What did you bake?

Orange syrup cake (a regular in this household), and today, a lemon and rosemary cake. Yum!

Is the rosemary cake sweet?

can you post the lemon and rosemary cake receipe, emmy?

I've not baked for some time. Cooking for necessity is never quite as fun. I make a killer carrot cake though (with tofutti cream cheese icing).

I got it emailed to me! Get her to email to you, too!

I'm a gonna make it tomorrow, I reckon, if I can find palm sugar in this godforsaken village.

Um, emmy, my dear domestic godess, me too? I'm not vegan but I have vegans in my life who would be most appreciative.

I think Emmy needs to start a mailing list...

With two 's's even.

i've had all kinds of vegan hippy pals, and this cake always went down a treat:
To kick things off in the chocoholic stakes...this baby is vegan, but
don't let that stop you...you can't tell..honest!!
before we get started though, a coupla warnings:
1) yes, it's big. real big. this ain't no liddle tea for two number -
you need a pretty big bowl, and a coupla decent sized round cake tins
2) there's a stack of moisture in this cake, and it's a bit runnier
than the usual mix - don't worry 'bout it, just makes for a moist and
fudgy result.
3) yeah, it does take a while to cook - every time i bake this baby,
i'm finishing at some ungodly hour of the morning.

the stuff:
1.3 litres of boiling water
200g creamed coconut (not the tinned stuff, but the block which can be
bought from alfalfa co-op in enmore, otherwise try delis, fijiian
grocers, places that generally stock the weirder grocery items)
2 tblsp powdered espresso coffee
800g self raising flour
100g cocoa powder (get something decent - no frills has crappy
colour+flavour)
2 tsp baking powder
100g roasted pecans (straight outa the packet 'tis fine)
300g light muscovado sugar (your guess is as good as mine...but brown
sugar works a treat)
420ml vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brandy

de methode:
-Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line a 27.5cm/11in cake tin (or
two..)
-dissolve espresso coffee in 2 tablespoons boiling water
-place coconut in large bowl, covering with remaining water - stir
until dissolved.
-mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, pecans and sugar
- add espresso coffee to cake mixture with the oil. Stir thoroughly,
then add cooled, disolved coconut mixture and mix well
- whack in cake tin, cook for around 1.5 hours or until cake is springy
to touch. Leave to cool slightly before turning out onto a rack. When
the cake is cool, drizzle with brandy.

You can then ice the sucker - the basic ingredients being icing sugar,
cocoa powder, vanilla, water, vegan marg (with some boiling water to
melt it) and more brandy. the original recipe had over half a kilo of
icing sugar, which is a tad of overkill, i reckon. so use yr good taste
and judgement.
lurve,
ms gusset

hey, you know how vegetarians say they don't like meat because it has no flavour, only the sauces do. well why is all vegetarian/vegan food so fucking bland?

Do vegetarians say that? I thought only troublemakers said that.

Can you please not ruin this thread by turning it into some kind of us vs them bullshit?

Thanks.

I'm not vegan in the slightest, but here's what I made frigid for his birthday last year:

Here's the recipe (from here):

Chocolate Applesauce Cake
from Emma Viskic - Melbourne, Australia

This is a very moist and moreish vegan chocolate cake recipe.
It's very easy and quick to make.

* 1/2 cup Vegan Margarine melted
  (you can also just use vegetable oil)
* 1-1/2 cups thick stewed apples
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 2 cups plain flour
* 2 tablespoons cocoa
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
* 1 teaspoon allspice (optional)
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1. Mix apple with Margarine

2. Sift dry ingredients together and add to apple mixture.

3. Mix thoroughly and bake in a greased and floured tin (cup cakes) in a moderate oven (around 325 F) for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

I've been noticing the use of applesauce in vegan baking - something that i wouldn't have considered. i found a recipe last night for vegan oatmeal peanut butter cookies that had quite a large quantity of applesauce in them. i don't know why, but it surprised me.

that cake looks damn good.

I actually used home made stewed apples in the hope there'd be apple chunks in the finished product but, alas, no such luck. From memory the mix was a tiny bit dry so we added a little orange juice to help things along!

I hardly ever bake but it was a triumph!

Adding to the vegan cake love, I present...

Flourless Orange Syrup Cake

Notes: Use four oranges, two to boil, two to zest and juice. Navel oranges are best.

Palm sugar comes in two types, pale and dark. Pale for the cake, dark for the syrup, preferably. Though it's not a huge issue either way.

INGREDIENTS

1½ navel oranges, boiled whole (including rind) until very soft
200g silken tofu
1 tsp orange flower water (rose water or whisky can be substituted)
250g grated palm sugar
½ cup olive oil
200g almond meal
200g dessicated coconut
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 2 oranges
1 tsp baking powder

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Blend boiled oranges, silken tofu, orange flower water, palm sugar and olive oil in a food processor until smooth

Combine almond meal, coconut, lemon zest, orange zest and baking powder in a large mixing bowl

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just mixed

Pour mixture into well-oiled 22cm round cake tin

Bake uncovered at 180 degrees for around one hour, or until knife comes out clean (check cake at about 45 mins, cover top with foil if needed)

Cool completely before removing cake from tin

Serve warm or cold with fresh orange syrup

FOR THE ORANGE SYRUP

1 tsp orange flower water (or subtitute)
2 cups orange juice
250g palm sugar

METHOD

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and stir continuously over moderate heat until the block of palm sugar dissolves, then ##boil for about fifteen minutes or until syrup thickens, stir continuously and don’t allow it to burn

hmmm, slight formatting issues

And next...

Rosemary Lemon Syrup Cake

INGREDIENTS

Syrup
250g grated palm sugar
2 cups (500ml) water
100ml lemon juice
4 sprigs fresh or dry rosemary, leaves removed

Cake
zest of 4 lemons
50g sultanas
30g pine nuts
200g almond meal
250g dessicated coconut
200g silken tofu
80g grated palm sugar
100ml olive oil
120ml lemon juice
½ tsp pure vanilla essence

METHOD

To make the syrup, combine all ingredients in a pan and boil for 25 mins or until it is a thin, pourable consistency; set aside

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Combine all the dry ingredients for the cake

Blend the wet ingredients using an electric hand mixer in the order given, starting with the tofu

Fold wet ingredients into dry

Don’t overwork the mix

Pour mixture into well-oiled 22cm cake tin

Brush cake liberally with syrup two or three times

Bake uncovered at 180 degrees for around one hour

Cool completely before removing cake from tin

Serve with a drizzle of extra syrup

And while cakes are a good way to begin, it's not all about cakes (though I wish it could be). Stay tuned over the coming days/weeks for chicken pie (yes, it's vegan!), vine leaves and various things involving quinoa. Ahoy hoy!

emmy, yer a marvel.

Not sure what's in it, but dairy-free fetta from Yarraville IGA has saved many a vegan's arse. I also don't mind some of the Cheezly stuff, but only if melted well. Radical Grocer(y?) has some other lines of vegan cheese that I've never tried.

thanks black wasp! this looks good.

Doesn't the word 'Vegusto' just make you think of an Italian rapist or something?

Yeah vegusto is fucken awesome. Sheesh ,on the other hand, tastes like armpits

yeah, could have definitely re-thought the branding, that's for sure.

also, if anyone has any handy - vegan recipes that involve shitake mushrooms. a lot of them. I've been perusing the internet but I am seeing way too much leek involvement in most of these recipes for my liking.

Check out hericium mushrooms. They're fucking delicious.

Also I'm sure everyone up above has already linked the fuck out of this, but do some shopping here. Although I guess it probably won't help you much with your cheese quest.

hmm, i'll definitely check them out - although i was told to eat as many shitake mushies (in particular) that I can. thanks for the link, I'll take a look at that.

This is pretty great: http://veganabouttown.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/dan-dan-mian.html, although it only uses a handful of shitakes. Still, it's delicious which is the main thing.

Hey woolfat, I forgot - there are actually some fucking incredible vegan cheeses (and other dairyish/paté condiments) made by Botanical Cuisine. They tend to the more creamy side of things, rather than the hard/melty side. They make desserts, a lot of cashew-based cream cheeses, and I'm fairly sure they don't use vegetable gums. You can order direct or find them in shops around the place. The downside is that they're pretty expensive, so more a treat than a staple. But if you're vegan and you miss this sort of thing, these are a godsend and worth every penny (although I don't think I'd really buy a $25 mushroom and truffle paté, but that's just me).

I think that was the brand that my naturopath mentioned (and that I promptly forgot), black wasp. thanks! i'm going to suss that out. i'm happy to spend a bit given that i feel as though i've lost all the joy in eating/preparing food that i once had. it's early days.

btw I just bought some vegan feta to sprinkle on top of the adzuki bean soup I'm having for lunch. It's pretty good.

It tastes funky as fuck on its own, but it's good in a dish!

woolfat - you can make your own vegan cheeses: [homemade vegan cheese]. (http://www.vegangela.com/2011/10/15/homemade-vegan-cheese/). if you're after a simple quick cheesy sauce, you can make it with:
nutritional yeast

sunflower seeds

lemon juice and/or apple cider vinegar

maissel ''chicken'' stock cube

garlic

blend, heat (helps to marry flavours and take the edge off the garlic) & futz around with amounts until you get a taste that you're keen on. good over quinoa, pasta, whatevs.

Hi gusseting,

Thanks! I've recently discovered the goodness of yeast flakes.

unfortunately I've never liked cheese sauce, vegan or not. Sadly, it seems to be the easiest cheese-product to make vegan. What I miss most is crumbly cheddars & really stinky blue cheeses. No way is there a vegan version of those :(

I'm on this diet for a month so I'm hoping that when it's over I'm well enough to start eating cheese in small amounts again. I really miss it - I actually didn't realise how happy eating cheese makes me (I know that sounds absurd but it's so true) until I had to cut it out 100%.

Does anybody have any good vegan Saag recipes?

xp - the Cheezly blue cheese is deliciously stinky (maybe doesn't smell that pungent, but does taste it).

oooh, thanks grey,k! I have given up on all cheese subs so far - I think I'd rather not eat fake cheese, as it just makes me miss the real thing heaps more, and realise that nothing comes close.

Life goes on, though! I'm getting better at this whole thing so I'm finding other delicious things to eat.

just don't start drinking Kumboocha

I actually like one type of Kombucha (the bottled variety - I'm too lazy for anything else) but I'm pretty certain I'm not supposed to be consuming that anyway.

I'm not vegan but i am all about chia pudding lately. Three table spoons chia + one cup of milk (rice, almond, soy) and agave or jam or something for sweetness. Divide into ramekins or cups. Put in the fridge. So the ratio is 1/3 cup :1 tbl spoon chia if you want to make more or less.