cookies will become too hard.
Let sit on cookie sheet for 1 minute and then remove to a cooling rack.

Decadent Chocolate Mousse

12.3oz (1 pkg) extra firm silken tofu (I use mori-nu)
12 oz dark chocolate, melted
2 tbl maple syrup
1/2 cup chocolate soymilk
1 tbl Grand Marnier or other orange flavored liquor (optional)

Puree tofu until completely smooth (3-4 minutes)
Add remaining ingredients and blend.
Can be served right away or refrigerated for 3-4 days.

Spread the mousse on the back on one cookie about 1/2" thick and then cover with another cookie to make a sandwich. Or pipe the mousse on the cookies for an even more decadent look.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Creamy Frosting

2005-10-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

So, it's that wonderful fall time of year and even though I'm in California I still feel the weight of the leaves turning colors and I start craving "fall foods". Specifically, I start wanting everything to have pumpkin or squash in it.

Thus I was led to create this Pumpkin Spice Cake.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup regular soymilk
1 cup canola oil
1 tbl apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 375F. Oil and flour a 9" cake pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
In a seperate bowl, mix the soymilk, oil, vinegar, vanilla and pumpkin puree.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

Creamy Pumpkin Frosting
Some people said this tasted like yogurt, which is pretty neat. I don't really like yogurt so I didn't like it very much, but everyone else said it went perfectly with the cake, so here it is.

1 pkg (12.3oz) extra firm silken tofu (mori-nu)
4 tbl pumpkin puree
5 tbl maple cream*** (or maple syrup can be substituted)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put all in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth, 3-4 minutes.

*** Maple cream in a wonderful product made just from maple syrup. Basically the maple syrup is heated and then beaten until it reaches a wonderful opaque and creamy state. The consistency is similar to that of peanut butter. If you can't find it in any local stores, you can get it from Hickens Mountain Mowings - 802-254-2146,
Erik's Sugar Bush - http://erikssugarbush.com/maplecream.php?PHPSESSID=c00039f73d12a3c5d1b12c7090210e11
Mom & Pops Maple -
https://www.vtweb.com/momandpopsmaple/order.htm
or Sugarbush Farms
http://www.sugarbushfarm.com/Dept.aspx?pn_deptid=15

It's also wonderful on toast, donuts, biscuits and pancakes!

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

2005-10-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

Made this frosting yesterday and got rave reviews. One person even asked if it was made with cream cheese!!!

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

1 pkg (12.3oz) extra firm silken tofu (I use mori nu)
4 oz dark chocolate**
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbl maple syrup

Put all in a blender and puree until absolutely smooth, about 4-5 minutes.

**the quality of the chocolate is especially important (as I've mentioned before). Because there are so few ingredients there is nothing to mask it if you use bad quality. Basically if you use cheap chocolate, your frosting will taste cheap. And that's not the image you want to portray -- you want your guests thinking rich, creamy, lusciousness.

The picture is of the chocolate cake recipe I posted previously. The Creamy Chocolate frosting is the frosting on top and I tried a new recipe for the filling, but it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. The filling recipe called for a lot of cornstarch and the finished product tasted very chalky because of it, even though i let it boil for awhile because that is supposed to get rid of the chalky taste. So, I need to rework that one and will post it as soon as I do.

Banana Pudding

2005-10-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

This came out pretty good...the key was the super ripe bananas because they are so sweet. And it's extremely easy to make.

Banana Pudding

12.3oz extra firm silken tofu (I really like mori-nu)
3 extremely ripe bananas
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbl maple syrup (you can add more to make it sweeter but be careful because it can overpower the banana flavor).
1/4 cup dates (soaked 4-6 hours to soften)***

Puree all ingredients together.
I served it with sliced bananas on top and fresh nutmeg grated over it.

***I soaked the dates for 4 hours beforehand to soften them so they pureed better. Put them in a small bowl and fill up with water until it just covers the dates. After 4 hours, take the dates out and pat them dry to get rid of extra moisture.

Chocolate Frosting recipe

2005-10-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

This is the frosting recipe for the cake I listed in my first posting.

Chocolate Gananche Frosting

-32oz dark chocolate (good quality...there are only 2 ingredients in this recipe so the kind of chocolate you use makes a big deal)
-2 3/4 cups vanilla soymilk

Chop the chocolate up into small chunks and put in a large bowl.
Put the soymilk in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil
As soon as it reaches a boil, take it off the heat and pour it over the chocolate.
Let it sit for 5 minutes, then stir the mixture until all the chocolate is melted (best to use a whisk for this).
The frosting will be very runny at this point.
Let it sit for 4-6 hours or overnight and it will firm up and be deliciously creamy and yummy.
This can be kept 1-2 days at room temperature or can be refrigerated for 3-4 weeks
In the refrigerator it will harden up, so when you want to use it you will have to melt it over a double boiler and then let it firm up again.

Happy Frosting!

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

2005-10-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

it's finally finished (see previous post for the fun had while developing this recipe and for pictures!)

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 raw cane sugar
1 tbl water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large apples sliced
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup raw cane sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch salt

1 cup plain soymilk
5 tbl canola oil
1 tbl apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 apple, very thinly sliced (i use a vegetable peeler to "peel" very thin slices off

Preheat oven to 375.
In a small saucepan or saute pan, mix the brown sugar, cane sugar and water for the topping. Bring to a boil and boil for one minute. Take off heat and let sit for a few minutes. Stir in the vanilla.
Pour into a 9" cake pan and tip the cake pan so the caramel sauce covers the entire bottom. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the caramel.
Arrange the apples slices over the walnuts in a pattern or randomly.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon, salt & nutmeg and mix well.
In a seperate bowl, combine the soymilk, oil, vinegar and vanilla and mix well.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
Add the thinly sliced apples pieces and mix.
Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It is important to test to see if this cake is fully cooked in the center because the caramel from the bottom will cause it to be a bit more liquid and it might take longer to bake because of that.

caramel cake in two part symphony

2005-10-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

and so begins my next experiment with a vegan cake.

i have been, for two days, attempting a vegan caramel apple upside down cake.

part one
the 1st picture is of my first attempt. looks beautiful right? well, looks can be deceiving as they say. the caramel top was great, but because i was focusing all my energies there, i wasn't paying enough attention to the cake itself and it ended up being bland and a bit dry. not good. but the asthetics were just what i wanted, so i decided next time i would add some more "zip" to the cake and also add walnuts to the caramel top because that would look awesome. like sticky bun awesome.

part two
so i begin making the cake again. i do the caramel bottom, it looks terrific. i sprinkle walnuts on it and then layer the apples. i my head i am visually seeing how it will look and my mouth is watering. i make the cake. i add cinnamon and nutmeg and some lemon zest to make it yummier. the batter seems wetter than normal, but i casually notice it and really think nothing of it. put the cake in the oven. come back 1/2hr later to check on it and the cake is still quite liquidy and i am concerned. i run through the recipe in my mind, visually seeing my hands add the ingredients and come to a startling realization. i reversed the amounts of sugar and flour. arghhhhh. so now this cake has more sugar in it then flour. i debate what to do, and then decide to just let it bake and see what happens. great confections have been born from simple mistakes, and hey i could be creating the next masterpiece, right? well, the cake finally sets after a considerably longer time than normal. the apples and walnuts have been absorbed into the cake and the caramel from the bottom has bubbled up and spilled over the top. wonderful. i let it set for a few minutes and then flip it over. (see picture #2). what we basically have here is a very sweet spongy cake soaked in the syrup from the caramel topping. it wasn't awful, but it sure wasn't the next masterpiece. i took it to work and my co-workers enjoyed the sugar rush.

now i'm ready for take 3, and once i get it perfected, i will post the recipe, for all of you to make perfectly!

new world vegetarian

2005-10-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

so i went to new world vegetarian, the vegan restaurant in downtown oakland because the wonderful waitress from mimosa said i must try their vegan coconut creme pie. well, i asked the waitress for it and she said they don't have coconut creme pie and she doesn't recollect them ever having it. major disappointment! so, instead i try the coconut cake and my friend gets the german chocolate cake. the coconut cake was good when eaten with the coconut frosting, but the cake on it's own without any frosting on it was kinda bland. the chocolate cake tasted like a betty crocker cake mix and the frosting was super sugary sweet i could barely eat it. i was pretty disappointed by that one. but if you need a good sugar fix and don't mind a plain cake, it's for you. but i did see on the menu (as i was leaving, of course) that they offered a vegan flan. now THAT intrigues me. will be going back soon to try that one, but am also a little hesistant after not having a great experience with the other ones, but a VEGAN flan...wow!

i digress

2005-09-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

this is truly awful. my second post and already i am digressing from my stated focus. ah well, such is life, and just couldn't resist.

if you are ever in oakland(ca, that is), you must go to mimosa cafe[462 santa clara avenue, across from the grand lake theatre] and have their veggie burger (which is actually vegan). just make sure to tell them to hold the cheese and mayonnaise, and it is definitely worth the little extra to get some sliced avocado with it. the burger is homemade out of shredded carrots, other veggies and some nuts. no tasteless soy concoction here! (the potato salad isn't vegan, but you can get fruit salad with your burger instead).

the waitress there is the sweetest person and if you have any questions about the menu, she will be able to help you. and since she herself is vegan, she is especially aware of peoples food stipulations.

and while talking to her about food, she mentioned New World Vegetarian[464 8th st, oakland, ca] which she said has a phenomenal vegan coconut creme pie. i didn't hear the remainder of what she said because i was too occupied with a) wiping the drool off my face and b) trying to figure out how one goes about making a vegan coconut creme pie. i am definitely going there this weekend and hmmm, maybe i can sweet-talk the chef into giving me the recipe....

just a word of caution, don't go to mimosa if you're in a hurry. the sweetest waitress is usually the only waitress and when things get jammin' service can slow down.

welcome to the wonderful world of vegan baking

2005-09-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

tonight, cakes specifically because that's what i feel like posting. and i wish i had one in front of me right now.

my favorite chocolate cake recipe, which i just made for a three year old's bday (as evidenced by the large 3 on the cake). this is also incredibly simple to make.

Double Chocolate Cake

dry ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup unrefined sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbl cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips

wet ingredients
1 cup soymilk
5 tbl canola oil
1 tbl apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Lightly spray a 9" cake pan with oil. Dust with flour. Preheat oven to 375.
Put all the dry ingredients, except the chocolate chips, in a large bowl and mix well.
Put the all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool (or not) and eat.

Can also be frosted with chocolate fudge frosting (recipe to come at later date...it's one of those things where I make it, but never actually get around to writing down the recipe measurements...next time i will!)