My next holiday baking post is one that could be enjoyed all year round, either as a breakfast accompaniment, a snack or a simple dessert. I absolutely love coffee cake. When I grew up, I only knew what coffee cake was because of Entenmann's crumb cake. This isn't vegan, of course. It's also highly processed and loaded with stuff I would never eat now. It did taste good, though! When I began to bake for myself, I made crumb cakes a few times. They were always delicious, but they got a little ho-hum. So, I tried to spice up my recipes with berries, chocolate and other types of ingredients. I realize now that I haven't made a "special" crumb cake in a long time. I'm well overdue. When I began to think of a cool combination of flavors, I stumbled upon the idea of a carrot coffee cake. Not that unique, right? Then, I thought, what if I put peanut butter with it?! I know, it seems like a strange combination. But, if you think about it, eating carrots and peanut butter for a snack is kinda delicious. I actually love peanut butter and carrots together! Why not bake with them and make it interesting? Exactly. This coffee cake is moist, slightly sweet, warm and spicy with cinnamon, bright and earthy with carrots and super nutty! It's great as a snack or a quick breakfast. It's also great with...you guessed it. Coffee. You can also feel good about snacking on this cake because it is made with mostly whole grain flours. Feel free to substitute your own flour blends, but be aware that the texture may change. You may also need to alter the amount of non-dairy milk you add. I'm definitely suggesting you make this either as a full cake or as individual cupcakes for any holiday breakfasts you might be having. This recipe is quick enough to whip up on the weekend and save for the rest of the week too. Grab 'em and go. Sit and stay. Whatever you want to do, these guys will be there for you. Enjoy! <3 Carrot Coffee Cake with Peanut Butter StreuselYield: 10 individual cupcakes or 1 - 9x9 cake Free from: Soy, Gluten, Nuts* Ingredients Cake
Streusel
Instructions
Preheat oven to 345 F.
With all the running around of the holiday season, comes stress, lack of sleep, and in my case, heart palpitations. (I'm actually not joking about that one!) It's difficult to find a way to relax sometimes. I usually have a cup of something hot to relax in the winter, either tea or soup or...hot chocolate! I also like to indulge in delicious baked goods around the holidays. It's sort of a family tradition. I'm a baker at heart and the only exposure to scratch baking I had when I was little was Christmas baking. That was the one time of year my mom would let my sister and I mess up the kitchen to make cookies. I loved it. I loved it so much that I made a living out of it! (I bake at work AND at home. It's a little insane.) Since I spend all my time baking and cake decorating, I find that I have lost a taste for sugary baked goods. As I get older, the weaker my sweet tooth becomes. My mom experienced this too. When she was my age, she also decorated cakes at a mom and pop owned bakery. She liked it. A lot. She said she taste tested a little too much. =P After that, it seems that her sweet tooth has decayed away. She doesn't like anything to taste sweet, minus things like fruit. I fear that the same thing is happening to me. Although my childhood sugar addiction is waning, I still love to eat baked goods. I think it's a texture thing. I love the dense, crumby softness of muffins and quickbreads. I also am in love with spices!!! I'm automatically drawn to anything spiced be it curry, gingerbread, chai, or carrot cake! Carrot cake is my all time favorite thing to have in December. My birthday is right after Christmas and every year (for the most part) I have a carrot cake. These past few years since turning vegan, I've made my own cake. I think the first year I got one from Whole Foods. It was delicious, but again, a little too sweet for me. Since I have been so busy lately and unable to ground myself, I decided to jump the gun and make something carrot cake-esque for noshing during the busy weeks before Christmas. I had some bags of pre-shredded carrots on hand and I thought, I can make carrot bread...WITHOUT SHREDDING! If anyone has ever had to finely shred root vegetables by hand, they know how exciting this notion is. Shredding is like the most repetitive one-armed workout in the world. And it takes FOREVER. Luckily, my carrots decided to work with me this time. It's like I was meant to have carrot bread! Since I am on a gluten free baking quest, this recipe is modified to be free of wheat flour as well as lower in fat and cane sugar free. Like I said, I have really lost my taste for sugar. I do, however, love coconut sugar. It's much more mild of a sweetener and has more flavor. It's very aromatic and makes my whole kitchen smell like earthy caramel. Mmmmm! This is a bread that I do not feel guilty about eating whatsoever. Of course, that doesn't mean you can eat the whole loaf. Though I have been tempted... ^_^ If you need some more sweetness, you can add a 1/4 c vegan sugar to the batter and sprinkle the top with more sugar. It will form a lovely crust on top that looks like ice crystals! So festive! <3 For optimum enjoyment, serve with your favorite hot beverage! I've included a quick little recipe for Chia Protein Hot Cocoa. If you pair this cocoa with the carrot breat for breakfast, you are going to have the best day ever. Merry Carrotmas! Ginger Carrot Bread with Walnuts Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Yield: 1 9x5 Loaf (Can also make muffins) Serves: 16 Ingredients
Instructions
Here's a great morning drink when it's too cold to down a smoothie for breakfast. I love hot breakfasts and this can act as a meal on its own. This hot cocoa is packed with protein and is quite filling. The taste will depend on what protein powder you use and if it is sweetened or not. Mine has some stevia in it but it is not overly sweet. I upped the cocoa flavor by adding in some cocao powder. I also added a pinch more stevia to make this taste more indulgent. You can also add maple syrup, agave, or sugar to taste. If you really want to take this to the next level, melt some chocolate chips into the non-dairy milk on the stove and prepare for an amazing chocolate experience! This is very easy to prepare if you have a high speed blender like a Vitamix. If you don't have one, and you know your chia seeds will not blend into the liquid completely, you can always leave them out so you preserve this drink's creamy texture. If you can blend them all the way though, it makes this recipe unbelievably thick and rich! Chia Protein Hot Cocoa Yield: 1 serving Ingredients
Instructions
Notes This comes out almost like a chocolate banana milkshake in texture, minus the banana flavor. If you want banana in your hot chocolate, that would be a great substitution for the chia! I would probably add 1 small or 1/2 a medium banana to the blender. If all goes well, I will update this weekend as my baking frenzy begins! I will also throw in some non-Christmas recipes to force myself away from eating cookies for dinner! Until next time! ^_^ |
I'm Jess!This is my very first food blog! I post revised conventional recipes of foods that I hold near and dear to my heart. My cooking here is all gluten-free and cruelty-free, but full of flavor and comfort. Archives
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