Spice Cake (with vegan option*)

Yield 8 servings

Recipe from The Modern Vegetarian

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Here’s a delicious treat, just right for a casual dinner party, a picnic or a lunchbox. Bank up some prep time by measuring out the dry ingredients twice and storing the extra dry mix so you can make this again especially quick later on.

½ cup plain, unflavored soy milk

½ cup pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup!)

6 Tablespoons molasses

6 Tablespoons canola oil or melted unsalted butter (Use oil if you wish this to be vegan.*)

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons ground ginger

2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking pan and dust it with a bit of flour.  In a large bowl, whisk the soy milk, maple syrup, molasses, oil (or butter), vanilla, and the vinegar.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, nutmeg, and the pepper.  Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a rubber spatula, taking care not to over mix.  Pour in the baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cook, in the banking dish, to room temperature before slicing. 

Finishing Touch Options: 

·       Dust the cake with some powdered sugar (vegan)

·       Serve with Lemon Curd

·       Serve with a dollop of sweetened whipping cream

·       Serve with a dollop of Sweetened Thick Yogurt Cream**

**To make Sweetened Thick Yogurt Cream, place coffee filter in a sieve and set it over a bowl.  Put a cup of plain Greek yogurt in the coffee filter and let the yogurt set for at least 2 hours.  The whey (the liquid) will fall through the sieve into the bowl leaving a thick cream in the filter. (You can discard the whey or use it in other recipes.) Put the cream in another bowl and add 1 Tablespoon or so of real maple syrup or honey.  Mix thoroughly.  Chill until ready to serve.

Moist Mocha Chocolate Cake with Mocha Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
16 servings (1 serving equals 1 square)

If you are looking for a moist, scrumptious cake that’s not too sweet, this is the ticket.  The cake itself is good enough to eat on its own or with a little whipping cream or a dip of ice cream or with a light sprinkling of powdered sugar. The frosting is quite nice, but if you are looking for a really sweet frosting, this is not it. When I first made this cake, we had a couple workmen at the house.  One said that he needed another piece to make sure he liked it J The other loved the cake, but thought I should’ve put a thicker layer of the frosting.  In a nutshell, this cake is a winner and I will definitely make it again.   

Cake

Cooking spray
¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup Dutch processed cocoa
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1½ cups low-fat yogurt (I used plain Greek yogurt.)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon espresso powder, dissolved in 1 tablespoon of hot water
2 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (I used bittersweet.)
Frosting

1 (8-ounce) bar Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese) or cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon espresso powder dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
1 teaspoon coffee liqueur or vanilla
1 small square dark chocolate

Arrange rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Whisk together flours, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a medium bowl, then sift ingredients through a fine mesh strainer.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter and oil. Add eggs and egg whites and whisk to incorporate. Fold in yogurt, vanilla, sugar and dissolved espresso powder. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 90 seconds or over a double boiler. Fold chocolate into batter.
Gradually add sifted dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated; do not overbeat. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until cake has risen nicely and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.  While cake is cooling, make the frosting.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until soft and creamy. Spread frosting evenly over cake and cut into squares. Finely grate one small square of chocolate. Sprinkle the chocolate shavings over the cake.

Nutritional Information per Serving:  195 calories; 11 grams fat (4 grams saturated fat); 42 mg. cholesterol; 237 mg. sodium; 24 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 1.5 grams fiber

Berry Bran Muffins (Vegan)

Makes 12 muffins

Recipe from Meatless Monday (Myra Goodman, co-author of Straight from the Earth)

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

I had these muffins for the first time when my exercise buddy gave me a couple as a gift.  They are moist, not too dense, just sweet enough, and the bites of juicy berries make them extra special.  You can find all the ingredients at our community-owned grocery store Lost River Market & Deli.

1 cup plain, unsweetened soymilk

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 cups wheat bran

½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 Tablespoon ground flaxseed

¼ cup very hot water (about 180°F)

¾ cup packed light brown sugar (You can reduce the brown sugar to ½ cup if you like.)

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup canola oil

1 ¼ cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh blackberries or blueberries

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 350°F. Lightly oil 12 muffin cups or line them with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the soymilk and lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken into “buttermilk.” Whisk the mixture and stir in the bran and oats.

In a medium-mixing bowl, combine the flaxseed with the hot water. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it thickens (this is our egg substitute). Whisk the sugar, applesauce, and oil into the flaxseed mixture.

Add this mixture to the bowl with the bran, blending until the batter is combined.

In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add this mixture to the batter, stirring just until combined. Do not overmix. Carefully fold in the berries.

Fill each muffin cup with a heaping ⅓ cup of batter. The muffin cups should be full and rounded at the top. Make an effort to divide the berries evenly among the muffins.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the muffins are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into a muffin (avoiding the berries if you can) comes out clean.

Cool the muffins in the tin for 10 minutes. Turn out the muffins and continue to cool them on a wire rack for another 10 minutes before serving.

Banana Chip/Chocolate Chip/Walnut Cookies

Make about 3 dozen

Recipe from 101 Cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

These were served at Lost River Market & Deli’s Annual Meeting and were gone lickety split.  So, I decided to give them a try at home to treat my husband and my band mates, and, well, of course, me.  Because they are made with whole-wheat pastry flour and wheat germ, they are a bit healthier than a more traditional cookie.  However, they really taste quite decadent and so your family will love them.

1¾ cups whole-wheat pastry flour (Regular all-purpose white flour will also work.)

½ cup wheat germ, toasted in a dry skillet

½ teaspoon baking soda


½ teaspoon baking powder


Scant ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt


½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract


2/3 cup banana chips, chopped


1 cup chocolate chips
(I used bittersweet chocolate chips.)

2/3 cup walnuts, toasted in a dry skillet and then chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, racks in middle/upper middle. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, or stand mixer, beat the butter until lightly and fluffy, then beat in the sugar until it is the consistency of a thick frosting. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully before adding the next, and scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times along the way (important!) Stir in the vanilla. Add the reserved flour mix in two increments, stirring/mixing a bit between each addition (but not too much.) By hand, stir in the banana chips, chocolate chips and walnuts - mix just until everything is evenly distributed.

Drop 1 heaping Tablespoon of dough for each cookie onto the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for about 7 - 8 minutes, until barely golden on top and bottom. Resist over baking, they will come out dry and not as tasty. Cook on racks.

Note:  If you don’t wish to bake them all at once, drop the dough by the Tablespoon onto a parchment lined baking sheet and then place in the freezer for about 30 minutes.  Place the cookie dough balls into a freezer bag, seal the bag tight and place back into the freezer for later.