Vegan Vanilla Caramel Slice

The most AMAZING vanilla caramel slices! They taste like caramelly cookie dough heaven! Vegan and refined sugar free. Made from wholesome ingredients with healthy benefits! I like to keep these in the freezer and have one for dessert...or breakfast ;) with a cup of coffee. Awww perfection! 

Here’s what you’ll need:

Base:

1 cup soft pitted dates

1 cup almond flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. water

Blend ingredients in a food processor until combined. Press date mixture into a lined (wax paper) 9X9 glass dish.  Place in the freezer.

Middle Layer:

2 cups soft pitted dates

1 tbsp. peanut butter

3 tbsp.  tahini

1/2 cup hemp mylk

1 tbsp. mesquite powder (*see note below)

1 tsp. vanilla

Blend ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Pour on top of the base mixture and use a spatula to spread it evenly into the corners of the dish. Place back in the freezer.

Top Layer:

1/2 cup raw cocoa powder

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 tbsp. pure maple syrup (optional sweetener)

Mix ingredients in a cup. Use a microwave if needed to melt the coconut oil.

Pour on top and spread chocolate sauce evenly over the caramel-date layer.

Sprinkle with topping of your choice or keep plain (I used chopped pistachios and Brazil nuts).

Place in the freezer for 8 hours (or over night). Cut into slices and serve!

*Note on Mesquite Powder

So when I first heard about Mesquite powder, I thought it would taste like smoky BBQ; not so... it has a sweet nutty caramel-like flavor, making it ideal for a natural sweetener in desserts. Mesquite powder is ground from the pods of the mesquite plant and is high in protein, low on the glycemic index and is a good source of soluble fiber, calcium, iron, lysine, manganese, zinc, and potassium. Nice...

Painted Sugar Cookies

I was in a creative mood today and we have a family Easter dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's tomorrow so I thought it would be fun to try my hand at sugar cookies. Here is a sugar cookie and royal icing recipe that I love... the cookies are yummy and hold their shape while baking {not too hard & not too soft - just perfect with a sweet hint of almond and vanilla} + the royal icing recipe is easy and top-notch! 

Sugar Cookie Recipe:

Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste

1 tsp. Almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350F 

-Cream butter and sugar together with an electric stand mixer until smooth. Mix for 1 minute. 

-Add egg. Mix until combined.

-Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again. 1 min.

-Mix in vanilla bean paste and almond extract.

-Slowly add flour and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to clump around the paddle. 

-Roll dough in between two pieces of parchment paper and set on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

-Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes.

-Bake in the oven on a silpat mat for 10 minutes or until the bottom edge of the cookies are light brown.

-Place cookies on a cooling rack.

-Decorate cookies with royal icing when they reach room temperature.

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Believe it or not this was my first time working with royal icing. I was tad intimidated so I watched a few videos on youtube before attempting it. This video was my favorite {he made it so easy}. I used 1/2 tsp. almond extract and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract instead of the 1 tsp. vanilla as listed in his recipe. It turned out fabulous. Really easy. Just add water when you need a "shampoo" consistency for flooding your cookies. 

Royal Icing Recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups powdered sugar

2 large egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

water

Directions:

-In a stand mixer combine sifted powdered sugar, cream of tarter, egg whites and both extracts. 

-Beat on low until the sugar has liquified and then beat on high for 1 minute. The icing will be thick like toothpaste. 

-Add a tablespoon of water and beat for 3 more minutes.

-Mix in food coloring if desired {I just used the white icing}.

-Pour icing into a piping bag and decorate sugar cookies.

-Let icing dry and harden before painting {if you want to use my method}

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For Painting

I used Betty Crocker Classic Gel Food Colors {I got mine at Ralph's} and dabbed a few blobs of each color onto a ceramic plate. I used a watercolor paint brush to paint and mix the colors and a gourmet food writer for fine black details. Easy peasy. Be sure to  have a small cup of water for washing your brush out in between colors and a paper towel for blotting the brush. 

Have Fun!

I Started A Tumblr!

So I started a Tumblr! Yes...the 16 year-old-girl in me is super excited. Bahahaha, no really. I find it relaxing and motivating to scroll through pictures and words of wisdom that inspire me about life, family, travel, art, cozy homes and yummy food. I guess it's sort of a vision board, right? I hope this will be a place that you can come to unwind and think about happy things. My fuzzy blanket is now yours. I hope you like it.

*Links to the original sources and recipes can be found when you click on the pictures. 

Cranberry Beet Porridge with Blackberries, Pomegranates & Coconut

A fabulous way to jazz up your boring morning porridge. Danny ate two bowls...it's that good. I should have made more.

Ingredients:

2 cups cranberry juice

1/4 cup beet juice  (from juicing or boiling a small diced beet in 1/2 cup water) 

1 cup cream of wheat

1/4 cup cream of coconut

Toppings:

blackberries

pomegranates

dried coconut 

cream

drizzle with cream of coconut

Directions:

Boil cranberry and beet juice in pot. Add cream of wheat. Whisk until well combined and lumps are gone. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in cream of coconut.

Serve warm in bowls and sprinkle with toppings.

Pesche Con Crema {Italian Peach Cakes with Vanilla Cream and Peach Jam}

A BEA-UTIFUL and surprisingly easy Italian recipe of old.  It is traditionally made out of little lemon cakes that are hollowed out a filled with lemon cream and then sandwiched together. I was a tad confused -- why lemon? They look like peaches. So I wanted to make this traditional treat with a twist...one half filled with vanilla cream and the other half filled with peach jam. I thought the original recipe was missing that peach zing. So here you go! Mmmmm peaches and cream.

Pastry Cream 

2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

4 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

Peach Jam 

Store bought

Dough 

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Grated zest of 1 lemon

 

Assembling the Peaches

1/2 cup rum + 2 tablespoons peach schnapps

Red food coloring (or a bit of beet juice if you want to keep it au naturel)

1 cup sugar, or more as needed for coating

Fresh peach leaves for decorating

 

Directions:

Make the pastry cream: Simmer Milk and vanilla bean paste in a large saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar until thoroughly blended;  add flour to the egg mixture and whisk until combined.

Slowly whisk hot vanilla milk into egg mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until cream thickens and begins to boil.

Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and place plastic wrap over the top; pressing down to prevent a film from developing on top of the cream.

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Make the dough: In a large bowl, mix flour and baking powder together. In a large separate bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Whisk in milk, butter, and lemon zest until combined. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing with a fork until the dough is firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with nonstick mats

Roll dough it into a walnut sized balls (about 2 inches in sizes). Place balls on prepared baking sheets spacing about 1 inch apart. Slightly flatten the tops with your palm.

Bake until bottoms are lightly browned, about 10-15 minutes; tops will remain pale. Transfer to a rack.

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Assemble the peaches: While the cakes are still warm, use a small, sharp knife to cut a circle about the size of a quarter on the bottom (flat) side of each cookie, taking care not to crack the edges. Use the tip of the knife to scrape out enough crumbs to make hollow and hold about 1 teaspoon pastry cream and jam. Set cookies aside.

Pour rum and peach schnapps in a small bowl. Add enough red food coloring (or beet juice) to create your desired shade of peach; set aside. Fill a shallow bowl with sugar; set aside.

Fill half of the hollowed-out cakes with 1 teaspoon of cream filling and the other half with peach jam. Sandwich two little cakes together. Using a pastry brush, brush the "peach" with colored liquor and roll in sugar to coat. Place on a rack or plate when done. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving, pierce each "peach" with a toothpick where the two cakes come together and insert the stem of a peach leaf. 

Strawberry, Raspberry, Rhubarb Chocolate Bombs

An adaption of the pervious and wildly popular German Chocolate Bombs...I bring you the Strawberry, Raspberry, Rhubarb Chocolate Bombs. Ok the truth is, those were the things I had in my fridge so that's what I used. You can basically use any sort of fruit or filling that you like. Same results...different filling. Oh, and I added some shortcuts to make things easier on you. Do I dare say it? I think I prefer this filling even better than the original recipe. Gaaaaasp! No, no both are wonderful, but there's something so fabulous about creamy chocolate mousse with berries! Yes. you've got to try it + this recipe is pretty freak'n cute.

Ok Here we go. You ready for this?

For the cake

Shortcut: If you're lazy like me and don't want to make the chocolate cake from scratch --> buy a box mix of Ghirardelli  brownies and slightly under bake them. If your feeling ambitious, then by all means follow the recipe below. 

Cooking spray
5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 oz. (1/4 cup) natural cocoa powder 
1-1/2 cups boiling water  
7 oz. (1-1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda 
1/4 tsp. kosher salt 
1-1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar  
8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs, at room temperature  
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature 
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

For the filling
1/2 cup Rhubarb or Strawberry jam (whatever you prefer)

1/2 cup fresh raspberries

1/2 cup fresh finely diced strawberries

For the chocolate mousse

Tip: This recipe contains raw eggs; if that’s a concern, buy pasteurized.

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (preferably 70% cacao), chopped (about 1 cup) 
3-1/2 oz. (7 Tbs.) unsalted butter 
2 large eggs, separated 
1 Tbs. granulated sugar 
3/4 cup heavy cream 
1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract 
Pinch kosher salt 

For the glaze
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (preferably 70% cacao), finely chopped (about 1 cup) 
2 Tbs. light corn syrup 
1 cup heavy cream 

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Make the cake 

TIP(If you are making the cake from scratch follow the directions below. If you are using the box brownie shortcut -- cook brownies in a larger baking dish so they are no thicker than 1 inch after baking.)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Coat a 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
Put the chocolate and cocoa in a medium heatproof bowl, add the boiling water, and whisk to combine and melt the chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. 
Beat the sugar and butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl halfway through. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly add the buttermilk and vanilla—the batter will look curdled at this point. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Alternate adding the flour mixture (in 3 additions) with the chocolate mixture (in 2 additions), ending with the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and tap the pan on the counter to level the batter.
Bake until the cake springs back when poked in the center with a finger, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. (Well-wrapped, the cake will keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator, or up to 1 month in the freezer.) 

Make the filling
Mash filling ingredients in a bowl until the raspberries and strawberries have blended with the jam (no big chunks).

Make the chocolate mousse

Melt the chocolate and butter in a large bowl set in a skillet of barely simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir with a spatula to combine. Set aside to cool slightly. 
Whip the egg whites in a clean stand mixer fitted with a clean whisk attachment on medium-high speed to soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the sugar and continue to whip to stiff peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. 
In a medium bowl, whip the cream with a whisk or electric hand mixer to medium-stiff peaks. 
In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, vanilla, and salt. Mix the egg yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture with a spatula. Fold in the whipped egg whites, then fold in the whipped cream—there shouldn’t be any visible streaks. 

Assemble the bombes 
Set two silicone bombe molds that hold at least 5 bombes each (3-1/4-inch diameter and 1/2-cup capacity) on a 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheet. 
Turn the cake out onto a cutting board. Use a 3-1/8-inch round cutter to cut 10 circles from the chocolate cake.  
Scoop about 1/4 cup of the mousse into each mold and smear it evenly all over the insides of the molds with the back of a small spoon. Evenly distribute the filling among the molds (about 2-1/2 Tbs. each), and then gently press a cake circle into each mold. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
Unmold the frozen bombes one at a time onto a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet or over a sink. 

Glaze the bombes
 Put the chopped chocolate and corn syrup in a medium stainless-steel bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium-high heat until just boiling, then pour it over the chocolate mixture and let sit for 3 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup for easy pouring.
Pour the glaze evenly over the bombs to coat them completely. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. (Glaze the bombs no more than 8 hours in advance.) 
Let the bombs sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

Yema {Crunchy Caramel, Gooey Custard Treats}

Yema are luscious little Filipino candies with a creamy custard center covered in a thin crunchy caramel shell. I made 20 or so for a party tomorrow and I've already eaten 6...oops. I would best describe them as baby crème brûlée with a slightly denser custard. These decadent treats will melt in your mouth and be gone before you know it! 

Ingredients

Custard

10 egg yolks

1 (14 ounces) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tbs. lemon zest

1 tsp. lemon juice

Shell

1 cup sugar

Tips & Utensils

*Coat your fork with canola oil to prevent caramel from sticking when retrieving the custard ball.

* Freezing the egg yolk mixture will make it easier to shape. If you don't want to wait, you can put a little bit of cooking oil on your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking.

Instructions

1.In medium sized bowl, combine egg yolks, condensed milk, zest and lemon juice. Whisk together until thoroughly combined.

2.In a non-stick pan over low heat, pour the egg yolk mixture. Use a heat resistant spatula to stir the mixture until thick enough to hold shape. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of pan to prevent burning. Remove from heat. Stir mixture until lumps have smoothed. cool. Shape into 1-inch balls.

3.In a pan over medium heat, add sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent the sugar from burning. Sugar will start to melt, clump and then liquefy. Remove from heat when the sugar has caramelized and the crystalized lumps are gone.

4.Tricky part! Carefully drop custard balls one at a time into the caramel pan, turning gently with an oil-coated fork. As you can see...I haven't mastered this part yet ;). You'll want to achieve an even and complete coat of caramel around the ball. Remove the caramel coated yema with forks and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Allow to cool and wrap them individually in cellophane.