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!

Here Comes the Sun

Just like true hippie parents, my mom and dad raised my brother and I to celebrate the solstice every year. We do Christmas as well, of course, but we would always have some sort of party or special event to mark the shortest day of the year. For the past 6 years or so, we've started a tradition of making gingerbread sun cookies with our own special flair.

Each person in my family is an artist in some way- my dad paints and composes music, my mom is a children's book illustrator, my brother draws and performs in a youth circus, and I dance and take photos. The combination of all of these creative talents makes for some very fun and unique cookies. 

Gingerbread Solstice Cookies

makes 4 large suns

1/3 cup earth balance
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
3/4 cup water
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves

1. Cream together the margarine, brown sugar, molasses and 1/2 cup of water in a large bowl.
2. sift flour, baking soda, salt and spices in another bowl and then add the dry ingredients to the wet. Add more water if dough is too crumbly.
3. Turn the dough out of the bowl and form into 4 equal balls. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350º and grease two baking sheets. Roll out the dough and cut or mold each piece of your sun. 
5. Bake suns for about 10-12 minutes or until puffy and slightly browned. 

You don't have to just make suns with the dough- you can also roll it out and make cut out cookies! But just look at how gorgeous these turned out.

Clockwise from top left: My sun, my dad's, my mom's and my brother's fish/sun.

This is such a great family tradition. We put on some carols, shape our suns, then watch a Christmas movie or just sit around the tree and chat while the heavenly smell of gingerbread baking wafts through the house. It keeps us cozy on the shortest, darkest day of the year. 

Only one more day until Christmas! Can you believe it? Today is going to be full of so much last-minute baking and cooking. I will be posting my family's all-time favorite Christmas cookie recipe soon, so stay tuned!

Gingerbread Drizzles and Snow

Not many people at my school share this sentiment with me, but as a born-and-bred Minnesotan, I absolutely love snow.It has mostly been gross and rainy here in Ohio, but this morning I looked out my window, saw everything coated in a sparkling white blanket and then did a little happy dance (only slightly embarrassing). I just really love snow. 

The problem with the first snow is that is gets me completely into holiday mode. All I want to do is wrap presents, listen to christmas music, sit by the fire with a mug of hot cocoa, and of course, bake something warm and delicious. Too bad instead I get to read three books, write two papers, take two exams, finish an art project, wait tables, and choreograph a dance. Yay. Looks like my Christmas spirit will have to be on hold for the next three weeks... 

If, unlike me, any of you lucky people out there have some time on your hands to begin your holiday preparation, nothing says Christmas morning better than the smell of gingerbread fresh out of the oven. I made these cookies during my Thanksgiving break and after one bite I was ready to break out the Christmas carols. They are perfectly chewy and slightly crispy on the outside- beware, they will launch your holiday spirit from zero to ten.

Gingerbread Drizzles 

makes about 2 dozen cookies

Cookies (thank you to Oh, Ladycakes for the recipe):

1/2 cup earth balance
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark molasses
3 tbsp vegan sour cream (Tofutti brand is my favorite)
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

White Icing
(I had a bunch of extra icing, which I ended up using on another recipe coming soon, but if you only want enough for the cookies I would cut this recipe in half)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp vanilla soy milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350º and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, molasses, vanilla and sour cream. Whip vigorously until light and fluffy. Stir in the spices and baking soda, then add the flour and mix until combined.

3. Spoon batter onto your cookie sheet in tablespoons. Depending on your cookies preferences, either flatten or leave in balls- they don't spread that much. I left mine round. Bake for 10 minutes.

4. While the cookies are baking, prepare your icing by whisking together the sugar, milk and vanilla until it is the perfect drizzling consistency. You may need to add some extra sugar.

5. Once the cookies are done,let them cool for at least 5 minutes, then drizzle with the white icing. Let the icing set for about 10 minutes, then eat your heart out!

Enjoy these cookies with a mug of coffee (or tea), a good book and this song.

Saying Goodbye to Summer with Gingerbread Cake

With classes starting on Tuesday, it's about time to say goodbye to the summer days. Let me tell you, these past months have been a roller-coaster, but overall it was a rich, wonderful time. I love being on campus, but I miss Minneapolis and all the people and places....



friends...



and I dearly miss my cats. I just developed my roll of black and white film from the summer, so the photos above are some of the highlights I wanted to share with you. While digital is more convenient overall, I do love using my dad's old 1970s pentax for my more artsy-fartsy stuff.

The last night I was in town, my mom (who is also vegan) made the most amazing cake as a sort of sending-off present. She is a great cook, and is a children's book illustrator with her own blog- artistand3cats- which you should check out if you like art or books! This recipe is not the most summery flavor, but it was one of the most delicious cakes I've ever had in my life, so I just had to share the recipe.



Gingerbread Goodbye Cake with Maple Cream-Cheese Frosting

Cake (she adapted the recipe from here):

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2-teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2-teaspoon ground cloves
1/4-teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil and 1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/2-cup molasses
1 cup vanilla flavored soy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. Oil two 9-inch springform pans or a cake pans. Line it with a parchment circle.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Whisk to combine.
3. In food processor, combine the oil, applesauce, maple syrup, molasses, soy milk, vinegar and vanilla for one minute.
4. Pour liquid ingredients into dry, whisking together just until all liquid ingredients are absorbed. Batter will be quite wet.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans and place on middle rack of oven. Bake about 45 minutes, or until cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Frosting (adapted from here):

1/4 cup vegan butter (I like Earth Balance), softened
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
approximately 2-3 cups powdered sugar
approximately 2-3 tablespoons vanilla soy milk
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together first two ingredients on high speed. Add powdered sugar and soy milk with mixer turned off and then slowly bring the speed up to high to completely incorporate it, adding approximately 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of milk at a time until desired consistency is reached. If too thin, add more powdered sugar; if too thick, add more soy milk. Beat in maple extract.

Frost and layer the cake and serve warm!

I don't think I can even describe how perfect this cake it. It's rich, moist, gingery... just try it. You have to.