Sunday, October 11, 2009
Preparations for a 2nd Birthday Party
Yes, it's true. My baby girl will be turning TWO next week! When making food for guests, I'm not the kind of person to "try it out" first - I just follow a recipe, usually from a reputable source that never lets me down, and run with it. Not so much with Claire's birthday party desserts though. Why? Because of her food allergies - egg and dairy - which, as anyone who bakes cakes or cookies knows...is a main component of a birthday cake. Last year I tried out a vegan chocolate cupcake with much success. This year I want to find something new. So I checked out Vive Le Vegan! from the library and am making Raspberry Frosted Cake with Chocolate Cream Center. I will let you know how it is. In the meantime, here is the recipe.Raspberry Frosted Cake with Chocolate Cream Center
(Vive Le Vegan!)
Cake:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups + 1 TBS non-dairy milk (I am using plain rice milk)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 - 3/4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 - 1/3 cup canola oil
Combine dry ingredients, mix well. Combine wet ingredients and add to dry. Stir to combine.
Pour into two oiled round cake pans and back for 26-28 minutes in 350 oven until golden brown and toothpick in center comes out clean.
Chocolate Cream Center:
(I skipped this part since I'm making cupcakes, so I added chocolate chips to the cake batter instead)
3/4 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
Melt chocolate chips and milk in bowl over pot of simmering water. Stir frequently until smooth. Refrigerate to cool.
Raspberry Frosting:
3 cups frozen raspberries
1 cup sugar
2 TBS maple syrup
2 TBS canola oil
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon rind
12 oz pkg silken-firm tofu
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 TBS non-dairy milk
1 TBS agar powder (this is a vegan substitute for gelatin - I just used gelatin since I had some)
In saucepan over med-low heat, heat berries; cover and stir occasionally, until liquefied. Strain over bowl and press on seeds to extract juice. Discard seeds (or make a jam out of them by combining with several TBS of maple syrup and refrigerate). Pour juice back into pan and add sugar, syrup, oil and salt. Heat until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. In blend or processor, puree tofu and vanilla until very smooth.
In small bowl, add milk to agar and stir. Add agar mixture and lemon rind to raspberry mixture, whisking continuously. Increase heat to boil while stirring, then decrease heat to simmer a few minutes until agar fully dissolves. Remove from heat. In the blender, while pureeing, add raspberry mixture to the tofu and puree until smooth. Transfer to bowl and chill. Once cool, re blend before using.
Spread chocolate cream on top of first cake layer. Place second cake layer on top and spread the raspberry frosting on top. You can either frost the whole cake or let it drip down the sides. Cool for a couple hours to set before slicing.
[Well, let's just say it's a good thing I tried that out first. The cake tasted great, but the texture is very gummy and the frosting? The frosting is more like I made a smoothie for breakfast and poured it on the cake than it is frosting. I gave Claire a bite and she literally raked it out of her mouth, handed it back to me, and said "don't like it!" Back to the vegan drawing board.] |
