Steamed banana bread with chocolate pudding

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

Suet far from a vegan ingredient - I can't even describe it for you because it grosses me out.  But I didn't let that stop me from finding a way to make a super delicious pudding cake!  Instead of baking in the oven, British pudding cake is steamed by placing a heat proof dish in a saucepan of water and covered with a lid.  It was my first time cooking a dessert this way, and it does take a lot of paying attention so that the water doesn't all boil away to nothing. But the result is soo worth it!

I definitely got my chocolate fix from this challenge, and little Preciosa got a nice suprise in her lunch when I gave her some leftovers the next day.

Steamed banana bread with chocolate pudding:

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. 

Taco Soup, Omega Crunch, and Dark Chocolate Dreams

I have really wanted to blog for the past couple of weeks but taking care of a very sick little Gordita took precedence.   There were many  meals of store bought soups or cereal & almond milk which didn't seem blogworthy anyway.  Baby girl is on the mend now, so here's a roundup of some of the more interesting things I've been eating lately.  

First up, I made a batch of Nava Atlas' Taco Soup as seen in VegNews Magazine.  I followed the recipe EXACTLY, yet somehow my soup looks nothing like the VegNews photo.  It was good, I loved the spiciness of the cumin and chili powder combined with (my favorite) cilantro but I ended up adding some fresh ground sea salt which wasn't called for in the recipe.  When I think of tacos, I'm thinking salty & spicy.

 

Here's my uber quick breakfast of organic bananas, strawberries and tangerines, with some Omega Crunch roasted maple shelled flax.  Super Yum!

And, saving the best for last - PPK banana bread (I subbed 1/2 cup agave nectar instead of the 1 cup of sugar called for in the recipe) slathered in sinfully delicious chocolate peanut butter!  Yes, Dark Chocolate Dreams from Peanut Butter & Co lives up to its name and does not disappoint.  Ohhhh...I think I'm in love!

Chocolate That Soothes The Soul

Have you ever had one of those days where you were down in the dumps and only a heaping dose of chocolate can lift your spirits?  I had one of those days yesterday, so I baked Vegan Dad's very, very sinful Chocolate Chip Cookie Pudding Cake.  Ohhh yeah, that hit the spot!  I didn't use any stevia, or make any substitutions, (though in my haste to get it in the oven I forgot to add the vanilla at the end).  It was still scrumptious, and every bite made me wonder how anyone could be depressed when there is gooey chocolate pudding cake dancing on their tastebuds.