Happy Valentines, Have a Cookie!

Things I Love:

-listening to music and reading in a warm and cozy coffee shop
-laughing so hard you cry
-the feeling you get when a plane is taking off- like your stomach is dropping and your body is lifting. weird, but I love it.
-having picnic dinners on my living room floor with my family
-watching bad movies with best friends
-dancing so hard that you forget your feet hurt 
-my cats
-staring out at the ocean
-classic love stories
-the smell of cookies fresh from the oven....

Orange Spiced Sugar Cookies with Cinnamon Icing

makes about 8 large hearts

Cookies:

1 1/2 cups white unbleached flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water (replaces an egg)

Icing:

2 tbsp soy milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and orange zest. In a measuring cup, stir together the remaining ingredients.
2. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and combine using a wooden spoon or your hands. You may need to add a little bit of water if the dough is too crumbly. Form the cookie dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate it for about an hour.
3. Begin to preheat your oven to 375º. Once the dough has chilled, let it soften and warm up a bit, then roll it out to about 1/2 cm thick. Cut out desired shapes (hearts for today, of course) and place on a greased cookie sheet. 

4. Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes, or until the bottom edges begin to turn golden brown. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before icing.
5. While the cookies bake, prepare the icing by whisking together the ingredients in a medium bowl or in a food processor.

6. Ice the cookies, let them harden for about 10-15 minutes, and share with everyone you love!

<3

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes for My 50th Post!

You know how everyone is talking about the winter that wasn't? Well, now it is. I woke up this morning to find a blustery winter wonderland outside of my window and even though it feels about 2 months too late, I'm not complaining. I woke up my friend at 9am this morning so we could venture out into the blizzard together for brunch and a steaming cup of coffee. I love snow :)

On a different note, I can't believe I'm already on my 50th blog post! I guess that's not a whole lot in the long scheme of things, but when I started this thing up I had no idea how far it would go. I am so flattered and grateful for all of the support I've received from friends and readers who continue to follow That's So Vegan! I wish I could send you each one of these cupcakes... but somehow they magically vanished. Oops. 

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Banana Glaze

makes 1 dozen cupcakes

Cake:

1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed raspberries

Glaze:

1 ripe banana
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and grease or line a cupcake tin.
2. To make the cupcakes, combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dry to the wet and stir until just combined. 
3. Pour the batter into your prepared pan- about 3/4 of the way full for each cupcake. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. While the cupcakes are baking, make the chocolate banana glaze by mashing the banana with a fork, then whisk in the vanilla and cocoa powder. Add the powdered sugar a little bit at a time, whisking as you go. Once it is all added, stir until smooth.
5. Let the cupcakes cool for about 10 minutes, then spread the glaze on top. Enjoy!

These cupcakes are sweet, tart, moist and delicious. If you don't like bananas (aka if you're crazy), they would also be awesome with cream cheese frosting. 

I hope everyone has a great pre-Valentines weekend!

My Love Affair with Upside-Down Cake

I have this thing for upside-down cakes. You could call it a crush, but I'm pretty sure it's become more than that. I've started daydreaming about the different possibilities of flavors and imagining that beautiful moment when you bite into the perfect combination of fruit and cake and it just melts in your mouth...

Yeah, I am officially having a love affair with upside-down cake.

I realized I've been holding out on you guys- I made this gingerbread and pear cake about a month ago when I was still home for winter break! It was a parting gift to my family, but let me tell you, that cake was hard to leave behind. 

Gingerbread Pear Upside-Down Cake (inspired by this recipe on Epicurious)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup earth balance
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup applesauce
3 tsp ener-g egg-replacer
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 pear, peeled and sliced thinly
1 tbsp melted earth balance
1 tbsp brown sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 350º. Line the bottom of a 9" round pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Pour the melted earth balance into the bottom of the cake pan and swirl it around so it covers the whole surface. Arrange the pear slices on top and sprinkle them with brown sugar.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and spices in a medium bowl. Melt together the butter and water and combine the egg-replacer with the other 1/4 cup of water.
3. Beat the molasses and brown sugar together, then stir in the applesauce and egg-replacer. Once smooth, add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Finally mix in the butter/water mixture, ginger and vinegar. 
4. Pour the cake batter on top of the pears and place the cake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes. Promptly lick the bowl. Don't even fight it, it's impossible to resist. 
5. Once the cake is done, let it cool for at least 10 minutes, then carefully flip it over onto a plate. Serve warm and enjoy :)

Freshly flipped

This cake is perfectly moist, rich and sweet. The fresh ginger also gives it a kick that you don't get with powdered ginger- it's incredible. It would be really great served with vegan whipped cream or coconut ice cream!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter is for Lovers

Don't worry, I will have more fun stories about California and my internship coming up soon, but I wanted to take a quick break from that and talk about the holiday that is fast approaching...

I've been posting a lot about chocolate and peanut butter on here lately, but unless you happen to be deathly allergic to either one, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Chocolate and peanut butter were a match made in heaven and therefor perfect for Valentines Day!

Now I may not have a significant other, but I am not one of those people who gets really depressed around February 14th because they feel so unloved. Excuse me, but who wouldn't enjoy a day where you can get together with your other single friends, watch bad movies and eat lots of chocolate? It's all about being with people you love- romantically or not. 

So, what better way to express your love for someone than by making them homemade Reeses peanut butter cups? You can find this fabulous recipe at Have Cake, Will Travel. The only alteration I made was to use powdered sugar for the filling instead of brown sugar. Oh, and make sure you reheat the chocolate while the peanut butter filling refrigerates- I had an incident involving rock-hard chocolate and a mini blowtorch. It was mildly dramatic.

Let me tell you, these babies were better than the real deal. Not only do they leave out the icky chemical stuff in the original candy, but they are made with delicious dark chocolate, stuffed with all-natural creamy peanut butter, and made (I assume) with a whole lotta love. 

Cut down the edges of normal cupcake liners to make them look pretty!

How do you feel about Valentines Day?

Here's a song for friends (obvious, I know),
and here's a song for your special friend :)

My Favorite Cake

I really love cake. So when I say this cake is my favorite, you know it's some serious business.
I don't think there's anything more romantic or heavenly than chocolate and cherries. Maybe chocolate and strawberries, but it's a close tie. This cake is moist, rich but not too rich, and will blow your mind at the first bite. Make this for that special someone and if they're not already in love with you, they sure will be now.

Chocolate & Cherries Cake with Rich Chocolate Frosting (adapted from Cookie and Kate)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup strong coffee, cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp chocolate extract (or more vanilla)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 bag frozen cherries (thawed), or about 2 cups fresh and pitted

1. Make your cup of coffee and stick it in the fridge to cool down. Preheat the oven to 375º and line the bottom of an 8" or 9" round pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and sugar.
3. In a measuring cup, mix the oil, cooled coffee, and vanilla & chocolate extracts. Pour this into the dry and stir until combined. 
4. Add in the vinegar and you will see little bubbles appear in the batter. Mix until the vinegar seems to be evenly distributed.
5. Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan. Sprinkle the cherries evenly over the batter and press them towards the bottom of the pan with your finger. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before you frost it.

Frosting:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp soy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, or if you don't have a microwave like me, in a double broiler until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the soy milk and vanilla. Spread frosting evenly over the cake and top with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. 

Just one bite...

Yum.

Put down whatever you're doing and go make this cake. Now.

On a completely non-cake related note... I'm going to California tomorrow for my College Winter Term project! I will be working at a natural history museum taking photos and setting up galleries for them. I'm staying with some friends who also love to bake and are excited to try some vegan baking with me. I can't wait to post recipes from the land of sun, surf and sand!