Best Easiest Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Best Easiest Vegan Chocolate Mousse

1 cup aquafaba

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup granulated (white) sugar

300 grams vegan dark chocolate

Beat the aquafaba, salt, and lemon juice together either in a stand mixer or in a bowl with a handheld mixer. I highly recommend a stand mixer if you have one; as you will be able to multitask a the same time. If not wear some earplugs and be prepared to mix for awhile. This beating process can take up to fifteen minutes, especially with larger batches, though I find it starts to get quite thick around five.

Beat until it forms the equivalent of soft peaks of egg whites, then gradually beat in the sugar until stiff peaks form.

Meanwhile, while whipping mixture, melt the chocolate until smooth and allow it to cool slightly. Gently fold the cooled chocolate into the stiff whipped mixture. Mousse is now ready to eat However, the mousse will actually set more and thicken after being chilled in the fridge (individual ramekins or parfait glasses work great for this). The mousse will actually keep quite well for a few days.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

• Vegan dark chocolate mousse
• Vegan dark chocolate sauce
• Vegan meringue
• Fresh fruit garnish

Vegan chocolate mousse and meringue are so easy to make, and you'd be surprised at their secret ingredient! Also shocking is the richness of the mousse and how well it holds up But you have to try it to believe it!

Birthday Cake #1

I celebrated my birthday this past week and was lucky enough to receive three different birthday cakes - different kinds, different locations, made from different people. Funny enough though they were all chocolate so that made me very happy! I celebrated my actual birthday away from home and got another cake when I actually came home :)

Birthday cake number one was made by my brother and decorated by his girlfriend. They made me a simple vegan chocolate cake, but were clever in deciding to use a recipe I myself had posted on this blog. That way if I didn't like it for whatever reason they could blame it on me! (Not a foolproof plan, as execution counts big time, but apparently if one burns a cake, one can blame the recipe directions for not being descriptive enough. Anyway, this didn't matter because the cake turned out just the way I would have made it! They used miniature vegan chocolate chips to frost the top and spell out my name and add some decorations which I thought was totally tasty and seriously clever!

Check out the cute homemade card in the background as well!

Eggless Pasta Dough

fettucini to be dried

As requested, I finally got around to making homemade ravioli. Making homemade pasta is always a but of a procedure; it's a lot more work than cooking a box of dried pasta. Ravioli especially involves a filling and more rolling and cutting. But homemade pasta in the end is always worth it.Sadly I do not have my own, so I had to borrow a pasta roller and ravioli cutters - thanks again!! I made a big batch of eggless pasta dough and ended up making 60 ricotta-filled ravioli, 42 lobster-filled ravioli, and with the extra dough I made some fettucini and spaghetti to have on hand.

spaghetti to be dried

Easy Homemade Eggless Pasta Dough
4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup olive oil
approx. 3/4 cup water (room temperature or warm water is preferred over cold)
salt, optional (usually salt is just added to the water when boiling pasta, but feel free to add some to the dough if preferred)

Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the oil and water into the well, then bring the mixture together with your hands, kneading it together until it forms a nearly smooth ball. More water or flour may be required, but don't add more until the dough had been kneaded at least five minutes, as pasta dough usually requires a bit of muscle.

Wrap the dough ball well, and set aside on the counter to rest for about an hour before rolling. Roll out, cook, and dry as needed! This makes a big batch, so some dough can be saved in the fridge or freezer for rolling out later, or simply cut out a lot of pasta and freeze it or dry it.

Apple Crumble Muffins

Apple Crumble Muffins
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups non-dairy milk
3 Tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-3 apples, finely chopped, peeled or not
leftover apple crumble topping, as desired

Preheat oven to 400°F; grease muffin tins.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix wet ingredients in a separate vessel.
Add wet to dry and mix well. Batter will be lumpy.
Mix in chopped apple.
Pour into muffin tins and top with crumble.
Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cake

For avoiding regular flour, eggs, butter, cream, and milk, this turned out to be a really good chocolate cake. The texture is a bit crumblier, but other than that is is great paired with a raspberry coulis and fresh berries. This was the alternative dessert at the shellfish gala dinner function.

Coconut Oil Fudge Frosting

Coconut Oil Fudge Frosting
coconut oil (equal parts)
unsweetened cocoa powder (equal parts)
maple syrup, to taste
vanilla extract, a splash

Melt the coconut oil if not already liquid, then mix all together. Allow to sit at room temperature briefly to thicken, or chill for fudge. Can be used as is as a chocolate sauce or icing. Even holds up on warm brownies and will thicken later into a frosting layer. Super yummy!

Vegan Avocado Brownies

Vegan Avocado Brownies
2 ripe avocados, mashed well
1/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup strong coffee

Mix all ingredients together well in order given. Spread batter into greased pie  pan or square pan and bake at 350◦F for 15-20 minutes. Great warm and can even be frosted while warm!

Maple Cookie Mix

Maple Cookie Mix
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips of choice (white chocolate are really good in the bars from yesterday's post)

Mix all ingredients together. Enjoy as raw cookie dough (no raw egg), bake into cookies, or use as a topping for brownies.

Super Rich Cookie Brownies

These brownie cookie bars may be super rich and super sweet, but they are also completely vegan! It just goes to show vegans can eat rich and decadent treats as well.

Brownie Base
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups granulated (white) sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup oil
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Caramel Hazelnut Filling
Maple Cookie Mix
1/3 cup flaked almonds

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Mix all brownie ingredients together and spread in a 9x9 inch pan.
Heat together hazelnut paste and sugar to a boil. Spread over brownie as evenly as possible.
Top with spoonfuls of cookie batter, which will spread out during baking.
Top with almonds.
Bake for 25 minutes until set.

Cheater Vegan 'Cheese'

Anyone familiar with vegan cooking, particularly substitutes, if familiar with making vegan 'cheeses' from a base of nuts, most often cashews or macadamia nuts. There is also the pecan and nutritional yeast crumble to mimic Parmesan. Nuts are a great base, because once they are soaked, they can be blended into a delicious creamy texture, flavored, and set with a thickener such as cornstarch or agar agar. Well, I wanted a vegan cheesy spread substitute and I was in a hurry so I discovered a cheater version. It isn't the same as many of the vegan cheeses, but something different in itself. I used an already prepared nut butter in place of the nut cream base. I added seasoning, nutritional yeast, and used ground flaxseed as the thickener. Because I had almond butter on hand, this cheese is very dark in color and has a bit of a stronger flavor. But cashew or macadamia nut butter would provide a lighter color and more neutral flavor.

Fridge Pasta Plate

Whole wheat penne + knock-your-socks-off spicy stock + stir-fried bok choy + spicy cocktail peanuts + salsa + mixed bean salad = lime juice + homemade mustard seeds + capers + hot sauce + pickled peppers = one awesome plate of pasta.

The spicy stock was made in advance and made with a bunch of herbs and spices for tons of flavor. Then I cooked the pasta right in the stock to let it absorb all that delicious flavor. I reserved a little after draining for the sauce, and stirred in the remaining ingredients and garnished! Delicious hot or as cold pasta salad and makes a quick and easy dinner. That's what I like to call fridge diving.

Banana Peanut Jam Muffins

Yummy, moist, healthy, delicious, vegan muffins that are a cinch to make!!

Banana Peanut Jam Muffins
1 1⁄3 cups whole wheat flour 
1⁄2 cup turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3⁄4 cup wheat bran
1 cup salty seasoned cocktail peanuts (whatever your favorite kind are)
2 over-ripe mashed bananas
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup non-dairy milk
6 teaspoons strawberry jam
4 teaspoon turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375◦F. Grease or line 12 muffin cups.
In a large bowl, mix together the first nine dry ingredients.
In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the next five wet ingredients.
Blend the wet into the dry.
Spoon half the batter into the muffin cups.
Place 1/2 teaspoon of strawberry jam into the center of each.
Top with remaining batter.
Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake for about 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies will surprise you considering they contain no butter or eggs. They are soft and cake-like warm from the oven, and crisper once cool. But they are chock-full of chocolaty goodness and a sinch to make!

Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated (white) sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup nondairy milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup canola oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups mint chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
Mix together milk and baking powder and allow it to get frothy. Then add to the bowl with the remaining ingredients. 
Drop dough by tablespoons onto baking sheets and bake about 10 minutes for soft cookies, or up to 15 for crisp cookies (will depend on size). Allow cookies to rest on the sheet for a minute or two before removing to cool.

Month Early Birthday Cake

So because I was away from home and busy on my birthday this year, my parents decided we would celebrate a month early, on May 4th instead of June 4th. I told them we could not do that, as it was Star Wars Day, but we did nonetheless. Here is the cake they made for me: it is a vegan chocolate cake with a vegan chocolate icing. Simply and tasty.

Magic Coffee Mousse

Magic Coffee Mousse
one part instant coffee granules (2 Tablespoons)
two and a half parts granulated (white) sugar (5 Tablespoons)
one and a half parts water (3 Tablespoons)

Place all three ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for several minutes. The mixture will thicken, turn lighter, and then eventually form peaks, very similar to whipped cream or egg whites.

It may be used as is, chilled, frozen, or mixed with icing sugar to form a frosting. It is amazing how rich and creamy it is considering it contains no cream! The flavor of coffee can be quite strong, depending upon the type of coffee used of course, so use sparingly.

Easy (Vegan) Cocoa Glaze

Easy Cocoa Glaze
2 cups icing (confectioners') sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-3 teaspoons vanilla extract (or almond, or mint, or any other)
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk of choice

For a really smooth glaze, first sift together the icing sugar and cocoa powder. If they appear relatively lump-free, just whisk them together.
Stir in the extract and enough milk to make it the desired consistency.

This glaze is great for glazing cakes, cupcakes, cookies, truffles, and much more. If only a little liquid is used, they glaze can be chilled and then rolled into truffles. You can change up the flavor by using slightly more or less cocoa, different extracts, and different types of milk.

'Honey' Rum Caramel Sauce

Many people are surprised to discover strict vegans do not eat honey. It makes perfect sense; honey is from animals just like milk or eggs. Some people find this ridiculous as they believe taking honey does no harm to bees. Some people also don't realie the harms taking milk and eggs have either. To cut this story short, bees are ery important members of our ecosystem, and they are already in trouble, so let's save the bees. 

Honey is a difficult product to imitate, however. Here, I have discovered a recipe to 'make honey' that certainly is not the real thing, but tastes extremely close, and is actually propably healthier than traditional honey. The main ingredient: apple juice. Boil that down with just a little sugar (the ratio is one tablespoon sugar to three cups of apple juice) and you have honey! It is very versatile and keeps for a long time. I have only tried granulated sugar, but I am sure coconut sugar, brown sugar, and date sugar would produce other tasty 'varieities' of honey. In order to get some honey, you need to begin with quite a bit of apple juice as it reduces down a lot!

'Honey' Rum Caramel Sauce
apple juice
granulated (white) sugar
rum

Bring the apple juice and sugar to a boil. Boil for 20-30 minutes, then reduce the heat slightly and simmer for about an hour until mixture is reduced and thickened significantly. It will not be quite as thick as honey, but close. Cool and chill. Will keep in the refrigerator for a long time.

To finish the rum caramel sauce: Boil some rum (use the leftover from the apple) and add honey, using whatever ratio you deem appropriate to make the sauce sweet enough. Heat until the sauce thickens and darkens slightly.

Quick Apple Tarts For Two

The inspiration for this treat just came along one day while trying a rum. Though there was nothing wrong with the rum, it wasn't all that pleasant to drink straight. The flavor did, however; spark my imagination as to all the great thing sit could pear with. I found an apple in the fridge, cinnamon and almonds in the cupboard, and went to work. Rum in an apple tart with rum caramel sauce? One of the best ways to 'drink' some rum!

Quick Apple Tarts For Two
1/2 cup almonds
1 Tablespoon syrup (honey, maple, agave)
1 green apple, thinly sliced (I left the peel on)
rum of choice
ground cinnamon
rum caramel sauce (recipe to follow tomorrow)

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Grind the almonds in a small food processor. Add the syrup until it forms into a clump. Press this mixture into the bottom of two mini casserole dishes or ramekins. Bake while preparing the topping (until the crust is golden and firm).
Meanwhile, saute the apples in enough rum to cover, add cinnamon and cook until apples are just softened and some rum has evaporated. Arrange the apple slices artistically over the crust.
Drizzle with rum caramel sauce all over and serve immediately! 

Vegan Carrot Cake with Broiled Coconut Icing

Vegan Carrot Cake
2 cups grated carrot
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup oil
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated (white) sugar 
3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
spices, as desired 1-3 teaspoons: ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
Topping
1 cup coconut butter
1 cup sweetener of choice
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch rectangular (or two 8 or 9 inch round or square pans) with parchment paper. 
Mix together the carrot, applesauce, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar, then the remaining dry ingredients. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan(s).
Bake for 20-30 minutes until cake tests clean. No need to cool before topping.
Topping: Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the sweetener. Spread evenly over the cake, sprinkle with coconut, and brown under the broiler until golden. Serve warm or cool.

Substitution Notes:
Cake
- For a healthier cake, replace the oil with additional applesauce or other fruit or vegetable puree, or even a nut butter.
- Change the flour to a whole wheat, spelt, oat, nut, or gluten free flour. This should not affect the rising in this recipe.
- Replace the sugar with dates, maple syrup, or another natural sweetener. Or use coconut sugar to amp up the coconut flavor.
- Change up the flavors of the spices and vanilla extract.
- Stir in some dried fruit, chopped nuts, or chocolate chips as desired.
Topping
- The sweetener depends upon how sweet you would like the topping, and cake overall, to be. A granulated sugar will add a gritter texture than a liquid sugar.
- Try using coconut flakes instead, and use more or less as desired. Mix in some chopped nuts as well, if desired.