Deeelish Dobos Torte

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus:  Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

The monthly Daring Baker's Challenges are always challenging, and making a vegan version of the recipes that are selected by the hosts makes it even more so.  Usually I stick to healthy cooking, making low fat and low sugar substitutes whenever I can - but that was all out the window for this confection!  

The Dobos Torte was supposed to be a five-layer sponge cake, and apparently some recipes end up with 12 layers!  That would be quite a tall slice of cake.  I think that the omission of eggs attributed to less batter in general for mine, and alas, I only had a three-layer cake.  

I love how the chopped hazelnuts matched the dark chocolate "buttercream"icing, and the caramel topping was amazing.  As I mentioned, this is an extremely sweet dessert, and just a small slice will satisfy any sweet craving. 

Almost Sugar-Free Blueberry Mint Ice Cream

We've had a hot spell of weather this week and it's the perfect opportunity to get the ice cream maker going.  There are so many endless combinations to try!  I had purchased a huge basket of blueberries and they were begging to be paired up with fresh mint sprigs to make this ultimately refreshing treat.  And who knew coconut milk and agave nectar could make light fluffy ice cream that is the bomb-diggedy? If you don't know, now you know!

 

Blueberry Mint Ice Cream
2 cups blueberries, rinsed
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
1/3 cup agave nectar
1-2 leaves, fresh mint

In a blender or food processor, combine ingredients and process until smooth.  Pour into ice cream maker and turn on for 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

Mallows & More

Sorry I have been away for so long.  I just moved to a new apartment and am finally settled in and have an internet connection again.  I haven't been able to find the battery charger for my camera battery though, so lately my photos have been really quick snapshots with my fingers crossed that the battery stays on long enough to let me take the picture!  So I'll apologize in advance for the less than stellar photos you're about to see.

Anyhoo, I am very, very late in posting the July Daring Baker's Challenge.  Better late than never?  I hope they don't kick me out for posting it so late!


The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I can't even remember the last time I had marshmallow anything, so I was very excited about this challenge.  These chocolate treats remind me of Viva Puffs with the little strawberry jam suprise in the middle that I used to eat when I was a little girl.

I bought vegan marshmallows called Dandies from Vegan Essentials for this recipe.  I subbed flax meal for the eggs in the yummy lemony Milan cookies and I have to say, this was a fun recipe to make and I really like these mallow cookies.  They are a heavy and hearty cookie and one is definitely enough to satisfy any sweet tooth cravings.

Here's one cut in half so you can see all the layers.  YUM!!!!

When I ordered the Dandies from Vegan Essentials, I also ordered a book called "Benji Beansprout Doesn't Eat Meat"  It's about a little boy named Benji who gets teased by kids at school because he's a vegetarian.  I thought it would be a cute book to read to my little vegan Gordita at bedtime.  She is really picking up words quickly now, and just today I taught her how to say "tofu" while we were at the grocery store.  Here she is chomping on some watermelon during a visit with her great-grandparents:

And now for some random food porn:  Kashi Go Lean cereal with vanilla almond milk and chopped apple:

Brown rice elbow pasta with avocado, tomato and cilantro, in a light tossing of nutritional yeast and unsweetened organic soy milk

More brown rice pasta - this time shells with peas and a crumbled veggie patty.  Leftovers make a great lunch the next day which is what you see here:

 

 And now I'm off to bed.  It's going to be a busy weekend around here, so stay tuned for more vegan delights :)