this one goes out to the ones I love

I am adrift in a sea of templates, CSS and code. Alas, I am making progress on my awesome new improvements to nom! nom! nom! and shall be debuting them soon.

In the meantime, here is a recipe from my upcoming book Have Your Cake and Vegan Too. Out of all 50 recipes, this is definitely in my personal top 5, perhaps even my top 2. It would make a fabulous cake for Valentine’s Day. Your only requirement is that you have to watch the YouTube video below, as it is classic comedy gold, plus the namesake of this mouth-watering treat. If you end up making the cake, you have an obligation to sing the song at least once.

Dad is Great Chocolate Cake

If you’re still freaking out about tofu in dessert do yourself and everyone else a favor and get over it! This loaf cake is delicious and decadent and so very simple. My insanely picky little brother (who lives off of chicken fingers and french fries, no joke) loved it and so I made sure to tease him about the fact that he ate tofu after polishing off his piece. Hehehehe… he never knew.

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa, sifted
1 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. baking soda
1/4 teas salt
1 cup milk of choice
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 teas. vanilla
1/4 teas. mild vinegar
3 tbsp. crushed chocolate cookies, crushed nuts or shaved chocolate to garnish

Chocolate Cream:
1 12 oz. aseptic container of firm silken tofu, room temperature
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
2 tbsp. brown rice syrup or agave
1/4 teas vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and dust (with cocoa powder) a 9×5 loaf pan.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Let sit for a minute. Add the dry to wet in batches, beating until just smooth. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before loosening and transferring to the cooling rack.

While cake is baking, prepare the chocolate cream. In a double boiler over low heat, melt the chocolate until smooth, stirring often. If you don’t have a double boiler, put about 1-2 inches of water in a pot and place a heat-safe bowl over it, making sure the bottom of the bowl is suspended over the water. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, crumble the tofu. Blend for about 30 seconds, until fairly smooth. Add the melted chocolate, brown rice syrup and vanilla and blend until well incorporated, scraping down the bowl or canister as needed. Transfer the cream to a container and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

To assemble: Carefully cut the completely cooled cake into thirds using a cake leveler or knife. Spread 1/3 of the chocolate cream on top of the bottom layer and place the middle layer on top. Spread another 1/3 of the cream on that layer then place the top layer on. Spread the final 1/3 on top of the cake. Garnish with crumbled cookies or chocolate shavings.

Store cake in an sealed container in the fridge.

a cake of a different feather…

Look at this beautiful cake. So pretty. So elegant. What a perfect dinner.

Now, before you think I’m on a path straight to Type 2 diabetes, let me assure you that we have not digressed to eating cake for dinner (as tempting as it may often be). Several weeks ago, I was intrigued and humored by Mo’s “Meat” Cake. I’d wanted to run what that idea for Thanksgiving dinner, but with moving and what not, it wasn’t going to happen.

Until last weekend.

They say there is a first time for everything and I think that using my offset spatula and frosting tips on garlic mashed potatoes definitely fall into that category. I used my lentil and grain meatloaf recipe and made a double batch, which I baked in two 8 inch cake rounds. The center is filled with sweet potatoes, topped and frosted with garlic mashed potatoes and some cranberries and served with mushroom gravy. Strange but delicious, just the way I like it. 🙂

a lil’ sneakums…

Nothing really big to post today… just some sneak peek pictures from my cake baking exploits!

Intensely Chocolate Bundt

Pressed Plum Cake

Dad Is Great Chocolate Cake

Snickerdoodle Cake

One more, for the road.

Banana Fudge Stripe

Yum!

from the teaches of peaches…

Summer fruit is at its peak and I am here to give you a reason to fire up your oven and make your house toasty- because this cake is amazing. This is the first recipe I’m sharing from my upcoming cake book.

Inspired by my BFF Amy’s love of summer fruit and inappropriate taste in music, along with the flavors of the famous Peach Melba, this cake is incredibly impressive for minimal effort. The peach cake is tender and delicious and becomes intoxicating when paired with the raspberry creme topping.

Amy’s “Huh What” Peach Cake

Raspberry Creme:
1 12 oz. package firm aseptic tofu
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teas. vanilla

Peach Cake:
3-4 ripe but firm peaches, pitted and sliced into 3/4-1 inch segments
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. cold margarine
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teas. baking powder
1/4 teas. salt
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup milk
1 teas. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Grease well and flour an 8 inch cake round and line the bottom with parchment. If you do not use parchment, be sure to grease the bottom really well or use a springform pan to ensure the peaches will release.

To make the Raspberry Creme: In a food processor or blender, combine the tofu, raspberries, sugar and vanilla. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a separate container and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

In the bottom of the prepared baking pan, sprinkle the 2 tbsp of sugar and chop and scatter the 2 tbsp of margarine. Arrange the peach slices in a single solid circle, covering the bottom of the pan.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, cream together the applesauce and brown sugar. Add the oil, milk and vanilla and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just incorporated.

Spread the batter over the peach mixture, being careful not to disturb the peaches. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until cake is browned and a toothpick comes out cleanish (because of the peaches, it will not be completely clean).

Remove cake from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before loosening edge and inverting onto serving platter. Let sit for a few moments as peaches release and carefully remove the cake pan. Serve cake warm with Raspberry Cream. Store leftover cake covered in the fridge.

Ranger Peach