Vegan Dessert Workshop Recipes

Thanks to everyone who came out to cook vegan desserts! Here are the recipes that we made. Some of them have been edited for smaller portion size.

Ginger Cookies
Adapted from Epicurious

2 1/2 cups Flour
1/3 cup Crystallized Ginger
2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Earth Balance (1 1/2 stick)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Ground Flax Seed
1/4 cup Water
1/4 cup Molasses
1 1/2 tsp Grated Fresh Ginger
1 1/2 Ground Ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/3 cup Sugar

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350⁰.

Mince the crystallized ginger in a food processor or blender. Whisk ground flax seed with water.

In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and crystallized ginger.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat earth balance on medium high speed until creamy, about two minutes. Add the brown sugar, and beat for three more minutes. Add flax mixture. Take the bowl out of the mixer, and, using a rubber spatula, fold in molasses, fresh ginger, ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Fold in the flour mixture in two parts.

Add ⅓ cup sugar to a bowl. Roll about one tablespoon of dough into a ball, then roll the ball in the sugar, and place on cookie sheet. Repeat until the cookie sheet is full, keeping the balls about two inches apart.

Bake for about 15 minutes. The surface of the cookies will crack and they should be firm around the edges.


Sugar Cookies
Adapted from Eleanor's Sugar Cookies

1 cup Sugar
1 cup Earth Balance (2 sticks)
3 Tbs Almond Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
3 cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

In a mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cream the earth balance and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium high speed for three minutes. Add the almond milk and vanilla, and continue beating for another minute.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture in two parts. Form the dough into two discs, and wrap in wax paper. Let chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Move a rack to the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350⁰. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Put one of the disks between two pieces of wax paper. Roll out dough, cut into shapes, and put shapes on the cookie sheet. Repeat with other disk. Form the leftover dough from the two disks into one ball. Roll out one more batch of cookies. The cook has an obligation to eat the remaining cookie dough.

Bake for 8 - 12 minutes.


Royal Icing
Adapted from Veglicious

1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Arrowroot
1 tsp Lemon Juice
2 - 3 tsp Almond Milk

In a bowl, sift the powdered sugar and arrowroot together. Add the lemon juice. Mix in the almond milk, one teaspoon at a time, until a thick past is formed. Divide the icing into separate bowls, and add food coloring.


Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1 can Coconut Milk
1/2 cups Brown Rice Syrup
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Arrowroot
3 Tbs Coco Powder
3.5 oz Chocolate Bar, Chopped
1 tsp Vanilla

In a medium sized pot bring 1 1/4 cups coconut milk, brown rice syrup, and salt to a simmer over medium low heat.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the rest of the coconut milk, arrowroot, and cocoa powder.

When the coconut brown rice syrup mixture has started to simmer, set aside about ¼ cup of it, and turn the heat down to its lowest setting. A little at a time, whisk the ¼ cup set aside into the arrowroot mixture. Drizzle the arrowroot mixture into the simmering pot, whisking constantly. Keep whisking until the mixture comes back up to a simmer. About a minute. The pudding will thicken.

Take the pot off the heat, and continue whisking for about a minute. Add the chocolate and vanilla, and continue whisking for another minute, or until the pudding is smooth.

If you want to eat the pudding while it’s warm, let it sit for five minutes. Otherwise, refrigerate for several hours.


Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Madhuram's Eggless Cooking

3 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1/2 cups Coco Powder
1 Tbs Vanilla
2/3 cups Oil
2 Tbs Vinegar
2 cups Almond Milk

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Oil two cake pans. Insert round parchment paper into each cake pan.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and coco powder.

Create a large well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add almond milk, vanilla, vinegar, and oil. With a rubber spatula, slowly mix all the ingredients together until just combined. Their should still be lumps.

Pour into the cake pans and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.


Ganache

2 1/2 cups Coconut Milk
1 1/2 lbs. Chocolate

Bring coconut milk to a boil. Turn off heat. Add chocolate, and let rest until melted, about three minutes. Use a rubber spatula to stir until the chocolate pieces are melted.

Measure out ½ of a cup and set aside. Put the rest in the fridge to chill for 1 ½ - 2 hours.


Frosting the Cake

2 Cake Layers
Ganache
1 Chocolate Bar

Let the cake layers cool completely. Grate a chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler.

Run a sharp knife around the edge of each cake pan. Put a large plate onto one of the cake pans, and turn upside down. Remove the pan, so the cake layer stays on the plate. Slowly remove parchment paper and discard. Flip the cake layer so that it is facing right side up. Repeat with the other cake layer.

If the cake layers have domes, cut them off with a serrated knife. Flip them back over, so they are upside down. Use a pastry brush to gently brush any crumbs off.

Melt ½ cup ganache. Using a rubber spatula, add the ganache to the sides and top of the cake layers. Cover each layer with a bowl or a pot so the freezer gnomes don’t defile your cake. Put the layers in the freezer for ten minutes.

Take the layers out of the freezer, and pick one to be the bottom. To the top of this layer add about 1 ½ cups ganache. With a rubber spatula, spread evenly to the edges. Stack the other cake layer onto the ganache. Add another 1 ½ cups ganache to the top of this cake layer, and spread evenly to the edges.

Using a small amount of ganache at a time, brush the ganache onto the side of the cake with the rubber spatula, always brushing forward and upward. Also, keep turning the plate to get all the way around the cake.

Finally, toss the chocolate shavings on to the side of the cake, turning the cake all the way around. Keep picking up the shavings that fall off, and throwing them back on, until all the shavings are gone.

Spanish Rice and Black Beans by Vanessa Lang

Spanish Rice

Bowl of tomatoes pureed with cilantro and jalapeno

cooked with 3 cups of white rice.

Garlic, Onion

Black Beans

Soak Black beans for one or two nights

and then cook with cilantro, onion, jalapeno.

Borscht by Rochelle Szmaciarz

Borscht is a beet based broth soup, and one can add boiled potatoes if they wish. The recipie calls for the use of beef bones, but I chose to make it vegatarian. Here is the recipe:

· Water (amount varies depending on how much you want and how strong you want the broth to be)

· ~5 cubed beets

· 4 chopped large carrots

· 4 chopped celery stalks

· ~1 cup fresh dill

· ~3 table spoons honey

· ~ 4 cloves of crushed garlic

· ~ 3 Bay Leaves

·~ ¼ cup (or to prefred taste) apple cider vinegar (or to prefred taste)

· Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients into a large pot, except for the honey, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.

Fill up the pot with water. Boil on low for about an 1.5 - 2 hours.

Strain all ingredients out of broth.

Add in honey, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to your preferred taste.

Add the juice of a lemon as well. It gives it a

nice little zing.

Can be served with boiled potatoes, a dollop of sour creme and a few sprigs of fresh dill on top.

Mashed Potatoes

By Danielle Lim

sour cream

potatoes

butter

garlic powder

salt to taste

Wash potatoes, cut into smaller pieces if really big, and boil in big pot of water until easily pierced with a fork.

Drain potatoes and then mash.

Add other ingredients and mix well.

Serve hot!

Ensalada de Nopales by Lizeth Gomez

-Tomatoes

-Onions

-Jalapeños

-Cooked nopales

-Cilantro

-Avocado

-Queso Fresco

-Salt

-Pepper

-Olive oil

-Chop the veggies into small squares/slices and mix in a big bowl. Crumble the cheese into the mix and add olive oil. Finally add salt and pepper to taste.

I don't really use measurements so you should taste the mix and add the cheese, oil, salt and pepper according to your taste.

For a vegan alternative do not add cheese and substitute the olive oil for lemon.

Spicy Salsa by Lizeth Gomez

Having a mexican background i am used to eating spicy foods and/or adding spicy salsa to practically everything i eat. Everyone in my family has a bottle of hot sauce in their pantry or a jar of fresh salsa in the fridge; this is my family's recipe for the contents of that jar:

-Chiles de árbol

-Garlic

-Olive oil

-Salt

-In a large pan you toast the dried chiles in enough oil to cover them: think of it as almost deep frying them. Once they cool blend the chiles and the garlic together, making sure they have enough oil. I add garlic to taste and i love the taste of garlic so i add about 1 garlic clove for every 5/10 chiles. If the mixture gets too thick add more oil. Finally add salt to taste.

Garlic Spinach by Sheila Coll

11 bunches spinach

tons of garlic to taste ( about a bulb and a half)

salt to taste

a little bit of water

safflower oil

Saute the spinach in oil until it wilts and then add the salt and garlic to taste.

This recipe makes about 25-30 small servings.

Vegetarian [Vegan] Chili by Cory Barton

~ 2c pinto beans

~ 2 bell peppers (preferably different colors)

~ 2 medium yellow onions

~ 6-8 cloves garlic

~ large can stewed tomatoes (or you can cook them down yourself)

~ olive oil

~ chipotle peppers, canned in adobo sauce

~ 2 serrano peppers

~ salt, pepper, coriander, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, chili powder

~ green onions

~ cilantro

~ sour cream (optional; omit to make vegan, or use soy-alternative)

Sort, wash and soak beans overnight. Drain.

Chop the onions and bell peppers into 1/2" cubes. Heat a large pot over medium heat, and add 1-2 tbs oil. Saute the onions and bell peppers until the peppers soften and onions become translucent. Chop the garlic and serranos and add to the pan, careful not to let the garlic burn.

Add 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp each coriander, cumin, paprika, oregano, and 1/4 tsp pepper and chili powder. DO NOT add the salt now, or else the beans will not cook properly. Cook the onion spice mixture until lightly fragrant, then add in the stewed tomatoes and 2 minced chipotles (and a bit of the adobo sauce). Add the drained beans and enough water to cover the beans by 1-2".

Raise heat to high until the pot comes to a full boil, then drop the heat down to a simmer. Cap the beans with a lid. Let simmer for 1-2 hours, or until beans are entirely softened and thickening the water. If there is too much water, remove the lid and raise the temperature slightly. If drying out too much, add more water, increase temperature back to closer to a boil, then return to a simmer.

Once fully cooked, add salt to taste (and adjust other seasonings if necessary). The beans are perfect served over brown rice with fresh tortillas, and ideal topped with fresh chopped green onion, cilantro, and a spoonful of sour cream to mellow out the heat and add a nice creaminess.

My grandmother's Greek Salad by Rebecca Linn

Ingredients:

-green salad mix: iceberg lettuce, kale, etc (all sliced or shredded into bite sized pieces

-Kalamata olives (careful; not too many otherwise the salad will become to salty because there's also feta cheese

-red onion, sliced or yellow onion

-tomatoes (quartered)

-avocado (if desired and in sliced form)

Toss salad together

Dressing:

-lemon juice (1/3 cup)

-extra virgin olive oil (2/3 cup)

-pinch of oregano, salt and pepper

Shake dressing and then pour over salad, toss and serve

Zucchini Bread by Khara Schmitt

Adapted from several sources

Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs (Vegan option: replace eggs with 1/4 cup applesauce per egg)
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional) I used Carob Chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally. (See those pictures of the cakes inside their non-stick pans? Yup, they’re pretty much hanging out in there for the time being.) Alternately, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake far more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread by Khara Schmitt

• 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup cracked wheat
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup all purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, yeast, and salt and mix well. In large microwave safe glass measuring cup, place cracked wheat, milk, water, honey, and 3 Tbsp. butter. Heat on high power for 1 minute, then remove and stir. Check the temperature with an instant read thermometer; if it's between 120 and 130 degrees F, add it to the flour mixture along with the egg. (You can keep microwaving the mixture if it isn't hot enough, or if it gets too hot, let it stand, stirring occasionally, until between 120 and 130 degrees F.)

Beat dough with mixer for 3 minutes at medium speed. With a wooden spoon, gradually stir in the remaining all purpose flour until a firm dough forms. Place dough on floured surface; knead for 5-8 minutes, sprinkling with more flour as necessary to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and satiny. Clean the mixing bowl and grease it with solid shortening; then place the dough in the bowl and turn it to grease the top. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour. Generously grease two 9x5" loaf pans with solid shortening (NOT butter).

Punch down the dough and use a knife to cut it into two pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece to a 14x7" rectangle. Starting with the 7" side, tightly roll up the dough to form a loaf. Firmly pinch the ends and seam to seal, then place, seam side dish, in prepared pans. Cover and let rise until double, about 40 minutes.

While dough is rising for the second time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake loaves for 35-45 minutes or until loaves are firm, well risen, and golden brown. Carefully remove from pans and place on wire rack. Brush the top of each loaf with 1 Tbsp. melted butter; let cool.

Fig/Apple Pie with Melty Feta and Blue Cheese Top.

By Lilah Walsh

1.) Gather figs and apples.

2.) Make or buy a graham cracker crust (I bought mine).

3.) Figs-Sautee figs in olive oil with a little salt. I was able to find about six ripe figs, but less or more will also work. This forms a saucy fig backdrop for the apples and it can really be as many or as few as you like. Use a medium to large pot because this is what you will add the apples to.

Sauté until figs have completely broken down into a sauce. Add some nice red wine, if you can. I used an old vine zinfandel, but a pinot would work well too (the alcohol evaporate during the cooking). If you are not old enough, or not able to use wine for some other reason, this could be substituted with an interesting fruit juice like pomegranate.

4.) Apples- I gathered three different varieties of apples and they varied in size, so it's hard to say exactly how many you need. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 6-8 good sized apples, or however many small sized apples would approximate that.

5.) Peel, core and chop the apples into different sizes and shapes, because the different sized chunks create good textures.

6.) Add apples to the fig sauce along with dashes (quarter teaspoons or a little less) of nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Season to your taste. Add sugar to your taste, potentially a half a cup or so. Add about a quarter teaspoon of cornstarch for thickening. Simmer for about a half an hour to forty minutes, stirring occasionally. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

7.) When apples are as soft as desired, let cool for a few minutes and then pour into graham cracker crust. Crumble feta and blue cheese on the top (I recommend Point Reyes blue cheese, so yummy) and put into the oven. Watch for the cheese to melt and get a little bit golden on the top. The pie is done! No need to really bake in the oven, unless you substitute a dough crust, in which case, follow instructions for baking the crust through. Enjoy.

Eggplant Parmesan by Caroline Egan courtesy of my grandmother

Ingredients:

2 eggplants

2 small containers of tomato paste

2 eggs

OLIVE OIL

salt

bread crumbs with Italian Seasoning (I used 1 box but you could use 2)

small quantity of red wine, if desired freshly minced garlic

basil

shredded mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese

red pepper flakes if desired

1. Slice eggplants into 1/2 inch rounds

2. whip up the eggs and dip the eggplant rounds into the eggs, covering both sides. Then, dip the eggplant into dried bread crumbs with Italian Seasoning (to your liking) and cover all sides

3. Place eggplant piece on a sprayed/buttered/oiled cookie sheet. Continue with all slices and place side by side

4. Cook for 15 minutes @ 350 ( the 15 minute intervals are great because this is a great time to get the salad prepared and start on some bread dipped in olive with minced garlic and parmesan cheese

5. After browning both sides for 15 minutes each, take the eggplant out. Create a mix of 1 part tomato paste, 1 part water and (1/4 part red wine, is desired). Add fresh garlic, fresh basil and salt to taste. * note dice up the basil nice and tiny and add to your liking the amount of salt and garlic you desire*

6. Cover the eggplant with the sauce

7. Cover the eggplant with shredded mozzarella cheese (you can go crazy here, if desired!) and some shredded parmesan cheese

8. Place back in the oven for 30 minutes. Add more cheese or garlic if you'd like!

9. Let cool and serve

Notes: the amount of salt, basil and garlic does not have specific measurements so make sure to go by your liking and always taste as you go. This dish is perfect for a chilly fall afternoon and it will certainly leave you feeling warm and simply good inside!!!

Pesto by Felix Vayssieres

Most years my family grows basil in our backyard and then harvests it to make a bunch of pesto which we freeze to use throughout the year. While most pesto recipes call for pine nuts this one does not because the pesto preserves less well with pine nuts and may become rancid.

2 cups basil leaves, well packed into the measuring cup
3-5 cloves of garlic
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
a pinch of salt
and a dash of vinegar.

Put them all in a food processor and blend them together. You might want to put in one or two ingredients at a time to not overstuff the food processor.

Egg Puff/ Casserole/ Cheesy Goodness by Ashley Hebert

10 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup flour

1 pint cottage cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1 lb jack cheese, grated

1/2 cup butter

4 large peppers (mild or hot, your choice)

1. Beat eggs 'till light and lemon colored

2. Add salt, flour, baking powder, cottage cheese, jack cheese, margarine, and blend 'till smooth

3. Stir in peppers and pour into well buttered 9x13 pan

4. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes

5. Serve hot