Vegan Black Forest Cake and Other Recipes

We were hesitant to post this one, lest you think that our vegan experiment has consisted entirely of desserts, but this recipe was too good to pass up. For a dinner last Monday we baked a vegan Black Forest Cake. It wasn't that difficult to make and it tasted delicious. Also below are some of our favorite non-dessert recipes that we've had on heavy rotation over the last two months. Enjoy!

Vegan Black Forest Cake

Cake:
2 cup almond milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

“Buttercream” Frosting:
3/4 cup margarine (or Smart Balance) softened
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
6 tbsps almond milk
3 tsps pure vanilla extract

Cherry Filling:
1 jar maraschino cherries
2-4 T kirschwasser (cherry liqueur)
1-2 T cornstarch

3-5 T grated chocolate

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease bottoms and sides of two 9" cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper.

Whisk together the almond milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil and extracts to the almond milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add in two batches to the wet ingredients. Beat till no large lumps remain. Fill cake pans with batter. Bake 30-40 minutes till toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan five minutes and transfer to rack to cool completely. Peel off wax paper. Set aside.

Cream together the margarine and the shortening until well combined. Add the confectioners' sugar in about 1/2 cup batches and beat well adding a little splash of soy milk after each addition. When all ingredients have been well incorporated, add the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Make sure consistency is thick enough for frosting the cake.

Simmer cherries in syrup and add liqueur. Add cornstarch until filling is thick. Set aside.

Place one of the cakes on a serving plate. Spread some frosting on the cake and when cherries are fully cooled spread the cherries over the frosting. Place other cake on top. Frost the cake evenly. Toss grated chocolate evenly on top of cake. Decorate alternating frosting with cherries. Serve.

And now for the non-dessert recipes…

Best Hummus Ever
(recipe modified from: www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2007/09/the-best-hummus.html)
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 garlic cloves
3 cups of rehydrated garbanzo beans (or two 15-ounce cans, drained)
1/4 cup tahini
a pinch of cayenne and paprika
kosher salt
the juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup of olive oil

Toast cumin seeds in a little skillet until fragrant and dark, about a minute. Pour them into a mortar and pound with a pestle. Add garlic cloves to the cumin and pound them until they become paste.

Scrape everything into a food processor and add all the remaining ingredients. Pulse the machine a few times, then add 1/2 cup (or more) of olive oil. Process until smooth.

Guacamole
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 ripe avocados
1 habanero, minced
bunch of cilantro, take off stalks and mince leaves
2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1 lemon, juiced
3-4T olive oil

Mash avocados with a fork. Mix in half of lemon juice and half of olive oil. Mix in shallots, garlic, habanero, cilantro, tomatoes. Add more lemon juice and olive oil if needed. Salt & pepper to taste.

Pita
(recipe from: http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/)
2-1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for sprinkling while kneading & rolling out dough
2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees)
8 8-inch squares of aluminum foil for baking pitas

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour with the salt, sugar, and yeast. Add the oil and water. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for three minutes then stir in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time. If the dough is moist, add a small amount of additional flour.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 6 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces.

Roll into balls, dust lightly with flour, and cover with a damp tea towel. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Use the palm of your hand to flatten each ball into a disk. Finish with a rolling pin, flattening the dough into a disk about 6" in diameter and 3/16" thick.

Place each round on a square of foil, and carefully place 3 or 4 of the rounds directly on the oven rack. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until they are puffed.

Repeat with the remaining disks.

Japanese Avocado Salad
1 head red-leaf lettuce
3 stalks green onions, chopped
1 carrot, juliened
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 avocado, sliced thinly

Carrot-ginger dressing:
3 T mirin
3 T rice vinegar
2 T soy sauce
2 T vegetable oil
2 t sugar
1/2 T sesame oil
2 t ginger
4 T grated carrots

For the dressing, mix all of the ingredients in a tight-lid bowl and shake.

Toss lettuce and carrots and place in serving bowls. Throw green onions on top. Arrange tomato slices and avocado slices alternating the two. Put dressing on top and serve.

Vegan “Borscht” Soup
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 shallots, minced
6-8 cups water
beets, peeled and chopped (use latex gloves)
green stalks of beets, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
spinach leaves
mung bean sprouts
fresh dill, minced
fresh parsley, minced

Sautee tomatoes and shallots in oil. Add dill and parsley. Add 6-8 cups of water. Let simmer for half an hour. Add beets, beet stalks, potatoes, carrots, spinach, mung bean sprouts (or whatever veggies you want). Season with red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, dried dill, dried basil. Serve with a dollop of Tofutti Better than Sour Cream.

Chinese Vegetable and Noodle Soup
2 T oil
4 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T ginger, minced
2 T red chili paste
6-8 C water
2-4 T rice wine
1 pack firm tofu, cubed
bok choy, cleaned
spinach, cleaned
mushroom, sliced
carrots, chopped
water chestnuts, drained
bamboo shoots, drained
baby corn, drained
1 packet noodles (mung bean, chinese vermicelli, soba or udon)
salt and pepper to taste

Condiments:
garlic - sliced thinly and fried until crisp (3-5 minutes)
shallots - sliced in rounds and fried until crisp (5-8 minutes)
ginger - grated
scallions - chopped
peanuts - ground using mortar & pestle

Sautee shallots, ginger and garlic in oil until golden. Add chili paste and sautee for another 2 minutes. Add water and rice wine. When boiling, drop to low heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Thirty minutes before serving, add all vegetables, tofu and noodles. Simmer for another thirty minutes and flavor with salt & pepper. Serve with condiments on the side.