I’ve never really been into mardi gras much, but I figured I should honor my birthplace (Baton Rouge, LA), by making a vegan king cake! Also, I had to explain the concept of mardi gras to Victor, since he’d never heard of it (I blame it on him being from the north? or just uninformed, maybe?). haha. Plus, something about tiny babies inside of pastries and bright colors just gets me in the holiday spirit! i used this recipe, but I could taste a bit too much lemon, so I might tone it down next time, or leave it out. It tasted a lot like a cinnamon roll. I couldnt justify buying food coloring or colored sprinkles just for a photo, so that explains the lack of mardi gras spirit on my cake. sorry!

• 1 pkg. dry active yeast
• 2 Tbsp. warm water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• Egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs (try Ener-G brand)
• 8 Tbsp. cold margarine, cut into small pieces

For the Filling:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup margarine, softened

Place the yeast and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Let stand until frothy. In a small bowl, combine the salt, sugar, soy milk, and lemon zest, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add to the yeast and water. Mix the nutmeg with the flour in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg replacer, then gradually add the flour mixture and the margarine and mix until incorporated. Additional flour may be needed. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes, or until a smooth, elastic dough is formed. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour in a warm spot.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Press into a 26×12-inch rectangle. Spread the filling over the rolled-out dough. Starting at the bottom, roll the dough up to form a log about 26 inches long. Hide the small plastic baby or dried bean in the dough. Pinch the seam to close. Place seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet, then bring the ends together to form a ring. Pinch the ends together to seal. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes, or until doubled in size. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Place the cooled cake on a serving platter that will catch any excess frosting. Spoon the warm frosting on top of the entire cake, letting it run down the sides. Add the sprinkles in 2-inch sections, alternating colors. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve later.

For the Frosting:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. margarine
• 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 2 Tbsp. soy milk

Melt the margarine over low heat. Add the powdered sugar and the vanilla, mixing until smooth.Slowly add the soy milk, stirring constantly, until the desired consistency for drizzling is reached.

I have officially deemed mondays as pancake and cartoon mondays. Today I watched inspector gadget while I had my first attempt at pancakes on my new griddle.

Pancake Fail #1: The first time i tried to make vegan pancakes, they were good, but looked horrible because I made them in a regular pan on the stovetop (it wasn’t nonstick). So I ran out, and bought a $20 griddle, and haven’t had the chance to use it for months! not anymore!

Pancake Fail #2: I remember seeing a delicious picture on VeganYumYum a while back, so that was the first place I turned for my pancake recipe. The recipe made “silverdollar pancakes”, which i’d never had… but I neglected to read the whole entry and just went for it. They turned out super thin and didn’t cook very well. If I would have actually read the entry, I would have noticed she even said “This batter should create fairly thin pancakes”. They were very reminiscent of crepes, so that’s what i made them into! still delicious, just not what I was expecting. I wanted traditional pancakes!

I was still hungry, so I turned to vegweb for a recipe, and the one I used turned out amazing. This is the first time pancakes have turned out well for me!

Easy Pancakes
(makes about 6-7 large pancakes)

• 2 cups white all purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 Ener-g brand egg replacers (3 tsp powder + 4 tbsp warm water)
• 2 cups unsweet soymilk
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

the pancake station
Preheat griddle to 350 degrees F. You might have to play around with the temperature; if your pancakes are taking forever to brown (longer than 3-4 minutes), turn it up. If they are burning fast, turn the heat down. I ended up on 400 degrees, which is the highest my griddle goes. Mix all dry ingredients, and all wet ingredients in seperate bowls, then combine. I used a blender for convenience. When preparing your ener-g egg replacer, remember to use WARM water, and blend by beating with a small wisk or fork until frothy. Once batter is prepared, pour out decent sized pancakes on griddle (approx 4 inches in diameter), and after about 3-4 minutes (when lots of small bubbles have appeared, and batter has turned from white to offwhite)… flip the pancake and let cook for an additional 2 minutes! Serve with Pure maple syrup and earth balance! mmm.

I’m the type of person that gets on “kicks” with food. For example, I’ve been eating atleast one avocado a day, for the past two weeks. Random. Another kick I’ve had lately, has been vegan oatmeal cream pies. Ever since I had one at my local co-op a week ago, I’ve been in hot pursuit of more. After finding it a pain in the ass to try and track one down, I decided to just make some. I started with a recipe for oatmeal cream pies that I found online, and veganized it with earth balance and Ener-g egg replacer. The first round turned out almost exactly like the originals, but at the time, I thought the cookies were a little thin and brittle. This recipe has come a long way- I now use flax seed for the egg replacer, and I actually went back to preferring the thinner cookies, because they are closer to the originals. I think the reason they were thin and brittle the first round was due to flattening them too much, and baking them too long.

the first try:

The second try (the thicker version):

*Recipe Updated: 1/25/10*

Oatmeal Cream Pies
1 cup earth balance
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 flax “eggs” (2 T ground flaxseed + 6 T warm water)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Filling:
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup Non-Hydrogenated vegetable shortening
1/4 cup tofutti vegan cream cheese (optional)
5 tbsp plain soymilk
1-2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Cream together the Earth Balance and both sugars. Add the molasses, vanilla, and flax eggs, and beat on medium until incorporated. Make sure when you mix up your flax egg, you whisk the flax meal and water until mixture is gooey or well combined. I usually let it sit for five minutes before adding, too. Then add the rest of the ingredients to the mix. It’s important that you do not over whip the mixture; the dough will be lighter if either your butter was too soft, or you mixed it too long. Scoop out cookies onto cookie tray (about 2 tbsp, each), and flatten. bake at 350 degrees, for 10-14 minutes (I usually give ‘em about 12 minutes). Do not over bake or they will be crispy when they cool. Move cookies to a rack to cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, make your filling. Mix all the ingredients on low until incorporated, then beat on medium-high for about 5 minutes for a fluffy cream. Once your cookies are completely cool, either scoop the filling on to the cookies with a spoon or ice cream scoop, or pipe it on with a piping bag and decorative tip. Don’t spread the filling all the way to the edge of the cookie, because when you sandwich them together, it will spread on it’s own. I usually let the cookies “set up” for up to an hour, or until the icing has firmed up.

Tip: For a thicker cookie with more body (pictured), use 2 cups oats, and 1 3/4 cups flour. Keep in mind, your cookies will spread less with more flour and oats, so flatten them a bit more before baking. Also, consider adding some raisins, a tiny bit of coconut shreds, or even some tiny pieces of dehydrated apple (TINY!) to your cookies. It’s yummy!

move over, little debbie!