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.