Black Forest Cake

I’ve always loved black forest cake, and this one is amazing- I added lots of fresh cherry preserves and a subtle but delicious chocolate ganache between each layer. I made a tall and thin cake (4 layers cut from a 9x14 sheet cake) but it would be pretty easy to double this recipe and do a standard double layer 9” round cake. 

Chocolate Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp Baking powder

1/2 baking soda

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup canola oil

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

2 cups non-dairy margarine

2 cups powdered sugar (preferably sifted)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup margarine

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

Cherry jam or preserves

Let’s begin by making the cake. Preheat your oven to 350 and mix together the first 6 ingredients until throughly combined in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl and then combine the two together until they form a batter. Pour into your desire pan and bake it!

In the meantime, get all your fillings ready.

To make the frosting, combine the margarine, powdered sugar, and vanilla using a hand mixer until fluffy. Cover and set aside.

To make the ganache, combine the cocoa powder, margarine, and sugar in a small bowl  until dense and completely combined.

Take the cake out of the oven, and cut it into whatever circles or squares you want to layer (if you doubled the recipe and are using two round pans, be sure to cut the domed cake tops off before stacking.) LET IT COOL, then frost! Make sure all your ingredients are nice and cold for an optimal frosting experience. A layer of cake, a layer of ganache, a layer of frosting, a layer of jam, then repeat as desired. Frost the whole thing when you’re done, and have fun adding toppings (I recommend maraschino cherries, if you have them) Slice and enjoy! 

Cowboy Cookies

Cowboy Cookies

(Recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade York Cookie Jar- a great book)

These are fantastic. They are hearty, chewy, chocolatey, and the use of dark brown sugar gives them a caramely taste. They are almost like a seven-layer bar, in cookie form. Its really, really hard to eat just one.

2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
2 cups oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup nondairy milk
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. ground flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips
1/2-1 cup lightly toasted chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Start by combining the flour, oats, baking powder and soda, and salt, in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a larger bowl, using a hand mixer, combine the oil, sugars, vanilla, and flaxseed.

Fold in the flour mixture a third at a time, and then mix until they are completely combined.

Slowly fold in the chocolate, coconut, and pecans.

Roll dough (it will be sticky-don't worry!) into balls on two greased cookie sheets and bake until the cookies are slightly golden brown (10-15 minutes)

Thick Crust Apple Pie

This might be the best pie I've ever made. A thick, flaky crust and a rich sweet filling of fresh apples is sure to please anyone, vegan or not. Serve warm with your favorite vanilla non-dairy ice cream.

Double Crust:

•2 1/2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour

•1 cup earth balance spread, chilled

•Ice water

Filling:

•3/4 cup sugar

•1/4 cup flour

•1/2 tsp. nutmeg

•1/2 tsp. cinnamon

•dash of salt

•6 cups peeled and sliced granny smith apples

•2 tbsp earth balance spread

To make the crust, first chill the flour bowl, pastry cutter, and flour in the freezer for a half hour to 45 minutes. The key is to keep all the ingredients as cold as possible. When cold, cut in the earth balance spread until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water a bit at a time until dough comes together. Split the dough into two balls, one a bit bigger than the other. Handling as little as possible,  roll out into two large circles (it helps to this in between two large sheets of parchment paper to prevent sticking). Place the larger circle in bottom of a 9-10" pie pan and save the smaller circle for the top.

To make the filling, simply combine all ingredients except the earth balance in a large bowl. Put the filling into the crust and dot the top with thin squares of earth balance. Cover with top of crust, cut a few ventilation marks into the top, and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes, or until golden brown.